☺️ Let's check...

💗 9 'World Kiss Day' Phrases 💓 Start the week with love 💓

Wikipedia:

"International Kissing Day or World Kiss Day is an official holiday celebrated each year on July 6. The practice originated in the United Kingdom, and was adopted worldwide in the early 2000s.

The concept is that International Kissing Day came about because many people may have forgotten the simple pleasures associated with kissing for kissing's sake, as opposed to kissing as mere* social formality or prelude to other activities."

We asked chat GPT to describe kissing from the point of view of American series, comedy clubs, or Silicon Valley community. Enjoy

👁 TV Show Style (Dramatic/Comedy Dialogue)

Slang and descriptions as if coming from TV characters in shows like Friends:

💓“We made out like teenagers with nothing to lose and too much ChapStick”
💓“A smooch* heard round the group chat”
💓“He kissed me like a man who knows he’s not getting a second season”

😹 Saturday Night Live Comedy-Style (Absurd, Satirical, Wildly Over-the-Top)

Slang as if written for a sketch about weird dating culture:

💓“Mouth wrestling, but sexy… barely”
💓“We exchanged saliva like NFTs: overpriced and meaningless”
💓“Gave each other a lip tax audit”

🧑‍💻 Silicon Valley / Tech Bro Lingo (Hyper-Ironic, Cringe, or Deadpan Nerdy)

Imagine two developers awkwardly describing kissing like it’s product integration:

💓“Beta-tested some emotional API endpoints”
💓“Executed a romantic merge request*”
💓“It wasn’t just a kiss, man. It was cross-platform lip compatibility”

*Post Glossary

🫧mere /mie/ = Only, just. Used to show how small or unimportant something is
🫧a smooch — A quick kiss, often on the lips or cheek
🫧merge request — A way for a developer to ask for their code to be added to the main codebase. To merge sth = to put together 2 parts, as in mergers and aquisitions when a bigger business buys a smaller one

🪴 Which phrase cracked you up (=made you laugh) the most?
🪴 Share your kissing associations or pictures in comments 😂
🪴 Spread love — send to a friend who you secretly want to kiss... or not 😂

🐐 AI bites the music industry ⭐ 3 Hot Phrases ⭐ Speak on trending topics with confidence in English

The Velvet Sundown: The AI Band That Wasn’t

The Velvet Sundown’s recently emerged as a trending band on Spotify, gathering over a million followers through algorithmic, vibe-based playlists. Their music, described as “Californian Pink Floyd” was pleasant but uninspired, “inoffensively bland*”

It was soon revealed that the band was not real, but rather an AI-generated music project. Clues included* the absence of interviews, live performances, or a discernible media footprint*.

Resources
📌Let it Burn song on YouTube
📌Medium blog post with a thorough overview of what this news piece means for the music industry
📌Rolling Stone (renowned magazine covering music and entertainment) statement

*Post Glossary

🫧

Bland

— not interesting, with little taste or feeling

"The soup was

bland

, so I added some salt"

🫧

Clues included

— things that help you understand or find the answer

"

Clues

to the perpetrator

's

identity

include

footprints in the mud leading to the crime scene"

🫧

Discernible media footprint

— clear, easy to see online presence

"A famous singer has

a discernible media

footprint because you can find many videos, interviews, and songs online"

🤩 I like this new Post Glossary format (looks sharper, easier to digest)
😉 I want the previous Post Glossary format back (can see all vocab at once)

🪴 TOMORROW at 6-7pm MSC timezone you can learn more vocabulary on this topic and learn to discuss it with style during S2S open Zoom meeting. Fill out this short form today to get a spot tomorrow

📎 S2S website

👩‍💼 Which dog has a chance to learn English? 👁‍🗨 Professional opinion from the industry gurus

Video Glossary

🫧Bold — brave, not afraid to take up risks or speak up
🫧In denial — ignores an important truth, doesn't want to face it
🫧Built to learn — great learner by nature

🪴 Send this to a friend who needs to see it

📌How (and what for!) to say more in English 📌A simple flow that will push you to produce more speech and bring your level higher

This 15 min video will equip you with a framework and questions to ask yourself in order to produce more speech, engage your liíteners, and build deeper connections

Time codes
00:00 Intro
01:10 The problem about (too) short speeches
02:12 A typical learner's speech, example
03:22 What's lacking in the typical learner's speech, explained
04:41 An improved response
08:23 What allowed me to come up with a better speech
10:20 Break down of the to-do list to create lengthier, more engaging utterances
12:56 Invitation to S2S where you can practice English communication skills with new speaking partners every week

Video Glossary

🫧

enumeration

— a list of things one after another

"Learners give simple

enumerations

, without explaining what they mean"

🫧

vague (speech)

— not clear or detailed; hard to understand or imagine
"A

vague

speech is not engaging and means little to the listener"

🫧

literally

— exactly, word for word; not figuratively

"A response that

literally

anyone would give is not interesting or engaging"

What are your personal take aways from the video? What steps can you start using next time you speak English?

