so you've reached an intermediate level
of english have you congratulations
you've done well but now comes the
difficult part getting from intermediate
to fluent because that's a whole new
level
years of study years of practice and you
just don't have the time
do you want to spend your evenings
your days
studying english when you could be doing
more interesting things like
watching
tv series on your favorite streaming
platform
or
defrosting the fridge or just staring
into space
if only you could get fluent in just 15
minutes if only there were such a video
on youtube which could help you do that
without all the hard work well here it
is
today on learning talk tv we've got
seven ways you can sound fluent
right now even if you're definitely
not
follow these rules and you will fool
anyone
maybe not for a long time but at least
for a few minutes and sometimes that's
all you need
we've got
some advanced vocabulary
some grammar
some expressions
some binomial pairs
whatever they are
some british slang and some
filler words which
fill things
and
much more to send your english
skyrocketing so if you want to become
fluent and persist with your indolent
unproductive lifestyle then
let's go
let's start with bitter words because
some fluent speakers use more filler
words than actual words filler words are
those words and expressions that you put
into your dialogue that don't have any
meaning they just give you a little
space when you're
thinking words such as like
kind of
sort of
you know
well
i know i should clean the bathroom but
i'm sort of
you know
busy with stuff i kind of feel like i
want to
well you know
do something now some people say that
it's not good using these
filler words but i disagree of course
using them every other word is bad but
when you need to pause to take a couple
of seconds to think about something to
reflect about what you're going to say
next especially if english is not your
first language and you need those extra
few moments
to think these filler words are useful
what is bad is when people say
uh
you end up sounding like a
demented
sea lion
anyway i think we should take the
uh
train at tomorrow afternoon okay that
sounds terrible that's terrible so don't
say
uh but using filler words
with moderation
they are fine and you will be perceived
as a more confident english speaker
and make you sound
kind of
you know fluent next we have mild
swearing not to be confused with
actual swearing now a lot of
intermediate and even beginners know the
english swear words you know [ __ ] [ __ ]
but unless you are close to the people
you're talking to don't use them or if
you are using them don't use them too
much it just sounds boring and annoying
to hear
[ __ ] all the time even though i've
already used that word
uh twice in
30 seconds however what native speakers
do is sprinkle
mild swear words that don't offend
anybody or at least nobody living in the
21st century and psychologists have
shown that mild swearing adds a little
spice
a little passion to your language and if
you use them wisely
you will be perceived as more persuasive
and
as i said you won't offend anyone
well let's look at a few examples of
mild swear words and expressions in
british english so we have bloody damn
hell hellever heaven
god for god's sake jesus blimey
you might notice that many of these are
blasphemies so don't use them at your
bible study group coffee morning
otherwise it's okay
here are some examples
this is a bloody good video isn't it who
the hell put sugar in my coffee was it
you perkins get out you're fired after
heaven's sake you're driving me crazy
i may be bloody arrogant but i'm the
best damned salesman this company has
ever known
blimey how did you finish that so
quickly
blimey by the way stands for blind me
and it's heard a lot in the uk
especially in london
and in australia i believe what in god's
name are you doing just standing there
go out and change the damned world
jesus that was amazing i've had a hell
of a day i'm glad it's over so start
using mild swearing combined it with
filler words and now you're really
starting to sound
fluent well bloody hell that was you
know amazing
next a bit of grammar for you what i've
chosen for you today is the emphatic do
it's extremely useful and we use it
frequently when you use it your english
will sound subtle and more nuanced so
how do we use it so sometimes we use do
in an affirmative sentence before a verb
to make it sound
stronger
usually verbs of opinion
and emotion
like
hope
want believe
know
feel
don't of course you we we're using
negatives anyway but we use do in
positive sentences to make them
more emphatic
for example
i hope to see you soon becomes i do hope
to see you soon
i do believe that you should eat more
vegetables
i do like a little glass of
sherry in the evening i do want to move
to the city center but rents are so
expensive
yes
i do know how you feel often learners of
english will
use really
instead of do but it's not quite the
same really is an intensifier but do is
just a bit more subtle and sounds more
natural and just makes your phrase
stronger you can also put do in front of
an imperative for extra politeness
do sit down is better than please sit
down which sounds to me like an order
please sit down and start your work but
you can use synthetic do to make your
order sound
stronger but here it's not so polite do
go away
do leave me alone i do hope you'll use
it but now let's move on to my next tip
use words of
anglo-saxon origin
yes that's right english vocabulary is a
mix of french
