Hi, I'm Alex 👋
In this episode I play Silent Hill 2 Remake for the very first time and try to survive the fog while I teach you English. Press play, follow the script and then test yourself!
Fog, creepy corridors, scary monsters and… English! 🌫️ This is my first time playing Silent Hill 2 Remake on the PS5. As I play, I describe what I see and stop to explain the words, phrases and pronunciation that come up.
Below you'll find the four best teaching moments of the stream with an interactive script: tap any line and the video jumps there, and the line being spoken lights up. Then flip the vocabulary cards and try the exercises. You'll get instant feedback and a score.
▶️ Watch and read along
Groping around in the fog
- James: It’s like someone’s <mark>groping around</mark> my skull.
- Alex: Interesting, wasn’t it? He said <mark>groping</mark>, coming from the verb <mark>grope</mark>.
- Alex: So, grope can mean to feel with your hands, especially in order to find or move towards something when you cannot see easily.
- Alex: “She groped for her glasses on the bedside table.” No, I don’t think it’s that meaning.
- Alex: Okay, look at this one. This is the meaning:
- Alex: grope, in the sense of searching for something you cannot see or find easily, especially by feeling with your hands. That is the one.
- Angela: I’m sorry. I was just…
- James: Hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m kind of lost.
- Angela: Lost?
- James: Yeah. I’m looking for Silent Hill. Is this the right way?
- Angela: Um, yeah. It’s hard to see with this <mark>fog</mark>, but there’s only the one road. You can’t miss it.
- James: Thanks.
- Angela: But I think you should <mark>stay away</mark>.
- Angela: This town, there’s something wrong with it. And it’s not just the fog, either.
- James: Is it dangerous?
- Angela: Maybe.
- Angela: It’s kind of hard to explain, but…
- James: I’ll be careful.
- Angela: I’m not lying.
- James: No, I believe you. It’s just… I guess I don’t really care if it’s dangerous or not. I’m going <mark>either way</mark>.
- Angela: But why?
- James: I’m looking for… someone. Someone very important to me.
- Angela: Me, too. I’m looking for my mama. I mean, my mother. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her.
- Angela: I thought my father and brother were here, but I can’t find them either.
- Angela: I’m sorry. It’s not your problem.
- James: No, I hope you find them.
- Angela: Yeah, you too.
- Game: Did you want anything else?
- Game: No, it’s just this fog. Does it seem <mark>unsettling</mark> to you?
Squeeze through
- Alex: <mark>Squeeze through</mark>. That’s a great expression. Squeeze through.
- Alex: And it’s very common in American and British English, you know: squeeze through.
- Alex: So to <mark>squeeze through</mark> means to get in, right?
- Alex: Let me give you an example: “She squeezed through the crowd and found a seat at the front.”
- Alex: So this is to get in place with difficulty, you know.
British pronunciation: the intrusive R
- James: Is this what I saw in the fog?
- James: Whatever it is, it’s not human.
- Alex: Okay. So, let’s focus on what James just said. He said, “Is this what I saw in the fog?”
- Alex: That’s very interesting because in American English, in that case, you would usually say “saw in the fog”.
- Alex: But in British English, or standard southern British English, the most you would usually hear is “sawr in the fog”, with an <mark>intrusive R</mark>.
- Alex: The Brits don’t like vowels getting together, you know, bumping into each other. But the Americans have no problem with that.
- Alex: That’s why the Brits would say “Is this what I sawr in the fog?”, just like they say “lawr and order”.
- Alex: So yeah: “sawr in the fog”.
Eerie: the perfect word for Silent Hill
- Alex: Yeah, I did enjoy it. It’s quite interesting, isn’t it? It’s quite a <mark>creepy</mark> game.
- Alex: It’s a bit more intense than Resident Evil 2, isn’t it? The atmosphere is more <mark>eerie</mark>.
- Alex: Eerie is a great adjective to describe this game.
- Alex: So <mark>eerie</mark> means strange in a frightening and mysterious way.
- Alex: Strange in a frightening and mysterious way. Let’s read these two examples.
- Alex: “She heard the eerie noise of the wind howling through the trees.”
- Alex: This is a collocation of eerie. It’s usually used with feeling: <mark>an eerie feeling</mark>.
- Alex: “He had the eerie feeling that he had met this stranger before.”
- Alex: “Walking through the endless fog in Silent Hill 2, I got an eerie feeling that something was watching me, even though the streets were empty.”
- Alex: So, even though the streets were empty, I got an eerie feeling that something was watching me. Does that make sense to you?
Short excerpts are quoted for teaching purposes; all rights belong to their owners.
Want to watch the whole stream from the start? It’s on my YouTube channel: My First Time Playing Silent Hill 2 Remake.
🃏 Words from this episode
- eerie: strange in a frightening and mysterious way
- creepy: making you feel nervous or a bit scared
- unsettling: making you feel uneasy, worried or uncomfortable
- fog: thick cloud close to the ground that makes it hard to see
- grope (around): search for something you can’t see, by feeling with your hands
- squeeze through: get into or through a narrow place, with difficulty
- abandoned: left empty; nobody uses it or lives there any more
- stay away: don’t go near a place or a person
- due to: because of; it introduces the reason
- get something fixed: get someone else to fix it for you (get + object + past participle)
- intrusive R: an /r/ sound British speakers add between two vowel sounds
🔗 Exercise 1: Match the word to its meaning
- eerie
- grope (around)
- squeeze through
- unsettling
- abandoned
- due to
- stay away
✍️ Exercise 2: Fill the gap
- “It’s like someone’s ___ around my skull.”
- “But I think you should ___ away.”
- “No, it’s just this fog. Does it seem ___ to you?”
- “She ___ through the crowd and found a seat at the front.”
- “He had the ___ feeling that he had met this stranger before.”
- “It’s quite a ___ game.”
- “…went to town to get the window ___.”
🔽 Exercise 3: Pick the right word
- “It’s hard to see with this ___, but there’s only the one road.”
- “Area closed off ___ an accident.”
- “This place really looks ___.”
- “Look around to find objects marked by white ___.”
- “I guess I don’t really care if it’s dangerous or not. I’m going ___ way.”
🧠 Exercise 4: Quick quiz
- In standard southern British English, how does “Is this what I saw in the fog?” usually sound?
- “…went to town to <b>get the window fixed</b>.” What does this mean?
- Which collocation with <b>eerie</b> did I highlight?
- “Area closed off <b>due to</b> an accident.” <i>Due to</i> means…
- Why does James keep going to Silent Hill even though it might be dangerous?
- What does Angela say about the road to Silent Hill?
Which horror game should I play next? Tell me in the comments on YouTube, and see you in the next episode! 🦇
Alex