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Ep. 22 - Who Are You? (Proust Personality Test)

30/8/2018

0 Comments

 
​Get a pen and paper or your voice recorder ready because this episode will be interactive. Jesse will guide you through the Proust Personality Test to go deep into getting to know yourself even better.

The Proust Personality Questionnaire is a fun exercise that will ask you different levels of personal questions that you probably don't think about in your daily life.

Answer these 35 questions honestly for yourself either orally or written, and you will surprise yourself. You will also learn some new vocabulary and have practice forming questions in English. 

There is no vocabulary lesson at the end of this episode, but I explain some unusual vocabulary words during the test that will help you answer the questions. Let me know about your results.

How will it help me?

Great question!

Some ways people have used this questionnaire:
     - Self-investigation
     - Having fun
     - Writers and Actors/Actresses have used them to create characters
     - Practice thinking in English
     - ______________________________

Find an English teacher on italki and get a free lesson.

Why Did The English Teacher Cross The Road?

Proust Questionnaire

Option #1 - Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down your answers to the following questions.
Option #2 - Use your phone voice recorder to record yourself saying the answers with the episode.
​1. What is your idea of perfect happiness? 
2. What is your greatest fear? 
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? 
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others? 
5. Which living person do you most admire? 
6. What is your greatest extravagance? 
7. What is your current state of mind? 
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
9. On what occasion do you lie?
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
11. Which living person do you most despise?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
21. Where would you most like to live?
22. What is your most treasured possession?
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
24. What is your favorite occupation?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
26. What do you most value in your friends?
27. Who are your favorite writers?
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
31. What are your favorite names?
32. What is it that you most dislike?
33. What is your greatest r1egret?
34. How would you like to die?
35. What is your motto?
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Ep. 17 - Learning and Teaching Multiple Languages (Interview w/ Camille)

26/7/2018

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Do you learn or teach several different languages? In today's episode of the More Than English Podcast, we're talking with Camille. She is a from France, she lives in Argentina, and she is a professional French and English teacher. Jesse asked her about the difficulties of teaching two or three different languages while living in a foreign country. She has a lot of positive energy and, in this episode, Camille and Jesse use many useful expressions and vocabulary in their conversation that Jesse will break down in at the end of the show. 

Sign up and get $10 USD to learn a new language. Click here to start!

​Do you want to study French or English with Camille? Check out her teacher profile here!

Support us and become a member and get downloadable PDF Notes for this episode.

VOCABULARY and EXPRESSIONS
(The words and terms are in order of when you will hear them)

How’s that going? – (Fluency Question) follow-up question when somebody says what they are doing
Vary – (verb) to have different types of something. (word family: various, variety, varieties)
            “Spanish varies a lot from country to country?’”
The most sought after – (expression) to be desired
            sought = past participle of “seek”
            “I can’t imagine it’s the most sought-after dialect to learn.”  
To lose your patience – (expression) to get upset about something quickly
            To have patience
            “Sometimes you lose your patience when you teach someone you’re close to.”
To be in a ___ mode – (vocabulary) to be in a certain state of mind
            “It’s a great idea because you’re already in teaching mode…”
Challenge – (n)(v) Something that’s difficult to do and feels good when you accomplish it
“What are some challenges of teaching multiple languages?”
Pop into – (vocabulary) to suddenly appear
            “The random Korean word will pop into my head.”
Mechanism – a system of how something works
            “After a while, your brain understands the mechanism.”
Compartmentalize – (vocabulary) to divide projects in your mind to be more organized and efficient.
Fried – (vocabulary) to be exhausted
            “Your brain must have been FRIED after teaching different languages during the day.”
 
 
Did you catch any other phrasal verbs or expressions you like? Write them here.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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Ep. 15 - Ways to Improve Your Pronunciation (Atsuko Pt. 2)

12/7/2018

1 Comment

 
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This is part 2 of my interview with Atsuko. If you heard part 1, you heard her strong pronunciation. In this episode, I asked her about that. I asked her how she worked on her pronunciation and advice she could give to people who want to improve their pronunciation.

She tells us what she did to practice and gives four (4) great tips that you can try today! In our conversation, she also talks about some tricky words that are typical problem areas for Japanese and other asian speakers, and some funny words as well! 

All this and more in this week's episode of the More Than English Podcast. PLUS at the end, just like always, I break down some of the expressions and vocabulary you will have heard in this episode.

SUBSCRIBE to the show if you haven't already, and let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Also, remember us on YouTube.

Join Sweed Academy and get English lessons for $10/month. Click the SERVICES button at Sweed Academy or visit https://www.patreon.com/SweedAcademy to start! 

