Better at English

Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from better at English dot com. This little update is just to let you know that new Real English Conversations are coming. I know you love the conversations, and I do love making them for you, but they are quite a lot of work, let me tell you! In fact, I just invested in some fancy new recording equipment that’s going to make it much easier for me to record and transcribe the conversations in the future. Because hey, let’s face it, what good is a conversation episode with out a transcript that you can use to learn from?

The first new conversation is coming in the next couple of days, and I’m letting you know in advance because I think you’ll get more benefit from the conversation if you can familiarize yourself with the general topic before you listen.

“Hey Lori, what’s the topic?”

Oh yeah, what’s the topic?

You’ll be hearing me and an American friend talk about AI, or artificial intelligence, and the automation of human labor. Yes, the robots are coming and – whether we like it or not – a lot of the work that humans are doing now, a lot of our jobs, our skills, will be replaced by machines and artificial intelligence. How are we going to deal with that as a society? Where will we find our sense of value and purpose when we don’t have to work anymore? And how will we make a living in the first place? How will we put a roof over our heads and put food on the table? These are some of the things you’ll hear us discuss.

You won't think I'm so cute when I take your job.

And in the conversation we mention some videos and other things that we’ve seen online. And that’s not so fun for you if you haven’t seen the video yourself and have no idea what we're talking about. So I’ve put the links to these in the show notes for this episode, and if you check out the background material in advance, you’ll be on the same page with us as you listen to the conversation. You won’t be left in the dark, scratching your head, when you hear us mention the videos. So I highly encourage you to take the next couple of days and get familiar with some of these materials so you’ll get more out of the conversation when I post it next time.

That’s all for this time...I’ll see you soon with a brand new, fresh, juicy, delightful and delicious real English conversation. Unless I’m replaced by a robot before then. Oh, wait. How do you know I’m not already a robot now...seriously, how would you know? Woo! Scary question.

Anyway, as always, you can find me at www.betteratenglish.com if you want to leave a comment, send an email, or leave me a voice message. I love getting voice messages from you so I can hear you show off your beautiful English. You can do all of that from my website. Until next time, here’s wishing you an inspired and productive day. Bye for now.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL FOR PRE-LISTENING

Funny (but still disturbing) video about AI by a comedian

Dirty Dirty Robots

Facts, figures and big questions about what will happen when machines and AI take over our jobs

Humans need not apply

Article and short video about some predictions related to Artificial Intelligence and automation

This is when robots will start beating humans at every task

For learners of academic English - here is the original study by researchers at Oxford and Yale. This is the study that the people in the videos talk about.

When will AI exceed human performance?

Hey there English learners, Lori here, your teacher from BetterAtEnglish.com. I've got a different type of episode here for you today. I'm gonna go through some American English slang expressions, some really common ones that you hear all the time if you're watching American English sitcoms or dramas on TV or Netflix.

They're ones that have been in use for quite a few years, and that you hear people in a wide range of ages using. So it's not just super new ones that are just used by teenagers and younger people. They're a lot more, I think, general and for me that means there are a lot more useful. So I hope that you will enjoy this episode.

It's a bit scary for me because it's different from what I normally give you. But, you know, when I think about it, I'm always encouraging you to try new things with your English learning and to risk embarrassment, to risk failure. So all I can do is try to lead by example and hope that you enjoy this episode.

The expressions we're going to look at are:

- Oh my god

- that sucks

- tell me about it

- to bomb, and

= bummer / bummed / to bum someone out

You can find the full transcript for this episode at https://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts

If you benefit from this episode, please consider leaving a review (or at least some stars) :-)

The data is clear: some English grammar rules are stupid.

Is it ever OK to make a grammar "mistake" on purpose? Is it ever OK to know a grammar rule and break it anyway, even when you know that some people will strongly disapprove?

In this episode I talk about English grammar rules that (I and many people think) are stupid, and discuss whether or not it's OK to break them. You'll also hear a short extract from a podcast by Scott Adams, a well known cartoonist and professional writer, talking about breaking a grammar rule on purpose. His opinion might surprise you! And you'll also learn the (somewhat vulgar and offensive) slang term douchebag, and hear a really great example of how it's used in context.

“Hey Lori, what’s a douchebag?" I hear you asking. Listen to the episode and find out!

If you enjoy the show it would totally make my day if you could leave a review or at least some stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or basically, anywhere you can leave a review. I’m not picky! It’s an easy thing you can do that would mean the world to me.

You can find the full transcript of this episode online and as a downloadable PDF at https://www.betteratenglish.com/045-stupid-english-grammar-rules-transcript

This is the free downloadable transcript for the Real English Conversations episode from Better at English. Download the transcript to read along as you listen. The transcript also contains a study guide with vocabulary definitions and English usage notes.

Introduction

Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. Last week I shared the first part of a cool conversation I had with Dr. BJ Fogg, all about making the most of your motivation. Today you’ll be hearing part two, the final part of this conversation. If you missed the first part, make sure to go back and listen to part one before you listen to part two.

