← RealLife English: Learn and Speak Confident, Natural English
RealLife English: Learn and Speak Confident, Natural English
#360 6 GREAT TV Series to Watch in English and EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY Tremendously, Useful Words and Daily Expressions, and How to Learn Advanced Pronunciation While Having Fun with TV Series
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- [00:00]
A
If you want to improve your English considerably, it's important that you see how language is used in various situations. And watching TV shows offers a great opportunity for that. Because you have comedies, you have dramas, you have sci fi shows, and in each one of these different stories and genres, there is a different kind of English being used there. Different words, different vocabularies.
- [00:27]
B
Aw, yeah. Global citizens, this is Ethan from RealLife English, where every single week it is. It is our mission to take you beyond the classroom so that you can speak English fluently, naturally and confidently. You can connect with people from all around the world. And most importantly, you can use English as the doorway to living your greatest life. I'm joined here in the global studio by my ragtag team of fellow podcast hosts, Thiago and Ksenia. How's it going, guys?
- [00:55]
A
Hey, everyone.
- [00:56]
B
We have a full house today for the first time in a while.
- [00:59]
A
Full house. What's a full house?
- [01:01]
B
We could say hand in cards. In poker, there's a full house, which I believe is when you have two, a matching set of two and three. I'm not a big poker player though, so someone can correct me in the comments or by email or whatever if you are a poker fan. But in this case it's pretty obvious, right? A house that's full. Like there's a lot of people.
- [01:24]
A
It's funny you mentioned full House, the expression, because it just reminded me of a TV series from the 80s called Full House. And more recently they also have kind of a spin off called Fuller House, that kind of a sitcom.
- [01:37]
B
So. Yeah, with the Olsen twins, the original. And you said a nice phrase there. A spin off. What's a spin off?
- [01:44]
A
It's a TV series that is derived from another TV series. So let's say we have Game of Thrones, for example, and then other series that come from that story are derived. It's a spin off.
- [01:58]
B
There's a lot of those nowadays. I think that the studios are losing their creativity in some sense. Sort of all ideas have been done. So now they're going back to past successful ideas or nostalgic ideas and making reboots. Hopefully we'll see some of the ones of those ones that we have fond memories of that we grew up with. I think all of us are around the same age, so they probably were similar series. But maybe we'll see that today. All you, all that are watching and listening, a lot of you will know that we love TV series. We even have a whole YouTube channel that is dedicated to teaching you English with TV series. Called Learning with TV. If you do not subscribe there yet, I highly recommend it because it's one of the most fun ways to improve your English comprehension and fluency. But today we're going to be talking about some of our favorite series. Hopefully give you guys some new ideas. If you are looking for a series to embark on a new adventure with with your English, of course, then you'll get some inspiration here.
- [02:55]
A
All right, so I will get the ball rolling and recommend my first TV series today, which is Breaking Bad. To me, Breaking Bad is maybe the best TV drama ever put on television, period. Because the the premise is so compelling. It's about this high school teacher, Walt. He's in his 50s already. Watching the show, you can clearly see a case of unfulfilled potential. Because he's such a genius in chemistry, he could have maybe become a university professor, academic researcher, or built a multi million dollar business with the knowledge and talent he has. But I don't know, maybe because of personal choices or life. Sometimes life can be tough and hit you in the head with a shovel. He finds himself a high school teacher and he lives a pretty harsh life because he's married, he has a family, he's got this teenage son and a baby girl on the way. Obviously he doesn't make enough money as a high school teacher to make ends meet. So he also has a second job as a side hustle, washing people's cars at a car wash. But then his life becomes even more challenging because in the first episode he, he's diagnosed with lung cancer and the doctor tells him that he only has six months to live. So now he's a middle aged teacher, broke, baby on the way, two kids, and he has nothing to leave his family once he's gone pretty soon. So what he starts doing is he starts selling drugs. He starts cooking meth or methamphetamine because he has the chemistry knowledge to produce the drug. And then he hooks up with this former student of his who understands the streets. So the deal is he the chemist, the genius guy, right? He makes the drugs and his former student, the street guy, sells them. His motivation is to make some quick money in a few months so that when he's dead, he can leave something for his family. But what I love about this show is actually watching his transformation because he starts the show super nice, even too passive kind of guy. And by the end of this show, he has become this badass kingpin, drug lord that you don't want to mess with. So watching this man's transformation after his cancer diagnosis is incredible.