VOCABULARY and EXPRESSIONS
(The words and terms are in order of when you will hear them)

 Phonemic Script – the chart that shows how to pronounce English words
To master something – (vocabulary) to do something as an expert
            “I had to master the phonemic script to improve my pronunciation.”
To be far from something – (expression) to not be able to do something
            “I was far from being fluent or like a native speaker.”  
Biggest challenge – (vocabulary) challenge is something that you work to overcome
            “What was your biggest challenge in learning English?”
A photo finish – When two racers finish so closely that we need to look at a photo of the finish line.
Sometimes it makes it worse – (vocabulary) when something you do causes a worse situation
“Sometimes it can help, but sometimes it makes it worse.”
Nuance – a subtle detail in how we use our language
To get/be puzzled – to be confused about something
            “I sometimes get puzzled when I try to find an exact translation.”
A term of endearment – (expression) a special way to refer to somebody to show love
“Isn’t ‘gai-jin’ also kind of a term of endearment?”
In fact… – (fluency builder) an introduction to present ‘extra information’.
            “Your pronunciation is one of your strongest areas, in fact, I doubt many people would have guesses you’re from Japan, based on hearing you speak.”
Shadowing – copy a native speaker exactly
            “I used to shadow different speakers like President Obama.”
Enunciation – (vocabulary) pronounce every sound clearly when speaking
            “It’s important to enunciate when you read out loud.”
 
 
Did you catch any other phrasal verbs or expressions you like? Write them here.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
 

Atsuko’s Tips to Improve Pronunciation
​from the show


  1. Record yourself
  2. Shadowing
  3. Read out loud
  4. Talk to yourself
1 Comment

More Than English Ep. 14 - Moving to the US at a young age. (Interview w/ Atsuko Pt. 1)

5/7/2018

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Some people have the opportunity to live abroad at a young age... and some people are faced with the trial of living abroad at a young age. In this episode of the More Than English Podcast, we will hear a bit of both. Listen with me as I interview a native Japanese speaker and listen to her story of moving to the US for about a year and a half​ and then moving back to rural Japan. Listen to what it was like for her to adjust and she also gives some tips and advice for people learning English.
​
Subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting platform to get new episodes each week. Don't forget to visit us and subscribe on 
YouTube.com/SweedAcademy. 

VOCABULARY and EXPRESSIONS
(The words and terms are in order of when you will hear them)
 
To make up your mind –  (expression) to make a final decision
            “He made up his mind and decided to study abroad.”
Against my will – (expression) to have to do something when you don’t want to
            “It wasn’t my desire. It was against my will, actually.”
What you’re talking about – (grammar) to understand somebody
            “I could finally understand what they were talking about.”  
Back then – (expression) The way something was in the past
            “Nowadays, Japanese children start learning English at a very early age, but back then, I was raised in a very remote, rural area…”
Quite a few – A way to say ‘many’.
            “I had some very close friends, quite a few, actually.”
To miss something – (vocabulary) to wish you had something
“I missed that lifestyle, but my grandparents were waiting for me.”
(not) At all – zero of something
            “I don’t drink Coke at all now.”
To some extent… – (expression) in some way; a little
            “To some extent, I had some pride because I lived in the United States.”
To hinder – (vocabulary) to block something from happening
“Did that hinder your progress?”
Muscle memory – when you’ve done something so many times that your body remembers how to do it.
            “Your listening came back because of muscle memory.”
Tricky – (adjective) something is difficult because it’s confusing
            “So, it’s a tricky thing.”
 
 
Did you catch any other phrasal verbs or expressions you like? Write them here.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
 
more_than_english_podcast_ep_14_atsuko_pt_1.pdf
File Size: 624 kb
File Type: pdf
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More Than English Ep. 13 - A Typical American Funeral

28/6/2018

5 Comments

 
Unfortunately, my wife's grandmother just passed away recently, and I got to experience a Spanish funeral. I've been to funerals in three different countries (United States, Korea, and Spain), and each country has its own customs and culture. There are similarities and differences among all three. In this episode of the More Than English Podcast, I will explain a typical American funeral, the typical process that happens on that day, some vocabulary that are probably going to be new, as well as some expressions for you to use to say to the family in case you're ever invited to go to a funeral in America.

Subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting platform to get new episodes each week. Don't forget to visit us and subscribe on YouTube.com/SweedAcademy. 

VOCABULARY and EXPRESSIONS

(The words and terms are in order of when you will hear them)
 Flying solo – Doing something by yourself
To pass away – (expression) An easier way to say somebody has died
            “He unfortunately passed away 4 years ago.”
To get the opportunity to ____ – To get the chance to do something
            “I got the opportunity to experience a Spanish funeral.”  
What a ____ looks like – The way something is done
            “I’m going to share with you what a typical American funeral looks like.”
            “A Catholic funeral might look a bit different than a non-religious funeral.”
The big picture – How something is done in general. The big idea.
            “Of course, it depends on many things, but we’re going to look at the big picture.”
… if not… – (expression) something could be one option or another
“It usually happens a few days later if not the following week.”
Funeral home – the place where you normally go to pay your last respects at the viewing
Viewing – the time when people go to the funeral home to see the family and the person who passed away
To pay your last respects – (expression) to say your last goodbye and say I’m sorry to the family
“People can go to the viewing to pay their last respects to the deceased.”
Funeral – the service at the gravesite
Casket – the box where the dead body is
To say a few words – to say some sentimental things
 
 
Did you catch any other phrasal verbs or expressions you like? Write them here.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

more_than_english_podcast_ep_13_an_american_funeral.pdf
File Size: 636 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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