Intermediate - What does she look like - Poddies Collaboration
chris
May 01, 2011 at 07:21 AM posted in Transcripts with TalA longer intermediate to attempt
cinnamonfern
May 08, 2011 at 09:43 PM
don't ask much, do you? :P
Tell you what, I'll send you my Skritter backlog - if I hold out about one more hour, I'll have over 5,000 words due for review. :)
bababardwan
May 08, 2011 at 04:42 AM
just send us copies of your travel docs, a note from your boss, conference attendance certs, note from your supervisor and one from your fiance 就行了
cinnamonfern
May 08, 2011 at 03:22 AM
Hey All - Sorry for dropping off lately. I've been really, really busy the past three weeks with traveling for work, moving back to the U.S., and attending conferences. I'm afraid my free time is also not looking any better any time soon (as I'm busy writing my thesis which I need to defend this summer and also getting married). But maybe I'll be able to participate a little here and there.
And Chris, I agree with babardwan - you should attempt an Upper Intermediate. If I can do it then I think that you should definitely be able to. :) ...oh - I never did post that completed PDF...
bababardwan
May 08, 2011 at 12:48 AM
No worries mate, my pleasure...yes it's always nice collaborating. I'd be happy to help out on any level where I can and when I can. Forgive me if I've missed it, but I was going to suggest that if you haven't tried an Upper Intermediate you're definitely more than ready as evidenced by your great job here. Really think that if you were stretching yourself there'd be much more quandaries, hard to catch patches than just the odd trivial thing here. Have a shot mate, it will definitely push you up another notch. Jiayou :)
chris
May 07, 2011 at 02:42 PM
Thanks for taking a look through it Barbs. It's been a bit lonely doing these transcriptions of late - the usual contributors haven't been around last few weeks. Hopefully my post immediately above will be a bit of a rallying cry. The transcribing really has helped me to make progress. I'll be starting a new one tomorrow probably - I know these are a bit below your current level, but if you could take another look when done it'd be much appreciated. Chris.
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 02:37 PM
Chris， another sterling job. Only the odd trivial thing in there, but otherwise flawless. Well done mate.
chris
May 07, 2011 at 12:59 PM
18:03
Jenny: 没错
John: So, 大 means older and 小 means younger
Jenny: 是的
John: So, the other words are pretty safe
Jenny: 比如说比较壮，对吧，一个人
John: 嗯. And, or, if you want to say they're pretty small, you're probably just going to say they're short
Jenny: 嗯，他比较矮
John: OK, now obviously there are lots of other things we could say about people's appearances. If you'd like to ask some specific questions please come to Chinesepod.com and we're here to answer your questions.
Jenny: 好。今天的课就到这儿，我们下次再见
John: 再见
18:36
chris
May 07, 2011 at 02:38 PM
这你 makes more sense, particularly because I think Jenny was referencing John's build perhaps. The 如果's came up a few times from Jenny in this lesson. Several times I'm sure she dropped the 果 (and I also think I remember learning that 如 could be used on its own without the 果). I'll take another listen on slow-speed later to see if I can pick it up, although at end of day not too important to the overall meaning.
chris
May 07, 2011 at 12:51 PM
17:33
John: OK, 壮
Jenny: 嗯
John: That's like, uh, 'sturdy' and....
Jenny: 【只你】呢这个built
John: 'Beefy'
Jenny: 对
John: OK, can we just say 大?
Jenny: 啊，不行因为通常【如你】说一个人比如John你跟我说我比你大，那听起来好像你在说年纪，你的年龄比我大
John: Yeah, this is one thing you have to look out for when describing people's appearances when you talk about 大和小 comparing people, the default meaning of these words about people is their age.
18:03
chris
May 07, 2011 at 12:40 PM
17:01
John: OK, so don't openly say someone's eyes are small to them
Jenny: 对
John: They won't like that
Jenny: 嗯
John: And then we talked about how fat or thin she was
Jenny: 对，她胖不胖那么这个女孩儿不胖不瘦正好，正好
John: Alright, and then I have another question which isn't exactly in the dialogue. We have 高 for 'tall', right?
Jenny: 对啊
John: What if we want to say 'big', like somebody is really big?
Jenny: 啊，就是很。。你可以说。。一个人很壮，壮
17:33
chris
May 07, 2011 at 12:33 PM
16:30
John: Alright, that's pretty easy.
