Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast, the listening resource for intermediate to advanced-level English learners. My name is Anna and today I'm taking you into my Conversation Club. So you may or may not know that I have a club. It's a very special club and everyone in the club is very dear to me. We focus on increasing your fluency, in particular, increasing your speaking confidence, running many live events to enable you to practice speaking, as well as work on your listening, reading and writing. So with every conversation class, we cover a different and interesting topic. Now the reason for having a set topic for each conversation session is: A. So you have a structured and focused conversation session; B. To enable you to really take yourself outside of your comfort zone. So many students get to a certain level with English and then feel like they don't progress. They get to an intermediate level and then they feel stuck. And one of the reasons they feel stuck is because they don't take themselves outside of their functional survival language. They've learned everything they need to know to do all the things they need to do in their day-to-day lives. So if they are living in an English-speaking country and working in an English-speaking environment, by intermediate level they have everything they need to get by, to survive, to order their morning coffee, to buy their train tickets, to interact on a technical level with their colleagues and their boss and their clients, and to maybe do a little bit of socialising as well. But from there, they don't often go outside of that zone of comfort. And so by exploring different topics and really focusing in on the kinds of vocabulary that you would use within a certain topic, it gives you an opportunity to expand on that default basic level of language that you have acquired. And so we try to cover lots of varying and interesting topics within the Conversation Club. We provide you with preparation material. So we introduce a topic, we give you something to read or to go and watch or listen to. We give you lots of useful vocabulary related to that topic. And we also give you a list of questions to consider. And these are the questions that we use to run the sessions. Now I'm going to dive deep into one of these topics today. And the topic is The Allure of Minimalism: Less is more. Minimalism is a lifestyle trend that emphasises living with fewer possessions. It's not just about decluttering your wardrobe. It's a philosophy that extends to all aspects of life. Minimalists believe that by owning less, they gain more, more time, freedom, and focus on what truly matters. So why is minimalism so appealing? For many, it's a reaction to the consumer culture that bombards us with messages to buy, buy, buy. Minimalism challenges this notion, suggesting that happiness isn't found in material possessions. Instead, it encourages us to identify the things that bring us joy and fulfilment and to ruthlessly eliminate anything that doesn't serve a purpose. This can lead to a more intentional life where we spend our time and energy on experiences and relationships, rather than on acquiring and maintaining stuff. Minimalism isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. There's no set number of possessions you need to own to be a true minimalist. The key is to be intentional about what you bring into your life and to discard anything that no longer serves you. Whether it's decluttering your physical space, simplifying your digital life, or even minimising the commitments on your calendar, minimalism can be a powerful tool for creating a more intentional and fulfilling life. Now with this particular topic, there is a YouTube video to accompany the topic to dive a little deeper into what one particular person did to simplify their life. Personally, I would say that I am definitely a minimalist at heart, though I do find comfort in buying things. And this is something I've had to recognise in myself and prevent myself from doing, stop myself from doing when I go out to the shops. I like a bit of retail therapy. But normally I like to buy things for the home, things that I feel will solve problems. So for example, like buying a paper organiser to go on my desk so that I can have, you know, a tray full of different papers that need dealing with, because my desk is always covered in paper. I'm a note-taker. I write notes for everything, just scribble little notes everywhere. I have Post-it notes stuck to my computer screen, stuck on the wall next to my desk, stuck all over my desk as well. And then my desk is just strewn with notes and pieces of paper that I've written on and books and all sorts of things, notepads. It's a messy desk. And I would like it to be clear, but I don't have anywhere to put these things at the moment. So I'm always looking to buy things that solve a problem, whether it's buying a filing cabinet or buying a pot to put my pens in, buying a window wiper for the condensation in the winter that collects on my windows. I like to have things to solve problems, but then I also hate having so many things. My biggest problem is having children. Having children and trying to live a minimalist lifestyle is very difficult because children constantly bring lots of things into your life. You have to have things to look after the children. The children receive gifts all the time. They make things and they give you gifts, things that they've made out of lollipop sticks and elastic bands. And of course, you have to put them somewhere where everyone can see them. And if you dare try to throw them away, then all hell breaks loose. The children have a complete meltdown. So in our Conversation Club pre-reading for this topic, there are several questions posed and I'm going to pose them to you now. So number 1: Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that you own? Why or why not? So my answer to this question is yes. I often feel incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of things that lurk in my home. I find that if I have a messy home, then I have a messy mind. I can't think straight. I don't feel like I can relax when there's lots of stuff everywhere. If things have a place, and I can put them away, then I feel better about it. But normally there is not enough storage space for all the things that we have. And this is particularly because we have children and the children have lots of toys. And every birthday and every Christmas people buy them lots