 Hello hello, can you guys hear me? I want to come on a couple minutes early so that we can get all the technical stuff set up So if you can hear me and if you can see me, please write yes in the chat Okay, if if you can't see the video then just press play and I should be broadcasting right now Thank you for those of you who have said yes that you can see me And I've seen a couple of people coming from lots of different countries. So I'm I'm here in the United States right now this is actually my parents house where I grew up and Put in the chat. Let's just introduce ourselves where you are from I think I saw someone from Brazil and someone from Moscow. Where are you all from? I'd like to know someone from Bangladesh Russia Hello, who else Bangladesh Indonesia? Well, this is great. I love being able to Canada. Hello neighbor I love being able to give class to people all around the world at the same time Because it would be impossible for us to all meet in a classroom But we can meet in my virtual classroom in this live cast it looks like we have more than 70 people which is awesome of Someone from the USA or in the USA Belarus This is terrific. So this this is my first live cast. I Well, I should say my first live cast alone I did one with Gabby from go natural English for the English power pack How many of you have been on a live cast before write that in the chat box? I just want to wait a few more minutes so we can have more people Join us. It looks like we have almost a hundred people. That's great. I wasn't expecting so many people How is the video and audio quality? Is it okay? I have a really good microphone here And I have a really good webcam, but sometimes the connection is not great. So tell me if the So tell me if the quality is okay If it's not okay try to refresh the page just load the page again, and maybe it will get better Okay, some people are saying the quality is okay That's great First time seeing live video awesome Okay, so Do you guys ever get nervous when you speak English? I know this is a problem for a lot of English learners is getting nervous Well, I I get nervous doing live video So I hope you guys will be patient with me And I hope you'll learn a lot today and give me some feedback in the chat So how this is going to work this class is going to be about speaking English more naturally I know that a lot of my students get frustrated when you feel like you can speak English Sort of but you feel like it's different from the way a native speaker would say it Like my husband is he's Brazilian and he's learning English and he's about pre-intermediate level so he has enough words to communicate But he's often not sure if it's right like he'll say something and then he'll ask me Was that correct or is there a better way to say it? If you've ever felt this way like your English you're not confident that it's the same way a native speaker would say it Put yes in the chat. I want to see how many other people have this difficulty Thank you for the encouragement Yeah, I know it's really hard to speak and feel like you're not saying it naturally so Today I'm gonna give you guys a bunch of examples One thing you might know if you've taken a course with me before or maybe you don't know if you're a new student Is that in some of my courses? there are speaking tasks and writing tasks where you can actually record yourself and Send me your voice or send me your writing and then I correct those and I send them back to the students now one of the things I do of course, I'll fix any mistakes and Sometimes I'll explain, you know the grammar rule or why I picked a different word, but I also Correct things that just don't sound natural like they might not be wrong but just native speakers would say them differently and This is hard for an English learner to figure out on your own. You really need a native speaker to tell you Know there's a better way to say this or a better phrase So let me give you guys a quick example. I'm gonna switch between the video and My PowerPoint presentation. I see we've got some new people coming from Morocco, Algeria Brazil South Korea a Lot of Brazilians Egypt Houston, Texas Vietnam Switzerland Fantastic Somalia. Oh, this is wonderful. Okay, let me switch over to the PowerPoint so I can show you guys Some of these sentences and I'm gonna ask you some questions during the live cast So just type your answers into the chat. Okay, let me see if I can figure out how to share my screen here Screen share. Let's go to the PowerPoint. Okay, can you see my PowerPoint it should show a slide on the screen with two sentences if you can see it Please put yes in the chat box. I think there's a little bit of a delay. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay, perfect okay, so these two sentences on the screen are Sentences I hear a lot of learners say I have difficulty to speak English or I have problems to speak English now Uh-oh, did my screen just go back? Let me Let me see if I can get that PowerPoint back Okay. Oh just a second. Sorry, bear with me technical difficulties. I Want to show you Okay, is the PowerPoint back on the screen? Okay, so I have difficulty to speak English or I have problems to speak English If you say this people will understand what you mean But there's actually a better way to say it most native speakers wouldn't say it this way So who can think of a better way to express this phrase? Give it a try put it in the chat box if you can think of a better way to say this Okay, I can't speak English. Well, that's a that's a great example actually. I Can't speak English very well. Yeah, those are both very good very natural sentences I can't speak fluently. I have trouble speaking English I had speaking instead of to speak good suggestions guys a lot of you are on the right track, so You can see some of you said some great possibilities. I can't speak English very well I have trouble speaking English and here are two more possibilities I have a hard time speaking English or it's hard for me to speak English So those are just more natural. They sound more like something a native speaker would say So let's practice this phrase. I have a hard time and then the ing form So I want you to put in the chat box I have a hard time and then put some other activity for example I have a hard time waking up very early because I don't like to wake up early Let's get some other examples From you guys. What do you have a hard time doing? I'll just wait a minute because there's a slight delay between the chat and the broadcast. I Have a hard time riding a bike great. I have a hard time in finding a job. Yeah, you can put in Before the ing verb, but it's not necessary. I have a hard time sleeping because I have so much homework I have a hard time sleeping late. I have a hard time recording