Thank you so much to everyone for watching. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and left comments. I haven't gotten around to replying to most of them - but I really appreciate all the support and the constructive criticism.
My lip-syncing is completely out of time - hopefully this adds to the charm : )
I didn't actually do it while listening to the music... my boyfriend was holding the camera and was embarrased enough about the whole thing as it was - he might have refused if I bought music along!
I think the original clip is hilarious, so I thought it would be a bit of fun.
But I also think that this is a pretty good idea for teaching English. I think if you spend 5 minutes watching a ridiculous video clip of some women doing silly aerobics moves while chanting English you're much more likely to remember the phrases than if you were to spend the same 5 minutes doing exercises from a textbook.
Of course it would be more useful if they were teaching more relevant phrases. How likely is it that anyone will ever need to say: "spare me my life?"
By the way, this video that I'm lip-syncing to is kind of a review lesson - which makes it seem even stranger. When I first watched it I thought "WTF?! did they just choose completely random sentences?". But actually they are part of short skits and when you see the longer programs it makes more sense. But still... they definately could've chosen more useful phrases to teach.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. One way to study English is by reading comic strips. But, a word of warning: If you read a comic strip and you don’t think it’s funny, don’t automatically assume that it’s because your English isn’t good enough to understand it. It might well be that the comic strip just isn’t funny.
For example, this is a page of comic strips from a newspaper in Hawaii – one of my students gave it to me … she goes to Hawaii a lot like a lot of people in Japan. Incidentally, it’s an unusual shape for a newspaper – it’s really long and thin.
Anyway – I read all of the cartoons on this page and I didn’t find any of them funny. Maybe it’s just me, but it can be hard to find a good one. But one that I really like is Dilbet. Dilbert is an American comic strip by Scott Adams. It satirizes IT workplace and company issues.
A good idea could be to take a comic strip to class and ask the teacher to explain it to you. Or if you have any English speaking friends – or other friends studying English – ask them to explain it to you.
I cut this out of Student Times I think – that’s a newspaper for English students in Japan – and it’s really helpful because it has Japanese translations underneath.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, the Overlander has been saved. The long-distance passenger train which runs from Auckland to Wellington will continue to operate next week on a reduced time table.
New Zealand isn’t famous for its great train services. In most of the country there are no trains at all. But for the past 98 years one place you could go by train, was from Auckland to Wellington. This daily service is called the Overlander. It’s not very fast and not very popular. People prefer to travel by car, plane or bus. In the last two years annual patronage has dropped from 90,000 to 50,000 passengers. And the company running the service Toll NZ , had been losing 2 million dollars a year. So they decided to stop the service. But many people weren’t happy about this and campaigned to save the train. Yesterday the Toll NZ announced it would continue the service – but it would only run three days a week.
The only bad news coming from the saved train seems to be that a local politician is going to honor his promise to dash through Ohakune wearing only carrot-coloured undies. Scary. And that was Stick News for Friday the 29th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 99 What are the trains like in New Zealand?
Sachie asks Sarah about the trains in New Zealand. Step 1: Repeat Sachie’s lines. Step 2: Read Sachie’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sachie What are the trains like in New Zealand?
Sarah Well, compared to Japan ... they’re kind of a joke.
Sachie A joke?
Sarah Yeah, they’re slow for a start. And ... there are a few train lines in Auckland and Wellington – but most people in New Zealand get to work or school by car or bus.
Sachie So most people can drive?
Sarah Yeah, I grew up in the country so I think I got my licence the day I turned 15.
Sachie Did you have a car when you were 15?
Sarah No, I just used my parent’s car, when they let me.
Sachie How about when you went to university?
Sarah When I lived in Wellington I just walked everywhere. And when I went home in the holidays I, I usually took the long-distance train from Wellington to Auckland or Hamilton.
End
And that was the 149th episode of The Daily English Show. Tomorrow is the 150th episode. So to celebrate, I’m going to be making my internet lip-syncing debut. I’m going to be lip-syncing to a Japanese English aerobics program called Zuikin English – you might have seen some clips on the net. So I’ve finished editing the video and it’s all completely out of time – which hopefully adds to the charm.
But isn’t as funny as funny as the original and no-where near as good as the internet lip-syncing classics like the original numa numa or the Chinese backstreet boys. But I thought I’d give it a g0, an important attitude for all language learners – give it a go – yeah.
Notes
Music on the show used with permission from magnatune.com and jamendo.com Today's questionanswer music: Artist: Galdson From: Ortigueira, Spain Album: Roots Track: Roots site music at jamendo
Hi, I’m Sarah. This is The Daily English Show. So yesterday I talked about bro’Town. And I found a glossary on their site for some words that they use in the show. hese are some of the words on that list:
Ow: a word or sound often used to end a sentence for emphasis Fah! An expression of surprise or incredulity Fa’afafine: A man who is like a woman Shot! A congratulatory expression meaning “Good one!” or “Well done!” Pash: slang term for French-kissing
I like the word pash – I’m not sure if it’s New Zealand English or not... snog is also a good word. And remember words like “ow” are not standard New Zealand English, so don’t go using them in your university essays or something.
I read some of the comments on the Internet Movie Database too about bro’Town and somebody commented that they thought it was racist. But I don’t think it is. I think it’s mocking racial stereotypes rather than the actual races themselves.
And I think they do a pretty good job of mocking all the stereotypes fairly equally. For example my ethnicity – I’m pakeha – which basically means white New Zealander. And if you know anything about New Zealand history you’ll know that British people went to NZ – they had some fights with Maori – and then they signed a treaty in 1840 to make things equal. And the British government said that they would only buy land fairly – and then they just stole it. So in one episode a woman teaches her nephew to say “bloody thieving colonialists”.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today Junichiro Koizumi is no longer the prime minister of Japan. Two days ago a new prime minister was elected. His name is Shinzo Abe.
