📘 Part 3: Study habits

This episode's vocabulary

• To gravitate (verb) - to be attracted to or move toward something.
• Drag (noun) - something that is not convenient and is boring or unpleasant.
• To isolate (verb) - to separate something from other things with which it is connected or mixed.
• Preference (noun) - the fact that you like something or someone more than another thing or person
• Vast (adj) - extremely big.
• Majority(noun) - the larger number or part of something.
• At (your) ease (phrase) - relaxed.
• Work placement (noun) - a limited period of time, usually forming part of a course of study, during which someone works for a company or organization in order to get work experience, which may be paid or not paid.
• To consolidate (verb) - to become, or cause something to become, stronger, and more certain.
• To vie (verb) - to compete with other people to achieve or get something.
• To pool (verb) - to collect something such as money in order for it to be used by several different people or groups.
• Groupthink (noun) - the process in which bad decisions are made by a group because its members do not want to express opinions, suggest new ideas, etc. that others may disagree with.

Questions and Answers

M: Why do some people prefer to learn on their own, while others prefer to study with other people?

R: Oh, I suppose you'd have to ask them, really. However, at a guess I'd say it's a personality thing, probably connected to being extroverted or introverted. So if you get energy and ideas from being around others, then you're more likely to gravitate to big groups. Conversely, if you find other people to be a bit of a drag, then you probably isolate yourself.

M: And do you think it's better to study in a group or individually?

R: Well, this comes down to the individual. If it's my personal preference. I'd rather do it by myself, but that's just me. I can't speak for the vast majority of other people.

M: What's the difference between learning face-to-face with teachers and learning by yourself?

R: I suppose the main one is the lack of external support and understanding or at least external human support. If you're on your own, then you don't have anyone to talk things through with, which is what a teacher is for. I mean, in addition to having some sort of expert knowledge, allegedly.

M: Why do some people prefer to study at home, while others study in other places?

R: I mean, my guess would be that they feel more at ease in their own familiar surroundings, and so they can focus more. That will be especially true if you're introverted like I mentioned earlier.

M: What are the benefits of gaining work experience while studying?

R: Well, assuming it's a work placement related to what you're studying, then you would be able to directly apply what you've learned while studying in a meaningful context. That might better consolidate what you've learned in theory.

M: Do most people like to study in a noisy place?

R: Oh, I imagine not. It seems like it would be hard to focus with a million things going on around you and vying for your attention and focus. What are the advantages and disadvantages of studying with other people? Well, on the plus side, you can pool your, I don't know, collective intellectual resources, and get things done faster. But on the downside, there's the potential to get distracted and fall into groupthink and miss some key details which could be important.

Discussion

M: Hey, Rory, thank you very much for your educated answers. Yeah, dear listener, so here we talk about studying on my own, studying alone, versus studying in a group or with other people. And to make this contrast, you can use while or whereas. For example, some people prefer studying on their own, alone, while other people prefer studying in a group. Or whereas. Some people prefer studying alone, whereas others prefer studying in a group. And here, our Rory, our super educated Rory just says I suppose you'd have to ask them, really.

R: Ask them, not me.

M: Well. But then Rory continues, okay? Dear listener, so one sentence is not enough. At a guess. So let me guess. At a guess, I'd say it's a personality thing.

R: It could also be a personal thing.

M: It's a personal thing. Yeah, like a personal preference.

R: Yeah.

M: Some people are extroverted, while others are introverted. Some people are more open, others are more reserved. Like closed. And if you get energy and ideas from being around others, you prefer to gravitate to big groups. Gravitate meaning to kind of...

R: Move towards. Like a natural force is pulling you in that direction.

M: You can say some people gravitate to bigger groups, or some people are attracted move towards big groups. But for some people, it could be a bit of a drag. Oh, studying in a group, studying with other people is a bit of a drag. In this context, it means...

R: Well, this just means it drains your energy, or it doesn't make you very happy.

M: Yeah, so kind of it's a bit of a drag, it's boring. Yeah, it's like, it's not pleasant, it's not convenient. Oh, such a drag. Argh, boring. And certain people prefer to isolate themselves. So isolate? They work alone. The vast majority of people, meaning most people.

R: And since we'll be talking about people in general, using this kind of word could be quite important.

M: Learn on your own or learn by yourself. What did you mean by external support?

R: That's support that you get from somewhere else, not from you, not internal support, support that comes from within.

M: So external support, we study with teachers and here, external human support. But if you are on your own, if you're alone, then you don't have this external human support. You don't have a teacher to rely on, to ask questions. Talk things through. So if you don't have a teacher, you don't have anyone to talk things through. Kind of hello teacher. Let's talk this grammar through. Let's kind of, help me understand this grammar. Grammar, you know, like Present Perfect. So let's talk things through. Teachers usually have expert knowledge. They are experts, and they have expert knowledge on certain subjects, so they help you.

R: Allegedly.

M: And here we can say, like people feel more at ease in their own surroundings, so it's easier for people to study in their own surroundings, like at home, in their flats, in their familiar surroundings, so in the place they know.

R: Like when I was talking about my office at home.

M: And many people can focus more when they are in their familiar surroundings. We gain work experience. Gain, like get work experience. And some people work while studying. And you can say that if we assume that this work is connected to what you are studying, then it's good. So if we assume, like, if we imagine, assuming. And if your work is connected to your studies, then you would be able to directly apply what you learn to your work. So apply your work experience to your studies, and vice versa. Apply what you have learned to your work experience. To your working contest. And this helps you to consolidate what you have learned. So consolidate is a very nice verb which means...

R: How best to describe "consolidate"?

M: When something becomes stronger and more certain.

R: Yeah, that sounds better. I was just going to say when you make it better, but that doesn't help. How does it become better? It just makes it better. Just trust me.

M: Yeah, what can we consolidate? Could you give us another example? About studying, working.

R: Well, we usually consolidate gains, so it's important to eat the appropriate amount of food after you exercise to consolidate any gains you make from that.

M: A very strange question. Like, do people like to study in a noisy place? Well, yeah, people usually go to a concert and they just study there. Go to a nightclub to study. Yeah?

R: Um... Yeah. Why not? If you're really bored, why not crack open Wikipedia?

M: It would be hard to focus with a million things going on around you. And which verb did you use which starts with V?

R: Oh, vying. That means that they're competing to get control of or to, yeah, to get control of your attention in this case, but you can vie for power, or you could vie for attention, or you could vie for dominance, which is connected to power.

M: Wow. Vie, dear listener. Such a strange verb.

R: Is it C2 level by any chance?

M: Well, you know, it doesn't say.

R: At a guess, it's probably C2.

M: To vie means to compete with other people to achieve or get something. For example, six people are currently vying for the presidency. Or, for example, there are two children in a family, and the older child tends to vie with the younger one. So tends to compete. Two companies vie to get funding for their projects. Rory, could you give us another example in the context of, well, studying?

R: Well, different things are vying for your attention when you want to study. There's the thing that you can, well, should be studying, but there's also all the other distractions, like your phone or other people, they're all vying for your attention.

M: Yeah. So things can vie for your attention or people can vie for your attention. Yeah? When you speak about advantages, you can say on the plus side. On the plus side, you have many ideas. Okay? If you talk about disadvantages, Rory, can I say on the flip side? Flipside.

R: I don't see why not. If we're comparing and contrasting.

M: Yeah. On the plus side, you get all the ideas, if you study in a group, but on the flip side, it could be messy and chaotic. Like a group of people, everybody says a different thing, and then like you don't know what to do, or no one does anything. Hey! And Rory said that you can pool your collective intellectual resources. So it's not a swimming pool. It's a verb to pool.

R: To bring together.

M: Yeah. In a swimming pool. Yeah. So when you pool... Pool, like double O. You collect something such as money. For example, children pooled their money to buy a present for their mom. Okay? And if we study in a group, we pool our collective... Collective? Like everyone's. So we pool our collective intellectual resources, so we pull our ideas. And we get things done faster, okay? But on the flip side, or on the downside... On the downside, dear listener. On the plus side. On the downside, there is a potential to get distracted. So when you study with other people, you can get distracted, or you could fall into group...

R: Oh, groupthink.

M: Groupthink. Think like groupthink?

R: Yeah, but groupthink is like when everybody thinks the same way, and it places limits on the flexibility of thought, usually in an organization.

M: Oh, dear listener, groupthink, it could be written as one word. Groupthink. Or two words, and it's from management, from meetings. Groupthink is the process in which bad decisions are made by a group because its members do not want to express opinions, or suggest new ideas. So, for example, most people thought that the product would not sell, but nobody said anything. That's the danger of groupthink. So groupthink is a noun. It's one word, it's an idea, okay? And it's dangerous. Like when everybody agrees with the group it could be dangerous. And they don't air out their own opinions, okay? Or when you study with other people, you can miss some key details. Okay? It could be messy. It could be chaotic. Chaotic? Like chaos. Rory, what about you? Are you a loner? Or are you a group person?

R: I am very much a loner. Even ironically, because, of course, a teacher teaches classes, but whenever I study myself, I study by myself.

M: Yeah, but at university, you had to study in a group, right? Like group projects.

R: Yes. And I absolutely hated it.

M: Oh, okay, right.

R: Because I was the one that did all of the work, and a lot of other people were just riding along doing nothing, and it annoyed me.

M: Right. Thank you very much for listening, dear listener!

R: Oh, no, we need to end on a positive note. I just finished by saying it was awful. Is there nothing happy we can talk about?

M: Okay, happy, happy, happy.

R: There is no happy. Oh, no. Bye-bye!

M: Wait.

R: No, no. It doesn't matter. Let's have a funny ending with me being sad that it's not a happy ending.

M: Yes, dear listener, so this is our happy ending for you. Yeah, ha-ha-ha. We all loved studying at university, and we all adored our school days. Right, dear listener? Yeah. But it doesn't matter if you prefer to study in a group or alone, as long as you keep studying, dear listener. All right? So like live and learn, they say. Right, Rory? Live and learn?

R: Yes, it's a binomial. Ho-ho.

M: Live and learn. Thank you very much for listening! Let's live and learn! Bye!

R: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi