This is an all year English podcast, episode 1519, Find Your Inner Child How to Connect through Game Nostalgia in English.

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts. Linda McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York Radio Girl coming to you from Colorado and New York City U. S a and to get Real-Time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try our Iooss app, start your seven day free trial at all airs English dot com forward slash bonuses.Did you play a lot of games as a kid? Thinking back on these games and talking about them is a great way to connect in English with a native speaker today. Find out how to do it and natural and real English.

Hello Linda. How are you doing? Great, Michel. How's everything on your end? Everything is good over here.

Everything's good. I'm excited for today's episode because we are going to kind of bring it back to our childhood and say, OK, we are going to be talking about hand games.

Right? OK, so I can game.

So I think of like a slap game, like as a lot of girls would play like slap slap games where you slap hands and like you sing a song at the same time. Is that what you mean? Yeah, that's what I mean.

I call them hand games, so I don't know, maybe people call them slap games. I'm not really sure. But today we are going to talk about some of the more common kids and games that kids play. Right. So that you can connect with others. And we'll talk about why you would want to do it, why you would want to be able to talk about or understand these games.

Well, I mean, a lot of our listeners are living in the U.S. and they have kids here in the U.S. And you're going to eventually we're going to be going back to parties again are the pandemic is over and you're going to want these skills, guys.

OK, so that's why. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah, this is about connecting with kids and other adults because of nostalgia. Lindsey, one of our favorite topics.

Yeah, I know you're nostalgic.

I'm pretty nostalgic, too, but yeah, anyone is nostalgic when they talk about I don't know, it's nice to be able to ask people questions about their past and evoke a sense of wonder, kind of a nice positive smile on their face and that kind of thing, guys. Absolutely.

Absolutely. So before we get into it, we have a couple episodes that are about games, right? So we have episode thirteen thirty four, which is how to organize a birthday party in American culture. So that's about parties and that will definitely help you out with that kind of thing. And Lindsey, what's the other one? Yes.

And then we did this one that we got so excited about how to succeed at game night in English. And I'm hoping that we can have a game night for our community soon this year. Twenty, twenty one for all the English. That would be the coolest thing ever. So guys, that's episode thirteen 72. Go and check out those two episodes. And if you are listening in the iOS app, all you have to do is go to the search bar and type those numbers in.

It's very easy to find them.

Awesome. OK, so we're going to get into games in just a second. And really, I meanes. GamThis is really all about culture, right?

I mean, different places. I mean, I remember some of my students teaching me some hand games from their culture and it was super fun.I think people have a certain pride in them.

So to learn more about culture, guys, you definitely want to get enrolled in our connected communicator course because Lindsay takes you on a road trip all around the U.S. and you were going to learn about culture from so many different people. Right.

So culture, interesting topics that you can talk about, improve your fluency and it will definitely give you the tools that you need to engage with others.

Definitely, guys will go to all eras, English dot com forward slash connection to get into that course.

Awesome. OK, Michelle, so what games did you play as a kid?

All right, so guys, we're going to describe some of these games. We're going to talk about our experiences. Maybe Lindsey, you played them, maybe not. But we're going to talk about some of the more famous ones. So we're going to also talk about maybe a little bit of how to play or what to say.

OK, OK, so the first one is rock, paper, scissors.

OK, so so I play this even as an adult sometimes to make a decision. I don't even think of this as a game. It's more about when you make a decision like pros first. Who's who's what's the point, Michelle, what's it all about?

Well, so basically what it is, is you have different. It's actually kind of hard to explain which have done this one on YouTube. But yeah, you maybe will. Rock, paper, scissors on YouTube or on Instagram. OK, so anyway, you have different hand formations and each person, they go rock, paper, scissors, and then you choose something and essentially like rock, beats, scissors, and each one of them can beat one of the others.

So whoever gets the one that, like, basically eats the other one or beats it is like.

Right. And you always say shoot after rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

So you always said shoot, because when I growing up I didn't say shoot. I do it. I just did rock, paper, scissors and on scissors you do the motion. But then I learned that other people say, shoot. Oh yeah. We we always had that.

We always said she probably goes back to like who knows, Western Wild West culture probably goes back to gun culture is my guess. Honestly, I don't know. I have no idea. But yeah, that's typically the way it's played is that you say rock, paper, scissors, shoot. And then each person it's usually when you have three people, right. Each person would either make the scissors, make the rock or make the paper in their hand.

Yeah.

Oh, I do it. I'm more so would play with just two people.

But you can go to. Hmm. Well whatever, but you can do whatever.

And as Lindsey said, this isn't just necessarily a child's game. Right. Like I, I've played it with I mean, my seven year old nephew went through a period where he would not play anything but that game. But I would also do it, like Lindsey said, like if you're trying to figure out who is the winner, who gets to decide something.

Right. I love it. So good. All right, then there's concentration on this one.

So I yeah, I do know it, but tell me about it because I didn't play it that much.

OK, well, it's another hand game and you kind of just put your hands in a certain motion. And I played it like this. You say concentration and you're clapping for no repeats or hesitations names of and then you say something so like a category. So you might say like names of people. And then you say, I'll start right now. And then you go back and forth like to the rhythm and. Right. So like, OK, so Lindsey, let's play like if I say names of TV shows, I'll start right now.

So then I could say like Friends and Seinfeld. Yeah.

OK, I Love Lucy. Boston Public. Yeah. OK, so you so you keep on going back and forth until somebody hesitates and so you say no repeats or hesitation. So you're saying the rules in the beginning.

Michelle, we should write this down for our potential game night. Yes. Yes. It's a great way for practicing her English as well.

It would be so cool, so cool. So cool. Love it. Start your journey to fluency by taking a 12000 mile road trip around the U.S. with us by video lesson to meet native speakers with different accents, learn slang culture, pronunciation, and get topics to start vibrant English conversations all in a 60 day study plan. Guys go to all ears. English dot com forward slash connection to get started. Now that's all ears. English dot com forward slash Conexion.

OK, so that's concentration, what is Cat's Cradle? Did you play this? This is more of a string game. Oh, I think this is a little more old fashioned. Tell me. But I didn't tell you this. I'm really 80 years old. Yeah, I guess so.

So Cat's Cradle. Yeah. It was more of a string game. You had this like big like loop like giant loop of string and you would have like a block and you could try out different designs with this loop of string.

And so you would sometimes do it with a partner and you could play together. So that was a really fun one. So that's a little bit different. But I used to love that.

Yeah, that one I've never played. But the next one, I've definitely done plenty of Thumper's right.

And I've done them even as an adult as well. Of course the thumb or the thumb wrestling, you know, is to say my dad and I used to thumb wrestle all the time.

It's a fun little game.

You play with your parents, you know what I mean? So far.

Yeah. Did you say that's also what I wrote down. One, two, three, four. I declare a thumb war.

Yes, yes. Yeah, exactly. Like phrases that you guys are going to want to know. This is real connection, right? This is cultural. This is how to really get into the culture. Whenever you say it, the more you start out having them or you start out by saying, one, two, three, four, I declare war. Yeah, yeah.

And then you like you move your thumbs back and forth like you're getting ready, you know, so funny.

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So I'm, I have trouble with that one because I'm left handed so I always end up like always you know.

Yeah well I don't always lose but it's always like yeah. It's just always annoying.

That's hard. You have to have a very, very strong right hand I guess if you have to do it with your right hand.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And then what about this last one. Lindsy. Yeah.

Is this like a wrestling thing. I know I've never played because I didn't really wrestle with my, my sibling, my brother because. Not really, no.

I thought how much wrestling. It's also a hand game. It's terrible. I don't know why people would play this game. It's called Mercy. I don't know where it comes from. But basically, like you like put your hands up to each other and you try and avoid saying that word and you, like, kind of try and bend each other's wrists back. It's terrible. It's like saying like stop when you say that word. And so it's really a terrible game.

But it's a it's a it's an honest sibling game when you're trying to hurt each other.

Yeah. These are definitely sibling games. These are definitely sibling games or like family games. Just fun. Like just kind of kill the time games. Right, Michelle? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah, these are super fun guys. This is all about culture. It's all about nostalgia. And I don't know, I mean, certainly I don't know what the kids are playing today, but I do know my nephew plays rock, paper, scissors. So, you know, obviously these change over time and this is about a very specific time period.

But that's that's what I got.

right, right. Right, right. Yeah. The game that you play and then you can ask someone if they played that in their country. Yes, this could.

So, guys, it's not just, you know, this episode is applicable, not just if you want to go play these games, but more so about how to start that conversation. Absolutely.

Absolutely. Because people want to talk about this stuff. It's always like whenever this kind of thing comes up at a party, it's like people get giddy, you know, they're like feel like they're kids again and it's fun. So really being able to find that inner child with these games is so much fun.

I love it. Exactly. Find the inner child. Maybe that'll be today's episode. I with that title, I was thinking the same thing last year.

And for me, the way I find my inner child is by taking a road trips, Michelle. And that's why we created the connected communicator. Guys, it's a it's a 60 day study plan, but it's a twelve thousand mile trip that you get to take by video lesson around the US meeting native speakers in interviews and working on your listening, your fluency and your vocabulary skills.

So go to all ears, English dot com slash connection to join that course today. Definitely.

I love it. So, guys, if you want to see more about these games, you know, I'm sure you could find them on YouTube or look for them in. Culture, but, you know, always look for moments to connect through nostalgia. Oh, I love that. So good, Michelle. Great topic today and thanks for hanging out. I will see you very soon. All right. Bye, Lindsey. Have a good one. Bye bye.

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