Learning English Podcast - January 15, 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, John Russell reports on an ancient animal in South America that is disappearing. Katie and Andrew Smith tell about former President Jimmy Carter's efforts in Afghanistan. Jill Robbins and I report on artificial intelligence being used to help people with disabilities. Then, the lesson of the day. But first,

A large frog species that lived alongside dinosaurs and is considered a living fossil is now losing ground in its native Chile. Climate change and human actions are damaging the creature's living environment or habitat.

The helmeted water toad is one of the largest frogs in the world, growing up to over 30 centimeters in length and weighing up to 1 kilogram. The amphibian has experienced little genetic change for millions of years, but now its future is at risk, scientists say.

It's sad that a species that managed to coexist with dinosaurs, that managed to resist a mass extinction, is now threatened by human beings, said Melissa Cancino. Cancino is an animal doctor and founder of Proyecto Amphibia, a group that works on amphibian research and education in Chile.

The helmeted water toads environment covers a large part of the country, but its population is suspected to have decreased by at least 30% since 1990. Matias Fondes, another member of Proyecto Amphibia, has seen the damage first hand.

this estuary runs through the whole city and has plenty of illegal run-offs he said as he walked through a stream outside of valparaiso even so he added the frog manages to survive i'm john russell

Many historians say U.S. President Ronald Reagan helped defeat the former Soviet Union and end the Cold War. Reagan's efforts included giving support to rebel groups fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

U.S. support for Afghan rebels began earlier, under the administration of President Jimmy Carter. Carter ordered secret, non-lethal aid to rebel groups six months before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union invaded in December of 1979.

Carter worked on cooperation with the Soviet Union by seeking approval of the SALT II, or Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, agreement on nuclear weapons. At the same time, his policies and statements pushed against Soviet goals.

David Gibbs is a history professor at the University of Arizona. Gibbs said, I think people's image of Carter as a deeply religious man, a deeply moral man, is very much influenced by the activities he's done after he left office.

But he definitely had a side that was very willing to use force, including nuclear weapons. A communist takeover in Afghanistan in April 1978 brought down the government of President Mohammad Daoud Khan.

In the summer of 1979, Carter signed a secret order known as a presidential finding that permitted the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA, to give non-lethal aid to rebels. The rebels were fighting Afghanistan's Soviet-supported communist government.

Carter's order stayed secret until the 1990s. It became known after several Carter administration officials, including former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, communicated its existence. Some historians have called Carter's plan to aid rebel groups the Afghan Trap.

They said the trap aimed to force the Soviets into a long war, similar to America's fight in Vietnam during the 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1998, Brzezinski denied to the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur that the Carter administration had a plan to get the Soviets into a long war in Afghanistan. However, he also called such a program an excellent idea.

Connor Tobin is an historian at the University College Dublin in Ireland, who has studied the Afghan trap idea. He said most experts do not believe the aid was part of a plan to make the Soviets fight. Tobin said there is not enough evidence to support the Afghan trap idea.

Tobin also said the Carter administration decided to first wait to see how the situation in Afghanistan would develop after the 1978 government overthrow. But that policy ended with the kidnapping and killing of U.S. Ambassador Adolf Dubs in February of the next year.

Brzezinski then ordered a new plan for Afghanistan. Tobin said Brzezinski asked an administration official to consider the question, should we help any insurgents? Tobin said U.S. government officials thought military aid to rebels would cause a strong Soviet reaction.

This judgment led the Carter administration to give non-lethal aid instead. The decision-making process demonstrated caution rather than an effort to induce an invasion, Tobin wrote. Tobin wrote in an article, The Myth of the Afghan Trap, about the concerns of U.S. officials.

He said, instead of trying to push the Soviets into a fight, Brzezinski worried the Soviets would slowly expand their power in Afghanistan. The objectives in mid-1979 were essentially to do something, anything, to counter the Soviet advance in Afghanistan. Tobin said,

In 1979, another development raised concerns in Washington. Even if Carter did not want armed conflict in Afghanistan, he took a strong position against Soviet efforts to control the Persian Gulf. That body of water lies between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two major oil producers.

During a speech to the U.S. Congress in 1980, Carter warned that the U.S. was prepared to use any means necessary to prevent a Soviet takeover of the Persian Gulf area. On December 28, 1979, the day after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan,

Carter gave permission to supply weapons and training for the rebels. Carter lost the 1980 election to Reagan, who mostly continued Carter's Afghan policy for several years before greatly increasing the secret aid program. The aid reached several hundred million dollars a year,

and the Soviet military left Afghanistan in defeat in 1989. Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Katie Weaver.

Assistive technology involves special equipment and computer software that is meant to help people with disabilities. The latest assistive technology is being powered by artificial intelligence, or AI, which might help many students who have difficulties with speaking, reading, writing, and working with language. Although many schools are struggling with how and where to use AI,

Some are welcoming AI applications for students with disabilities. The U.S. Education Department requires schools to provide assistive technology to students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a U.S. federal law.

The Education Department has told school officials they must consider whether students need tools like text-to-speech and alternative communication devices. New rules from the Department of Justice also require schools and other government organizations to make apps and online content available to people with disabilities.

However, there is concern about how to make sure that students using assistive technology are still learning. Students can use AI to organize thoughts into an outline, summarize complex reading material, or even translate the works of William Shakespeare into today's English.

A computer can read materials aloud for students who have vision and reading problems. More and more, those voices produced by machine sound closer to human voices. Alexis Reed is an educational therapist in the Boston area who works with students with learning disabilities.

reid said i'm seeing that a lot of students are kind of exploring on their own almost feeling like they've found a cheat code in a video game but reid said it is far from cheating we're meeting students where they are ben snyder is a fourteen-year-old freshman from larchmont new york

who was recently told he has a learning disability. He has been increasingly using AI to help with homework. He sometimes uses AI to explain math problems. He likes a program called Question AI. One day, he asked the program to help him write an outline for a book report. He finished the work in 15 minutes. Usually, it would have taken him an hour and a half to create the same outline.

but he said he would not use AI to write the report. That's just cheating, Ben said. Paul Sanft is director of a Minnesota-based center where families can use assistive technology tools and borrow devices. He knows some people will use the technology to do the work they should be doing by themselves. That's always going to happen, Sanft said.

but I don't think that's the biggest concern with people with disabilities who are just trying to do something that they couldn't do before. The U.S. National Science Foundation is providing financial support for AI research and development. One group receiving support is called the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education and is linked to the University of Buffalo in New York State.

It is developing tools to help children with speech and language disabilities. Vinu Govindraju is the director of the institute. He said, "Speech-to-text technology is not as good at understanding children's voices, particularly if there is a speech problem." He said, "AI technology is not good at understanding children's handwriting either." Mackenzie Gilkyson

had trouble spelling words the fourteen-year-old from near indianapolis indiana has a condition called dyslexia it makes reading difficult i just assumed i was stupid she said thinking of her early grade school years last year gilkyson was named to the national junior honor society

an organization that supports leadership and academic success among middle school students she said she improved her school performance by using a special ai powered chat bot a word prediction program and other tools that read for her i would have just probably given up if i didn't have them she said

In September, McKenzie's school system started using chatbots to help special education students in high school. She said teachers sometimes struggled to provide students with the help they needed. The students were happy when they heard about the program.

Until recently, students needed to wait for someone to help them, unable to move ahead on their own. Now, we don't need to wait anymore, she said. I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. And I'm Jill Robbins. My name is Anna Mateo. And my name is Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith.

You're listening to the lesson of the day on 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. Being in Washington gives Ana the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and she likes that a lot.

Or as she would say, she thinks that's awesome. Anna thinks a lot of things are awesome. She is a very enthusiastic person. If you're enthusiastic, it means you have a lot of positive feelings and energy about something. She's quite enthusiastic. To her, it's so fantastic. Living in the capital, the capital known as D.C. Well, thanks for that little jingle, Andrew.

Well, maybe it will help people remember the words enthusiastic and fantastic. Maybe. So, as we were saying, Anna likes to meet people from different parts of the world. And in Lesson 16, she is excited. This is very exciting. Excuse me. As I was saying, Anna is excited because she gets to interview tourists who are visiting Washington, D.C.,

Let's listen to her first interview. Excuse me, I'm Ana Mateo from the news. Do you have time for an interview? Sure, I have time.

What is your name? My name is Sabrina. What country are you from? I'm from Bangladesh. So you are Bangladeshi. That's right. My nationality is Bangladeshi. Do you like Washington, D.C.? Yes. The city is very beautiful.

What do you like to do in Washington, D.C.? I like history. So I like walking around and looking at all the monuments and memorials. They make history come alive. Washington has many monuments and memorials. The Washington Monument is behind us. Which is your favorite?

