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"The sky's the limit" - Ticha Penicheiro of the Monarchs

"The sky's the limit" - Ticha Penicheiro of the Monarchs English, baby! Video Lesson

Date: Aug 21 2009

Themes: Celebrity, Sports

Grammar: Comparatives and Superlatives

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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Ticha Penicheiro is a thief. She will steal the basketball from you without thinking twice, sometimes 4 or 5 times a game!

But Ticha also gives. She’s not a leading scorer, but the Portuguese veteran is one of the biggest stars in the WNBA because she sets up plays that her team score. She often gets more than ten assists in a game!

Ticha is in the middle of her 12th season as a member of the Sacramento Monarchs. She led the team to a championship, and as she continues playing, she continues getting better. Jason recently met up with her before an away game in Seattle to talk about learning English and how the sky is the limit for her when it comes to steals and assists.

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

Ticha

Ticha

Jason:  Welcome to English, baby! I’m Jason here with Ticha Penicheiro of the Sacramento Monarchs. How are you?

Ticha:  I’m doing great. Thank you.

Jason:  And so uh…You grew up in Portugal, but you came to college in the United States. When did you learn English?

Ticha:  Well, I took English in high school while I was in Portugal, so at a very young age I was very familiar with the English language. Of course, I didn’t speak it as well as I speak today because I’ve been in the States for fifteen years now. But I was very familiar with the English language.

Jason:  Two of the biggest parts of your game are steals and assists. Steal is not normally, like, a good thing, but that’s what you’re famous for.

Ticha:  Yeah. In basketball it’s a good thing. It’s on defense. So you’re playing defense and the other team has the ball. So a steal means that you just took the ball from them and now you have it. So, then you’re gonna go on offense. And an assist is when you have the ball and you create a pass to somebody that makes a basket. So, as a point guard and being the organizer on the floor, that’s one of the things that I like to do is to get my teammates involved and give them the ball so they can score.

Jason:  There was a video on the Monarchs’ website. You were talking about…This is your twelfth season that you’re going into and some of your numbers like steals and assists just kept getting better and so you said that the sky’s the limit. And I was hoping that you could just explain the meaning of the phrase: “The sky’s the limit.”

Ticha:  When you say, “The sky’s the limit,” it means that there’s so much more room for improvement. You know? Because the sky is almost untouchable. Like, you can’t touch it. It’s something that is there, but then you get on the airplane and it looks like it’s still there. So…You know, it’s, like, really far. So that means that there’s a lot of room for improvement and uh…You know, as long as you can play there’s always things that you can improve in your game.

Jason:  Alright. Well thanks so much. Can I get you to give me a high-five and say, “English, baby!” in the air?

Ticha:  Alright.

Jason:  English, baby!

Ticha:  English, baby!

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Like Ticha says, the sky is really high. Now matter how good you get at something, if you believe that the sky is the limit, you’ll remember that you can always improve.

Ticha is really good at taking the ball from the other team and setting up her teammates to score. After 12 years in the WNBA she continues to get better. Even though she’s been a star for a long time, she never forgets that the sky is the limit.

Ticha grew up in Portugal. Before she came to the US to go to college, she had already studied English in high school. Her English is pretty much perfect now because she has been in the US for more than 15 years. She has said in interviews that when she’s done playing basketball, she might become a commentator. It seems the sky is the limit for Ticha when it comes to English too!

What are you good at? Where is the sky the limit for you?

For more of Jason’s interview with Ticha, visit our blog and to see her in upcoming games, check the Monarchs’ website.

 

Comments

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spike_dsl

spike_dsl

Philippines

Its my birthday… The sky's the limit guys.. just go and place your orders..lol

02:34 PM Aug 22 2009 |

boddi

China

I think our career is really the sky's the limit,if we keep selfmotivated and are strict to ourself,there will be a lot of room of inprovements. 

02:13 PM Aug 22 2009 |

rose Ahmed

rose Ahmed

Yemen

its a good phrase i like it,coz there is no limit for skay so this phrase show that there is no limit at all.           and i am totally agree there no limit for studing.

11:58 AM Aug 22 2009 |

vedater1979

Turkey

well good lesson ı have learnede the vocab and ı think ıt gives me some grammer

11:49 AM Aug 22 2009 |

bh_rodica

Romania

I think that the sky is the limit for all the things we can do. Always we have something to learn, always we can love more, learn more. Now, I want to learn english :) and thank you for these lessons.

09:24 AM Aug 22 2009 |

B.Y.

B.Y.

China

the ending is really bad.

a high5 and say ENGLISH BABY

but, it is still a good sentences.

08:44 AM Aug 22 2009 |

hanabluestar

Yemen

ticha said that if u want always to be star just remember the sky's the limit at when u do any thing.

08:17 AM Aug 22 2009 |

abdall

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The sky's the limit!

the best comments

best regards

07:35 AM Aug 22 2009 |

花蕊

China

never give up our dreams!

05:46 AM Aug 22 2009 |

omstar

Mexico

defenitly, I totally agree with Ticha  

You can go as far as you want, it all depends on you.  

08:13 PM Aug 21 2009 |

SÉRGIO

SÉRGIO

Brazil

Overcoming limits!! it's sure a way to live well!!

06:14 PM Aug 21 2009 |

harmonyS

harmonyS

Italy

Never give up!...

04:24 PM Aug 21 2009 |

Someone in time

Costa Rica

Completely true: The Sky's the limit!!!

Laughing

02:58 PM Aug 21 2009 |

ali 88

ali 88

Saudi Arabia

it is avery good lesson specially the vocabulary .

02:31 PM Aug 21 2009 |

Dabren

Dabren

Mexico

Well i doing my best whit the things that i like to do, like singing, play the guitar and math…

And i agree with: "The sky's the limit"  because for me the sky don't have any limits… 

 

Where  r u  ASKOOO????  o.O … =P

01:52 PM Aug 21 2009 |

luosijie203

Taiwan

Now, I understand the meaning of THE SKY'S THE LIMIT.  I think i study english just like the sky's the limit. when we study english, we should practise it as possible as we can, of course we need english language environment to practise and improve our english, catch any opportunity to speak, let's go, never give up! studying english is more easier than playing ball well, studying english need us to remmenber how it is, no need to pay much attention on why it is. but playing ball need not only pratice but also thinking about how to play better.

11:35 AM Aug 21 2009 |

sofree

sofree

China

Well, I think I'm kinda good at digging and comprehending.

 

I don't know if there's a limit, so how about this: Sky is not the limit.

06:52 AM Aug 21 2009 |

sweetpolly

sweetpolly

Taiwan

The sky's the limit!!!!!!:D

I love this phrase!!!!!

I think life is a lesson and we all still have lots of improvments on it!!!!!=)

05:37 AM Aug 21 2009 |

rafalbo7

rafalbo7

Mexico

I think the best way to learn english is practice, and the better is living in a place than only speaks it.

02:27 AM Aug 21 2009 |

Denny500

Denny500

Australia

I love this game as well as this lesson!

01:58 AM Aug 21 2009 |

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