Jenny: 嗯，好，然后我们还讲到了眼睛这个很有趣啊单眼皮，双眼皮
John: Yeah, and we also talked about the size of the eyes which we don't really do in English
Jenny: 诶，中国人就是形容一个人的长相经常会说他的眼睛，如眼睛很大就是我们觉得很好看。那如果你说一个人眼睛很小最好不要在她面前说因为她会很生气，她会觉得你在说她很难看
17:01
watyamacallit
May 14, 2011 at 08:56 AM
Jenny [1]: Are you sure that isn't 嘛 - given the context, it doesn't seem like a question.
chris
May 07, 2011 at 12:23 PM
16:01
John: What does that mean?
Jenny: 瓜子你知道吗就是一个...
John: Like a sunflower seed?
Jenny: 嗯，melon seed
John: Melon seed
Jenny: 像【面】是尖尖的对不对，所以瓜子脸就是【那下巴】尖尖的
John: OK, so really pointy chins, narrow faces with pointy chins
Jenny: 诶，就是瓜子脸
John: Alright, what about, like, square faces?
Jenny: 方脸
John: OK
Jenny: 方脸
16:30
watyamacallit
May 14, 2011 at 02:38 PM
I've been led to believe that, when in Thailand, you can't afford to be 'lazy with your genders'.
watyamacallit
May 14, 2011 at 08:52 AM
"lazy with my genders"
Really? Ever brought the wrong one home?
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 02:27 PM
..me too...it's a very minor detail and when your pumping away and letting google pinyin do it's thing then sometimes it's easy not to notice that you haven't selected the right one.
chris
May 06, 2011 at 09:42 AM
15:20
John: So, Jenny, in this lesson we talked all about these physical features of this girl, right?
Jenny: 对，他的长相，他的appearance
John: Right. So we talked about her hair, right?
Jenny: 她的头发，那他有长发，长发
John: Is that a noun, 长发?
Jenny: 啊，属于个名词
John: OK, 'long hair'. So, can we also say 'short hair'
Jenny: 可以，短发，短发
John: OK. And then we talked about her face shape as well, right?
Jenny: 对，她是圆脸，圆脸
John: Round face. Now are there other face shapes that we can talk about in Chinese?
Jenny: 有啊，比如说瓜子脸瓜子脸
16:01
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 02:13 PM
不是很好...this is what I would have expected but it sounded like kao [靠] instead of hao at the end. Perhaps an accidental sounded or I'm hearing things...I'm sure it is meant to be 好
chris
May 06, 2011 at 05:18 AM
13:59
Jenny: 好。比如说‘我对中文很感兴趣’
John: OK, so 'I'm very interested in Chinese'. Maybe another one?
Jenny: 嗯，我对吃很感兴趣
John: So, I'm interested in eating
Jenny: 我对赚钱很感兴趣
John: Interested in making money
Jenny: 嗯
John: What if I say 我对你很感兴趣
Jenny: 噢，也可以的
John: Is that like hitting on somebody?
Jenny: Totally. 听起来有点sleazy
John: Alright, maybe not the best first line
Jenny: 嗯，不是很好
John: Alright, so let's listen to the dialogue again now
14:31
chris
May 07, 2011 at 02:14 PM
Thanks mate, but must admit I may have cheated a bit here (and a few places elsewhere) with the handy half-speed function in windows media player ;-)
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 02:09 PM
然后我们【这儿】有个搭配‘对。。。I think you're probably right with 这儿 there but boy it was a good pickup.
chris
May 06, 2011 at 05:13 AM
13:32
John: OK, so this 怎么 is kind of like 'why', 'how come'
Jenny: 嗯，是的，然后我们这儿有个搭配‘对。。什么东西或者对。。什么人感兴趣’
John: Right, so 对 somebody or something 感兴趣, this 感兴趣 means ‘to feel interested/to be interested in'
Jenny: 对
John: So, be interested in somebody. So, can we have a few simple examples that are a bit shorter maybe easier to remember?
13:59
watyamacallit
May 14, 2011 at 08:46 AM
I think 就 makes more sense. And I don't think it is supposed to mean 'just', but 'then' or 'as a result'.
"From the context, you can then tell who 人家 is referring to".
