I'm Neil.

Sam: And I'm Sam.

Neil: Now Sam, I assume that

you know your alphabet.

Sam: Of course, Neil - you mean

my ABCs? We learn that at

a very young age, you know?

Neil: Sorry to sound patronising.

But you do you know why the letters

in the alphabet

are in that particular order?

Sam: No, I don't.

That's really interesting, why?

Neil: I don't know either. I was hoping you

might! But seriously, no one really knows

how the order became established.

However, some research has shown

that if your surname,

your family name, begins with

a letter later in the alphabet, you could be

at a disadvantage

at school and in life. Before we get

into that though, a question.

Where does the alphabet

come from in its earliest form? Was it...

a) Ancient Egypt, b) Ancient Greece, or

c) Ancient Rome?

What do you think, Sam?

Sam: Well, we refer to the

English alphabet as having Roman

characters, so I'm going with

Ancient Rome.

Neil: OK. I'll have the answer later in the

programme. In the BBC radio programme

Fry's English Delight there was a feature

about the alphabet and how

it can have a negative impact on your

school life. Can you remember all those

years ago when you were at school?

What's the first thing that the teacher

would do at the beginning of the day?

Sam: She would take the register - or that's

what we call it in the UK. You can also call it

the roll call.

Neil: Yes, this is when the teacher calls out

the names of the students to check

that they are all there. This is where

the problem starts, according to,

ironically, Professor

Jeffrey Zax, from the University of

Colorado. The further down that list

your name is, the less noticed you are

by the teacher. Why is that?

Here's Professor Zax.

Professor Jeffrey Zax: When it begins,

people are paying attention.

As it proceeds, first the people who are

already called, they no longer have any

need to take things seriously.

And the people who are waiting to be

called, their attention is wandering

as well. And so as you make your way

through the roll call somehow the

intensity of the engagement diminishes.

Neil: So what is the problem?

Sam: Well, it's a lot to do with

paying attention.

This means concentrating on something.

At the beginning of the roll call everyone

is paying attention - they are

quiet and listening.

But after the first names are called,

those students don't need

to pay attention any more.

Neil: So they lose a bit of interest in what

comes next, and the students later in the

list are also now distracted and

the teacher, him or herself, is

not so focussed.

Sam: And by the end of the list

the relationship between the teacher

and the students whose names are

being called later is not as strong

as those at the beginning of the list.

Neil: Professor Zax describes this

by saying that the intensity of the

engagement diminishes.

Diminishes means 'gets weaker', and

the intensity of the engagement is the

strength of the communication, the

level of enthusiasm for being involved.

So this is the start of the disadvantage

which can subtly affect students

throughout their school years and after.

This was discovered after some

research in the US in the 1950s.

So, what were these disadvantages?

Here's Professor Zax again.

Professor Jeffrey Zax: They were less

likely to have enjoyed their

high school courses,

graduate from college if they applied.

They were more likely to drop out.

They had first jobs in occupations that

paid less. They were more likely to go

to the military and they were more

likely to have jobs whose

prestige was lower

Neil: So what disadvantages

did they have?

Sam: Well, Professor Zax says that

the research showed they enjoyed

school less, were less

successful academically and

more likely to drop out of college

or university. This means that they

left the course before it was finished.

Neil: And he also said that they were more

likely to find jobs that had

a lower prestige.

This means the jobs weren't seen

as high status or desirable.

Let's listen again.

Professor Jeffrey Zax: They were less

likely to have enjoyed their

high school courses, graduate from

college if they applied. They were more

likely to drop out. They had first

jobs in occupations that paid less.

They were more likely to go to

the military and they were more

likely to have jobs

whose prestige was lower.

Sam: Well, Professor Zax seems

to have done OK. Even with that surname!

Neil: Indeed, I guess this doesn't apply

to everyone. Right, well before we remind

ourselves of our vocabulary, let's get

the answer to the question.

Where does the alphabet come

from in its earliest form? Was it...

a) Ancient Egypt, b) Ancient Greece,

c) Ancient Rome?

Sam, what did you say?

Sam: Pretty sure it's Ancient Rome.

Neil: What does your surname begin with?

Sam: A 'B', actually.

Neil: Well, you are wrong, I'm afraid.

It's actually Ancient Egypt - so

well done to everyone who got that.

OK, now it's time for our vocabulary.

Sam: Yes - to pay attention to something

means to concentrate on something,

to not be distracted.

Neil: Then there was the phrase

the intensity of the engagement

which is another way of saying

the strength of the relationship,

interaction and communication.

Sam: And if your surname comes at

the end of the alphabet you may find

that the intensity of engagement with

the teacher diminishes.

Diminishes means gets weaker.

Neil: If you drop out from a course,

it means that you leave it before

it's finished.

Sam: And the prestige of a job is the

respect it has. If it is seen as

important or desirable

then it has higher prestige.

Neil: OK, thank you, Sam. That's all from

6 Minute English. We hope you can

join us again soon.

You can find us at

bbclearningenglish online, on social

media and on our app. Bye for now!

Sam: Bye bye everyone!