Shinzo Abe is 52. He’s Japan’s youngest post-World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe was born in Nagato. He studied at Seikei University in Japan, then at the University of Southern California in the United States. He then worked at Kobe Steel for a few years before getting into politics. He was no stranger to politics. His father and grandfather were both politicians and his mother’s father and uncle were both prime ministers. It doesn’t sound like China and Korea are going to be too happy about Abe’s appointment. On his official website he denies that Japanese troops used military sexual slaves during World War 2. His wife Akie is a fan of Korean pop culture, particularly the actor Bae Yong Joon. Her father is the president of the sweet company Morinaga, and she has worked in advertising and radio.
Abe also wants to change article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Article 9 is the chapter which is supposed to prevent Japan from attacking other countries. And that was Stick News for Thursday 28th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 98 Is bro’Town easy to understand?
Maki and Sarah talk about bro’Town. Step 1: Repeat Maki’s lines. Step 2: Read Maki’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Maki Is bro’Town easy to understand?
Sarah There are some New Zealand English words that you might not understand at first, like Kumara, marae, hui...
Maki How about the plot?
Sarah The basic story lines are pretty simple. But some of the finer points might be harder to understand.
Maki Why is that?
Sarah There are a lot of cultural references that you probably wouldn’t understand if you don’t know much about New Zealand. And there are also references to current events ...
Maki What kind of current events?
Sarah Ah, in one episode in season two they find a baby and then they call the police. And the police say “call back if you find a baby of another ethnicity and we’ll send a taxi”.
Maki Why would they send a taxi?
Sarah Um, that’s referring to something that happened a couple of years ago. A woman was in trouble and she called the police and then they ... They had a police car available, but they sent a taxi instead for some reason, and it went to the wrong address and then she disappeared.
Hi, I’m Sarah. This is the The Daily English Show. A couple of days ago I talked about the word satire when I was talking about South Park. And some satire that I recommend from New Zealand is bro’Town. When I was in NZ last year I bought the DVD of the first season and then recently I found came across their myspace page and I decided to buy the DVD of season 2 and a tshirt. So, they arrived yesterday, which was quite exciting. And it turns out that season 3 starts tonight. So if you’re in New Zealand now you can watch it on TV tonight. The main characters of bro’Town are four young boys called Vale, Valea, Jeff da Maori, Sione and Mack and they live in the suburb of Morningside. Wikipedia says: “The show satirises the boys’ culture, with vivid dialogue in the local vernacular, expressing what is like to grow up as a minority culture in Auckland, the largest Polynesian city in the world.” So if you’re in NZ now or you’re planning to go to New Zealand, or you’re interested in New Zealand language or culture, then I recommend you check it out. I think it’s also on TV in Fiji, Australia and Canada. And there’s a channel on YouTube called morningsideforlife which has bro’Town clips on it. So, I’m a big fan of bro’Town. But I’m not sure how much people would enjoy it if they’re not from New Zealand or don’t know anything about the history or culture – because it’s full of cultural, historical, and political references ... so if you missed all that it might not be very interesting.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today the animation series bro’town starts its third season in New Zealand tonight.
The first episode of bro’Town was on TV in September 2004. It was created by a comedy group called The Naked Samoans. To make the show they received funding from New Zealand on air, private investors and product placement. The first season was a success. The show got awards, more funding, and some schools even banned students from using some of the show’s catchphrases: not even ow and peyow peyow. Many famous New Zealanders have starred as guests on the show, including Helen Clark, Stacey Jones, David Tua, Scribe and Cliff Curtis.
Tonight the first episode of season three screens in New Zealand. The producer of the show has said they plan to continue for seven series. And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 27th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 97 Can you give me an example of how to use it?
Naoto asks Sarah about her T-Shirt. Step 1: Repeat Naoto’s lines. Step 2: Read Naoto’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Naoto What does that say on your T-Shirt?
Sarah Oh this is one of the characters from bro’Town.
Naoto What’s bro’Town?
Sarah It’s an animation series from New Zealand.
Naoto And is he one of the characters?
Sarah Yeah, this is Jeff da Maori.
Naoto What does “not even ow” mean?
Sarah It means “no, that’s not true.”
Naoto Can you give me an example of how to use it?
Sarah OK. So, mmm, if someone accused me of doing something. Like if we were in a group of people and one person said to everyone: “Sarah ate all the chocolate” I could say “not even ow”.
Hi, I’m Sarah. This is the The Daily English Show. And today I’d like to talk about the word smirk.
Yesterday I watched a video on the net taken from Fox TV. It was an interview with Bill Clinton. And the interviewer asked: Why didn’t you do more to put Bin Laden and Al Qaeda out of business when you were president? Then Bill Clinton seemed to be quite annoyed – and he talked for about 10 minutes and during part of it he said: “And you’ve got that little smirk on your face. And you think you’re so clever.” Smirk means: to smile in a silly or unpleasant way that shows that you are pleased with yourself, know sth that other people do not know” etc.
So I think the Fox guy was definitely smirking. Smirking is pretty nasty and rude ... I probably did it a lot when I was a teenager. But no, smirking is probably something you should avoid if your aim is effective English communication. Better things to do with your mouth: smile, grin or beam.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today a religious group in New Zealand may lose their labor law exemptions after it was revealed they hired private investigators to dig dirt on politicians.
The exclusive brethrens are a Christian group found throughout Europe and in the English Speaking World. There are 10,000 exclusive brethrens in New Zealand. Their way of life is rather different than the rest of the population. According to their website, they “shun the conduits of evil communications: television, the radio, and the Internet.” And “Their approach is non-political. They do not vote, but hold Government in the highest respect as God's ministers , used by Him to restrain evil and provide conditions for the promotion of the glad tidings.” Thanks to this “non-political” approach, 649 employers currently enjoy an exemption from laws that say employers must allow union access to workplaces. But it seems like the exclusive brethrens aren’t so non-political after all. During the last election they spent 500,000 dollars on a campaign criticizing two political parties. And it has now been revealed that they also hired two private investigators to dig dirt on politicians they don’t like.
Last week the leader of the opposition Don Brash admitted meeting Exclusive Brethren members and didn’t rule out meeting them again. But yesterday, he changed his mind. He said they crossed the line by hiring private investigators and his party wanted nothing to do with them. And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 26th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 96 How can you get food poisoning from a vegetable?
Mari and Sarah talk about Spinach. Step 1: Repeat Mari’s lines. Step 2: Read Mari’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Now I’ve never criticized President Bush and I don’t think this is useful. But you know we do have a government that thinks Afghanistan is only one seventh as important at Iraq. And you ask me about terror and Al Qaeda with that sort of, sort dismissive thing, when all you have to do is read Richard Clark’s book to look at what we did in a comprehensive, systematic way to try to protect the country against terror. And you’ve got that little smirk on your face. And you think you’re so clever. But I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get Bin Laden. I regret it. But I did try.
Hi, I’m Sarah. This is the The Daily English Show. And today’s word is satire. I read a story today on CNN about South Park – about how the show has been going for 10 years. I’m pretty sure most people in Japan haven’t heard of South Park. You can see it on pay TV with Japanese subtitles– but I’m not sure how funny it is translated.
So, I like South Park even though I’ve only seen a handful of episodes in the 10 years it’s been on. Because I’m not much of a TV watcher, and I don’t have cable or satellite.
And it’s something I would recommend to English students. Although it’s not easy – not just because of the language, but also because of all the cultural references. So it’s definitely not for beginners.
South Pak is an animation series. The main characters are four young boys: Kyle, Kenny, Cartman and Stan. But Kenny doesn’t actually speak properly ... he just mumbles. And he dies in every episode – and when he dies someone says “oh my god, they killed Kenny”.
Anyway... back to the CNN article ... it says: Virtually everything and everyone in politics, pop culture and religion have been fair game for Parker and Stone's sharp satire.
So, what does satire mean? My dictionary says: The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices. A person who writes or uses satire is called a satirist.
There’s a list of notable satires and satirists in Wikipedia and it lists some of my favourite books and movies: George Orwell Animal Farm, Stanley Kubrick - Dr. Strangelove Tom Wolfe - The Bonfire of the Vanities Good book!
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today there are more TV sets than people in the average American home.
The origins of television date back to 1873 when a British electrical engineer made a discovery. They became popular in American homes in the mid-1950s and now they’ve outnumbered people. In the average home there are 2.55 people and 2.73 TV sets. A set is turned on for more than eight hours a day in the average home. But people aren’t always watching it – the average person watches TV for four and a half hours a day.
And that was Stick News for Monday the 25th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 95 Did you have a good weekend?
Takahiro asks Sarah about her weekend. Step 1: Repeat Takahiro’s lines. Step 2: Read Takahiro’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Takahiro Did you have a good weekend?
Sarah Yeah, it was good. Some friends came to visit.
Takahiro What did you do?
Sarah Ah, we did a bit of sightseeing and … what else did we do? We played some pool.
Takahiro Do you play pool often?
Sarah No, not really. I did when I was in New Zealand though. How about you? Do you like pool?
Takahiro I’ve never played it.
Sarah Oh really? We should go to a pool bar some time. It’s fun.
If you boil soy milk, a skin forms on the surface. This is yuba. You can buy yuba dried or fresh. I bought a packet of each. There were recipes on the back of one of the packets, so I followed two of them. First I used the dried yuba. I soaked it for a few minutes until it was soft. Then I cut it. Then I fried it in olive oil with salt and pepper. Then I mixed vinegar and soy sauce, and dipped the yuba in the sauce. Mmm. Very tasty. Then I tried the fresh yuba. I cut it into strips. Then put wasabi and soy sauce into a bowl. Pretty complicated recipe this one. Mmm. Nice.
If there’s one thing that I really don’t recommend, it’s stopping over in a big city on the way back from your island holiday.
I went from Bali: beautiful beaches, slow pace, friendly smiles to ... Hong Kong, where it was busy, hot, crowded and rained every day.
Not that I think Hong Kong is a bad place or anything. It was just a bit of a shock after Bali. And a big part of this shock was cause by my decision to stay in what was probably the cheapest hotel in Hong Kong.
Why oh why? Well I don’t have loads of money is the simple answer. But it’s not just that. I tend to think that if I have x amount of money then I’d rather spend money on something like an expensive cocktail or three than on a pricey hotel room. Well, this logic works fine in Bali, where even the cheap hotels are nice ... But ...
We stayed in a place in a building called Mirador Mansion. If there is a hell, and it it’s like this place, then I swear I’m going to be good for the rest of my life. Tiny bit of floor space, bed, low ceiling, no windows, this is the toilet/shower ... Just being inside the room was pretty bad, but stepping out we were hit with the most awful smells and liquid dripping from the ceilings. Then on the bottom floor before I could get out of the building there were aggressive people demanding me to buy something.
But Hong Kong wasn’t all bad. The greatest thing was all the juice everywhere. I love fruit. The city looked really nice in the evenings. The shopping malls were impressive: spacious, clean, nicely designed ... They even sold clothing my size. We went to the supermarket, rode the subway. We ate some nice food, went to a few bars, saw a fire. And saw some lions. Cool.
And this law is the best idea ever. I think should be introduced to Tokyo immediately.
Hi, I’m Sarah. This is the The Daily English Show. And today’s word is Old School. Because I saw a video featured on YouTube about an old school dojo. And it got me thinking about the word Old School. In Wikipedia it says it can be spelt in many ways. (Old school, old skool, oldschool or oldskool.) And It’s a slang term referring to an older school of thinking or acting, and to old objects in general, within the context of newer, more modern times. It is similar to the word nostalgic – but nostalgic can have a negative connotation whereas old school has a positive connotation. There are lots of specific examples in Wikipedia – about music, cars, video games ... I think it’s kind of a confusing word because it can mean so many different things. But basically I think you can just use it to mean something that is old but you think it’s still cool. I usually hear this word associated with hip-hop, so I was interested to see that it originally comes from religion--in the 19th century the Presbyterians split into "Old School" and "New School" denominations, based on theology.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, the New Zealand government has announced a 67 million dollar campaign to fight obesity.
