next 30 days to help you learn and boost  your vocabulary. We're learning 105 words.  

We're taking our words from the academic word  list so these are words you'll need to know if  

you're preparing for the IELTS or TOEFL exam, but  also if you read or watch news in English, or have  

conversations with native speakers. These are  intermediate words and they are useful, so grab  

a friend have them join the challenge with you and  let's do this. As always, if you like this video,  

or you learned something new, please like and  subscribe with notifications, it means a lot.

We're on day three and we're learning four  words today. I do have a download for you a  

list of all the words with definitions and sample  sentences, as well as quizzes to make sure you're  

really getting and remembering these words. You  can get that download by following this link,  

or the link in the video description. Today's  words are: significant, role, major, and period.  

And we're looking at the different ways these  words are used in various situations. For each  

word, you'll get the definition, we'll cover the  pronunciation, you'll get to see up close footage  

of the mouth saying this word, and we'll also  have five examples from real life English.

Our first word is SIGNIFICANT.  

Significant. It's a four-syllable word  with second syllable stress. Make sure  

those unstressed syllables are flatter, lower in  pitch. Sig-nificant. Ficant. Ficant. Significant.  

As an adjective, it means large enough  to be noticed, or have an effect.  

Very important, there's a significant  difference between prices in the two stores.  

Let's again see this word up  close and in slow motion.

And now we'll go to Youglish for five  examples of this word in real situations.

The site is a work in progress  but it's significant progress.

Significant progress. Not just a little  bit of progress, also not a whole,  

whole lot of progress but enough to be noticed  and have an effect. Significant progress.

The site is a work in progress  but it's significant progress.

Here's another example.

And here there are significant, quantifiable  racial disparities that cannot be ignored.

Significant. Noticeable enough  to matter and have an effect.

And here there are significant quantifiable  racial disparities that cannot be ignored.

Another example.

The question is: will you find something  that is scientifically significant?

Scientifically significant.  From a scientific perspective,  

enough to be noticed or have an effect.

The question is: will you find something  that is scientifically significant?

Here's another example.

It is a significant problem around the  world, there's about one billion people.

A significant problem. Maybe not a huge problem,  

but not a tiny problem either. Big enough  to have an effect to be important.

It is a significant problem around the  world, there's about 1 billion people.

Here's our last example.

Shortly after I turned 30, I decided I wanted to  

dedicate a significant amount of my  life to solving climate change.

A significant amount of my time. Not all of  his time but a significant amount, enough  

to make a difference in his schedule, enough  to feel like he's really doing something.

Shortly after I turned 30, I decided I wanted to  

dedicate a significant amount of my  life to solving climate change.

Next. The word ROLE.

We have the R  consonant, the OH diphthong, and the dark L.  

Role. Uhl, uhl. uhl. The dark L does affect  that diphthong. It's not row, row, role,  

but it's role, more like a single sound, a  little bit more lip rounding. The tongue pulls  

back a little bit more. Role, uhl, uhl. And  then finally, the dark sound where the tongue  

pushes down and back a bit more to make that dark  sound. The tongue tip can stay down. Role. Role.

Noun, a character played by an actor  or a part that someone or something  

has in a particular activity or situation. I  had a minor role in the play. You played a role  

in my decision to move to New York. Let's look  at this up close and in slow motion again.

And now we'll go to Youglish for five  examples of this word in real situations.

I think everybody here recognizes  the importance of a role model.

A role model. This is a common use of  role. A role model is someone you can  

look to as a model person in that role.  An outstanding example, something that  

you might strive to be yourself, to imitate. A  student who studies hard and gets good grades  

could be a good role model for  another student who's struggling.

I think everybody here recognizes  the importance of a role model.

Here's another example.

Haley, what role would you play in a movie?

A role in a movie is a part. I am playing  the role of the mother. Or she has a lead  

role. That means she's one  of the main characters.

Haley, what role would you play in a movie?

Another example.

While the moon fulfills its  role of lighting the night,  

it also serves key roles in the cycles of life.

Its role in lighting the night. That's what it  does at night in that situation. When it's dark,  

the moon provides some light.

While the moon fulfills its  role of lighting the night,  

it also serves key roles in the cycles of life.

