Hello and welcome to a real conversation between two native English speakers.
I'm Liz Waid and this is Adam Navis.
Hi Adam.
Hello Liz.
And we are here together to well, I mean not together together but we're here on this video or podcast or whatever you're listening to, to have a conversation about the Spotlight English program Learning More at the Human Library.
And if you have not had a chance to listen to that program, it's on our website where you can read along with the words and listen.
And that is at www.spotlightenglish.com.
Or you can also check out the program on YouTube, where you watch a video as you follow the words and listen to the program.
So there's a couple different ways to check that out.
And we also have a no music version and an advanced version, depending on what program you're more comfortable with.
And I also want to give a little plug.
If you want to get that script as a PDF that you can like, mark up and highlight and Take your own notes on, we have two ways for you to do that, and one is a YouTube membership, which We have four different levels of membership and, starting at the advanced level, you can get PDF scripts of whatever programs you would like, and that is a really great way also to support us, to get extra content and to have your name in every single video that we make, as when you're a member,
I think it's pretty cool.
It is pretty cool.
And the other thing that's pretty cool is if you just want a easy way to practice every week and you want a reminder sent to you, we have a very great program where you can just get the scripts delivered to you.
It's a subscription program.
You get the script for the program every Monday and a link to the audio.
We send it directly to your email and it's only a dollar per week.
So you can sign up for that on our website.
It's called Scripts by Email.
It's right there on a little button there.
I think that is a really cool way to make sure that you never miss a program and you always have a script.
It's yours to keep forever.
Yeah, to follow along.
Yeah, so anyway uh, maybe you've you paused this video and you've gone to listen to the program and now you're here again and we want to discuss this program with you.
So uh, learning more at the human library uh, this is actually a program uh, that i talked to our writer, dan chrisman about, because i saw a sort of um maybe you don't even know this story, adam um, you know, i saw this like little meme on facebook and it was like in denmark there's a place where people can go and they learn from each other, and it was like a little picture and i was like this seems really cool.
But you know, sometimes on facebook You see things and you're like that can't be true.
Or that's just a warm, fuzzy story.
And so I kind of filed it away for an idea just to look at later.
And when I was able to look at it later, I found out it actually was real.
It's a real thing.
And so I talked to our writer about it, our writer Dan Christman.
And I encouraged him to write a program about it.
And I love this program.
Yeah.
It's a really... It's a really... It's a different kind of idea.
The kind of thing that when you read, When I listened to the program, when I read the script, I thought
Well, this is obvious, but it was brand new, a brand new idea.
But it felt like an idea that just why hasn't someone done this before?
Yeah, I had the exact same thought like oh, this was invented, like I forget what year it was, but only like 10 years ago.
Yeah.
What?
Yeah.
So let's talk about people.
If you if you haven't listened to it, people might be thinking, what is a human library?
That could be a little creepy.
Well, and it's a sort of a metaphor, right?
So it's really difficult if you're just learning a language.
It's like a step above normal speaking.
Right.
Right.
So a library is a place where you would go and you would borrow books or music or other.
I mean libraries are changing, but traditionally they included books, and the scripts often mention people as books.
So human books, human books, that's right, human books.
Well, of course, a book has information in it right, we go to learn, we go to engage with new ideas or to hear interesting stories.
Um, so a human library would be a place with that same thing, right?
And that's what I think is exciting about this.
And we can go into the story details of how it developed.
But what is exciting is to think of people as something to learn from.
And that seems like such a basic idea.
Right.
But we don't always do that.
Yeah.
I mean, if I... Okay, let's say that...
I disagree with my neighbor about something, or I don't even know what I would disagree with my neighbor about there.
She's great.
But so if I disagree with my neighbor about something, you know I have a close relationship with her.
I live very near to her.
We live in the same area.
So you probably have a lot of interaction.
Just, hey, good morning.
You know right, exactly.
So it might be awkward or very um uncomfortable for me to ask her about like, why do you believe this thing or why do you act this way?
Um, uh and uh.
I this is a great way because like, the human library is a great idea, because maybe maybe, she is an alcoholic.
I don't know.
That is one of the that's one of the human books that you can borrow from a human library.
Right.
