Usually, 13 is an unlucky number, but not today, because it's day 13 of your 30 Day Vocabulary
Challenge. One video a day, every day, for 30 days. We're crushing it, learning 105 words from
the academic word list. Words you'll need to know if you're preparing for the IELTS or TOEFL exam,
but also if you read or watch the news in English or have conversations in English.
These are intermediate words, very much so a part of everyday conversation.
We're going to study them in real situations, so your understanding will go beyond just
memorizing a definition. So grab your friends have them join you in this challenge and let's do this!
As always, if you like this video or you learned something new,
please like and subscribe with notifications, I’d love to have you as my student.
During these 30 days, we're learning 105 words together. I do have a download for you a list
of all the words with definitions and sample sentences, as well as quizzes to make sure
you're really getting and remembering these words. You can get that download by following
this link or the link in the video description. Our first word today is CULTURAL.
Be careful, the dark L in the first syllable does change that vowel a little bit.
It's the UH as in butter vowel, uh-- but the word isn't pronounced
cuh-- cuhl-- but cuhll-- uhll-- It's a little bit darker, that vowel sound, than a pure UH as in
butter vowel. So the back part of the tongue does a little bit of the work, pressing down and back,
for the dark L, mixing in with the vowel. Cul— cultural. It's an adjective and it means
related to a particular group of people and their habits, beliefs, traditions, and so on.
There are some cultural differences between us. It also means related to the fine arts. The
city is the cultural center of the state. Let's watch up close and in slow motion.
And now we'll go to Youglish to see five examples of this word in context.
Denver Zoo is one of Colorado's top cultural attractions.
Think about any big city you've ever visited. A quick online search will pull up the most
popular places for tourists to visit. Cultural attractions, places like museums, parks, theatres,
zoos, monuments, local restaurants, and more. Denver Zoo is one of Colorado's top
cultural attractions. Here's another example.
And they actually have a whole cultural system for it.
A cultural system is the way a group of people who are similar in some way,
work together. Think about how a couple decides to get married. In some cultural systems, they date,
in others, their parents choose a spouse for them. And they actually have a whole
cultural system for it. Let's see another example.
It's kind of a cultural joke about how nobody wants to talk about it.
Humor is very closely tied to culture, and so jokes that make sense in a culture you know little
about, might not make sense to you. Have you ever been listening to somebody, from a different
country, telling a joke and at the end, you were the only one not laughing? You didn't get it. Yep.
I've been there too. But be careful here, what's funny or okay to joke about in your culture,
might come across as rude or offensive from someone from another culture.
It's kind of a cultural joke about how nobody wants to talk about it.
Let's look at another example. So I’m curious what's the cultural and
historical significance of the river in town. The cultural significance. He's asking
why do people find the river a meaningful place? What is its history? What famous or
interesting things have happened on the river or because of the river? Why is it important?
So I’m curious what's the cultural and historical significance of the river in town.
Our last example. Play sold out,
got standing ovations, multicultural audience. This man is talking about his success from leaving
one career and becoming a playwright, someone who writes plays for actors to perform on stage.
His play sold out, so all the tickets were bought. He got standing ovations so the entire audience
was on its feet, standing, applauding at the end. And even more impressive, the audience was
multicultural, so he was able to entertain people from lots of different backgrounds or cultures.
Play sold out, got standing ovations, multicultural audience.
Our next word is COMMUNITY. Community. It's a four syllable word with second syllable stress,
and that is a flap T. Community. Dadadada. Community. It's a noun,
a group of people who live in the same area or who share similar interests. The festival was a great
way for the local community to get together. Let's look again up close and in slow motion.
And now we'll go to Youglish to see five examples of this word in context.
It was hard to get policy makers to listen to our community.
Policy makers are leaders in government who create ideas and plan policies that will affect
everyone. Policy, that's a word we learned back on day 8 of our vocabulary challenge.
Here, this man's community is a group of people who are all recovering from drug abuse.
He says it was difficult to get policy makers to listen to them.
It was hard to get policy makers to listen to our community.
Here's another example. Citizens in our communities
serve as jurors on criminal trials. Citizen is a word for someone who legally lives
in a place. I'm an American citizen, and I’m also a citizen of the state of Pennsylvania, and I’m a
citizen of the city of Philadelphia. All three of these places are communities. Throughout the US, a
citizen who is at least 18 years old can be called as a juror to help decide cases in a courtroom.
Citizens in our communities serve as jurors on criminal trials.
Let's see another example. I'm going to talk to
the community to find out why. This man works to solve problems about racism.
Part of his work is talking to different groups of people. Here, he probably means
different racial groups. I'm going to talk to the
community to find out why. Let's look at another example.
If the artistic community is failing, we all fail. By now you can see that community can mean
lots of different things. The main idea, a community is a group of people who share or
want something similar. The artistic community includes people like musicians, visual artists,
and cinematographers, people who create art. If they're failing, if they're not able to
make a living creating their art, enriching the community as a whole, then the community fails,
because art is an important part of the culture of a community.
If the artistic community is failing, we all fail. Our last example.
At least for our community health center, we have to stay within the same zip code.
Another type of community in the US is determined by address. Where you live
determines what kind of public services you can get, like which public school your kids can go to.
A zip code is a five digit number that our postal service uses to deliver mail within
a local area. This woman is saying that her center's free health care is available for
people who live within the same zip code. At least for our community health center,
we have to stay within the same zip code. Our next word is TRADITIONAL.
This word begins with a TR cluster and sometimes you'll hear that pronounced as a CHR instead,
so it can be traditional, tt-- with a T, or traditional, ch-- with a CH. It's an adjective,
a way of doing or thinking about something that has been used by a particular group of
people for a long time based on old-fashioned ideas. She wore a traditional Japanese kimono.
His views on marriage are quite traditional. This is great, it really relates to community,
a particular group of people, and also culture, the traditions of a community are often tied
to cultural aspects like local arts and foods. Let's see this word up close and in slow motion.
And now we'll go to Youglish to see five examples of this word in context.
We did this in places where traditional gender roles are a little more pronounced.
So traditional gender roles, this means expectations from the past that might still
apply how you should be according to your gender. We did this in places where traditional gender
roles are a little more pronounced. Here's another example.
Even the script that they use in Taiwan is a traditional script.
Here a traditional script ,or style of writing, has a very long history in a place like Taiwan.
He means that the characters are detailed and complex, not simplified.
Even the script that they use in Taiwan is a traditional script.
Let's see another example. Many people in traditional
energy industries worry they will be left behind. Traditional energy here is a synonym for fossil
fuels. Some traditional sources include petroleum, coal, natural gas. She's saying that these
traditional sources may be replaced by clean power such as wind energy, solar energy, and so on,
So, traditional here, meaning the kind of energy sources we've used in the past.
Many people in traditional energy industries worry they'll be left behind.
Let's look at another example. It's a traditional stew.
A stew from long ago. A recipe that's been passed on from generation to generation,
linked to the culture of the community. We just had thanksgiving at the end of November with lots
of traditional thanksgiving foods. The food that you would see again and again every thanksgiving.
It's a traditional stew. Our last example.
And everybody dresses up in their traditional outfits.
He's talking about a style of dress that men and women wear in Switzerland during their
independence celebration. So lots of things can be tied to tradition, to a way of doing
something that's old, or from long ago. Behaviors, ideas, writing, energy, food, and even clothes.
And everybody dresses up in their traditional outfits.
Our last word today is REGION. A two-syllable word with first syllable stress. It's an area or
place that's separate, or different than other parts. The plant grows in tropical regions.
As we've already studied, a community might be defined by the region that they live in,
and people in different regions might have their own unique cultures and traditions. Let's look at
this word up close and in slow motion.
And now we'll go to Youglish to see
five examples of this word in context. And it was in the driest region of Zimbabwe
that I got to meet the water farmer. The driest region, he means the area of
the country that gets the least amount of rainfall every year. A water farmer collects rainfall and
stores rain water to use for growing plants. And it was in the driest region of Zimbabwe
that I got to meet the water farmer. Here's another example.
It's 25 people on the average on a tour that we offer, in 48-passenger bus,
traveling from region to region. Region to region. He's using this
structure to explain how this business takes tourists to multiple areas within the country.
It's 25 people on the average on a tour that we offer, in 48-passenger bus,
traveling from region to region. Let's see another example.
This is Dr. Neil Hammerschlag from the University Of Miami who's been studying
tiger sharks in this region. We typically think about
region being a place on land, but it can also describe different areas of the ocean.
This is Dr. Neil Hammerschlag from the University Of Miami who's been studying
tiger sharks in this region. Let's look at another example.
Because in region after region, again and again, parents have wanted to have smaller families.
This woman studies family planning and birth control.
In one place, where she collected data, she says that across the map, meaning almost everywhere,
parents have wanted to have fewer children. Because in region after region, again and again,
parents have wanted to have smaller families. Our last example.
How many New York airports serve the New York city region?
The New York city region. That is the area of land defined by the city and proximity to the city.
How many New York airports serve the New York city region?
Seeing their real-life examples can really help you understand how to use these words, can't it?
I have a challenge for you now. Make up a sentence with one of these words,
make a video of yourself saying it,
and post it to social media, tag me, and use the hashtag #rachelsenglish30daychallenge
Don't be shy, you can do this. Our next video comes out tomorrow at 10AM Philadelphia time, come
back to learn four more vocabulary words. In the meantime, keep your studies going with this video,
and check out my online courses at Rachel's English Academy.
You'll become a more confident English speaker. And please do remember to subscribe. I love being
your English teacher. That's it and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.