- [05:18]
B
I wanted to cover a couple really nice vocabulary points and expressions that you use there. So you said that you believe it's the best drama, period. Something along those lines. When you use period in the sense, what does that mean?
- [05:31]
A
When you want to sound adamant or really emphatic about something, you make her statement. I believe this, this and that. By saying period, you are being very adamant and emphatic about that, meaning that you really believe in what you're saying. The period, by the way, is that symbol that we use to end a sentence in a text also called full stop. Right.
- [05:55]
B
I think that's more British, though. If you say full stop, it is.
- [05:58]
A
Right.
- [05:58]
B
Americans wouldn't understand that.
- [06:00]
A
Americans say period more often. Right, right.
- [06:03]
B
And I think in that sense, I don't even British English, I don't think they'd say full stop.
- [06:07]
A
That would be weird.
- [06:07]
B
Emphatically. As you're. As you're mentioning.
- [06:09]
A
Yeah.
- [06:09]
B
And then you said, well, let me see, there were a couple of nice financial expressions. You said that he's barely making ends meet and he's broke.
- [06:17]
A
When a person is broke, this person doesn't have enough money to pay the basic necessities, pay for the basic necessities or bills. And to make ends meet means to be able to honor all your financial obligations in the month you have. Maybe a mortgage, rent, groceries, kids, school payments, you know. So to make ends meet is to be able to honor all your bills.
- [06:44]
B
And the last thing I wanted to say, because it's very relevant to the series or ask you to define is you said it's Jesse Pinkman, right? Is his name that he understands the streets. What does that mean in this context? Because if you're literally thinking about understand the streets, it could sound like, what does he. A city planner. What does that mean, a city planner?
- [07:06]
A
Like an engineer or something. Can you imagine Jesse Pickman as an engineer? Oh, let me project the city here. That is a nice question you asked because it just reminded me of two great expressions we have book smart and street smart. Watching the show, we can clearly see that Walt the teacher, he's book smart, he went to university, he's a graduated chemist. And Jancy, he's more of the street smart kind of guy. He doesn't have a lot of formal education, but he knows how to operate, how to live on the street, how things happen in real life. He knows where to sell the drugs, who to talk to. And one final note about that show is that, man, each season is better than the previous. One, it's really rare for a TV series to accomplish that because, you know, usually in a show you have good seasons and not so good seasons, highs and lows. But with that show, for example, I could honestly say that, man, each season is better than the previous one. So if you haven't seen it yet, you gotta watch it. By the way, I actually brought a quote from the series, a quote that Walt, the protagonist, says, and I find it really interesting. He's talking about fear. So let me read it to you very quickly. Here he goes. I have spent my whole life scared, frightened of things that could happen, might happen, might not happen. 50 years I've spent like that, finding myself awake at 3 o' clock in the morning. But you know what? Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine. I came to realize that fear is the worst of it. That's the real enemy. So get up. He's talking to his brother in law at that moment. Get up. Get out in the real world. And you kick that bastard as hard as you can right in the teeth. The bastard here being fear. I found this quote really interesting because it shows how liberating it was for him to have this diagnosis, this cancer diagnosis. It was so liberating that he even went to the other extreme and became this villainous, evil person by the end of the series.
- [09:15]
B
Hopefully we haven't given too many spoilers.
- [09:17]
A
Hopefully not, but it's still an experience worth watching anyway. Yeah, there are five stars and it's
- [09:22]
B
an old series at this point. So yeah, if you haven't, if you're not somewhat aware, you must be living in a cave, as we would say. All right, great. We have Ksenia back. She was suffering from some tech issues, but now she seems to have a crystal clear connection. So, Ksenia, we're all itching to hear, what series did you select?
