LEARN 105 ENGLISH VOCABULARY WORDS DAY 15

It’s day 15. That means we’re halfway through your 
30 Day Vocabulary Challenge. One video a day every  

day for 30 days. You’re learning 105 words from 
the academic word list, words you’ll need to know  

if you’re preparing for the IELTS or TOEFL exam, 
but also if you read or watch the news in English,  

or have conversation with native speakers. These 
are intermediate words, very much so a part of  

everyday conversation. We’re going to study 
them in real situations so your understanding  

will go beyond simply memorizing a definition. So 
grab your friends, have them join the challenge,  

and let’s do this. As always, if you like 
this video or you learned something new,  

please like and subscribe with notifications. 
I’d love to have you as my student.
 

During these 30 days, we’re learning 105 
words together. I do have a download for you,  

a list of all the words with definitions and 
sample sentences, as well as quizzes to make  

sure you’re really getting and remembering these 
words. You can get that download by following  

this link or the link in the video description.
Our first word today is CATEGORIES.

A four syllable word with first syllable stress with 
that AA vowel there: caa– caa– cate– cate–  

categories. Categories. It’s a noun, groups of 
people or things that are similar in some way.  

Bodybuilders compete in categories 
according to their weight.  

Let’s look again up close and in slow motion. 

And now we’ll go to Youglish to see 
five examples of this word in context. 

Those are the five categories 
that they’re looking at. 

Categories. Types or subgroups. An everyday 
encounter with categories is types of food,  

fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, 
and so on. These are food categories. 

Those are the five categories 
that they’re looking at. 

Here’s another example.
The way that we look at it  

is there’s sort of two categories of 
films that we’ll be making in the future. 

Categories of film. He’s talking about  

one, blockbusters, when producers 
have lots of money to spend, and  

two, independent films, lower budgets, they 
tend to be very unique. Two different groupings. 

The way that we look at it is there’s 
sort of two categories of films  

that we’ll be making in the future.
Let’s see another example. 

But they’re right here in these 
four categories, solve a problem,  

getting started, how to and troubleshooting.
It sounds like he’s talking about a user  

manual. I recently got a new TV, I love it, 
but it did come with a really big manual,  

a big setup book, and there were different 
categories about the kinds of information  

where you would find what type of information.
But they’re right here in these four categories,  

solve a problem, getting started, 
how-to, and troubleshooting. 

Let’s look at another example.

So we’ve created new categories. 

Did your school give away awards to students? I 
remember a few of the categories, science star,  

spelling champ, and so on.
So we’ve created new categories. 

Our last example.
So I created an easy diagram that separates these  

guys into five different analysis categories.
Analysis categories. Her graph shows data on  

bees. It compares size to how far they can fly 
before needing food. Grouping based on size. 

So I created an easy diagram that separates these 
guys into five different analysis categories. 

Our next word is one you’re likely really 
comfortable with, but let’s make sure you’re  

also comfortable with the pronunciation, it’s 
COMPUTER. Your first syllable should be very  

short, it should feel like there’s no vowel 
there. Com– com– Computer. Puter– rarara–  

It’s a flap T, your tongue just does one quick 
flap against the roof of the mouth. Computer.  

Computer. Now for that ending schwa R ending, 
rrr– you don’t need a whole lot of lip rounding,  

a whole lot of lip flaring. The lips are more 
relaxed when the R’s at the end, but the tip  

still does need to pull back a little bit so it’s 
not touching anything. Ter– ter– ter– Computer.  

It’s a noun, an electronic machine that can 
store and work with large amounts of information.  

He works all day on a computer. Let’s 
look again up close and in slow motion. 

And now we’ll go to Youglish to see 
five examples of this word in context. 

Computer generated movies 
are really mainstream today. 

Computer generated is a compound adjective. 
Somebody used software on a computer to animate  

characters or a scene in a movie. In my early 
childhood, computer generated images were not the  

norm in movies. Now, they are, they’re mainstream. 
We see them all the time. We expect them. 

Computer generated movies 
are really mainstream today. 

Here’s another example.
I had no phone, no computer. 

Do you hear the rising intonation 
at the end of phone and computer?  

This tells the listener that she has more 
to say, she isn’t finished speaking yet. 

I had no phone, no computer.
Let’s see another example. 

Turn off your phone, turn off your 
computer, and listen to your true heart. 

These days, that’s easier said than done. I 
do find that it’s easier for me to make big  

important decisions by taking some time to be 
still and quiet, no technology, just spending  

some time asking myself what I really want.
Turn off your phone, turn off your computer,  

and listen to your true heart.
Let’s look at another example. 

Moore’s law says that computer 
power doubles every 18 months. 

Moore’s law is a way to predict or 
anticipate the development of technology.  

It looks at historical trends, what’s been 
happening in past years with technology growth,  

then it takes that information and makes guesses 
about where technology will be in the future. 

Moore’s law says that computer 
power doubles every 18 months. 

