1 Hour to Discover English Culture
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knock knock who’s there orange orange
who orangey going to teach me english
so the joke here is that the word orange
sounds like aren’t you so orange you
sounds a little bit like aren’t you
going to teach me english that’s the
joke here orange who orange you going to
teach me english
knock-knock jokes hi everyone how’s it
going i’m alicia have you heard of knock
knock jokes these jokes follow a
question and answer pattern and always
end with a funny pun it starts with one
person saying knock knock and the other
person asks who’s there the first person
gives a name after that the second
person asks for the surname
in response the surname typically turns
the first name into a play on words or a
pun
please note though that knock knock
jokes don’t always need to use first
names often there are jokes that use
common words or nouns that end up
turning into another pun they’re pretty
easy and fun so let’s check out some
more knock knock who’s there alicia
alicia who i need alicia to take my dog
for a walk this is a pun on my name
alicia the leash in alicia sounds like
the word leash which we use it’s like a
chain or a rope you put around a dog or
maybe a cat’s neck
to take them for a walk in your
neighborhood so in this case i need
alicia sounds like i need a leash to
take my dog for a walk the grammar isn’t
necessarily correct like i need alicia
sounds like a leash uh
uh it’s it’s not 100 perfect when you
emphasize with your voice the key word
that sounds like uh the other word in
this case leash in alicia that’s what
makes the joke or that’s what creates
the pun the word play so it’s not i need
a leash to take my dog for a walk which
would be the correct sentence but i need
alicia to take my dog for a walk so
making my name into the joke is what
creates some kind of like interesting
point something um funny about it knock
knock who’s there dwayne
dwayne who
dwayne the sink it’s leaking okay so
what is the deal with this joke why is
this joke supposed to be funny dwayne in
this case we use duane the sink this is
actually a pronunciation joke the name
dwayne sounds like the word drain the
verb drain meaning to remove liquid from
something so
sounds like drain with bad pronunciation
the joke here dwayne and drain the sink
it’s leaking so this is the word play
duane is a bad pronunciation of drain
actually this is a pronunciation that
you might hear little kids use when
they’re first learning to speak like
that r sound can be difficult so i’ve
heard kids say like wayne instead of
rain or like maybe drains like this sort
of
w sound can sometimes be um
like you can sometimes hear this w sound
among little kids who are learning
english like native native level i think
knock knock who’s there henrietta
henrietta who
henrietta whole pizza yesterday that was
dad that was bad that was dad
that was my dad hi dad henry had a whole
pizza yesterday all right what’s the
deal with this joke so this joke is is
more complicated than perhaps the other
knock knock jokes this joke begins with
a feminine name a girl’s name henrietta
is a girl’s name but when the final line
of the joke comes the the the word play
here is that henrietta whole pizza when
you put those whole those three words
together we can sort of hear instead of
henrietta as a name it sounds like henry
ate a whole pizza yesterday so henrietta
becomes henry ate a whole pizza
yesterday the noun of henrietta the name
becomes it’s it sounds like a different
phrase a different grammatical phrase
when you
when you put it in this sentence henry
had a whole pizza yesterday sounds like
henry ate a whole pizza yesterday knock
knock who’s there canoe canoe who can
you stop telling all these knock knock
jokes
no
okay so canoe what’s the joke with canoe
canoe is a long boat that you can paddle
in a lake or a river but that is used in
the sentence uh can you stop telling it
sounds like can you stop telling can you
stop telling the pronunciation sounds
similar to can you stop telling all
these knock knock jokes meaning please
stop
it’s enough knock knock jokes a play
with pronunciation and with grammar to
make this word play did you like these
jokes try it and make your own you can
make your own so if you do share them
with us in the comment section and maybe
we can you can try them out and see if
people understand those jokes if you
like this video please make sure to like
the video subscribe to us if you haven’t
already so you don’t miss out on any
more fun stuff that we’re doing thanks
so much for watching and we’ll see you
again soon bye how is it going my name
is alicia have you heard of knock knock
jokes
hi everyone i’m alicia memorial day in
the united states dates back to the
civil war it’s one of the two major u.s
holidays specifically associated with
fallen soldiers it was more popular at
the beginning of the 20th century than
it is today but it’s still an important
holiday in the u.s
memorial day was not always known by its
current name can you guess what this
holiday was originally named hint the
original name has to do with decorations
we’ll show you the answer at the end of
this video
cemeteries in the u.s are usually
decorated with flags on memorial day
memorial day is also typically marked by
the firing of large guns or multi-gun
salutes in veterans cemeteries the
families of fallen soldiers will often
times go to the grave of their lost
family member to remember them on this
day this holiday is celebrated on the
last monday of
may memorial day has expanded in its
scope over the years originally only for
the fallen union and confederate
soldiers from the civil war it became
more inclusive of the fallen from other
wars over the years today it’s more of a
day of remembrance of the dead in
general with a focus on military members
memorial day parades with plenty of
patriotic imagery are very common
memorial day is often times the day or
close to the day when schools let out
for the summer in the u.s
this is part of the reason that the
holiday is so much associated with
summer tourism
families that visit the graves of fallen
soldiers and those who do not often have
cookouts on this day to celebrate the
beginning of the warm summer months and
their children’s time off from school
memorial day and veterans day are the
two holidays in the united states that
are closely tied to military members and
those who fell in service both holidays
have evolved over the years and now
here’s the answer to the quiz
can you guess what memorial day was
originally named memorial day was
originally called decoration day the
name and the holiday itself have both
changed a great deal over the years but
it still remains an important day for
veterans and their families
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting do you have a
similar day of remembrance in your
country please leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
[Music]
hi everyone i’m alicia new year’s day is
on january 1st in the u.s it’s almost
universally a day off from work and in
the u.s closed stores gas stations and
other businesses are common sights come
january 1st it’s preceded by some of the
largest celebrations in the nation and
weary from being up all night enjoying
the parties americans tend to take it
easy on this day
the song all blank sign is associated
