- Culture Corner | What do you hate about your culture?
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about aspects of their cultures that they strongly dislike.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:56
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host, Social and social. I thought today we could read the names of a couple of our our patrons.
00:01:09
발표자
Hmm.
00:01:09
Jack
And so.
00:01:12
Jack
The first one that I want to read is Isabel Isabel from.
00:01:17
Jack
Ireland. She's actually.
00:01:19
Xochitl
Thank you, Isabel.
00:01:20
Jack
Yeah. Thank you, Isabel. She's not from Ireland, but she lives in Ireland and uh, it's very exciting to have her as a patron for the show. Another one of our patrons is Johnny from China.
00:01:37
Xochitl
Thank you, Johnny.
00:01:38
Jack
Yeah. Thank you, Johnny. Johnny's been on the show. Actually. I interviewed him. And so he's. Yeah, he was on the podcast, and he's amazing. His If you talk to him, he sounds like he's got an American accent. Yeah, it's amazing. Just perfect.
00:01:41
Xochitl
Oh, it's great.
00:01:50
Xochitl
Oh wow.
00:01:55
Jack
Next up, we've got may from Malaysia.
00:01:58
Jack
Yeah.
00:01:59
Xochitl
Thank you. Day.
00:02:00
Jack
Yeah. And Salima from Iran.
00:02:04
Xochitl
Thank you, Selina.
00:02:05
Jack
Yeah. And Leila from Saudi Arabia.
00:02:09
Xochitl
Ohh, thank you, Layla. I love Layla.
00:02:11
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:02:12
Xochitl
Well, that has a very nice voice if anyone's ever heard her voice to the chat.
00:02:17
Jack
Yes.
00:02:17
Xochitl
I I test with labels boys.
00:02:20
Jack
Yeah, she's a very, very sweet voice. Very soft spoken, but yeah, very soothing. Yeah.
00:02:23
Xochitl
You have a soothing kind of.
00:02:24
Xochitl
A.
00:02:26
Xochitl
Calming voice I really enjoy.
00:02:27
Jack
Good, good, good podcasting voice, I think.
00:02:29
Xochitl
Yeah, I think she would, too, for sure. Anyway, thank you so much to our patrons who are supporting our exclusive content. It really, really allows Jack and I to make more content and higher quality content. So we really, really appreciate it. And thank you so much. Hopefully we will get some more supporters here. And thanks to those who have already begun to support us.
00:02:31
Jack
You know.
00:02:51
Jack
Yeah. So today's topic is things that you hate about your culture and uh, I'm not going to.
00:02:58
Jack
Talk about Korean culture. I'm going to stay away from that because it is not my place or my position to critique Korean culture. I've lived here for 30 or 20 years. But you know, when it comes to critiquing culture, I think you have to do it from your own culture. You know you have to because you're critiquing yourself too.
00:03:20
Jack
And.
00:03:21
Jack
The things about American culture, probably the number one problem that I have with American culture, is that we're very individualistic.
00:03:31
Jack
My problems are my problems. Your problems are your problems. Don't put your problems on me, you know, and I understand that attitude because in some ways I do hate when someone is.
00:03:46
Jack
In a in a interpersonal relationship where one person is always leaning on another person for help all the time and never able to like you know, support themselves. Yeah, yeah, I think that is negative, but I think I I think looking at the the.
00:03:57
Xochitl
Reciprocate.
00:04:05
Jack
Country as a whole and saying and seeing it all is just individuals, not as a as a group. You know, working together to try to make the society better and more equitable and fair for all of the people that live there. I think that's a bad thing. So.
00:04:24
Jack
So I think it it kind of shows up in like certain aspects of the culture. For example, our obsession with guns, you know?
00:04:37
Jack
Stay off my property. Get off my, get off my yard. Get out of my yard. Yeah, or or I'll shoot you. You know, this, this idea that we need to, you know, I need to have a gun and multiple guns in my house to protect all my stuff from, you know.
00:04:57
Jack
My neighbor who's going to try to steal my stuff and.
00:05:00
Jack
And I I don't know. I just feel like that we're, we're hyper obsessed. We're very obsessed with ourselves and.
00:05:11
Jack
I I think we're also obsessed with consuming things. You know, consumerism. That's another one that I think we should, I should mention, is that we're always.
00:05:22
Jack
We can't wait to buy the next thing that's going to make our lives perfect, you know, finally, if I just buy this one more thing, I'm going to be.
00:05:31
Jack
Happy.
00:05:32
Jack
Nope. I just got buy this one more thing. One more thing. One more thing, you know, and it really has nothing to do with making ourselves happy. A lot of times, buying things is about showing other people.
00:05:42
Jack
Ohh.
00:05:43
Jack
Successful we are, you know, look what I got. You know, I have this, but you don't have this. And so I think consumerism and individualism and obsession with guns is are are issues that I really have a problem with. But that just scratches the surface. You know, there's a lot more.
00:05:45
Xochitl
Right, yeah.
00:06:03
Jack
I could go into, but I'm not going to. I'll I'll jump to you and I'll kick it to you and let you share yours.
00:06:12
Xochitl
Jack, I think.
00:06:12
Xochitl
You pretty much covered things I really dislike about the US, especially our gun culture is another aspect that I really dislike about the US we have a problem with gun culture. We endanger the lives of children every single day. It's uncontrolled and it really just.
00:06:32
Xochitl
Exists for no other purpose than for gun nuts to boost their egos.
00:06:39
Xochitl
I'm thinking they could start a militia that could rival the US military, which would never happen.
00:06:45
Xochitl
And.
00:06:46
Xochitl
It it it's just.
00:06:49
Xochitl
It's ridiculous, honestly, and it's unfortunate because our inability as a culture to condemn these rampant unsafe gun culture leads to so many tragedies, both on a personal and a cultural.
00:07:08
Xochitl
Well, and so it's something that I really, really dislike about US culture, another another culture that I'm a part of is Mexican culture. And I have a couple of critiques for Mexican culture as well.
00:07:22
Xochitl
One is that older generations will push around and demand things from the younger generation and the amount of control that they're comfortable having over.
00:07:31
Xochitl
Younger generations just feel so inappropriate from a western lens, and because I was raised in both cultures, it it can be hard for me to swallow at times. And it's interesting to me because, for example, my mom or other older people will often boss me around or expect a lot to for me to do a lot for them.
00:07:41
Jack
Yeah.
00:07:52
Xochitl
Like a servant almost.
00:07:54
Xochitl
And.
00:07:56
Xochitl
I just saw, you know, people.
00:07:58
Xochitl
Older than my mom and my aunt who were also family, treat my mom and my aunt the same way and they really didn't like it. They had kind of forgotten that staple of Mexican culture in a way, and they had remembered to do it to me, but they had kind of forgotten what it was like for it to be done to them. And so it I think it's an aspect of culture that you see.
00:08:18
Xochitl
In a lot of cultures I know that this is a staple in some East Asian cultures. I know that this can happen. African cultures as well.
00:08:23
Jack
Yeah, there is like that.
00:08:26
Xochitl
UM, but it's definitely a difficult.
00:08:31
Xochitl
Uh, aspect of the culture to grapple with, and it's something that makes me uncomfortable. I really hope when I'm older that I don't push you around or boss around the younger generation or feel that I'm superior just because I have more experience. There is benefits to having more experience. I think that there's since we can respect from someone who is older than us and has more experience.
00:08:51
Xochitl
But I do believe in mutual respect and mutual appreciation, appreciating things those people do for you, appreciating things that them and them appreciating things you do for them as well.
00:09:03
Jack
It's like you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. It's like if you treat treat them and lovingly and and they they'll want to take care of you. It's not instead of just saying like you will take care of me. I'm, you know, bossing you around, telling you what to do. You could do it in a much nicer way. It's it's like it's.
00:09:07
Xochitl
Yes, yes.
00:09:13
Xochitl
Right.
00:09:17
발표자
Right.
00:09:23
Jack
It's it's it's kind of an interesting thing because I think in Korea, maybe they they have the same situation.
00:09:28
Jack
Where when you're younger, you get abused, you know, by the older people. But then once you're the older people, then you get to abuse younger people. It's like somebody needs to stop this cycle of abuse, you know, like, let's just cut the, you know, cut it off and just be nice to each other, you know? But it's just it's not.
00:09:37
Xochitl
Few.
00:09:38
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:09:41
Xochitl
Right.
00:09:49
Jack
It's very hard to change culture. Culture is.
00:09:53
Jack
It's it's it's it's like a bullet train, you know, like it's got so much, uh, weight and and power behind it. It's very hard to stop it and.
00:09:54
Xochitl
Very instilled.
00:10:02
Jack
Slow it down, you know.
00:10:05
Xochitl
Another thing that I dislike about Mexican culture is that I feel that we can be really xenophobic. And it's strange because we have. We're a multicultural country, we have Jewish people, we have people of African descent that came across on the slave ships. We have people of East Asian descent. We have people of Southeast Asian.
00:10:26
Xochitl
Designed of of South Asian to.
00:10:28
Xochitl
And of course, we are a nation of Native Americans, and we have.
00:10:35
Xochitl
European ancestry as well due to colonization, but.
00:10:42
Xochitl
We sometimes in Mexican culture take a hostile attitude towards.
00:10:47
Xochitl
People who are from different cultures, that there's there's a lot of hostility sometimes towards.
00:10:55
Xochitl
Immigrants in a way. Uh and.
00:10:59
Xochitl
It's weird. It's kind of weird behavior. It reminds me a little bit of of how uh, Korea isn't my culture, so I'm not trying to get docs here, but I do remember when I went there there was a completely different treatment, how I was treated versus how my black coworker was treated.
00:11:18
Jack
Hmm.
00:11:19
Xochitl
And.
00:11:20
Xochitl
It was painful to watch her, like, go to the bank and then get rejected versus I basically got VIP treatment. When I walked into the bank and it's just I feel that sometimes we're somewhere in Mexico. There's a huge aspect of colorism that comes from the colonial hierarchy, because, of course, the Spanish were white, were at the.
00:11:40
Xochitl
Top.
00:11:40
Xochitl
Indigenous people were kind of in the mid range and then black people were at the bottom of the cultural hierarchy and then there was a.
00:11:48
Xochitl
Hierarchy for every single different mix and a name for every single different mix that you could get from any of those.
00:11:55
Xochitl
So I think unfortunately.
00:11:59
Xochitl
That caste system does bleed through in colorism that we see in modern day Mexico and in how we think and perceive learners. And I also think another part that's similar with Korean culture as well is that we were colonized nation. So sometimes we.
00:12:18
Xochitl
We value the preservation of our culture very strongly, but that can come out in the wrong way too. And it's a beautiful thing. But it's something that.
00:12:32
Xochitl
We need to recognize our influences from other cultures in every aspect of any culture in the world.
00:12:37
Jack
Yeah, too much patriotism can be a little bit. Yeah. I don't know what you would call it. Ethnocentrism or something like that.
00:12:43
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:12:46
Xochitl
Yeah, like ethnocentrism. And it's kind of invented because.
00:12:51
Xochitl
Uh, you can hear African beats in traditional Mexican music. You can hear hear the tacos that we eat. Some of them are fashioned after Middle Eastern immigrants do.
00:12:56
Jack
Sure.
00:13:07
Xochitl
Chinese immigrants made a lot of cultural impact. They were the second biggest immigrant immigrant group after the Spanish to Mexico, and so.
00:13:15
Jack
Hmm.
00:13:18
Xochitl
Yeah, I think we need to appreciate all of that diversity in a respectful way.
00:13:25
Jack
Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting to hear you talk like that because you know, as an American, we we, you know, have have obviously recently in the news heard about.
00:13:37
Jack
The immigrants coming across the Mexican border into America being treated really, really poorly.
00:13:45
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:13:46
Jack
And and and and judged and and considered lower class citizens. And all this sort of stuff. Right and.
00:13:55
Xochitl
Thanks.
00:13:57
Jack
And to hear that that same thing occurs in Mexico as well, it's kind of it's kind of surprising, you know, because you think like ohh, if you're the victim of it, then you'll never be the perpetrator of the same behavior. But it's that's not true you.
00:14:03
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:14:13
Jack
No. Yeah, I think. And also I mean, for being honest, like a lot of gun violence in Mexico is a symptom of all the guns that we make in America and and, you know, and the.
00:14:25
발표자
OK.
00:14:30
Xochitl
Yep, Yep.
00:14:34
Jack
And the if you're talking about cartel money or things like that, a lot of that money comes from drugs they sell in America because Americans have an insatiable.
00:14:45
Jack
Need and and lust for drugs. So it's like, you know, it's a very toxic relationship, you know, between the two countries. And so those are the aspects of the the culture that I really I I I agree with you 100% I I wish that we could somehow solve these problems you know.
00:14:48
Xochitl
Yes.
00:15:04
Xochitl
Yeah. All right, listen as well, if you have something that you would like to share that you hate about your own culture or strongly dislike.
00:15:11
Xochitl
Make sure to leave a comment down below at A-Z englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com. We love to read, listen our emails. We can read them on the podcast without mentioning your name. Is that something that you would like or you would be interested in? So don't be shy about sending emails. We really do enjoy.
00:15:31
Xochitl
Reading them here on the pod and reading listener.
00:15:34
Xochitl
Join the WeChat and WhatsApp groups to join the conversation and we will see you guys next.
00:15:38
Xochitl
Time. Bye bye.
00:15:39
Jack
Bye.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-spoon-theory/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE15 - 16m - May 16, 2024 - EXCLUSIVETopic Talk | The future of AI and its effect on people's jobs
In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about the future of AI and how it is going to affect people's jobs.
Transcript:
00:00:56
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are doing a topic talk and today's topic is the future of AI and how it's going to affect jobs and.
00:01:11
Jack
I feel like you have a kind of first hand experience with this, or at least first hand knowledge of this and maybe you could share it with our listeners.
00:01:21
Xochitl
Jack UMI know that when AI was first coming out, I believe that we had hope as a culture, that automated technology would be used to take over the more laborious and difficult tasks, and that as humans we would have a more peaceful and easy existence with production being relied on by machinery.
00:01:43
Xochitl
Primarily, and things like art, poetry, philosophy and all the fun things could be for humans to dwell on and.
00:01:55
Xochitl
Wait. Unfortunately, it's kind of gone the other way, and now AI AI is being used to produce art and poetry and screenplays. And so that was a huge reason for the writer strike in Hollywood. If you're familiar with that. And and it's a huge reason that artists are striking.
00:02:15
Xochitl
And not producing their content to be available on the Internet anymore because their art is getting stolen, said to AI artificial intelligence and then artificial intelligence is creating art styles from a lot of these profiles.
00:02:31
발표자
So.
00:02:31
Jack
And I'll just want to add one more thing about the Hollywood strike. It also is that they want to be able to use your image. So let's say, for example, there's there's a scene in a coffee shop.
00:02:44
Jack
And there they won't. There will no longer be extras.
00:02:49
Jack
In the background.
00:02:51
Jack
It'll just be a green screen of of a of basically.
00:02:56
Jack
They just have, like lots of different examples of of people sitting in restaurants and then you'll have your actors at the table and then the green screen in the background will just be filled in with AI people.
00:03:11
Jack
And so that's where they're heading to. So heading to the point where you no longer need that many people for a production, you just need, you don't need background at characters and stuff. You just, they just those will be superimposed through AI in the background and it'll fill the the cafe or the.
00:03:31
Jack
Restaurants or the movie theater or whatever will just be there won't be any real people there. It'll just be all put in afterwards through.
00:03:41
Jack
Right.
00:03:42
Xochitl
I had no idea about this. That's insane. On top of that, I know that AI is being used.
00:03:52
Xochitl
To produce like deep things which are confusing because they can like recreate like they AI could virtually at this point, if Jack and I.
00:04:03
Xochitl
Were interesting enough.
00:04:04
Xochitl
They could take our voice saying multiple different things and they could create a podcast episode of A-Z.
00:04:11
Jack
Right. Yeah, exactly. Exactly, yeah.
00:04:11
Xochitl
And they could, with AI create that and use deep fakes basically to to mock our voices, like imitate our voices, and they could use the video footage to recreate our faces, making different expressions and talking. And so they're becoming more and more realistic, which is a problem.
00:04:30
Xochitl
On top of that, they're they're starting to use AI influencers too, so, you know, influencers age out or they stop becoming trendy or what have you. And they're also expensive because.
00:04:44
Xochitl
Companies have to pay influencers to promote a product for every single appearance, for every single story mentioned, yeah.
00:04:51
Jack
Even like travel time, getting on an airplane, airplane tickets, that sort of stuff, it's just expensive staying.
00:04:57
Jack
At hotel, yeah.
00:04:59
Xochitl
So now they can make AI, or they're trying to make AI influencers.
00:05:06
Xochitl
And one thing.
00:05:07
Xochitl
Where it affected me recently, I wasn't even aware of is someone suggested I take up a job doing AI annotation which I will not be doing, but essentially it's a job that you can take where you annotate translations done by AI. So I is interpreter, translator.
00:05:25
Xochitl
I would be fixing and tweaking responses or translations and interpretations that AI has created.
00:05:33
Xochitl
In order to make. Yeah, I'm TA I yes.
00:05:33
Jack
Teaching the AI right, teaching the AI.
00:05:38
Jack
A. How to steal your job, basically.
00:05:40
Xochitl
Yes, which I don't want to do. And so at that point.
00:05:42
Jack
Right.
00:05:48
Xochitl
It's just.
00:05:49
Xochitl
Wild to think that so many of these jobs that are.
00:05:54
Xochitl
Key to our survival, to our human relationships, to the way we interact with the world. The reality as we know it is can be completely simply taken over by AI. And I think we're going to have to see legislature, which means laws come into place in the near future regulating what AI is allowed to and not allowed to do.
00:06:15
Xochitl
And which jobs AI will be allowed to and not allowed to take over, and hopefully that will benefit us. But you just think about the amount of energy and funding that was put into AI being able to take over jobs that are kind of easier on the body.
00:06:32
Xochitl
And whatnot and realizing that all the hard labor that is acting. Yeah, yeah.
00:06:38
Jack
Yeah. Ditch digging. Yeah, construction.
00:06:42
Jack
Used to be, yeah.
00:06:43
Xochitl
Underpaid labor that gets paid a terrible wage for such a completely exhausting job that wears you down is not being replaced by AI. It's things like art and translation and interpreting and screen writing and acting and all those fun.
00:07:04
Xochitl
Human beings are going to be taken over by AI. It just really makes me.
00:07:08
Xochitl
Things.
00:07:08
Jack
And it's all mediocre, mediocre arts, mediocre translation. Mediocre. You know, it doesn't. You take away the human, the human touch to it. I I just don't think AI is able to.
00:07:21
Jack
I I don't know. I I don't think an AI poem is ever going to be able to come close to a real poet, you know?
00:07:32
Xochitl
It can. It can replicate what we've captured so far of the human experience, but it cannot think and ponder on on new experiences.
00:07:43
Jack
I've been told it's like this. I've heard it explained like this, it's like UM.
00:07:48
Jack
It's like a, it's like a glorified uh auto fill.
00:07:53
Xochitl
Kind of.
00:07:54
Jack
Yeah, I mean, that's what we're talking about here. We're. Let's not. I don't think we should be in such awe of chat. Sorry, I'm not going to say the name of the the company, but I don't think we should be in such awe of these like AI programs or platforms or what.
00:08:11
Jack
Whatever. And I, you know, to the point where where we think it's magic, like it's just algorithms and and data bases and things like that. And it is amazing like it it can do a lot of stuff and I use those platforms you know, but I'm also not.
00:08:31
Jack
You know, to the point not to the point where I'm like, oh, I can't wait till there's no need for real poets anymore. And then we just get all of our poetry and our screenplays and our our books, all written by, you know, AI.
00:08:47
Jack
That seems like such a dull, sad world. Like I, you know.
00:08:52
Jack
I want my heart to come from human people from you know? Yeah.
00:08:57
Xochitl
Right.
00:08:59
Xochitl
Yeah. All right, listeners. Well, I hope you enjoyed this topic. Talk, Jack, and I definitely had an interesting time addressing some of the issues with AI and our opinions about AI. Make sure to leave a comment down below to let us know what you think and how maybe it's affecting your country, your culture, your job.
