Put On or Put Off?

A podcast for English learners!  Improve your listening skills, practice your pronunciation, learn new vocabulary!     
 
This episode, I'm chatting with Niina!   We chatted about speaking Australian English, working with international talent, and the difficulties of phrasal verbs...

Vocabulary and Grammar tip = 3 x Phrasal Verbs with the verb 'PUT' - Put On, Put Off, Put Out.     

Presenter =  Sam  @_emaileng (Twitter, IG), @emaileng (TikTok)     

Music = "Baby Bloodheart" by Mara Carlyle   @MaraCarlyle   www.maracarlyle.bandcamp.com     

Artwork = Penny Rossano  @pennyrossanomusicart (IG)   www.pennyrossanoillustrations.com     

Transcript

EPISODE 19 = PUT ON OR PUT OFF?

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 Niina.  Niina is from Finland and currently works for the City of Helsinki matching people to companies and, as you will here, she has spent a lot of time in English speaking countries!  

We chatted about speaking Australian English, working with international talent, and the difficulties of phrasal verbs, but I started by asking Niina to tell me a little bit about herself…

INTERVIEW

N: So, my name is Niina and I'm from Finland, obviously. I work as a Business Coordinator at the City of Helsinki. I work in this project called International Talents Accelerating Growth, so basically I work with the theme of, like, helping companies to recruit international people who are in Finland. So, that's what I do at the moment. 

S: Lovely! Tell me a little bit about your English at first, so when did you start learning English? 

N: So, I started learning English when I was around eight or nine years old. And from there on, I've been learning it through, like, all of my, obviously, educational career and after as well, so I did start with the, like, obviously really basics, but I actually was a bit exposed to English before school already because my cousins live in England, so I had to use it every now and then when they came to visit because they didn't speak Finnish. So, I got a bit of a start before school, and then, obviously, throughout the school, actually English was my favourite subject so I always loved to learn it and I was always top of the class and (aha, great!) I guess it was kind of easy for me. So... so that's, I guess, why I liked it! 

S: Why do you think you found it easy? What's easy about English, do you think? 

N: Um, I don't know. It felt kind of logical, for me, at least the grammar, like, somehow it was quite natural to learn it, because in Finland we get a lot of exposure to English from, like, very early years, when you look..watch any TV shows or movies, we only have subtitles on but we don't dub them, so that really helps with the language learning, you sort of already know the words before you start actually learning it. Yeah. So, so I don't know. I just naturally picked it up, and during... actually during my high school, or is it Upper Secondary School?, in Finland I went to do an exchange in Australia, so that actually (Wow!) really enforced the language learning, and I would say that's when I learned it, like, the "proper way" in a way because I got to use it every day for one year. So that's when I actually, I would say that's when I learned it even better than in school! 

S: Yeah, how fantastic! So, were you there as a student or were you working in Australia? 

N: Yeah, I was a student, so I was 17 years old and I did, like, the final year of high school there, took part in the year 12 classes there with all the rest of the students, and that was really exciting. That was a great experience, and after that, I felt for a while that I could actually speak English very well! 

S: When you arrived in Australia, did you find that the type of English was very different or was it similar to what you were learning? 

N: Oh yeah, it was very different! Sometimes I felt like it was a different language at first. So, I think the first two weeks when I got there, I was just awed by it, because I couldn't really follow up the conversations. and I was silent all the time, so people probably thought that I was really shy because I didn't [speak], but I was just trying to keep up with what they were saying. The accent was so different...so yeah, it was hard at first but once I got used to it, that was the English that I started speaking as well. 

S: Sure. Do you find yourself saying "G'day" instead of "Hello"?

N: I did that once and everyone laughed at me, so I stopped saying it! But there were many, like, colloquial sayings and sort of slang words that they used, and I noticed that, like, I had no idea what they meant, and if I use them now, in Finland, everyone would be like "what?"!

