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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 656 – Ordering Business Stationery

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to project” and “to jump the gun.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Common Ways People Use Monograms.”
“A “monogram” is a small design that uses one’s “initials” (the first letter of one’s first, middle, and last names) and is sewn onto a piece of fabric to identify it as belonging to a particular person…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 279
Topics: Famous Authors:  Harriet Beecher Stowe; Death Valley National Park; idiom versus slang; a chunk of rural wilderness; the rest of (something)

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “The Hottest and Coldest Temperatures in the U.S.”
“In this English Cafe, we talked about one of the hottest places in the United States: Death Valley.  While Death Valley has the highest “recorded” (documented; written down) temperature, it is “by no means”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 657 – Checking Accounts and Writing Checks

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “notice” and “to count on.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Types of Checking Accounts.”
“U.S. banks offer many types of “checking accounts” where people can keep their money and make payments easily.  A “free checking account” is one that doesn’t charge any fees for “account maintenance”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama gave what is called the State of the Union address (speech). Our constitution (most important legal document) requires that the president give a report to Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) on the state (situation; condition; status) of the union (that is, the country) “from time to time” (every so often; once in a while). This has been interpreted as meaning once a year and is usually done in January.

In the speech, the president gives his priorities (what is most important) and goals for the coming year. The entire Congress attends (is present), along with the members of the Supreme Court (the country’s highest level of judges) and the heads (leaders) of all the major government offices (called “secretaries“). (Actually, since 9/11, one of the secretaries does not attend in case there is an attack on the Capitol building (where the Congress meets and where the address is given) and the president and members of Congress are killed. If such a terrible thing did happen, then that secretary would become president.)

This year, the Wall Street Journal published a list of the words President Obama used most often in his speech. These words give you an idea of his priorities and what he thinks is important to tell Congress and the American people. Here’s part of the list, from the more popular words to the less popular (less used) ones:

• Jobs
• Business
• Work
• Government
• Future
• Nation
• World
• Dream
• Law
• Tax
• Teachers
• Afghan (related to the country of Afghanistan)

As you can see, his focus was mainly on the economy and jobs, something most Americans are very concerned about.

For those of you who live outside the U.S., how might this list be different in your country?

~Jeff

Photo of President Obama delivering his 2011 State of the Union address: Wikipedia CC

Because some of you requested it, Lucy recently appeared on two English Cafe episodes so that listeners can hear more than one voice when listening to the Cafe’s cultural topics:  English Cafe 275 (SeaWorld) and 277 (X Games).

Please tell us what you think.  You opinion is very important to us.

If improving your English is your goal, get the Learning Guide now. It’ll help you learn English faster and you’ll be supporting ESL Podcast.

Become a Basic or Premium Member today!
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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 654 – Talking About Sound and Volume

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to turn (something) up/down” and “moderate.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “The Title of The World’s Loudest Band.”
“Most musicians are interested in producing the best, most “memorable” (easy to remember) music, but others want to be known as the loudest band in the world. There has been a lot of competition among bands for this “sought-after”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 278
Topics: The English-Only Movement; Famous Songs:  “The Yellow Rose of Texas”; who versus which versus that; kinda; to drink the Kool-Aid

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Hawaiian Pidgin English.”
“As one of the 50 states of the United States, English is spoken in Hawaii by its residents.  However, if you visit any of the Hawaiian islands, you will find that many of the people of Hawaii also speak Hawaiian Pidgin English…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 655 – Staying in a Vacation Rental

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to sleep” and “scarce.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “What is Included in a Typical Vacation Rental.”
“A vacation rental is a “fully furnished” (with all basic furniture and equipment) home or apartment. It normally includes sofas, beds, tables, and chairs, as well as “appliances”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve run across (found without looking) some things on the Internet that share a common (similar) theme (subject or idea). On the surface (the part that’s easy to see) they appear to be very different – taking pictures, writing a newspaper column, writing a comic strip, etc. It’s the theme that ties them together (connects them), so let’s start there.

There’s a modern proverb (wise saying) that goes something like this: we overestimate what we can do in one day; we underestimate what we can do in one year. In other words, we think we can accomplish more in one day than we really can. But when we think about a year, the opposite is true: we can often accomplish more in one year than we think.

The articles I ran across recently were by people, or about people, who did a little of something every day but achieved (accomplished) significant results by the end of a year or many years.

D’Arcy Norman works at the Teaching and Learning Centre at the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada). Norman enjoys photography, which he calls “mindful seeing.” He takes photographs every day, often as he commutes (travels a long distance) to work on his bicycle, even in the winter. Last year, he took more than 10,000 photographs, many with his iPhone. At the end of the year, he selected the best; you can find them here. That’s a great accomplishment!

