do you feel like you don't speak enough
English
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stick around with these lessons you'll
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hi everybody my name is Alicia welcome
back to top words today we're going to
talk about 10 ways to stop translating
in your head let's get started identify
objects around you in English the first
way to stop translating in your head is
to identify the objects around you in
your target language so if you're
studying English that means you look at
the objects around the room look at the
things in your life don't think of them
in your native language first think of
them in your target language first so if
I look around the room I see a computer
I shouldn't think my native language
word I should think my target language
word so start with the items and the
situations in your everyday life if I
say computer in English maybe I should
say computer in Japanese I should say
not I don't know water in English I
should say omizu in Japanese so start
associating the words in your your
target language with your everyday life
now so if you're studying English that
means start getting familiar with the
things in your everyday life in English
repeat phrases you hear native speakers
use tip number two is to repeat the
phrases that you hear native speakers
use so if you're watching this channel
for example or you're watching a TV show
or a movie listen for the way that
native speakers make those phrases if
you hear a phrase you have never heard
before or you hear an interesting
combination of words try to repeat them
yourself don't just listen try to say
them yourself if you're in a public
space and it's difficult for you to do
that fine practice in a place where you
feel more comfortable maybe if you have
some private space to practice just
repeat them get your mouth used to
saying the words the way that the
speakers the native speakers do so if
you never actually say words if you're
only taking in if you're only listening
and you're not actually producing the
language it's it's kind of hard to to
practice and to
um to really hone your pronunciation to
improve your pronunciation so when you
listen to native speakers try to repeat
after them so for example if you're
studying English you can try to repeat
after this video you can repeat after
the things I'm saying because maybe I'm
using an expression or I'm using a
certain series of vocabulary words
together the way a native speaker would
and it's maybe a good idea to try to
practice the ways that native speakers
put their words together so try to
repeat after native speakers especially
when you're looking at media and you can
do this when you're reading books too
you can try to read out read out loud
interesting lines of books that you find
or something that may be as difficult
for you very nice practice tip make a
situation where you can't escape into
your native language make a situation
where you can't escape into your native
language essentially means immerse
yourself of course going to the that
country are going to a place where you
can speak only that language is very
difficult for some of you totally
understand but if in your life you can
create a situation in your library in
your room in your house somewhere for
just an hour or I don't know maybe a day
I don't know what your schedule is like
but if you can create a situation or
create an environment where you have no
choice but to use that language and you
cannot Escape meaning you cannot go back
to using your native language as a
crutch you can't use the native language
at all it forces you to use the language
that you're studying so of course if you
are lucky enough to live in the country
or to live in a place where people speak
the language you're studying great but
you have to go out and interact with
people you have to put yourself in a
place where you have no choice but to
speak it's very hard and it's very scary
and it's very embarrassing at first but
if you take time to find places and to
make environments that are comfortable
for you where you feel comfortable
making mistakes and asking questions
it's very valuable for your learning
process this is actually something that
I did totally I totally did this my
Japanese wasn't very good for a long
time but then I started making friends
who could not speak English actually I
just did this through finding Hobbies
there was a hobby that I had I joined a
group I joined actually a school to
where I could learn how to do that Hobby
and everything was taught only in
Japanese and the people in my class only
spoke Japanese mostly and then maybe we
would go out for drinks and food late at
night or on the weekends and everybody
spoke only Japanese and if I couldn't
communicate even simply in Japanese I
had no hope of keeping that friendship
together so it forced me to study it
forced me to think about the words they
were using and to try to learn those
words those patterns as well as how to
produce them naturally myself so I was
learning the vocabulary words the people
around me were using and learning how to
apply them on my own that was only
possible because I had no Escape in
those situations so try to do that even
if you can do it yourself in your house
it's super helpful I think
watch TV and movies in your target
language without subtitles tip number
four is to watch TV and movies in your
target language without subtitles
without subtitles so I think that
watching uh with subtitles can be very
beneficial
um so if I'm watching something or if
you want to watch something with
subtitles on great but I sometimes find
that I can in my case I I think too much
about reading the subtitles and I forget
to listen so maybe if you've seen a
movie in your target language a few
times with the subtitles on try turning
the subtitles off and think about the
like character's body language the words
they're using you can always look that
up later look up the you know the words
you don't know in a dictionary but try
to do it where you're focusing
completely on the way that people are
using their words try not to use the
subtitles so
um kind of play around with it a little
bit if there's a word that's difficult
for you to here you can actually turn on
the subtitles in like the in the native
language of the movie as well that's
something that I've done like if uh like
if I wanted to study Japanese it's very
useful when the actual words spoken in
Japanese appear on the screen sometimes
it's easier for me to catch a word if I
see it visually and I hear it at the
same time so another way to kind of
explore how you can use TV and movies is
to actually turn on the closed captions
like the the
um the words on the screen in the native
language of the movie so uh so this is
sort of two points in one so one watch
movies without subtitles meaning
subtitles in your native language in
hint too is to watch movies with closed
captioning on but the closed captioning
is in your target language not in your
native language so you can try those two
things with TV and with movies
don't bring a dictionary to your lesson
tip number five is don't bring a
dictionary to your lesson okay so give
me a second here so I understand the
dictionaries especially electronic
dictionaries we have them on our phones
now are very very convenient
um of course it's important to use them
