"Superpowers" - Interview with PWRFL Power

Intro

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

• craves
• index finger
• mastered
• superhuman

• superpower
• superhero
• perform under
• dorm

• X-ray vision
• turn the corner

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

One day he’s performing in the US, and the next in Japan. Then Canada…It almost seems like Kaz Nomura, who performs his indie rock folk songs as PWRFL Power, can fly around the world like Superman.

But the young Japanese singer’s real superpower is playing beautiful guitar melodies and writing funny songs about losing his keys and people who don’t hold their chopsticks correctly. PWRFL Power (pronounced “powerful power”) has been written about by dozens of newspapers and magazines in the US.

Jason met up with Kaz at a concert in Portland just hours before he left for Japan, where he is currently touring. Watch the video below and learn about superpowers and the type of superhero Kaz would like to be.

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

Kaz

Jason:  Welcome to English, baby! I’m Jason, here with Kaz who performs under the name PWRFL Power. Where are you from, Kaz?

Kaz:  I’m from Hokkaido, Japan.

Jason:  Your first language was Japanese then? When did you learn English, and how?

Kaz:  I mean, everyone in Japan starts learning, you know, when they enter junior high. I didn’t speak English until I came here. So I guess it’s been, like, five and a half years.

Jason:  So when you first arrived, was it hard to get around and make friends and stuff?

Kaz:  Yeah. It was really hard. I remember I was living in this international dorm kind of place in Seattle. I couldn’t talk to any of, you know, my roommates and it was very frustrating. There was this Turkish guy who…One day I made a huge pot of curry, and I left it in the kitchen, and he just ate it all. I wanted to, like, you know, tell him, like, not to. But I couldn’t say what I wanted to say so…

Jason:  When did you turn the corner? When did you feel like, “OK. Now I know English”?

Kaz:  After two years. I think it’s just that I spent enough time talking to people and being social.

Jason:  So your name is PWRFL Power when you perform. What kind of superpower would you like to have the most?

Kaz:  You know, I’ve been really craving frozen yogurt. So I think I’d like to be able to, like, make frozen yogurt anytime. Maybe, like, with my index finger or something. Then I could just, like, push it and…Like that.

Jason:  That’s a great superpower. Can I get you to give me a high-five and say, “English, baby!”?

Kaz:  English, baby!

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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