Chat ENG
Chat ENG is a podcast where people chat about how they learn and use English! Chat Eng helps English learners improve their listening skills, practice their pronunciation and learn new vocabulary! For free-resources and paid courses, visit www.emaileng.com
Chat ENG
I Went, You Went, Everybody Went!
A podcast for English learners! Improve your listening skills, practice your pronunciation, learn new vocabulary!
This episode, I'm chatting with Valéria! We chatted about the privilege of learning English at school, writing a thesis about non-native speakers working and learning the language in a new country, and what she feels is the difference between North America and Europe...
Grammar tip : "The" v. "A" - how we use Definite and Indefinite Articles.
Presenter = Sam @_emaileng (Twitter, IG), @emaileng (TikTok)
Music = "Baby Bloodheart" by Mara Carlyle @MaraCarlyle (Twitter) www.maracarlyle.bandcamp.com
Artwork = Penny Rossano @pennyrossanomusicart (IG) www.pennyrossanoillustrations.com
EPISODE 30 = I WENT, YOU WENT, EVERYBODY WENT!
Hello! And welcome to Chat ENG – a podcast where people chat about how they learn and use English. My name is Sam, I’m a CELTA teacher and a performer, and I have a particular interest in pronunciation and expression.
In each episode, non-native and native speakers will chat about their experiences with English, share their advice and, at the end, I’ll give some pronunciation tips for you to take away and practice.
So – ready? Let’s get Chat ENG!
This episode, I’m chatting with Valéria. Valéria is originally from Brazil and is now working and studying in Finland. We met online for our chat and I don’t think there were any odd noises or wifi interruptions, so hooray!
We chatted about the privilege of learning English at school, writing a thesis about non-native speakers working and learning the language in a new country, and what she feels is the difference between North America and Europe, but I started by asking Valéria to tell me a little bit about herself…
INTERVIEW
V: I'm Valéria. I'm originally from Brazil. I have lived in different countries - in Canada. United States, France and Poland, Lithuania and now Finland.
S: All right, so from North America to Europe.
V: Different worlds!
S: Yeah! I'll ask you about that in a little bit. Tell me about learning English in Brazil. Does that start at an early age?
V: Well, it's been a while since I went to school! But I'll tell you about my experience - when we started a foreign language, it was English only, we didn't have any other option. Learning a foreign language would be something very distant. I mean, when would we use it? You know? Travelling abroad was something very expensive, and only rich people would do it, so it was out of reach. So, in our case, we would study… start studying English… 5th grade, I would say… from 5th grade on, but we would learn adjectives or comparatives and animals, and I have to say that when I started studying English, I was nine years old, but it was considered, let's say, a privilege. (Okay.) Yeah, it was not really accessible. And maybe that's why it was so important for me to be part of projects that would teach English to working class or lower income communities, because I knew it was a great sacrifice for my parents to educate the children in good schools. Nowadays, it's much better, but back then it was not… it was for a few.
S: Did you like studying English knowing that it was a privilege?
V: Oh, I loved it!
S: You did? What did you like about it?
V: I love studying languages in general. One of the things that I love about learning English was that I could watch movies and listen to music and understand things much better. We have to remember again, how long ago it was, so we didn't have any internet, We didn't have the albums with the lyrics or or anything like that. So, first time when we had the chance to buy a long play with the lyrics inside, it was like Christmas in June, you know? So it would connect me to a world different from my world. So I love the fact that it would open doors, and also one thing that I tell people is that I can go anywhere, I mean, mostly anywhere, speaking in English - so I went to Iran and there would be no possibility whatsoever to speak Persian there - English was the language.
S: So, on your travels then, with all the international people that you have met and spoken to, do you find similar patterns of English that people make the same mistakes? Or do you find that lots of people make lots of different mistakes, but everybody understands each other?
V: There are differences in general. For example, one thing that I felt is that Finnish people and Lithuanian people they have problems with articles, I would say, (okay), because they don't have it in their languages. So very often, they miss one here and there. (yeah) Regarding accent, I have to say that my greatest difficulty is with some parts of England! (really?!) Northern England, or the working class Northern England is kind of tricky for me, because it's a whole different language…other than… natural differences that we will find here and there, making mistakes or not, we communicate.
S: So I understand that you're a student at the moment. What are you studying?
V: I'm studying International Business Management. I'm about to finish the programme. I just need to finish my final thesis.
S: So then I guess there's a change from Conversational English to Academic English. How have you found that?
V: Well, I had some understanding of Academic English before I started my own thesis. Actually, I haven't started the thesis yet, but I had other reports that I had to write, but it's a great leap, let's say… the structure is different, vocabulary is different, you have to be absolutely clear about what to say, no doubts loud in the paragraphs, you know, like, no room for interpretation, let's say - paragraphs have to be very well structured, and the vocabulary has to be very precise and formal.
S: So what will your thesis be on?
V: Well, well, well…my joke is that we're trying to find the “pink unicorn”! I relate very much with my thesis. And we just today define the topic and it's gonna be about how to improve (the) employability of international students who are non-Finnish speakers, or not fluent yet, in one specific part of Finland and in one specific field. I mean, we haven't decided yet if it's going to be just in that specific region or if it's going to involve the whole of Finland, because it's part of a talent boost initiative. What intrigues me is that there is such great need of a workforce and we have so many great talents in Finland who are not fluent in Finnish yet, but are absolutely successful in their fields in their countries. I mean, the language barrier is an impediment, and I think it's a great loss for everyone. So that's why what we're going to try and do - and I hope we succeed - is a combination of two things: How to find ways to accelerate language acquisition, or to improve fluency…develop techniques together to see how it will work, because the group which is going to start is a very diverse group, very interesting group, to say the least. But also, we want to approach companies’ attitude, because everybody knows that after you are inserted in your work environments, the learning curve goes way up fast. (Yeah) So the challenge is to get them to work.
S: Amazing! Here's a thought: Why do you think it's English that’s the common language and not French or German when you're over here in Europe?
V: English can be considered a pretty straightforward language, I wouldn't say simple but there are some very… well, simple past, for example: I went, you went, everybody went, you know…whereas in languages like mine, it comes from Latin roots… it’s a suicide attempt every time you try to learn all the declensions in there, all the exceptions and all the formats - it is very challenging. Or maybe because it's more mathematical, if I can say that. It's A + B = C
S: Yeah, absolutely.
V: With some exceptions!
S: Always exceptions in English! Because they always say that “English is the easiest language to learn, but the hardest to perfect.” Would you say that was fair?
V: Well, my father would say that “perfection is divine”. So unattainable. I don't think it's human. I don't think that I speak perfect Portuguese, you know. I speak good Portuguese, I'd say but perfect. What is perfect? There is another fact that there are so many, I mean, different English types, dialects… and it depends on your age, your geography, your social status, your level of education, so maybe it's impossible to touch all the fields, but I don't know… I don't think it's that easy, but I don't think that it's that impossible to have (a) great level of English if you devote some time and effort.
S: Yeah, absolutely. I'm really intrigued about what we said earlier that you've lived in the Americas, North and South, and have lived in Europe. What would you say are the biggest differences between these two continents? Is that too hard a question…too big a question?!
V: I'm going to be very, very shallow. Well, I usually say the greatest difference between Americas and Europe is Coca Cola size, because - I use this example because, for example, for 50 cents you can get a gallon of Coca Cola in North America (Wow!), let’s say - not necessarily in Brazil, but in North America it's very, very cheap…it’s..you pay $1 and you can drink an ocean of Coca Cola, whereas in Europe, I feel that you drink that 200 millilitre Coca Cola and it’s five euros, you know, it’s something more modest, something more appropriate. It doesn't have to be grandiose.
