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VOA Learning English presents news, features, audio, video and multimedia about the U.S. and the world in American English. Stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level. Words are spoken one-third slower for ESL learners.

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Level One articles are for beginning English learners.

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Let's Learn English - Level 1 and Level 2 are new courses for English learners. Certified American English teachers designed the courses for beginners. Ask a Teacher is a program where readers ask questions and teachers answer them.

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Level Two articles are meant for intermediate learners of American English.

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VOA Learning English - Intermediate Level

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Intermediate level articles are for individuals with a limited knowledge of American English. Stories are often between 500 words to 1,000 in length. They may include audio from newsmakers. New words are explained in the Words in This Story area at the bottom of the article.

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Article

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This is What's Trending Today...

Rubi Ibarra just celebrated a birthday she will never forget

Rubi is a teenager. She lives in the small community of La Joya in northern Mexico.

She turned 15 years old. So, her family planned a traditional quinceañera for her. A quinceañera is an important coming-of-age party for girls turning 15.

Her family created a Facebook event page for the party. The invitation was listed as public. That means anyone using Facebook could see it.

A few weeks before the party, a photographer placed a video to the page. The video showed Rubi's father describing what his daughter's party would be like. Crescendio Ibarra said there would be local musicians, food, prizes and horse races. He said "everyone is cordially invited." By everyone, the Ibarra family later explained, he simply meant everyone in nearby towns.

But the public invitation quickly went viral. As a result, "everyone" who saw it thought they were invited. More than 1 million people said on Facebook that they planned to attend the quinceañera.

The original video was seen millions of times on YouTube. Mexican music stars and personalities joked about attending the party.

Even a Mexican airline company offered low prices on flights to a city near Rubi's hometown. Its advertisements for the offer said, "Are you going to Rubi's party?"

The party was held on Monday, December 26. And, while 1 million people did not actually attend, Univision reported that more than 30,000 people showed up to help Rubi celebrate her 15th birthday.

Photographers and reporters from around the world were present. The Associated Press described the Mexican teenager as looking a bit " overwhelmed" by the attention, but " resplendent" in her dress.

Jose Antonio Sosa is an expert on social media at the Iberoamericana University. He said that Mexico's great interest in Rubi's party showed a desire for lighter, happier stories in the news.

And that's What's Trending Today....

I'm Bob Doughty.
Ashley Thompson adapted this story from an Associated Press report. George Grow was the editor.
Words in This Story

cordially - adv. politely pleasant and friendly

viral - adj. spreading very quickly to many people especially through the Internet

overwhelmed - v. have a strong emotional effect on.

resplendent - adj. very bright and attractive

dress - n. a piece of clothing for a woman or a girl that has a top part that covers the upper body and a skirt that hangs down to cover the legs

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Thousands Attend Mexican Girl's Birthday After Seeing Facebook Invitation

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This is What's Trending Today... Rubi Ibarra just celebrated a birthday she will never forget Rubi is a teenager. She lives in the small community of La Joya in northern Mexico. She turned 15 years old. So, her family planned a traditional quinceañera for her.

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Level Three articles are aimed at non-native English speakers who have studied American English and wish to improve their reading and listening skills.

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Level Three articles are aimed at non-native English speakers who have studied American English and wish to improve their reading and listening skills. Articles are usually more than 500 words in length and may include audio from newsmakers. Some may use more complex sentences or language. New words and idioms are explained in the Words in This Story area at the bottom of the article.

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Learn American English with VOA Learning English - Level Three

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Level 3 Articles are aimed at non-English speakers who have studied American English and wish to improve their reading and listening skills. Articles are usually more than 500 words long and may include audio from newsmakers. They also may use complex sentences or language.

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In this part, you can test your listening skills. Watch a short video and answer each question.​

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How was 2016?

English learners who are using Let's Learn English enjoy writing to tell us about their lives. At this time of year, we are looking back on the year and thinking about what we learned and what we want to do in the coming year.

Do you want to practice your writing in English? Write a note telling us about your year. Were there any big changes in your life? What did you learn? How did you learn it? What is your goal for 2017? We really want to get to know you better. You can write in the comments section below this article or send us an email using this link.

Review Quiz

In this quiz, you can test your listening skills and review the last five lessons. Watch a short video and answer each question.​

Lesson Review

Did you miss a lesson? Look back and see if you remember these grammar points and topics.
Lesson 35 Let's Make Dinner!
Grammar focus: Partitives (measure words); Count/Non-count Nouns (review)

Topics: Giving reasons for concern

Learning Strategy: Cooperate

Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Reduced "of" before consonants and vowels (in partitives)
Lesson 36: I Can Fix This!
Grammar focus: Prepositions of location

Topics: Asking the location of items; Names of locations in the kitchen

Learning Strategy: Substitute

Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Intonation patterns of compound nouns
Lesson 37: Let's Agree to Disagree
Grammar focus: Possessive Pronouns (mine, ours, their, theirs, her/hers, his/his)

Topics: Exchanging Opinions; Agreement & disagreement; Comparing things, places, & people

Learning Strategy: Personalize

Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Giving a reason for your opinion; Pronouncing possessive pronouns
Lesson 38: She's My Best Friend!
Grammar focus: Superlative Adjectives

Topics: Describing people, places, & things; Reporting details; Identifying positive & negative personal qualities

Learning Strategy: Evaluating

Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Stressing superlative adjectives
Lesson 39: It's Unbelievable!
Grammar focus: Adjectives with negative preﬁxes (in-, un-, dis-, im-)

Topics: Shopping online, Interpreting factual statements; Critical thinking about advertisements

Learning Strategy: Ask questions to clarify or get more information

Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using negative prefixes with adjectives; Pronouncing "comfortable" and "uncomfortable."

Holiday Songs

Want to sing carols or just practice singing in English? Here's a cute video you can sing along with.

And here's another especially for kids:
Now it's your turn. How are you using Let's Learn English? Tell us about where you live and how often you do these lessons. Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of these lessons.

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English learners who are using Let's Learn English enjoy writing to tell us about their lives. At this time of year, we are looking back on the year and thinking about what we learned and what we want to do in the coming year. Do you want to practice your writing in English?

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Voice of America - Learn American English with VOA Learning English

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Learn American English with English language lessons from Voice of America. VOA Learning English helps you learn English with vocabulary, listening and comprehension lessons through daily news and interactive English learning activities.

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