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expire says hi Alicia I’ve noticed some
expressions that use AZ plus adverb plus
AZ for example as soon as can you tell
me about the adverbs that I can use this
with and explain all about it sure
okay first let’s look at a couple of
basic ways that you can use this pattern
so we’ll talk about as soon as a little
bit later because it’s a little bit
different but we can use AZ plus adverb
plus AZ or AZ plus adjective plus AZ to
show that something is equal to
something else for example Sarah sing
as beautifully as Kim Jeff is as tall as
Dave so these examples mean that person
a and person B are equal in terms of
something in the first example sentence
Sarah and Kim sing equally beautifully
in the second example sentence Jeff and
Dave have equal Heights so as plus
adjective or as plus adverb plus AZ
refers to two things that are equal in
some way so that’s one way of using this
as soon as your example is a bit
different from this we use as soon as to
mean that one action will be done or one
action will occur immediately after
another action for example will leave as
soon as you finish your drink so that
means that one action leaving will
happen immediately after the other
action finishing a drink so we’ll leave
as soon as you finish your drink means
we’ll leave immediately after or just
after you finish your drink so this is
kind of different we’re not using it to
make a comparison or to say that
something is equal to something else
this is kind of a set expression which
means immediately following something
else another expression that uses this
as plus something plus as pattern is as
long as as long as so as long as means
only if for example I can go to the
party as long as I finish my homework so
another way to say this is I can go to
the party only if I finish my homework
meaning if I do not finish my homework I
cannot go to the party so as long as is
another way to do that another pattern
is with few and with little and we use
this when we want to emphasize small
quantities of things we use as few as or
as little as for example as few as 60
people attended the seminar as few as
half of the students passed the class
and as few as six stood
attended the class so this means that
like six or sixty or whatever the number
is was like a small amount compared to
maybe what was expected so we use as few
as or as little as to express that keep
in mind that this doesn’t really matter
regarding uncountable or countable nouns
we use this with both on the other hand
when you want to talk about large
amounts of things you can use as many as
to do that so for example as many as
1,000 people volunteered for the event
or as many as 60 students entered to win
the contest so that kind of emphasizes
that a large amount or perhaps more of
something than expected happened or
occurred as much as is another
expression that follows this as
something as pattern but as much as has
some different uses than as many as we
can use as much as to refer to something
that is equal as I talked about at the
very beginning to this answer as in she
earns as much as he does or she drinks
as much wine as he does so that refers
to equal amounts of something we can
also use it to talk about like
activities we enjoy or activities we
feel something for for example he likes
cooking as much as he likes watching
movies so that expresses equality
there’s also one kind of strange use of
as much as which is an examples like as
much as I like the new guy at the office
I don’t think he’s going to stay at the
company long or as much as I want to go
to that new restaurant I don’t have a
budget for it this week
so this use of as much as means like
despite or even though so like despite
how much I like that new guy or even
though I really like that new guy I
can’t see him at the company for very
long or something like that so we use as
much as usually at the beginning of a
clause to mean despite or even though so
this is a quick introduction to some
very common as something as pattern some
of which use adverbs but I hope that
this helps answer your question thanks
very much
ok let’s move on to your next
question next question comes from amar
hi amar amar says hi Alicia is there any
difference between these day by day and
by the day minute by minute
and by the minute hour by hour and by
the hour yes there are some differences
first let’s look at one group of these
let’s look at day by day hour by hour
and minute by minute we use these
expressions to mean that something
happens gradually something maybe
changes gradually a condition or a state
changes gradually over a period of time
so for example day by day she worked on
her project until it was finished or
minute by minute she grew hungrier and
hungrier hour by hour he got more and
more worried so each of these
expressions shows how much time passed
like what was the length of time of that
activity in the first example sentence
day by day it means that she worked on
her project over a period of days in the
second example sentence over several
minutes
she grew hungrier and hungrier in the
third example sentence over a period of
hours he got more and more worried so we
use this pattern to show like the
gradual progression of something or
gradual change in something we can use
the second pattern you introduced this
by the day or by the hour or by the
minute to do it but we need to change
the sentences slightly for example her
project progressed by the day she grew
hungrier by the minute he became more
and more worried by the hour so when
you’re using this by the day or by the
minute or by the hour pattern you need
to make sure that the subject of your
sentence is the thing that is changing
so in some cases the thing that is
changing might be separate from like the
person who is doing the activity this is
especially the case for the first
example sentence when using that day by
day pattern I said
by day she worked on her project until
it was finished that’s fine but when I’m
using this by the day pattern I need to
make the thing that is changing the
subject of my sentence so in this case
her project progressed by the day so
that means her project the thing that is
changing progressed so that means it
moved forward by the day so this pattern
personally I don’t use this one so much
I think I might use the first style a
little bit more commonly the final point
for my answer to this question is about
the second group of expressions we can
use these when we’re talking about
prices for goods or for services so
let’s imagine that we are renting an
office space to rent the office space by
the day it’s $70 to rent the office
space by the minute it’s 20 cents and to
rent the office space by the hour it’s
ten dollars so we use by the minute or
by the hour or by the day or maybe by
the week perhaps in some cases do you
talk about prices for time periods of
things so you may see this if again
you’re like renting a space or you need
to buy some goods or a service or
something and the available prices are
in units of time so this is another case
where you might see this so I hope that
this answer helps you thanks very much
for the question okay let’s move on to
your next question next question comes
from van anh hi van on Van anchez I’m
very confused about the conversion of
adverbs of time in reported speech for
example the rules say today needs to be
turned into that day tomorrow becomes
the next day and yesterday becomes the
day before why is that also why do
people who are learning English as a
second language need to learn about
reported speech and direct and indirect
speech by native speakers don’t mmm
first question I wouldn’t say that these
are rules there’s not a rule about using
tomorrow or yesterday or the next day or
whatever what’s important when you’re
reporting speech is chickens
sitter the relationship between your
conversation to the present point in
time so for example if you and I had a
conversation before I started recording
this video about like some plan we have
for two days in the future and then I
want to report that to our mutual friend
the next day so tomorrow now I would say
hey I talked to van yesterday or van
told me about this yesterday or I want
to talk to you about tomorrow’s plan
I talked to van about it yesterday so
what’s important is the relationship
between that conversation the
conversation where you’re reporting
something and the actual conversation
that you’re referring to so that
relationship is what’s important so I
wouldn’t say like the next day I would
say tomorrow because it’s quite natural
it is natural to use the next day if
it’s like something that was in the past
or it’s not easy to use tomorrow or
yesterday so if we think about a
different example like if I want to talk
about a meeting that happened two weeks
ago then I would probably use that day
or the next day so for example I could
say on that day my manager said my
project was a great success the next day
I received a promotion so in that case
on that day refers to the day of the
meeting so maybe I don’t need to be
specific then the next day refers to the
day following the meeting I cannot use
tomorrow in that case because tomorrow
is referencing only the day after the
present so tomorrow has a very specific
use the next day refers to the next day
in the story so we can’t use tomorrow or
yesterday loosely we can use the next
day or the day before or the day prior
to talk about like past events or even
future events as well too but tomorrow
today and yesterday are very like
constrained so it’s kind of strict our
use of those we need to use those when
referring to the present point in time
so please keep this in mind so don’t
worry about like following a specific
rule for reporting speech in this way
think about your relationship to the
conversation you’re having now and the
conversation about which you are
reporting that’s what’s important here
so this will get easier with time and
with practice and if it’s helpful you
might take a look at a calendar while
you try to think about how to report
speech and it might kind of help you
visualize how to explain things in the
best way regarding your second question
native speakers do learn about reporting
speech and reporting like indirect and
direct speech we just learn it naturally
as speakers of any language do so this
is something for everybody to learn and
that everybody uses I hope that this
helps you thanks for the question okay
let’s move on to your next question next
question comes from Khalil hi Khalil
Khalil says hi Alicia how do I get
better at pronouncing P and B in words
like probably responsible purple back
pack bath path and so on ah well you
already know that these letters are
these sounds are challenging for you so
the next step really is to practice I
would say when you practice
pronunciation - if it’s something that
you can’t quite get the hang of like you
feel like you’re trying really hard but
you can’t quite make the sound try
practicing a bit in front of a mirror
and look at the way a native speaker
says those sounds so Google or find on
youtube a video of someone saying these
sounds so it’s not just listening but
you want to actually see someone making
these sounds and try to make your mouth
make the same motions as the native
speaker so this might feel a little bit
uncomfortable at first like when I teach
pronunciation lessons with my students
they feel like a little uncomfortable or
they laugh because we have to use like
sounds in English that they don’t use in
their native language and it feels
strange to them so if it feels strange
that’s okay like try to push yourself to
make a new sound so for example when
you’re making a piece ound puff you need
to really like pull your lips in mmm to
make that sound so you
can’t make a peace ound with a B sound
mount position so it’s going to sound
like but you need to make a gesture sort
of or a motion with your mouth
so try practicing in front of a mirror
and see if you can make your mouth
motions match the motions of a native
speaker and if you have trouble
pronouncing the whole word like probably
in one go try breaking it down into
syllables so probably and then try to
connect the syllables together so ibly
or Probab something like that so break
the words down until you feel
comfortable that you’re pronouncing them
correctly so I hope that this helps and
good luck with your pronunciation
studies thanks very much for the
question ok
let’s move on to your next question next
question comes from Phoenix hi Phoenix
Phoenix says hi Alicia I am Phoenix from
Vietnam could you explain the difference
between bar pub beer club and beer
garden
thanks a million ok sure a bar is a
place where alcoholic drinks are served
bars can be casual they can be very
luxurious perhaps they have a few snacks
but usually snacks are like maybe nuts
or maybe like dried fruit or something
like that so a bar is a place primarily
usually for alcoholic drinks a pub is a
bit more of a casual place a pub has
kind of a neighborhood feel it’s usually
not like a luxurious place the probably
most popular drink and a pub is beer and
you can get food at a pub it’s usually