with the new year celebration in the u.s
do you know what this song’s title means
we’ll show you the answer at the end of
this video
new year’s eve and new year’s day in the
united states are both regarded as
holidays though only new year’s day is
an official one the holiday kicks off
late on new year’s eve when people go
out to celebrate in style this holiday
is marked by fancy parties and plenty of
parades and other events
celebrating the new year across the time
zones that cross the us is a popular
tradition with those who like to stay at
home
in times square in new york one of the
biggest celebrations in the nation is
held and this is typically regarded as
the official new year party for the
entire country though each time zone
rings in the new year with its own
celebration
new year’s resolutions are popular in
the united states though often times in
a tongue-in-cheek way
most of the time people will resolve to
give up a bad habit or adopt a healthy
new habit over the course of the new
year it’s almost accepted as a matter of
course that people will not follow
through on these resolutions however and
it fits well with the tradition of
american sarcastic humor
new year’s day isn’t celebrated on
january 1st on all calendars according
to the chinese lunar calendar new year’s
is usually in february depending on the
culture and tradition it can be
celebrated on other dates as well
popular resolutions include quitting
smoking losing weight becoming more
ambitious with goals and getting a
better job
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know what the song title old lang
sign means old length sign means the
good old days or days gone by depending
on the translation the song is a very
old tradition dating back hundreds of
years the new year’s day celebrations in
the u.s can easily extend from before
midnight on january 1st to well into the
afternoon
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting how is new year’s
day celebrated in your country please
leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
hi everyone i’m alicia
martin luther king jr day is held on the
third monday in january every year in
the united states
this holiday is dedicated to the slain
civil rights leader who advocated
non-violent action as a way to reform
discriminatory laws in the united states
martin luther king jr day was not
accepted by all 50 states right away it
was signed into law in 1983. do you know
when all 50 states adopted it we’ll show
you the answer at the end of this video
martin luther king jr day is a federally
recognized holiday but there are
celebrations in some cities and not in
others
martin luther king jr day is tied to the
civil rights struggles of the 20th
century and beyond it’s very much
associated with the struggles of the
african-american community in particular
but it’s also celebrated by most people
in the us as a unifying holiday
celebrating martin luther king junior’s
legacy is a complex endeavor for most
people what he fought for and how he
fought for it are equally important king
advocated for the rights of
african-americans and other groups who
were discriminated against via racist
laws he also advocated non-violence and
the images of riot police beating
unarmed non-violent civil rights
protesters in the 1960s are largely
credited with swaying public opinion
teaching african-american history is a
major component of many martin luther
king jr day celebrations in fact many of
these celebrations and events tried to
inform people about other civil rights
leaders who were instrumental in
reforming exclusionary laws in the u.s
martin luther king jr day is also
celebrated in hiroshima japan where it
is nearly as significant as it is in the
u.s
the city of toronto and canada also
holds festivities in honor of martin
luther king jr
and now here’s the answer to the quiz do
you know when all 50 states adopted
martin luther king jr day
martin luther king jr day was not
officially recognized by every state
until 2000. though president reagan
signed it into law in 1983 many states
resisted the holiday or tried to term at
something else such as human rights day
in utah
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting are there any
holidays that celebrate a famous
historical figure in your country please
leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
hi everyone i’m alicia since 1919
november 11th has been a national
holiday in the united states originally
called armistice day veterans day
commemorates the men and women who
served in america’s armed forces
this holiday is marked by parades
educational events and gatherings at
memorials to fallen soldiers
there is a specific time of day
associated with this november 11th
holiday as well can you guess what it is
we’ll show you the answer at the end of
this video
the holiday was originally specific to
the ending of world war 1 but it became
veterans day in 1954
the end of world war 1 marked the end of
the first global conflict in which the
united states had been involved it also
marked the end of one of its bloodiest
wars and to ensure that people didn’t
forget armistice day was signed into law
in 1919.
veterans day parades are popular events
on november 11th today there are no
surviving combat veterans from the first
world war which it was originally
designed to commemorate you’ll find
veterans of all wars as well as
peacetime veterans marching in veterans
day parades in the united states
people who served in the united states
marine corps also celebrate the birthday
of their branch of service on november
11th the united states marine corps was
established on november 10 1775 but the
events are close enough to make veterans
day an important celebration for members
of the marine corps as well
most members of the marine corps get
some time off to enjoy this holiday
veterans day was briefly moved to
october in 1971. the move did not last
long and by 1978 the holiday had been
moved back to its original november 11th
date
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know the specific time of day
associated with this november 11th
holiday
during veterans day celebrations the
most important time of day is 11 o’clock
am
the armistice that brought world war 1
to a halt was signed on the 11th hour of
the 11th day of the 11th month
germany’s agreement to the cease-fire
brought an end to a war whose
repercussions would be felt well into
the next generation
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting do you have a
similar day in your country please leave
a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
hi everyone i’m alicia on the third
monday of february every year the united
states pays tribute to its first
president george washington washington’s
birthday is a federal holiday and
federal government workers get the day
off it’s not as widely celebrated as
some other national holidays however
sometimes the holiday is referred to as
president’s day
there’s a rather odd tradition
associated with washington’s birthday
and president’s day try to guess what it
is we’ll show you the answer at the end
of this video
washington’s birthday is not among the
us holidays that are associated with
large-scale celebrations there are
celebrations in some cities but compared
to other major holidays in the united
states this one is rather reserved in
nature
washington’s birthday is often part of
the combined president’s day celebration
most of the time presidents day
emphasizes the two people who are
generally considered to be the greatest
presidents of the united states george
washington and abraham lincoln
washington’s birthday is culturally
significant to the united states because
of general washington’s revered place in
history he was the first american
president and beyond that he was handed
a unanimous electoral college victory to
win that office he is also the most
celebrated general in the revolutionary
army that defeated the british
the biggest celebrations of his holiday
are held at the george washington
birthplace national monument in virginia
and at mount vernon
george washington designed the first
medal intended for the average soldier
the purple heart one of the most
respected u.s service medals in
existence is given to soldiers who were
injured in battle and it was designed by
washington himself
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
believe it or not sales are a tremendous
part of the traditional washington’s
birthday and presidents day celebrations
furniture stores and car dealerships are
particularly notable for holding sales
on this day
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting do you celebrate
the birthdays of important leaders in
your country please leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
[Music]
hi everyone i’m elisha passover is one
of the most important jewish holidays
the holiday is widely celebrated in the
united states in areas where there is a
large jewish population in areas where
the jewish population is not so large
passover is generally not celebrated
it’s not an official holiday anywhere in
the united states
a particular type of bread is associated
with passover do you know which type of
bread this is and why it’s associated
with the holiday we’ll show you the
answer at the end of this video
the passover celebration goes on for up
to eight days it commemorates the flight
of the israelites from egypt and one of
the ten plagues that the god of the
israelites released upon the pharaoh
according to the tradition the
israelites were commanded to paint their
door jambs with the blood of a spring
lamb so that they would not be subjected
to the death of their firstborn as the
egyptians were this is where the term
pass over comes from
in areas where there is a large jewish
population many people of other faiths
spend time with their jewish friends
during this holiday and learn a bit
about the jewish culture and traditions
passover is celebrated by secular jews
though the religious connotations are
obviously much less prevalent in these
celebrations both feasting and fasting
are part of the celebration
community passover events are scarcely
heard of in the united states this is
largely a family holiday with a
significant focus on the jewish religion
itself there are many different rituals
related to eating during this time of
year and the retelling of the stories
behind the celebration of passover
while it may not be an official holiday
most americans are well aware of
passover and people of the jewish faith
are often given time off of work so that
they can observe the holiday if need be
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know which type of bread is
associated with passover
unleavened bread is associated with the
passover holiday according to the story
in exodus the israelites did not have
time to wait for the bread to rise
before they fled egypt because of that
they ended up traveling with unleavened
bread and it would evolve into a
cultural symbol within the jewish
community as well as an important staple
of many people worldwide
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting are there any
holidays with religious significance in
your country please leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
hi everyone i’m alicia mother’s day is
held on the second sunday in may of
every year it’s one of the most
important commercial holidays in the
nation the holiday is over 100 years old
and was officially declared a federal
holiday in 1914
originally the holiday was celebrated by
hanging a flag to recognize the mothers
who had a child who died in war today it
has no association with war whatsoever
the first mother’s day celebrations were
associated with a particular movement do
you know what movement with which it was
associated we’ll show you the answer at
the end of this video
mother’s day is just as the name implies
a celebration of everything to do with
mothers it’s common for people to buy
expensive gifts for their mothers or at
the very least to send them a card
showing their appreciation
mother’s day cards have become among the
most commercially successful items
associated with the holiday it’s one of
the times of year where card companies
are just swamped more so than other
occasions
in the united states children will
sometimes really go over the top for
their mothers on this holiday this is
particularly true of sons in families
where there is more than one son it’s
not uncommon for all of them to compete
to get the best gift for their mother
this is truly a day where motherhood is
venerated in the united states
while motherhood is the main theme
behind mother’s day
people in the united states only
celebrate this holiday for their own
mothers it’s rare for people to give
mother’s day gifts to anybody but their
own mother
some families may include the
grandmothers in the celebrations but by
and large this is a holiday celebrated
within the nuclear family
the international mother’s day shrine is
a historic landmark in the united states
where the inaugural mother’s day
celebration was held
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know what movement the first
mother’s day celebrations were
associated with
some of the first mother’s day
celebrations were connected to the
temperance movement the movement behind
the prohibition laws that went into
effect in the early 20th century today
however mother’s day is completely
apolitical
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting is there a day
dedicated to mothers in your country
please leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
[Music]
hi everyone i’m alicia
father’s day is a relatively recent
holiday in the united states having come
into existence in 1972
it’s celebrated on the third sunday of
june every year though it’s not as
commercially important as mother’s day
it’s equally important to many families
father’s day can be a bit more
irreverent than mother’s day in many
regards
lots of people call home on father’s day
guess which type of calls are
particularly popular during this holiday
we’ll show you the answer at the end of
this video
father’s day is all about showing
father’s appreciation for what they do
for acknowledging the role of fathers in
children’s lives and in many cases
simply for making an excuse to hang out
with one’s dad
the holiday tends to have less of the
soft imagery associated with mother’s
day and in fact it does have a
reputation as being an occasion that is
rather lighthearted
father’s day gifts tend to be not
surprisingly manly in nature it’s common
for people to buy their dad’s power
tools neckties sporting equipment and so
forth to show appreciation in fact
getting an ugly necktie on father’s day
is something of a cliched joke among
