Sen: Hello and welcome to our podcast, English Trips. I’m Sen, and I’ll give you expert guidance on how to make the most of these episodes as a language learning tool.

Today, we’re taking a trip to Kenya!

Are you learning English at the moment? Then this podcast is perfect for you. In each episode, we’ll take a virtual trip to a different part of the English-speaking world, where you’ll hear a real story from a real person… in English, of course!

Each episode focuses on a specific part of the language, such as a grammar topic. But don’t worry, this isn’t a grammar podcast. The main thing is that our stories are fun and interesting, and they also get you more comfortable with understanding the language!

Also, did you know that you can read along while you listen using our dynamic transcript? You’ll find the link in our show notes. Here’s a learning tip just for you: the first time you listen to the episode, follow along with the transcript. This will help you understand more of the story, and identify any difficult words or expressions. Then, listen a second, or even third time without the transcript, and see how much more you understand!

Our language focus for today is adverbs. We use adverbs to describe actions. They tell us how someone does something. Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective. Quiet → quietly, normal → normally, and so on. Listen up for how they’re used in today’s episode!

So, let’s go to Nairobi, in Kenya, where Akiko will tell us about an interesting pet she and her brother had when they were kids!

Akiko: Hey. I’m Akiko, and I’m from Nairobi, in Kenya. When I tell people that, they sometimes ask me, “Why is your English so good?”

Well, that’s because I have spoken English my whole life! Kenya was a British colony from 1895 to 1963. After Kenya won its independence, the British left, but their language stayed.

Today, Kenya has two official languages: English and Swahili.

Maybe you didn’t know that about Kenya, but you probably know about our wildlife. We have giraffes, cheetahs, lions, elephants, zebras, and crocodiles.

Everything you can see on a safari. But, we also have more common animals. In fact, most Kenyans have more contact with animals like cows, goats and chickens.

For example, at school, I learned the theory behind castrating a bull. Thank God it wasn’t a practical exam! Today, my story is about a different common animal: the chicken.

When I was 12 years old, my grandmother (Nyanya in Swahili) gave my family a Christmas gift: a chicken.

In many places in Europe, people normally bring a bottle of wine or flowers to dinner, but in Kenya, people sometimes give animals as gifts.

My grandmother gave us the chicken to eat, but my mother, who comes from Japan, didn’t like the idea of killing and eating this animal.

That is when my younger brother, Keizo, saw his chance. 

You see, my father is not an animal lover. We never had pets. Keizo really wanted one, but my father said no. When my mother decided not to eat the chicken, he saw a chance to finally have a pet.

He immediately fell in love with the chicken, and named him Pii-chan. In Japanese, “Pii” is the sound baby birds make, and “chan” is a common ending for kids’ names.

Every morning, Keizo woke up to feed Pii-chan, and after school he came home to see his new friend. It was a little strange, but also pretty cute.

Keizo did the same thing every day for two weeks: wake up, play with Pii-chan, go to school, come home, play with Pii-chan. Until one day. We got off the school bus, and went into our house.

We said hello to Regina, our maid. She visited her family outside Nairobi for Christmas, and it was her first day back. “We’ll have dinner at 7 o’clock. Be here on time or your food will be cold!”, she said.

Then, Keizo went to play with Pii-chan. But something was wrong. Pii-chan usually made a lot of noise in the backyard, but now he was silent.

Keizo quickly ran to the back of the house. The chicken was gone. He ran around the neighborhood looking for his little friend, but had no luck. Where was he? Did he run away?

When my brother came home, it was time for dinner.

We sat down at the table, and Keizo nervously asked us, “Has anyone seen Pii-chan?”

At that moment, Regina came in with our dinner. We smelled the meal, and suddenly realized what happened to Pii-chan. Keizo started crying. Can you guess what our meal was? Chicken casserole.

Sen: Oh no. I had a feeling something bad would happen to Pii-Chan, and I’m sure Keizo didn’t eat dinner that night. I wonder if he became a vegetarian after this. I wouldn’t be surprised!

Well, that’s all for today. Did you hear some more adverbs in the episode? Remember, if you want a bit more practice with this topic, you can always check out the grammar section in the Babbel app!

Finally, we’d love to hear what you think of the podcast. You can write us an email at podcasting@babbel.com, or simply leave a comment in your podcast app and we’ll see it. Thanks for listening, and see you next time for another exciting English trip!