S: Gotcha! So a gallon… I was trying to think - is that four litres?
V: I think it's three and a half, and this is very American!
S: Three and a half? That’s a lot of Coca Cola! And other drinks are available, yeah!
All right – so, with all your experience, then Valéria, what advice would you give a learner who's setting out to learn English?
V: As Nike would say - we're not sponsored but … Just do it! The thing is - one thing that I tell people is that my understanding is that native speakers might be so happy that we're speaking their language, so that it saves them the effort to learn another one! So I think that most people, at least my experience, is that they're not bothered by mistakes here and there, you know - my experience is that they're very respectful with our struggle, and we don't have all the answers.. we never do. Just do it! The closer you are to the language that you're studying, be it English or whatever, the better. So watch movies, listen to music, read some short…don't try to read Hamlet in any language that you are not familiar with, but start step by step: read some small articles… short articles online. And… another thing that was very interesting when the internet came up, and there were those chat rooms or chat possibilities - find some chat groups. I know that there are some senior groups that, you know, older people - they’re kind of in need of some conversation, some chat and (a) past time, and they might be chatting with people, so just do it - be open.
S: Yeah! What a lovely idea - that you can find a senior friend and have a chat with them.
V: It might sound cliché, and probably is, but learning a language is much more than words. It's much more than grammar, you know, and I have to say that my life has been great because I have the possibility to communicate with people from very different walks of life, and very different perspectives, you know - I'm very thankful that my parents had made great financial experts to sponsor my studies and I was a very dedicated student, and I could go places and I could meet people and I could have some experiences that they are forgettable, I would say. Life changing.
S: Yeah, absolutely. And so wonderful that you can, sort of, you know, pass it on and give back to people now.
V: I hope so!
S: Yeah! Of course you do!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
(Music)
As Valéria says – with thanks to Nike – just do it! Get stuck in.. and maybe volunteer your time and start a conversation online or on the telephone with an older person who’d like to make a new friend!
So, this episode’s pronunciation tip is actually a grammar tip about the use of “the” and “a” = otherwise known as definite and indefinite articles. Why do we use them? Well, we use them to identify if what we’re talking about is specific – “the” – or one of many - “a” or “an”. Sometimes we don’t need an article at all – and this is usually when we’re talking about a concept, such as “space… the final frontier!”, or before a Proper noun – the official name of something – for example, “Heathrow airport in London” not “the Heathrow airport in London”.
So, here are 3 sentences to show the difference between no article, “the” and “a” using the word “church”:“church”, “the church”, or “a church”?
First: “Church”
When we talk about “church” with no article, we are generally talking about the concept of religion, usually a Christian religion.
Try this sentence = “People mostly go to church on Sundays.”
Next: “The Church”. When we add “the”, we are now talking about a specific building where people go to celebrate their religion. Here, the speaker and the listener both understand which specific building is being identified.
Try this sentence = “The church in town is very pretty!” (In this sentence, we understand there is one church in town.)
Finally: “A Church”. When we use “a” - or “an” if the next word starts with a vowel, for example: an orange or an apple – we are now talking about one of many churches. Here, it is not clear at the start whether the speaker and the listener are talking about the same building.
Try this sentence = “I’m looking for a church with a wide alter – can you suggest one?”
Bonus sentence: Now, we change from “a church” to “the church”, so from “one of many” to “specific”, because the speaker has identified the building, and now both the speaker and the listener both know which building they are talking about.
Try these sentences = “There’s a church next to my office. The church has a beautiful alter.”
So – to recap: Basically, “The” is for something specific; “a” or “an” is for one of many; no article can be linked to a concept or a Proper noun.
Over to you to practice!
So there we are! The transcript of this episode is available to read on the podcast’s webpage, so take a look! Join me next time for more pronunciation and grammar tips, more advice and, most importantly, more chatting! My thanks again to Valéria and, for her music, a huge thanks to the wonderful Mara Carlyle. Bye for now!