Episodes Description: In this episode, I again review some words and phrases from past episodes that I think are useful for you to practice and master. The vocabulary covered in this episode are: fundamental, counterargument, distinct, tangent

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#shadowenglishpodcast #improveenglishspeaking #episode20 #reviewepisode #shadowing #english 

Transcript: 

Hi guys. Welcome back. Today I thought I would do another review episode like I did back in episode 14. Those words I reviewed were segment, spark, associated with, and lo and behold. If you need a fresher on that episode, please go back and listen to episode 14 or the episodes that are referenced in that episode.

Okay, so today I will review a few words that are all found in Episode 6, titled “How to Learn a Language - Vocabulary is Everything”. That particular episode was rather long, and perhaps difficult for some listeners out there. I picked out certain difficult words that I think are good to know. It might be a good idea to listen to this episode, practice the lines, and then go back to episode 6 to see if you can understand the usage of these words in the context of that episode.

Alright, so the first one is “fundamental”…or “fundamentally”. I’ll cover both the adjective and adverb form.

"Fundamental" refers to something that is basic or essential. When something is described as "fundamentally" a certain way, it means it is that way at its core or most basic level.

Examples (adjective): The ability to communicate is a fundamental human need.  Math is fundamental to engineering. Water is a fundamental need for all living organisms.

Examples (adverb): He believes that all people are fundamentally good.  Their views are fundamentally different. The two systems are fundamentally the same.

The next word is “Counterargument”

A counterargument is an argument or set of reasons put forward to oppose an idea or theory developed in another argument.

Examples: Proponents of the new tax bill presented their reasons, but the opposition had a strong counterargument that it would harm small businesses.  Proponents of urban living cite convenience and amenities, but the counterargument often highlights the tranquility of rural life.

While some argue that remote work decreases productivity, a growing counterargument is the flexibility and balance it provides to employees.

The next is the word “Distinct” and its adverb form “distinctly”

"Distinct" means recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type. When you remember or notice something "distinctly," you do so clearly or unmistakably.

Example (adjective): Each region of the country has its own distinct culture.The two artists have distinct styles, making it easy to tell their works apart. While both languages are similar, they have distinct grammatical rules.

Example (adverb): I remember that day distinctly, as it was my first time visiting the city. I distinctly remember the first time I visited that old town; it left a lasting impression. Despite the fog, I could see the lighthouse's beam distinctly.

Finally, let’s look at the word “tangent”

A tangent, in this context, refers to a completely different line of thought or action. It's a sudden change in direction of the conversation or topic.

(see Youtube description to see the rest of the transcript)

Episodes Description: In this episode, Kevin talks about the strange feeling I got when I watched my old childhood videos recently.

Promo:

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#shadowenglish #oldchildhoodvideos #episode19 #shadowing #english #shadowenglishpodcast

Transcript:

Hi and welcome back everyone. So..the other day I had my parents transfer some old home videos from cassette tapes to a digital format. So now I can view them online and on my computer. 

These videos were from when I was around 9 years old to 10 or 11 years old. So, I am almost 39 now…that means around 30 years ago. I can’t believe it has been that long…and that I am this old! Haha..

Okay, so yeah, I wanted to talk about the experience of me watching those videos again after such a long time.  I must say, watching yourself as a kid on a video is a totally different experience than looking at old photos of yourself.  Looking at old photos just tells part of the story…and they say a picture is worth a thousand words…but then a video is thousands of pictures stitched together, so then a video must be worth millions of words. And yeah, the feeling is quite different. A photo is like…oh yeah, that was me, wasn’t I cute.

But then when you watch a video of yourself, you can understand your personality more at that time…and see what has changed… and what hasn’t. And the weird feeling I get watching them is that it is familiar, yet so strange. Maybe that is partly due to me not having a great memory. I am sure that most people can remember their childhood better than I can…at least I assume so…because I can’t really recall that many episodes of my childhood. I only can remember really important events that occurred…like getting stung by bees, or going to Disney World. Or I have other notions of me playing with certain toys that I owned, or going to my friend’s house to play outside in their backyard. Things like that…but the memory is very blurry…very fuzzy.  I can’t recall any one particular event very clearly. Maybe this is most people, though. I don’t know…

Watching the videos also made me think about how short life is…haha. I am not getting melancholic, I promise. But it’s like…man, childhood is over now…and I can’t go back. And then you realize you can’t even go back 10 years ago, when you were just a younger adult, and then you realize how brief this existence is…I wish I could say it made me more appreciative of life and the people in my life, and make me value living in the present more…but I’d be lying if I said it had such an impact on me.  The idea of ‘not taking things for granted’, by the way, is another idea I will talk about in a future episode..

Anyways,…I don’t know…maybe I am rambling. But I wonder If any of you listeners out there have watched videos of yourself as a child recently..If so, please comment and let me know how you felt. It is somewhat inscrutable to me…Despite me saying before that a video is worth a million words, I can’t find that many to describe how I felt.  For now, I’ll just conclude that, once again, it is familiar yet strange.

Okay, that is all for today, thanks as always for listening!!

Episode Description: Today, I celebrate a milestone of reaching 100+ followers. I hope that this podcast will continue to grow. Please have a listen and shadow along.

For requests or to ask any questions, please send an email to [email protected]

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645

Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMDNjYmFmMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Intro & Outro music - by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)

#shadowenglish #100+episodes #shadowing #english #shadowenglishpodcast

Transcript:

Hello everyone. It’s Kevin. And welcome back to the podcast. So, as the title suggests, this podcast has reached 100 followers at the end of August.

Haha, Okay, I know that it’s not much. Especially in the world of podcasting. But I guess it’s a good start for a podcast that is on its 18th episode and for only starting 3 months ago. It is at least encouraging that a number the size of a medium-sized university lecture class has decided they like the podcast enough that they would subscribe and potentially listen every week. It makes me feel that this effort I put in is worth while.

I hope I can reach more milestones in the future, like 500+, 1000+, who knows, maybe 10s of thousands of people will one day listen to this podcast. Hahah, one can only dream, right?

I know I could put more effort into the podcast. And I hope to, by making sure I record in a place without background noise..maybe get a better mic, etcetera.  I think with most podcasts, if you listen to the first few dozen episodes and compare that with their later episodes, when they get around 100 or 200, you see a noticeable difference in quality. I hope this podcast will show the same.

Now, this podcast is up to 100+ followers just on Spotify, but on Youtube, I think its around 30, and I am not sure how many there are on Google Podcasts…as I never check that. And I think on Apple Podcast, it’s also around 30 or so…. So, actually around 160 followers…Although, some of those could be the same followers, maybe following on two different platforms..As for other statistics…I thought it might be interesting to mention some demographics. At least on spotify, the largest number of citizens are from Vietnam, with 19%, followed close behind by Japan at 18%. The rest of the people who listen are from a wide variety of countries, but are 5% or under. I thought that it was interesting that I have more Vietnamese listeners compared with Japanese listeners, because I advertise my podcast on Hello Talk to mostly Japanese people, and that I sort of targeted Japanese listeners more since I live in Japan. But I am very happy to have listeners from anywhere and am very glad this can reach so many people from different countries. And..so yeah, thank you to all of my listeners out there, especially my Vietnamese and Japanese listeners. I hope you are getting some benefit from this podcast by listening and shadowing me. I really hope that it can improve your speaking skill and give you more confidence.

That’ll due for today. Thanks, as always. Catch you next time!

Episode Description: Kevin talks about a few English expressions you can use about the heat. 

To go to the shadowing immediately, go to 2:51. 

すぐにシャードイングしたい場合、2:51に行ってください！

#shadowing #summer #heatexpressions #shadowenglish #foreignlanguage #english #level up

Other ways to listen

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Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645

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Outro music - by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)

Here in Japan, where I live, it has been incredibly hot. And watching the news, it seems that Japan is not alone. 

So today I thought I would go over a few expressions that you can use when talking about the heat.

One thing you can say is that ‘It is scorching out here’. Or sometimes…”It is a scorcher today”. Scorch is a verb and it means to burn the surface of something. Like scorching a creme brûlée. Or ’The houses were scorched by the blast’.  But you can use this to describe the weather. Obviously it is an exaggeration, but we say it sometimes. Scorching or scorcher are only used to refer to the natural outside temperature. So you can’t use it if it is hot because someone is blasting the heat inside a building.

Another expression is, ‘I am sweating bullets’.  This doesn’t mean that bullets are literally coming out of your skin, rather it is referring to the size of your sweat drops. You are sweating so much that the size of the sweat drops are like bullets.

Another expression is, “I am sweating like a pig”..and you can use this when…well, you are sweating a lot. I have heard that pigs don’t actually sweat though, so I am not sure if this expression is actually accurate or not.

Let’s see… you can also make comparisons, like ‘It feels like a sauna”…or ‘It’s like an oven outside’.

You can also say..”You can/could fry an egg on the sidewalk..”

Yeah, okay, I don’t want to overload you with too many expressions. But I hope you have found one that you like and will try using one of these expressions.

Have a great day! Stay cool.

Episode 16 - The hardest part about learning a foreign language

Episode Description: Kevin talks about the hardest part of learning a foreign language, which may be not what you expect.

To go to the shadowing immediately, go to 2:51. 

すぐにシャードイングしたい場合、2:51に行ってください！

#shadowing #studyingaforeignlanguage #shadowenglish #foreignlanguage #english #level up

Other ways to listen

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Outro music - by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)

Hi everyone. Another language learning focused episode today. I was wondering the other day what the hardest part about learning a language is. As I’ve said in the past, in essence, learning a language is mastering the vocabulary, meaning recognizing language input and getting good at the output….Again, much like I mentioned in episodes 6 and 10.

However, to me…I think the hardest part about studying a language is that you’re not at the level of what you’re interested in. 

So, what I mean by this is that the things that I currently watch or listen to in English are too difficult for me if I were to try and do the same in Japanese. I couldn’t do it passively. It would be an active and effortful endeavor that would require a lot of concentration…and a lot of me looking up words. So what do I do..I listen to Japanese podcasts or YouTubers that target Japanese learners that speak and teach to my level…more for the intermediate crowd. The problem here is that usually what those teachers talk about is not so interesting to me. I mean, they try to be interesting…and they often are from an objective point of view. But I guess….what they talk about just isn’t interesting to me in that moment. 

But I have hope for the future of foreign language input. With more and more regular teachers putting out free content on the internet in various languages…the scope and range of content continues to increase.  Many foreign language teachers recognize this hole…the hole that there is a lot of content that could be communicated in an easier way…for beginners and for intermediate learners alike.

And we are just at the beginning of this new age of language learning, in my opinion. I guess then the issue becomes how to find the best match. That is, how to find input that is at your level and of your interest in that moment that you want to study a foreign language. Perhaps AI will be able to help with that.

Anyways, just some thoughts.

Have a great week!

Episode Description:

In this episode, Kevin talks about why he believes there is no such thing as "Free Will".

To Shadow, go to 5:20.

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/69oQvsoqtRlIOIj1CTrcoc?si=8bff1d4f9ceb4a23

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Outro music - by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)

Transcript:

Hello everyone. Today I wanted to briefly talk about the idea of free will.  Now this is a big topic.. so that’s why I want to emphasize “briefly”.  And this isn’t going to go deeply into the theories of free will vs determinism. These are just my thoughts..

Okay, so… Free will is defined as the capacity to make choices that are genuinely one’s own. So the idea of choice is important here. 

So, when presented with a choice, for example...Do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream.?  We have the ability to choose one or the other. 

From an objective point of view, we do have the ability to choose between one or more options. Or day to day, when we decide what we are going to do each day...or when we plan for the week, year, or more...we can make decisions, or choices, that determine the course of our life.  Even when we do not actively plan to decide, we can decide or choose as a response to an external situation, like uhhh being asked what you want to eat tonight, pizza, ramen, or sushi. 

The opposite of the Idea of free will is called determinism, which I found the definition being "the idea that all events, including human actions, are ultimately determined by causes regarded as external to the will."  Now the word to focus on in that definition is the word "will". 

Will has many definitions, but the “will” we are referring to here has two main definitions: 

So the idea of free will is to be able to freely choose one’s actions, and to control the mind. Yet, interestingly synonyms of “will” are desire and prefer.  I say interesting because it may be that our choosing of something is synonymous with our preference, or our desire, for something.

Okay, so basically, I don’t think we have free will in the way most people think we have it…like we can choose our actions. We can choose what to do, but we can’t choose the choice…if that make sense.

Or…here are some quotes from Sam Harris, a philosopher/podcaster that makes a very cogent argument for there not being free will in his book aptly named“Free Will”. Please consider these quotes and let me know your thoughts:

“You can do what you decide to do — but you cannot decide what you will decide to do.”

“Take a moment to think about the context in which your next decision will occur: You did not pick your parents or the time and place of your birth. You didn't choose your gender or most of your life experiences. You had no control whatsoever over your genome or the development of your brain. And now your brain is making choices on the basis of preferences and beliefs that have been hammered into it over a lifetime - by your genes, your physical development since the moment you were conceived, and the interactions you have had with other people, events, and ideas. Where is the freedom in this? Yes, you are free to do what you want even now. But where did your desires come from?”

“You are not controlling the storm, and you are not lost in it. You are the storm.”

“A puppet is free as long as he loves his strings.”

That’s all for today. See you next time.

Episode Description:

In this episode, I review select words and phrases from past episodes

Intro and outro music by Lundstroem

To shadow, go to 4:00 min mark.

Transcript:

Hi guys! Sorry I missed recording last week. I got too busy with work. I think from now one I am only going to do one shadowing segment in each podcast episode. And it will be at regular speed. If you want the slow and fast version again. Please let me know. You can just leave a comment on one of my YouTube videos. Thanks and sorry again.

I thought today I would go back and look at some of my old episodes and review some words and phrases that I used that I think will be helpful. This won’t be an exhaustive list of all of the useful vocabulary, and if you have any other requests for me doing a review episode, please let me know again by commenting in the YouTube comments of this episode or any other episode.

Okay, so the first word…which is from episode 1 is “segment”.  Actually, I just used this in this episode, too..in the beginning. This word can be a noun or verb and means to separate or to divide. It can sound a little formal when used as a verb. Or it can mean “a part of something”.

So, how can you use this word?

For example, you can say:

"The TV show had a segment about cooking tips."

This means the TV show had a part of the show about cooking tips.

I segmented my list into different categories. Here “segment” means “divide”

The next word is “spark”, which I used in episode 3. 

This is like a small piece of fire or electricity that can cause a bigger fire if it lands on something flammable, that can catch on fire. So, it is often used metaphorically and as a verb. For example: "Do these belongings spark joy for you?"   "The assassination sparked the beginning of the war."

Or it can be used metaphorically as a noun… "There was a spark between them at their first meeting"

The next word phrase is “associated with”, from episode 4.

This means there is some connection between two things…like "spending time in nature is associated with good health" or… "There are risks associated with smoking tobacco."  It can also mean having a relationship with…as in, “Are you associated with that crazy man?.  No, no I am not associated with him"…meaning, I do not have any relationship with him at all.

The last phrase that I will cover today is from episode 5 and it is “lo and behold”. You should use this phrase when something surprising or unexpected happens.  Like …”I was about to give up on finding a parking spot, but lo and behold, a spot opened up right in front of the entrance.”  "I was searching for my pen when, lo and behold, it was on my ear the whole time."   Or “We had been waiting anxiously for the arrival of the bus, and lo and behold, it finally pulled up just as we were about to lose hope.”

Okay, that’s all I’ll do for today. 

Episode Description:

In this episode, Kevin talks about the two biggest losses in his life, which strangely were material losses.

