Seis estudiantes de distintos lugares del mundo se conocen. ¿Qué tienen en común? Todos son estudiantes de intercambio en una universidad de Estados Unidos durante un semestre. Durante este período aprenderán más inglés, conocerán mejor la cultura estadounidense y aprenderán más en sus campos de estudio.
Esta serie de “Conversaciones cotidianas” trata de seis estudiantes y sus experiencias durante un semestre académico en una universidad de Estados Unidos. Estas conversaciones son para niveles de inglés intermedio o más alto.
Las conversaciones cotidianas son una gran opción para mejorar tu inglés. Los estudiantes más avanzados pueden leer este artículo en la versión original en inglés.
Escucha el audio:
En esta conversación, tres estudiantes (Lucía, Ajay, y Jana) hablan sobre el liderazgo, particularmente de la mujer, en todo el mundo.
Lucía: Studying for this political science exam is driving me crazy!
Jana: Relax. Ajay and I were planning to take a study break, so we can help you study.
Ajay: Yeah, of course. What do you need to know for the exam?
Lucía: Well, at the moment, I’m learning that women leaders of countries are rare.
Ajay: I mean, I knew there were fewer female leaders than men, but how rare?
Lucía: Of all the elected heads of state in the world, less than 10 percent are women.
Jana: Less than 10 percent? That’s a terribly low percentage.
Ajay: I don’t understand why more women aren’t elected. Women have excellent leadership qualities.
Jana: Yeah, we do! For example, I can definitely multitask. And when I’m working on an engineering project, I have to collaborate. Those are both qualities that leaders should have.
Lucía: Absolutely. And you’ve seen me on the soccer field, so you know I’m strategic and decisive.
Jana: Also excellent qualities for leaders. And women also have grit. So many women have fought for what they believe in, even in the face of opposition.
Ajay: You didn’t have to convince me. I think both of you would make fantastic leaders. Wait, aren’t both of you leaders of clubs on campus?
Revisemos ahora el vocabulario
In this context, the phrase “driving me crazy” [me está volviendo loco/a] means “making me annoyed* and frustrated**.”
A study break [descanso en los estudios] is a short period of time when a student stops studying and does another activity.
A head of state [jefe/a de Estado] is a person who is selected to be the head of the government of a country. An elected head of state [jefe/a de Estado elegido/a (en las urnas)] is a person who is selected by voting to be the head of the government of his or her country.
To elect [elegir (en las urnas)] means to select someone by voting.
Leadership qualities [cualidades de liderazgo] are the characteristics that leaders often have or that people think leaders should have.
To multitask [realizar múltiples tareas a la vez] means to be able to do several different things at the same time.
To collaborate [colaborar] is to work with one or more other people in order to achieve a common goal, create something, or do something.
Strategic [estratégico/a] means related to a plan of achieving a purpose or goal.
To be decisive [ser decidido/a] means to make decisions quickly and with confidence.
Grit [(tener) carácter] is a characteristic that means having mental courage and determination.
The phrase in the face of opposition [al confrontar oposición] means the time you meet or deal with the people or group you are competing against, as in business or a game.
In this context, the word wait [espera (un momento)] is short for wait a minute/second/moment. This means that the person speaking has just remembered or thought of something.
*annoyed – enojado/a, alterado/a
**frustrated – frustrado/a
En los colegios universitarios y universidades en Estados Unidos suele haber clubes. Un club es un grupo de personas que participan en actividades o eventos tales como deportes, hobbies, y otras aficiones que se pueden compartir.
¿Listo para aprender más inglés? Nuestro material te puede ser de utilidad.
El sitio web American English ofrece una variedad de recursos gratuitos para estudiantes y profesores de inglés. La página de Facebook de American English publica a diario materiales de aprendizaje para estudiantes de inglés.
Las conversaciones cotidianas son creadas por Heidi Howland, funcionaria principal de programas en la Oficina de Programas de Idioma Inglés en la Oficina de Asuntos Educativos y Culturales del Departamento de Estado.