In Nciku, even though a search for 就能 doesn't yield a vocabulary item, it gives examples where jiùnéng is Pinyinized as one word, with a similar meaning.
chris
May 07, 2011 at 02:11 PM
I guess I was thinking along the lines of "you ONLY can know who the 人家 is referring to from the context". Hence the 只有. But, if I recall correctly, 就 can also have this meaning of "only/just" so maybe both 只有 and 就 would work grammatically...
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 02:04 PM
Jenny【1】： 紧张。。。同意
我要。。。同意
只有。。。my first impression was this was 就, but you maybe right and sometimes what sounds like 就 can be a very quick 只有. I would say though that 就 is what I would have predicted here though and also makes a little more sense to me.
chris
May 06, 2011 at 04:54 AM
Jenny(1), tough. I'm confident of the final square-bracket, but not for the first two. The first one sounds like "jing zhang" but I couldn't find any natural colocations for those two.
chris
May 06, 2011 at 04:53 AM
12:59
Jenny: 对。那这个词呢大家现在不用太【紧张】觉得【我要】知道怎么用，基本上，啊，你从那个语境呢context你【只有】能知道那个‘人家’说的是谁
John: Yeah, you gotta look at the context to figure out who 人家 is referring to
Jenny: 没错
John: So, it's referring to the girl
Jenny: 对
John: Alright, and then we get to the end of the dialogue and the guy notices something about, uh, his conversation partner here, right?
Jenny: 对啊，他说‘哎，你怎么对小周的女朋友这么感兴趣’，‘你怎么对小周的女朋友这么感兴趣’
13:32
chris
May 06, 2011 at 04:38 AM
12:32
John: OK, so 1st tone and then 着 is neutral and of course 看 is 4th tone
Jenny: 对
John: So, 盯着somebody看, right?
Jenny: 对
John: That means 'to stare at somebody'
Jenny: 是的。那这里这个‘盯着人家看’这个‘人家’就是说的那个小周的女朋友
John: Yeah, this word 人家 can be a bit hard to get a feel for, it can have different meanings
Jenny: 嗯
John: Ah, it depends on the context. Here, we know we're talking about the girl, so we're talking about her
12:59
chris
May 04, 2011 at 05:03 AM
12:01
John: So, 'I didn't stare at her'
Jenny: 对啊
John: Now, there are a few words here that we want to explain as well, uh what is this 又?
Jenny: 啊，这里的‘又’呢其实是【突出】是强调【那个】negative。我又没怎么怎么样
John: OK, so it emphasises that he didn't, it emphasises the 没
Jenny: 嗯
John: And, uh, what didn't he do?
Jenny: 盯着人家看，盯着人家看
John: Alright, so the verb 'to stare' is?
Jenny: 盯着看，盯着看
12:32
chris
May 04, 2011 at 04:55 AM
11:29
John: OK, so 'this I didn't notice'. Now, what is this 可?
Jenny: 啊，这里的‘可’呢就是强调我没有注意他是单眼皮还是双眼皮
John: So, it's emphasising
Jenny: 嗯
John: OK, emphasising that he didn't notice
Jenny: 对，我可没注意
John: OK, so the verb for 'to notice' is?
Jenny: 注意，两个第四声，注意
John: OK, two 4th tones. And then he goes on to say
Jenny: 我又没盯着人家看，我又没盯着人家看
12:01
chris
May 07, 2011 at 02:05 PM
Agreed mate, sloppy from me given that sentence is in the dialogue itself!
chris
May 04, 2011 at 04:49 AM
11:02
John: Yeah, this is something we never even notice. We just call them eyelids!
Jenny: 对，对，对。因为你们都是双眼皮啊所以你们不会distinguish
John: Alright, but if you're curious about this you can go online and search for, and you can see pictures of the difference
Jenny: 嗯，单眼皮还是双眼皮。那么在中国还有亚洲呢我们通常觉得双眼皮更漂亮，但这个男孩呢他说‘就我可没注意’，‘就我可没注意’
11:29
chris
May 03, 2011 at 04:05 PM
10:29
John: That's the way you guys describe it. I wouldn't say the eyes are actually small. Um, the way we look at it is that type of eye looks very Asian, because, uh, white people don't have eyes like that.