Intro and outro music by Lundstroem

To shadow slow, go to 4:51

To shadow fast, go to 16:37

Tags: #biggest losses #shadowenglish #episode 13 #improveenglishspeaking #englishlearning #podcast

Transcript:

Today, I wanted to share with you a story about two losses in my life. This is personal, and it might seem ridiculous because when people usually talk about loss, they refer to someone important they have lost, like a family member or friend. However, I have been relatively lucky and privileged, as I have not experienced any major losses in my life. I have lost grandparents, but I was quite young and not very close to them. I did have a friend who died when we were both 16, but we weren't that close either. I have also lost pets, and one pet, in particular, felt like a significant loss to me. But the two most devastating losses that I can recall were when I lost material possessions, and this is why it might sound ridiculous or superficial.

My first experience occurred when I was around 18. I lost my CD case that contained all the music I had collected over the years, which I felt was a significant part of my life. Actually, they were stolen. A friend of mine asked if he could borrow my CDs for a party, and I said, "Sure, why not." However, at this party, someone stole them, and they were gone forever. At the time, my music collection felt like a substantial part of my identity. I believe this is true for most people, as the music you listen to as a teenager has the most significant impact on your life. People often continue to listen to the music they enjoyed in their youth decades later. So, it's little wonder why losing the music I loved as a teenager hurt so much. It might seem ridiculous now, considering that CDs are no longer in common use, and everyone can instantly stream their favorite music. However, in the 90s, we didn't have that luxury, so personal CD collections were greatly cherished.

My other significant loss was also material. When I was around 22 years old and attending college, my roommate used my computer and, for some reason, reformatted my hard drive, deleting all the files I had saved. To this day, I still don't have a clear idea of why he did that. Perhaps I was too angry to understand his explanation.

This loss may be more relatable to young people today than my CD case story. Imagine someone using your smartphone and deleting all your photos and apps. That's essentially what happened to me—I lost everything I had ever written, taken pictures of, and recorded in home videos up until that point. Of course, it was my fault for not backing up these files on a separate hard disk. But I never imagined my roommate would do such a thing. I was livid.

In both situations, losing my music CDs and all the important files on my computer made me very angry and depressed because I had wrapped my identity around those things. However, there were two silver linings that emerged from these incidents: First, I realized the impermanence of everything in life. Second, I realized that my identity and self-worth should not be dependent on material possessions. Both of these realizations have kept me grounded and helped me think more about death in a constructive manner. It might sound ridiculous because I have been fortunate enough not to lose someone very close to me yet. However, maybe these incidents have helped prepare me for when that time inevitably comes. The death that can help you cope with all deaths is ego death. By losing those things to which I associated my identity, it helped me let go of my ego a little.

Episode Description:

In this episode, I discuss the Mandela Effect and how our collective memories can deceive us.

To shadow slow, go to 2:57.

To shadow fast, go to 9:29

Intro and outro music by Lundstroem

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/69oQvsoqtRlIOIj1CTrcoc?si=8bff1d4f9ceb4a23

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645

Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMDNjYmFmMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Transcript:

Hi guys!

Welcome back.

The Mandela Effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people remembers something differently from what it actually is or was. 

It was apparently named after Nelson Mandela, as many people vividly recall him dying in prison when, in fact, he was released and became the President of South Africa.

One more iconic example of this is from the movie quote "Star Wars." Can you quote Darth Vader? "Luke, I am your father," right? Wrong! The actual quote is, "No, I am your father." Our memories can deceive us, it seems.

Other examples include Curious George, the beloved children’s book about a curious monkey, who sometimes people remember as having a tail. Speaking of tails, some people remember Pikachu as having a black stripe on his tail when in fact it is completely yellow.

The evil queen in Snow White saying “Mirror Mirror on the Wall” when she actually says “Magic Mirror on the Wall”.  And the monopoly man is often thought to have a monocle when he in fact he does not.

I think one explanation for these false memories that we all share get started by some individual who spreads it to the masses. And perhaps another explanation is that our minds sometimes like to fill in information where it is not really present. Like, in the case of pikachu, since his pointy ears have black stripes, we might imagine his pointy tail in turn also has a black stripe. 

Anyways, do you know of any other Mandela Effect examples? Have you experienced any that I mentioned here?

That’s all for today.

#Mandela Effect #ShadowEnglish