A to Z Listener Interview 004: Yunita from Indonesia

In this special episode of The A to Z English Podcast, we talk with Yunita from East Java, a student who was interested in English from a young age, and does her best to just make English a habit every day. Come chat with her in our Whatsapp group. (Link here: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7)It's a great conversation, so you won't want to miss it!Website: https://atozenglishpodcast.com/?p=1829Share your thoughts about today's interview in our Whatsapp group or tell us if you think you have something interesting to talk about. Perhaps you could be our next guest on the podcast!If you could take a minute and complete a short survey about the podcast, we would be very appreciative. You can find the survey here: https://forms.gle/HHNnnqU6U8W3DodK8We would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future episodes.Intro/Outro Music by Eaters: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/eaters/the-astronomers-office/agents-in-coffee-shops/Full Transcript: Jack You are listening to the A-Z English podcast. Kevin Welcome to 8 and the English or. Kevin Today we're bringing another listener interview and today we're talking to UNITA from Indonesia, from from East Bali or East Java. Kevin I'm sorry E Java specifically, not too far from Bali as she was telling us before we before we got started here, so. Kevin You need to. Kevin Thanks for joining us. Kevin This evening, is it about dinner time? Yunita Uh, yes, yes. Yunita About to have dinner, but not yet. Yunita I told him to wait. Kevin Yeah, I just finished dinner myself actually, so. Kevin Thanks for joining us. Kevin It's it's great to to have you and to talk to you about about English here tonight. Yunita Pleasure is mine was so small. Jack Absolutely, yeah. Kevin Just to get started, we were talking a little bit before we got started and you were saying that. Kevin You're a teacher and. Kevin You teach a lot. Kevin Of different things, but with English. Yunita When did you? Kevin First, Start learning English when you were an elementary school student, or after or before. Yunita I was eight years Old Town. Yunita I was allowed to do school and at night time there is no English lesson. Kevin 8 so. Yunita At my school was my brother, my oldest brother, who brought this to me into my life. Kevin OK. Yunita So my oldest brother got these English lesson at his junior high school and he was like trying to read some short stacks. Kevin Oh, wow. Yunita And I was curious what is done because the language the way he speak is weird. Yunita It sounds like aliens language. Yunita And I asked him, what is that? Yunita And I decide it's English. Yunita What is English? Yunita English is international language and everybody loses. Yunita Will talk about it and if you want to communicate with people in Eustis. Yunita And at that time I. Yunita Was so curious about that really. Yunita And I was. Kevin So your your older brother and he's he was in a middle school, he said. Kevin So what he's maybe five years older than you about? Yunita Yes, yes. Yunita I I was eight and. Yunita He was 1515 imported. Kevin Oh, a bit more than so long. Yunita More here, more than. Kevin OK, OK, well, he's, he seems quite mature than to even at that young age to be teaching his young elementary sister. Yunita He actually doesn't care if I if I was curious or not. Yunita He just said this is English and that's it. Yunita And what is not English? Kevin This is go always, yeah. Yunita What do you think with and what is English? Yunita English is international language. Yunita That's it. Yunita And he just left me with this curiosity and I was like. Yunita 1 What is there? Please tell. Yunita Me and he doesn't. Yunita He didn't even bother me to explain what is in his own blood. Yunita Well, I always have lost world. Kevin And he OK, I I take it back, then he. Kevin Wasn't very helpful. Jack He never he didn't become your teacher. Jack He just he just planted the seed, kind of right, OK. Yunita No, no at all. Yunita I don't. Kevin So then how? Yunita Yeah, what is that? Kevin Did you actually start to? Yunita That's idiom. Kevin So yeah, how did you actually start to study then? Kevin Where does it just on your? Kevin Own 'cause you're curious. Yunita Yes, yes. Yunita I was actually so, so proud of myself. Kevin Well, how? Yunita And at that time, yeah, even even there is no English lesson at like at night time. Kevin Even in elementary school, that's impressive. Yunita And then a year later my my dad come back from. Yunita Saudi Arabia and he and he brought these little radio and the bottom, all the bottom is in English and I asked my dad what is that and what is that what he said. Kevin OK. Yunita And he explained to me sleep is sleeping you know like sleeping and then if on is something you on and then. Kevin Yeah, sure. Yunita Of something like that. Yunita Is it worth USD symbols or can you explain to me? Yunita Can you teach me? Yunita I can't teach you, but eventually when you are in the middle school you got that. Yunita And then OK, best. Kevin Ah, so then when you were in middle school, did you actually have proper English