📙 Part 2: Describe a person who moved to a new place

This episode's vocabulary

To fit the bill (idiom) - to be suitable for a particular purpose.

Up to date (adj.) - modern, recent, or containing the latest information.

Numerous (adj.) - many.

Uncouth (adj.) - behaving in a rude, unpleasant way.

To give sb an edge (over/on sb/sth) - (to give someone an advantage in a particular situation.

Questions and Answers

M: Rory, over to you.

R: Yes, over to me. Let's get started. Usually, I hate talking about myself. But it seems my experience best fits the bill here since I recently moved to Turkey. We already talked a little about me in part one. But to tell you a bit more about myself in relation to this experience. I'm an English teacher, and an important part of that for me is professional development. I've done that a lot in different countries, including Russia and Scotland. And it's important for me to keep up to date with it so I can teach effectively. Since I'd already done a lot of the simpler courses, I decided to take it to the next level and do Delta, which is like an advanced teaching course. It's very advanced. In terms of when I moved here, I'm actually still there at the moment, I'm just taking a break to come and speak about it. I went in early June of 2023 and planned or plan to stay there until the end of July or the beginning of August, assuming I haven't or don't completely fail or failed the course. The course itself only runs until the end of July. But I thought I might stay a while longer and decompress and organize a few events in the sunshine before going back to cloudy and cold Scotland. Like I already said I moved there to do Delta, but in more detail about what that involved or involves, it's probably important to draw attention to the fact that this really isn't or wasn't a holiday for me. I had and have to do a lot of research and write numerous assignments whenever I wasn't and am not teaching, I keep switching between tenses. But you see, this thing is still ongoing, so it's important for the sense of perspective. It's a bit uncouth to talk about yourself in the third person, in terms of how you feel about yourself. But I'm pretty impressed with myself for making this decision. I certainly didn't have to because I'm a pretty competent teacher and teacher trainer in my own right. But I think this will give me an edge over the competition. In addition to an opportunity to be in the sunshine. If I hadn't made this move, well, I'd still be in Scotland with a more familiar routine. That would hardly be a disaster. Though I'd definitely be poorer for not having had the experience.

M: Do you think you'll move again anytime soon?

R: Well, I need to go back home to Scotland at some point, so it depends how you to find soon, doesn't it?

Discussion

M: Right, dear listener. So here Rory decided to talk about himself, which is possible. Describe a person who moved into a new place. So if you are the person who just moved into a new home, into a new place, go ahead and talk about yourself. Maybe you moved house 10 years ago, you can still talk about yourself as if it happened like a week ago. Or maybe you know a friend or some relative who moved to a different place a different flat, a new house. Or you can make it up. Okay? Yeah. And Rory introduced this as I hate talking about myself. But it seems my experience best fits the bill. So my experience my situation best fits the bill. Rory, what did you mean?

R: It's just is the most appropriate for this situation. If something is the most appropriate thing, then it fits the bill. But yeah, I really don't like talking about myself.

M: Because I recently moved to Turkey, or I've... Present Perfect. I've recently moved to Turkey. So from Scotland to Turkey. From the middle of nowhere to Istanbul, one of the best cities in the world.

R: It really is. It's just really hot. That's all.

M: Well, it's summer, yeah. To tell you a bit more about myself, in relation to this experience, I'm an English teacher, I do this and that. So you can give more detail about this. I've done a lot in different countries. So I've worked in different countries. And it's important for me to keep up to date with it. So to keep up to date with my professional development, with my studies, so I can teach effectively. And Rory moved to Istanbul to do this course for English teachers, which is called Delta. It's like an advanced teaching course.

R: Or an advanced form of torture, depending on how you look at it.

M: In terms of when I moved there, I am actually still there at the moment. But you can say like in terms of when I moved house, or in terms of when I moved to a new flat, it was a year ago, or two weeks ago, again, you can lie about this. Like I plan, or I'm planning to stay here till the rest of my life, or for a couple of months, or for a year, or I don't know how long, I'm gonna stay here. I might stay a while longer. So I might stay a bit longer. a while longer. Or, for example, you want it to stay for a year, and you stayed a while longer. You stayed for two years. Like I already said, I moved there to do what? Yeah? So a nice transition. Like I told you, or like I already said, I moved there, because blah, blah, blah. A nice linking phrase, it's probably important to draw attention to the fact that I bought my own house, yeah? It's probably or it's maybe important to draw attention to the fact that that...