not super healthy it’s usually like
fried foods or like meat or maybe stews
that kind of thing so it’s often this
very like hearty kind of homestyle
cooking at pubs a beer club a beer club
is not something that we have at least
in the u.s. that’s not a word that we
really use in English that’s not a word
we use in English at all together a beer
club separately that could refer to a
group of people that gets together to
drink beer or maybe they have some kind
of membership system where they exchange
beer I don’t know
so it could be a
your club people who enjoy a beer
together we do have the word beer bar
which refers to a certain type of bar
that serves just specialty beers so that
is a word a beer bar you might also hear
the word beer pub which is like a more
casual beer bar finally a beer garden is
a place outside usually it like a
festival or some other kind of event
where people can drink beer outside so
it’s just like kind of like what it
sounds you can usually drink beer in
like a grassy area outside so that’s
called a beer garden I hope that this
helps you thanks very much for the
question Elektra from Greece could you
please explain gerron’s to us sure a
gerund is a verb in the ing form so
using it in this way makes it a noun we
can use it as a noun in a sentence for
example she likes cooking or he hates
hiking so in these sentences the words
that end in ing are gerunds in the first
sentence cooking in the second sentence
hiking we can use jaren’s and the
infinitive forms of verbs sometimes
interchangeably so the infinitive form
of a verb is 2 plus the base form of the
verb for example she likes to cook or he
likes to hike a very common question is
when do I use a gerund when do I use an
infinitive and the question is quite big
it’s way too big to answer in this
series the reason is that there are many
different groups of verbs that tend to
take jaren’s or that tend to take
infinitives but there are exceptions all
over the place so it’s quite challenging
to make a rule or a guide specifically
for jaren’s or specifically for
infinitives so this is a quick
introduction to what a gerund is it’s a
verb that takes an ING ending and is
used as a noun in a sentence I hope that
this helps you thanks very much for the
question ok let’s move on to your next
question next question comes from El
Hassan Ahmed hello al hassan al hassan
says I sometimes hear people say better
instead of improve as if it is a verb is
that formal for
example think about how to better
yourself also I heard someone say more
better and it sounded strange to me I
mean can I say he is more taller than me
I don’t think I can thanks a lot
okay yes exactly to better means to
improve and yes it does sound a little
bit more polite a little bit more formal
like you should better yourself you
should improve yourself or she aims to
better her students meaning she aims to
improve her students so yes you can use
better to mean improve in this way just
make sure you use it as a verb to answer
your second question though more better
as you’ve said yes is grammatically
incorrect and you’re also correct you
cannot say he is more taller than me
that’s also incorrect so the reason that
you might hear something like this is
because native speakers often like to
make grammatical mistakes on purpose to
sound funny like to sound childish or
like to make a joke so a very popular
one is to use the expression more better
like ah that’s more better it sounds
kind of cute like a child who hasn’t
learned all of the grammar rules of
English yet they might say more better
instead of just better so this is maybe
like a way that someone could joke
around or just try to sound more
friendly or kind of cute'
in their speaking thanks very much for
the question I hope that this helps you
okay let’s move on to your next question
next question comes from Tatsu haitatsu
Tatsu says could you tell me the
difference between correct and right
sure if you’re talking about the
opposite of wrong as in like the answers
on a test and correct and right are both
fine to use you can use either of them
if you’re talking about the opposite of
left then you have to use right you
cannot use correct for that we also
talked about things that are societally
proper that are societally good with the
word right we do not use correct so for
example if you say like oh my gosh my
medical feeds from my hospital stay
we’re so high that’s not right
so we use right to mean like that’s not
good or that’s not fair that’s not
like a good thing in our society we also
use the word right to mean like basic
human rules in a society again - so for
example in the USA people have the right
to silence so that means a basic rule
that people have in the US is the
ability to keep their silence about
something so we cannot use correct in
that case so these are the various uses
of correct and rights I hope that this
helps you thanks for the question ok
let’s move on to your next question next
question comes from Mitch mitt mitt mitt
mitt mitt mitt mitt mitt says hi Alicia
why don’t native speakers use specific
times and present perfect but they do
use specific times in simple past tense
because when we’re using the basic form
of present perfect we’re not focusing on
when in the past specific action
occurred we just want to talk about that
life experience so the time the point in
time at which it happened is not
important or we don’t know or we don’t
want to focus on that for example I have
been to France or he has eaten sushi in
these situations for whatever reason
when that happened is not important we
just want to express our life experience
so we do not use a specific point in
time and it sounds very unnatural to use
a specific point in time with that like
present perfect tense if however you
want to use present perfect continuous
to talk about a point at which something
started and then has continued until the
present time you can and you should use
a for or since ending to it for example
I have been living in France since 2013
or he has been studying English for
three years in those cases we need to
mark the starting point of that action
or condition so we do use a specific
point in time let’s compare this then to
using simple past tense when we use
simple past tense we want to express an
action that started and that finished in
the past and so we do use a specific
point in time for example I went to
France last summer or he
sushi last week so in sum if you want to
just share a general life experience use
the regular present perfect tense if you
want to talk about something that
started in the past and continues to the
present use present perfect continuous
and include a specific point in time at
which your actions started or began or
like when your condition started if you
want to talk about something that’s done
that’s over and you want to talk about
the specific point in which that thing
happened use simple past tense so I hope
that this helps you thanks very much for
the question okay let’s move on to your
next question next question comes from
late Jerry hi late Jerry late Jerry says
hi Alicia a lot of people use double
negation lately is this a kind of
innovation can we use it is it
grammatically correct for example can’t
nobody tell me nothing nice question
yeah some people who are very strict
about grammar like now and historically
consider double negation to be like
incorrect or they think that it’s a sign
poor education or something like that
but that’s not the case double negation
has existed in English for a long time
and it exists now so in some dialects in
English double negation or multiple
negation is used more commonly than
other dialects so for example I don’t
really use double negation in my speech
but in certain parts of the US or in
certain parts of England people may use
that kind of speech so I would suggest
that if it’s not natural for you if you
didn’t grow up with it if it’s not
something that you or the people around
you regularly use it’s probably going to
sound very unnatural for you to use that
so your example sentence was can’t
nobody tell me nothing that is not a
sentence I personally would use but
someone who speaks a different dialect
of English that uses this kind of
negation might if I wanted to say that
sentence I would say something like
nobody can tell me anything that’s how I
would say it so using the other sentence
would sound very unnatural for me that
kind of speech is not natural for me so
it sounds perhaps
maybe or offensive for me to use that I
would say just try to be aware of the
people who are around you if you are
learning English in a place where a
double negation is common then perhaps
it’s natural for you to use a bit of it
as well if you’re just kind of trying to
mimic something that maybe you heard on
TV or in music or in media or something
like that it’s probably going to sound
very unnatural so yes it is used yes it
is featured actually in some dialects of
English that doesn’t mean that it’s
natural for everyone to use if this kind
of speech is hard for you to understand
don’t worry this is just another part of
language learning and this is a specific
way that some people speak in English so
while yes it does go against like
traditional grammar rules I suppose that
doesn’t mean that the communication is
any less valid so try to keep that in
mind and again if it’s difficult for you
to understand people who speak this way
that’s okay just with time and practice
you will gradually come to know what
that sentence means or what that speaker
is actually saying so I hope that this
helps you thanks very much for an
interesting question Huckabee says hi
Alicia I’m a university student in Japan
I teach English to elderly students as a
part-time job one of them asked me what
fire with fire means I guess the man
heard the phrase in a movie could you
tell me the meaning yeah this is part of
an idiom the expression is usually to
fight fire with fire that’s the full
phrase typically you might also hear to
match fire with fire or to meet fire
with fire but in most cases it’s to
fight fire with fire
this phrase means to fight an opponent
with the same weapon or the same method
that your opponent uses so sometimes
this literally means fighting someone
with the same kind of weapon but in most
cases it’s talking about like a specific
kind of competition and using the same
method as your opponent to participate
in that competition for example if
someone starts shouting at you you can
fight fire with fire
by shouting back at them so in that case
there’s no fire involved but
outing is your opponent’s weapon or
method of attacking so if you want to
fight that you use the same method and
shout back so that could be considered
fighting fire with fire you might also
hear this used in like business
situations when you’re talking about
like competition between businesses or
between companies or industries for
example company a is spending a lot of
money on advertising this year we have
to fight fire with fire and increase our
own advertising budget so this just
means to compete or like to attack or
oppose someone with the same method or
the same weapon that they use against
you so again this is usually to fight
fire with fire I hope that that helps
you thanks for the question okay let’s
move on to your next question next
question comes from L Hasan Ahmed hello
again al hassan al hasan says what is
the difference between i don’t know what
is that and i don’t know what that is
for example i don’t know what the
difference between them is and i don’t
know what is the difference between them
okay the difference is that the second
example is correct the first example is
incorrect these are examples of what are
called embedded questions so it’s when
we have a question inside a statement or
we have a question inside another
question these are called embedded
questions embedded questions and when we
use the verb to be in embedded questions
it takes a slightly different word order
so when we use the verb to be to ask a
direct question we would say something
like where is the restroom or where are
my coworkers
that’s a direct question but when we use
an indirect question or we use an
embedded question we have to change the
word order a little bit so instead of
where is the restroom we have to say
something like I don’t know where the
restroom is and instead of where are my
co-workers we might say do you know
where my co-workers are so in each of
these examples the to be verb
actually moves to the end of the
sentence or to the end of the question
this is kind of special for these
embedded questions style responses so
keep this in mind when you’re making an
embedded question is does not follow
your question word is goes at the end of
the sentence the same is true for R and
of course was and were if you’re making
past tense statements or past tense
questions but again this is just for the
verb to be if you’re using any other
verb you don’t need to worry about this
change so if it’s like talk or walk or
drink or whatever you don’t need to
worry about that if you’re using the
verb to be however you do need to switch
