Play Doesn’t End With Childhood Why Adults Need Recess Too

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Audio Time: 6 min 51 sec

Level: Upper-Intermediate and up

Vocabulary:  

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Recess: US: a short period of time during the school day when children can play.

Indicate: to show (something).

Playground: an outdoor area where children can play that usually includes special equipment (such as swings and slides).

Overload: to put too great a load on or in (something).

Stuffed animal: US: a toy in the shape of an animal that usually has fake fur and is filled with soft material.

Grownup: Someone who is fully grown: an adult.

Nonprofit: A nonprofit organization uses whatever money it earns or raises to run the organization and to do the work of the organization. Nonprofit organizations usually do work that helps people or supports something valued by many people in a society (such as art or education).

Resilient: able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.

Deprivation: the state of not having something that people need: the state of being deprived of something.

Competent: having the necessary ability or skills: able to do something well or well enough to meet a standard.

Perseverance: the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult.

Laborious: requiring a lot of time and effort.

Discussion questions:

1. Do you agree with the article that play is important? Why or why not?

2. How do you usually play?

3. How did you play as a child?

4. Do you like to play alone or with others?

5. What can play tell us about ourselves or others?

NPR Brazil Correspondent Prepares For Debut In Carnival Parade

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Audio Time: 3 min 49 sec

Level: Upper Intermediate and Up

Vocabulary:  

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Outlandish: very strange or unusual: extremely different from what is normal or expected.

To rope into: to use clever or tricky methods to get (someone) to do something.

Sparkles: a small flash of bright light; small objects that reflect or shine light.

Maniac: someone who is violent and mentally ill; a person who behaves in a very wild way.

Elaborate: made or done with great care or with much detail : having many parts that are 

carefully arranged or planned.

Hallucinogenic: a substance (such as a drug) that causes people to see or sense things that are not real :a substance that causes hallucinations

Over-the-top:  going beyond what is expected, usual, normal, or appropriate : excessive or exaggerated.

Protrude: to stick out.

Lyrics: the words of a song.

Drought: a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain.

Falsetto Alarm: Neighbor's Screeches Warrant A Police Visit

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Audio Time: 1 min 9 sec

Level: Intermediate and up

Police in Amsterdam responded to a call about screams in an apartment. After kicking in the door, they discovered a man singing along to an opera playing on his headphones. Instead of a false alarm, it turned out to be 'falsetto alarm'! 

Man Retires, Moves, Discovers his Doppelganger

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Audio Time: 3 min 57 sec

Level: Intermediate and up

A man in Briton, retires, moves to a new town, and discovers his doppelganger (a person that looks and acts like another person) lives in this town too.

Why Do We Believe In Unbelievable Things?

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TED Radio Hour

Based on TED Talks given by very interesting speakers, each show is centered on a common theme – such as happiness, innovation, power, or unexplainable connections – and includes in depth conversations with the speakers of the TED Talks. See more at the TED Radio Hour website .

Audio Time: 9 min 28 sec

Level: Advanced  

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Susceptible: easily affected, influenced, or harmed by something.

Hominid: A group of animals that include apes and humans.

Rustle: to make a soft, light sound because parts of something are touching or rubbing against each other.

Darwin award: An award for removing yourself from humanity’s gene pool by not reproducing (either by death or intentionally not having children), and therefore, helping humanity’s evolution. This usually includes people who kill themselves by doing very stupid things.

Propensity: a strong natural tendency to do something.

Gene pool: all of the genes in a particular group of people or animals.

Default: used to describe something that happens or is done when nothing else has been done or can be done.

Primate: any member of the group of animals that includes human beings, apes, and monkeys.

To con: a dishonest trick that is done to get someone's money.

Psychic: used to describe strange mental powers and abilities (such as the ability to predict the future, to know what other people are thinking, or to receive messages from dead people) that cannot be explained by natural laws.

Tell: (noun) an unconscious behavior that can give information to an observant opponent, usually used in card games like poker.

Kick in: to begin to work or to have an effect.

Stand point: a way in which something is thought about or considered; point of view.