of things, lots of toys, which is lovely. But then I have to try and find somewhere to put those things. I have to find a home for those things and we don't have many cupboards in my house. My partner has built a number of shelves and cupboards for us, but there are still not enough cupboards. There's not enough space. Number 2: Have you ever tried decluttering your home? What was that experience like for you? So I go through phases normally in the early part of the year. So somewhere around January, February time, I get completely fed up with the clutter because we've had Christmas time. And there's lots of stuff everywhere. I normally feel like a bit claustrophobic because we've been stuck indoors for so long. And I feel like there's dust everywhere. And I just want to open the windows and deep clean the house and get rid of things. So I normally do a big declutter in the spring and, you know, gift lots of stuff to charity, try and sell a few items as well. Number 3 is what do you think are some of the biggest obstacles people face when they try to live minimally? So I think the biggest problem is, besides having children, is thinking that you might need something or the concern that you've spent money on something and you don't want to throw it away or give it away because you spent a reasonable amount of money on it. And things can be hard to sell second-hand. So if you're trying to sell something electrical, for example, electrical items can be quite hard to sell. Clothes can be really hard to sell on. In the past, it was much easier, but these days, I think because you can buy, in certain clothing outlets, you can buy clothes for a very low price and so I think people just don't want to necessarily spend money on second-hand clothes. I don't know. I've always struggled to sell my clothing and my children's clothing. And maybe people just feel attached. Maybe you buy something because you had a specific goal in mind. For example, I love fitness and I bought a pull-up bar. It's quite a large piece of kit. I bought a pull up bar for my partner for a Christmas or a birthday. And it lives out in the garden and it does look quite unsightly. It's not pretty. We don't use it that often, but I wouldn't want to get rid of it because, although we don't use it, I would like to use it. It represents a desire to get really fit and healthy and exercise every day. So I think sometimes we become attached to what these items mean to us. The fourth question is, in your opinion, does consumer culture have a more positive or negative impact on society? This is a tough question. I think consumer culture has gone a bit too far. I think it can be negative when we are being encouraged to spend money on things we don't need, and actually being manipulated into spending money on things we don't even want. It can be very hard to get out of that cycle or that trap when you get pulled down a road, you're led and manipulated to buying something you don't want or need. It's just a waste of money. So I think in that respect, it's quite negative, but I also think that it's great that we live in a world where most problems can be solved quite quickly, that you can buy things online to be delivered either remotely or to be actually sent to your home that will solve almost any problem. So there are positives and negatives. The fifth question is, can you think of some examples of how you're bombarded with messages to buy things in your daily life? Yes, I can. On Facebook, because I'm a mum, I'm always bombarded with Facebook ads that tried to play on my fear of something bad happening to my children in order to get me to buy something that would keep them safe, or it might also play on like that mum guilt of my children, maybe not receiving enough attention or not being at the level they need to be at for reading and all with the intention of getting me to buy some like flashcards or a special reading system or something or special books for these children of mine. I think one that was very successful was a series of adverts showing a car veering off the road and landing upside down in a river. And showing how difficult it is to take off your seatbelt when you've been involved in an accident like that, but also to get your children's seatbelt off and then to break the windows. So it tries to sell you this little device that sits in your car and when you need it, you just have it to hand and you can cut your seatbelt very quickly and just use the end of it to pop the window and the window smashes and allows you to escape. And I bought three of these because I'd seen the advert so many times and I am the kind of parent that catastrophises, I always think about the worst possible scenario and decide how I will cope and save myself and my children in those situations. And this one really played on my mind, even though I don't think I know anyone who's ever left the road and ended up in a river or in a body of water in their car. Even though I know it's so rare and so unlikely to happen, I still made this purchase because it scared me and it made me feel guilty that I didn't have this device to protect my children. Another device that I only bought was a choking device. But then when I did some research, I found that actually the device itself could do quite a lot of harm. So I managed to talk myself out of that one. But yes, bombarding me with messages that make me feel guilty as a mother is the best way to sell things to me. How about you? Now, I'm not going to go through all 12 questions. I'll stick with those first five. But if you do have any thoughts, then feel free to share your thoughts on this topic. And if you'd like to literally join the conversation, then consider joining The Club. The English Like a Native Conversation Club is designed to be everything that you need to improve your English without necessarily living in an English-speaking country. You have access to a wealth of resources that are regularly updated. You have a chance to speak with real people about real topics and of course there's access to me as well, and to the ELAN team, I have a team of excellent teachers. And we are all ready and waiting to help you. So if you are looking to improve your English, you want to increase your vocabulary, just have more resources on hand, or actually have an opportunity to speak English on a more regular basis, then click on the link in the description and come and join us. I hope to see you there. Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.