- [09:40]
C
I'm so happy to be back. I was kind of frustrated that I lost you and I won't be able to share this thing I prepared for you guys. So, guys, I love documentaries and all sorts of documentaries. Most of the time we choose as a family to spend our evenings watching National Geographic or something like that. But I was thinking of our English learners, of course. And I chose today the docu series from Netflix, which is called Tales by Light. It's about photography and Tales by Light is kind of a very poetic way to say about photography because photos is a Greek word for light and graphe is to draw or to write. So tales, as you know, are stories. So the series is called Tales by Light or photography, the story which photographers tell with their pictures. And as you know, one picture is worth a thousand words. And this is exactly what you see in this series. So why you should watch it, right? So first, it will be really beneficial even for learners with lower level of English, because this is a visual storytelling. Everything you will see will be described by the narrator, right? So it's a wonderful opportunity to, you know, even if you don't know a lot of words, you just see what's depicted and then you can, you know, deliberately pause, stop, read and like, you know, it will enhance your comprehension a lot. Then second thing, if you're an advanced English learner, it will still be super cool series to watch because it touches on social issues and ideas as global consciousness. We are following ace photographers who travel the world and with their pictures they want to invite us into what they see. And many times they choose not only show beautiful landscapes and all us with the views of the planet. If some nukes, cozy nukes in some forests or the deserts, but here is the this kind of comparison or even juxtaposition between the beauty of the planet and the cruelty of man. They expose such social issues as illegal market, like for example, the feeding of sharks. This is the word I learned from this series. So the finished is this thing you will see which is above the water. When sharks. When the sharks swim. Let me just recommend you start with season three. The first two episodes, they talk about disadvantaged children. The photographer, it was his passion. He's a portrait photographer. So it was his passion to travel the world and find children in really horrendous conditions where still the child labor is used. And to show that even in those difficult circumstances, they show the sheer joy when they're playing, when they are provided with safe space. It opens your heart to you admire the work of a photographer. He got this tremendous opportunity to give voices to people who don't have voices. This very reason is I think already enough to watch it. And the third reason why I like documentaries as well is that you're exposed to all kinds of English accents. Because most of the times some experts are invited to give comment on something. And most of the times those are people from different countries. They all use English as a universal language. But we hear English from non natives with all sorts of accents, right? Indian accents, French accent, German accent. So it's a great chance to be closer to this global English and to train your ear and try to understand English spoken by non natives. English is a universal language that connects us, that unites us all right. There's been so many moments in his travels, in his trip where he gets connected to local people. And even though they can't speak the same language, they use camera. They use photographs as the universal language to understand each other, to connect to each other. That was something beautiful and so close to me.
- [14:30]
B
Nice. It sounds like a great opportunity for some virtual travel around the world, which I think docu series and documentaries often will take you to different places depending on the subject. Right. But I took note of some really nice vocabulary that you used in your description, Ksenia, and I thought I'd ask you about that. So I believe you said some of these photog Phot. Photographs, word wasn't coming out right. Some of these photographs awe us. Right. So what does that mean, if something awes us?
- [15:01]
C
If something is aw. Or it awes us, it evokes really strong emotions. It's like mind blowing. Or even in that docu series, the. The narrator or Orlando Bloom was It said that it was an eye opening experience. Yeah. So to awe is to also enchant, to strike you numb, so you stay like speechless.
- [15:30]
B
I just keep in mind that awe is a noun. So you would say it inspires awe, inspiration, or it awes us. It can be a verb as well,
- [15:38]
C
I suppose, and hence the word awesome, Right?
- [15:42]
B
Exactly. That's where awesome comes from, is it was something that inspired awe, but it became more commonplace as a word and now we just use it to mean something is great in American English. So also you mentioned that they showcase little nooks. What's a nook?
- [15:59]
C
It's corner. Like, for example, you can say corner of the world or some hidden nooks of the world.
- [16:07]
B
We might say like a cozy nook. It makes me think of like a little cottage or a little house or something like this. And juxtaposition, that's a really advanced word. You said. The juxtaposition, I believe, of beauty and human damage to the environment.
- [16:24]
C
This is putting something side by side for a contrast.
- [16:31]
B
Amazing. So people check out that. And I really like the. You use juxtaposition. So I like the juxtaposition of our three different series. Our first three series that Thiago chose a drama, you chose Ksenia, a docu series. And I chose something a little bit more lighthearted. I chose a comedy. It's my favorite. One of my favorite comedies of all time, called Seinfeld. It has a really special place in my heart because I grew up watching this series. The reason I chose it is because anyone who's Interested in American culture, which I believe a lot of the. A lot of you listening to this or watching this are learning English because you want to connect as part of your learning. You want to connect to American culture or British culture. So if you're on the track of American culture, then this one is just so quintessential for understanding American culture. It really taps into the zeitgeist of the 90s in the US which. That's our era, right. All three of us grew up in the 90s. We were kids in the 90s.
