BOX SET: 6 Minute English - 'Human behaviour 2' English mega-class! 30 minutes of new vocabulary!

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning  English. I’m Georgina. And I’m Neil. Neil,

this may sound a bit personal, but have you ever taken your clothes off? Err, well, yes. Every

day when I have a shower. Of course. I mean in  public – have you ever been naked in public?

No! Stripping off – or getting naked - publicly,  is not my idea of fun. Who would enjoy doing

that? Well, naturists would. That’s what we  call people who think not wearing clothes

outdoors is a healthy way to live, and it makes  them feel good. We might also call them nudists,

because they are nude. Right, so naturists feel  being naked is natural – it’s not about them being

interested in nature?! Not necessarily, but we are  going to discuss why being naked in nature might

be good for us. But how about a question first,  Neil? The act of swimming naked is informally

called skinny dipping. The world’s largest skinny  dip took place in Ireland in 2018 - but do you

know how many naked swimmers went into the  sea? Was it approximately… a) 250 people,

b) 2,500 people, or c) 25,000 people? I’d have  to guess and say that only 250 people would be

brave enough to run into the cold sea, naked! Well, as always, I’ll reveal the answer later.

So, the idea of getting naked might fill you with  dread - it might seem embarrassing - but some

people do sunbathe naked on the beach or in their  garden or they go to naturist holiday parks. But

naked rambling – walking naked in the countryside  – might be taking it one step further. However,  

it’s something Donna Price, a volunteer at British  Naturism, is keen to advocate – or publicly

support. Here she is, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s  Woman’s Hour programme, explaining why… We enjoy

the feeling of being at one with nature. If you  haven't actually tried being naked in nature, and

naked outdoors, when you can feel the skin, the  warmth air all over your skin, it's such a lovely

feeling. There is a great feeling of liberation  and freedom once you actually try naturism - and

I would never advocate for someone to actually go  out for a naked walk as the first thing they ever

did - I just would not do that! You've got to be  comfortable in your own skin, so you do it at home, at ...

you know, in your own garden maybe if you can - get  comfortable with yourself, actually start to

feel that being naked feels normal, which, I mean, to me,  it does. So, for Donna, naked rambling means she

has a connection with nature, she feels part of it  and it makes her feel good – that’s the feeling of

being at one with nature. Hmm, but couldn’t you do  that with your clothes on? Well, she also mentions

there’s a feeling of freedom and liberation – that’s being freed from something – here,

it’s freed from your clothes. Donna also told the  Woman’s Hour programme that going for a naked walk

shouldn’t be the first thing you attempt to do. You need to feel relaxed and confident with your

actions first – or what we sometimes  say is ‘comfortable in your own skin’.

Yes, she says we need to get to feel that  nakedness is normal. I suppose we were all  

born naked and it’s not something to be ashamed  of. And, in the UK at least, it’s generally not  

against the law to be naked in public. Hmm, I’m  still not convinced, but according to Donna Price,  

this freedom of expression is quite well received  when she’s out walking. Here she is speaking on  

the BBC’s Woman’s Hour programme again… A majority  of the responses that you actually encounter, if  

you do encounter the public, the general public,  are actually very encouraging. They're not shock,  

horror majority of the time, I can guarantee  that. A lot of people say just 'good morning'  

and carry on, some of them actually say 'gosh,  you're braver than I am’ if it’s a bit chilly.  

A lot of them just say, ' I really wish I could  do that' and usually we just say 'you can!'. So,  

the people Donna encounters – or meets – seem  to support what she’s doing. She says it's not  

shock, horror – this is usually said as an  informal way of actually saying something  

is not surprising, not shocking! Well, shock, horror, Neil, I won’t be taking my clothes off  

anytime soon – it’s too cold anyway and I don’t  want to be bitten by all those bugs you get in the  

countryside. But it’s good to hear that people are  open-minded to the idea. Yes, good luck to anyone  

who wants to give it a try and well done to those  brave people who took part in the world’s biggest  

skinny dip – a mass naked swim. Earlier, Georgina,  you asked me how many people took part in the  

event in Ireland in 2018. I did, and you said? I said about 250 people went for a dip. Was I right?  

