I’ve been writing scripts for our podcasts for over six years and I think it’s time to get your suggestions on new topics. We do get emails from listeners with suggestions, but it would be nice to share ideas here on the blog.
We have nine categories of regular podcasts that are released every Monday and Friday:
- Business
- Daily Life
- Dining
- Entertainment
- Health and Medicine
- Relationships
- Shopping
- Transportation
- Travel
Please give us your suggestions within these nine categories. Within these categories, we try to select topics that are relevant (appropriate; of interest) for a large number of our listeners, and include vocabulary and language useful beyond just that one script and podcast. If you’d like, you can do a quick search on our homepage (search for your topic suggestion under “Search Podcasts” on the left-hand side of the page) to see if we have already covered (included; used) that topic.
Your suggestions are very important to us and we always appreciate them. Keep in mind, though, that with this post, we are only asking for topics for our regular podcast scripts/dialogues (not for the English Cafe, which we’ll ask about another time). We can’t promise that all of your suggestion will be included in future podcasts, but we’ll do our best to include the most popular ones. Let us hear from you!
If you’re tired of not understand what you hear in English, listen to the podcast and get the Learning Guide. The Learning Guide helps you learn English better and faster. Get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.
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ON MONDAY ESL Podcast 742 – Admiring Someone from Afar
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 have nothing on (someone)” and “to eat it up.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Toll-Free Phone Numbers in the U.S.”
“Many business want new customers to be able to call them to place orders or to ask questions without having to pay for the “long distance” (not local) call. For that reason, these businesses have “toll-free”…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 322
Topics: No-Tuition Colleges; the Sacco-Vanzetti Trial; crazy versus mad versus psycho versus mentally ill; using –ed words as adjectives; lo and behold
In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Paying College and University Expenses.”
“While some college and university students are “supported by” (have their expenses paid for by) their parents, many other students “struggle” (try to overcome difficulties) to pay for tuition and other expenses…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY ESL Podcast 743 – Writing a Story
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 “character” and “period.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “The Use of the Second-Person Point of View in Writing.”
“Whether you read novels or newspapers, most of the written materials we read “on a daily basis” (every day) is written in the first person or third person. In American school, students are usually taught to write “expository”…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
Today is Thanksgiving Day and we want to give thanks once again to all of our fantastic listeners, especially our members and donors, who make it possible for us to continue our work here at ESL Podcast.
In past years, we’ve talked about Thanksgiving in regular podcasts and Cafes ((ESL Podcast 91 and English Cafe 60). We’ve also talked about it on the blog, here, here, and here.
This is a happy holiday for everyone, except perhaps for the poor turkeys. For them, we play this song. We hope you like it, too. (You can also access the video here.)
Happy Thanksgiving!
~ Lucy
P.S. Gobble has two common meanings: It means to eat a lot of food very quickly, and it also refers to the sound that turkeys make.
Keep way (far) back,
I’m not your meal
Plan another meal
Hear my appeal (plea; serious request)
You can’t gobble me
on Thanksgiving Day
Why not eat tofu
feed yourself the vegan (without meat) way
You can’t gobble me try as you may (even if you try)
Fill up on veggies (informal way of saying “vegetables”)
have yourself a deli tray (a large plate of cut meats and cheeses, often served at parties)
Now why can’t I find a place
to live in peace
Where I’m not a part
of someone’s Thanksgiving feast (big celebration meal)
Don’t want my giblets (heart, liver, neck and other parts of a chicken or other bird before it’s cooked) touched
Don’t want my drumsticks (lower part of the leg) gnawed (eat slowly with one’s teeth)
You know we turkeys think
It’s a major faux-pas (socially unacceptable behavior)
(Hear my appeal)
You can’t gobble me
on Thanksgiving Day
Why not eat tofu
feed yourself the vegan way
You can’t gobble me
try as you may
Fill up on veggies
have yourself a deli tray
Since at least the 1980s, politicians and businesspeople have complained that America’s schools were not producing enough “STEMs” graduates – those in science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields (areas of work). We are told that the schools are failing us (hurting us by not doing their job), that if only teachers would do a better job at teaching students in these subjects, all of our problems would be solved.
A new study by researchers at Georgetown University analyzes the number of STEMs workers the U.S. will need in the next few years, as well as the situation of the students who study STEMs in college. Here are some of the things they report, along with some numbers from a few other places:
America will need approximately 2.4 million new workers in STEMs during the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018 (the data (facts) for the study are a few years old).
American colleges produce around 230,000 new STEMs graduates each year (based on 2007 data).
10 years x 230,000 graduates = 2.3 million new STEMs graduates by 2018.
From the facts above, it would seem that the U.S. should be able to meet (to satisfy) all of its STEMs needs just with the graduates we now have. But there is another set of facts that explains why that isn’t true:
Of 100 people who graduate from college each year, 19 are in STEMs fields.
Of those 19 people, only 10 will work in a STEMs field after graduating. The rest will work in other areas – finance and other business areas.
Of those 10 people who do work in STEMs jobs, only 8 will still be working there 10 years later.
Why do so few STEMs graduates work in STEMs fields? Part of the answer is job satisfaction (how happy you are with something). Many say they want to do other kinds of work that they find more enjoyable. But a big reason is probably related to money.
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, STEMs graduate who decides to go into (work in) engineering, for example, will make (earn) around $78,000 a year. That’s pretty good, right? But consider this: the average salary (money you get for working) for STEMs grads (graduates) who work in other professional areas (finance, etc.) and as managers is $102.000. If you do the math (perform the calculations), you can understand why many college graduates in STEMs – almost half! – are not taking jobs in those areas.
Of course, the United States can do better in STEMs education, and schools can always do a better job teaching and inspiring students to major (specialize) in these important fields. But salaries are important to most people. If the salaries in technology fields were higher, more people would major in them and more people would actually work in companies that need STEMs employees.
It’s not talent or education that is lacking (missing) in the U.S. What is lacking is the willingness (desire) of STEMs companies to pay higher salaries, because higher salaries would raise the price of their goods and services (things they sell) and make them less competitive with (able to sell less than) foreign companies. Perhaps that’s a good decision; I don’t want to argue that point. It seems to me, however, that the blame (fault; source of problem), if there is any, is not with America’s schools, but rather with the businesses themselves.
Do you want to understand English speakers better? Do you want to understand TV shows and movies in English?
We designed the Learning Guide to help you learn English better and faster. Get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more. Get the Learning Guide and support ESL Podcast today by becoming a Basic or Premium Member today!
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ON MONDAY ESL Podcast 740 – Corporate Gift-Giving
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 “junior” and “to stick to.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Advice for Giving Corporate Gifts.”
“Many companies give gifts to their “clients” (customers) and “vendors” (suppliers) to maintain a good business relationship, show “appreciation” (gratitude and respect), and thank…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 321
Topics: Ask an American: National Jukebox; using “to” with to give and to send; a dime a dozen and other money idioms; complimenting doctors and nurses
In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Jukeboxes.”
“The first jukeboxes were created in the 1890s, and were able to play only one song. In the late 1920s, technology improved so that the jukeboxes were able to…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY ESL Podcast 741 – Playing in a Tournament
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 “title” and “clash.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Types of Tournaments.”
“In this episode, we discussed two types of tournaments: double-elimination tournaments and round-robin tournaments. But there are several other common types in U.S. sports…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
More than 20 years ago – in 1988 – Bobby McFerrin wrote his song Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Before the year ended, the song had rocketed (risen quickly) to the top of the Billboard Top 100 Chart. The chart, published by Billboard magazine, is a list of the 100 most popular songs in the U.S. McFerrin’s song was the first a cappella (without instruments) song to ever become #1 on the chart.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy is a fun (enjoyable) song! And it’s funny, as you can see in this video.
The song showed up (appeared) recently on the Brain Pickings web site. Maria Popova, a writer for Brain Pickings, unpacked (analyzed and explained) some of the lyrics (words) and the scientific advice (opinion about what to do) they give for personal well-being (being healthy or happy). You may be familiar with some of the advice, but it’s often helpful to be reminded of things we already know.
Here are some of the lyrics from Don’t Worry, Be Happy and what Popova says we can learn from them:
“In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double (twice as bad)”
We’ve all probably noticed what happens when we keep thinking about things that we’re worried about – it makes them worse! And scientific research has found that constant (without stopping) worrying can be bad for our hearts.
“Here, I give you my [telephone] number
When you worry call me
I make you happy”
There’s probably nothing better than having a friend to talk to when you’re worried about something. Social support (encouragement and help from other people) helps protect us from the negative effect of stress (continuous feelings of worry) and worry. Finding a friend, and being a friend, can help reduce (make less) the effect of worry.
“Cause when you worry
Your face will frown (look unhappy or angry)
And that will bring everybody down”
Scientists tell us that we often mirror, or reflect, what we see other people do. So, if you smile, I’ll smile. If you frown, so will I. We can encourage each other by choosing to smile.
“Put a smile on your face”
There’s a popular piece of advice that says “fake it (pretend) ‘till (until) you make it (succeed)”. Science tells us that if we think and act the way we want to feel, we will often experience the feeling we’re looking for. In other words, if we act happy, we’ll often become happy.
“Don’t worry, it will soon pass (go away)
Whatever it is”
A psychologist (someone who studies the mind and how people act) from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) says that we overestimate (think something is larger than it is) the negative effect of things that happen to us – discovering we have cancer, getting a divorce, etc. Another writer wrote that “negative events do affect us, but they generally (usually) don’t affect us as much or for as long as we expect them to.”
It sounds like Bobby McFerrin understood a lot about life and well-being when he wrote Don’t Worry, Be Happy. He’s not a psychologist, but his intuitive (based on feeling rather than facts) insights (clear understanding) appear to be on target (correct).
A couple of years ago, I used McFerrin’s song to illustrate (show; explain) an important aspect (part) of language acquisition (acquiring, or picking up, a language by reading or listening) in an article I wrote. If you want, you can find it here.
~ Warren Ediger – creator of Successful English, where you’ll find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.
In the past 30 years, both schools and businesses in the United States have stressed (emphasized) the importance of teamwork, of people working together to solve a common problem instead of doing everything alone, by themselves. The idea is that you will be more productive (get more done) and/or learn more if you work with someone else. Businesses often say they are looking to hire (employ) someone who is a “teamplayer,” someone who will cooperate and work together well with others.
According to a recent study, however, not everyone likes working with a teammate (a person in your group or team). Researchers asked 174 people to perform a simple task (job). For each task participants (those who were part of the study) completed successfully, they would be given 27 cents. They could work by themselves or with another person, but the pay they received would be the same. About 40% of the women chose to work with someone else, but only 11% of the men did. Women clearly preferred to work together more than men did.
Why did men prefer to work alone more than women? The study found that men thought working with another person would slow them down, making them less able to get the work done quickly. Yet people who worked with others actually did better on average than those who worked alone. Men were more likely to overestimate their abilities (think they were better than they actually were), thinking they could do better by themselves than with another person.
So how do you get men to work with others? You pay them more. When researchers in the study said that they would pay participants 3 cents more to join a group, the men were just as likely to join a group as the women, with about 75% choosing to work with a partner.
So the study concluded that men appear to need a greater incentive (reward) for working with other people than women do, mostly because they think they are better than they actually are.
Now here’s a question for our female readers: Does the idea that men think they are better than they really are surprise you?
Do you want to improve your English even faster? Get our Learning Guide for each podcast and get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.
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 “trunk” and “shot.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Roadside Assistance Programs.”
““Roadside assistance programs” or “emergency roadside assistance programs” provide “assistance” (help) to drivers when they have problems while they are driving…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 320
Topics: American Cities: Columbus, Ohio; Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII; limit versus limitation; for X person to undercut set targets; to sponge off (someone)
In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “The Columbus Day Controversy.”
“The United States “celebrates” (recognizes and honors) Christopher Columbus’s arrival to the Americas on October 12, 1492 with an official holiday each year. It is celebrated on the second Monday each October…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY ESL Podcast 739 – Performing an Intervention
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 “cornered” and “to cut back.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Drinking Over the Holidays.”
“Some American holidays are “associated with” (connected to) “excessive” (too much) “drinking” (consumption of alcohol). This is especially true for “New Year’s Eve”…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
By now, we have all heard about the so-called (what most people know it as, but may not be the official name) Occupy movement. Occupy, in this sense, means for people to take control of and to stay in a place, usually illegally or with force, so people have been occupying streets and other public places to protest (act in some way to show their disapproval of) social and economic inequality (where people are not treated fairly or in the same way). The protests began on September 17 in New York City and San Francisco. Since then, similar protests have taken place in over 95 cities in 82 countries.
