Many universities begin the new academic (school) year around this time of year, in late August and early September, and I recently came across an article about laptops (portable or easy to move computers) in the classroom.

When I was a professor at the university, students would sometimes–maybe, often–get distracted (not give full attention) by other things and not pay attention to the class discussions. I’m sure my boring lectures (educational talks) were the cause.

These days, there’s something else distracting students: their laptops. Most American universities now have WiFi or wireless Internet access across the entire campus (space and buildings of the university). This means that students with laptop computers can bring them to class and surf the web (go to and look at different Internet pages) during class. As you can imagine, many professors don’t like this very much.

Professors at some universities are retaliating (fighting back). Some are banning (not allowing) laptops in their classrooms. Other universities allow professors to flip a switch (cut the electrical connection) to turn off WiFi in their classrooms. Professors say that it makes a huge difference. Students pay attention more and there is a better connection and better communication between professors and students. On the other hand, some students say that if professors were more interesting, they wouldn’t get bored and surf the web during class in the first place (to begin with).

Are laptops allowed in the university classrooms in your country? Are they allowed only for taking notes or for accessing the Internet as well?

~ Lucy

We received an interesting question from Maggie and Savor in Beijing:

We have a question from Cafe 150: What is the difference between “begin doing” and “begin to do”?  In Cafe 150, it says “Josephine began to act in movies” and then says “She began singing jazz music.”  Why is there a difference?

You can say either “begin to act” or “begin acting.”  They would both be correct in this circumstance.  You can put an infinitive verb (such as “to act” or “to do”) after the verb begin, or a gerund (a verb that ends in -ing, such as “acting” or “doing”).  However, this only works when the verb begin is in the simple present or simple past (begin, began).  If it is in the present or past progressive, such as, “He is beginning” or “He was doing,” then you can only use an infinitive after the verb: “He is beginning to act on the stage” or “She was beginning to annoy (bother) me!”

~Jeff

One thing that Americans are known for is their love of fast service. We want things now, and the faster the better.

This is true for our food, too. Americans already eat a lot of fast food. We order our hamburgers, fried chicken, or pizzas, and it’s made quickly. Many people use the drive-through and order their food without leaving their cars.

However, for some Americans, the wait at the drive-through is still too long. One recent survey found that about 70% of Americans won’t wait more than five minutes in a drive-through line.

How can restaurants make service even faster? Many large restaurant chains are now accepting electronic orders online (using the Internet) and with text-messaging (electronic messages sent from a cell phone). A large pizza restaurant chain, Pizza Hut, says that they get 30 electronic orders every minute!

~ Lucy

There was an interesting article in the newspaper this week about changes that are taking place in the U.S. population. According to a new report published by the Census Bureau (the part of the federal or national government that counts how many people there are in the United States), by the year 2042, the majority of Americans will no longer be white.

America will increasingly become a country where the majority are “minorities.” In U.S. English, the word “minority” is often used to describe those who are not white or of European descent (to have come originally from a place). Examples of a minority would include Hispanic/Latino, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans. But now in many cities in the United States — and soon in the entire country — more than 50% of the population will be members of one of these or another minority group.

Part of the reason for this change in the population has been the declining (decreasing) birth rates (the number of children a woman has) of European Americans, as well as the higher birth rates of other groups and the increasing number of immigrants.

This change has already taken place in many places such as Los Angeles, where only 30% of the population is classified as white or European American.

~Jeff

Question:
One of our listeners, Natalia, recently asked what the common and polite way is to say that you have to go to the bathroom.

Answer:
In the U.S., the most common terms are bathroom and restroom for the room with the toilet. In most U.S. homes, the room with the toilet is the same room where you’ll find the bathtub/shower and the sink. Even if it’s not, we still use these two terms.

The most common phrases we use are: “I need to go to the bathroom”/”I’m going to the bathroom” and the slightly more polite, “I need to go to the restroom”/”I’m going to the restroom.”

Other polite terms for the bathroom/restroom are the ladies’ room or the men’s room, and some women may use the terms powder room or the little girl’s room. However, “restroom” is fine in nearly all situations, so that’s the term I suggest using. In the U.S., you would very rarely hear anyone say, “I need to go to the toilet,” which is considered impolite and sounds a little strange to a native speaker, and Americans don’t use the terms “loo” and “W.C.” (water closet).