fathers across the nation it’s been
poked fun at in commercials and in other
venues
father’s day is not quite as popular as
mother’s day
researchers attribute this partially to
the fact that there are more families
with single mothers than there are with
single fathers which may skew the
popularity of the holiday the holiday is
consistently popular however and many
families find an excuse to do something
special just for the father and the
family on this particular day
for younger children actually making a
father’s day gift is something of a
tradition many children are encouraged
to make something that they think their
father would like such as artwork or
crafts for example
other children may opt to help their
father out with chores
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know what type of calls are
popular on father’s day
collect calls are particularly popular
on father’s day somewhat humorously
while fewer people tend to call home on
father’s day than they do on mother’s
day many of them choose to call collect
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting is there a day
dedicated to fathers in your country
please leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
[Music]
hi everyone i’m elisha hanukkah is the
most popular jewish holiday in the
united states it falls on a date
determined by the jewish calendar but is
often very close to christmas making for
a natural association between the two
holidays it’s also called the festival
of lights and commemorates the
rededication of the temple by the
maccabees in the second century bc
a particular toy is associated with
hanukkah do you know which one we’ll
show you the answer at the end of this
video
hanukkah is one of the most important
jewish holidays and is one that most
people in the united states are very
familiar with the distinctive menorah a
candelabra that is kindled as part of
the celebration is commonly associated
with the holiday by most people jewish
or otherwise
gift giving is also sometimes a part of
this holiday
even though hanukkah is not as widely
celebrated as christmas in the united
states
it’s a holiday that most people are
cognizant of and many non-jewish people
who have jewish friends do participate
in it to some extent
the holiday is also sometimes celebrated
by secular jews to keep the holiday
season alive for non-religious reasons
the name festival of lights comes from
the story behind hanukkah according to
tradition the lights in the temple were
able to keep burning for eight straight
days despite only having enough oil to
keep burning for one day this tradition
is remembered today by the lighting of
the menorah
this is the hanukkah tradition with
which most non-jewish people are
familiar and the menorah is widely known
in the united states as an emblem of
jewish people
a hanukkah gilt is a small quantity of
money traditionally given at this time
of year chocolate coins though they
possess no monetary value have become
popular over the years as well
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know which toys associated with
hanukkah the dreidel a particular type
of top with which a game is associated
is a traditional activity for children
during this time of year
the dreidel is very commonly recognized
as a symbol of the jewish people in the
u.s
how was this lesson did you learn
something interesting are there any
holidays with religious significance in
your country please leave a comment at
englishclass101.com until next time
hi everyone i’m alicia kwanza is a
holiday in the united states that
celebrates the heritage of african
americans the holiday originated in 1966
and is held from december 26th until
january 1st today it provides an
opportunity for african americans and
other us citizens to learn about each
other as well as a day that serves as a
uniquely african-american holiday
the first film about kwanzaa was
released in 2009. do you know the name
of that film we’ll show you the answer
at the end of this video
kwanzaa came out of the 1960s in the
united states when racial tensions were
particularly high many leaders in the
african-american community wanted to
create cultural events and holidays that
were specific to african americans
kwanzaa comes out of that desire
this holiday has endured over the years
and in fact has become more popular as
the years have gone on
kwanzaa is very much centered on
community the holiday’s name comes from
a swahili term which refers to both
tradition and reason there are seven
principles associated with kwanzaa unity
collective work and responsibility
self-determination purpose cooperative
economics creativity and faith the
holiday was recently commemorated with
its own stamp issued by the united
states postal service over the years
kwanzaa has become an ideal occasion for
people to learn about african-american
heritage and culture
art literature music and dance are all
celebrated at this time of year and
shared with friends and family as well
as with people outside of the
african-american community while it may
have come out of a divisive time kwanzaa
has become a very unifying holiday and
one that’s widely acknowledged and
celebrated
kwanzaa has a seven candle candelabra
that’s lit over the course of the
holiday this is a tradition similar to
other holiday celebrations during the
darkest time of year when lights are
very important symbols
and now here’s the answer to the quiz
do you know the name of the first film
about kwanzaa that was released in 2009
the black candle was the first american
film about the kwanzaa celebration it
has been featured in other films however
but not as a central element most people
in the united states are familiar with
kwanzaa and whether or not they
celebrate it they generally do know when
it’s held
hi everybody my name is alicia and i’m
here in the studio today with michael
hello
and today we’re going to be talking
about things that every american kid
knows so let’s get right into it these
are going to be things that we think
that maybe
now i imagine
most or all american kids are aware of
or have done to some degree um
so let’s compare why don’t you start us
off um
ah this is a good one i think everybody
knows this everybody still should know
this is the magic word
so usually when you want to like get
someone to say please you’re trying to
teach little kids uh
how to be polite teach them proper
manners and so you say what’s the magic
word
and they say please so like for example
hey mom can i have a cookie
what’s the magic word can i have a
cookie please and then you give them the
cookie yep yep it’s it’s better than
saying say please i feel like saying
what’s the magic word is i don’t know
it’s kind of like a more fun way to to
tell kids like be polite you know say
please and thank you kind of
hypocritical to be like say please yeah
that’s not very polite mom yeah yeah
that’s true nice nice one okay good
uh all right i’ll go to my first one i
picked
okay you’ll see in a second maybe what i
picked um let’s start with
let’s see oh i’ll start with this one
i think kids probably all over the world
are aware of this one or some variation
i don’t know what it’s called many
different languages but hide and seek um
hide and seek is a very very
basic game i mean the the game is
explained pretty much here hide and seek
so a bunch of kids hide and then one
person usually seeks or looks for all