00:09:16
Xochitl
Aspects we'd be really interested to know. You can also shoot us a listener e-mail Jack and I again. We really love getting listener emails. If you want us to read them on the pod, we're more than happy to umm. If you want us to omit your name, just let us know in the e-mail. And again, we really love receiving bills and make sure to join the lead China WhatsApp group so you can talk to us directly.
00:09:37
Xochitl
Join our exclusive podcast.
00:09:41
Xochitl
Program. I don't know what to call it. If you can spare the dollar 99, we have some exclusive episodes just for subscribers and we are working on a project where we will include some kind of loosening comprehension test and fun things for you guys to get a little bit.
00:10:02
Xochitl
Use and yeah, we will see you guys next time. Bye bye.
00:10:07
Jack
Bye.
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE26 - 10m - May 15, 2024 - Topic Talk | Spoon Theory
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about spoon theory:
Spoon Theory: The Spoon Theory is a metaphor used to explain the limited amount of energy and resources that people with chronic illnesses or disabilities have to accomplish daily tasks and activities. It was coined by Christine Miserandino in 2003 in an essay she wrote to explain her experience with lupus to a friend.
Transcript:
00:00:01
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social and today social and I are going to talk about something called Spoon theory and I don't really know what this is, to be honest. I am kind of ignorant on this topic, but social is going to explain.
00:00:22
Jack
The meaning of spoon theory and then we are going to complain like a couple of old people about all of our physical ailments that we're dealing with, right? So, OK, awesome. Alright. What is spoon theory? Social.
00:00:34
Xochitl
Yes.
00:00:39
Xochitl
So spoon theory is a metaphor, and it describes the amount of physical or mental energy that you have available for daily activities. So if you live with chronic pain or chronic illness, whether it's mental or physical or both, you're kind of limited in a way that other people aren't. And so.
00:00:59
Xochitl
The idea is that you have a set amount of spoons. Let's say you have 10 spoons for your day, and then things that other people don't realize take up energy because they have.
00:01:09
Xochitl
A more fit body do take up energy for people with chronic pain. So let's say getting up and out of bed, taking a shower, making something to eat.
00:01:23
Xochitl
Even getting ready for bed, getting dressed, all those things can put strain on your body and eat up your spoon. So maybe by the time you even get ready to go to work, you're down 5 spoons and someone who doesn't have chronic illness might have just used a spoon or half a spoon of energy to do all those.
00:01:44
Jack
Yeah. And let's just, uh, quickly, uh, unpack a little bit of the vocabulary. Chronic means, like, always constant. So chronic pain means you're always in pain from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. You have some kind of pain.
00:01:54
발표자
Yes.
00:02:04
Jack
Issue.
00:02:05
Jack
And and so social was describing like, like the spoons are not literally spoons. We're not talking about real spoons. We're saying, like, they're like metaphors. Like, you got 10 spoons and.
00:02:19
Xochitl
They're like units of energy, basically.
00:02:21
Jack
Units of energy. Right. Exactly. And so.
00:02:24
Xochitl
Like hit points on a video game when your character has like a little green.
00:02:28
Xochitl
R.
00:02:30
Jack
Yeah, right. Energy. Your power gets, you know, goes down and down and down, yeah.
00:02:30
Xochitl
And then yeah it.
00:02:35
Xochitl
If your character is a healthy character, let's say they did all their tests and their bar is still green. But if your character has chronic illness, then by the time they're done with their morning routine, they might be down to yellow. They might be.
00:02:47
Xochitl
Down to half points.
00:02:49
Jack
Right. And let's say your energy level for the day for a person with chronic pain is 10 spoon.
00:02:55
발표자
And.
00:02:56
Jack
Like social said, getting ready in the morning, making breakfast, taking a shower, getting dressed, that might be 5 spoons, which means you only have 5 left for the whole day, so you get the bus, get to work, open your computer. You know, there's three more spoons now. You've got 2 spoons.
00:02:56
Xochitl
Yes.
00:03:17
Jack
Left, you don't even have enough to get home, you know.
00:03:20
Xochitl
Right.
00:03:22
Jack
Until you hit the wall right and you're so exhausted.
00:03:22
Xochitl
And.
00:03:24
Xochitl
Right.
00:03:26
Xochitl
And a lot of people get through their day-to-day on like a spoon deficit. So you're, but you're the concept basically suggests you're borrowing spoons. You're borrowing energy from your next day, which is how people who have chronic illness might end up pushing through of five day work week and doing 40 hours a week.
00:03:46
Xochitl
But then on the weekend, they're just laying in bed the whole 2 days.
00:03:50
Jack
Right. They're just totally wiped.
00:03:52
Jack
That out. OK, I love the idea of spoon theory. I think it's a really good. I'm not sure why they call it spoons. Like use spoons as the as the example, but it could be anything. Yeah.
00:04:02
Xochitl
Right. I don't know. I think I think because you run out, you run out. I don't know if this is true or not, but you know when you're doing dishes like you only have a certain amount of spoons and you have to do the dishes again.
00:04:13
Jack
Ohh yeah, that's right that that's probably it. Yeah. I think that makes sense. Yeah, so.
00:04:16
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:04:20
발표자
So.
00:04:22
Jack
Uh, I'll, I'll. I'll start with myself here first. Uh, I've been. I've been dealing with. Uh, a chronic chronic back pain for probably 20 years, I would say.
00:04:34
Jack
I had my first.
00:04:36
Jack
My first surgery, my first back surgery for disc.
00:04:42
Jack
Problems when I was 27.
00:04:45
Jack
And and then, uh, probably about 10 years later, maybe 15 years later, I had another back surgery for more disc problems. And now for the last like maybe three weeks. I've been dealing with some serious chronic pain just all the time.
00:05:07
Jack
With my back and my discs again. So what? What I find is when you're in pain all the time.
00:05:16
Jack
You're more tired.
00:05:18
Jack
You can't exercise, so when you eat you get bored. You just sitting around. So. So in for me, I'll eat more to, like comfort myself, which makes me.
00:05:30
Xochitl
Have something to do right? Yeah.
00:05:32
Jack
Gain weight, which makes my back hurt more, which makes me more depressed, which makes me want to eat more, which makes me not exercise more and it's like a a horrible spiral. You know, as I just go down the drain, you know, and things are getting worse and worse, so.
00:05:48
발표자
Right.
00:05:50
Jack
So.
00:05:51
Jack
Yeah. So I so I I know what the spoon theory thing you're talking about is like there are times where I go to work and I run out of spoons, you know, by the my third class, I'm just like.
00:06:04
Jack
I don't. Whatever. You know what, guys? Just take a rest and, you know, draw a picture on your paper or whatever you wanted to, you know, talk with your friend like I'm completely. I'm done. Like I I don't have the the mental capacity.
00:06:15
Xochitl
All right.
00:06:23
Jack
Or the physical capacity to do this anymore?
00:06:27
Jack
And and it's a really, it's a really depressing way to live because living with pain all the time means you're kind of always thinking about the pain. It's always in your mind. And then that leaves a little bit of space for you to think about and deal with other people. So I find that I'm really short tempered.
00:06:38
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:06:47
Jack
With my wife, I'm like, short with my wife. You know, my wife will ask me a question. Like what? You know, what do you want for dinner? What? You know that. That's my response to something like that. And it's like it's so rude.
00:06:59
Jack
And so disgusting of a response. But it's not. It's not because I was mad at her or anything to do with her. It's just cuz I was in some pain. I'm just like not able to focus. Like what? What did you say? Like I I can't. I can't even hear what other people are saying to me. And I really hate being like this. Like it. Really.
00:06:59
Xochitl
Right.
00:07:18
Jack
It really makes me frustrated and I and I.
00:07:21
Jack
Can't get good.
00:07:22
Jack
Sleep because I can't lie on my side. It hurts if I lie on my back. It hurts if I.
00:07:27
Jack
Lie on my other side, it hurts.
00:07:28
Jack
So it's really I've I've been dealing with this and and I know that you also have understand what I'm saying, cuz I think you've dealt with some like physical issues as well.
00:07:38
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:07:39
Xochitl
Definitely, Jack. I I completely understand what you're saying. I was born with.
00:07:45
Xochitl
Borderline hip dysplasia and both hips, and that just means my anatomy is wonky, so my bone is like here instead of being here, it's like on the edge of where it's supposed to be. And every time I walk it, like beats up the other bone I.
00:08:01
Xochitl
So it like pinches and it's really bad in one hip specifically, which has become weaker due to the pain, but it's really hard to do physical therapy with it because.
00:08:09
발표자
MHM.
00:08:14
Xochitl
I'm in pain, so it's hard to start doing exercises around it because it hurts more and it's more tiring and I have like a very limited.
00:08:25
Xochitl
Amount of what I can do in one day.
00:08:28
Xochitl
Which means that I'll if I feel like I have energy to do something, I'll do as much as I can in one day and then I'll end up borrowing spoons for the next day. So I'm totally crashed out the next day. I have no energy and I know what you mean. I can also get really short tempered. Uh, one thing, a lot of people don't realize is that.
00:08:47
Xochitl
It affects your sleep.
00:08:49
Jack
Right.
00:08:49
Xochitl
So imagine that you had really poor sleep for like a week straight. At that point, if you're only sleeping.
00:09:01
Xochitl
Far less hours a night than you're supposed to be, far less comfortably. You probably start getting confused, agitated, irritable.
00:09:12
Xochitl
And unfortunately, people around you suffer because.
00:09:15
Xochitl
You can snap at them unexpectedly.
00:09:18
Jack
You're not gonna snap at strangers. You know you're gonna snap it. You're the people that you love because you know that they can't abandon you. You know, it's like.
00:09:25
Xochitl
Right. You're comfortable with, you're comfortable around them and you're also interacting with them?
00:09:29
Xochitl
More, yeah.
00:09:30
Xochitl
On a daily basis than you would with any strangers, right. So.
00:09:34
Xochitl
It does. It is really hard. It it's one of the reasons that I have a hard time.
00:09:39
Xochitl
Finding a full time job that I can do is because.
00:09:45
Xochitl
I only have so many spoons in a day and I really struggled with college when I was in college for the same reason. It's not that the work was too hard.
00:09:52
Xochitl
For.
00:09:53
Xochitl
Me. It was that I would just get so burnt out in a day from I didn't. I like. I won't sleep well. I'm not eating well. I feel terrible. I can't walk well. Some days I really have to drag myself around.
00:10:08
Xochitl
Get anywhere and I think.
00:10:12
Xochitl
It really puts a strain on what you can do in any given day and a lot of people just don't understand.
00:10:17
Xochitl
And especially when it's kind of an invisible disability. So like people like Jack and I, we might look fine to people on the outside, but we're suffering internally through all these physical and emotional stressors because it does affect your mental well-being as well.
00:10:35
Jack
Yeah, chronic pain is is a it. It doesn't just affect your body, it it affects your mind as well it it. It plays games with.
00:10:42
Jack
Your.
00:10:43
Jack
With your mind and and changes your personality and and your outlook on life and and everything so.
00:10:49
Jack
Ohh yeah trying trying to overcome it. If you can find some way of dealing with like physical therapy or some kind of you know if there's a if there's a way out of it. I highly recommend pursuing it if it's possible and staying away from like painkillers and opiates and that sort of stuff.
00:11:12
Jack
Because that stuff is.
00:11:13
Jack
Just uh masks the pain for a little while, but then that'll send you down a whole, you know, could send you.
00:11:20
Xochitl
Ohh, their wormhole, right? Yeah.
00:11:21
Jack
Yes, exactly, exactly so there. You know, there isn't really necessarily always a good solution to our problems. You know, sometimes they can throw painkillers at it. That's not gonna solve the problem.
00:11:33
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:11:34
Jack
Yeah.
00:11:35
Xochitl
It's like seeding the monster temporarily, then it like rears its ugly head again.
00:11:40
Jack
Yeah, it it gives you, you get a week of, you know, like a kind of uh. But then you're foggy, you know, you you're not yourself, you know, so.
00:11:48
Xochitl
And you can also get your table like as soon as you're off the pain meds or as soon as anything. Yeah, and you get dependent on them. So I think it. Yeah, I I really haven't had much. I did get an injection, A cortisol injection in my hip.
00:11:52
Jack
All right, absolutely, absolutely.
00:12:03
Xochitl
That worked for about two weeks, and then the pain is back, I suppose, to work for average to three to six months. So I'm like, well, totally didn't work. So I burned through that. So we shall see. But yeah, it is. It is a frustrating condition and I think.
00:12:11
Jack
You're like, whoops.
00:12:23
Xochitl
First world so-called first world countries are just now starting to treat chronic pain as its own condition, not just the underlying cause, but managing it on its own. And we're just now making strides and.
00:12:37
Xochitl
Making accommodations for it in the workplace, and I think we're making big leaps, but yeah, I'm curious to know about your guys's experience as listeners. Do any of you suffer with chronic pain or chronic health conditions? Obviously, only share as much as you're comfortable sharing, but yeah, I'm just curious to know what, what are things like in your country?
00:12:56
Xochitl
UM, how does it operate in your country and your culture?
00:12:59
Xochitl
There.
00:13:01
Xochitl
Yeah, I'm very interested to know. So leave us a comment down below at AZ englishpodcast.com. Shoot us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com.
00:13:10
Xochitl
And make sure to join the we chat and WhatsApp groups to talk to us directly. If you can spare $1.99 Jack and I are making exclusive episodes for subscribers. This really helps us to be able to increase the level and amount of content that we're making. So we really appreciate your support and thank you so much to those of you who have subscribed.
00:13:31
Xochitl
Ready. And I'll see you the next.
00:13:33
Xochitl
Time. Bye bye.
00:13:34
Jack
Bye bye.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-spoon-theory/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE25 - 15m - May 14, 2024 - EXCLUSIVECulture Corner | Apps you need to navigate the United States
In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack recommend some apps that will help you get around if you decide to visit the United States.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:55
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are in the culture corner and social. We're talking about like what apps you would need if you were going to live and navigate the United States.
00:01:16
Jack
You know.
00:01:16
Xochitl
OK. Jack, I have some good ones that I think you really need one that I would like to say is that Google is king in the US and I know that in Korea and and China and some other certain countries, you guys use a different search engine, which means kind of like a a web page where you can look up anything.
00:01:36
Xochitl
You guys don't usually use Google. You might use like uh.
00:01:40
Xochitl
What's the Korean 1 gun?
00:01:42
Jack
There's neighbor and there's Dom. There's a couple of different ones, yeah.
00:01:43
Xochitl
Neighbor. Yeah. And so there's a few different ones.
00:01:47
Xochitl
I know China is the same way. I know a lot of countries are the same way. They have their own search engine, but in the US, Google is the key search engine. So you want to have Google Maps on your phone.
00:01:57
Xochitl
If you don't have an iPhone, if you have an iPhone you want to have Apple maps, that will have everything accurate. You definitely need a maps app on your phone because you're gonna navigate right when you go to the US.
00:02:12
Xochitl
This and those apps, both Google and Apple, can tell you how to get around using public transportation is kind of like local maps in Korea or neighbor maps, so it's really beneficial in those ways. Another thing I would say that you absolutely need is a Facebook, you know that a lot of people don't have Facebook in their home.
00:02:32
Xochitl
Countries don't really use it, but here in.
00:02:37
Xochitl
The US we use Facebook as a primary method of communication. The Messenger app, which is associated with Facebook, is one of the primary ways people message each other and communicate kind of like how other countries use WhatsApp or WeChat. We use Facebook Messenger.
00:02:55
Jack
OK.
00:02:56
Xochitl
Yeah, I would say those are a few big ones that you definitely have to have.
00:03:00
Xochitl
Yes.
00:03:01
Jack
Now Facebook and Instagram are actually owned by the same company by Facebook, right? Or by? Yeah, I forgot. What's the Facebook's company name? It's it's called meta. Yeah, right. Or meta. Meta. Yeah.
00:03:06
Xochitl
Yeah. Messenger, Facebook, Instagram. They're all owned by.
00:03:13
Xochitl
Nada. Nada. I think. Nada. Nada.
00:03:18
Jack
So if you have an Instagram account or a Facebook account, you can still message people through Instagram or through Facebook, right? As my daughter seen told me, she likes to message message people through.
00:03:27
발표자 3
Hmm.
00:03:32
Jack
Program.
00:03:33
Xochitl
Yeah, it's common to message people through Instagram. Another really common way to message people is on Snapchat. In the US, I've never liked Snapchat. My generation and younger generations really use it a lot to communicate, but I really never could get into it. It's so it's like there's usually little videos and stuff. People send each other.
00:03:54
Xochitl
And stories and like.
00:03:56
Xochitl
It just.
00:03:58
Xochitl
It's always loud. You you never know what? Yeah. You never know what you're going to get in a message. So I.
00:03:58
Jack
Too much?
00:04:03
Xochitl
Just don't like it.
00:04:05
Xochitl
I like just being able to read like a wall of text and then kind of go from there versus having to like, listen to something on a loop a few times.
00:04:12
Xochitl
Or, you know whatever. Yeah.
00:04:12
Jack
Yeah, you just like good old American, old fashioned American Facebook. You know, the boring your aunts and uncles are all on there and you know, it's just, it's the old people app. But I I love it. You know, I it's.
00:04:18
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:04:27
Jack
It's my speed.
00:04:28
Jack
You know, I can handle it, yeah.
00:04:29
발표자 3
Yeah.
00:04:31
발표자
I think a.
00:04:31
Xochitl
Lot of the younger generations still uses Facebook. I had some younger generations from other countries like Canada and stuff don't, and so I had some Canadian friends that were my same age when I was in Korea and I remember they used to make fun of me. Like, what are you, a grandma because you still have Facebook, but a lot of younger people in the US.
00:04:51
Xochitl
Still have Facebook and they use Facebook or Messenger or whatever.
00:04:55
Jack
Yeah, I never saw it as like an old. I mean it. It became an old person's thing. But what it became is like like a like.
00:05:03
Jack
A platform that everyone has, but it's like a boring. Uh, it's like having a telephone in your house. You know, it's like.
00:05:10
Xochitl
Or.
00:05:10
Xochitl
A e-mail.
00:05:12
Jack
It's like a utility, exactly like, uh, like having a yeah. Yeah. It's like I have, of course, I have a Facebook account. It's like I have a phone. I have a Facebook account. I have an e-mail account. Yeah, it it's not cool. I don't, you know, go on there to like, you know, hang out and stuff. But it's a very functional.
00:05:14
Xochitl
Yeah. What do you do there?
00:05:22
Xochitl
I have an e-mail.
00:05:24
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:05:32
Jack
Kind of easy platform to use.
00:05:35
Jack
And so I feel like it's more, it's more of like a utility, you know, just just, just something everyone needs in America.
00:05:46
Xochitl
And everything. A lot of people have is TikTok, people message through TikTok and also it's just a short form video platform and I think it's really useful if you're like in the US you will get content from the US on your TikTok and I think it's helpful because it kind of gives you some cultural.
00:06:04
Xochitl
Insight and and besides that, I think it's really important to use things like Yelp, Google Reviews, Reddit because you can look up recommendations for wherever you are about like what restaurants to eat at and you can.
00:06:18
Xochitl
See how they're.
00:06:18
Xochitl
Reviewed Reddit, you can kind of see what other people suggest. Sometimes there will be subreddits.
00:06:24
Xochitl
For your city that you're living in. So if you're like an exchange student, or if you want to visit a city like let's say you want to plan a trip to Chicago or New York or something, you can check out the subreddit.
00:06:35
Xochitl
It's a way that I planned my trip when I went to Seattle.
00:06:38
Xochitl
Is that I?
00:06:40
Xochitl
Looked up the subreddit and looked up what would you eat if it was your last day?
00:06:44
Xochitl
In Seattle and.
00:06:45
Xochitl
There's a big thread of people writing like what specific place they.
00:06:49
Xochitl
Would go to.
00:06:49
Xochitl
Eat. And so then I made a note of all those places and mapped them out. And so that I could.
00:06:54
Xochitl
Hit them all up in order.
00:06:56
Xochitl
And yeah.
00:06:57
Jack
Was it worth it? But they're good, right?