No, Neil. According to Guinness World Records,  2,505 women took part in the largest charity  

skinny dip in Wicklow in Ireland. Well, well  done to them, and skinny dipping was one of the

items of vocabulary we discussed today. This is  an informal way of describing the act of swimming

naked. We’ve also been discussing naturists -  people who think not wearing clothes outdoors

is a healthy way to live, and it makes them  feel good. The act of doing this is called

'naturism'. And when you advocate something, like  naturism for example, you publicly support it.  

'Being at one with nature' means having a connection  with the natural world that makes you feel good.

And 'liberation' means being freed from something.  And when we say ‘shock, horror!’, we actually mean  

the opposite and mean something in not shocking  or surprising – we’re being sarcastic, I guess.  

It’s not like you to be sarcastic, Neil!  But shock, horror – we’re out of time now.  

We only get 6 minutes and that’s the naked  truth! Thanks for listening and goodbye. Goodbye.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC  Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Sam.  

When Neil and I record 6 Minute English  face-to-face in the BBC Learning English  

studio, which, I am happy to say, we are doing  right now, we look at each other as we speak.  

We smile and use hand gestures and facial  expressions in a type of communication called  

'body language'. But during the Covid pandemic,  everyday meetings with work colleagues, teachers  

and friends, and 6 Minute English recordings -  all moved online. Video meetings using software  

like Zoom and Skype became the normal way  to communicate with family and friends.  

And whatever happens with Covid in the future,  it seems they're here to stay. In this programme,  

we'll be asking: how has body language changed  in the world of online video meetings? We'll  

meet the person who wrote the rulebook for clear  communication in the digital age - Erica Dhawan,  

author of a new book, 'Digital Body Language'.  But before that, I have a question for you, Sam,  

and it's about Erica Dhawan. She may be a  communications expert now, but growing up in  

Pennsylvania she was a shy and quiet schoolgirl.  So how did Erica beat her shyness and become the  

confident communicator she is today? Did  she: a) attend public speaking classes?,  

b) copy the body language of the cool kids at  school? or, c) raised her hand to answer the  

teacher's questions, even if she didn't know the  answer? I'll guess 'c' - she raised her hand  

to answer the teacher's questions. OK, Sam. We'll  reveal the correct answer later in the programme.  

In face-to-face meetings, we immediately see  someone's reaction to what we've said through eye  

contact, where two people look into each other's  eyes as they talk. Unfortunately, using a web  

camera to make eye contact is almost impossible in  online meetings and this often creates a kind of  

'distancing' effect. Erica Dhawan makes several  suggestions to help with this. See if you can  

hear the final suggestion she makes to Michael  Rosen as part of BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth.  

And last but not least, slow down. Remember when  it was completely normal to have a one-minute  

pause in a room with one another because we  knew when we're thinking and brainstorming.  

If we don't hear someone speak on video, we  ask them if they're on mute. Practise what I  

call the five-second rule - wait five seconds  before speaking to make sure that individuals  

have time to process the ideas, especially if  there may be technology or accessibility issues.  

Did you hear Erica's last piece of advice, Neil?  Yes, she recommends slowing down, something we do  

naturally face-to-face when we're thinking or  brainstorming - that's discussing suggestions  

with a group of people to come up with new ideas  or to solve problems. Slowing down gives us time  

to process new information - to understand it  by thinking carefully and reflecting on it.  

Erica compares online body language to learning  a new language - it takes practice, especially  

when it comes to smiling and laughing, something  Michael Rosen finds hard to do in video meetings.  

Listen to him discussing this problem  with Erica Dhawan for BBC Radio 4's,  

Word of Mouth. Do you think it's killing off  people laughing and smiling in the way we do when  

we're altogether in the live situation? I would  say that it is much less likely that we laugh and  

smile on camera for a few reasons. Number one,  laughing is often done in unison where we can  

quickly pick up the energy of someone smiling or  laughing and feed off of that and laugh ourselves.  

