Pronunciation ChallengeHow to be a Leader - Lionel Messi

Through this, since he's been captain, he's taken a much more proactive media role.

**EDIT** Hey everyone, I just wanted to make a correction. I mistakenly said "selfishness" instead of "selflessness". Thanks for catching that Happy Learning!

“You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.” - Lionel Messi

Hello VoiceTube world! Welcome back to the Pronunciation Challenge! It’s your favorite host, Hugh, at your service. Have you listeners been watching the World Cup? Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia was crazy! Where's Messi?! I'm just kidding. Maybe I should have put a little money on the game! Then again, in hindsight, everything is much clearer. What does hindsight mean? It means looking back after things have happened. Ok, that’s not the topic of today’s episode though. In today’s episode, we are talking about how we can be a leader like the soccer/football superstar, Lionel Messi! I’m not much of a fan of soccer/football but I still know Lionel Messi is loved by not only his teammates, but also fans worldwide. Let’s find out why after the featured sentence!

Today’s featured sentence:
Through this, since he's been captain, he's taken a much more proactive media role.
透過這次、自從他擔任隊長後，他在媒體面前採取了更主動的角色。

I’ll say that again.

Through this, since he's been captain, he's taken a much more proactive media role.

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
captain
Two syllables.
“Cap” sounds like the hat you wear on your head, cap. “Tain” sounds like there isn’t an A and just go straight into the short “i” sound, tin. Captain.

Next up, we have

proactive
Three syllables
“Pro” sounds exactly like a professional, pro. “Ac” has a short A sound, ac. “Tive” sounds like “live” but with a T in front, tive.



Lastly, we have,

been
One syllable
I know this one seems easy but many people get this wrong! At least they do if they want to have a standard North American accent! Instead of saying “been” with a long E sound, let’s change it to a short “i” sound, bin. Been.



Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:


1. captain
Definition
the leader of a sports team （運動隊）隊長
Used in a sentence you could say,
“I used to be the captain of my basketball team in high school.”
我高中時曾是籃球隊的隊長。
Next word,

2. proactive
Definition
taking action by causing change and not only reacting to change when it happens 主動的，積極的
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“I’ve been told that I should be more proactive about my life.”
有人告訴我，我對自己的人生應該要更主動，積極。
And lastly,

3. media
Definition:
the internet, newspapers, magazines, television, etc., considered as a group 大眾傳播媒介，媒體
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“I’ve lost trust in the media these days with all the biased information going around.”
我已經不信任社群媒體了，因為所有的訊息都是帶有偏見的。
So what makes Lionel Messi a leader? It’s selfishness! Lionel is always thinking about others, (according to this video) and always puts them ahead of his own needs. That sounds simple enough but it is really hard to do! He cares about each teammate and knows all about each one. This shows that he really cares about these people. I can barely take care of myself, how can I possibly take care of an entire team?! This is what makes Messi great. He is able to do this with the people he chooses to treasure. I have a lot to learn and I am actually taking steps to becoming a better person myself. Have any of you listeners ever heard that if you want to change the world, you must first, change yourself? Let’s all take better care of ourselves first. Then we can take care of others.

Alright, that about does it for today’s episode. Get those recordings in! I’ve noticed that there haven't been as many recordings in my episodes lately. Bring those numbers up! I’ll be watching! Ok, until the next episode, see ya!

Through this, since he's been captain, he's taken a much more proactive media role.