The A to Z English Podcast

In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl talks about her trip to China.To become an exclusive subscriber, follow this link:https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentorWeChat: atozenglishpodcastTranscript:00:00:00JackHey, it is the English podcast listeners. This is Jack here. We are excited to offer you a new way to get even more involved with our podcast for just $10 a month, you can become an exclusive subscriber and join our private WhatsApp and WeChat groups as a member.00:00:20JackYou'll have the opportunity to ask questions and leave comments that we will address in a special weekly episode dedicated to our support.00:00:30XochitlYours.00:00:31JackYour generous donations help cover the operational costs of the podcast.00:00:36JackAllowing us to keep delivering the content you love to join, simply click the links in the description to pay via our stripe account or directly on the WeChat app.00:00:50JackThank you for your support. We can't wait to connect with you in our exclusive groups and hear what you have to say.00:00:57JackOK.00:00:58JackNow let's get on with the show. 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.00:01:16JackAnd today's topic is social's trip to China when she was 16 years old and social I I didn't know that you went to China when you were sixteen. I think this is the first time I'm learning of this and.00:01:34JackWhy did you go? Who did you go with? What did you do? You know all the WH questions? I'm so curious.00:01:41XochitlUM so.00:01:45XochitlWhat can I say about this trip?00:01:48XochitlUM, well, we went. I was learning Mandarin at the time I started learning Mandarin in the in freshman year of high school, which for our listeners that means first year of high school and in US we have four years of high school so.00:02:06XochitlMy I want to say it was my junior year. Yes, because I was 16 my junior year.00:02:12XochitlI the summer of my junior year, we went to China on a trip because as it turns out, my dad is a a university professor and his university, the Confucius Institute, holds a trip to China. And you have to pay like your ticket. But I think everything else is paid for it.00:02:29XochitlIt's like it's subsidized, so that means like they pay for a lot of your trip and.00:02:34JackSo you just buy the ticket, but they pay for like your accommodation. They pay for your food and that kind of stuff they travel.00:02:41XochitlYeah, I believe either that was the case or it's subsidized, meaning they put a lot of money towards your your accommodation and your food and your travel. And. Yeah, so it was pretty affordable. So my dad said.00:02:50JackIt lowers the price down so.00:02:53JackDon't have to pay much.00:02:55XochitlHmm.00:02:57XochitlHey, I'll pay for it. My dad found it, actually, and he said he would pay for it for me. And so I.00:03:01XochitlSaid.00:03:02XochitlYeah. OK and.00:03:07XochitlA few like only one other person who was in my class in Chinese went, and besides, that was all students from Louisville, which is the capital of Kentucky.00:03:17JackYeah.00:03:18XochitlAnd so we all went to China, and it was a a an age range from.00:03:27Xochitl1617.00:03:30XochitlPretty much and.00:03:34XochitlWe it was a really great time. I think we landed in Beijing and we went to Shanghai and Xian.00:03:41JackHmm.00:03:42XochitlAnd I really, really loved it. I think that's probably one of my favorite places that I've ever visited.00:03:48XochitlI really like the food. I liked the weather, I liked how busy it was, and there were a lot of really beautiful parks, like especially she had a really beautiful park and we spent the most time in Shannon and spent a week in Shannon. If I'm not mistaken, and went to a high school and got to meet like other kids our age. And then we went to host family and have like, dinner with them.00:03:54JackYeah.00:04:04JackYeah.00:04:13XochitlAnd we got to go shopping and we got to take the subway and like, we got to, like, eat street food and we got to go on the Great Wall. We hiked on the great.00:04:23XochitlWall of China.00:04:24JackOh cool.00:04:25XochitlYeah, we went to Shanghai, we went to like some traditional palace. I want to say.00:04:32JackYeah.00:04:33XochitlYeah, because we went to some gardens. Some like traditional gardens in Shanghai, and it was very hot and humid in Shanghai and in Beijing it was very rainy and cold. It was like.00:04:44XochitlVery because Shanghai's the South and Beijing's like the north, right? And then Shian was probably my favorite because.00:04:53XochitlThe weather was just perfect the whole time, so I really liked it there.00:04:57JackSo social you said you went to Shanghai. I I heard some quotes by a famous chef and traveler, Anthony Bourdain. And he said.00:05:00XochitlYeah.00:05:09XochitlYes.00:05:10JackShanghai makes New York City look like a.00:05:13JackThird world country.00:05:14JackCountry.00:05:15JackLike and and I I've always found that really interesting because I think the perception that Americans have of China is that it's somehow backwards or, you know, it's not developed or whatever. And if you look at some of these projects that they have and they're building.00:05:37JackAnd the things that they're doing in China, they're it looks like it looks like it's in science fiction movie like it's in the future.00:05:43XochitlYes. Yeah.00:05:46XochitlThat this was almost 10 years ago. At this point, I guess, or 10 years ago. So. But I do remember that it was really insane how tall all the buildings were, and we had a race after I think in Beijing is where we ate Peking ducks because it was a specialty. And I want to say that's from Beijing.00:05:57JackYeah.00:06:06XochitlBut he's saying.00:06:06JackYeah.00:06:07XochitlJust correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure that's.00:06:10XochitlAnd so after he had pecking dunk, it was really delicious. But it's heavy because it's kind of fatty and sugary, and it's really.00:06:15JackThe duck is the duck is is wonderful, but it's so oily and so.00:06:22XochitlYou're saying it's like delicious cake buds, and then your stomachs like so. My friends and I like waist because we were staying on like the 13th floor or something. I don't think any of it. No, it was higher than that. None of us had ever been that high up and like, stayed that high up. And so I remember that we got in like an.00:06:23XochitlRich.00:06:26JackYeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.00:06:40XochitlThere and they got an elevator and my friend and I tried to.00:06:45XochitlRace him up the.00:06:45XochitlStairs. There's no way we could make.00:06:47XochitlIt you know we.00:06:48XochitlWere just like running. It isn't good, I think made it and I made it and like they were. I think they had, like stopped on the floor because of something or something. And so they we made it close to the same time.00:06:48JackYou got to like the 8th floor and.00:06:52JackYeah.00:07:02XochitlBut I like threw up after cause I ran so hard and I was like, no, I'm not taking that.00:07:09JackAmazing duck goes in Beijing. Duck goes out. Yeah.00:07:12XochitlSo it was very.00:07:15JackOhh my gosh.00:07:15XochitlYeah, and seeing how I was very beautiful, we actually I believe we stayed at a university in Shanghai and.00:07:23XochitlIt was really nice. I remember the dorms and everything and.00:07:29XochitlWe were saying some college dorms, even though we.00:07:31XochitlWere.00:07:31XochitlHigh school students, but it's because I think the university Shanghai has like some exchange program. That's what we are looking at. And yeah, it was really fascinating. I we really enjoyed it. And I would say it's a beautiful country. I think it's one of the the.00:07:39JackYeah.00:07:48XochitlThat in Seattle are two places that I went and I was like, I love it here. I I could live here. I could stay here forever, you know.00:07:55JackYeah, yeah, yeah. Shanghai is a city that I've I absolutely must visit. I'm I'm I'm more interested in visiting Shanghai than I am in visiting Beijing. Oddly enough, I know it's the capital city and everything, but I really want to visit Shanghai. It seems like such a cool.00:08:14JackVibe, like such a cool city.00:08:16XochitlYeah. And the Chinese listeners don't hate me for this. I like the Southern accent more, even though it's more improper.00:08:25XochitlThe the northern accent is more difficult for me to pronounce because it's like it's rougher and like the the tones and like the the sounds like the consonant sounds are much sharper and the Southern accent is like.00:08:38XochitlMm-hmm.00:08:41XochitlMore, it's softer and it's easier for a foreigner because it's hard to like. Enunciate those. Those like sharp consonant sounds like like that kind of for the for the north and for the South. It might be like the instead of the. And so it was just easier for me to pronounce because my first teacher was actually southern Chinese.00:09:02JackNo.00:09:02JackOK.00:09:03XochitlAnd my tutor after that was also she was from Nanjing, so she was from the South southern capital city. I guess so I was more used to that. And then when I went to college.00:09:13XochitlThe professors were from the north and it was so hard to keep up because it's like it's a more proper, supposedly I think pronunciation.00:09:21JackOK, be more formal or something like that. Like yeah, yeah.00:09:26XochitlI guess it's more. It's kind of like how in in the southern US like dialect or regional accent, we kind of slow words together or whatever.00:09:35JackYeah, there's a southern drawl. They call it, you know, which I think it would be really funny if if for like, a a Chinese student or a Korean student to go to America and study English in Louisiana or Georgia or Alabama.00:09:38XochitlYes, OK.00:09:52JackAnd so they learn, you know, English with that, like how y'all doing, you know? Hey, y'all, you know, something like that. It's it's like, yeah.00:09:58XochitlHey. Yeah. Yeah. So that's basically how I learned Chinese. So that's what I had this funny accent to them, to the Northerners. So it was fun, though. But yeah. So yeah, that was my trip to China. I have so many very fond memories, and I loved it. And I definitely, I think it's one of the number one.00:10:18XochitlCountries that I that I really want to go back.00:10:21JackOK. And what how about the people I we we I forgot to ask you about the people but.00:10:22XochitlThe one that I.00:10:26XochitlEveryone was so friendly and it was crazy because everyone was so friendly and it felt really safe and I remember I left my like wallet full of money at one of these stands and the the old lady went after me and I was like, hey, you forgot this.00:10:40JackWow, I love that.00:10:40XochitlAnd crazy cause a lot of places they'd be like, oh, I just do that in the US. Don't do that. You know what I mean?00:10:44JackHey.00:10:47JackIn the US, that money is Gonzo. Yeah. Gone for sure. Yeah.00:10:52XochitlAnd here you left your money here and I bought all this merch because I knew my dad would really like it. It was really fun. It was like these.00:11:00XochitlT-shirts Obama was president at the time, and they were called like Obama. Mao, like Mao did. The only guess, but Obama added it's like not in the Red Star. And it was really, I really. I had a fun time with that. I got my dad like a watch and AT shirt and a hat and all this stuff.00:11:07JackYeah, Obama.00:11:18JackNice. That's great.00:11:20XochitlYeah. And the people are so nice, so friendly and.00:11:24XochitlThey were, so they were.00:11:25XochitlSo, like nice and flattering to us and and like accommodating and I don't know, I really, really appreciated it. And yeah, nothing, nothing bad to say, all good things. And I really hope to come back someday and be able to see.00:11:40JackYou maybe wanna go to China. I really wanna get there so.00:11:43XochitlYou have to go. My dad also really wants to go. And I tell him, like, come on, man.00:11:48XochitlYou should go because the circus we also went to the circus. It was so cool. And The thing is really funny is that the popcorn is like sweet there. It's not salty. It's not like like.00:11:58JackYeah, it's the same in Korea too. They got, you know, yeah, the, the the sweet popcorn, the caramel popcorn. Yeah, it's.00:12:02XochitlYeah.00:12:05JackIt's it's interesting.00:12:07JackYeah, I'm. I'm definitely a savory. Over over. Yeah, yeah.00:12:10XochitlYeah. Anyway, listeners, let us know, are you too sweet or salty popcorn? Have you been to China? Are you from China? Tell us your experiences. I really love it. Definitely country that I want to go.00:12:22XochitlToo, and yeah, we'll see you guys next time. Make sure to join our WeChat and WhatsApp groups. That way we can interact with you directly if you have any money to spare, make sure that you join to see our exclusive content episodes. It really helps. I can I make more content for you guys and send us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com and leave us a comment.00:12:43XochitlAnd below at A-Z englishpodcast.com and we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-xochitls-trip-to-china/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Debora by Jangwahttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dilating_Times/single/debora/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack gives some common reasons why people might hate English.To become an exclusive subscriber, follow this link:https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentThe reasons why some people may express a dislike for the English language can vary widely based on personal, cultural, and educational factors. Here are some common reasons:Complex Grammar and Spelling: English has many irregular rules and exceptions in its grammar and spelling, making it difficult to learn and master. For example, words like "knight" and "night" sound the same but are spelled differently, and verb conjugations can be inconsistent.Colonial History: English is often associated with British colonialism. In countries that were colonized, English might be seen as a symbol of oppression and cultural erasure. This historical context can contribute to negative feelings towards the language.Global Dominance: The prevalence of English as a global lingua franca can sometimes feel overpowering. In international settings, non-native speakers might feel pressured to learn English, which can lead to resentment, especially if they feel their own languages and cultures are being overshadowed.Cultural Imposition: The dominance of English-language media (movies, music, literature) can sometimes be seen as a form of cultural imperialism, pushing Western norms and values onto other cultures.Educational Challenges: In some educational systems, English is taught in a way that feels overly strict or punitive, leading to negative associations. Students might struggle with the language due to teaching methods that do not accommodate different learning styles.Pronunciation Difficulties: English pronunciation can be particularly challenging for non-native speakers. The same letter combinations can be pronounced differently in various words, leading to confusion and frustration.Language Pride: People may feel a strong sense of pride in their native language and view the necessity of learning English as undermining their own linguistic and cultural identity.Social and Economic Inequality: In some societies, fluency in English can be a marker of social status and economic opportunity, creating a divide between those who have access to quality English education and those who do not. This can foster resentment among those who feel disadvantaged.Understanding these reasons can foster a more empathetic perspective towards those who may dislike English. It highlights the importance of promoting multilingualism and cultural respect in global interactions.Here's a deeper look into the complexities of English language structure and pronunciation that contribute to its perceived difficulty:Language StructureIrregular Verb Conjugations:English has many irregular verbs that do not follow standard conjugation patterns. For instance, "go" becomes "went" (past tense) instead of "goed."This requires memorization of many unique forms, which can be challenging for learners.Inconsistent Spelling Rules:The relationship between spelling and pronunciation in English is often inconsistent. For example, the "ough" in "though," "through," "rough," and "cough" is pronounced differently in each word.Words borrowed from other languages retain their original spellings, adding to the complexity (e.g., "ballet" from French, "yacht" from Dutch).Articles and Determiners:English uses articles ("a," "an," "the") and determiners (e.g., "some," "any") that do not exist in all languages, requiring learners to understand their proper usage.The definite article "the" and the indefinite articles "a" and "an" are used based on specific grammatical rules that can be confusing.Syntax Variability:English allows for flexible sentence structures but also has specific rules about word order (Subject-Verb-Object is standard).Questions and negatives require auxiliary verbs (e.g., "Do you like...?" "I do not like...").Prepositions:English prepositions can be particularly tricky because their use often does not follow a logical pattern and must be memorized (e.g., "interested in," "good at," "afraid of").Pronunciation ChallengesVowel Sounds:English has a large number of vowel sounds (about 20), including diphthongs, which are combinations of two vowel sounds within the same syllable.For example, the "i" in "bit" is different from the "i" in "bite."Consonant Clusters:English frequently uses consonant clusters (multiple consonants together) which can be difficult for speakers of languages that do not use them.Words like "strengths" or "twelfth" are challenging due to their complex clusters.Stress and Intonation:English is a stress-timed language, meaning that the rhythm of speech is based on the stress of syllables rather than the syllable count.Sentence meaning can change based on intonation and stress patterns (e.g., "I didn't say he stole the money" can have different meanings depending on which word is stressed).Homophones and Homographs:Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings (e.g., "two," "to," "too").Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations (e.g., "lead" as in to guide, and "lead" as in the metal).Silent Letters:Many English words contain silent letters that are not pronounced (e.g., the "k" in "knight," the "b" in "debt").This inconsistency adds to the difficulty of spelling and pronunciation.Examples of Difficulties"The chaos of English pronunciation": A classic example is the poem "The Chaos" by Gerard Nolst Trenité, which illustrates the inconsistencies and complexities in English pronunciation.Minimal Pairs: Words that differ by only a single sound can change meanings entirely (e.g., "ship" vs. "sheep," "bat" vs. "pat").ConclusionThe irregularities and inconsistencies in English grammar, spelling, and pronunciation contribute significantly to the difficulty of learning the language. Understanding these challenges can help educators develop more effective teaching methods and learners to be more patient with their progress.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-why-people-hate-english/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Debora by Jangwahttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Dilating_Times/single/debora/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about how music can help you improve your English. Transcript: 00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd 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.00:00:23JackAnd 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.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:55JackWelcome to the Ados English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we're doing another topic talk episode, and this one is how to use music in language learning.00:01:09JackAnd because I think music can be a real, UM, interesting way to, you know, improve your English. So the first one I have here is listen actively.00:01:21JackAnd what that means is start by listening to songs and trying to understand the lyrics. Uh, look up the lyrics online, read along while listening and translate unfamiliar words and phrases. And then you can repeat and even sing along with the song. And I've.00:01:42JackSeeing Korean students.00:01:45JackSeeing English songs in like almost perfect intonation just because they practiced so much and they can actually sing a song in English and it sounds wonderful. It just sounds wonderful. So what do you think about that? Listen, listening actively.00:01:53XochitlLooks great.00:02:07XochitlI think it really helps because you're doing a lot of things there. When you're memorizing lyrics. Another thing that you're doing is that you're perfecting your accent and your pronunciation. You're working on your listening skills, and you are retaining information about the meaning of the lyrics, and you're doing all of these things at the same time, which obviously is a huge.00:02:28XochitlStupid.00:02:29JackAbsolutely. Absolutely. OK. Now, #2 is kind of related to #1, uh, this one is analyzed the lyrics. And so it's like breakdown the song line by line and try to identify patterns of like grammar, verb tense, idiomatic expressions and things like that.00:02:50JackDo you do I think that could be actually?00:02:52JackIt enjoyable because you're you'll get even more out of the song. You know, you might like the the melody of the song but but not understand the lyrics. But if you sit down and just break down the lyrics and try to understand exactly what they mean and you know there's going to be a lot of idiom.00:03:14JackA lot of poetry, a lot of rhyme in there, and I think that might open some some doors. I don't know. What do you think?00:03:23XochitlYeah, I I think it really helps because lyrics are fairly poetic in their language. We use a lot of figurative language and lyrics, and I think that it really gets your gears working on decoding language and working through some of those idioms that you might have heard.00:03:43XochitlI'm working through some just figurative language. In general, things like comparisons or symbols inside lyrics. All of those things really help you think about English and language on a higher level.00:03:54JackYes.00:03:59JackOK. Yeah, I totally.00:04:02JackAnd #3, we've got four. So there's two more #3 is use music videos because being able to see the the video. And I think part of it just looking at their lips, you know, as they're speaking that you're seeing the mouth and the art articulation is good.00:04:20XochitlYes.00:04:21JackBut also the context.00:04:24JackBecause, you know, many music videos are often storytelling. You know it's it's, it's video, it's visual storytelling with a musical.00:04:34JackSoundtrack to go with it and how? How do you feel about that like and and using subtitles as well with the with the music videos?00:04:46XochitlUhm, I think that's really interesting. I think you can also try doing it without subtitles at first and just seeing how much you understand what's going on and just switch you back and forth. Don't be afraid to jump into something without subtitles and just try to see how much of it you can gather on your own just through contacts and through what you are already.00:04:53발표자Mm-hmm.00:05:04XochitlYou know, and yeah, I think watching music videos, I I really like your point about looking at the lips and the Annunciation and the pronunciation and everything. That's one of my biggest tips for language learning. And when people ask me how I like mimic pronunciation, I've always made a key point of looking at people's mouths.00:05:25XochitlThey talk another language and you see the.00:05:26JackMm-hmm.00:05:28발표자Difference.00:05:30XochitlFor example, in English our mouths are a lot more closed and we use a lot of kind of guttural sounds. Like all the way from the back of our.00:05:36발표자Throat.00:05:39XochitlBut in Spanish you open your mouth a lot more when you talk to make the vowels like bigger. And then in Korea and I noticed people using a lot of their nose when they spoke to make certain.00:05:46발표자Again.00:05:53JackOhh more nasal size. Yeah, yeah.00:05:56XochitlKind of nasal like and.00:05:58XochitlNoises and kind of Gee noises with their nose. So.00:06:01JackYeah.00:06:02JackThat's interesting. That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah, I think I think music videos is a good way, especially if you've already analyzed the lyrics. And here's another thing I I that just kind of occurred to me.00:06:15JackIs, UM, you know, a lot of song music is a good a good way to do it, because a song is something you if you find a song that really kind of.00:06:27JackThat you really that you really enjoy. Yeah. You can listen to it multiple times, like listening to a lecture, some kind of like audio recording from a book is is gonna get so boring after the third or fourth time. But a song you could listen to it 100 times. You know, you just you still enjoy it.00:06:27XochitlRight.00:06:45XochitlWasn't really every day.00:06:47XochitlIt's for per year, honestly.00:06:49JackRight, right, right. Well, I'm one of those people that when I find a song that I love, I just. I beat it into the ground, you know, I'll listen to it over and over and over again until the point where I basically can't listen to it anymore, which is, I don't know what that says about me. It's it's a a very odd thing.00:07:09XochitlA lot of people are like that. It's kind of like a hit of of good emotion.00:07:15JackYeah. It's like a dopamine.00:07:17XochitlWhen you're listening to a drug, I mean, sorry, you're listening to a song.00:07:21XochitlYeah. It's like a drug hit. Dopamine hit. Whatever. So I have no experience, I swear. But I I just remember when I was in in college, we were taking a course on music. And I remember that there was a study that said that it can be more powerful. The the what goes on in your brain chemically when you hear a song that you really like.00:07:42XochitlCan be more powerful than drugs, and I remember that really stuck with me. So yeah, it definitely keeps.00:07:47JackYeah, sure, sure. Well, I mean, it makes sense, right? I mean, there's adrenaline, dopamine and things like that that occurs naturally.00:07:56JackThrough like you go skydiving or bungee jumping that that has a a feel of like a like a drug feeling. So yeah, that you're you're not wrong. You're not wrong at all. Our last one is explore different genres listen to a wide variety of music genres to expose yourself to different vocabulary and expressions.00:08:18JackEach genre might have its own slang and cultural references.00:08:23JackI think that's interesting.00:08:24XochitlI like that. Yeah, it kind of went similar to what I talked about with the articles of what we talked about the articles earlier. Yeah, I think really diversifying the content that not only what you watch on YouTube and through YouTube channels or what you read in articles, but also the kind of genres of music you listen to and even the genres of things that you watch on Netflix, you could.00:08:43XochitlWatch a show like a horror movie comedy, A Stand up comedy, a documentary and it's very by night and you'll acquire a lot of information and new vocabulary that will really help you overcome those plateaus and keep you interested also.00:08:46XochitlOK.00:08:57JackYeah, if.00:08:58JackWant to if?00:08:59JackYou if you want to, you know, learn, learn a lot of vocabulary about heartbreak, listen to country music. You know, if you want to hear the romantic vocabulary, listen to a lot of R&B. You know, a lot of love songs. So yeah, it'll expose you to different things.00:09:07발표자Right.00:09:14XochitlRight.00:09:18JackWell, that those are four are four big ones.00:09:22XochitlAll right, listeners, if you like that, make sure to leave a comment down below letting us know which tips you're going to be using and shoot us an e-mail at A-Z with podcast@gmail.com. Leave us a comment@azenglishpodcast.com and make sure to join the WeChat and WhatsApp group so you can join Jack and I in conversation. And again if you have $1.99.00:09:42XochitlThere, we really appreciate you guys joining our exclusive podcast content. We really, really appreciate the support so far from all our listeners. It's really helped us so far be able to make and think new content for.Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack provide three good strategies for overcoming a plateau in your language learning journey.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd 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.00:00:23JackAnd 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.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:56JackWelcome to the Ages English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are doing a topic talk episode and social the topic for today is I've I've pulled up three strategies for overcoming.00:01:13JackA plateau in language learning and a plateau just means that you reached a certain level and then you're not improving anymore. You're kind of stuck and you're you're kind of flatlined.00:01:25JackKnow.00:01:26JackAnd yeah, so I'll, I'll.00:01:27XochitlI'm.00:01:29JackI'll tell you the strategies.00:01:30JackAnd then you just, you know, tell me what you think about them and and and share your your your your view on on these.00:01:38JackSo the first one is.00:01:40JackDiversify your learning methods, which means changing the way you engage with the language can re energize your learning process. So incorporate different activities that target various skills, such as reading, listening, writing and speaking.00:02:00JackYou can for reading, you can choose a variety of materials such as books, articles and blogs to expand your vocabulary. You can listen to podcasts. You can follow YouTube channels and again that's right in our that's what we're doing here.00:02:18JackUM to listen to different accents and slang, and we do a lot of slang episodes. So the 80s, the English podcast is really a great way to improve your listening by writing, journaling, writing essays, or replying on online form.00:02:35JackThings. And by joining language exchange programs, finding a conversation partner or participating in speaking clubs. Or you could even join the world English Google meets class, which is something that I started with.00:02:56JackAnother another teacher here in Korea and students can for $10 a month, they can join and just have a one hour conversation. Actually, if you become a VIP, it sometimes students will talk for two or three hours a night.00:03:13JackEvery night. Every day. Yeah. So. And then there are multiple classes and what we have multiple teachers teaching different lessons as well. So you know. So there's a lot of things you can do. What what do you, how do you feel about this like?00:03:13발표자Yes.00:03:28JackDiversifying learning methods.00:03:31XochitlI think that's really good. I I actually was one of the first things I would have suggested right off the bat, especially with reading. It's really great to read varied content like you can try.00:03:44XochitlThing old English literature and you can try reading science articles and you can try reading the horoscope in a magazine or a celebrity news thing or and and you can try reading a fashion article just because you're gonna acquire a lot more different, diverse vocabulary that you don't see in every day and.00:03:53JackRight.00:04:04XochitlThat really helps be able to get you from just a proficient level to really a distinguished native speaker level.00:04:14JackI'm gonna throw. I'm gonna throw a plug for something I'm not related to it at all. I have no connection to it.00:04:21XochitlYeah, do it.00:04:21발표자But.00:04:22JackIt's called Breaking News English and what they do is they take an article and they kind of scale it down so that it's more understandable for second language learners.00:04:35JackAnd they put a new article up every single day, and you can read the article and answer some comprehension questions, some true or false questions, vocabulary matching. They've got lots of little exercises there, and I think that's just such a great.00:04:51JackWebsite I I've used it many times for my classes and I I love breaking news English. So if you're in, if you're looking for somebody to read and the articles are all different, you know it's a science article. It's a sports article. It's a news article. It's all just a bunch of different things. And like you said.00:05:10JackIf you read a variety of of material, you're gonna pick up a variety of vocabulary. If you stay in one specific area like sports only, you're gonna get a lot of sports lingo, but you may.00:05:24JackGet exposed to science or yeah.00:05:24XochitlYou'll be lacking in several social studies, sociology and all history, yeah.00:05:30발표자Right.00:05:33JackExactly, exactly. #2, the second one is set specific, achievable goals. Breaking down your learning into smaller manageable goals can help you stay motivated and measure progress.00:05:48발표자Yes.00:05:49JackHow do you feel about that one?00:05:51XochitlI think that was good. I mean for example, you could say your goal is to improve your pronunciation, but that's extremely vague. But for example, let's say that you struggle with pronouncing the R or R.00:06:06XochitlR sounds so which is really common. Then you could practice a few words that are L&R heavier that alternate between L&R within the same word.00:06:18XochitlAnd record yourself every day and you'll see your progress from the beginning of the month to the end of the month. And that will really inspire you to keep going and keep practicing and improving.00:06:30JackThat's right. That's right. I think students tend to like, try to bite off more than they can chew. You know, you you you set your goals as like I wanna. I wanna sound like a native speaker. What does that mean exactly? You wanna sound like a native speaker? Well, I mean, it's it's kind of like a a a child saying, you know, I want to be Michael Jordan.00:06:35XochitlYeah.00:06:44XochitlRight.00:06:50JackWell, there's a lot of steps that you have to take to get to that high. The highest level of of basketball or whatever sport you.00:06:50XochitlYeah.00:06:57JackMight be playing.00:06:59JackYou you have to, you know, set you small goals. Yeah. Yeah. Well, right.00:07:01XochitlPick an accent.00:07:05XochitlPick an accent for 1A neutral English or some kind. The easiest one that though, or the one that you like, or the one that you resonate the most with and there's just so many small goals from there. Just start with short words or the one you know, ones that you have a little bit of a hard time.00:07:22XochitlAnnouncing and then build up from there and gain your confidence, yeah.00:07:26JackAbsolutely.00:07:28JackAnd #3 is immerse yourself in language and immersion is one of the most effective ways to push through a plateau. And what does immersion mean?00:07:39XochitlImmersion means when you are fully surrounded by a language, in a lot of aspects. So when I was living in Korea, I was immersed in Korean because it's only foreign teacher. So all day, every day, all that I would hear were people speaking Korean around me. And I would say this is this. And patients were the biggest keys to my breakthrough and speaking Korean.00:08:00XochitlBecause at first when I got there and I would, I would hear a word and I'd.00:08:05XochitlI wouldn't know where a word began in another one and another began.00:08:08JackYes, that's a hard thing. You create a yeah, yes.00:08:11XochitlI was like, what's going on? Because so where is there so many it might be?00:08:16XochitlA sentence with only two or two words or three words, or even one word. But it has many syllables, so I was very confused. I was very confused and then with I said I said I'll never learn Korean. I'm I've gone crazy on. I don't know what I'm doing here with patients. Within a couple of weeks, I could. I could begin to distinguish where.00:08:36XochitlWords ended and and began.00:08:39XochitlAnd every month it just got better and better. And then I would feel like I hit a plateau of understanding, or sometimes I would even regress a little bit and then I would improve. And so it it's another thing is that learning of any type and especially language learning, it's not necessarily a linear improvement, is not