Jenny: 嗯，对。那白人white people基本上都是双眼皮，双眼皮
John: So, white people have these double eyelids. Uh, our eyes are also set deeper
Jenny: 唉，因为你的眼睛set deeper所以呢就是【会有一层】extra skin就是双眼。。。
11:02
chris
May 03, 2011 at 03:55 PM
10:00
John: So, literally this is 'single eye skin' and 'double eye skin'
Jenny: 对，单眼皮单就是single就是一个然后双就是double两个
John: OK, so 单眼皮 that's 1st, 3rd, 2nd
Jenny: 对，单眼皮。那单眼皮呢就是很多亚洲人会有的一种眼睛，是比较小的
10:29
chris
May 03, 2011 at 03:46 PM
09:31
John: OK, so is she pretty
Jenny: 然后长得高吗
John: Is she tall
Jenny: 嗯，长得胖吗长得瘦吗都可以【讲】说
John: OK got it and you hear those a lot, right?
Jenny: 对
John: Because you don't have to use 长得 you can just say 高吗, 瘦吗
Jenny: 没错，就是最简单的
John: OK, but you do hear it a lot
Jenny: 是
John: Alright, and then we get into some, uh, interesting questions about the eyes
Jenny: 嗯，单眼皮还是双眼皮
10:00
chris
May 03, 2011 at 03:39 PM
09:01
John: Do we have to use 长得?
Jenny: 比较常用的是长的白马或者你可以说‘皮肤白吗’，‘皮肤白吗’
John: OK, so is her skin white?
Jenny: 对
John: So, 皮肤
Jenny: 嗯
John: 2nd tone, 1st tone, right?
Jenny: 是的皮肤就是skin
John: OK, now back to this 长得 thing, can we ask about her other features using 长得？
Jenny: 可以，啊，比如说她长得漂亮吗
09:31
chris
May 02, 2011 at 03:39 PM
08:32
Jenny: 对，就是那种fair skin对吧
John: Yeah, so in English we might say 'pale' and we think of pale as not a good thing in the States
Jenny: 啊这是不健康
John: Right, like you never go out in the sun, you don't exercise or whatever
Jenny: 嗯，诶，可是在亚洲我们intentionally never go out in the sun呵呵
John: Carry your umbrellas around everywhere
Jenny: 因为我们喜欢白，呵呵
John: Alright, but let me ask you, we're asking if her skin is pale, if she has white skin
Jenny: 嗯
09:01
chris
May 07, 2011 at 01:11 PM
Good spot barbs, I had it right in my head but I guess the Google Pinyin input tool had beer on its mind and thought I was trying to type "The White Horse" (common name of a pub back in England!)
chris
May 02, 2011 at 03:33 PM
08:03
John: Right, she's pretty
Jenny: 嗯，那接下来我们看看她长得白马，长得白马
John: So, here we have this 长得 again, right?
Jenny: 对
John: Talking about her appearance
Jenny: 对，这里说的是她长得白马，白马
John: Right, so 2nd tone, this means 'white'
Jenny: 对，这个呢也是，嗯，中国人或者亚洲人觉得女孩子长得白就很漂亮
John: OK, so it's one of those cultural values. White skin is good.
08:32
chris
May 14, 2011 at 08:07 AM
Haven't got the WMP file open at moment, but that's shockingly poor of me if I really missed the entire word "probably"!!
watyamacallit
May 14, 2011 at 08:04 AM
OK, I'm desperate to find an error, so I'm going to correct some English:
John [4]: He probably doesn't remember exactly how tall she is.
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 12:48 PM
基本上 ...I agree Chris. Actually it is a word that crops up quite a bit in the discussions though possibly not for a while. I have a feeling that's because it's a word Jenny uses more that others perhaps but I haven't paid too much attention to who uses what the most [but that might explain why it might not have been heard in a while with Jenny's maternity leave].
chris
May 02, 2011 at 03:27 PM
Not sure about the 基本上. I've never come across this phrase before (MDBG indicates it means 'basically') and Jenny says it very quickly, but 'basically' makes sense in the context of Jenny's last sentence above.
chris
May 02, 2011 at 03:22 PM
07:32
Jenny: 诶，对，就是她比我高吗，比我高吗
John: So, that would be 'is she taller than me?'
Jenny: 对
John: But in this case, 'is she as tall as me?'
Jenny: 我们可以用‘有’，有我高吗，有我高吗
John: Alright and about the same, right?
Jenny: 对，她们好像差不多，好像差不多
John: How he doesn't remember exactly how tall she is
Jenny: 是的。那我们现在【基本上】已经知道小周的女朋友长得怎么样还是挺漂亮的啊
08:03
chris
May 14, 2011 at 08:04 AM
This is one accusation of being boring that I can certainly live with ;-)
chris
May 02, 2011 at 01:31 PM
07:01
John: OK, so 'is she tall?' and then 'is she as tall as me?'. How do we say that?
Jenny: 有我高吗，有我高吗
John: OK, and then if you're answering saying 'she is as tall as me' you would say?
Jenny: 啊，她有我高，有我高
John: And then 'she is NOT as tall as me'
Jenny: 她没有我高，没有我高
John: OK, so this is an important way to compare. It's not the easiest way. Probably when you originally learned to make comparisons you learned it with 比
07:32
chris
May 02, 2011 at 01:26 PM
06:31
Jenny: 嗯，对。什么story我不知道
John: The three little bears!
Jenny: 三只小熊然后呢？
John: Haha, the porridge?
Jenny: 小熊吃粥啊？
John: You don't know this story?
Jenny: 我不知道
John: Alright, alright let's not go there. Anyway, 'just right' is?
Jenny: 正好，正好
John: And that's 4th tone, 3rd tone, right?
Jenny: 对，那这个女孩呢，她很想知道小周的女朋友高不高，有我高吗，有我高吗
07:01
chris
May 02, 2011 at 01:21 PM
06:03
John: So, those two go together
Jenny: 对
John: Alright, and you'll often hear that when you're describing pretty girls, right?
Jenny: 是的
John: Alright, so these are all good things
Jenny: 嗯，那我们看看她胖不胖啊
John: Yeah, because she has a round face so she could be fat or maybe her face is just round, right?
Jenny: 呵呵对。那么她不胖不瘦正好，正好
John: So, she's not fat, she's not skinny, she is just right.
Jenny: 诶，正好
John: So, this is like the, like the porridge in the three little bears story, right?
06:31
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:41 AM
05:31
Jenny: 对
John: So, you can say it that way in Chinese, you don't have to say 头发很长
Jenny: 唉，也可以说‘长发’
John: OK, 'long hair'
Jenny: 然后呢，‘圆脸’，‘圆脸’
John: So, literally 'round face'
Jenny: 嗯
John: 2nd tone, 3rd tone, right?
Jenny: 对，‘圆脸’然后‘眼睛很大’，‘眼睛很大’
John: So, her eyes are very big
Jenny: 对啊，中国人觉得眼睛很大很漂亮
06:03
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:37 AM
05:02
John: OK, so 挺漂亮的
Jenny: 嗯
John: When we use 挺 we often have the 的 after the adjective and it means 'rather'
Jenny: 对，就是quite, rather
John: Quite pretty, rather pretty
Jenny: 唉
John: Alright, and what are some of her features?
Jenny: 啊，他是长发，圆脸，眼睛很大，长发，圆脸，眼睛很大
John: OK, so 长发, that means 'long hair'
05:31
watyamacallit
May 14, 2011 at 07:51 AM
I'm not sure either, but I am leaning slightly the other way.
bababardwan
May 07, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Chris, I think this might be another one of those quick 这样's, but I'm not certain
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:30 AM
04:30
John: They have 'grown into what type of appearance?'
Jenny: 对，对
John: Alright, if you think about it in English it's kind of weird too, 'look like'
Jenny: 嗯
John: Because they're not actually looking. You're looking, right?
Jenny: 我们不用【讲】这么philosophical这么deep
John: Alright, so the point is just memorise this phrase 'what does someone look like', especially people, right? We say....
Jenny: 长得怎么样，长得怎么样
John: Alright, just remember that and you'll be fine
Jenny: 嗯
John: So, what DOES she look like, what are her features?
Jenny: 喔，她挺漂亮的，挺漂亮的
05:02
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:21 AM
04:02
John: OK, he didn't have one before, now he has one, so the 了 emphasises that
Jenny: 对
John: So, it's almost like he GOT a girlfriend, he HAS a girlfriend NOW.