the other kids um so this was one of
those games that you’d play with a group
of friends or even just you know like
with one of your siblings uh if you
don’t have a whole lot of people
but the basic concept of the game is
one or more people hide and then a few
seconds later you go look for those
people um
i i assume that you played this game i
assume that every child played this game
hours and hours and hours spent playing
this game so i mean there’s different
variations of the game but like you have
a home base usually and so that’s where
the person starts and you usually count
to like what 30 100 yeah something like
that yeah yeah and so you close your
eyes the person who’s it and they okay
one two three and then when you are
finished you say ready or not here i
come and you try to find them um
and then if you are hiding
and you make it to the home base and you
touch it you’re free you made it you win
yeah um
or like
i don’t know multiple people can win
it’s it’s really like a young young kid
game yeah like i don’t think i played it
after nine years old yeah i think maybe
around junior high school was probably
the last time that i played it yeah okay
uh hide and seek yeah play hide and seek
if you haven’t i don’t know i bet it’d
be fun as an adult too in the right in
the right situation make it a drinking
game something like that i don’t know
you said it so i didn’t have to okay um
let’s go to your next one what’s your
next one um
i guess talking about games thumb war
thumb war so i think most people do this
around the world they they know the
thumb war which is like
like this and you
you try to catch them but the thing that
not everyone knows is and i think every
american kid knows is you say
one two three four i declare a thumb
more ready go yeah did you not have
already go i don’t remember that last
part i had already go okay and then you
try to get him so yeah you try to you
try to fight and keep the other person’s
thumb down
in retrospect that’s not a very good
game is it nah yeah these are all
terrible game
yeah yeah i did it too though i did it
too though but like
people would always people would always
kind of like get a little bit too into
it and then they’d sort of like kind of
try and rip their hands out of like
right or do the you use this finger you
cheat what is that called the hook like
no hooks i am not aware of the hood so
like this
and then you use this finger so you’re
trying to do it it’s hard and then you
ha you just cheat basically so yeah it’s
stupid game for little kids basically
there’s like it’s like tic tac toe you
can play it like a million times
and usually you get a tie it’s just like
something to do when the teacher’s
talking and it’s just easy you don’t
need a ball you’re just kind of like
okay let’s play them
you’re a terrible child orange yeah it
was pretty bad never listen
okay
all right i’m gonna go to my next one uh
another game i picked dr goose
yes
as i was writing this card i was
thinking to myself why is it called duck
duck goose of all things okay so the
game is very very simple i think you
need you need a group of people for this
one though but you form a ring
a ring of children usually and then
there’s one person who walks around the
outside of the ring and they touch each
each person on the head as they walk by
and say duck duck duck and then randomly
this one person will select one child
and say goose you’re the goose and so if
you are chosen as the goose you have to
get up and chase the other person around
the circle
um and try to get back to your the place
where you were sitting down before them
no you have to tag them right
the the person who
was going duck duck duck and then goose
they try to run around the circle and
steal your spot right and you if you’re
fast enough you can run around and if
you tag them then they keep going and
you get your spots too right right so
it’s it’s it’s like a seated version of
tag almost but i don’t know why we call
it duck duck goose yeah no clue i don’t
know okay
so this one is actually i think it’s
like from
scotland or something i don’t know i
forgot i looked it up but eenie meenie
miney mo
so usually when you’re trying to decide
who let’s say you want to play hide and
seek
and you don’t know who’s going to be the
one who’s it so then you’ll go eeny
meeny miny moe
catch a tiger by his toe if he hollers
make him pay a thousand dollars every
day okay you’re it and there’s a few
variations of that
um
pretty much everyone knows that i still
use it to this day
honestly most people shorten it though
because the tiger the whole tiger thing
is quite long so i think eeny meeny miny
mo it’s just a rhyme to choose someone i
mean you could flip a coin or
do like rock paper scissors or something
like that but for whatever reason we do
this eeny meenie miney moe thing did you
ever do nose goes
uh
as a child no as an adult for a drinking
game yes
you see this is the thing all the things
that were like children’s games become
adult drinking games when you grow up
slowly get perfect very very mature okay
uh my last one is truth or dare
um perhaps this is um more for like
junior high school and high school age
when you start getting a little bit more
like
curious is maybe the right word
so the game is um you have there are two
choices that you can make this game
truth where your friends will ask you a
question and you have to reply with the
truth to that question so usually truth
is like who’s the person that you like
or do you want a boyfriend or do you
want a girlfriend usually it’s something
like that if you don’t choose truth then
you have to choose dare so dare
is the choice where your friends get to
tell you to do something and it’s
usually something crazy um so you either
have the option of being in other words
humiliated by sharing something secret
or humiliated by doing something
embarrassing
it’s a it’s a fun game of humiliation to
play with your friends um
i i’ve i have some i actually have some
good memories playing this game nothing
nothing like bad really just really
really silly stuff actually like singing
weird songs in front of like my my
friend’s parents that kind of thing
right put underwear on your head or
something yeah yeah yeah the one i
remember that just came to mind is they
told me i was like okay dare and then
they said to uh go outside act like a
cow get on all fours and take a big
mouthful of the grass and chew it so
that was kind of that’s a creative dare
yeah yeah that was like that’s why i
still remember it because usually
they’re just kind of like i dare you to
like i don’t know drink too much ketchup
or something i don’t know just something
kind of mm-hmm yeah i don’t know i was
pretty good drink too much ketchup no
maybe yeah i’ve never heard daddy i’m
wearing too much ketchup is that’s too
much ketchup
i decided two tablespoons is adequate
it’s like the annual
sorry every every time all right uh i’m
out i think maybe you’re out okay great
so those are a few things that perhaps i
think most if not all american kids know
or are aware of a lot of them were games
maybe you have similar games in your
country so if you uh if you had some
interesting experiences playing these
games or if you have a game that’s
similar um to one of the games or one of
the um ideas that we’ve talked about
here please let us know in a comment and
it would be interesting to compare
any other ideas that’s about it that’s
about it okay uh well thanks very much
for joining us for this episode of
english topics and we will see you again
soon take care bye hi everybody my name
is alicia and today i’m joined in the
studio bye michael hello
and today we’re going to be talking
about the halloween experience in the
united states so we’re going to share
some things about our experience as
children and perhaps as adults
with halloween
thus far so the first topic for
discussion for today is our favorite
costume so this is something that we’ve
actually worn at any point in time for
halloween so what
for you what has been your favorite
costume thus far so this was a tough one
to think about because the fun costumes
i’ve made um i had more fun making than
wearing like i made like a mega man
costume a mega a mega man jedi costume
that was pretty cool but my favorite
was
the kissing booth oh so this was one of
those easy you know you don’t make it
you go to the store and you buy it and
it just has like plastic pvc pipe
in a square with a red curtain and like
text that says kissing boots really easy
my friend had it it was last minute i
didn’t have a costume he said hey you
should use this and it was a lot of fun
but it was before
you know i was still young so i wasn’t
this like crazy passionate drunken it
was you know i was like 15. so it’s just
a peck but it was the first time to get
kisses and stuff and it was just so that
was my fun like funnest memory of
wearing a costume okay okay yeah that’s
a good one mine i went a different route
with
i picked a character actually i went one
year as uh tom hanks from castaway um so
i had like a uh just a ripped up white
t-shirt and and some i just bought like
a pair of old pants at the thrift store
and ripped those up a bit and i made my
hair really really big and kind of put
some like fake bruising on my face and
then i made a paper mache wilson
the volleyball that he had with him on
the island i made like the hand print
and everything on it and carried that
around castaway was a famous um tom
hanks film from
oh gosh 10 or 15 years ago now i don’t
even know when that movie came out but
uh castaway tom hanks is stuck on an
island by himself his only companion is
a volleyball
that has a bloody hand print on it and
he names the ball and like
well you’ll watch the movie um so yeah i
chose to go as tom hanks character from
that movie that year yeah that was that
was like you say it was more fun to make
the costume than it was to wear the
costume almost how does one trick or
treat by the way ah trick-or-treating is
basically going door-to-door to your
neighbors uh usually with your parents
so that there’s no
you know dangerous kind of possibilities
you knock on the door and you say trick
or treat and you know there’s five or
six cute little kids and costumes and
then whoever’s living there
gives you candy and you have you know
the the most common thing is you just
get a pillow case but they also have
like you know they they want to sell um
plastic
jack-o'-lantern yeah which the
jack-o'-lanterns like the pumpkin i
think most people know that and it has a
cut hole so it’s plastic you can buy
those um or just yeah pillowcase and get
it full of candy and you go to as many
houses as you can trying to get as much
candy as you can
um and
you know if you’re kind of uh
mischievous or like whatever you’re
greedy or you want to maximize your your
your candy profit you plan beforehand
with your friends and you go okay we’re
going to skip that neighborhood that’s
the poor neighborhood they don’t give
anything good let’s go to the rich
neighborhood and we’ll hit it and then
if we change costumes we can go twice
and get twice as much candy and like
that was hardcore but you know or you
can just go and hey trick-or-treat to
your neighbors and
yeah what was your trick-or-treating
experience what
i was a much kinder trick-or-treater you
didn’t con your neighbors i mean that’s
the typical united states kind of really
maybe i don’t know like we didn’t really
plan it out we would we’d just i think
because i think my parents were just
like let’s go and let’s make sure the
kids have a good time but
let’s come home like and
and then when my brother and i got old
enough like we didn’t really want to do
it anymore so we would stay at home but
one of the things that actually bothered
me about that phase when when i got too
old to trick-or-treat but i would stay
home and like give candy to the kids
there would inevitably be this
you know a handful
of
kids who were too old to be doing it
and they would come in like these
what too old that’s my two old of my
trick-or-treating experience were you
that kid that would come to the door
like at like 16 and you’d have like a
mask like a ski mask or something
and then just like jackets would be like
trick-or-treat like and there’d be like
this little row of like five and
six-year-old kids in their costumes like
and then there’d be this guy just walks
up with a pillowcase in the end and i
was like come on dude like what are you
doing man was that you
yeah oh
why why yeah well we were in the weird
in between and so i was still i had a
baby face you know i went through
puberty later so i still look like a kid
and so some of my friends were the older
they were those kids and that’s when we
planned it when we were old enough to go
on our own that’s when we plan okay we
should go to the rich neighborhood and
this and this before yeah you just go
with your parents and you know they’re
tired they don’t want to walk around
they can just buy you candy so they’re
just like okay let’s go around and you
have fun you know you go around just
your neighborhood a couple times and you
just love the idea of it i mean it’s
pretty easy to please a kid um
but
yeah there’s that awkward in between
where you once you get like armpit hair
and facial hair your voice gets deep cut
it don’t do it anymore if you don’t
party too bad stay home you know do that
kind of thing
um
yeah you’re you’re asking earlier you’re
asking what was my experience were there
any costumes that were kind of hard to
wear
um i remember one uh i asked my stepmom
i wanted to be the um what is that
called the
pumpkin on the head he rides a horse the
wood ah the headless horseman the
headless horseman yes so i wanted to be
that i think there was a movie that came
out i thought it was sleepy hollow
sleepy hollow yeah
um it was cool so she made one for me
and i remember just the head you know it
was an actual like pumpkin on top of my
head so it would like you know bobble
around and stuff and so tiny little kid
bopping around i kept having to go back
to the house you know
duct tape kind of like add to the
costume until eventually i just took it
off and then you just get i think it was
a jason mask you know there’s always the
plan b costumes yeah that’s true the
lazy costumes that you’re like okay
let’s just give up you know you put a
sheet on your body
and cut two holes and you’re a ghost you
know there’s the lazy like poor costumes
that i think that was the plan b right
right right okay so when you when you
did go trick-or-treating was there
anything that you that you got that you
you were just so excited to receive
oh yeah was their favorite candy yeah um
i put the best the okay and the worst
so they’re very organized
so
the worst is tootsie rolls i don’t know
i hated tootsie rolls they’re they don’t