00:06:59
Xochitl
And they were all good, really.
00:07:01
발표자 3
Hmm.
00:07:01
발표자 3
Like.
00:07:02
Jack
Yeah, people are are pretty passionate. You know about. If if people are pretty passionate about restaurant visit and there's so much so that they will actually post on online about it, you know it's probably good like it's probably good. I was just thinking like we we covered like entertainment like eating and stuff like that.
00:07:16
발표자 3
Yeah.
00:07:23
Jack
And like things to see and things to do, you could go to Reddit or Yelp, you know, to get, you know, ideas of places to go.
00:07:31
Jack
UM navigation using Google Maps will tell you like walk, you know, uh 100 meters and turn right you know so it it gives you very good directions.
00:07:41
Jack
What about safety? Is there any like safety apps or anything like that? So just like things that where you could, do you think that like giving your location is a good idea or is that is that actually?
00:07:52
Jack
Writing danger into your travel situation, I'm kind of conflicted about that.
00:07:59
Xochitl
I think if you have Snapchat, you should turn off your location because anybody that you have added on Snapchat can look at your location and find out exactly where you are at any given moment, which is.
00:08:10
Xochitl
Not a good thing.
00:08:11
Jack
No.
00:08:12
Xochitl
But there are certain apps you can look them up because there's a variety of them that will alert, like an inner circle of people.
00:08:19
Xochitl
About where your location is or you can also share your location on WhatsApp or a couple of other apps like that and on Facebook Messenger. I believe you can also share your location or send your location. I think that it's good.
00:08:32
Xochitl
To have an option to share or send a location with a few close, I would say family or friends or something so someone knows where you're at at all times.
00:08:39
Jack
Yes.
00:08:42
Jack
Absolutely. I think like don't just broadcast it to everybody. You know, the whole, you know, public or whatever, make it public. But if you could give your location to a few close family members, if you can, if you can do that, use that function.
00:08:58
Jack
I think that's a that's a really, really important because you're in a new city, you're you're navigating it. You might be alone, you you may not know exactly the dangers that are lurking, you know, beneath the surface, wherever you may be. So it's good that that people know where you are.
00:09:19
Jack
And so, yeah, I would say that's that's one thing you have to think about too.
00:09:24
Jack
But yeah, there you go.
00:09:26
Xochitl
All right. I think that we've hit up all the major ones and if you have any more travel questions for us or questions about.
00:09:34
Xochitl
Note the US or any comments. Leave them down below at A-Z, englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at at Oz English podcast at.
00:09:42
Xochitl
Gmail.com.
00:09:43
Xochitl
And join the we chat and WhatsApp groups where you can talk to Jack and I directly and ask US direct questions and also Jack and I have started an exclusive episode section for subscribers.
00:09:55
Xochitl
If you guys are interested in donating $1.99 to us, that would be really helpful, because then we can create more content for you guys. We would really appreciate it. So check that out. Talk to you guys next.
00:10:06
발표자 3
Bye bye.
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE15 - 10m - May 13, 2024 - Dear Xochitl and Jack | I'm anxious about my accent
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack help out a listener who is anxious about having an accent when speaking English.
Dear Xochitl and Jack,
I recently moved to an English-speaking country to pursue my studies, and while I'm confident in my academic English, I find it challenging to engage in casual conversations with native speakers. I often feel self-conscious about my accent and worry that I might not be understood clearly. How can I overcome this fear and improve my spoken English in informal settings?
Sincerely,
Accent Anxieties
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:55
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are.
00:01:03
Jack
Doing a dear social and Jack episode where one of our listeners has written or sent us an e-mail.
00:01:12
Jack
With some kind of problem that they need help with and it is something language related and so.
00:01:18
Jack
Uh, and I know I know what you're going to say already, because I've read this before, so I can kind of predict what your answer is going to be social. But I I like I you've said this before and I I like it so much. I I hope you say it again. So here's the here's the letter. Here's Social and Jack.
00:01:36
Jack
I recently moved to an English speaking country to pursue to pursue my studies.
00:01:43
Jack
And while I'm confident in my academic English, I find it challenging to engage in casual conversation with native speakers. I often feel self-conscious about my accent and worry that I might not be understood clearly.
00:02:01
Jack
How can I overcome this fear and improve my spoken English in informal settings? Sincerely.
00:02:10
Jack
Accent anxieties.
00:02:13
Xochitl
Alright, acts and anxiety. Well, I think the fear that you're having is really valid. It's really normal. I think anyone who learns a new language feels this way. I know I certainly did when I moved to Korea. I'm going to tell you.
00:02:28
Xochitl
The way that you're going to see the most improvement.
00:02:32
Xochitl
Is jumping head first just nose diving into that fear?
00:02:39
Xochitl
And trying your hardest anyway. Yes, there will be uncomfortable and awkward moments where people don't understand what you're saying. Yes, sometimes people might correct you, some people might be jerks and make fun of your accents. I had people laugh at me in Korea to my face.
00:02:55
Xochitl
Yeah, it stings a little bit, but how many languages could they speak fluently so you know, most of the time, any. Yeah. Most of the time, people who can speak two languages fluently are not going to be the same people laughing in your face because they can appreciate how difficult it is to learn a second language. And they're going to be respectful.
00:03:02
발표자
Yeah.
00:03:02
Jack
Yeah, yeah.
00:03:15
Xochitl
About it.
00:03:16
Jack
And what? What does your mom say about people that speak two languages?
00:03:21
Jack
Do you remember? Ohh you forgot. Ohh OK. God love. I'll never forget this because your mom, your your mom said like what? The only thing that means is when when you have an accent it just means that you can speak two languages.
00:03:22
Xochitl
I forgot Jack.
00:03:34
Xochitl
And.
00:03:37
Xochitl
Right, right. That's true.
00:03:38
Jack
You know that's, that's all it means. Like if you have an accent and you're speaking English with an accent, it just means you speak multiple languages. You're you're smart, you're, you know, more than the the people you're talking to, you know.
00:03:46
Xochitl
Right. And that's part of.
00:03:50
Xochitl
Right, so don't be ashamed. Just.
00:03:53
Xochitl
Just launch in there and I don't hold back. I know it can be daunting. I know it can be embarrassing, but you'll never learn if you don't try. And I see this with my mom and her sisters. I see that. I think my mom.
00:04:08
Xochitl
All her sisters and her moved to the US around the same time and started learning English around the same time. But my mom? Really.
00:04:18
Xochitl
Kind of launched into using it. She didn't really care what people said. She wasn't embarrassed if people made fun of her accent or said they couldn't understand her. And I think that that's what led her to develop her English the best because she wasn't bothered by the comments or the people making fun of her. And in Korea, it stung me a little when people made fun of my accent.
00:04:40
Xochitl
Laughed at me.
00:04:43
Xochitl
And then I shook it off and I was like, hey, I'm trying my best here so that I have nothing to be embarrassed about. So don't hold back.
00:04:51
Jack
I think it's interesting that you're, you know, of your, your mom and her sisters, not everyone developed at the same rate because I'm assuming, you know, and this is.
00:05:03
Jack
Uh.
00:05:04
Jack
I think this.
00:05:05
Jack
Is a correct assumption.
00:05:06
Jack
It's not. They're all equal, and they're all of equal intelligence. You know? They're, they're all you know, they're, they're they're cognitively very, you know, healthy or whatever. And there there's no, there's no. The issue is not it's not that it's it's an attitude.
00:05:10
Xochitl
Yes. Yeah, I would say yes, yeah.
00:05:20
발표자
Thanks.
00:05:24
Jack
Issue almost. You know what I mean? It's like this. Yeah. Sorry, go ahead.
00:05:28
Xochitl
Oh, go ahead. I was just gonna say her two sisters are are are more shy than she is. And one of them even took formal English lessons far longer than my mom did and got, like, a.
00:05:42
Xochitl
Some kind of I don't want to say in a degree, but she does. She passed some kind of course.
00:05:48
발표자
Hmm.
00:05:49
Xochitl
Still, if you compare her English and my mom's English, my mom's English is far superior, and it really can't come down to my mom uses it every day. My mom incorporates new words every day. My mom isn't, like, scared or shy to engage with people in English, and my mom never says I can't do it. And her two other sisters sometimes have a attitude of like.
00:06:10
Xochitl
Ohh I can. I don't know if I can. They like more. You know, my mom has a very can do attitude. She's very straightforward. Yeah, lady and I really think believing yourself and having that confidence it will lead you to be better in the long run.
00:06:24
Jack
This is gonna sound cheesy and cringy, but my basketball coach had a a.
00:06:31
Jack
An expression of a banner that had this expression up hanging in the gym when I was in high school and he said attitude, not aptitude, determines your altitude. And I always remember that, you know, and I think it's very true.
00:06:44
Xochitl
Right.
00:06:50
Jack
And sometimes we think, oh, I'm not smart enough. Ohh, it's I'm not good at languages. I'm not this. I'm not that. It's those are just excuses. It's like what you're really talking about.
00:07:01
Jack
Is fear you're afraid?
00:07:03
Jack
And if you can just put that fear aside and face your fear you, you'd be surprised just what you can accomplish, you know, and I think that we're and that I think that's universally true for everything, not just language learning, but just like learning anything.
00:07:03
Xochitl
Right.
00:07:21
Jack
In general is that I think everybody has to start with the kind of incompetent.
00:07:27
Jack
Level. You know when you're first learning a language you're like I'm incompetent, but as you just keep fighting and fighting and fighting and and working hard, you become competent and and it's it's, you know it it it does feel like a.
00:07:32
발표자
Right.
00:07:43
Jack
Sometimes impossible journey I I think learning a language is kind of like climbing.
00:07:49
Jack
I don't know Mount Everest or something. You know? You can't. You can't look at the peak. You can't just be like, hey, I just want to jump up to that peak there and then pop back down. You know, it's like, no, you gotta go to base camp one base camp, two base camp three. You gotta go. You know, you've gotta go through all the stages.
00:07:52
발표자
Right.
00:08:09
Jack
First, before you get to the where you want to be, so I think I think anxiety accent anxieties is just feeling a little bit overwhelmed, but it sounds like he or she is already so far down the road.
00:08:26
Jack
Obviously, don't even think about the accent thing like you're fine.
00:08:26
Xochitl
Right.
00:08:29
Xochitl
Right, yeah. Don't be embarrassed. You're already doing really well in academic English, which is one of the hardest things. Pat yourself on the back and don't be afraid to.
00:08:39
Xochitl
You know, just put yourself out there because I guarantee that those students that you're learning with, I mean, you're learning in a foreign language.
00:08:47
Xochitl
So you pat yourself on the back for that because that's something I wouldn't.
00:08:52
Xochitl
Want to do?
00:08:53
Jack
It's like doing it with like two hands tied behind your back, you know?
00:08:57
발표자
Yes.
00:08:57
Jack
It's.
00:08:57
Jack
Like and I'll I'll like, I'll. I'll, I'll tell you what I'm from Minnesota.
00:08:59
Xochitl
It's hard.
00:09:04
Jack
And I didn't even know I had an accent until I moved to California and everybody started making fun of the way that I spoke English. So even as a native speaker, my own accent, I had to change it because I was. So I'm. And now if I had more confidence, if I had had more confidence as a young person.
00:09:24
Jack
I probably would have just kept my accent, but the Midwest accent is very specific as social knows what I'm talking about because she's from the Midwest as well.
00:09:27
Xochitl
Mm-hmm.
00:09:35
Jack
And when I moved to California, I would say really weird things like that. My pronunciation was really strange and people would be like, where are you from? Are you from, you know, are you from Minnesota? Are you from Wisconsin or something? And and I I thought I was saying it normally, you know. And then I I realized that I wasn't. And so I even worked on my own.
00:09:58
Jack
Accent as a you know, as an American to have a more kind of generic American accent. So this is, you know, don't don't worry about it, you'll be fine.
00:10:09
Xochitl
Yeah. Don't sweat yourself. You'll be OK anyway, if you have any questions, make sure you leave them down below or any comments at A-Z. Englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com and make sure make sure to join who we chat and WhatsApp Group so you can talk to Jack Knight directly. We'll see you guys next.
00:10:27
Xochitl
Time. Bye bye.
00:10:28
Jack
Bye bye.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/dear-xochitl-and-jack-im-anxious-about-my-accent/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE32 - 11m - May 12, 2024 - Vocabulary Spotlight | Out of the blue, Take it with a grain of salt, and Give it a shot
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss the following three idiomatic expressions:
Out of the blue:
Definition: Unexpectedly or without warning; something happening suddenly and unexpectedly.
Example: "I hadn't spoken to my old friend in years, but then out of the blue, she sent me an email asking how I was doing."
Take it with a grain of salt:
Definition: To be skeptical about something; not to completely believe or trust something.
Example: "The tabloids reported that the celebrity was getting married again, but we should take it with a grain of salt until we hear it from a reliable source."
Give it a shot:
Definition: To attempt or try something; to give something a try, especially when facing uncertainty or difficulty.
Example: "I've never played golf before, but I'm willing to give it a shot and see how it goes."
Podcast Website:
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE21 - 9m - May 12, 2024 - Topic Talk | Five reasons why you're never too old to learn a new language
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about why it's still important for adults to learn a new language.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:56
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are doing a topic talk and the topic of today's conversation is why you are never too old to learn a language and such a I just went online and did a little bit of research.
00:01:18
Jack
And I found five pretty interesting reasons why you're never too old to learn a language, and the first one is about near neuroplasticity.
00:01:29
Xochitl
Oh, interesting.
00:01:30
Jack
And so yeah, and it's it's it says here while it's true that children often have an easier time picking up languages due to their brains, high level of neuroplasticity, which means ability to adapt and change, adults can still learn new languages.
00:01:50
Jack
Effectively, research has shown that the adult brain remains capable of forming new neural connections.
00:01:58
Jack
Actions and adapting to new linguistic challenges, albeit at a different pace than children, so it's not like we have zero ability to learn a language and and build new neural pathways, but it's not the same as when we're like in the the critical age when you know.
00:02:18
Jack
Whatever that might be, five to three years old.
00:02:21
Jack
You know, I don't know. Thirteen years old or whatever, so yeah.
00:02:25
발표자
Right, right.
00:02:26
Xochitl
Yeah. OK. I think that's very interesting. I've heard before on theories that if you learn two or more languages as a balanced bilingual from childhood that you're also more able to pick up new languages. But even if you hadn't, even if you are monolingual.
00:02:44
Xochitl
And you never learned more than one language growing up. I think research shows that adults, it's it's beginning to show at an increasing weight that adults still retain quite a bit of neuroplasticity. Right, so I think.
00:03:02
Xochitl
Yeah, that just gives you every more reason to have faith that you can learn another language and a lot of the world has light up on us because they have learned two or more languages.
00:03:15
Xochitl
From a young age so.
00:03:17
Jack
Yeah. And this one kind of dovetails nicely. It connects with the one later, which is cognitive benefits. You know, like the like, holding off dementia and stuff like that is creating new neural pathways in your brain, you know, so neurons are making new connections.
00:03:28
발표자
Yep.
00:03:36
Jack
This is a good thing, like it's a it's a good practice. It's like exercise for your brain, you know, it's like working out your brain. So yeah, definitely a good thing. And I also I wanted to say one more thing about what you said about bilingual children.
00:03:44
Xochitl
Right.
00:03:56
Jack
Cause my daughter is a a balanced bilingual just like you.
00:04:00
Jack
Bar and I think there's something that children learn early that that we don't, that I didn't learn till I was older and that is that language is arbitrary and what arbitrary means is there's no reason for anything to be called anything like trees.
00:04:20
Jack
Just the sound that we decided as English speakers to mean tree.
00:04:23
발표자
This can happen.
00:04:27
Jack
But it means nothing to Spanish speaker, you know.
00:04:27
Xochitl
Right.
00:04:31
Xochitl
It might even mean something else, like if a one word might mean something completely different in another language.
00:04:37
Jack
Exactly, exactly. Those are called false cognates. I believe you know when they they don't line, they sound the same, but they're totally unrelated.
00:04:47
Jack
UM, and I think that, uh, you learned, you know, when you were young, you're like ohh table is table and table is also the Spanish word for table is Mesa.
00:04:58
Jack
If I'm not mistaken.
00:04:59
Jack
Yeah. So you've got you've got 2 words and you're like, oh, OK, so things can have multiple names depending on their.
00:05:06
Xochitl
Right.
00:05:07
Jack
Cultural significance.
00:05:09
Jack
And you learned that just probably before you even knew you learned it. You you knew that. And my daughter.
00:05:14
Xochitl
Right. That was a fact of life, basically. Like, you don't really think that too much.
00:05:17
Jack
Yeah.
00:05:19
Jack
Yeah. And in my little tiny English speaking world, where I'm a monolingual person, I probably was like, you know, a teenager when I had that epiphany. And I'm like, ohh you, the world is not all table is not just the universal term for, you know table it was it was always it's always been a table since the beginning of time.
00:05:35
Xochitl
Right.
00:05:39
Jack
You know, so you you just don't. You don't get that epiphany that that realization until until.
00:05:40
Xochitl
Right.
00:05:48
Jack
Number two, life experience, this one. I'll just read the first sentence. Adults bring a wealth of life experience to the language learning process. So how? What do you think about that? Like, just like life experience.
00:06:03
Xochitl
I think life experience can help you in any way, because if you already have practice studying other things like in university or high school, then you probably already know how to study.
00:06:16
Xochitl
Me and that helps a lot. Like you gave a tip in an earlier episode about writing things down and how that helps retain information and for example, things like flash cards. You'll have all those tools at your disposal and you'll be way more organized. So I think that will definitely help. And it's also something to look forward to in the sense that it'll open your life experiences.
00:06:37
Xochitl
Too.
00:06:38
Xochitl
Like you'll have way more experiences and be able to appreciate cultures at a different level. If you speak another language fluently.
00:06:47
Jack
I I see it as like this, like beautiful secret skeleton key to an entire entirely new world. Like you. You put it in. You open that door and it's like the Wizard of Oz. Like you walking into another world that you can understand.
00:06:57
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:07:07
Jack
You know, without that, without the language, you're missing just so much. It's so it's so it's so dull and and dreary and and you you can't really appreciate.
00:07:19
Jack
I'm speaking no, you go ahead. You go ahead.
00:07:20
Xochitl
It's like an.
00:07:20
Xochitl
Apple, sorry, good.
00:07:23
Xochitl
I'm just gonna say it's like when you go to the grocery store in the US, there's like a wax cap on the apples. Like there's a thin wax on it, and then you can wash it in hot water and melt it away. And the apple tastes way better. That's like the language. Like, you can see the culture and appreciate it to some extent. But that whole flavorful life of a culture that you can appreciate with language is locked away.
00:07:45
Xochitl
Underneath that wax.
00:07:46
발표자
Yeah.
00:07:47
Jack
That's that's exactly right. There you go. Perfect metaphor. So yeah, life experience, learning a language #3 diverse learning resources. So access to information and knowledge that you might not have had available to you in.
00:08:07
Jack
Without being able to speak that second language, that new language.
00:08:11
Xochitl
Yeah, yeah, I definitely agree. That's another thing I see a lot with, like migrants or actually I see it a lot with my family.
00:08:20
Xochitl
They my mom speaks good English. My aunts, English is is kind of mediocre and she struggles with. It's like a whole world in the US that's locked away from her as far as the resources and being able to navigate certain things on her own because her English lacks.
00:08:39
Xochitl
And so.
00:08:41
Xochitl
That's not really her fault. It's very hard to work a full time job and learn a new language when you move to a new country at the same time, I really struggle with that.
00:08:48
Jack
Sure.
00:08:49
Xochitl
In Korea, you.
00:08:50
Xochitl
Know, but again, it does really hinder you from being able to navigate things independently. The way that you would in your home country.
00:09:00
Jack
Now you gave us some really good examples a while back in in older in older episodes about like remedies.
00:09:09
발표자
This.
00:09:10
Jack
Your mom has these, like, certain remedies from her region of Mexico where she grew up and like, there would be no without without your momma's. You know, as a, as a gateway to that information and your mom and your and your grandparents.
00:09:30
Jack
That information, that knowledge.
00:09:31
Jack
Would be totally locked away from.
