📘 Part 3: Learning new things

This episode's vocabulary

Promotion (noun) - activities to advertise something.

Innovation (noun) - (the use of) a new idea or method.

To get into something (phrasal verb) - to become interested in an activity or subject, or start being involved in an activity.

To apprentice (verb) - work for an expert to learn a particular skill or job

Hands-on (adj.) - someone who has hands-on experience of something has done or used it rather than just read or learned about it.

Input (noun) - help, ideas, or knowledge that someone gives to a project, organization or a person.

Mentor (noun) - a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advice over a period of time, especially at work or school.

Career counsellor (noun) - someone whose job is to give people advice and information about what type of work they could do or how they could progress to a better job.

Ultimately (adverb) - used to emphasize the most important fact in a situation.

Aspiration (noun) - something that you hope to achieve.

To stand on your own (two) feet (idiom) - be able to provide all of the things you need for living without help from anyone else.

Millennial (noun) - a person who was born between around 1981 and 1996.

Prospect (noun) - the idea of something that will or might happen in the future.

Peer (noun) - a person who is the same age or has the same social position or the same abilities as other people in a group.

To seek someone/something out (phrasal verb) - to look for someone or something, especially for a long time until you find him, her, or it.

Contingent on/upon something (phrase) - depending on something else in the future in order to happen.

At hand (idiom) - happening or present at this time.

Well-rounded (adj.) - involving or having experience in a wide range of ideas or activities.

To incorporate (verb) - to include something within something else.

To foster (verb) - to encourage the development or growth of ideas or feelings.

Critical thinking (noun) - the process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you.

Curricular (adj.) - relating to the subjects studied in a school, college, etc. and what each subject includes.

Broad (adj.) - very wide.

Workforce (noun) - the group of people who work in a company, industry, country, etc.

Questions and Answers

M: What's the most popular skill to learn these days?

R: I'm hardly an expert, but they seem to include coding and programming, data analysis, digital marketing and graphic design. They could be useful in a wide range of industries, like online product creation and promotion. Not to mention innovation and maintenance. I mean, for example, subscriptions for streaming services need to be designed and sold and then continued to deliver a good level of service or people will leave them. So all of these things would be important for that.

M: What are the ways people can learn practical subjects such as cooking?

R: Oh, through a variety of methods, taking classes, watching online tutorials, reading cookbooks and practising with your friends and family. If you really get into it and want to make a career of it, you could choose to apprentice under a professional chef to gain hands-on experience if you wanted.

M: What makes young people choose a degree, interest or career?

R: I think that depends on the individual circumstances, doesn't it? It could be based on their interests, if they have the wealth to take that risk. Or they might have wider career or life goals that make power or earning potential of priority. And of course, they may get some input from parents, mentors or some sort of career counsellor to help them make an informed decision. Sometimes whether they like it or not.

M: So should young people take their parents' advice on choosing a degree?

R: I suppose, while parents can offer valuable advice, ultimately, the decision on what to choose should be based on someone's interests, skills and goals. It's important for young people to... Well, at least consider their own priorities and aspirations when making such an important decision. Because they won't something... Or sorry, they won't have someone holding their hand forever. Eventually, they'll have to stand on their own two feet.

M: And what subjects are popular with young adults today?

R: I'm not sure I'm best placed to answer that since I'm a senior millennial now. However, I'm led to believe that they include things like technology and computer science, business finance and social sciences, since, well, at least those fields are seen as offering good job prospects and opportunities for career growth, which is what lots of young people want.

M: Besides parents who else could people take advice from?

R: Oh God, from a variety of sources. In the form of people, there are mentors, career counsellors, like we said, teachers and peers. They could seek out information from online forums too and industry publications or some professional organisations and that could help inform their decisions if they're not big fans of talking to other people about private matters.

M: At what age should children start making their own decisions?

R: Well, it's probably contingent on their maturity level and the decision at hand. You wouldn't let a five-year-old choose where to live, but they could choose an ice cream flavour, for example.

M: Should schools teach both arts and science?

R: Absolutely, yes. It's important to provide a well-rounded education that addresses students' intellectual, emotional and social development. So with that in mind, incorporating both arts and science can help foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Since all of these curricular areas require those skills.

M: And what kinds of courses are useful for university students?

R: God, that's another broad one, at least I think so. It depends on their degree focus, career goals and interests. However, courses in areas like communication, problem-solving, maybe data analysis, oh, and teamwork can be valuable in a wide range of fields and help prepare students for the workforce. They'll need all of them to get there and, well, in life more generally, frankly speaking.

Discussion

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory, for your answers! The answers of an educated native speaker. You are fully educated now? Yes, Rory?

R: Am I fully educated?

M: Yeah, I think so. You have a degree, right? Like an official degree from a university.

R: Yes. But does that mean that you're educated just having this piece of paper?

M: Absolutely. Yeah. You spent what? Two years learning, right?

R: More.