your word order in the sentence so again
your second example sentence is correct
so I don’t know what that is is the
correct sentence I don’t know what is
that is incorrect of course if you’re
ever not sure what to do and you’re
faced with a situation where you should
choose it’s not impolite it’s not
incorrect to use a direct question like
where is the restroom but it does sound
a bit more polite to phrase it
indirectly or to use an embedded
question like do you know where the
restroom is it sounds a bit more polite
so again if you’re ever unsure you can
use a direct question no problem but do
make sure to practice these embedded
questions and the special pattern that
we use with the verb to be so I hope
that that helps you thanks very much for
the question okay let’s move on to your
next question next question comes from
on high on on says can you give an
explanation about the word roughly
thanks so much okay I’m sure roughly
means about it means approximately or
around for example roughly half of the
students in the class passed the test
sales decreased by roughly 30 percent
last month so in these cases roughly
means about or around we tend to use
roughly more in polite situations like
at work in meetings we don’t use it so
much in everyday conversation in
everyday conversation we use about or
around there’s another use of roughly
however which you can kind of think of
as meaning aggressive or like a little
bit aggressive or
not refined so for example my neighbor
speaks roughly but he’s actually a nice
guy or this woman on the train pushed me
really roughly it hurt so in those cases
roughly means in kind of an aggressive
manner a slightly aggressive manner or a
not refined manner so when we use
roughly as an adverb in this way it
means like not refined it’s it’s kind of
aggressive when you’re using it to talk
about amounts or data it means about so
I hope that this helps you thanks very
much for the question
okay let’s move on to your next question
next question comes from Patricia hi
Patricia Patricia says hi Alicia I enjoy
your videos thank you my question is
about when I visit restaurants and I
don’t want ice in my drink for example
how do I say that no ice or without ice
thank you yeah we would say no ice no
ice so if you said without ice it’s
probably not a communication issue but
more naturally we would say no ice
please you can use this for pretty much
anything any kind of special order like
no tomato no onion no pickles and so on
so if you don’t want something use no
before the name of that thing that you
don’t want we have another expression
that we use at restaurants which is on
the side on the side so for example if
you order a salad and you say I’d like
the dressing on the side please it means
your salad and the dressing or the
topping for the salad will come
separately so if you don’t say on the
side the restaurant staff will probably
put the dressing on top of your salad
and serve it to you if you request the
dressing on the side however you can
choose how much to put on top of your
salad so some people like to in this
case with salads request that things be
served separately to do that you say on
the side you’ll usually get a separate
dish or a separate cup or bowl or
something for your dressing or whatever
it is you’ve chosen to order so on the
side is another thing you can use in
restaurants finally for the opposite of
this situation for the opposite of no if
you want more of some
you use extra extra like extra cheese
please or extra bacon please or extra
avocado keep in mind though that when
you say extra you’re probably going to
have to pay more so if you have like a
cheeseburger for example and you say I’d
like extra avocado so that means there’s
already avocado on the cheeseburger you
want more avocado on it you’re probably
going to have to pay more for that
avocado if however you order something
without an ingredient like no tomato on
this cheeseburger there’s no discount so
please don’t expect a discount if you
ask for less of something if you ask for
more of something however it’s probably
going to cost you a little more money so
also keep in mind that we use extra when
something already exists inside the dish
so in my example it’s like an avocado
burger there’s avocado on the burger I
want more I say extra if there’s no
avocado on the burger I say like
something like can I have a picado as a
topping please or can I add avocado as a
topping please we might use one of those
expressions so can I have something as a
topping or can I add something we might
use one of those two patterns so those
are a few restaurant related expressions
that I hope are helpful for you thanks
for the question ok let’s move on to
your next question next question comes
from will Jin’s diss Samus hello will
jhin’s will Jin says hi Alicia is there
a difference between to lend and to
borrow yes the difference is in the
point of view for example I lent my
friend a pen and my friend borrowed a
pen from me so when the person that is
giving the object is the subject of this
sentence we use lend when the person who
is receiving the object is the subject
of the sentence we use borrow so let’s
swap the people in my example sentences
so my friend lent me a pen and I
borrowed a pen from my friend so again
in those cases the person giving
the object is the subject of the
sentence when I use lend and the person
receiving the object is the subject of
the verb borrow when I use borrow so
please keep this in mind this
relationship so am I giving or am i
receiving that’s what’s important to
keep in mind I know it’s a little
confusing at first but with practice you
will get the hang of it you’ll get used
to it
so I hope that this helps you thanks
very much for the question hi everybody
my name is Alisha in this lesson I’m
going to talk about phrasal verbs with
back let’s get started okay first I want
to introduce a group of four verbs that
shares one common point that is this
these four verbs all have the meaning of
moving with the rear part of something
forward so if you imagine a car the
front and the back of a car like the
front side and the back side of a person
if you imagine all of these verbs share
the meaning of making a motion in some
direction of moving in some direction
however the rear part is the part that
is like the forward moving part so we
usually walk with this part of our body
moving forward but when we move with the
rear part forward it means this
direction so we’re moving back in a
backwards motion so these four verbs all
include that meaning I want to mention
that first these that we’ll talk about
later don’t include that meaning so
these four include that meaning plus
some preposition that tells us the
direction of that movement and the
relationship of that movement as well to
something else so with that in mind
let’s take a look at these four phrasal
verbs the first phrasal verb here is
back into back into so back into means
moving with the rear part forward yes so
this kind of motion plus moving into a
space so to back into something you’re
backing into an enclosed space so in
imagine with a car a lot of these will
be very very useful for using with a car
so an example of this would be this one
he backed in to the parking space he
backed into the parking space so you
imagine with a car backing in the rear
part of the car moves in to the parking
space that means the rear part of the
car enters the parking space first so we
use the phrasal verb to back into you’ll
notice here - this is the past tense
form backed he backed in backed as the
past form of back so he backed in to the
parking space tells us that he moved
with the rear part of the car forward
into the parking space ok so now let’s
look at the opposite of this to back out
of something so since we have out here
we had in before this shows us this is
the the opposite direction then however
we don’t use back out - we use back out
of please be careful here back out of so
this means to move out of a space to
move out of a space so an example
sentence might be the question in this
case can you back out of the garage can
you back out of the garage so again this
means that the rear part of the car is
moving forward however instead of going
into a space the motion is coming from a
space so we’re backing out of a space
that means from a position inside a room
in this case a garage the back of the
car moves first out of the garage so
backing out of something to back out of
a garage or to back out of a parking
space as well okay now let’s move along
to the next phrasal verb back on - back
on - this is quite different from back
in or back out to back on to means to
move backwards on top of something so
again when you’re driving a car for
example you might use the expression he
backed on to the sidewalk so this means
the rear part of the car
our mood first and as it moved it moved
on top of something else
so there’s movement and movement on to
another thing he backed on to the
sidewalk or he backed on to maybe a
bicycle for example so movement
backwards and on top of something else
so this might happen to you when you’re
using a car or another vehicle so let’s
move on to the next phrasal verb which
is backed away from back away from is a
phrasal verb you might use more to talk
about your body the motion of your body
than you would a car so this means to
move backwards in a direction opposite
to something else so by this I mean
there’s maybe another person or there’s
some thing that you want to move away
from and again the rear part of your
body moves first so if you imagine it
that that there’s something like in
front of you here in front of the front
part of your body and you want to move
away from it but you maintain this
direction with your body we use the
phrasal verb to back away from to talk
about doing that so in example sentence
they backed away from the fire so you
imagine there’s a fire like you’re
camping for example and you move in this
way you can say you backed away from the
fire so to back away from might be
something you used to talk about your
body more so than to talk about a car
perhaps but this means moving in an
opposite direction from something else
okay so let’s move along then to the
next three which do not belong to this
group relating to that kind of
rear-facing motion these are very
different actually let’s first begin
with this expression - back off - back
off so to back off means to remove
oneself from a situation that’s one or
to move away in fear so this first one
to remove yourself from a situation this
is often said in response to a person
who’s getting involved in a situation
you want that person to go away from the
situation so it’s commonly used as a
command like back off it means go away
or stop bothering me maybe you’re
working on a project for example and
someone tries to come share opinions or
criticize your work or something you’re
not ready you can say it back off I’m
still working on this for example so
it’s used often to give a command to
someone actually we also use this to
express fear like if someone threatens
us or we’re afraid of something and we
want to kind of move away from the
situation we can use back off as well
let’s look at an example here back off
and let us deal with the problem so this
is related to criticism like we don’t
need you to be involved so let us handle
it that’s kind of the feeling of back
off like we don’t need you please go
away so to back off in this way we’re
first you leaving a situation okay let’s
move along to the next one which is back
down to back down from something means
to admit a mistake to admit a mistake or
it can mean like to stop supporting
something these are actually kind of
connected to stop supporting something
is like to stop supporting an opinion
kind of so when you admit a mistake you
stop supporting that mistake it’s kind
of the idea here so an example of this
could be my neighbor won’t back down he
accuses me of being noisy so the
neighbor in other words is wrongly
accusing the speaker of being noisy but
the neighbor won’t back down
that means the neighbor refuses to admit
a mistake there were a few he refuses he
or she refuses to admit that there’s
something wrong refuses to stop
supporting the opinion so my neighbor
won’t back down
he won’t stop in how many words he
continues to accuse me so to back down
is like yeah kind of removing your
support
for something you said or some behavior
you had in the past okay
let’s move along then to the last
phrasal verb for this lesson which is to
back up to back up this is used in terms
of to back up someone to back up another
person this means to support someone
verbally so verbally means with your
word to support someone verbally is to
back someone up so you can split this to
back someone up so an example of this
could be my colleagues backed me up when
I made a complaint so my colleagues
supported me when I made a complaint
I made the complaint and my colleagues
verbally or they shared some words to
support what I was saying in other words
so to back some what it means to support
them keep in mind this is very different
from to be a backup to be a backup means
to be a substitute for something it has
