Learning English Podcast - December 11, 2024
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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, we have a story from Ecuador, a town in the country's central highlands is famous for its production of the frozen sweet treat called ice cream. However, that industry is now threatened by daily power outages.

As Jill Robbins reports, officials there say dry weather is causing problems for hydroelectric energy operations that the ice cream businesses depend on. We also hear from Ana Mateo. She tells about efforts to save stranded sea turtles.

Over the last 20 years, the number of stranded sea turtles has increased in the waters off the northeastern coast of the United States. John Russell presents our program, Education Tips. This week, he talks to the Assistant Director of the English Language Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

They discuss question asking and the development of critical thinking skills. Finally, we will close the show with the lesson of the day. But now, here's Jill. In Ecuador, power outages threaten ice cream businesses in the small town of Salcedo in the country's central highlands.

ice cream production in salcedo began in the middle of the nineteen hundreds women working in a roman catholic religious center there would make a fruit drink with milk from the area's dairy farms one of the female religious workers called nuns began collecting the unused drink mixture she turned it into creamy popsicles frozen treats that quickly became popular

the nuns sold the popsicles in town to gather money for the poor but the people of salcedo saw a business opportunity and began trying new flavors and methods soon ice-cream lovers came to support the industry in the town however a recent wave of power outages is threatening salcedo's ice-cream industry the daily loss of electrical power began earlier this year

Each outage can last up to 14 hours. The problem is a long period without rain. Ecuador gets much of its power from hydroelectric centers, which depend on lakes and rainwater. Gabriel Pumasanta is part owner, with his two brothers, of the Polar Bear ice cream factory. He said that if the power outages continue this month, they will have to shut down the factory.

pumasanta said that much of his product has melted because of power outages before september polar bear was producing sixty thousand popsicles per month now the small company makes ten thousand popsicles per month the business has been forced to let go of eight of its ten employees pumasanta is spending the company's savings and those of his family he now works on the plants machines himself

His parents are helping to run the factory. Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, has not been able to solve the electricity crisis. The Chamber of Commerce in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, estimates that power outages are creating weekly losses of $700 million for Ecuadorian businesses. Germán Soria is president of the Association of Artisanal Ice Cream Makers.

he said that before the power crisis sacedo had eighty small and medium-sized ice-cream makers and three large factories now thirty of these smaller businesses have had to close even the large factories are slowing production soria's own ice-cream business is no longer operating

He said he stopped production three weeks ago and had to sell some equipment, as well as some land, to pay his debts. He said that the outages happen at unexpected times. That means buyers, like small stores, are unwilling to purchase ice cream because they are unsure whether it will melt. Local officials say the power crisis has cost 300 jobs in Salcedo.

The town is known for its fruit-flavored ice cream, including flavors such as blackberries and taxo, a kind of tropical fruit. The Ecuadorian government has brought some large electric generators that run on oil or gas, but as Marco Acuña, the president of Ecuador's National Guild of Engineers, said, they do not have the capacity to make up for the current deficit. In Salcedo,

The collapse of the ice cream industry has hurt the local economy. Dairy farms, fruit growers, transporters, and small stores that sell popsicles all feel the effects. Before the power cuts, we would buy up to 150 popsicles a day, said Maria Juliet Lopez, who owns a small store on the Pan American Highway where tourists and truck drivers

stopped to buy snacks. Now we can only take up to 40 popsicles a day because any product that is left over will melt, she said. I'm Jill Robbins. Over the last 20 years, the number of stranded sea turtles has increased in the waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.

as a result special animal hospitals in the new england area are now treating many sea turtles some kinds of these animals are highly endangered the turtles enter waters such as cape cod bay when the weather is warm but when temperatures drop they cannot escape to head south said adam kennedy

He is the director of rescue and rehabilitation at the New England Aquarium. The aquarium operates a turtle hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts. On December 3rd, Kennedy said more than 200 young turtles needed to be treated there. The animals had been stunned by the cold.

The cold-stunned sea turtles wash up on the shores of Cape Cod every fall and winter. Kennedy said aquarium workers expect the number of turtles that they rescue to climb to at least 400. He said the average in 2010 was 40. Kennedy said climate change certainly is allowing those numbers of turtles to get in

where normally the numbers weren't very high years ago. He added that high winds and falling temperatures caused the recent strandings. In the early 2010s, the five-year average of cold-stunned sea turtles in Massachusetts was around 200. In recent years, that number has grown to more than 700.

