TALC Chats Podcast

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Latonya and Diana talk about where their parents were born.  They also talk about the relationships that we have with family members through marriage, our in-laws. For example, your husband's mom and dad are your mother-in- law and father-in-law.  Your sister's husband is your brother-in-law and your brother's wife is your sister-in-law. Your son's wife is your daughter-in-law. Your daughter's husband is your son-in-law.

Another category of relationships are those family members that are 2 generations from you. Those relatives are your "grand" relatives, your parents' parents are your  grandparents  (grandmother and  grandfather) and your children's children are your grandchildren (granddaughter(s) and grandson(s).

Do you have a sister-in-law or a brother-in-law? Do you have any grandchildren? Where were your grandparents born?

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Latonya and Diana chat about family relationships: parents (mothers and fathers), siblings (brothers and sisters), aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. Some family members are living and some have died, or passed away. Listen for the present tense of that little verb that is used most frequently in English  - "to be": I am, we/you/they are, he/ she/it is; and the past tense of "to be": I was, we/ you/they were, he/she/it was. Also listen for these possessive adjectives: my, your, their as Latonya and Diana chat about their families. Oh, and watch for Family Relationships Part 2!

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Today, Latonya and Diana talk about the different types of shopping we do and the different types of stores where we do our shopping. How about you? Where do you like to shop? Send us a comment.

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What is Black Friday? Let's talk about shopping and good deals!

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Thanksgiving – it’s complicated

·        What are we celebrating?

·        If you ask different people you will get different answers.

·        What did we learn when we were kids? Well, we learned : 

•  These people, the Pilgrims, were not able to practice their religion freely in England so in November 1620, they came to an English colony in what is now Massachusetts in the Americas.
•  They came on a ship called the Mayflower and they wore tall black hats with buckles. They named their new community New Plymouth.
• They had a very hard first winter, and the native people in the area helped them.
•  After they survived the first year, the Pilgrims had a feast to give thanks and  the native people joined them.  They all ate turkey, corn and pumpkin pie and lived happily ever after.

   It turns out, the truth is more complicated. The Pilgrims took the land the native people, the Wampanoag, had lived on for at 1200 years.  Many Wampanoag, like other native people, died from diseases brought by the Europeans.  Today many Native Americans gather in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day to remember the countless Indigenous people who have been killed by European colonists.

   So that’s just a little of the complicated history of Thanksgiving Day. President Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863. Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November.  Schools, banks offices (Costco!) are closed. There's a  big parade in New York City on Thanksgiving - the Macy’s parade.

   Does your family celebrate Thanksgiving Day? What are your Thanksgiving   Traditions? Memories? Activities? Food?

   What are your plans this Thanksgiving Day, dear listener? 

Is there a day of thanksgiving in your native country?

 Please send us a comment!  It’s a great way to practice your English!

Latonya and Diana talk about the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Let's talk about Daylight Saving Time. What is it? What is your experience? Listen to Diana and Latonya talk about the things that change for us when we set our clocks one hour ahead.

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