M: One year? Half a year? Three years? Wow. Yeah. So Rory now has a degree. He is about to do his DELTA Module 2, which is like a super training for teachers. So, yeah. Learning. Rory used our favourite strategy. I'm hardly an expert, but popular skills to learn these days seem to include coding and programming, data analysis, digital marketing and graphic design. Wow. So Rory is on the ball with these modern thingies. And also, we can mention a popular skill is a skill of using ChatGPT and working with artificial intelligence. Yeah? Effectively. And then Rory gave more examples. For example, subscriptions for streaming services need to be designed, sold and then continued to deliver a good level of service.

R: And that's passive voice.

M: Need to be designed, yeah. Yeah. And for designing these subscriptions, we need coding, programming, data analysis, digital marketing and all this jazz. Here you said through a variety of methods. So what are these methods? Taking classes, watching online tutorials. Tutorials, like meaning videos. When a person tells you what to do, yeah? Then if you really get into it. So to get into something, to start enjoying something, if you get really into coding, if you get really into data analysis, you can make it your career, yeah?

R: And people do.

M: Oh, and then you've used this word. You could choose to apprentice under a professional chef. Chef, like cooking chef, yeah?

R: And it's always apprentice under.

M: So apprentice as a verb, right? So I can apprentice under a professional programmist, right? Or I can apprentice under a professional, I don't know, digital marketing specialist, right?

R: Yes.

M: And if I apprentice, I am like a student, right? So I follow them, I kind of, I watch what they do, so I can later do the same things, right? What do I do if I apprentice?

R: It's like you're learning on the job, working with someone who is a master in whatever it is. It's usually for practical skills like cooking. So you study under a chef or apprentice under a chef or plumbing or electrical work when you work under a plumber or an electrician.

M: Yeah. And you do this to gain hands-on experience. Hands-on experience? Practical experience. So that's why Rory mentioned all these electricians, plumbers who work with pipes, right? In your bathroom. So they need to see what's been done there. So to gain hands-on experience. Hands-on experience, practical experience. And here we can use a tag question. So I think that depends on individual circumstances, doesn't it? Or you said doesn't it, with intonation falling down?

R: I can't remember. I think it was intonation going down because then I explained further.

M: And then we give an answer. It could be based on their interests. If they have the wealth to take that risk. So if they have the wealth, you meant money?

R: Yeah.

M: And they may get some input from parents. So input from parents like advice from parents. Parents, mentors. Mentors. Like it's now fashionable to have a mentor. Oh, I have a mentor. Not like a psychiatrist, but a mentor. Like mentoring sessions or career counsellors. So career counsellors are special people who advise you on your career, right?

R: Have you seen one of those people?

M: No.

R: I don't think I've ever met one or seen one either, to be honest with you. We had them in high school, but allegedly.

M: But beautiful words, dear listener. So to choose a degree or interest or career people can get some input from parents, mentors or career counsellors. Like counsel. Council is another word for advice. Is it?

R: Yes, it's another word for giving advice, as well. To counsel somebody.

M: A typical question is about parents and should young people take parents' advice on choosing. So take people's advice on doing something, on choosing a degree. And Rory starts with a contrast. While parents can offer valuable guidance. Guidance like advice, guide people. Valuable - useful. So while parents can offer valuable guidance, the decision on what to choose should be based on someone's interests. So this is a contrast. A nice structure with while. While parents can help, the person should choose themselves, you see? So it's a contrast. Or you can do it like this, like parents can help while it should be based on someone's interests. And again, the passive voice, so the decision should be based on a person's interests, skills and goals. It's important to consider their own priorities. Priorities, yeah? So like the first things that we need to do. And aspirations. Rory, could you comment on aspirations? People's aspirations.

R: Yeah. An aspiration is like what you want to be in the future or... Yeah, it's not just a job, it's to do with the kind of life you want in the future. What you aspire to be, like a higher thing to reach towards.

M: A nice thing to say is that parents won't be holding their hand forever. So to hold your hand, yeah? Just to take you by the hand. And young people won't, so will not have someone holding their hand forever, meaning young people won't have parents to support them all the time. Eventually, finally, eventually, in the end, they will have to stand on their own two feet. Is it an idiomatic expression?

R: Yeah.

M: So just be independent without the parents' support. Could you give us another example with this stand on your own two feet? In the context of parents and...

R: Well, for a lot of people these days, it's increasingly difficult to stand on your own two feet, because there's so much financial pressure. So people have less money in general and so it's difficult for them to be independent.

M: Here Rory used another strategy because he used I'm hardly an expert. And here you said that I'm not sure I'm best placed to answer that.

R: That just means I'm not sure I'm the best person or in the right position to answer that.

M: So I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer this. Because... Or since I'm a little older. The question is about young adults today. And Rory is not a young adult. What? How old are you? Kind of like middle-aged?

R: Old enough to know that I'm not...

M: Elderly already.

R: Elderly already... Elder millennial.

M: Because young adults... What young adults? They're like 19, 20, 21, 22.

R: Yeah.

M: So kind of like university years, yeah? And Rory is past that.

R: Thanks.

