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Gap Year – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the conversation Gap Year. So I had the conversation, the text for the conversation, printed out and I’ve made some notes about some words or groups of words, also called phrases, that maybe you had a difficult time understanding.

So I first wanted to say that in many of our conversations, and I say this at the beginning of each of the vocabulary lessons, you’ll see “yeah” used in the conversation a lot and that’s just a slang word for yes.

And you’ll also see “y’know,” so that’s y’know. And y’know is just, it’s putting two words together, you and know, and basically when we speak we just say it really fast so it sounds like y’know instead of you know.

So you’ll see that in a lot of our conversations.

And, as I always say, remember that I’ll give you the meanings for the words or the groups of words as they relate to this conversation, so they could have another meaning in a different conversation. Alright, so let’s begin.

So “gap year,” the title of the conversation, gap year: a gap year, this means to take a year’s break or to take the time off for one year between high school and college, or we say college, maybe you know it as university. Same thing: college, university.

Alright, at the very beginning of the conversation, Joe says, “Hey guys.” So guys: this is a…a guy, one guy, is usually referred to as a man. But many times we might say guys in a general sense and it’s just a slang term for two or more people. It doesn’t have to be only men because here he is talking to me and AJ. So he’s saying “Hey guys,” meaning hey Kristin and AJ, hey guys.

And then Joe says, “I gotta tell you about this article.” So gotta: gotta is a shortened way to say got to.

So if Joe had said this in a formal, standard English way, he would have said, “I have got to tell you about this article.” But instead he said it really quickly so he said, “I gotta.” Okay, and then Joe says, “It was about Tulane University.” So Tulane University: this is the name of a college or university in the city of New Orleans, and New Orleans is in the state of Louisiana which is in the southeastern part of the United States.

Okay, then Joe says, “They’re encouraging students to take a gap year.” So encouraging means telling, encouraging here means telling. They’re telling students to take a gap year.

And then Joe says, “I think like they’re probably helping you to come up with money.” So like here, I think like they’re probably helping, what he means is I think for example they’re probably helping you. And then to come up with money: this means to help you get money from something like a scholarship.

Okay, then Joe says, “They don’t want you to take a gap year and just, y’know, be a couch potato.” So couch potato: this means someone who sits around, on the couch for example but doesn’t have to be, just sits around in general and they’re just kind of lazy. They don’t really do much, always sitting around.

And then Joe says, “They want you to do something, y’know, like volunteer for a non-profit organization.” Okay, so when he says like volunteer, like here means such as. And then volunteer, this means to offer to work at an organization without getting paid for it. And non-profit organization: a non-profit organization is an organization not focused on making money, okay? They’re focused on helping with some cause.

Okay, then Joe says, “Make you a better, more rounded person.” So more rounded: this means wellbalanced. More rounded person, well-balanced person.

Then AJ says, “Locked in this weird world of school and education.” So weird: this means strange. Weird means strange.

Then AJ says, “They have no clue at all about the real world.” So clue: this means idea. Clue here means idea.

And then I say, “I’d never even heard that term, gap year.” So term: this means word. I’d never even heard that word, gap year. Term, it means word.

And then I say, “I was volunteering at the animal shelter.” So an animal shelter: this is a place that takes in cats and dogs, usually only cats and dogs, that don’t have homes. And they provide food and water, a place for them to stay temporarily until they find a permanent home.

And then I say, “Hey, what’s your name? What do you do here? What do you do outside of here?” Okay, so I’m speaking about this…this kid who I met when I went in to volunteer at the animal shelter. He was saying to me what’s your name? What do you do here? So when he said what do you do here he was meaning what do you do here at the animal shelter? What is your volunteer job? And then when he said what do you do outside of here he was asking me what’s your work, what do you do for work?

What’s your job? How do you make money?

Okay, then a little bit later, I say, “I’ve been asking everybody I meet what they do for a living.” So again, it’s this kid at the animal shelter that I met. He was asking me what I do for a living so what he was asking me is what do you do for work? What do you do for a job? What do you do to make money?

That’s what what do you do for a living, that’s what that means. What do you do for work?

And then Joe says, “You’re supposed to select this course of study that’s going to potentially, y’know, in many cases find you a job.” Alright, you’re supposed to select this course: select means choose. You’re supposed to choose a course, or this course of study, that’s going to potentially, potentially means possibly, y’know, in many cases find you a job. So cases: this means situations. Cases means situations.

And then Joe says, “But at that point I was stuck.” So when he says at that point, what he’s saying is at that time. But at that point, or at that time, I was stuck. So he was saying I was stuck, he felt like he was locked in.

And then Joe says, “I couldn’t afford to go to school.” So when he says I couldn’t afford he’s saying I didn’t have the money to go to school. I couldn’t afford to go to school.

And then AJ says, “My whole resume was full of gap years.” So a resume: this is a written account of education and professional qualities and experience. And it’s usually given to an employer when you’re going for a job interview or you’re going to try to get a job somewhere.

And then AJ says, “It’s like you don’t need to make a decision right away.” So when AJ says it’s like, he’s saying it’s as if you don’t need to make a decision right away. And decision: this means choice.

And then AJ says, “It’s okay if you figure it out when you’re 30.” So figure it out: what he’s saying here is it’s okay if you choose what you want to do. Figure it out here means choose what you want to do.

And then I say, “AJ, we have that in common.” So when I say in common, I’m saying we have that as a similarity. We have that in common. We have that as a similarity. That is, we have that as a likeness, similarity. It’s the…it’s almost like it’s the same. We have that as something that’s the same.

And then Joe says, “But what you’re talking about, I think, is really, really important and it’s an opportunity most people don’t have, which is to have your quote-unquote gap year during your career.” So quoteunquote: this is something that is said to place importance on a word or words that usually come right after. So in this example it would be quote-unquote gap year, so Joe is putting importance on the words gap year. And career: when he says during your career, your career is a time period of work. So let’s say for example, I’m a teacher so my career is that I’m a teacher. I teach English to people around the world. So my career is teaching.

Okay, and then I say a little bit later, “I think no matter what you do, like let’s say job-wise.” So when I say like here, I’m saying for example. And job-wise: this means in regard to your job or speaking about your job.

And then I say, “You can still get burned out.” So burned out: this means bored from doing the same thing, burned out.

And then I say, “And so by taking that time off, you get rejuvenated. So rejuvenated means refreshed.

Rejuvenated, refreshed.

And then AJ says, “At first I thought I wanted to be a journalist.” So journalist: this is a person who writes for newspapers or magazines or who prepares news for TV or radio, journalist.

And then AJ says, “Then I became a social worker.” So a social worker is a professional who helps other people who have some kind of problem. So let’s say maybe they drink too much alcohol or they…they are addicted to drugs. Y’know, those are just two examples.

And then AJ says, “I liked it for a while but then I got tired of that.” So when he says tired of that, he’s saying he got bored with that.

And then AJ says, “And other older people around me giving me all these terrible warnings.” So terrible means bad. Terrible warnings, bad warnings.

And then Joe says, “I read an article written by the guy who started the company Pandora.” So Pandora: this is internet radio. It’s basically…Pandora is the name of a company on the internet, so they have a website you can go to and listen to music, so it’s internet radio.

And then Joe says, “His parents, family members who were trying to advise him.” So advise means offer suggestions. They were trying to offer suggestions to him. They were trying to advise him.

And then Joe says, “You have to get something, y’know, solidified for a career.” So solidified here means locked in or set up. Solidified for a career.

And then Joe says, “What it ultimately did was it made him more focused.” So ultimately: this means finally, ultimately.

And then Joe says, “I read like two or three articles about gap years.” So like here is just a filler word. It doesn’t mean anything and it doesn’t even have to be in this sentence.

Then Joe says, “People of our parents’ generation never did something like this. So generation: this means age group. Generation, age group.

And then Joe says, “But now it’s becoming a little more common.” So a little more common here means more people are doing it, a little more common.

Okay, then I say at the end of the conversation, “This conversation just made me think of a quote that I read fairly recently.” So a quote: this is something important that someone says and it usually has a deep meaning. And fairly recently: when I say think of a quote that I read fairly recently. Fairly recently means not so long ago. Fairly recently, not so long ago.

And then I go on to say, “And it’s in regards to a job, it basically said…or, or a career, something, y’know, you might want to do in life, but the quote goes something like.” And when I say it goes something like, I’m saying the quote says something such as. I couldn’t remember the exact quote so I’m saying it says something such as, okay, then I go on to say, “Don’t do something in the world, or don’t do something that you think the world needs more of, do something that makes you passionate because the world needs more passionate people.”

So I couldn’t, that last part right there, I couldn’t remember the exact quote so I thought I would read you that quote because I found it. So the actual quote is, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” And that’s a quote by Howard Thurman who was an American, African-American educator and author, so he wrote books, as well as he did many other things. Alright, I just, I really like that quote so I wanted to share it with you, the exact quote, since I couldn’t remember in the conversation.

Alright, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the conversation Gap Year and I’ll be back with the commentary.