Summary:

Vanessa and James interview James Paul Gee who wrote a book about how good it is for kids to play computer games.

Welcome to the Learning English Podcasts produced by the Hellenic American Union.

In this broadcast, Vanessa is in the middle of a live show interviewing James Paul Gee. Listen to their conversation and answer the question that follows about the main idea.

Dialogue:

Vanessa: Hello and welcome to our show. James Paul Gee is with us today to tell us more about his book ‘Everything Bad is Good for You’. James, thanks for being here today.

James: My pleasure.

Vanessa: Your book’s main argument is that playing video games is actually good for kids. So, James, do video games make kids smarter? I gotta tell ya, I don’t buy it.

James: Well Vanessa, what are kids doing when they play these games?

Vanessa: They’re wasting their time if you ask me. Why do you think they’re doing something useful?

James: Don’t forget that computer games need a great deal of concentration, and ask the player to plan, create strategies and use tactics…

Vanessa: What are you driving at? Are you trying to tell me that computer games are actually beneficial for children?

James: In a nutshell. You see… these games offer a mental exercise that can benefit their overall development as children give them their undivided attention and try to solve difficult problems.

Vanessa: I see where you’re going, sort of like a ‘mental workout’?

James: Exactly.

Vanessa: Okay, but what are they learning?

James: Not as much as they could. But if educators got together with software developers to make simulations that take say Sim City, Age of Empires and Civilization,…

Vanessa: Sorry to butt in, those are all computer games, right?

James: Yeap…anyway, as I was saying, if they could take these games but use real information about what happened … and let people play alternate versions of history…

Vanessa: So they’d be learning as they play?

James: Absolutely… and not only that. What is our children’s working environment going to be like in the future? It’s sure to involve computers and rapid decisions!

Vanessa: So, we could use computer games to train our children

James: You’ve got it.

Vanessa: Thanks James this has been most interesting.

Now answer the following question . . .

What does James think about computer games?

That they can be good for children.

Now listen again to the dialogue in parts. After each part there will be 3 to 4

questions on some details…

Vanessa: Hello and welcome to our show. James Paul Gee is with us today to tell us more about his book ‘Everything Bad is Good for You’. James, thanks for being here today.

James: My pleasure.

Vanessa: Your book’s main argument is that playing video games is actually good for kids. So, James, do video games make kids smarter? I gotta

tell ya, I don’t buy it.

James: Well Vanessa, what are kids doing when they play these games?

Vanessa: They’re wasting their time if you ask me. Why do you think they’re doing something useful?

James: Don’t forget that computer games need a great deal of concentration, and ask the player to plan, create strategies and use tactics…

Vanessa: What are you driving at? Are you trying to tell me that computer games are actually beneficial for the children?

James: In a nutshell. You see… these games offer a mental exercise that can benefit their overall development as children give them their undivided attention and try to solve difficult problems.

Vanessa: I see where you’re going, sort of like a ‘mental workout’?

James: Exactly.

Vanessa: Okay, but what are they learning?

James: Not as much as they could. But if educators got together with software developers to make simulations that take say Sim City, Age of Empires and Civilization,…

Vanessa: Sorry to butt in, those are all computer games, right?

James: Yeap…anyway, as I was saying, if they could take these games but use real information about what happened … and let people play alternate versions of history…

Vanessa: So they’d be learning as they play?

James: Absolutely… and not only that. What is our children’s working environment in the future going to be like? It’s sure to involve computers and rapid decisions!

Vanessa: So, we could use computer games to train our children

James: You’ve got it.

Vanessa: Thanks James this has been most interesting.

Waste (verb): to spend too much time, money, or energy doing something which is

not important or necessary

E.g. She went shopping and spent too much money.

Great (adjective): very large in amount or degree, it is more formal than big

E.g. The house had great windows.

A great deal of: a lot of

E.g. A great deal of money is needed to build the new road.

Mental (adjective): the process of thinking or developing the mind.

E.g. Mathematics helps the mental development of children.

Benefit (noun): advantage

E.g. Playing sports benefits children.

Develop (noun): the gradual growth of something

E.g. Education is important for the development of a country.

Simulation (noun): the production of something that looks or sounds real

E.g. Cars are tested to see how much damage they suffer in simulated crashes.

Civilization (noun): a society with its own culture and social system

E.g. These statutes are from the ancient civilizations of central Asia.

Alternate (adjective): If something happens on alternate days, it happens every

second day

E.g. Take these pills on alternate days.

Version (noun): a form of something in which some details are different

E.g. : Ludo is a version of an ancient Indian racing game.

Rapid (adjective): something which happens very quickly

E.g. : The rapid economic growth in the 1980s.

Involve (verb): to include someone or something in something, or to make them take part in or feel part of it

E.g. Running a business involves a great deal of time and energy.

Undivided (attention) (adjective): complete attention

E.g. An only child has the undivided attention of his parents.