Learning Vocabulary: Staying Connected
Learning Vocabulary: Staying Connected
In this week’s Premier Skills English podcast, Rich and Jack talk about how technology can bring people from all over the world closer together. The language focus is on language we use on social media. The task is to describe the advantages and disadvantages of always being online. There is a new football phrase for you to guess too. Enjoy!
Transcript
Introduction
Jack: Happy New Year Rich!
Rich: Happy New Year Jack!
Jack: Did you get my email?
Rich: What email?
Jack: I sent you a New Year gif!
Rich: Oh … no. Maybe it’s in my spam folder.
Jack: Your spam folder! Have you got my emails down as junk mail?
Rich: Er … no of course not … it’s just that … I don’t know how they get there … here it is. Let me open it. Happy New Year ah … another cat video .. I think I’ll leave your message there!
Welcome
Rich: Hello my name’s Rich
Jack: and I’m Jack
Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast
Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.
What’s happening this week, Rich?
Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re talking about how people stay connected.
Jack: That’s right. The world we live in is getting smaller and smaller
Rich: No, it isn’t.
Jack: No, not physically Rich. I mean nowadays people go and work and live in different parts of their countries and even different parts of the world.
Rich: You’re right. I’m not sure about other countries but in the past, most people would live most of their lives in the city or region they were born in. It was really unusual to go and live abroad.
Jack: Exactly. It’s becoming easier to move around the world and the world is more and more connected. That’s why I said the world is getting smaller.
Rich: Ah! I see. So, in this week’s podcast, we’re going to be talking about some of the advantages and disadvantages of always being connected and language we use when we are online and using social media.
Jack: And don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have another football phrase for you to guess!
Topic Focus
Rich: On the Premier Skills English website last month we had visitors from 135 different countries. All of these people from all over the world in the same place - on this website.
Jack: Did you know that someone signed up on Premier Skills English from Bouvet Island?
Rich: I didn’t. Where’s that?
Jack: It’s an uninhabited island in Antarctica.
Rich: Wow! Maybe the visitor was a Polar bear!
Jack: Maybe a penguin … polar bears live in the Arctic, not the Antarctic.
Rich: Ah yes, of course. Anyway, it shows how much closer we all are in the world. Do you know the Liverpool player Ragnar Klavan?
Jack: He sounds like he should be in Game of Thrones.
Rich: He got the winning goal for Liverpool the other week and he became the 97th different nationality to score in the Premier League.
Jack: Where’s he from?
Rich: Estonia. 97 different nationalities have scored a goal in the Premier League but 106 nationalities have played Premier League football so we might get 100 goal scorers soon!
Jack: So all these players and people living abroad in different countries. How do they stay connected? How do they keep in touch?
Rich: Technology has made things much simpler. We don’t write letters anymore
Jack: We use social media like Facebook to stay connected with friends and family. How many friends have you got on facebook?
Rich: Not sure. I lost count when I hit a thousand friends!
Jack: Really? And how many followers have you got on Instagram and twitter?
Rich: Thousands - hard to keep track as I get so many new followers every day.
Jack: Really?
Rich: No, not really, I’m not even on twitter. But lots of people post messages on Facebook and share pictures on Instagram to stay in touch with people.
Jack: Some people are always logged on to Facebook and other social media like Instagram and Twitter.
Rich: It can be difficult to log off sometimes. But people don’t only use social media to keep in touch. People Skype and Whatsapp each other all the time.
Jack: People share photos, tag friends in their photos, share gifs, videos and memes.
Rich: But it can be too much sometimes, can’t it?
Jack: What do you mean?
Rich: Well, you know, it never stops sometimes. They’re always interrupting other things. In the cinema beep, beep, beep in the classroom, beep beep beep, trying to get to sleep beep beep.
Jack: You can turn your phone off, you know.
Rich: Yeah, I know but then you might miss something important.
Jack: But that’s a problem in itself. Because people are afraid of missing out online, they end up missing out on the real world.
Rich: Yeah. When you’re out with your friends, there’s always someone on a phone or sometimes everybody is talking to ‘friends’ on Facebook or Whatsapp. You can just walk past groups of friends on a night out together and they’re all looking at their phones.
Jack: That makes you sound a bit old, Rich. But I do know what you mean.
Rich: That’s because you’re a bit old too.
Jack: I can’t stand it when you go to a football match and all you can see is phone screens. Why do people want to film the match? If you want to watch it, you can watch on TV.
Rich: Yeah, I know. On one hand you want to enjoy the match but on the other hand you want everybody to know you were there!
Jack: Ah, so that’s what it’s all about. Letting people know where you are. Do you think I should share a selfie from my desk?
Rich: No. Too boring. Nobody wants to see you at your desk. You’re not going to get any likes or comments. When you have a thousand friends, like me, you have to share things that are more interesting.
Jack: Right - like that cat gif I sent you.
Rich: No, please. No more cat videos.
Language focus
Jack: In the last section we used lots of words and phrases connected to social media.
Rich: We’re now going to look at some of the things that we do on social media and the language we use.
Jack: Most people post things on social media. Here, to post something means to put some kind of information on social media.
Rich: We post in different ways. We might share a photo or a video. We might check in - which means to tell people where you are.
Jack: But when is a post not a post?
Rich: Is this a joke?
Jack: No. A post is called a tweet on twitter for example and some people will send a WhatsApp, an SMS or a message if they are writing to you directly.
Rich: And if you really like your post or tweet you can pin it to the top of the page so it stays there longer than the rest of your posts.
Jack: We use lots of language to react to other people's posts too. We can like someone’s post but on facebook, we can also love or hate something.
Rich: You can also say wow if you really like it or haha if you think it’s funny.
Jack: On some websites with comments you can upvote a comment if you like it or downvote a comment if you don’t.
Rich: Making comments can be dangerous!
Jack: Why?
Rich: Maybe someone will troll you?
Jack: Troll me?
Rich: This is when someone writes a comment to make you angry or to make fun of you.
Jack: Or someone could flame you! To flame someone means to write something abusive or insulting. Not very nice.
Rich: No. There’s more language we use on social media. There are quite a few words connected to people. On Facebook, for example, we can friend or unfriend someone.
Jack: You can also follow a person or something like a band or football club.
Rich: If you follow someone you will receive that person’s posts on your timeline.
Jack: You can also tag people. You normally tag people in photos. This means that you add people’s names to photos that you or other people post.
Rich: Tag, post, troll, flame, we’re looking at quite a lot of language here. We’ve got more for you to look at on the website page and some activities for you to check your understanding.
Task
Jack: Your task this week is to join the discussion about social media and technology.
Rich: We spoke earlier about some of the advantages and disadvantages about using social media and technology to keep in touch with friends and family.
Jack: We want your opinions. What are the advantages of always being digitally connected?
Rich: And what are the disadvantages …
Jack: Let us know your opinions in the comments section at the bottom of the page ... and please, no trolling or flaming.
Football Phrase
Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week?
Jack: Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was indirect free kick. This is what the referee gives if a player is obstructed; when a player gets in the way of another player. When an indirect free kick is given you can’t shoot at goal.
Rich: Quite a few of you got it right. Well done to Liubomyr from Ukraine, Kwesimanifest from Ghana, Lakerwang from China, and Elghoul from Algeria. You all got it right! What’s this week’s phrase, Jack?
Jack: The phrase is ****-**** **********. The phrase is what is used to detect if a goal has been scored or not. Sometimes it is very difficult for a referee to see if a goal has been scored so this system is being used in the Premier League for the first time this season.
Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.
Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!
Vocabulary
How much did you understand?
In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. Do you know the words in bold?
Jack: Did you get my email?
Rich: What email?
Jack: I sent you a New Year gif!
Rich: Oh … no. Maybe it’s in my spam folder.
Jack: Your spam folder! Have you got my emails down as junk mail?
There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Do you know what they all mean? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words.
Activity 1
Language
Social Media
In the podcast, we spoke a lot about the language of social media and the things we do when sharing messages, photos and videos and also reacting to our friend's photos, messages and videos. We separated the language into four different sections:
- Messages
- Reactions
- People
- Platform
Let's look at some of the language we use to talk about each of the above sections.
Messages
Messages are usually used on platforms such as Whatsapp or other messenger services to send messages or an SMS directly between two people. On social media, we send a message to a group of people and we use different words to describe this depending on the social media we are using. For example, on Facebook we post something and on Twitter, we tweet something. When you post something or tweet something you can then pin it to the top of the page. This means that this post or tweet will stay at the top of your page until you unpin it.
Reactions
There are lots of ways to react to a post or tweet. You can like or love something. On Facebook, you can add different reactions. You can add a wow if you think something is amazing, a haha if you think something is funny, or a sad or angry face if the post makes you feel sad or angry. Another way to react to a post is by making a comment. Other people react in different ways on social media. Sometimes people are trolled online. This means that someone writes a comment to make you angry or make fun of you. People often try to troll famous people to get a reaction from them.
People
There are quite a few words we use to talk about connecting to people on social media. On Facebook, you can add a friend or friend someone. You can also unfriend someone if you don't want to disconnect from someone on social media. On Twitter and Instagram, you follow friends, famous people, companies and brands. You can also follow people on Facebook and you will get all their news in your timeline. You can also tag people in photographs or mention people or brands on Twitter. You might tag a friend in a photo to let them know about the photo or you might use a hashtag (#) on Twitter to be part of a bigger conversation.
Platform
These are the words you need to understand to use social media and other online services. You first need to register or sign up for services such as Facebook or Instagram, which is when you give a service your personal information. You then choose a username and a password which you need to log on each time you want to use the service. You need to remember to log off when you finish using the service.
In the activity below, look at the vocabulary and try to put the words into the correct category.
Activity 2
Language
Advantages and Disadvantages
In the podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about some of the benefits and drawbacks of social media and always being connected to friends and family online. Have a look at this conversation from the podcast. Can you see the phrases in bold that are being used to contrast two things?
Jack: Why do people want to film the match? If you want to watch it, you can watch on TV.
Rich: Yeah, I know. On one hand you want to enjoy the match on the other hand you want everybody to know you were there!
Jack: Ah, so that’s what it’s all about.
There are other phrases that you can use to contrast ideas. Have a go at this activity to learn a few more useful phrases.
Task
Advantages and Disadvantages of staying connected
Your task this week is to give your opinion about the advantages and disadvantages of always being connected through technology.
What are the benefits of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want?
What are the drawbacks of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want?
Can you think of two advantages and two disadvantages?
Write your answers in the comments section below. Try to use some of the phrases of contrast from the previous activity.
Quiz
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Comments
18/01/2021
points
Social media can be very useful when it’s used to post information , knowledge e.t.c. However to share private life activities people have to think twice.
Here some party members troll or flame others who are opponents like author , journalist in the field of politics.
Making fun of someones might hurt their feelings.
Social media is most effective on young people especially during the formation of their personality.
People should know to turn phones off and to focus on the lived moment. ” Carpe Diem” No need for fear of missing out online. It’s possible to find a time else.
I’m not interested the life of others even they are my friends. Something must be private.
“Fake happiness” is very common on social media.
"Social media- addicted" person is a new profile of illness . I heard that a hospital in İstanbul opened a department to treat this kind of people.
Last word, social media is like electricity it might be beneficial or harmful.It depends on how we use it.
P.S.
I’ve just read that in the medieval a big event happens here in May and a country in Europe hears it after 40 days.
• (135) different countries means Premier Skills English is going to be “United Nations” platform-:)
18/01/2021 17:45
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
Social media can be very useful when it’s used to post information , knowledge e.t.c. However to share private life activities people have to think twice.
Here some party members troll or flame others who are opponents like author , journalist in the field of politics.
Making fun of someones might hurt their feelings.
Social media is most effective on young people especially during the formation of their personality.
People should know to turn phones off and to focus on the lived moment. ” Carpe Diem” No need for fear of missing out online. It’s possible to find a time else.
I’m not interested the life of others even they are my friends. Something must be private.
“Fake happiness” is very common on social media.
"Social media- addicted" person is a new profile of illness . I heard that a hospital in İstanbul opened a department to treat this kind of people.
Last word, social media is like electricity it might be beneficial or harmful.It depends on how we use it.
P.S.
I’ve just read that in the medieval a big event happens here in May and a country in Europe hears it after 40 days.
• (135) different countries means Premier Skills English is going to be “United Nations” platform-:)
23/05/2020
points
I think this week's football phrase is ( VAR ) Video Assistant Referee
23/05/2020 14:37
Manchester United
6539
I think this week's football phrase is ( VAR ) Video Assistant Referee
10/01/2018
points
Correct me.
Hi teacher Jack & teacher Rich!
Hi everybody! Hope all of you are having a great time here on the PSE and in the real world as well!!
Thanks for this lovely podcast.
The benefits of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want are: It saves time and no effort is needed.
The advantages of always being connected through technology are: You will get the news instantly as they occur, and you will always be in touch with friends and family.
The disadvantages are: you will be obsessed by technology. Some people can't wait to know what's going on. They almost can't stop themselves from refreshing their FB or Twitter accounts every 5 minutes and that will negatively affect their health. Also staying on line most of the time will make you less productive unless your job requires that.
Football phrases, the "**** **** **********"
10/01/2018 20:51
Liverpool
2903
Correct me.
Hi teacher Jack & teacher Rich!
Hi everybody! Hope all of you are having a great time here on the PSE and in the real world as well!!
Thanks for this lovely podcast.
The benefits of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want are: It saves time and no effort is needed.
The advantages of always being connected through technology are: You will get the news instantly as they occur, and you will always be in touch with friends and family.
The disadvantages are: you will be obsessed by technology. Some people can't wait to know what's going on. They almost can't stop themselves from refreshing their FB or Twitter accounts every 5 minutes and that will negatively affect their health. Also staying on line most of the time will make you less productive unless your job requires that.
Football phrases, the "**** **** **********"
09/01/2018
points
Thanks to modern technology, I can discuss work stuff with my colleagues or talk about football with my friends even if we are not together. but with continuous message pushing，I find myself being not able to focus my attention on my work.
This week's phrase is ****-**** **********.
09/01/2018 15:54
Chelsea
337
Thanks to modern technology, I can discuss work stuff with my colleagues or talk about football with my friends even if we are not together. but with continuous message pushing，I find myself being not able to focus my attention on my work.
This week's phrase is ****-**** **********.
10/01/2018
points
Technology definitely has both benefits and drawbacks. Good work on the football phrase!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
10/01/2018 08:19
Liverpool
594
Technology definitely has both benefits and drawbacks. Good work on the football phrase!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
09/01/2018
points
I think that the phrase is a ‘****-**** **********’
09/01/2018 11:04
Watford
4417
I think that the phrase is a ‘****-**** **********’
09/01/2018
points
Well done Liubomyr!
09/01/2018 11:21
Arsenal
560
Well done Liubomyr!
08/01/2018
points
This week's phrase is ****-**** **********.
Correct me,
I skype every day with my girlfriend, she lives in Manchester and we can be in touch only on skype and of course in person when she come to my city.
I think social media is useful if you using it in right way.
08/01/2018 23:51
Arsenal
1449
This week's phrase is ****-**** **********.
Correct me,
I skype every day with my girlfriend, she lives in Manchester and we can be in touch only on skype and of course in person when she come to my city.
I think social media is useful if you using it in right way.
09/01/2018
points
Hi Emir Emir Veličanstveni
Here are a few corrections. I have highlighted some mistakes and then left you some hints so you can correct yourself.
I skype every day with my girlfriend, she lives in Manchester and we can be in touch only on skype and of course in person when she come to my city.
I think social media is useful if you using it in right way.
Can you correct your mistakes yourself now? Or perhaps someone else could?
Thanks
Jack - The Premier Skills English team
09/01/2018 09:49
Arsenal
560
Hi Emir Emir Veličanstveni
Here are a few corrections. I have highlighted some mistakes and then left you some hints so you can correct yourself.
I skype every day with my girlfriend, she lives in Manchester and we can be in touch only on skype and of course in person when she come to my city.
I think social media is useful if you using it in right way.
Can you correct your mistakes yourself now? Or perhaps someone else could?
Thanks
Jack - The Premier Skills English team
15/01/2018
points
I skype every day with my girlfriend, she lives in Manchester and we can stay in touch only on skype and of course in person when she comes to my city.
I think social media is useful if you use it in right way.
I have corrected my mistakes, thank you for the tips.
15/01/2018 19:25
Arsenal
1449
I skype every day with my girlfriend, she lives in Manchester and we can stay in touch only on skype and of course in person when she comes to my city.
I think social media is useful if you use it in right way.
I have corrected my mistakes, thank you for the tips.
15/01/2018
points
You're welcome!
15/01/2018 21:08
Arsenal
560
You're welcome!
08/01/2018
points
I think the advantages of being connected whenever and wherever you want is you can find your old friends, you can find their place and meet each other, but its drawbacks is blackmails! you put your private information (like your pictures, your phone Number (maybe), your local address, etc. ) on your page and it might somebody hacks you (for example a blackmailer) and sent a message to you and request a lot of money not to circulate those information.
I think the football phrase is "****-****".
What are the drawbacks of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want?
Can you think of two advantages and two disadvantages?
