Shadow English Podcast

What Zelda taught me about success (Ep.7)

In the Shadow English Podcast, you can improve your listening and speaking through shadowing. First listen to the episode, then you can shadow slow each line. Then you an try to do the same with me speaking a little bit faster than normal. This podcast is meant for non-native English learners who wish to improve their listening and speaking skills. 
Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649
Episode Description
In this episode, I talk about the well-known video game, The Legend of Zelda, and how it gave me perspective on life and success.
Intro and outro music by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)
Transcript
Recently, a new video game has been released that you may have heard of. It’s a game for the Nintendo switch. It is called Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. I have long been a Zelda fan, ever since the original came out for the first Nintendo console. There have been many  great Zelda games over the years, notably for me, Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Breath of the Wild. The latest, Tears of the Kingdom is no exception. I have been playing it quite a bit lately, but thankfully I am able to control my urges to play non-stop compared to when I was younger. In the past, when I would get into a game, it was a borderline addiction. Ha, who am I kidding, I was addicted. 
Video games definitely have the potential to be harmful. But there is another side of video games that I think are extremely beneficial to the human spirit. And that is what I would like to talk about today…what video games…and specifically, what Zelda has taught me about success.
The premise of Zelda (and many RPGs in fact) is that you start from having very little (and only 3 hearts (which is the equivalent to health points, or HP). And…as you progress in the game, you obtain better items, weapons, clothes, and gain more hearts as you explore the land of Hyrule, defeat monsters, and solve puzzles. In the latest rendition of Zelda (and the past game, Breath of the Wild), they take this to another level. You not only have items, weapons, clothes, and hearts that increase over time, but also you can collect korok seeds to be able to expand your weapon, bow and arrow, and shield inventory capacity. There is also stamina, and now even a battery for devices, that you can expand overtime. 
What this has taught me about success is that there seems to be a lot of little things, sometimes seemingly pointless, that you can do and should do to be able to upgrade yourself. What makes the latest Zelda games so remarkable is the degree of freedom they give you, much like life, hardly holding your hand and guiding you to what you should be doing. And you do not have to collect every korok seed or get every weapon, set of clothes, shields, items, etc. to be able to have success in the game. In fact, success can be found by taking any number of paths on the journey to save Princess Zelda. Such is life that there is not one path, but the point I am trying to make is that there are a lot of small things you have to do daily that don’t give you success or raise your stats right away; but eventually pay off in the end. And it is not necessarily about grinding, as you should enjoy the journey, just as you enjoy the adventure of controlling the character of Link as he traverses Hyrule, solves puzzles, and vanquishes foes. 
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How to Learn a Language - Vocabulary is Everything (Ep.6)

Episode Description:
In this episode, I explain what I think is the most important aspect of learning a language.
Intro music by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)
Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649
So I imagine that most of you who are listening to this want to improve their English listening or speaking. I have been an English teacher for the past 14 years. Wow. I can't believe it has been that long.     And...there are many theories about language learning...and there are many differences of opinions. But there is one point of my own teaching philosophy that I wanted to express in today's episode. 
And that is what I believe is necessary to master a second language. 
For me, language learning is fundamentally about learning vocabulary. I know it might sound obvious at first, but you would be surprised on the various teaching methods out there that do not put this as the forefront of second language teaching. There are many reasons for this...and I won't go into the details of the counterarguments today. Rather, I just want to explain why I think vocabulary learning...or perhaps better put, acquisition is the most important feature of language learning. In future episodes, I will delve more into the topic. 
Basically...whenever I am studying for a Japanese test and I get an answer wrong, what I have realized is that I got the answer wrong for one of two reasons...Either I did not know the vocabulary well in the question or I did not know the vocabulary well wherever the answer is found. And this could be for both reading or listening questions. 
Basically, I didn’t know the vocabulary or I did know it and forgot it. 
Furthermore, even if I know the vocabulary, there are levels of comprehension…or getting used to any particular vocabulary item. And by the way, I use the word item deliberately. This is because I define a vocabulary item as a single word, multiword expression, phrase, idiom, or even grammatical structure. Some people might argue that grammar should be treated distinctly from vocabulary, and there is an argument there…but for my purposes, I treat it as a vocabulary item. 
You see, words (or vocabulary) are the fundamental building blocks of language, and therefore, of grammar itself. Thus, knowing words – their meanings and the way they relate to each other – forms the basis of understanding and constructing sentences, which is what grammar essentially is. A particular vocabulary word has collocations, which just basically means a word that another word is often used together with. For example, in English we say “Make a decision” but we “Do homework” or we are “at school” but “in class”. These conventions of which verb or preposition to use are related to the use of the vocabulary word itself and are not defined by grammatical rules. Moreover, grammatical rules are often broken, even by native speakers, like the usage of “Who” vs. “Whom”, or the use of “I” vs “me”, double negatives, and so on…
In any case…I don’t want to go on too much of a tangent in this episode.
So basically, it was the lack of vocabulary knowledge, or perhaps confidence, which trips me up when taking a test, and made me not know what the answer was or misled me to think the answer was something besides the correct answer. 
So, yeah, that is what it comes down to...acquiring vocabulary...or perhaps better put, getting used to the vocabulary (as I just defined it) so that when a particular vocabulary item is used in a novel context, I can quickly piece together the meaning.
 So, wherever you are on your langugae learning journey..whether it be English or another language, getting used to reading and hearing vocabulary in meaningful contexts is essential. Now how to go about doing that is another story...and one I will save for a future podcast.
Thank you for listening as always, and catch you next time!

