a.i, does it enhance or replace your learning  experience ?

a.i, does it enhance or replace your learning experience ?

As an English learner do you think it’s a great tool or just cheating and laziness ? 

This is the hot question at the moment.

Do you use Google translate to help you with your written English ? Do you enhance your text by putting it through an a.i software?

Are you tempted to rely on a:i  to help you produce a written text quickly?

Listen as we discuss the pros and cons of a.i and see how we think it’ll affect the learning and teaching experience.

Take a look at these options which an a.i software produced from one of our blogs about Food Hell.

This is what we wrote : What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten ? Snails ? Eels ? Sheep’s brains ? Listen as we discus the worst things we’ve eaten. Do you agree with our choice? Do you think our choices are cultural or universal tastes?  Why do you detest these foods? Is it the texture, the smell, the taste or just the idea? To get in the mood here are the foods we discuss. Build your vocabulary by associating tastes, and adjectives to each choice*https://english-podcasts.com/food-hell/

This is what the a.i wrote in different styles. What do you think?

Friendly: Do you agree with our choices? Do you think our choices are cultural or universal tastes? What’s the worst food you’ve ever eaten ? Snails ? Eels ? Sheep’s brains ? We discuss all this and more in this episode of the podcast.

Witty: What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten? Snails? Eels? Sheep’s brains?! Yeah, we thought so. In this episode of The Listening Project we ask the question: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten? Listen as we discuss how old you had to be to eat some weird things, why some people can literally eat anything and where the best place is for napa cabbage

Empathetic: The worst things I’ve eaten? Snails, eels, sheep’s brains and worse. Do you agree with our choices? Do you think they are cultural or universal tastes? To get in the mood here are the foods we discuss. Build your vocabulary by associating tastes, and adjectives to each choice.

Luxury: What would constitute the worst thing you’ve ever eaten? Snails ? Eels ? Sheep’s brains ? Listen as we discuss the worst things we’ve eaten eaten. Do you agree with our choice? Do you think our choices are cultural or universal tastes? Why do you detest these foods? Is it the texture, the smell, the taste or just the idea?

Adventurous: This is a lively and fun podcast that discusses the worst things we’ve eaten. We are passionate about food, and so are you. We believe each culture has foods that they consider disgusting which we put in a list. In this podcast episode we discuss the reasons why these foods are considered some of the most unsavory in our culture. If you have suggestions for future topics please email me at suggestions@podcasts.com

Persuasive: We all have foods that we detest. When someone tells you to try something, how do you respond? You like it or not? Why do people put themselves through this ritualistic thing of eating all these things they don’t like? This is your chance to find out. Listen as we discuss some of the things most people won’t eat, but that we did.

  Listen out for these words in the podcast

Did your mum write your cover letter?

Lazy

To put your finger on it

Cheating

Enhance

There/ they’re/ their

A mindset change

A can of worms

A glaring mistake

The Aviation Top Gun Quiz

The Aviation Top Gun Quiz

The Aviation Top Gun Quiz

People who love planes are celebrating an aviation landmark this year with the 50th anniversary of the maiden flight of the supersonic plane Concorde.

 Back in March1969 Concorde took to the skies for the first time for a 29 minute flight at a speed not exceeding 480 km/h, it was able to break the sound barrier in October of the same year.

This achievement was the highlight of a long journey from the first flight recorded in 1903 by the Wright Brothers. 

Since early Greek mythology and the story of Icarus humans have always been enchanted by the idea of flight. The modern age of aviation began with the first hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783. Experiments with gliders provided the groundwork for heavier-than-air craft, and by the early-20th century, advances in engine technology and aerodynamics made controlled, powered flight possible for the first time. The modern airplane with its characteristic tail was established by 1909 and from then on the history of aircraft became tied to the development of more and more powerful engines.

So, if you think you are an Aviation Ace this quiz will test your knowledge of aviation developments and landmarks.

If you prefer to be a passenger, this quiz will test your knowledge and vocabulary of air transport.

But if you just want to have fun and learn some quirky facts, this is also the quiz for you !

When you get to the end of the quiz there is a real treat for all plane lovers.

The Aviation Top Gun Quiz

Are you an Aviation Ace ? Try this quiz to test your knowledge of all things planes, airports and luggage !
Fasten your seat belt, enjoy the ride, it's time for take off.....

Ayurveda the science of life

Ayurveda the science of life

Ayurveda the science of life is an medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent.

Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population report using it.

Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia.

Therapies include medicines, special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, laxatives, enemas, and medical oils.

Medicines are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of early Indian alchemy or rasa shastra).

Ancient Ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects.

The main classical Ayurveda texts begin with accounts of the transmission of medical knowledge from the gods to sages, and then to human physicians.

In Sushruta Samhita (Sushruta’s Compendium), Sushruta wrote that Dhanvantari, Hindu god of Ayurveda, incarnated himself as a king of Varanasi and taught medicine to a group of physicians, including Sushruta.

 Ayurveda has been adapted for Western consumption, notably by Baba Hari Dass in the 1970s and Maharishi Ayurveda in the 1980s.

Some scholars assert that Ayurveda originated in prehistoric times, and that some of the concepts of Ayurveda have existed from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization or even earlier.

Ayurveda developed significantly during the Vedic period and later some of the non-Vedic systems such as Buddhism and Jainism also developed medical concepts and practices that appear in the classical Ayurveda texts.

In Ayurveda texts, Doṣa balance is emphasized, and suppressing natural urges is considered unhealthy and claimed to lead to illness.

Ayurveda treatises describe three elemental doṣas viz. vāta, pitta and kapha, and state that balance (Skt. sāmyatva) of the doṣas results in health, while imbalance (viṣamatva) results in disease. Ayurveda treatises divide medicine into eight canonical components.

Ayurveda practitioners had developed various medicinal preparations and surgical procedures from at least the beginning of the common era.

Listen to Renu, an Ayurveda practioner in north India talk about Ayurveda.

Drones handle with care

Drones handle with care

Drones handle with care

Drones handle with care

Drones handle with care as they are used in many contexts from military uses to leisure and for fun.

But are they just dangerous toys or just accidents waiting to happen?

There have been many stories and reports of drone near-misses and accidents involving aircraft and one even landed on The White House lawn.

A drone that can be bought on the high street can weigh up to 1.5 Kg and fly at speeds up to 20 meters a second (72 km / hour) at heights reaching 6,000 meters and a maximum distance of 16 kilometers.

So, it can be very dangerous, if not used with care and within the legal restrictions, which varies from country to country.

Drones handle with care!

Listen to the podcast about the rules for flying a drone in France and what purposes that drones can be used for.

Later, we will be going out flying a drone and posting the pictures and videos on EFLPodBlog.

10 Stupid things people have done with drones

5 Amazing Drone Use Ideas

Animated Podcast Number 7: Are you a Geek ?

Animated Podcast Number 7: Are you a Geek ?

So what’s an animated podcast ?

Good question !

It’s a podcast with pictures, learning tips and clues. In short, it’s just a helping hand to help you understand the conversation and the context.

This is Animated Podcast number 7 in a series of 10, in which each one has a specific focus and gets progressively more challenging. 

In the seventh one, Are you a Geek, you can hear a conversation with someone who calls herself and “Un-Geek”. This word doesn’t really exist but you can get it’s meaning ! The focus is on talking about devices and gadgets that we use everyday, with more or less success.

Who is it designed for ?

It’s a perfect opportunity for new learners (pre-intermediate) to hear technology vocabulary spoken at natural speed between 2 British speakers.

It’s a great way for Intermediate learners to consolidate knowledge.

Enjoy and Welcome to the English Podcasts YouTube Channel  !

Click here to access the YouTube Channel 

Don’t forget to listen to the sequel in which Chris (the Geek !) explains about all the devices he has.

Chris – Technophile

Chris – Technophile

Chris could be described as a technophile –

Technophilia (from Greek τέχνη – technē, “art, skill, craft” and φίλος – philos, “beloved, dear, friend”) refers generally to a strong enthusiasm for technology, especially new technologiessuch as personal computers, the Internet, mobile phones and home cinema. The term is used in sociology to examine individuals’ interactions with society and is contrasted with technophobia.

On a psychodynamic level, technophilia generates the expression of its opposite, technophobia. Technophilia and technophobia are the two extremes of the relationship between technology and society. The technophile regards most or all technology positively, adopts new forms of technology enthusiastically and sees it as a means to improve life, whilst some may even view it as a means to combat social problems.

The term technophilia is used as a way of highlighting how technology can evoke in humans strong positive futuristic feelings. However, the reverential attitude towards technology that technophilia produces can sometimes inhibit realistic appraisals of the social and environmental impacts of technology on society. Technophiles do not fear of the effects of technological developments on society, as do technophobes. Technological determinism is the theory that humanity has little power to resist the influence that technology has on society.

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