New Zealand is facing an obesity endemic. The prime minister said unless something changes this generation could be the first to die before their parents. Now the government has announced a campaign to prevent obesity. The campaign includes: improving nutrition in schools; more promotion of healthy food on TV and the internet; a campaign to encourage less time in front of TVs and computers; and encouraging the advertising industry to reduce marketing of unhealthy food to children.
The new system for schools is likely to be in place by the start of next year. Under the new system pies, sugary soft drinks and chips will no longer be available. And that was Stick News for Friday the 22nd of September.
conversations withsarah # 94 Is that really true?
Keiko and Sarah talk about smoothies. Step 1: Repeat Keiko’s lines. Step 2: Read Keiko’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Keiko What’s that?
Sarah It’s a smoothie.
Keiko Why is it purple?
Sarah It has blueberries in it.
Keiko It must be good for your eyes.
Sarah Yeah, I heard that blueberries were good for your eyes. Is that really true?
Keiko I’ve seen a lot of experiments on TV shows ...
Sarah And they can see better after they’ve eaten a few blueberries?
Keiko Yeah. How about you? Can you see better now?
Hi, I’m Sarah. This is the The Daily English Show. And today’s show is about drugs... kind of. The U.S. government has started putting videos on YouTube. And they’re videos encouraging young people not to use cannabis or weed or marijuana ... whatever you want to call it. So I was curious to watch them because I’ve never seen this kind of video before. In New Zealand I’ve seen government ads, ah, encouraging people not to smoke tobacco or not to drink and drive – but I’ve never seen videos about cannabis. So I was curious to see what a government’s approach might be. And it turns out they are good for studying – because they are all quite short, and have good sound quality, and they all have transcripts. And some of them are quite entertaining too – there’s one with a guy sitting with a fist in his mouth. I honestly can’t see how someone would watch that and think: “mmm, right, yeah, I’m not going to smoke marijuana any more”. But anyway, you should check out the videos, the username is: ONDCPstaff. ONDCP that stands for Office of National Drug Control Policy. So the slogan they use for these videos is “above the influence”. So this is a word play on the phrase “under the influence”. So, under the influence means the state that you are in after you have taken drugs. And one of the meanings of influence is “the power that somebody has to make somebody behave in a particular way. So these videos are trying to say that teenagers are influenced a lot by what their friends say. So if your friends say that you should smoke marijuana, you should say “no”. You should be above the influence, yeah.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, the U.S. government has made its debut on YouTube with anti-cannabis videos.
There are many videos about drugs on YouTube. Most of them are sharing their experiences or offering advice. Now the U.S. government is putting in their 2 cents. Their message to kids? Don’t smoke cannabis. Only one video still allows comments – and most people don’t seem to be too impressed by the ads.
And that was the news for Thursday the 21st of September. Stick News, we are above the influence.
conversations withsarah # 93 Don’t they have them in New Zealand?
Taka and Sarah talk about the US government’s anti-drug ads. Step 1: Repeat Taka’s lines. Step 2: Read Taka’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Taka These ads are interesting.
Sarah Yeah, I’ve never seen anti-cannabis ads before.
Taka Don’t they have them in New Zealand?
Sarah No. I don’t think they’d go down too well in New Zealand.
Taka Why not?
Sarah Um, well... a lot of people want it to be legalized. And some politicians say they smoke pot. Even the prime minister has said that she tried it.
Taka Really? The prime minister said she smoked weed? That would never happen in Japan!
Sarah Yeah, people’s attitudes to recreational drug use seems to be quite different.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. You’ve probably heard about the coup or coup d’etat in Thailand. Coup is one of the many English words that you can’t tell how to pronounce by its spelling. It’s from French. If a child read this word they’d probably say “coup”. And Asimo makes another appearance in questionanswer today, along with Rover.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, a drink called cocaine is being sold in the United States.
Cocaine is a substance which can provide the consumer with a euphoric sense of happiness and increased energy. For two decades it was an ingredient in Coca-Cola. But some people were worried about the negative impact on heath. It’s now illegal in virtually all countries. But it’s still popular. In the United States it’s the second most popular drug after cannabis. Most cocaine is grown and processed (produced) in South America, and smuggled into the United States and Europe. This new drink doesn’t need to be smuggled. It’s legal. It’s called cocaine – but it doesn’t actually contain any. It’s an energy drink made with caffeine and sugar.
According to the drink’s MySpace page – Cocaine is a 20- year-old male from Las Vegas. And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 20th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 92 Where did you go?
Thomas and Sarah talk the news of the coup in Thailand. Step 1: Repeat Thomas’s lines. Step 2: Read Thomas’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Thomas Did you see the news about Thailand?
Sarah Yeah, crazy aye.
Thomas I went to Thailand last year.
Sarah Really? Where did you go?
Thomas Just Bangkok. I went there for two weeks for work.
Sarah I’ve been there too. About 4 years ago.
Thomas Where did you go?
Sarah I went to Ko Phi Phi, Ko Pha Ngan and then Bangkok. I was there for about two weeks.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. Today I’m going to talk about Scottish English. Because I found some video blogs by a Scottish guy Peri Urban – which I recommend that you watch to check out Scottish English. So, in case you don’t know, Scotland is a country which is part of the UK. It has a population of 5 million, and over 790 islands. The capital city is Edinburgh and the largest city is Glasgow. And in Scotland people speak Scottish English. And in Wikipedia it says that 1 percent also speak Scottish Gaelic and about 30 percent speak Scots. Then under the entry on Scots it says there are over 1.5 million speakers of Scots, in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, and England. And there are at least five Scots dialects: Northern Scots, Central Scots, South Scots Insular Scots, Ulster Scots. So in this video you can listen to Peri Urban’s cool Scottish accent. And you can also learn a couple of words of Scots. And I watched the video many times, and I’m going to try and pronounce them now so, wish me luck. Loch. Driech. I swear that is the hardest word I’ve ever tried to pronounce. I’ve been practicing it for like 10 minutes and it still didn’t sound anything like it’s supposed to sound. But, anyway, I’m going to try and pronounce the phrase too. A braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, 73 surfers rode the same wave in South Africa. They say they broke a world record.