- [17:31]
A
Ethan, first of all. Yeah, I just want to ask some vocabulary here because you used some really cool words. First of all, Seinfeld, you said that it's a lighthearted show. What's a lighthearted show?
- [17:41]
B
Something is light hearted. It means it's not serious.
- [17:45]
A
Like a comedy, for example, Right, Exactly. And I love this word that you used, quintessential. Is that it?
- [17:52]
B
Exactly. It means it's something that is absolutely necessary. It's essential, essentials, even in that word. But it's even more so than that.
- [17:59]
A
It's five times. Right. Quintessential. And I think you used a different word there. That sounded almost German to me. Zeitgeist.
- [18:09]
B
Do you know that one, Ksenia?
- [18:10]
C
No, But I also heard it and I was wondering, is it German word?
- [18:15]
B
It's German. It comes from. Zeit is time and geist is ghost or phantom. And what it means is like the spirit of a time period. So this captures the spirit of the 1990s. You can see this just by the way that they dress. The main characters dress. Of course, for me, it just, it really captures that. The same way you could say Stranger Things captures the zeitgeist of the 80s, even though it's doing it not in the moment, it's doing it retroactively. Right. But when you watch that series, anyone who grew up in the 80s or who even, you know, growing up in the 90s, we had contact with a lot of things that were built or invented in the 80s. So anyone who appreciates that era watches Stranger Things and they just, they feel that feeling of the Zeitgeist, the spirit
- [19:01]
A
of that time coming back to Seinfeld. I believe in the show. He. He's a stand up comedian, but he's also a stand up comedian in real life, isn't he?
- [19:11]
B
Yeah, it's sort of biographical. It's not exactly his life, but it's him. He has the same name as in real life. And in real life he was a stand up comedian. He is A stand up comedian. He's not dead. It's him living in New York with his three best friends. And all of them, they're just such zany characters. It's absolutely amazing, the writing in the show. And they did, I believe it's nine seasons and like you said with Breaking Bad, it's every season gets better and better because you get to know the characters and the situations they come up with, how they'll connect different stories that are happening in the same episode to give a big finale. It's just really brilliantly done. And so I highly recommend. This is my go to show with my family. When I go back home, when I travel back home, we will often watch an episode together. I've seen all of them multiple times and it never gets old. One of the really great things about this, because I said it's like the zeitgeist from the 90s, I feel like every American over 30 shouldn't say everyone, but most Americans over 30 are familiar with the show. They've either watched it or they know references from it. They know the pop culture references from it. Or even if they don't know that it comes from that show, they are familiar with it. So I brought a couple example. These. One of them is yada, yada, yada. Do either of you know that expression?
- [20:30]
A
Marcy comes over and she tells me that our ex boyfriend was over late last night and yada, yada, yada, I'm really tired today.
- [20:36]
B
So it's an expression that's used, used to omit information or to, to make a summary. So I might say that before recording the podcast, I walked to the beach and yada, yada, yada. I'm feeling a lot more energetic now, but I'm not saying anything that happened while I was at the beach. And there's an entire episode that this is the core of it, this, this phrase. Because one of the main characters is dating a woman who uses this phrase a lot. And at first he really likes it because it's so, it's so handy for being able to share story without having to give all the details. But then he starts getting concerned that his girlfriend is leaving out important information. Maybe she's even having an affair. And he just finds out that she's like a kleptomaniac. She, she likes to steal things and things like that and she's leaving it out of the story. So it's, it's quite funny how they do this, but it's a word that people will use oftentimes. And another One I was reminded of the other day because my mom's visiting. So we reference this all the time, is there's an episode where probably the kookiest of the characters, kooky means someone who has a very odd personality. He is given the opportunity to act just one line in a Woody Allen film that they're filming in New York. And his line is, these pretzels are making me thirsty. So there's a whole scene where the different characters are saying how they believe that he should act out this line in the movie. And it's quite funny because some of them, one of them's super dramatic about it, the other one's really light, light hearted. I could use that word again about it. And the other day, I think we were eating anchovies or something like this, and I said, like, these anchovies are making me thirsty. Of course, it gets a laugh from my mom, from her friend who is also visiting, who's familiar with the show.
- [22:18]
A
These pretzels are making me thirsty.
- [22:21]
C
Do it like this. These pretzels are making me thirsty.
- [22:27]
B
These pretzels are making me thirsty.