📎 Pinned post about S2S

☺️ 3 people secretly judging you 💓Meet the team powering your progress

Every week S2S users discuss a trending topic with a peer, learn to actively use 10 new phrases in their speech, and ... [drum roll* 🥁] get a personal feedback report with their level checked, errors corrected, and victories celebrated

👁 Have a look at a randomly selected Feedback report for one of S2S users
[Access the Google doc with the Feedback Report]

Meet the team who helps you to notice and correct the gaps, celebrates your achievements, and helps you to become a better conversational partner

Today, we introduce to you Natalia Milan 🪴

💓 Cool facts about Natalia

💓 Speaks English, Spanish, Russian
💓 Back in the 2000s, she ran a fan site for "Rebelde Way," an Argentine TV series. At its peak, it was actually the second biggest Russian fan site for the show, with 2000 visitors daily!
💓Natalia's message to S2S students:

"I’m consistently impressed by how you dive into discussions with your speaking buddy and the way you incorporate advanced vocabulary.

Don’t let English become a ‘used-to’. Stay in the game — even if it’s just podcasts while cooking. Small drops fill the bucket!"

*Post Glossary
🫧Drum roll 🥁 — that means something exciting is coming
🫧Dive into discussions — start sharing ideas with energy
🫧Small drops fill the bucket — small actions make a big difference over time

UPD: competition’s closed — results’re in comments🧸
If you've meant to try S2S for some time but haven't been quite sure if it's a good fit for you — today is your day!
Guess if Natalia's #1, 2 or 3 in our Zoom meeting and get a free trial.
The winner will be randomly selected from the comments on Sunday

❤️ To thank Natalia for her contributions to effective cross-border communication

📎 S2S website

🐷 What do you remember from this week's Post Glossaries?..

⭐️ 1 question Intermediate+ English learners can ask themselves to build meaningful connections when speaking English📌9-minute video from the S2S founder and an S2S assessor

While English learners obssess over grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, 1 important skills is left neglected: building rapport and meaningful connections internationally. This channel - and this video in particular - is on a mission to give light to this much neglected area

⏰ Timecode

00:05 Intro
00:21 Goal of the video
00:34 Brough to you by S2S
00:52 The points we cover in this video
01:32 Introducing to you an S2S assessor
02:00 "Very Demure" trend — how to sound awesome, speak more, and build meaningful connection while expressing your opinions
02:28 Not a great speech example
03:01 What's wrong with the typical learner speech
03:46 A better learner speech
06:23 1 question that made the learner speech better
07:04 Taken you speech from "so-so" to "I want to be friends with her"
08:31 Summary
09:06 Invitation to S2S
09:34 Bye

Video Glossary

🫧 A powerful force to be reckoned with — Something (or someone) that is very strong or important, and cannot be ignored
🫧 A silly pastime to be discounted — Something that seems unimportant or stupid, so people don’t take it seriously
🫧 Ultimately — In the end / Finally / After everything is considered

🌷 Type in comments any other phrases you want to memorise, understand, or use more yourself — this will help you to commit them to memory!

Resource

📌 "Very Demure, Very Mindful" S2S speaking plan mentioned in the video

🪴 Want videos with a better sound quality and higher image resolution? We too! Support this channel growth to make a better quality possible — repost this in your chats and stories

📎 Pinned post about S2S

💷 Why you're likely to pay more if you're an Apple phone user 💷 Dynamic Pricing 📌S2S weekly speaking plan

Introducing to you an excerpt (=short extract) from this week's S2S speaking plan on "Dynamic Pricing", based on a reel from a Bangalore woman, with 1.6M views
We share this as we want more Intermediate+ learners to lift up from the Intermediate plateau, reach their full potential, and stop feeling awkward speaking on high level topics

Excerpt: Dynamic pricing enables retailers to adapt prices in real-time by analyzing market trends, competitor strategies and customer demand

Dynamic pricing is a game-changer for businesses. It's the algorithmic backbone* that adjusts prices in real-time*, often based on factors like location, demand, and yes — device type. According to Forbes, Amazon adjusts prices 2.5 million times a day using machine learning models, factoring in device type as one of many parameters

iPhone users tend to spend more on apps and in-app purchases than Android users. This indicates that iPhone users may be more willing to pay a premium*

Resources

📌

The reel creator's IG account

📌

Are we paying a Luxury Tax for using an iPhone? LinkedIn post

*

Post Glossary

🫧

Backbone

— The most important part of something that helps it work

🫧

To adjust (prices) in real time

— To change (something, for example, prices) immediately, as things happen

🫧

To be more willing to pay a premium

— To be ready to pay more money than usual for something

Voting
👌- It's OKAY to charge customers different prices based on the kind of phone they use
🤬 - It's NOT OKAY to charge customers different prices based on the kind of phone they use