and it's they're a great resource to
have however one thing that really
bothers me and that I think is
detrimental it's not helpful for
students is when students are in a
lesson and they're practicing
conversation and they reach a point in
the conversation where they don't know
the word they want to use they know it
in their native language and they don't
know how to say it in their target
language they pull out their dictionary
they say to this the person listening to
them their practice partner in their
lesson where they have a limited period
of time just a moment and then they look
it up on their phone and it takes a few
seconds the flow of the conversation
stops and then they say a word and I was
like whoa no that's not you don't have
that ability you don't have the ability
to do that in a conversation with a
native speaker most people like if you
go to a bank and try to open a bank
account are you really going to pull out
your dictionary and sit there and try to
communicate you know just a moment just
a moment as you look up each word you
don't know no or if you do that's not a
real conversation so instead try using a
different strategy by that I mean if you
find a word you don't know in
conversation explain the word to your
conversation partner maybe they know the
word if you're speaking with a native
speaker this is a chance for them to
teach you a word I find that when people
take the time to teach me a word I
remember the word much better than just
looking it up on my dictionary so try to
resist maybe you can bring a dictionary
to your lesson but don't use it or try
not to use it in your conversation
practice this it's just it destroys the
flow of a conversation so instead
practice the skill of describing the
vocabulary word you want to use and
learn how to ask the meaning of a word
or learn how to ask for a vocabulary
word from your partner so you can use an
expression like ah what's the word that
means blah blah blah or
um you know it's this thing that does
this and this and this so this is an
opportunity for you to describe
characteristics of something or find a
different way you can use your body
language you can use whatever you have a
lot of tools but try not to use a
dictionary in a conversation because
it's not realistic
trained responses to common questions
number six is a quick one I think number
six hint number six I have is just to
train responses to common questions
train responses to common questions so
for example a very common question in
English is hey how are you you should
know how to answer this question just
have a default response hey how are you
I'm good like if it takes you a long
time to answer the question hey how are
you you need to practice I think that's
a pretty good uh a pretty good indicator
so for example sometimes I ask students
a question like that they they haven't
quite gotten the idea of how to respond
just yet they they're not so quick at
responding I say uh hey how are you and
they say yes
and then they think and they go I'm uh
I'm not good and it's like that's a very
common question so think about just a
default response that you can spit out
that you can quickly say if it's how was
your weekend or hey what's up or what do
you want to do for dinner tonight think
about like just a handful meaning just a
few responses to those questions and
train them quickly just how are you I'm
good how are you I'm okay how are you
not bad there's three so it's just
training responses to those questions
there's no reason to be surprised by a
question like how are you like that's a
very common question so for those common
questions train responses to that we've
got a bunch of videos especially
beginner level videos for some example
responses you can do so don't get stuck
with these little questions just train a
few responses practice a few responses
till they feel natural to you it'll save
you time and it'll help the person
asking the question to to move forward
in the conversation yay
study with materials that don't provide
a translation
the next tip is to study with materials
that don't provide a translation so by
this I mean if you're using worksheets
and or some kind of textbook or whatever
and it has your target language the
language you're studying and it has your
native language next to it while this
can be useful I feel that if you can
studying your materials only in your
target language and then simplified
explanations for more detailed points
also in your target language can be a
little bit better so I don't want to say
like you should only study things in
your target language and nothing from
your native language because of course
like it can be helpful sometimes to look
up a word or to understand a grammar
point in your native language but where
possible if you can find something that
provides simplified explanations in your
target language it can be really really
helpful because again you're thinking
you're learning to think on like a
simpler on a more basic level about the
language you're studying in the language
that you're studying so this can be
really really good so finding some
materials to use where there's no
translation maybe you can practice
um of course with with books and with
written materials but also with like
video materials as well so there are a
variety of different ways that you can
um
find materials in your target language
like in video and TV so some things to
think about there are the level of
vocabulary words people are using in the
media content you're watching who the
media content is intended for children
young adults adults the speed at which
the speaker is talking so like I have
the ability to change the level of
difficulty of videos based on the rate
of speech the vocabulary words that I
use and how many like idioms and things
I use so I could make a video very
difficult we could make a very like a
very difficult video series by leveling
up our vocabulary use or by speaking
very quickly or as you might see in like
our English in three minutes series we
can also use very simple vocabulary and
speak at a low rate of speech so maybe
right now this is a very intermediate
level video so please think about that
so not just for written materials but
also for your audio and visual materials
think about who your audience is the
level of the material and so on it can
be really fun and it can be helpful to
think about your your target language in
your target language all right we're
almost done
study phrases in addition to single
vocabulary
the next tip is study phrases in
addition to single vocabulary words so
yes of course vocabulary is important
but I find it personally very very
useful to look at how a vocabulary word
is used in a phrase because sometimes
using it in a phrase helps you
understand the Nuance of that vocabulary
word really really well so if I like a
word like crazy for example in English
depending on the situation where the
word crazy is used it could mean
something different it could mean like a
person who is mentally confused or mixed
up it could also mean something really
good it could mean something really bad
so if we look only at the word crazy
it's quite difficult to understand
really the meaning of the word but if
you look at the way the word is used in
a phrase you can get a lot more
information so take a look at the way
people use words in phrases not just
single vocabulary words you can learn a
