Show 605 Tuesday 8 January

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.

One way you can study English is by watching movies. And from now on, I’m going to talk about a movie every Tuesday.

There are many ways you can study with movies. For example, you can try watching the whole movie once in English and see how much you can pick up and then watch it again with subtitles.

You can pick up a scene that you like and study it closely by reading the script and checking the words that you don’t know and you can also pause it and repeat the lines.
You can also try watching the movie with English subtitles – if the DVD has English subtitles – although often the subtitles aren’t exactly what they’re saying, so that can be a problem.

People often ask me what movies I recommend. The first thing I recommend is picking a movie from a genre that you like. If you hate romantic comedies, then don’t watch a romantic comedy, because if you really like the movie you going to enjoy studying it and you’ll learn more.

Secondly, I recommend movies that have language that could be useful in your life. So fantasy movies like Lord of the Rings aren’t such a good choice.

And I also recommend movies that have pretty simple storylines. Movies with twists are great – but they can be hard to follow so they might take you away from the main point which is watching the movie to pick out language that you might be able to use. If, of course, your study goal is to be able to communicate. For some people the only reason they might be studying is to be able to enjoy the movies without subtitles – so, in that case, any movie is fine.

Today I’m going to talk about the movie Clueless. It came out in 1995 and I thought it was hilarious when it came out ... it’s a little of dated now ... but I still think it’s funny.

So I thought I’d talk about some of the lines in the movie.

One of the parts I like is when a character called Josh says goodbye. He says: Be seein’ ya and then a girl called Tai says: Yeah, I hope not sporadically.

This is an odd thing to say to someone after they say goodbye, but this is the reason she says it. The main character, Cher, has decided to give Tai a makeover and teach her how to be popular at school. They are both teenagers at high school.
And just before, they were exercising to aerobics videos – this is part of the makeover - and Tai says she doesn’t want to do it anymore.

And Cher says: OK, it will get easier, I promise. Just as long as we do it every day. Not just sporadically.

And Tai says: How do you know if we're doing it sporadically?

Cher: That's another thing, Tai. We've got to work on your accent and vocabulary. See, sporadic means once in a while. Try and use it in a sentence today.

Tai: Alright.
So then later Tai uses it.

Another line I like is when Cher is driving and she drives through a stop sign and her friend says: Hello. That was a stop sign!
And Cher says: I totally paused!

And some of the dialogue between Josh and Cher I think is pretty funny – they’re always hassling each other and being sarcastic.

At one point Cher’s father says to her: I'd like to see you have a little bit of direction.
And Cher says: I have direction.
And Josh says: Yeah, towards the mall.

Her dad is meaning direction as in having serious goals and aims in life – and Josh is being sarcastic and implying that all she cares about is shopping.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, the Golden Globes awards show has been cancelled.

The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner.
The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since November last year. So the writers won’t write for the ceremony and most of the celebrities who were planning to attend promised to boycott the awards in support of the writers.
So the ceremony has been cancelled.
Instead the winners will be announced at a press conference.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 8th of January.
Kia Ora.

THE SNOW REPORT
in the back country

thanks to jamie and sam

Jamie: So Sam, where are you from?
Sam: Singapore.
Jamie: Singapore, huh?
Sam: Yeah, Singapore.
Jamie: How is the snow in Niseko?
Sam: Ah, very good. I like the powder. It’s cool. Especially up here.
Jamie: How do you like the back country?
Sam: Yeah, that was the best part. The hike was tiring though.
Jamie: Would you be up for doing it again some time?
Sam: Yeah, sure, definitely.
Jamie: So, where are you going after Niseko?
Sam: Sapporo city.
Jamie: Are you here with anyone else?
Sam: My brother and my family.
Jamie: Where are you staying?
Sam: What’s the place called? What was the place called?
Brother: Hokkaido Tracks.
Sam: Hokkaido Tracks, yeah. Kaizoku. Concrete door.
Jamie: How is it?
Sam: Ah, really good. But sometimes it gets hot, kinda, I don’t know.
Jamie: Are you coming back to Niseko next year?
Sam: Maybe, depends if he gets leave though.

conversations with sarah
#365 His head does

Step 1: Repeat Cher’s lines.
Step 2: Read Cher’s lines and talk to Mel and Josh.

Mel Josh, are you still growing? You look taller than you did at Easter.

Josh I don't think so.

Mel Doesn't he look bigger?

Cher His head does.

Mel So, Josh, have you given any thought to our little discussion about Corporate Law?

Josh Yeah, you know, but I think I'd really like to check out Environmental Law.

Mel What for? Do you want to have a miserable, frustrating life?

Cher Oh, Josh will have that no matter what he does.

Mel At least he knows what he's doing. And he's in good college. I'd like to see you have a little bit of direction.

Cher I have direction.

Josh Yeah, towards the mall.

Mel Which reminds me, where's your report card?

Cher It's not ready yet.

links

today's news

today's STICK NEWS pictures

Clueless script

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

the snow report start
artist: Olga Scotland
album: Scotland Yard
track: Absolute
from: Moscow, Russia
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
tracks: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Chill Out
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

UPDATE (June 08) Thanks to Joon for pointing out two typos.