Pratica di Shadowing: Talking About Work & Life Balance in English | Easy English Podcast - Impara a parlare inglese con YouTube
B2
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy,
312 frasi
Se le frasi sono troppo corte o troppo lunghe, clicca su Edit per modificarle.
1
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy,
2
where we make English simple and enjoyable.
3
I'm Sarah.
4
And I'm Mike.
5
Hello to all of our wonderful listeners,
6
wherever you are in the world right now.
7
Mike, I heard you took a day off last Friday.
8
Good for you.
9
Yes, I finally did it.
10
A full day off, just for me.
11
That's amazing.
12
So what did you do?
13
Did you relax?
14
Go somewhere nice?
15
Well, I cleaned my entire apartment.
16
Okay.
17
Then I did three loads of laundry.
18
Hmm.
19
Then I went to the bank,
20
the supermarket, and the post office.
21
Mike.
22
And then I answered a few work emails.
23
Just a few.
24
Mike, that is not a day off.
25
That is a second job.
26
What?
27
I was very productive.
28
That's the problem.
29
A day off means you rest.
30
You did more on your day off than most people do at work.
31
Okay.
32
Maybe I have a small problem.
33
A small problem?
34
You don't know how to stop.
35
And honestly, I think a lot of people listening right now have the same problem.
36
You might be right.
37
I just, I feel strange when I do nothing, like I'm wasting time.
38
And that is exactly what we're talking about today.
39
Work and life balance in English.
40
Yes.
41
How to talk about that tricky balance between working hard and actually living your life.
42
And this is such a useful topic because everyone deals with this.
43
Students, workers, parents, everyone.
44
True.
45
And today we'll learn how to talk about it in natural, everyday English.
46
So stay with us.
47
And if you enjoy learning with us,
48
please subscribe to Everyday English Academy me.
49
Yes.
50
Click that subscribe button and give this episode a like.
51
It really helps us reach more learners like you.
52
All right, Mike.
53
Let's start with something simple.
54
What does work-life balance even mean?
55
Good question.
56
I think a lot of people hear balance and they think it means exactly 50-50.
57
Half work, half fun.
58
Right.
59
Like a perfect scale.
60
But that's not really how it works, is it?
61
No. Some weeks you work more,
62
some weeks you relax more.
63
Balance doesn't mean equal.
64
It means you feel like you have some control.
65
Yes.
66
It means work is not eating your whole life.
67
you still have time for friends, hobbies, rest.
68
And for cooking pasta without burning it.
69
Hey, that was one time.
70
But yes, balance means your life doesn't feel like it's only about work.
71
And here's a useful word for this, juggle.
72
When you juggle, you try to manage many things at the same time.
73
Like in a circus.
74
Someone throwing balls in the air and trying to catch them all.
75
Exactly.
76
I'm juggling work, family, and my English studies.
77
It means you're trying to do everything at once.
78
And honestly, most adults are juggling something.
79
That's just normal life.
80
But the problem is when you're juggling too many things and you start dropping everything.
81
Yes.
82
When every ball falls on the floor,
83
that's when you know something is wrong.
84
Okay, so let's be honest.
85
What are the signs that your balance is bad?
86
Because I think a lot of people don't even realize they have a problem.
87
Oh, I have a good one.
88
Do you check work emails before you get out of bed?
89
Mmm, prefer not to answer that question.
90
That's a yes.
91
And listeners, do you do this?
92
Be honest.
93
Tell us in the comments.
94
We want to know.
95
Okay, fine.
96
Yes, sometimes I check emails in bed,
97
but only because I want to know if something urgent happened.
98
Nothing urgent happens at 6 a.m., Mike.
99
You don't know that.
100
What if my boss sent something important?
101
Then it can wait until you brush your teeth.
102
Fair point.
103
But here's another sign.
104
Have you ever been at dinner with friends and you're thinking about work?
105
Oh, yes.
106
Your body is at the restaurant,
107
but your brain is still at the office.
108
Exactly.
109
Your friend is telling you a story and you're nodding,
110
but inside you're thinking, did I send that email?
111
That is so common.
112
And it means you can't disconnect.
113
To disconnect means to mentally stop thinking about work.
114
Yes, like turning off a computer in your head.
115
I need to disconnect from work when I get home.
116
But it's hard because our phones are always there and work follows us everywhere.
117
That's true.
118
And I think that is why this is so difficult for people.
119
Twenty years ago, you left the office and work was done.
120
Now your office is in your pocket.
121
Your boss can message you at 10 p.m on a Tuesday.
122
And you feel like you have to answer.
123
Do you, though?
124
Well, no, but it feels that way.
125
And that is where boundaries become important.
126
Right.
127
Boundaries are limits you set to protect your time and your energy.
128
Like saying, after 7 p.m.,
129
I don't check work messages.
130
That's a boundary.
131
Exactly.
132
She set clear boundaries with her boss about working on weekends.
133
Boundaries sound easy, but they're actually really hard to keep.
134
They are!
135
Because there's always that little voice saying,
136
just check one email, just one.
137
And one email becomes five,
138
and five becomes, well, I might as well finish this report.
139
And suddenly it's 11pm and you're working again.
140
I feel personally attacked right now.
141
Good!
142
But seriously, when you don't have boundaries,
143
everything starts to feel overloaded.
144
Overloaded means you have more work or responsibility than you can manage.
145
Like your brain is a backpack and someone keeps putting more and more things inside.
146
Yes, until the backpack breaks.
147
I felt so overloaded last month that I couldn't even enjoy my weekends.
148
And when you're overloaded, you also feel worn out.
149
Worn out means extremely tired.
150
Not just, oh, I'm a bit sleepy.
151
It's deep tiredness.
152
Like your batteries are completely empty.
153
After working six days in a row,
154
I was totally worn out.
155
Yes.
156
And when you're worn out, everything feels harder.
157
Cooking feels hard.
158
Talking to friends feels hard.
159
Even watching TV feels hard because your brain is just done.
160
I know that feeling.
161
You sit down to watch something and you can't even choose a show because your brain has no energy left.
162
You just stare at the screen for 20 minutes scrolling through options.
163
So true.
164
Okay, so here's a question for our listeners.
165
Are you a person who works too much?
166
Or are you actually the opposite?
167
Someone who maybe slacks off a little?
168
Be honest.
169
Tell us in the comments.
170
Oh, slack off.
171
That's a fun one.
172
To slack off means to do less work than you should.
173
to be a bit lazy.
174
Like when you're at work,
175
but you're watching videos on your phone under the desk.
176
Not that I would ever do that.
177
Sure, Mike.
178
He always slacks off on Friday afternoons.
179
That's actually very accurate for a lot of people.
180
Friday afternoon, the brain says, we're done.
181
Weekend mode.
182
The brain just leaves early.
183
But okay, why is it so hard to stop working,
184
even when we know we should rest?
185
I think sometimes people feel guilty.
186
Like, if I'm not working, I'm wasting time.
187
Yes, I definitely feel that.
188
If I'm sitting on the sofa doing nothing?
189
A voice in my head says,
190
shouldn't you be doing something?
191
But doing nothing is doing something.
192
Resting is not lazy.
193
Resting is important.
194
I know that.
195
In theory.
196
In practice, I still reach for my laptop.
197
And that's the trap.
198
Because when you never rest,
199
you start to feel on edge.
200
On edge means you feel stressed,
201
nervous, or tense, like you could snap at any moment.
202
She's been on edge all week because of a big project at work.
203
Yes, and people who are on edge are not fun to be around.
204
They get annoyed easily, they can't relax, everything bothers them.
205
I was definitely on edge last month.
206
My friend asked me a simple question,
207
and I almost got angry for no reason.
208
See?
209
That's your body telling you, stop, take a break.
210
Okay, so let's talk about things that actually help,
211
because we don't want to just complain.
212
True.
213
Complaining is fun, but not helpful.
214
The first thing that helped me was setting a log-off time.
215
To log off means to finish working, especially on a computer.
216
Like actually closing your laptop and saying, I'm done for today.
217
Exactly.
218
I now log off at 6 p.m every day, no matter what.
219
I log off at 6 and I don't touch work until morning.
220
And does it work?
221
Most days, yes.
222
Some days I cheat a little,
223
but having that time in my head really helps.
224
I think the problem is people keep saying, oh, I'll rest later.
225
I'll take a holiday later.
226
and they postpone it forever.
227
Postpone means to move something to a later time.
228
Yes.
229
I keep postponing my vacation because work is too busy.
230
And later never comes.
231
There's always more work.
232
So if you keep postponing rest, you'll be waiting forever.
233
That's very true.
234
Another thing that helps me is taking a breather during the day.
235
To take a breather means to take a short break to relax.
236
Just a few minutes.
237
I love that.
238
Not a big holiday.
239
Just five minutes of peace.
240
Exactly.
241
I'm going to take a breather before this next meeting.
242
Just step outside, drink some water, breathe.
243
Even five minutes can change your whole afternoon.
244
It really can.
245
And here's something I learned recently.
246
Having a hobby that has nothing to do with work is so important.