The most polite and formal ways to say you have to go to the restroom, however, does not mention the bathroom or restroom at all. At a formal gathering or at a business meeting, for example, most people would simply say, “If you’ll excuse me…” or “Excuse me” as they get up to go to the restroom.

In very, very informal situations, you may hear someone say, “I need to pee.” To pee is to allow urine (the water waste in your body) to come out. Again, this is very informal and impolite, so I don’t recommend ever saying this. I mention it in case you hear it in movies or on TV shows. Other very informal phrases you may hear are, “I need to go to the john.” The john is the toilet; and “I need to hit the can.” You guessed it–the can is the toilet.

I can’t believe I spent five paragraphs talking about the bathroom, but I hope this is helpful!

~ Lucy

We have celebrated our past two anniversaries by producing a video podcast. We want to do that again this year, but we need your help.

This year, Jeff will be answering listener questions. Do you have a burning question (something you want to know very much) about us or the podcast? If so, post a comment here and we will select a few to answer in the anniversary video podcast.

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

~ Lucy

There are many types of blogs. The ESL Podcast Blog is one for learning. Other kinds of blogs are confessional, where people tell others about something they’ve done, often things that was a secret and/or wrong in some way. Many blogs give new information or breaking news (most recent news, happening right now) about politics, technology, and other topics. Still other blogs are a creative outlet, where people can post their imaginative and original works or ideas for others to see.

For some therapists (people or doctors who help people with mental or psychological issues and problems), blogs have another function. Therapists are telling their patients to blog as part of their treatment (medical care to make a person better).

Psychologists (scientists who study the mind) say that blogs are different from diaries because there is a built-in (inherent; as part of it) audience. As children, we learn that we can get help if we tell others about our problems. And as adults, we associate (connect) communication with getting consolation (comfort received after something bad happens). For this reason, psychologists say, blogging gives people their need for sympathy (others feeling sad for you), especially when there are major problems. Therapists say that blogging gets you closer to a sympathetic audience and that’s therapeutic (have a good effect on your body or mind). According to one psychologist, blogging, which can be anonymous (not identified by name so no one knows who you are), which gives it another therapeutic advantage: People can tell of intimate (private and personal) things without making themselves vulnerable (giving other people an opportunity to attack or harm them).

Would you consider starting a blog? If so, what kind of blog would it be and what would you write about?

~ Lucy

Cartoon: “I had my own blog for a while, but I decided to go back to pointless, incessant barking.”
pointless = without purpose
incessant = with no end; without stopping
to bark = to make the loud sound a dog makes with its mouth when it “speaks”

If you read an American newspaper or listen to an American newscast, you may hear or read a strange word, “staycation.”  Staycation is a new word the American press (newspapers, radio, and television) is using this summer to describe a vacation very close to your own home, or simply staying at home during your vacation.  It is a combination of the words “stay” and “vacation.”

According to many news reports, these staycations are very popular among American families this year.  Why?  The high price of gasoline for cars and airplanes has made it very expensive for Americans to travel compared to past years.  When you combine this with the weak American dollar, it all adds up to (leads to the conclusion that) people deciding to stay close to home during their traditional summer vacations.

Of course, some places are more interesting to “stay home at” than others.  And if you live in a very small town, well, you may just want to skip (not to take, not to do) your vacation and save your time up for next year!

~Jeff

Question:
Brian in the U.S. asked: What are “cooties”? I watch “Arthur,” the cartoon (show with animation (drawings)), every morning, and the characters often say, “You have cooties!” but I do not understand! Please help!

Answer:
Cooties are imaginary (not real) germs. Germs are the very, very small living things that we can’t see, but that can cause disease or illness.  To insult (to treat with disrespect) someone, you could say that they have cooties. Children like to say this to people they don’t like.  Like the word “germs,” we nearly always use “cooties” as a plural noun, almost never as a singular noun. Adults don’t usually use the word “cooties” unless they were trying to be funny.

~ Lucy

It’s summertime and the movie theaters are full of blockbusters (very successful; earning a lot of money) movies. The number 1 movie in the U.S. this week is The Dark Knight, a movie about Batman. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve read good reviews.

This got me thinking about when I was younger and how I wished I had superpowers, or powers and abilities that would allow me to do great things.

Here’s a poll question: If you could any superpower, which superpower would you want? If it’s not listed in the options, submit a comment and tell us what that power would be.

~ Lucy