R: Just to emphasize something very important.

M: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

R: Because everyone's like, oh, you're on holiday. And I'm like, no, I'm not on holiday. I am working and studying and it is torture.

M: Yeah, Rory is in Istanbul, slaving away, studying really hard. Because delta is pretty intensive. And Rory does a lot of research. And he writes numerous, many assignments.

R: I have written more in the last week than I have written in years. It is insane.

M: Oh, yeah, I know, it's insane. Yeah. Do you make any mistakes with articles and commas, Rory?

R: Oh, I make so many mistakes when I'm writing, because I'm just doing it so fast. And they're like, Oh, you made a mistake here. And I was thinking to myself, yes, but it's 2500 words and I wrote it in a day. So could you just tell me if my... Like not my English is correct, tell me if the point I'm making is correct, please.

M: Yeah, you see? So even educated native speakers make mistakes.

R: Yes. But someone did that to me the other day. They said, oh, you made this mistake. And I was like, well, thank you. Yes, there is a missing article. However, I think the wider point I was making was maybe the more important thing.

M: Yeah, you work with teachers. Yeah? So teachers like always kind of correct you all the time.

R: I don't mind. It's just like, focus on what's important. Like the idea.

M: You said that it's a bit uncouth to talk about yourself. Uncouth.

R: Uncouth. It just means it's bad manners.

M: Yeah, uncouth, disapproving. It's negative. Behaving in a rood, unpleasant way. So like she was uncouth. So like she was rude. Could you give us another example this word?

R: It's uncouth to talk about how much money you make.

M: It's uncouth to talk about how famous you are. It's a bit uncouth to talk about yourself in the third person singular.

R: It really is. I am proud of me.

M: Yeah, I'm proud of myself, when I moved house,.

R: I am proud of myself. But like you don't share this openly with people.

M: But here you can say like, okay, it's a bit uncouth. But I feel really proud. When I bought this house, when I moved house, when I moved to a new flat I'm renting. I'm pretty impressed with myself for finally making this decision. So I'm pretty impressed with myself for doing something. Right? Or I have done this, I am the best. Yeah, why not? Like you say like, okay, dear examiner, I am cool and full of awesome. Okay? I have just moved to a new house. And even if you haven't moved anywhere, dear listener, you can just lie about it. Okay? And then we finish it off with the third conditional. In the past. So if I hadn't made this move. Okay? So to make a move, to change... To move house, to move into a new place, it happened in the past, let's imagine if I hadn't done this, if I hadn't made this move, or if I hadn't moved to this new place, now, I'd still be in Scotland. Sorry. It's a mixed conditional. It's not the third conditional. A mixed conditional. Something in the past. if I hadn't made this move, now, I'd still be in Scotland now. You see? So we use the first part from the third conditional and the second part from the second conditional because we're talking about now. But you can use the third conditional. For example, if I hadn't moved to this house, I would have rented a house.

R: Until I was dead.'

M: Yeah. So if I hadn't moved to a flat, I would have moved to a house. So stupid though. If I'm not living in a flat, or I'll be in a house. A bit silly.

R: Makes sense in context.

M: What helped you to organize this answer, Rory?

R: The task. And referring back. So I started off basically by saying, I'm going to talk about myself. And I actually referred back to part one, because we already talked about yourself in part one and now we're going to keep going. And then I switched to the old-fashioned phrases that I've been... Sorry, the good old-fashioned traces I've been using. In terms of when I moved there, like I already said, blah, blah, blah. But it's important to draw the attention to the fact. And then of course, in more detail about what that involved. And then a bit of a roundabout way of saying it's a bit uncouth to talk about yourself in the third person, in terms of how you feel about yourself, in terms of how I feel about myself. And then going on to that, and finishing off with a nice conditional. If I hadn't made this move, well, I'd still be in Scotland.

M: Sweet. Thank you very much for listening! We'll get back to you in speaking part three, where we talk about accommodation, houses, and living in different places in general. Okay? Bye!

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