a very different meaning here so to be a
backup that’s something very different
from to back someone up so keep that in
mind and try to pay attention to the
situations where those two words are
used all right so those are hopefully a
few new ways that you can use the verb
back of course if you have any questions
or comments or want to try to make a
sentence or maybe you know a different
way of using the verb back please feel
free to do so in the comment section of
this video hi everybody my name is
Alicia in this lesson I’m going to talk
about some phrasal verbs that use the
word push so these are expressions that
feature the verb push but have a
slightly different meaning from the
basic meaning of push let’s take a look
okay let’s begin with the first
expression which is push off to push off
means to begin moving usually we use
this with a boat when we say push off
it’s like we’re pushing away from some
kind of like safety or some kind of
support we typically use this for boats
to mean moving away from like a dock
moving away from land moving away from
the part of the boat that’s connect
to some safety on land so we use this
like to refer to moving away from a safe
place but it tends to be used a lot in
boats an example of this we pushed off
at 8 a.m. so here it’s the past tense we
pushed off and the time we pushed off at
8 a.m. means probably the boat left the
safe place at the dock at 8 a.m. so to
push off means to begin moving away from
something away from something some kind
of support okay let’s move along to the
next expression the next expression is
to push by to push by something or to
push by someone means to use a pushing
motion to move past someone or something
we use this a lot with people in a
crowded situation where you’re near
someone else but you would like to move
past that person you can use a slight
pushing motion a gentle pushing motion
to move past that person so you don’t
want to maybe push them a lot but you
can alert the other person you can tell
the other person you’re going to pass
them with this expression for example
I’m gonna push by you I’m gonna push by
you shows I’m going to push myself or
I’m maybe going to push something close
to you or I might push you a little bit
it refers to making a pushing motion to
move somewhere so to push by someone in
this case to push by you in other words
I’m going to make a pushing motion and
move past you it’s usually a small
pushing motion not a big one so this is
just a quick kind of alert phrase you
can tell someone
as you move by them okay let’s move
along to the next expression which is to
push someone around to push someone
around means to bully someone to bully
someone so you can imagine this is in a
situation where there’s someone maybe
higher level and someone lower level
this could be at school it could be at
work it could be in groups of friends
when you push someone around you are
unkind to them you make unkind comments
to them you ask them to do lots of
things for you for kind of no reason
just to use your power over that person
we use the expression to push someone
around to talk about bullying someone
like this an example
don’t let your boss push you around so
in other words don’t let your boss bully
you don’t let your boss make you do so
many things or don’t let your boss be
rude to you so to push someone around
it’s like you’re using them or you’re
not treating them with respect it’s not
a good thing it’s a negative expression
okay let’s move on to the next phrasal
verb the next phrasal verb is to push
limits to push limits you’ll hear this a
lot in technology news business perhaps
as well this expression means to work at
the extremes so you can imagine that
there’s some kind of boundary some kind
of limit in your field at your job in
your life so to push those limits means
to work there and try to expand those
boundaries you’re working it like the
extreme part of your job or the extreme
part of your industry your knowledge or
whatever it is in your case and you’re
trying to make that like bigger you’re
trying to expand that so we use the
expression push limits to refer to that
kind of thing a very common example is
we’re pushing the limits of Technology
so here it’s the progressive tense we’re
pushing the limits of Technology in
other words we’re trying to make the
limits of technology a little bit bigger
or we’re trying to go to the next step
kind of so we’re pushing the limits this
is an expression we use to talk about
like next generation things they’re kind
of evolution of some kind
another way to think of pushing limits
is like doing the impossible or working
to do the impossible so something that’s
not possible now may become possible
through your efforts so it’s like you’re
trying to do
something that’s not possible in the
present but you want it to become
possible in the future you’re pushing
the limits of what’s available to you
now okay let’s move along to the next
phrasal verb then the next phrasal verb
is to push ahead I want to group this
with the next one in the list as well to
push ahead and to push along these have
quite similar meanings push ahead feels
a little more like to make efforts to
create forward progress to push ahead
like to the next step with something to
push ahead in a project to push ahead in
your business idea to push along is kind
of like to cause someone else to make
that forward progress so you can use it
for a project as well like to try to
push along a project but when we use
push along it’s like you’re trying to
kind of help something or help someone
else make forward progress so they tend
to be used in very similar ways but
perhaps there are some slight
differences in nuance we might use push
along more with people than push ahead
so as I said push ahead kind of feels
like making efforts to make forward
progress to move to the next step with
something and then we can think of push
along as like moving something forward
or causing another person to move
forward as well so let’s take a look at
some example sentences first let’s push
ahead to the next step so let’s make
efforts to move to the next step in the
thing we are doing in the second example
sentence with push along I’ve used a
person here can you try to push him
along so can you try to motivate him to
encourage him try to push him along
meaning get him
motivate him to do his tasks or to do
the things he needs to do so we can go
to the next step so you’re trying to get
someone moving here so quite similar
ideas but maybe slight differences in
how they are used okay let’s move along
to the next X
which is push back to push back means to
resist something to resist something or
to oppose something so this is used a
lot in politics and in business in any
kind of like discussion where there’s a
lot of disagreement to push back against
something usually you’re opposing an
idea opposing a person opposing a policy
so to push back is to resist that or to
oppose that an example management pushed
back against our proposal so we made a
proposal for something in the office and
management opposed that they did not
want to do that thing they resisted so
they pushed back you might also hear
this used as a noun push back push back
so not to push back but there was
pushback against our proposal so you can
hear this used as a phrasal verb or as a
noun but they both refer to resisting or
opposing something okay one more then
for this lesson it is to push for
something to push for something means to
try to persuade someone of something so
if you really really want to get
something you’re trying to convince
someone something is a good idea or
you’re trying to convince someone to
give you something we can use the
expression push for that thing to
describe that so in this example
sentence it feels kind of like you’re
persuading yourself a little bit like
you’re trying to motivate yourself
making efforts for yourself for your
future you could also use this in
talking to other people and trying to
convince other people like trying to
push your boss for a raise for example
so it means you’re trying to convince
your boss or persuade your boss to give
you a raise a raise is increased salary
increased money at your job so pushing
for something is like you’re trying to
make efforts in order to achieve
something or to get something or to
convince someone of something so to push
for a thing okay so those are a few
examples of some phrasal verbs
use the word push I hope that you found
something new here so keep an eye out
for these the next time you see them in
writing of course if you have any
questions or comments or want to
practice using one of these phrasal
verbs please feel free to do so in the
comment section of this video 10
countable nouns with irregular plural
forms let’s go
mouse mice the first noun is Mouse in
the singular it’s Mouse in the plural
its mice mice one mouse two mice not
Mouse’s not nice not anything like that
not not mouse or Mouse’s but mice mice
one Mouse two mice three mice for mice
in a sentence I hope you don’t have mice
in your house goose geese so the next
word is goose goose a goose is a kind of
big noisy bird really but a goose in the
plural form a goose becomes geese geese
so one goose two geese the collective
noun as well so the noun we use to talk
about a group of geese is a flock of
geese a flock of geese we use flock for
birds actually for collective nouns
except for like crows for some reason we
use a murder of crows isn’t that weird
I’m not sure about the history of that
word but we see like a flock of birds
like a flock of seagulls and like a
flock of geese but we use a murder of
crows that’s such a weird collective now
when you think about it I kind of
research the history on that one anyway
in a sentence geese migrate south in the
winter tooth teeth the next noun is
tooth tooth so the singular form is
tooth the plural form is teeth teeth one
tooth three teeth so please be careful
not to tooths but teeth teeth tooth is
an irregular noun - its teeth in a
sentence the Tooth Fairy is a mystical
creature that brings children money for
teeth they’ve lost foot feet the next
noun is foot foot so one foot two feet
so we can use this both for the part of
the body and for this
system of measurement that we use in the
US and I think in one other country we
measure things using feet so like one
foot is what twelve inches I think and
then two feet we can also use this kind
of for the system of measurement one
foot two feet so please be careful of
that not flutes but feet feet in the
plural form in a sentence keep your feet
on the ground child children okay the
next one is child child please be
careful child is the singular form
children is the plural form children one
child two children many children lots of
children so but be careful not cha
child’s children is the plural form here
please be careful in a sentence some
people want to have lots of children
person people the next word is person
person in the singular form one person
in the plural form people two people
three people four people many people
lots of people tons of people a bunch of
people people is the plural form there
so please use people when you want to
use the plural form of person one person
two people in a sentence the world is
full of different people man men
next noun is Man Man in the singular
form man in the plural form men please
be careful the pronunciation the vowel
sound pronunciation changes
significantly not man’s but men men one
man two men three men for men one man
two men so listen for that EE sound or
the a sound there this can be a really
key listening point as well in a
sentence more and more men are taking
paternity leave these days woman women
the next noun is woman woman the
singular form is woman the plural form
is women so please be careful here
although the spellings of these two
words are roughly the same and only the
vowel sound at the end appears to change
actually the O sound at the beginning of
the word also changes in the singular
form woman so we have the sort of sound
with the O at the beginning of the word
woman in singular in the plural form
however we have women it’s an e sound so
in spelling the O does not change but in
speaking the sound does change woman
women so please be cautious of this both
when you’re speaking and when you’re
listening woman to women in a sentence
look those women are all wearing the
same hat sheep sheep the next noun is
sheep sheep sheep is the next now the
plural form is actually just sheep we
cannot add an S to this we don’t say
sheeps we say sheep for the singular and
sheep for the plural weird right
so one sheep two sheep three sheep four
sheep it’s no change this word does not
change at all so how do we know we just
look at the word that comes before sheep
so if we say two sheep or lots of sheep
or a herd of sheep herd is the
collective noun for sheep or for like
cattle and farm animals big ones anyway
so sheep does not change actually it’s
an irregular one the
same rule applies to fish actually fish
in the singular fish in the plural
anyway shape in a sentence visit a farm
if you want to see lots of sheep knife
knives the next noun is knife knife so