videos me, too I have a hard time putting up with my new roommate good example to put up with means to tolerate So I have a hard time putting up with my roommate means it's difficult for me to tolerate I have a hard time writing response essay hard time concentrating I have a hard time learning to swim good examples everyone. So this is just Let me switch back to my video Just a second Okay, are we back to video now Good. Okay. So this is just a very simple example of how Sometimes English learners say I have difficulty to do something or have a problem to do something But a native speaker would say I have a hard time. I have trouble It's hard for me or I can't so these are just small changes that you can make to your English to make it sound More natural and today what I've done is I've gathered About 15 different examples like this from my students speaking and writing tasks And I'll just adjust the phrase to make it a little more natural and hopefully you guys will learn some new things from that So let me switch back to my PowerPoint Okay Okay, here's another one I've been living here for one and a half years This is something I see a lot of students say one and a half years In fact, some people ask me if it should be year or years, but there's actually a better way to say this and That is I've been living here for a year and a half Native speakers normally don't say one and a half years. We say a year and a half and this also goes for other periods of time like Don't say one and a half hours. It's much more common to say an hour and a half Okay, so I've been preparing for this live cast for an hour and a half This is only the case for When we have one when we have two or three or more years or hours Then we do say two and a half years three and a half years four and a half years and so on But when it's just one we usually don't say one and a half years. We say a year and a half It's a really simple small little change, but it will make you sound more like a native speaker Okay, this is a really simple one. I always am happy. I Always am happy. So I hope you're mostly or always happy. I hope you're happy to be on this live cast What would you change about this sentence to make it more natural? I'll wait a minute Someone said they've been waiting for an hour and a half for the live cast. I guess they're they were really looking forward to it So yes, I am always happy. That's correct in spoken English, especially We often use the short form the contraction. So we don't say I am he is we use words like I'm and he's and We're instead of we are and there and When you have the verb to be right am is a form of the verb to be we put the word always After it so we say I'm always happy. I'm always happy now What about this example? I exercise always in the morning Can you see anything that we should change about this sentence make your suggestions in the chat? Yeah words like always and never and sometimes are adverbs of frequency and Okay, we've got some good answers here adverbs of frequency come After the word to be but they come before other verbs So instead of saying I exercise always I should say I always Exercise in the morning. So let's practice with this one. What's something that you always do? I always brush my teeth in the morning Let's get some answers from the chat and let me switch back To my video, okay. I Am always happy with my family good. Okay someone What else do you always do? Give me some examples. I Always drink a glass of water good idea. I always work until 3 p.m. I always play games I usually exercise good So usually is a different adverb of frequency, but it should also go before the main verb I always practice English pronunciation in the morning. I always study English. I always play basketball I always have coffee after after a meal. Okay, I always drink a glass of water Okay, we need the word ah there. I always drink orange juice early in the morning. I always study Shayna's Shayna's English lessons. Okay, I always listen to music. I never drink coffee after 5 p.m. Great examples I always meditate. Okay, right you guys you guys got the hang of it. Okay, let me let's go to the next example so Just to recap with that one when you have the verb to be then the adverb of frequency goes After it when you have another verb like work or exercise read listen Then the adverb of frequency goes before it and so that's the case with always sometimes usually never Rarely and the other adverbs of frequency. Let me get back to the PowerPoint Okay Okay, here's another one This restaurant has a good quality of food This restaurant has a good quality of food. It's not quite natural So how can we change this sentence to make it more natural? Write your suggestions in the in the the chat box I'll just wait a moment Does anyone have any ideas on how to make this sentence more natural? This restaurant's food is of good quality. Okay, we're getting we're getting better. This restaurant serves good food That's good. This restaurant has good food. Okay, we don't need the word ah there This restaurant has good quality food Good food, right? Okay, so you can see there are actually a number of different ways I just put one example here. This restaurant has high quality food Is a little bit more common, but you know high quality is It's it's not a very common thing. We will when we're talking about food native speakers are more likely to say this restaurant has Excellent food or this restaurant has delicious food Delicious is a word that's specific to the word to food or to drink you could say this restaurant has wonderful food or You could change the sentence around a little bit and say this restaurant's food is excellent Okay, so those are a couple of different ways Let me go back to the video those are a couple of different ways that you can make the sentence more natural and What about if you have the opposite situation if the restaurant has low quality food? Well, some ways you could say that is this restaurant has You could say low quality food, but you could also say the restaurant's food isn't very good It's really common when talking about something kind of bad in English to use the negative of The good thing so instead of saying the food is bad We often say the food is not so great or not so good. You could say the food isn't very fresh So it's Yeah, it's common to say you could if you really want to make a strong statement You could say the restaurant has terrible food Okay Decent food. So if you say the restaurant has decent food that means the food is okay, but it's not great It's like acceptable. It's in the middle. It's not great. It's not bad. It's just decent. Okay. Yep You could say the food doesn't taste good. Okay, not isn't taste good The food doesn't taste good average quality would be the same as like decent. Okay and Oh a good another good example the restaurant has the best food if it's good and the restaurant food is hideous if it's Really really bad hideous is usually used more for appearance instead of taste Let's see The food doesn't taste good this restaurant Doesn't have high quality food. Okay. We need to use doesn't have instead of hasn't because hasn't would only be used For the present perfect and here we're talking about has with Possession so we'd say the restaurant doesn't have high quality food Okay, let's go on to the next example. I'm really glad you guys are participating You're doing some excellent suggestions here in the chat. So this is fun Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the messages Okay, how about this let's say you're gonna buy a car and You're considering a red car and a blue car and you say I like more the red car What's the problem with this sentence? Can you guys figure it out? I? Like more the red car. How should we say that more naturally? I prefer the red car great example I Prefer the red car prefer the red car prefer the red car. I think the red car is the best I like the red car better. Okay. Good job. We normally say I like the red car more or I like the red car better Okay, that's a common question. Which one do you like better or which one do you like more? I like the red car more. I like the red car better or you can use the verb prefer I prefer the red car now if you use prefer then you don't need more you just say I prefer the red car You don't need more and you don't need better personally. I prefer blue cars, but that's because blue is my favorite color Okay, here's an interesting one All the bananas are not ripe The word ripe means when a fruit is ready to eat Okay, so when a banana is ripe It's yellow maybe a little bit brown and it's nice and soft and sweet and you can eat it But when the bananas are not ripe, then it's green and it's hard So can you can you figure out what the problem with this sentence is all the bananas are not ripe? How would you make that sentence more natural? Not all the bananas are ripe. Yes a fruit that is ripe is ready to be eaten All the bananas haven't ripened yet. Mmm. Ah Cecilia got it. None of the bananas is Right, so I would say personally I would say are because bananas is the word bananas is plural none of the bananas are ripe Okay, so instead of saying all of them are not we usually say none of them are Okay, see the difference. They mean the same thing But it's much more common for a native speaker to say none of the bananas are ripe Here's another example. I don't have this on the PowerPoint but someone wrote to me All of the students did not pass the test. We have all being used with not But a better way would be all of the students failed the test right fail is not passed so all the students failed the test or None of the students passed the test so to make your English more natural don't use the word all with the word not either say You could say all of the bananas are unripe or all of the bananas are green Sometimes we use the word green to describe something. That's not ripe or use none None of the bananas are ripe none of the students passed the test Okay, now I saw some people making suggestions or asking about most and some now With most and some then it's okay to use the word not so you can say most of the bananas aren't ripe yet or Some of the bananas are not ripe yet. It's really more common Sorry, it's just with the word all that we try not to work that we try not to use not so Most and some we can use not most of the bananas aren't ripe some of the bananas aren't ripe. Okay? Let's see Let me just catch up with the chat Wow, you guys are really a Okay, so there's an interesting question is None when we have the word none is none singular or plural I think the word none I'm gonna have to look this up. It might be singular But in common use in everyday use we usually have it plural when the noun is countable So let me give you Let me give you some examples. You'll understand it better So if I say none of the bananas It sounds a little funny to say none of the bananas is ripe just because bananas is Sounds odd even if technically none might be singular So most native speakers will say none of the bananas are ripe. None of the students are studying None of the None of the rooms were cleaned But when you have an uncountable noun so an uncountable noun is one that can't be made plural Then we'll say none is so none of the water is safe to drink water is uncountable and So we say none of the water is safe to drink none of the furniture None of the furniture was damaged in the move so furniture is another uncountable noun And so we say none of the furniture was singular. That's a really yeah You agree with the noun exactly Let's see Yeah, this some of this does get a little tricky and usually it's easier to Try to remember them on a case-by-case basis instead of trying to study the rule because I Guess when you pay attention to native speakers saying, you know None of the furniture was damaged none of the bananas are ripe Try to just remember that as a phrase instead of trying to think about is it countable? Is it uncountable? Are we talking about many things or are we talking about all of one thing? It gets a little difficult to think about so I recommend just paying attention When you hear people use phrases with none Okay, let's let's move on. Let me get back to the PowerPoint Oops Come on PowerPoint Where is it one moment, please? No It's not it okay, bear with me while I Try to find my PowerPoint here. Maybe I'll close it and open it again. Okay just a second Like I want my live stream PowerPoint Because I want to show you guys some more examples Just a second Okay, because I've got a really good one coming up for you next It's one error that a lot of students make if I can just get my screen to share so let's see screen share Oh, no, that's so sad. It's not bringing up my PowerPoint. Okay. Well, you know what? I'm just going to say the sentence them okay, and I Then ask ask you guys to What the problem is okay? So here's another sentence that doesn't sound natural. Okay? Most of people like ice cream Most of people like ice cream What's wrong with that sentence or how can we fix it to make it sound more natural? Let me get back to the chat Yeah, all of the PowerPoint is gone. I know I can't figure out what's going on here But I'll just do my best to say the sentences and have you guys correct them So most of people like ice cream. Oh you guys are good. Okay most people like ice cream That is correct. We don't say most of people. We can say most people Okay, actually we don't say most of and Then a noun we always say most and then the noun so most people or Most of the so you can say most of the people are on this live cast are Participating in the chat most of the people in the live cast are participating in the chat But don't say most of and then the noun so let's practice. Let's try to make some sentences. So Let's see most of okay. Here's here's mine most of My work is on the computer. We can also say most of and use a possessive most of my work Most of his students So try making a sentence with either most or most of and I will correct it most of the houses were damaged Good good one. Yep. They most of the houses were damaged in the natural disaster. For example, like an earthquake Um, can anyone else make a sentence with most of Most of the people like you. Oh, thank you. That's very sweet. I hope so. Um What else try most of my mistakes are subtle. Yeah, you know that's a good point and Don't let those subtle mistakes stop you from speaking because most of them Won't prevent communication Most of the children in the school do well in math Maths is the way we say it in British English. Most women love chocolate. Yes. I'm one of them Um Most of yours cars are blue. That should be most of your cars are blue. Okay Most of the roses in my garden are white. Very nice Most of you should have most of your courses are good or most of the courses are good. Um It's hard to understand most Okay, so it's hard to understand most native English speakers Remember most of the native English speakers or just most native English speakers. We shouldn't have of in that question Most girls like gum. Yeah, okay. I suppose so most people are not interested in learning a second language in the Dominican Republic Okay, good examples everyone. Um, let's move on to the next one. Okay Another very very common mistake Here's the sentence. I hear a lot of people say We went to the house of my brother We went to the house of my brother. How can we make this sentence more natural? Let me go look at the chat We went to my brother's house. Wow, everyone's getting this one. Good. Okay. You guys are on top of it um So a lot of other languages don't have this possessive Apostrophe s like we have in English. Um and like I know in portuguese I speak portuguese We would say we went to the house of my brother, but in english whenever possible We use the apostrophe s so we went to my brother's house You can also say we went to my brother's place Place is just kind of a general word for house apartment wherever the person lives um The interesting thing about this possessive my brother's house is that we can actually have two in a row So we could say We went to my brother's girlfriend's house Okay, so the house is owned by the girlfriend of my brother. We went to my brother's girlfriend's house Now we try to avoid having more than two. So for example, it would get kind of crazy if we said, um My brother's girlfriend's dog's um Food is very expensive. So that starts to get a little crazy If you wanted to say sentence like that You would say my brother's girlfriend has a dog and his food is very expensive But we can have two in a row. So for example, my mother's co-workers car Uh got stolen or something like this um Sometimes people ask me do we ever say, you know, the the house of my brother or the house of Sometimes uh, usually not when it's a person. So when it's a person we have, um We use the possessive with apostrophe s, but sometimes we will say, um Let me think Sometimes we will say the the economy of the country instead of the country's economy Or especially if let me think especially if it's I'm having a hard time thinking of another example But sometimes if the noun is very long, then we will use of instead of the apostrophe The apostrophe s. Okay. Here's one. Let's say, uh, you're going to the house of a person And this person is the director of human resources in your company. So We probably wouldn't say We went to the director of human resources's house It's just too long because that title director of human resources is a long title So we would probably just say, um We went to the director's house or we went to my co-worker's house or my supervisor's house My boss's house. So oftentimes when the title is long Then that might be a case where we change it a little bit. So we don't use the possessive Okay, I'm going to try getting this power point back one more time because I really want you to see the next one Um Ah power point Can you guys see the power point now? All right. Okay Here's another here's another example of a sentence that's not quite natural Karen and I met five years ago and we're friends until today or we're friends until now What's wrong with this sentence or how can we how can we change it? Give me some suggestions. Karen and I met five years ago and we're friends until today or friends until now We want to express the fact that we're we're we're friends up till the present moment Okay, I see we're friends currently we've been friends since then we've been friends for five years Good examples good examples. Here are a couple of more Karen and I met five years ago and we're friends to this day Or we're still friends. We use the word still A lot when talking about a situation that continues to be the case So Karen and I met five years ago and we're friends to this day or we're still friends And there are a few other ways to say it as people have been saying the chat Karen and I have been friends for five years. You can use the present perfect there Now you might wonder well, what's the problem with until today or until now? Well until today or until now implies that the situation was different in the past and Now it has changed. So for example Let's say you were friends with Karen, but recently Karen did something terrible and now you're not friends anymore So then you would say Karen and I were friends until now So we used to be friends and now we're not friends anymore So this idea of until today or until now even though it doesn't seem like it from the words It's often used when the situation changes. Here's another example Let me get back to my video here Okay, here's another example. Let's say I go play golf for the first time. I could say I've never played golf until now So the situation is changing before I didn't play golf and now I am playing golf So I never played golf until now or Let's say you have a favorite sports team One of my favorite sports teams is the new york yankees. They play baseball And let's imagine that the yankees are having a great season and they're winning all their games And then they lose a game So I could say the yankees just lost a game. They were doing well until today So in the past they were doing well and now they're doing badly or now they lost So this phrase until now or until today is often used when the situation changes And when the situation stays the same then we use words like to this day So, um, I started working at espresso english five years ago And i'm working at espresso english to this day. That means I continue to work uh at espresso english Uh, or still you can say i'm still friends Oh, we have a red socks fan in the chat. That's the rival team to the yankees. They're like the big the biggest enemy um okay, so Someone asks what about up to this day? That's most people won't use that they'll just say to this day and yes You can use currently. Um Currently, yeah, you can use it. Uh, when do we use till now? Till now, I think is the same about the same as until now. I hadn't played tennis until now, right? So I didn't play tennis before now. I'm playing tennis for the first time. So till now is the same as uh until now You can use currently you can use still you can use the present perfect. Okay. Let me move on Uh, let's get back to the power point power point Okay Okay, when I became 12 years old, I got a bicycle when I became 12 years old I got a bicycle How can we make that sentence more natural? If someone said that to me, I would understand it, but it's not quite correct I've been in new york since 2014 and I am still here that is correct Good job when I turned 12 years old. I got a bicycle Okay, and actually a lot of native speakers Uh, we'll just say when I turned 12 because we understand from the context that it's 12 years old when I turned 12 I got a bicycle Okay, now there's a difference between when I turned 12 and when I was 12 Okay, when I was 12 That could be at any time during the whole year of being 12 years old When I turned 12 is more specifically At the time of my birthday. Okay, so we use the word we use the verb turn in english to describe Uh going from one year to another. So when I turned 18 Then I was able to vote in the u.s. The voting age is 18 when I turned 21 Then I was able to drink alcohol So let's turn it over to the chat Uh, what was something that happened when you turned a certain number of years old like when I turned good example When I turned 16. I got my driver's license. Um, when I turned six years old I went to school for the first time because my birthday is in Uh, my birthday is in september and so Uh, let's see when I turned 12. I traveled to another city Good Anybody else? It doesn't have to be 12 by the way. You can make it any age. Um When I turned eight, I started learning english when I turned seven I went to school when I turned 25. I passed my driving test when I turned 21. I got a job When I turned 20, I got my first boyfriend Good good examples Let me go back to PowerPoint keep keep sending examples because you know, we can students can learn from each other too And I think it really helps to see more examples Okay, how about this one? I'm graduated in psychology I'm graduated in psychology. What would be a more natural way to make this sentence? I'm graduated in psychology Okay, good some good examples. I'm a graduate in psychology. I got a degree in psychology Um, not I graduated from psychology. We don't use here are a couple different ways you can say I have a degree in psychology You can also say I majored in psychology We use the word a major in english to describe your concentration of studies in the university So you can say I majored in psychology. It's really common for um, people to ask college students What are you majoring in or what are you going to major in that means? What is going to be your concentrated field of study? And you can also just say I studied psychology at the university of california Most people will say that and it's just understood that you finished the course of study and you got a degree In psychology. So let's anybody who has a college degree um Okay, so someone asked for before we do that someone asked what about post graduation? So that's after you finish the regular four years of university. Then you would say, uh, I have a master's degree or I have a doctorate In psychology. So we have master's degrees that are usually two or three years after Regular university and then we have a doctorate or a doctoral degree, which is four to six years After the regular college. So then in that case, you'd say I have a master's degree or I have a doctorate Um, so let's all say what we have a degree in I have a degree in chemistry I studied science when I was in college. So I have a degree in chemistry. I majored in chemistry Um, what about everybody in the chat? Let's see what our degrees are in anyone who has a degree go ahead and share it So I have this should be a bachelor's degree a bachelor's degree is those first four years of college I have a degree in art of science. Okay anybody else I majored in geology great job I have a degree in math. Wow a lot of math and science people here. That's interesting I have a degree in engineering linguistics. Okay, someone asked what if I'm still in the process of graduation? Then you would say um, I'm getting my degree or I'm studying Chemistry, I'm currently studying Uh, so if you're in the process you could say I'm getting my degree or I'm Doing some people use the word doing I'm doing my degree in psychology Uh, okay degree in information technology economics Degree in civil engineering psychology. I'm getting my degree. Good job Okay, excellent Okay, next one She's a so unfriendly person. She is a so unfriendly person Well, we understand what this means, but it's not natural. So how can we make it more natural? Okay, we can say she is not very friendly She's such an unfriendly person or she is a very unfriendly person or she's so Unfriendly she is quite unfriendly. She's so mean good mean is the same thing as unfriendly Um great examples So those are some of the ones I had here in fact you can say she's a very unfriendly person Or she's such an unfriendly person Or simply she's so unfriendly So when do we use so and when we when do we use such? We use so when we have only an adjective So she's so unfriendly unfriendly is our adjective But if we have the noun person after that then we would say such she's such an unfriendly person Another really good example is when you see a dog you can say You can say that dog is so cute Right because cute is an adjective or you can say that's such a cute dog Because when we have the word dog at the end then we need to use such So let's practice this um, I want you to say something about your best friend and Uh, it should be using so or such and it should be a good adjective, right? Unfriendly is kind of a bad adjective So my best friend is such a good listener She really listens to me and my best friend is so smart. Okay, so I want to see your examples um Let's see if the video or audio is freezing My friend is so sociable. You need the word is my friend is so sociable I'm such a good friend. Good. She is such an adorable person Good such a sweetheart. Good a good word. Sweet heart is a word of affection For someone who you really love and they are very nice. My best friend is such good company She's such a dedicated professional She is so kind. She is such a pretty girl. My best friend is such a hard worker She's such a talkative person. Good that describes my mother. My mother is such a talkative person Shayna is so cute. Oh, thank you Uh such an amazing person. My best friend is a good helper Great. My friend is such a shy person Mm-hmm. Good. Good examples everyone. Okay, let's see what we have next All right, um back to our power point I think I'm getting better at this live casting thing. Okay, uh, I want to buy as soon as possible a new car I want to buy as soon as possible a new car How can we make it more natural? You can say, okay. I want to buy a new car ASAP ASAP is Short for as soon as possible. I want to buy a new car as soon as possible. Right. Um When we have a verb like buy and then we have a direct object So in this case the direct object receives the action of the verb So our direct object is a new car We try not to put anything between the verb and the direct object So as soon as possible If we put it in the middle of the verb in the object It breaks up the phrase and it makes it sound a little bit funny and I think a lot of you Uh have a good english sense because you you recognize that this doesn't sound Correct. So I want to buy a new car as soon as possible. Okay, so let's do some Uh, some more examples. Okay. What do you want to buy as soon as possible? Uh, I need to buy some Champou as soon as possible Let's see your examples in the chat What did someone ask what is the difference between quick and soon quick means something is fast in general and soon means Something will happen in a short time in the future Um, so you could say I want to buy a new car as quickly as possible But it's more common to say as soon as possible. I want to find a new friend as soon as possible I want to pass the TOEFL exam ASAP. I want to buy a pair of socks as soon as possible Buy some bread ASAP bread is uncountable in english. So we'd say some bread instead of a bread Uh, I need to buy a new camera as soon as possible. I want to buy a flat as soon as possible flat means an apartment Okay, and british English will say flat Um, I'd like to buy a bicycle as soon as I can. Okay, so when we want to use I'd like for I want We need I'd I'd like to buy a bicycle as soon as possible I want to buy a house ASAP I want to improve my english as soon as possible. I want to gain the american accent as soon as possible great job I am impressed. Okay Um back to our power point here Okay, next one. This one's pretty simple. I entered into my house How should we make this one more natural? I got into my house We would only say that if we were having difficulty Uh, I entered my house right we don't need Entered into it's redundant. It means it's repetitive So we could say a native speaker would say I entered my house But it's actually more common for us to just say I went into my house. Okay. I went into my house We have a similar thing with the word discuss. Okay. I see a lot of english learners saying We discussed about the topic, but you actually don't need the word about because Discuss means to talk about so native speakers would say we discussed the topic or We talked about the topic and it's the same with enter and go into so don't use entered into it's just not necessary Say entered or went into Okay, I've got one last example And then I'm going to give you guys a few more tips for speaking more naturally and I'm also going to um Talk a little bit about the new course and take some questions. So Uh, here's the last one. I'm going in new york on friday. I'm going in new york on friday How can we make it more natural? Oops, sorry. I just got rid of the power point. Um, let me get back to it. The sentence is i'm going in new york On friday. What should this be instead? Going to going to very good. You know a lot of english learners Uh learn the fact that you use In with cities and countries and areas And we use on for streets and we use at for contexts But with the word going we always use to so don't say i'm going in new york say i'm going to new york This applies to countries as well. So um, i'm going to Italy next summer. Um, that's not true. I wish it was but tell me about the next place you're going to We would say i'm going to long island. Um I'm going to okay. Where are you going? Um, Let's see. I'm going to the gym later personally. Uh, Let's see Wait for the chat I'm going to a pristine area on sunday very nice some an area that is pristine means it's it's perfect And it's natural and it's clean. I'm going to visit my parents in mexico. I'm going to london soon I'm going to a barbershop soon barbershop is uh for cutting hair I'm going to stock home next week. I'm going to paris next long weekend I'm going to ukraine. I'm going to japan For long island. We would say to going to long island But if you live There then you would say I live on long island, okay, so But it's just with going where you use to i'm going to travel to alaska. I'm going to start college. Okay. Now there is one exception At least one that I know of where after going We don't use to before the place and that is going home. Okay, so we don't say Going to home. We just say going home. So after work you say i'm going home And in this case we don't use the word gonna. Okay, we only use gonna when uh When there's another verb after it. Okay, so for example I'm gonna study english But when we're talking about going to a place then we don't use gonna we say i'm going home i'm Going to the library um Someone asked what's the difference between i'm going and I will I actually have a lesson about that at espresso english if you search for google for espresso english with going to and will You'll find that let that lesson. Okay, so Remember use going to when going to places Except for going home. Oh, you know, that's another good example. I'm going abroad Abroad means you're going to a different country and we also don't use to i'm going abroad means i'm going outside the country great job Okay, um all right okay so to finish So those are about 15 different examples of just little changes that you can make to english sentences that It just makes them better. It makes them more natural. Um, this the previous sentences not all of them were wrong It's just that it's not the same way native speaker would say them And so you might be wondering well, what's the best way to actually improve this like You know besides these classes. What can I do to improve my english so it sounds more like a native speakers? Well, the first thing honestly is to pay attention, you know You probably listen to a lot of english podcasts and maybe you watch youtube videos or ted talks I really like ted talks for um learning english And just pay attention to the way that words are used. So for example, if you always say It depends of the weather And you notice that in an interview someone says it depends on the weather then you think Maybe i'm not supposed to use of I should be using on so just pay attention. You know when you're listening it's easy to Get really nervous and frustrated and just you're worried about getting everything at once but just kind of take note Don't just listen to something once Listen to it several times and pay attention to the phrases that are used Take note of anything that the native speaker says that maybe is different from how you would say it And it doesn't always mean that your way is wrong actually because like we saw in today's lesson There are a bunch of different ways correct and natural ways to say things. Um And in my in my courses, I try to give you Several ways so in everyday english speaking the first one There will often be several different ways for example to order a cup of coffee You can say something like can I have a small coffee or you could say could I have a small coffee? You could also say can I get a small coffee? So all of these are common and excuse me They're all used by native speakers And the other way that I suggest to help make your english more natural is just to get Corrections now Here's the thing when you're talking at work or maybe with a friend A lot of native english speakers won't correct you because first of all They're embarrassed and they think they might make you feel bad And so they're not going to stop you and say wait, wait, wait You're you said going to home and it should be going home Because they're your friends and they just want to talk with you and they're not going to correct every little part of your english But the downside of that is that you could be making some of the same Mistakes or having some of the same unnatural sentences and it could become a habit and you don't know that they are not natural And so if you're if your friends won't correct you then how can you get corrections? Well, one thing that I always recommend is joining Uh a conversation exchange if you google conversation exchange, you'll find websites where basically You partner with someone who's learning your language and then you get together on skype Or you chat and you spend half the time talking in your native language And you help the other person and then half the time speaking in english and then they'll help you And the purpose of that is to practice and also to correct each other So, you know, even if you don't if you or the other person don't know the rules You can still identify what sounds strange in your native language and the other person can identify What sounds a little odd in english and you can just help each other improve um each of your languages and uh the other way you can get corrections Is to join one of my courses which includes this uh correction of your spoken english, so What are the courses I have that include this this ability? Well, one of them I have two which are called everyday english speaking everyday english speaking level one Focuses on really practical things in day-to-day life like getting public transportation Going to a restaurant Being in social in social situations Things like even arguments or interrupting people giving encouragement and at the end of every lesson there's uh speaking tasks where for example Let's say the lesson was about arguments. I'll ask you tell me about the last argument That you had with someone and record your speaking and send it to me And my new course everyday english speaking level two Also has this now. What's the difference between one and two? Uh level one is a little easier The conversations are a little simpler and they're more directly focused on day-to-day situations everyday english speaking Level two is more advanced So the conversations are really full of phrasal verbs idioms slang words um Just informal expressions that we use all the time and there are a lot of them in the conversation So this might be more similar to a conversation. You'll hear just between friends or something like that and uh, so It's more challenging to understand But that means you'll also be able to learn more of these expressions And then at the end of each lesson also There's an opportunity for you to record your speaking and send it to me for um correction and I why do I do this? You know recording the speaking and sending it instead of live lessons Well, because first of all I can correct more students speaking than I can do live lessons And it enables me to really go line by line and Correct everything sometimes when I'm speaking with someone live um I don't correct everything because it would just get annoying, you know, if there's a if there's a problem in every sentence I don't want to stop the person every sentence and correct something But if I have a recording then I can analyze it and I can make all the changes necessary And I can always I can also explain it to you So why do we say it differently and so you can learn from those corrections and I also think that when I ask students to record their speaking It's low pressure because nobody else has to hear it If you don't like your recording you can um delete it and try again And uh, you know, you're just sending you're just sending it to me. It's private It's just between me and you so the corrections I send you um, you know I'm not giving you a grade. There's no pressure. I just want to Help you improve your English. So um right now There's uh, there's a promotion. There's a discount for the second level of everyday English speaking That course has 45 lessons and it's going to be 45 dollars But if you buy it now or before September 1st Then the price is 30 dollars and so if you want more information on that you can click under this video There's a green button that says more information And then there's a blue button that says sign up now and under more information There is uh a description of the course and there are sample lessons So you can actually see what this these lessons are like and in the sample lessons You can record your voice and send it to me So, you know, if you think you would benefit from this go ahead and give a try and I will send you back my feedback So, um now we've got about let's see, uh 10 minutes left guys. Thank you for your participation It's been really fun and I'll just take a few questions from the chat so um Let's see Let me just catch up on the chat because there have been a lot of uh, there have been a lot of There's a lot chatting going on. Okay. Um First of all, you're welcome. I'm glad you guys enjoyed this live cast and I hope to I hope to do this again I hope to do it more more often and uh Yeah, it's a little difficult being on live video, but if you guys enjoy it, I will do it more often. Okay um So where to send where to send your recorded voice go ahead and click on the green button more information and then click on the free samples and then download the free samples You will see where to send it. Um You're quite welcome I I do not have italki. I'm sorry. I just I I highly recommend italki for speaking with native speakers and uh and teachers Uh, but I don't do it myself How to speak continuously with I think you meant without hesitation. So Well, first of all, remember that it's normal to pause when you're speaking You don't have to just keep speaking And never stop Like right now sometimes when I'm talking I'm pausing So it's okay to speak with pauses. Remember that speaking fluently doesn't mean you have to just constantly talk Now the biggest tip I have for speaking without hesitating is to learn to think in English Okay, because it takes time if you're translating from your native language And you're also kind of worrying about is this the right word? I'm not sure um Learn to think in English and also don't worry too much about mistakes because if you get to Hung up on mistakes. That means if you get too obsessed about the mistakes, then you're going to hesitate a lot but I even though this lesson was about correcting those small subtle errors in your English I really think that communication Is the most important goal. So even if it's not quite correct It's more important to just get it out there and talk and communicate Then it is to be perfectly perfectly perfectly correct in every single little thing So those are my two tips learn to think in English think directly in English without Without translating and don't obsess about the word choice just get it out there and If there's a miscommunication you can work it out, but don't Let that make you hesitate. Okay For problems in pronunciation For pronunciation is really I always say it's like going to the gym And you're not gonna if you practice pronunciation just like if you go to the gym one time You're not suddenly going to become super muscular after going to the gym one time You have to do it over and over and so in the same way with pronunciation You've got to practice it every day Over a long period of time and I highly recommend shadowing Which is where you get a podcast or a video or any sort of audio of a native speaker talking You play the first line and pause it and try to repeat it immediately after the person Now I have a course on this where you can I pause the audio And give you some space to repeat so you can do that naturally But I've had other students do it with barack obama's speeches. He's a really good speaker You can do it with any audio just Play the first line pause it and try to repeat immediately and another way you could do it after you've Done that a couple times is try to say it with the person. So try to actually match their Their speaking rhythm and pronunciation You can it's best to do this if you have the transcript, of course So you can be reading along at the same speed as the person is talking Okay, uh, so those are a couple tips for pronunciation As for listening someone asked about listening a couple Okay, just a second. Let me take care of a issue in the chat Okay, um Okay, someone someone asked about listening listening I also recommend listening multiple times and the first time you listen Try to get just the general ideas. Don't try to get every word. That's a big mistake So the first time you listen just try to get the general ideas The second time and the third time then try to get more specific because the more times you listen The more details you can fill in and my listening course Will help you do this as well So someone asked if they should sign up to this course separately or if it's included in the package Which they already have um, please email me privately just Go to the contact form and send me a message and we'll get that worked out for you. Okay Someone has asked if I recommend reading Newspapers and articles for magazines Allowed help in speaking. Yeah, I think they do because the first step in speaking is actually getting the confidence to speak And so when you speak there are two things that are going on There's the physical difficulty of actually pronouncing the words, right? Because it's different from your native language and then there's the mental difficulty of trying to think of what to say So when you read aloud from a newspaper or a text You are building your confidence in that physical aspect without having to think about or invent what to say So I recommend it as a confidence builder, but I think you need to do more than that For example after you read the article aloud Then imagine that someone asks you well What did you think about the article and then practice speaking aloud and just giving your answer spontaneously? um That chat from that says you are the best teacher from lori is from my mother Hi mom. She's watching my live cast. Uh, do we have any other questions? I have time for one or two more Is this video going to be available later? Yes, it's being recorded and as soon as i'm done It'll take me probably a couple days to just clean up the video and get it all set up and I will send it out by email Uh, someone asked about How to best remember the words I have a tendency to forget Um, if you have to go don't worry about it. Uh, I will send out this whole recording later But let me just answer this question about forgetting words and phrases because it's really common um Two things you can do to remember words and phrases better One is to write them down in a notebook So I always recommend that students keep a vocabulary notebook So you're not just looking at the words if you look at it, then you know, maybe it just Leaves your mind a little later, but if you write it down Write down the word Write down the definition and write down a couple of example sentences. That's a more active way of Putting the word into your memory, especially if you can create your own Example sentences like if you just uh learned the word Um sunglasses Okay, then you can make your own sentence that says when I go to the beach. I always take my sunglasses All right, so create your own examples And then after your words are in the vocabulary notebook. Don't just leave them there and forget about them Maybe a couple days later or a week later go back and review those words that you learned So when we when we learn something new naturally it can kind of leave our mind over time But if you come back to it Then it will stay more strongly in your mind and especially if you're working with it actively Um, oh do we lose the video? um Can you guys see me? Oh dear