00:09:33
Jack
You, you know, and you said like ohh, when you have a stomach ache, your mom would make a certain herbal potion, you know, kind of.
00:09:34
발표자
Right.
00:09:43
Jack
Thing or whatever.
00:09:43
Xochitl
Yeah, yeah.
00:09:44
Jack
Sorry, potion sounds more magical, but it's not feature. Yeah, something like that. Yeah, and I think that that wisdom, there's, like a lot of wisdom that is locked into language.
00:09:46
Xochitl
No, you're fine with the concoction. Uh. A mixture. Yeah, yeah.
00:09:58
Jack
And and without it you there's just no way you you have access to any of those things so.
00:09:58
발표자
Yeah.
00:10:04
Jack
So yeah, that's that's a beautiful aspect of the of learning another language #4 we touched on already, but the cognitive benefits in adults, there's reducing the risk of developing dementia or delaying the onset of dementia is is is a.
00:10:25
Jack
Is a benefit of learning a second law.
00:10:28
Jack
Which so yeah. So I mean, even if you're just looking, it's it's almost like to me, like, you know, if you're like, oh, I gotta hit the gym, I better. I better do, like P90X or something like that. It's like, well, I gotta hit the mental gym. I'm going to learn Spanish. I'm going to learn French.
00:10:29
Xochitl
Right.
00:10:29
Xochitl
You work.
00:10:46
Xochitl
Right can do some verb conjugation, yeah.
00:10:50
Jack
Yeah, exactly.
00:10:52
Jack
Those are your push-ups, you know, for everything. Yeah. Yeah. Your pull-ups are your, you know, the grammar, your verb tenses or whatever, you know. But yeah, I. So I think for cognitive benefits, definitely it's worth it. And the last one is cultural enrichment. Learning a new language opens the door.
00:11:12
Jack
To experience an.
00:11:14
Jack
Experiencing and understanding different cultures more deeply and so.
00:11:19
Jack
Would you agree with?
00:11:20
Jack
That I think you've already touched on that before.
00:11:21
Xochitl
Yeah, we have touched on that and I would agree. And as you said about like for example, the whole herbal medicinal part, if I didn't speak any Spanish, I would be completely locked out of that or, for example, my boyfriend speaks Zapotec, he would like, I wouldn't have been able to talk with my grandparents and learn all their wisdom if I didn't speak Spanish, he wouldn't have been able to talk with his grandparents if he didn't speak Salpa tech.
00:11:44
Xochitl
And so it's like a whole other world that you would have been completely excluded from in a way. And I do see the effect.
00:11:53
Xochitl
Of like Latinos that grew up in the US that don't speak Spanish or don't speak some kind of language that connects them to the culture because really we're we're an indigenous culture as well they have.
00:12:06
Xochitl
It's just there's like a wall there. So that's why I think, yeah, I agree, there's a lot of culture locked into language.
00:12:13
Jack
Absolutely, absolutely. It's where the wisdom is locked in the language. I I think you can try to explain to the, you know, you could try to explain some of these things in English, but they're going to lose. You're going to lose a lot in the translation.
00:12:30
Jack
And so you know, getting it in from the original source is really important. All right, that's our. Those are our five, yeah.
00:12:40
Xochitl
All right, listener as well. If you enjoyed that, make sure we do comment down below at A-Z newspodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com and join our WeChat and WhatsApp groups in order to join the conversation and we'll see you next time. Bye bye.
Podcast Website:
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE24 - 13m - May 9, 2024 - EXCLUSIVECulture Corner | Markets
In this exclusive episode of the A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about outdoor markets in each of their countries.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:55
Jack
Welcome to the Adas English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are in the culture corner and we are talking about markets and social, having lived in both Mexico and the United States and Korea. And I think those are the three big ones, right?
00:01:17
Xochitl
Yes, yes.
00:01:17
Jack
OK. What do you think about market culture? Like what, which which country strikes you as the most?
00:01:27
Jack
With the most having the most vibrant markets where you get to like, you know, bargain and bar, you know, barter, not barter, but bargain and negotiate and things like that.
00:01:39
Xochitl
I think Mexico by far of those three countries that I've lived in, because I went to the market, but this is also because I speak the language like fluently. And I went to the market in Korea and I felt very intimidated. But the market in Korea didn't strike me as.
00:01:56
Xochitl
Dramatically cheaper than the supermarket.
00:01:59
Jack
Hmm.
00:01:59
Xochitl
UM, I know a lot of people say it is, but it didn't really strike me as being dramatically cheap and there's a lot of stuff that I didn't even know, like what it was or how to prepare it. So I was kind of like scared, you know.
00:02:10
Jack
With vegetables like in in the Korean market, you could get like a dollar or two off, but it's not. You're not.
00:02:15
Jack
Going to get like a huge discount.
00:02:18
Xochitl
Dirt cheap, like vegetables or anything. Yeah, be kind of similar, but groceries are just pretty expensive in Korea anyway, so I think that's kind of why.
00:02:20
Jack
Yeah.
00:02:29
Xochitl
And I didn't. I didn't speak fluently enough like to the point I was kind of scared to like, miss, say something. That's a big reason why it's so important to learn another language because.
00:02:41
Xochitl
I just didn't feel confident, especially being alone. I was like and and I would see like.
00:02:46
Xochitl
Fish and stuff, there's.
00:02:47
Xochitl
These long, long, like skinny silver fish that they sell at the market.
00:02:53
Xochitl
You know, I'm talking about. I don't even know what it is. I don't know how to prepare it at.
00:02:54
Jack
Yeah, yeah.
00:02:57
Xochitl
All so like.
00:02:59
Xochitl
I just didn't know. You know what to do, but.
00:03:02
Jack
I forgot what the name of it is, but they're, you know, you gotta be careful because some are really nice, you know, but it's better when they prepare it for you and then you just bring it home like you let them cook it.
00:03:10
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:03:11
Xochitl
For you. Yeah, right. And like the side dishes or whatever. But I found side dishes to be like, expensive as well. Like, I bought like, some an egg side dish for, like, 4 bucks. But it was a really small.
00:03:22
Xochitl
Portion and I was like it just it's more expensive, Korea and the groceries are in general are are quite a bit expensive. And then I I feel like.
00:03:31
Xochitl
Like.
00:03:32
Xochitl
The market is cheaper and more authentic than the supermarket in Korea still, but in the US it's like.
00:03:38
Jack
Hmm.
00:03:41
Xochitl
The market is like a luxury experience. Am I wrong? It's like it's like you're gonna find it cheaper at Walmart than you will at a farmers market at this point.
00:03:51
Jack
You know I've.
00:03:52
Jack
I have no experience at a farmers market. I've never been to 1.
00:03:56
Xochitl
It's all artisanal hipster stuff now, basically, and it's expensive. Like everything is expensive and because it's all locally produced and locally owned, and a lot of it is organic and whatever, handmade.
00:04:11
Xochitl
It's just quite expensive whereas.
00:04:14
Jack
It's like premium they. They're saying it's since we don't put any chemicals on this, this is we're going to charge you a premium, whereas in most other countries they would be appalled by that because it would be like this is this you're skipping the middleman here, you know the the person that's in between the distributor or whatever.
00:04:16
발표자
Yeah.
00:04:30
Xochitl
Right.
00:04:34
Jack
Who's buying the the the groceries or the the foodstuffs and then selling it to the the supermarket? You you're cutting it out, you're going straight from the farmer to the customer, and yet they're charging you a premium.
00:04:48
Jack
Them based on the fact that they grew it organically, but I don't know like are they being greedy or is it just like that's what it cost to?
00:04:54
발표자
Wait.
00:04:58
Xochitl
It's just like the cost of doing business now or I don't know, but it it is quite expensive. Everything is just the, but you're just gonna get it cheaper at the supermarket in the US and so like, yeah. And so in the US, anything that's like owned by a big corporation like Walmart.
00:05:15
Xochitl
Or target or whatever is going to be cheaper than going to a locally owned store like a small business and that's why it's so hard to support small business in the US versus I feel like in Korea or Mexico you can still get things cheaper from small businesses. And so in Mexico, it's a very vibrant culture and the market is way cheaper.
00:05:35
Xochitl
And the supermarket.
00:05:36
Xochitl
For most things.
00:05:37
Jack
Yeah. And I would say in America, we just generally speaking, we don't have a market culture like it's just it's it's gone, everything is super chains, super stores, supermarkets. I mean that's that's it, you know, for the most part you will find the farmers market here and there, but they're more of a kind of luxury.
00:05:44
Xochitl
No, we don't.
00:05:51
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:05:58
Jack
The middle class, kind of like Saturday afternoon. Let's go to the.
00:05:59
Xochitl
Niche.
00:06:03
Xochitl
Yeah, like an upper middle class Saturday afternoon thing. Yeah, any.
00:06:06
Jack
Right, right. It's just not a regular person's, you know, place to go, you know.
00:06:12
Xochitl
No. It's like for people that have time and have money to go grocery shopping and not like and throw five things in your cart real quick. That's Walmart. So yeah, we just don't have the same culture versus in Mexico. You really can't get a discount. You can also find certain things that are you can find a lot of produce that's a lot fresher at the market than the supermarket.
00:06:16
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:06:32
Xochitl
You can find a lot of organic produce and chicken and beef, and it's a lot more flavor.
00:06:36
Xochitl
Cool.
00:06:37
Xochitl
Than it is at the supermarket. You can get really good product and for a cheaper price than you would at the supermarket. And you can also get like shoes and clothes. I mean, I just went. I'm in Mexico City right now. So I went to the tangis, which is like a daily well, it's like a weekly market. So they put it up Saturdays.
00:06:58
Xochitl
UM in the area that I'm in. And so there are vendors from all over that come to sell like clothing.
00:07:05
Xochitl
Or like fruit food, prepared food like drinks, all kinds of stuff you can eat there and shop there. And it's a lot of fun because it's very vibrant and it's cheap. So you should actually enjoy it, yeah.
00:07:22
Jack
Well, The funny thing is that I I I draw a lot of parallels between Mexican culture and Thai culture. I mean, I know that there's there is a weird connection there because, like spicy food, wonderful cuisine.
00:07:28
Xochitl
Yes, yes, yes.
00:07:36
Xochitl
Loud hot market like.
00:07:37
Jack
About hot markets weekend markets, it's a market.
00:07:41
Jack
Culture and in Thailand, if you can speak the language, even just a little bit, if you learn the numbers and you learn some of the expressions like oh, that's expensive, I want it cheaper. They will. The price will drop like like 50 percent. 75% because they're just going to start. They're starting it in a egregiously high number, like a ridiculously high.
00:07:57
Xochitl
Right, yes.
00:08:03
Jack
Number and then these foreign people will come and go like, well, let me calculate euros to that. Well, it's only $12.00 that's not that expensive, but $12.00 for this in Thailand is like yeah, $1,000,000 like it's crazy.
00:08:13
Xochitl
Cheap actually.
00:08:20
Xochitl
Right. They're like ripping you off, basically.
00:08:22
Jack
Yeah, they're ripping you off. And these stupid, stupid, ignorant foreigners will come in and pay these high prices. So when they see that you're a foreigner, they're gonna start you with this crazy offer. And if you're, if you're savvy enough, if you live there long enough.
00:08:37
Jack
And know some of the language you know, like that's. That's ridiculous. That's too expensive. And then you put the number. There's always a calculator. So you type in the number that you want to pay and then they go well, that's way too low. And then you they type their number and then you.
00:08:52
Jack
Negotiate and that's very.
00:08:54
Jack
Hard for Americans to do, I find because we're.
00:08:56
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:08:57
Xochitl
So embarrassed.
00:08:58
Jack
We're so embarrassed to negotiate. We feel like just awful people for.
00:09:02
Jack
You know.
00:09:03
Xochitl
To yeah. Bring a price down. I think it really depends what part of Mexico you're in as well, because here in Mexico City and also in back in the day, the culture was more about haggling, which is a phrase that we use for making the price cheaper, right, like negotiating a price. But now.
00:09:03
Jack
Not.
00:09:23
Xochitl
And wahaca, which is the South, it's like seen in poor taste to haggle. But here in Mexico City, you can definitely still haggle and also things are really cheap here compared to what I just found out. It's like crazy. How cheap. I think I got.
00:09:36
Xochitl
But four avocados for like a dollar or like $1.50? And then.
00:09:45
Jack
You and I gotta. We gotta start a new avocado company here. You gotta start sending those to Korea and I'll sell them. I'll sell for 10 bucks for one, you know.
00:09:52
Xochitl
I was like.
00:09:54
Xochitl
I know it's crazy. And then like in wahaca, it's like.
00:09:58
Xochitl
Uh, 2 bucks for like a buck each basically, but you have like, $0.25 per avocado almost or $0.30 per avocado here in Mexico City. And that's the same with everything. Umm, this lady got three big fish to take home and it was only like 10 bucks. Probably. And I got 6 fish fillet.
00:10:16
Jack
Yeah.
00:10:19
Xochitl
For 10 bucks. So it's, it's just so much cheaper and then we'll have to.
00:10:24
Jack
Well, there's more competition. You know, it's like you got more vendors all fighting over, you know, business and they're willing to take a lower price so.
00:10:34
Jack
That's Thailand. You know, just everyone's fighting with everyone else, each vendor. So they're just like, you know, who they'll go bargain basement prices if you, if you. If you're just smart enough to to, to walk away, you know, because you.
00:10:42
Xochitl
Red.
00:10:48
Xochitl
And I find.
00:10:50
Xochitl
Ohh sorry go ahead. I was just gonna say find soul is more like Seoul. Korea is more busy like that but like.
00:10:50
Jack
No, no.
00:10:56
Xochitl
Where I was in Ulsan. It's like, way more chill. I think in the in the market there's not a lot going on. It was pretty quiet and like in Mexico, it's like you need to watch where you're going and then like, yeah, I think it probably the same.
00:11:01
발표자
Yeah.
00:11:10
Xochitl
In Thailand, because you.
00:11:11
Jack
New wallet will get snatched.
00:11:12
Xochitl
Could easily like into of of that of. Oh yeah, someone could ****** your money, but you can also just walk.
00:11:18
Xochitl
Right into a VAT of boiling oil that someone's like cooking pork rinds in the street, like all that kind of stuff, you could just burn yourself on a.
00:11:22
Jack
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:11:23
Jack
Yeah, you gotta be safe.
00:11:27
Jack
That's why I love the markets, though the danger, you know, like the.
00:11:29
Xochitl
I know the risk. It's like, oh, I went out for my Sunday shopping to hear some hot coals right next to me, like on fire. So yeah, it's so I think that's a really interesting part of the culture. I think Americans were not used to these. Our streets are so sanitized and so carefully curated because you, like, Sue the city or sue people if you garden.
00:11:48
Jack
Yeah, well, you spilled a little bit of oil on my arm and.
00:11:49
Xochitl
Your solver fall into the hole.
00:11:53
Jack
Give me $1,000,000.
00:11:55
Xochitl
Yeah. So yeah, because it's not quite as common here. There's a lot of the situation like it's just not as sanitized. It's not as clean cut. So there's just a lot.
00:12:05
Xochitl
More action going on, yeah.
00:12:06
Jack
And I find in Korea. Oh, sorry. I'll just add one last thing is if I don't if I do.
00:12:10
발표자
Yes.
00:12:13
Jack
Walk away. They don't chase after me like they did in time. What about in Mexico? Will they? Will they come after you? If.
00:12:16
Xochitl
No, they don't care. Yeah.
00:12:20
Jack
You if you walk away.
00:12:22
Xochitl
How come they really don't? Well, so they really don't. In Mexico City, they do the wait. Wait, I we can talk prices.
00:12:30
Jack
OK. OK, let's feel like, wait, wait, wait, wait. OK, let's talk. Let's talk about conversation. Yeah.
00:12:35
Xochitl
Calm down, we.
00:12:37
Xochitl
We can fix the place. You'll find something you like. You know? So. Yeah. So I can I do find that a lot? Anyways, I'm very curious to know what it's like in your countries. Do you guys haggle? Which again means negotiating prices?
00:12:53
Xochitl
Is the market loud and hot? Is it lively? Is it more quiet? Do you usually go to the market or do you usually go to the supermarket to do your groceries? Leave us a comment down below at 8 is englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at A-Z, englishpodcast@gmail.com or join our we chat? What's up groups to join the conversation and we'll see.
00:13:11
Xochitl
You guys, next time. Bye bye.
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE14 - 13m - May 8, 2024 - Vocabulary Spotlight | Fillers
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about fillers English speakers often use.
English language fillers are words or phrases that people use in speech to fill pauses or gaps in conversation. Here are some common ones:
Um / Uh: Used to indicate hesitation or to fill a pause while thinking.
Well: Often used to introduce a statement, express agreement, or to indicate that you're considering something.
So: Frequently used to transition between topics or to start a new thought.
You know: Used to seek validation from the listener or to emphasize a point.
Like: Often used as a filler word, especially among younger speakers, to pause or emphasize a point.
I mean: Used to clarify or rephrase a statement.
Actually: Used to add emphasis or correction to a statement.
Basically: Often used to simplify or summarize a complex idea.
Well, you see: Used to begin an explanation or to introduce reasoning.
In a way / In a sense: Used to qualify or add nuance to a statement.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/vocabulary-spotlight-fillers/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE20 - 11m - May 7, 2024 - EXCLUSIVEDear Xochitl and Jack | Lost in Idioms
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack give some advice to a listener who is struggling with idioms.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:55
Jack
Welcome to the ADOC English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social and today we have a dear social and Jack episode and this is where listeners of the program will write in with their ESL problems. Usually it's not like their life problems because.
00:01:16
Jack
You know, goodness. Enormous, yeah.
00:01:18
Xochitl
No different though. Why am I the judge? We we will bring that back. If you guys want it on.
00:01:23
Xochitl
Popular demands, though.
00:01:24
Jack
That's true. Yeah, we will. We might have an I am I the jerk coming down the pipeline here pretty soon, but OK, so dear social and Jack, I have been learning English for a few months now. And while I have made progress, I still struggle with understanding.
00:01:43
Jack
Idiomatic expressions.
00:01:46
Xochitl
Mm-hmm.
00:01:46
Jack
It seems like native speakers use them all the time, and I often find myself feeling lost in conversations.
00:01:55
Jack
How can I improve my understanding of idioms?
00:01:59
Jack
And use them appropriately in my own speech.
00:02:04
Jack
It's frustrating, feeling like I'm missing out on important nuances in communication sincerely lost in idioms.
00:02:17
Xochitl
OK, lost and idioms. I have a I have a couple of suggestions. I think one of them is that there are books like of idioms where they just list them out like a dictionary almost, but it's commonly used idioms with the definition where it breaks it down in plain simple English. And if you don't have the money or don't want to spend the money.
00:02:37
Xochitl
In a book you can also look up a similar thing on Google, and they're usually like 20 or 25 idioms per page, and it'll break them down in really simple English, and that's usually free.
00:02:50
Xochitl
U.
00:02:50
Xochitl
M.
00:02:51
Xochitl
Another thing I can suggest are YouTube videos. You can watch people who explain idioms. We have some podcasts as well here at A-Z where we talk about idioms in depth and we're going to have a we're going to add a listening comprehension panel to our exclusive episodes where we.
00:03:12
Xochitl
Have a conversation using idioms and using plain typical English and then listeners can strengthen their listening skills that way.
00:03:23
Xochitl
And and I guess finally I would say practice makes perfect. Try using some idioms yourself. Try listening to some music, reading literature, watching shows in English, and don't be afraid to pause when you hear them use an idiom and just Google it. We have Google at our fingertips these days that makes things a lot easier.
00:03:45
Xochitl
UM, so don't be afraid to use those tools to your advantage. Yeah. What do you think, Jack?
00:03:51
Jack
Yeah, I think first.
00:03:52
Jack
First and foremost, I want to kind of, UM, separate the meaning of like expression versus idiom. And I think like in expression in English is when it is logically decipherable and what I mean by that is that like.
00:04:12
Jack
If you think about it, you can understand the meaning. So for example, if I said to social I have a speech tomorrow, I have butterflies in my stomach.
00:04:23
Jack
UM, the idea of like butterflies flapping their wings in my stomach. Kind of.