they have like no flavor it’s more of
like an old people candy and it i think
it’s cheap and so you get those and
you’re like uh and that was like 30 40
percent of my bag was tootsie rolls i
didn’t want yeah it’s like a chewy
chocolate about it’s real small looks
like a cat turd you know like it’s
really in general just no good i always
paid such vivid images with your words
michael
so and then the medium that i liked that
most people didn’t like but i loved
but you get so many of them it’s hard to
really love them are the candy corns and
that’s like essential like halloween
candy right like actually yeah that was
on my that was that was my worst
actually not not not because i don’t
like them because candy corn is
perfectly good but when you get the
candy corn some like inevitably it like
goes to the bottom of your bag and it’s
just like hanging out down there and
you’re like i don’t know if i should eat
this i don’t think i will candy corn is
the thing that you like keep in a dish
in your grandma’s house not the thing
that you give out and that’s also one of
those safety things that like they tell
trick-or-treaters like don’t eat any
loose candy that you find in your bag
because you know if it’s not actually
wrapped up then you know someone could
have done something to it yeah so
whenever if i got candy corn we were
always like who did they stick together
they kind of like melt and kind of like
yeah yeah you get the kind of mutated
mutated corn the candy
okay and then what was the the best for
you the absolute best and this i think
is more unique to the
you know united states experim
experience
is peanut butter i loved um either
reese’s pieces or the absolute best was
butterfinger not because butterfinger is
better than reese’s but because it’s
bigger so you get the king size so
basically you want the biggest bang for
your buck
um you know you want the most amount you
know and so a lot of times it was the
bite-sized version these tiny little you
know it wasn’t good enough so when you
you had you know that one house it was
the
like you said it had the lights on it
had tons of decorations you knew they
meant business you knew they were
generous they were like a you know
newlywed couple or something or like old
people who were lonely i don’t know but
for some reason they had tons of
decorations and they invested a lot of
money in halloween so you’re like yeah
go to that house go to that house and
and you get a king-size you know
butterfingers bar it was awesome and
then there’s the candy corn and that
stuff so it just like paled in
comparison yeah yeah yeah i think yeah
you’re right i love peanut butter
reese’s peanut butter cups even today i
cannot buy them because i just eat them
instantly all of them just like others
wow that was like all of costco gone
okay but um when i was a kid though now
i love i’m i’m in the same boat i love
peanut butter and dark chocolate oh mama
it’s so good but when i was a kid my
favorite things to get were skittles or
smarties and actually i found them i was
gonna eat these before we started
filming this video but i found these
over in the snack corner uh over there
skittles um skittles are just a fruity
flavored small kind of hard candy and
then smarties
i feel like there are two camps on
smarties smarties are kind of a chalky
i don’t even know what they’re made of
just like a chalky sugar and i when i
was a kid and even now i don’t know why
something about the act of eating it was
very pleasant
it’s just it was had a weird consistency
to it and i liked that and so i would
always just like slowly like eat them
like one tab at a time and just even now
i’m like no i wish i could
i
really want some now but yeah it’s just
that that was my favorite those two were
my favorite when i was a kid i think
that that’s what we talked about is
actually probably pretty typical of what
the halloween experience is like for
kids of course as you become an adult
the experience will change to some
degree you stop trick-or-treating and
you stay inside and go to
adult adult halloween parties which is
fun as well uh any thoughts anything
else do you know what you’re gonna be
for halloween this year by the way oh
i was thinking i just watched the
princess bride which is a very nostalgic
movie and i was thinking about being the
masked guy it’s a simple costume it’s
like all black i just like the movie i
don’t know what about you yeah actually
i’m trying to think about it i’m
thinking usually
well actually the last couple years i’ve
kind of tried to go a little too complex
and then i like like last year i did i
did a robot i tried to do like an
android robot and i painted all these
lines on me but it would just
it just came off and it just looked bad
after a while so i’m thinking about
going like kind of simple and like
classic monster we’ll see though i i
really don’t know i really don’t know
i’ve been thinking about it anyway
uh
that’s all for the halloween experience
for this time around please let us know
if you’ve had any interesting
experiences with halloween or a similar
holiday in your country let us know in
the comments for sure
thanks very much for watching this
lesson and we will see you again soon
bye
hi everybody my name is alicia and today
i’m joined again in the studio by
michael hello and today we’re going to
be talking about bad habits in english
so these are some things that we’ve
heard before or mistakes that native
speakers and non-native speakers of
english make and that drive us crazy so
let us
begin
you start what’s your first
thing um this doesn’t bug me too much
until
someone points it out about me and then
it drives me nuts
um
ah yeah okay once you tell someone that
they say um
or like
too much
then every time they say it they notice
it and it’s really hard to get a thought
out because these are filler words that
you almost always use or i always use
maybe americans always use but
it’s yeah it’s really tough not to use
the word like or um i think when you’re
just speaking casually right
yeah right well yeah i mean like
right now see why did you have to make
it the first word why’d you have to make
it the first one actually we talked
about that we have a video i think
probably like a year ago one of the
english uh weekly words videos where uh
the word like was one of the words that
americans overuse uh i don’t i don’t
know where that information came from
but um that was see oh my god now i’m
suddenly aware of it why um
this whole thing i’m gonna be thinking
about how often i say liking them okay
let’s see i’m gonna go to one that i
think all of us talked about and all of
us were aware of before we even turned
the camera on but um this is a this one
is written this is a written problem
that drives me nuts and there are so
many variations on this with other words
but this is the big one
your y-o-u-r this is a do not equal sign
y-o-u apostrophe r e so this one your
while you are
uh is a possessive word this is your
shirt your bag your whatever y o u
apostrophe r e is a contracted form of u
are interestingly enough though i will
say that i rarely see non-native
speakers of english make this mistake
most of the time it’s native speakers
who make this mistake
come on guys
really
i just it just drives me nuts yeah that
that one really drives me nuts that one
bugs me too because it’s it’s really
simple i mean there’s another one that
