Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
Have you ever forgotten the words that you just learned in English? Let's talk about it.
Imagine that you're working hard studying English. You're watching my lessons. You're reading books.
You're watching movies. Then you go to have a conversation in English and your mind is blank.
All of these wonderful vocabulary words that you just learned have gone in one ear and out the
other. Has that ever happened to you? Well, if it has, first of all, you're not alone. This can be
really scary and feel disappointing. You work so hard, so why can't you remember these words? Well,
never fear. Today, I want to give you a plan to help you remember what you've learned. Of course,
like always, I have created a free PDF worksheet for you that you can download right now. It will
include all of these tricks for remembering words that you want to use in conversations,
all of the sample sentences and at the bottom of the free PDF worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's
challenge question. There's a link in the description and you can download it right now.
All right. So, what is the big trick to remembering words that you want to use
in conversations? The most important thing is to have a lot of input and a lot of output in
different ways. So, I have created four steps and we are going to use each of these four steps today
to help you remember some important phrases. Let's imagine that you want to remember this phrase,
ever since. Maybe you heard me use it in a video. "I found Vanessa's English lesson six months ago,
and I've been passionate about English ever since." Oh, this is a great phrase. You want
to be able to use it too, but when you have an English conversation, you know that you're just
going to forget it. So what can you do? Well, let's go through the four steps so that you
can remember this lovely phrase, ever since. Step number one is to look up the word in a
dictionary. You need to know the basic meaning. I recommend using an English dictionary.
If this is too tricky for you, maybe you are a pretty low beginner, it's okay to use
a translated dictionary. But if you are a little bit above a beginner, if you can understand this
lesson in English, I recommend using an English dictionary. This way you are immersing yourself
in English. So, look it up in the dictionary. In your notebook, write down the definition. "Oh,
ever since means from that moment. Okay. But I need a little bit more than that."
So, you can use a pronunciation dictionary or a dictionary in context, such as this website,
YouGlish. YouGlish is awesome because you can type any phrase and it will find somewhere
that uses this phrase in a video. Beautiful, you've got context, you've got pronunciation,
you've got some kind of interest because there's a topic. So, let's watch a clip from YouGlish,
where you'll see ever since used. Youglish:
Ever since I was probably five years old, I always wanted to work with animals.
Vanessa: Excellent. Now, that you have the definition,
you've watched it on YouGlish, you can make your own sentence in your notebook. So, you might say,
"Ever since I found Vanessa's lessons, I have been passionate about English." Lovely.
Let's go on to step number two, which is to listen for that phrase in movies, TV shows,
or songs. These common phrases come up all the time, so when you can hear them, you'll get
more context for how to use them and you won't forget them. Let's take a look at a quick clip
from a movie called Ernest Saves Christmas, where you'll hear the phrase, ever since. Let's watch.
Actor: Christmas is just about my favorite time.
Ever since I was a little kid, I always felt like it was my own personal holiday.
Christmas is just about my favorite time. Ever since I was a little kid, I always felt like it
was my own personal holiday. Vanessa:
You heard him say, "Ever since I was a little kid, I felt like Christmas was my own personal
holiday." Ever since I was a little kid. So, at that moment, from that moment, he has always
felt like Christmas was his own personal holiday, basically for his whole life. Let's take a look
at this in a song. Unfortunately, I can't play this song for you, because YouTube will have some
problems with my video. But in this Harry Styles song, he says, "I've been praying ever since New
York." Okay, well, he went to New York City and something happened and he has needed to pray from
that moment, from that trip until now. Ever since New York, I've been praying. I've been praying,
ever since New York. Great. You've got more input by finding it, listening for it in media.
Let's go on to step number three. Step number three is to look for this phrase in a book.
Are you noticing a theme here? The more input you have,
the easier it will be to remember this phrase. So, let's take a look at a quote from a book
that uses ever since. I'm going to read this phrase for you here, author Rupi Kapur says,
"I felt like you threw me so far from myself, I've been trying to find my way back
ever since." So he was in a relationship that really made him feel unsteady and
when that relationship ended, he's been trying to find himself again. So, he says, "I've been
trying to find my way back to myself ever since." So, since that person through him so far, it's a
little poetic here, he's been trying to find his way back ever since from that moment. Beautiful.
All right. And step number four is to use it in a conversation. When you have been
focusing on the phrase, ever since, in books, in movies, in TV shows, in YouGlish, in a dictionary,
writing those sentences down, it is in your mind. It is stuck in your mind. So, you can consciously,
this means you make the decision to use this phrase the next time you have a conversation.
So, you might say, "I started watching cartoons in English when I was a child. And I've been excited
about English ever since." If someone asks you, "Oh, your English is pretty good. How did you get
started learning English?" You could use this phrase. "Oh, well, I've been watching cartoons
since I was a kid. And I've been excited about English ever since." From the moment I was a child
until now and it's continuing into the future. Ever since, success,
you have used this phrase in a conversation. All right, now that we've learned ever since,
let's learn a second expression using these four steps, just to help
reinforce how it works. The next expression is, to seal the deal, to seal the deal. You might say,
"Yeah, I've been kind of interested in English for a couple years, but when I found Vanessa's lessons
that sealed the deal." Oh, what could this mean? You might have heard me use this expression in my
videos, but now you want to dig deeper and use it yourself. So, let's follow these four steps.
Step number one is to look it up in the dictionary. So, you look it up in the dictionary
and you see that it means to make something official. It wasn't official before and now
it's official. But how is this really used? So, you look it up on YouGlish to get some ideas.
Let's watch one of those clips. Youglish:
Want to become an astrophysicist? Hopefully this video will seal the deal, either that you
definitely should, or definitely should not. Want to become an astrophysicist? Hopefully
this video will seal the deal, either that you definitely should, or definitely should not.
Vanessa: All right, now you have a little more
context. You've heard the pronunciation. Now, it's time to make your own sentence. You might say,
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to take this English course, but after reading the reviews, that sealed
the deal." It made it official. I decided to join the course. And just a little note, both of these
expressions today, ever since and seal the deal, are expressions that you will learn in my course,
The Fearless Fluency Club. I hope that this review will seal the deal for you. Our member Gely said,
"This is the best course I've ever had." I'm so happy that she found a great course that's
a good fit for her. And I hope it could be a good fit for you too. If you want to express yourself
completely and speak English confidently, expand your vocabulary, this is the place for you.
You'll be able to use real American English vocabulary, so that you can
say exactly what you want to say. You'll be able to use common phrasal verbs for daily life,
so that you can speak like an American. And you'll be able to use American English pronunciation,
so that you can speak clearly and understandably. There is a link in the description where you
can join The Fearless Fluency Club and get a $60 discount, that is in the link in the description.
So, if you want to join in another place, you might pay full price. But if you click the link
in the description, you'll get to save $60. I hope you can join me and thousands of other motivated
English learners in The Fearless Fluency Club. All right, let's continue learning, to seal the
deal, with step number two. Step number two for remembering new words is to listen for that word
or phrase in a movie, a TV show or a song. This expression, to seal the deal, was used in the
famous movie Wedding Crashers. Let's watch a quick clip, listen for the expression, to seal the deal,
and then we'll talk about it. Actor:
This is completely against the rules. You have a wedding and a reception to seal the deal. Period.
Vanessa: You heard a guy,
very emphatically, a little angry, say, "You have a wedding and a reception to seal the deal." Well,
when you get married, it's pretty official, right? And most people in the US will have a wedding,
this is a ceremony, something official, and then a reception, usually there's eating something,
sometimes there's dancing and that seals the deal, that makes it official. You have a wedding and a
reception to seal the deal and you're married. Great. So, let's move on to step number three,
which is to look for this phrase in a book that you're reading. Kerri Walsh used this phrase,
she says, "We want to seal the deal that we are the best team that's ever happened." Okay. They
don't want any doubt in anyone's mind that they are the best team. "We want to seal the
deal that we are the best team." And when you see that phrase in the book, you'll say, "Oh, I know
that phrase, oh, what is that? Seal the deal, seal the deal that we're the best team. There's
no certainty. This is absolutely the way it is. It's official. Yes. I learned that phrase." So,
it's another way to add that to your memory. All right, let's go on to step number four.
Step number four is to use it in a conversation. So, let's imagine that you took a new job.
You might say, "Yeah, I had an interview for a job and I wasn't so sure about it,
but after learning more about the company and meeting the boss and some of the employees,
I decided to seal the deal and join the company." Okay. You decided to take the job. You could say,
"I decided to take the job." Or you could use this beautiful phrase, seal the deal. "I decided
to seal the deal and take the job." Lovely. So, how did you do, I hope that you can
remember those two phrases, ever since and seal the deal, because we followed these four steps.
You can take this knowledge into your English learning and follow these steps with any phrase.
I recommend downloading the free PDF worksheet that goes with this lesson, so that you never
forget these four steps and you can see several examples and sample sentences. At the bottom of
the free PDF worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's challenge question. I hope this will help you to
have some courage in your English as you speak. Well, thank you so much for learning English with
me and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. The next
step is to download the free PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this free PDF, you will master
today's lesson and never forget what you have learned. You can be a confident English speaker.
Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for a free English lesson every Friday, bye.