This is an All Ears English podcast episode 28.
Expand your English vocabulary by focusing on what you like.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast where you'll finally get real native English conversation and fluency for business and life.
We believe in connection, not perfection, when it comes to learning English.
Now here are your hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Boston and New York City, USA.
Hey.
How can you immerse yourself in English while doing the hobbies that you love?
Today, get three awesome examples from Lindsay and Michelle on how to do it.
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Hey, Michelle, how you doing?
What's going on over there in New York for you?
Hey, Lindsay, I'm good.
I'm good.
Not too much.
Just enjoying the day.
New York is great.
How are you?
Awesome.
I'm so excited to talk with you today because we're talking about such an important thing for our listeners.
It's how we can throw our textbooks away.
All right.
Throw the classroom experience away and learn in a whole new way for our listeners.
Okay.
I love it.
I love finding new ways to learn.
So, Lindsay, what do we want to tell our listeners?
What way to learn are we focusing?
All right.
Well, we want you to focus on your interests.
I mean, we know that you guys are used to memorizing dialogues and you're used to repeating things and learning grammar, but that stuff is boring and that's not how we learn here at All Ears English.
Right, Michelle?
No, no, no.
Exactly.
Yeah.
You want to focus in a way that excites you.
Yes.
I love it.
If you're not interested, you're not going to learn as well.
Exactly.
So let's give our listeners some very clear examples of what that means.
Okay.
You know, so for example, our listeners know that I spent a year and a half in Japan, in Tokyo.
All right.
And when I was there, it didn't really work for me, but it would have worked if I stuck with it.
I actually joined a karate, in Japanese they say karate, right?
I would have.
I joined a karate school and I actually went to the lessons that were given in Japanese.
So I learned karate in Japan in Japanese.
And it did help me pick up on some phrases for sure.
Okay, that is so cool, Lindsay.
That is like a really creative idea.
I bet that was a lot of fun.
Yeah, for sure.
I mean what's an example of an interest of yours Michelle, that you have tried to learn in another language, or you might try to do it in the future.
Well, if I were living abroad right now and I wanted to learn something, I might try doing it through music, right?
Taking a music class.
Yes.
Or cooking.
I have done cooking classes abroad.
You have.
I know.
Where have you gone?
What have you done?
What kind of food did you learn to cook?
I did a cooking class in Tokyo and I did one in Florence in Italy.
That is so cool.
What did you learn to cook in Tokyo?
I'm curious because you know I love Japanese food.
It was a sushi making class.
So we learned like, you know, how to make the rolls and different kinds of sushi.
And in Florence, we made pasta and I think we made tiramisu.
Oh my gosh, you're making me hungry.
Okay.
It was so cool.
I mean.
So a cooking class, that's something.
Maybe I'm not living abroad right now, but when I do travel, we usually like to try and take a cooking class, because We love food.
We're not such great cooks, but it's just a different kind.
It's just a different thing to do when you travel.
It's a fun thing.
Oh, that's so cool.
You know, in the last, earlier today, when we were recording for our group conversation episodes, we actually talked about this.
We And you know the other thing you can do, guys even if you're not in an English speaking country, you can take a dish that you love and translate the ingredients into English and then cook in English.
Like do the instructions in English, do it all in English.
So you can create an evening in English cooking your favorite food.
I mean, maybe you're cooking burgers and fries.
It's American culture, right?
Or fish and chips for British culture or something, but you can do it in English.
Yeah.
Right, right, right.
So that's definitely a fun thing.
So guys, you know, the tip is basically don't, you know, don't just sit with your book.
No, don't.
Try and think of a hobby that you have or a hobby you would like to have, something that you're curious about and learn through that.
Do an activity.
Exactly.
And I'll give you guys one more example before we finish up today.
Again, going back to my life in Tokyo, I had a friend who also loves coffee.
So I'm not really that into tea.
I know tea is a big deal in Asia, but actually coffee is a big deal in Japan too.
And I didn't know that before I went there.
So So we were pursuing our hobby, but we are also ordering in Japanese.
These are very old cafes, very traditional with the traditional pour over Japanese coffee.
And it was such cultural immersion.
And I was doing what I loved, but I was learning the language at the same time.
And I was with my friend.
It was so cool.
Oh, how awesome.
I love that.
Very cool, Lindsay.
Thanks for sharing.
Yeah.
So guys, we want you to have stories like this too.
If you have them already, share them on the blog.
You know, come back to allersenglishcom, find episode 28 and share your story.
But go out and do it and make sure you follow Allers English, because we publish a ton.
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Right, Michelle?
Yes, definitely.
Lindsay, this was so much fun and I will talk to you in the next one.
Okay.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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See you next time.