00:04:32
Jack
Evokes a sort of like feeling of nervousness. Right? Like, yeah, so that would be more on the expression side of of things like. Like you can understand what that means just by thinking about it.
00:04:34
Xochitl
Image.
00:04:48
Jack
Other idioms are completely disconnected from any logic or reason you know. If I say kick the bucket social knows, then I mean die. But a non-native speaker would be like what does kicking in a bucket have anything to do with death?
00:05:08
Xochitl
Right, right.
00:05:08
Jack
You know, it's it's totally disconnected and I think what you're talking about, uh writer is.
00:05:16
Jack
The idioms, not the expressions, because the expressions and I what I would do is, I would try to figure them out in context because the only way to learn them is in context. If you try to just memorize a list of of idioms, it might help you, but I would say there's so many.
00:05:36
Jack
You're gonna. It'll take you a year just to get through the.
00:05:37
Xochitl
Yes.
00:05:39
Jack
A's.
00:05:40
Xochitl
Right, right. Yeah.
00:05:41
Jack
And then the next year, you're gonna go through the B's and then the C's, and then you're gonna forget the A's. A better way, maybe, is to try to try to understand them in context.
00:05:50
Jack
Next, and what what I've the people who are successful in learning languages at a high level.
00:05:58
Jack
And uh, who aren't balanced. Bilinguals like social grew up hearing a lot of Mexican, sorry, Spanish idioms. And because she comes from a Mexican family and mixed family.
00:06:11
Jack
And so you also grew up hearing American English expressions. And so you, you're familiar with those since childhood for those who are starting, you have the upper hand there. But if you're just learning, you're learning idioms as an adult. What I would do is I would really have a notebook, and when you.
00:06:16
발표자
Right.
00:06:20
Xochitl
They have an upper hand beard.
00:06:31
Jack
Come across one that you don't know the meaning of. I would ask the person what does that mean? And then I would as soon as I I can. I would get my journal and put it. Put that entry and write it down because there's something about writing something. When you write something down.
00:06:47
Jack
When you remember it, you retain it much more deeply than if you just try to just hold it in your in your memory. Yeah. And so then you'll have your whole little journal of idioms, your idiom journal, the ones that you come across.
00:06:48
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:06:59
Xochitl
Great. Great.
00:07:08
Jack
That's one strategy that I think will works really well. And if you're if you're lazy like me, do it in a voice note like picture record, write it down, you know, say it into your your phone so that you have it recorded and then write it down. Listen and write it down.
00:07:15
발표자
Yeah.
00:07:24
Jack
Here.
00:07:25
Xochitl
That's yeah.
00:07:26
Jack
Yeah. And I think that that is because that's the only way to learn idioms is in context. If you try to learn them isolated away from meanings in regular, like regular conversation, I think it's going to be more difficult, but.
00:07:33
발표자
Mean.
00:07:43
Xochitl
It could be a warning for sure.
00:07:44
Jack
Yeah, but if you listen to our podcast, we always give examples of the idioms you know, in context. And so you can find the context. But I think, you know, if you're talking about daily life, somebody says something and you're like I have. You know, you're like.
00:08:00
Jack
My my horse kicked the bucket last night. And you're like.
00:08:06
Jack
What? What's the big deal? If your horse kicked the bucket? Yeah, that's not a bad thing. And you're like, no, it's a very bad thing. My horse died, you know? Yeah.
00:08:08
Xochitl
But.
00:08:10
발표자
Right.
00:08:15
Xochitl
Right.
00:08:17
Jack
So yeah, that was my long answer. Yeah.
00:08:21
Xochitl
Yeah. No, no, I think it was a great answer because it definitely whenever there's a dilemma about language learning, it requires a lot of thought to think about how you can apply into your life. But I think Jack did a great job. So if you guys want more tips, make sure to follow our podcast. Leave a comment down below at A-Z.
00:08:37
Xochitl
Which code?
00:08:38
Xochitl
Dot com shoot us an e-mail we love to receive listener emails. We really do. I love the dear social and Jack. Whenever you guys ask us ESL questions or any kind of questions, those are what some of the episodes I most look forward to recording. So don't be shy. Shoot us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com.
00:08:58
Xochitl
And make sure you join the WeChat and WhatsApp group. Uh to talk to us directly. And if you have any questions, you can also send them in the WeChat or WhatsApp groups and Jack and I will make note of them so we can address them in.
00:09:07
Xochitl
The podcast see you guys. Next time. Bye bye.
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE31 - 9m - May 6, 2024 - Grammar Zone | Push around, Push for, and Push through
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack explain the meanings of several phrasal verbs using the verb "push."
Push around: This phrasal verb means to treat someone in a bossy or unfair manner, often by using one's authority or physical strength. For example:
"The new manager likes to push around junior staff members to assert her authority."
"Don't let him push you around like that; stand up for yourself!"
Push for: This phrasal verb means to advocate for or strongly support something, often in a determined or persistent manner. For example:
"The environmental activists are pushing for stricter regulations on pollution."
"The union is pushing for better working conditions for its members."
Push through: This phrasal verb means to overcome obstacles or resistance in order to achieve something, often by using determination or force. For example:
"Despite facing numerous challenges, she managed to push through and complete her project on time."
"We need to push through these difficult times together and come out stronger on the other side."
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/grammar-zone-push-around-push-for-and-push-through/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE9 - 12m - May 6, 2024 - Vocabulary Spotlight | Expressions using the word "dead"
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack explain the meanings of several expressions which use the word "dead."
Dead on: This phrase means exactly accurate or precise. For example:
"You were dead on with your prediction about the outcome of the game."
"Her aim was dead on, hitting the target every time."
Dead to rights: This expression refers to being caught red-handed or being unmistakably guilty of something. For example:
"The thief was caught dead to rights with the stolen goods in his possession."
"She was caught cheating on the exam, caught dead to rights by the teacher."
Dead as a doornail: This phrase is used to emphasize that something is completely lifeless or inactive. For example:
"After the accident, the engine was dead as a doornail."
"The party was so dull, it felt dead as a doornail within minutes."
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/vocabulary-spotlight-expressions-using-the-word-dead/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE19 - 7m - May 5, 2024 - Topic Talk | Celebrity Crush
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack share their teenage celebrity crushes!
Transcript:
00:00:01
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are doing a topic talk and we're talking about celebrity crushes that you had when you were a kid. OK and social, just for our audiences understanding what is a crush.
00:00:22
Jack
Again, if you have a crush on someone.
00:00:25
Xochitl
A crush is like when you really, really like someone. Kind of like an intense infatuation.
00:00:31
Xochitl
But it's not really based on anything real like like a real connection with that person. It's a lot of what you project on that person, and it's usually based on, like either appearance or small like personality traits that you've acquired through seeing them act or whatever, that you kind of imagined for this person.
00:00:44
발표자
Right.
00:00:50
Jack
And so you you.
00:00:51
Jack
You know, often like, like high school kids will. You'll have a crush on a girl in your class or a guy in your class, but you don't really know that person. You just. But. But it's like, almost like an intense feeling of love. Like it's not real.
00:00:59
발표자
MHM.
00:01:04
Jack
Love. But it's just like it feels like you're you're your chest is being crushed because you're you're so you. Your feelings are so strong for this person. Like they're perfect, you know? Ohh the perfect person. But really in reality you don't know them at all. And they could be awful, you know, so.
00:01:24
발표자
Great.
00:01:25
Jack
Yeah, that's. So we have a thing called celebrity crushes because there's, you know, we're we're surrounded by celebrities all the.
00:01:32
Jack
Time and sometimes we will develop. You know that feeling of like, again, that crush feeling. It's like it's not love or it's not real love, but it's like attraction to a person who you feel like is your soul mate your perfect person, you know.
00:01:47
발표자
Right.
00:01:52
Jack
Like Ohh that's that's my ideal, you know person.
00:01:57
Jack
And so when you were like young, when you're a kid who were your celebrity crushes, like who, who were you, who did you crush on when you were?
00:02:10
Xochitl
Oh boy.
00:02:12
Xochitl
My biggest one was Justin.
00:02:16
Xochitl
Sure.
00:02:17
Jack
Ohh, I was gonna say Justin Timberlake.
00:02:20
Xochitl
No, I I he was too old, I think for my. Yeah, cause. Yeah, Justin Bieber was like my he was a couple years older, like few years. He's a few years older than me, I think. Yeah. And so he was a big celebrity crush of mine when I was probably like, 14 or 30 when I was 13, he was like.
00:02:22
Jack
Yeah, he's like a grandfather.
00:02:39
Xochitl
16 probably and uh.
00:02:41
Jack
Can I ask you a question? So did you have Bieber fever?
00:02:42
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:02:46
Xochitl
God. Yeah, I did. Uh, I thought it was too good to have Beaver fever, but I wasn't. And I didn't like him at the same time that every, like everyone else, already liked him. And I was, like, holding out. And then I saw this interview where he was really nice to this little girl, and it was like I thought it was so cute.
00:03:04
Xochitl
UM.
00:03:06
Jack
And that was before all the facial tattoos and the like neck tattoos.
00:03:09
Xochitl
Yeah, it was. We went kind of crazy and, you know, had a meltdown because he was like he was transitioning from child star to adult star. And I thought he was just so cute. And I had, like, a people bought me, like gifts for my birthday. Like, they bought me both of his.
00:03:12
Jack
Yeah.
00:03:18
발표자
Yeah, yeah.
00:03:27
Xochitl
Like CD's that he had at the time, a lunch box with his face on it.
00:03:32
Xochitl
And I had a huge poster that my sister bought me on my bedroom wall.
00:03:37
Jack
Nice.
00:03:39
Xochitl
And so that was a big that was like one of my first big celebrity crushes. Jack, you go with one of yours and we'll just go back and forth here. How about?
00:03:49
Jack
OK, again, my OK, I'm 47 years old, so you have to understand these all that my celebrity crushes all come from like the late 80s to early 90s. OK, when I was like 12 or 13 years old because I was born in 1977, so.
00:04:07
Jack
Uh, my. My first uh, I don't know. I'm trying to think of, like, my celebrity crush.
00:04:15
Jack
I think maybe one of the one of my first ones was the actress Elizabeth Shue.
00:04:22
Jack
UM, and you probably don't know who she is, right? Elizabeth Shue was in a movie called The Karate Kid.
00:04:23
Xochitl
I.
00:04:30
Jack
And.
00:04:31
Xochitl
Oh my God. She was Daniel's girlfriend.
00:04:33
Jack
Daniel's girlfriend. Yes, yes, I thought she was so.
00:04:35
Xochitl
I do know cause I saw that my mom made me watch. My mom's a Gen. Xer and she made us watch the karate.
00:04:40
Xochitl
Kid, when we were kids, which I liked a lot, so yeah.
00:04:41
Jack
Yeah, it's a classic. You gotta watch it. The Karate Kid is, uh, yeah, it's a classic movie. And Elizabeth Shue was the love interest in there. She had a Daniel had a crush on her. They she had an ex-boyfriend who was a bully.
00:04:57
Jack
And, UM, yeah, it was. Uh, she she was, you know, absolutely, you know, the epitome of, like, the perfect high school girlfriend, you know, bubbly, charming, cute, you know.
00:05:12
Xochitl
You're all next door style.
00:05:14
Jack
Girl next door. Yeah, she was. She was very. She was kind, you know, she wasn't stuck up. She. Yeah. Yeah, so.
00:05:22
Jack
Elizabeth Shue was was one of my first celebrity crushes.
00:05:26
Xochitl
Have you seen a Cobra Kai?
00:05:28
Jack
Yeah, I've watched that. I saw a couple of seasons of that show. I enjoyed it.
00:05:33
Xochitl
You much more because she shows back up.
00:05:35
Xochitl
At some point.
00:05:36
Jack
Yeah, she did show up in that one. Yeah. And that, you know, now she's 50, you know, something years old, 55 years old or whatever, but.
00:05:47
Jack
Yeah. So you know, that was one of my celebrity crushes. I'm sure I'm, it's me and about a million other Gen. X, you know, men my age, maybe 10s of millions who would put her on the list. Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:04
Jack
What's your #2?
00:06:04
Xochitl
Right.
00:06:06
Xochitl
My #2 High School Musical when everyone was crushing on Zac Efron, I was crushing on Corbin Bleu.
00:06:14
Jack
Corporate blue. Who's that? Which one is that?
00:06:16
Xochitl
That's his friend. Uh, I don't know, cause I only watched High School Musical one time, but.
00:06:23
Xochitl
He's like I'm trying to find a picture of him to show you guys here.
00:06:27
Xochitl
He was this guy.
00:06:29
Jack
But Corbin Bleu is his real name. Or is that his the name of OK?
00:06:32
Xochitl
Yeah, that's his real name. This is Corbin book. Can you see him here? There you go.
00:06:36
Jack
Ohh yeah, yeah, yeah. OK. He's got like kind of.
00:06:38
Jack
Yeah.
00:06:39
Jack
Big hair, yeah.
00:06:40
Xochitl
Curly hair and yeah, he was my I had he. I thought he was really cute and I did not understand the hype over Zach Efron. I felt like Zac Efron's eyes didn't match the rest of his face and he was orange looking and sorry that got Bron.
00:06:55
Xochitl
Those were like my observations, and I thought Corbin Blue was just the cutest, so that was.
00:07:01
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:07:02
Jack
OK. OK, interesting. Alright. Alright, I'm.
00:07:05
Xochitl
I almost always like never was like a huge fan of the main character. I always liked the second guy like in Harry Potter.
00:07:13
Jack
You like the goof like goofy best friend. You know guy? Yeah.
00:07:16
Xochitl
Yeah, like in Harry Potter. I always liked Ron Weasley over Harry.
00:07:20
Jack
Ohh OK yeah, yeah.
00:07:21
Xochitl
It's like that was just my thing. I.
00:07:23
Xochitl
Don't know why.
00:07:24
Jack
No.
00:07:25
Jack
Well, Harry short, you know, in real life he's a pretty short guy.
00:07:28
Xochitl
Isn't Rupert Grint also short, though?
00:07:31
Jack
Probably, yeah. These might be taller than Harry though, yeah?
00:07:32
Xochitl
Yeah, I think he's too. I just thought he was cuter than he.
00:07:35
Jack
They're all tiny little yeah.
00:07:38
Xochitl
They're all short people, yeah.
00:07:39
Jack
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:42
Jack
UM alright, my my second one is I used to watch this show again when I was like, you know, 12 or 13 called saved by the bell. It was a sitcom.
00:07:57
Jack
And but it was like a. It was like a a kids sitcom. It was different. It would. It was on Saturday mornings instead of like, you know, Thursday evening saved by the bell. And it was it took place in the high school, and there was a again, this is like a a side character.
00:08:09
발표자
Hmm.
00:08:16
Jack
UM named Lisa Turtle was her name, but her real name is Lark Voorhees, the actress and I had a a huge crush on on her and she was like.
00:08:31
Jack
The character. Do you have you ever heard?
00:08:33
Jack
Of the character Screech.
00:08:35
Jack
Screech the the nerd? No. OK, but you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. OK, so it doesn't matter. No, none of our students know what I'm talking about. Saved by the bell. Uh, Lisa, turtle. And that's her. Her real name is Lark Voorhees, the actress. And so I had a huge.
00:08:40
Xochitl
No, I'm 25.
00:08:54
Jack
Crush on her.
00:08:55
Jack
Yeah.
00:08:55
Xochitl
Lark is a cool name for a woman. It's a real name Mark.
00:08:57
Jack
That is a cool name, I know.
00:09:00
Jack
Maybe the only way it would be cooler is to do like skylark.
00:09:05
Jack
That's is that cooler?
00:09:06
Xochitl
I've seen Skyler as a name, but I like lark better. I think. I think that's cooler. Like lark George.
00:09:11
Jack
What about skylark?
00:09:15
Xochitl
I think it's like trying too hard. I think Laura Voorhees sounds like you're like a cool like in a punk rock band or so, you know, like a drunk band. You know what I mean? I like it. Yeah. Alright. My third one was when I was like a little bit older. So it's like, so I'm a little embarrassed, but I think I was like 18 or 19. So I was still a.
00:09:20
Jack
Yeah. Yeah, OK. OK. OK, yeah, that's good.
00:09:25
발표자
Like.
00:09:32
Xochitl
Teenager so in Guk.
00:09:36
Jack
Ohh.
00:09:37
Xochitl
The Korean uh actor and singer.
00:09:42
Xochitl
And I saw him in a music video by K will called. Please don't. And he was really cute. Like I just thought, Oh my God, he's so cute. And I started, like, looking up what other stuff he was in besides his music video. And he was in some K drama.
00:09:57
Xochitl
And.
00:09:58
Xochitl
But he had his own music and stuff, and so I would like, listen to his music videos. He has a really nice voice.
00:10:04
Jack
Is that why you came to Korea? Because you got into, like population.
00:10:06
Xochitl
No, no, no, no, no, no, I was not. No, that's so embarrassing. No, I wasn't a huge K pop person. I like solo artists like like IU selling the.
00:10:08
Jack
You didn't come to meet him in person.
00:10:20
Jack
Or rain something like that. B yeah.
00:10:23
Xochitl
I don't really know rain or be that might have been like a little before my, but sawing OK will IU. I was a huge fan of them.
00:10:33
Xochitl
And the whole reason I really got into Korea was actually a YouTuber called Tonon Mukadam. I was looking up how.
00:10:39
Xochitl
To.
00:10:40
Xochitl
Teach abroad in uh. Just teaching abroad in general, I think, and her channel came up about teaching abroad in Korea. And then like the benefits are so.
00:10:50
Xochitl
Much.
00:10:51
Xochitl
Better and easier, I feel like than a lot of other English.
00:10:54
Xochitl
Yes, all countries. So that's how I.
00:10:55
Jack
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:10:58
Xochitl
Yeah, but selling Google was a huge celebrity crush of mine. So what's your last one, Jack?
00:11:03
Jack
OK, OK.
00:11:05
Jack
My last one is, uh, the singer. This one was she was very popular when I was in high school, maybe.
00:11:13
Jack
10th grade or 9th grade or something? Uh. Jewel.
00:11:18
Jack
Do you know jewel?
00:11:19
Xochitl
No.
00:11:20
Jack
You've never heard of.
00:11:22
Xochitl
I've never heard of her. I really have never heard of.
00:11:24
Jack
Her. So I'm so old. All right, Jewel, is she? She she's a guitarist, singer-songwriter. She her first single. Who will save your soul.
00:11:41
Jack
Is, you know, has probably 20 million downloads on on uh, YouTube.
00:11:48
Jack
She's just a very, very talented singer and I think it's just her beauty and her talent was, you know, just, you know, I've had a crush on her because I think there's something about that combination of like.
00:12:08
Jack
Umm.
00:12:09
Jack
Attractive beauty and also talent and ability to sing and write music. It was to me like, you know, he's perfect, you know, like Oh my goodness. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It wasn't just about physical, you know, appearance. It was like ohh man. You know she's smart.
00:12:18
Xochitl
Like, Oh my gosh, yeah.
00:12:20
Xochitl
Right, like a triple Emmys thing.
00:12:29
Jack
Beautiful. And she can write music and sing and perform and has a great voice.
00:12:33
Jack
So you know, I mean, I'm sure that like lots of my parents, generations had crushes on like Joni Mitchell or, you know, Emmy Lou Harris or other, you know, you know Diana Ross or whatever. But yeah, for my generation, it was jewel and.
00:12:45
발표자
Hmm.
00:12:54
Jack
You you have no idea what I'm talking about.
00:12:56
Xochitl
I'm going to have to look up after this, I'll send you send me like a YouTube.
00:12:58
Jack
Yes.
00:13:00
Xochitl
Tube of one of her songs of dual songs.
00:13:03
Jack
You should go down to jewel. You should go down to jewel rabbit hole. You might actually like her cause you're you're like the singer guitar player guitar writer. You know, singer-songwriter yourself. Yeah, you would. Yeah.
00:13:06
Xochitl
I will. I will.
00:13:10
Xochitl
Yeah, I think it's probably like, yeah. And I'll send you like a song, good song, and then we can trade, yeah.
00:13:19
Jack
OK. Yeah. Then we'll compare notes next week. Yeah, OK.