M: So I'm not sure I'm best placed to answer that since (because) I'm a little older. However, and still, you have to give some kind of an answer. Here, you can say I'm led to believe that. So it's kind of like a careful like, oh, I think that, I've heard that, I'm led to believe that by all the media, all my friends. Popular subjects include technology, computer science, business, finance, social sciences. And you can also talk about blogging, I don't know, marketing, like what else people are into? I think this digital currency also and artificial intelligence, robotics. Also, neurosciences are quite popular. Well, the brain, you know, like science.

R: Yeah.

M: Neurobiology or something. Yeah. Or maybe psychology also is getting more and more popular, so...

R: That's true.

M: But I think everything is kind of like with computer science, like robotics and artificial intelligence is now booming. And these subjects, these spheres we call them, can give people opportunities for career growth. When you talk about advice, careful, a lot of advice. Okay, dear listener? No, no, no, "advices", no, no, no. So a piece of advice, a lot of advice. And also we can say take advice from other people, give advice and people can take advice from a variety of sources. So different sources. And again, we can say mentors, career counsellors, teachers and peers. Who are peers?

R: People on the same social level as you.

M: Yeah, on the same social level and of the same age? Or age is not important?

R: I think it depends on the context. In school, your peers will be a similar age, but in general, well, it's to do with social level.

M: And people can take advice from some other sources, like not people, but they could seek out information from online forums, publications and the almighty Internet, yeah? So when people seek out information, they look for the information and they find it, right?

R: Yeah. They're looking for it in a very intense way if you're seeking something.

M: So they can seek out information from online forums, publications to help inform their decisions, right? So I use the Internet to help me inform my decision. So kind of to make the decision. Children should start making their own decisions. So make my own decisions. That's the collocation. At what age? And Rory uses another interesting strategy, that's probably contingent on their age, for example. Contingent is another synonym of what?

R: Depend on.

M: Yeah, you can say that depends on the age. If you're tired of this phrase depend, you can say that's probably contingent, but that is probably contingent on something. And here Rory told us about maturity levels. So how mature a child is. So that's probably contingent on their maturity level and the decision at hand. So the decision at hand, the decision that you should make. And then an example, you wouldn't let a five-year-old choose where to live. So, Bobby, where would you like to live? Mummy, I want to live in a tree house. Of course, son.

R: Of course.

M: Yes, go ahead. Yeah. And send off your boy to the forest to live in a tree house all alone. Yeah, but they can choose an ice cream flavour, right? So we can, we tell our little ones where they live, with us, but they can choose an ice cream flavour or they can choose, I don't know, is it McDonald's or Burger King? McDonald's, if you're listening, you...

R: Please sponsor us.

M: So we can munch on some burgers and French fries while we are recording. So you see, an example would be nice. So the direct answer and then an example. A well-rounded education. Rory, what did you mean by this?

R: That just means you have an understanding of most things. That's it. It's like a balanced education.

M: So schools should provide a balanced education, should provide a well-rounded education with both arts and science subjects. And schools should provide a well-rounded education that addresses students' development, right? So that kind of like deals with students' development, that helps students' development. What development? Intellectual, emotional and social development, you see? Intellectual, well, about brain, emotional, about feelings, social about communication with other people. With that in mind, that's a nice linker. So kind of bearing this in mind. With that in mind incorporating both arts and science can help, yeah? So incorporating kind of putting arts and science into the school curriculum or into the school programme can also help foster creativity. When we foster creativity, what? We...

R: Encourage it.

M: Encourage, yeah, yeah. Encourage creativity. So art subjects can foster creativity, can encourage creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Yeah, like arts and science, yeah? Or you can say like arts or art subjects or humanities. You call them humanities?

R: Yeah. Things like history and education, I think anyway.

M: Yeah, you can kind of make a contrast, while arts or humanities help to foster creativity, science subjects can help develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills. And we use the word curriculum. So school curriculum is the school programme. This is a precise word to use. Or curricula. This is in the plural, so school programmes. If you forgot this school curriculum, you can say just school program, but curriculum is a nice one. And then this kind of question like what kind of courses are useful for university students? Oh, how stupid is this?

R: I know.

M: What is useful for university students? Well, you know, psychology, personal therapy is quite useful, you know.

R: Yes, you could tell that I was getting a bit frustrated with this because I was like, this is another broad one. Like it could be anything.

M: Yeah. And here again, like, it depends on their degree focus. So degree is what they're studying at university, career goals, interest. And then some examples, yeah? Such as communication, problem-solving, data analysis, teamwork. Yeah? A range of fields to prepare students for the workplace, for workforce. But here you can also say something like what's useful at university? I don't know, foreign languages, a course on design, courses on style, you know? How to match colours, how to dress appropriately. Psychology, how to kind of help yourself. Maybe meditation, a course on how to relieve stress, these kinds of things they don't teach you.

R: Are you thinking of me when you say a course on how to dress properly?

M: Yeah, I thought of you. Thank you for listening, okay? Keep learning whatever it is, but keep learning something new, alright? Might be difficult, but it's cool. It's cool for you. I'm learning to play squash, I'm learning how to dance. Rory is learning digital currency.

R: And Russian.

M: And Russian. You are learning English with us. Thank you so much! And we'll come back to you in our next episode. Bye!

R: Bye!

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