going to be linear. You might do really well for a while, you might regress.00:08:59XochitlAfter a little bit and come back down. But overall the trend is going to be that you're improving. So you just have.00:09:04JackYes.00:09:05XochitlTo have faith, yes.00:09:06JackAbsolutely. It's a, it's a. It's a long process and it's very detailed and or tedious we say detailed.00:09:16JackAnd it takes a long time to to to grow your language skills. And yeah, I mean, like, So what social did what I did travel if possible. So that's one of the ways you can do just throw yourself right into the fire. You know, so that you have to use.00:09:29XochitlYes.00:09:35XochitlThanks.00:09:37JackThe target language you have to use English to survive. You know survival English, you know, right? But that's expensive and that's not available to everybody that that's not available. But you can do a version of that online like that. Google meets class that I was talking about.00:09:42XochitlSometimes people.00:09:53JackOn is a kind of a version of that where we have a number no native language rule. You have to speak English and so no matter what your skill level is, you've got to find a way to communicate some ideas and you just have to figure it out and you're there's no, there's no guide or anything necessarily.00:10:07XochitlYeah.00:10:13JackYou just, you know, you can ask questions, people will help you. But it's a great way to grow because it's a stress. It's putting stress on your.00:10:22JackOn on, on you and forcing you to perform.00:10:25JackForm.00:10:26JackAnd.00:10:27XochitlIn a real.00:10:27XochitlWorld environment that you don't. Only you wouldn't have access to otherwise. It's really like, OK, this is crunch time kind of behavior which I think really helps. And yeah, I would say that. So that's a great way. Jack. Sorry. Did I?00:10:41XochitlCut you off. Go ahead. I.00:10:42JackNo, no, that's it. I'm. I'm good. Yeah.00:10:45XochitlI was going to say that's really good.00:10:46XochitlAnd another way I know a lot of people learn another language is through playing video games with people that speak that language. As native speakers, you'll pick up things that they're saying, and you'll begin to understand things through that context.00:11:01XochitlAnother way to immerse yourself is by joining like a Facebook group for that. For a hobby that you like in English, or watching a YouTube channel in English, or listening to our podcast or watching Netflix or English movies.00:11:21XochitlI have a friend who moved from Brazil to the US when he was around 7 and he said the biggest way he learned English was through movies and I think that that was a really big help when I was trying to learn Korean is just a lot of listening.00:11:35XochitlThis and and sometimes I would watch something with subtitles and I would rewatch it without the subtitles, yeah.00:11:42JackYeah, that's that's the incremental element to it, right? Start with the easiest and then move a little bit more challenging, a little bit more challenging. That's the way you.00:11:50JackGrow so yeah.00:11:54JackRight on.00:11:55XochitlAll right, listeners, if you like these tips or if you're curious or have any English learning language tips of your own to overcome a plateau, make sure to leave a comment down below at A-Z englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com and join the WeChat and also groups to join the conversation.00:12:12XochitlAnd if you have $1.99 to spare, make sure you support Jack and I and our exclusive podcast content. It really helps us create more content for you guys and we really, really appreciate all the.00:12:22XochitlSupport so far.00:12:23XochitlThank you again and we'll see you guys next.00:12:24XochitlTime. Bye bye bye bye.00:12:25발표자Go back.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-3-strategies-for-overcoming-a-plateau-in-your-language-journey/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack give you three expressions which use the word "finger."Butterfingers:Definition: This term is used to describe someone who is clumsy, especially with their hands, often dropping things or failing to catch something.Example Usage: "He missed the easy catch during the game because he has butterfingers."Finger Food:Definition: This refers to small pieces of food that are meant to be eaten with the fingers, without the need for utensils.Example Usage: "At the party, they served a variety of finger foods like sliders, chicken wings, and mini quiches."Finger a Criminal:Definition: This slang term means to identify or inform on a criminal, often to the police or authorities. It involves pointing out or naming someone as the perpetrator of a crime.Example Usage: "The witness agreed to finger the criminal in exchange for a reduced sentence."Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/idiom-academy-expressions-which-use-the-word-finger/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about slang terms that have become commonly used by many English speakers.Bling: This term refers to flashy, ostentatious jewelry or other luxurious accessories. Originating from the sound of something sparkling, "bling" became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, particularly through the music of artists like Lil Wayne and the Cash Money Millionaires.Crib: Originally slang for a house or apartment, "crib" has been widely adopted in mainstream speech to refer to one's home. The term gained broader recognition through its use in hip hop lyrics and shows like "MTV Cribs."Dope: While it can refer to drugs, in hip hop slang, "dope" means something excellent or outstanding. This positive connotation has crossed over into mainstream usage to describe anything that's impressive or cool.Lit: Initially used to describe something that is exciting or excellent, "lit" has become a popular term across various age groups to denote that a party or event is lively and enjoyable. It has evolved to encompass anything exciting or fun.Salty: In hip hop, being "salty" means feeling upset, bitter, or angry, often over something trivial. This term has been widely adopted to describe someone's attitude when they're annoyed or disappointed.Throw Shade: This phrase means to subtly or indirectly disrespect or criticize someone. Originating from drag culture and popularized by hip hop and R&B communities, "throw shade" is now a common way to describe the act of making a sly, critical remark.OG: Short for "Original Gangster," this term initially referred to someone who has been around for a long time and has a significant amount of respect and experience in a particular field or community. In mainstream usage, it now often refers to someone who is authentic or an originator in any context.Legit: Short for "legitimate," this term is used to describe something that is real, authentic, or genuine. It is often used to express approval or to confirm the credibility of something or someone.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/vocabulary-spotlight-slang-terms-that-have-become-common/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about their recurring dreams.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd 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.00:00:23JackAnd 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.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:56JackWelcome to the 80s English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we're doing a topic talk episode and social. The topic is recurring dreams and.00:01:08XochitlI like this one interesting good.00:01:09JackYeah, yeah. Do you have one or do you want me?00:01:12JackTo go first.00:01:13XochitlI have a couple you can do you want.00:01:15XochitlMe to start or?00:01:16JackYeah, yeah, you go ahead and start. Yeah.00:01:18XochitlI one of them that I have is when I was younger I used to have this recurring dream where there were these like little they look like mini M&M's. They're like these bunch of little colored like round things and they're these like witches, cartoon witches and blue capes.00:01:39XochitlThat would like.00:01:40XochitlZAP them or something and that happened a few different times, like I had that dream a few different times. It was weird.00:01:48XochitlAnd and another one that's only been prevalent since I was a kid all the way through adulthood. Still, if I'm really stressed, I get a dream that I have a tooth in my hand and I have to, like, cut it open and get the tooth out like there's a.00:02:03JackWhoa, that's crazy.00:02:05XochitlIt's weird.00:02:07XochitlYeah, it's really, really weird and this is happened every time since I was a kid all the way in.00:02:14XochitlSo now.00:02:15JackOur listeners out there do some research and let us know what that means. A tooth embedded in your hand that you have to take it.00:02:23XochitlIt's like inside. It's like it's like it's like there's a. It's almost like it grew inside my hand and it's like I can X-ray, see through it or something. And I have to cut it up and pull it out and like, it looks like a mouth and guns inside or something. I don't know. It's freaking weird. Like, yeah, it is very weird and