🪴Do you want to check if you're ready to speak on high level topics like "Dynamic Pricing"? Get your spot at an open Zoom meetup of our subscribers tomorrow, Wednesday, 6-7PM MSC time

Fill out the form today to get your invitation to our open Zoom tomorrow — this will open to you a different way of getting your English boosted

Saw this too late? Contact @ybeymlina to get life join-next-time instructions

📎Post with open Zoom details

🔪 Top-3 Most Butchered-Up Words of the Previous Week 📌 Learn from mistakes of others

Outcry for help from S2S assessors has been recorded:

"S.O.S.: this has to be stopped! Our users pronounce these words in an entirely unrecognisable way — we could barely understand what they were saying! Please - please - please, help them to learn how to pronounce these 3 words!"

dit-dah-dit-dah-dit (·−·−·)
End of message, in Morse code

🐿🆘 Of course, we couldn't ignore the outcry. Stepping in to remedy the situation ;)

Top-3 Butchered-Up Words, Corrected.
Drill their pronunication to be understood! Stressed syllables are in CAPS

🫧Alias
Meaning: a fake name
Pronunciation: /ˈEi.li.əs/
🫧Threat
Meaning: a danger, sth or smb that can hurt you
Pronunciation: /θrɛt/
🫧Critique
Meaning: a detailed opinion, review
Pronunciation: /krɪˈTIːK/

🎧 Sound on to listen to the correct pronunciation

Your turn
⭐️ I feel like a superhuman — will drop my voice messages with the 3 words, to drill their pronunciation once and for good!
🐷 Screw English, I'm done. Will learn the Morse code instead

📎 Pinned post about S2S

🚬 4 Corporate Phrases that Went So Wrong

Wanna pass for an insider in an Anglo-Saxon team? Unpack these 4 phrases

👁‍🗨 Juices worth the squeeze

Corporate meaning: The reward is worth the effort
Literal meaning: Imagine pressing a fruit so hard that its juice comes out
Usage: Moderately common, used to justify hard work or risk

👁‍🗨 Leaving no stone unturned

Corporate meaning: To search thoroughly; to explore every possibility
Literal meaning: Imagine someone physically turning over stones
Usage: Very common, in formal and informal contexts

👁‍🗨 Onboarding

Corporate meaning: The process of integrating a new employee/user
Literal meaning: Getting on a board (as if surfing or skating)
Usage: Very common in HR, tech, product design

👁‍🗨 Stakes have never been higher

Corporate meaning: The situation is extremely important or risky
Literal meaning: (!) Putting a meat "steak" 🥩 high in the air sounds the same, but the word is different in spelling, meaning, etimology. "Stake" and "steak" are homophones
Usage: Very common in business, media, politics

Resource
📌 Clickupcomedy IG account More reels making fun of American corp life and building brand for "Clickup". "Clickup" has raised $538M, they're an IT firm that offers IT, marketing, engineering, design, and operations solutions and products to improve workplace efficiency

Your turn
👩‍💼 I'm a corp slave
☕️ I'm free: work 24/7 with 0 days-off for myself
🐷 Work? Nah
We wanna learn more about you and how you use English in your life

🪴 You know the friend who'll say "Thank you" when you forward this post. Sharing is caring!

🌷 Your personal cheerleader 🌷 What's different about our approach to error correction in English and why it's important

3 things we do differently when we correct our users' English:

📌Pointing out achievements, not only errors
📌Delayed written feedback after speaking, so that you don't lose the flow
📌Helping you notice growth areas in Interaction patterns, not only Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation. We're here to grow your communication skills in English

👁 Have a look at a randomly selected Feedback report for one of S2S users
[Access the Google doc with the Feedback Report]

Meet the team who makes this happen for you. Today, we introduce to you Darya Mosina

💓 Cool facts about Darya

💓 Darya has 4 years of experience working across cultures. She's worked with international exchange students at Ryazan State Medical University. She's also contributed to their PR efforts by submitting blog posts about her experience
💓She's moved to a new city ans started life from scratch 2 times
💓Darya's message to S2S users:

"I am constantly amazed at how brave and open-minded you are, meeting new people and collaborating across cultures. How incredibly kind you are to each other!
I wish for you to regularly get hands-on English practice, face little challenges that will make you more confident and proud of yourselves.
Next step you can take already today: pretend to order a product or service from abroad and chat with a customer service representative. It's free!"

> UPD: Competion's completed
If you want to try S2S but not quite sure if it's a good fit for you — today is your day!
Guess: if Darya's #1, #2 or #3 in the picture and get a free trial
Hint: You can see her featured in the video "1 Question Intermediate Learners can Ask themselves to Build Connections" posted on Monday, Jul, 14
The winner will be randomly selected from the comments on Sunday

❤️ To thank Darya for her contributions to effective cross-border communication

📎 S2S website

⭐ Which Unicorn are YOU Today?
🫧Heavy assault - a very strong and intense attack
🫧Submersible - can go deep under water