Learning English Podcast - March 05, 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.

Coming up on the show, I report on an American woman considered one of the bravest and most effective intelligence agents for the United States and allies during World War II. Ana Mateo brings us a gardening report. Later, Jill Robbins and Alice Bryant present education tips.

And Jill returns with Andrew Smith to close out the show with another lesson of the day. But first… Thousands of women have served as intelligence agents for the United States and its allies since the nation began.

Virginia Hall was one of the bravest and most successful spies for the Allies during World War II. Hall was born in 1906 to a rich family in Baltimore, Maryland. She studied foreign languages in college.

In 1931, Virginia Hall took a job at the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. Then she served in embassies in Estonia, Austria, and Turkey. While in Turkey, Virginia Hall suffered a tragic accident. Her gun accidentally fired while she was hunting.

The bullet severely wounded her leg. Doctors removed it to save her life. After that, she wore a wooden leg to walk. She resigned from the State Department as a result, but her injury did not stop her from serving the Allies. Virginia Hall was in Paris, France when World War II began.

She joined the French army and drove a medical vehicle. Before long, however, she had to leave to escape the invading German soldiers. Later, in England, she was invited to join a secret British organization created to organize resistance.

It helped form military teams in German-occupied areas of Europe. Hall learned weaponry, communications, and security. Then she was sent to occupied France. She established communications with the French Resistance Movement in Lyon.

She successfully plotted the escape of many Allied airplane crews and prisoners of the Germans. She saved many lives. Later, she escaped from France over the Pyrenees Mountains in the southern part of the country during the winter. After a time in Spain, however, Hall again spied in France.

This time she was working for the United States Office of Strategic Services. Hall dressed as a farm worker to hide her identity. She reported German troop movements and organized resistance groups. By now, the Germans knew who she was. Some called her the most dangerous enemy agent in occupied Europe.

The resistance fighters she organized gained great success. As the Germans withdrew from France, the fighters killed many enemy soldiers. They took hundreds of prisoners. They exploded four bridges. They destroyed communication lines.

The United States honored Virginia Hall with a Distinguished Service Cross Medal when the war ended. She was the only female civilian in the war to receive this medal. I'm Katie Weaver. ♪

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle Report. In many parts of the world, winter brings cold temperatures and, in some places, snowfall. For people who like planting things, gardening may seem far away. However, during winter weather, there are still things a gardener can do to prepare for the spring.

Gardening expert Jessica Damiano recently wrote about such preparatory tasks for the Associated Press. We can also call these tasks prep work. First, let's talk about seeds. If you have seed packets, she suggests checking their expiration date. That is the date by which they go bad or will not grow.

Damiano says the seeds are usually considered fresh within a year of being packaged, but they can be used for longer than that. However, you cannot be sure if the seeds are still good just by looking at a date. She suggests testing them. To do this, she places several seeds on a wet paper towel.

and then puts that into a plastic container. In about 10 days, she will look to see how many seeds have sprouted. This gives her an idea of how many seeds to use to get the desired number of plants. However, if less than 50% of the seeds sprout, she throws them away.

Damiano tests her old seeds in the winter, before the busy spring gardening season. That is when seed and plant stores, or nurseries, can run out of seeds. She also inspects her gardening equipment. For example, if you use grow lights, lights especially made for plants, make sure they still work.

you might have to buy new bulbs. Damiano brings out her grow lights and inspects each bulb. If necessary, she will order replacement bulbs. That way, she is prepared to plant at any time, even six to eight weeks in the future. She also makes sure she has sterile, seed-starting potting mix

This is special soil for planting in containers. Damiano sharpens her cutting tools, such as pruning shears. Larger tools, like lawnmowers, should be inspected every year. Like nurseries, places that service lawn equipment might be busier in the spring. You can get ahead of the crowd by getting your tools fixed early.

Clean your gardening hand tools like trowels and spades. Cover them lightly with oil. This will keep them in good working order. Inspect things like hoses, sprinklers, and other water systems for damage. Make a list of anything you may need to replace or repair.

Damiano says that you could wait until spring to take care of all these things. But why? Once spring arrives, you will have these tasks done. And that's the health and lifestyle report. I'm Ana Mateo. English has been called one of the most difficult languages for non-native speakers to learn.

One reason is that English has so many rules and almost as many exceptions to those rules. Sometimes this leaves learners confused. For example, the order of words in a sentence can be tricky. Another reason English is hard to learn is that the pronunciation of its words cannot always be predicted by their spelling.

For example, there are at least six ways to pronounce the group of letters spelled O-U-G-H. And maybe the worst thing of all is that there are many idioms or expressions in English. You could say we use idioms like they're going out of style. So it is comforting to know that learning root words can help a non-native speaker use English.

A root word is the most basic form of a word. Root words can help you to break down large, new words into smaller units to discover their meanings. Learning just one root word can help you understand several words in English. So by learning just 20 or 30 root words, you can expand your English vocabulary to include hundreds of new words.

A root can be any part of a word that carries meaning: the beginning, middle, or end. Prefixes, bases, and suffixes are types of roots. The prefix appears at the beginning of a word, the base in the middle, and the suffix at the end. Most English root words come from the Greek and Latin languages.

One useful method for building vocabulary through root words is to first look at the base word and then look for familiar prefixes and suffixes that go with that base. Let's try an example. The base word "struct" it comes from the Latin word meaning "build".

Any English word you hear containing "struct" will relate to building, developing, or creating something. By itself, "struct" is not a word, but it is the basis for more than 30 words in English. For example, the word "construct" is a verb that means "to build."

The prefix "con" means "together" or "with." So, "construct" means "to put things together to build or create something." Adding suffixes to "struct" creates additional words. For example, adding "ion" in English makes verbs into nouns.

When we add -ion to construct, we get construction, which means the process or act of building something. Adding the suffix -ing to construct makes constructing. That is the gerund form and has a similar meaning as the noun construction.

Adding the suffix -ive to make constructive gives us the adjective form and means helpful in developing or improving something. Now let's build onto constructive. Adding the suffix -ly to constructive gives us the word constructively and produces an adverb.

It means doing something in a way that is helpful. There are many other words that the base word "struct" produces. For instance, destruction is the opposite of construction. Destruction is the act of taking apart or damaging something that was built. Instruction means the act of building knowledge and has a similar meaning to the gerund "teaching."

And just like with construct, you can add many suffixes to destruct or instruct to get several more words. The suffixes may include ion, ing, ive, ing+ly, or ive+ly. So you see, by knowing just one root word, struct,

you can get a better idea of the meaning of at least 15 words in English. A few other common root words include bio, meaning life, auto, meaning self, pro, meaning before or in favor of, and tele, meaning distance. Surely you recognize some of these roots.

So choose one or two and write in the comments section all of the words you can think of that come from them. Join us again soon when we will discuss suffixes and prefixes. Learning common roots, prefixes, and suffixes will help you become an expert in deconstructing the meanings of English words and constructing a strong vocabulary. I'm Jill Robbins.

And I'm Alice Bryant. VOA Learning English has launched a new program for children. It is called Let's Learn English with Anna. The new course aims to teach children American English through asking and answering questions and experiencing fun situations. For more information, visit our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.

Hello. My name is Ana Mateo. 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, DC. In lesson 40, Ana is trying something new.

acting on the stage. She tells us why she is making this change in her career. Let's listen. New Year. Some people at the start of a new year make a resolution, a promise to yourself to be better. I thought about my resolution carefully. I want to be an actor on the stage.

Today, I will audition for a show called The Woods Are Alive. Wish me luck. Next. What is your name? My name is Ana Mateo. Are you ready to audition? Yes. Great. Let's begin on page one. Here is the story.

Anna is at an audition. This word is like another word our listeners may know, audio, coming from the Latin root meaning to hear.

An audition is when someone does a kind of interview for a part in a play or as a singer or dancer. Anna says she is doing this because of her New Year's resolution or a decision to make a change in her life. The New Year is coming up soon on the Western calendar. Andrew, do you usually make New Year's resolutions or promises to yourself?

Well, I have learned not to make big resolutions at New Year's because those can be very difficult to follow. Instead, I've learned to make small ones. Those are easier to keep, like folding all my clothes and putting them away. I don't make resolutions, but I do think it's a good idea to stop now and then to take stock of your life.

to think of what you'd like to change about it and make a plan to help yourself make those changes. That's an interesting expression you used, Jill, to take stock of. That means to think carefully about something so you can make a decision about what to do next. Anna said she wants to be an actor. Let's listen and find out what happens when she tries to get an acting job. Is someone there?

You are speaking too softly. Can you speak more loudly and a little more seriously? What was that? Is that loud enough? Yes, yes, that is loud enough. This lesson gives us some good advice on speaking in front of a group, like an actor does, or anyone giving a speech or a presentation needs to do.

In the Pronunciation Practice video for Lesson 40, you can find that advice. The key words you need for understanding this section are lungs, that's the organs that fill with air when you breathe, and diaphragm muscle below your lungs that helps pull air into the lungs and pushes the air out when you speak. Often, English teachers ask students to give a class presentation.

As adults, we may need to give a formal speech. To speak well to a group, you must learn to talk at a louder level and send your voice farther. One way to improve is to learn how to use a part of your body called the diaphragm. Many English learners are afraid to speak loudly. That's because they are not sure that what they are saying is correct. When you speak in front of a group,

You should practice many times so you are more confident about what you are saying. Then you can learn to speak from the diaphragm, the muscle that pushes the air out of your lungs. You can learn to speak from your diaphragm. This will help you to send your voice out clearly and loudly so that your audience can hear you better. As an exercise, stand up straight and put your hand on your abdomen.

Feel it go in and out when you breathe. Breathe in and count to five. One, two, three, four, five. Breathe out and say ah. One, two, three, four, five. Do you feel relaxed? You want to be breathing and speaking from that relaxed state. You're listening to the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast from Voice of America.

That is good advice, to tell students to breathe deeply before they begin a presentation. It helps them relax and speak louder too. Say, Jill, as a teacher, did you have to learn this technique? I sure did, and it wasn't easy for me. I spoke so softly, people always used to tell me to speak up. Let's find out if Anna learns this lesson.

Yes, yes, that is loud enough. Okay, let's turn to page 25. In this scene, you are moving slowly and quietly through the woods. Walking quickly and loudly. Walk slowly and-- I am walking slowly and quietly.

I am walking on a float. Ana, you don't need to say slowly and quietly. Let's try the last scene. Turn to page 48. I say my line first, then you say your line. Will never. I will. Okay, you said that line really late. You need to say it earlier. Sorry, sorry. Let me try again.

Now we've come to another problem: timing. When you're acting, you have to pay attention to the other actors in the play and say your lines at the right time. I used to have that same problem with students. They didn't listen when other students in the class spoke. So they asked the same questions that had just been asked.

I think the director in our lesson has learned to give every new actor a chance, though. Let's find out what she tells Anna after her audition. Yes, I will! Get out of the woods alive. I was too early, wasn't I? Yes, yes you were. Director, what are you doing? I think I have the perfect part for you. The costume is in the back. Please go try it on. Awesome! Oh.

That fits you perfectly. A tree. I'm a tree. In the woods or alive. My new year is starting awesomely. Excuse me, director. Great idea for my tree. Oh, wait. Until next time. Once again, let me tell our listeners, Anna comes out on stage in a cardboard tree costume.

You may have seen this in other videos since Anna loves to wear it. Yes, it's in Lesson 17 of Let's Learn English with Anna as a family tree. And Let's Learn English with Anna is our program for younger learners on the Learning English website. Well, I'm afraid we're almost out of time now.

How about writing to us to tell us when you tried something new, as we saw Ana do in this lesson? Send us an email at [email protected] or comment on our YouTube video. Remember, you can find us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.

We hope you have enjoyed the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. I'm Dr. Jill. Thanks for listening. 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