This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace.
You know when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself?
Talking to someone who understands can really help.
But who is that person?
How do you find them?
Where do you even start?
Talkspace. Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need.
With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare.
You'll meet on your schedule, wherever you feel most at ease.
If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner or just need a little extra one -on -one support, Talkspace is here for you.
Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers, and most insured members have a $0 copay.
No insurance? No problem.
Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code SPACE80 when you go to Talkspace .com.
Match with a licensed therapist today at Talkspace .com.
Save $80 with code SPACE80 at Talkspace .com.
your current level and hopefully even progress by expanding your vocabulary, building your confidence and starting to feel more like yourself when communicating in English.
I release episodes every day of the working week from Monday to Friday.
And occasionally, I have been known to release a weekend episode as well.
So make sure you stay tuned for those.
and if you'd like access to all the vocabulary stored in our vocabulary database with the words, definitions and example sentences then you can for free by accessing the Vocabulary Vault.
I'll leave a link in the show notes.
Now let's start as we always do with a snapshot of what's to come.
Listen closely. When Jacob tried to catch the tennis ball, his poor coordination caused him to miss completely and it hit the ground with a loud thud.
You need to squeeze the racket handle more firmly and swing more forcefully, his coach explained in a matter -of -fact tone.
Jacob nodded, determined to improve his technique before the next ball came his way.
OK, let's start with the noun THUD.
THUD. T -H -U -D. A THUD.
A THUD is a sound or action of a heavy object falling with a dull sound.
THUD. THUD. For example, if I dropped a box box onto a carpeted floor, there would be a definite thud.
And anyone downstairs would hear the thud and wonder what on earth has just happened.
They would wonder if it was a box or if it was a person, because when a person falls to the ground, there is usually a thud.
Here's an example sentence.
I heard a thud when the book fell off the shelf.
All right, quite simple.
Let's move on to the next noun and it is coordination.
Coordination. We spell coordination C -O -O -R -D -I -N -A -T -I -O -N.
Co -o -r -d -i -na -tion.
coordination coordination is the ability to move different parts of your body together smoothly if you want to be a dancer then you need to have good coordination in fact if you want to do anything physical a sport for example then you'll have to have good coordination my sons Sons are both doing gymnastics and part of the reason for sending them to gymnastics was so they build strength, physical confidence and coordination.
Because when you learn to do the different tricks with your body, you have to be able to coordinate your entire body in order to do the flips and the handstands and all the other things you can do in gymnastics.
gymnastics. Especially my youngest son, he lacks coordination.
He likes to run forward while looking behind him and he trips over his own feet.
He's always bumping himself and hurting himself because he lacks coordination.
But he is only four.
I'm sure that many four -year -olds lack coordination.
Here's an example sentence.
Good coordination helps when playing sports.
balls. Do you have good coordination?
Next, we have the adjective matter of fact, matter of fact.
We spell this M -A -T -T -E -R hyphen of, O -F, hyphen fact, F -A -C -T, matter of fact.
Now, you'll notice the R in matter, which normally would be silent, actually comes into play here because the following word starts with a vowel sound of, so we hear matter of, matter of, matter of fact, matter of fact.
If something is described in a matter of fact way, then it's described in a very neutral and unemotional way.
For example, it would be very odd for the mother of a child who's just been involved in a terrible incident to describe what happened in a matter -of -fact way.
That would be unusual.
If your child has just been involved in an incident and they're injured or they're emotionally upset and you as the mother are explaining what happened, you're going to be emotional.
You're going to have a lot of bias and emotion and you're going to be mostly concerned and focused on your child and the experience your child had.
It's unlikely that you will describe things in a matter -of -fact way.
The police officer who attended the scene of the incident will describe the scene in a matter -of - fact way.
They will describe it in a way that's neutral and unemotional.
So here's an example or sentence.
She gave a matter of fact account of the accident.
Next, we have the adverb forcefully.
Forcefully. We spell this F -O -R -C -E -F -U -L -L -Y.
Forcefully. Forcefully means to do something with with strong, powerful motion or energy.
You do it forcefully.
Here's an example sentence.
I had to push the old door forcefully to open it.
What was the last thing you did forcefully?
We are currently decorating our home.
So there's a lot of DIY going on.
So I often have to do things forcefully, like opening old paint cans where the paint has kind of gone hard around the lid and around the rim and it's sealed the paint can shut.
And I have to forcefully shove the screwdriver in and force the thing open.
And then yesterday I was taking down a curtain pole and some shelves and I really struggled to get some of the screws out.
So I had to put down the electric screwdriver that I was trying to use to make the job quick.
And I had to get my manual screwdriver and forcefully turn the screws to try and loosen them so that I could then use the electric screwdriver and make the job a quick job.
Next, we have the verb squeeze.
Squeeze. Squeeze. We spell this S -Q -U -E -E -Z -E.
Squeeze. To squeeze is to press something firmly, usually with your hand.
You squeeze it. For example, he squeezed the lemon to get fresh fresh juice.
Mmm. That reminds me of a dish that I love cooking with butter beans and artichoke hearts.
Now, it doesn't sound that tasty, but I promise you, cooked with a bit of onion and garlic and then some rosemary and at the end, a squeeze of lemon. Oh, this creamy, delicious citrus Citrus bean dish is one of my favourites and I quite enjoy at the end just squeezing the lemon apart from when a pip was hiding in the lemon and as you squeeze it the pip falls into the pan and you're like, oh no, now I'm gonna have to dig out that pip.
