ENEPISODE 2 — “The Ten Verbs That Move You Forward”
EPISODE 14 · 12 MIN · VOCABULARY & PHRASES
Verbs Focus
🎙️ EPISODE: The Ten Verbs That Move You Forward Welcome to a new Slow English Podcast episode — where we slow down to make English feel natural, meaningful, and calm.
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EN[Soft acoustic intro music fades in – calm and reflective]
EN⚫ Sometimes, one single verb can describe your whole learning journey.
EN⚫ A verb that carries motion, energy, or emotion — something that makes your English alive.
EN⚪ And that’s exactly what today’s episode is about.
EN⚪ Ten verbs that help you describe what really happens when you learn slowly, calmly, and intentionally.
EN⚫ If you stay with us till the end, you’ll understand how each verb can give your English rhythm — and how using them in your own stories makes your speech sound natural and confident.
EN⚪ So take a deep breath…
EN⚪ Let’s move through these verbs together — one slow step at a time.
EN🪶 PART 1 — pick up
EN⚫ Let’s begin with one of the most natural verbs in English: pick up.
EN⚪ It means to learn something without really studying it.
EN⚪ You don’t memorize — you just pick it up by hearing it, reading it, or living it.
EN⚫ Remember when Peter talked about learning pronunciation through shadowing?
EN⚫ He said, “After two weeks, I just picked up the rhythm.” ⚫ That’s pick up.
EN⚪ Compare it with learn — learn sounds serious, like a classroom.
EN⚪ Pick up is casual and human.
EN⚪ You can say, “I picked up some new expressions from that movie.”
EN⚫ Or, “Children pick up language faster because they don’t study it — they live it.” ⚫ It’s learning without pressure.
EN💪 PART 2 — overcome
EN⚪ Our second verb is more emotional — overcome.
EN⚪ It means to win against a difficulty, fear, or barrier.
EN⚫ I love this word because it appeared so many times in our stories.
EN⚫ Remember my childhood stutter?
ENI said, “Music helped me overcome it.” ⚫ That word carries courage.
EN⚪ Compare it with beat or fight.
ENThose sound physical.
EN⚪ Overcome is mental and emotional.
EN⚪ You don’t fight English — you overcome fear.
EN⚫ You can say, “She overcame her fear of speaking.” ⚫ Or, “I’m trying to overcome my perfectionism.”
EN⚪ It’s a beautiful verb because it ends with victory — quiet, calm victory.
EN🔁 PART 3 — get stuck
EN⚫ Now let’s get real — every learner gets stuck.
EN⚪ Absolutely.
EN⚪ Get stuck means to stop moving forward, usually because you don’t know what to do next.
EN⚫ You can say, “I got stuck on this word,” or “I get stuck when I try to speak fast.”
EN⚪ Compare it with pause — pause is a choice.
EN⚪ Get stuck just happens.
ENIt’s natural.
EN⚫ But there’s something interesting: ⚫ Getting stuck isn’t failure — it’s feedback.
EN⚫ It’s your brain saying, “Hey, I need more time here.”
EN⚪ So next time you get stuck, don’t panic.
EN⚪ Just slow down, breathe, and listen again.
EN⚪ That’s how you unstick your English.
EN✏️ PART 4 — refine
EN⚫ Here’s a more elegant verb — refine.
EN⚪ It means to make something better, smoother, or more precise.
EN⚪ You’re not starting from zero — you already know something, but you want to polish it.
EN⚫ In the “Shadowing Practice” episode, we said: ⚫ “Shadowing isn’t about repeating.
ENIt’s about refining your ear and your rhythm.”
EN⚪ Compare it with improve.
EN⚪ Improve is general — you can improve anything.
EN⚪ But refine is delicate.
ENIt’s about small, smart adjustments.
EN⚫ For example: ⚫ “I’m refining my pronunciation.” ⚫ “She’s refining her writing style.”
EN⚪ It’s the verb of artists — and language learners are artists of sound.
EN🧪 PART 5 — try out
EN⚪ Verb number five — try out.
EN⚪ A friendly phrasal verb meaning to test something new and see how it feels.
EN⚫ You can try out a word, a method, or even a new accent.
EN⚫ For example, “I tried out that new shadowing app.”
EN⚪ Compare it with experiment with.
EN⚪ That one sounds more scientific.
ENTry out is everyday and real.
EN⚫ You could even say, “I’m trying out speaking slower this week.” ⚫ It’s playful — no pressure, just curiosity.
EN⚪ And that’s what slow learning is all about — trying things calmly until they become natural.
EN🐢 PART 6 — slow down
EN⚫ And speaking of calm, the next verb is a lifestyle — slow down.
EN⚪ Yes!
ENIt means to reduce speed, but also to be more present and thoughtful.
EN⚫ In the “Morning Routine” episode, we repeated this idea again and again: ⚫ “When you slow down, you actually learn faster.”
EN⚪ Compare it with relax — relax is about your body.
EN⚪ Slow down is about your actions and attention.
EN⚫ For example: ⚫ “Slow down your reading — notice the small details.” ⚫ “Slow down your speaking — let your ideas breathe.”
EN⚪ It’s the perfect verb for mindfulness in language.
EN🧩 PART 7 — figure out
EN⚪ Our next verb has a puzzle inside it — figure out.
EN⚫ It means to understand something by thinking carefully or solving a small problem.
EN⚪ You can say, “I’m trying to figure out this grammar rule,” or “I finally figured out how to use that phrase.”
EN⚫ Compare it with understand.
EN⚫ Understand feels instant.
EN⚫ Figure out feels active — you work for it, you connect pieces together.
EN⚪ And it’s perfect for English learning because that’s exactly what we do every day — ⚪ We figure things out, slowly and joyfully.
EN⚖️ PART 8 — deal with
EN⚫ Okay, next one — deal with.
EN⚪ It means to manage, face, or handle something — especially problems or emotions.
EN⚫ It’s not dramatic; it’s practical.
EN⚫ You deal with mistakes, stress, confusion.
EN⚪ In “Broken Language Learning,” we said: “Students don’t deal with mistakes — they hide from them.”
EN⚫ For example: ⚫ “I’m learning to deal with my accent anxiety.” ⚫ “How do you deal with forgetting words?”
EN⚪ Compare it with handle — both are similar, but deal with sounds more spoken and everyday.
EN⚫ It’s the verb of calm confidence — facing things without fear.
EN🤗 PART 9 — embrace
EN⚪ This next one is one of my favorites — embrace.
EN⚪ It means to accept something completely and with a good attitude.
EN⚫ In the “Calm English” episode, we said: ⚫ “The moment you embrace your mistakes, you start to learn.”
EN⚪ Compare it with accept.
EN⚪ Accept is neutral; embrace is warm.
EN⚪ You can say, “I’m learning to embrace silence in conversations.” ⚪ Or, “He embraced his accent — and that’s when he became fluent.”
EN⚫ It’s one of the most positive verbs in English.
EN⚫ It turns mistakes into friends.
EN🧭 PART 10 — set up
EN⚪ And the last one — set up.
EN⚪ It means to organize or prepare something before you start.
EN⚫ In “Morning Routines of a Music Star,” the singer said, “I always set up my space before I practice.” ⚫ It’s simple but powerful — preparation creates peace.
EN⚪ You can say, “I’m setting up my English notebook,” or “Let’s set up a new study plan.”
EN⚫ Compare it with prepare.
EN⚫ Prepare is formal; set up is practical and spoken.
EN⚪ It’s the quiet start of every success.
EN🎧 CLOSING REFLECTION
EN⚫ So there you have them — ten verbs that describe movement, courage, and calm growth.
EN⚪ Pick up, overcome, get stuck, refine, try out, slow down, figure out, deal with, embrace, and set up.
EN⚫ They’re not just actions — they’re attitudes.
EN⚫ Each one tells a small story of learning.
EN⚪ Let me ask you something.
EN⚪ When you think about your English right now — which of these verbs describes you best today?
EN⚫ And here’s a second question.
EN⚫ Which one would you like to describe you next month?
EN⚪ Maybe you’re getting stuck now… but soon you’ll overcome.
EN⚪ Or maybe you’re ready to refine and embrace the next level.
EN⚫ Whatever verb you choose, remember this: language learning isn’t a race — it’s a rhythm.
EN⚫ The goal isn’t speed, it’s awareness.
EN⚪ So slow down, try things out, and give yourself time to pick it up — one calm verb at a time.
EN[Soft outro music fades in]
EN⚫ Thanks for joining us today.
EN⚫ In the next episode, we’ll explore ten idioms that bring real-life emotion to your English.
EN⚪ Until then, keep refining, keep embracing, and keep moving forward — slowly.