one knife in the singular form in the
plural form it is knives knives so
there’s a V sound that comes into this
word knife that F sound knife becomes a
V sound in the plural knives one knife
two knives we also see this with the
word scarf actually one scarf two
scarves for example so please be careful
of this the so the spelling does change
significantly as well to in a sentence
then I hear you only really need three
knives in your kitchen the first
expression is I’d like to go to bla bla
bla I’d like to go to your hotel name
I’d like to go to attraction name I’d
like to go to the nearest station please
this is an expression you can use with
perhaps a taxi driver or maybe like a
shuttle bus driver from your hotel I
don’t know so if you want to explain
where you’re trying to go you can use
this expression I’d like to go to la
pobla I’d I’d like to go to bla bla bla
in a sentence I’d like to go to the
Empire State Building number of people
please the next expression is number of
people please number of people please by
this I mean like the number of people in
your group this is an expression you can
use when you go to a restaurant so if
you’re traveling with your family for
example you could say for please when
you enter a restaurant or if you’re
traveling with one other person you
could say to please so just the number
of people in your group when you go to a
restaurant this can be just a small
thing that you learn how to say so that
you can quickly communicate with the
restaurant staff so in a sentence
two people please
numbers okay next is just numbers
numbers are very useful when you travel
especially if you’re traveling to a
place where the price tags for items
might not be clearly displayed so if
you’re going to maybe like a flea market
or if you’re going to like a yard sale
or something where the prices are not
clearly marked you can use your
knowledge of numbers to ask about and to
listen for prices of things so if you
know your numbers this can be very
helpful for you and maybe you can also
like protect yourself from getting
charged too much money for something in
a sentence Wow fifty dollars for this
sandwich thank you the next expression
is thank you
thank you so before you travel make sure
to study how to say thank you and maybe
a few different ways that you can say
thank you to people of course the most
basic form in English is thank you but
maybe consider thanks or I appreciate it
or thanks a lot so make sure to know how
to say thank you before you travel in a
sentence thank you for your help can you
tell me where is the next expression is
can you tell me where something is so if
you need to ask for directions you can
use this pattern can you tell me where
the bathroom is for example or can you
tell me where this restaurant is or can
you tell me where this sightseeing spot
is so you can use this when you need to
ask directions or when you’re like in a
department store or a shopping situation
and you need help finding something can
you tell me where something is in a
sentence can you tell me where the
station is excuse me the next
expression is excuse me excuse me so
this is useful for if you bump into
someone on the street or if you need to
interrupt someone like you need to
approach someone with a question you can
sort of begin the conversation with
excuse me and then maybe could you tell
me where the station is or excuse me I’d
like to go to blah blah blah so using
excuse me can be a polite way to
initiate to begin a conversation with
someone excuse me
so in English we have excuse me or we
have sorry as well but sorry is used
more for like like an apology like I did
something wrong
excuse me is just a way to say like I’d
like to begin a conversation but I
recognize that you might be busy with
something so excuse me it’s like you
want to start a conversation sorry is
like an apology so I recommend using
excuse me in English in a sentence
excuse me where can I buy a train pass
where is the restroom okay the next one
is very important where is the restroom
where is the restroom so this is an
important question I think so if you’re
out shopping or if you’re at like in a
sightseeing location it may be important
to know where the restroom is so where
is the restroom
is a nice one to use in English you can
say where is the toilet but in American
English it might sound a little bit too
direct you could also use like where is
the washroom
perhaps in British English but generally
where is the restroom
it’s quite a nice expression to know for
English travel in a sentence where’s the
restroom I’d like please the next
expression is I’d like something please
this is useful when you visit
restaurants I’d like a beer please I’d
like a salad please you can also use it
when you’re shopping so I’d like three
of that t-shirt please I don’t know why
you need three or I’d like four of these
please so I’d like again that D sound so
the same I’d like as we talked about in
the first word in this episode I’d like
to go to we can use I’d like plus a noun
phrase I’d like something please very
useful for ordering and for shopping so
in a sentence
I’d like a beer please how do you say in
English the next expression is how do
you say something in English how do you
say something in English so if you don’t
know the English word for something but
you want to know how to say it you can
ask somebody maybe like a friend or
maybe staff at your hotel for example if
there’s someone nearby that you can ask
you can use this question how do you say
this in English how do you can point to
something like how do you say this in
English just pick it up if it’s like a
water bottle in my case how do you say
this in English or like how do you say
that in English you can use that
expression and you can just point to the
object to to make it clear what you mean
so how do you say something in English
do you speak language the next
expression is do you speak language so
do you speak language so if you want to
check and see if the other person speaks
your language you can use this
expression so in my case I would say do
you speak English or if you travel
somewhere else maybe maybe if you’re
from like Vietnam you could say do you
speak Vietnamese or do you speak
Portuguese or do you speak Chinese so
you can ask people around you what
languages they speak if you have like an
idea that maybe that person can speak
that language you can ask them do you
speak Japanese so maybe a useful one do
you speak English - alright in a
sentence then procrastinating and study
let’s go register for a challenging test
register for a challenging test to
register for a challenging test that
means registering for a test that is
slightly more difficult than your
current level so if you think you’re of
yourself as like a beginner right now
maybe try registering for a test that is
at like the lower intermediate level so
if you always register for a test or
give yourself some goal that is slightly
more difficult than your current level
you can always try to be pushing in the
in the upwards direction you can always
try to be pushing to to improve little
by little so I say challenging I don’t
say difficult because if you’re a
beginner and you register for an
advanced level test it’s going to be
really difficult to meet your goal it’s
gonna be really difficult to study
everything to pass the advanced test but
if you set smaller goals smaller test
goals maybe you have a better chance of
achieving those goals and your
motivation will stay up so try
registering for a challenging test to
give yourself a goal find a movie or TV
show to understand the next idea is to
find a movie or a TV show to understand
so finding a movie or a TV show that you
can watch every week or just maybe your
favorite movie in the language you’re
studying can be a really fun way to
motivate yourself so if you have like a
TV show you want to watch every week you
can focus your energy on trying to learn
the vocabulary words or to learn the
expressions that are used in that TV
show and perhaps week after week you’ll
start to hear some similar things and
start to pick up the way that people
speak in that show so having something
that’s kind of fun and a little bit
entertaining to use as you study can
help you enjoy what you’re doing a
little bit more so the same thing can
apply to a movie if you find a movie
that you really like or you really are
inspired by that movie it can help you
as you study because it can motivate you
and inspire you to want to know all live
like the aspects of that movie to know
everything all the details of that movie
so finding something that’s kind of a
little entertaining to help you study
can be a good way to stop
procrastinating sometimes get a study
buddy the next idea is to get a study
buddy a study buddy so what is a study
buddy so buddy is a word we use for
friend so a study buddy then is a friend
that you study with or a friend that you
tell your study goals to someone who can
make sure you are responsible for your
behavior so if you have a study buddy
you can maybe check in with them every
few days or like once a week maybe you
go to a study group to get
or maybe you practice conversation
together you can set goals with your
study buddy so you don’t feel like
you’re studying alone all the time if
you study alone all the time you might
feel like I have nobody to practice with
or nobody understands my goals or I feel
like I’m the only person with my goal so
having a friend having a study buddy can
help you to feel a little bit more like
part of a team and to help you like
through questions that you might not
understand or maybe they have some
resources that you don’t have and that
can help you as you study so getting a
study buddy can be both really fun and
really helpful for you and roll in a
course the next idea is to enroll in a
course and roll in a course so like to
enroll in a course means to start a
course or to register for a course so in
this case we’re talking about a course
of study like a language course if
you’re studying English enrolling in a
course can be helpful because it creates
accountability it creates responsibility
if you enroll in a course you’re paying
money presumably and if you miss a class
if you miss a session of your course you
can think of it as money wasted
essentially so if I’m paying maybe $50
for each lesson in a course and I don’t
attend that means that I’m wasting $50
so if you think of it this way and you
are enrolled in a course then maybe this
can help you study because you don’t
want to waste your money so by attending
class you’re using your money well
you’re using your time well to study and
you also have the option to talk to your
classmates and to the teacher there
about any questions that you have
so enrolling in a course especially like
a weekly course or maybe even like a
daily course or intensive course can
help you in a lot of different ways I
think create a social media account for
your studies the next idea is to create
a social media account for your studies
so this is a popular way to get some
daily practice actually creating with
the language that you’re studying so a
really common tool for this is Twitter
I’ve seen many people use Twitter to do
this they create a Twitter account
that’s specifically for their English
language studies so people will write
about their day in English
if they’re studying English so if they
don’t have a chance to maybe speak with
colleagues and the language they’re
studying or to write an email for
example if they don’t have a way to
practice making outputs many people
choose to use social media to do that so
it’s kind of a way to reach out to find
other people who are studying or to find
resources to read everyday about the
thing you’re studying but you also have
the chance to create something yourself
so if you like you could try making a
social media account that’s devoted only
to your studies so try that out sign up
for a regular event in your studies the
next idea is to sign up for a regular
event in your studies so that means if
you’re studying English for example
maybe you can try to attend like a
monthly get-together in English
somewhere so this can be about your
hobbies it can be about just something
in your community a school event for
example if you find something that you
are able to do in English in this case
that’s also related to your hobbies it
can be helpful for you because you start
to see the ways that you can use English
in a situation outside of just your
textbook maybe or a situation that’s
outside of just your studies but getting
an idea of how other people are using
the language and getting an idea of like
how you can potentially use the language
in other ways so going to a regular like
a monthly event or maybe something twice
a month or whatever that’s maybe outside
your course or outside of your test
studies can be another good way to get
some exposure to have a chance to
actually use the things you’re learning
and to learn new things make studying
part of your daily routine the next idea
is to make studying a part of your daily
routine so by this I mean for example
taking 30 minutes in the morning or 30
minutes at night or maybe 30 minutes at
lunch whatever it is for you finding
time in your day every day to do a
little bit of study so even if you’re
only doing 10 minutes in the morning in
10 minutes at night it’s better than
zero so that’s 20 minutes over the
course of one day which is still better
than zero minutes ever if you can find a
way to make studying part of your
day and you can kind of create a routine
that studying is part of it can help you
just kind of become used to doing that
so steady doesn’t feel like a job or
studying doesn’t feel like a chore it’s
just something you do like brushing your
teeth or cooking breakfast or having a
cup of coffee or whatever so if you make
studying part of your routine then after
a while it might not feel like work it
might not feel like study it might just
feel like okay this is just the thing I
do at this time of the day so give that
a try
try to integrate study try to put study
into your daily routine reward yourself
when you finish studying the next idea
is to reward yourself when you finish
studying so when you finish your studies
whatever that time period might be
whether it’s thirty minutes or one hour
or you went to your course for the week
try finding a way to reward yourself for
studying this can be a very simple thing
like for example buying yourself a cup
of coffee or you get to have a piece of
chocolate or after you finish studying
you can watch your favorite TV show so
find a way to put reward into your study
routine so once you finish studying
there’s something good that happens that
you can expect at the end of your study
period so kind of reward yourself like
so that it helps you develop and feel
motivated to continue doing that study
routine make your goals public the next
idea is to make your goals public so
make your goals public means share your
goals with people so if you don’t want
to share your goals with everybody maybe
you can just tell a few friends about
your goal so if that goal is to pass a
test for example or if that goal is to
master a certain grammar point or maybe
the goal is to learn a certain number of
vocabulary words whatever that is try
telling people about that goal because
then it kind of creates some
responsibility for you like if you tell
people about that goal they might ask
you about it in the future and if you
say I didn’t do it or I couldn’t do it
or I’m not studying at all you might
feel kind of bad about that actually
so at
surely telling people about your goal
creates that accountability and that
responsibility for you so try sharing
your goal with the people around you
also they might support you there’s a
chance that they can support you or they
can offer help they can offer something
to help you achieve your goal so try
that make studying a game the last idea
is to make studying a game to make
studying a game so in some cases you can
find applications or you can find games
you can find ways to study where like
someone has already programmed a game
like especially for vocabulary words for
example you can find a way to enjoy your
studies if that doesn’t already exist
try to invent a game especially if you
have a study group or a study buddy try
to find creative and fun ways to use the
things that you’re studying then you can
actually enjoy your studies you don’t
have to think of it as work but you can
actually see how your studies can be fun
some examples of games that you could
use when you study English you could use
theirs like a game called Scrabble where
you you get points by creating words so
the more words you know the better
chance you have of getting a highest
score in the game so Scrabble is one way
that you could do it for children one
that’s good is sort of like it looks
like a worksheet actually but it’s
called mad libs it’s called mad libs
this is something that my brother and I
used to play when we were little
it’s a worksheet but some of the words
are missing in the worksheet and we
can’t see the whole story really it’s
good to play this game with two people
so one person reads the worksheet and
there are blank spaces on the worksheet
that say adverb or adjective or verb so
you ask the other person to give you an
adjective to give you a verb and you
write those words in the story when
they’ve given you all the words that you
need to make the story complete you then
read the full story to the person using
the words that they have given you and
it usually becomes something kind of
funny so this can be a good way to test
your grammar and also just to get kind
of creative with the sorts of words that
you’re choosing so that might be good
for kids as well so there are a lot of
different things that you can do of
course
you can create your own games as well
let’s start with the basic definition
the basic definition of the verb beat is
to hit repeatedly to hit something
repeatedly examples he was beaten until
he was unconscious I have to beat the
dust out of this blanket let’s talk
about the conjugations of this verb now
present beat beats past beat past
participle beaten progressive beating
let’s talk about some additional
meanings for this verb the first
additional meaning is to defeat to
defeat some examples I think spider-man
could beat Batman in a fight
our team has never been beaten so in
both of these examples sentences we see
beat meaning defeat in the first example
sentence I think spider-man could beat
Batman
it means spider-man could beat Batman in
a fight that’s kind of the implied the
suggested meaning of this sentence
spider-man could beat Batman equals
spider-man could defeat Batman
spider-man would be better than Batman
spider-man would win in a fight against
Batman spider-man would beat Batman in
the second example sentence our team has
never been beaten it means our team has
never been defeated our team has never
lost our team has won every match every
game we have ever played our team has
never been beaten so no defeats pretty
great so this is one meaning to defeat
something okay let’s go on to the second
additional meaning for this verb the
second additional meaning for this verb
is to act before something else happens
examples let’s beat the crowds and get
tickets for the afternoon movie I left
the house early to beat rush-hour
traffic okay so both of these examples
show one action happening before some
other like negative thing we want to
avoid in the first example sentence it’s
about avoiding like big crowds of people
at a movie theater so let’s beat the
crowds is the expression that’s used
there so beat the crowds doesn’t mean
like hit the crowds of people it means
take action to do something before the
crowd of people arrives and that action
will be to see the afternoon movie so
let’s beat the crowds means let’s do
something before this crowd of people in
the second example sentence it’s I left
the house early to beat the rush hour
traffic we see rush-hour traffic is the
thing to beat so again it doesn’t mean
hitting rush-hour traffic it means doing
something in this case leaving
the house early to beat in order to
avoid rush-hour traffic
so we’re doing something before this
other negative thing happens so in these
examples it’s a large crowd of people
and rush-hour traffic so we do something
to avoid that thing to do something
before that thing happens okay let’s go
on to the third meaning for this verb
the third meaning for this verb is to be
more enjoyable than something else to be
more enjoyable than something else
examples enjoying some Sun on the beach
sure beats working in an office relaxing
at home beats spending the day shopping
so both of these example sentences
present two ideas one of which is better
than the other in the first example
sentence enjoying the Sun on the beach
beats or is better than is more
enjoyable than working in an office in
the second example sentence relaxing at
home beats or is more enjoyable than
spending the day shopping so we’re
comparing two things and the thing that
is better we use beats just after that
so when you want to use this pattern you
can just say a beats B and where a is
better than B a is more enjoyable than
me the fourth meaning here is to have a
regular movement like to have a rhythmic
movement that is regular in some way
examples my heart was beating fast after
my run the birds wings beat the air in
the first example sentence my heart was
beating fast after my run it means the
rhythm of my heart the steady regular
rhythm of my heart was fast after my run
so the rhythm was constant but it was
quick so in the second example sentence
about the bird’s wings it’s this motion
the bird’s wings beat the air so there’s
a rhythmic a steady motion happening
the birds wings beat the air meaning
it’s always it’s like going regularly
here so we can see this use of beat as
well to refer to a regular kind of
rhythmic motion
let’s move on to some variations and how
we can use this then the first variation
is to beat someone to something to beat
someone to something means to do
something before someone else so it kind
of has that meaning of defeat that we
talked about before examples I was gonna
book tickets for the show but you beat
me to it all my coworkers beat me to the
office this morning
so in these expressions beat me to
something mean someone did something
before me in the first example sentence
I was gonna book tickets for the show we
see the past tense I was gonna I was
going to book tickets for the show but
you beat me to it
so this is quite common you beat me to
it means you did that thing I just
talked about before me so I plan to do
it but you did it before me you beat me
to it this is quite a common expression
to use in the second example sentence
all my co-workers beat me to the office
this morning it means all my co-workers
got to the office before me this morning
so when you want to talk about someone
doing something before you you can say
they beat me to the office keep in mind
though that this kind of has the nuance
a little bit of competition like there’s
something that you want to do before
someone else like there’s a little bit
of a competitive feel with this
expression okay
let’s go on to the second variation here
the next variation is beat yourself up
to beat yourself up this means to be
very negative or critical about yourself
often for no reason or not for a big
reason example don’t beat yourself up it
was just a small mistake
I think he’s really beating himself up
for declining that job offer okay
in the first example sentence don’t beat
yourself up this is a very common
expression it means don’t be so negative
about yourself in this case we followed
this expression with it was just a small
mistake so in other words it’s not a big
problem don’t beat yourself up don’t be
so negative to yourself for such a small
mistake in the second example sentence I
think he’s really beating himself up for
declining that job offer
it means he’s thinking really really
negatively about his decision he’s
thinking about himself critically like
oh it wasn’t a good idea I shouldn’t
have done that he’s really down maybe
disappointed in himself for declining
the job offer though maybe it’s not a
big deal it’s not an important situation
so he doesn’t need to beat himself up or
he is beating himself up about it in
this case so he’s upset
in other words but maybe he doesn’t need
to be
let’s begin with the basic definition of
this verb the basic definition of carry
is to move while holding or supporting
something examples can you carry this
bag I always carry a pen okay let’s look
at the conjugations for this verb
present carry carries past carried past
participle carried progressive carrying
now let’s talk about some additional
meanings for this verb the first
additional meaning is to move a person
or an object from one place to another
examples veins carry blood throughout
the body the bus carried the children to
school so here we see objects and people
being moved from one place to another
through or via or by something else and
we use the verb carry to describe them
in the first example sentence veins
carry blood throughout the body veins
are the like you can see them on your
arm usually blue colored they’re the
kind of like pipes I guess you could say
like imagine them as pipes that carry
blood so blood travels through the body
through these veins so we can say veins
carry blood through the body so veins
are the method through which blood moves
throughout the body so veins are
carrying the blood we kind of can
imagine in that way they’re caring
they’re responsible for carrying the
blood so we can say that veins are kind
of responsible for moving blood around
the body we can use the verb carry to
explain them in the second example
sentence the bus carried the kids to
school the bus is the method of
transport for the kids so the kids are
moving from one place to another place
the bus is the method of movement so the
bus carried the kids to school we can
use carry to talk about this
transportation the second additional
meaning is to have a gene or illness
examples rodents are known to carry
rabies some people carry diseases they
don’t know about in the first example