- [22:30]
A
These pretzels are making me thirsty.
- [22:35]
B
Great. So there's so many of these expressions that we're learning today, right? And one of the best ways, of course, to remember these expressions, to use them as soon as possible. And a really great way to do this is with the RealLife English app, which is the only place where anytime, anywhere, you just press a button and you're instantly connected to another English speaker, another part of the world. Ksenia was talking all about how cool it is to connect with people who have different kinds of English, who have different points of view, they have different lives in their corner of the world, right? So this can be also a way for you to travel virtually. And maybe you want to have a conversation with someone about their favorite series. You might get all sorts of new ideas so open to a whole world of possibilities. And finally, if you are not listening to this podcast already on the app, you might want to do that if you have trouble understanding us at all, because you get a full digital transcript so you can follow along, you'll never miss anything. And you also get the vocabulary definitions and vocabulary flashcards so that you can study and you'll never forget those new words you're learning and so much more. That said, we have a shout out to a very special app user.
- [23:44]
C
So our today's testimonial comes from Yen Naying and they write, I have tried many apps, but this one is really useful. I Enjoy learning English with this app. It helps a lot to me. Thank you reallife team. Thank you Jan.
- [24:02]
B
So if you want us to shout you out, all you have to do is leave us a five star review in your favorite app store just like Jan did so that we can find you. And of course, if you want to leave us a five star review, if you have not already, you have to try the app so you can let us know what you think. And that said, we'll jump into the next series.
- [24:19]
A
All right. It's funny you mentioned about Stranger Things, Ethan, because Stranger Things is actually my second show today. Oh, Stranger Things. Foreshadowing, foreshadow. You see, you are. You have psychic powers just like the protagonist in the show. I love Stranger Things so much because I think that Stranger Things is a delightful treat to people like me who are 80s kids and who have a soft spot in their hearts for that decade. For the 80s decade. As you mentioned previously, Ethan, this is a show that I would say pays homage to the 80s and 80s pop culture, movies, music, everything about it. So it's almost like a time machine that you get into and you are transported back to that time in the US Specifically. Again, I find the show really well written. And while it pays homage to the 80s like that, and there are many references from pop culture, it's also original at the same time. The story is really compelling. The characters are relatable. You like all of them. And the premise of the first season is it's a group. There's this group of friends. They are about 11, 12 years old. One of them goes missing. One of the kids, he. He is abducted. He is kidnapped, but he is kidnapped by a supernatural force. And the whole season one is about this. Finding this kid. His name is Will. Where is Will? What happened to Will? So it's a mystery that you have and it makes you want to keep watching because little by little, the heroes or the protagonists, they start discovering clues as to his whereabouts. And the story just grows so much as you progress because it starts one way and by, you know, season two, three, it has grown to this gigantic, monstrous thing that you, you didn't see it coming when you started watching season one, episode one. So it's also a great show for you to theorize with the people you watch with and with your friends. So no wonder it is maybe one of Netflix's biggest hits recently.
- [26:49]
B
I'm looking forward still to the next season taking forever, which is the.
- [26:54]
A
Is going to be the last one, I believe, the final season.
- [26:56]
C
I'm not a fan of horror movies at all. I just don't watch them. But I so liked Stranger Things.
- [27:05]
B
It really captured a huge audience. As Thiago was saying for Netflix the last season, I found a bit more creepy than the other ones. All of them have that sense of being a little bit scary. I'm the same as Yuka Senny that I don't like scary movies. I don't like purposely being scared. But this one, it has other aspects to it that, at least for me, make that forgivable.
- [27:28]
C
That part of it, I should say. Unfortunately. Maybe not unfortunately, but Mira was watching with us and all those scary scenes, of course she was like closing her eyes, but she also really wanted to see the next.
- [27:45]
B
Not age appropriate.
- [27:47]
C
That was a family movie for us. And we binged it in a couple days.
- [27:52]
B
What does that mean, you binged it? That's a very relevant word for today.
- [27:56]
C
Yeah, it's just exactly for that series when it's so interesting, you can't stop watching it. Like you just watch episode after episode. And Netflix is so good with that. Because I remember when I was watching, I don't know what I was watching, the Enchanted, for example, and you had to wait for the next day or for the next week even to watch an episode. But here you can see you're gonna watch a couple episodes in a day.