I really like Lincoln Memorial. It is very beautiful and it feels like Abraham Lincoln is still alive. Awesome. Thank you for your time, Sabrina. You're welcome. Visiting the monuments and memorials in DC is also important to many Americans.

And you'll notice that the word "memorial" sounds similar to the word "memory." That's because the two words share the same root, the Latin word "memoria." And a memorial is something that pays respect to the memory of the lives of people who have died. Washington, D.C. has memorials to presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.

to the civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., and to soldiers who have fought in wars. Examples of these are the Vietnam Memorial and the World War II Memorial. Memorials can be inspiring, but also somber at the same time. That's right. Somber means serious or sad. And when we talk about the monuments in Washington, most of those include the memorials.

a monument is a large structure usually made out of stone built to remind people of a famous person or a famous historical event

And the adjective monumental means very large or very important. So, for example, we can say that the Apollo moon landings were a monumental achievement. And Anna would probably say the moon landings were awesome! And I think she's right. They were pretty amazing.

Speaking of Anna, I noticed something she said pretty quickly when she was interviewing tourists. She used the common expression, a couple of. In English, the exact meaning of a couple is two of anything. So if you want a couple of apples, that means you want two apples. But native speakers are not always so exact. When they say a couple of, they just mean a few or a small number.

Let's listen to Ana say that. We'll listen a couple of times. In this case, exactly two. Excuse me. I am Ana Mateo from the news. Do you have time for a couple of questions?

I am Ana Mateo from the news. Do you have time to answer a couple of questions? A couple of is one of those expressions native speakers usually say quickly. Instead of saying of, we just say a because it's quicker. Lesson 16 of Let's Learn English has a pronunciation video that helps you practice this. Let's listen.

When English speakers use the expression "a couple of" to talk about two things, they often say "of" quickly. It sounds like "a couple of." Listen to Ana ask a tourist to answer a "couple of" questions. Excuse me. I am Ana Mateo from the news. Do you have time for a couple of questions?

I noticed another thing Ana said when she asked tourists for an interview. We're going to listen to a couple of examples. Excuse me, I am Ana Mateo from the news. Do you have time for a couple of questions? I am Ana Mateo from the news. Do you have time to answer a couple of questions? You'll notice that in the first example, Ana said each of the three words, "Do you have

Clearly, Anna started speaking more quickly in the second example. You can still hear each of the three words, but the words "do you" sound like one word. Do you? Do you have time to answer a couple of questions? And what would happen if Anna started speaking even faster?

Do you have is such a common and short phrase that native speakers usually say it very quickly, like this. Do you have? The word you becomes reduced to the sound ya. So it sounds like this. Do you have? I think this might be easy and fun for our listeners to practice saying quickly.

Listen first to Jill and me as we ask and answer questions. Then we'll give you a chance to listen and repeat. Do you have it? I don't have it. Do you want it? I don't want it. Do you need it? I don't need it. Do you know it? I don't know it. Do you see it? I don't see it. Do you have to? I don't have to. Do you like it? I don't like it. Do you mean it? I don't mean it. Now listen just to the question and then repeat it with your own voice.

Do you have it? Do you want it? Do you need it? Do you know it? Do you see it? Do you feel it? Do you have to? Do you like it? Do you mean it? Good job, listeners! You've probably noticed that if you want to sound more like a native speaker, you have to learn to put small words together quickly and not say each vowel sound the way you do when you are speaking slowly.

Do you want to repeat some of those phrases one more time? Sure. Listen to me say these phrases quickly. And if you have something to write with, try to jot down what I'm saying. Jot down means to write quickly. Jot is spelled J-O-T. Okay. I'm going to count to three and then say them quickly. Listeners, are you ready? One, two, three. Do you have it?

Do you want it? Do you need it? Do you know it? Do you see it? Do you feel it? Do you have to? Do you like it? Do you mean it?

I think that list is too fast to jot down all at once, but don't worry. You can go back and listen again. Andrew, I noticed that when you read the list quickly, it had an even beat, almost like music. That's right. And listening to the rhythm of English can be helpful for learning how to pronounce it well. So, you can clap your hands while you listen, like this.

Do you have it? Do you want it? Do you need it? Do you know it? Do you see it? Do you feel it? Do you have to? Do you like it? Do you mean it? Keep listening for the ways native speakers say small words and short phrases quickly, and then try to imitate what you hear. You can find many useful examples in Let's Learn English and other VOA programs.

And thanks for listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. 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...