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Video Arcade

Video Arcade English, baby! Video Lesson

Date: May 02 2008

Themes: Hobbies

Intro

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

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

Video games can be a fun way to escape reality for a moment or challenge your mind by solving a puzzle. You can always play video games at home with a little controller and your TV, but part of the fun for a lot of people is playing on a big machine with big buttons to press.

A place with a bunch of video game machines is called an arcade. Arcades often also have games with real moving parts like pinball, where you push buttons to shoot a metal ball at targets. Watch Jason talk to Amanda who works at an arcade.

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

Dialog

1. Watch and Read - Watch the video and read the dialog at the same time.

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

Jason

Jason

Jason:  Hey, I’m Jason with English, baby! and I’m here at the Ground Kontrol video arcade with…

Amanda.

And so Amanda’s going to tell us a little bit about video games. What’s your favorite kind of video game?
Well, here at Ground Kontrol we have pinball and video games. And my favorite video game is Bust-a-Move, and it’s like a puzzle game. And my favorite pinball game is Lord of the Rings and it is definitely a popular game.

So when you play the puzzle game, are you using a joystick or is it buttons? How does it work?
You use a joystick and buttons. You use a joystick to aim and you use a button to fire.

And then what is pinball exactly? Can you tell us a little bit about that? It’s been a round a while, right?
It has been around a while. Personally, I like the newer pinball games because they’re more detailed and they have multiple levels. But some people like the nostalgia of the old ones. This is a classic arcade, so we have a lot of old games.

Do you play any of this stuff, the home entertainment games?
I have a PlayStation2 and I have a Super Nintendo. My favorite video game for home is for the PlayStation2 and it is Dance Dance Revolution. We also have that here in the arcade, but I have a dance pad at home and it’s pretty fun.

Right on. And so, when you work here, you’re actually a bartender, right?
Yes, I’m a bartender.

That’s pretty rare though, an arcade where you can buy beer, right?
I think there’s one in New York and it’s called Barcade, but I think that this is one of the only other ones. Maybe one in LA that I’ve heard of…

 

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

Most arcades don’t serve drinks. But Amanda is a bartender at Ground Kontrol in Portland, Oregon. Going to the arcade is already a social thing to do, and even more so when it’s also a bar, but there are only a few places like that.

Amanda’s favorite video game is a Bust-a-Move, which, like many older games, is a puzzle game. Amanda’s arcade specializes in older games.

Amanda’s favorite pinball game is Lord of the Rings. A lot of pinball games are based on movies. You can shoot the metal ball at the Terminator’s eye, or Homer Simpson’s bald head.

Another video game that involves more than moving a character on a screen with a joystick is Dance Dance Revolution. The game leads you in a dance, telling you where to put your feet. Amanda practices this game at home!

What are your favorite games to play at an arcade? Can you think of anything else that would be fun to combine with an arcade? Maybe a laundromat or an airplane…

 

Comments

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abdulai adams

Ghana

i will comment you as my friend thanks.

07:51 AM May 02 2008 |

abdulai adams

Ghana

flexible and the most beautiful friend i ad mine  to friendly with,well,and when i look true the world i having seen anyone look like you in my life. 

07:49 AM May 02 2008 |

kankipati

India

I am you looking very nice.

shall we start chat.

my mail id

06:10 AM May 02 2008 |

aljensen

aljensen

United States

My friend has a WII, and we play on his large flat screen TV. It is very innovative. Of course, he spends all his time playing retro games on the WII that he downloads from the internet. 

My parents have a WII so that when the grandchildren come over they have something to do.

 

04:46 AM May 02 2008 |

tangjunhu

tangjunhu

China

I don't like play PlayStation2 game.

02:29 AM May 02 2008 |

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