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It’s day 25. How exciting! This is your 30 Day English Vocabulary Challenge. This month, we’re learning 105 words from the academic word list. Words that help you have sophisticated English conversations, and words that you need to know if you’re preparing for an exam like IELTS or TOEFL. I’ve been watching the posts you’ve been making about this challenge, it’s incredible, inspiring. Make up a sentence to word you learn, and post it on social. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and don’t forget to download the study guide that goes with this 30 day challenge. You can do that by clicking here or the link in the video description. Learn the words, ace the quizzes, you’ve got this.
Let’s start with DISTINCTION. Distinction. It’s a noun, a difference that you can see, hear, smell, feel.
The separation of people or things into different groups. These dogs are different breeds. But this distinction, the difference, is hard to see. Let’s look up close and in slow motion.
And now, we’ll go to Youglish for five examples.
As a practical matter, people don’t make the distinction between the two.
Don’t make the distinction. Don’t separate. He’s talking about constitutional law and an individual’s rights. He says people don’t separate that out. These are my rights under state law and these are my rights under federal law. He’s saying they just group them together. These are my rights.
As a practical matter, people don’t make the distinction between the two.
Here’s another example.
I think that that’s such an important distinction.
An important distinction. An important thing that makes two things different. At thanksgiving, for example, an important distinction between me and my sister is that I cannot cook to save my life, and my sister can prepare a beautiful turkey.
I think that that’s such an important distinction.
Here’s another example.
It’s, it’s kind of like the distinction in microeconomics and macroeconomics.
The distinction between, the difference between.
It’s, it’s kind of like the distinction in microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Another example.
A channel, yes, that’s right. I think that’s a really big distinction.
A really big distinction. A really big factor that makes two things different.
A channel, yes, that’s right. I think that’s a really big distinction.
Our last example.
They may recognize more the distinction between a candidate’s public life and their personal life.
A candidate who’s running for office has their public life, the one that gets captured by cameras relating to the work they do, but also a personal life, separate, that relates to things like being a father or mother, that kind of thing. Two different aspects of life.
They may recognize more the distinction between a candidate’s public life and their personal life.
Our next word is ITEMS with a flap T. Items. It’s a plural noun, objects, things, individual ideas. Her paintings became valuable items. Let’s look again up close and in slow motion. And now we’ll go to Youglish for five examples.
I gotta have some action items.
Action items. Things to do. A specific task to be done. John, I’ve given you three action items for the Facebook project and I need them to be done by Friday.
I gotta have some action items.
Here’s another example.
Why don’t you sit down with kids and give them four items, a red shirt, a blue tie, a kangaroo, and a laptop, and have them tell a story about those four things.
Four items. Four things.
Why don’t you sit down with kids and give them four items, a red shirt, a blue tie, a kangaroo, and a laptop, and have them tell a story about those four things
Here’s another example.
We have more than 50,000 items in collections.
Items in collections. She’s talking about a museum, a collection or a group of things can have any number of items. For example, this is a collection of all the letters Nixon wrote when he was president. Each letter in that collection is a single item.
We have more than 50,000 items in collections.
Another example.
I looked at all of the largest budget items and tried to figure out where they were going.
The largest budget items. The things that cost the most. Payroll, health care, and so on. These are different items, different things in the budget.
I looked at all of the largest budget items and tried to figure out where they were going.
Our last example.
NASA allows crew members to carry a limited number of personal items during the flight.
Personal items. Things that aren’t related to the NASA mission, like a photograph of a loved one.
NASA allows crew members to carry a limited number of personal items during the flight.
Our last word today is ASSISTANCE. Assistance. Remember, with an NS cluster, in American English, that sounds like NTS. Assistance. As a noun, it means the act of helping or supporting someone. Any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Let’s look again up close and in slow motion.
And now, we’ll go to Youglish for five examples.
They were in need of our assistance.
They were in need of our assistance. They needed our help.
They were in need of our assistance.
Here’s another example.
A network, whose support and assistance is absolutely essential to our great work.
Assistance, the help and support they give in different ways.
A network, whose support and assistance is absolutely essential to our great work.
Here’s another example.
This is how you apply for food assistance in the State Of California.
Food assistance. When you can’t afford to buy food for your family, you can apply for assistance from the government to get help covering your grocery bill to keep food on the table.
This is how you apply for food assistance in the State Of California.
Another example.
Because a lot of these organizations not only need money, but they need technical assistance.
Technical assistance. Help with the technical side of things. Computers, software, handling, computer training, that kind of thing.
Because a lot of these organizations not only need money, but they need technical assistance.
Our last example.
But one thing I have always remembered is the extraordinary assistance given to me by the outstanding staff of the library.
Assistance given to me by the staff of the library. What kind of help can library staff give? Help on understanding how to look things up with their system, getting people access to rare books and collections, and so on.
But one thing I have always remembered is the extraordinary assistance given to me by the outstanding staff of the library.
Seeing all the real-life examples can really help you understand how to use these words, can’t it? I have a challenge for you now. Make up a sentence with one of these words. Make a short video of your sentence, and post it to social media. Tag me and use the hashtag #rachelsenglish30daychallenge
Don’t be shy. You can do this. I love seeing what you’ve posted so far. Our next video comes out tomorrow, at 10 AM Philadelphia time. Come on back to learn three more vocabulary words. In the meantime, keep your studies going with this video, and check out my online courses at Rachel’s English Academy. You’ll become a more confident English speaker. And please do remember to subscribe. I love being your English teacher. That’s it and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.
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