In many surf spots in the world, there is problem with overcrowding. But some surfers like sharing the waves. The official world record for the most surfers on a wave at the same time is 44. That was in Ireland in May this year. Now, that record seems to have been broken by surfers in South Africa. The record is not yet official, but they say 73 surfers rode a wave at the same time for 5 seconds.
The event was to raise money for a shark safety program. Sharks attacks are a problem in South Africa. Last month a lifeguard had his foot bitten off by a shark during a training exercise at a Cape Town beach. And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 19th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 91 Even on weekdays?
Eri and Sarah talk about surfing. Step 1: Repeat Eri’s lines. Step 2: Read Eri’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Eri Is it very crowded?
Sarah Yeah, I can’t get over it. There’s so many people in the water.
Eri Even on weekdays?
Sarah Weekdays aren’t so bad. Still pretty crowded – but weekends are insane. Literally hundreds of people in the water ...
Eri It must be even more crowded at the beaches closer to Tokyo.
Sarah Yeah it is.
Eri What are the other surfers like?
Sarah Mmm. They’re usually not very friendly. But not aggressive either. I’ve only ever seen a couple of guys who were being pretty rude.
OK I wouldn’t do this for just ah anyone but I can see that you’re seriously interested in my culture and my language and ah you’re making a valiant effort to do your best with it, but I’m afraid it’s just not right. So, um, I’m going to give you a little lesson in the Scot’s language. Ah, very short. The way you say it is Loch, loch. You see, there’s no flem in the “ch”. Loch not right. Loch not right. Loch. Now it just so happens I have another word for you. I was thinking about this today and I was discussing it with my wife... And we agreed there’s another word that you should know about it. Ah, it means “wet”. Um, it’s a great word. And I really hope that maybe if you know a few more Americans, you might be able to get this word into Hollywood, or on the TV over there, or whatever ... It’s a great word. Are you ready? The word means wet, horrible, sticky kind of day. I don’t know if you have those in America. We have lots of them here, so we have a really good word for it. It’s “driech”. Now is that not one of the best words you’ve ever heard in your life? I’ll say it again, because I know you’re going to rewind, but I just want to say it again, because I’m enjoying it so much. Driech. You know, when you say “driech” you know what, you know what the weather’s like. It’s not good, not good. There’s another ... the other use of the “ch” sound. Is a braw... a braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht. Which means: A beautiful bright moonlit night tonight. A braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht.Now if you practice that one, and you get that ... by Jove you’re practically Scottish.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. So, I have another video to recommend today, it’s by a YouTuber called gpert. His videos are great, they’re really funny. And the one I recommend watching in particular is called “Re: Haters EXPOSED! You will be surprised!" And to understand this video, you need to understand this:attention span. Attention span is a noun which means: The length of time during which a person can concentrate on a subject or idea. So, this video is a video response to another video called “Haters EXPOSED! You will be surprised!” And gpert’s point is that he agreed with that video but it was too long because it was almost 20 minutes and he has a short attention span. I recommend you check out his other videos too, they’re all really good. Like his latest one, which is called “Old Fart’s Blog”. Old fart means old person. Another similar word is old fogy.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, a cheerleader who was fired for an inappropriate hug, has won her job back.
This woman is a cheerleader for a basketball team. The team was having a media event, and it was the cheerleaders’ job to welcome the media. When a TV presenter arrived, who was a friend of one of the cheerleaders, she got excited and gave him a koala-style hug. She wrapped both her legs and arms around her friend. In a regular hug legs usually remain on the ground. Management were not impressed with her hugging style – and fired her. "Their role was to welcome everyone that came in. The way she did it wasn't appropriate,” they said. "There are other ways to welcome a friend at a work function." Then, for some reason, they changed their mind. And, instead of being fired, she now has an official warning.
The team is now planning to publish a hugging guide for new cheerleaders. And that was Stick News for Monday the 17th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 90 Don’t you wear a wetsuit?
Eri and Sarah talk about surfing. Step 1: Repeat Eri’s lines. Step 2: Read Eri’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Eri How’s the surfing going?
Sarah Good. I keep getting attacked by jellyfish though. Check this out.
Eri Ow. That looks painful.
Sarah Mmm, yeah, it’s really itchy.
Eri Don’t you wear a wetsuit?
Sarah No, I don’t have one. I’m thinking of getting one though. One with long sleeves.
Eri And what’s that bruise from?
Sarah Oh, this? Mmm, that’s from wiping out. The rail banged against my arm.
Hello, this is in response to Renetto’s haters video. Ah, Renetto, I agree with you a hundred percent about the haters, um, in the first couple of minutes of the video. But ah it was nineteen minutes long and honestly my attention span is, is not that um, is not that um ... Wow, I’d forgotten I had that book.
I think I walked past this in the supermarket for about a year before I found out it was a kind of tofu.
Koyadofu is dried tofu. It’s really hard. And dry. Then after it’s cooked it’s like a sponge.
I decided to follow the instructions on the back of this packet. I put some water in a pot. Then added soy sauce, mirin, konbu dashi, and finally salt. Bad idea ... it was so salty it tasted like the ocean.
When it was boiling, I put the koyadofu in. And cooked it for 10 minutes.
Then I turned off the gas. And put it into a bowl. Then I took a photo. And ate it.
