実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (6/15,16)

こんにちは。NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。

Lesson 5のテーマは、’Millennials as Mentors and Consumers’（メンターそして消費者としてのミレニアル世代）でした。Vignetteでは、ミレニアル世代の社員がずっと年長の社員（管理職）に教える「リバース・メンタリング」や、これまでの世代とは異なるミレニアル世代のニーズなどが話題になりました。

“Talk the Talk”では、職場のミレニアル世代とのつきあい方や、Heatherさんがミレニアル社員にとても驚かされた出来事について話されています。

 Millennials as Mentors and Consumers

（S: 杉田敏先生　H: Heather Howardさん）

S: At the beginning of our current vignette, the A&A staff discuss how Alvarez is mentoring a person 28 years her senior and the things that such mentors and mentees can teach each other.

H: If such arrangements need to be a two-way street, as Alvarez says, I hope her older mentee can encourage her not to jump to conclusions.

Poor Shota, she really did jump down his throat a bit.

But seriously I think that’s an excellent idea.

It would be especially helpful for older staffers when it comes to computers and social media, which are such a ubiquitous presence in our lives now.

When I can’t figure out something in those areas, I automatically turn to the younger staff in my office.

They almost always know what to do right away.

And relationships like that will also force, in a good way, members of the different generations to interact and listen to each other more closely.

Getting past our stereotypes of other people and learning to appreciate their strong points is always a good thing.

S: Is there anything else you think the generations can teach each other?

H: Well, as we mentioned before, millennials are often very well-read on numerous subjects.

They can direct us older folks to interesting areas of study, and entertainment.

And we can direct them to somewhat older sources, help keep the perspectives of the past from fading away.

S: The vignette also talks about millennials’ housekeeping habits.

It was interesting to note that they clean their homes differently from older generations, that time constraints make them less likely to do a big, deep clean.

I also understand that young working couples in America today are less interested in cooking.

They don’t like to spend time to cook and do the dishes afterward.

But they have something very convenient called “TV dinners.”

I’m sure you are familiar with those, Heather, the pre-packaged frozen dinners that come on an aluminum tray and are heated in an oven.

H: Oh, yes, my mother was a busy working woman and we often ate those when she was too tired to cook.

It was interesting to hear about the gardening and other lessons that A&A is offering.

I could have used some cooking classes back in the day, when I was younger and had more time.

I’m especially regretting my complete lack of skills these days, as my daughter gets older and will need bentos for school.

S: I was once somewhat involved in a public education program in the U.S. called “Beyond Boiling Water.”

The idea was to encourage cooking using very simple recipes for people who barely know how to boil water….

H: That would be me.

S: The other day, I did and internet search and there were a number of sites that actually tell you how to do just that―boil water.

One such site said, “You need the following items: groceries, cooking pots, hot holders, teapots and water.”

Another said, “It really doesn’t matter if you watch the pot, but throw away if it makes you feel better.”

H: Ha. Though it is interesting to see how skills and common knowledge change with the generations.

A while back, one of the millennials in my office asked an older staffer what the dots in the dictionary were for.

She didn’t know that they indicated the syllables where the hyphens go.

My mouth literally dropped open in shock when my older colleague told me about it.

お疲れさまでした。お読み下さり、ありがとうございます♪

May something wonderful happen to you today!