At the end of part one, BJ was telling me about his goal to get better at writing neatly on a whiteboard. He knew that he needed to practice a lot if he wanted to improve, so he wanted to make it as easy as possible to practice every day. In this part of the conversation, you’ll hear what he did to change his environment to make practicing easy, even on days when his motivation is low. You’ll also hear about how his practice routine is working for him.

As always, you can find the full transcript of this conversation, including a bonus vocabulary lesson at betteratenglish.com/transcripts.

Are you ready for the conversation? Let’s go!

Conversation transcript

BJ: One of the habits I’m doing right now is, I’m practicing whiteboarding. I’m practicing with markers writing on a whiteboard. You know, like teachers do.

Lori: Right.

BJ: And I want my handwriting to get much, much better and so, I’m practicing every day. But anyway, what I did was I went out and I got some marker paper, I got a bunch of markers, I got different whiteboards so I have whiteboards in different parts of my house. I have the marker paper, I have markers, I have a marker in my bathroom, one in my sun room, I have a whole set in my office, I have a whole set in my other office. In other words, I made it really, really easy to practice writing with markers by getting all the materials and getting everything set up. And I did that when I was in a period of high motivation. So now, it’s really easy just to pick up a marker and practice. I don’t have to be super motivated.

Lori: Right. And– and you can tell yourself that, you know, “You have all your materials. It’s all easy right at hand.” You could even tell yourself, “I’m just going to write one sentence. That’s all I feel like doing right now and —

BJ: Yeah. In fact, just before your call, that’s what I did. I was sitting down and I was going to read but I was like, “No, no. I’m just going to, like, get out the marker board and write one sentence.” And I ended up filling up the entire marker board because I thought, “Oh, this is kind of fun. I’m going to keep going.”

Lori: Yeah —

BJ: And then, you called.

Lori: Have– have you — oh, I’m sorry to interrupt your practice…

[laughs]

BJ: [crosstalk] No, I was expecting your call.

Lori: …while you were on a roll. But yeah, and I guess…how’s your writing? Has it been improving? It must be improving.

BJ: Oh my gosh, it’s so much better.

Lori: And that —

BJ: Yeah.

Lori: Because I can imagine when you start seeing that your efforts are paying off, that that makes it more likely that you’re going to pick up those pens and do your practicing.

BJ: Yeah, and I– I think there are some behaviors or skills where it becomes clear pretty quickly — your progress. And then there are some, at least outcomes, where it’s harder to measure like, “Wow, am I really reducing my stress? Am I really getting healthier? Am I really...,” you know, whereas the whiteboarding — and then, I practice guitar every day…

Lori: Oh! Cool.

BJ: …and– and other things. Yeah, but in those two cases, it’s very clear that you’re getting better. It’s just obvious that you’re getting better. And the writing is one that I may have other people join me in because…and then take pictures before and after beca...

This is part 2 of Lori's conversation with Dr. BJ Fogg, an expert in the field of persuasion and motivation. You'll learn about how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it's high or low. Make sure to download the transcript to get the most benefit from this example of genuine spoken conversational English. The transcript contains the full text of the conversation, plus a bonus vocabulary lesson with definitions and example sentences. You can find it for free at http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts.

What can you do when you're not feeling motivated? What is the best way to use your motivation when you ARE motivated? Find out in this episode of Real English Conversations from Better at English. Lori talks to Dr. BJ Fogg about how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it's high or low.

This is the transcript for Better at English podcast episode 41 - Make the Most of your Motivation, a conversation with Dr. BJ Fogg. Lori talks to psychologist BJ Fogg about how people can best leverage their motivation to be able to keep showing up and working to reach their goals. You'll hear how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it's high or low. The transcript, which contains the full text of the conversation, will help you get the most benefit from this episode. http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts. The transcript contains a bonus vocabulary breakdown with example sentences.

This episode of Real English Conversations is part 5 of Lori and Kyla's discussion about a book they both liked: Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. This is the FINAL part of this conversation. First they talk about feeling overwhelmed by the never-ending stream of emails that land in their inboxes. Then they discuss what Kyla learned from William James about structuring the mundane parts of your day so you can have time and space to do your really important work. This episode is marked explicit because at the end of the conversation, Lori says a couple of mildly vulgar swear words. Nothing serious, but if you are extremely sensitive to any kind of rude language, you will want to skip this one.

The transcript includes explanations of the vocabulary and key grammar and usage points. It's a great tool for you to test your listening comprehension, or to use as a basis for discussion with your teacher, your language exchange partner, or your other friends who are learning English.

A Real English Conversation podcast from Better at English. Learn informal American English, idioms, phrasal verbs and more.

TRANSCRIPT of Better at English episode 40: This Real English Conversation is part 5 of Lori and Kyla's discussion about a book they both liked: Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. This is the FINAL part of this conversation. First they talk about feeling overwhelmed by the never-ending stream of emails that land in their inboxes. Then they discuss what Kyla learned from William James about structuring the mundane parts of your day so you can have time and space to do your really important work.

This episode is marked explicit because at the end of the conversation, Lori says a couple of mildly vulgar swear words. Nothing serious, but if you are extremely sensitive to any kind of rude language, you will want to skip this one.