- [28:21]
B
Yeah. Especially if you haven't seen it. Now that almost all the seasons are out, it's a good time to start. I did. I wanna circle back too, because you said in a couple nice words, Thiago, when you were describing this series, you mentioned that this pays homage. Homage, I believe, is the pronunciation actually to the 80s. What does that mean?
- [28:42]
A
It honors the 80s? Yeah. Is it homage or homage, by the way? I think it's homage with the Silent Age.
- [28:50]
B
I believe so.
- [28:51]
A
Okay, yeah, I'm gonna go with that then, because, you know, I trust you. Pays homage to the 80s. It honors that decade. Pays deep respect by showcasing cool things from that period, that time period. That's what it means to pay homage to something.
- [29:09]
B
And you mentioned the premise of the series before you started explaining what's the premise.
- [29:14]
A
Let's say it's the starting point. It's the intriguing incident that kicks off the entire story.
- [29:21]
B
All right, Ksenia, what's your next series?
- [29:23]
C
That's a TV show which I thought I would watch all season in a row, but life happens. I really got into work and new projects and everything. Couldn't watch all seasons. I only watched first season. But it's still so, so close in my heart. I still remember all the characters and I really, really wait for that time when I want, when I am able to continue watching. It's the series this is Us. Have you watched a little bit or just heard about it at least?
- [29:58]
A
I haven't watched it, but my wife has and she's a huge fan. She loved the show.
- [30:03]
C
It is so beautiful. I mean the characters are so well crafted. They are so believable. You, you're like really become emotionally invested in all of them, in their stories. This series is about a family with triplets. Triplets is when you have three kids being born at the same time. That was a high risk pregnancy. So the pilot episode starts with this. She's coming into labor, mother of the family played by Mandy Moore. But she loses one of the kids. So she stays with two kids. But coincidentally on the very same day, one of the boys who was left by the by his parents ends up in this hospital and they adopt him. Yeah, this is this series all about this. The drama of growing up together, of this competition between the boys. The girl is suffering from overweight and it's so interesting to see how it's real life situation. One of my favorite episodes in season one is the pool. And in this episode you see like all the challenges of a family. They don't sugarcoat all those difficult things they go through. Like I can't tell all the details. It's just like so, so true to life and so close and you get captivated by the story and you like. Yeah, you kind of feel very close to all those characters. And I really, really wanted to recommend is for our English learners because you can learn so many just simple phrases you would use in your daily life.
- [31:52]
B
Before we move on. You said they don't sugarcoat it in this series. What does it mean to sugarcoat to
- [31:58]
C
make it seem better than it is. So we know especially American series on movies, they tend to be ending like a happy ending. Right. They show the life better than it is without those really, you know, deep problems people may go through. But this series is like really true to life.
- [32:17]
B
Nice. So we can jump into my last series. The first one I started with is it's nostalgic for me. It's a throwback to my childhood and one I still enjoy today. And the second one I wanted to share is actually one I just finished a couple weeks ago. But it really blew my mind. It's the best series I've watched in a long time. It's called Silo from Apple tv. It's an Apple TV series. I think all the other ones we mentioned today might be on Netflix, but I'm not sure about this is Us. But anyway, I'm digressing. So I was hooked from the very first episode of this one, which for me, nowadays, when I'm watching a series that's really rare, usually it takes a few episodes to get warmed up, to kind of understand the story. But this one, they have this really eerie setting. It's in a silo. The series is called Silo, which. It's one of those concrete tubes that they might store grains and things in. But this is a place where people are living that's around 100 stories deep under the ground. And the setting is they have to live here. Or the premise, as Thiago mentioned, is that they have to live here because it's a post apocalyptic world and they say the air outside is poison. So to survive we all have to live in this place. And they have everything there. They have farms, they have a doctor, they have police, they have a government, and so on. This one, I would say the genre is probably a thriller. It's enigmatic, enthralling. It's just trying to find some. Some of the right words here to describe this one. It's kind of like Thiago mentioned in Stranger Things that you're just guessing the whole time what's going to happen, what's going to happen. And you'll come up with all these theories in your head of what you think is going on. And then the next episode, there's a cliffhanger, there's a twist, and all of a sudden you realize that your theory was complete bogus. It made no sense. So, yeah, this one, I don't want to say too much about it because I don't want to give anything away. But the. The acting is tremendous in this. Don't know the actresses, the main actress's name, but she was in Dune. She's the mother in Dune. She's a Swedish actress, which is interesting. But yeah, it's a really brilliantly done series. It's book. It's based on a book series. I found out later there's more seasons coming out. I can't wait. Like, I just love this series so much. So I recommend Ksenia and Chiaga. You guys check it out. And everyone that is watching, listening.