lot more that way I think
do your daily activities in English
where possible
the next tip is to do your daily
activities in your target language so if
you're studying English that means try
to do some daily activities in English
if possible so this can be very very
boring stuff but just think about it
when you're doing the activity so like
right now I'm filming a video for
englishclass101.com or I'm going to work
I'm cooking breakfast I'm doing the
laundry what do I have to do tomorrow so
try thinking about your everyday life in
English if you're studying English try
thinking about your everyday activities
the people that you meet what are you
doing so this is a way to help you
practice your verbs so if you don't know
if you're I don't know you're doing
something at work and you're like oh my
gosh how do I explain the what's the
verb for you know a picture like I want
to blah blah blah a picture what's the
word you can check a dictionary at that
point and go oh it's draw I need to use
the verb draw for draw a picture so you
can find these little gaps in your
everyday life these little gaps in your
knowledge if you think about your
everyday activities in your target
language if you don't think about it in
your target language you might not
realize you have vocabulary gaps or
phrase gaps here and there so this is a
really good and kind of funny actually
way to study use a Learner's Dictionary
for new words the last tip is to use a
Learner's Dictionary for new words so in
English there are Learners dictionaries
available in English so my favorite my
personal favorite is Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster is a fantastic
dictionary resource they're so
interesting and they have tons of like
historical information I really do just
sit and like read things on the
dictionary page lately it's true but
um of course there's a definition
there's a meaning for Words there are
example sentences for words but
Merriam-Webster also has what's called a
Learner's Dictionary if you find a word
that you don't recognize you can check
it uh in a dictionary in a Learner's
Dictionary and it gives you a simplified
a simple explanation in simple English
of that word so instead of checking it
in your native language you can check it
in your target language so again this
helps you to understand the word that
you are that you're focused on but you
understand it from the language you're
studying not from your native language
so using a Learner's Dictionary can be
really really useful as well all right
so those are 10 tips those are 10 tips
to help you stop translating in your
head I know it's very difficult but it's
it takes time and it takes practice and
I hope that these are a few strategies
that can help you as you study any
language of course this is an English
language Channel an English language
learning Channel but I think these tips
are pretty good for learning just about
any language really so I hope those are
useful for you if you have tried these
strategies or if you have any other
comments or other tips please let us
know know in the comment section below
this video if you liked this video
please make sure to hit the thumbs up
share this video And subscribe to our
Channel too check us out at
englishclass101.com for more good stuff
as well thanks very much for watching
this episode of Top words and I will see
you again soon bye hi everyone I'm
Bridget and welcome to today's lesson
today's topic is 10 ways to say hello in
English
good morning
good morning is the first thing you say
to someone when you see them in the
morning good morning sir would you like
a cup of coffee good morning could I
please get some orange juice good
morning I'm still tired from the night
before
hello
is the most common greeting you'll hear
that and hi hello is a polite nice way
to greet someone when you see them hello
everyone says it you cannot go wrong
saying hello hello can be used at any
time of the day no matter whether it's
morning or at night or at 4am when you
see someone you can say hello and it
will still be appropriate
long time no see
long time no see it's not necessarily
grammatically correct but it's a saying
that we have hey long time no see what
it means is that you haven't seen that
person in a long time so it literally
means long time no see long time no see
is something you say to someone when you
haven't seen them in a while hey John
long time no see how are the wife and
kids
how have you been
hey how have you been I haven't seen you
in a long time how have you been is
asking someone how they're doing and how
they've been for the past however long
if you haven't seen them in a while
you might say hey long time no see how
have you been
how have you been that's past tense it
implies that you haven't seen them in a
while and you want to hear about how
they are and how they've been for all of
that time that you haven't seen them hey
long time no see how have you been
how are you
how are you means how are you doing how
are you feeling how is everything it's a
standard thing that you might say to
anyone even if you've seen them the day
before you might see them today and say
hey how are you
how's it going
hey how's it going how is it going is it
more informal way to say how are you so
how are you and how's it going they mean
the same thing it's asking how you're
doing how you are feeling is everything
okay with you
what's up
what's up is another way of saying hey
how's it going but this one is even more
informal so you might say this to
friends hey what's up and they'll say
nothing just living my life you know day
in and day out
hey what's up
good afternoon
good afternoon how are you would you
like some lunch good afternoon is a
polite way to greet someone in the
afternoon so if you run into your boss
you might say good afternoon it's very
nice it's polite not a lot of people say
it to their friends but it's it's a
polite way to greet someone
good evening
good evening is a nice way to greet
someone in the evening time you can only
use this phrase in the evening because
it's wishing someone a good evening it's
saying hello at a certain time of day
good evening would you like some dinner
good evening have you eaten yet all of
my examples involve food it seems
it's nice to meet you it's nice to meet
you this is something that's very common
to say the first time that you meet
someone you might shake their hand and
say hi it's nice to meet you my name is
Bridget my name is
it's telling that person that you are
happy to be meeting them it's a pleasure
to meet them hi it's nice to meet you
that brings us to the end of this lesson
10 ways to say hello if you guys like
the video please don't forget to give us
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if you have any questions or comments
leave them below and don't forget to go
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englishclass101.com for more English
okay everybody shift information has
been posted for the month it looks like
we'll visit 25 cities in 30 days
do we normally visit 25 different cities
in one month
yes sometimes we visit even more
where's our first stop
Charlotte hey I have friends in
Charlotte it would be nice to see them
good evening in room dining this is Alex
how may I be of service
hello I would like to order some food
of course ma'am just to confirm this is
Mrs Rawson in room 417.