very vivid. I have super, super vivid dreams.00:02:36JackWow.00:02:43XochitlI always have since I was a kid, so it's like very strange.00:02:46JackDo you remember your dream?00:02:48XochitlYeah, I remember a lot of dreams. So it's good. Yeah.00:02:51JackOK.00:02:54JackLike, do you?00:02:54JackIs there some sort of strategy that you use to remember them, or is it just something that happens naturally?00:03:00XochitlWell, it happens naturally sometimes. I wish I didn't. I'll like I get sometimes I get tons of crazy dreams in one night and they're like, they're like home movie plots and a lot of times they're like horror movie plots. And they're, like, really intense in detail. And I and I like, wake up and I'll go back to sleep and I'll have another dream like that. And it just keeps going.00:03:18XochitlI'll have like four or five at night.00:03:20XochitlAnd I'm straight. They're like a movie, like a full movie with characters and everything. It's like real.00:03:25XochitlWeird.00:03:26JackAre you always the star of the dream?00:03:29XochitlNo, no, no, no. So I, a lot of times I'm not even in the dream. I'm just watching it like a movie.00:03:34JackOhh so there's like characters. There's like story developments. There's ohh.00:03:38XochitlYeah, it's a whole plot that has nothing to do with me. It's like, imagine that you're watching a movie, but like, I don't see myself watching it. It's like, literally you're seeing it through your eyes and like, you're just observing. You're just an observer to this movie that's unfolding. That's exactly what I am. I'm just observing these characters. And like, their life and stuff. And it doesn't have anything to do with.00:03:59JackWow, that's really interesting because I don't think I've ever had a dream where I'm not. You know, the main character like, it's not. It's. Yeah, it's just me.00:04:05XochitlThere it is.00:04:07XochitlOhh.00:04:08JackYou know, it might be like a a story in a in a movie type thing, but I'm always the main character of my own dreams.00:04:16JackI wonder.00:04:16XochitlThat's so weird.00:04:18XochitlI also have a recurring dream where I would like try to read in the dream, and then I'd be like, wait a minute. I can't read. This is a dream. Like, that's the closest I've ever been to lucid dreaming is like I would try to write or read, but I've I I've only listed dreamt once where I was like. I don't like the plot of this. So I just changed.00:04:28JackYeah.00:04:36XochitlBit because I was bored with my dream, so I like lucid, lucid dreaming for listeners who don't know, we'll do an episode on it another time because I think it's very interesting, but it's like the person can control their dream and do whatever they want inside and they're aware.00:04:49XochitlThat they're dreaming.00:04:53XochitlAnd I was, I think I've only really had it happen. Super, super like.00:04:59XochitlI know 100% that I lose a dream does only happen.00:05:02XochitlLike once for me.00:05:03JackYeah, well, you have a strange dream life. I mean, the fact that you're that you remember your dreams, that you have long form stories and plots and things like that. The fact that you're not the star of of all your dreams like the main.00:05:04발표자Yeah.00:05:19JackYou're.00:05:20XochitlYeah, I'm ******* not.00:05:21발표자You're. I think you're you're.00:05:22JackYeah. You're kind of outside the norm. I think when it comes to dreamlife.00:05:26XochitlAh, interesting. I didn't know that. I'm curious to hear from our listeners. Are you guys like me? Have you had dreams where you're not the star, which especially recently has been a lot of my dreams? Do you have dreams like you don't know any of the characters or people or plot involved like me? And do you remember your dreams?00:05:47XochitlAre you a vivid dreamer? Do you lose a dream? I'm really curious to hear from our listeners about this. Nothing.00:05:53JackYeah, I am too, because.00:05:56JackI I just think that like UM.00:05:59JackI I thought, but you know, maybe it's just because that's the way it is for me. But I thought most people.00:06:06JackKind of it like, I'm not always myself in my dream. I might be a different person, but I'm still controlling the actions of the person or whatever. You know, I'm like I'm.00:06:18JackThe IT I see it through that the lens of of that person, but it's it might not be me exactly, but usually it it it always feels what we say in English like first person, you know, like it's me. I'm doing something and I'm moving around and so.00:06:33XochitlRight.00:06:38JackBut I for me, I forget my dreams almost immediately.00:06:44JackNow if I write it down, I might be able to remember it, but I'm too lazy to, you know, wake up in the morning and take a sketch pad and and write down notes about my dreams, which is actually one of the strategies for lucid dreaming. If you want to practice lucid dreaming.00:07:01발표자OK.00:07:04JackYou've got to keep a dream journal.00:07:06JackThat's like a really important thing, yeah.00:07:08XochitlThat's interesting. I'm actually curious to to, like, make a dream journal and see if I can make a plot out of the movies that I like. See cause I think I could. Honestly, if they're so cool, like I could just if I could make a movie out of the movies that I see in my dreams, I think they.00:07:26XochitlWould be really popular in the horror genre because they're very weird.00:07:31XochitlI remember my used to tell my room. My roommate used to in college used to.00:07:37XochitlBe very excited to hear my dreams the next day.00:07:39XochitlBecause.00:07:40XochitlThat's a movie I would watch. Just watch this. She she'd be like I didn't have a weird dream. She was always curious about about that.00:07:43JackThank you.00:07:49JackThis is the total. This is a total aside, but I you know, Elon Musk is developing something called neurolink. You know where they you can kind of put a computer chip in the brain of a of a human being. That's like one of his ambitions.00:07:49XochitlBut what about?00:07:52발표자Yeah.00:08:04XochitlAlright.00:08:04JackAnd I was always. I always thought, like in the future, instead of film makers.00:08:12JackThey'll figure out a way to record dreams like a movie, you know, through a person's brain. And then there will be professional dreamers like you. You would be a good candidate for a professional dreamer.00:08:16XochitlYou're right.00:08:25XochitlHaven't have you seen that movie? There's a movie based on that. It's called it's like the green dealers or some sleep dealer or something. I'll, I'll. I'll tell. I'll send you a message and Jack and I can leave it in the description or something for our listeners are curious, but it's about like.00:08:28JackOh, is it really? I've never.00:08:42XochitlIt's weird, I I saw it when I was really young. It came out and my dad had me watch it. But it's like a movie based between Mexico and the US and I think.00:08:50XochitlThey have like.00:08:53XochitlIt's like a side hustle or something and they do exactly what you're saying. Like, they record these dreams and they, like, sell them or something weird. I don't know. So there was some. It's something like that, but.00:09:01JackYeah, yeah.00:09:04JackWell, people that people that dream in in like story form that has like a whole, you know, uh, a kind of cinematic movie like arc to the story.00:09:16JackIf you could, if you could do that in your dreams, you could. You know, you could become like a essentially a director, like a film, like a filmmaker. So yeah, maybe in the future that will be a technology that will be available.00:09:26XochitlYeah, for sure.00:09:31XochitlThe thinking was, do you have recurring dream, Jack, do you have recurring dreams? I forgot what?00:09:35JackYes, I do have recurring recurring dream and this one is really common among a lot of people. But what what it is basically is that I.00:09:51JackI have registered for a course. It could be a high school or a college course or something. And let's say I sign up for five classes.00:10:01JackAnd then I forget to go to 1.00:10:04JackOr I can't find the classroom on the whole semester. I spend my time walking through this like labyrinth like a A. A very.00:10:15JackA large building with lots of rooms and a kid just can't find my room and I've already paid for the class and the course and everything. And then when I finally find the classroom, I've missed, like almost all of the lessons. And then it's time for the test and I'm totally unprepared for it. And I'm sure there's a meaning to this dream.00:10:33XochitlTerrible.00:10:37JackLike there has to be some kind of meaning to it.00:10:41JackBut I I don't know what it is exactly.00:10:43XochitlI think it's.00:10:43XochitlJust a stress dream. I mean, I I remember when we studied dreams in psychology, there was like two types of content and one is like what you visualized in the dream and the other content is what you feel in the dream. So the feeling is what really what you see in your dream is supposed to be random neural firings or something. And what you feel in the dream.00:11:04XochitlIs supposed to be related to your real life. So I think that level of stress is like what it is supposedly