00:13:22
Xochitl
Yeah, sounds good.
00:13:24
Xochitl
All right, listeners, well, you have to let us know who your celebrity crushes were. I'd love to hear about celebrity crushes from around the world. I'll leave us a comment down below at A-Z. Englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com and make sure to join our community of students in our WhatsApp and WeChat groups.
00:13:43
Xochitl
And we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-celebrity-crush/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE23 - 15m - May 2, 2024 - EXCLUSIVEVocabulary Spotlight | Australian Slang
In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack tests Xochitl on her knowledge of several Australian slang terms.
Australian English is rich with colorful and unique slang terms. Here are some examples:
G'day: A common Australian greeting, short for "good day."
Mate: A friend or companion.
Fair dinkum: Authentic or genuine.
Barbie: Barbecue.
Bloke: A man or guy.
Sheila: A woman.
Brekkie: Breakfast.
Dunny: Toilet.
Bikkie: Biscuit or cookie.
Maccas: McDonald's.
Thongs: Flip-flops or sandals.
Shout: To buy someone a drink or take turns buying rounds.
Ripper: Excellent or fantastic.
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE16 - 17m - May 1, 2024 - Vocabulary Spotlight | Punch in, Punch out, and Punch up
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack explain the meaning of several phrasal verbs which use the word punch.
Punch in: To enter data or information by pressing keys on a keyboard or keypad, often used in the context of clocking in at work.
Example: "Don't forget to punch in when you arrive at the office."
Punch out: To exit a time clock or record one's departure from work by pressing a button or card.
Example: "I'll punch out at 5:00 and then we can grab dinner."
Punch up: To improve or enhance something, often by adding more energy, excitement, or impact.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/vocabulary-spotlight-punch-in-punch-out-and-punch-up/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE18 - 9m - Apr 30, 2024 - Vocabulary Spotlight | Texting Slang
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl tests Jack's knowledge of common texting acronyms.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:55
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are under the vocabulary spotlight.
00:01:05
Jack
And social is going to test me on my knowledge of testing accurate and I'm sorry texting.
00:01:15
Xochitl
Excellent.
00:01:16
Jack
Acronyms like like.
00:01:17
Jack
Text.
00:01:18
Jack
Texting words or whatever I guess. Or texting language.
00:01:20
Xochitl
Yes, finally explaining in a way, it's like you just you don't use the whole phrase or the whole words. You just use like a few letters to represent the word. So that's like what it is.
00:01:32
Jack
Exactly, yeah.
00:01:35
Xochitl
And I have a six here so.
00:01:38
Xochitl
So let's get started. I'm ready to tear you up because you really got me with the Canadian one was that Aussie one wasn't a total failure, the Canadian one.
00:01:39
Xochitl
OK.
00:01:46
Jack
No, you did better on the Aussie one than you did with the Canadian slang, which is kind of surprising.
00:01:51
Xochitl
I know and.
00:01:52
Xochitl
Canadian and I've been to Canada and I don't even have any like Austin friends and I have Canadian friends as messy, but.
00:01:58
Jack
We share a border with Canada, you know.
00:02:01
Xochitl
And I have a a close Canadian friend or a couple maybe, and I don't have like any Aussie friends I can think of, but I just ruined. I just ruined the Canadian one.
00:02:10
Jack
Well, I'll give a I'll.
00:02:11
Jack
Give a shout out to teacher Paul Paul the the the grammar detective.
00:02:17
Jack
If you don't know his uh YouTube channel, check it out. For sure. The grammar detective best grammar teacher on the Internet. He sent me a message about that episode and said basically those Canadian terms are very like rural. You know, they're not. It's like.
00:02:35
Jack
OK.
00:02:37
Jack
And even most Canadian people don't use those terms. It's very much.
00:02:41
Jack
Like like hillbillies you know? Kind of like, yeah, people that live in the countryside might.
00:02:47
Xochitl
Without in the sticks as you say.
00:02:49
Jack
In the sticks, right? Yeah. Hillbillies is not a the right way to say that, but.
00:02:55
Xochitl
I think in sticks isn't either, but in the sticks are just a term we use for people who.
00:02:59
Xochitl
Live out in the country.
00:03:00
Jack
Yeah.
00:03:02
Jack
Country folk, you know, country people that are not, you know, maybe college educated, you know, high school educated only use those kinds of terms.
00:03:12
Jack
And it's it's not very they're not very common in in regular.
00:03:17
Jack
Right. But actually it's not actually.
00:03:17
Xochitl
Speech in Sydney.
00:03:19
Xochitl
Has to do with the level of education. I think it's more just like it's kind of like colloquial language, like it's a regional dialect kind of thing, right? Oh, yeah.
00:03:29
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah, very, very. You know, the central Canada, very rural farm farmers and things like that, so.
00:03:40
Jack
Don't feel bad about that one. The Ozzy slaying is much more common. I think throughout the whole country, I would say from from, just from knowing Australian people that grew up in cities, they use a lot of those terms, all the.
00:03:52
Xochitl
Time so you know.
00:03:55
Xochitl
All right. Well, that makes me feel better and I'm ready to rip you up with these.
00:04:02
Xochitl
I, YK, YK what does that stand for?
00:04:08
Jack
IYKYK.
00:04:10
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:04:13
Jack
I, YK, YK.
00:04:18
Jack
Wait, you.
00:04:21
Jack
No, I I'm.
00:04:25
Jack
I'm keeping.
00:04:27
Xochitl
Thank you. I like it.
00:04:27
Xochitl
IYYK.
00:04:34
Jack
I'm your.
00:04:38
Xochitl
Kind.
00:04:40
Jack
OK, like bad, this is bad. You give up your.
00:04:44
Jack
I don't. I'm gonna say uncle on this one. I have no idea. I'm. I give up.
00:04:49
Xochitl
Great. If you know you know.
00:04:52
Jack
Ohh if you know you know what? When? What's the context for using that? Like give me give me like an example.
00:04:54
발표자
No.
00:05:00
Xochitl
Here's an example. Let's say that.
00:05:04
Xochitl
I use a specific product for people with curly hair and I post a picture of it online and say oh, this is the goat which remember is like the greatest one of all time. It's a IYKYK if you know, you know. So if you use this product or if you also have curly hair, you know.
00:05:15
Jack
Yeah. The best. Yeah, yeah.
00:05:24
Xochitl
If you know you know.
00:05:26
Jack
OK.
00:05:28
Jack
Or like.
00:05:29
Jack
It sounds like another example like if you don't know well now you know.
00:05:34
Jack
That's uh from a song, OK?
00:05:34
발표자
No.
00:05:35
Xochitl
Like, yeah, if you know, you know, with is like, you're talking to people who also know. So like your audience. So like or let's say you post a picture of like slide chicken from a local place, but it looks a really certain way. And you're like, this is the best fried chicken in Atlanta if you know, you.
00:05:38
Jack
Now.
00:05:52
Xochitl
No.
00:05:53
Jack
Ohh, so you're you're in the secret club basically.
00:05:56
Xochitl
Kinda. Yeah. Yeah, you're.
00:05:57
Jack
OK, OK.
00:05:58
Jack
In the Super pub you're talking to other people, no?
00:05:59
Jack
If you're in the secret club, you know. Yeah. You know. You. OK OK. If you know, you know, and then you show a picture of, like a club, you know, like a the sign on the on the on the the dance club or something. And if you don't know.
00:06:13
Jack
You're not. You're not in the group. You're you're kind of.
00:06:15
Xochitl
Right. You're talking to other people who know if you know, you know, your audience is the other.
00:06:20
Xochitl
Oh no. And then everyone's, like, laugh reacting and go. Yeah, that's the best. And everyone who doesn't know doesn't know. So.
00:06:26
Jack
Yeah, they're like, what's that? Tell me about that. Like, sorry, secret, you know.
00:06:31
Xochitl
Mm-hmm. Alright, Jack. And next one, BFR, BFR.
00:06:31
Xochitl
OK.
00:06:39
Jack
But PSR best friends forever. Really.
00:06:45
Xochitl
No.
00:06:49
Jack
Use my.
00:06:49
Jack
I mean, that's a big guess. That's a good guess.
00:06:50
Jack
That's my VFR, my best friend for forever. Really my best friend forever, really.
00:06:57
Xochitl
Well, I would have that. That's good. I mean, I probably would have said best friend for real or something like that.
00:07:02
Xochitl
But that but.
00:07:04
Xochitl
That's not what it means though. It means be for freaking real.
00:07:09
Jack
Ohh be for freaking.
00:07:10
Xochitl
So it's like if someone says.
00:07:11
Xochitl
OK.
00:07:15
Xochitl
You know, I'm trying to think of a good example.
00:07:17
Jack
Like, stop, stop being fake. Stop, you know.
00:07:21
Xochitl
Not playing play G for real, you know, be real.
00:07:22
Jack
Stop playing.
00:07:24
Jack
Be for freaking real. Yeah, be honest. Like be be be real. Yeah. Be be for real. Yeah.
00:07:29
Xochitl
Right, these are freaking real. But so for our listeners, I would say just use either BFR to mean be for real or.
00:07:40
Xochitl
If you're using BFR, make sure it's like pure or whatever, because freaking can be replaced by a curse word. Yeah, so you don't want to send to your professor B for freaking real. You know what I mean? That's not what your boss hey B for freaking real man, that is not appropriate, but.
00:07:46
Jack
Yeah, that's more.
00:07:57
Jack
Yeah, cause freaking is not the word. There's another word that starts with F that's a much more we we don't use that in the ABC English podcast because we are we're we're child friendly here on the on the.
00:08:07
Xochitl
I'm sorry, right?
00:08:10
Xochitl
Gray.
00:08:10
Jack
The podcast. But yeah, it's beautiful.
00:08:12
Xochitl
Also, be even be for real is kind of like uh, like a call out. So you don't want to use it.
00:08:17
Xochitl
With anyone but you.
00:08:18
Jack
Yeah, I would.
00:08:18
Jack
Only use it with like you know like friends and yeah, for real.
00:08:21
Xochitl
Your friends or your peers, or someone that you like hate in a petty way and it's like not that serious. Like, yeah, so be for real, be for freaking real. Alright, next 1LB S.
00:08:27
Jack
Yeah.
00:08:31
Jack
No.
00:08:37
Xochitl
Ohh yes.
00:08:41
Xochitl
I think I got a Jack on this. I'm I'm proud.
00:08:43
Jack
I'm getting. I'm getting smoked here. This is terrible. OB S.
00:08:51
Jack
Latter Day Saints.
00:08:56
Xochitl
That was terrible. No laughing but serious.
00:09:01
Jack
Ohh that what does that mean now? Why am I laughing but serious?
00:09:01
Xochitl
Laughing.
00:09:03
Jack
So then it will.
00:09:07
Xochitl
UM, let's say you're like, uh, oh man, your boss in Korea was terrible. And I'm I'm saying laughing but serious. Like I'm. I'm curious about it, but it's so bad. It's funny at this point.
00:09:20
Jack
So it's like I don't know what whether to laugh or cry, so I'm just going to laugh like that.
00:09:25
Xochitl
A little bit or like or you say.
00:09:31
Xochitl
Uh, I use this with one of my friends a lot, but let's say she's like, oh, man, that restaurant was terrible. And I'm like, I know that made me sick laughing but serious. Like, I'm kind of joking about it, but I'm for real. Like I'm being honest. So that was terrible. You know what? I.
00:09:46
Jack
Yeah, I can. I can.
00:09:46
Xochitl
Mean. I'm not kidding.
00:09:47
Jack
Chuckle about it, but it really did make me angry, you know, like, I'm serious about it.
00:09:52
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:09:54
Xochitl
Right, like uh, I'm joking, but I. But it's true. Like I'm making a joke out of a real situation kind of laughing, but.
00:10:01
Jack
OK, OK.
00:10:02
Xochitl
Yeah. So that makes sense.
00:10:04
Xochitl
OK, TNT L.
00:10:09
Xochitl
2.
00:10:13
Xochitl
Too, too nice to learn, too, too too.
00:10:19
Xochitl
290 to to to to limbo 2.
00:10:25
Jack
That was bad. Oh my God.
00:10:27
Xochitl
That's the worst. Two too. Too late No2 TN.
00:10:33
Xochitl
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:34
Xochitl
Too, too nice.
00:10:37
Xochitl
2.
00:10:43
Jack
Lie too nice to lie. She's TNT L She's too nice to lie.
00:10:48
Xochitl
Does not make any sense. No. Trying not to laugh.
00:10:52
발표자
Ohh God.
00:10:54
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:10:54
Jack
It's so easy. What? What happened to me?
00:10:56
Xochitl
I was. I was in. I think you just over. I was going to tell you. You definitely were overcomplicating it for yourself. Like, say you had the principles you send your your friend a message. Like man I owe to the principal's office. And I was in a lot of trouble.
00:11:08
Xochitl
But I was TNT L trying not to laugh because, like, maybe you pulled the prank and now you're getting scolded and you're trying to laugh about it.
00:11:15
Jack
OK. OK. Yeah. Yeah. So for example, something like UM.
00:11:23
Jack
You know my my roommate, my roommate spilled a a Diet Coke on his lap.
00:11:24
Jack
Oh man, did you see that girl?
00:11:30
Jack
Top.
00:11:31
Jack
And I'm sitting here in the living room, NTL, trying not to laugh you.
00:11:33
Jack
It's funny.
00:11:37
Jack
Know something like that.
00:11:39
Xochitl
Yeah. Or like, say, someone falls, you know, in a funny way. And you're like, man, I was worried about them. So I was TNT L trying not to laugh because it was funny after all.
00:11:47
Jack
Because if you laugh, it's going to make them feel bad. But you're just like you're you're holding it in. You're biting your lip.
00:11:52
Xochitl
Or you don't want to look like a jerk. You know what I mean? But you're hoping it.
00:11:55
Xochitl
Didn't cause it was funny, yeah.
00:11:59
Xochitl
Yeah. Alright, YANK.
00:12:06
Xochitl
OK.
00:12:10
Jack
Who?
00:12:12
Xochitl
Ynk.
00:12:13
Jack
Why? Why, why? OK. Sorry, sorry.
00:12:19
Xochitl
Y&K.
00:12:21
Xochitl
You're not.
00:12:28
Jack
This is just a total fail. I'm such a fail. I'm so I'm so I'm so I'm so embarrassed that like my age is is just showing so obviously here.
00:12:31
Jack
In the Canada episode I got back, I got back.
00:12:43
Jack
I'm having good time though.
00:12:45
Jack
What year did join this TNT L?
00:12:50
Jack
I'm not even trying at this place.
00:12:51
Jack
He's not even TTL. Yeah, she's NT NTL.
00:12:56
Xochitl
Not not the last.
00:12:57
Jack
Let's see. I've got no idea. I I know what Y2K was, but that happened in 2000. So before you were born.
00:13:04
Xochitl
Like he was after I was born. Yeah. You never know. You never know.
00:13:09
Jack
You never know, yeah.
00:13:11
Xochitl
No.
00:13:13
Jack
Is. Is Julie coming to the party? Ohh. You never know. She might show up, right?
00:13:20
Jack
Would would that work?
00:13:21
Jack
I think he well.
00:13:22
Xochitl
A little, maybe more like a.
00:13:24
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:13:26
Xochitl
Man, I don't think I'm going to get into Harvard. And your friends like YNK. You never know you could.
00:13:33
Xochitl
You know anything is possible. You never know.
00:13:34
Xochitl
You.
00:13:37
Jack
Yeah, yeah. Bob isn't gonna ask me to the prom.
00:13:42
Jack
Y&K. You never know. Yeah, OK.
00:13:43
Xochitl
1.
00:13:46
Xochitl
Yeah, alright. I'm gonna throw you a bone here. I think you'll know this one and it's going to be extradited.
00:13:48
Xochitl
Thanks.
00:13:52
Jack
Is it lol? I mean if it's lol then I can get it I think right?
00:13:54
Jack
No.
00:13:58
Xochitl
IMHO.
00:14:01
Jack
Ohh I know this one. I know this one I.
00:14:07
Jack
What is it IMHO?
00:14:11
Jack
UM means uh.
00:14:14
Jack
IMHO I failed this test.
00:14:17
Jack
In my honest opinion, I failed this test.
00:14:22
Xochitl
Ohh, so close Jack so close in my humble opinion.
00:14:27
Jack
Ah, is that what you need? Humble. No.
00:14:30
Jack
Yes, this is my humble opinion.
00:14:34
Xochitl
What?
00:14:35
Jack
Why do I?
00:14:36
Jack
Why did I always think it was in?
00:14:37
Jack
My honest opinion.
00:14:38
Xochitl
I guess they weren't. Either way, in my honest opinion, and well, it works either way, but yeah, it's.
00:14:40
Jack
Yeah.
00:14:43
Jack
But it makes more.
00:14:44
Jack
Sense to say, in my humble opinion.
00:14:46
Jack
Like cause it makes you like more. It makes you humble. Like it's better like you know, instead of just being honest, yeah.
00:14:50
Xochitl
Yeah, I'd say in my, yeah, it's more like, you know, I'm not saying this is 100% right, but this is just my humble opinion.
00:14:59
Jack
It's more protective of your of your.
00:14:59
Xochitl
So that's why.
00:15:02
Jack
Like, yeah, it's more protective of you. Like, if you're saying, in my honest opinion, blah, blah, blah, then you're wrong.
00:15:08
Jack
You might look.
00:15:08
Xochitl
Like more of a jerk also. But like in my humble opinion is like this is just what I'm humbly offering as my opinion. But I'm not saying I'm it's right or wrong either way, yeah.
00:15:18
Jack
OK, OK. I get half point half credit for that one.
00:15:19
Jack
But I think they.
00:15:22
Xochitl
Yeah, you get half credit, alright, listeners, if you enjoyed watching me destroy Jack this time around, finally I got my venture. Then leave a comment down below. It really helps us with visibility at A-Z englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail. We love listening to listen your emails at azspodcast@gmail.com or join the WeChat.
00:15:42
Xochitl
Those groups to talk to Jack and I directly and we'll see you next time. Bye.
00:15:47
Jack
Bye bye. LOL!
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/vocabulary-spotlight-texting-slang/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE17 - 16m - Apr 29, 2024 - EXCLUSIVECulture Corner | Personal Space
In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about personal space in the United States.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:56
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are talking about, well, we're doing a culture corner episode. So we are in the culture corner.
00:01:09
Jack
And we're talking about.
00:01:13
Jack
It's like interesting or unique American habits or traits.
00:01:21
Xochitl
Their norms.
00:01:21
Jack
Yeah. Cultural habits, yes.
00:01:24
Jack
And one of the things that Americans really value is their own personal space. So since you.
00:01:30
Xochitl
Finally, true.
00:01:31
Jack
Why don't you?
00:01:32
Jack
Tell me what you think about that. Like what? How describe that for our listeners.
00:01:37
Xochitl
I think if you're from most other countries, well at least.
00:01:42
Xochitl
Countries outside of like the West, like I guess, Europe, Canada, the US, that kind of area.
00:01:50
발표자
Mm-hmm.
00:01:52
Xochitl
You.
00:01:54
Xochitl
Don't really appreciate or consider personal space as much like you might be in Korea, and it's like a line and there's someone like right behind you like this and you're like, stuck together. Basically. There's like less than an inch of space between you or on the subway or when people talk to you, they get like, really close to your face. And they're like 2 inches away from, like, talking.
00:02:06
Jack
Or on the subway.
00:02:12
Jack
Yeah.
00:02:14
Xochitl
You know.
00:02:15
Jack
We're like, I hope I.
00:02:15
Jack
Put a breath mint in, you know, like, Oh my God.
00:02:18
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:02:20
Xochitl
And in the US, like, that's not a thing like we want like about an arm's length or about an arm's length of space between us, like when we talk, when we're on the subway, when we're in line, when we're at the store and someone passes by us. And that's why you hear people say things like.
00:02:28
Jack
Yep.
00:02:40
Xochitl
Excuse me. I'm sorry. When they, like, invade your personal space because we have quite a large.
00:02:47
Jack
Like circle. So like if you yeah like if you pick your if you stick your arm out in front of you and just turn around spin in the 360° circle, that's your. That's your cylinder like that's your yeah, that's your that whole circle.
