English Skills for the RealWord Spoken English Practice
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hi everybody my name is Alisha and today
we’re gonna be talking about 15
questions that you should know so these
are 15 questions that not necessarily
you need to know how to ask them perhaps
you know some of the questions already
but you will probably also hear these
questions as well so we’ll practice a
few different answers for these
questions too so let’s get started do
you like American food the first
question is do you like American food
you will probably be asked this question
do you like American food you can either
say yes or no or you can give a specific
example someone says do you like
American food yes I love Philly
cheesesteaks I would recommend saying
yes or a little or or or you can just
say I don’t know what do you recommend
have you been to the United States
the next question is have you been to
the United States have you been to the
United States so someone asks you have
you been to the United States you should
reply with either yes I have or no I
haven’t or maybe no I haven’t yet but I
want to when you want to ask someone
this question you can say have you been
to Japan have you been to Egypt have you
been to China whatever you can use your
own country when you ask this question
how are you how are you when someone
asks how are you don’t say I’m fine
thank you and you please don’t say that
please say something more natural like
good great I’m good how are you
something like that is much better than
I’m fine thank you and you be a little
more genuine in your reply also when you
ask this question maybe one point to
help you sound a little more natural
when you ask someone else don’t like try
to say how are you how are you instead
of how are you or and make sure your
intonation is correct I’ve had a few
people ask me how are you like a little
too moon yeah with this question or like
how are you but how are you should be
the intonation with this how are you how
are you it’s a little bit more natural
how long have you been studying English
how long have you been studying English
how long have you
studying English great question to know
the answer to your answer should be I
have been studying English for
blah-blah-blah years or bla bla bla
month several more weeks but if that’s
too much for you you can just use the
time how long have you been studying
English six years how long have you been
studying English two months so just pick
the time if the whole sentence is quite
long for you how old are you
we don’t really go around asking people
how old they are like just the first
time you meet them necessarily
especially if they’re older much older
than you like in particular it’s
sometimes considered rude to ask
especially women how old they are so
just be careful with this question but
if you’re about the same age group you
know maybe you’re at an event or a party
or something and you just want to check
how old the other person is you can use
this phrase when you reply to this just
say I’m plus the number to make a really
simple response so how old are you I’m
15 how old are you I’m 42 whatever the
answer is just stick five in front of it
not i but i’m i am but use the
contracted form to sound more natural
i’m number if you want to make a full
sentence you can say i’m number years
old don’t forget that s in years i’m a
million years old what did you say what
did you say if you couldn’t quite hear
something that someone else said you can
use this question to confirm sorry what
did you say it’s a little nicer than
just saying what what did you say or
what did you just say sorry what did you
say I couldn’t hear you what’s this
what’s this when you don’t know what
something is what’s this when you’re out
for dinner you’re out for lunch or
something and you find a new food or you
just you’re curious just say what’s this
to reply to this question just say it’s
bla bla bla
what’s your name what’s your name of
course you should know how to ask this
question and how to answer this question
what’s your name is a little more
natural than what is your name again
contracted form will help you sound much
more natural so what’s your name someone
asks you you can just give your name
Alicia that’s fine you can say Alicia
you can say I’m Alicia that’s fine too
you could say my name is or my name’s
Alicia either any of those are fine in
more formal situation a business
situation I would I would use my name is
Pablo and while I shake hands or
something what’s your phone number the
next one is what’s your phone number I
would not ask this question right away
like maybe you’ve met the person a few
times but you would like to contact them
whether it’s because you’re romantically
interested in them or because you want
to be better friends with them but just
that if you meet someone for the first
time and you’re like what’s your phone
number like a little it’s a little too
much so use this question after you’ve
met the person a few times and you know
you want to become better friends when
you want to give your phone number just
say it’s and the number that’s fine just
it’s blah blah blah or my phone number
is blah blah blah with the number 5 5 5
1 million and 5 to 6 when is your