247
Oh, yes, because it gives your brain something different to think about.
248
I started cooking new recipes on weekends.
249
Nothing fancy, but it's creative and fun.
250
And my brain completely forgets about work for an hour.
251
That's perfect.
252
And it doesn't have to be cooking.
253
It can be walking, drawing,
254
playing games, learning guitar, anything that makes you happy.
255
Yes.
256
What do you do to relax after work, Sarah?
257
Honestly, I go for walks,
258
even just 20 minutes around my neighborhood.
259
Fresh air, some music in my ears,
260
and my brain calms down.
261
Simple but effective.
262
The best things usually are.
263
And listeners, we want to hear from you.
264
What is one thing you do to relax after work or school?
265
Write it in the comments.
266
Even one sentence is great English practice.
267
All right, Mike.
268
Should we do a quick review of the words from today?
269
Let's do it.
270
First, juggle.
271
Managing many things at the same time.
272
I'm juggling three projects right now.
273
Boundaries.
274
Limits you set to protect your time and energy.
275
It's important to have boundaries between work and personal life.
276
Worn out.
277
Extremely tired from too much work.
278
I'm worn out.
279
I need a long weekend.
280
Overloaded.
281
Having more work than you can manage.
282
My schedule is completely overloaded this month.
283
Disconnect.
284
To mentally stop thinking about work.
285
I try to disconnect from work after dinner.
286
Log off.
287
To finish working, especially on a computer.
288
I always log off at the same time every day.
289
Postpone.
290
To move something to a later time.
291
Don't postpone your rest.
292
You need it now.
293
Take a breather, to take a short break.
294
Let me take a breather before we continue.
295
On edge, feeling stressed, nervous, or tense.
296
He's been on edge because of work.
297
And slack off, to do less work than you should.
298
It's okay to slack off a little on Fridays.
299
Only a little.
300
So, remember everyone, balance is not about being perfect.
301
It's about giving yourself permission to rest sometimes.
302
Yes, work is important, but your life is important too.
303
And if you enjoyed this episode,
304
please subscribe to Everyday English Academy and give us a like.
305
Share this with someone who needs to hear it.
306
Maybe someone who is a little bit overloaded right now.
307
Thank you so much for spending time with us today.
308
Keep practicing, keep learning, and remember,
309
it's okay to log off sometimes.
310
Stay relaxed, stay happy, and we'll see you in the next episode.
311
Bye everyone.
312
Goodbye.
Scarica l'app
Valutazione AI per ogni frase che pronunci
TRENDING
Popolari
Informazioni su questa lezione
In questa lezione, ci concentreremo sull'importanza dell'equilibrio tra lavoro e vita privata, un tema essenziale per tanti di noi. Praticando con il dialogo dell'episodio del podcast, migliorerai la tua pratica di conversazione in inglese e imparerai a esprimere idee e sentimenti legati a questo argomento in modo naturale. Acquisirai fiducia nel discutere le tue esperienze lavorative e le tue pause, garantendo che tu possa comunicare in maniera fluida e sicura.
Vocabolario e frasi chiave
- Day off - giorno di riposo
- Balance - equilibrio
- Productive - produttivo
- Rest - riposo
- Wasting time - sprecare tempo
- Emails - email
- Supermarket - supermercato
- Natural English - inglese naturale
Consigli per la pratica
Per sfruttare al meglio la tua pratica di conversazione in inglese, ti suggeriamo di utilizzare la tecnica dello shadowing. Ascolta attentamente il dialogo e prova a shadoware sopra le frasi dette dagli speaker. Nota il tono e la velocità delle loro parole. Poiché il ritmo del podcast è accessibile e naturale, potrai facilmente seguirlo. Ecco alcuni suggerimenti specifici per applicare efficacemente il shadowing in inglese:
- Ascolta una frase e poi ripetila ad alta voce, cercando di imitare il tono e l'intonazione.
- Fermati dopo ogni segmento e ripeti nuovamente, per allenare la tua pronuncia.
- Concentrati sulle parole chiave, come "balance" e "productive", che sono centrali per il tema di questa lezione.
- Registrati mentre shadowspeaks e riascolta per valutare i tuoi progressi e identificare aree di miglioramento.
Seguendo questi passi, potrai migliorare non solo il tuo vocabolario, ma anche la tua fluidità nel parlare dell'importante argomento dell'equilibrio tra lavoro e vita privata. Buona pratica!
Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?
Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.
☕ Offrici un caffè
ShadowingEnglish rimane gratuito al 100% grazie al tuo supporto. I costi del server e IA sono elevati — il tuo caffè ci aiuta ad andare avanti! 🙏