In the 1930s, Chic Young started a comic strip – one of those daily picture stories that’s about four squares long and runs (is printed) in a newspaper every day – called Blondie. Almost every husband and wife who read the comic could identify with (see themselves in) Blondie and her husband Dagwood. And they often laughed when they did!

One day at a time – four squares and about 20 words – Young wrote 14,500 comic strips during his lifetime. At one time, Blondie ran in more than 1600 newspapers and was read by more than 60 million people in 17 different languages across the world, including much of Africa. When he died in 1972, Young’s son Dean succeeded (followed) him and continues to write the comic strip today. That’s a great accomplishment! William Zinsser has written a fascinating story about Young and Blondie; I hope you take time to read it.

As I was thinking about these two stories – Norman’s and Young’s – I remembered a column (daily newspaper article) I read many years ago by another of my favorite writers, Sydney Harris. Someone asked Harris what he does when he doesn’t feel like writing a column, and he answered, “I write a column.” He went on (continued) to say that “I may not feel like writing a column every day, but I’d feel much worse if I didn’t.” I’m sure that many people who commit to (promise to do) an “everyday” kind of task (job or project) feel the same way.

Finally, let me bring each of you (include you) into this article. A couple of years ago, two researchers I know wrote that it would be possible for you to acquire (pick up) 5,000 vocabulary words if you spent 20 minutes a day reading interesting, comprehensible (understandable) English for two years. If you did that and you knew the 5,000 most common English words, you would know almost 90% of the words in an average non-academic (not a textbook) English book or article. That would be a great accomplishment!

Warren Ediger – creator of Successful English where you’ll find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

Photo by D’Arcy Norman used under Creative Commons license

Over the holidays, I took some time off from work, but stayed in Los Angeles. Although I’ve lived here for over 15 years, there are still many attractions (places visitors like to see) I haven’t visited.

Among these attractions are some of the smaller museums that don’t get as much attention, but are still very interesting to see.  For instance, about two weeks ago, I went to the Autry Museum of Western Heritage named after the famous performer Gene Autry, also known as the “Singing Cowboy.” The museum had information about people living in the western states when it was first being settled (homes and towns being built there) by Americans and artifacts (items from history) used during that period. You can see how people dressed, lived, played, and worked.  The museum also included TV and movie memorability (objects collected from history) of well-known shows and movies made about the Old West.

I also got a chance to visit the Page Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits, a place where fossils (bones and other remains of living things) of animals, insects, and other living things from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago have been found. The tar pits acted as a trap (something that catches people or animals) for living things, preserving (keeping in its original condition) their remains (what is left of people/animals after they die). There are fossils of animals I had never seen before, and many I had never even heard of.  It was a fascinating place, and it continues to be a laboratory for excavating (digging to take out of the ground) fossils.

Both of these museums I visited for free. Most museums in the U.S. charge an admission fee (money to enter). However, many of them also have free days, or at least free hours, during which visitors can enter without paying. (Some notable (worthy of attention) museums, such as the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C., are always free.)

It’s true that the free days can be very limited. Sometimes it’s just one day each month or one afternoon a week, but it’s usually easy to find a museum’s free day by looking on its website. For larger cities like New York or L.A., you may be able to find websites like these:  New York / Los Angeles. Whether you’re living in or visiting the U.S., you may be able to take advantage of these free days.  When it’s free, what you see is almost always worth the price of admission.

Are there lesser-known museums where you live that you’d recommend to visitors?  Is admission free?  If not, are there free days/hours?

~ Lucy

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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 652 – Outdoor Advertising

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to take it away” and “blanket.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about the “JumboTron.”
“JumboTrons are used to provide entertainment. For example, during some games, a video camera records images of the “crowd” (the people who have gathered to watch the game) and plays them on the JumboTron “in real time”… – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 277
Topics:  Famous Americans: John Dewey; the X Games; phrases used to talk about people’s jobs; for the lack of; be that as it may

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Another Brick in the Wall” by Pink Floyd.
“One very influential rock group that “took on” (addressed; confronted) education was Pink Floyd, a band that was most popular in the 1970’s.  In 1979, the group released a “rock opera” called The Wall…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 653 – Reading Product Reviews

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to read up on (something)” and “value.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about finding the right price for a used car with the “Kelley Blue Book.”
“When Americans buy and sell cars, they often “refer to” (look for information in) the “Kelley Blue Book” to “set” (establish; create) the selling price. The Kelley Blue Book is a company, book, and website…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide

Andy Borowitz is a humorist (a comedian; someone who tries to be funny). His website is filled with fake (invented; not real) news stories that are, depending on your political views, supposed to be funny (similar to The Onion).  In a recent article, Borowitz wrote that he often gets emails from people asking him for favors (something you do for someone else to help them). He always replies to these emails, even when the answer is “no.” After sending the email, he waits and typically gets…nothing. The person he emailed never writes back to say “thank you.”