Notes
Music on today's show is used with permission from jamendo.com
Artist: Saelynh Album: Sensation electronique Tracks: Inside my heart, Lennie au pays des merveilles site music at jamendo
A couple of weeks ago, I went on a cruise in Tokyo bay. Well, using the word cruise makes it sound kind of posh ... which it definitely wasn’t. Anyway ... the boat was a regular passenger ferry with space for almost 2000 people. We stood in a queue and started boarding at about quarter to seven. Tickets cost 2500 yen.
The trip lasted two hours and it was all-you-can-drink beer, wine, shochu, oolong tea and juice.
I enjoyed hanging out on the top deck most of the time. We went under (the) Rainbow Bridge. We saw a plane land at Haneda Airport. And we saw this thing which looked like the moon, but was actually a sign.
Downstairs people were really getting into the music. They’d had obviously made the most of the free-flowing beer.
And then before I knew it, the DJs were saying goodbye. And someone with a loudspeaker was telling us to get off the boat. On the way off, lots of people took photos with the yukata dancers. And Hikawa told me what he thought of the event.
Notes * It's not supposed to be the Rainbow Bridge - I accidently said the.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. I saw a good video yesterday which reflects what I think about the whole lonelygirl is fake issue. It’s called My Opinion on “fake” YouTubers. Like what was said in this video, I think that if people are acting they should be honest about it.
When I first saw lonelygirl15’s videos I didn’t immediately think that she was acting. But one of the reasons is that –she was supposed to be American – and I’ve never been to America. So if I see an American character it’s hard to tell if they’re real or not. Like when I first saw Little Loca I thought mmm she’s pretty bizarre – but I don’t know maybe there are some people in America like that.
And an interesting thing about language ... In Wikipedia they talk about her minor speech idiosyncrasies, so in her video "Should I or Shouldn't I?" when she says: "I've never been to a party before," "been" is pronounced like "bean," not "bin," as in standard American speech. Similarly, her video "Schoolwork in Summer" includes non-American pronunciations of homeschooled, schoolwork, cannibals, Roman empire, eaten, Antarctica and continent.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, underweight models have been banned from a fashion show in Madrid. Some people in the industry are not impressed.
This is a fashion show. Models walk down a runway to show off designer clothing. The models are often very thin. Some people are worried that these models cause other women to develop eating disorders. At a recent show in Madrid, organizers decided to ban underweight models from participating. 30% of the models were turned away.
Many designers are reluctant to comment on the issue, but one model agency spokesperson said the move was outrageous and discriminated against models. And that was Stick News for Friday the 15th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 89 Will he keep his position?
Thomas and Sarah talk about the latest NZ news. Step 1: Repeat Thomas’s lines. Step 2: Read Thomas’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Thomas Anything interesting in the news?
Sarah Mmm. Don Brash has been having an affair.
Thomas Who’s Don Brash?
Sarah He’s the leader of the opposition in New Zealand.
Thomas Does it matter?
Sarah Well, I think it makes him look like a bit of a hypocrite. Him and his party were against gay marriage because of “the sanctity of marriage”.
Thomas Will he keep his position?
Sarah I don’t know. The woman is the vice-chair of the Business Roundtable too ... so mmm that’s dodgy too.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. So, it turns out that lonelygirl15 is an actress from New Zealand. Mmm. Bloody Kiwis aye, you can’t trust any of them. And in other groundbreaking events, I bought some water from the supermarket the other day. Bottled water. And no, bottle isn’t an English loanword that has changed its meaning in Japanese. In Japanese can is カンand bottle is 瓶 or ボトル. So I guess the people making this are just a bit confused. So today’s questionanswer is just for you.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, the true identity of lonelygirl15 has been revealed. She is a 19-year-old actress from New Zealand.
A few months ago a girl started making video blogs. She said her name was Bree, she was 16 and she was homeschooled. Her videos became very popular. Thousands of people watched them, subscribed to her YouTube channel and commented on the videos. Many people believed what she said and wrote encouraging comments. Others questioned whether she was telling the truth. It has now been revealed that lonelygirl wasn’t so lonely after all. She is a 19-year-old actress from New Zealand. And all of her video blogs were scripted.
The revelations that lonelygirl15 is indeed fake have prompted an outpouring of anger, annoyance, praise and indifference. And that was Stick News for Thursday the 14th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 88 What kind of town is it?
Sarah and Kate talk about lonleygirl15. Step 1: Repeat Kate’s lines. Step 2: Read Kate’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Kate So lonelygirl was a New Zealand actress ...
Sarah Yeah. She was from the Mount apparently.
Kate The what?
Sarah Mount Maunganui. It’s often called the Mount.
Kate Where is it?
Sarah It’s on the North Island. Close to where I grew up.
Kate What kind of town is it?
Sarah It’s really nice. There’s a beautiful beach there. And um ... Yeah, they’re building an artificial reef there actually. I wonder how that’s going.
Kate Are there many artificial reefs in New Zealand?
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show. One of my students, Chikako, gave me a present. It’s a little robot called Asimo. Her dad works for Honda and this is Honda’s robot. This is what its name stands for: Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. It’s pretty cool and its body moves in lots of places. See where all the red circles are? That’s where its body moves. Hello! I think Asimo is pretty cute so he’s going to feature on the show today. And this isn’t product placement by the way. Although if Honda wants to like send me a car or something that’s fine too.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, Sean Combs has agreed to drop the name Diddy in the UK as part of an out-of-court settlement with a London-based music producer.
This man is one of the wealthiest people in the American entertainment industry. He seems to have many jobs. Record producer. Actor. Rapper. Recording executive. Reality TV show producer. Writer. Clothing designer. He also has many names. His parents called him Sean. His first rapper name was Puff Daddy. Later he was called Puff, Puffy and P.Diddy. Then, in August 2005, he decided to drop the P. And he became known as Diddy. He was pretty happy. But a DJ in England wasn’t. He’d been using that name for 12 years. The DJ Diddy took his complaint to court. And now the rapper Diddy can’t use that name in the UK.
