July 3, 2019 • 45 mins
I talk with Molly, from China, about her experience learning English.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to the English with Michael Podcast,
the best place to come to studyEnglish as a second language as
well as the practice, theBritish accent with me, Michael
Lavers as your teacher.
Michael (00:22):
Hello and welcome back to the English with Michael
podcast.
Today we have a very specialpodcast because I have a guest
joining me for an Englishinterview and it's very special
because the guest is mygirlfriend Molly.
(00:43):
Molly is from China and she'scurrently living with me in the
UK.
She is teaching Chinese in anEnglish school and a grammar
school and of course she'slearning English.
So she's here today to talk withme about her experience in the
(01:05):
UK learning English.
And maybe we'll talk a littlebit about China as well.
So I hope that you enjoy it.
Let me know what you think ifyou like this type of podcast.
So without any further delay,here is my talk with Molly.
I'm here today with mygirlfriend Molly, and this is a
(01:29):
special episode because she isfrom China, so she's also an
English learner.
So welcome to the podcast,Molly.
Molly (01:37):
Hello everyone.
I'm Molly, surprisingly fromChina.
Michael (01:42):
Say thank you very much for joining me.
So maybe could we start bytalking a little bit about where
you're from in China?
Molly (01:51):
Well, I'm from the south part it's a city which is called
Guanzhou, which is quite closeto Hong Kong.
So I speak Cantonese andMandarin as well.
Michael (02:04):
Okay, fantastic.
And how, I mean, of course Ialready know this, but I'm
asking you for the viewers orlisteners, but how long have you
been learning English now?
Molly (02:15):
Well, I think I started to learn English when I was in
the primary school.
Um, maybe, maybe it's when I'min year 3, so probably like
eight or nine years old.
Michael (02:33):
Okay.
So you've come a long way, comea long way.
Molly (02:37):
But you know the, uh, when we're learning English at
school, um, I didn't makee toomuch progress though.
So I think I made more progresswhen I was doing self studying.
Michael (02:50):
I see.
Okay.
That's what I was going to askyou.
So what is, what do you think ofthe difference between self
study versus study you did atschool?
How is it better?
How is it different?
What did you not like aboutschool for example?
Molly (03:06):
Well to be honest, I think the English when, when I
was starting at the schoolespecially like primary school
and secondary school.
They mostly prepare for theexams.
Like for example, we have a veryimportant exam in China, which
is called goukou, which is like,the final exam of like your
whole school year.
(03:27):
And then, it would decide thatif you can go to a good
university or just a so-soUniversity, so everyone has to
work very hard word.
And the English is one of thecompulsory subjects.
So yeah, the teachers do teachus lots of stuff, but it's based
on the textbooks and exams.
Michael (03:49):
oh, I see.
So there's lots of reading, lotsof grammar and maybe not much
practice, like no speakingpractice maybe.
Molly (03:56):
Um, so in the Chinese school we don't do lots of
speaking practice.
And then, so I came to UK twoyears ago, and then when it's,
when there was the first timewhen I come to UK, I feel a
little bit confused about, uh,the, the way of the British for
people speaking for example, um,I'm working in a British school.
(04:17):
And then all of my colleaguessee me, and say, are you all
right?
Um, how are you?
And then I used to say, I'mfine, thank you.
Because that is what we, what wewere taught when we are in the
school, but I gradually realisedthat that is really not natural.
(04:37):
So the more natural way youshould be good.
And you?
Or we can say like, how's itgoing instead of like, how are
you?
So sometimes I think the way theChinese school teaches English
is, is not communicative.
It's not super good for the,like communication with the
(04:59):
English people.
So that's what they think, whichis like the, the, the, the
backwards shortway.
Michael (05:10):
Oh, the downside.
Molly (05:12):
Yeah, the downside.
Oh, remember it.
So it's like, this is thedownsides of the, uh, Chinese
way of teaching English.
But I guess now, I'm in the UKand then I can learn whatever I
need.
So for example, I need toimprove my speaking skill
because I need to talk with myEnglish colleagues because my
(05:34):
school is a purely Englishschool.
So it is quite important for meto improve my speaking skills to
communicate with the other staffin the school.
Michael (05:46):
Mm.
Yeah.
So this is a good point just toconfirm for people who didn't
catch that you are working in anEnglish school.
Teaching Chinese, right?
I'm glad I got that right.
Um, and how, how are youenjoying that?
How is that going?
Molly (06:02):
Um, let me, I've been here for two years and it sounds
like your long time but timeReally goes fast.
I do, I do a think, I grow up abit.
I quite enjoy my life teachingand English too.
It was quite challenging at thebeginning because the British
kids are not, I mean they're notthat well behaved compared to
(06:24):
the Chinese kids, uh, because inChina basically all of the kids
are very respectful to theteacher.
Michael (06:31):
okay.
So basically British studentshave bad behaviour.
Is that what you're saying?
Molly (06:37):
Well not bad behaviour, that's a kind of stereotype or
just they are more active atschool and then I mean they have
their own personality so it(is)just a different way of
education.
Can't say their bad behaviour.
I'll be in trouble.
Michael (06:55):
They won't listened to this podcast, but maybe we could
talk about your experience withEnglish because hopefully other
English learners can find someinspiration or maybe some ideas
from this.
I'm not sure.
So tell me about your studymethod now.
Say What are you doing to studyEnglish these days?
Molly (07:15):
Well, you used to laugh at my study method because one
of my study method is to repeatthe text.
I mean by speaking the test, uh,read all the text again and
again.
And then I think you laughed atme before when you were doing
another interview withanother...
When you were in anotherpodcast.
Michael (07:38):
That's right, we did laugh at you a little bit.
Molly (07:40):
Not a little bit
Michael (07:42):
because yeah, what Molly does is she will repeat
the same sentence again andagain and again,
Molly (07:49):
Not the same sentence.
I mean the same text because,um, by doing that the text,
will, I will keep the t ext i nm ind so I won't them.
Michael (08:01):
So the key is repetition.
Did you think that's a good way?
Does it work for you?
Molly (08:06):
It's not just repetition is like, um, so first of all I
will choose a text, which isslightly higher than my English
level and then I will translateit from English to Chinese.
Then based on the Chinesetranslation I just did, I
translate it back to English.
(08:26):
So I have to make sure it isexactly right.
Compared to the text and then Ican know, well I can tell that
what kind of vocabs I'm notfamiliar with or which language
point.
Um, I didn't cover before.
And then like also I can tellthe difference of the way that
(08:47):
the Chinese people think.
And um, the difference of thedifference of the way that the
Chinese people think and theways of the English people thing
.
So languages, the difference oflanguages do represent the
difference.
There's differences in twocultures.
So I think through this exerciseI can know more about the
(09:09):
differences between twolanguages and then also can try
it.
It can help me cover thelanguage points and the vocabs
more efficiently.
And last is the repitition.
so after the translation, nowrepeat the text.
Basically read out the textagain and again and then to make
sure, um, I'll keep them inmind.
Michael (09:33):
Oh, okay.
I didn't realise that before.
So, so basically you're gettinga listening, reading practice
and the translating in bothlanguages you're repeating.
Molly (09:46):
Yes proud of me?
Michael (09:46):
Very proud.
Oh, that's really good.
Okay.
But yeah, I think Molly doeswork very hard.
So I often see her, she readsEnglish books.
Of course she lives in the UKnow, so she's always talking
with people here.
Um, even with me, usually inEnglish.
Molly (10:02):
Yes, I have to because you don't speak Chinese.
Michael (10:05):
Mm yi dian dian.
A little bit.
But yeah not good enough.
But sometimes I will laugh atyou for other reasons as well.
Uh, so since we've beentogether, you've made a few
funny mistakes
Molly (10:22):
Quite a lot of funny mistakes.
silly mistakes.
Michael (10:25):
Sometimes I'll ignore them.
Sometimes I'll correct them ifthey're really funny.
I prefer not to correct them,which maybe makes me a bad
person, but I think they soundvery funny.
Molly (10:36):
Which is really, really irresponsible.
Michael (10:40):
Maybe.
But you are not paying me to bea teacher.
So there's um, a few I've gotwritten down here.
So
Molly (10:49):
Really you've written down my mistakes?
Michael (10:51):
Yes.
I wrote down some of yourmistakes so we can talk about
them.
Uh, one of them is actually whatI'll do.
I will, I will read them andmaybe the listeners can try to
guess what these mean or guesswhat these actually are.
The first one is a physicaldrink.
Do you remember saying that?
Molly (11:11):
Yes.
Physical drink.
Mental drink.
Michael (11:13):
Physical drink?
Yes.
A physical drink.
This was a mistake.
And what she meant to say was afizzy drink.
Fizzy drink.
So this is like a carbonateddrink.
For example, Coca-Cola lemonade.
That was a very funny one.
I thought.
Another one was what Molly said.
(11:35):
Asparagus.
Is that right?
Does anyone know what that couldbe?
Have a gas.
So this was the vegetableasparagus.
Molly (11:50):
Asparagus.
Michael (11:52):
So you got the.
Molly (11:53):
I'm still confused about where I should put the stress
on.
Michael (11:56):
Yeah, you got this one right.
(14:32):
It's just the stress was in thewrong place and it's so easy to
do.
Yeah.
Asp..
even I, I always go it wrongthen.
Asparagus, asparagus,
Molly (14:42):
Let\s repeat it 100 times
Michael (14:45):
asparagus and one more, which is really funny.
When you had a tooth problembefore Molly had a pain in her
tooth and she said to me,Michael, I've got tooth cake
tooth cake.
I said, really?
Tooth cake.
That sounds delicious.
I want some tooth cake.
But Molly meant..
Molly (15:05):
that doesn't sound delicious at all.
Michael (15:07):
Well, it's still cake, but what did you mean?
Do you remember the real word?
Molly (15:12):
Tooth ache.
Michael (15:12):
Tooth ache Yes, tooth ache.
Uh, so yeah.
If you ache, it means kind of apain or some kind of painful
feeling.
Is an ache
Molly (15:24):
Yes.
I have to complain that uh, likethe medical system in UK is
really, really bad because I gottooth ache and then I can't get
any appointment because thedentists don't accept new
patients.
So I have to go very, very faraway to make an emergency
(15:45):
appointment.
Which is really annoying.
Michael (15:48):
Mm.
Yes, I've seen you do it.
It's very annoying to me.
It's quite simple.
But maybe harder for you becauseyou're not a permanent resident.
But I, I wanted to ask aboutthese mistakes.
So how did you feel when Icorrected you?
How did you feel?
Molly (16:07):
Um, I mean, I feel quite happy about that.
I would rather, um, be correctedinstead of, and not know
anything about my mistakesbecause you're my boyfriend and
if you can correct me, I don'tfeel you too bad.
So I won't make any mistakeswhen I'm talking to other
people, like my students or mycolleagues.
So that makes me feel happier.
Michael (16:29):
Ah, that's a really good point.
So it's better for me to laughat you than your students.
That's a good point.
Molly (16:34):
Yes, of course.
It's really embarrassing.
Michael (16:37):
Yeah.
And I thought you might givethat answer and that's really
good because I think this is agood message that if you make a
mistake, don't worry, just laughand learn.
You can.
Like, like move on, you know,don't do well and think about
your mistakes and you know, behappy when someone corrects you
because that means that you'relearning.
(16:58):
It's a really good thing.
Molly (16:59):
Exactly.
Like my students, they sometimesthey speak Chinese really,
really bad.
And then because Chinese is thelanguage with tones, which is
quite difficult for the Englishlearners, so they're just, just
didn't get the tone.
So, um, even though they speakit really, really bad(ly), I've
never laugh at them.
(17:20):
I always smile at them and Iencourage them to speak more.
So because I believe, um, ifthey, if they can make mistakes
that means they can makeprogress.
Michael (17:32):
Yeah.
No, absolutely.
It's important not to makepeople feel bad for making
mistakes and kind of see in agood way.
Molly (17:39):
Yeah.
So it's like, we can, we cantalk to them like, well, that's
good, but if we can do it inthis way, that's even better.
Michael (17:47):
Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
Well, I want to ask you nowbecause I think, I imagine there
are many people out there whoare kind of dreaming or you
know, wishing that they couldone day have a boyfriend or a
girlfriend who speaks English asa native language.
Really.
Maybe because I think it'skilling two birds with one
(18:09):
stone.
Molly (18:10):
I thought there will be someone dreaming about having a
Chinese girlfriend or Chineseboyfriend to help them learn
Chinese.
Michael (18:19):
Well maybe, maybe if you think about it, I think it's
quite a nice idea because you doget a partner to be with.
But on the other hand you get,well some people might think
that you get a free teacher aswell.
So I wanted to ask you to answerpeople's questions.
Do you think having an Englishboyfriend helps you improve your
(18:42):
English?
Or does it maybe even make itharder?
Molly (18:45):
You didn't really teach me English.
Michael (18:49):
No, I don't.
We don't have lessons.
I think that would be a bitstrange in a way.
Molly (18:55):
Well, um, I think it does help sometimes.
Maybe you can help me.
Well you help me speak Englishlike more comfortably.
So I do feel quite relaxed whenI'm speaking English with you.
But to be honest, I don't thinkit really helps.
So do not look for a boyfriendor a girlfriend if you are just
(19:20):
going to learn the language,which is not fair for him or for
her.
So, um, but to be honest, Ithink working in an English
school helped me more thanhaving an English boyfriend
because I have to force myselfto be professional and then to
be brave, to be confident.
(19:40):
So that takes me lots and lotsof time to practice.
So I think, yeah, my work helpsme, helps me more about that.
Michael (19:52):
Okay.
So to summarise, maybe Mollysaying she does not recommend an
English boyfriend or girlfriend.
Molly (19:59):
I mean if, if he or she attracts you and you think he is
a good guy, so maybe you canthink about it, but to not make
a boyfriend who is English justbecause you want to learn
English.
Michael (20:14):
Yeah, no, I, I would agree with that.
Not that I, I guess I can use myown experience with learning
Chinese, but I, yeah, it seemsto me that, you know,
Molly (20:24):
I don't really help you learn Chinese to be honest.
Michael (20:26):
Yeah.
Choose who you want to be with,but don't base that decision on
what language so they can helpyou learn.
Oh, I think that's a good, agood rule to go by.
I also wanted to ask you todayif you have ever had any kind of
language mishaps, which meanskind of mistakes or funny kind
(20:47):
of embarrassing situationsbecause these stories are always
really funny.
Can you think of anything likethat?
Molly (20:54):
Okay, so there is one, so last summer when I'm, when I was
going to fly back to China formy summer holiday, one of my
colleagues asked me, um, ohMolly, who are you going to fly
with?
And I said, no, I'm just myself.
I'm flying alone, but to behonest he was asking, uh, which
(21:18):
company are you going to flywith?
So I think it's very funnystuff.
So I think this quite funny,
Michael (21:27):
but I would actually side with you because I don't
think that is a problem withyour English.
I think that is a problem withthat question because that
question can have two meaningsdepending on how you understand
it.
And it's got two meanings.
I don't think that's themistake.
Molly (21:44):
Hmm.
So it's like, because themeaning of that question is not
clear.
Michael (21:49):
Exactly.
So who can talk about a companyor a person?
So that person should have said,yeah, what company are you
flying with?
Or what person are you flyingwith?
So yeah, I don't think that wasa mistake.
I think that is not your fault.
You can feel good about thatone.
Molly (22:07):
Okay.
Make me feel better.
Yeah.
And then maybe also, um, I usedto call my, one of my student's
name wrong(for) about a term,which is quite embarrassing.
So my students called
Michael (22:23):
For the whole term?
Molly (22:23):
Yeah for the whole term, I feel really sorry about that.
Um, so one of my students iscalled Niall.
Michael (22:32):
Okay.
I've never heard of that name.
Molly (22:35):
I think it's kind of like more American n ame,
Michael (22:37):
It's not Neil?
There's a name Neil, which is n.
E.
I.
L.
I think,
Molly (22:45):
No this one is like NIALL
Michael (22:49):
I've never heard of that before.
Molly (22:50):
Which is called niall, so it's not my, it's not my fault
is it?
Because e ven you haven't heardabout that.
U m, so my s tudents c allNiall, but I kept calling him
nail.
An no one corrects me
Michael (23:05):
Oh like you're hammering a nail.
Molly (23:06):
Yes.
I call him nail and thenbasically at the end of the
term, and then when I wastalking to other teachers, uh, I
said, um, how this, how does mystudent Nail doing this lesson?
And then my colleagues ask Nailwhich Nail, Oh, you mean Niall?
Michael (23:27):
Oh, that's really embarrassing.
But I wanted to ask, why do youthink no one corrected you until
that point?
Molly (23:34):
I don't know.
Maybe because the students thinkis fun and they even more me
mocked the way that I calledhim.
Michael (23:42):
Ah, okay.
Okay.
Maybe they were like bullyinghim in a way.
Molly (23:45):
Oh, I feel bad about it.
Michael (23:47):
I wondered, I might be wrong, but I wondered, do you
think that people don't correctyou because they know you're not
a native speaker, so they'rekind of, they're more forgiving.
Is that possible?
Molly (23:58):
Yeah, it's possible.
But to me, I have a highexpectation to my English
because I'm currently working inan English school.
So I hope my English to be asgood as I can because I want you
to be professional.
But on the other hand, there arelots of English teachers in
China and they don't speakChinese at all.
(24:21):
So it's kind of not super fair.
So when I, whenever I feel badabout my English, I'm always
thinking about it.
So to help me feel better.
Michael (24:31):
So you spoke about, you know, you want to have good
English because you a teacher,of course, it's a good reason.
So that moves on to anothertopic which I want to cover,
which is your motivation.
So what would you say your mainmotivations to improve your
English?
Molly (24:53):
Hmm.
Well, let's start from, um,very, very realistic point
because if I can speak Englishwell, that means I can teach in
an English group properly andthen I can, it's easier for me
to get a decent paid job, sothere's, I think that's one of
the main reasons.
(25:13):
And then, um, another one is Ifeel like I can use English to
communicate with the Britishpeople.
Well, not just British people,maybe lots of the people from
different countries who canspeak English as well.
It's like I can tell them moreabout my culture.
(25:33):
So it's like we are building abridge of different cultures
because of the languages wespeak.
And also if I can speak verygood English, well maybe not
perfect.
And then I can tell my studentsthat if I can do it, um, if I
can speak English well.
And then also I speak English assecond language and you guys are
(25:58):
learning Chinese as a secondlanguage.
So if you work hard like me, soyou can do well as well.
Um, to be a model.
Am I right?
Michael (26:10):
Yeah so you want to be a role model.
Molly (26:10):
To be a role model for them.
So I to tell them, I reallyunderstand you guys feeling, but
if you keep trying hard, um, youcan speak Chinese as well as
when I'm speaking English.
Michael (26:22):
Okay.
So that was a good point.
If you want, if you're ateacher, of course you have to
improve your language because ifyou don't know any other
languages, then it's maybepeople wonder what kind of, how
you can be a good teacher ifyou've never experienced it for
yourself.
Maybe that's, is that whatyou're saying?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, that, that, that can be agood point.
(26:44):
Definitely.
So I think motivation is a verytricky area.
Many people struggle withfeeling motivated to learn.
Um, so for you it's, I thinkmainly for job and also there's
personal reasons as well.
Like you're joining culturestogether, but what advice?
(27:04):
English boyfriend.
Yeah.
And you need to, yeah, you wantto talk to me.
So what advice would you givefor English learners who find it
difficult to get motivation?
So how do you remotivateyourself when you feel bad about
your English?
Molly (27:24):
So I wanna say that if, if someone really, really hates
English or hates any kind offoreign languages, I would say
maybe just give up.
And then
Michael (27:36):
what?
I mean, if you don't, if youdon't really enjoy it from the
bottom of your h eart, soprobably it is easier to give up
and then spend your time onsomething that you can feel
happy about it.
I'm sorry if i t's offensive.
No, I generally agree that ifyou don't, if you don't have the
(27:59):
passion or the love forsomething, it's really, really
difficult to study and it'spossible.
It will probably make you quitemiserable.
However, as an English teacher,I can see that there are many
people who are learning English.
You know, most of my studentslove English, but many of the
(28:21):
students, they are learning fora job or for some kind of
practical reason.
Maybe they want to get promotionor something like that, but they
don't necessarily love English,but they are, they're learning
it out of necessity.
So in that case, my personaladvice for those people would
be, you're not born passionateabout something.
(28:43):
Not always.
Anyway.
I think when you are passionateabout something, you have to
work hard to create thatpassion.
So if you're feeling demotivatedand not so good about your
English and you still reallywant to learn, maybe deep down
inside for an internal orexternal reason, then I would
(29:04):
say find a way to make it fun,you know, find a way to make it
enjoyable for you.
And also remember to visualisethe kind of imagine what it will
be like if you become inEnglish.
What can you do with that?
Where can you go?
And if you start thinking aboutthat, I think it's possible to
(29:25):
start finding enjoyment in it.
Molly (29:29):
Yeah, I agree.
I agree.
And then also I think it's quiteimportant to realise that
learning a foreign language is,now that your foreign language
is not everything of the life.
So don't feel bad if you can't,if you cannot do a language
well, because people have avariety of talents and then um,
(29:51):
maybe someone is good atlanguages, someone who's good at
math, someone has to do thatlike sports.
So don't feel bad about that.
And then, but just try your bestand then try lots of different
methods to improve it.
And then just pick the best one.
So if you don't mind, I canshare one of my stories when I'm
(30:12):
teaching in the English school.
So as everyone knows, the yearnine of the English school is
the how this year to teach.
I think it's because of thehormones
Michael (30:26):
because I guess they're that special age when you're a
teenager, everyone is angry oryou know, they have so much
emotions going around.
Molly (30:35):
Yeah, they're being very emotional.
And then also they're not verynice to the teachers sometimes.
And then one of my year nineclass one day mocked my accent,
which is really, reallyupsetting.
So I feel really, really bad atthat day.
So basically I cried, I cry atnight and then yes, Michael was
(30:59):
panicked and he didn't know whathappened to me.
So I said I would just beinglaughed(at) by my students.
So I really feel bad aboutthose.
I felt there was no motivationto learn English anymore because
I'm really, I was reallydepressed.
I feel like I have been learningEnglish for so long, but there
(31:21):
is still someone who is notsatisfied with my English.
Michael (31:28):
Mm, no, I think that's a very normal feeling to have.
Everyone has ups and downs andeveryone has days where they
don't feel motivated or goodabout the English.
Molly (31:38):
But on the other hand, so a few days later, another year 9
class, so I have to two yearnine classes.
So I have two year nine classes.
So one of the students of one ofmy year 9 classes told me that
he really admired me.
Well, I'm not sure if it's trueor not.
(31:59):
So he thinks he admire mebecause I can speak English as a
Chinese in English school andthen teach Chinese in a purely
English group, which is quiteamazing even though I don't
speak perfect English, but I canstill use my English to teach
the British kids.
(32:20):
So they think that was quiteamazing.
And then, and then he told methat he probably, he can never
do that.
Like to to teach Chinese orsorry to teach English in the
Chinese school.
And then speaking Chinese to theChinese People.
So I think I do.
(32:40):
So I think I did do a prettygood job even though sometimes
it was quite hard to go throughlike the periods, when I, when I
was laughed by others.
Michael (32:55):
Yeah, definitely.
So it's I think a really goodidea to not focus on what you
can't do but focus on what youcan do and what you have
accomplished.
So it's really amazing that youcan teach your language in a
completely foreign school whenno one else speaks.
Your language is very amazingand obviously not everyone will
(33:18):
be in that situation, but it'salways a good idea to kind of
look back over the past monthsor years even of your English
study and you see how far you'vecome.
I mean, sometimes it's easy toforget, it's easy to let time
slip by and you don't notice.
(33:38):
It was really important to dothat.
Molly (33:40):
And also, I really recommended to speak English to
um, English people.
Michael (33:48):
Ah, so you mean practice with native speakers?
Molly (33:50):
Yes, so practice with native native speaker.
So by practicing with the nativespeaker, you know how to respond
naturally to in, in the Englishway.
So I think it's the way betterthan just learning from the
textbook.
Michael (34:09):
I completely agree.
I may be biased because I am aonline teacher, but this goes
back to what you said at thebeginning where learning from a
textbook, I think not just inChina properly, probably most
schools around the world, theEnglish is very formal.
Correct.
(34:30):
Um, of course it's correct, butmaybe too correct.
You know, it's quite often notwhat we would say naturally.
Molly (34:37):
Yeah.
Just like the first lesson ofevery English textbook is,
hello, how are you?
I'm fine, thank you.
And you?
So I can tell that basically thesame.
Michael (34:48):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And we do say that in England,but there's a lot of other more
casual ways to say that to, youknow, it's very, very common for
especially men to say to people,all right mate.
All right mate.
Molly (35:02):
Yeah.
So when I, when I say I'm like,I'm fine.
Thank you.
How are you?
To my colleague.
Well my colleagues were totallyshocked.
They were stunned and do knowhow to respond to me because it
was too formal.
Michael (35:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's important to get thatkind of speaking practice and
learn from real life situations,you know, not just learning from
a book, which can be good, butnot if you're only doing that.
Do you have any useful Englishlearning resources that our
listeners might find usefulthemselves?
Molly (35:43):
I always use Memrise and Duolingo.
I'm not sure if you know the twoapps.
Michael (35:52):
Yeah.
So the, these are apps.
So the first is Memrise.
I said m.
E m r.
I.
S.
E.
Yes.
Molly (35:59):
And then another one is duolingo which is spelled
DUOLINGO
Michael (36:07):
DUOLINGO.
And I've used both of them and Ithink they're quite good.
I like them.
I don't use them at the moment.
But yeah, I'll put a link toboth of these in the show notes
if you want to have a look atthat.
And this will be atewmichael.com/molly.
Molly (36:29):
Yes.
And also I recommend if you areinterested in the British
English.
So try to listen more to the BBClearning English website.
Michael (36:40):
Yes, I've seen this and there's so many good lessons on
BBC..
Is it BBC learning English?
Molly (36:46):
Yeah.
BBC learning English.
There are two programs that Ireally recommend.
One is called the English wespeak, so they would talk about
their language point, but in avery casual but natural way.
Um, also there was another onewhich was called BBC six minutes
English.
So when I, when I'm doing ashower, always leave the
(37:09):
speaker.
Oh, leave the speaker on andthen just to play the BBC.
Michael (37:15):
Oh, that's what that sound was.
Okay.
No, that's good advice.
So again, we will put a link tothem in the show notes again so
you can find them if you wantto.
And you sure there's no otherresources that you would
recommend.
You know, maybe someone in theroom here.
Molly (37:31):
Maybe, maybe you can look for, um, native speaker who is
an English teacher
Michael (37:39):
who also has a website...
Molly (37:41):
and who also has a website which is called EW....
Michael (37:48):
You don't remember my name??
Molly (37:51):
e w what?
Michael (37:54):
Michael.
Molly (37:56):
Michael?
Yeah, English with Michael.
Michael (37:59):
Ah, yeah.
Well thank you Molly.
You're so kind to recommend mywebsite.
I know you use it all the time.
Thank you.
Molly (38:07):
I was forced
Michael (38:07):
How about any books?
I see you reading English booksfrom time to time too.
Do you have any favourite books,English books, but any you
recommend or maybe you don'trecommend them?
Molly (38:21):
To be honest, I feel quite hard sometimes to read an
English novel English fictionbecause some of the languages
are really hard to understandand it's quite hard for me to
figure out what is the contextmean.
So I'm trying to start from thelike more practical books.
For example, I'm reading a bookwhich is called how to survive
(38:44):
your first year teaching, whichis really practical for me and I
think I'm very interested in itand it's really useful for me
and it motivates me to read moreand more because it's very
useful for my teaching.
Um, so I recommend you to lookfor some books, which is this,
(39:05):
just start from some books,which is easier.
And then which is morepractical.
So I recommend you to start fromsome books which are easier and
then which are more practical.
Michael (39:18):
I think that is good advice because it's kind of like
a multipurpose thing.
You're learning about somethinguseful for you, but also
improving your English.
Yeah, I think that's really goodadvice and yeah, maybe you're a
bit similar to me.
I'm not a big fan of fiction andstories so much, but I think
(39:39):
also it depends on the book, butusually fiction will be very, it
can be very difficult with lotsof difficult adjectives and long
sentences
Molly (39:51):
with simile and metaphor.
Michael (39:54):
Yeah, lots of strange metaphors that dictionaries
can't really help with.
But with a nonfiction book, thewhole purpose of nonfiction is
to explain information in thesimplest way possible possible.
So that might be good forEnglish as well.
Of course, it depends on thebook and the topic.
(40:15):
Uh, yeah, that might besomething to consider if you're
looking to find some readingmaterial.
Molly (40:20):
But for some English learners who really fancy
English fiction, maybe you canrecommend them to read some
English fictions, which alreadyhave had some movie which is,
which made about them.
So for example, I'm trying toread an English fiction, which
(40:40):
is called the Gone Girl.
Michael (40:43):
Yeah.
Gone, Girl.
Molly (40:44):
Yeah.
Not sure if you note that moviebecause I've watched that movie
before.
So I think I can understand thecontext matter.
So I feel a little bit easierwhen I'm doing the reading and
it helps me understand the texteasier.
So I think if you really likedfiction instead of the practical
books, maybe try some books withthe English movie.
Michael (41:08):
Yeah, no, that's a good idea.
So yeah, so it's just basicallywhat Molly is saying is if you
can find a book that also has amovie on the same topic, that's
based, usually the movie isbased on the book.
And then if you watch the moviefirst, you'll have a better
understanding of the story andthe context.
(41:28):
And another piece of advice,which I recently gave in a
youtube video.
I think it's not published yet.
Maybe that will be publishedsoon, but that was to buy a book
and an audiobook so you canlisten to the book while you're
reading it.
So that kind of helps with twolearning kind of skills at the
(41:51):
same time.
It's a little bit of a differenttactic.
So I think we'll end the podcastsoon.
And mainly just because it'svery hot in the UK at the moment
it's 22 degrees, which might notsound hot for many countries.
But for the UK that's quite hot.
(42:11):
Well, okay.
In order to record this podcast,I had to close the windows and
now I'm so hot anduncomfortable.
So I think we'll end up soon.
But before we finish, is thereanything, Molly, that you'd like
people to know about you?
Anything else?
Um,
Molly (42:31):
well because I'm not doing a business and I'm just a
teacher, a very, very, verynormal teacher in UK.
So I would like to say somethingabout my, so let's start from
some stereotypes.
So first of all, I don't eatdogs.
Michael (42:51):
Okay.
In case anyone was wondering,
Molly (42:52):
yes, I don't eat dogs
Michael (42:54):
That isn't really, a think in China.
Not Co mmon A nyway.
Molly (42:59):
Uh, I mean, I mean, it wasn't common before.
It just, just, um, a specificarea in China and then in that
area, some people like eatingdogs.
Michael (43:11):
China's a very big country.
Molly (43:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you.
And then, um, I don't eat dog.
So first of all, and then alsosome people think, because I'm
trainee east, so lots of peoplethink you must be good at
badminton or Ping pong.
So sometimes my colleagues willinvite me to play ping pong or
(43:33):
badminton with them.
And then because they think Imust be good at it because I'm
Chinese, but I'm actually not,so I played very bad badminton
and ping pong.
So, um, that's kind of anotherstereotype and then, well, the
last stereotype about Chinese isthey must be very good at math.
Michael (43:54):
Oh, that's always true.
Molly (43:57):
So I don't think I'm good at math, but I do think the math
that English schools teach isquite easy.
Michael (44:07):
Hmm.
You're saying we're not as smartas you.
Molly (44:10):
I mean, you, you know what?
So when I was doing the finalyear exam, I mean the Gou kou,
the most important exam.
Um, when I'm, when I was in thesecondary school and then I got
about 85%, but um, um, one ofthe worst students in my class,
Michael (44:27):
85%.
That's the worst in my class?
Oh, that was the best in myclass.
Wow.
Okay.
So this is your chance.
This is where you're announcingto the world every stereotype.
A chance to clarify Yeah.
Every stereotype you have aboutChina is wrong.
Molly (44:44):
Not Everything.
Michael (44:46):
One stereotype that is true is all Chinese people are
crazy about food.
Molly (44:51):
Oh yes I am.
So I always spend ages in thekitchen and then just for a few
bites.
Michael (45:00):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just for many hours of cookingfor five minutes of eating.
Molly (45:05):
Yeah.
I can spend about sweet hours inthe kitchen and then keep making
the dumplings.
Michael (45:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that is something that I haveyet to be proven wrong on that
all Chinese love food.
So yeah, I think we'll end itthere today.
But thank you very much for yourtime, Molly.
I know you didn't have to dothis, so
Molly (45:25):
Thank you for inviting me.
Michael (45:26):
Yeah, of course.
It's really fun to have you andit's hope.
Yeah.
Molly (45:31):
It's really weird for us to speak in a serious way.
Michael (45:35):
Yeah.
Usually we don't talk so clearlyto each other.
Usually we talk very in a muchmore immature way, maybe so.
It's very awkward
Molly (45:44):
Like"you silly boy."
Michael (45:47):
Hopefully this has been useful for some learners, you
know, to hear another learner'sexperience.
Thank you very much forlistening today.
Molly (45:56):
Thank you for listening to us
Michael (45:58):
and I'll see you next week.
Molly (46:00):
See you next week.
Michael (46:01):
Bye Bye.
You have been listening to theEnglish with Michael Podcast to
view the podcast notes for thisepisode and to listen to
previous episodes.
Head over toewmichael.com/podcast
Hello and welcome to the English with Michael Podcast,
the best place to come to studyEnglish as a second language as
well as the practice, theBritish accent with me, Michael
Lavers as your teacher.
Michael (00:22):
Hello and welcome back to the English with Michael
podcast.
Today we have a very specialpodcast because I have a guest
joining me for an Englishinterview and it's very special
because the guest is mygirlfriend Molly.
(00:43):
Molly is from China and she'scurrently living with me in the
UK.
She is teaching Chinese in anEnglish school and a grammar
school and of course she'slearning English.
So she's here today to talk withme about her experience in the
(01:05):
UK learning English.
And maybe we'll talk a littlebit about China as well.
So I hope that you enjoy it.
Let me know what you think ifyou like this type of podcast.
So without any further delay,here is my talk with Molly.
I'm here today with mygirlfriend Molly, and this is a
(01:29):
special episode because she isfrom China, so she's also an
English learner.
So welcome to the podcast,Molly.
Molly (01:37):
Hello everyone.
I'm Molly, surprisingly fromChina.
Michael (01:42):
Say thank you very much for joining me.
So maybe could we start bytalking a little bit about where
you're from in China?
Molly (01:51):
Well, I'm from the south part it's a city which is called
Guanzhou, which is quite closeto Hong Kong.
So I speak Cantonese andMandarin as well.
Michael (02:04):
Okay, fantastic.
And how, I mean, of course Ialready know this, but I'm
asking you for the viewers orlisteners, but how long have you
been learning English now?
Molly (02:15):
Well, I think I started to learn English when I was in
the primary school.
Um, maybe, maybe it's when I'min year 3, so probably like
eight or nine years old.
Michael (02:33):
Okay.
So you've come a long way, comea long way.
Molly (02:37):
But you know the, uh, when we're learning English at
school, um, I didn't makee toomuch progress though.
So I think I made more progresswhen I was doing self studying.
Michael (02:50):
I see.
Okay.
That's what I was going to askyou.
So what is, what do you think ofthe difference between self
study versus study you did atschool?
How is it better?
How is it different?
What did you not like aboutschool for example?
Molly (03:06):
Well to be honest, I think the English when, when I
was starting at the schoolespecially like primary school
and secondary school.
They mostly prepare for theexams.
Like for example, we have a veryimportant exam in China, which
is called goukou, which is like,the final exam of like your
whole school year.
(03:27):
And then, it would decide thatif you can go to a good
university or just a so-soUniversity, so everyone has to
work very hard word.
And the English is one of thecompulsory subjects.
So yeah, the teachers do teachus lots of stuff, but it's based
on the textbooks and exams.
Michael (03:49):
oh, I see.
So there's lots of reading, lotsof grammar and maybe not much
practice, like no speakingpractice maybe.
Molly (03:56):
Um, so in the Chinese school we don't do lots of
speaking practice.
And then, so I came to UK twoyears ago, and then when it's,
when there was the first timewhen I come to UK, I feel a
little bit confused about, uh,the, the way of the British for
people speaking for example, um,I'm working in a British school.
(04:17):
And then all of my colleaguessee me, and say, are you all
right?
Um, how are you?
And then I used to say, I'mfine, thank you.
Because that is what we, what wewere taught when we are in the
school, but I gradually realisedthat that is really not natural.
(04:37):
So the more natural way youshould be good.
And you?
Or we can say like, how's itgoing instead of like, how are
you?
So sometimes I think the way theChinese school teaches English
is, is not communicative.
It's not super good for the,like communication with the
(04:59):
English people.
So that's what they think, whichis like the, the, the, the
backwards shortway.
Michael (05:10):
Oh, the downside.
Molly (05:12):
Yeah, the downside.
Oh, remember it.
So it's like, this is thedownsides of the, uh, Chinese
way of teaching English.
But I guess now, I'm in the UKand then I can learn whatever I
need.
So for example, I need toimprove my speaking skill
because I need to talk with myEnglish colleagues because my
(05:34):
school is a purely Englishschool.
So it is quite important for meto improve my speaking skills to
communicate with the other staffin the school.
Michael (05:46):
Mm.
Yeah.
So this is a good point just toconfirm for people who didn't
catch that you are working in anEnglish school.
Teaching Chinese, right?
I'm glad I got that right.
Um, and how, how are youenjoying that?
How is that going?
Molly (06:02):
Um, let me, I've been here for two years and it sounds
like your long time but timeReally goes fast.
I do, I do a think, I grow up abit.
I quite enjoy my life teachingand English too.
It was quite challenging at thebeginning because the British
kids are not, I mean they're notthat well behaved compared to
(06:24):
the Chinese kids, uh, because inChina basically all of the kids
are very respectful to theteacher.
Michael (06:31):
okay.
So basically British studentshave bad behaviour.
Is that what you're saying?
Molly (06:37):
Well not bad behaviour, that's a kind of stereotype or
just they are more active atschool and then I mean they have
their own personality so it(is)just a different way of
education.
Can't say their bad behaviour.
I'll be in trouble.
Michael (06:55):
They won't listened to this podcast, but maybe we could
talk about your experience withEnglish because hopefully other
English learners can find someinspiration or maybe some ideas
from this.
I'm not sure.
So tell me about your studymethod now.
Say What are you doing to studyEnglish these days?
Molly (07:15):
Well, you used to laugh at my study method because one
of my study method is to repeatthe text.
I mean by speaking the test, uh,read all the text again and
again.
And then I think you laughed atme before when you were doing
another interview withanother...
When you were in anotherpodcast.
Michael (07:38):
That's right, we did laugh at you a little bit.
Molly (07:40):
Not a little bit
Michael (07:42):
because yeah, what Molly does is she will repeat
the same sentence again andagain and again,
Molly (07:49):
Not the same sentence.
I mean the same text because,um, by doing that the text,
will, I will keep the t ext i nm ind so I won't them.
Michael (08:01):
So the key is repetition.
Did you think that's a good way?
Does it work for you?
Molly (08:06):
It's not just repetition is like, um, so first of all I
will choose a text, which isslightly higher than my English
level and then I will translateit from English to Chinese.
Then based on the Chinesetranslation I just did, I
translate it back to English.
(08:26):
So I have to make sure it isexactly right.
Compared to the text and then Ican know, well I can tell that
what kind of vocabs I'm notfamiliar with or which language
point.
Um, I didn't cover before.
And then like also I can tellthe difference of the way that
(08:47):
the Chinese people think.
And um, the difference of thedifference of the way that the
Chinese people think and theways of the English people thing
.
So languages, the difference oflanguages do represent the
difference.
There's differences in twocultures.
So I think through this exerciseI can know more about the
(09:09):
differences between twolanguages and then also can try
it.
It can help me cover thelanguage points and the vocabs
more efficiently.
And last is the repitition.
so after the translation, nowrepeat the text.
Basically read out the textagain and again and then to make
sure, um, I'll keep them inmind.
Michael (09:33):
Oh, okay.
I didn't realise that before.
So, so basically you're gettinga listening, reading practice
and the translating in bothlanguages you're repeating.
Molly (09:46):
Yes proud of me?
Michael (09:46):
Very proud.
Oh, that's really good.
Okay.
But yeah, I think Molly doeswork very hard.
So I often see her, she readsEnglish books.
Of course she lives in the UKnow, so she's always talking
with people here.
Um, even with me, usually inEnglish.
Molly (10:02):
Yes, I have to because you don't speak Chinese.
Michael (10:05):
Mm yi dian dian.
A little bit.
But yeah not good enough.
But sometimes I will laugh atyou for other reasons as well.
Uh, so since we've beentogether, you've made a few
funny mistakes
Molly (10:22):
Quite a lot of funny mistakes.
silly mistakes.
Michael (10:25):
Sometimes I'll ignore them.
Sometimes I'll correct them ifthey're really funny.
I prefer not to correct them,which maybe makes me a bad
person, but I think they soundvery funny.
Molly (10:36):
Which is really, really irresponsible.
Michael (10:40):
Maybe.
But you are not paying me to bea teacher.
So there's um, a few I've gotwritten down here.
So
Molly (10:49):
Really you've written down my mistakes?
Michael (10:51):
Yes.
I wrote down some of yourmistakes so we can talk about
them.
Uh, one of them is actually whatI'll do.
I will, I will read them andmaybe the listeners can try to
guess what these mean or guesswhat these actually are.
The first one is a physicaldrink.
Do you remember saying that?
Molly (11:11):
Yes.
Physical drink.
Mental drink.
Michael (11:13):
Physical drink?
Yes.
A physical drink.
This was a mistake.
And what she meant to say was afizzy drink.
Fizzy drink.
So this is like a carbonateddrink.
For example, Coca-Cola lemonade.
That was a very funny one.
I thought.
Another one was what Molly said.
(11:35):
Asparagus.
Is that right?
Does anyone know what that couldbe?
Have a gas.
So this was the vegetableasparagus.
Molly (11:50):
Asparagus.
Michael (11:52):
So you got the.
Molly (11:53):
I'm still confused about where I should put the stress
on.
Michael (11:56):
Yeah, you got this one right.
(14:32):
It's just the stress was in thewrong place and it's so easy to
do.
Yeah.
Asp..
even I, I always go it wrongthen.
Asparagus, asparagus,
Molly (14:42):
Let\s repeat it 100 times
Michael (14:45):
asparagus and one more, which is really funny.
When you had a tooth problembefore Molly had a pain in her
tooth and she said to me,Michael, I've got tooth cake
tooth cake.
I said, really?
Tooth cake.
That sounds delicious.
I want some tooth cake.
But Molly meant..
Molly (15:05):
that doesn't sound delicious at all.
Michael (15:07):
Well, it's still cake, but what did you mean?
Do you remember the real word?
Molly (15:12):
Tooth ache.
Michael (15:12):
Tooth ache Yes, tooth ache.
Uh, so yeah.
If you ache, it means kind of apain or some kind of painful
feeling.
Is an ache
Molly (15:24):
Yes.
I have to complain that uh, likethe medical system in UK is
really, really bad because I gottooth ache and then I can't get
any appointment because thedentists don't accept new
patients.
So I have to go very, very faraway to make an emergency
(15:45):
appointment.
Which is really annoying.
Michael (15:48):
Mm.
Yes, I've seen you do it.
It's very annoying to me.
It's quite simple.
But maybe harder for you becauseyou're not a permanent resident.
But I, I wanted to ask aboutthese mistakes.
So how did you feel when Icorrected you?
How did you feel?
Molly (16:07):
Um, I mean, I feel quite happy about that.
I would rather, um, be correctedinstead of, and not know
anything about my mistakesbecause you're my boyfriend and
if you can correct me, I don'tfeel you too bad.
So I won't make any mistakeswhen I'm talking to other
people, like my students or mycolleagues.
So that makes me feel happier.
Michael (16:29):
Ah, that's a really good point.
So it's better for me to laughat you than your students.
That's a good point.
Molly (16:34):
Yes, of course.
It's really embarrassing.
Michael (16:37):
Yeah.
And I thought you might givethat answer and that's really
good because I think this is agood message that if you make a
mistake, don't worry, just laughand learn.
You can.
Like, like move on, you know,don't do well and think about
your mistakes and you know, behappy when someone corrects you
because that means that you'relearning.
(16:58):
It's a really good thing.
Molly (16:59):
Exactly.
Like my students, they sometimesthey speak Chinese really,
really bad.
And then because Chinese is thelanguage with tones, which is
quite difficult for the Englishlearners, so they're just, just
didn't get the tone.
So, um, even though they speakit really, really bad(ly), I've
never laugh at them.
(17:20):
I always smile at them and Iencourage them to speak more.
So because I believe, um, ifthey, if they can make mistakes
that means they can makeprogress.
Michael (17:32):
Yeah.
No, absolutely.
It's important not to makepeople feel bad for making
mistakes and kind of see in agood way.
Molly (17:39):
Yeah.
So it's like, we can, we cantalk to them like, well, that's
good, but if we can do it inthis way, that's even better.
Michael (17:47):
Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
Well, I want to ask you nowbecause I think, I imagine there
are many people out there whoare kind of dreaming or you
know, wishing that they couldone day have a boyfriend or a
girlfriend who speaks English asa native language.
Really.
Maybe because I think it'skilling two birds with one
(18:09):
stone.
Molly (18:10):
I thought there will be someone dreaming about having a
Chinese girlfriend or Chineseboyfriend to help them learn
Chinese.
Michael (18:19):
Well maybe, maybe if you think about it, I think it's
quite a nice idea because you doget a partner to be with.
But on the other hand you get,well some people might think
that you get a free teacher aswell.
So I wanted to ask you to answerpeople's questions.
Do you think having an Englishboyfriend helps you improve your
(18:42):
English?
Or does it maybe even make itharder?
Molly (18:45):
You didn't really teach me English.
Michael (18:49):
No, I don't.
We don't have lessons.
I think that would be a bitstrange in a way.
Molly (18:55):
Well, um, I think it does help sometimes.
Maybe you can help me.
Well you help me speak Englishlike more comfortably.
So I do feel quite relaxed whenI'm speaking English with you.
But to be honest, I don't thinkit really helps.
So do not look for a boyfriendor a girlfriend if you are just
(19:20):
going to learn the language,which is not fair for him or for
her.
So, um, but to be honest, Ithink working in an English
school helped me more thanhaving an English boyfriend
because I have to force myselfto be professional and then to
be brave, to be confident.
(19:40):
So that takes me lots and lotsof time to practice.
So I think, yeah, my work helpsme, helps me more about that.
Michael (19:52):
Okay.
So to summarise, maybe Mollysaying she does not recommend an
English boyfriend or girlfriend.
Molly (19:59):
I mean if, if he or she attracts you and you think he is
a good guy, so maybe you canthink about it, but to not make
a boyfriend who is English justbecause you want to learn
English.
Michael (20:14):
Yeah, no, I, I would agree with that.
Not that I, I guess I can use myown experience with learning
Chinese, but I, yeah, it seemsto me that, you know,
Molly (20:24):
I don't really help you learn Chinese to be honest.
Michael (20:26):
Yeah.
Choose who you want to be with,but don't base that decision on
what language so they can helpyou learn.
Oh, I think that's a good, agood rule to go by.
I also wanted to ask you todayif you have ever had any kind of
language mishaps, which meanskind of mistakes or funny kind
(20:47):
of embarrassing situationsbecause these stories are always
really funny.
Can you think of anything likethat?
Molly (20:54):
Okay, so there is one, so last summer when I'm, when I was
going to fly back to China formy summer holiday, one of my
colleagues asked me, um, ohMolly, who are you going to fly
with?
And I said, no, I'm just myself.
I'm flying alone, but to behonest he was asking, uh, which
(21:18):
company are you going to flywith?
So I think it's very funnystuff.
So I think this quite funny,
Michael (21:27):
but I would actually side with you because I don't
think that is a problem withyour English.
I think that is a problem withthat question because that
question can have two meaningsdepending on how you understand
it.
And it's got two meanings.
I don't think that's themistake.
Molly (21:44):
Hmm.
So it's like, because themeaning of that question is not
clear.
Michael (21:49):
Exactly.
So who can talk about a companyor a person?
So that person should have said,yeah, what company are you
flying with?
Or what person are you flyingwith?
So yeah, I don't think that wasa mistake.
I think that is not your fault.
You can feel good about thatone.
Molly (22:07):
Okay.
Make me feel better.
Yeah.
And then maybe also, um, I usedto call my, one of my student's
name wrong(for) about a term,which is quite embarrassing.
So my students called
Michael (22:23):
For the whole term?
Molly (22:23):
Yeah for the whole term, I feel really sorry about that.
Um, so one of my students iscalled Niall.
Michael (22:32):
Okay.
I've never heard of that name.
Molly (22:35):
I think it's kind of like more American n ame,
Michael (22:37):
It's not Neil?
There's a name Neil, which is n.
E.
I.
L.
I think,
Molly (22:45):
No this one is like NIALL
Michael (22:49):
I've never heard of that before.
Molly (22:50):
Which is called niall, so it's not my, it's not my fault
is it?
Because e ven you haven't heardabout that.
U m, so my s tudents c allNiall, but I kept calling him
nail.
An no one corrects me
Michael (23:05):
Oh like you're hammering a nail.
Molly (23:06):
Yes.
I call him nail and thenbasically at the end of the
term, and then when I wastalking to other teachers, uh, I
said, um, how this, how does mystudent Nail doing this lesson?
And then my colleagues ask Nailwhich Nail, Oh, you mean Niall?
Michael (23:27):
Oh, that's really embarrassing.
But I wanted to ask, why do youthink no one corrected you until
that point?
Molly (23:34):
I don't know.
Maybe because the students thinkis fun and they even more me
mocked the way that I calledhim.
Michael (23:42):
Ah, okay.
Okay.
Maybe they were like bullyinghim in a way.
Molly (23:45):
Oh, I feel bad about it.
Michael (23:47):
I wondered, I might be wrong, but I wondered, do you
think that people don't correctyou because they know you're not
a native speaker, so they'rekind of, they're more forgiving.
Is that possible?
Molly (23:58):
Yeah, it's possible.
But to me, I have a highexpectation to my English
because I'm currently working inan English school.
So I hope my English to be asgood as I can because I want you
to be professional.
But on the other hand, there arelots of English teachers in
China and they don't speakChinese at all.
(24:21):
So it's kind of not super fair.
So when I, whenever I feel badabout my English, I'm always
thinking about it.
So to help me feel better.
Michael (24:31):
So you spoke about, you know, you want to have good
English because you a teacher,of course, it's a good reason.
So that moves on to anothertopic which I want to cover,
which is your motivation.
So what would you say your mainmotivations to improve your
English?
Molly (24:53):
Hmm.
Well, let's start from, um,very, very realistic point
because if I can speak Englishwell, that means I can teach in
an English group properly andthen I can, it's easier for me
to get a decent paid job, sothere's, I think that's one of
the main reasons.
(25:13):
And then, um, another one is Ifeel like I can use English to
communicate with the Britishpeople.
Well, not just British people,maybe lots of the people from
different countries who canspeak English as well.
It's like I can tell them moreabout my culture.
(25:33):
So it's like we are building abridge of different cultures
because of the languages wespeak.
And also if I can speak verygood English, well maybe not
perfect.
And then I can tell my studentsthat if I can do it, um, if I
can speak English well.
And then also I speak English assecond language and you guys are
(25:58):
learning Chinese as a secondlanguage.
So if you work hard like me, soyou can do well as well.
Um, to be a model.
Am I right?
Michael (26:10):
Yeah so you want to be a role model.
Molly (26:10):
To be a role model for them.
So I to tell them, I reallyunderstand you guys feeling, but
if you keep trying hard, um, youcan speak Chinese as well as
when I'm speaking English.
Michael (26:22):
Okay.
So that was a good point.
If you want, if you're ateacher, of course you have to
improve your language because ifyou don't know any other
languages, then it's maybepeople wonder what kind of, how
you can be a good teacher ifyou've never experienced it for
yourself.
Maybe that's, is that whatyou're saying?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, that, that, that can be agood point.
(26:44):
Definitely.
So I think motivation is a verytricky area.
Many people struggle withfeeling motivated to learn.
Um, so for you it's, I thinkmainly for job and also there's
personal reasons as well.
Like you're joining culturestogether, but what advice?
(27:04):
English boyfriend.
Yeah.
And you need to, yeah, you wantto talk to me.
So what advice would you givefor English learners who find it
difficult to get motivation?
So how do you remotivateyourself when you feel bad about
your English?
Molly (27:24):
So I wanna say that if, if someone really, really hates
English or hates any kind offoreign languages, I would say
maybe just give up.
And then
Michael (27:36):
what?
I mean, if you don't, if youdon't really enjoy it from the
bottom of your h eart, soprobably it is easier to give up
and then spend your time onsomething that you can feel
happy about it.
I'm sorry if i t's offensive.
No, I generally agree that ifyou don't, if you don't have the
(27:59):
passion or the love forsomething, it's really, really
difficult to study and it'spossible.
It will probably make you quitemiserable.
However, as an English teacher,I can see that there are many
people who are learning English.
You know, most of my studentslove English, but many of the
(28:21):
students, they are learning fora job or for some kind of
practical reason.
Maybe they want to get promotionor something like that, but they
don't necessarily love English,but they are, they're learning
it out of necessity.
So in that case, my personaladvice for those people would
be, you're not born passionateabout something.
(28:43):
Not always.
Anyway.
I think when you are passionateabout something, you have to
work hard to create thatpassion.
So if you're feeling demotivatedand not so good about your
English and you still reallywant to learn, maybe deep down
inside for an internal orexternal reason, then I would
(29:04):
say find a way to make it fun,you know, find a way to make it
enjoyable for you.
And also remember to visualisethe kind of imagine what it will
be like if you become inEnglish.
What can you do with that?
Where can you go?
And if you start thinking aboutthat, I think it's possible to
(29:25):
start finding enjoyment in it.
Molly (29:29):
Yeah, I agree.
I agree.
And then also I think it's quiteimportant to realise that
learning a foreign language is,now that your foreign language
is not everything of the life.
So don't feel bad if you can't,if you cannot do a language
well, because people have avariety of talents and then um,
(29:51):
maybe someone is good atlanguages, someone who's good at
math, someone has to do thatlike sports.
So don't feel bad about that.
And then, but just try your bestand then try lots of different
methods to improve it.
And then just pick the best one.
So if you don't mind, I canshare one of my stories when I'm
(30:12):
teaching in the English school.
So as everyone knows, the yearnine of the English school is
the how this year to teach.
I think it's because of thehormones
Michael (30:26):
because I guess they're that special age when you're a
teenager, everyone is angry oryou know, they have so much
emotions going around.
Molly (30:35):
Yeah, they're being very emotional.
And then also they're not verynice to the teachers sometimes.
And then one of my year nineclass one day mocked my accent,
which is really, reallyupsetting.
So I feel really, really bad atthat day.
So basically I cried, I cry atnight and then yes, Michael was
(30:59):
panicked and he didn't know whathappened to me.
So I said I would just beinglaughed(at) by my students.
So I really feel bad aboutthose.
I felt there was no motivationto learn English anymore because
I'm really, I was reallydepressed.
I feel like I have been learningEnglish for so long, but there
(31:21):
is still someone who is notsatisfied with my English.
Michael (31:28):
Mm, no, I think that's a very normal feeling to have.
Everyone has ups and downs andeveryone has days where they
don't feel motivated or goodabout the English.
Molly (31:38):
But on the other hand, so a few days later, another year 9
class, so I have to two yearnine classes.
So I have two year nine classes.
So one of the students of one ofmy year 9 classes told me that
he really admired me.
Well, I'm not sure if it's trueor not.
(31:59):
So he thinks he admire mebecause I can speak English as a
Chinese in English school andthen teach Chinese in a purely
English group, which is quiteamazing even though I don't
speak perfect English, but I canstill use my English to teach
the British kids.
(32:20):
So they think that was quiteamazing.
And then, and then he told methat he probably, he can never
do that.
Like to to teach Chinese orsorry to teach English in the
Chinese school.
And then speaking Chinese to theChinese People.
So I think I do.
(32:40):
So I think I did do a prettygood job even though sometimes
it was quite hard to go throughlike the periods, when I, when I
was laughed by others.
Michael (32:55):
Yeah, definitely.
So it's I think a really goodidea to not focus on what you
can't do but focus on what youcan do and what you have
accomplished.
So it's really amazing that youcan teach your language in a
completely foreign school whenno one else speaks.
Your language is very amazingand obviously not everyone will
(33:18):
be in that situation, but it'salways a good idea to kind of
look back over the past monthsor years even of your English
study and you see how far you'vecome.
I mean, sometimes it's easy toforget, it's easy to let time
slip by and you don't notice.
(33:38):
It was really important to dothat.
Molly (33:40):
And also, I really recommended to speak English to
um, English people.
Michael (33:48):
Ah, so you mean practice with native speakers?
Molly (33:50):
Yes, so practice with native native speaker.
So by practicing with the nativespeaker, you know how to respond
naturally to in, in the Englishway.
So I think it's the way betterthan just learning from the
textbook.
Michael (34:09):
I completely agree.
I may be biased because I am aonline teacher, but this goes
back to what you said at thebeginning where learning from a
textbook, I think not just inChina properly, probably most
schools around the world, theEnglish is very formal.
Correct.
(34:30):
Um, of course it's correct, butmaybe too correct.
You know, it's quite often notwhat we would say naturally.
Molly (34:37):
Yeah.
Just like the first lesson ofevery English textbook is,
hello, how are you?
I'm fine, thank you.
And you?
So I can tell that basically thesame.
Michael (34:48):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And we do say that in England,but there's a lot of other more
casual ways to say that to, youknow, it's very, very common for
especially men to say to people,all right mate.
All right mate.
Molly (35:02):
Yeah.
So when I, when I say I'm like,I'm fine.
Thank you.
How are you?
To my colleague.
Well my colleagues were totallyshocked.
They were stunned and do knowhow to respond to me because it
was too formal.
Michael (35:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's important to get thatkind of speaking practice and
learn from real life situations,you know, not just learning from
a book, which can be good, butnot if you're only doing that.
Do you have any useful Englishlearning resources that our
listeners might find usefulthemselves?
Molly (35:43):
I always use Memrise and Duolingo.
I'm not sure if you know the twoapps.
Michael (35:52):
Yeah.
So the, these are apps.
So the first is Memrise.
I said m.
E m r.
I.
S.
E.
Yes.
Molly (35:59):
And then another one is duolingo which is spelled
DUOLINGO
Michael (36:07):
DUOLINGO.
And I've used both of them and Ithink they're quite good.
I like them.
I don't use them at the moment.
But yeah, I'll put a link toboth of these in the show notes
if you want to have a look atthat.
And this will be atewmichael.com/molly.
Molly (36:29):
Yes.
And also I recommend if you areinterested in the British
English.
So try to listen more to the BBClearning English website.
Michael (36:40):
Yes, I've seen this and there's so many good lessons on
BBC..
Is it BBC learning English?
Molly (36:46):
Yeah.
BBC learning English.
There are two programs that Ireally recommend.
One is called the English wespeak, so they would talk about
their language point, but in avery casual but natural way.
Um, also there was another onewhich was called BBC six minutes
English.
So when I, when I'm doing ashower, always leave the
(37:09):
speaker.
Oh, leave the speaker on andthen just to play the BBC.
Michael (37:15):
Oh, that's what that sound was.
Okay.
No, that's good advice.
So again, we will put a link tothem in the show notes again so
you can find them if you wantto.
And you sure there's no otherresources that you would
recommend.
You know, maybe someone in theroom here.
Molly (37:31):
Maybe, maybe you can look for, um, native speaker who is
an English teacher
Michael (37:39):
who also has a website...
Molly (37:41):
and who also has a website which is called EW....
Michael (37:48):
You don't remember my name??
Molly (37:51):
e w what?
Michael (37:54):
Michael.
Molly (37:56):
Michael?
Yeah, English with Michael.
Michael (37:59):
Ah, yeah.
Well thank you Molly.
You're so kind to recommend mywebsite.
I know you use it all the time.
Thank you.
Molly (38:07):
I was forced
Michael (38:07):
How about any books?
I see you reading English booksfrom time to time too.
Do you have any favourite books,English books, but any you
recommend or maybe you don'trecommend them?
Molly (38:21):
To be honest, I feel quite hard sometimes to read an
English novel English fictionbecause some of the languages
are really hard to understandand it's quite hard for me to
figure out what is the contextmean.
So I'm trying to start from thelike more practical books.
For example, I'm reading a bookwhich is called how to survive
(38:44):
your first year teaching, whichis really practical for me and I
think I'm very interested in itand it's really useful for me
and it motivates me to read moreand more because it's very
useful for my teaching.
Um, so I recommend you to lookfor some books, which is this,
(39:05):
just start from some books,which is easier.
And then which is morepractical.
So I recommend you to start fromsome books which are easier and
then which are more practical.
Michael (39:18):
I think that is good advice because it's kind of like
a multipurpose thing.
You're learning about somethinguseful for you, but also
improving your English.
Yeah, I think that's really goodadvice and yeah, maybe you're a
bit similar to me.
I'm not a big fan of fiction andstories so much, but I think
(39:39):
also it depends on the book, butusually fiction will be very, it
can be very difficult with lotsof difficult adjectives and long
sentences
Molly (39:51):
with simile and metaphor.
Michael (39:54):
Yeah, lots of strange metaphors that dictionaries
can't really help with.
But with a nonfiction book, thewhole purpose of nonfiction is
to explain information in thesimplest way possible possible.
So that might be good forEnglish as well.
Of course, it depends on thebook and the topic.
(40:15):
Uh, yeah, that might besomething to consider if you're
looking to find some readingmaterial.
Molly (40:20):
But for some English learners who really fancy
English fiction, maybe you canrecommend them to read some
English fictions, which alreadyhave had some movie which is,
which made about them.
So for example, I'm trying toread an English fiction, which
(40:40):
is called the Gone Girl.
Michael (40:43):
Yeah.
Gone, Girl.
Molly (40:44):
Yeah.
Not sure if you note that moviebecause I've watched that movie
before.
So I think I can understand thecontext matter.
So I feel a little bit easierwhen I'm doing the reading and
it helps me understand the texteasier.
So I think if you really likedfiction instead of the practical
books, maybe try some books withthe English movie.
Michael (41:08):
Yeah, no, that's a good idea.
So yeah, so it's just basicallywhat Molly is saying is if you
can find a book that also has amovie on the same topic, that's
based, usually the movie isbased on the book.
And then if you watch the moviefirst, you'll have a better
understanding of the story andthe context.
(41:28):
And another piece of advice,which I recently gave in a
youtube video.
I think it's not published yet.
Maybe that will be publishedsoon, but that was to buy a book
and an audiobook so you canlisten to the book while you're
reading it.
So that kind of helps with twolearning kind of skills at the
(41:51):
same time.
It's a little bit of a differenttactic.
So I think we'll end the podcastsoon.
And mainly just because it'svery hot in the UK at the moment
it's 22 degrees, which might notsound hot for many countries.
But for the UK that's quite hot.
(42:11):
Well, okay.
In order to record this podcast,I had to close the windows and
now I'm so hot anduncomfortable.
So I think we'll end up soon.
But before we finish, is thereanything, Molly, that you'd like
people to know about you?
Anything else?
Um,
Molly (42:31):
well because I'm not doing a business and I'm just a
teacher, a very, very, verynormal teacher in UK.
So I would like to say somethingabout my, so let's start from
some stereotypes.
So first of all, I don't eatdogs.
Michael (42:51):
Okay.
In case anyone was wondering,
Molly (42:52):
yes, I don't eat dogs
Michael (42:54):
That isn't really, a think in China.
Not Co mmon A nyway.
Molly (42:59):
Uh, I mean, I mean, it wasn't common before.
It just, just, um, a specificarea in China and then in that
area, some people like eatingdogs.
Michael (43:11):
China's a very big country.
Molly (43:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you.
And then, um, I don't eat dog.
So first of all, and then alsosome people think, because I'm
trainee east, so lots of peoplethink you must be good at
badminton or Ping pong.
So sometimes my colleagues willinvite me to play ping pong or
(43:33):
badminton with them.
And then because they think Imust be good at it because I'm
Chinese, but I'm actually not,so I played very bad badminton
and ping pong.
So, um, that's kind of anotherstereotype and then, well, the
last stereotype about Chinese isthey must be very good at math.
Michael (43:54):
Oh, that's always true.
Molly (43:57):
So I don't think I'm good at math, but I do think the math
that English schools teach isquite easy.
Michael (44:07):
Hmm.
You're saying we're not as smartas you.
Molly (44:10):
I mean, you, you know what?
So when I was doing the finalyear exam, I mean the Gou kou,
the most important exam.
Um, when I'm, when I was in thesecondary school and then I got
about 85%, but um, um, one ofthe worst students in my class,
Michael (44:27):
85%.
That's the worst in my class?
Oh, that was the best in myclass.
Wow.
Okay.
So this is your chance.
This is where you're announcingto the world every stereotype.
A chance to clarify Yeah.
Every stereotype you have aboutChina is wrong.
Molly (44:44):
Not Everything.
Michael (44:46):
One stereotype that is true is all Chinese people are
crazy about food.
Molly (44:51):
Oh yes I am.
So I always spend ages in thekitchen and then just for a few
bites.
Michael (45:00):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just for many hours of cookingfor five minutes of eating.
Molly (45:05):
Yeah.
I can spend about sweet hours inthe kitchen and then keep making
the dumplings.
Michael (45:12):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that is something that I haveyet to be proven wrong on that
all Chinese love food.
So yeah, I think we'll end itthere today.
But thank you very much for yourtime, Molly.
I know you didn't have to dothis, so
Molly (45:25):
Thank you for inviting me.
Michael (45:26):
Yeah, of course.
It's really fun to have you andit's hope.
Yeah.
Molly (45:31):
It's really weird for us to speak in a serious way.
Michael (45:35):
Yeah.
Usually we don't talk so clearlyto each other.
Usually we talk very in a muchmore immature way, maybe so.
It's very awkward
Molly (45:44):
Like"you silly boy."
Michael (45:47):
Hopefully this has been useful for some learners, you
know, to hear another learner'sexperience.
Thank you very much forlistening today.
Molly (45:56):
Thank you for listening to us
Michael (45:58):
and I'll see you next week.
Molly (46:00):
See you next week.
Michael (46:01):
Bye Bye.
You have been listening to theEnglish with Michael Podcast to
view the podcast notes for thisepisode and to listen to
previous episodes.
Head over toewmichael.com/podcast
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.