S: I think is so fascinating to learn these different little bits and pieces - whereabouts in Australia were you? 

N: I was in Perth, so I was on the West Coast, actually, so far from the biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne. But yeah, it was a great place. (I'm sure what a great...) I actually went to Australia again to do my internship. I went to Canberra to work at the Finnish Embassy there (oh wow!), so that was my, like, other Australia experience! 

S: Yeah! And how was it? Was that very different being in Canberra from being in Perth? 

N: I would say yeah, and obviously, because I was an adult by then, it was a different setting all together and it.. like, Canberra was like a very international city because all the embassies are there, so I was in this little "Embassy bubble" of different nationalities, so it was quite different. I would say.

S: Tell me a little bit more about your work at the City of Helsinki.

N: So, I work as a Business Coordinator, so that means that I work a lot with companies. I basically contact companies within the Helsinki region and I, sort of, map out their recruitment needs and especially concerning, like, international talents that are in Finland or still abroad, like, if they are willing and open to recruit international talents. 

S: Do you find then that companies in Finland are looking for more international people, so they're more open to speaking English now? 

N: Definitely a lot has changed for, like, in the past five years, even I would say. So, yes more and more companies are open to English-speaking candidates and English-speaking employees. And obviously, all the multinational international companies, like the big companies, are already, like, English speaking in the core, but then smaller companies - and especially startups - are, sort of, taking that way now. So they are realizing that they need international talent, especially on the IT sector and, like, Tech Fields.

S: It's interesting because, obviously, you have then contact with people from different places around the world, all speaking English. Do you notice if there are big differences in the type of English people speak?  

N: Definitely, yeah there is, and I do talk a lot with, like, job seekers that are from different countries and have come to Finland, and then they apply for jobs here in English. So I do talk with them every now and then - mostly in writing but sometimes also, like, in meetings and so on... so, definitely a lot of differences and, in my previous work, I did a lot more of this type of thing, so I talked with international students who were planning to apply to Finland to study, it's sort of once you get accustomed to hearing it and speaking with the people from that country then it gets easier. 

S: Absolutely. Tell me, what about your own English, then - what would you improve about your own English if you had time to take English lessons?  

N: I probably would improve all aspects of it! (oh, really? No!) But I would probably, most of all I would want to improve my vocabulary, (Okay) because sometimes I feel like I use quite, like in a way, easy English. So I would like to get more variation in the vocabulary that I use, so learning to use, like, different expressions and synonyms to some words so that it would become, like, richer. Then, like, for example, I would like to learn to use, like, phrasal verbs a lot more - that's one thing I was thinking before I came to talk with you, like, what's the most difficult thing for me? And I feel like I struggle with phrasal verbs. They are really difficult! (Why do you..) because there are so many of them (a - ha) and you sort of have to learn them by heart - it's not always logical how you put up the verb and a preposition together. 

S: Yeah, no it's a really interesting one - are there any particular phrasal verbs that you are happy using, or is it just sort of all of them, you think "No. No, thank you. I won't try!" 

N: Sure, of course, like, very common ones are easy to use because I don't even think about them, like, "watch out", or "look it up", or, like, very common ones that you use in everyday life. But then there are those, I wouldn't say more rare ones, but the ones that I hear more native speakers using. (Yeah, ok) So I think that, like, using them makes you sound more native and that's why I would like to learn them. 

S: Do you think it's important to sound more native or is it okay to be a non-native speaker? 

N: Well, I've been thinking about this, and, for a long time, I wanted to sound like a native speaker. Like, I tried to speak, like, with a British accent, then obviously when I was in Australia, I was trying to speak Australian English, but I always fail at it, I actually lived in the US as well. (oh really?) for 5 months, so I've had exposure to all of these like major 'Englishes' and then... I just... I'm not going to sound like a native speaker unless I live there for a long time. And until that happens, I think there's no point for me to try and sound like a native speaker because I'm not and I've sort of accepted that I sound like a Finnish person!