still kind of bugs me but i’m more
forgiving is it’s and it’s
because they’re both
its
and one of them has an apostrophe and in
both cases
it seems reasonable because you can use
an apostrophe for possessive or for a
contraction so both seem reasonable and
you just have to do like you know
mnemonic device figure it out there’s
rules i’m sure there’s a
you know english language english class
101 episode on it you know no apostrophe
is the one that’s the possessive the
apostrophe s is the one that’s stored
for it has or it is
right
but it makes sense it’s kind of tough
for some people to remember um
you
or you’re in your that that really
upsets me yeah just because it’s so easy
it’s simple that and uh there we talked
about this earlier before this that
they’re there and there the possessive
t-h-e-i-r for that’s their house that’s
their dog t-h-e-r-e it’s over there and
t-h-e-y apostrophe-r-e they are there
are three different there there theirs
sound the same but they have different
meanings and they should be spelled
differently too so come on native
speakers
get us together
okay all right next one for you what’s
your next one
ah along the same lines of being
like correct
could of so i think the problem with a
lot of these words
is so it’s supposed to be could have
but when you’re speaking the language
any language you you make it quicker and
quicker and you kind of slur the words
together so like for example grandma
or grandma you like native speakers you
don’t really say the d you say grandma
grandma and so as a kid i thought that’s
how you spelled it and i remember
spelling g-r-a-m-m-a
someone told me no that’s not it
so could have it makes sense why people
would say could’ve but it doesn’t it’s
not proper and you shouldn’t get in the
habit of doing it i think most of these
things you can be forgiving when they’re
kids but it’s best to to nip it in the
bud
because
you know it just becomes a bad habit
yeah and i mean with could have there is
a correct contracted spelled version
it’s just could of apostrophe v e
could’ve i mean i i would argue that
it’s more casual and it’s perhaps not
the most correct um thing to write i
would i probably would just write could
have i probably wouldn’t use the
contracted form so much
use of contractions will make you sound
more casual if you want to write a
formal letter you should i i feel you
should not use contractions if you’re
writing an academic paper as well don’t
use contractions
spell it out spell the whole thing out
you’ll sound much more formal and more
at least in my mind more educated
all right uh great this topic is getting
me all like
fancy okay let’s see i’m gonna go to
okay another another pronunciation issue
that i feel like almost is cool now
okay
let me ask you a question
this pronunciation okay so i’ve written
acts on this card
but the it’s
ask ask let me ask okay so this lemmy
which we talked about in a previous
video which is short for let me i’ve
contracted it here to the very casual
lemmy um but i’ve used lemmy here
because this is this is typically said
in a very very casual setting let me ask
you a question but the pronunciation of
ask should not be ax it’s ask let me ask
you a question i want to ask you
something it’s not acts it’s ask ask
yeah this one
again so like lemmy lemmy is okay i
think most people say lemmy i think
that’s okay but for some reason acts i
think a lot of these just are not even
close at all let me when you say it
really fast it sounds like lemmy i mean
right but when you say
axe it’s just totally wrong well it’s
reversing the the consonants in the word
ask right it’s not faster you’re not
making it quicker you’re not slurring or
making you know putting it into one
little like fluid blob it’s just you
just switch the two
uh yeah syllables similarly i hear this
with the word uh asterisk as well the
little star that’s on like the number
eight on your keyboard or whatever that
this looking thing it’s not an asterisk
or what i don’t even know it’s asterisk
so
overpronunciation so this one is kind of
the opposite direction so this whole
time we’ve been kind of nitpicking when
you use the incorrect version of a word
i think overpronunciation can also be
equally as damaging but instead of
making you look stupid it makes you look
pretentious so for example
we don’t say in english we don’t use all
of the syllables with chocolate so it’s
cha like when you spell it chocolate
white chocolate right
and so like maybe in spanish or
something like that they would still say
that like chocolate or something
whatever but with english we took it out
and so even though you still spell all
of those syllables native speakers now
say chocolate chocolate or like
comfortable
comfortable that’s how it’s spelled but
native english speakers we say
comfortable
and this is like now it’s it’s i think
it’s like unanimous so maybe when it
becomes when slang becomes so popular
that it’s part of the new language the
language is now evolved if you don’t go
with the flow even though it’s incorrect
i think you sound pretentious that’s a
great one i like that a lot all right uh
i’m gonna
wrap it up i have two actually i’ll just
i think i can do them quickly though do
you have any more by the way
no no okay then i’ll go quickly um these
are two the my last two are just a
couple that my students actually
struggle with so maybe this this is
something that you can work on as well
um this one uh just an example sentence
i want to go to there i’ve underlined
the word to here
um we use the word to when we’re talking
about a specific city or a specific
country like i want to go to new york i
want to go to europe
but there is not a specific location i
want to go to there uh is is not a
specific place so we you don’t need to
use two in this sentence i want to go
there it’s perfectly fine so this is a
mistake that
non-native speakers it seems seem to
make from time to time
perhaps okay
and then another one that i’ve heard a
lot recently is this phrase
in case of and then a country uh so for
example in case of china in case of
egypt or whatever uh where someone is
trying to explain like the political
situation or a policy in that country uh
in case of in case of um but actually
you don’t need to use k-sub just in
china in europe in japan whatever you
don’t need to use kasiv this pattern in
case of is used for like an emergency
situation or used uh to talk about
alternate plans often to to do with
weather so for example in case of rain
the event will be canceled or in case of
tornado please
go to your nearest evacuation center i
don’t know something like that so it’s
used for like an emergency situation
it’s not used to talk about
policies in the countries just use in
plus the place it’s much better much
more natural so those are a few things
that i’ve noticed that non-native
speakers
struggle with sometimes so perhaps
they’ll be helpful for you as well so
thanks very much for watching if you
have a bad habit that you’ve noticed
when you’re speaking english or
if you’ve noticed a bad habit and
somebody else in their english speaking
or their writing or whatever please
leave it in a comment uh let’s compare
it might be interesting to see if there
are any other things that people tend to
struggle with thanks very much for
watching this episode and we will see
you again soon bye
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