Speculation has been growing recently about which letter will be the next to go from Diddy’s name. (The latest polls suggest) 60 percent support the new name being iddy, while 30 percent support Didd and 10 percent are undecided. And that was Stick News for Wednesday 13 September.
* Left out a line.
conversations withsarah # 87 What movies has he been in?
Jane and Sarah talk about Blow and Cliff Curtis. Step 1: Repeat Jane’s lines. Step 2: Read Jane’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah I saw Blow last night. Have you seen that?
Jane No, I want to watch it though. Was it good?
Sarah Mmm ... I wasn’t that impressed with it.
Jane That’s the one with Johnny Depp ... about a drug dealer isn’t it?
Sarah Yeah. It’s got Cliff Curtis in it too. I didn’t know he was in it.
Jane Who’s Cliff Curtis?
Sarah He’s one of my favorite New Zealand actors.
Jane What movies has he been in?
Sarah Um, a lot of New Zealand movies like: Once Were Warriors, ah, The Piano, Whale Rider ... And Hollywood movies too, like Training Day.
Jane Oh, which one was he in Training Day?
Sarah He was a drug dealer. Um, I think he was, yeah, he was the one who pointed the shotgun at Ethan Hawke in the bath, I think. I can’t remember, it’s a been while since I watched it.
So in show 121 I talked about Shibboleths. And I talked about a few that were used during war. But there are also some that have less serious implications. Like the ones used to tell the difference between New Zealanders and Australians.
The example in Wikipedia is: Fish and chips. “The accents of Australians and New Zealanders seem very similar, and the term fish and chips is sometimes evoked to illustrate a major difference between the two.”
So I thought I’d make a list to help you identify Australians and New Zealanders.
fish and chips dance beer bear pool school sydney
So in New Zealand: beer, bear ... same pronunciation. But I think it’s different in Australia.
So if you’re an Australian or New Zealander watching this and you have a camera it would be cool if you could make a video response reading that list of words. Then if anyone wanted to compare they could watch the different videos.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, a blind man in England has been convicted of dangerous driving.
This man is blind. He lost his eyes in a bomb blast. He is also missing a finger, suffers from leg tremors and is partly deaf. He doesn’t have a driver’s license. But that doesn’t stop him driving. In April police caught him driving with his friend who was giving him instructions. He was driving on the wrong side of the road at speeds of up to 56 km/hr. Yesterday he was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.
And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 12th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 86 What does take the piss mean?
Kenta asks Sarah why she’s laughing. Step 1: Repeat Kenta's lines. Step 2: Read Kenta's lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Sarah Ahh, that’s funny.
Kenta What is?
Sarah Oh, there’s a comment on one of my videos that says: “Shame about the accent”. And I thought ... ahh must be an Australian and I checked the profile and yip, sure enough ...
Kenta Why did they write that?
Sarah Um, just taking the piss. Australians and NZ always take the piss out of each other. It’s a kind of cultural tradition I think.
Kenta Take a piss?
Sarah No, take the piss. Take a piss means go to the toilet.
Hi, I’m Sarah. It’s Monday the 11th of September and this is The Daily English Show. I have another video to recommend today. It’s called The Real Me: Going to Japan. It’s a video blog by an American guy called Marcus – or Namaeganai Films - who is coming to Japan in a few months to teach English. And in this video he’s talking about why he decided to come to Japan. So I think this is great to watch to study how to explain a decision that you made. And the topic is really interesting especially for Japanese students. People ask me this question a lot: Why did you come to Japan? And it’s a good question to ask, because ... everybody’s different and everyone has a different reason for coming. So you can watch Marcus’ video and hear his reasons for coming.
A bit of vocabulary to help you: To have doubts about something means to feel uncertain about something. Marcus said that he started having doubts about coming to Japan when he first applied.
To bail on. This is a slang. Marcus says: I bailed on the interview. Which means: I cancelled the interview. Or I didn’t go to the interview. Bail can also be used in as a slang term in other ways. So in NZ I used to use it a lot to mean leave, or go home. Like if you were looking for one of your friends in a bar… “Hey where’s Kirk?” “Oh, he bailed ages ago.” Means: he went home a long time ago.
To babble on. Marcus says: I hope I didn’t babble on too much. In the dictionary it says: babble v. talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited or incomprehensible way. I like the word babble. Ramble or ramble on has a similar meaning. So in a conversation if you’ve been talking a lot you might say: “Sorry, I hope I’m not rambling”. Which I think is a useful thing to say because it shows you care about the listener.
So conversations with sarah and questionanswer today is about the video The Real Me: Going to Japan.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora. In Stick News today, the king of Tonga has died. He passed away last night at a hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Kingdom of Tonga is an independent archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean. It’s made up of 169 islands. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy with a population of 102,000. The latest king took over from his mother in 1965 when she passed away. He had 4 children. The king suffered from heart problems and had been receiving treatment in Auckland. He was 88 when he died.
The next leader will be the king’s son. And that was Stick News for Monday the 11th of September. Kia Ora.
conversations withsarah # 85 Where’s he from?
Keiko asks Sarah about the video she's watching on YouTube. Step 1: Repeat Keiko’s lines. Step 2: Read Keiko’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.
Keiko What are you watching?
Sarah Um, It’s this guy called Marcus talking about why he’s coming to Japan.
Keiko Where’s he from?
Sarah America.
Keiko So why is he coming to Japan?
Sarah Um ... What did he say? He said that he studied finance and then decided that he didn’t want to work in finance and then he found out about this opportunity and ...
Keiko Is he going to teach English?
Sarah Yeah.
Keiko When is he coming?
Sarah Ah, November, I think he said.
Notes
Music Artist: Manuzik Album: Nouvelle Shortstories Track: TriptoJazz site music at jamendo
Script for the video studied in today's show: The Real Me: Going to Japan watch the video here
Hey, what’s up. Today I wanted to talk to you guys about why I decided to go to Japan. But before I do that, I just want to say one quick message. If you made a video response, or you posted a comment and you don’t see it ... it’s because YouTube is buggy and not because I declined it or deleted it, so you might want to send it again.
But now onto the Japan thing. I graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in finance. I did pretty well in it. But it’s not something that I really enjoy. So I didn’t really want to work in the finance industry. And then by accident sometime last year I discovered about the opportunity to live and work in Japan at places called ekaiwas. They’re basically conversational English schools. And there are several of them that hire within the United States. And they provide the teachers they hire with an apartment ah and other things to help you get set up there. So it makes it really easy to transition into Japan. So when I first found out about that offer, you know, obviously I wanted to do that. And I did my research I found the one school that I felt fit me the best and I applied. And that was back in ah October or November. And they sent me an email like a week later saying apply again when you’re closer to graduating. So come February I applied again and they set me up with a group interview. And around that time I started having doubts. Basically, as good as an opportunity these eikaiwas are, they don’t pay a lot and it’s not really a career opportunity. It’s basically you know a year or two. And most of people who do these things are just looking to travel or basically party in Japan. I’m not really after the second one. But anyways I set up the group interview right during the week of a lot of mid-terms. And I had second thoughts and I just, I bailed on the interview basically called them the day before and said “hey, I’m not interested in showing up”. So I didn’t. Then I graduated from school and I still didn’t have any jobs. So I started to apply to a few different places, and I applied to a finance company. And after going through the interview process I realized that I most certainly did not want to work in a finance company. So I went back and applied to the very same eikaiwa that I had rejected and applied to twice before. And they granted me a group interview again. And I went to the group interview. They liked me. They called me back in a couple of days and invited me to a personal interview. They liked me again. And before I knew it I had a job, going off to Japan. I’m going to Matsuyama City. It’s a little rural. And it’s a bit south of ... it’s in the southern po ... uh.. the southern portion of Japan in Shikoku. Ahh, from the pictures I’ve seen, it’s a pretty nice city. It’s not very big, but it’s ... I think it’ll fit me pretty well. Now as to why the job itself seems so appealing. It wasn’t just, you know, going to Japan. The job itself is basically teaching conversational English. And it is a business. So you have to make that teaching experience enjoyable. And as you’ve seen from my videos, I like to talk. I don’t mind socializing with people. I don’t mind making an idiot of myself to make people laugh. And I think that just fits my personality really well. Even though it is a business. It also gives me a chance to help people, which is something that I want to do. Far more than work in the finance industry.
Um, what am I expecting to get out of Japan? You know, I, I really don’t know. It was sort of something that just came to me and I tried to run away from it. I tried to convince myself that it was the wrong thing to do. Well if you work in finance you’ll have a much better salary But it’s one of those things that you feel like you had to do. You know. It was just like “Marcus, you need to do this. You don’t know why you need to do it, but you need to do it. So, I did it. Well, I haven’t done it yet. But so I applied for it and I’m going to do it in November. And I look forward to it quite a bit. I don’t know how long I’m going to be there, I can’t ... I can’t tell you that. I don’t know if that’s going to be the beginning of my stay in Japan. Of it’s just going to be an escape from the United States for a year. Or if it’s just going to be the beginning of me traveling to different places in the world. Anyways, I hope I didn’t babble on too much. I realized I stumbled a little bit. But that’s why I wanted to go to Japan. How I did it and whatnot.
This is shiso. It’s a kind of herb. It’s used a lot in Japan, in many different ways. One thing you can make with shiso is tempura. The other day I tried making shiso tempura.
First, I washed the shiso. Then, I made the batter.
I almost never measure anything when I cook, so I just put a random amount of flour in the bowl. Poured some soymilk in. And mixed with a fork. Put some more soymilk in. Mixed it some more. Bit more liquid. More mixing. Mmm that’s about right.
Then I tried dipping the shiso in batter. But it didn’t work. So I put some water in. Mixed some more. And tried again. This time the batter actually stuck to the leaf. Good.
The first one came out a bit of a strange shape. But they got better as I progressed.
Notes
Music: Artist: Manuzik Album: Nouvelle Shortstories Track: Pseudauthentique site music at jamendo
Last August I went to Bali for two weeks with my boyfriend. I’d never been to Bali before. We flew from Tokyo to Bali with a stopover in Hong Kong. I got an upgrade to business class for the first time in my life. Wow. Glass. Nice clouds.
We stayed in three different hotels in Kuta. They were all cheap, but had everything we needed: bed, bathroom. Even a pool. Excellent.
We went surfing almost every day. Walked along the beach. And saw some beautiful sunsets at night.
We ate a lot of great food. Had a few massages. And did a bit of shopping. Checked out the supermarket. And we went to a small grocery store.
We saw these flowers on the footpaths in front of shops every day. And one day we saw a funeral.
We heard a lot of English walking around.
Yes. Have a look? Hello, sunglass. Transport? Honeymoon price! Morning price! Kiwi? Kia ora bro! Only ten thousand! Excuse me. Hello. Where you from?
And a lot of Japanese.
キノコ 葉っぱ ごきげんよう 社長 ラブラブですか 幸せそうだな～
We also learned a bit of Indonesian. I think I used this phrase the most.
Tolong satu Bintang besar Dan dua glass dingin.
At night we enjoyed the cold Bintang. And went to a few bars and clubs.
One night we went to a party at the Hard Rock Hotel.
We saw the place where a bar used to be. And a memorial to all the people who died there in 2002.
We did go on one tour. We went to a temple. There were lots of monkeys.
And we saw a performance at an open air theatre on top of a cliff. It was really good!
I had a really good time in Bali. Beautiful smiles. Bintang. Good food. Good surf. Good times.
The Daily English Show is the world's first daily online English language show. Produced by studio tdes and presented by Sarah - a New Zealander currently based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Posts