Jenny: 对，就是这个意思
John: Got it
Jenny: 好，那这个女孩她就很好奇很curious小周的女朋友长得怎么样，长得怎么样
John: OK, so when we ask what someone looks like, it, literally we're saying they 'grow how?'
04:30
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:12 AM
03:32
John: OK, yesterday I went to see a movie
Jenny: 对
John: So, the 了 comes at the end after the object, movie
Jenny: 嗯，是
John: OK, got it. And then, in the next sentence?
Jenny: 啊，又有一个了就是那个女孩问‘小周有女朋友了’，‘小周有女朋友了’
John: So, 小周 has a girlfriend and then there's a 了 here. This is indicating a change of state, right?
Jenny: 对，就是小周以前没有女朋友，现在他有女朋友了
04:02
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:06 AM
03:01
Jenny: 啊，也可以，但是你也会看到这种动词然后一件事情最后再加一个了
John: OK, so if I understand you correctly, sometimes you will have the 了 directly after the verb
Jenny: 对
John: Like here you could say 碰到了
Jenny: 啊，也可以
John: Or, sometimes you move it to the end, like after the object
Jenny: 嗯
John: Because you're informing someone of some event and that's also a natural way to use 了
Jenny: 对，比如说我告诉你John我昨天去看电影了
03:32
chris
May 02, 2011 at 10:00 AM
02:31
Jenny: 对
John: So, 'bump into', 碰到
Jenny: 没错
John: And that's two 4th tones, right?
Jenny: 是的
John: Now, in this sentence we have a 了 at the end
Jenny: 对，我周末碰到小周和他女朋友了。那这个‘了’呢通常就是我们在形容已经发生的事情，而且你再告诉别人
John: OK, so you're telling someone something happened, but I thought in that case, like a completed verb, you usually have the 了 directly after the verb, no?
03:01
chris
May 02, 2011 at 09:54 AM
02:02
John: OK so, on the weekend I did what? What's the verb here?
Jenny: 碰到，碰到
John: So this literally means 'bump into', right?
Jenny: 对，这个【和】英语很像啊，很match
John: Yeah, so in Chinese when you bump into someone by chance you can use this verb which literally means to bump into.
Jenny: 对，就是碰到。那一定要碰到这两个词都用，你不能就说‘我碰’
John: Because if you say 碰 that means, like, you actually bumping them
02:31
chris
May 01, 2011 at 08:08 AM
01:30
对话
01:43
John: Alright, so it sounds like this girl has some motivations for asking about the other girl
Jenny: 对，他很好奇很curious
John: Yeah. Alright, so anyway let's take a look at the first line and this, uh, sets up the dialogue. What do we hear?
Jenny: 我周末碰到小周和他女朋友了，我周末碰到小周和他女朋友了
02:02
chris
May 01, 2011 at 08:02 AM
00:30
John: You know, what they look like.
Jenny: 对，所以那我们在对话里会听到形容一个人他长相appearance的一些词
John: Right, we're talking about describing a person's appearance
Jenny: 对
John: Now, of course there is all the Chinese vocabulary associated with this but there are also some cultural things we want to pay attention to because it is not exactly the same as in English, right?
Jenny: 嗯，没错。那我们现在先听对话吧
John: Alright, here we go
对话
01:00
chris
May 01, 2011 at 07:51 AM
00:00
John: Hi, you're listening to Chinesepod. This is an Intermediate lesson. My name is John.
Jenny: 大家好，我是Jenny.
John: OK Jenny, today we have a boy and a girl talking about someone else?
Jenny: 嗯，对。他们在说【另】一个女孩长得怎么样
John: OK, so this other girl, what she looks like
Jenny: 对
John: So, when you talk about what someone looks like we say....
Jenny: 长得怎么样，长得怎么样
John: OK, looks like how.
Jenny: 嗯
00:30
chris
May 07, 2011 at 01:03 PMAnother transcript bites the dust. I must say that transcribing is hugely worth the effort - my Chinese has taken a quantum leap since I've started doing it (my listening comprehension always lagged the other three areas but now it is catching up quick). I would strongly encourage other poddies to dive in - particularly if any of you are struggling with the Ele to Intermediate jump. I can't stress enough how helpful it has been. The 30 second slots make it very quick and convenient.