Borowitz suggests that even if you are not really a polite person, you should at least try to be polite, even when it is “fake politeness.”  To be polite means to be nice, to communicate in a way that is not mean or rude.  Saying “thank you” when someone does something for you is usually considered polite.

I agree with Borowitz. I have often received emails from people I know (family members, friends, people I used to work with) asking me for information or for favors.  I usually give them the information or at least reply to their email in some way, but I almost never hear anything from them again.  Imagine walking up to someone, asking her a question, and then after she answers it, walking away without saying a word. Yet that is exactly what happens on email all the time.  I mean, how long does it take to type “Okay, thanks!”?

I know that many people think email is an informal way of communicating, and they perhaps don’t want to send the other person emails they consider unnecessary. But in my view (opinion), “thank you” is never unnecessary.

Let me be clear that the situation is generally NOT true for listeners of ESL Podcast! I almost always get a “thank you” back when people email me and I am able to help them, so please don’t interpret this as a complaint about you, our dear listeners!  I’m referring (talking about) other people…you know who you are.

~ Jeff

Photo from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, New Orleans. Wikipedia CC

Everybody knows about Internet dating. If you are single and want to meet someone for a romantic relationship, you spend hours writing a profile (brief information about you) and selecting the right picture to upload (transfer information using a computer) to the dating company’s website for others to see. Then, you spend even more hours looking at other online profiles and waiting for responses to your own.

But maybe you’re old-school (like to do things the old-fashioned way) and try to meet other singles in the traditional way by going out to places where singles might be and trying to talk to and meet people face to face.  Both Internet dating and trying to meet singles in person have their appeals (attractive points).  What if you could bring together the best of both worlds (the best parts of each method)?

Recently, a slew of (many) new dating companies are trying to do just (exactly) that.  One company allows you to have an online profile on its website and to direct people to it if you want to, keeping your contact information private until you want to release it. This company gives you cards with intriguing (interesting, with a little mystery) messages like this one:  “Look up. You might miss something.” Below this message are the words “find me,” a code (set of numbers or letters that give you access to something), and the address of a Website for singles.  When you visit the website and put in the code, you’ll see the profile of the person who gave you that card.

Another company with a similar service specializes in flirty (behaving in a way to attract other people, usually in an amusing way) messages such as:
- “I’m looking forward to our first date.”
- “I am totally (very much) cooler (better, more interesting) than your date.”
With these cards, when you see someone you like, perhaps someone in a crowd, all you need to do is to hand the card to this person and walk away. If that person is interested, he or she will check you out (find out more about you) online.

These services claim (say is the truth) that the benefit of these types of cards and websites is that meeting people on the street, at the grocery store, or at a bar is more natural than meeting them only online, and you can meet people who are not members of the same dating service.  Normally, they say, you may feel too shy to approach a stranger (person you don’t already know), but the card allows you to drop and run.  Doing this, they argue, you won’t have that familiar feeling of “what if,” wondering what would have happened if you had the courage to say “hello.”

Other new dating websites use new technology to bring singles together.  One company uses your cellphone’s global positioning system (GPS), which uses satellites (machines going around the Earth, sending and receiving electronic messages), to let singles know where to find a person they’ve seen on a dating website they’re interested in meeting at this very moment.

What do you think of these new types of dating services?  Would you consider using one?  Have you heard of other types of new or unusual dating services?

~ Lucy

*In the title: “A new spin on (something)” means a new way of doing or representing something that you’re already familiar with.

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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 650 – Buying TV Programs and Movies

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “contain” and “release.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Types of Products Sold in Boxed Sets.”
“Box sets are an easy way for product manufacturers to increase sales of their products. Americans purchase box sets not only of DVDs, but also of many other types of products…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 276
Topics: Ask an American: Commuting; start versus begin versus start off versus start on; a place to live versus a place to live in; might-have-been

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Park and Ride and Kiss and Ride Facilities.”
“When people live far away from bus stops and train and subway stations, they often need to use a car to get to their “stop” (where they can get on a bus, train, or subway train) so that they can use public transportation…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 651 – Psychological Disorders

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “disorder” and “swing.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Common Kinds of Therapy.”
“Many therapy “sessions” (meetings) are “one-on-one” (between only two people) sessions with a psychologist or a “psychiatrist” (a medical doctor trained in medical illness, who can prescribe medicine)…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guid