Why I Came to Japan (Ep.5)

Description:
In this episode, I explain what led me to come to Japan in the first place. www.pera-pera.org/shadowenglishpodcast.
Intro music by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)
Introduction:
Hi, and welcome to the Shadow English Podcast. Improve your listening and speaking by shadowing this podcast. In this podcast I say what is on my mind and you will have a chance to shadow what I say after the episode in both slow speed and fast speed. This podcast is meant for non-native English learners who wish to improve their listening and speaking skills. If you find value in these podcasts  please take a moment to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This will ensure that you don't miss out on any of our upcoming episodes.
And, if you're feeling generous, I would appreciate it if you could leave a review, rating, or comment. Your feedback helps me improve and grow, and it also helps other listeners discover this show. Every share, subscribe and review genuinely makes a big difference.  
On to today's episode...
Transcript:
If you listened to my previous episodes, you probably know by now that I live in Japan. I just wanted to give a little background about why I decided to move here. I am from America originally, and I moved here in 2009. I never planned to be here this long, nor did I plan to move here. I was inspired to apply for an English teaching job because a good friend of mine from college had done a study abroad program at Waseda University in Tokyo. And he told me how great Japan was. I applied to an ALT program with a company I will keep anonymous. Ah, I should probably explain what an ALT is. Basically they are like a voice box of the English teachers here in Japan. Many Japanese people can’t speak English well, and even those that major in English and are English teachers may have poor pronunciation. So …ALTs assist the Japanese English teachers with teaching the class. But sometimes ALTs are just used to read the scripts from the textbook.  That is why I said we are like the teacher’s voice box. In any case, when I applied to the ALT company, I did so half-heartedly. I didn’t think much of the application, and didn’t think I would hear back from them. But lo and behold, they contacted me a few weeks later. And the rest is history.
Okay, maybe I’ll talk more about my personal life in future episodes. But I don’t know. I don’t really like talking about myself too much. I’m not that interesting..ha… Alright, everyone. Have a great day!
See you next week. Website: https://www.pera-pera.org/shadowenglishpodcast
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/69oQvsoqtRlIOIj1CTrcoc?si=8bff1d4f9ceb4a23
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645
Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMDNjYmFmMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Jokes and the differences between English and Japanese humor (Ep.4)

Welcome to Shadow English, the podcast that will transform your language skills as you listen, speak, and perfect your pronunciation, unlocking fluency like never before.
Episode Description
In this episode, we explore the differences between humor in English and Japanese cultures.
Intro music by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)
Transcript:
Okay, I got some intro music now. I’m not sure if I needed any…I guess it just seems like one of those things podcasts do. I guess I am following the crowd. I’m a sheep. Meeh..
Anyway...in the last episode, I talked about the concept of a “play on words”. Today, I wanted to briefly talk about the differences between humor in English and humor in Japanese.
Now, I am by far not an expert on Japanese humor. So this is just my impression, but I get the feeling that a lot of Japanese humor relies on slap stick. You know, like someone slipping on a banana peel, or someone dropping something on their foot. That kind of thing.
Japanese comedy also has something called manzai, which involves two stand-up comedians, as opposed to one man stand up in English-language comedy. And each person in the manzai has a role, one is called a a boke, which is like a goofball, and the other is a tsukkomi, which I guess is sometimes translated as uhh.. ‘the straight man’.  The tsukkomi, or straight man, often corrects or criticizes what the boke says, which often relies on misunderstanding and saying puns or other silly things.  Also, Japanese comedy has rakugo, which is a one-man act, but not standing…rather sitting in the seiza style, which means sitting on ones knees, uhh…legs folded under your butt.. And this person is usually a storyteller and the story often involves humor and some wit.
Okay, so then we have humor in English….man, now I feel like this can be a doctorate thesis if I get too into the weeds. Alright, so there is stand-up comedy, which has various genres, but I guess one of the biggest differences that I have noticed is the joke set up. And this goes beyond stand-up comedy….even when you are telling jokes with your friends or family…the idea of a one-liner… I don’t think they have that in Japanese comedy…rather, they do, but they call them ‘nazo-nazo’, or in English, riddles. So a joke like “Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pencil?” “Because it is pointless”. 
 I think that in Japan, this style of joke-telling is uncommon for non-comedians, and even with professional comedians, this style would be in the style of a manzai, as described before… with a doofus and a straight man conversing with one another. 
In Japanese, a “nazo-nazo”, or riddle, would be said like, uhh… “What kind of ball is square”, and then the answer is “dan-booru,” which means cardboard. So, the ending being bool, booru is ball. This wouldn’t be considered a joke..it's a riddle. Yeah, I always found that interesting. Also, when puns are said in conversation, they often say “oyaji gyagu”, which means ‘old man gag” or “dad joke”. So yeah, pun telling are often associated with being an older man….but I guess that is the same in English.
Anyways, uhh… that is all for now. Hope you enjoyed today’s episode. Catch you next time! Website: https://www.pera-pera.org/shadowenglishpodcast
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/69oQvsoqtRlIOIj1CTrcoc?si=8bff1d4f9ceb4a23
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645
Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMDNjYmFmMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