- [34:36]
A
That's a great tip. I have recently subscribed to Apple TV to watch a documentary about Michael J. Fox, the actor. And I actually saw the banner for Silo. There And I was thinking, oh, I've heard people talking about it. It looks interesting. Now that you are sharing this, I'm gonna watch it. Yeah. Ethan, I do have some questions to ask you because you use some pretty good vocabulary here, my friend. First of all, you said eerie. The show has this eerie setting. What is eerie?
- [35:09]
B
Eerie is strange. There's even fun fact there that I could share. There's a lake in the States, we have an area called the Great Lakes where there's five giant lakes. They're practically seas, but it's fresh water. And one of them is called Lake Erie. And I imagine it's because it gave someone some eerie vibes. And it makes the skin stand up on your arm or on the back of your neck.
- [35:31]
A
Is it related to fear in a way? Something that's kind of scary also, or
- [35:35]
B
mysterious or not quite fear, but like creepy crawlies, we might say. Gives you that feeling that your hair stand on end. Right. But it's not all the way to being scary.
- [35:47]
A
Two more great words you use here. Enthralling. First, enthralling.
- [35:53]
B
Enthralling. It just sucks you in. It really captivates you.
- [35:57]
A
And what's a cliffhanger when talking about. This is a great word, actually, I think Sena mentioned binging. Right. This is one of those words that you gotta know when talking about TV shows. Binge watching or binging a show. I think cliffhanger is also another word that you gotta know when talking about TV shows with your friends. So what's a cliffhanger?
- [36:14]
B
Yeah, it goes hand in hand, right, with the binge watching. We binge watch because there's these cliffhangers that are so frustrating. And then the Netflix, like, five second timer for the next episode up, and you're like, what the hell, let's watch the next one. And before you know it, it's the middle of the night. You're on the edge of your seat for this entire series. It's so good.
- [36:33]
C
Another good phrase on the edge of your seat, right?
- [36:36]
B
Yeah. That you're waiting to see what's going to happen. All right, so let's check out today's question of the day.
- [36:44]
A
The question is from Nankis. And the question goes, I'm an English learner from Brazil. I'm still in pursuit of my fluency and I have a doubt or a question. Which is the best way to become fluent? Focusing on achieving the natural listening and then improving your speaking skills? Or is it easier to start speaking some words and sentences as you improve your listening?
- [37:09]
B
That Is a humdinger. We could say it's one that or a chin scratcher. It's a question that leaves you thinking, so this is your co patriot Thiago. Would you have any special advice as a Brazilian?
- [37:21]
A
Alright, I can answer that from personal experience because like you, I also had to learn English. So in my case, I took a long time to start speaking. I studied with books, grammar books and course books for about three years and then I started speaking when I started working, actually. But it wasn't because I wanted to. It was just because at that time, 20 years ago, I didn't have any opportunities to speak or technology as we have today, apps and other resources. So nowadays, what I would recommend to you is actually focus on both. Learn some basic sentences, some basic phrases, and start speaking them already with yourself, by yourself. And also you can use our app to communicate with people there and you can practice these sentences there on the app. So start speaking and using vocalizing, these simple sentences at the same time. Listen to a lot of English, listen to our podcasts here, watch videos on YouTube, you know, consume content in English daily. So I would say focus on both things.
- [38:27]
C
I would only add that it really depends on your current level of English. So for me, for example, as a beginner of, beginner learner of Spanish, it's unimaginable that I start speaking day one. I don't know words to speak. So depending on your level, you can start speaking, but with small phrases. I know that's just like what frustrates students a lot is that they want to speak, like really speak with long sentences, discussing some stuff. But when you don't have enough vocabulary, you cannot do that. So, you know, embrace that, be realistic and start using like small phrases first. So at the beginning of your journey, there will be more input, more listening than output. But the more you grow, the more you build vocabulary, you'll start speaking more and more and then you will be like, speaking more than listening. Or maybe like Thiago said, you will, you know, have both.
