Culture Corner | My Interview with Johnny from China

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack talks with lifelong English language learner Johnny from China.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.00:00:23JackAnd be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:56JackWelcome to the AC English podcast. My name is Jack, and today we have a very special episode for you. I am doing an interview with Johnny and Johnny is from China and we're just going to have a conversation today. And, you know, leave and see where it leads. So Johnny.00:01:16JackTell us a little bit. Like where, where?00:01:17JackAre you from in China? Exactly.00:01:19JohnnyHi. Hi, Jack. Hi. The audience of AZ English podcast. My name is Johnny and I'm from China and I'm living in China at the moment, so it's a it's a great honor to me to be on the show with Jack. Yeah.00:01:35JackIt's. It's an honor to have you here. You're a long time listener and you know you always, you know, send us, you know, comments and things like that. And we really appreciate your support. It's it's.00:01:39JohnnyExactly, yeah.00:01:46JackAwesome.00:01:47JohnnyWell, that yeah, yeah, yeah.00:01:49JackWhere where in China?00:01:50JackAre you from exactly like what city?00:01:51JackDo you live in?00:01:52JohnnyOh, I'm. I'm from. I'm from the city called Fuzhou. That's like the the southern part of China. And so I'm in the South of China, basically. Yeah. It's like the coastal city here. Yeah. Yeah.00:02:00JackOK. OK. OK.00:02:04JackYeah. Oh, I'm. I'm sure they've got amazing seafood there.00:02:08JohnnyYeah. Yeah. So I don't know if you heard of the place, but we've actually got a lot of fellow countrymen, everyone, especially you, will find a lot of my people from my hometown in in New York. OK. So in Chinatown, a lot of them.00:02:23JackOh. Oh, really.00:02:25JohnnyAre from Fuzhou.00:02:26JohnnyActually, yeah. Yeah. So and they speak.00:02:26JackOK. Interesting.00:02:28JohnnyAnd and they speak still speak the the, the native native language. And it's like a dialect, yeah.00:02:37JackRight. So, so a lot of people there speak that dialect. OK, you sing. That's fascinating. OK.00:02:40JohnnyYeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.00:02:43JackYeah. Well, Johnny, a lot of our listeners would love to know, you know, they just from listening to you talk right now they're they're probably in awe because you have such a strong command of the English language. And when we do interview episodes like this, we'd love to, like, ask our our guests.00:02:57JohnnyThank you.00:03:03JackLike, how did you like? What was your language journey like starting from when you were young? When did you Start learning English? What was your trajectory?00:03:14JohnnyYeah, like on uh, so, you know, in China. So I think it's pretty much the same in in Korea. So we started learning language in perhaps in in our primary school. So we have like text.00:03:25JackI think it's third.00:03:26Jack3rd grade in Korea is when they start.00:03:28JohnnySo great. Yeah, the same. No, it's it's. It's just thing to find out. Korea is the same. Yeah. So it's like third grade and we'll learn it all the way up to.00:03:38JohnnySome people to high school high school, so we have the in the in the big exam, you know for entering university you will be tested in your English, just like Korea, right in Asian countries.00:03:41발표자MHM.00:03:47JackJust like Korea, but but that test, am I not mistaken? Because I do teach some Chinese students that test is very grammar based. I mean, so it's a lot of just grammar, grammar, grammar, right.00:03:58JohnnyExactly. Yeah, that's the.00:04:02JohnnyYeah, and well, actually, we don't really learn spoken English in China. So it's not that focused on spoken English, so.00:04:13JohnnyThey can. Well, like it's, you know, I've been.00:04:16JohnnyPreviously I I have been learning English for many years, but I can barely speak three words of English because I've never spoken to anybody in China, so we don't really have the, you know, the the language environment here in China. That's that's the problem. The same in Korea.00:04:31JackI think it's the same in Korea. I think that they've they've implemented certain strategies to try to overcome that problem.00:04:39JackBecause there are a lot of private academies in Korea, which I'm sure there probably are a lot of private schools in China as well, where students can Start learning English at a younger age and have exposure to like a native English speaker from Australia, America, Canada, whatever, yeah.00:04:55JohnnyHmm.00:04:59JackUmm, but you know those are expensive. You know, not everyone can afford those. So you know, some kids are stuck with the public school system where it's like a.00:05:10JackA Korean teacher or a Chinese teacher lecturing in Chinese or in Korean, but they're teaching English, which is doesn't really make a lot of sense. You know when you're, when you think about it.00:05:22JohnnyYeah. So I I still, I I think we're we're we're in desperate need for some good English teachers like you in China so.00:05:30발표자But.00:05:30JohnnyUnfortunately, we don't. We don't have that many.00:05:33JohnnyOf native speakers who teach spoken English in China. Really. So that's. That's basically the situation here and.00:05:39JackOK. So take us back. So you're so Johnny's in primary school. And are you going to a private Academy or are you using the public school system?00:05:42JohnnyYeah.00:05:51JohnnyYeah, I'm. I'm pretty much using the the the public school system. Yeah. So just like, just like anybody else in in China. OK. So I wasn't in any language training school or anything. I didn't.00:06:02JohnnyUh, I I didn't like English all that much, to be honest. I was like, yeah, right, that was. That was just a.00:06:06JackI was just gonna ask you that question. I was like, I bet you hated it passionately being, you know.00:06:08JohnnyLot of fun, yeah.00:06:11JohnnyYeah, in, in a sense. Yeah, in a sense like it was just another subject for me, OK. And I and I, well, I think I I did OK in in middle school, but in.00:06:23JohnnyIn in high school like it fell, it falls off, I think pretty badly in in high school. So. So I didn't do so well in the the college entrance exam.00:06:34JohnnyFor my English.00:06:35JohnnyOK