hey there I'm Emma from English I've got
an interesting lesson for you today
especially if you're an intermediate
English learner and you're transitioning
to being an advanced English learner or
English user that leap is one that
requires more than just detailed
knowledge about the words and the
grammar structures that we use in
English
it also requires an awareness of tone
and register so that you can choose the
most appropriate words for the context
so here's the thing if you've been
trained in academic or in business
English well the chances are that you've
become quite used to expressing yourself
with formal language well this lesson is
one that you really need to watch
because I'm going to share four words
that are not appropriate for relaxed and
informal conversations but they're words
that my English students use all the
time in everyday conversation so stay
tuned
[Music]
every time that you speak with someone
you're using language to create and to
build relationships social relationships
with your neighbors professor with your
clients or customers anyone
communicating information is an
important part of speaking obviously but
you can do so much more than that and
you really should because it's this
extra stuff that helps you to become a
friendly and memorable person in English
conversations if the language that you
use is not appropriate to the context
then your meaning and even your
character can be a little misunderstood
if you're too formal well you can
accidentally make people feel
uncomfortable perhaps they might even
think you're being a little rude and
equally if you use informal language in
a situation where you really need to use
formal language well you might not be
taken seriously and perhaps you might
even be overlooked so recognizing the
context in which you're speaking and
choosing the appropriate language for
that context is an important skill for
advanced English users so what is
context you probably hear your English
teachers using this word all the time
context refers to whatever is going on
around you at that moment where are you
what's happening who are you talking to
all of these things help to create the
context and the context helps us to know
what type of words and what type of
grammar structures are relevant and
appropriate for that situation
now you might assume that your workplace
is a professional context right so
formal language is always required but
it's not as simple as that if you work
in an office then yes using formal
language with customers and clients is
essential if you're talking to your boss
or someone high up in the company well
again
you want to be using more formal
language to sound more impressive and
more intelligent
however using formal language all the
time doesn't make you very approachable
or relatable and it can make you seem a
little stiff or a little dull and all
the time you'll want to build
relationships with your colleagues the
people you work with right so you'll
want to relax your tone a little make a
joke don't take yourself so seriously
even if you get along well with your
boss or some clients then using informal
language can also help you to build
relationships with them it helps them to
feel more comfortable with you and want
to speak with you more this is
definitely how many professional working
environments operate in english-speaking
countries like Australia and the US and
the UK it's really important to have
these informal conversations with your
colleagues to help them feel relaxed and
really comfortable around you to enjoy
their time with you so I've made my case
now let's focus on the four common words
that are not appropriate for casual
relaxed conversations I'll talk about
when they're appropriate but I'll also
give you some alternatives to use to
help you sound more relaxed and less
formal in other situations when you want
to add more information well you've been
taught to use words like furthermore and
moreover right now these words are great
to use when you're writing an essay or
if you're giving a presentation or
you're trying to support your argument
in a debate they're brilliant words but
you will rarely hear native English
speakers using them in everyday
conversation because they're just too
formal for conversational English I was
at my favorite Indian restaurant a few
days ago and they have a few new things
on the menu and I wanted to find out a
little more about the dishes so when I
asked the waiter and she's absolutely
gorgeous she was telling me we have some
new vegetable dishes
moreover the lamb curry is really
delicious this is a really formal way to
add
more information it sounds really odd
given the context it's much better to
use informal language we have some new
vegetable dishes and the lamb curry is
really delicious as well although you
might think that using more intelligent
words is always better it's just not as
simple as that
there are times when simpler and less
formal words are much more appropriate
so let's talk about some alternatives
that you can use instead of moreover and
furthermore now these words add extra
information or more important
information right so instead you could
use words like besides or in addition to
as well also or to plus what's more and
on top of that I think it will make a
lot more sense with some examples we had
a great conversation furthermore we've
decided to meet later in the week we
have a great conversation we decided
we'd meet later in the week to much more
relaxed much better texting while
driving is really dangerous moreover
it's illegal in Australia texting while
driving is really dangerous what's more
it's illegal in Australia we have enough
time to get something to eat before the
show moreover I'm hungry we have enough
time to get something to eat before the
show besides I'm hungry
my friend was late for the movie
furthermore he forgot his wallet and I
had to pay my friend was late for the
movie and on top of that he forgot his
wallet and I had to pay learning how to
use these less formal alternatives is a
little tricky because not all of them
work well in every situation you do need
to get a little bit of feedback from the
native English speaker to learn when
it's appropriate to use the
correctly you could take classes with an
online language school like lingo de all
their teachers are native teachers so
they can definitely help you with some
of these little nuances in language any
native teacher or native speaker will be
able to tell you when it's appropriate
to use moreover and furthermore and also
when it's not but we can practice
together here to take a look at this
sentence right here so what I want you
to do is pause the lesson for a moment
and try to rewrite that sentence in a
more casual way as if you were just
chatting with a friend write your
sentence down in the comments below I'll
try to check it and make sure that
you're using it correctly we use this
word to introduce a consequence or
result and again this is a brilliant
word when you're structuring an essay or
you're making an argument it's also
brilliant in presentations or in a
formal speeches but it usually sounds a
little weird if you use it in everyday
conversation it's just too formal let's
look at an example we're visiting a
cathedral therefore you'll need to make
sure your shoulders are covered we're
visiting a cathedral so you'll need to
make sure your shoulders are covered
quite a few people haven't replied yet
and their names therefore will be
removed from the guest list quite formal
quite a few people haven't replied yet
so their names have been removed from
the guest list it's that simple when
you're trying to be a little less formal
simply use so instead of their for now I
want you to try pause the video for a
minute and write your sentence below in
the comments
we use this word to contrast now however
is used a little more often in spoken
English but again it's quite formal so
it can make you sound a little stiff in
a relaxed and casual conversation can
you guess what the less formal
alternative might be I think you'll be
able to guess this one especially if you
have an example there's an awesome
Italian restaurant around the corner
however there are many other restaurants
nearby so if you're talking to a friend
or a colleague especially one that you
know well however can feel a little
jarring in this sentence it's
unnecessarily formal so can you guess
what the informal word might be it's but
there's an awesome Italian restaurant
around the corner but there are many
other restaurants nearby the cost of
fuel has been rising it's unlikely
however that it will go much higher the
cost of fuel has been rising but it's
unlikely that it'll go much higher so
there you have it I'm often talking
about expanding and broadening your
English vocabulary and of course this is
absolutely necessary to move from an
intermediate to advanced English user
but I hope that this lesson made it
clear that more formal and more complex
advanced words are not always better if
you've got any questions about this
lesson or you want to practice some
sentences with me down below go ahead
add them to the comments down there and
I think we're done you can connect with
me on my socials down here Facebook and
Instagram and if you want to keep
practicing with me we'll check out this
one right here I'll see you in there