The Vivaling English Podcast

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A doctor, police officer, or teacher? These are common answers, but have you ever thought about having an unusual job? Learn fun new vocabulary, hear about the ups and downs of these unique professions, and guess the meaning of some key job-related terms.
Plus, we have a challenge for you at the end! 
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Creators & Guests

TA
Guest
Tom Ashton

What is The Vivaling English Podcast?

This podcast is designed to give English students extra practice by discussing events, history, culture and language.

Unusual Jobs - Sapling: At Work

What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor? A police officer? A teacher? These are jobs that many people have. What about an unusual job – a job that not so many people have. Listen to three girls with three interesting jobs and guess the meaning of some special vocabulary about the job.

Hi, my name is Cheri, and I have a very unusual job. I’m a sports mascot. I go to sports games and help cheer for the team. I jump and dance and keep the fans excited. For my job, you need a lot of energy, and you need to be in good shape. You also can’t be scared to do silly things. There is one negative, however. Sometimes it is really hot inside the costume.

Now Cheri said she needs to be in good shape for her job. What does it mean? A - to have a good body size and be healthy OR B - to feel happy and excited?
If you guessed A, then you are correct.

Hi, there. My name is Ari, and I have a very unusual job. I’m a video game tester. Sometimes I play video games on my computer, and sometimes I play on a console, like a PlayStation or Xbox. I play video games every day, but my job is not to win the game. My job is to play the game and find bugs and glitches. The game must be okay before the company sells it to people. A negative about my job? Sometimes my eyes get really tired.

Ari said she needs to find bugs and glitches. What does it mean? A – to find boring parts in the game OR B – to find problems in the game.
If you guessed B, well done.

Hello. My name is Erica, and I have a very unusual job. I’m a dog walker. I really like dogs, but I can’t have one. So, I take other people’s dogs for walks every day. We often go to the park or on a walk around town. I also take dogs to the vet and for grooming when they need it. There is only one negative about my job ----- the poo!

Erica said she takes dogs for grooming. What is dog grooming? A – taking the dog to play with other dogs OR B – brushing, washing and cutting the dog’s hair.
If you guessed B again, you are right.

Your homework: think of an unusual job that you would like to have when you grow up. Tell it to your VivaLing coach or a person in your family.