When it comes to screen delays, the fact that  it's not natural to see our own camera - being  

distracted by that - we are much less likely to  laugh and smile. One of the ways we can overcome  

this is by creating intentional moments in  our meetings for the water cooler effect.  

Erica points out that laughing often happens  in unison - together and at the same time.  

Yes, if someone starts laughing it makes me  laugh too. She also thinks it's important  

to make time for employees to chat informally  about things unrelated to work - their weekend  

plans or last night's TV show. And she uses the  expression, 'the water cooler effect' which comes  

from the United States where office workers  sometimes meet at the water fountain to chat.  

So, the water cooler effect refers to informal  conversations that people have in their office or  

workplace, maybe in the lift, the office kitchen  or, if there is one, by an actual water cooler.  

Erica Dhawan seems very comfortable communicating  online, but she's had lots of time to practice  

since her schooldays. Ah yes, Neil, in your  quiz question you asked how Erica conquered her  

shyness at school. I guessed that she raised  her hand to answer the teacher's questions.  

It was a good guess, Sam, but the  correct answer is b - she copied the  

body language of her cool teenage classmates,  so probably lots of rolled eyes and slouching!  

OK, let's recap the vocabulary from this programme  about online body language - non-verbal ways of  

communicating using the body. Eye contact is  when two people look at each other's eyes at  

the same time. Brainstorming involves a group  discussion to generate new ideas or solutions.  

When we process information, we think about it  carefully in order to understand it. 'In unison'  

means happening together and at the same time. And  finally, 'the water cooler effect' is an American  

expression to describe informal conversations  between people at work. Neil is looking at his  

watch, which is body language that tells me our  six minutes are up! Goodbye for now! Goodbye!  

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning  English. I'm Sam. And I'm Neil. Sleep - we all  

need it - some more than others. I can usually get  by with around seven hours a night but I do like  

to have a nap - a short sleep - in the afternoon,  when I'm not working of course. How about you,  

Neil? I'm always tired and as soon as my head hits  the pillow, I'm out like a light - meaning I go  

to sleep very quickly. Well, Neil, you might  not survive in South Korea then. Apparently,  

it's one of the most stressed and tired nations on  earth - a place where people work and study longer  

hours and get less sleep than anywhere else. We'll  find out more later and teach some sleep-related  

vocabulary. But before we do, you need to  give me a question to keep me awake and alert!  

Of course I do, and here it is. In the 1960s,  American man, Randy Gardner, set the world record  

for staying awake for the longest period. Do you  know what that time was? Was it: a) 64 hours, b)  

164 hours, or c) 264 hours? All sound impossible  but I'll guess a) 64 hours - that's nearly 3  

days! I'll give you the answer later  in the programme - assuming you don't doze off!  

But let's talk more about sleep now. As I  mentioned, we all need it to help our mind  

and body rest and relax. And going without sleep  - or sleeplessness - is bad for our health.  

Many things can stop us sleeping and some of them  are pressure, anxiety and stress caused by your  

job. And in South Korea research has shown it's  become increasingly difficult to switch off - stop  

thinking about work and relax. South Koreans sleep  fewer hours and have higher rates of depression  

and suicide than almost anywhere else. Se-Woong  Koo has been reporting on this for the BBC World  

Service Documentary podcast. He met one worker  who explained why she never got time to relax.  

Separating work and rest time has been a recurring  issue for Ji-an - in her last job her office hours  

were long. Like most Korean firms, her employer  didn't think about any boundaries. They encroached  

on almost all her time. They told me 'you need  to be contactable 24/7' - there will always be  

someone from work reaching out to me, like  needing to get something done right now.  

Even just thinking about it, I get really  agitated. So, that stressed out worker got  

agitated just thinking about the situation - she  got worried or upset. That's because office hours  

in South Korea are long and some employers expect  their workers to be contactable all the time. Yes,  

there are no boundaries - so no limits or rules  about when employers can contact their employees.  

Therefore, as this employee said, work encroached  - it gradually took over - her leisure time.  

Stress like this can lead to insomnia - a  condition where you are unable to sleep.  