on some level. But but if you think dreams have meanings, which I also sometimes.00:11:13XochitlWith. Yeah, I think that's relevant, I definitely.00:11:18XochitlHave dreamt that once before at least, and I remember being so devastated when I woke up, I was like, thank God that was the dream I was so worried I had, like, failed this math course because I just skipped through it.00:11:29JackYeah, is I wake up with I I feel.00:11:33JackIntense anxiety. And then I wake up and I just have like, this huge sigh of relief because it's like, ohh, I didn't just destroy my life, you know, I didn't just waste all this money on a class and then never show up and fail.00:11:46XochitlYes.00:11:49JackThat, but it's a it's an awful feeling. It really is an awful feeling.00:11:54XochitlBad. Yeah, I get those kind of stress dreams. I I've only had like one or or two. Like school type dreams since I left school. Well, at least in the last five years. No, wait. I only graduated like, three years ago. Well, it feels like I graduated five years ago. So, yeah, I I think I.00:12:11발표자Right.00:12:15XochitlI don't really get those dreams much anymore, but I I get what you mean and and I remember one of my professors in college saying even her mom was like in her 60s. I had a dream like that and she was like it just shows.00:12:26XochitlYou.00:12:26XochitlHow traumatic school is because the learning task isn't so like anxiety inducing that we still dream about it years later, you know.00:12:29JackYeah.00:12:36XochitlIt's like really weird.00:12:38JackI I I.00:12:38XochitlYeah.00:12:39JackDo a lot of things like I have a lot of we say in English irons in the fire like I have. I do a lot of projects a lot.00:12:46JackOf things going.00:12:47JackOn I think maybe it's just the anxiety of.00:12:51JackForgetting to do something that I need to do when you have a lot a long list of of of things that you need to take care of and when they start to pile up and you start to fall behind, that's when I get those dreams is that I'm. I'm I'm. I'm not doing something that I'm supposed to be doing and I or I forgot something important.00:12:59XochitlYeah.00:13:04XochitlYeah.00:13:11JackAnd yeah, that's a real a really terrible feeling. So yeah, that's my recurring dream.00:13:19XochitlThat's crazy, listeners. I'm really curious to hear what your recurring dreams are, or if you have recurring dreams. I think we'll do a couple of different podcasts just on dreams, cause this is such a fascinating subject to me, but I'm. I'm so curious to hear about your guys's experiences and just what your dream life looks like.00:13:30JackYeah.00:13:38XochitlBecause Jack and I have have different ones, I I've even gotten to the point where sometimes I don't know if something is a memory or a dream because my dreams are.00:13:45XochitlSo vivid.00:13:46JackRight, right.00:13:48XochitlYeah, it's it's really, I'm really curious to hear how you guys experienced dreams. So let us know in a comment down below at AZ englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail. We love reading you guys listener.00:13:58XochitlEmails at A-Z, englishpodcast@gmail.com and join the WeChat and also groups to talk to.00:14:03XochitlJack and I.00:14:03XochitlDirectly and if you guys feel so inclined, then you have $1.99 to spare. Please make sure that you join our exclusive episode podcast.00:14:12XochitlBecause that helps us create more content and make new source content for you guys. See you guys next time. Bye bye.00:14:20JackBye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-recurring-dreams/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about aspects of their cultures that they strongly dislike. Transcript: 00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd 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.00:00:23JackAnd 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.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:56JackWelcome 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.00:01:09발표자Hmm.00:01:09JackAnd so.00:01:12JackThe first one that I want to read is Isabel Isabel from.00:01:17JackIreland. She's actually.00:01:19XochitlThank you, Isabel.00:01:20JackYeah. 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.00:01:37XochitlThank you, Johnny.00:01:38JackYeah. 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.00:01:41XochitlOh, it's great.00:01:50XochitlOh wow.00:01:55JackNext up, we've got may from Malaysia.00:01:58JackYeah.00:01:59XochitlThank you. Day.00:02:00JackYeah. And Salima from Iran.00:02:04XochitlThank you, Selina.00:02:05JackYeah. And Leila from Saudi Arabia.00:02:09XochitlOhh, thank you, Layla. I love Layla.00:02:11JackYeah, yeah, yeah.00:02:12XochitlWell, that has a very nice voice if anyone's ever heard her voice to the chat.00:02:17JackYes.00:02:17XochitlI I test with labels boys.00:02:20JackYeah, she's a very, very sweet voice. Very soft spoken, but yeah, very soothing. Yeah.00:02:23XochitlYou have a soothing kind of.00:02:24XochitlA.00:02:26XochitlCalming voice I really enjoy.00:02:27JackGood, good, good podcasting voice, I think.00:02:29XochitlYeah, 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.00:02:31JackYou know.00:02:51JackYeah. So today's topic is things that you hate about your culture and uh, I'm not going to.00:02:58JackTalk 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.00:03:20JackAnd.00:03:21JackThe things about American culture, probably the number one problem that I have with American culture, is that we're very individualistic.00:03:31JackMy 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.00:03:46JackIn 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.00:03:57XochitlReciprocate.00:04:05JackCountry 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.00:04:24JackSo I think it it kind of shows up in like certain aspects of the culture. For example, our obsession with guns, you know?00:04:37JackStay 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.00:04:57JackMy neighbor who's going to try to steal my stuff and.00:05:00JackAnd I I don't know. I just feel like that we're, we're hyper obsessed. We're very obsessed with ourselves and.00:05:11JackI 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.00:05:22JackWe 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.00:05:31JackHappy.00:05:32JackNope. 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.00:05:42JackOhh.00:05:43JackSuccessful 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.00:05:45XochitlRight, yeah.00:06:03JackI 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.00:06:12XochitlJack, I think.00:06:12XochitlYou 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.00:06:32XochitlExists for no other purpose than for gun nuts to boost their egos.00:06:39XochitlI'm thinking they could start a militia that could rival the US military, which would never happen.00:06:45XochitlAnd.00:06:46XochitlIt it it's just.00:06:49XochitlIt'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.00:07:08XochitlWell, 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.00:07:22XochitlOne 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.00:07:31XochitlYounger 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.00:07:41JackYeah.00:07:52XochitlLike a servant almost.00:07:54XochitlAnd.00:07:56XochitlI just saw, you know, people.00:07:58XochitlOlder 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.00:08:18XochitlIn 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.00:08:23JackYeah, there is like that.00:08:26XochitlUM, but it's definitely a difficult.00:08:31XochitlUh, 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.00:08:51XochitlBut 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.00:09:03JackIt'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.00:09:07XochitlYes, yes.00:09:13XochitlRight.00:09:17발표자Right.00:09:23JackIt's it's it's kind of an interesting thing because I think in Korea, maybe they they have the same situation.00:09:28JackWhere 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.00:09:37XochitlFew.00:09:38XochitlYeah.00:09:41XochitlRight.00:09:49JackIt's very hard to change culture. Culture is.00:09:53JackIt'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.00:09:54XochitlVery instilled.00:10:02JackSlow it down, you know.00:10:05XochitlAnother 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.00:10:26XochitlDesigned of of South Asian to.00:10:28XochitlAnd of course, we are a nation of Native Americans, and we have.00:10:35XochitlEuropean ancestry as well due to colonization, but.00:10:42XochitlWe sometimes in Mexican culture take a hostile attitude towards.00:10:47XochitlPeople who are from different cultures, that there's there's a lot of hostility sometimes towards.00:10:55XochitlImmigrants in a way. Uh and.00:10:59XochitlIt'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.00:11:18JackHmm.00:11:19XochitlAnd.00:11:20XochitlIt 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.00:11:40XochitlTop.00:11:40XochitlIndigenous 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.00:11:48XochitlHierarchy for every single different mix and a name for every single different mix that you could get from any of those.00:11:55XochitlSo I think unfortunately.00:11:59XochitlThat 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.00:12:18XochitlWe 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.00:12:32XochitlWe need to recognize our influences from other cultures in every aspect of any culture in the world.00:12:37JackYeah, too much patriotism can be a little bit. Yeah. I don't know what you would call it. Ethnocentrism or something like that.00:12:43XochitlYeah.00:12:46XochitlYeah, like ethnocentrism. And it's kind of invented because.00:12:51XochitlUh, 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.00:12:56JackSure.00:13:07XochitlChinese immigrants made a lot of cultural impact. They were the second biggest immigrant immigrant group after the Spanish to Mexico, and so.00:13:15JackHmm.00:13:18XochitlYeah, I think we need to appreciate all of that diversity in a respectful way.00:13:25JackYeah. 