TingMate · English Learning

Day 27 · Don't Be Too Polite

A slow English story about cutting through the politeness to actually help someone. 10 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences After work, I walked over to the coffee shop on the corner. She was already there. I spotted her right away. The only one with her laptop closed, just staring at the door. She apologized like five times before I even sat down. "Sorry to take up your time," she kept saying. Look, I had to cut her off. If we kept being this polite, we'd waste the whole night. So I asked her straight up. Which companies. How many interviews. Where she was stuck. Then I pulled up my own resume on my laptop. I mean, walked her through the whole thing, showed her what to highlight. We mapped out a four-step plan. Fix the resume. Keep applying to big companies. At least three LeetCode problems a day. And hey, listen to my podcast too. That's how you prepare behavioral questions in English. Honestly, once I got direct, she relaxed too. We focused on the real pain points together. Walking out. Turns out, meeting someone from online isn't as scary as I imagined. 🔑 Vocabulary • spot /spɒt/ • take up your time /teɪk ʌp jʊər taɪm/ • cut her off /kʌt hɜːr ɔːf/ • straight up /streɪt ʌp/ • walk through /wɔːk θruː/ • highlight /ˈhaɪlaɪt/ • map out /mæp aʊt/ • pain point /peɪn pɔɪnt/ • stuck /stʌk/ • Turns out /tɜːrnz aʊt/ • resume /ˈrezʊmeɪ/ • behavioral questions /bɪˈheɪvjərəl ˈkwestʃənz/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 26 · Meet a Stranger?

A slow English story about a stranger sliding into your DMs for career advice. 9 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences Monday morning. A stranger DMed me out of the blue. Turns out, she wanted to ask about my career switch. Switching into tech. Said she's been stuck for a while. Truth is, I don't usually meet people from the internet. Makes me nervous. But I get it. I've been there before. Working up the courage to reach out to other people for help isn't easy. I mean, if I just turned her down, would she ever DM anyone again? You know what? I even flipped a coin. Heads yes, tails no. It came up tails. But I typed back anyway. "Tomorrow after work?" Yeah, I'm a little rebellious, I know. Got her reply right away. Three exclamation marks. "Thanks!!!" I put my phone down. I suddenly felt tomorrow getting closer. 🔑 Vocabulary • DM /diː em/ • out of the blue /aʊt əv ðə bluː/ • career switch /kəˈrɪr swɪtʃ/ • I've been there /aɪv bɪn ðer/ • work up the courage /wɜːrk ʌp ðə ˈkʌrɪdʒ/ • reach out /riːtʃ aʊt/ • turn down /tɜːrn daʊn/ • rebellious /rɪˈbeljəs/ • Turns out /tɜːrnz aʊt/ • stuck /stʌk/ • Truth is /truːθ ɪz/ • stranger /ˈstreɪndʒər/ • nervous /ˈnɜːrvəs/ • exclamation /ˌekskləˈmeɪʃn/ • flipped a coin /flɪpt ə kɔɪn/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 25 · I Poured Another Glass

A slow English story about a weekend picnic and the quiet weight of everyday life. 7 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences So this weekend, I had a picnic with a friend. Out in the park. We laid out a blanket. Wine, bread, fruit. All takeout, honestly. Nothing fancy. The weather was perfect. I just sat there, doing nothing for once. And there were two kids next to us, sharing one ice cream. Both racing to finish it before it melts. It was the sweetest little rush. Honestly, I was kinda jealous. Then it hits me. My life is heavy. Bills, deadlines, Monday's almost here. I poured another glass. The kids kept laughing. 🔑 Vocabulary • takeout /ˈteɪkaʊt/ • for once /fɔːr wʌns/ • racing to /ˈreɪsɪŋ tu/ • kinda /ˈkaɪndə/ • it hit me /ɪt hɪt miː/ • poured /pɔːrd/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 24 · Weekend Hangout

A slow English story about hitting 11k subscribers and announcing weekend review days. 8 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences Wow! Look what you guys did! We already hit 11k subscribers. I really appreciate all your support. But hey, real talk. I know a lot of you are struggling to keep up. And nobody wants to fall behind, right? And that got me thinking. I mean, language is just a tool. None of us should be stressed on weekends. So I had this idea. Here's the game plan. From now on, weekends are only for review. On Saturdays, we'll go through this week's audio. Hit replay if you want more. On Sundays, we'll go through last week's audio. Hit replay if you want more. Which means no new lessons all weekend. Feel free to skip it. This gives newcomers time to catch up. And the rest of us can also have more time to practice. Practice makes perfect, right? So we can all stay on the same page. So let's just take it easy this weekend. Or if you have suggestions, drop them in the comments. As you can see, I reply to every comment. I really love connecting with you guys. Let's build this podcast together. See you Monday! 🔑 Vocabulary • subscribers /səbˈskraɪbərz/ • struggling /ˈstrʌɡlɪŋ/ • keep up /kiːp ʌp/ • fall behind /fɔːl bɪˈhaɪnd/ • stressed /strest/ • game plan /ɡeɪm plæn/ • go through /ɡoʊ θruː/ • stay on the same page /steɪ ɒn ðə seɪm peɪdʒ/ • appreciate /əˈpriːʃieɪt/ • real talk /ˈriːəl tɔːk/ • audio /ˈɔːdioʊ/ • newcomers /ˈnjuːkʌmərz/ • catch up /kætʃ ʌp/ • practice makes perfect /ˈpræktɪs meɪks ˈpɜːrfɪkt/ • take it easy /teɪk ɪt ˈiːzi/ • suggestions /səˈdʒestʃənz/ • connecting /kəˈnektɪŋ/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 23 · The Overshare

A slow English story about the hangover overshare after one too many drinks. 8 simple sentences. Word by word. About 10 minutes. 📖 In this episode Hungover Friday morning, recounting last night at the bar. The waiter was completely on it — soon as I put my glass down, he'd refill it like there's no tomorrow. Two glasses in: 'This guy gets it!' Three glasses in: 'This might be a problem.' The little angel on my shoulder whispered stop. The devil won. I overshared. Like, my whole life story. Now I'm just dying of cringe. Promise I won't hit the bar anymore — ok, at least this month. Please pass the water. Thank you. 📝 Today's sentences As I said, we went to a bar last night. The waiter was completely on it. Soon as I put my glass down, he'd refill it. Like there's no tomorrow. Two glasses in, I was like, "Wow, this guy gets it!" But three glasses in, I was like, "This might be a problem." The little angel on my shoulder kept whispering "stop." The devil won. I knew I should have said "that's enough." But I started oversharing. Like, my whole life story. Now that I'm sober, I'm just dying of cringe. Don't ask me what I said. I promise I won't hit the bar anymore. Ok, I mean, at least this month! Please pass the water. Thank you. 🔑 Vocabulary • on it /ɒn ɪt/ • like there's no tomorrow /laɪk ðerz noʊ təˈmɒroʊ/ • I was like /aɪ wəz laɪk/ • overshare /ˌoʊvərˈʃer/ • dying of cringe /ˈdaɪɪŋ əv krɪndʒ/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.