The BBC Discovery podcast goes on to explain  that offering a cure for this sleeplessness  

has become big business. There are sleep clinics  where doctors assess people overnight, and sleep  

cafes that offer places to nap in the middle of  the working day. One other issue in South Korea  

that's affecting sleep is the 'bali bali' culture,  meaning 'quickly, quickly' or 'hurry, hurry'.  

People are constantly in a rush. Doctor Lee  spoke to the World Service's Discovery podcast  

about the effects of this and how even  trying to take medication to help sleep,  

has its problems. People take like, ten or  twenty pills per one night, and because they  

cannot fall asleep even with the medication, they  drink alcohol on top of that, and they experience  

side-effects of the medication. People  can sleepwalk, and go to the refrigerator,  

eat a lot of things unconsciously - uncooked  food, and they don't remember the next day. There  

were cases of car accidents in the centre of  Seoul which has been sleepwalking patients.  

So, some people are taking lots of pills to  help them sleep but they're not working so  

they're drinking alcohol as well. This leads  to side-effects - unpleasant and unexpected  

results from the medication. It seems, one of  these side-effects is sleepwalking - moving  

around and doing things while still asleep.  Well, if sleeping pills aren't working,  

there's always meditation - or working less.  At least South Koreans are getting some sleep,  

unlike Randy Gardner who I asked you  about earlier. Yes, he holds the record  

for staying awake the longest. And I thought  he stayed awake for 64 hours. Was I right?  

No, Neil. Not long enough. Randy Gardner stayed  awake for an incredible 264.4 hours - that's 11  

days and 25 minutes - in January 1964. That's  one record I really don't want to beat. Well,  

before you nod off Neil, let's recap some  of the vocabulary we've been discussing,  

including 'go out like a light', which means  you go to sleep very quickly. When you switch  

off you stop concentrating on one thing  and start thinking about something else.  

A lack of sleep or rest can make you 'agitated'  - you get worried or upset. 'Encroach' means  

gradually take over. When you take medication and  it gives you an unpleasant and unexpected results,  

we call these side-effects. And sleepwalking  describes moving around and doing things while  

still asleep. That's our six minutes up. Goodbye  and sweet dreams! Goodbye!

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Neil. And joining me it's Rob. Hello!

Now Rob, would you say you're someone who is quite organised? I'd like to think so. What's the best way

to organise everything? You need a 'to-do' list - a list of all the jobs you need to do that you can work your  

way through. That's a good idea and something  we can include in today's discussion about  

life admin. Admin is short for administration  - that describes the activities and tasks you  

have to do to make a business or organisation  run smoothly - but life admin is administration  

you have to do to make your day-to-day life run  smoothly - like doing housework, or paying a  

bill. And the first thing on my 'to-do' list  is to ask you and the listeners, a question.  

Yes, you wouldn't want to forget that. So, the  website Hotels.com commissioned some research  

about how much time young adults - that's  millennials - spend doing life admin. Do you  

know what proportion of their free time they spend  doing life admin tasks? Is it... a) a quarter of a  

day, b) a third of a day, c) half a day? Based  on my personal experience, I would say about a  

quarter of a day. Well, we'll see if you're the  same as other people at the end of the programme.  

But as we all know, life admin is necessary  but it can be a bit of a chore - a boring,  

ordinary task you do regularly. Experts have  studied the subject and looked at how we do it  

and how we can make it less boring. One of them  is Elizabeth Emens, Professor of Law at Columbia  

University and author of The Art of Life Admin.  She's been speaking to the BBC Radio 4 programme,  

Woman's Hour, and described what she thought life  admin is. Life admin is the  

office work of life, it's the invisible layer  of work that is the kind of thing that managers  

and secretaries, aka admins, do for pay in  the office but that everyone does in their  

own lives for free. She calls life admin the  invisible layer of work - so it's work, tasks  

or chores we carry out that people don't notice  we're doing - or don't realise we have to do them  

it's extra work in our life. And we don't get paid  for it - unless we're at work when it is the role  

of someone to do it - such as secretaries or aka  admins - aka is short for 'also known as' - so  

secretaries might also be known as admins - that  is short for people who do administration. Right,  

so we know life admin is boring and we don't get  paid for it - and also, trying to renew your house  

insurance or trying to query a bill with a utility  company can be frustrating and feels like a waste  

of time. A utility company by the way, is one  that supplies something such as electricity,  

gas, or water to the public. My problem is I  never get round to doing my life admin - there  

are better things to do - so you could say I  procrastinate - I delay doing things until later,  

probably because I don't want to do  them. You are what Elizabeth classifies  

as an 'admin avoider'. So this is where my to-do  list comes in handy, Neil. You have a written  

record of tasks that can be quite satisfying to  cross off as you do them. This is something  

Elizabeth Emen has found to work, at least for  some people. Let's hear from her again. What  

type of people did she find get most satisfaction  from completing a to-do list?

If you've ever made a list and put things on  it you've already done, just to cross them out,  

then you know the kind of 'done it' pleasure that  goes with that. But actually I interviewed people,  

especially the super-doers that I interviewed,  actually can find real pleasure in the actual  

doing of it - and, so, trying to understand how we can  get to that when we have to do it - how we can  

make it so that there is some meaning in it and  some texture and there're ways of doing it that  

please us. So, she was describing the super-doers  - these are the people who love admin and would  

spend an evening putting their book collection  into alphabetical order! Elizabeth mentioned  

that we should learn from the super-doers and get  some 'done it' pleasure in doing our life admin.  

We need to find a meaning for doing it - in  other words, what is represents - so we can see  

the benefit of completing our to-do list. How we  find pleasure from doing life admin is different  

for different people - so personally, I think  I'll stick with being an 'admin avoider' - but  

that might explain why I just got charged extra  for not paying my credit card bill on time!  

Well, please don't avoid giving us the answer  to the quiz question you asked us earlier.  

Yes. Earlier I asked, researchers,  commissioned by Hotels.com, polled 2,000  

young professionals about their lives. How much  of their free time do they spend doing life  

admin? Is it... a) quarter of a day, b) a third of  a day, c) half a day? And I said a) a quarter of  

a day. Yes, they spend a quarter of their days  carrying out tasks like doctor's appointments,  

waiting in for packages to be delivered and doing  household chores. Boring! Unlike this programme  

Neil, which is not a chore - one of the words  we discussed today. Yes, our vocabulary today  

included chore - a boring, ordinary task you do  regularly. We also mentioned admin, short for  

administration - the activities and tasks you have  to do make a business, organisation or just your  

life, run smoothly. We heard aka - meaning 'also  known as' - so for example, Rob aka The master of  

6 Minute English! Thanks very much, Neil. Next  we heard utility company. That's a company that  

supplies something such as electricity, gas, or  water to the public. And we also heard how Neil  

likes to procrastinate - that's delay doing things  until later, probably because he doesn't want to  

do them. Finally, we mentioned super-doers -  an informal term to describe people who get  

satisfaction out of doing life admin and do lots  of it. Like me. Well, it's time to go now but  

there's plenty more to discover on our website at  bbclearningenglish.com. Goodbye for now. Bye bye.  

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning  English. I'm Neil. And I'm Rob. Do you enjoy your  

own company, Rob? Do you like being alone?  Or do you prefer spending time with friends?  

Well, recently I haven't seen my friends much  because of coronavirus - in fact, I've hardly  

seen anyone this past year! It sounds like Rob has  become a bit of a hermit - someone who lives alone  

and apart from society. Yes, I've been forced to  spend time alone - but it wouldn't be my choice.  

I'd much rather be socialising and visiting  friends. If, like Rob, the idea of being  

alone does not appeal to you, it might be hard to  understand why anyone would choose to be a hermit.  

But some people do - and in this programme  we'll be hearing some of the reasons why.  

Throughout history and across all cultures, there  have been people who choose to leave behind the  

life and people the know to live in isolation  and silence. People like Christopher Wright - an  

American man who lived in complete isolation  in the forests of Maine for nearly 30 years!  

When hikers discovered his tent all they found  was an alarm clock. So, my quiz question is this:  

why did Christopher Wright, the hermit of  the Maine woods, need an alarm clock? Was it:  

a) to remind him when to hide his tent?, b) to  frighten away wild animals?, or c) to wake him up  

at the coldest part of the night so he didn't  freeze to death? Well, if he wanted to be alone  

so much, I guess he needed to be invisible, so  I'll say a) to remind him to hide his tent.  

OK, Rob, we'll find out the answer later.  Christopher Wright may be an extreme example  

of someone seeking solitude, but there are  many other motivations for becoming a hermit.  

Some people are looking for peace and silence,  and for others it's about being closer to God,  

focusing on what's inside and finding a sense of  joy. Meng Hu is a former librarian who now runs a  

website all about hermits. He says that in ancient  times, many Chinese hermits seeking solitude were  

followers of the philosopher, Confucius. Here's  Meng Hu talking about Confucius to BBC World  

Service programme, The Why Factor: His dictum  was something like, 'When the Emperor is good,  

serve. When the Emperor is evil, recluse'. And  so over a thousand years at least there were  

a lot of recluses, there were a lot of educated men who  simply couldn't tolerate any more evil - they  

simply dropped out and they would migrate to small  villages, to farms. Meng Hu mentions Confucius's  

dictum. A dictum is a short statement or saying  which expresses some wise advice or a general  

truth about life. Confucius's dictum advised that  when the Emperor was evil, people should become  

recluses - people, like hermits, who live alone  and avoid contact with others. In the interview,  

Meng Hu uses 'recluse' as a verb - to recluse  - but this is very uncommon. A more modern way  

of saying this is, to drop out - to reject the  normal ways society works and live outside the  

system. A bit like the hippies in the 1960s, you  mean? Right. Although most hippies weren't looking  

for isolation, they did have something in common  with hermits - the desire to challenge society's  

rules and conventions. Someone who combines  the hippie and the hermit is Catholic writer,  

Sara Maitland. Part of a long tradition of  Christian hermits, Sara spent forty days and  

nights alone on the Isle of Skye, seeking God  in the silence of the remote Scottish island.  

For her, the magic of silence is something to be  embraced and taught to children. Here she explains  

more to BBC World Service's, The Why Factor. Most  people first encounter silence in bereavement,  

in relationship breakdown and in death and that  seems to be about the worst place to start.  

People say, 'But what should we do?' Never, ever  use 'Go to your room on your own' as a punishment.  

You use it as a reward - 'Darling, you've been so  good all day, you've been so helpful, why don't  

you go to your room for half an hour now and be on  your own?' A treat! A reward! Sara says that most  

people experience silence after a bereavement  - the death of a relative or close friend. She  

also thinks that parents should never tell their  children, 'Go to your room!' as a punishment.  

Instead, being alone should be a treat - a reward  or gift of something special and enjoyable.  

That way, children learn that being alone can  actually be enjoyable. I'm still wondering about  

that American, Christopher Wright - I suppose  living alone in the woods was a treat for him...  

I suppose so - but why did he need an alarm clock?  Ah yes, your quiz question, Neil. I thought maybe  

it was to remind him to hide his tent. Was I  right? Well incredibly, Rob, the answer was c)  

to wake him up at the coldest part of the night  so he didn't freeze to death! That's someone who  

really wants to be left alone! A 'hermit' in other  words, or a 'recluse' - two ways of describing  

people who live alone and avoid others. OK,  let's recap the rest of the vocabulary, starting  

with 'dictum' - a short saying often giving wise  advice or expressing a general truth about life.  

People who 'drop out' reject the normal rules of  society and live outside the system. Many people  

experience solitude after a bereavement - the  death of a close friend or relative. And finally  

'a treat' is reward or gift of something special and  enjoyable. That's all for now, but whether you're  

listening alone or with others, we hope you'll  join us again soon, here at 6 Minute English.  

Don't forget - you'll find us on our website or  you can download our free app, so you won't miss  

any of our programmes. And we are on all the  main social media sites. Bye bye! Bye for now!