00:02:51
Xochitl
Feel the face.
00:03:06
Jack
Is yours in America like we that's your space.
00:03:08
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:03:11
Jack
You own, you own it, quote UN quote, you know.
00:03:11
Xochitl
Right.
00:03:15
Xochitl
Right. So like when people say a lot of people in other countries are like, why do Americans only say sorry and excuse me? Like, it seems really weird to them. It's because you're technically invading that person's personal space when you like, swipe by them. Let like, less than half a foot away to get past them, squeeze by them in the store.
00:03:23
Jack
Yeah.
00:03:35
Xochitl
Or you stand right behind them in the aisle to grab something. It's not, like, super socially appropriate unless you say, excuse me. You're sorry, then it's OK. But if you're just, like, standing right behind someone, it's like creepy.
00:03:39
Jack
MHM.
00:03:48
Xochitl
So.
00:03:49
Jack
Yeah, this you're invading someone's personal space, right? That's that's called an we call that an invasion.
00:03:58
발표자
Right.
00:03:59
Jack
I never, you know, this is like interesting. I've never heard it described this way before. The way you're describing it, which is perfect.
00:04:08
Jack
It's like I I never understood why we say sorry or uh, you know, excuse me so much. Like, so often we do, we say it all the time. Like we say it so much that no, we don't even mean it really. You know, it's just like basically you're you're saying like I'm going to.
00:04:27
Jack
Invade your personal space because you're in my way and I and I want to grab that box of cereal. But I don't want you to move your whole cart and everything out of the way. I'm just going to reach by you. But to give me to, to, to make it acceptable. If I say excuse me, then I can.
00:04:34
Xochitl
Right.
00:04:49
Jack
Go into your personal space for a moment and then just leave again quickly.
00:04:53
Xochitl
Yeah. And when you say, excuse me, the other person will usually back away a little bit to give you more room.
00:05:00
Jack
Yeah.
00:05:00
Xochitl
But yeah, especially if you're a man, you have to be really careful about invading other people's personal space. And this is also a factor for couples. I find like couples from Korea or Mexico like they're really attached at the hip. And like your snacks.
00:05:06
Jack
Right.
00:05:19
Xochitl
Or your food is my snacks and my food. Your clothes is my clothes. You're like your space on the couch. On the whatever is my space. Your drink is my drink. Like everything is really shared in in a lot of other cultures and in the US like.
00:05:38
Xochitl
If you're dating someone famous, I'll probably be annoyed if you eat their snack, they'll be annoyed. If you, like, borrow their jacket without asking and stuff, they'll be annoyed. If you're like constantly sitting right next to them on the couch, or like constantly clinging to them in public like those are things that are not.
00:05:56
Xochitl
Uh, it's just a weird thing to do.
00:05:59
Jack
We value our personal space and our it kind of it could go effects who are our independents, our individuality we don't like. Here's an example like I think this is a difference between like Europe and America is.
00:06:04
Xochitl
Independent.
00:06:16
발표자
It's.
00:06:19
Jack
At least from where? Where I'm from in the Midwest, uh, we would never kiss.
00:06:25
Jack
A person on the cheek twice to say hello.
00:06:29
Xochitl
Noble.
00:06:29
Jack
Like, that's a total that's so uncomfortable it's it's happened to me several times with my international friends right now, not not in Asia. In Asia, you would never, you know, do that, but with Europeans and Australians and and you know ohh really.
00:06:42
발표자
Even.
00:06:47
Xochitl
Experience.
00:06:49
Jack
OK.
00:06:51
Jack
Yeah. So when you you.
00:06:52
Xochitl
The culture is really vary, but in central Mexico you do that in Oaxaca.
00:06:56
Xochitl
It's a little bit less, especially if you go to rural communities. Usually there's a lot more distance saying hello.
00:07:03
Jack
Yeah. Yeah. Because you when you say hello to someone, you know you you lean in and you, you know, kiss on the left cheek, kiss on the right cheek. Sometimes there's kiss on the left, right and left again. And to me it's the it's just the most awkward, uncomfortable thing. I'm like, you know, the most I want to do is like a hand.
00:07:23
Jack
Take but since coronavirus a lot of people are doing a fist bump, you know which I I love. And if we could get to Korea and level where you just bow or Thailand level where you do a why you know that I love that like no touching is is the best.
00:07:35
Xochitl
All right.
00:07:43
Jack
You know, in my opinion, I just I I don't like.
00:07:48
Xochitl
Physical contact.
00:07:48
Jack
Embracing. I don't like physical contact. Yeah, even with, like, friends and strangers. Anyone. I don't want to. I just want my personal space. I I really value it so much. So that, like, my best friend and I, if we went to see a movie, even back when we were in, like, high school and stuff, we would just go watch movies.
00:08:09
Jack
You would, we would never sit next to each.
00:08:11
Jack
Other.
00:08:12
Jack
We would always stagger.
00:08:12
Xochitl
No, that's a weird thing with men. Women do sit next to each other, but it's there's a meme because men only have, like, a seat in between each other so that people don't think they're gay buffer. And it's like it's really weird. But women will all sit next to each other. I find out.
00:08:20
발표자
Yeah.
00:08:23
Jack
A buffer guess maybe.
00:08:31
Jack
Ohh OK.
00:08:32
Xochitl
More comfortable being a little closer than guys.
00:08:34
Jack
I just did. I just did it cause I just I like I want. I don't want to share an album.
00:08:38
Jack
So you know, room with anyone.
00:08:40
Xochitl
You're a big guy, so that's fair, but some other.
00:08:42
Jack
Yeah, I wanna. Yeah, yeah. I'm. I'm. I'm gonna, you know, my let my knees kind of go off, you know like spread out.
00:08:51
Xochitl
Yeah, that's fair. You're a big guy. I mean it it. Otherwise, if your sexuality is threatened by sitting next to a man movie theater that's come on, that's not the no. But no, that's not Jack's case. But that is the case for some men. And it's just weird. But Jack Griffin got.
00:09:01
Jack
No, no, no, I'm.
00:09:02
Jack
I'm not, yeah.
00:09:06
Jack
OK, maybe it is, maybe it is a form of what we call homophobia, but.
00:09:11
Xochitl
Yeah, it's like weird. I've seen guys talk about that like the buffer seats, so people don't think they're a couple and it's just weird.
00:09:18
Xochitl
But with Jack I get it. Because you're a big guy, so you need that.
00:09:21
Xochitl
Extra elbow space so.
00:09:22
Jack
All my friends are over 6 feet tall, so you know we're all a bunch of trees walking around, you know? So we need, we need our. We need our buffers and our our space personal space.
00:09:30
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:09:33
Xochitl
You do? Yeah. You need that personal space. Alright. Well, listeners, we would love to hear what personal space is like in your country. Is it similar to America or more similar to Mexico or more similar to Korea?
00:09:34
발표자
So.
00:09:45
Xochitl
Let us know in the comments down below. Shoot us a e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com. Leave us a comment@azenglishpodcast.com or join the channels of groups to talk to Jack and I directly and we'll see you.
00:09:59
Xochitl
Guys, next time. Bye
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE13 - 10m - Apr 28, 2024 - Topic Talk | My Dream House
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack describe their dream homes.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:56
Jack
Welcome to the agency English podcast. My name is Jack, and I'm here with my co-host, social. And today we are doing a topic talk and the topic is, what does your dream home look like? So social describe your dream home.
00:01:15
Xochitl
Well, I really like this one because I had my dream home picture for a while.
00:01:18
Xochitl
Now, but it would ideally be on a big plot of land, like a big land plot of land, because I don't really want to have any like close by neighbors or anything. So I do want to be on a big plot of land and it would be, I think there'd be two sections would be like 1 main home and then one like little home in the back.
00:01:28
Jack
Hmm.
00:01:39
Jack
Like a guest home.
00:01:39
Xochitl
But.
00:01:40
Xochitl
Yeah. The guest home. Yeah. The guest house. So the main home would be two floors. Uh, I really. I thought two floors with no basement. I never really thought about the basement aspect, but it would be. You would like, walk in. There would be a little place to, like, take your shoes off.
00:01:52
Jack
OK.
00:02:00
Xochitl
And then it'd be like the living room and the dining room. Then it'd be the kitchen, and then it'd be like stairs to the second floor. And then there'd be a guest room right here.
00:02:11
Xochitl
After that and then there'd be a big open space type room in the back where you could with like a whole panel of windows in the back. So you could like do art or music or anything back there.
00:02:23
Jack
Ohh, like a flex room like like whatever it you could make it whatever you want it to be.
00:02:29
Xochitl
Right. Yeah. It's just like a huge open space, like running the whole back length of the.
00:02:30
Jack
OK.
00:02:33
Xochitl
House.
00:02:36
Xochitl
And then upstairs it would be like a bedroom.
00:02:41
Xochitl
And the back bathroom upstairs. Ohh, the guest bedroom would also have bathroom downstairs and then it would be like a.
00:02:50
Xochitl
Up front balcony type of area with a small.
00:02:56
Xochitl
Like landing after the stairs and then two rooms between that front balcony and the UM bedroom bathroom situation. And I guess one of them would be like a spare room and the other one would be like a music room or Art Room or something like that. So.
00:03:12
Jack
OK. Is there a city approval in this House?
00:03:13
Xochitl
And.
00:03:16
Xochitl
The backroom has, like, uh, the back house I think would have like a little like a pond or something nice. And then like pond or something. And then.
00:03:24
Jack
Oh, OK.
00:03:27
Jack
Not swimming in there a koi pond. OK, it's more of a beauty. Looking beautiful being, you know, peaceful. Not not a, not a party house. This is like a peaceful house, OK.
00:03:29
Xochitl
No.
00:03:34
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:03:37
Xochitl
No.
00:03:38
Xochitl
Yes, a people house and then it would have like it would be a little.
00:03:43
Xochitl
Just like a little guest house, like a one story. Cottage looking guest house.
00:03:49
Jack
Yeah, we call this the mother-in-law suite sometimes.
00:03:52
Xochitl
Yes, that's really what it would be for actually. So that like if I get married and their parents want to stay or my parents.
00:03:58
Xochitl
Want to stay?
00:03:59
Xochitl
Or my my parents get sick or their parents get sick, they can stay back there.
00:04:03
Jack
Yeah.
00:04:04
Xochitl
Do like a small house.
00:04:06
Xochitl
Separate from the main house.
00:04:07
Jack
It's got like a little kitchen in it and it's got, you know, it's on the bathroom and it's on like.
00:04:11
Jack
Living room and but small.
00:04:12
Xochitl
And it's on bedroom. Yeah, but it's kind of a small. Yeah. Like a mother-in-law suite. That's exactly what it would be. And and I want it to be like.
00:04:18
Jack
OK.
00:04:22
Xochitl
Cake.
00:04:24
Xochitl
Colonial Mexican style like us.
00:04:26
Jack
I was going to ask you that is this modern? Is this like, uh, a ranch house? OK, so yeah.
00:04:30
Xochitl
It's an ocean, yeah.
00:04:34
Xochitl
We're going to send us at home, so it's kind of like.
00:04:35
발표자
For morning.
00:04:40
Xochitl
Inside the lot of the floors would be.
00:04:43
Xochitl
Like clay tile, red clay tile and like.
00:04:48
Xochitl
UM.
00:04:50
Xochitl
It have a lot of windows and have the arches that colonial thousand homes have and it be built.
00:04:56
Jack
I'm thinking a lot of like pastel colors or something like that.
00:05:00
Xochitl
No, no, actually it would be a lot of like uh jewel tones. So it'd be like kind of a clay kind of, uh, what's that color?
00:05:05
Jack
Oh, OK, yeah.
00:05:10
Jack
Mosaics, like mosaics kind of stuff.
00:05:12
Xochitl
Yeah, and how difficult you slipped again, it said orange terracotta.
00:05:18
Xochitl
Like terracotta color wars and then the bedroom would be like an emerald green and the bathroom would be kind of a jade green color. And then the guest bedroom would probably be like a pastel kind of lavender or lilac color. But other than that, the kitchen would be like yellow and it would have, like, mosaic.
00:05:18
Jack
That's your problem, yeah.
00:05:25
Jack
OK.
00:05:38
Xochitl
And.
00:05:39
Xochitl
Yeah, it'd be full of a lot of like jewel tone kind of colors.
00:05:44
Jack
Yeah, I kind of get the the feeling I can kind of understand what you're talking about because I watched a movie called Frieda about the Frida Kahlo the the an artist and they had like, this amazing house that they lived and painted in. And I'm kind of thinking like that those.
00:05:54
Xochitl
Ah.
00:05:56
발표자
Yes.
00:06:03
Jack
Colors. I think there it was a very bold kind of.
00:06:09
Jack
House with the home, but maybe yours is a little bit more subtle, like it's not quite as loud.
00:06:10
Xochitl
Home.
00:06:15
발표자
I think that would be.
00:06:16
Xochitl
A little traditional kind of like what food you grew up in in the movie, but the courtyard and stuff like that maybe. But yeah, it would have some bright kind of jewel tones, kind of like a a lot of vintage style.
00:06:21
Jack
Mm-hmm.
00:06:23
Jack
Yeah.
00:06:30
Xochitl
Well.
00:06:31
Xochitl
Hard to explain, but that would be my ideal home and it would be a relaxing home. No swimming pool. I think the biggest things I'd want is like a home theater type of situation.
00:06:41
Jack
Yeah, yeah.
00:06:42
Xochitl
I never use swimming pools or anything, but I would like a big bathtub because we have a swimming pool in the house I grew up in and like I barely ever, no one, barely.
00:06:50
Xochitl
Ever uses a pool, so like.
00:06:51
Jack
This is the. This is exactly what happens to everybody that.
00:06:55
Jack
Has a pool.
00:06:56
Jack
Is that you think you're going to use it every day and you use it like if if I add it up like all the time that I spent in that pool in my life, it was probably like 4 hours, you know?
00:07:08
Xochitl
Yeah. And then like when you're a kid, you use it probably more, but as soon as you grow into, like the teenage years, you don't use it as much and then everyone else wants to use your pool.
00:07:19
Xochitl
And there's always people like trying to use your pool. That's literally what it's like to have a house with the pool. It's like there's always other people asking if they can come over and use your pool.
00:07:20
Jack
Honey.
00:07:29
Jack
Here's a hint to our listeners out there if you have. If you get a pool, everybody's going to want to use your pool, and if you buy a truck, everybody's going to ask you to help them move. So don't buy a truck and don't get a pool. Just don't do it. It's not worth it.
00:07:41
Xochitl
Yes. Yeah.
00:07:47
Xochitl
He usually just never use a pool. I think a home theater is something I would use much more than like a pool.
00:07:52
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe a hot tub. Actually, I would use a hot tub. Yeah.
00:07:55
Xochitl
Yeah, like a Jacuzzi kind of situation. Or, like a hot tub or just a nice big bath. Like for me, like, the bathroom would be kind of jade tile colored like jade colored tile and the bathroom. The tub would be the same color and it'd be pretty big. So you could just really chill in a tub. Like it's a hot tub.
00:08:14
Xochitl
Something, but because I even I'm short and tiny and in the homes in the US.
00:08:16
Jack
Yeah.
00:08:21
Xochitl
Like I still most of my body sticks out of the tub when I'm taking a, you know?
00:08:25
Xochitl
What I mean like it's?
00:08:25
Jack
I I'm 6 foot eight. I'm 2 meters tall. I haven't taken a bath in since I was a child. You know? It's it's not a thing, you know? Yeah, it's pointless. Yeah.
00:08:28
발표자
Yeah.
00:08:34
Xochitl
Right.
00:08:37
Xochitl
Violent.
00:08:38
Xochitl
All right, Jack, what would your dream home look like? I'm curious.
00:08:43
Jack
OK, well mine is more in like a modern kind of like modern styles, you know, new architecture, modern.
00:08:51
Jack
UM, uh. But it's still it's still, you know, nothing crazy but like, uh, I'm thinking like a like a two-story house. I like that.
00:09:04
Jack
I do. After you know, we just talked about hating pools. I want a pool with a hot tub attached to it in the backyard.
00:09:10
발표자
Cool.
00:09:13
Xochitl
Back, Oh my gosh. The amount of upkeep that my dad is always doing on the pool too. It's such a pain.
00:09:19
Jack
I just figure like if I can buy my dream home, I can pay someone to to deal with my pool.
00:09:20
발표자
Say.
00:09:25
Jack
I'll just be a cool guy.
00:09:25
Xochitl
OK. I'll be real with you. Like you like Gen. X and boomers. Like you'd rather just do it yourself than pay like in the reality of it, you're like, oh, I can do that.
00:09:26
Jack
Yeah, he can come.
00:09:38
Jack
The chemicals and all that sort of stuff. I'm like, you know, you got to get it just right. Like it if it's wrong, you can burn your, you know, your eyes with the chlorine in the pool. It can, you know, can cause problems.
00:09:49
Xochitl
Yeah. Or you could get with your headache spill muriatic acid on yourself and burn your like limb off so.
00:09:55
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You gotta be really careful. So I think I would just pay. This is this, by the way. This is like in Florida. So this is like you.
00:10:03
Jack
A warm climate. So. So we're in Florida. It's kind of like a modern style house. It's not not like a colonial or a, you know, traditional home or anything. It's just a, a kind of modern style and.
00:10:04
발표자
Ah.
00:10:23
Jack
Yeah, it's got two stories. There's a pool in the back with, like, a a cage. What? They call it a cage in Florida, but it's actually like a net that covers the whole back area. So no bugs can.
00:10:32
발표자
Hmm.
00:10:35
Jack
And then.
00:10:36
Jack
And there's a barbecue and a bar and a hot tub. And like tiki torches. And, you know, like, it's got the whole, like, you know, hanging out in the back by the pool vibe. You can hang out at night or you can have a pool party during the day.
00:10:36
Xochitl
Yeah.
00:10:57
Jack
And so maybe there's like, a a pool table out there because it's kind of like indoor outdoor. So it's covered, but it's not covered.
00:11:07
Xochitl
Hmm.
00:11:08
Jack
I know this is the most Gen. X description of that.
00:11:11
Xochitl
You know, it's just crazy to me because it's like you actually are thinking of a luxury home. And I realized how simple minds sounded. And it's just funny because between our generations, there's a huge gap where, like my generation, doesn't even own property. So for me, like, thinking like, that's like a luxury home. Like what I thought of. And then what you're talking about is, like, a real luxury home.
00:11:30
Xochitl
That didn't even cross my mind.
00:11:32
Jack
I know this is like a my dream home is like is is like a a real home. Like they sell these homes, you know it's it's not even I'm not even using my imagination.
00:11:38
Xochitl
Right.
00:11:43
Jack
You know, I don't really care about like the I. I guess what we what I want is like high uh high ceilings with arches inside. So definitely in like Spanish style. I love Spanish tile like it's Spanish tile. Roof is really cool in that like you terracotta.
00:12:02
Jack
Color that you're talking about. I like that. And I like big arches because I'm really tall. So when I, you know, go through my house, I don't want to be, like, ducking my head down.
00:12:14
Xochitl
Right. You want like high ceilings and stuff.
00:12:16
Jack
Yeah, I want really high ceilings. I've actually, I don't even care about the 2nd floor. I'm OK with like, a a ranch style home where it's just like a one story.
00:12:27
발표자
Hmm.
00:12:28
Jack
As long as there's like, you know, a master bedroom with a with its own bathroom and then access to the pool outside and then like a nice big open kitchen with like, a Big Island, we call the island is like a a big kitchen table type thing.
00:12:46
Jack
Like it's not a table, but do you know what I?
00:12:48
Jack
Mean like uh?
00:12:49
Xochitl
Yeah, we have one in my home and in Kentucky, while my parents home, it's like in the middle of the kitchen and it's like a table, kind of. But it's like part of the.
00:13:01
Jack
You don't really eat there at the island. You can. I mean, you could put, like stools and eat at the island, but it's not a dining room, you guys.
00:13:01
Xochitl
Can't move it.
00:13:06
Xochitl
We do eat. We. Yeah, we used to eat at the island. Like it was a dining room because it.
00:13:12
Xochitl
Was just the most.
00:13:12
Xochitl
Convenient. So it's like high schools on it and we would just all eat at the island.
00:13:13
Jack
Yeah, that's true.
00:13:18
Jack
That's what we have to we have an iron and we put high stools in there. We eat there like a kitchen table. So I guess it is actually.
00:13:25
Xochitl
Like people do, you have too high on?
00:13:28
Jack
And now that I think about it, yeah, I I do the same thing.
00:13:34
Jack
That and I.
00:13:35
Jack
Would I like a nice big living room with a huge TV like a big, you know, projector TV or something like that? Where?
00:13:41
Xochitl
Yes, I want a big TV.
00:13:43
Jack
Yeah, I would like a movie theater, but I don't need it. I don't need, like, a proper movie theater. You know, some people build, like, a movie theater in their house with, like, theater chairs. Yeah.
00:13:51
Xochitl
That's ridiculous to me. Well.
00:13:54
Jack
That's just like a it's it's a.
00:13:58
Jack
Godly rich person thing, you know.
00:13:58
Xochitl
Too much?
00:14:00
발표자
Yeah.
00:14:01
Xochitl
Please say.
00:14:03
Jack
Yeah, but I I. But I I want like, a Big L sofa. Like a really big one. So that like.
00:14:09
Xochitl
Ohh yeah, those comfortable ones. Sorry, go ahead.
00:14:12
Jack
Yeah, big fluffy ones where I can, like, lie down on one and my wife can lie down on the other and we don't have to. Like, over intersect. You know, like we.
00:14:22
Xochitl
Hey.
00:14:23
Jack
Yeah.
00:14:24
Xochitl
They're both like comfortable.
00:14:25
Jack
Yeah. Yeah. So we're, you know, you're sitting at.
00:14:27
Xochitl
Both like sleep on this cell sofa, yeah.
00:14:29
Jack
Exactly. So as we watch Netflix, we just drift off and fall asleep because we're getting old.
00:14:37
Xochitl
And like the couch, she's just as comfortable as the bed. Yeah, that that's not.
00:14:40
Jack
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, half the time you sleep on the couch anyway, like you don't you just spend half the time there.
00:14:47
Xochitl
Right.
00:14:49
Jack
Uh, yeah. So, you know my my, that's my dream home. You know, I would love to.
00:14:55
Jack
To just have a big, comfortable, nice house where lots of people can come over and we can enjoy our time together, barbecue and the by the pool, maybe play a game of billiards in my billiards table. That's kind of in the outside. Like the the pool area is kind of like has is covered with the roof.
00:15:11
Xochitl
MHM.
00:15:15
Jack
So it's like indoor outdoor. It's kind of like.
00:15:18
Jack
Between.
00:15:19
Xochitl
Ah, OK.
00:15:20
Jack
Yeah, yeah. And then there's like a little bar there, but I don't drink. But, you know, my friends do. So I can, like, mix cocktails.
00:15:27
Xochitl
You have cocktails too, and you can have mocktails for yourself.
00:15:30
Jack
Yeah, yeah, I could have mocktails. Yeah, I can. Just juice and, you know, soda and spritzer and all that stuff. Yeah. So that that's my that's my dream home.
00:15:42
Jack
I feel like as we describe this, we we need to provide blueprints, you know, in the description.
00:15:47
Xochitl
I know next episode we'll like, do a little drawing or like I can take a I can make one in The Sims and take a screenshot of it. I was like, yeah. So yeah, I get you a lot of my.
00:15:56
Jack
Yeah, yeah.
00:15:58
Jack
That's a good idea.
00:16:02
Xochitl
Rooms like the rooms I'm thinking of would be taken up by like.
00:16:05
Xochitl
Of these, like, I'd have a sewing room, an Art Room, a music room and like, maybe a gym, so I wouldn't have to go to the gym. I could just do it in my home.
00:16:13
Jack
Ohh yeah and I.
00:16:14
Jack
Totally forgot my man cave, one of the rooms.
00:16:19
Jack
Yeah.
00:16:19
Xochitl
You did very good.
00:16:21
Jack
I know because I'm such a I'm such a Gen. Exer I need a I need a podcasting room, you know? So it's like it's got my desk and my all my computer and all my stuff so I can do recording.
00:16:24
Xochitl
That's.
00:16:25
Xochitl
Jerk.
00:16:33
Jack
And play music and my guitars. And you know, all the stuff that my wife hates, I can put it all in one room and then you know that that's like my secret, you know, spot where I I can go and, you know, just play play my guitar, record podcasts.
00:16:53
Jack
Do all that all that kind of work.
00:16:55
Jack
That I love.
00:16:55
Jack
To do so, I got to have my man cave. We call it, and for our listeners out there, Man Cave is kind of like a a a joke. It's like a bear cave, you know, like a cave where a bear.
00:17:07
Jack
Lives, we call it a man cave, which is basically like a room where it has all the men, things that men would love, you know? But I think it's a little bit.
00:17:19
Jack
Sexist to to call it a man cave because I think women enjoy playing music and having their own space. You know, I I but but that's the name.
00:17:28
Xochitl
Right.
00:17:31
Xochitl
These are hobby where there's like a better name for it.
00:17:33
Jack
Yeah, Hobby Room is a much more politically correct name to use. I like that one.
00:17:38
Xochitl
Yeah, but a man cave is something that people used to say it. It was kind of back in the days. It was kind of like a like a.
00:17:46
Xochitl
Jerky kind of thing because it was like you have your beer in there and you're like tacky stuff that your wife doesn't let you have in the main area and like, so it's kind of like in a place only for the guys to hang out and whatnot.
00:17:55
Jack
Yeah.
00:18:01
Jack
Watch football, drink beer and play darts and do that kind of.
00:18:05
Jack
Stuff I I think.
00:18:07
Jack
You know a long time ago they used to call it a den.
00:18:11
Jack
But a den was much more sophisticated, right? Like a den.
00:18:15
Xochitl
Space where it's kind of like a living room but more private, like a living room like people will come visit you and they can sit in your living room and your den was like more where you had your TV and your like space and stuff.
00:18:27
Xochitl
But it was like a fan.
00:18:28
Jack
You know.
00:18:28
Xochitl
Like room, sort of.
00:18:31
Jack
Yeah. Yeah. Or even, like, a father's den. Even way back in the 50s was like, where your, like, your dad's off?
00:18:37
발표자
This.
00:18:38
Jack
Is like like my father's den, you know? And it's like the you. You don't go there, you just. It's got the leather, the sofa, chair and cigar smoking cigars and, you know, reading books and stuff like that or smoking a pipe or whatever. But.
00:18:38
Xochitl
Alright.
00:18:54
Xochitl
I would definitely have an office still.
00:18:56
Jack
Yeah, I think in office that's probably the best way to call it, just just call it an office or a hobby room. I think those are.
00:19:03
Jack
Best descriptors, yeah.
00:19:06
Xochitl
Alright, listener as well if you liked and enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave a comment down below at A-Z englishpodcast.com shoot us a message or an e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com and join our we chat WhatsApp groups to talk to Jack and I directly. We would love to hear what your dream home would look like and maybe next week.
00:19:25
Xochitl
We will show you guys a little blueprint of what our dream homes look like. See you guys next time. Bye bye.
00:19:31
Jack
Bye bye.
Podcast Website:
https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-my-dream-house/
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE22 - 20m - Apr 28, 2024 - Culture Corner | Dos and don'ts when meeting your significant other's parents
Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!
https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-content
In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack give you a list of dos and don'ts when meeting your significant other's parents for the first time.
Transcript:
00:00:00
Jack
Hey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.
00:00:03
Jack
And if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.
00:00:23
Jack
And be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.
00:00:42
Jack
Each week.
00:00:44
Jack
So make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.
00:00:52
Jack
Now let's get on with the show.
00:00:55
Jack
Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and today we are and I'm with my co-host social of course. And we are in the culture corner and we're talking about what do you do when you meet the parents of your, of your boyfriend or girlfriend for the first time, you know?
00:01:14
Jack
What's the what kind of etiquette do you like behavior? Should you display? What? What should you do? What shouldn't you do so social? Do you have like a list of dos and don'ts?
00:01:24
Jack
For for our our listeners out there who may be like meeting their significant others parents for the first time.
00:01:33
Xochitl
Yeah, I know. I we just had an episode talking about how you can dress like a slob anywhere in America, but a first date and also meeting a parent. Parents are two occasions where I would.
00:01:39
Jack
Yes.
00:01:44
Xochitl
Never do that.
00:01:46
Xochitl
So you want to go and kind of business casual attire, which means a nice dress shirt usually, or a polo. Or it could be a crisp, a clean looking solid color, no logos, no designs well fitted T-shirt and then neutral.
00:01:54
Jack
Yes.
00:02:06
Xochitl
Done.
00:02:07
Xochitl
And a pair of either nice clean, no tears, jeans or a pair of slacks. Kind of casual khaki, black, neutral tone slacks. And you can wear, you know, a pair of clean, crisp white sneakers or some casual dress shoes. Don't.
00:02:19
Jack
Yeah.
00:02:26
Xochitl
Go in as a man wearing like rocks or like sandals. And and if you're a woman, just go in a nice.
00:02:37
Xochitl
Kind of also neutral toned or it can be.
00:02:42
Xochitl
Pattern and it doesn't really have to be a neutral tone, but just kind of a tasteful dress. Nothing too crazy, nothing too extravagant.
00:02:51
Xochitl
Might wear something neutral, might wear something in a light pink or blue or something like that, but just a simple casual floral dress with a little cardigan is and your footwear is also more relaxed. You can wear a pair of clean tennis shoes like white, crisp tennis shoes, a pair of.
00:03:01
Jack
Yeah.
00:03:11
Xochitl
Little sandals if it's hot anything, but just make sure you look presentable.
00:03:18
Xochitl
And that's a big one for.
00:03:21
Xochitl
Looks duos.
00:03:23
Jack
And I'm going to say most of the time we we have an expression. Don't don't judge a book by its cover, but in this situation your, the, your boyfriend or girlfriend's parents are definitely.
00:03:38
Jack
Judging the book by its cover, so make your cover look good.
00:03:40
Xochitl
Yes.
00:03:44
Xochitl
Yeah, want to look.
00:03:44
Jack
Because you are being judged.
00:03:47
Xochitl
Yeah, you want to look presentable. You want to look clean. Clean cut is the phrase we use really often in the US, which means somebody who is, they're, well, shaved, their hair grew.
00:03:57
발표자 3
No.
00:03:57
Jack
Look like me right now is.
00:03:59
Xochitl
Yeah, don't have this crazy beard. Or like, if you're a woman like, you know, do your hair nicely. You don't have it, like, looking really disheveled, show up, clean, fresh, showered, looking simple, easy makeup for women and.
00:04:14
Xochitl
And just keep it really, really simple. Don't over complicate it, but just look nice. And then for other does for cultural and social does, I would say they're gonna ask you questions about yourself. So be prepared to answer questions like what your major in college is what you do for work.
00:04:35
Xochitl
How long you've been working there, questions about what your parents do. They might ask you, oh, you know, what does your dad do? What did your?
00:04:41
Jack
And you what are your ambitions? What are your goals? Yeah.
00:04:45
Xochitl
Yeah. One of your inventions, it's kind of old fashioned to be like. What are your intentions with my daughter back in the day, people did that. But and now I think you can be relaxed. They know that if.
00:04:50
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well.
00:04:59
Xochitl
You're bringing someone to meet the parents is usually a serious relationship in the US and and so.
00:05:06
Xochitl
You know, don't be too intimidated. Get to know them. Ask them questions about themselves too. What do they do for?
00:05:12
Xochitl
Work and and humor them. They're probably going to tell embarrassing stories about your significant other or show you embarrassing pictures. Just kind of chuckle along. Be a good sport.
00:05:24
Xochitl
Don't get into politics. Don't get into religion.
00:05:27
Jack
Yeah, no politics, no religion for sure. Yeah, avoid that.
00:05:29
Xochitl
Never. Never. If they try to beat you. Like if you're from a different religion or other politics and they try to bait you into a conversation, which means they try to say something to upset you.
00:05:41
Xochitl
Just ignore it and change the subject.
00:05:44
Xochitl
If they keep trying to do it, look at your SO.
00:05:46
발표자
Like.
00:05:48
Jack
Yeah. Get Me Out. Help me out there. Yes.
00:05:49
Xochitl
That, yeah, you don't have any, you know, reason to stay if you're being disrespected. And I know it.
00:05:55
Jack
Right.
00:05:55
Xochitl
Could be but.
00:05:56
Xochitl
Also keep an open mind because a lot of times.
00:05:59
Xochitl
People are going to be meeting you with the best intentions and they're not going to do anything to be intentionally rude, but because you're from two different cultures, they might accidentally offend you. So just keep a an open mind and if you find anything weird or offensive, just ask your significant other about it later.
00:06:15
Jack
Yeah. And go see, listen to our other podcast about table manners, because all those table manners apply.
00:06:22
Jack
You know, again, no slurping, no burping, you know, no chewing loudly with your mouth open, no cursing. Don't swear. Watch your language. OK, some people.
00:06:22
Xochitl
Please.
00:06:34
Xochitl
It's OK to accept a drink because a lot of times they'll offer you a drink. It's OK to say yes if they offer you to drink, but don't get drunk. You know, this is like a one drink of.
00:06:43
Jack
Don't get drunk. Yeah.
00:06:45
Xochitl
There maybe a 2 drink. I would say one just stick to 1 drink. You know you won't get drunk and just stick to that.
00:06:52
Jack
Yeah. And you and most likely you drove there. So you know you, you know, drinking and driving is you know it it might be a test like you know ohh is this person going to drink and drive with my daughter in the car or my you know that that could be another another thing so you know there there could be traps.
00:07:13
Jack
Set for you.
00:07:14
발표자 3
That.
00:07:15
Jack
Don't fall into these traps, you know.
00:07:15
발표자 3
Yeah.
00:07:18
Xochitl
Right. I think it's OK to accept one drink, especially if it will be a while before.
00:07:21
Xochitl
You drive, I think.
00:07:21
Jack
Yeah, yeah, yeah, one like you said. One, it's a one drink affair. It's not a party. It's not a party. It's not a cagar. Yeah.
00:07:25
발표자 3
The one in one? Yeah. Instead of. Don't get lost. Don't.
00:07:34
Xochitl
Compliment do do compliment their home. Say oh you have such a nice home. Bring a gift if you know they drink. You can bring a bottle of wine or you can bring some flowers for them.
00:07:44
Xochitl
Mom, those are two gifts that usually go over well, or you can bring something from your home country, like traditional candy, something like that. So.
00:07:54
Jack
Yeah. Don't show up empty handed. That's terrible. Bring a gift. Yes, that's a good point.
00:07:58
Xochitl
It's a bad match.
00:08:01
Xochitl
And gift and.
00:08:05
Xochitl
Uh.
00:08:07
Xochitl
I guess that's pretty much it. Do a firm handshake. This is if you're a man. This is a really big thing in US culture. When Father offers a hand for a handshake, it has. You have to do a firm handshake. Don't give him a death grip like you're trying to rip his hand off, but don't give him this limp, weak handshake. They won't make a firm handshake.
00:08:12
Jack
Yeah.
00:08:25
Jack
Yeah, we call that the dead fish where your hand is like a dead fish, you know? No, you gotta. You gotta squeeze back. You gotta give a firm handshake back. That's uh, that's important. Yeah.
00:08:26
발표자 3
Thing.
00:08:28
발표자 3
But.
00:08:35
발표자 3
Right.
00:08:38
Xochitl
And if you don't drink, UM, it's OK to say no. Like, if you are a person who doesn't drink and they are free to drink, it's it's OK to be like, Oh no, thanks. I don't drink. That's fine. And if you have any kind of restrictions of your diet because of your religion or your culture or your allergies or whatever, it may be, make sure to let them know ahead of time if you're going to be eating there. So, like, tell your significant other so they can.
00:09:02
Xochitl
Inform their family.
00:09:04
Xochitl
And then you won't have to worry.
00:09:07
Jack
Yeah. Don't let the mom prepare a a huge meal of pulled pork and then you show up and go ohh. By the way, I'm vegan. It's like that should have been told to her a long time before. So.
00:09:14
Xochitl
Right.
00:09:18
Xochitl
Yeah, or I'm Muslim or something. And then they're like, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. And they're embarrassed. You can watch that if you've ever seen twilight the movie, you can watch the scene where she meets Edward.
00:09:20
Jack
Yeah.
00:09:31
Xochitl
Family for the first time. And then she eats before going because she knows they don't eat because they're vampires and they're making this big Italian meal for her and then everyone gets angry. So yeah, just avoid. That's a great example of how to meet the parents because she dresses nicely and they're trying to be polite and everything. So just kind of.
00:09:52
Xochitl
Go with that.
00:09:54
Xochitl
No, not too much PDA.
00:09:57
Xochitl
It's kind, it's inappropriate, so please first time.
00:10:00
Jack
Maybe holding hands about, that's about it. That's the most you do, yeah.
00:10:02
Xochitl
Yeah, holding hands is even like that's that's that's a good level to keep. Only at that you know.
00:10:09
Jack
That's the highest level. Yeah, holding hands.
00:10:11
Xochitl
That's the highest level.
00:10:15
Xochitl
Yeah. And again, just just take it as an opportunity to get to know them. If there's a serious relationship, you'll probably be seeing a lot of their families. So you want to get to know them and complement, Slattery gets everyone places you want to flatter the mother. That's the easiest route.
00:10:28
Jack
Yeah, this is this. Food is amazing. This is delicious. Thank you so much. You know? Yeah.
00:10:29
발표자 3
So.
00:10:34
Xochitl
Have such?
00:10:34
Xochitl
A beautiful home. This food is amazing. You.
00:10:37
Xochitl
Look so young.
00:10:39
Jack
Yeah, you don't wanna. You don't wanna. You don't want to. You don't want to pack it on too thick there or whatever. But.
00:10:40
발표자 3
Look at.
00:10:46
Xochitl
You don't want to be too obvious, like if the lady looks 80, then don't say wow. You look so young. But if she actually looks young, like if she's 15, she looks 35. She's gonna be over the moon to hear that. You know, so don't do the cheesy line. The man walks and he goes. Oh, are you your sister? Please.
00:10:48
발표자
Yeah.
00:10:56
Jack
Yeah.
00:11:06
Xochitl
Don't do that. That's so cheesy.
00:11:06
Jack
Yeah, don't do that. Yeah, that one.
00:11:12
Xochitl
And yeah, just you know, compliment her on her home, her food. Uh, thank them for their generosity at the end.
00:11:19
Xochitl
Of.
00:11:19
Xochitl
The night? Yeah. And try not to overstay your welcome. Be that a reasonable hour.
00:11:25
Jack
That's usually not a problem usually. Usually you want to get out of there as soon as you possibly can, yeah.
00:11:28
발표자 3
There's still.
00:11:31
Xochitl
Yes, you smell good, right? But you know, so, yeah, I think those are the big meeting, the parents dues and don'ts. If it, how does meeting the parents go in your cultures? I'm really curious to know because in the US, once it's a serious relationship.
00:11:46
Xochitl
That's when we progress to meeting the parents. I know in other cultures you might meet them right off the bat. The parents might actually meet each other, and then you'll meet your significant other later. You might not meet the parents at all until the wedding. It just depends on the culture. So we're very interested to know, leave us a comment down below at AZ englishpodcast.com. Shoot us an e-mail at AZ English.
00:12:06
Xochitl
Podcast@gmail.com.
00:12:08
Xochitl
And join the WeChat. What's the group? So you can talk to Jack and I directly and see you guys next.
00:12:12
Xochitl
Time. Bye bye.
00:12:14
Jack
Bye.
Podcast Website:
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE12 - 13m - Apr 25, 2024 - EXCLUSIVECulture Corner | Dress Codes in America
In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss American dress codes.
Social Media:
WeChat: atozenglishpodcast
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/
Tik Tok: @atozenglish1
Instagram: @atozenglish22
Twitter: @atozenglish22
A to Z Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcast
Check out our You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8A
Become a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670
Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7
Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Free
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/exclusive-content
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyE11 - 11m - Apr 24, 2024