birthday so maybe you want to plan a
birthday party for example or it’s just
another fun question the first time you
meet someone when did your birthday so
when you want to tell someone your
birthday just give the month and the
date mmm
January 15th August 42nd that’s a real
day if you want to make a full sentence
you can say my birthday is month date
where are you from
the next word the next question is where
are you from
this can refer to your country or your
city mmm but I feel like prop more stuff
and it refers to your country so where
are you from
your answer should be I’m from places
I’m from China I’m from Japan I’m from
Vietnam I’m from America
whatever I’m from where did you learn
English the next question is where did
you learn English where did you learn
English if you’re speaking great English
you can say I learned English at English
class 101.com yes you did cuz you’re
watching no anyway where did you learn
English in this case in the case of like
these videos I learned English online or
I learned English from and then the
school name or the program name so I
learned English from English class
101.com for example if you studied
English at university you can say I
learned English at university or I
learned English from my friends perhaps
where do you live where do you live
depending on the situation where you’re
asked is this can mean your country like
I live in America I
live in China sometimes it’s about the
place in the city where you live
sometimes it’s about the country where
you live so you can kind of feel I think
which question which type of question is
being asked where do you work where do
you work is talking about your job you
can use the pattern I work at company
name or I work for company name either
it’s fine I work at ABC company I work
for ABC company either is okay but you
know if if you have answered with the
wrong information the other person will
just ask you like oh I mean where is
your office or oh I mean which company
do you work for use the force for this
one where is the bathroom where is the
bathroom very important question where
is the bathroom in American English
where is the bathroom or where is the
restroom is more common than where is
the toilet using the word toilet is a
little bit too direct in American
English so I recommend bathroom or
restroom in this lesson you’re going to
learn how to ask what someone’s job is
in natural English of course you can
just say what is your job this is
correct English but it sounds too direct
and awkward native English speakers
almost never say this in a social
situation instead they use a different
question but before we master that we
need to compare it to a very similar
question what are you doing I’m
presenting a video about English what do
you do I’m an English teacher do you see
the difference these two questions what
are you doing and what do you do sound
similar but mean different things the
first one is asking what you are doing
right now this minute you answer it
using an ING verb what are you doing I’m
reading I’m watching TV while the second
is actually a shortened version of what
do you do for a living this is how we
ask what is your job in natural English
let’s practice this question what do you
do what do you do
when native speakers of English asked
this question it can come out very fast
and sound more like what do you do in
order to tell it apart from what are you
doing just listen for the in sound on
the end of the question if it’s not
there then you’re being asked what your
job is so how would you answer this
question just think of it as if the
other person is asking you what is your
job you could answer with I am plus your
job I’m a teacher I’m a teacher or I’m
an engineer if you want to learn more
job names go to English class 101.com
and check out the core word lists these
cover job vocabulary and more and
include a picture and audio to help you
perfect your pronunciation
you can also mention the place that you
work at starting with I work at I work
at a hospital I work at a hospital I
work at a law firm I work at a law firm
if you work for a big company that is
well known you can say I work for and
then the name I work for Microsoft I
work for Microsoft I work for the New
York Times I work for the New York Times
now it’s time for Alicia’s advice when
you ask the question what do you do and
the other person tells you their job
it’s polite to make some kind of
positive comment about his or her job
for example how interesting or that must
be exciting or even oh really
remember to sound sincere and today
we’re gonna be talking about the top 25
English phrases so let’s get started
the first phrase is hello hello of
course is used as a greeting you can
greet your friends you can greet your
co-workers your family with this phrase
just by saying hello hey hi what’s up
hello sup yo pretty much any time of day
you can use hello hello the next phrase
is good morning good morning
used as a greeting in the morning you
can kind of feel when morning ends for
you good morning is nice and polite or
even just morning with your close
friends or close co-workers the next
phrase is good night good night is fine
we don’t use this to greet other people
