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"Breakthrough" with Channing Frye of the Phoenix Suns

"Breakthrough" with Channing Frye of the Phoenix Suns English, baby! Video Lesson

Date: Jan 15 2010

Themes: Celebrity, School, Sports

Grammar: Present Perfect Progressive

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Great basketball players make it all look easy. But if you’ve ever tried to shoot a three-pointer with a defender in your face, you know it’s not easy at all. Yet Channing Frye averages about three three-pointers per game and often gets twice that!

Channing is a tall guy who can get rebounds near the basket. But he has been developing a secret weapon. He’s been working hard at shooting long, three-point shots and now that’s he has joined a new team, the Phoenix Suns, he’s hitting more of them than ever before. Watch Channing talk about a couple of different breakthroughs he’s had in the NBA and as a student.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Jason

Jason

Channing

Channing

Jason:  Welcome to English, baby! I’m Jason, here with Channing Frye. How are you today, Channing?

Channing:  I’m good. Having a great day.

Jason:  You’ve always been a shooting big man, but this year you’ve been draining threes sort of left and right. It seems like it’s kind of been a breakthrough. Can you tell us how that came about?

Channing:  I’ve been working on that three-point shot for a couple of years and just having the opportunity to shoot it and to be in the system that we are with the Suns and having the ability to shoot it and my teammates and coaches have the confidence in me to make it is pretty much why I have been shooting the way I have.

Jason:  And for your fans overseas who might not know the term “breakthrough,” could you teach us what that means?

Channing:  For me, to kind of explain a breakthrough would be: you continually push on a piece of glass, you know? You just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and right when you think nothing is gonna happen, you get one crack and that crack inspires you to continue going and pushing. And for me, it’s just been keeping the faith steady, not only in myself, but, you know, God and just making sure that I’m doing things the right way because it will all work out in the end.

Jason:  Has there been a breakthrough you’ve had, like, in another time of your life, either in basketball or in anything else that you can think of?

Channing:  Yeah. I really didn’t like math. You know, I hated math and I never did good at it, but I just continued to stay after it. I kept working and working and working, and even though I didn’t get a good grade in the class, I got one good grade on a test and I think that was my breakthrough for that. It actually, you know, it got me a little interested. But too bad it was the final and I never had to take it ever again. But, ah…I just kept working at it and working at it and it was frustrating and I kept falling, but, you know, just kept getting back up and kept working at it and I think that was definitely another breakthrough.

Jason:  Great. Thanks so much for talking with us today. Can I get you to give me a high-five and say, “English, baby!”?

Channing:  English, baby!

Jason:  Thank you. Alright.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Channing compares a breakthrough to finally seeing the first crack in a piece of glass you’re trying to break. His breakthrough with three-pointers came when he joined a new team this year. He practiced hard and believed in himself, and then his coaches and teammates believed in him too. Now no one can believe the amount of points he’s scoring!

But sports isn’t the only place you can have a breakthrough. When Channing was in school, he didn’t do very well in math class. But just before the last math test he ever took, he had a breakthrough and finally understood what he couldn’t before.

Can you think of a time when you experienced a breakthrough? How did you make it happen?

For more with Channing Frye, visit his website, or our blog.

 

Comments

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elliott2918

China

wow channing frye one of my favourite players!

05:37 AM Jan 17 2010 |

AkCaNbuLuT

AkCaNbuLuT

Turkey

heyy Channing,I love you because you have got very personalıty:)

04:33 PM Jan 16 2010 |

Romio79

Romio79

Russian Federation

I guess "breakthrough" is a usual thing when you try to learn or achieve something and in the beginning it's going wrong or hard, but you don't give up and continue your efforts, so at last you have progress in your activity. As for me i have had such experiance in leaning englishSmile, for example (this language was rather difficult for me), or in stretching or in Muai-Tai.

By the way i guess secret of "breakthrough" in your activities has some common rules: just do it, do it regularly and do it rightCool

07:53 PM Jan 15 2010 |

mickee85

mickee85

Philippines

When I was in my high school, I've been obssesed in watching basketball, weird 'cause I'm a girl and I know much about basketball than my guy classmates. hehe, I'm not watching NBA though, just local basketball league. It is fun to watch, especially if one of the team is your favourite, you're gonna scream.

 

10:22 AM Jan 15 2010 |

solbong

solbong

South Korea

I will be in Pheonix from next week. Can I watch Channing Frye shooting on the floor in Suns Devil? I wish I can! Smile

08:00 AM Jan 15 2010 |

solbong

solbong

South Korea

There could be some breakthrough at all times around us. And 'hardworking' could be a kind of breakthrough in every aspects of our lives. Fail? Success? It doesnt' matter, both could be a breakthrough…

07:54 AM Jan 15 2010 |

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