so so I didn't didn't wasn't a really good English speaker.00:06:42JackYeah, that's that's.00:06:43JohnnyProbably.00:06:43JackShocking to us, you know, because listening to you right now, this conversation I'm like, how is this possible? Like what?00:06:45JohnnyProbably not. Not even.00:06:49JackSomething, obviously something.00:06:51JackHappened along the way there. That was like a a real watershed like moment for you where you you did something dramatically different than you know.00:06:54JohnnyYeah, right.00:07:02JackFollowing the school curriculum.00:07:05JohnnyYeah, like, yeah, I I I wouldn't say I, I I wasn't even a good English learner, let alone a speaker. OK. So I think things got changed when I.00:07:16JohnnyUh, when I decided to go to Australia and for for a further study. So and so I think and I started learning English like proper learning.00:07:29JohnnyEnglish before that because you have to, you know, you have to pass the exams, you have to pass English exam before you can go there. So.00:07:40JohnnyI I think that's that's where I got started. But I notice, OK, so this this is actually kind of interesting so.00:07:47JackSo did did you make the decision to go to Australia before you started learning English, you know, or were you already in the process of learning English, you know?00:07:56JohnnyNo. So that was, you know, that was all after the.00:08:00JohnnyAfter I decided to go to Australia.00:08:02JackWow, that's real. Like trial by fire. You're like, oh, my gosh, I've made this commitment and now?00:08:08JohnnyYeah. Then you're sort of, you know, force yourself to, to be committed to this.00:08:13JackYeah.00:08:14JohnnySo you got to do.00:08:16JohnnyWhatever you can you.00:08:17JohnnyKnow to because this is the. So you, you. This is the choice you made so.00:08:21JohnnyYou've got to commit to that.00:08:23JackRight, right. Umm, what was it like when you first arrived in Australia? How was your? How was your English at that time?00:08:29JohnnyWell, uh, I think I think things got changed. Uh, a bit after I I uh, you know, I went to the language school before I go to Australia so.00:08:39JohnnyI think I can't discover that I have this interest in in spoken language because I decided to started to really see if if if your English Movies OK, I think that's.00:08:45JackMHM.00:08:53JohnnyWhat? What, what?00:08:54JohnnyWhat started me off in the first place?00:08:57JackWhat kind of movies were you into I like.00:08:59JackLike.00:08:59JohnnyOh, OK, that that, that's it. That was great because that was so many years ago. OK, so the the one I I can. Well, you know this sort of giving it away. Well, how how many years ago. So I I think that was like.00:09:05JackOK.00:09:19JohnnyUh movies? Well, actually, I when I started off I I watched some of the older movies, OK like that the the the movies from from someone from the 90s like Terminators because that's one of my favorite. Yes. So Terminator two. Yeah.00:09:28JackOhh yeah, sure. Terminating. Well, Sonny, that that I was in high school when that came out. So that gives away how old I am.00:09:40JohnnyYeah, and terminate that because that was the all time classics. So I started seeing all those classic films like I, I don't remember. This one's called the negotiator. I don't know if you have seen this one.00:09:51JackYeah. Sam Jackson. Yeah, that's a.00:09:53JackGreat one, yeah.00:09:54JohnnyYeah.00:09:55JohnnyYeah.00:09:56JohnnyRight, Samuel Jackson and and Kevin Spacey. I, if I remember right. Yeah. So that that was the the sort of the movies that I I watched that at the time. OK. And then I kind of started me off and I and I think I followed a a TV program in China and that that was called Learning English with movies.00:09:59JackYeah, exactly.00:10:16JackOhh, I like that. That's cool.00:10:18JohnnyOK. So yeah, that was that was many years ago. OK. So and I I stumbled across that that that show on TV and I think that kind of started my you know that was that was very that was really mind blowing to me.00:10:33JohnnyYeah, I can. I can actually learn something through movies when watching movies.00:10:37JackSomething fun language learning can actually be enjoyable. It doesn't have to just suck all the time, you know? Yeah.00:10:39JohnnyIt can be fun, right? It's like studying is fun.00:10:46JohnnyYeah, it's because to me English is all about exam before, so you know about exams before. So yeah.00:10:54JohnnyThat that kind of.00:10:57JohnnyUM introduced me to a whole new world.00:11:01JackYeah. Yeah, that's that's great. I'm. I'm so glad that you brought because I think these like.00:11:02JohnnyIf you like, yeah.00:11:07JackThis idea that like if it's fun, it's not learning, and if it's painful, it's learning and I I I really I I just, I get disgusted by that kind of philosophy where if it doesn't, if it isn't boring and it isn't painful and tedious, then you're not really learning anything.00:11:26JackAnd it's so funny because it's like when you really started learning is when you actually started enjoying the process and and discovering.00:11:36JackEnglish language movies and you know things like that where you can actually be entertained and also learn something along the way. That's a really great.00:11:46JohnnyExactly. Yeah. That's how I felt. That's exactly how I felt. So that's.00:11:51JohnnyNelson with mind blowing to me at a time so going.00:11:54JackYeah, I'm just picturing you. Sorry to interrupt you. So just to get back, so you, you you went to Australia?00:12:03JackAnd you, you you had a pretty, like decent command of the language when you got there, you felt pretty comfortable.00:12:03JohnnyYeah.00:12:08JackWith like like.00:12:09JohnnyI I wouldn't. I wouldn't say that I had a good command of the language. I still, you know, I would. I I was able to I I guess I was able to order something in McDonald's, yeah.00:12:22JackOK. OK. OK.00:12:24JohnnySo I was I didn't have to staff myself. That's I think I I I would say that's the level I've I've gotten. And at the time.00:12:30JackKind of a we.00:12:31JackWe would call that like in. Yeah. So like a surface level of understanding where you can kind of navigate, you can get around in taxi, go straight, turn right, turn left. This is my house. This is my stop. Give me the 2 cheeseburgers with large fries. You know that.00:12:42JohnnyYeah.00:12:46JohnnyYeah, probably even.00:12:46JackKind of stuff.00:12:48JackThat's where my Korean is right now, you know.00:12:50JackTo be honest, I've been stuck there for a decade.00:12:51JohnnyOK.00:12:52JackRight. So yeah.00:12:54JohnnySo I probably I I I couldn't even like name the the correct cheeseburger that I wanted. Yeah, I I can order a cheeseburger. Yeah, I I you know the the first thing I say is that you can even say.00:13:01JackYou could just point.00:13:06JohnnyThis one, that one is something like that.00:13:08JohnnyYeah, yeah. I didn't even know how to say how to how to get a straw, you know? So in, in, in our language, we we call it a sucker. So The funny thing, you're.00:13:16JackSo yeah, you don't want to ask for a sucker at McDonald's in Australia, you might you might get in trouble over there to see if.00:13:17JohnnyNot not get a.00:13:22JohnnyYeah. Can I get a sucker or something like?00:13:23JohnnyThat. So that's quite funny.00:13:25JackThat is funny. Yeah, that's that's that's hilarious.00:13:29JackSo how long in?00:13:30JackAustralia, before you really started to like, you know, feel like you were in your groove, you know, really like making progress.00:13:37JohnnyHmm.00:13:38JohnnyI I think that was I think the first major change or you know it's it's gone to a point where you realize that OK, something has changed. OK. So I have I have improved, OK that that moment came, I think about half year after I arrived in Australia 6 months later, OK.00:13:56JackYeah.00:13:58JackSix months, yeah.00:13:59JohnnyHmm.00:14:00JohnnySo I I think I you know the the the the sentences that that came out of my mouth was a little different. You know I can I think I can sort of.00:14:09JohnnyUse the the relative cost in my in my sentences. So that was a big that that was a that was a big change.00:14:12발표자MHM.00:14:17JackYeah, this is the place where that's the person who.00:14:20JohnnyThis is a place where, yeah, so you can actually add a little description after the after the NUM.00:14:25JackRight.00:14:26JohnnyAnd and that that was, uh, that, that that was like a game changer.00:14:31JohnnyOK, so you can add significant amount of information to your to the, to the things that you say.00:14:31JackYeah.00:14:38JackAbsolutely. Absolutely. And that because it's instead of short, choppy sentences all the time, you're able to, like you said, add description to a noun and to, you know, build on that and and make your sentences longer and longer. So it's really funny that you bring up like relative clause because it's like.00:14:54JohnnyYeah, it's still longer.00:14:58JackYou're going back to your grammar roots, you know, in China.00:15:02JackWhere you learn.00:15:02JohnnyYeah.00:15:02JackFrom relative clauses, but you're like now I can use a relative clause, which is. You know, that's really different to me. Yeah. And you know what it means exactly. Yeah.00:15:07JohnnyNow I really understand what it means.00:15:13JohnnyAnd I understand.00:15:14JohnnyWhy they did native speakers use it OK, because you need to. You need more. You need depth in in your language you need more information description.00:15:17JackYeah.00:15:24JackAbsolutely.00:15:24JohnnySorry, yeah.00:15:26JackI'm so yeah, I'm. I'm just, you know, I'm. I'm thinking about your your your story is really.00:15:32JackMaybe making a lot of like I'm making a lot of connections to other students that I've that I've met and that I've talked to and interviewed. They find that like when they, I I I equated to like learning the guitar or something. When you're learning the guitar or learning a language.00:15:53JackYou improve quickly in the beginning.00:15:55JackAnd then you hit a plateau.00:15:57JackAnd you get kind of stuck on this one level and you feel like you're never going to.00:16:02JackBump up another level and then suddenly one day out of the blue, like you said, you're just making sentences that are longer and more descriptive. And it kind of does that kind of light a fire with within you to be like, wow, this makes me wanna learn this even more because I'm seeing the improvements.00:16:23JackObjectively, you know.00:16:24JohnnyYou know. Yeah, certainly. Yeah. So I think I've, I've got more confidence after after I I know I what I can do.00:16:36JohnnyBut interestingly enough, like not long after that, you know, I think I kind of hit another ceiling.00:16:43JackOK.00:16:44JackThat's normal. That's normal. Normal, yeah.00:16:45JohnnyThat's not. Yeah, that's that's not there for. So I I I can.00:16:52JohnnyYou know, I I.00:16:54JohnnyI think I passed that phase where I can only, uh, say very simple sentences. OK, so uh, so I can have, uh, more meaningful conversation with, with some with a native speaker.00:17:07JohnnyOK, but I still uh, I'm so.00:17:12JohnnyUh, I'm still not confident. I'm not confident enough in in some of the the more deep conversations, right. And I think I I kind of stuck there. It's just like you said, you know, so yeah, that was a really good analogy like learning guitar. It's like kind of stuck there for for a long time again.00:17:32JackGood.00:17:33JohnnyOK, I didn't see any. I didn't see any improvements in my language. So I think that that's that, that that lasted.00:17:39JohnnyAbout I think maybe.00:17:43JohnnyA good one or two years. OK. So that was, uh, kind of suffered because.00:17:49JackBut I I wanna. I wanna just talk about this a little bit because I I think I I don't want to listeners to misunderstand that you're.00:17:58JackYou felt like you're not making progress and maybe when it comes to like producing utterances, but but things were happening inside of your brain during that entire period of time there were you were you were immersed in English language, you were internalizing rules and patterns and things like that. You just weren't able to.00:18:19JackKind of convert it into utterances that were, you know, you know, speech perhaps. But I think that you were improving. I I just think.00:18:30JackLike it's it's part of the process is like you feel like you're stuck, but you're actually not. Things are happening and and progress is being made. It just might not be as obvious as you know. Perhaps we would want it to be, you know, because we we want like in two weeks later we want to.00:18:50JackYou know, show people look what I can do, you know? But it's it takes.00:18:53JackA long time.00:18:55JackTo get to that next level. And so I think a lot of people give up during that time. And it's sad because they're actually they are improving, it just maybe isn't showing the way that they want it to.00:19:01JohnnyYeah.00:19:06JohnnyThat I think that that's a fair point because.00:19:08JohnnyProbably you know, I I I I would have given up at A at a point, but you know I was.00:19:16JohnnyI was not in China, you know, I was in another country, so there's no way. There's no way you can get around.00:19:18JackYou couldn't give up you. You were in. You were swimming with sharks. You know you. You were. You. Like sink or swim right here.00:19:27JohnnyYeah. So there was, there was so everything. Everything you do, every every time after you, you know, you wake up, you have to speak English, otherwise you you know, otherwise you wouldn't be able to do anything. So. So I I kind of got lucky there. So at at that point.00:19:39발표자Sure.00:19:44JohnnyYou you're in that environment, so there's no.00:19:46JohnnyWay you can give up.00:19:48JohnnySo I kind of got me through that period where you feel, you know, a little disappointed about yourself, OK, about not making any progress.00:19:58JackSo Johnny, we talked about that you're like long plateau. That was like maybe two or three years.00:20:03JackOr maybe one?00:20:04JackOr two years where you got kind of stuck. Yeah. And so how how long were you in Australia by the?00:20:04JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:20:06JohnnyOne or two years.00:20:10발표자OK.00:20:12JohnnyJust a couple of.00:20:12JohnnyYears like three to four years, yeah.00:20:14JackOK, OK. And and what did you like when when you made that second jump up after that one to two year plateau, were you able to like have deeper conversations with people? Did you feel like like when you're sitting in a circle at a coffee table in there, you know the native Australians are are kind of you know?00:20:34JackBantering back and forth and you before you were kind of lost in the conversation, did you feel like now you understood what was going on? You were able to understand kind of a more on a deeper level what they were talking about?00:20:47JohnnyActually, no, actually no. No, because you know, you know Aussies because they have this very strong Australian accent. So as long as they they have the, it's like almost like they.00:20:48JackOK, OK.00:20:55JackRight.00:21:00JohnnyYou're not really speaking English, right? So there's systems like totally different use different words, you know? So they are a lot different when the slings are strong and slang so.00:21:05JackThey use a lot of different words, yeah.00:21:11JohnnyYou will not be.00:21:12JohnnyYou get.00:21:14JohnnySo that was that was the problem there.00:21:16JohnnySure, sure.00:21:18JohnnyYeah, and no. You have problem with overseas students. So the overseas students usually hang out.00:21:25JohnnyWith the overseas students.00:21:26JackYes. So you we always tell them that we always, I always tell my students, don't hang out with your Korean friends like, don't do it.00:21:27발표자I didn't really.00:21:31JohnnyExactly.00:21:33JohnnyI I tell I tell myself that but you.00:21:35JohnnyKnow it's just.00:21:37JohnnySometimes it's, uh, it's uh. Well, you know, you know, uh, it's something you should do, but you just not be able to do it, right. So you.00:21:43JackRight. And it's comfortable and it's familiar and it's comforting and it's so it's so tempting. It's so tempting.00:21:46JohnnyIt's kind of, yeah, it's familiar, right? So you? Yeah.00:21:51JohnnySo when you.00:21:52JohnnyWhen when you, when you talk to the native speakers and you when you hear so many words that you don't understand, it's just so frustrating. Right? I I guess it's frustrating for for anybody. You know, it's funny thing is I I found like a French class.00:22:00JackSure.00:22:05JohnnyThey they they hang out with friends as well. That's what happened.00:22:09JackOhh yeah, this is not yeah, this is not like a Korean or Chinese. You know, I don't wanna say problem, but like situation, you know it's it's something that a lot of exchange students will do because when you're when you're feeling lost and completely rudderless, you know just you alone in the ocean.00:22:18발표자Yeah.00:22:29JackThe first thing you're gonna do is is go towards something that's comfortable and familiar.00:22:34JackAnd you're gonna find people who are from your, you know, your country, and you're gonna latch on to them and hold on for dear life, you know, because it's. It's.00:22:44JohnnyLike. Yeah, yeah, I I guess because I think you you probably share the same experience cause you're you're in career. Yeah, so you.00:22:44JackScary. You know to do that.00:22:51JackYep, Yep.00:22:53JohnnySo I don't know about that. When you put the life there.00:22:54JackMy my I hung out with a lot of Americans and Canadians and.00:22:58JackThe.00:22:59JackWent to a lot of places where there were a lot of other Canadians and and Americans and.00:23:04JohnnyExactly.00:23:05JackYeah.00:23:06JohnnyYeah.00:23:07JackI guess I tell my students do do as I say, not as I do you.00:23:08JohnnySo.00:23:11JackKnow so yeah.00:23:13JohnnyYeah. Well, that that's basically what happens everywhere. Yeah, so.00:23:16JohnnyI guess that's that's why you know, I I hit the second ceiling because I.00:23:20JohnnyDon't have enough conversations with the real native speakers. Now I go to classes. OK, yeah, we we use English in the classroom, and we'll probably do some food assignment scaling and uh, you know that that's it. OK, so so you don't actually. So.00:23:34JackYeah.00:23:38JohnnyYou, you, you have a lot of input.00:23:41JohnnyBut not not enough output. I understand this like in many years. Many years later. I don't understand the the understand the theory at the time.00:23:43JackYes.00:23:49JackRight, right. Not so many students don't understand the theory, and there are a.00:23:53JackLot of lot of.00:23:54JackTeachers have kind of older I'm going to use a big word here, antiquated for our listeners out there just means like old fashioned. Yeah, old fashioned kind of philosophy on education where.00:24:01JohnnyWhat does that mean? Old fashion OK.00:24:09JackYou know, the students are sitting in a desk pointed at the teacher, and the teacher is speaking English to them.00:24:14JackThat they're supposed to, you know? Shut your mouth, be quiet. Listen and and don't disturb my classroom, you know.00:24:21JohnnyYou know what that that that's the the. That's the kind of educational system we've been using for more than 100 years and still going.00:24:29JackI know it's still going. You could put a PPT. You know you can put a a projector in a classroom and but it's still. I still find myself standing in front of a room full of people with their chairs pointing at me. And I I wondered to myself, why are we doing this? You know, 100 years.00:24:44JackTwitter it's it's it's terrible. So.00:24:46발표자Yeah.00:24:48JohnnyOh yeah, I almost fell. You're. You're a universal teacher.00:24:52JackRight. I teach university here in Korea. But yeah, it's still, you know, the this whole setup is is very familiar. Yeah, it it's it's the same almost everywhere. So how do we get to Johnny today, you know, with, with your wonderful eloquence and and speaking ability?00:24:57JohnnyIt's 9.00:25:11JohnnyYeah, I can only say I'm still learning, still learning to go still long way to go.00:25:14발표자Well.00:25:16JackYeah, sure. I mean, it's a, it's a, it's a never ending journey. You're never going to get there. There is no final destination.00:25:22JackAnd you know there, there's always, there's always even for me as a native speaker, there's still more words for me to learn and more things for me to read and understand and and to. But but that's kind of the beauty of of teaching I find is like.00:25:32JohnnyExcellent.00:25:40JackYou you realize that?00:25:43JackThe more you learn about something, you think that it's going to get closer to you. But as you look on the horizon, it just gets farther and farther away. It's like the deeper you that you go into English, the the horizon is moving away from you, the you know, it's getting farther away. And and you realize, oh, this is a never ending process.00:25:59JohnnyYeah.00:26:01JohnnyYeah.00:26:04JackUntil you know the day I die, I'll still be learning English, you know, and.00:26:08JohnnyYeah, we call that the A lifelong learner. OK, so you're learning for a lifetime.00:26:11JackYep.00:26:13JackAbsolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's that's a better way to look at yourself as or a better way to.00:26:18JackLook at it then to say ohh this is my destination and when I get there I'm going to stop.00:26:24JackIt's like, no, you it it's be a lifelong learner. It's a much better way to think of yourself.00:26:26JohnnyYeah, no.00:26:31JackSo how how did you?00:26:32JackGet how did you get to where you are now?00:26:34JackLike what? What was your? What's your secret?00:26:36JohnnyI think the uh the 2nd, so now I'm coming to the the the second big game changer in my journey in my journey in in Australia. OK so.00:26:42JackOK. OK, right.00:26:43JackRight.00:26:44발표자OK.00:26:50JohnnyI a well I I got a a part time job at the time. OK? So because I I think, OK, so something has to change.00:27:00JackYeah.00:27:00JohnnyYou have to work out. You have to work out your comfort zone. You know, sometimes you just have to push yourself a little to work out the comfort zone so that I found myself a part time job there.00:27:10JohnnyYou know, uh, which is a salesperson at uh at a mobile phone store.00:27:14JackOh wow. OK.00:27:15JohnnySo yeah, so and.00:27:16JackNow you now you need some technical English because.00:27:19JohnnyYou have to learn. Yeah, you.00:27:21JackYou're not going to get by with hamburger and.00:27:21JohnnyHave to learn a lot of 2nd.00:27:23JackYou know. Yeah, that's not gonna cut it.00:27:27JohnnyMy name is. You're not getting away with those simple words. So because not only do you have to talk to the customer.00:27:34JohnnyOK.00:27:36JohnnyBut you also have to sell your products, OK? Otherwise you'll get fired.00:27:40JackRight, right.00:27:41JohnnyWell.00:27:42JohnnySo you not only have to to, uh, speak to them, you have to sort of get them hooked, you know, get them, listen to you. So so they'll they'll buy things right. So so establish this kind of connection.00:27:56JohnnyYeah, right. So again, it it really allows me to get into a deeper conversation with them and and you know, because it's a paid job, right? So it's a paid job. So. So you're more serious about this, not like you're fooling around with your mates, right? Yeah.00:28:12JackRight. It's not like the classroom, you know, project where you're.00:28:15JackJoking around and you know, you know.00:28:17JohnnyYou know.00:28:18JohnnySo sort of force myself to think about.00:28:19발표자Absolutely.00:28:24JohnnyThe some of the grammar, some of the the the terms that I use and I think I learned a ton from my my colleagues, OK, so.00:28:32JohnnyI think 1.00:28:32JohnnyOf my colleague is the is the best son. He's like 16 years old or something at the time, you know? So and.00:28:42JohnnyUM.00:28:46JohnnySo actually he he was using a lot of the teenager language, you know, still a lot of slang, the teenager slang saying and.00:28:50JackA lot of slang and yeah, yeah.00:28:54JohnnyI I still, but still you.00:28:56JohnnyYou learn, you learn a.00:28:57JohnnyLot.00:28:57JohnnyYou know from that experience.00:28:59JackYeah. Actually I think that might be the perfect kind of like practice partner is someone who's, you know they're they're not necessarily professional or established yet, you know, so they're not.00:29:06JohnnyYeah.00:29:11JackGetting and you know, he's they're also probably way more relaxed and chill than like, you know, the an older person might be someone in their 40s and so.00:29:22JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:29:25JackIt's much more comfortable.00:29:26JohnnyYeah.00:29:27JohnnyMuch more comfortable exactly.00:29:29JohnnyAnd and and I'm you know.00:29:31JohnnyI'm really thankful that he's not judging because I'm not so fluent in English. You know, because sometimes the teenagers, they're, they're the they, they can be, they can be the.00:29:41JohnnyUh, some little demons, but they can be can also be the nicest person in the world, so you know, I just happened. I'm just so glad that I that I met the the, the, the the nicest person.00:29:46JackRight.00:29:51JohnnyIn the world.00:29:52JohnnyThey will be not judging and but it could be daunting sometimes, you know, to still face the face the customers, because they they can ask your questions, right. And they're they well. And I mean, I wouldn't. I don't want to say.00:30:02JackABC.00:30:02JackAbsolutely.00:30:06JohnnyBut sometimes, as customers, they don't, they do not forgive you because because your native language is not English, right? Because.00:30:14JackThey're just going to get frustrated. They're going to complain.00:30:16JohnnyYeah, if you can't. Yeah, they they. If you can't explain something thoroughly, they're just gonna get complaint. It's very natural.00:30:23JackWell, it's a we we call them. That's a a Karen behavior social and I talked about. Yeah. One of our podcast well, I mean, but you you're gonna eventually you're going to get a Karen. You know what I mean? Like you're gonna get someone who's gonna.00:30:30JohnnyThe shopping game.00:30:39JackThe.00:30:39JohnnyOK.00:30:40JackVery impatient and frustrated because maybe they're not going to give you that extra like I don't know space to like kind of catch up in the conversation. They want to be understood immediately, and if you're not meeting their demands, they're going to start complaining. And so that that could be scary.00:30:57JohnnyYeah. Yeah. And it was. It was. Yeah. And I'm going to just. I'm just going to.00:31:04JohnnyThis, on behalf of all our audience here I are. You, a male, Karen Jack.00:31:10발표자I'm like, yeah.00:31:11JackTo be honest, actually I'm I'm very far from a male. Karen, you know I'm not. I'm not. I don't, I don't.00:31:20JackI I don't practice Karen like behavior in my in my regular day I'm pretty. I'm pretty patient and pretty, pretty laid back when it comes to those things. So yeah, yeah.00:31:26JohnnyAnd I'm just joking, just playing.00:31:32JackYeah. So that was that sounds like that, that job, your part time job was again.00:31:38JackYour philosophy is kind of like, I mean, I'm starting to see a pattern here in like your in your life.00:31:44JackYou first you decide to go to Australia, then you're like ohh. Now I have to learn English, you know. And then you're learning English in Australia and you're like, I'm gonna get a job. Ohh my gosh. Now I have to start speaking on a deeper level to these customers. It's like you put yourself in these situations that are very high stress and then you.00:32:05JackRise to the OK.00:32:06JackVision, which I think is you know, I mean that's like a a trade for of like very successful people will do that they'll they'll jump in first and then they'll be like now I have to figure this out whereas cautious people will you know I'm going to study for 10 years and then maybe I'll apply for that job it's it's much better to just do it your way.00:32:27JackRight. Just jump in and go for it or swim.00:32:29JohnnyWell, I I I guess I I I.00:32:31JohnnyGuess I I I got lucky. I got lucky that I have this opportunity.00:32:36JohnnyMy as my family has been able to support me financially and which allows me to go to another country.00:32:40JackYeah.00:32:44JohnnyTo study so that that's what you know when you're in this country, when you're in this environment. So you could sort of.00:32:51JohnnyTake away your your safe, safe net so you don't have the safe net to fall back on. So you, you.00:32:55JackRight.00:32:59JohnnyYou you have to, you have to.00:33:02JackAnd but you know it, it doesn't have to be extreme like what you did. I mean, what you did is pretty extreme, but.00:33:08JackI'm going to.00:33:09JackI'm going to say to our our listeners out.00:33:11JackThere, you know.00:33:12JohnnySo.00:33:14JackIt's also scary to introduce yourself to a native speaker.00:33:18JackYou know, if you if you see one in your neighborhood, you know, like, that's scary. But you know what? Go introduce yourself. Just take that leap of of faith. And so that's like kind of doing it on like a micro level of what you did. And you don't have to move to Australia. You don't have to get a job.00:33:26JohnnyYeah.00:33:35JackYou know selling mobile phones, but you could just introduce yourself to someone who speaks English, try to befriend that person and and that could be another Ave. to success that doesn't require money. It might require a little bit of time and energy and you, you know.00:33:53JohnnyExactly, yeah.00:33:54JackBut I think.00:33:55JackI think these little things are, there are little ways to do to be, to take risks that will actually benefit you.00:34:02JohnnyHmm. Yes, totally agreed. Yeah. So. So I I think it has to. Yeah. Yeah, I heard this. You have to start somewhere, right. Everything has to start somewhere. So.00:34:14JohnnyI think it's the the, it's. It's really crucial that.00:34:18JohnnyI think it's better.00:34:19JohnnyIf you're determined to to learn this language.00:34:23JohnnyYou better start somewhere or say whether that's uh, that's a really simple sentence. And maybe just saying hello, just like you're saying hello to.00:34:30JohnnyThe to the foreigner in your.00:34:31JohnnyIn your neighborhood? Yeah, something.00:34:34JohnnyYou know, we're not gonna eat.00:34:35JohnnyYou right, so why not? Why not?00:34:37JackThey're.00:34:38JackGonna.00:34:38JackEat you. That's. I like that. That's.00:34:39JohnnyNo. Why not? Yeah.00:34:40JackTrue.00:34:42JackYeah.00:34:43JackUM, that's fascinating. And So what do you? Are you a teacher now? Is that if if.00:34:47JackI'm not mistaken.00:34:47JohnnyI am. Yeah. I I I, I.00:34:49JohnnyAm a teacher. I have a.00:34:51JohnnyI am the Niles teacher.00:34:52JohnnySo I think from that you know.00:34:54JohnnyYeah.00:34:55JohnnyUh, from a mobile phone job many years ago, and I found my interest in learning the language and speaking the language so.00:35:05JohnnyI you know.00:35:06JohnnyWell, I you know, I.00:35:07JohnnyWound up in different.00:35:07JohnnyJobs later, you.00:35:08JohnnyKnow so that that's a long story, but anyway, so I eventually I was able to.00:35:09JackYeah.00:35:15JohnnyFind a true interest which is language and language teaching, I guess.00:35:20JackYeah.00:35:20JohnnyHmm so so I am a teacher now.00:35:21JackThat's amazing.00:35:23JackYeah, I I love your story. I think it's fantastic and I think it's very inspiring. A lot of our listeners out there are going to appreciate it. And and I think some of them have had similar experiences and maybe you know, like you said, a lot of it is luck too, right? The fact that you met the.00:35:24JohnnySo this.00:35:39JackRight, people at the right time.00:35:41JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:35:42JackBut you know, if you.00:35:44JackPut yourself out there. Opportunities are they're floating around, you know, and if you don't try you, you you 100% chance of failure. So you know you you you got to take you got to take a risk.00:35:55JohnnyExactly, yeah.00:35:58JackUM, so Johnny, you're you're interested in podcasting, if I'm not mistaken, this is something that you're aspiring to do. Yeah. And you said you had some questions for me, so yeah.00:36:04JohnnyYeah.00:36:09JohnnyNot only not. Yes, and thank you, Jack, for.00:36:15JohnnyYou know, actually, I want to thank you to inviting me and thank you for inviting me today here. So I could be on the show and ask you about all these questions.00:36:24JackAbsolutely.00:36:25JohnnyAnd so, yeah, you're you're saying that exactly. I'm. I'm I'm interested in starting a podcast. You know, I've been thinking about that for a long time and actually not not only broadcasting because.00:36:39JohnnyI'm I'm I'm actually.00:36:40JohnnyQuite new to podcasting because it's not the I guess it's not as popular as it is in.00:36:46JohnnyAnd you know basically.00:36:48JohnnyOutside China. OK, so in China it's, it's not a thing.00:36:50JackYeah, yeah. And and these days it's always evolving because what I've noticed is that podcasting without youtubing or being a YouTuber or in China, Billy, Billy, you know, without doing something like that, you know, people want to be able to see you and listen to you. That's what I've I've, I've I've come to realize, is that they really want to see.00:37:03JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:37:12JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:37:12JackAnd listen.00:37:14JackAnd so I I would recommend if you do, you know if I were to do it all over again, I would have made more of an effort to be a podcaster slash like YouTuber and really put the effort into like the video as well, which we haven't, you know, for the last couple of years, we've been mostly just an audio podcast.00:37:14JohnnyExactly.00:37:25JohnnyOK.00:37:34JackI don't know how you did. How did you find us, by the way?00:37:38JohnnyOh, oh, yeah. That's that's an interesting word as well. I think the first summer class.00:37:46JohnnyYour channel on the on the channel, unbelievably.00:37:50JackOh, OK.00:37:51JohnnyYeah. So I was. Yeah, I yeah. So because I was, I was trying to find some of the some of the materials for my students because I don't think they have enough input. So I think they should listen to more of the native speaker conversations and.00:37:52발표자All right.00:38:05발표자Right.00:38:10JohnnyWell, trust me, I I've tried a few a bunch of different. I've tried different things, try different channels. OK so. But you know, because I I teach out.00:38:15발표자Sure.00:38:17JackYeah, yeah.00:38:20JohnnyRight, so I'm not speaking. It's sort of a, it's very conversational English, you know.00:38:27JackRight.00:38:28JohnnyRight, so a lot.00:38:29JohnnyOf students are familiar with the the sort of uh monologue type of uh speech type of English.00:38:36JackMore toic or something like that, where it's like a a kind of presentational or something like a.00:38:42JackLike a.00:38:42JohnnyPresentation or. Yeah, yeah, yeah, something like that. Right. So, but not not, you know, the conversational English. So that that's that's.00:38:48JackRight.00:38:50JohnnyI came across your channel and I and I think wow this so this is just fantastic.00:38:56JackThank you so much. We are the least like academic of the podcast that I've come across.00:38:57JohnnyThis is this is.00:39:02JackYou know we.00:39:02JohnnyAnd that that.00:39:04JohnnyHappened to be exactly what I needed.00:39:06JackThat's fantastic. I I love hearing that. It makes us, you know it. It kind of validates, you know, things for, for social and me because we do we have kind of found our lane in which is it's not the most beautiful polished you know kind of podcast.00:39:25JackBut we do just love to have, like, real, genuine conversations with each other. And I feel like that's something that's missing. It's everything's all planned out. It's so clean and so crisp and, you know, conversation is messy and ugly sometimes it's not, you know, it's it's not this like.00:39:43JohnnyYeah, but that's, you know.00:39:44JackBeautiful, yeah.00:39:47JohnnyWell, it doesn't have language, doesn't have to be beautiful. That's that's my take.00:39:49JackRight. Yeah, exactly. We can't all be Shakespeare. It's not all poetry, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. So if you, you know, if I. If I were in your your shoes. Well, let me ask you a couple of questions. First are are you thinking of doing like an aisle?00:39:55JohnnyNo, no, no, no.00:40:06JackThe style of podcast or something are you are you going to focus on?00:40:08JohnnySo yeah, that that you.00:40:09JackSomething specific like that.00:40:11JohnnyKnow Jack, that that's where I got stuck. You know, that's kind of where I got stuck because.00:40:17JohnnyThere are some many.00:40:19JohnnyThere are many competitors out there who are doing this kind of content already. OK, so.00:40:25발표자Right.00:40:27JohnnySo if I were to do it now, OK, would I be able to ever compete with them because they started earlier?00:40:34JohnnyOK, so and and and and in doing that I kind of limit myself to uh, you know, to this group of audience that that they are only interested in in outs knowing you know this kind of small group of people you should know that.00:40:35발표자Yeah.00:40:47JackYeah.00:40:49JohnnyYeah. So that's that's that's what I've done.00:40:53JohnnyThat's that's what I'm worrying about. OK, so I I I, you know, in a way, I don't want to.00:40:55발표자Mm-hmm.00:40:58JohnnyLimit myself to only.00:41:00JohnnyThis screwed up audience and I want to. I want a bigger audience but.00:41:04JackYeah, exactly. I, no, no, you got to be greedy because it's there's only, you know, there's only so much bandwidth out there that people have, you know, for for this kind of.00:41:06JohnnyIs that not too greedy?00:41:15JackContent and uh, you know, I mean social and I were still plugging away two years later and we've made some progress. But you know, there are times where our downloads are not as as good as some months. And you know we wish we were more successful like some of the bigger, you know, ESL podcast. But you know we stayed.00:41:36JackYou know, we try to be genuine. We try to be authentic, we try to be true to ourselves and what we enjoy doing.00:41:43JackAnd I guess that's what I think that's my the best advice I could give you is find out like what your what do you authentically enjoy doing, you know like what are are you you know, if if teaching a lesson is your thing then then you know you could take some of your lessons from your alts class and you could actually.00:41:55JohnnyYeah.00:42:03JackYou know, convert those into like podcast form, you know, and do it that way, if you're you're a conversationalist because we're have we had, it's already been 45 minutes. We've been talking. So we're we're having this great conversation.00:42:20JackSo you could go down that lane and or you could do all of those things, you know, and and just and and see what clicks with the, with the audience as well. Because once you get something that people like, you have to follow that, you know, follow that lead that trail because they're they're telling you what they want.00:42:33JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:42:39JackAnd you have to follow it. You know, sniff it out.00:42:42JohnnyYeah, yeah, I know. It's not. It's.00:42:44JohnnyIt's not about, yeah.00:42:45JohnnyDoing the right thing the right time.00:42:47JohnnyAnd uh, so I I guess, uh, videos, uh, the the the short videos are a thing you know since since the.00:42:55JohnnySince TikTok I guess.00:42:57JackYes.00:42:57JohnnySo you have seven other point, yeah, I was.00:42:59JohnnyThinking about maybe I should do a TikTok or should I?00:43:01JohnnyDo TikTok.00:43:02JohnnyOr YouTube, or because YouTube is isn't really a you know, available in in China. So so should I be a YouTuber or so?00:43:07JackRight, right.00:43:12JohnnyA lot of things you have to take into consideration at the moment so.00:43:15JackYeah. Yeah. Well, I I would tell you, you know, honestly do it for a while because you'd love to do it.00:43:23JackAnd don't worry about the downloads and the success, because if you, you know, you find that that you really enjoy doing it. Like for me this is like very much.00:43:35JackA kind of a hobby. I I always call it a job. It's a jobby. It's like a.00:43:38JohnnyYeah. OK. Is that is that a word?00:43:42JackI just made that up, but it's it's between, yeah.00:43:44JohnnyOK.00:43:47JackYou know it. It's it's, it's something that I would love to do and generate income and survive on, but I'm not there yet. But I keep doing it. Not for for money or for fame or anything like that. I just really enjoy it, you know, it's just something that is really, really good.00:44:06JackAnd I think it's and you're you're doing something good for.00:44:10JackYou're not just wasting people's time, you're actually giving them something that they they need, which is, you know, more, you know, content for language learning. Cause I think there's just, there's never. There can never be enough of that. To be honest, in my opinion, because people are always looking for more ways to learn English and they're connecting with certain personalities.00:44:30JackAnd you know it, you may just resonate with with certain people and and but I would, you know, follow your instincts, be yourself. Don't try to be you know somebody else.00:44:36JohnnyYeah.00:44:41JackI am.00:44:42JackYou know, I tried that in the beginning of podcasting where I tried to have a better broadcasting voice, but the truth is, I stammer. And I I I, you know, repeat myself and I, you know, you know, I do all that kind of stuff. And and that's just who I am, you know. And if if people don't like it, then you know, they they'll tune.00:44:55JohnnyJust feed yourself.00:45:03JackNo, but I I think people will forgive you if they think you're being authentic and genuine as as a, as a presenter, as a podcaster.00:45:12JohnnyYeah, I think.00:45:13JohnnyBeing genuine that that's that's really crucial.00:45:15JohnnyYeah, well, you know, I share the link of your your podcast to many of my students, and I think they they think it's absolutely fantastic. So a lot of my students been listening to. Well, thank you, Jack. Well, thank you for creating such a great.00:45:26JackOh man, thank you so much.00:45:31JackYeah.00:45:33JohnnyAll these great content. OK. Thank you for you. And socials and Kevins and effort. You know, we're actually listening to some of these earlier, earlier episodes where you feature.00:45:46JackYeah.00:45:47JohnnyKevin and I mean.00:45:49JohnnyMaybe someone else. I don't remember the name.00:45:52JackYeah, you're you're going into the deep cuts. Yeah, we had some really good conversations at the beginning, you know, Kevin and I started it together, and then he got too busy and social was a guest on our our podcast. And then she became a my full time podcasting partner. So. Yeah, just kind of funny how that happens.00:45:53JohnnyAre you sure? Yeah.00:46:08JohnnyOh, OK.00:46:12JackUM, but uh, you know. Thank you, Johnny. It means a lot to us. And thank you so much for spreading the word and for our listeners out there. This was my my conversation with Johnny. John. If Johnny gets a podcast started, I will be the first to promote it to all our listeners out there. Of course. Of course.00:46:29JohnnyThank you. Thank you, Jack, my name is.00:46:33JackAnd if you guys want to listen to this episode, go to our website A-Z englishpodcast.com if you want to leave us a message, you can send us an e-mail at at Oz English podcast at Gmail.00:46:43JackCom you can talk to us in our WhatsApp group or in our WeChat group for our our Chinese listeners out there. And with that said, Johnny, thanks again man and listeners. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.00:46:53JohnnyThank you.00:46:55JohnnyThank you.00:46:57JohnnyBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/culture-corner-my-interview-with-johnny-from-china/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy