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.
Chris Kaman is the rare combination of a 7-foot player with great basketball skills. His ability to pass and dribble as well as rebound and score, made him and NBA All-Star. He was born in Michigan, USA, but his grandparents are from Germany, so Chris has played alongside Dirk Nowitzki on the German national team at events like the Beijing Olympics. He currently plays for the New Orleans Hornets in the NBA.
One athletic move Chris uses to score is the hook shot. You might think this shot makes the path of the ball curve, but you would be wrong. We will let Chris explain this term, as well as his strategy for learning a language, in this interview.
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.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Jason: Welcome to English, baby! I am here with Chris Kaman. Can you tell us what a hook shot is?
Chris: Basically, most of the time big guys are using them to score anywhere close to the paint. Either hand, whatever hand you’re more comfortable with, kind of set yourself up to use that hand away from the defender and try to shoot it toward the basket, kind of out and away from them to where it’s more difficult for them to affect the shot.
Jason: Where does the name come from?
Chris: I don’t know. I think maybe Kareem Abdul Jabar did the sky hook first before most people. I don’t know…Because it kind of looks like a hook, probably.
Jason: Yeah, can you show us what it would look like?
Chris: Just like a little J-hook or whatever, you know? I don’t know. Interesting. I never really tried to imitate it on camera.
Jason: You play for the German national team. You have dual citizenship. How did you decide to play for the German team?
Chris: I was approached by a couple of people from the organization, and I talked to Dirk Nowitzki a little bit, and then just kind of moved forward from there. I didn’t think it was going to happen, and then it ended up working out and I ended up playing in ‘08 in the Olympics, and it was a great opportunity. Then I played again last summer in the European championships, and we didn’t do so well.
Jason: How’s your German? Do you know any?
Chris: I know some.
Jason: Do you have any strategies when you learn a language? How do you go about it?
Chris: I just kind of find someone who speaks both really well and then ask a lot of questions. And then, you know, when you’re in basketball, coach is yelling a lot of things out in German, you eventually pick up on what it is and what he means, and then you’ve kind of got that ingrained in your head.
Chris: English, baby!
Grammar Point
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Discussion
Chris Kaman explains that when you take a hook shot, your arm looks like a hook. Tall players use this shot to throw the ball over the defenders. One of the best basketball players ever, Kareem Abdul Jabar, often used the hook shot.
English is Chris’s first language, but since he plays for the German national team, he knows some German. He says the best way to learn a language is to ask a lot of questions. He also learned some phrases because his coach repeats them so often, they are ingrained in his head.
Do your parents or grandparents come from a different country? Do you feel a connection to their homeland?
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