S: But it's funny that you use the word 'fail'. I don't think it's a failure at all! When I attempt to speak a different language, it's very obvious that I'm from the UK...but I don't think it matters. 

N: Yeah, yeah, I guess it doesn't matter. I did study, like, English philology in University and we were taking these phonology courses and there they were, like, they were native speakers who were teaching us, and they were sort of really strict like how we pronounce things, and I remember, like, one particular one that they said that they always know that it's a Finnish speaker when they say "o" sound like, "oh", like "you don't know", not "you don't know" (different sound) like, and for a while I managed to try and do the right way, but then I just gave up! 

S: That's hilarious. I don't think there's necessarily a real "right way" about these things, but as long as people understand what you're saying (exactly!) and I think, actually, there'd be areas of the UK where it would be the "oh" (different sound) it would actually - you sound like you're from the North of England, so (Ah! ok!) so I don’t think it’s wrong!

Okay, final question then, Niina - what advice would you give a learner of English to help them? 

N: I would tell them obviously to watch TV shows and movies in English. If you're struggling with no subtitles, then maybe use, like, English subtitles - that usually helps me, at least, for example, to follow different accents so that it's not too stressful to follow the lines. And then, at least for me, like, expanding my vocabulary has been easier when I read English books. So, like, English literature really helps in, like, you don't have to check every word from the dictionary but it really, sort of, gives you words that you never use in your everyday language, so I find that really helpful.

S: Actually, I'm going to tack on another question, with the type of work that you do. What type of advice would you give someone who's writing their CV in English? 

N: Um, well, this is not maybe only about English, but I would give... like, the best advice I can give is to make everything very concise, because I see a lot of CVs where you have written, like, many sentences about each of your work experience but nobody, no recruiter has time to read those. So, sort of, make it very concise and short and only add the things that really matter for the job that you are applying to, so that's I think the number one thing that many, many people should improve in their CVs. 

S: I think that's really great advice. Wonderful. Thank you so much Niina!  

(Music)

Great advice from Niina – whether in English on in another language, be concise on your CV and focus on the job you applying for.  

So, thanks to Niina, this episode’s pronunciation tip is a grammar and vocabulary tip = Phrasal Verbs!  I know English learners become a little nervous when we talk about phrasal verbs and try to avoid them… but my advice is to have a go – you only learn by trying!  

A phrasal verb is a structure in English with a verb + one or more prepositions (words like on, in, off, out, of, up, down…)… but each combination has either a specific meaning, or many meanings… so for example, we use the verb ‘GET’ and the preposition ‘ON’ to express when and where we enter public transport – for example “I get on the no.7 bus each morning” or “I got on the train in the city centre”.  We can also use ‘GET’ and ‘ON’ to express that everything is ok = for example “How are you getting on at school?” Or “I get on with my colleagues, which is nice!”.  I understand why learners become a little unsure with phrasal verbs but it’s worth exploring the many, many combinations… so, to practice, I have 3 examples of phrasal verbs with the irregular verb PUT (put-put-put): 

First: Put ON = this can mean to dress, for example “I put on my clothes before I eat breakfast”. To ‘put on’ can also mean to stage, to organise, or to host.
 

Try this sentence = “We’re putting on a party next Saturday for my mum!”

Next: Put OFF = this means to delay or to postpone. 

Try this sentence =  “Can we put off today’s meeting?”

Finally: Put OUT = this can mean to extinguish, for example “they put out the fire very quickly.”  To put out can also mean to release, to post or to publish.

Try this sentence = “The company put out a statement about their new director.”

So – if you want to organise something, don’t delay! Post your ideas for everyone to see!  

Or

If you want to put something on, don’t put it off!  Put your ideas out there for everyone to see! 

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 Niina and, for her music, a massive thanks to the wonderful Mara Carlyle.   Bye for now!