08/01/2018 17:07
Arsenal
53
I think the advantages of being connected whenever and wherever you want is you can find your old friends, you can find their place and meet each other, but its drawbacks is blackmails! you put your private information (like your pictures, your phone Number (maybe), your local address, etc. ) on your page and it might somebody hacks you (for example a blackmailer) and sent a message to you and request a lot of money not to circulate those information.
I think the football phrase is "****-****".
What are the drawbacks of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want?
Can you think of two advantages and two disadvantages?
08/01/2018
points
Hi Farshidcivil
That is a problem. I almost fell for a phishing scam this week. You are almost there with the football phrase, but there is one more word.
Jack - The Premier Skills English team
08/01/2018 19:17
Arsenal
560
Hi Farshidcivil
That is a problem. I almost fell for a phishing scam this week. You are almost there with the football phrase, but there is one more word.
Jack - The Premier Skills English team
08/01/2018
points
The benefits of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want is enormous especially when you consider the economic importance. I am having my National service with a multinational and we are able to make Skype calls to persons in other parts of the world that is meetings, conferences, Town Halls and serminar among others.
08/01/2018 16:59
Manchester United
4779
The benefits of being able to contact people whenever and wherever you want is enormous especially when you consider the economic importance. I am having my National service with a multinational and we are able to make Skype calls to persons in other parts of the world that is meetings, conferences, Town Halls and serminar among others.
08/01/2018
points
Always being connected is great issue. In Algeria there is a lots of worry about teenagers being missed off reality. Some newsmakers point out the danger of being addicted in particular to an App called Blue Whale which is the death cause of youngsters through the country. This scoops are not always matching any evidence routine but they are shared with a lot of citizens and even politic staff who ask Law enforcement to be applied.
football phrase, monitering devices which are put on the ball to detect if it passes the goal line.
08/01/2018 15:45
Manchester City
3988
Always being connected is great issue. In Algeria there is a lots of worry about teenagers being missed off reality. Some newsmakers point out the danger of being addicted in particular to an App called Blue Whale which is the death cause of youngsters through the country. This scoops are not always matching any evidence routine but they are shared with a lot of citizens and even politic staff who ask Law enforcement to be applied.
football phrase, monitering devices which are put on the ball to detect if it passes the goal line.
08/01/2018
points
Disadvantages of staying connected are that you might be tired to be online because beep is everywhere and you might be trolled and flamed by unknown people. On the other hand, you can connect anytime with people you love during your traveling, social media also helps in work.
08/01/2018 15:38
Arsenal
243
Disadvantages of staying connected are that you might be tired to be online because beep is everywhere and you might be trolled and flamed by unknown people. On the other hand, you can connect anytime with people you love during your traveling, social media also helps in work.
07/01/2018
points
***-****
07/01/2018 09:05
Liverpool
35
***-****
07/01/2018
points
I sometimes have a meeting using Skype. It’s very convenient.
So I think the advantage is to communicate with someone far away as if we are the same place.
Conversely, the disadvantage might be to finish a job or something without meeting face to face.
I guess this week’s football phrase is ****-**** ***********.
07/01/2018 05:15
Liverpool
38
I sometimes have a meeting using Skype. It’s very convenient.
So I think the advantage is to communicate with someone far away as if we are the same place.
Conversely, the disadvantage might be to finish a job or something without meeting face to face.
I guess this week’s football phrase is ****-**** ***********.
08/01/2018
points
Well done Haruyuki!
08/01/2018 13:52
Arsenal
560
Well done Haruyuki!
06/01/2018
points
This is ****-**** system
06/01/2018 22:30
Liverpool
35
This is ****-**** system
08/01/2018
points
Almost there Macieja!
08/01/2018 13:54
Arsenal
560
Almost there Macieja!
06/01/2018
points
This week's phrase is ****-**** **********. I believe it's a better assistant to referees as some actions are very swift and might out with the referee to make an I'll judgement.
06/01/2018 09:06
Manchester United
4779
This week's phrase is ****-**** **********. I believe it's a better assistant to referees as some actions are very swift and might out with the referee to make an I'll judgement.
08/01/2018
points
Well done Kwesimanifest!
08/01/2018 13:53
Arsenal
560
Well done Kwesimanifest!
06/01/2018
points
The football phrase is "Hawk Eye"
06/01/2018 08:55
Arsenal
738
The football phrase is "Hawk Eye"
08/01/2018
points
That sounds very cool, but it's not the phrase we're looking for.
08/01/2018 13:53
Arsenal
560
That sounds very cool, but it's not the phrase we're looking for.