Hello and welcome to LetThemTalkTV my name is Gideon and today we've got the 400k subscriber
q and a yes that's right it's the first time I've done a q a like this and 400k that's a
lot of subscribers although probably some of them are bots and maybe some people have two accounts
and maybe some people are dead some people don't come here anymore so less than that
but nevertheless a hefty sum and thank you all for subscribing and watching these videos
and I've got quite a lot of questions and some of them are about the channel some of them are
grammar questions quite a lot so I won't be able to answer all the questions in this video,
I'll likely make another video with some more of your grammar questions because this video is going
to be about I don't know 10 to 12 minutes long because that's what youtube wants and as you know
most of my important life decisions are based around the vagaries of the youtube algorithm.
So let's start with the first question and I've got two questions of a similar nature so I'll
try and tackle them together one is from Be Kind who asks “thank you for your informative content
my question is how did you start teaching English” and also from Anna Maria Tudorache
and she wants to know how to be a good teacher what are the qualities of a good teacher OK and
let's look at that. So how did I start? Well, kind of by accident really. I was in London doing some
boring jobs. I decided I wanted to spend some time away, and went over to Spain. I was offered
a job as an English teacher and I ran with it. I took the ball and I ran with it. I haven't always
been a teacher by the way. I worked in the IT industry for many years but I've returned to it
quite a few years ago and how to be a good teacher? well what you need to do is
teach for 15 years and then make 170 youtube videos on English grammar, English vocabulary
and I promise you'll be a good teacher. No, seriously I think there's a bit more to that
and that's it different. Everyone's got their own opinion. I think, know the subject,
be a good listener, realize that not every student every pupil is the same try and adapt, try and be
understanding and encouraging and be constantly learning and enjoy it.
OK next question Mercantile Howard. OK “Hello congratulations. How many languages do you speak?
how do you learn them, which languages would you like to learn I should say I'm not,
I don't claim to be I'm an English teacher I don't claim to be a super polyglot or anything like that
having said I do speak Spanish and French having lived in both countries also intermediate Italian
and I've been learning Japanese for many many years but shall we say it's quite a low level.
I'm not one of those people who thinks it's important to speak lots of languages
I'd prefer to speak... even speaking two languages your own and another language really well is a lot
and to speak two foreign languages that's amazing but I honestly I wouldn't even want to speak
15 or 20 languages because I don't really believe it I think it's fake
I think just to know language really well it takes 10 years and I prefer to learn two or three
maybe really well. Ones I'd like to learn all of them really all of that I'm not
I wouldn't like to learn all of them I'm interested in all languages but I suppose
because I've studied you know French and Italian and Spanish feel quite similar I like
do something different so I enjoy Japanese and maybe I don't know is there something
not Indo-European and the Chinese sounds good a tonal language or Korean or Arabic
something like that. OK let's move on to a couple of grammar questions because you know I do like
the grammar questions. Where should I start? thank you shamaswandadasv you've asked this question
many, many, times many times and I thank you for your patience and you want to know the difference
between having vs have had I'm not exactly sure what you mean I think you mean starting
a sentence with having how does that work? So using having plus a past participle to talk about
completed events OK and sometimes they're used for recently completed events. For example
“having closed the door I realized that I had forgotten my keys” of course you could say
“I closed the door and then I realized that I had forgotten my keys” and both are correct I
guess they're having one it gives it it sounds a bit more immediate and maybe it's better in
storytelling but it's just a style thing both both are grammatically correct. And in a similar way so
you can also use it to talk about past experiences that are relevant to the moment so for example
“having lived on a farm for many years I know what a cow looks like.” OK of course you could say
“I've lived on a farm for many years so I know what a cow looks like” but, as I said, not much
difference but the first example gives more impact to the story and just to give you the negative
you can you all you do is put NOT before the HAVING ‘not having been
to moscow I can't give you much advice about where to go.’ OK so I haven't been to moscow
so I can't give you much advice so you could use both. A nuance of a difference
Bintu Jala “how to be confident and get rid of nervousness.” I'm assuming you're
talking about speaking English here I wouldn't talk about generally maybe someone else can
comment on that but speak English well it's normal it's normal to lack confidence and be nervous
when you're speaking in a foreign language, it's completely normal, you're not alone.
Everyone feels that way I still feel that way when I'm speaking a foreign language but just
come out of your comfort zone step by step trying to do do something that you wouldn't normally do
step by step make improvements try something that you haven't done before and it's a gradual process
it won't happen overnight but you'll see take small incremental steps and you will improve.
the dry xxa which grammar topics would you call essential for communication?
I don't know I don't know - all of them, I don't think you could just omit grammar. I mean
just learn a little bit of grammar whatever it is something learn something that you
don't know and just do it that way don't think about this grammar is not necessary and this
grammar is necessary I'm not sure that's a good approach and next one pussycat lover. Hello there
OK you're chuffed that we've reached this milestone and the difference between one at
a time and one by one OK you made me think about this one I have to think about this
I did try to google it I didn't find the answer I've thought about it and this is my answer OK so
one at a time means that there is an interval or there could possibly be an interval between the
things that you're doing and one by one will be that it happens directly one and then again and
then again and then again it's easy if I give you some examples. So I've got I know ten doughnuts
and I'm going to eat them one by one which would mean this one and then I take this
one then take this one and one at a time means today I'm gonna eat the chocolate one
tomorrow I'm gonna eat the strawberry one and so on so forth so that's why in a shop
you'd let people in and during the covid times you could let people enter the shop
one at a time not one by one so you come in and then then let next one but if you think one by
one it means there's a long line of people and they're all in a continuous stream walking in but
there's just one file so maybe people are using it interchangeably but I think that's kind of
the nuance of leaning I'm using the word nuance a bit too much these days.
how to learn prepositions and the articles these two things are killing my English fluency journey
I like the way you say that I'm not sure it's true congratulations 400k
well as as you know we do have videos on prepositions and articles having said that these
are you're right these are the two most difficult things for for an English teacher too because
there are some rules but there are inconsistencies and with prepositions you got to learn every case
articles not quite there are rules of articles but they're long and complicated the best way,
of course, is to read a lot talk to listen a lot and gradually you'll pick it up that way
that is that's honestly the best way you can learn some rules and other grammar of course
you can learn the rules it's very fixed you know it but this it's a bit more difficult so and I
think even native speakers with prepositions even native speakers will sometimes have a doubt about
do we say in or on in this situation I can't think of any examples at the moment but
I'm sorry I've been in that situation at times so so don't worry too much just just
you know carry on with your English fluency journey and you will you will have reached
your destination eventually but enjoy the journey just the same. well that's it for today
I'm I haven't finished so if you're if you're not on the list don't worry I'll
I'll return to this another day but I think it's giving you a few things to mull over
so I'll just say ever thanks again everyone watching the channel and have a beautiful day