Our last example.
I had some computer  

science colleagues who were working on it.
Computer science. Here, computer is also an  

adjective. Did you know I studied 
this in college? It was my major,  

and I absolutely loved computer programming.
I had some computer science colleagues  

who were working on it.
Our next word is REGULATION. It’s  

a four-syllable stress with stress on the third 
syllable, that begins with a light L. Regulation.  

Regulation. It’s a noun, an official rule or 
a law that says how something should be done.  

The city has regulations on how to get rid 
of waste. It also means the act of setting or  

adjusting the amount of something. The regulation 
of the temperature of the whole building  

is done with this thermostat. As an adjective, it 
means in agreement with official rules. Students  

must wear regulation uniforms. Let’s 
look again up close and in slow motion. 

And now we’ll go to Youglish to see 
five examples of this word in context. 

Regulation that it tells us how we 
buy things in federal government. 

Regulation, rules, instructions. They tell us what 
we can and can’t do. They tell us how to do it. Of  

course, there are many regulations about how the 
US government can or can’t spend its own money. 

Regulation that it tells us how we 
buy things in federal government. 

Here’s another example.
Our minds are muscles  

that also require exercise and regulation.
Regulation here means to set or adjust the  

level or amount of something. If I’m 
feeling very stressed, I can regulate.  

There, I’m using it as a verb, or calm my mind by 
doing yoga, meditating, exercise, or talking with  

a close friend. Our minds also require regulation, 
resetting to our optimal level of calm. 

Our minds are muscles that also 
require exercise and regulation. 

Let’s see another example.
It’s really more about  

blood sugar regulation at that point.
Blood sugar regulation. This is something  

that diabetics really need to know a lot about 
and keep an eye on. Adjusting the blood sugar  

level, making sure it’s in a safe range. 
Range, hey, we studied that on day 12. 

It’s really more about blood 
sugar regulation at that point. 

Let’s look at another example.
Of course there’s going to be quality regulation. 

Quality regulation. There are people and rules 
keeping quality in check, making sure certain  

quality standards are met. This is important when 
it comes to food and medicine, and that’s the work  

of the food and drug administration in the US.
Of course there’s going to be quality regulation. 

Our last example.
And he primarily works on emotion regulation. 

Emotion regulation. This is 
how we deal with our feelings,  

what habits or practices do we use to help us 
deal with our negative or positive feelings  

if an emotion gets too big or overwhelming, 
how do we adjust that to better deal with it? 

And he primarily works on emotion regulation.
Our last word today is AFFECT.  

Second syllable stress. Just the schwa in the 
first syllable. Affect. It’s a verb, and it means  

to produce change in something. His decision 
affects the lives of millions of people.  

The change can be on someone’s body 
or mind, to move the feelings of.  

Hearing opera live for the first time 
really affected me. But it’s also a noun,  

and there it has a different pronunciation. 
There, it’s first syllable stress. Affect.  

Affect. Affect. As a noun, it means a feeling or 
emotion. He responded to the bad news with a flat  

affect. That means not much feeling or emotion. 
Let’s watch again up close and in slow motion.  

Here you’ll see the more common form, the 
verb with second syllable stress.  

And now we’ll go to Youglish to see 
five examples of this word in context. 

Why are some parents foregoing vaccinations and 
how will this affect the population in general? 

Foregoing vaccinations. That means choosing not 
to vaccinate. In this case, parents choosing not  

to vaccinate their children. This might produce 
a change in the health of the overall population.  

Affect. Produce a change in something.
Why are some parents foregoing vaccinations and  

how will this affect the population in general?
Here’s another example. 

We’re trying to affect food 
energy and waste issues. 

Affect issues. We’re trying to change these 
issues, trying to improve the problems,  

and make things better.
We’re trying to affect  

food energy and waste issues.
Let’s see another example. 

Money will affect us every single day 
of our lives until the day that we die. 

How does money affect you? What does money cause 
you to do or not to do? Our need for money is a  

major reason that we get up go to work or school 
every day, and it also influences countless  

other decisions that we make, big and small.
Money will affect us every single day of our  

lives until the day that we die.
Let’s look at another example. 

Because it doesn’t just affect 
them, it affects all of us. 

She’s talking about human rights, the ways that 
people treat each other matters. Positive or  

negative, how a society chooses to treat certain 
groups of people affects the whole society.  

Changes is felt by the whole society.
Because it doesn’t just affect them,  

it affects all of us.
Our last example. 

That there’s something happening in our 
community that we can affect change in. 

We can affect change, we can cause 
change, we can produce different outcomes. 

That there’s something happening in our 
community that we can affect change in.

Seeing their real-life examples can really help 
you understand how to use these words, can’t it?  

I have a challenge for you now. Make 
up a sentence with one of these words,  

make a video of yourself saying it,

and post it to social media, tag me, and use 
the hashtag #rachelsenglish30daychallenge 

Don’t be shy, you can do this. Our next video 
comes out tomorrow at 10AM Philadelphia time,  

come back to learn four more vocabulary words. 
In the meantime, keep your studies going with  

this video, and check out my online courses at 
Rachel’s English Academy. You’ll become a more  

confident English speaker. And please do remember 
to subscribe. I love being your teacher.  

That’s it and thanks so much 
for using Rachel’s English.