we use it when we’re saying goodbye to
other people at night family members
particularly mothers and fathers to say
good night to their children before they
put them to bed you can say it to your
friend in a text message or in an email
if you’ve been talking for a while good
night so the next word to talk about is
goodbye use it when you say goodbye to
your friends when you leave your friends
goodbye bye of course take care have a
nice day
peace out that’s another way to say
goodbye okay the next phrase is I’m plus
your name of course this is a way to
introduce yourself you can use I’m in my
case Alicia I’m Alicia to introduce
yourself in any situation new friend I’m
Alicia
okay the next phrase is what’s your name
what’s your name is used to ask someone
else what their name is
so what is your name sounds a bit try to
use what’s your name
if you forget someone’s name you can say
sorry what’s your name or sorry what’s
your name again next phrase is nice to
meet you nice to meet you
any time you meet someone new nice to
meet you is fine
good to meet you is a little more casual
great to meet you sounds very excited
pleasure to meet you sounds like maybe a
formal situation or a business context
okay the next phrase is how are you how
are you is Ann it’s just a friendly way
to check in with the other person you
can use it with friends your family your
co-workers maybe even your boss to a
certain degree how are you how you doing
the next phrase is I’m fine thanks and
you if you saw English in three minutes
we talked a lot about this phrase
instead of I’m fine thank you and you
say I’m good thanks
how are you just shorten it and make it
a little bit more natural how are you
good how are you great how are you not
so good how are you okay and so on so
when someone says how are you offer I
usually say I’m good
this week I pop a blog give some
information about what you’ve been up to
maybe a hobby something that you did
recently an event something interesting
you saw whatever people want to make
that connection with you and it’s a good
chance for you to continue speaking the
next word is please
please as a polite phrase used when you
want something from someone else you can
use this as a response when someone
offers you something like in a
restaurant for example would you like
more water would you like something to
drink
oh please the next phrase is thank you
thank you is used to express your
appreciation you can use thank you with
everybody the next phrase is you’re
welcome you’re welcome when someone says
thank you you can say you’re welcome
no biggie I use no biggie as in no
biggie is short for no big problem next
word is yes yes of course yes means is
any positive expression someone asks you
a question and the answer is a positive
answer you say yes yep uh-huh yeah we
know next I’m guessing I knew it yep the
next word is no no is a negative
response to something when you have to
give a negative answer so as you can
probably guess the long form of no is
negative I like to use nope it’s very
very casual not gonna happen my parents
would use that with me to soften that a
little bit if you want to show a
negative response to something like
let’s go for dinner tonight what do you
want to do like do you want to go out
not really
hmm no I don’t think so hmm to soften it
the next word is okay okay this word
comes from copyeditors okay when they
had to check a manuscript they had to
label the manuscript all clear AC but
because they were copy editors and they
have a very very sick sense of humor
they thought they would mark it okay for
all clear to make a joke because o and K
do not start all and clear but it caught
on among everybody in the world anyway
okay is used to agree with somebody else
well it can be used actually to express
a positive or kind of a slight negative
I feel transitioning in your
conversation you can say okay now we’re
going to talk about blah blah okay
the next phrase is excuse me excuse me
it’s used to get someone’s attention in
English when you don’t know the other
person for example in a store a
supermarket
maybe a stranger on the street you need
to ask directions you can use excuse me
you can use excuse me in the supermarket
excuse me can you tell me where the hot
sauce
if you’ve done something rude in public
you can use excuse me I personally do
not do rude things in public ever I’m
sorry is the next word we’re gonna talk
about I’m sorry is used to apologize
when you have made a mistake or someone
you know it’s made a mistake and you’re
connected to it or you just feel bad you
can use I’m sorry
you made a mistake at work I’m sorry you
forgot to feed your cat I’m sorry sorry
about that you bump someone next to you
oh sorry what time is it is the next
phrase when you need to check what time
it is what time is it when you ask
someone else what time it is maybe you
say this to yourself to check your watch
check your phone check a clock pretty
straightforward phrase there aren’t
really any short version so that’s an
easy one
where is that plus a location so you can
use this for a building or a store we
don’t we’re not going to use this where
is the for a place a city name or a
state name or a country name to do that
you would need to remove the but where
is the bank where is the post office you
can use this to ask directions to ask
for help in your house or at work where
is the copy machine where is the file
I need where is the bla bla bla where is
the bathroom is perhaps a very important
question to know the next one is may I
use the restroom may I use the restroom
is a polite and soft expression that you
can use if you need to use the toilet
you need to use the washroom and when
you’re at someone’s house for the very
first time when you’re in a place that
you’re that is new to you you can ask
may I use the restroom more casually can
I go to the bathroom to be very polite
you could say may I go to the bathroom
the next phrase is I would like to order
something you can use this at a
restaurant probably or in any situation
where you need to place an order I’d
like a pizza
I’d like beer can I get the check please
this will be used at a restaurant when
you’ve finished your meal and it’s time
to go can I get the check please in a
very very casual situation you can just
say check please that’s fine the next
phrase is see you soon see you soon is
used with friends and family members
perhaps when you expect to see them
again soon after saying goodbye to them
this is used at the end of the
conversation you’re going separate
directions
see you soon see ya is also good or just
see you to make it a little more formal
you can say I’ll see you again soon make
a full sentence
the next phrases see you later see you
later is very similar to see you soon
but the point is would see you later is
that you’re probably going to meet that
person again later on in the same day
the last phrase is really really is a
very useful word because you can use it
to show you are interested in a
conversation with upward intonation
really really tell me more or to show
that you’re not so interested in the
conversation with downward intonation
really so there are many other words
that you can use similar to really in
this way like seriously or oh oh and so
on so it’s a really good practice for
your intonation want to get cheat sheets
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language gifts of the month in this
series we’re going to learn some easy
ways to ask and answer common questions
in English it’s really useful and it
only takes three minutes in this lesson
you’re going to learn how to ask what
someone’s hobbies are without using the
word hobbies you’ve probably seen the
question do you have any hobbies or what
are your hobbies in an English textbook
before
however native English speakers almost
never use the word hobbies when asking
about them a much more natural way to
ask the same question is what do you do
for fun let’s practice this question
what do you do for fun what do you do
for fun you can also ask what do you do
in your free time what do you do in your
free time so how would you answer this
question let’s look at how native
speakers would do it the easiest way is
to say I like to or just I like followed
by what you like to do for example if
you like watching movies you could say I
like to watch movies or I like watching
movies I like to watch movies or I like
watching
movies and if you like golf you could
say I like to play golf or I like
playing golf I like to play golf or I
like playing golf you can emphasize how
much you like your hobby by adding a
word like really in front of like for
example I really like watching movies on
the other hand if you want to play down
how much you like something you can say
kind of for example I kind of like
playing tennis now it’s time for
Alicia’s advice if you don’t have any
special hobbies or don’t want to be
specific
a good way to reply is I like hanging
out with my friends and stuff like that
I like hanging out with my friends and
stuff like that just use I like and add
hanging out with my friends and then add
and stuff like that the topic of today’s
lesson is ten phrases to help you in an
emergency let’s get started call the
police please if you are telling someone
to call the police it means you’re
telling someone to dial 911 to call the
police or maybe there’s police nearby
and you tell someone hey call the police
the police are there to help you in any
situation that you might need them maybe
you’re lost maybe you lost your purse or
your wallet maybe you’ve been in a car
accident the police will help you so if
you tell someone call the police please
it means you need them to get the police
for you do you have a fever do you have
a fever if you are asking someone if
they have a fever you are asking them if
their temperature is higher than is
normal or safe if someone has a fever
that may mean they have an underlying
condition that needs medical attention a
fever may be a symptom of something much
more
serious it’s something you should always
take seriously so if someone has a fever
you may want to take that person to the
hospital I lost my passport I lost my
passport if you have lost your passport
it means you have lost the official
document with all of your information
that enables you to travel between
countries if you are in a foreign
country and you lose your passport
that’s a very serious thing because you
may be stuck in that country if you’re
not able to present a passport at the