and latin greek and old english also
called
anglo-saxon while the words of french
origin tend to be precise
and perfect like the words perfect and
precise and origin the anglo-saxon words
tend to be more
meaty and gritty and raw and strong
like grit and meat and raw and strong
and
to help you out i've got a few words of
anglo-saxon origin but do
do a search on google if you want a
longer list so instead of saying
probability
say likelihood
what's the likelihood of seeing a
unicorn on oxford street
well pretty slim actually instead of
doubt use qualms
she's the girl for me definitely
definitely
well
i do have a few qualms actually
instead of change you could use upheaval
i moved home i moved country and i got a
new girlfriend yes there has been a lot
of
upheaval in my life
recently
instead of mix you could use jumbo
i've got so many brilliant ideas but
they are all
jumbled up in my head and i can't think
of anything
you could use the word crave to talk
about a strong want
or
desire yes i crave this opportunity to
use my immense
talent
if you want to know more about the
origins of english words do check out
this
fascinating video i made up here
now some expressions i've chosen some
expressions that you can use in everyday
situations we don't want anything
obscure or rarely used we want
expressions that everyone understands
and that you can use them all the time
and make you sound fluent and here are
five of them
chop chop instead of hurry up say chop
chop we're leaving five minutes and
you're still in your pajamas chop chop
hold your horses which is kind of the
opposite of chop shop when somebody's
moving too fast or making a decision
too fast
you can
tell to slow down with hold your horses
hold your horses why do we have to leave
in five minutes the train doesn't leave
for three hours
instead of i'll think about it say i'll
chew it over
you want us to leave the city and go
and live in a village in the mountains
well i'm not sure but i'll chew it over
fat chance
fat chance actually means
no chance
do you think you and doris will get back
together
that chance instead of saying it makes
me angry
say it gets my goat or the thing you are
talking about gets your goat
for example
what really gets my goat or those big
corporations that don't pay any taxes
moving on now we have binomial pairs
these are two word expressions with a
conjunction between them that people
frequently use to express a simple idea
for example
let's wait and see i'm sure you already
know that one it's a binomial because
you say wait and see and not
see and
wait
and these are used extensively in
everyday conversation and i'm only going
to give you
five
but if you want more then we have a
video with
60 of them yes 60 which is more than
five if my
math serves me right so
definitely check that one out first and
foremost this just means the first thing
and the most important thing you might
say this when you're speaking to a group
of people for example
well first and foremost i just want to
say what a pleasure it is to see you
here again after all this time
short and sweet you say this when you
tell another person or a group that you
are only going to speak briefly on a
subject
i've got a lot to say on this matter but
i'm going to keep it short and sweet
it's over
by and large and this means on the whole
for the most part so for example by and
large it was a good film
but i thought the ending was
unconvincing
actually the beginning didn't make sense
either
and the middle bit was pretty boring
sick and tired now this is another way
of saying fed up when something annoying
has repeated again and again and again
i'm sick and tired of hearing your
excuses
just do what you have to do
aches and pains this means minor
discomfort or pain
nothing serious though for example i
fell off my bicycle and i suffered a few
aches and pains but i'll be okay in a
couple of days
british slang no conversation would be
complete without a few choice words of
british slang
we use slang so that we're perceived as
insiders within a social group or
culture rather than someone who has
learnt english at school or from books
so it's important to know a few to help
you sound more
credible and more like like a local here
are a few extremely common british ones
you can use at any moment
mug this is a gullible person someone
who believes anything and as a result
makes stupid decisions you put all your
life savings into a unicorn farm in
patagonia
oh you're such a mug
bollocks this is a bit sweary
but it's so common i had to include it
it just means
nonsense okay
you saw a unicorn on oxford street
i don't believe you you're talking
bollocks you can also use it to express
anger or frustration
ah bollocks i just dropped my phone in
the
toilet
knackered
this just means very tired
i've worked 60 hours this week i'm
knackered i'm going to bed
chuffed
this means delighted or extremely happy
for example i was chuffed to discover
this video and now i'm
fluent in british english without
getting off the sofa
and here's one slang expression i can't
be asked okay which is a more british
way of saying i can't be bothered should
we walk down the stairs
no i can't be asked let's take the lift
but it's only two flaws
now you speak fluent british english you
can put it all together in one sentence
well you know what you have to do first
and foremost is to say something damned
impressive and your listeners will be
kind of craving for more and i do hope
you can do that and well
well you know
what looks i do hope you enjoyed that
video stay mellow see you next time
bye