Baseball Lesson Overview
Presenters: Marco and Erica
Series: Sports
Introduction to Baseball
- Baseball is considered the American national pastime.
- Popular in the U.S., Caribbean, Japan, and Korea.
- Focus will be on baseball vocabulary and its influence on English.
Dialogue Highlights
- Commentators: Rick Fields and Bob Copeland.
- Game Setup:
- National anthem played.
- The umpire starts the game.
- Key Plays:
- Roger Vargas up at bat:
- Pitcher winds up for a throw.
- Vargas hits a line drive and moves through bases.
- Successfully slides into second and becomes a base runner.
- Brian Okami:
- Hits a home run, leading the team by two runs.
- Action occurs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Language Takeaway
Baseball Vocabulary
- National Anthem
- Song representing a country, confused with "hymn" in some languages.
- Pitcher
- Player who throws the ball to the batter.
- Wind Up
- The action of preparing to throw the ball.
- Line Drive
- A hit that travels low and fast, close to the foul line.
- Scrambling
- Quickly moving in a disorganized manner to retrieve the ball.
- Can be used in everyday context (e.g., scrambling to get ready).
- Inning
- A period of play in baseball (nine innings in total).
Fluency Builder
- Up to Bat
- Literally means to be next to hit; can be used in meetings as "your turn."
- Strike
- A missed attempt to hit; can mean making a mistake in daily context (e.g., strike one).
- Curveball
- A type of pitch; used metaphorically for unexpected problems.
- Home Run
- A successful hit; signifies major accomplishments in various contexts.
Cultural Context
- Baseball is a significant part of American culture.
- Attending games and enjoying the experience (e.g., hot dogs).
- Encouragement to engage with the community and practice vocabulary.
Conclusion
- Invite to visit the website for further discussions, questions, and baseball-related vocabulary sharing.
- Thank participants for downloading the episode.