airport you may not be able to go back
home or go to another country so if you
lose your passport you may need to call
your Embassy to get a replacement what I
like to do when I travel is I take
photocopies of my passport
so instead of carrying around my
physical passport instead I just carry
around copies of it so that my passport
can stay at the hotel in some safe place
I think I ate something bad I think I
ate something bad if you think you ate
something bad it may mean that you feel
sick after eating it you may have some
form of food poisoning if you think you
ate something bad you’re going to want
to watch your symptoms because if they
last for a few days you’re going to want
to go to the hospital I think I ate
something bad I need a doctor
I need a doctor if you say I need a
doctor it means you need medical
assistance medical attention you may be
very sick you may have eaten something
bad you may just feel sick in general
you may have a fever if you say I need a
doctor it means you want to be taken to
a hospital or you want a doctor called
to you because you’re really sick or not
feeling well I can’t find the way back
to my hotel I can’t find the way back to
my hotel if you tell someone I can’t
find the way back to my hotel it means
you’re lost it means you want to go back
to your hotel but you don’t remember the
streets you took you don’t remember
where it is this is a common thing that
happens in other countries in other
cities if you have the address you can
ask just about anyone how do I get back
to my hotel
could you please give me the directions
to get back to where I need to go is
there a pharmacy nearby is there a
pharmacy nearby a pharmacy is a place
that has medicine over-the-counter and
prescription drugs if you’re in another
city it’s always smart to know where the
pharmacies are in case you might need
anything asking is there a pharmacy
nearby you are asking where the nearest
pharmacy is in case you need to go and
buy medicine shampoo conditioner
toothpaste vitamins allergy pills
doesn’t matter a pharmacy will probably
have it can you help me can you help me
can you help me is a very very useful
phrase knowing how to ask for help is
extremely important if you ask can you
help me it lets other people know that
you are in need of assistance of
whatever kind asking for help is the
first question can you help me and
another person will say sure what do you
need and from there that’s when you
explain the problem you’re experiencing
I am lost I am lost if you say I am lost
it means you don’t know where you are
you can’t find your way you don’t
recognize anything around you you don’t
know how to get back to wherever you
need to be to say I am lost
let’s people know that they need to give
you directions that they can open up a
map for you and show you where you are I
am lost is a very useful phrase
especially for people like me I get lost
all the time I have a terrible sense of
direction so to tell someone I am
lost it welcomes their help in getting
you back to safety to wherever you need
to be I need an ambulance I need an
ambulance an ambulance is an emergency
vehicle and its purpose is to get to a
sick person and take them to the
hospital to say I need an ambulance
means it’s a medical emergency and you
need that emergency vehicle to come and
get you in this series we’re going to
learn some easy ways to ask and answer
common questions in English it’s really
useful and it only takes three minutes
in this lesson you’re going to learn new
more common ways to ask and answer the
question how are you in English you’ve
probably learned how are you and I’m
fine in textbooks before but in the
United States people will usually ask
this question and answer it in a
different way
first let’s review if someone says how
are you you can say I’m fine I’m fine
here are some other ways to answer
pretty good this means about the same
thing as I’m fine
pretty good we also have not bad you can
use this if you are feeling just okay or
so-so
not bad let’s look at our question again
how are you this is the most well-known
way of asking how someone is you could
use it when you want to be polite but
now let’s look at some different ways to
ask how someone is these ways are more
casual and much more common first hey
how’s it going hey how’s it going you
can answer this in many ways if you’re
feeling good you can say good good
pretty good pretty good
not bad
not bad once more good pretty good not
bad
here’s a tip even though these answers
mean the same thing as I’m fine you
can’t answer how’s it going with I’m
fine it will sound a bit strange if
you’re not feeling good you can say not
so good not so good not great not great
or not so well not so well be careful if
you say one of these the other person
will usually ask why what’s wrong to be
polite then you will have to explain
another casual but very common version
of how are you is what’s up what’s up to
reply use a cheerful voice as you say
not much not much or nothing much
nothing much this means you’re free and
able to chat since what’s up is just
another way of saying hello
you can also reply with hey or hi now
it’s time for Alicia’s advice a lot of
the time when we ask questions that mean
how are you in English we’re not
actually asking about the other person’s
health we’re only asking to be polite
you should think of these questions as
another way of saying hello
a way for the conversation to get
started instead of actual literal
questions in fact when someone asks you
what’s up you don’t even have to answer
just say what’s up in reply today we’re
gonna be talking about the 10 must know
words to party in the United States not
that I would know anything about that
let’s go party party party is a fun
thing to do a party is a place where you
presumably you like all the other people
you know a bunch of people your friends
are there there’s something to eat
there’s something to drink
music to listen to maybe there are cute
guys or cute girls or cute puppies you
can enjoy whatever is happening at a
party in a sentence I used to go to a
party every week in college that’s
mostly true in this sentence the party
tonight is going to be crazy whoo whoo
to dance the next expression is to dance
to dance at a party sometimes when the
music is good you may feel compelled you
may feel that you would like to dance to
dances to move your body rhythmically in
accordance with the beats that’s if
you’re a robot giving a definition of
the word to dance this is how your dance
- you’re that robot okay in a sentence I
like to dance at clubs let’s go see if
those boys want to dance with us
hmm Club the next word is club I’ll get
in so hot I’m gonna say some words no
clubs don’t usually have a very good
reputation they kind of seem like places
for young people like late teens early
20s like there’s loud music and lots of
cheap drinks and we’ll go there to find
dates so club let’s see in a sentence I
visit a club every once in a while this
sentence says every song on the radio is
about going to the club rave the next
word is rave rave is a– is a type of
party the image of raivo is like it’s at
night and there are people with glow
sticks and there’s like techno music and
it’s like it’s like that and then
everybody’s like which I don’t say like
glowing things and maybe there’s black
lights in a sentence I don’t think I’ve
ever been to a rave and in this sentence
there’s a rave in my neighbor’s field
this weekend festival the next word is
festival there’s usually some kind of
theme like a music festival or a food
festival there’s a theme and you can go
there maybe you need to buy tickets but
sometimes it covers like one or two days
a festival event does so festivals can
sometimes be a bit more expensive than
parties to participate in in a sentence
there are a lot of Summer Music Fest
Tibbals cheers cheers Cheers I think
every country probably has a word for
this when you want to start drinking
with your friends you touch glasses or
you touch drinks and you say Cheers
in American English and as well as in
some other countries too so Cheers is
the word we use in English so when
everyone touches their glass together
say cheers to drink the next word is to
drink to drink so in this case for
parties it means alcohol some kind of
alcoholic drink many of my students will
say I went to drink alcohol with my
friends last night or I like drinking
alcohol or whatever but in in a native
speaker does not say alcohol when we say
I like drinking we mean I like drinking
alcohol but we do not say alcohol don’t
worry like no native speaker thinks like
you’re talking about water when if you
say I like drinking if you like to drink
if you like beer wine whatever just say
I like drinking that’s enough that’s
fine it’s very natural in a sentence I
go drinking once a month with my friends
in this sentence Wow
your friends really like to drink oh my
to get drunk
okay the next expression is one to be
careful of it’s to get drunk to get
drunk means to drink too much so to be
sick or to be in trouble or to lose your
memory something like that so to have
too much alcohol to drink is to get
drunk in a sentence I don’t like getting
super drunk because I feel sick the next
day I don’t like to get drunk the night
before work VIP the next word is VIP it
means very important person so a VIP at
a club a festival some kind of event is
someone who the owner or the manager
thinks is an important person they get
special treatment maybe free drinks and
a nice place to sit a private room they
get to meet the stars at the Music
Festival whatever a VIP usually it’s a
good thing to be a VIP in a sentence
we’re going to the VIP room later do you
want to come
in the sentence if your famous clubs
will let you sit in the VIP section to
buy around the next expression is to buy
a round to buy a round means to buy a
round of drinks meaning to buy one drink
for each person in your group so if
you’re in a group of four people maybe
everybody buys one round of drinks but
if you’re in a large group of people and
you decide to buy a round of drinks for
everyone in the group this can be very
expensive in a sentence the next round
of drinks is on me meaning I’ll buy the
next drink for everybody in this
sentence James bought a round of drinks
for everyone at his table end alright so
those are ten must know words to party
in the United States have you had any
partying experiences in the US if so let
us know
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