Okay, so that's our five.
Let's do a quick recap.
We started with the noun thud, which is a sound or action of a heavy object falling with a dull sound.
Thud. Then we had the noun coordination, which is that ability to move different parts of your body all together smoothly.
Coordination. We had the adjective perspective.
Matter of fact. Matter of fact.
This is describing something in a neutral or unemotional way.
Matter of fact. We had the adverb forcefully, to do something with strong, powerful energy or motion.
Forcefully. And we had the verb squeeze, which is to press something firmly, usually with your hand.
Squeeze. Alright. Now it's time for you to raise your voice and repeat after me.
Thud. Thud. Coordination.
Coordination. Matter of Matter of fact.
Matter of fact. Forcefully.
Forcefully. Squeeze.
Squeeze. Very good.
If If I do something with strong, powerful energy, what adverb could we use to describe how I'm doing this thing?
Forcefully. Very good.
And to be good at sport or to be a good dancer, I need to be able to move the different parts of my body together smoothly.
What do I need? Coordination.
Very good. If I don't have coordination, then you might hear a very dull sound as I hit the ground.
What thing might we hear?
A thud. Yes, I might produce a thud as I fall to the ground with my lack of coordination.
If I'm describing to you the incident of me falling down and hitting the ground with a thud, and I describe this situation in a neutral and unemotional way, what adjective would you use to describe how I describe the incident?
Matter of fact. Very good.
Finally, what do I need to do to the lemon to get the lemon juice out?
out. I need to squeeze it.
Yes, I press it firmly.
I squeeze it. Very good.
OK, now I'd like you to listen to the snapshot once more.
When Jacob tried to catch the tennis ball, his poor coordination caused him to miss completely and it hit the ground with a loud thud.
You You need to squeeze the racket handle more firmly and swing more forcefully, his coach explained in a matter -of -fact tone.
Jacob nodded, determined to improve his technique before the next ball came his way.
Now I'd like you to listen out for the target vocabulary as we head into Storytime.
This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace.
You know when you're really stressed or not feeling so great about your life or about yourself?
Talking to someone who understands can really help.
But who is that person?
How do you find them?
Where do you even start?
Talkspace. Talkspace makes it easy to get the support you need.
With Talkspace, you can go online, answer a few questions about your preferences, and be matched with a therapist. And because you'll meet your therapist online, you don't have to take time off work or arrange childcare.
You'll meet on your schedule, wherever you feel most at ease.
If you're depressed, stressed, struggling with a relationship, or if you want some counseling for you and your partner, or just need a little extra one -on -one support.
Talkspace is here for you.
Plus, Talkspace works with most major insurers, and most insured members have a $0 copay.
No insurance? No problem.
Now get $80 off of your first month with promo code SPACE80 when you go to Talkspace .com.
Match with a licensed therapist today at Talkspace .com.
Save $80 with code SPACE80 at Talkspace .com.
Corey stared at the lump of grey clay on the wheel in front of him.
Around the pottery studio, other students were already shaping elegant bowls and vases.
Their hands moved smoothly over the spinning clay, creating perfect curves.
Corey's hands, however, felt like they belonged to someone else entirely.
highly. Right then, everyone, called out Mrs Zoo, the pottery teacher.
Remember to keep your hands steady and let the clay guide you.
Corrie tried to follow her instructions.
He squeezed the clay gently, just as she had shown them.
But instead of rising into a graceful shape, the clay collapsed lapsed sideways, creating a wonky mess on the wheel.
Don't worry, said Mrs. Zoo, appearing beside him with a matter -of -fact tone.
It takes practice. Your coordination will improve with time, Corey nodded, but he wasn't convinced.
All his life, he had struggled with activities that required smooth movement.
At school, he was always the last to be picked for the sports teams. Dancing lessons had been a disaster.
Even simple tasks like tying shoelaces had taken him much longer to master than other children.
But pottery was different.
His girlfriend, Patty, had bought him the classes for his birthday saying it might help him relax.
She knew how frustrated he got with his clumsy hands.
Corrie pressed the clay down and started again.
This time he tried to move more slowly.
He placed his hands on either side of the spinning lump and applied gentle pressure.
For a moment it seemed to be working.
The clay began to rise.
Then disaster struck.
His left hand moved too forcefully and the clay shot sideways off the wheel, landing with a wet thud on the floor.
Oh no! Corey exclaimed, his face turning red.
The other students looked over and he felt embarrassed.
A woman sitting at the next wheel smiled kindly.
I did exactly the same thing in my first class, she said.
The clay went flying and hit the wall behind me.
Corey felt slightly better.
Mrs Zoo helped him put fresh clay on the wheel.
The secret, she explained, is not to fight the clay.
Work with it, not against it.
Corey took a deep breath.
This time, instead of trying to control everything, he let his hands follow the clay's natural movement.
Slowly, very slowly, something that looked almost like a small pot began to form.
It wasn't perfect. It was wonky and uneven with one side higher than the other, but it was his.
Corey couldn't help but smile as he looked at his lopsided creation.
By the end of the class, Corey had made three small, peculiar -shaped pots.
As he walked down the street towards home, carrying his wonky pottery carefully in a bag, he felt something he hadn't experienced in years.
Pride in making something with his own hands.
Maybe coordination wasn't just about being naturally graceful.
Perhaps it was also about patience, practice and learning to work with what you had.
add. And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope you enjoyed it and I certainly hope to have your ears back here again tomorrow.
Until then, take very good care and goodbye.