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.00:13:37JackThe immigrants coming across the Mexican border into America being treated really, really poorly.00:13:45XochitlYeah.00:13:46JackAnd and and and judged and and considered lower class citizens. And all this sort of stuff. Right and.00:13:55XochitlThanks.00:13:57JackAnd 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.00:14:03XochitlYeah.00:14:13JackNo. 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.00:14:25발표자OK.00:14:30XochitlYep, Yep.00:14:34JackAnd 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.00:14:45JackNeed 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.00:14:48XochitlYes.00:15:04XochitlYeah. 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.00:15:11XochitlMake 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.00:15:31XochitlReading them here on the pod and reading listener.00:15:34XochitlJoin the WeChat and WhatsApp groups to join the conversation and we will see you guys next.00:15:38XochitlTime. Bye bye.00:15:39JackBye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-spoon-theory/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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-contentIn 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:00:00:01JackWelcome 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.00:00:22JackThe 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.00:00:34XochitlYes.00:00:39XochitlSo 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.00:00:59XochitlThe 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.00:01:09XochitlA 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.00:01:23XochitlEven 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.00:01:44JackYeah. 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.00:01:54발표자Yes.00:02:04JackIssue.00:02:05JackAnd 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.00:02:19XochitlThey're like units of energy, basically.00:02:21JackUnits of energy. Right. Exactly. And so.00:02:24XochitlLike hit points on a video game when your character has like a little green.00:02:28XochitlR.00:02:30JackYeah, right. Energy. Your power gets, you know, goes down and down and down, yeah.00:02:30XochitlAnd then yeah it.00:02:35XochitlIf 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.00:02:47XochitlDown to half points.00:02:49JackRight. And let's say your energy level for the day for a person with chronic pain is 10 spoon.00:02:55발표자And.00:02:56JackLike 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.00:02:56XochitlYes.00:03:17JackLeft, you don't even have enough to get home, you know.00:03:20XochitlRight.00:03:22JackUntil you hit the wall right and you're so exhausted.00:03:22XochitlAnd.00:03:24XochitlRight.00:03:26XochitlAnd 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.00:03:46XochitlBut then on the weekend, they're just laying in bed the whole 2 days.00:03:50JackRight. They're just totally wiped.00:03:52JackThat 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.00:04:02XochitlRight. 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.00:04:13JackOhh yeah, that's right that that's probably it. Yeah. I think that makes sense. Yeah, so.00:04:16XochitlYeah.00:04:20발표자So.00:04:22JackUh, 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.00:04:34JackI had my first.00:04:36JackMy first surgery, my first back surgery for disc.00:04:42JackProblems when I was 27.00:04:45JackAnd 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.00:05:07JackWith my back and my discs again. So what? What I find is when you're in pain all the time.00:05:16JackYou're more tired.00:05:18JackYou 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.00:05:30XochitlHave something to do right? Yeah.00:05:32JackGain 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.00:05:48발표자Right.00:05:50JackSo.00:05:51JackYeah. 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.00:06:04JackI 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.00:06:15XochitlAll right.00:06:23JackOr the physical capacity to do this anymore?00:06:27JackAnd 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.00:06:38XochitlYeah.00:06:47JackWith 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.00:06:59JackAnd 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.00:06:59XochitlRight.00:07:18JackIt really makes me frustrated and I and I.00:07:21JackCan't get good.00:07:22JackSleep because I can't lie on my side. It hurts if I lie on my back. It hurts if I.00:07:27JackLie on my other side, it hurts.00:07:28JackSo 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.00:07:38XochitlYeah.00:07:39XochitlDefinitely, Jack. I I completely understand what you're saying. I was born with.00:07:45XochitlBorderline 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.00:08:01XochitlSo 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.00:08:09발표자MHM.00:08:14XochitlI'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.00:08:25XochitlAmount of what I can do in one day.00:08:28XochitlWhich 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.00:08:47XochitlIt affects your sleep.00:08:49JackRight.00:08:49XochitlSo imagine that you had really poor sleep for like a week straight. At that point, if you're only sleeping.00:09:01XochitlFar less hours a night than you're supposed to be, far less comfortably. You probably start getting confused, agitated, irritable.00:09:12XochitlAnd unfortunately, people around you suffer because.00:09:15XochitlYou can snap at them unexpectedly.00:09:18JackYou'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.00:09:25XochitlRight. You're comfortable with, you're comfortable around them and you're also interacting with them?00:09:29XochitlMore, yeah.00:09:30XochitlOn a daily basis than you would with any strangers, right. So.00:09:34XochitlIt does. It is really hard. It it's one of the reasons that I have a hard time.00:09:39XochitlFinding a full time job that I can do is because.00:09:45XochitlI 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.00:09:52XochitlFor.00:09:53XochitlMe. 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.00:10:08XochitlGet anywhere and I think.00:10:12XochitlIt really puts a strain on what you can do in any given day and a lot of people just don't understand.00:10:17XochitlAnd 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.00:10:35JackYeah, 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.00:10:42JackYour.00:10:43JackWith your mind and and changes your personality and and your outlook on life and and everything so.00:10:49JackOhh 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.00:11:12JackBecause that stuff is.00:11:13JackJust uh masks the pain for a little while, but then that'll send you down a whole, you know, could send you.00:11:20XochitlOhh, their wormhole, right? Yeah.00:11:21JackYes, 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.00:11:33XochitlYeah.00:11:34JackYeah.00:11:35XochitlIt's like seeding the monster temporarily, then it like rears its ugly head again.00:11:40JackYeah, 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.00:11:48XochitlAnd 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.00:11:52JackAll right, absolutely, absolutely.00:12:03XochitlThat 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.00:12:11JackYou're like, whoops.00:12:23XochitlFirst 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.00:12:37XochitlMaking 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?00:12:56XochitlUM, how does it operate in your country and your culture?00:12:59XochitlThere.00:13:01XochitlYeah, 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.00:13:10XochitlAnd 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.00:13:31XochitlReady. And I'll see you the next.00:13:33XochitlTime. Bye bye.00:13:34JackBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-spoon-theory/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The podcast discusses overcoming accent anxiety when speaking English in casual conversations, emphasizing the importance of confidence and practice. It also explores the impact of formal English lessons on siblings and encourages listeners to embrace their unique accents and build confidence in expressing themselves authentically.