Many different groups of people are airing their grievances (telling others why they are unhappy). Some of the protestors taking part in the protests, at least in the U.S., are young people who are either in college or who have recently graduated. With unemployment rates (the percentage of people without jobs) high, recent graduates are finding it difficult to start their careers and to start paying back student loans (money borrowed from banks and other institutions to pay for school). According to Time Magazine, in 1990, the unemployment rate for college graduates was around 5%. Now it is approaching (getting close to) 10%.
In the U.S., the price of higher education (study at a college or university) has soared (gone up very much). In 1992-1993, the average student loan amount was about $15,000 (adjusted or changed to 2010 dollars). In 2010-2011, it is over $34,000. Most student loan programs give students a six-month grace period (time when someone does not need to pay back money yet). After that, they must begin repayment (paying money back), whether they have a job or not. Of those students who began repayment in 2005, 41% became delinquent (behind in their payment) or defaulted (could not repay a loan at all) within five years. If you consider that as a country, the U.S. has more student loan debt (money owed) than credit card debt, this may very well (very likely) be the next big creditcrisis (a time of big problems because of money people have borrowed and can’t pay back).
Students are certainly not the only ones protesting in the Occupy movement and suffering in this economy, but are recent graduates facing these types of problems where you live? Who are the people participating in the Occupy protests in other countries?
~ Lucy
Photo Credit: Day 14 Occupy Wall Street September 30 2001 from Wikipedia
A few weeks ago I wrote about going to a traditional Midwestern (in the middle and northern part of the U.S.) fall festival, and described the types of games and events you might find there. Today we’ll talk about an even more important part of a fall festival: food.
Some of the food you will find at a fall festival could be found at almost any fair (festival) or celebration with a large number of people in the Midwest, including hot dogs, bratwursts (a type of German sausage), hamburgers, and corn on the cob. In addition, at a Minnesota or Wisconsin fall festival, you will often find something called booya (sometimes spelled “booyah”). Booya is a stew or thick soup, typically made with beef but also sometimes with chicken, along with lots of different kinds of vegetables. Booya is always made in a large kettle (pot or cooking container), and is cooked slowly over many hours to obtain (get) the best possible taste. Booya kettles are huge, holding up to 50 gallons (190 liters) of soup! These large kettles are usually owned by a local church or community organization, and are used for many, many years.
The derivation (origin; place where something comes from) of the word “booya” is somewhat in dispute (people don’t agree on the answer). Some people say it comes from a mispronunciation of the French word bouillon, meaning “soup.” The French explorers (people who go to areas previously unknown to them) in North America were the first Europeans to settle (live) in what are now Minnesota and Wisconsin, and many places in the Midwest have French names to this day (today). So it seems very possible that the word “booya” is derived from a French word.
However, booya is not considered a French food by Midwesterners, but rather something invented in the U.S. There are in fact very few Frenchdescendents (people whose parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. were originally from France) living in Minnesota today. And like many types of traditional food, there are arguments over whose booya recipe (instructions for cooking) is the best.
The fall festival I attended in October is famous in the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota) for its booya, and it tasted as good as I remembered it tasting as a teenager. Booya is so popular that festivals often run out of it (use or sell all they have) after just a few hours, so smart attendees (people who go to an event) arrive to the festival early. After eating one bowl of booya at the festival, I got in line (stood in a line of people) to buy some more booya to take home with me for dinner. I’d love to share some with you, but the photo (above) will have to suffice (be enough or sufficient) for now!
I’ve been writing scripts for our podcasts for over six years and I think it’s time to get your suggestions on new topics. We do get emails from listeners with suggestions, but it would be nice to share ideas here on the blog.
More than 20 years ago – in 1988 – Bobby McFerrin wrote his song Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Before the year ended, the song had rocketed (risen quickly) to the top of the Billboard Top 100 Chart. The chart, published by Billboard magazine, is a list of the 100 most popular songs in the U.S. McFerrin’s song was the first a cappella (without instruments) song to ever become #1 on the chart.