sentence we see rodents are known to
carry rabies
so rodents are like small like rats or
mice those kinds of dirty sort of
creatures wild creatures rabies is a
disease a serious illness like causes
you to behave strangely in your body has
really strange problems too I won’t talk
about rabies that much not so important
here but rodents are known to carry
rabies so the
like the biological parts the things
that cause rabies that carry that
illness rodents are known to carry so it
doesn’t mean carry like a backpack
really but carry a gene or carry an
illness carry a sickness inside the body
in this case rodents are known to carry
the sickness that is rabies inside their
bodies in a second example sentence some
people carry diseases they don’t know
about it means some people have diseases
in their body but they don’t know about
the disease so you can imagine like we
carry the disease we hold it in our body
and we move around but we don’t know
about it we use the verb carry to talk
about this let’s move on to the third
meaning the third additional meaning is
to make something a success to make
something a success examples his
leadership carried the team through a
difficult time
her performance carries the show so in
both of these examples we see that
someone carried something so someone
caused something to be successful
because of their actions or because of
their leadership as we see in the first
example sentence so his leadership
carried the team through a difficult
time means the team was successful in a
difficult time because of his leadership
but we used the verb carry to mean that
so we can kind of imagine that this one
person in this case his leadership his
leadership and his abilities to be a
good leader in other words were kind of
the thing that carried the team so we
can imagine the whole team is on top of
this one guy’s leadership skill so he is
responsible for making the team a
success in a difficult time so we use
carry to explain that in the second
example sentence her performance carried
the show it means her performance was so
good it was so important that the show
was a success because of it so without
her performance maybe the show would not
have been successful but her performance
was really really good
her performance made the show a success
her performance carried the show
the fourth meaning of this verb is to
reach a distance to reach a distance
this can be like sound or it can be
something physical some examples of this
the sound of the Thunder carried 20
kilometers ash from the volcano carried
into the air so here we’re not actually
carrying a physical object in the first
example sentence it’s sound traveling so
the sound of thunder carried 20
kilometers it means we were able to hear
the sound of thunder 20 kilometers away
from the source so the sound carried in
other words we use carry to refer to
sound traveling a distance in the second
example sentence ash from the volcano
carried into the air
it means the ash from the volcano moved
into the air we could even say like the
ash from the volcano carried into the
next city for example so it travelled
into the next city it traveled some
distance but we can use Kari to talk
about that as well
let’s move on to some variations for
this verb so the first variation is to
get carried away to get carried away
this means to get too excited or too
involved in something usually it has
like a positive meaning we get carried
away because we’re excited about
something but let’s look at some
examples first I got a little carried
away baking last night he got carried
away listening to music both of these
examples are pretty innocent in the
first example sentence we see I got a
little carried away baking last night
it’s like I baked too much last night
the idea is that I was too excited about
my baking and I baked too much or maybe
I stayed up too late making something I
got carried away with it I did too much
of it because I was so interested in
this thing in the second example
sentence he got carried away listening
to music it maybe means he spent too
much time listening to music maybe he
forgot to do his homework or he forgot
to go to work or he was late for work or
something because he was carried away he
was so interested in listening to music
he forgot something or he did too much
of it in other words so this generally
just means that you’re too excited about
something or too involved in something
so it can have a positive meaning the
next variation is to carry over to carry
over means to continue into the next
period to continue into the next period
examples unused data will carry over
into the next month
my airline miles carried over into this
year so these two expressions both use
like points or miles or some kind of
data in the first example sentence it’s
like a mobile phone contract unused data
will carry over into the next month if
for example I have one gig of data
available on my mobile phone every month
but I only use 500 megabytes I have 500
megabytes remaining
that’s my unused data that amount
carries over to the next month that
means I have one gigabyte plus 500
megabytes of data to use in the next
month so carry over means that amount
continues to the next period we see the
same thing in the second example
sentence my airline miles carried over
into this year meaning my airline miles
from the previous year
carried over or continued into this year
so maybe I didn’t use those miles last
year but they continued into this year
and I can still use them so carrying
over means continuing something we see
it a lot in like credit card contracts
or like mileage plans or data plans
anything with data points numbers we
might see that sort of thing if you’ve
studied your target language but you can
barely understand native speakers you
might be doing something wrong you know
the vocabulary and grammar they’re using
but for some reason when they speak at a
faster speed you can’t keep track of
what’s going on why is this happening
have you spent all this time learning in
vain this is a common issue that all
language learners face at some point or
another
the truth is it’s actually a good
problem to have because only students
with a higher level of skill will
experience it when you know a lot of the
language but have trouble understanding
native speakers the problem is almost
always with your listening skills
learning what words mean and practicing
how to use them in a sentence are both
invaluable skills to develop but people
often forget that in addition to
speaking writing and reading we have to
develop our listening skills in a
foreign language as well in this video
we’ll look at three practical ways to
improve your listening skills
number one practice active listening one
of the best ways to practice listening
is to well listen to your target
language but this doesn’t mean putting
on some music and listening to it in the
background as you do other things you
need to practice active listening get
your hands on a recording of spoken
language you can use a movie news
broadcast or a podcast you can even try
subscribing to a YouTube channel listen
to a segment of the audio and do your
best to write down what you hear after a
couple tries at this go back and double
check what you wrote against the script
of what was actually said if you’re
watching a movie you can double check
yourself by turning on the subtitles our
language learning program is one of the
best tools for developing your listening
skills you can listen to the
conversation in a lesson and then check
it back against the lesson transcripts
this is simple easy and you can be sure
that the transcripts are correct number
to practice pronunciation
any problems you have pronouncing new
words correctly will be reflected back
in your listening skills it’s hard for
your brain to decipher and remember a
sound be it a letter or a word that you
don’t know how to make yourself a good
accent will give you the ability to hear
and pick out the otherwise unnatural new
sounds to develop your accent focus on
any sounds or letters that feel
difficult or unnatural for you once you
get more comfortable with the basic
sounds start to combine them using words
and whole sentences listen to native
speakers as much as possible and take
note of how words and sounds can blend
morph or get dropped in rapid speech do
your best to listen to this phenomenon
and imitate what you hear focus more on
how the syllables are said together
rather than simply saying the words next
to each other there is often a
significant difference between how words
are said individually and how they are
said when spoken together in a
rapid-fire sentence this is a big part
of the reason language learners can know
a lot of vocabulary and grammar but
still not understand native speakers our
playback feature is great for
pronunciation practice you can playback
the podcast itself or listen to words
individually you
even listen back at a slower speed if
you’re having trouble catching the
correct pronunciation as a native
speaker speed number three make
listening part of your routine now that
you’ve started practicing active
listening and pronunciation make it a
part of your regular learning a lot of
specific amount of time for each of your
listening activities for example you
might practice ten minutes of active
listening followed by ten minutes of
practicing vowels and then ten minutes
of imitation practice with a podcast now
you don’t have to use this schedule
exactly tailor it to your own needs and
availability the point is that you
should make a conscious and decisive
effort to practice your listening skills
on a regular basis it could be 30
minutes a day or it might be 10 what
matters most is that you practice
consistently these three tips will help
you close any gap that might exist
between your knowledge of your target
language and your listening abilities
understanding native speakers may seem
daunting at first but with a little time
and perseverance you will see your
skills improve few things are more
discouraging than putting in the work
and effort to learn a foreign language
only to not use it for a while and
forget a large part of what you studied
once you have a good handle on a
language it’s not hard to practice it so
that it stays in the forefront of your
mind in this video we’ll take a look at
five practical ways you can make your
target language a part of your daily
life so that you don’t forget it number
one use language exchanges the idea
behind a language exchange is that you
find someone who fluently speaks your
target language and is also interested
in learning your native language during
the exchange you spend half the time
speaking in the language you’re learning
and the other half in the language
they’re learning this kind of exchange
is a great way to practice your speaking
skills and cement the material you’ve
learned into your brain one great thing
about practicing through a language
exchange is that your language partner
is a fellow language learner they will
be able to sympathize with your
struggles and even give you some
insightful tips from their own personal
experience most major cities will have
at least one meetup or language club
where you can practice languages with
people from around the world
but sometimes it can be hard to find
people who speak the language you’re
learning if you can’t find a local
exchange or if there are no native
speakers in your city you can connect
with native speakers through online
language exchanges there are numerous
free sites that allow you to search for
users based on country and language and
have a text audio or video practice
session number two
immerse yourself digitally most phones
laptops and apps will allow you to
change the language of their interface
why not change it to your target
language this simple change may seem
small but it can actually be an
effective way to reinforce your use of
the language your language skills are
like a muscle if you use them on a
regular basis then your skill in the
language will be in good shape the more
you use your language skills the easier
will be to remember things however if
you go for long stretches without using
the language then you might have a
problem those linguistic muscles will
start to get weak before too long and
you’ll notice a drop in your language
ability simply changing the language on
your electronic devices won’t equate to
any heavy lifting in a foreign language
but it could be comparable to a warm-up
or a quick workout remember that you
probably use electronic devices everyday
if you can use at least some of that
time thinking in your target language
while using them each week that adds up
to a huge amount of time and can keep
your knowledge fresh number three teach
others a language you don’t have to be
an expert in a new language to lend a
hand to another language learner helping
a beginner through the language will not
only make you feel good about helping
someone out it will also help you use
the language and keep your skills sharp
remember those language exchanges we
talked about well what if you looked for
other learners so that you could help
them in the language don’t worry if you
