Learning English Podcast - February 01, 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, Everyday Grammar and Ask a Teacher. We close with an American story. But now, here's John Russell. The activity called yoga means different things to different people around the world. The word itself comes from the Sanskrit language and means union.

For some, yoga is an exercise centered on mindful breathing and slow movement. For others, it is a series of difficult body movements and positioning designed to improve health and fitness. Still others consider yoga a spiritual exercise.

And there are many people for whom yoga is a combination of all or some of these things. So, yoga takes many different forms around the world. All kinds of yoga involve positions known as poses or asanas.

but the positions and training can differ even under yoga methods or styles of the same name including hatha vinyasa ayangar and others so what is the best kind of yoga training for a beginner

"The best is the one that works for you," said Tim Senesi, who has been teaching yoga in Orange County, California, for 22 years. "There are many different paths leading toward the same aim," he added. Hatha, meaning force, describes any kind of yoga class involving asanas.

a sun salutation for example is an important series of twelve asanas that begin many kinds of yoga classes training under the hatha name however is usually gentler than others and more centred on breathing exercises called pranayama

Poses are held for a few breaths, and students usually move more slowly. Hatha can be good for beginners who are looking to relax while improving flexibility and balance. Another style, Yin, pays even more attention to recovery by working to stretch the muscles' connective tissue.

Students hold poses for five minutes or more, permitting the body to settle into a pose rather than pushing it. A more difficult, flowing form of yoga is known as vinyasa. It mixes movement with breath over a series of asanas. Some higher-level vinyasa classes move at a rate of one movement per breath.

In the United States, these classes are often called flow or power yoga. They can be good for people who are more athletic. Still, teachers suggest that even athletic students start with a beginner level.

I wouldn't really encourage them to start in a higher-level vinyasa flow class because they're not going to have the foundation to move safely through that, said Anne Van Valkenburgh of Lanai, Hawaii. She has been training yoga teachers in a mix of methods for 18 years. Ashtanga yoga is similar to vinyasa.

however ashtanga involves a set series of poses that students repeat day after day often going at their own speed as students get stronger and more skilled they move up to a higher series with more difficult poses

Iyengar style involves the same poses as vinyasa, but classes usually move at a slower pace. However, the poses are not necessarily easier. Iyengar yoga pays special attention to carefully moving or aligning parts of the body.

Poses are held for longer and students often use supportive equipment during the exercise. Iyengar is especially good for people recovering from injuries. It can also be a good fit for physically active people who want to get the basics of yoga before moving into different styles.

These days, teachers often mix different yoga methods in a single class, and many classes are not named under any traditional method. The AP suggests that if you are interested in starting to practice yoga, you should look for a beginner series. But if you cannot find one that is right, do not worry.

most teachers are happy to have beginners in their classes and will alter the training to meet the needs of students new to yoga most of all try a few classes until you find the method or teacher who is a good fit for you

i feel sad when someone tries yoga once or twice and they're like eh i don't like it van valkenburgh said adding there's just so much out there that you might be missing i'm john russell this week on ask a teacher we answer a question from saeed in iran about words that can express the idea of duty

Here is Saeed's question. Dear teacher, what is the difference between accountability, responsibility, and liability, especially from the point of view of law? Sincerely, Saeed. I'm happy to answer this question, Saeed. All three of the words you ask about express the idea of duty.

a duty is what a person must do because it is right and just let's begin with the noun responsibility it is the most common word of the three and we use it in everyday speech however when we talk about responsibility in legal terms we are more likely to use the noun duty

We often refer to a task when we use the word responsibility or its adjective form responsible. The following examples show this. It is a pilot's responsibility to safely fly the airplane. A pilot is responsible for safely flying the airplane.

When we want to say that only one person or subject is responsible for something, we can use the adjective "sole" spelled S-O-L-E or the adverb "solely," as in these examples. Any mistakes are the sole responsibility of the writer. The writer is solely responsible for what he or she posts on social media.

to express the idea that someone should agree to having a duty we can use the expression take responsibility for as in the following example people must take responsibility for their own actions

We usually use the noun accountability to refer to possible penalties or bad results people may face if they do not do their duty. To do this, we use the verb hold before the adjective accountable, as in this example: The problem was that no one in the office was held accountable for their actions.

We often use the noun accountability when discussing organizations. For example, if a business has a system of accountability, that means the company's leaders and workers likely face a penalty if they do not carry out their duties.

liability is the most specific term of the three nouns if someone or some group has legal liability that means they have a duty that can be judged in a court of law

We use the adjective form "liable" to say that a person or group can face legal penalties because they were not as careful as they should have been. The following example shows this usage: The company was held liable for failure to warn about the danger of its product.

Notice that we use the verb hold before the adjective liable, just like we do before the adjective accountable. There is also a common use of the noun liability in everyday speech that is not linked to legal issues.

We can say that something or someone is a liability if they make bad results more likely. The following example shows this usage: That football player is getting old and is too slow. He has become a liability for the team. And that's Ask a Teacher. I'm Andrew Smith.

The Everyday Grammar team often receives questions about academic writing. Students around the world want to improve their academic writing so that they can gain admission and succeed in a college or university. In this week's report, we are going to explore one pattern that is commonly used in academic writing.

You will learn to recognize this pattern, and you will learn how you can use it in your own writing. In addition, you will learn about the times you might not want to use it. The structure we are exploring is this: noun plus a that clause. The structure is often used to evaluate or judge a topic or idea.

A "that" clause is a group of words beginning with the word "that." A clause has both a subject and a predicate. The predicate shows what is said about the subject. The noun might come at the beginning or middle of the sentence. Consider the following examples:

the fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation this essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think in the first example the that clause follows the noun fact at the beginning of the sentence

In the second example, the "that" clause follows the noun "belief" at the middle of the sentence. In both cases, the noun plays an important part in showing how a writer evaluates an idea. In other words, the noun helps show how the writer is taking a position and making a claim about something.

Let's study these sentences in greater detail. Think back to the first example sentence we gave you. The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation. Academic writers often use the noun plus a that clause structure to express certainty.

In the sentence, the noun fact plays an important role. When the writer uses the word fact, he or she is showing certainty. It shows that the writer does not consider the point to be a subject of debate. The that clause contains the idea that the writer is certain about. The theory of evolution has been a contentious topic.

Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber are grammar experts. They note that academic writers often use nouns or noun phrases such as conclusion, fact, little doubt, and no doubt to express certainty. The "that" clause can have any number of words or ideas. The important point is that it has a subject and a predicate.

A second common use of noun plus a that clause is to express possibility. Consider our second example. This essay is written in the belief that modern historians need to radically change the way they think. Here, the noun "belief" suggests possibility. It is possible for historians to change the way they think.

Whether this is correct or not depends on the reader's opinion and the persuasiveness of the author's argument. Conrad and Biber note that other nouns commonly used to show possibility include claim and assumption. Sometimes writers will use the noun possibility itself.

The structures we have discussed today are common in academic writing. If you are writing for other purposes, you might want to use more direct language. Take our example. The fact that the theory of evolution has been so contentious in public debates deserves some explanation. You might read this in an academic publication.

this structure might not be the best choice for other situations, writing an opinion piece in the newspaper or an email to your supervisor, for example. In those cases, it might be better to use more direct language. For example, you could write, "Here are the reasons why the theory of evolution has been a contentious topic."

Or simply, people have long debated the theory of evolution. Remember, you have many choices to make when you write a sentence. Learning when to use certain structures can be a long, difficult process. But we bring this lesson to a close with the belief that you will succeed. I'm John Russell. And I'm Alice Bryant.

The Fall of the House of Usher Part 1 It was a dark and soundless day, near the end of the year, and clouds were hanging low in the heavens. All day I had been riding on horseback through country with little life or beauty, and in the early evening I came within view of the House of Usher. I do not know how it was, but with my first sight of the building a sense of

"'Heavy sadness filled my spirit. "'I looked at the scene before me, at the house itself, "'at the ground around it, at the cold stone walls of the building, "'at its empty eye-like windows, and at a few dead trees. "'I looked at this scene, I say, with a complete sadness of soul, "'which was no healthy earthly feeling.'

There was a coldness, a sickening of heart, in which I could discover nothing to lighten the weight I felt. What was it, I asked myself, what was it that was so fearful, so frightening in my view of the House of Usher? This was a question to which I could find no answer. I stopped my horse beside the building, on the edge of a dark and quiet lake.

There I could see reflected in the water a clear picture of the dead trees, and of the house and its empty eye-like windows. I was now going to spend several weeks in this house of sadness, this house of gloom. Its owner was named Roderick Usher. We had been friends when we were boys, but many years had passed since our last meeting. A letter from him had reached me, a wild letter, which—

"'demanded that I reply by coming to see him. "'He wrote of an illness of body, of a sickness of the mind, "'and of a desire to see me, his best and indeed his only friend. "'It was the manner in which all this was said, "'it was the heart in it, which did not allow me to say no. "'Although as boys we'd been together, I really knew little about my friend.'

