Background: This esl podcast is about a friend that is a little too boring. Do you have any friends that are nice but not fun or interesting to talk to? This is a dialogue between friends about this kind of person. Hopefully this isn’t you! Learn excellent terms and vocabulary and have fun listening to this podcast!
Bringing Something
Conversation
| A: So who’s all going tonight ?
B: You, Steve, Scott, Kim, Christy, and myself A: Why did you invite Scott? B: What’s wrong with him? He’s a nice guy. He’s totally harmless. A: I know he’s harmless. I don’t dislike him. Its just that it’s Saturday night. We’ve already got such a tight group and he doesn’t really bring much to the table. B: I haven’t really found that. A: Think back to the nights he’s been there. He doesn’t joke around or laugh much. I think it kind of ruins the group dynamic. B: I didn’t really think of it before but now that you mention it, the girls don’t really seem to be themselves around him .A: Exactly. So what are you going to do about it? B: Not much I can do. I already invited him. I can’t tell him that we find him too dull. A: I suppose not. But next time, I’ll do the inviting. |
Key vocabulary and phrases that are discussed in the podcast:
Who’s all going?: This is a slang way of asking for a list of everyone who will be going to something.
Harmless: Describing a person as harmless in this way means that they probably aren’t great but they won’t really cause any problems. They are not a bad person. It’s often used as a kind of polite way to describe someone you don’t like much.
I don’t dislike him: This means that you probably don’t enjoy the person’s company very much. Maybe because you are too different. You don’t think too badly of the person, but you wouldn’t want to spend much time together.
Tight group: A group of friends who are quite close and have spent a lot of time together. They have a good time together and often don’t want to include others.
Bring much to the table: This saying is talking about whether or not a person adds much. If someone is boring, dull, or doesn’t really do or say much in a group, then you can say they don’t bring much to the table. It means they don’t add any value. It’s obviously not a very nice thing to say about someone.
Group dynamic: The way a group of people behave together. Sometimes one group of friends likes to act a certain way when they are together, if someone new comes in and causes people to act differently, then they have changed the group dynamic.
Now that you mention it: This is said when you didn’t think of something before, but when someone else said it, you all of a sudden realized it yourself and agree.
Be themselves: Being yourself means you act the way that feels most natural to you and the way you want to act. Sometimes in front of certain people it is hard to be yourself. Maybe you aren’t yourself around your boss because you are afraid of what she will think of you.
May 25th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
01-he was not there
02-peter didn’t like that because he was stupid
January 28th, 2009 at 9:20 am
thanks!plz carry on teaching us in this way!I think it’ll work out.
September 25th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Hey Guys!
I’ve been learning much with you!
You’re doing an excellent job! I’m TOEFL student and you’re helping to improve my English.
Thank You!