Bias: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly.

To exaggerate: to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is.

To muffle: to make (a sound) quieter.

To bombard: to hit or attack (something or someone) constantly or repeatedly.

Temporal lobes: a part of the brain.

Wacky: amusing and very strange.

Curmudgeon: a person (especially an old man) who is easily annoyed or angered and who often complains.

Eccentric: tending to act in strange or unusual ways.

Language Tips: Useful expressions

To connect the dots:  to join (two or more things) together; to think of (something or someone) as being related to or involved with another person, thing, event, or idea; or to prove or show that one thing is related to another thing.

“…we are pattern seeking primates. We connect the dots - A is connected to B, B is connected to C and sometimes A really is connected to B and that's called association learning. We find patterns. We make those connections.”

It was hard solve the robbery, but, with the evidence they had, the detectives connected the dots and caught the thief.

To a certain extent: used to indicate the degree to which something exists, happens, or is true.

“…life is full of failure. And the entrepreneur is never going to exceed if he doesn't deceive himself to a certain extent in what's called the optimism bias where you tend to think things are going to go better than they really will.”

To a certain extent, other hominids like apes are our relatives, since we share a common ancestor that lived millions of years ago.

Order of magnitude: the approximate size of something, especially measured in powers of 10.

“…entrepreneurs…. They all exaggerate by like an order of magnitude how likely they are to be successful and in a way you sort of have to do that because most people that start businesses - they fail.”

Our galaxy is bigger than our solar system by many orders of magnitude.

Discussion questions:

1. What are some kinds of unbelievable things that people believe?

2. Do you or someone you know believe any of these things?

3. Do you agree with the speaker’s theory about why people believe unbelievable things?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages to easily believing things and being more open minded?

5. What the most interesting thing you learned from this story?

6. Is it important to have some skepticism towards beliefs?

7. How can we practice skepticism and examine beliefs?

8. What the right balance between being open minded and being skeptical?

The Merits Of Income Inequality: What's The Right Amount?

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Audio Time: 5 min 12 sec

Level: Upper Intermediate

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Head Start, food stamps, Medicaid: US government programs to help people with very low incomes.

To cover: to have (something) as a subject: to relate to or provide information about (a particular subject).

Vast: very great in size, amount, or extent.

Gap: a space between two people or things.

To pocket: to take or keep something.

To undermine: to make (someone or something) weaker or less effective usually in a secret or gradual way.

Reward: money or another kind of payment that is given or received for something that has been done or that is offered for something that might be done.

Output: the amount of something that is produced by a person or thing.

Elite: the people who have the most wealth and status in a society: the most successful or powerful group of people.

To Dominate: to have control of or power over (someone or something).

Privilege:  the advantage that wealthy and powerful people have over other people in a society.

Incentive: something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder.

To stagnate: to stop developing, progressing, moving, etc.: to be or become stagnant.

Inadequate: not enough or not good enough: not adequate.

Great depression: The worst economic crisis in modern history lasting from 1929 through the late 1930s.

Distribution: the act of giving or delivering something to people.

Union: (labor union) an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and interests of its members.

To bargain: an agreement in which people or groups say they will do or give something in exchange for something else.

Stake: something (such as money) that you could win or lose in a game, contest, etc.

To advocate: a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy.

Stock: a share of the value of a company which can be bought, sold, or traded as an investment.

Substantial: large in amount, size, or number.

Estate tax: a tax that you pay on the money and other property that comes to you because someone has died: a tax on an estate that you inherit.

Language Tips:

Useful phrases:

To set in motion: to start something moving.

“We already have the plans and budget for the new project. We just waiting for approval from the city government to set it in motion.”

“The collapse of the major stock markets around the world set in motion the events that would lead to the great depression. “

Political discourse: communication and debate about political and social issues.

“In undemocratic countries, the people have little power to influence the political discourse of the nation.”

“Some people feel that the rise of the internet and social media has changed the political discourse in most countries.”

Difference between opportunity and possibility

Incorrect: I will have the possibility to go to the conference next year.

Correct: I will have the opportunity to go to the conference next year.

Remember that possibility means that something might be capable of happening or might be true. Opportunity means (often favorable) circumstances that make it possible to do something or the chance for advancement or promotion.

“There is a possibility that it will rain tomorrow, so you will have an opportunity to use your new umbrella.”

“There is a possibility that we will have enough funding for another research assistant position. If so, you will have an opportunity to apply for this position.”

Discussion questions:

1. Do you think your society has the right amount of equality?

2. How much inequality is best for a society?

3. Why do some economists think it wouldn’t be best if everyone had the same level of economic equality?

4. Do you agree that some inequality is best for society?

5. Would you rather live in a society with more or less income inequality?

6. What can be done to limit income inequality?

7. Is income inequality increasing or decreasing in your society? In the world?

8. What’s the difference between economic opportunity and economic inequality?

Lessons from the Language Boot Camp for Mormon Missionaries

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Audio Time: 7 min and 17 sec

Level: Intermediate and up

Vocabulary:  Vocab probably unknown to intermediate speakers is provided to help with comprehension of the text. Vocab in bold is more useful for the intermediate to upper-intermediate level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the report (in general, most learners should try to study no more than 8-10 words per day for optimal learning)

Definitions are written with the help of Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: (Mormonism) Christian church that was founded by Joseph Smith in the U.S. in 1830.

Missionary: a person who is sent to a foreign country to do religious work (such as to convince people to join a religion or to help people who are sick, poor, etc.).

Institute: an organization created for a particular purpose (such as research or education).

Enthusiastic: strong excitement about something: a strong feeling of active interest in something that you like or enjoy.

Gospel: the teachings of the Christian religion — usually used with the; any one of the first four books of the Christian Bible that tell of the life of Jesus Christ.

Roughly: not exactly but close in number, quality, meaning, etc.

Hymn: a religious song: a song that praises God.

In the context: the situation in which something happens: the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens.

Recite: to read (something) out loud or say (something) from memory usually for an audience.

To have something down: to learn in a complete way.

Pair off: to form pairs: groups of two people.

Role-play: an activity in which people do and say things while pretending to be someone else or while pretending to be in a particular situation.

Potential: a chance or possibility that something will happen or exist in the future.

Convert: a person who has changed to a different religion, belief, political party, etc.

Flashcards: a card that has words, numbers, or pictures on it and that is used to help students learn about a subject.

Oh, my goodness: (idiom) Used to express surprise, shock, or amazement.

Deer in the headlights: (idiom) Used to refer to a state of fear, panic, or confusion so extreme that it is impossible to act or think normally.

Motto: a short sentence or phrase that expresses a rule guiding the behavior of a particular person or group.

Traction: the force that causes a moving thing to stick against the surface it is moving along.

Act out: to perform (a play, a character in a movie, etc.).

Provost: the head or an official of high rank at a university.

Conjugate: to list the different forms of a verb that show number, person, tense, etc.

Dropout: a person who stops going to a school, college, etc., before finishing: a person who drops out of school.

Efficiency: the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy.

Replicate: to repeat or copy (something) exactly.

Language Tips:

Useful phrases:

 In the context: 1: the words that are used with a certain word or phrase to explain its meaning. 2: the situation in which something happens: the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens.

In the context of this sentence, this idiom can have different meanings.

To have something down: to learn something in a complete or total way.

Wow! You really have your knowledge of verb tenses in English down. You hardly ever make any mistakes.

Whole thing: all of something; everything.

Let’s just forget the whole thing and start again.

Discussion questions:

1. What are some language learning tips you’ve gotten from this story?

2. What’s the best way to learn a language?

3. What is your main goal or motivation to learn English?

4. What the best way for you to learn a language?

5. How important is it to learn grammar when learning a foreign language?

6. How important is the context-based method (trying to learn language by using it in real life situations)?

7. One of the best ways to study a language is to visit a country where it is spoken, but not everyone can do this. What are some alternatives for people that cannot do this?

8. How important is it to have a supportive environment to learn a language?