节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-03-13
难易度:High
关键字:gender, resign, start from scratch, on edge, minor, fall by the wayside
Well, in our article today Jo seems to be having some trouble learning German.
There are so many things to remember, especially since all of the nouns have
genders.
It can be very confusing.
And we see that she redesigned herself to communicating in broken German.
Well, let's continue with our article today and see what she did once she
finally arrived in Germany.
(Music).
Difficulties in German.
Once in Germany, I felt like I was starting from scratch.
The German I'd learned in university wasn't practical for everyday conversation.
My book knowledge fell by the wayside as I figured out the basics of getting
around, reading menus and chatting with my classmates.
I was constantly on edge at school, worried about whether the professors would
call on me in class and whether I'd understand their questions.
I only relaxed a little around my eight roommates, who were willing to speak
German slowly to me and didn't seem to mind my mistakes.
Well, it is nice to have roommates who you can practice your new language with.
We started the beginning of this section.
Jo says: Once in Germany, I felt like I was starting from scratch.
All right.
Let's take a look at those words, "to start from scratch," straight from our
Word Bank.
When you start from scratch, Nathanael, what are you doing?
Well, you're starting from the very beginning again.
Maybe you've already done some work, but you have to go back and start from
scratch.
Has this ever happened to you when you were writing a paper and you didn't save
it on your computer?
You had to start from scratch.
Ah, yes, I understand.
Either I didn't save it, or I misunderstood the professor.
I misunderstood the assignment, so I had to toss out what I already did and
start from scratch.
Carolyn, have you ever had to start from scratch on anything?
I have had to start from scratch on many occasions.
And this word can also have a different meaning, scratch.
To start from the beginning, you can make something from scratch.
It means that you don't have anything prepared beforehand, you make everything
yourself.
So maybe you like to bake things from scratch.
That's great.
That's a great way to use this phrase.
Next time you're cooking or baking, you can talk about starting from scratch.
Well, Nathanael, how does our lesson continue?
The German I'd learned in university wasn't practical for everyday conversation.
Sometimes that is a troublesome thing when you're learning a language, you feel
like you can't really use it.
That's right.
You can't really use it sometimes.
And she refers to her book knowledge.
She says: My book knowledge fell by the wayside as I figured out the basics of
getting around, reading menus and chatting with my classmates.
Well, book knowledge, that's just the information that you learn from books like
textbooks.
It's not necessarily great for conversation on the street.
I also think of street smarts.
Some people are very street smart.
They can get around on the street.
And other people have a lot of book knowledge.
But I also saw another phrase here in this sentence.
We talked about getting around.
So Carolyn, what does this mean?
These are words we want to talk about: getting around.
Well, if you can get around, that means you can find your way.
You don't get lost.
You understand where you're going and what you should be doing.
So you might say it's very easy to get around the city.
All of the signs are very clear, and the roads are very straight.
So it's pretty easy and not confusing.
All right.
It's not confusing to get around physically in a city or an area.
Nathanael, is there another way you could use this phrase?
Well, sometimes we do say "they get around a lot," but just means that they go a
lot of places.
They are so familiar with the roads because they get around a lot.
All right.
So use that phrase sometime today.
How do you get around?
Well, Jo continues:
I was constantly on edge at school, worried about whether the professors would
call on me in class and whether I'd understand their questions.
So again, we have an important phrase right there: on edge.
Jo felt like she was on edge.
Can you tell us about this, Nathanael?
Well, if you're on edge, you're very nervous.
Maybe you feel like you're standing on a very thin edge, and you're nervous
about falling off.
That's a picture to maybe help you understand.
For example, public speaking puts many people on edge.
We often say that: puts you, puts people on edge.
I would agree.
Uh, public speaking is one of the top fears that people have and would put
people on edge.
How do you use that phrase, Carolyn?
Well, maybe if you're in an accident and you're afraid of having another
accident like you're driving and you get hit,
you might be on edge the next time you get into a car.
It can be very nerve-wrecking.
All right.
You might feel tense or anxious.
Well, friends, when do you feel on edge about something?
Talk about it in English today.
Nathanael, how does Jo continue?
She says: I only relaxed a little around my eight roommates, who were willing to
speak German slowly to me and didn't seem to mind my mistakes.
It's always nice to have someone to practice with that isn't going to make you
feel nervous or that is trying to make you say everything perfectly all the
time.
That's right. I... I agree.
You want to be comfortable speaking your new language around people.
It's kind of funny sentence here.
Jo says she only relaxed a little. Why?
Because she didn't just have one or two roommates to be nervous around, she had
eight roommates.
They made her feel comfortable.
But having that many people to speak to can make you get a little on edge.
Well, Carolyn, how do you feel about the story so far?
Well, I'm really enjoying reading about what Jo has gone through because I've
been in... similar situations.
And I'd really like to see how other people react to learning a new language.
That's right.
I think so, too.
It can be interesting learning a new language.
You don't want to let what you already learned fall by the wayside.
That's another phrase that we saw here in this lesson.
She says her book knowledge fell by the wayside.
And that means it was important, but you don't have enough time or you don't
care, so you can't really focus on something.
I think it's important to let your relationships be important.
Don't let them fall by the wayside.
Emphasize your relationships, or take care of your relationships.
Right now it's time for us to continue learning something with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And keep watching as our lesson continues.
Well, Jo's story is certainly interesting.
I'm enjoying learning about her experiences learning German.
And it does make me wonder about the phrases or the things that are useful to
know when you visit another culture.
Carolyn, what kinds of things would you need to know, or do you think are
important to know if you visit another culture?
Well, I think it's always good to be able to ask for directions, to know how to
ask "How do I get there?".
But it's also important to understand the answers that people give you.
And a lot of times we don't learn those responses.
So pay attention to those as well.
What do you think, Nathanael?
Well, you may not think that it sounds that important, but I think it's good to
know a few polite phrases like "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry".
They might keep some awkward things from happening.
All right.
I think that people are pretty understanding when there's a foreigner in their
culture.
But it is good to know and do your research beforehand to know what kinds of
things you should say.
Well, we have lots more to learn tomorrow.
We'll see you then right here on Studio Classroom.
Bye-bye.