don’t feel qualified to teach the
language they’re not looking to get
their PhD in linguistics most likely a
new learner would appreciate someone
who’s been down the road before someone
to show them some common pitfalls and
shortcuts have you ever been a complete
newbie in something had been graciously
helped by someone with more experience
pay it forward and be that expert to
someone else your language muscles will
thank you for it
number four keep a journal or blog
writing out your thoughts in a foreign
language is one of the best ways to
sharpen your skills it forces you to
take time to construct sentences and it
will reveal your weak points very
quickly journaling is also one of the
easiest and cheapest ways to practice
all you need is a pen and a notebook if
you’re not the journaling type don’t
worry you don’t have to write an
autobiography simply recounting your day
or describing an experience will be
enough to get your language juices
flowing the entries can be long but they
don’t have to be this exercise is
flexible and can take any shape you want
try writing short daily entries you can
even post them online for native
speakers to correct this way you can
hold yourself accountable and write
regularly
there are several free sites that allow
you to post an entry and have it
reviewed by native speakers number five
entertain yourself in the language books
movies YouTube videos language learning
websites music the list goes on there’s
an endless supply of media out there so
you’re likely to find something that
interests you in your target language
whether you love sports rock music or
sewing you’re sure to find something to
entertain you in your target language
learning a language is hard but
remembering it doesn’t have to be these
ideas are here to help jumpstart your
brain these aren’t the only ways to
practice your target language either do
your best to use the language on a daily
basis and make it a part of your
everyday life remember all languages
aren’t just spoken there lived the fear
of making mistakes is one of the biggest
roadblocks to language learning out of
all the discomforts that come with
learning a foreign language
nothing looms quite as daunting in the
mind of a beginner it’s almost as if
we’re hardwired to want perfection when
we speak however the reality is that
mistakes are unavoidable in fact
mistakes are an integral part of the
learning process think of small children
who are just starting to learn language
they mispronounce words they use words
incorrectly and their grammar isn’t very
good
sometimes they even make up their own
words research shows that this is all a
natural part of the process if making
mistakes made up such a huge part of
learning our native language why do you
expect it to be any diff
when learning a foreign one in this
video we’ll talk about six ways you can
benefit from your mistakes while
learning language number one be humble
there’s no room for pride when you’re
learning a new language if you’re a
beginner native speakers will likely be
very accommodating with your mistakes
and slower reaction times during
conversations there’s no reason to be
embarrassed remember that it’s a sign of
respect to learn another person’s
language no one expects you to speak
flawlessly right from the start no one’s
going to hold your mistakes against you
so make sure you don’t either number two
don’t play the comparison game whether
it’s a native speaker or another person
learning the language don’t make the
mistake of comparing your progress to
someone else’s no doubt at the beginning
there will be times when it feels like
everyone is speaking perfectly and
you’re left in the dust but try not to
get discouraged
it’s your race to run not theirs
everyone has their own story their own
reason and their own method for learning
comparing your progress to someone
else’s progress is like comparing apples
and oranges it’s easy to stress out when
someone speaks perfectly while you’re
struggling to make the most basic
sentences but don’t forget that while
you can easily see someone else’s
success you’re much less likely to see
the hard work that got them there every
speaker you meet had to learn the
language at some point whether it was as
a child or as an adult they too had to
wade through their mistakes before they
could speak fluently number three get
feedback on your mistakes anytime you
write or speak your target language try
to get feedback from someone who speaks
that language you can make mistakes day
and night but if they’re never corrected
they do you no good if you can’t learn
from a mistake or if you don’t know that
it’s a mistake it won’t help you many in
the language learning community hold
that feedback is an integral part of the
language acquisition process encourage
friends and language partners to correct
your speaking any time all the time
worst case scenario you’ll make a
mistake 100 times and get corrected 100
times it might seem frustrating but it’s
all worth it on the 100 first time when
you finally remember your mistake and
start speaking correctly some mistakes
will be easy to fix and you’ll adjust
your speaking right away
others might take a while speaking a
foreign language is a little bit like
juggling there are a lot of moving
pieces you have to keep in place whether
it’s pronunciation grammar or vocabulary
getting feedback on your effort will
help refine your language skills until
you feel comfortable in the language
number 4 listen to your brain after all
the practice and feedback eventually
you’ll start to notice that certain
words come to mind without having to
think about them instead of having to
scan your brain for the latest new
vocabulary word you begin to
instinctively come up with a word for a
given sentence don’t hesitate to blurt
this word out sometimes it will be
completely wrong other times it will be
dead-on when words start coming to mind
instinctively that means your brain is
starting to get more and more used to
using a new language the incorrect words
are sort of like growing pains you’ll
have them for a little while but over
time you’ll encounter them less and less
until all of your instinctual words are
correct so don’t let the fear of making
a mistake short-circuit your brains
natural learning process go with
whatever word your brain gives you
number 5 never take the easy way out if
there are two ways to say what you want
to say in your target language one you
know and are comfortable with and the
other you’re not sure of use the one
you’re least comfortable with purposely
choose subjects and sentence
constructions that are difficult for you
don’t get complacent and fall into the
trap of using the same phrase over and
over again or having the same type of
conversation with a language partner you
always want to push your language skill
boundaries to stretch them even further
number six
enjoy the language for its own sake
small children not only make a ton of
mistakes when they learn to speak they
also have a ton of fun to them life and
language are both giant mysterious
adventures they aren’t worried about
making progress impressing people or
speaking perfectly take a note from
their playbook enjoy the language as you
learn it let your focus be on the beauty
and magic of the language savor the
times you get to use it if you loosen up
and enjoy the ride you’ll learn much
faster mistakes are powerful and
indispensable part of learning a
language we hope this video inspires you
to stop being afraid of them and start
embracing them are you improving how to
assess your language skills have you
ever wondered am I actually getting
better with my target language if you
want to know how to check and see if
you’ve improved or not then keep
watching today you’ll learn why
assessment can mean the difference
between fluency and failure how to
assess your language skills even if
you’re learning on your own and much
more but first listen up here at this
month’s new lessons and resources first
the writing a journal cheat sheet with
this cheat sheet you’ll be able to keep
a diary in your target language and talk
about your day inside you’ll find
phrases for common daily activities from
warnings tonight second if you love
travel then you’ll love our brand new
travel words and phrases PDF ebook learn
all the must know travel phrases
download it for free right now
third must know words and phrases for
your resume if you want to write your
resume in your target language then this
next one minute lesson is for you fourth
the top 12 April Fool’s phrases want to
prank others and speak more of your
target language then you’ll want this
April Fool’s phrase list fifth must know
vocab for doing laundry if you need
language for practical situations like
doing laundry
then this one-minute lesson is for you
you’ll learn how to say washing machine
detergent softener and much more
to get your free resources click the
link in the description below right now
they’re yours to keep forever okay let’s
jump into today’s topic
are you improving how to assess your
language skills so have you ever
wondered am I actually improving with my
target language feeling like you’re not
improving can hurt your motivation on
the flip side if you notice yourself
understanding more of the language than
before you can feel good and that can
fuel your motivation to keep going but
it’s not easy to spot your improvement
it’s tricky with language it’s not like
going to the gym where you can see your
muscles in the mirror this is where
assessment comes in
what’s assessment the easiest example of
assessment is a test if you go to a
language class you’ll get a test on the
first day the goal of the assessment
test is to understand where your
language level is and any test after
that is a way to see how much you’ve
improved this is ongoing assessment so
assessment is checking where you are now
and how far you’ve come with your
language learning assessment lets you
see where you’ve improved and helped you
find what you need to work on if you’re
serious about learning a language it’s
one of the best things you can do to
stay on track stay motivated correct
your mistakes and reach fluency but
assessing yourself is also hard if
you’re learning on your own so what can
you do here’s how you can assess your
language skills whether you’re learning
with our program or not number one if
you’re a Premium Plus user retake the
assessment test technically you can only
take this once but if you get in touch
with our support team we’ll give you the
link if you’re using any other resource
find a way to test yourself look for
practice tests apply for a proficiency
test take online quizzes anything that
forces you to test your language skills
number two revisit old lessons an easier
way to self assess your language level
is to revisit old lessons you can do
this with any program you’re learning
with if you’ve truly made progress then
you should be able to understand the
lesson dialogues with no problem if not
then you know that you need to review
them some more number three try harder
lessons also something you can do with
any language resource if you’re using
our program try lessons from a higher
level if you’re a lower intermediate try
upper intermediate lessons if you don’t
understand anything that’s fine
but if you do then that’s a good sign
that you’ve improved and are ready for
harder lessons number four for reading
check out our extensive reading books
these are available for all levels from
absolute beginner to advanced you can
reread old ones or try harder ones to
see where your current level is you’ll
find these books in our lesson library
this will help you assess your reading
and comprehension skills number five for
speaking use our voice recording tool if
you can easily repeat the lines from the
conversation that’s a good sign or if
you’re using another program try to
shadow the provided conversations if you
can do it without a problem then you’ve
made progress and are ready to go to the
next level
number six for writing try and copy out
our lesson dialog by hand the point here
is to see if you can write smoothly or
not as a way of assessing your writing
you can also do this with any text book
you can also take a picture of your
writing and send it to your Premium Plus
teacher for feedback number seven use
our premium plus assignments if you’re a
Premium Plus member you can ask your
teacher to send you weekly assignments
based on your knees
whether for reading writing speaking or
listening and they’ll provide you
feedback so you can see where you are
with each skill so to recap one take our
assessment test to revisit old lessons
three try harder lessons or use our
extensive reading books for reading five
use our voice recording tool six right
out dialogues by hand and seven take
advantage of our assignments remember
the point of assessment is not to pass
or fail but to see where you’ve improved
and where you need to work so thank you
for watching this episode of monthly
review great work here’s a reward speed
up your language learning with our pdfs
lessons get all of our best PDF cheat
sheets and ebooks for free just click
the link in the description