A Play on Words (Ep.3)

Shadow English Podcast - A podcast where you listen to a 2 min to 5 min podcast about whatever is on my mind, and you will have a chance to shadow my English two times (once slow, once fast).
Episode 3 - A Play on Words
In today's episode, I talk a little about the concept of "a play on words".
Transcript:
Welcome to the Shadow English Podcast, where I say what is on my mind and you will have a chance to shadow what I say after the episode. This podcast is meant for non-native English learners who wish to improve their listening and speaking skills.In the last episode, I talking about the title being a sort of play on words…at least for Japanese speakers. I really love puns, which basically means a play-on-words. When a word or combination of words creates a new meaning, one not originally intended by the original utterance, it is like magic to me. For example, "Why was the math book sad? It had too many problems.""The baker stopped making doughnuts because he was fed up with the hole business." "When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds."Okay, so those are examples of play on words…So, I guess a quick explanation might be needed. Okay, so for the first one…"Why was the math book sad? It had too many problems.”, the play on words is on the word “problems”. Because problems can mean “a math problem” or it can mean having a problem in your personal life.And the second one, "The baker stopped making doughnuts because he was fed up with the hole business.”, the pun is “hole”, H - O - L - E , meaning a hole in the donut, and W - H - O - L - E, meaning the entire of something, so entire business, or “whole business”….And finally, um…"When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.”… the pun is on “four”, the number “four”, F - O - U - R , so “goes back four seconds”…or goes back “for”, F - O - R, for seconds…have another meal…okay, I think that’s enough explanation. As we've seen today, puns and wordplay add a touch of linguistic magic to our conversations, sparking laughter and creativity. Goodbye for now, see you all next week. Goodbye.
Website: ⁠https://www.pera-pera.org/shadowenglishpodcast⁠
Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC__8iO41YoypjkXHkgBjGdw⁠

Meaning Behind the Title (Episode 2)

Welcome to the Shadow English Podcast, where I say what is on my mind and you will have a chance to shadow what I say.
Hello again, welcome back. This is the second episode of Shadow English Podcast. I realize that I never really introduced myself in the first episode. My name is Kevin. You can tell how experienced I am in podcasting..haha..
Today, I wanted to talk about how I came up with the title of this podcast. It is actually a play on words in Japanese. Since I live in Japan, I thought my audience would be Japanese people who are studying English. But of course, I am open to listeners from anywhere in the world. 
You see, in Japanese, they don’t use the word ‘Shadow’, rather they say “Shadowing”. They use the “ing” form for the technique of repeating what someone says in order to improve one’s speaking skills. So, basically, I combined “Shadow” with “English” and then you get ‘Shadowing lish”. Haha, yeah, so it is kind of a play on words…meant for my Japanese listeners. Anyways, that is all for now. I will be posting weekly, by the way.. So tune in next week. Thanks for listening!
Website: https://www.pera-pera.org/shadowenglishpodcast
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/69oQvsoqtRlIOIj1CTrcoc?si=8bff1d4f9ceb4a23
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645
Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMDNjYmFmMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Shadow English Episode 1 - Introduction

A friend and I developed an app! It's called Pera Pera. Currently, it is 3 apps in one, 1)Phrasal Verb Practice, 2)Read Aloud, and 3)SielpHa (which is based on a textbook series used at a university in Japan).Please check it out and try out the Read Aloud App. It has all of my Shadow English Scripts from every episode. You can also write or copy and paste your own scripts to read aloud.https://pera-pera.org/perapera-app/Episode 1 - Introduction Hi…and welcome to the first episode of Shadow English Podcast.In this podcast, I will talk about whatever is on my mind….which is not so unique in the world of podcasts. But what makes this podcast different…and hopefully useful, is that after you listen to me speak, you will have the opportunity to shadow me line-by-line. As you may already be able to tell, this podcast is meant for non-native speakers of English who wish to improve their listening, and most importantly, their speaking skills. The shadowing segment of each podcast will be at two speeds. One is slower than I normally talk, and the other is faster than I normally talk. I think practicing both speeds is important for pronunciation. And I think practicing at both speeds will also improve your listening skill. Website: https://www.pera-pera.org/shadowenglishpodcastYoutube- https://www.youtube.com/@ShadowEnglish4649Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/69oQvsoqtRlIOIj1CTrcoc?si=8bff1d4f9ceb4a23Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/shadow-english-podcast/id1685237645Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lMDNjYmFmMC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw