Day 6 - Why Questions

Foster: Hello, hello, hey sweet people! And welcome to another day, another episode of the First Impressions Challenge. As you know by now, my name is Foster and I am here with…

Alexia: Alexia! Hey guys!

Foster: Hey, Alexia! What’s up? 

Alexia: Not too much. What about you? 

Foster: Not much, not much. I am ready to get started. 

Alexia: Yeah, me too! So, what are we talking about today?

Foster: So today, we are going to continue with common questions and common question words in English. And today, we have perhaps the most important question of all. 

Alexia: Uhh. And what is the most important question? 

Foster: Why. 

Alexia: Why? Why is that the most important question?

Foster: Haha that is a good question. So, "why" is just such a useful and powerful question. You have to ask why to learn anything, to learn about the world. 

Alexia: Yeah, I agree. I am imagining like, little kids asking their parents, “why?” for everything. You know? Like, “Why do I have to do this?” “Why do I have to do that?” "Why is the sky blue?" and et cetera. 

Foster: Yeah, exactly. And I think that's a really good analogy, because when we are learning a new language, we essentially have to be like little kids again. So, that’s a good example. 

Alexia: Thank you. I am awesome. 

Foster: You are awesome. So Alexia, today I wanted to start with one of the most important questions, and also one of the most common questions that every language learner needs to know. “Why are you learning English?” 

Alexia: Yeah. That is a difficult question. I mean, it’s hard to think of a really specific reason. You know? 

Foster: Yeah, totally. So, I think this is a really important thing to talk about, just really quick, for two reasons. On one hand, most questions that begin with “why” are a little bit more difficult to answer. For example, with other questions like, “when” or “where” normally you have a pretty specific answer, you know? For example, “When is the party?” “Oh, the party is at 8 PM.” Or something like that. But with “why questions,” normally you have to give these questions a little bit more thought, they require you to think just a little bit more deeply. 

Alexia: Yeah, that is definitely true. And what is the other reason? You said this was important for two reasons.

Foster: Oh, yes I almost forgot. So, more specifically, we're talking about the question, “Why are you learning English?” Or some variation of that question like, “Why are you improving your English?” Something like that. And this question is super important because it really gives you a lot of motivation, helps you stay dedicated. And it’s kind of crazy because a lot of people that are learning a new language, they don’t really think about or know exactly why they are doing it, you know?

Alexia: Yeah, and I think… I think I might be one of those people. 

Foster: No, no. I think you have a lot of good reasons why you are always trying to improve your English. And I think that you, and probably a lot of our students, have some really good and important reasons why they are learning English, it’s really just a question of thinking about it for a little bit and clarifying things. But the important thing is: when you're learning a new language, that takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of effort, money, so it is really important to stop and think “Why? Why are  you are doing all of this in the first place?" You know? Does that make sense? 

Alexia: Yes, that makes perfect sense and I think it’s really really important. 

Foster: Ok, great! So, Alexia, if you think it’s really important, “Why are you learning English?”

Alexia: I knew it! I knew you were going to say that. Well, let me think… I’m learning English and still studying English nowadays so I can talk to your friends and family. Also, because I can travel to different places and meet new people, et cetera. Those kinds of things. Is that a good answer? 

Foster: Yeah, yeah. That’s a great answer. There is no such thing as a bad answer. So, let me ask you a follow-up question, Alexia. Why do you think it is important to speak English?

Alexia: Well, I think the most important reason or maybe the most common answer is that English is like, the universal language, you know? It is like the… Lingua franca? 

Foster: Yeah. Yeah, you can say lingua franca. We say that in English too. 

Alexia: Cool. So, if you want to travel to different countries, or get a promotion at your job, or do almost anything nowadays, you have to speak English. It’s almost a necessity and when it's a necessity, you do it.

Foster: Yeah, awesome. So those are all really good answers. So would you like to ask me a question? A "why question"? 

Alexia: Yeah, this is an easy one. Why did you learn Portuguese? 

Foster: Haha. I imagined that question was coming. Obviously, I learned Portuguese so I could travel to Brazil and meet you, meu amor. 

Alexia: Awww… but seriously, “Why did you learn Portuguese? Like when you started 4 or 5 years ago.

Foster: Yeah. Great question. So, to be completely honest, I kind of learned Portuguese by accident a little bit. So, I was doing a Master’s degree program in maybe 2014 or 2015, and as part of the program, you are required to travel and live in a new country and you're required to learn a new language. And because I already spoke Spanish, I decided to learn Portuguese because I thought it would be relatively easy and I thought Brazil would be really cool to be honest. 

Alexia: Fair enough. And why did you think Brazil was going to be really cool? 

Foster: Hahha, why not? So, that was another great "why question." Good job, Alexia! 

Alexia: Thank you. 

Foster: Umm… I was really interested in Brazil for a lot of reasons. I mean, obviously the country is amazing, the people, the culture, the nature, all of those things. But also, I thought that Brazilian Portuguese just sounded really cool. It’s a beautiful language and that was super interesting to me. 

Alexia: Awesome. And I do think that Brazilian Portuguese is really beautiful also. 

Foster: Yeah. It is certainly one of the most beautiful languages in the world. So, Alexia, can I point something out really quick?

Alexia: Yeah, go ahead.

Foster: Okay, so you did something really interesting and I think it's important to talk about this. So, when you asked me a question that begins with the question word “why” and then I gave you an answer. And then, you asked me another "why question" as a follow-up. And I think that is awesome! So on one hand, people love talking about themselves. So, one of the easiest ways to get people to talk about themselves is just to ask “why? Like, “Why did you do that?” Or "Why did you make that decision?” Or "Why do you think that way?" And also, on the other hand, asking why is just a really easy way to maintain the conversation, to keep the conversation flowing. Do you know what I mean?

Alexia: Yeah, that makes sense. You can always ask why because there are so so many different answers. 

Foster: Exactly. There are millions of different possibilities. So, for the last thing today. Let’s do a fun little exercise. Umm… So let me start. So, Alexia, just ask me a question, any question, and I will give you an answer. And then I want you to follow-up with as many “why questions” as you can until it just seems ridiculous, okay?

Alexia: Okay so, I just ask you a question and then I continue to ask why, why, why…?

Foster: Yep. More or less that’s it. Let’s do it. 

Alexia: Ok. So, what is your favorite country in the world? 

Foster: Ummm… That’s difficult. Let’s say… Brazil. 

Alexia: And why is Brazil your favorite country? 

Foster: Brazil is my favorite country for a lot of reasons. I really love the language, the people, the culture, the beaches.

Alexia: And why do you love the language? 

Foster: This is easy, because Brazilian Portuguese is such a beautiful language. It's very musical, it has with a lot of sounds, it is fun to speak Portuguese and listen to Brazilians.

Alexia: Haha ok. Why does Portuguese sound like music to you? 

Foster: This is a great linguistic question! So, on one hand, I think Brazilians are just a very expressive group of people, so they use a lot of ups and downs with their intonation when they are speaking. And on the other hand, Brazilian Portuguese has a lot of sounds, like a lot of different vowel sounds, so it really is a very musical language. 

Alexia: Ok, I gotta ask this. Why do Brazilians speak with a lot of expressions? Can I say that? 

Foster: Yeah, with a lot of expression… Yeah, you can. So why are Brazilians so expressive? 

Alexia: Yeah, exactly. 

Foster: Um… Honestly, I don’t know, but I think you get the point, right? You can just continue a conversation for hours simply by asking “Why?” 

Alexia: Yeah, it’s so easy, you just need to be curious. I never thought about that before. 

Foster: Yeah, yeah, it can be very useful. Okay. Okay sweet people, I think that’s it for today. When in doubt, just continue asking "why?” and you will probably be good to go.

Alexia: Yep! I think that’s a really good advice, so I'll see you tomorrow!

Foster: Why? 

Alexia: Hahaha stop it!

Foster: Why? 

Alexia: Seriously hahaha. 

Foster: Seriously why?

Alexia: Ok, I'm leaving now, I'm getting up from my chair.

Foster: Why are you leaving?

Alexia: You press stop and…

Foster: Why?

Alexia: I need to take a shower!

Foster: Why?

Alexia: Because I need to be clean. 

Foster: Why? Are you dirty? 

Alexia: Yes, right now I am!

Foster: Why?

Alexia: Because it's gonna be my first shower of the day. 

Foster: Ok guys, we will see you tomorrow.