yes it is
excellent may I take your order
yes I would like a turkey sandwich on a
Parmesan bagel
and what to drink
a Diet Coke
will there be anything else
yes I would also like a wake-up call for
seven
my major is education how about you
I'm an English major
cool I like English
oh and what's oksana's major
she's also an English major
that's nice you can help each other
study
yep in fact I need to meet her now so we
can study together
okay it was nice talking with you
you too see you later
see ya
good evening ma'am may I have your first
and last names
Melissa West
thank you ma'am I have found a
reservation here's the registration
information does everything look correct
to you
yes it seems to be correct
excellent now I will just need a photo
ID for legal purposes
will my passport do
that would be just fine ma'am checkout
is between noon and two o'clock you may
request an extension of up to five hours
for your charge what if I need more time
then a late charge of five percent will
be added to your bill
hey Vicky did you forget our study date
at 10 this morning
I'm sorry Naomi at 10 I was talking with
my professor and couldn't get away I'm
sorry I should have called
that's okay so how did the meeting go
with the professor
it went fine he gave me an extension on
my paper and I can still take the
midterm how was your study group
yesterday
well we were studying together during
lunch when I noticed an old friend of
mine from high school in the same Cafe
my consent lesson quickly switched from
class to catching up with my friends so
I didn't get much done you've taken that
class before right
yeah last semester I was always asking
questions in that class because it was
so difficult
well I was hoping that you could lent me
a hand with my paper I can't think of
anything else to write
sure no problem that is if you can help
me study for our history test
sounds like a deal
want to speak real English from your
first lesson sign up for your free
lifetime account at englishclass101.com
hi everyone I'm Christine from
englishclass101.com in this video we'll
be talking about how to curse like an
English native speaker
piss a slang term for urine for example
don't piss your pants
you can say this when
you're really scared or anxious for
example if you're about to go on stage
to make a speech or perform someone can
say don't piss your pants you can do it
pissed off to be really angry
when I'm angry I can say hey I'm really
pissed off at you right now why did you
do that for
loser used to describe an uncool person
in high school my friends and I would
use this a lot
and we would say hey loser how's it
going
idiot you used to insult people by
saying they're not intelligent of all
the mean things that you can say this is
on the lighter side but people still use
it
shoot this is used to show
disappointment or frustration without
using a stronger curse word
shoot I spilled my coffee shut up you
can use this when you want them to be
quiet or there's something surprising
that you just heard you can say shut up
no way ticked off to be really angry you
can say this with pissed off so this is
actually an older term not many people
use this as much anymore because most
people actually just use pissed off
fool this is similar to saying someone
is like a clown you can say you're
acting like a fool right now
jerk this is a light and salt used to
describe someone who is mean for example
if there's someone bullying another
person that person is being a jerk
wimp this means someone who isn't strong
there is a movie out right now called
Diary of a Wimpy Kid have you seen it
have you not I haven't yet
so how was it if you have any more
questions please leave a comment below
see you next time
hey everyone I'm Paris from
englishclass101.com in this video we're
talking about how to ask and give
directions let's start to the left to
the left
the first phrase is where is the where
is the for example you can ask where is
the bank this can be used to ask for a
general location or detailed directions
don't be surprised if you only receive
basic information for example next to
the grocery store
the next phrase is I need to go to the I
need to go to the for example you can
say I need to go to the police station
the word need is used but this is used
for non-emergencies as well how do I get
to the how do I get to the for example
you can say how do I get to the Museum
this question can be used to ask for
step-by-step directions instead of a
general location is the near here
is the near here for example you can say
is the library near here if you're
unfamiliar with an area you can ask to
get this information about a specific
place where you want to go
is the bathroom near here
excuse me do you know where the is
excuse me do you know where the is for
example you can say excuse me do you
know where the park is only use Excuse
me when you're starting a conversation
with a stranger another common phrase is
is the far from here
is the far from here for example you can
say is the post office far from here
this is an indirect way to ask for
directions people will tell you how far
the place is and probably tell you the
best way to get there walking taking a
bus driving Uber
now let's take a look at Expressions to
give directions turn left turn left for
example you can say turn left after two
blocks this gives you information about
how far you should go before you make
any changes in this case you should go
left to the left to the left turn right
turn right for example you can say turn
right at the third traffic light this
also gives you information about how far
you should go before taking another
action in this case you should go right
go straight go straight this simply
tells you to go in One Direction it also
implies that if you keep going straight
that you will eventually find what
you're looking for
go past go past for example you can say
go past the church a landmark is just an
easily noticeable place for example a
movie theater restaurant
at the corner of at the corner of for
example you can say it's at the corner
of this means that a place is located at
the corner where two streets meet in
front of in front of
for example you can say the bus station
is in front of the supermarket we use
front to refer to the main entrance of a
building it can also mean visible from
the front and doesn't necessarily mean
it's directly in front of something
behind behind for example you can say
the parking lot is behind the movie
theater we use behind to say that
something is at the rear of a building
the front of a building is its main
entrance so which side it's facing the
street is really not important
next to next two for example you can say
the restaurant is next to the park this
is an example of using a non-specific
location to give General directions
next two can be anywhere beside in front
of or around a place McDonald's is next
to my house
between between for example you can say
the store is between the coffee shop and
the pet store
between is used with two other places
when using between the main place will
always be in the middle of the two other
places
okay that's all for this lesson which
phrase do you like the most leave us a
comment and let us know and I'll see you
next time guys bye hey guys I'm Paris
from English class 101.com in this video
we'll be talking about making complaints
in English so let's get started
the first complaint is I'm starving I'm
starving this is an exaggeration you can
use when you're hungry I am always
starving even right now
the next complaint is it's noisy it's
noisy this kind of complaint is one that
you would make to a friend telling the
staff of a restaurant won't help since
they can't tell people to be quiet I
hate when it's noisy in restaurants save
that for another time
then we have it's hot
it's hot this can be used to talk about
the weather or the temperature of a room
you can add a request like can you turn
on the air conditioner I am never hot so
I like that
the next complaint is it's cold it's
cold this can be used to talk about the
weather or the temperature of a room you
can add a request like can you turn on
the heater
I always make this request because it's
always too cold everywhere everywhere
it's too expensive it's too expensive
even if you have enough money to buy
something it may be more money than you
want to spend it would probably be
considered rude to say this to someone
who works at a store but I always think
okay I'm in Gucci it's way too expensive
another common complaint is I'm tired
I'm tired users complaint to imply that
you want to sit down relax go home take
a break when I babysit my five-year-old
cousin I leave thinking I'm tired the
next complaint is I gained weight I
gained weight this is a self-criticism
that implies that you want to lose
weight many people say I got so fat
I'm always broke I'm always broke use
this to complain about never having
enough money I am always broke because I
always want more money
the next complaint is my job is boring
my job is boring this is a really common
complaint used by people who don't think
their jobs are very exciting usually it
means that you want to find a different
more fun job it's all right teachers
your job isn't boring that person stinks
that person stinks you can use stings to
talk about a literal physical smell or a
general insult meaning that you don't
like how someone smells I hate when
people smell on the bus
not good not okay
the next complaint is there's too much
traffic
there's too much traffic this is a
common complaint among people who
commute to work by car
certain roads are especially bad during
rush hour which is the time in the
morning or night most people are going
home or to work if I left at it was 7 PM
I would be here in 10 minutes but
because it's daytime in La it took me 30
minutes to get here and I drive really
really fast and it still took me 30
minutes the next complaint is the Wi-Fi
here is too slow the Wi-Fi here is too
slow this is just a general complaint
you may have about the internet speed if
you're at a cafe or someone with Wi-Fi
you can request that they reset the
Wi-Fi to improve the speed if you're
having a party and you're having friends
over and your Wi-Fi is too slow you
might as well end that party now no
Wi-fi no party
my boss is annoying my boss is annoying
annoying can be used to mean that
someone does think that you don't like
or they ask you to do things that you
don't like either way an annoying boss
is a bad experience I am very familiar
with this Hey Paris grab me coffee Hey
Paris check my emails my boss is
annoying but don't tell him I said that
the pay is too low the pay is too low
you can use this to complain about how
much you make or to reject a job offer
because it doesn't pay enough I'm a
surgeon the pay is too low I don't like
it
I don't like it this is a very general
complaint that can be used for almost
anything which one I like
posting a thousand selfies on Instagram
I don't like it
um
okay that's it for this lesson which
complaint do you like more leave us a
comment and let me know and we'll see
you next time bye
you just got a text message from your
hotel's pickup service
what does the first number refer to
the number in the text message refers to
the customer code
you are at a train station where you've
just bought an Express ticket
which train car row and seat number are
you in
which train car row and seat number are
you in
the ticket says that you're in train car
number one in the eighth Row in seat C
you are at a train station where you're
attempting to buy an Express ticket from
a ticket machine
which option should you choose to buy an
Express ticket
which option should you choose to buy an
Express ticket
the option on the bottom left is for an
Express ticket
you are on a platform at a train station
where you're waiting for your train
suddenly a message appears on the
display what does the message on the
display mean
thank you
what does the message on the display
mean
the display reads the next train will
not stop
you are at a train station where you're
reading the train schedule for an
Express ticket that you've just bought
on which days are there no Express
trains running
thank you
on which days are there no Express
trains running
there are no Express trains running on
public holidays and the third Sunday of
every month
want to speak real English from your
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you are on a platform at a train station
where you're waiting for your train
suddenly a message appears on the
display what does the message on the
display mean
what does the message on the display
mean
the display reads the next train will
not stop
you are at a train station where you're
looking for the best exit to catch a
taxi
which exit should you take to get to the
taxi stop
which exit should you take to get to the
taxi stop
you should take the East exit in order
to get to the taxi stop
hi everybody my name is Alicia and today
I'm joined again in the studio by
Michael hello and today we're going to
be talking about things that were cool
in the 90s so things that were
interesting or things that maybe we were
interested in in the 90s I'm guessing
that we're going to have some very
different opinions uh based on our
experiences of the 90s so let's get
right into it Michael
your first item please
um okay boy bands
so I remember boy bands were very very
popular uh when I was a kid in the 90s
I had three older brothers who would
punch me and tell me boy bands are for
girls don't like boy bands um so that
was my experience with him and they
became kind of uncool I feel like after
the 90s and then they never were uncool
in like Korea and like a lot of Asian
countries they still had like a strong
boy band kind of uh
scene or whatever what bands now is that
really what they're called no I don't
know I just mean I think I feel like boy
there are boy bands that are now
becoming Boys to Men maybe this
so I mean now that it came now it came
back like uh what is the uh what's the
British one now it's kind of cool again
oh One Direction One Direction yeah so I
think it's come back it's full circle
didn't they just break up
I'm gonna go with something that I loved
in the 90s this is probably way too
specific uh
uh probably but it's this show called
Doug that was on Nickelodeon and there
weren't a whole lot of episodes of Doug
it was I don't know like 20 or 30 I feel
like not even that many did you ever see
this show yeah yeah that's very
nostalgic for me I don't 20 30 episodes
I feel I feel like I had I'd seen them
all so I I I know that I saw them all
because it would come back it would come
on one day after school and I'd be like
I've seen this episode but the whole the
whole idea with Doug is Doug was like
this just this
plain kid and he had an older sister he
went to school he had a dog he had a
best friend and he would just encounter
these everyday life scenarios that would
be kind of troubling or he wouldn't know
how to deal with them but like he was
kind of a role model I feel like he was
kind of being like a good kid
um or sometimes he would get into
trouble but then you know eventually he
would solve the problem or he'd find a
way out of it so but I really loved that
show I really loved Nickelodeon in
general during the 90s and yeah did you
watch that channel yeah of course I
loved Nickelodeon um I think it was more
like Fox stuff like that but I guess
I'll segue into another one of mine
you're talking about wholesome so
something that's my childhood I was
raised on TV was sitcoms yeah so I think
this has kind of died down again like
the boy bands where it people think it's
cheesy now it's all reality TV shows
that kind of stuff but that's that is my
childhood right there is you know Full
House and these kinds of shows step by
step where there's a moral at the end of
the story and so everyone there's always
kind of like the the protagonist is
always like maybe he's unsure but by the
end they know the right thing to do and
they play like the violin kind of sad
not quite sad but like
heartwarming music and then they're like
well and then they give a speech and as
a kid you know you don't really like
think about it but that gets into your
like I'm I oh man deep because of Full
House if you lie I've learned this it's
deep in my subconscious if you lie
and then you keep lying it snowballs and
it gets worse and worse and worse so
it's best to just right away tell the
truth that was a really common theme in
most sitcoms I think that like they're
just trying to teach kids don't lie it's
bad uh you're right you're right sitcoms
are huge and by the way sitcoms um is
um is a portmanteau portmantown meaning
two words put together of situation and
comedy so situation and comedy equals
sitcom In this case okay nice nice um
I'm gonna go to my next one
um let's see I think probably every
little girl in the 90s in America anyway
knew what this was I don't know if you
knew it's this brand called Lisa Frank
um Lisa Frank are you aware of Lisa
Frank are you aware Lisa Frank no okay
she knows she knows Lisa Frank Is So
Lisa Frank is
um just bright it was always like
brightly colored school supplies uh like
pinks and purples and blues and it would
always have unicorns and dolphins and
mystical creatures he was just bright
and everybody all the girls loved it I
loved it I had Lisa Frank
just whatever I could get my hands on
it'd be pencils or erasers or just pinks
and rainbows and hearts and stuff like
that so I think every every girl who
grew up in the 90s knows what Lisa Frank
is ah okay so talking about style and
whatnot
grunge grunge is something that I
it hits close to home for me and I
think's uh that came out of the 90s is
um I mean everybody knows around the
world I think most people know Nirvana
yeah Kurt Cobain and this is something
that I guess was
brought to the world from Seattle and it
was a music genre and it was kind of
it's like rock but sometimes slower
almost emo kind of like sad usually
undertones but anyways the style that
came with it was the opposite of like
the 80s and early 90s of really bright
colors you know it was the opposite you
just wear holy jeans you don't really
shower that much you don't shave and
like plaid and just really like dreary
colors so that was really popular I
at least I remember in like the early
90s mid 90s yeah and it's as soon as I
saw that card grunge I was like oh
Nirvana that's that's the first thing
that comes to mind when I hear about
when I hear a grunge I didn't get into
the grunge scene I was I was busy with
boy bands but like
grunge for me was never really I was
aware I was aware of Nirvana but I did
not I was not of the Nirvana
pod okay I'm gonna go to a style point
then too because you've read up a style
point I'll put up bring up maybe um a
female style points scrunchies uh still
popular perhaps among some people what
is a scrunchie a scrunchie let's see I
don't have um so there's regular rubber
bands that you can use to tie back long
hair
he's making an ocean with his hands yes
it's a very descriptive very descriptive
type of thing I'm the prop and then you
go like this there's like that I bet I
bet there's an awesome video team
somewhere in the somewhere that can put
like a scrunchie like right here anyway
um yeah scrunchie it's just it's just a
a piece of elastic with some kind of
colorful cloth wrapped around it and it
but when not in use it would go and it
would scrunch I think I think this is
why we call it a scrunchie but then when
you pull that you could expand it a bit
and wrap your hair up in it and then
when you're finished doing that it would
kind of close around it
um I had a couple Nintendo
um anything any game related stuff I
remember game boys anything handheld
um except when I was a kid it it wasn't
like this fancy 3D High you know
highly like vibrant colors it was like
black and white and like you'd play it
in the car and you had to squint and it
hurts your head you know if you're
playing too much you're getting like car
sick and you're like you can barely see
Mario are you talking about Game Boy
game boy or any like there was handheld
too there was like Atari and stuff like
that and like Sega Sega was pretty good
that would light up I was thinking about
NES when you said Nintendo I imagined by
nes the one that like when it wasn't
working correctly you could just pull
the cassette out and go and put it back
in so you put the cartridge in here
right and sometimes if it was really
stubborn and it didn't work you would
blow into this part
and you try and it really doesn't make a
difference but you would take turns like
me and my brothers would be like no you
want to be the one to get it to work so
you take turns no no let me let me let
me and just by luck it would work you're
like CC yeah no this is super nostalgic
I love Nintendo I have a game too
pogs did you have pogs okay pogs are
either or simultaneously the most
brilliant game and the stupidest game
ever invented they're just discs of
cardboard about this guys uh and on one
side there's
a picture
and on the other side there's just
nothing and then you had a thing called
a Slammer which was essentially just a
heavy POG
that you would use and you had to flip
you had to use the slammer to flip
clean cardboard ones what I don't even
know it was that stupid and forgettable
of a game but it was like crazy when I
was about I don't know like second or
third grade or something everybody had
pogs like we had POG gym days at my
school I remember that vividly America
we're really obese let's go into the gym
and sit there and smash cardboard
and like I was telling I was telling her
before we started this like one day like
my mom wanted me to get a haircut and I
was just being stubborn and I wasn't
having it I was in the mall I was like I
want to get a haircut she's like I'll
buy you pogs
and she did it was like this giant tube
of pogs and I was just so thrilled and I
agreed to get my hair cut
well that was a lot of things that was
that were exciting and or popular and or
we were into in the 90s what were you
into in the 90s what was popular in your
country I really have no idea what was
popular around the world uh at that time
maybe some of these things are similar
please let us know in the comments I'm
very interested to find out we read
these by the way
um any thoughts any other any closing
thoughts about the 90s
you're not going to sing a song for us
oh that's copyright we can't do that
just like blur that all out no that was
that was very accurate so I'm sure we
can use that
very accurate I mean totally wrong
clearly we're very good at talking about
the 90s okay but uh we hope that you are
too we hope that you learned something
exciting about the 90s
um that's all for us today thanks very
much for watching and we will see you
again soon bye
hi everybody my name is Alicia and I'm
joined again in the studio by Michael
hello and today we're going to be
talking about English conversation
strategies so let's get right into it
let's start with Michael what is your
first strategy for keeping an English
conversation going this is very
important
don't say I'm fine thank you and you
you hear this all the time from second
language English Learners or non-native
speakers you learn this it's one of the
first things you learn in an English
class it's easy it's good it's basic
it's Foundation okay that's fine but as
soon as you can switch it up because to
me when I meet a foreigner and they come
up and if they say hey how are you say
hello I'm fine you know I'm good
whatever how about you and they say I'm
fine thank you and you and it's just
it's almost robotic because I've said it
so many times and when I hear that I
think ah their English isn't that good
and inside I'm just gonna be really
polite and say hello and talk slowly and
try to get out of there as quick as I
can so really impress The Foreigner in
my opinion I think the best way to do it
is say something you know use a big word
or just like a slang word something like
that when I hear that I go wow man I
want to know what this person thinks I
want to get their point of view and I'm
really excited and then I've had great
conversations because of that um yeah
that's a really really good one and
actually I think on this YouTube channel
actually from a couple years ago there's
a video so all about better answers to
the question how are you then I'm fine
thank you and you or if someone says hey
how are you I'm good you are fine you
never I'm fine thank you and you never
but try to actually use you know afraid
that a native speaker would use and then
that's a clue to the native speaker that
oh maybe this person is ready for a
conversation Beyond you know basic
English so that's a really good point I
like that I didn't think of things not
to do I only thought of things to do so
okay cool
um let's see let's go to my first one
um
so
um this strategy in general is just ask
the other person a question I think and
I'm guilty of this too when I'm learning
another language I tend to only get
input like somebody else is always
asking me the questions and then I
forget myself to ask the other person a
question so one question that I like to
ask or you know A variation any kind of
wh question is good like a who question
what where
um something like this if you've been
paying attention you can use anyway to
transition in your conversation this was
in a previous video you can ask
something like Anyway up to anything fun
this weekend this is a pretty casual
conversational question that you can ask
just about anybody whether you've just
just met them or whether you've known
them for a while but just just get in
the habit of asking other people the
question don't wait for someone else to
ask you the question
um so that that's one strategy that I
try to use to keep things going yeah me
too I agree and I'm going to say
Samesies because actually two of my
questions were exactly what you said
agree 100 this is kind of cheating these
should be one but so always ask
questions so you know again you forget
it's really easy I'm really guilty of
this um English non-english whatever I'm
guilty of this and the other thing is
ask deep open-ended questions so if you
ask a yes or no question so again like
Alicia was saying it just deadens you
can't just say you know do you like
cheese yes or no right so you want to
say what do you think about cheese what
is your favorite kind and kind of open
it up to something else and let it let
it just kind of Snowball right right
yeah I think I think that that's that's
really a key like I have another
variation and I wish I guess I'll just
continue on to because it kind of
relates to what you're talking about
like he's saying always ask questions
always ask deep open-ended questions so
like you meant you just said don't ask a
yes or no question because yes or no
ends with the yes or the no so one of
the things that I'll do is use a pattern
similar to this like hey did you see or
hey did you hear about blah blah blah so
you can use this little blah blah blah
as your uh you can ask about the news uh
you can ask about something funny you
saw on the internet you can ask about
um you know some something that you
heard from another friend of yours
whatever
it's just a way to check in with the
other person and say oh did you also
experience this thing that I experienced
let's talk about that so that might be
another question that you can use it I
like that one I really like that one
because you got to stay within people's
comfort zone so maybe you ask and maybe
they don't want to right so a good thing
is did you hear about it that's up to
them maybe they don't want to talk about
it they can say oh yeah I heard about
that and you can kind of feel uh the the
atmosphere and and realize maybe I
shouldn't talk about this change the
subject or they get passionate and they
start talking about it and there you go
and just let it go
um yeah absolutely one thing again I'm
guilty of is is you do got to keep keep
returning it right don't let it don't
just say oh yeah and what I think about
that bring it back ask them what about
you that's a common thing I forget about
yeah yeah
okay
um good I have one more this one
um use when you see fits don't I guess
just
okay I'll just introduce it compliment
the other person or compliment the other
person this can be a nice strategy just
to show that you're enjoying the other
person's company
um it can be as simple as oh I like your
shirt today or oh that's a nice dress
you're wearing today or oh did you get a
new haircut that looks good on you
something like that so this is a nice a
nice way to make the other person maybe
want to spend more time with you I think
yeah I agree 100
um two things one I think it's a good
conversation starter sometimes
um if you got to be careful with the
stranger it can be creepy it can be a
little uncomfortable what you're
complimenting right but if it's
something like if they have a T-shirt
and it's a band that you both like
that's a great conversation starter and
you feel wow we're connected you know um
number two the second thing I was
thinking about is that keep it honest I
love I love a sincere compliment it
really means a lot more and and it
really does butter them up kind of get
them open to to having more
conversations deeper that kind of thing
um but one of the things people do which
which I don't like is let's say they say
hey my shirt and then the person out of
habit will say oh you too I like your
shirt too just my opinion I don't think
this feels really natural doesn't really
feel sincere so I would I would save it
make a mental note and go hmm I need to
return the favor I need to give them a
compliment but wait until you notice
something you really do like and say hey
actually I love blah blah blah yeah I
think that's a great Point like when you
you can sense whether someone is being
sincere or not what is your next
strategy for continuing an English
conversation well
don't be afraid to open up I like this
one I think this is good A lot of people
will be kind of shy they won't open up
too much again within within your
comfort zone but I like this one because
people will return the favor because if
you're just having small talk and you
say you know the weather's nice today
blah blah blah you can only go so far so
don't be afraid to say something
personal again
trust your judgment don't be a creeper
don't go we don't want to hear certain
things about your life don't don't be a
creep don't be a creep don't be weird
don't be strange and like what you're
saying about opening up open up is just
a phrase that means share something
about yourself so it can be as simple as
what you did last weekend or what you're
going to do this weekend or a project
that you have coming up it doesn't mean
that you have to spill all of your
life's secrets to the other person but
just showing that you're willing to
share something more personal about
yourself can help ingratiate yourself or
can help you know make the other person
help the other person understand you a
little bit better
that's a good tip I like that tip that's
hard to do though it's hard it's a
little bit scary I think to share parts
of yourself but it's good it's a good
way to meet people and make friends all
right I think that's all is that all
that you have that's all I got okay all
right well those are some interesting uh
strategies to keep an English
conversation going so give them a try if
you're ever at a loss for words and
don't know what to say you can try one
of these strategies and hopefully it
will help you out
um please let us know if you have any
other strategies or anything else that
you would like to use or you try to use
when you are having trouble keeping a
conversation going leave us a comment
and let us know what it is we will see
you again next time do you have anything
else you'd like to add that's about it
all right so thanks very much for
joining us and take care bye bye
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