- [39:29]
B
I would just say make sure not to fall in this trap of all speak eventually, but I'm not there yet. I'll speak someday, but I have to learn more first because you can be building fluency up on a pedestal that then the bear gets bigger and bigger for you. The pressure gets bigger and bigger to perform really well. So start where you are, have conversations you can have at your current level. And I imagine, at least for this learner, if they're listening to this podcast, understanding these podcasts, you Have a decent base, even if you're not understanding everything, to go and have a conversation. So if you're not currently speaking every day, you can use the app. You can, I'm sure, find other people that you can speak with. You can speak with people in your English class or your English teacher. If you're, if you're in a course or whoever it is, or even speak to yourself. If you have no one else to speak to, speak to yourself. Thiago and I did a really nice episode about the Real Life Way, which is our methodology for learning English. And I'd highly recommend that you check that out because you might find some pieces there that you're missing from your English learning journey that are going to help you to put things together so that you feel more confident when you have these opportunities to be communicating in English or you can see what's missing because maybe you're stuck on that intermediate plateau and you need to really stretch yourself to bust out of that so that you can get to those upper levels of mastery. I think we could do a whole podcast episode, in fact, on this question. So I don't, I don't want to go any deeper into it. I would definitely have more advice, but we'll save that for another time. And that said, let's wrap up today's episode. We're going to just share some highlights that we got from today's conversation.
- [41:08]
A
Well, to conclude today's episode, I would say that in each one of these different stories and genres, there is a different kind of English being used there. Different words, different vocabulary. So I think my final recommendation is use the power of TV series to improve your English because it's a lot of fun, it's entertaining and you learn a lot. Trust me. I mean, I speak from first hand experience. I learned so much watching series and you guys should get on them as well.
- [41:37]
C
Don't forget to prepare some notebook to write down to jot down some words you hear while watching. That will be your deliberate practice. And also at least for this series, which I recommended, which is a real tear jerker. Prepare your handkerchiefs, please.
- [41:57]
B
How sensitive you are, right when watching series.
- [42:00]
C
I cried a lot like I cried.
- [42:03]
B
But that's the good thing there is the motion of it will help you to remember the vocabulary better. You know, if you're connecting to like when you're crying and you learned that, that piece of vocabulary, it'll stick with you. My insight that I had now actually just as, as we were talking is just how we were talking about our series today that's a really great way to connect with people is talking about your favorite series. And you could even, I mentioned this earlier, you could go on the app or if you have a English speaking friend, for example, you could think about what's a series I watched recently or what's one of my favorite series of all time and think actually about how you would talk about that and try to use try to look up or try to think on some advanced vocabulary you could use to talk about that series. I might say that Silo is enigmatic. Instead of just saying, you know, that it's a thriller or that it's mysterious, I could say it's enigmatic, which sounds more advanced. So this can be a great opportunity for you to stretch yourself a little bit and start adding some more fun words so that you can sound a little bit and feel a little bit more confident when you're talking about this. So we hope that you've enjoyed us. We hope that you picked up a new series that you could watch and maybe some tips that are going to help you to achieve the next level in your English fluency. And you're listening. And if you are enjoying these lessons, then a free way that you can support us is by leaving us a five star review in your favorite app store if you're using the app. Or you can just leave us a five star review of the podcast if you're listening to the audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you're listening that has this capacity so that even more learners can discover the past, the podcast and have fun learning with us. And finally, if you're on YouTube, you can hit the subscribe button and the bell down below and also give this video a like because that lets YouTube know that you're enjoying it and helps to share it with more people who will also enjoy it. And that said, no matter what divides us, that which unites us is far greater. One, two, three.
- [44:04]
C
Yeah.
- [44:06]
B
Hey again, I hope you enjoyed today's lesson. Don't be a stranger. You can find all the notes like vocabulary links and more for this lesson on our blog@reallifeglobal.com and connect with us and on Instagram ealllife English for even more fun English recommendations. Do you want to continue your learning and get confident fluent English? Check out our YouTube channel. Learn English with TV series where you can have fun learning to understand fast speaking natives with your favorite movies series and more without getting lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles. Finally, if you are enjoying our podcast then please assist us in helping more people go beyond the classroom and live their English. You can do this by sending a link to this podcast, to a friend, or by leaving us a five star review. Wherever you are listening, we might even shout you out on the podcast. Stay healthy and safe and I look forward to seeing you next week. Aw yeah.