📘 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.