classes in school? Yunita No, not at all. Kevin Is that when they started? Kevin No, no then. Yunita I just. Yunita I just hate my English teacher because he was mean and mean here. Yunita Whenever there there was a student who can't pronounce some words, he was disputing us, really literally bleeding us with with some new small stick in our lack of this. Jack No, no, no. Yunita Try it again. Yunita Try it again. Yunita That was. Yunita 1 Yeah, well. Yunita It was odd at that time, but he just. Kevin Sometimes I want to hit my students, but. Kevin It's not very good education. Yunita 1 It's not, not. Jack We we we. Kevin A good way to do it. Jack Frown on that. Yunita Exactly, exactly. Jack That's a bad idea. Yunita No, no, never. Kevin So then, when, so I mean, you learned about English in elementary school, you became curious about it. Yunita How we do that? Kevin Middle school, you had a teacher who would literally beat you, but somehow you still remained interested in it. Yunita I don't have brought their teacher, yeah. Kevin He it's amazing that he did not turn you off. Kevin Of English? Kevin You were still curious so then? Yunita Yep, it because of growing pains. Kevin OK, so you're like, yeah, you just have to go through this? Yunita No, we. Yunita Hello baby or anything? Kevin And then what? Kevin About in high school is is that when you finally started to get like real classes or? Yunita No, I still don't have that. Jack Still no. Yunita Still don't have that and we have like 1 channel here in. Yunita Admission at that time. Yunita And easy. Yunita A movie called Little House in the Prairie and then growing pains and then run and then yeah, TV show all or in English. Jack OK, yeah. Jack Uh, TV shows. Yunita Fish and I don't know and I don't understand and we have like this subscription the bottom yeah subtitles and and and the way they solve problems they the way they communicate between brothers begins to sister is so nice and they are not fighting they just like. Yunita 1 We need subtitles. Yunita Can we discuss about this without fighting things on web? Yunita And those are very nice. Yunita Only if I can be done with my brother. Yunita My brother would teach me more about angles so. Yunita Instead of getting my brother teaching me, I'm watching that television, watching that show again and again, and I'm trying myself to like mimicry. Kevin Oh, nice. Yunita You know, like whenever they say how are you? Yunita And then my mouth seems like. Kevin Right, you would copy after. Kevin Right now, that's great to watch the show again and again. Kevin Actually, I remember when I first started teaching here in Korea. Kevin One of my students at the university his. Kevin English was quite good. Kevin And compared to many of the other students and I was quite surprised at so. Kevin I asked him, did you live in another country or travel or whatever? Kevin And he said no, no, no. Kevin I asked him how did he learn? Kevin And he learned from watching friends the same way. Kevin And the way he did it was it was very interesting. Kevin He said he watched friends three times. Kevin He watched it first with Korean subtitles. Kevin Basically, to learn the story, to learn the characters. Kevin Then he watched it with English subtitles, so he still has something to help him, but you know, not not Korean. Kevin And then he watched it again with nothing. Kevin Just just watching it because it's amazing. Kevin Even just watching TV again and again. Kevin I think that's the trick, watching it more than one time. Kevin If you just watch. Kevin A movie. Kevin One time you'll just watch this up. Kevin Titles and it's done. Kevin You won't learn anything from it. Jack One of the common themes from us doing this, these interviews, is that our students are our our interview. Jack Interviewees often say I they're really passionate about learning English, specifically because there are so many. Jack Language choices that you could have, you know chosen, but for whatever reason in English was the one that you just really latched onto early, and that has. Jack Become an, another person interviewed said. Jack That was it's the passion of my life is to to study and learn English. Jack So what? Jack What did? Jack What was? Jack It about English that was so you, you know, attractive to you, even even as at such a young age. Yunita I want to be a stewardess at that time. Yunita 'cause I I see that stewardess is so beautiful, tall and slim and everything about you. Kevin Ah, nice. Yunita This is so just awesome. Yunita And then I asked my dad. Yunita If I want to be stewardess and my dad said you have to speak English, that's a trigger, trigger when I was a. Jack Go fast. Yunita Kid so, but. Yunita I'm not a stewardess anymore. Jack Yeah, but I mean that's. Kevin Did you try and become a stewardess after you got out of high school? Kevin Did you continue to want to do that or at that? Yunita I apply. Kevin Point you did you drive? Yunita I applied the application here as I did, but my mom didn't allow me. Kevin Just try for it. Kevin Oh, I. Yunita No, no, no, no, no. Kevin Didn't do that. Yunita It's it's just too bad. Yunita But here, it's Indonesian culture