Lesson 116: INDULGE

Lesson 116: SELF-INDULGENT

There is no need to adjust your computer screen.

There is nothing wrong with it.

We have travelled back in time.

It is 2006 and I’m now in China.

There are no smartphones, no high definition TVs,

no electric cars, no One Direction or Lady Ga Ga.

Websites such as Facebook and Myspace are slowly gaining users.

A small video streaming website called YouTube is still in its infancy,

having just been purchased by a company called Google.

Video sharing, it’s quite a novelty.

Being able to put a video you made yourself on the internet,

…for others to watch.

The possibilities are endless.

You could film your pet doing something funny and maybe sing a song on there.

I’m sure the owners of the music will not mind.

And what about teaching?

You could make short video lessons and post them onto YouTube.com.

That is what I want to do.

I want to be on YouTube.

I want to teach English on YouTube.

I want to teach English to everyone.

So from today — October 31st 2006, I will teach English…to the world.

That’s better. We are back safe and sound in 2015.

***9 Years on YouTube.***

Hi everybody, this is Misterduncan in England.

How are you today?

Are you okay? I hope so! Are you happy? I hope so!

As you maybe aware, today is no ordinary day.

For me it is the ninth anniversary of my YouTube Channel being created.

It was on this day, October 31st 2006 that I first logged on to my YouTube page.

Ever since then I have been making videos of all shapes and sizes.

Most of them concerning the English language, or more to the point,

learning English as a second language.

Even though this event is a personal one, I do hope you will forgive me

for being so self-indulgent in this lesson.

To be ‘self-indulgent’ means to focus and concentrate the attention of others on yourself.

To talk about yourself  and your own experiences is to be self-indulgent.

To satisfy your own desires without thinking of others is to be self-indulgent.

To do exactly what you want for pleasure or idleness is to be self-indulgent.

If you are a regular viewer of my lessons then you will know that I often answer questions

posed by you.

Most of them concern the difficulties of learning English as a second language.

I thought it would be fun to look at some of the more unusual questions I’m asked

by my lovely online viewers.

Questions such as these — «Why do you spell your name the way you do?»

I spell my name ‘Misterduncan’  in this long way, so as to make it individual

and to prevent it from being confused with other people on the Internet with similar names.

It is almost like a brand name. Whilst in China I was always known as Mr Duncan,

so I’m Misterduncan here on YouTube, but I spell it in my own special way.

«What did you do before you started teaching English on YouTube?»

Overall, in my life, I have done many different things.

As a teenager I trained as a painter and decorator and had a career doing this for five years.

I later started working in sales, which led to me training others in the skill of selling.

To sell well, you need good communication skills.

I became bored with that work and decided to take on a new challenge.

Which led to me pursuing work teaching English.

I seemed to have a natural skill at teaching, so I took it from there.

In 2003 I got on a plane and went all the way to China to begin … teaching English.

«Did you enjoy your time in China?»

Yes I did.

I have only supposed to have gone there for six months,

but ended up staying there for over four years.

It really was the most amazing experience and one I will never forget.

«Is it easy to teach?»

Fortunately for me, I took to teaching like a duck to water.

(К счастью для меня я увлёкся обучением словно утка водой).

It all came naturally. During my time in China I taught classes of all sizes.

I ended up travelling around the local areas as a guest at other local schools.

Many of these schools were located in poor areas and for many of the students living there,

I was the first Westerner they had ever met.

It is these experiences that had left the deepest impression on me.

«Was it fun being on TV in China?»

If I’m honest, I would have to say that I was not keen on being on TV.

In 2003 I was asked to perform a Chinese song to a crowd of 800 people during an English speaking contest…

I was very nervous at the time.

That one appearance let me being on TV many times in the local area.

People even recognised me in the street, which was very strange indeed.

«What made you decide to start teaching English on YouTube?»

I posted my first YouTube video on Ocober 21st 2006.

I originally did it because I wanted something to do as a pastime.

It wasn’t even my idea.

One of my friends at the time showed me the site, YouTube.com.

Had it not been for him, I would have never started posting videos onto the internet.

So I suppose I had better sent… a big special hello to Mr Winfred Zhang Wei,

now watching not in China…but Australia.

«Are you really 50?»

Oh here we go…it’s getting personal now.

I’m often asked about my age.

For some reason it really fascinates people.

I don’t mind telling you that I really am 50.

In fact I celebrated mu fiftieth birthday just a couple of months ago…

I have always looked slightly younger than my age.

Especially during my late teens and early 20s, when I was quite thin and pale looking.

I definitely didn’t look my age back then.

I’m often asked what my secret is to looking young.

I suppose you are only as young as you feel.

I certainly don’t act my age, although I can be quite deep and broody in real life.

So my advice is — smile more, laugh a lot, and don’t sweat the small stuff («не париться по мелочам»).

In other words, chill out baby!

«Which countries have you been to and which ones would you like to visit?»

I have travelled to a few countries.

Some just for a holiday and others for longer periods.

I’ve been to Greece, the Netherlands, Madeira, Singapore, Turkey and France.

And of course China, where I lived for over four years.

I would like to visit Vietnam and Japan in the future, as they both fascinate me

and of course I have lots of students following my lessons there too.

One of the nicest places I’ve ever been to is Turkey.

A warm and welcoming place with friendly people.

In fact I enjoyed it so much, I even made a video lesson so as to share my experience

of being there.

‘Do you make your lessons with other people or on your own?’

All of my video lessons are produced by me.

I film and edit everything by myself.

This has been the way I’ve done things since 2006.

I have appeared in every lesson and to this date I have made over 350 videos.

Most of which relate to learning English.

I rarely appear with other people in my lessons.

mainly because it is hard to get people to appear on camera.

Not everyone wants to be on TV or in videos.

The average person tends to quite camera shy.

As for the technical side, I taught myself how to use a video camera professionally

and I had to learn step by step, all the video editing techniques.

As for the future, I intend to go on making these videos…

for as long as you want to watch them.

‘What were your favourite subjects at school?’

I don’t think there is any need to guess that one of my favourite subjects

at school was of course…English.

 

I loved writing stories and showing them to my English teacher Mrs Ryder.

Ironically my love of English stemmed from the fact that in my early education

I was given extra reading lessons because I had been showing signs of difficulty in this particular area.

So I would take extra reading classes twice a week for around a year.

My other favourite subjects at school were Art an Science.

I was quite good at drawing and loved all scientific things.

Throughout my early education I was painfully shy and quiet student

and found most of my time at school very awkward and unpleasant.

I felt so relieved when it was all over.

‘HERE WE GO WITH SOME QUICK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!’

‘Do you play any computer games?’

No, I don’t.

‘Are you married?’

No, I’m not.

«Are you reach? Are you religious?’

No, and no…

‘Do you want to get married in the future?’

Mmmm…

No!

‘What do you watch on TV?’

Ooh, that’s a good question.

There are quite a few shows I’m watching at the moment, including…

‘Regular Show’, that’s funny. ‘Archer’, I like that as well.

‘Family Guy’ and ‘American Dad’.

There is also another programme called ‘Portlandia’,

which is very funny.

I also like to watch old TV shows such as…

‘Seinfeld’  and ‘The Larry Sanders Show’.

I used to watch ‘The Big Bang Theory’… but I don’t watch it anymore.

I think it’s a load of rubbish now.

‘Do you like American English?’

I can’t believe… I can’t believe it.

I like all English. I like Australian English… I like American English…

I like Canadian English…and of course, I like British English.

In fact I like all English!

‘It’s time to say ‘ta-ta for now’.

‘It’s time to bid a fond ‘farewell’.

‘It’s time to…achoo’.

I hope you have enjoyed this rather different lesson and that

you will join me again for a more normal video, whatever normal maybe.

Will it be lesson 91?

Will it be a new ‘Full English’ lesson?

You’ll just have to wait and see.

This is Misterduncan in the birthplace of the English language,

of course that is England, saying —

«Thank you for watching me, teaching you».

Here is to another 9 years on YouTube…

and of course, until next time…ta-ta for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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