**Featured Story**

**The Language Barrier at the Market 🍄‍🟫**
Carlos tries speaking English at the market.

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🟢 Beginner:

Carlos wants apples.
"One apple, please!" he says, but the seller gives him ten!
"Oh no!" Carlos laughs because it’s too many apples.
"You can keep them!" the seller says.

Expression: A nice surprise (something unexpected but good)
• Apple (noun, a round, red, green, or yellow fruit with a core and seeds inside)
• Ten (number, the number after nine and before eleven)
• Give (verb, to offer something to another person as a gift or help)
• It’s (contraction, "it is")
• Laugh (verb, to make a sound when something is funny or enjoyable)

Example:
Emma ordered one cookie at the bakery.
The baker gave her two and said, "It’s a gift!"
She smiled: "What a nice surprise!"

🟡 Intermediate:

Carlos tried to buy apples, but the vendor didn’t understand him.
"I said five, not fifty!" Carlos repeated.
The vendor smiled, apologized and corrected the order.

Expression: A slip of the tongue (a small speaking mistake, often funny or embarrassing)
• Vendor (noun, a person who sells something, especially in a market or street)
• Understand (verb, to know the meaning of something or how something works)
• Correct (verb, to fix something that is wrong or a mistake)
• Order (verb, to ask for food or drink in a restaurant or store)
• Smile (verb, to move your mouth to show happiness)
• Apologize (verb, to say that you are sorry for something)

Example:
Emma was introducing her boss at a big event.
She wanted to say, "This is our great manager, Mr. Clark."
Instead, she accidentally said, "This is our great banana, Mr. Clark."
The audience giggled. Emma turned red. "Oops, that was a slip of the tongue!" she said, laughing.

🔴 Advanced:

Carlos attempted to bargain at a local market, asking to lower the price by 5 dollars, but his accent confused the vendor. "Did you say fifty or fifteen?" the vendor asked. Carlos chuckled. "I think my pronunciation needs some work!"

Expression: Hit a language barrier (struggle with communication in a different language)
• Bargain (verb, to try to get a lower price for something when buying it)
• Accent (noun, a way of pronouncing words that shows where someone is from)
• Pronunciation (noun, the way a word or language is spoken)
• Chuckles (verb, to laugh quietly and softly)
• Vendor (noun, a person who sells something, especially in a market or street)

Example:
David had just moved to Tokyo and needed a haircut.
He pointed at a picture and said, "Just a little shorter."
The barber nodded, but when David looked in the mirror… his hair was almost gone!
He sighed, realizing: "I must have hit a language barrier."

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The Language Barrier at the Market