"'I knew, however, that his family, a very old one, "'had long been famous for its understanding of all the arts, "'and for many quiet acts of kindness to the poor. "'I had learned, too, that the family had never been a large one, "'with many branches. "'The name had passed always from father to son, "'and when people spoke of the House of Usher, "'they included both the family and the family home.'

I again looked up from the picture of the house reflected in the lake to the house itself. A strange idea grew in my mind, an idea so strange that I tell it only to show the force of the feelings which had laid their weight on me. I really believed that around the whole house, and the ground around it, the air itself was different. It was not the air of heaven.

It rose from the dead, decaying trees, from the grey walls and the quiet lake. It was a sickly, unhealthy air that I could see, slow-moving, heavy and grey. Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I looked more carefully at the building itself. The most noticeable thing about it seemed to be its great age.

"'None of the walls had fallen, yet the stones appeared to be in a condition of advanced decay. "'Perhaps the careful eye would have discovered the beginning of a break in the front of the building, "'a crack making its way from the top down the wall until it became lost in the dark waters of the lake. "'I rode over a short bridge to the house. "'A man who worked in the house, a servant, took my horse and I entered.'

"'Another servant of quiet step led me without a word "'through many dark turnings to the room of his master. "'Much that I met on the way added, I do not know how, "'to the strangeness of which I have already spoken. "'While the objects around me, the dark wall coverings, "'the blackness of the floors, and the things brought home "'from long-forgotten wars, "'while these things were like the things I had known since I was a baby—

"'While I admitted that all this was only what I had expected, "'I was still surprised at the strange ideas "'which grew in my mind from these simple things. "'The room I came into was very large and high. "'The windows were high and pointed at the top "'so far above the black floor that they were quite out of reach. "'Only a little light, red in colour.'

made its way through the glass and served to lighten the nearer and larger objects. My eyes, however, tried and failed to see into the far high corners of the room. Dark coverings hung upon the walls. The many chairs and tables had been used for a long, long time. Books lay around the room, but could give it no sense of life. I felt pain.

sadness hanging over everything. No escape from this deep, cold gloom seemed possible. As I entered the room, Usher stood up from where he had been lying and met me with a warmth which, at first, I could not believe was real. A look, however, at his face told me that every word he spoke was true.

"'We sat down, and for some moments, while he said nothing, "'I looked at him with a feeling of sad surprise. "'Surely no man had ever before changed as Roderick Usher had. "'Could this be the friend of my early years? "'It is true that his face had always been unusual. "'He had grey-white skin, eyes large and full of light.'

"'lips not bright in colour, but of a beautiful shape, a well-shaped nose, hair of great softness, a face that was not easy to forget. "'And now the increase in this strangeness of his face had caused so great a change that I almost did not know him. "'The horrible white of his skin—'

The strange light in his eyes surprised me and even made me afraid. His hair had been allowed to grow, and in its softness it did not fall around his face, but seemed to lie upon the air. I could not even with an effort see in my friend the appearance of a simple human being. In his manner I saw at once changes came and went.

"'and I soon found that this resulted from his attempt to quiet a very great nervousness. "'I had, indeed, been prepared for something like this, "'partly by his letter and partly by remembering him as a boy. "'His actions were first too quick and then too quiet. "'Sometimes his voice, slow and trembling with fear, "'quickly changed to a strong, heavy, carefully spaced, too perfectly controlled manner.'

"'It was in this manner that he spoke of the purpose of my visit, "'of his desire to see me, "'and of the deep delight and strength he expected me to give him. "'He told me what he believed to be the nature of his illness. "'It was, he said, of family sickness, "'and one from which he could not hope to grow better.'

"'But it was,' he added at once, "'only a nervous illness which would without doubt soon pass away. "'It showed itself in a number of strange feelings. "'Some of these, as he told me of them, interested me, "'but were beyond my understanding. "'Perhaps the way in which he told me of them added to their strangeness. "'He suffered much from a sickly increase in the feeling of all his senses.'

"'He could eat only the most tasteless food. "'All flowers smelled too strongly for his nose. "'His eyes were hurt by even a little light, "'and there were few sounds which did not fill him with horror. "'A certain kind of sick fear was completely his master. "'I shall die,' he said. "'I shall die. I must die of this fool's sickness.'

In this way, this way and no other way, I shall be lost. I fear what will happen in the future, not for what happens, but for the result of what happens. I have indeed no fear of pain, but only fear of its result, of terror. I feel that my time will soon arrive when I must lose my life and my mind and my soul together in some last battle."

with that horrible enemy, fear. 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.