These numbers come from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. All the turtles at the New England Aquarium's hospital are young. Most are the highly endangered Kemp's ridley turtles. The migration of these turtles often causes them to become stranded in the New England area,

but some are green turtles or loggerheads which are not as endangered kemp's ridley is the world's smallest sea turtle the turtles mostly live in the gulf of mexico but they travel into the northern atlantic ocean when young

A 2019 study in the scientific publication PLOS One said ocean warming increases the chance that turtles will become stunned by the cold in the waters of the Northwest Atlantic. The study said warmer water might push the turtles north in a way that makes stranding more likely.

Melissa Joblin is Director of Animal Health at the New England Aquarium. She said most turtles that arrive at the center are sick. The majority of the turtles arrive with serious ailments, such as pneumonia, dehydration, traumatic injuries, or sepsis. The Turtle Hospital treats the animals so they can be returned to the wild.

Kennedy said they are put in local waters or even taken south to warmer waters. He said about 80% survive. At the end of the day, Kennedy said, getting these turtles back to the wild is what we are doing and what we want. We want them back in the ocean. I'm Ana Mateo. 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. ♪

For VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

Suzanne Meyer, the assistant director of the English Language Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, says that many students need to develop critical thinking skills. In other words, students need to learn how to collect information and then evaluate the information and apply it to a new context.

She says, "We need to get students actively engaged in inquiry from the beginning levels on into those levels where they really are close to professional and university context." One way to develop critical thinking skills, Meyer says, is to teach students to be creative about the types of questions that they ask.

Meyer says that there are many benefits to using question-asking activities with English learners. Question-asking activities help students to become better language learners.

She says question asking overall helps students be better language learners and not for not for the obvious, because you ask a question, you get an answer. But but often questions are the first point of contact. And so if my question is not good, then that's going to direct the level of our conversation.

Meyer also says that question asking may help develop critical thinking skills by allowing for more interactions.

People who can ask questions are very confident. And when you're confident, you can have more interaction. That extra interaction might lead to critical thinking because you're more likely to actually integrate in some fashion into a new setting if you're in an ESL scenario. So I think overall, just that whole question asking idea has just so many benefits overall.

There are many strategies to improve question-asking and develop critical thinking skills. One possible strategy, says Meyer, is to use question-asking patterns that start with concrete questions and move to abstract questions. So, for example,

If students were reading a new text, they would design a series of questions using three different steps. In the first step, students create questions about information in the text that they are reading. In the second step, students create questions about how the information in the text connects to their own life.

In the third step, students create questions about abstract ideas, ideas that came up in the questions about themselves. If students follow these three steps, they have not only practiced creative ways to ask questions, they have also started practicing critical thinking. Meyer gave an example of what this activity could look like.

In the activity, students read part of a story. In this case, the story is about how different foods affect a person. In the first column, there are questions about information in the text. One example of a question is this: How can food help a person's performance?

In the second column, there are questions about how the information in the story connects to students' lives. For example, how do I feel and act when I don't eat well? In the third column, there are questions about abstract ideas that build on questions in the second column.

The question, "Even though people know some foods are unhealthy, why do they eat them?" is one example. These questions, and other questions listed in the table, are examples of how to develop questions. You should, of course, create your own questions. Meyer says that when teachers tell students which questions to answer,

students are less likely to be creative about the types of questions that they ask. So, practice developing your own questions. Try making a list of questions that go from concrete to abstract, like the steps outlined above. Check with your teacher to make sure that your grammar is correct, and try to practice in the classroom.

You can also write us your questions about this story in the comments section or on our Facebook page. Give question asking a try and let us know how it works for you. I'm John Russell. You just heard this week's education report.

Now, John Russell joins us to talk a little more about it. Welcome, John. Hi, Katie. Thanks for having me on the show. In the lesson, we learned about the importance and value of asking questions. I have a question for you. What is an interesting point that you did not include in the report?

One more general point about questions is this: they can help us take advantage of a broader idea that researchers and teachers often talk about. This idea is known as "deep processing". When we engage in deep processing, that is, thinking really hard about something, we can increase our chances of remembering and learning.

So, by asking a series of questions, we force ourselves to engage in deep processing. That's right. We have to think hard to make one question, then think more about another question, and so on. When we do this, our chances of learning and remembering the new materials go up.

There are so many more questions I could ask, but we only have a limited amount of time. John, thank you for coming on the show today. Thanks for having me. See you next time. And now it's time for the lesson of the day on the Learning English Podcast. My name is Jill Robbins, and I'm joined by Andrew Smith. Hi, Andrew. Hi, Jill. Our lesson is based on our video series, Let's Learn English.

The series shows Ana Mateo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. Here's Ana introducing herself. My name is Ana Mateo. Watching and listening carefully to the video series can help you understand and speak English better. And in today's lesson, we're going to talk about that word "speak" and compare it with the word "talk."

