hi everybody and I mean everybody and welcome to
another full English lesson I have so many things to show you today we have no
time to do the introduction you might say that I'm pressed for time I'm
working against the clock I'm on a tight schedule I don't have much time so
without any more hanging about let's get on with today's full English
lesson which will start around about...
now!
what is the hardest part of learning English is it the learning of new words
maybe the grammar used in English is what leaves you the most confused
perhaps you feel too shy to use English in front of other people learning
anything new can be quite daunting you might feel intimidated by all the new
words all of the grammar rules and even after you have mastered those then you
have to use the language with other people I think it would be fair to say
that speaking a new language for the first time might make you feel nervous
but there is no need to fear as this is completely normal if you want to improve
your spoken English then why not practice doing it by yourself speaking
in front of other people can be very scary so first of all you need to get
used to the idea of doing it it may seem like a strange thing to do but
practicing in front of a mirror is a great way to build some of that initial
confidence get used to your own mannerisms and ways of showing what you
are saying facial expressions and body language are just as important as the
words you are saying conversation relies as much on eye contact and body movement
as the things being said if you happen to have one of these wonderful devices
or one of these wonderful devices then you are well on your way to improving
your vocal technique using a recording device can help you to get accustomed or
used to the sound of your own voice it might feel a little strange hearing
yourself at first but after a while you will begin to enjoy it and your
confidence will slowly build I suggest you start off with some simple words and
sentences and as you listen to the sound of your own voice you will be able to
hear where there may be some problems
one common problem which can arise concerns the speed of your speech there
is no need to rush what you are saying give the listener a chance to hear your
words of course you must also speak clearly so don't rush and don't mumble
once you feel confident enough you can move on to speaking with other people
get a few of your friends together or members of your family or even your
classmates to listen this will allow you to get used to speaking in front of
other people and over time your confidence will grow
if you have no one to practice with why not join an English language group if
there isn't one why not create your own
are you an adventurous person do you ever get the urge to seek adventure an
adventurous person might look for excitement and fun in unusual places a
young person might be considered more adventurous than someone much older
although these days that stereotype of the elderly staying indoors all the time
is fast becoming a thing of the past there are adventure holidays which cater
for people of all ages disposable income among those of later years has led to a
boom in a world travel among those who have already retired ocean cruising
around the world whilst visiting the ports of call is now proving very
popular amongst the retired the phrase port of call simply means the place
where you've stopped at a place where a boat stops at drawing a voyage is a port
of call during my life I have had my fair share of adventure I have traveled
to many far-off places I spent many years working in China as an English
teacher I have visited Turkey twice which was a really good experience a
place I used to visit often in my younger years was Malaysia more recently
I visited Portugal which turned out to be a very active break as you can see
here I am in the back of a jeep being driven along a bumpy off-road dirt trail
whilst there I also visited a lovely old castle
high up in a Rocky Hill
some people really love adventure they long to be thrilled their source of
adventure normally involves taking some sort of risk
the term extreme adventure names the more dangerous pursuits a person might
want to try personally I prefer to keep my adventures safe and for most of the
time on the ground do you have a sense of adventure what was the most
adventurous thing you've ever done
it would be fair to say that not everything in life goes our way even the
best laid plans can go wrong you might find yourself going back to the
beginning and starting from scratch to start from scratch means to begin from
the most basic point or at the bottom a spark of an idea might eventually lead
you nowhere so you must begin again you must start from scratch we can also
describe this as starting over you have to start over today's rehearsal was
awful we'll have to start over tomorrow your efforts might lead nowhere thus
forcing you to go back to where you started you have to go back to square
one my experiment is ruined now I'll have to go back to square one we have
tried everything to solve this problem so it looks like we are back at square
one the origin of this phrase is still unknown
however one theory is that the expression derives from the days when
football matches were reported on the radio numbered squares on a piece of
paper allowed the listeners to follow where the ball was by saying which
square it was in a failed attempt at something might force you to go back to
the drawing board this prototype device clearly doesn't work it looks like we'll
have to go back to the drawing board you will have to begin again you must start
from scratch you have to go back to square one you must return to the
drawing board as Robert Burns once put it the best laid plans of mice and men
often go awry or as I like to put it if at first you don't succeed try try again
it's time to take a look at another buzzword a verse word is a word or
phrase that is popular during a certain period or is often used generally
today's buzzword is publicity stunts the phrase publicity stunt refers to an
action carried out to gain attention whilst creating public reaction to
perform an action or say something for the sole purpose of creating attention
which in turn creates publicity for those responsible is a publicity stunt
the attention sort can be either good or bad
even bad publicity can generate business an outrageous comment or an action that
provokes criticism might in fact be nothing more than a publicity stunt of
course not all attempts for attention are bad a promotion for a new movie or a
message posted on a billboard that creates confusion or intrigue might also
be just some very clever publicity stunt the main purpose of a publicity stunt is
to gain as much attention as possible in as many ways as possible the word
publicity describes the action of promoting a product or an event for
commercial gain the word stunt shows that the thing gaining the attention was
planned and choreographed for the purpose of publicity
do you know someone who thinks outside the box that is a very interesting
phrase to think outside the box means the action of seeing things or doing
something that goes against convention a person might create a work of art that
challenges current ideas and ways of thinking a business might come up with a
new way of selling a product or they might even be the one creating the
product which we revolutionizes the way in which we do something there
developers really know how to think outside the box
an original or creative way of doing something can be described as thinking
outside the box or thinking out of the box to come up with a new idea that has
not been tried before is a good example of thinking outside the box to combat
climate change we must all be prepared to think outside the box these forms of
alternative thinking can occur in any area of life the creative arts the
sciences music poetry design and business all call for some degree of
thinking differently you must break with convention
you must try something new you need to come up with a new idea you will set a
new trend to do this you must think outside the box
well that is all we have time for today but wait a moment
we still have an extra few seconds to play with so here just for you is a
short poem they said it was going to be wet today they said it was going to rain
they forecast a downpour so heavy and harsh but I knew that their guess was in vain
they said it was going to throw it down the clouds would be grey with dread
but despite their warnings to stay indoors I hung out my washing instead
don't forget to subscribe to my channel and activate the notifications then you
will never miss another English lesson be it live or recorded stay happy
wherever you are in the world and I will see you again real soon
this is Misterduncan in the birthplace of English saying thanks for watching
and of course...
ta ta for now .