- Hi there!
I'm your English coach Christina,
and welcome to Speak English with Christina,
where you'll learn about American culture
and business know-how
to become confident in English.
You're learning American English.
Of course you're eager to build your vocabulary.
However, students often overlook
the most common and essential phrases
or chunks of words
that can drastically improve your fluency.
These chunks of words in English
may be referred to as "formulaic expressions."
Now, I know it sounds fancy,
but it's quite simple.
Formulaic expressions are usually fixed.
That means that the words in the phrase
cannot change, otherwise
the meaning behind the expression
wouldn't make sense.
Well, guess what?
Even if you exclusively studied
vocabulary and grammar,
you would still miss the meaning
of these types of expressions.
Why?
Well, because they can't be translated
directly in your mother tongue.
They're figurative.
And such expressions are not translatable
word for word.
And surprise!
These chunks make up between 30% and 50%
of the English language.
So, if you haven't already
started learning these expressions,
perhaps now is a good time.
After all, these essential chunks in English
are truly "insider secrets"
into speaking American English.
Are you ready to learn how to say them
and become more fluent?
Let's go!
One of the most exciting experiences
language learners have is that moment
when you speak without thinking.
This is one of the best things about my job,
being able to see my American English students
spontaneously speak in English
without translating in their native language.
And that's why I created
the Master Real American English program.
In this program, students learn
the techniques to speak spontaneously
with improved pronunciation
so they're understood the first time.
This 3-month course is personally tailored
to your skill level.
After an evaluation, you work one-on-one with a teacher
each week to strengthen your skills.
You also meet with your coach and other students
in the program for a weekly group coaching session.
In addition to that, you get access
for three months of live conversation practice
in my Faster Fluency conversation club,
and of course many more benefits.
The program is a terrific way
to master American English
faster than you ever thought possible.
Let's start with dessert.
Learning essential chunks in American English
will have you sounding fluent fast.
And best of all, it's a piece of cake.
You see what I did there?
This common phrase simply means
"it's easy."
You might say, "Uh, my homework,
"it was a piece of cake."
Or, "That test?
"Piece of cake."
Eating a piece of cake is so simple,
because it's so good,
that you don't even have to think about it.
So when you use this phrase,
"it's like a piece of cake,"
you're saying that the task was very simple.
Similar phrases that you can use
instead of "it's a piece of cake"
are "it's a cinch."
It's a cinch.
Or "it's a walk in the park."
It's a walk in the park.
And these phrases have the same meaning
and of course are interchangeable.
Sounds good.
Or, "sounds good to me."
Like most American English speakers,
I say this expression a lot.
If you've ever worked with me,
you have heard this expression.
And you may already know what these two words mean.
Sounds are the noises that you hear
and good means something of high quality.
But sometimes when I use this phrase
with new English speakers,
they think that I'm commenting on their accent
or their language skills.
However, that is not the case at all.
"Sounds good" simply implies agreement.
It means "yeah, that's right,"
or "let's do that,"
or "I agree,"
or "I like your suggestion."
And "sounds good" is more colloquial,
more natural, more casual
and more friendly than "I agree."
The expression to "cut corners" means
to take a shortcut or to skip steps
that might reduce the quality
of the finished product.
For example.
"I know that they really cut corners
"when they created that product
"and in the result, the product
"was really not that great."
So that means that,
when they created the product,
maybe they used cheaper materials,
they didn't invest in so much research and development,
they used, you know, inexperienced workers
to build the product, and in the end,
cutting corners meant that they had
a bad quality product.
Now, you can cut corners in a lot of different things,
like you can cut corners on a recipe
by not adding all of the ingredients
or using bad quality ingredients.
Or you can cut corners when you are
filing your taxes, for example,
but I wouldn't recommend that!
"No worries" is a very common colloquial phrase
in American English.
It means "everything's fine,"
or "no harm done."
How would you use "no worries"?
Well, if your friend is late meeting you
they may say, "Oh, sorry I'm late!
"The bus was running late."
A typical response is "no worries."
Or if you, like, bump into someone on the subway
and you might say, "Oh, sorry"
and the other person says, "No worries."
"No worries" is a slang phrase
that you would use in very informal situations,
with friends, acquaintances, or strangers.
However, depending on your work
and your relationship, it might not be
appropriate with clients or with your boss.
It depends.
But use your best judgment.
Now, the last two common expressions
that I'm gonna talk about
are more flexible than the other examples.
You can change the pronouns
depending on the subject.
For example, "on my way"
is very common in American English.
It means that you are in the process
of going from one place to another.
And you may say "on my way back from work."
Or "on her way back from work."
Or "on his way back from work."
You can also say "on the way to work."
Or, "We're on our way."
And there are lots of possibilities with this one.
And if you can master it,
you will be on your way
to better fluency.
"Take your time" is also very flexible
and very common.
It implies not hurrying something.
"Take your time" is the same as saying
"don't worry, you don't need to rush."
So you might say to a client,
"I'll send you a quote right after this call."
and they might say, "Yeah sure, take your time,
"there is no rush!"
Other examples.
You can take your time on a phone call.
She can take her time at the gym.
They can take their time shopping.
Really, the possibilities are endless
with this one.
Now, how about you?
What other common expressions,
or chunks, or formulaic expressions,
do you already know in English
and that you've heard many times
from Americans or other native speakers?
Share your ideas in the comments below.
And you can actually teach someone else
something in English.
And, remember, if you're a busy professional
who needs to level up your fluency,
but you find it difficult to do it alone,
let me help you, with Master Real American English.
It's a 3-month coaching program
in which my team and I empower you
to express yourself fluently and naturally,
so that people focus on your professional skills
and your expertise, not on your level of English.
For more information, click on the link below
in the show notes, where you can apply
to join this program today.
Thank you so much for learning English
with Speak English with Christina,
and I'll see you next time!