This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 1258.
Upgrade your English with one special word.
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We believe in connection, not perfection.
With your American host, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Los Angeles and New York City today.
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Do you always jump to make upgrades in your life?
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Hey, Michelle, how you doing today?
What's up?
Hey, Lindsay.
Yeah, I am... You know, I'm pretty good.
To be honest, I was on the way home to record with you and I got stuck.
You know, it's quite a bit of a walk from the train to my apartment.
And, of course...
It rained for like a good five minutes, like really, really hard.
I guess you would call that a sun shower.
It stayed sunny.
And it wasn't supposed to rain until much later.
So I didn't bring my umbrella.
I feel like this is what I talk about all the time.
Like this happened to me.
I was actually just looking and this happened in a pretty recent episode, I'm pretty sure.
Yeah, this always happens to you, Michelle.
Why?
I don't know.
I'm usually pretty prepared, but this was ridiculous.
Like it was, you know, even two seconds before I had checked on my phone and I was checking like when is the rain going to start?
And it said like...
It's 11pm or something like that.
And I was like, Oh, I'm in the clear.
And then, um, yeah, instead, it started right on my wall.
And then it stopped.
So like, I just got like, drenched enough.
Yeah.
So that it's all drenched.
I love that word, by the way.
That's a good one.
Right.
That gives an image of like, yeah, that it was not just a little bit wet, but yeah, pretty.
I had to change my clothes.
Oh, for sure.
I mean, it's so different.
I just got off a plane today from LA this morning.
I did a red eye out here to Boston and I noticed immediately how humid it was in the air.
So I'm not surprised you got rained on.
You got downpoured on in New York because the East Coast is so humid here, right?
Definitely.
It definitely is.
But tomorrow it's going to go way, way, way down in temperature.
Yeah.
Yeah, I bet you heard about that.
Like, so it's going to be, it's going to be a rude awakening.
Oh, fall is here.
Not only fall, but this is going to be what winter is like.
Yeah.
Oh, but I love the fall.
I mean, I know you're not a winter person.
I'm not.
I mean I like winter because I like to ski, but the fall is so nice in New England and you know the Northeast.
It's beautiful.
I do like the fall.
You're going to go to Central Park all the time.
It'll be good.
Oh, it's going to be great.
It's going to be good.
But I have a question.
So, I mean, you're in L.A. currently.
Currently.
Would you say that it's an upgrade from Boston?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, that's so hard to say because in what way?
Right.
In terms of weather, definitely.
Right.
So I can say that.
I mean, every day that I've been in L.A., it's been sunny and hot.
I mean, like blue skies and sunny.
And I like that.
I like that.
But in other ways, there's been a lot of driving, which I'm not a big fan of.
Yeah.
I don't really like having a car, having to drive a car.
I don't like car culture or suburban culture that much.
I like city culture better.
I want to walk everywhere.
So in that way, it's kind of been a downgrade Interesting.
Interesting.
Yeah.
I definitely also prefer to walk everywhere.
I hardly drive anywhere.
And yeah, so I can definitely see what you mean there.
I mean, you know, I think just in general, like in living situations.
When I moved apartments a couple of years ago, it was definitely an upgrade in some ways.
Like I got more space, but a downgrade in amenities.
Like you know, in my old apartment I had like there was a gym and a pool, and not that I ever used the pool or the gym actually, but they were there and it was nice.
And but I did get more space.
So sometimes, you know, it's a trade off.
It's a trade off.
I mean, I can completely resonate with that, because I was just in Denver looking for an apartment, because now we're thinking of moving to Colorado instead of California.
Yeah, we're going to talk about this more, guys.
I'm going to share my journey of discovering where I belong.
Right.
This fall has been quite a whirlwind, but I understand what you're saying.
You do have to make trade offs.
We started the weekend thinking that we could get away with not having parking.
And then we sat down and assessed our lives.
And we realized that we like to hike and ski on the weekends.
And we're going to come back late.
And we need that parking lot.
I mean, we need that parking spot outside of our apartment building.
So...
Right.
This makes me think of the show House Hunters.
Oh, yeah.
Big time.
Yeah, there's always a trade-off, right?
Exactly.
They never get, like, exactly everything they want, right?
You have to pick and choose.
So guys, I don't know if you guys heard us throwing around this word upgrade and downgrade.
Actually,
But today we're going to talk about this word upgrade and what it means for our lives.
I wanted to do this episode because recently a student was talking to me about her living situation and said that her new place was a major upgrade.
And I just had to say, I mean, Lindsay, does that sound impressive to you to say major upgrade?
Yeah.
Oh, for sure.
Especially if you're talking to a student.
I mean, that's amazing, right?
If we were on the IELTS exam, if I was a speaking examiner, I would be super impressed with that.
I think that's really impressive.
And I think I'm glad we're talking about this today.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think it just sounded like I definitely my ears perked up.
And I was like, that was good.
I mean, like, of course, you know, we expect the best from our students.
But every and I know that this student is a strong student.
But just to hear that it's like, Oh, wow, that's Yeah, that's a good word.
Right.
So I wanted to because this impressed me so much.
I wanted to do an episode about it on the show.
Yeah, I love that.
And coming back to that point, it's the power of vocabulary.
That's why we do focus so much on this show, guys, on vocab.
Because when you can throw out a word like that, you're going to cause the native speaker in front of you to look at you a little bit differently.
Yeah.
Right?
At that point, the conversation options are limitless.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's so true.
And that's how I felt when this student used this.
So, yeah.
So we're going to get into it in a second.
But guys, before we do that, we need to ask you to do something.
Right, Lindsay?
Yeah, Michelle.
What is it, Michelle?
All right.
I am just... We have to do this, right?
You guys, you got to hit subscribe on your podcast player.
However you're listening to this podcast, you have to hit subscribe, right?
Yes.
Because if you...
Don't hit subscribe.
You are at risk for missing bonus episodes, right?
Different things.
You have to hit subscribe.
So...
I'm going to give you a second.
How about five seconds?
One, two, three, four, five.
Okay.
That was a really fast five seconds, but I hope you hit subscribe.
Okay.
So don't forget to do that.
So that's really important.
And now we can move on.
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All right, Michelle.
Excellent, guys.
So hopefully you did it.
So Michelle, what does this mean, upgrade?
Let's talk.
Let's break this word down a little bit so our listeners can use it.
What does it mean?
Basically, it means better, right?
So, you know, the word better, that's the kind of word you're going to get in your textbooks, right?
Something was better, something was worse, right?
So just instead of saying something is better, we can say it's an upgrade, right?
Okay.
So in that way, are we using it mostly as a noun or can we also use it as a verb, would you say?
Well, you can use it both ways as a verb or a noun.
So, like, for example, if we say, I need to upgrade my social life, right?
Yes.
That would be like, I need to make my social life better, right?
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah, exactly.
Or what's another example?
Yeah.
As a noun you could say like.
In the same vein, you could say my social life in New York City is an upgrade from my social life back home.
So that's as a noun.
I've heard it used in both ways, right?
A noun and a verb and both are totally natural and native.
So guys, we want to push you at your level.
You can use it in both ways, but try one first and then expand out to the other.
Yeah.
For sure.
And you guys, like also how my student, my student didn't even just say it was an upgrade.
My student said it was a major upgrade.
And that sounded, you know, you can, so you can intensify it, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's true.
And also we can show our pronunciation there.
A major upgrade.
I mean, that sounds interesting.
So guys, go for that intensifier.
I love it.
I love it.
And yeah, I do use this word, Michelle, I would say for sure.
I'm trying to think of the last time I used.
I mean, I guess, talking about changing cities in my mind, you know, now that we have decided to move to denver instead of la right, i'd say, for me, all around, in general, it is an upgrade because the lifestyle is just going to be better all around.
I'm going to be able to reach any part of the city um, you know, on a bike or on foot.
Whereas in LA, oh, it's so, so spread out that you would have to drive.
You get stuck in traffic.
You can't get across the city very easily.
Yeah.
Right, right, right.
And some people like that.
But for some people, that's not, you know, that's not what they're into.
And that's, I'm with you, Lindsay, on that.
But yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
But I think that this word upgrade is really good for connection because it really tells others your opinion on something and it's a little stronger than better, right.
I can just say, oh, I like it better.
Okay, fine.
But it's an upgrade.
It's kind of cool sounding.
And it's also very descriptive.
It kind of gives you know the listener an image in their head of something just being a lot better than what you had before.
Exactly, exactly.
But is there anything that comes to mind Michelle, about this word, like regarding culture, for example, for you, when we think about this?
Yeah, you know it's interesting because it got me thinking about how we're always looking for the next best thing, right?
How we're always looking for upgrades in our lives, right?
And then I started thinking like...
Is this constant search for an upgrade a good thing?
And especially with technology, right?
And you know what?
For fun, I Googled the word upgrade in Google News, and most of what I see is regarding technology.
That's so interesting.
That's a really interesting insight there, Michelle.
I feel like that's true, especially among millennials, right?
The millennial generation, I think, is really plugged into technology.
And I agree with you.
I think these two words to update something like update your software, update an app and upgrade are kind of.
They kind of go hand in hand.
They're similar, right?
So there is this constant search.
How can I upgrade my diet, upgrade my lifestyle, upgrade my friend circle?
It starts to commoditize everything.
Right, right, right.
And, like you know, like a cell phone, you know.
I mean Lindsay, how often do you upgrade your cell phone?
Oh, not much.
To be honest, as as little as i have to, i hate.
I don't like going to apple and getting a new phone.
I just don't want to do it.
I don't care, i don't know either.
I don't know why i get all panicked when i'm going because i feel like it's such a commitment, like you know.
Then you get used to it and then it's like, oh god, and then you have to make all these decisions how many gigabytes and gigabytes and whatever and like what am i going to?
Oh, so are you telling us Michelle, that you're still on the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 3?
No, no, no.
I'm actually – well, you know, I have an Android, but – Oh, that's right.
That's right.
Or a car if you need a car, right?
Like, you know, and the thing is with upgrades, it's a big decision.
And some of them are out of necessity, but some are out of pressure from like marketing or peer pressure.
So it's, you know, you got to think about why you're upgrading something.
Yeah, I think it really depends on what are you going to get out of it.
I always try to think if I'm going to make this investment, what are the dividends it's going to pay off?
How much mileage am I going to get off of this investment?
Right.
So for me, I also upgraded my computer, just a simple like Dell laptop last spring because I knew I live on my computer.
Right.
For all ears English all day, we're on the computer.
So I needed something fast.
But when it comes to the phone it's debatable whether that would really enhance my life and my work that much.
Right, right, right.
Yeah, exactly.
Same for me with the computer.
It was like, I needed that new computer.
Yeah, exactly.
But you know then you know.
So there's kind of this, you know, slightly negative way to look at upgrading if you do it too much.
But then there's the positive way.
You know, we can upgrade our lives, we can upgrade our relationships.
Our mindset, our physical activity routine, you know, and we should, in a way, always be looking for ways to improve ourselves and our lives in general.
But, you know, we got to find that balance, right?
I agree, Michelle.
I mean, lately I've started doing Orange Theory Fitness.
Do you know what that is?
Orange Theory?
Yeah.
Wow.
I'm impressed.
Yeah.
I just got into that.
And that was a major fitness upgrade for me.
And it's just it's really saying that we're doing something new and fresh.
That's all it is using this word.
Right.
And it does feel that way.
It feels fresh.
I had never done treadmill sprints before and I love them.
They're fantastic.
You know what I mean?
Because they really make you stronger.
They really get you going.
Otherwise, I just go to the gym and just kind of walk on the treadmill or jog.
I don't push myself.
Yeah.
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
Yeah.
I mean...
I think that's a really good example of a good upgrade.
And I think, like we said, it's a balance.
There shouldn't be too much pressure to constantly upgrade material things or your life.
At some point, you have to be kind of like, okay, be in the present, right?
Mm-hmm.
Be happy with your current situation.
And you know, if we're always looking for the next best thing, then you know we're kind of missing out on the good things of the moment.
So it's a lot to think about.
Yeah, there's a lot to think about here.
It's also who's around us in our lives and what do they value, right?
So if your partner really values technology upgrades, you might start to value that the same way.
So just kind of be careful who's around you and do you share the same values from the start?
Right.
Exactly.
So, you know, how does this apply to our listeners, you know, to upgrade your English, right?
Yeah.
So you know you want to form relationships with others who speak English.
So you know you can practice more.
What else can you do to upgrade your English?
So guys, just be, try to be confident, right?
Just let go of your fear.
I always like the idea of imagine the worst case scenario.
Like, what is the worst thing that could possibly happen if you took a chance with your English today, right?
What could it be?
People ignore you.
They look at you like you're weird.
That happens anyways, right?
Right, right, right.
So it's okay.
Yeah.
What else, Michelle?
Well, you know, your way of studying.
Maybe you need to upgrade your way of studying.
Maybe I don't know, perhaps the connected communicator would be a good way to upgrade your way of studying.
You know, to go across the country with Lindsay right.
Yes, that's right.
So you got to find a way that works for you and your particular way of studying.
You know, can you upgrade how many, you know, the kinds of vocab you're learning?
Can you watch more TV shows?
You know how do you push yourself to upgrade in English without putting too much pressure on yourself.
Yeah, I love it.
Those are good suggestions.
And guys to jump into that course.
The Connected Communicator that Michelle mentioned.
Just go over to the link allearsenglishcom slash connection.
That is the link.
All right.
All right, cool.
So Michelle, what is the takeaway today?
Well, you know, it's about, you know, is it good to upgrade all the time?
I think the pressure to upgrade is real.
And I wonder if there's a lot ingrained in the culture, right?
Yeah.
You know, this is a great way to say better in a unique and cool sounding way.
And guys, we also mentioned, I think we said the word downgrade.
So maybe we'll do, you know, that's of course the opposite.
So, but I wanted to focus on this idea of upgrading today.
So maybe we'll do a follow-up on downgrading another time, right?
Yeah.
But, you know, just think, how can you upgrade something in your life?
And I think that that's, you know, anything else, Lindsay?
No, I think that's great.
I think purely from a vocabulary perspective, guys, go for it.
Give this one a try.
You know, just go out there because, again, look what happened with Michelle's student.
It just totally changed the connection between you, Michelle, and your student.
So guys, give it a try.
And yeah, let us know what you think about upgrading when it comes to your life.
Today's episode is 1258.
You can come back to our blog at allearsenglish.com forward slash episodes.
Okay.
All right, Michelle.
This was fun.
I'll talk to you soon.
Take care.
Bye.
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