Learn English Vocabulary Daily #11.3 - British English Podcast

Hello, welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 11, Day 3 of Your English Five a

Day, the series that aims to increase your vocabulary by five pieces every single

day of the week from Monday to Friday.

So, let's get started.

Today our first word is a noun and it is pocket.

Now I'm not talking about the pockets in your jeans or in your coat.

I'm talking about a group, an area, or a mass of something that's separate

and different to what surrounds it.

Now pocket is spelled the same as the pocket in your coat,

it's P O C K E T, pocket.

Here's an example sentence to help you understand this particular noun.

"Fasten your seatbelt, the pilot has just said that we're going to

encounter a pocket of turbulence."

Now for those of you who don't know the word turbulence, it's

an area of violently moving air.

So, when you're on a plane and you go through a pocket of turbulence,

an area of turbulence, then the plane is going to jerk around quite a lot.

It's going to be quite scary and uncomfortable.

Another example of pocket might be within a society you might have a pocket

of resistance to a new regulation or some new legislation that comes in.

So, for example, during the COVID lockdown, there were pockets of

resistance to this new way of living.

People didn't like being told that they had to stay in their homes

and that they weren't allowed out.

There were pockets of resistance, groups of people resisting.

Alright, moving on.

Next we have the verb, showcasing.

Showcasing.

We spell this S H O W C A S I N G.

Showcasing.

Showcasing.

This is a situation or an event that makes it possible for the best

features of something to be seen.

So, if you want to show something to be really good, you want to show it to

the world, then you are showcasing it.

For example, I went to a drama school that had a big showcase

at the end of the course.

So, they hired a theatre and invited lots of influential people.

And we all rehearsed and worked on scenes and monologues, performances, and we

showcased ourselves, our newfound skills and talents, to the professional world.

So, the school was showcasing its students.

Here's another example.

"The exhibition will be showcasing the best of British

garden design and innovation."

Next we have an adjective and it is unpublicised, unpublicised.

Let me spell this for you: U N P U B L I C I S E D.

Unpublicised.

Unpublicised.

If something is unpublicised, then information about that

thing is not generally available, is not being made available.

So, if my company, English Like a Native, decided it was going to

release a public speaking course and all of my team know about this course

because we're all working on it, but I haven't announced it to anybody.

Nobody knows that this course is coming.

Then it would be an unpublicised course, it would be an unpublicised

update from the company.

And only once I tell everyone would it be publicised.

Here's another example.

"The meeting at HQ was unpublicised, it's like they purposely

excluded half of the directors."

Next on the list is an idiom.

It is not to mention.

Not to mention.

We're spelling this N O T, not.

T O, to mention, M E N T I O N.

Not to mention.

Not to mention.

Not to mention is a phrase used when you want to emphasise something

that you're adding to a list.

So, let's think about a list that you might make.

All the reasons why you choose to listen to The English Like a Native.

I'm sure there are a number of reasons why you choose to listen to this podcast.

Maybe because it's convenient, because it helps you to learn vocabulary and not to

mention you enjoy listening to my voice.

Oh, now I feel embarrassed.

Not to mention that you particularly enjoy listening to a British English model.

And yeah, so when you're adding something to a list and you want to

emphasise that particular part, you would say, "Not to mention this thing."

Okay.

Here's another example.

"Ross is one of the kindest and most intelligent, not to mention

handsome, men that I know."

Moving on we have a verb and it is delve, delve.

We spell this D E L V E.

Delve.

To delve into something is to examine something in detail, especially when

you're trying to find information.

Let's delve into it.

Here's an example sentence.

"Oh, I bought a book which delves into the world of chilli peppers, I never

know which ones are mild and which ones are going to blow my head off!"

And of course, this podcast delves deeper into the meanings of many

different words and phrases.

So, now we've finished our list, let's recap.

We have the noun pocket, meaning a group, an area, or a mass of something

that's different to what surrounds it.

We have the verb showcasing, which is a way of showing the best

features of something that you really want other people to see.

We have the adjective unpublicised, where the information is

not generally available.

We had the idiom not to mention, which is used to emphasise

something you're adding to a list.

And then we had the verb delve, which is to examine something in

detail in order to find information.

Let's now do it for pronunciation purposes.

Please repeat after me.

Pocket.

Pocket.

Showcasing.

Showcasing.

Unpublicised.

Unpublicised.

Not to mention.

Not to mention.

Delve.

Delve.

OK, now if a comment hasn't been made available to the public, it's

an official comment but it's only available internally within my

company, how would you describe it?

What adjective would you use?

Unpublicised.

And if I'm referring to a group of people within society who don't

agree, who are not following suit, how would I describe that group?

What other word could I use instead of group?

Pocket.

And if I'm creating a list of reasons as to why I've decided to take a

pronunciation course with English Like a Native, what idiom could I use to

emphasise a particular point on that list?

Not to mention.

And if I need to examine something in detail to find more

information, what verb would I use?

Delve.

Delve.

And if I create an event where you can see all of the best features of

my most recent course, what verb would I use to describe what I'm doing?

Showcasing.

Showcasing.

Fantastic.

Now let's bring all of those together in a little story.

It started out like any other morning.

Margaret opened the bakery as usual, set out her amazing display of baked

goods, sweets, treats and candies, and started on the final touches of a

christening cake that she'd spent the last 3 days making for her best friend.

As a bespoke cake maker, with a talent for making impossible cakes

possible, Margaret's reputation was famous throughout the town

and indeed the surrounding areas.

Her shop and creative talents were generally unpublicised, as most of

her work came through word of mouth.

She could create any shape, size, colour or flavour that her clients requested,

no matter how unusual or challenging.

She had a pocket of loyal customers who appreciated her creativity

and skill, and who often ordered her cakes for special occasions.

It wasn't long after the mad morning rush that Margaret received a phone

call with a request that intrigued her.

A mysterious client wanted a cake showcasing a secret message.

The cake had to look ordinary from the outside, nothing strange there,

but, the message had to be visible only to the person receiving it!

How on earth was she going to do it?

This was totally out of her comfort zone, not to mention totally unheard

of in cake making before, but then that's what she was so well known

for: making the impossible possible.

The baker decided to accept the challenge, and to delve into

this new world of mystery cakes.

I wonder what the message said.

And that brings us to the end of today's episode.

I do hope you found it useful and I hope that you have a lovely day.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.