Here's another example.

Our role as the foundation will be to help  facilitate an environmental education program.

Our role. The part we play, what we need to do,  

what is expected of us, how to  help facilitate this program.

Our role as the foundation will be to help  facilitate an environmental education program.

Here's our last example.

And also importantly, what  role does government have?

What role does government have? What  should it do in and for society?

And also importantly, what  role does government have.

Next the word MAJOR.   

It's an adjective,  it means very important. A large number or amount

or very serious. Researchers have announced  a major advance in the treatment of cancer.  

As a noun, it means the main subject studied by a  college or university student. He chose History as  

his major, and French as his minor. Let's  see this again up close and in slow motion.

And now we'll go to Youglish for five  examples of this word in real situations.

I started out as a math major in  college with an education minor.

A math major. What she chose  to study in college. Actually,  

I was a Math major too. I majored in Applied  Math and Computer Science and also Music.

I started out as a math major in  college with an Education minor.

Here's another example.

And we've learned that there are major  differences in the ways that women and men  

experience disease.

Major differences. That is big differences.

And we've learned that there are major differences  

in the ways that women and  men experience disease.

Another example.

The country lies along the delta  of three major European rivers.

Three major European rivers. That is  not minor rivers, not small rivers, but  

big rivers, important rivers.

The country lies along the delta  of three major European rivers.

Here's another example. This caused major  delays in the development of the Falcon Heavy.

Major delays. Big delays. They  were way behind schedule.

This caused major delays in the  development of the Falcon Heavy.

Here's our last example.

This is not the last major  outbreak we're ever gonna see.

Major outbreak. A huge outbreak with  a lot of people getting sick.

This is not the last major  outbreak we're ever gonna see.

Our last word of this video is PERIOD.

It's a three-syllable word with first-syllable  

stress. The IH as in vowel is affected by schwa R.  It's not a pure IH but it's a little bit more like  

EE with the tongue being a little closer to  the roof of the mouth. So it's not ih-- pih--  

period, but it's pee-- ee-- per-- period.

As a noun, it means a length of time  during which something happens. The  

period between Christmas and  New Year's Eve is very busy.  

As an adjective, it means about a particular  time in history. The actors wore period  

costumes from the 1800s. Let's see this word  up close and in slow motion one more time.

And now we'll go to Youglish for five  examples of this word in real situations.

It's also a time period that I particularly  love. I love the music from the 40's.

A time period. A set length of time. What's  your favorite time period in history and why?

It's also a time period that I particularly  love. I love the music from the 40's.

Here's another example.

How long is the incubation period for Covid-9?

Incubation period. The length of time, how many  minutes, days, years, or weeks, for example.

How long is the incubation period for Covid-9?

Another example.

Five percent of Russia was occupied and  often for a very brief period of time.

A brief period. Not very long.

Five percent of Russia was occupied and  often for a very brief period of time.

Here's another example.

They brought Nathan in, kept him in the  warmer for about 30 days. It was a very  

scary period for all of us, we weren't  sure if he was going to survive or not.

A very scary period. Those 30  days, that length of time.

They brought Nathan in. Kept him in the  warmer for about 30 days. It was a very  

scary period for all of us we weren't  sure if he was going to survive or not.

Here's another example.

Well we've come to the end of our  time, and of course there is a lot  

of information we couldn't cover in such  a relatively short period of time.

A short period of time. Not enough to  cover everything they could have said.

Well we've come to the end of our  time, and of course there is a lot  

of information we couldn't cover in such  a relatively short period of time.

Seeing their real-life examples can really  help you understand how to use these words,  

can't it? I have a challenge for you now.  Make up a sentence with one of these words,  

and post it to social media, tag me, and use  the hashtag #rachelsenglish30daychallenge

Don't be shy, you can do this. Our next video  comes out tomorrow at 10AM Philadelphia time,  

come back to learn four more vocabulary words.  In the meantime, keep your studies going with  

this video, and check out my online  courses at rachelsenglishacademy.com  

You'll become a more confident English  speaker. And please do remember to subscribe.  

I love being your English teacher. That's  it and thanks so much for using Rachel's  English.