The words "speak" and "talk" are similar, but native speakers use them a little differently. Lesson 21 from Level 2 of Let's Learn English shows some of these differences. In the lesson, Anna wants to buy a birthday present for Pete. Her friend Ashley tells her to go to a special store that makes art from objects that people throw away in the trash or rubbish.

Let's listen to the first part. Got it. Pete, I promise I won't tell anyone. Bye. He is so strange. Hey, Anna. Hi, Ashley. Are you talking to yourself again? No, not this time. I was talking to Pete. How's he doing? Good. He has a birthday coming up, but he told me not to tell anyone. Why? From the way he was speaking, I don't think he likes cake or presents.

Or fun. That sounds like Pete. Well, I don't care. I'm getting him a present. Do you know where I can buy something unique? I do. Tanglewood Works. You will definitely find something unique there. Great. I'll go this weekend. Now, speaking of Pete's birthday, what else should I do? I know. I'll rent him a clown. Yeah.

He'll never speak to you again. Now, let's hear Professor Bott explain some of the differences between the words talk and speak.

Did you hear Ashley and Ana using the words talk and speak? Talk and speak both mean to say words. And many times you can use either word without losing any meaning. But there are some differences in when we use these words. The word talk is usually used for conversations between two or more people.

and informal situations such as between friends or family. For example, Ashley asks Anna, Are you talking to yourself again? Speak is usually used for one-way communication such as presentations, formal situations such as a boss speaking with her workers, to talk about language ability, and impolite requests.

You know, I think the formal and informal difference is important for learners to know. For example, if you are going to meet with your boss or someone in a higher or important position, we don't use the word talk. Instead, we say something like this. I need to speak with my boss. And on the phone, when we call a business, we always ask, may I speak with someone?

Or, "May I speak with so-and-so?" And we mention the person's name. And the verb "speak" is also used in some idiomatic expressions. When we say, "Speak for yourself,"

That means we don't agree with or we don't want to be involved in what someone else is saying. For example, if your work colleague says, "We should all tell our manager that we don't like him, but you disagree," then you could say, "Speak for yourself. I actually like him a lot." But you do need to be careful if you use this expression, "speak for yourself."

Because it can have a strong meaning. So, it can sometimes sound impolite or disrespectful. Yep. And we don't want to do that. That's right. But you might be able to say it in a more joking way with your friends. Okay. And here's another expression with the verb "speak." Great. I'll go this weekend.

Now, speaking of Pete's birthday, what else should I do? I know. I'll rent him a clown. When we say speaking of, we just mean we are connecting to something that was already mentioned. Now, let's listen to Anna as she visits the special store to look for a birthday present.

Hey there, welcome to Tanglewood Works. I'm Sue. How can I help you today? Hi Sue, I'm Anna. A friend told me about your store. She said, Anna,

This place is really unique. We are. Here at Tanglewood Works, we focus on things that are handmade, reclaimed, and recycled. Wow. That is really good for the environment. It's really good for you, too. Local artists made all of these one-of-a-kind pieces, and I paint most of the furniture. Can I look around? Oh, please do. So, Anna, would you like to make things? Me?

Oh, no. Every time I try to make something, something goes wrong. Oh, oh, sorry. It's okay, Ana. Everybody can make something. Sue, this piece is very interesting. You know, when I found these pieces, they were broken and in a dumpster. But they spoke to me, and they said, save me, Sue, save me.

So what do you mean they spoke to you? When I see something special that someone has thrown away, I can almost hear it talk. It's not saying anything. Ana, it's not easy to see the treasure in trash. Or hear it talk. But you can learn. In fact, I teach private classes, and one is called Turning Trash to Treasure. Next week, bring in some trash, and we'll turn it into treasure.

Just remember, pick some trash that speaks to you. Got it. I'll see you next week. In the next lesson of Let's Learn English, Lesson 22 of Level 2, we'll find out what Anna tries to make from objects she finds in the trash. And did you hear another idiomatic expression with the verb speak? The store owner says the objects she found in the dumpster spoke to her.

Of course, that does not mean the objects were talking. Instead, it means she felt a special connection to or interest in the objects. We use this expression when we talk about visual art. We can say a painting or sculpture speaks to us. Okay, so from today's lesson, we hope you've learned some of the special ways we use the verb speak.

And remember that there are lots of things you can talk about when you speak English. So keep trying to speak English whenever you can. Thanks for listening to the lesson of the day. If you liked this program, please share it with your family and friends. And remember that you can also find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I'm Andrew Smith. Speak for yourself, Andrew. I'm Jill Robbins.

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