and stuff. Yunita But when your parents say no, we say OK. Jack Yeah, but this. Kevin Still, you got the English from from learning it, and you're still using the English even though you weren't flying in in in airplanes. Jack And there's something about about being a stewardess and and traveling all over the world that is I can see is very attractive to young person who you know, wants to go out and see the. Yunita 1 We will. Jack World so yeah. Jack That that makes a lot of sense. Kevin My aunt actually is a flight attendant and I think we should interview her one of these days. Jack Yeah, yeah. Kevin 'cause it's kinda. Yunita Charles, that would be fine, you know, and actually you you got a season and podcasts about traveling in space. Jack No, yeah, she's been. Kevin Doing it for a long time. Kevin Yeah, coming out, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yunita That counts. Kevin By the time this episode will be released, it will have have come out. Yunita 1 No, no. Kevin Already for anyone to listen. Kevin But yeah, it was just what do we think about space travel? Kevin I wonder what the Space Flight attendants will be like in here for those life. Yunita Right, exactly, exactly. Yunita That was that was in my mind. Yunita How how would a stewardess looks like in this space here? Kevin No nice zero gravity flight attendants. Yunita Maybe, yeah. Yunita Oh yeah, you know, like they always are. Kevin That that, that is even more fun job. Yunita Flying things like. Yunita That and I'm sure that Members will got interested in that kind of podcast because. Yunita They they would like thinking out of their mind, like, Oh yeah, there will be awesome. Kevin So before we, uh, just just to move on a little bit, how do you practice, how do you study English these days? Yunita My phone number. Kevin What do you do to continue improving? Yunita Talking with us. Kevin Although then listen to our podcast of course. Yunita The same the same things. Yunita Now every time I listen to podcasts, listen to songs and everything which related to English, I try to translate it. Yunita I like to read. Yunita To meet. Yunita And then I like to read in Kindle because I don't have to bother myself to open the dictionary because I just like. Yunita There is a, uh, a word which I don't understand. Yunita I just click it and there is a dictionary about it and they explain it. Kevin So it's quite nice you didn't know. Yunita Yeah, and then. Yunita But somehow I didn't teach my students to have Kindle because they have to open dictionary and I did that too. Yunita And I still do do this mimicry from movie I really like. So like role-playing and then I, I I'd be a bad day and good girl and then we do water hard things like that. So that's the way I do and maybe people have. Kevin That's great. Yunita Uh, I think that I have this what nature or normal way of talking with people, maybe because of movie and maybe because of the way I listen to people when they're talking. Yunita When you guys talking on podcasts is seem so normal. Yunita It seems like you were just two friends. Yunita And having tea together before Chandra. Kevin Well, we are, we are pretty. Jack Much and what our podcast is. Yunita Yeah, so that's why I told John that I liked your podcast. Jack We did, yeah. Yunita It seems like you you guys are talking in real life, in the porch, sitting together, having tea and cookies, things like that. Jack Right. Yunita So I described that. Yunita It's enjoyable. Relax. Kevin Nice, yeah. Kevin Mimicry really can be helpful, and it's it's something that you can do by yourself. Kevin That's one difficult thing about learning a language is when you're alone. Kevin It's often hard to practice, but even just copying it is a way to help you learn how to be natural, and it puts those. Kevin Language patterns into your. Kevin And then when you finally do speak with someone, those patterns are already in there and then they come out much more naturally, hopefully after after using. Yunita Find out. Yunita Yeah, exactly. Jack Them and it sounds, you know well. Yunita I really like your broadcast as we leave the. Jack Thank you so much. Yunita Sounds horrible. Yunita Some normal sounds natural. Yunita You're not making this. Yunita Up you start talking. Yunita That's all. Kevin Yeah, we we have tried making some scripts and it it we're not very good actors. Kevin We're better at just being friends than the nesting. Jack Improvising, yeah, a lot of people are self-conscious when they when it comes to learning the. Jack Language they they. Jack Be like I don't want to try because I might make a mistake or I don't want to watch and repeat while I watch this television show. Jack 'cause what if somebody sees me? Jack I'll be embarrassed, you know? Jack What's your message to people out there? Jack Who think like that? Jack You know, because I think there are a lot of people to feel that way. Kevin You are shy? Thanks. Jack Like, oh, I don't want to be embarrassed. Jack I don't. Jack Want to say the wrong thing? Jack But then they get stuck, you know, they can't move up anymore, they can't improve. Jack So what? Jack What's your, what's your, what would be your advice to to people who are stuck in that mindset? Yunita I I would rather to tell about my experience if I give them advice. Yunita Sounds like I'm older. Jack Yeah, sure. Yunita So, Oh yeah. Jack Well, just to tell. Jack Them what you do you know, yeah, yeah. Yunita All my experience I. Yunita Well, whenever I make mistakes in grammar, in the way of pronunciation, in the way I ride or whatever, whatever, what kind of mistake is that I I just feel. Yunita I feel that I have the self-confidence because people would correct my my pronunciation the way I the way I write everything. Yunita Everyone will correct me and that is fine because if I make mistake and then people correct me, I will remember that the rest of my life. Yunita Because if I learn from mistake. Yunita I will just recall that over and over again, but if I am not making mistake, I didn't know which one is the error one. Yunita So even I'm talking right now, people might say that you are fluent in talking, but I feel that I make mistake and you guys might know it. Kevin That's true. Yunita I'm sure, but I I still have this confidence. Yunita With this I will. Kevin Yeah, that's a really good point. Kevin Like, you can't, no, you can't fix your mistakes. Kevin Unless you know what they. Kevin Are so making mistakes as important? Jack And even here, as native speakers were we start, I start sentences, and I stop. Jack And then I I restated again. Jack And I I make a lot of like if you wrote down everything I said on paper, it would, it wouldn't. Jack It would look like there were a. Jack Lot of mistakes. Jack Language is messy. Jack I think some people think it's clean, right? Jack They just like, oh, it's so clean and perfect. Jack No, no, no, it's it's always going to be met. Jack See, and I think if people accept that, then maybe they feel a little less shy, a little less embarrassed to do, you know, just try. Kevin Yeah, everyone makes mistakes. Jack Yeah, you you seem like a person who's not afraid to just try. Jack Like, I'm going to go talk to this person. Jack I'm going to do the best I can, and if I make some mistakes, who cares? Jack Like names. Yunita And I will remember that dress on my lap. Yunita I make mistake and the right one is like this. Yunita I will remember that. Yunita That that's the difference when you are good already good at the 1st place and you will know that you are actually making something wrong. Kevin Yeah, that's that's a great lesson, I think, for everyone to learn and just just to wrap up here at the end just because of of time. Kevin I'd love to talk to you longer. Kevin If you could give our listeners and everyone else out there one thing that you think worked best for you, since you said you don't want to give advice, so this doesn't have to be advice but for you. Kevin What do you think? Kevin Was the single one. Kevin Best thing that you do or did that that helped you in English. Kevin Maybe it was something we already talked about or? Kevin Something new, just what do? Kevin You think was the best for you? Yunita Languages habit, so make it your habit. Kevin And how did you make it a habit? Yunita Talking, enlisting, kingless, riding Inglis. Yunita Do everything about English. Yunita If you have like, you know if you have like 5 minutes in your feet. Kevin Just a little bit every day, all the time. Yunita Warm start writing in English, even it's messy. Yunita Start talking with yourself involved, Neil. Yunita Even you don't know whether it is right or wrong. Kevin Right. Yunita 1 Guys, thank you. Yunita Dismember views about habit. Kevin Flash drive. Yunita That's it. Kevin Yeah, I've I've heard similar advice before, so I think that's that sounds like it. Kevin It worked very well for you, and I think it can work well for other. Yunita Come on. Kevin People. So thanks a lot. Kevin You know, this is amazing to hear about your English journey and how you got from your brother just not telling you anything to to where you are today. Jack Yeah. Thank you. Yunita Even though I tell him that I got, uh, this broadcast schedule with a friend of mine and. Kevin So it's because of you. Kevin Thank you. Kevin Thank you. Jack Brother, I'm so glad it it wasn't a French book or you wouldn't be here right now with us, right? Yunita And then and then. Yunita I'm getting set up and then what should I do? Yunita I don't have anything to do with that, right? Yunita So we got. Yunita That's it, that's good. Kevin Awesome, nice. Kevin Well that's great. Kevin You need again, thanks very much for coming. Yunita Sure, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah. Kevin For everyone out there who's listening, remember from our website you can find our WhatsApp links and you can join the same group that United talks to us in every day and and talk to her and ask her questions or leave us some comments in there. Jack That's right. Kevin And tell us about how you make English a habit. Kevin So thanks again for joining us this evening. Yunita Sure. Yeah. Bye. Bye. Kevin Go have a good dinner and we'll talk to you in. Jack The chat, alright, thanks UNITA. Jack Bye bye. YunitaLater, yeah. Bye bye.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy