1 May
Memory
Do you think you have a good memory?
Do you sometimes forget things? What do you usually forget?
What’s your most shameful forgetting story?
How do you try to remember important things?
Have you ever forgotten someone’s birthday? What happened?
Can you remember your first day at school? What was it like?
What’s the best way to improve your memory, in your opinion?
Do you remember your dreams often? What do you dream about?
How do you remember important dates or events?
Have you ever lost your phone or keys? How did you find them?
Do you ever forget the names of people you meet? What do you do about it?
Can you remember the first movie you watched? What was it about?
Related Words: memory, recall, remembrance, forgetting, recognition, retention, concentration, attention, focus, learning, experience, knowledge, brain, mind, thinking, cognition, awareness, habit, routine, reminder, note, diary, association, repetition, practice, storage, retrieval, perception, detail, impression
Watch the video above and discuss what you learned from it during your Spoken Cafe session
Cricket Chirping and Temperature: Nature’s Thermometer
If you’re ever unsure about the temperature on a warm summer day, you can turn to nature for an answer—specifically, to the chirps of crickets! According to the Library of Congress, crickets adjust their chirping rate based on the temperature. There’s a simple formula that allows you to calculate the temperature using the number of chirps you hear.
To determine the temperature, count how many times a cricket chirps in 25 seconds, then divide that number by 3 and add 4. The result will give you the temperature in degrees Celsius.
For example:
If you hear 48 chirps in 25 seconds:
48 ÷ 3 + 4 = 20°C.
This natural phenomenon provides a fun way to estimate the temperature without needing a thermometer!
READ/SPEAK
Do you like animals? What’s your favourite animal?
Do you spend time in nature? Where do you usually like spending your time? Like beaches, rivers, lakes, forests, etc.
What sounds do you associate with summer evenings?
What’s your favourite season, and why?
Have you ever experienced extreme weather, like a heatwave or a snowstorm?
When you are enjoying something, time seems to move more quickly.
“Wow, it’s midnight already? I feel like we just got here. Time flies when you’re having fun!”
LEARN THE IDIOM AND SPEAK
When did you last have a great time? Tell us about the period of your life when you felt time fly fast.