So if I feel awkward or uncomfortable talking to her about alcoholism, I but I really want to know more.
I can go to the human library maybe ask this person, this human book, questions that I have or things that I want to say.
And that person can help me learn more about maybe that condition or their life and really open my eyes to like a way that I can talk to my neighbor in a better way.
Yeah.
I think, I think, um, If this were for my children, they would call it human Google, right?
Human search.
Yeah, let's bring the human library into the 21st century.
Yeah, so think about it like that.
If you had a question about something, you can go and search it on the internet, but you could also spend 30 minutes talking to a person who had experience with that and how valuable that would be.
And as I was thinking about this, it made me think of like what I, if I was going to be a book.
Yeah.
If you were going to be a book.
If I was going to be a book.
Okay.
Were you thinking about it if you were going to check out a book?
Yeah, I was.
Oh, okay.
So if I was going to be a book, I think there are some things like we...
It wasn't necessarily easy for us to have children.
So that's a story that I would be comfortable telling to people.
And talking about that if people had questions.
Because that's a subject that not everybody feels comfortable talking about.
But people have a lot of questions.
And there's a lot of emotions involved.
So I think that would be interesting to people.
What kind of book would you want to be or check out?
You can answer it.
I don't know.
I've actually been thinking.
I've been working on this program um, because I'm producing it, and I've been thinking about that as I'm producing it.
I don't, I don't know if I have a specific story to tell.
I do.
I have mentioned this before that um like in these conversations that I was hit by a car when I was 15.
And so I do have, um, my hip, so top of my leg, doesn't work correctly.
I can still walk around and people don't notice it.
But it is, I think this is a strong label, but it is a form of disability for me.
But I don't think my disability story is maybe as important as a person with disability you could see hmm, I don't know.
Well, it'd be interesting for you to have a conversation about that with someone whose ability was more.
Maybe I could have a conversation with a person.
I might check out a human book of a person who has a hidden disability.
That might be interesting.
But I think yeah, I mean, there's lots of people I would want to check out, I think.
I would have to look at the list because, like of course you know, human libraries just like any library, right?
They have a different selection of books depending on where you go.
So if you're at a human library in Denmark, you're going to have a different selection of human books than if you're in california in the united states.
Right, that will be a completely different selection of books.
Well, and one of the things i love about libraries, because i can go to a library, an actual library with actual books, and i can go to my favorite books or my favorite and and i know i'll like them.
But i also like kind of wandering up and down, You know, being like oh, I'd never considered that book and take it and I don't know, maybe I'll read it, maybe I'll flip through it, maybe I won't.
But at the human library.
It would be also interesting to see.
Oh, I never considered talking to a person from Angola.
Yeah i, i'm just picking that.
Yeah, if you're from angola and you're watching this video, leave a comment.
Yeah yeah exactly, but that's a good thing.
In fact, if you're watching this video um, please leave a comment about what, what human book you might be, or what human book you would check out, or both, maybe we'll.
We'll have to have a spotlight meetup, a spotlight human book.
Yeah, meet up.
If you join, if you're a youtube member, we'll have a, a spotlight.
I think that would be really awesome.
Ask any question to.
Yeah, that would be, that would be fun.
A lot of work but uh, to put together, but a lot of fun as well.
I'm still waiting for the spotlight english movie night that we talked about in that live live show.
Spotlight english movie night.
Oh man, if there were only more time in the world, more time in each day.
Yeah exactly um Anyway, but I would love to hear what people think about this program and especially what kind of book you think, what story do you have that people need to hear?
And also, what story would you want to read from other people?
Um, be sure to check out this program as an advanced program or a no music program or uh, our classic program.
If you haven't already, it is really good.
I have really, really enjoyed learning so much about this program and how the human library began and how it actually is changing people's lives.
So and the the program does give some great like concrete insights tips, some real tips that you can use, even if you don't have a human library near you to take advantage of.
So i really encourage you to check out that program again.
It's on our website at wwwspotlightenglishcom, it is on youtube, it is wherever you get your podcasts And yeah, check us out on Facebook Instagram Twitter, wherever you get your social media fix.
And until next time, listen, watch, practice, and learn.
Spotlight out.
