Neil: Hello. This is 6 Minute English.
I'm Neil.
Sam: And I'm Sam.
Neil: Now Sam, I assume that
you know your alphabet.
Sam: Of course, Neil - you mean
my ABCs? We learn that at
a very young age, you know?
Neil: Sorry to sound patronising.
But you do you know why the letters
in the alphabet
are in that particular order?
Sam: No, I don't.
That's really interesting, why?
Neil: I don't know either. I was hoping you
might! But seriously, no one really knows
how the order became established.
However, some research has shown
that if your surname,
your family name, begins with
a letter later in the alphabet, you could be
at a disadvantage
at school and in life. Before we get
into that though, a question.
Where does the alphabet
come from in its earliest form? Was it...
a) Ancient Egypt, b) Ancient Greece, or
c) Ancient Rome?
What do you think, Sam?
Sam: Well, we refer to the
English alphabet as having Roman
characters, so I'm going with
Ancient Rome.
Neil: OK. I'll have the answer later in the
programme. In the BBC radio programme
Fry's English Delight there was a feature
about the alphabet and how
it can have a negative impact on your
school life. Can you remember all those
years ago when you were at school?
What's the first thing that the teacher
would do at the beginning of the day?
Sam: She would take the register - or that's
what we call it in the UK. You can also call it
the roll call.
Neil: Yes, this is when the teacher calls out
the names of the students to check
that they are all there. This is where
the problem starts, according to,
ironically, Professor
Jeffrey Zax, from the University of
Colorado. The further down that list
your name is, the less noticed you are
by the teacher. Why is that?
Here's Professor Zax.
Professor Jeffrey Zax: When it begins,
people are paying attention.
As it proceeds, first the people who are
already called, they no longer have any
need to take things seriously.
And the people who are waiting to be
called, their attention is wandering
as well. And so as you make your way
through the roll call somehow the
intensity of the engagement diminishes.
Neil: So what is the problem?
Sam: Well, it's a lot to do with
paying attention.
This means concentrating on something.
At the beginning of the roll call everyone
is paying attention - they are
quiet and listening.
But after the first names are called,
those students don't need
to pay attention any more.
Neil: So they lose a bit of interest in what
comes next, and the students later in the
list are also now distracted and
the teacher, him or herself, is
not so focussed.
Sam: And by the end of the list
the relationship between the teacher
and the students whose names are
being called later is not as strong
as those at the beginning of the list.
Neil: Professor Zax describes this
by saying that the intensity of the
engagement diminishes.
Diminishes means 'gets weaker', and
the intensity of the engagement is the
strength of the communication, the
level of enthusiasm for being involved.
So this is the start of the disadvantage
which can subtly affect students
throughout their school years and after.
This was discovered after some
research in the US in the 1950s.
So, what were these disadvantages?
Here's Professor Zax again.
Professor Jeffrey Zax: They were less
likely to have enjoyed their
high school courses,
graduate from college if they applied.
They were more likely to drop out.
They had first jobs in occupations that
paid less. They were more likely to go
to the military and they were more
likely to have jobs whose
prestige was lower
Neil: So what disadvantages
did they have?
Sam: Well, Professor Zax says that
the research showed they enjoyed
school less, were less
successful academically and
more likely to drop out of college
or university. This means that they
left the course before it was finished.
Neil: And he also said that they were more
likely to find jobs that had
a lower prestige.
This means the jobs weren't seen
as high status or desirable.
Let's listen again.
Professor Jeffrey Zax: They were less
likely to have enjoyed their
high school courses, graduate from
college if they applied. They were more
likely to drop out. They had first
jobs in occupations that paid less.
They were more likely to go to
the military and they were more
likely to have jobs
whose prestige was lower.
Sam: Well, Professor Zax seems
to have done OK. Even with that surname!
Neil: Indeed, I guess this doesn't apply
to everyone. Right, well before we remind
ourselves of our vocabulary, let's get
the answer to the question.
Where does the alphabet come
from in its earliest form? Was it...
a) Ancient Egypt, b) Ancient Greece,
c) Ancient Rome?
Sam, what did you say?
Sam: Pretty sure it's Ancient Rome.
Neil: What does your surname begin with?
Sam: A 'B', actually.
Neil: Well, you are wrong, I'm afraid.
It's actually Ancient Egypt - so
well done to everyone who got that.
OK, now it's time for our vocabulary.
Sam: Yes - to pay attention to something
means to concentrate on something,
to not be distracted.
Neil: Then there was the phrase
the intensity of the engagement
which is another way of saying
the strength of the relationship,
interaction and communication.
Sam: And if your surname comes at
the end of the alphabet you may find
that the intensity of engagement with
the teacher diminishes.
Diminishes means gets weaker.
Neil: If you drop out from a course,
it means that you leave it before
it's finished.
Sam: And the prestige of a job is the
respect it has. If it is seen as
important or desirable
then it has higher prestige.
Neil: OK, thank you, Sam. That's all from
6 Minute English. We hope you can
join us again soon.
You can find us at
bbclearningenglish online, on social
media and on our app. Bye for now!
Sam: Bye bye everyone!