Learning English Podcast - January 08, 2025
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Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Katie Weaver. And I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower and we use words and phrases especially written for people learning English.

On today's program, Jill Robbins has a report on huge projects meant to improve the environment in the wetlands known as the Florida Everglades. Then John Russell reports on a way to gain useful workplace skills called micro-credentials.

Then, listen for an unusual lesson of the day. But first, here is Jill. Some experts say damage to the Everglades ecosystem began when a highway connecting the cities of Tampa and Miami in Florida was built in 1928. The Everglades are a huge wetland at the southern end of the state of Florida.

The highway cut through an area made up of grasses, marshes, freshwater ponds, and forested lands. But now, efforts to return Everglades National Park to a wilder state have taken shape after years of work and billions of dollars. A huge state-federal project aims to undo damage to the wetlands.

Eve Samples is executive director of Friends of the Everglades, a nonprofit group based in Florida. She said, "This is the biggest, most complicated, and most expensive ecosystem restoration project in the world. It's really important that we get it right." The project has continued for over 20 years. Observers say wildlife is returning to some areas

there are fewer invasive trees, and people have good feelings about the changes. The Everglades supports threatened species, protects against storm damage, and provides drinking water for millions of people in South Florida. Development and agriculture have drained water that once flowed freely through the Everglades. Invasive plants and animals have changed the land

Too much phosphorus, mainly from agriculture, has harmed water quality. The cost of efforts to repair the Everglades is more than $23 billion. Those efforts could take 50 years to complete. Today, water quality has improved, but there are still problems. Since 2019, the South Florida Water Management District has worked on about 70 projects.

In 2024, lawmakers approved $1.3 billion in spending over the next 12 months for restoration efforts. That is the largest amount approved so far. One project is to the northwest of Miami. Workers are replacing sugarcane fields. The goal is to supply clean, fresh water to the Everglades.

When the $3.9 billion Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir project is complete, a reservoir and wetland will store and clean polluted water from Lake Okeechobee in Central Florida before it goes into the southern Everglades. Jennifer Reynolds is the Director of Ecosystem Restoration and Capital Projects for the Water District.

It's about getting the water right for the natural habitats and also to sustain the population of people who live and recreate here. Data show the water quality of the area around Lake Okeechobee is very good, although phosphorus levels are rising a little with increased water flow. In the recent past, phosphorus pollution threatened water quality in the Everglades.

But measurements downstream tell a different story. Salinity levels, or how much salt is in the water, have gone up. This suggests to some people that a rise in sea level and saltwater intrusion are increasing. South Florida is in danger from storms and sea level rise. Some people estimate that the sea level in the area will rise as much as 1.2 meters by 2100.

In western Florida, the Miccosukee tribe of Indians says they see a change. Betty Osceola is an environmental activist and tribe member. The tribe says its ancestral tree islands have been flooded by water mismanagement. That hurts the plants and animals they use. Other areas are drier and face polluted water and wildfires.

Restoration efforts are mainly to benefit Everglades National Park, said Osceola. So maybe the National Park sees benefits, but at the sacrifice to the tribe. The tribe supports the Western Everglades Restoration Project. The tribe recently signed an agreement with the National Park Service that gives it more control over the area. Work started last summer on the project's first major feature.

Michael Kennedy Yoon is from New York State. Recently, he was in the Everglades looking for wildlife. He saw a soft-shelled turtle, two alligators, a bird called the anhinga, a night heron, and a swallow-tailed kite.

I think that preserving and conserving wildlife and wildlife areas is some of the best and most useful uses of our taxpayer money, Kennedy-Yoon said. Restoring and protecting the Everglades for recreation and its wildlife is a very important issue to many people. Samples from Friends of the Everglades said, there is a need to build climate resiliency in Florida.

She noted the words of writer and conservationist Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet. I'm Jill Robbins.

In today's workplace, what you learned in the usual college courses may not be very useful later in life. For example, in the field of information technology, workers might never use BASIC, the computer language that was taught in the 1990s, but they might need to know Python or SQL.

The answer for students or workers is a professional certificate program, or what is called micro-credential. UNESCO, the world's education agency, defines micro-credential as professional certification that centers on a set of learning outcomes in a narrow field.

It is completed over a shorter time than a traditional university program, from a week to a month. The most popular fields in which micro-credentials appear are data analytics, information technology support, and cybersecurity.

the courses are often developed by technology businesses like google salesforce meta intuit and ibm the businesses provide a certificate when a student finishes the course

Coursera, an online educational service, recently released a report on how micro-credentials are preparing students for jobs and affecting higher education schools.

It says that 51% of colleges in the United States that offer micro-credentials also provide school credit and more plan to do so in the next few years. Some colleges include one or more courses leading to micro-credentials as part of their usual programs.

At Hawaii Pacific University, school leaders say including professional certifications in its business program has sharply increased the number of interested students. For students, Credential Finder offers a way to search for the right micro-credential offerings by field of study or industry.

for example if you are studying information science you may take google data analytics or an ibm data analyst course if you are working toward a degree in business administration you may take a google project management course

Your university program's advisors should be helpful in identifying the best certificate programs for your area of study. Be sure to check with your country's government for more information on special training programs. One example is Ukraine, which is aiming to meet its shortage of skilled workers with its Reskill UA initiative.

It provides help with finding training and employment. Many of the course providers permit learners to use the materials for free, but to earn a certification, payment is required. Coursera has a monthly fee of $59 or a yearly fee of $399 for its Coursera Plus membership.

for courses that universities offer for credit the payment will depend on the price set by the school the languages available in coursera are english german spanish french russian and portuguese brazilian

Other available languages include Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Traditional and Simplified, and Arabic. The Online Education Service also provides automatic translation of course materials in Swedish, Greek, Polish, Bahasa Indonesian, Italian, Turkish, Thai, and Kazakh. I'm John Russell.

You are listening to the VOA Learning English Podcast. Today, we have John Russell with us to discuss more about today's education report.

Welcome, John. Nice to be here, Mario. John, today's report provides tips about micro-credentials. This word comes from adding a prefix to the word credential, a very common word in the workplace when discussing jobs. Can you explain a little more about its meaning and use for our listeners? I'd be happy to, Mario.

credentials are the documents or certificates that show that a person has the right or authority to do a job or task people might talk about their academic credentials or credentials necessary for an important job

Micro-credentials are a little different. They are usually aimed at teaching specific skills. We noted skills like data analysis, project management, or language skills as examples. So how do micro-credentials compare with college classes? Getting micro-credentials, usually a certificate of some kind, takes less time than a college degree or a long training program.

micro-credentials also cost a lot less because they deal with a single subject or skill and are meant to take less time than other forms of instruction however they can be really useful because they provide specific necessary skills that make both a job candidate or current employee more valuable

Micro-credentials also help ensure that people involved in a field, trade, or industry observe similar standards and rules. In your report, you mention some ways to find these certification programs. Who is offering them? Not surprisingly, colleges and universities are offering micro-credentials especially through MOOCs and online learning.

Well, that is all the time we have for today. Thank you for expanding your report for us. And of course, we look forward to talking with you again, John. Thank you. See you next time. Hello, my name is Anna Mateo. And my name is Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith.

You're listening to the Learning English Podcast. Welcome to the part of the show where we help you do more with our series, Let's Learn English. The series shows Ana Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. To be or not to be in Washington, D.C.? That is an easy question for Ana to answer. Ana loves being in Washington, D.C.

because it gives her the opportunity to do a lot of special things. Andrew, are you quoting William Shakespeare, the famous English playwright? Of course I am. To be or not to be is probably the most famous line from all of Shakespeare's plays. And in Lesson 13 of Let's Learn English, Anna, who loves the theater, is excited.

And that's because she gets to do and see some unusual things at an unusual party. That's right. Anna gets to visit a special birthday party for William Shakespeare. And it's an unusual party because Shakespeare died more than 400 years ago in the year 1616. Well, people still celebrate his life.

especially at the Folger Library in Washington, D.C., which has the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's works. That's where Anna was lucky to find this birthday party for Shakespeare. Let's listen. What is going on here? It's a big birthday party for the writer William Shakespeare. This is a party for William Shakespeare. Awesome! I think awesome is one of Anna's favorite words.

She uses it a lot. Yeah, so do a lot of people in the United States. In American English, awesome just means really good or enjoyable. And this birthday party is awesome for Anna because it lets her see and do things she does not usually see or do. You could say it's an unusual day for Anna.

It's a most unusual time. It's a most unusual day. It's quite bizarre. It's super odd. It's strange in every way. I guess that's our unusual theme music for today's podcast. But now let's listen to the things Anna gets to hear, see, or do at the birthday party.

It's a drum band. I never listen to a drum band. But today, I am listening to a drum band because it's Shakespeare's birthday. This is a puppet show. I never watch puppet shows. But today, I am watching a puppet show because it's Shakespeare's birthday. My clothes are usual. His clothes...

Unusual. In Washington, D.C., seeing a politician or even the president is usual. Seeing the Queen of England is very unusual. Your Majesty.

This is sword fighting. I never sword fight. But today, I am sword fighting. Because it's Shakespeare's birthday. Sword fighting is pretty unusual these days. I know I've never tried it. Me neither. But in some of the plays Shakespeare wrote, it's normal to see a sword fight. Now let's review what Anna saw...

and what she did at the birthday party. First, she listened to a drum band. This is a drum band. I never listen to a drum band. But today, I am listening to a drum band because it's Shakespeare's birthday. Second, she watched a puppet show. This is a puppet show.

I never watch puppet shows, but today I am watching a puppet show because it's Shakespeare's birthday. After that, she saw a man dressed in clothes from Shakespeare's time. That looks unusual today. My clothes are usual. His clothes, unusual. Next, she meets someone dressed like Queen Elizabeth I of England.

who was queen during Shakespeare's time. In Washington, D.C., seeing a politician or even the president is usual. Seeing the Queen of England is very unusual, Your Majesty. And listeners, what's last? You got it. The sword fight.

This is sword fighting. I never sword fight. But today I am sword fighting because it's Shakespeare's birthday. I think the sword fight and the people dressed in old styles of clothes are the most unusual things on a saw. You could say they're not normal. They're strange. Bizarre.

Weird. Different. Out of the ordinary. Odd. Novel. Atypical. Curious. Rare. Unexpected. And I think that list of words might have been unexpected for our listeners. It's a most unusual time. It's a most unusual day. It's... Excuse me. We have more to explain to our listeners. Oh, right. Sorry about that.

I'm Andrew Smith, and you're listening to the Learning English Podcast. There are many words in English that mean the same or almost the same thing as other words. We call these similar words synonyms. Andrew and I gave 11 synonyms for the word unusual. Now we're going to say them one more time. But pay close attention because we're going to say them very quickly, and we're going to add one more for a total of 12 synonyms.

You ready, Andrew? Ready. Strange. Bizarre. Abnormal. Weird. Different. Out of the ordinary. Odd. Novel. Atypical. Curious. Rare. Unexpected. That was fast, but our listeners can have fun listening to that part of the podcast again to try to understand all 12 words.

We should also explain that one of those synonyms is actually four words connected together with hyphens, or the small line between words you sometimes see when you are reading English. That's right. The synonym was "out of the ordinary." Those four words, "out," "of," "the," and "ordinary," get connected into what sounds like one big word, "out of the ordinary."

"Out of the ordinary" simply means "not ordinary." Which means "not normal." "Unusual." "Odd." "Atypical." "Rare." Okay, okay, stop. I think our listeners get the idea about synonyms. I think they do too. But it's good to know how English can use synonyms to express an idea in many ways.

That's true. Sometimes it's also good to know which synonyms are used most commonly to express a particular idea. This can be difficult for people learning English. Yeah, they might need to ask a native speaker which words are commonly used and which words are rarely used or used only in certain kinds of communication.

And even with two common synonyms like the words "usual" and "normal," there can be a difference in how often the words are used. For example, some language databases show that native speakers of American English use the adjective "normal" about twice as often as the adjective "usual." Hmm, that's interesting.

And that word, interesting, makes me think of another important thing from lesson 13 of Let's Learn English. In the beginning of the episode, Anna said she was bored. But today I feel bored. When I feel bored, I always look for something unusual to do. But after going to the birthday party, she says she is no longer bored.

There are many things to do in Washington, D.C. Some usual, some unusual. Today, I am not bored because it is William Shakespeare's birthday. Well, that means the party was not boring. Exactly. Instead, it was interesting or maybe even exciting. If it were boring, then Anna would still be bored.

Ah, okay. I see what you are trying to explain to our listeners. We use "-ed", like with the word bored, to describe our feelings inside, but "-ing", like boring, to describe things we see or perceive. So that means Anna would probably not say, "'I'm boring.'"

That's correct. If she said, "I'm boring," that means she thinks other people do not find her interesting in any way. It would be very unusual for a person to say, "I'm boring." It would be atypical. Or out of the ordinary. A bit odd. Or maybe just an English mistake. So please, listeners, do not say that you are boring.

But it's okay to feel bored from time to time. Jill, how are you feeling? Oh, I'm not bored, but I am a bit tired. Thinking of all these synonyms can be tiring. Yeah, but it's fun too. Hey, I have an idea to keep you awake. Uh-oh, I see you grabbing your guitar. Are you going to play your unusual theme music again? You guessed it.

But first, I want to tell our listeners that there's even more they can learn from Lesson 13 of Let's Learn English. And we will explain those things in another podcast soon. Oh, boy. And they can learn more on our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. They can also find us on YouTube and Instagram.

And thanks for listening to the Learning English Podcast. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. It's a most unusual time. It's a most unusual day. It's quite bizarre. It's super odd. It's strange in every way.

It's a most unusual time. It's a most unusual day. My mind keeps wondering what to think when colors smell like... I've heard the strangest things today, like words that rhyme with oranges. And so I think I'll sit right back and watch the world

And that's our show for today. But join us again tomorrow to keep learning English on The Voice of America. I'm Katie Weaver. And I'm