Speak With Me English Speaking Practice
Vanessa:
Hi, I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
I have some good news. I’m coming
to visit you. Let’s talk about it.
I can’t wait. I just booked my flight. I’ve
got everything set up. I can’t wait to hear
more about where you live. What should I see?
What places should I avoid? Tell me all about.
Is your heart starting to beat, tell you
about where I live? What? What do I say? How
do I explain it? Well, don’t worry. Today in this
lesson, I’m going to help you talk about where you
live and also you will have a chance to speak with
me and use what you’ve learned. In this lesson,
you will learn some common vocabulary to talk
about where you live. You can accurately explain
where you live and give some advice to people who
could be visiting your city. Then we’ll talk about
some common conversation questions about where you
live. And finally, you will see a little sample
conversation between my husband, Dan and I, as
we talk about visiting another city, and then you
will have a chance to practice speaking with
me. I will ask you a question and you will
need to use what you’ve learned. So pay attention
well, and get ready for the end of this lesson.
To help you with today’s lesson. I have created a
free PDF worksheet with all of today’s vocabulary,
questions, tips, sample conversations, and
Vanessa’s challenge question at the end of
the PDF worksheet so that you can use what
you’ve learned and remember it so that you
don’t feel too nervous and you can express
yourself clearly. So don’t forget to download
the free PDF worksheet. There is a link in the
description of this video. It is my gift for you.
Okay, let’s get started with some common
vocabulary to talk about where you live.
If you live in a city, you might say, “It’s really
busy where I live. New York city is a busy place.”
Or you could use the word crowded. “Tokyo is a
crowded city. There are lots of people everywhere,
and there are not many places where you can be
alone and have a quiet moment.” Maybe you might
say that your city is busy and crowded. What’s
the opposite of this? You can say, “Stockholm,
Sweden is a relaxed city. It’s a quiet place.”
I don’t know. I have never been to Stockholm.
If you’re from Stockholm, Sweden, let me know.
But you might say, “Where I live is just a relaxed
place.” Or we can say it’s relaxing. “If you
come visit where I live, it’s very relaxing and
quiet. Maybe that’s because it’s in the country.”
Let’s go on to these two common words to
talk about the type of place you live.
You might say, “Yeah, I live in Delhi, India, and
it’s one of the largest urban areas in the. There
are so many people here. It’s busy, it’s crowded.
It’s an urban area.” And this means it’s the city.
It’s quite busy. It’s crowded. It’s an urban
area. There’s not many trees, not much nature.
But on the other hand, you might say, “I live
in the country.” The word country means United
States, France, Japan, these places, but in the
US, we use this to mean countryside. We do say
countryside sometimes, but we’re more likely in
the US to say, “I live in the country.” That means
in nature. Maybe there’s some farms around you,
maybe there’s forests around you and you don’t
live in a busy urban city center. You live in the
country. So I wonder for you, do you live in the
country or do you live in an urban city center?
Do you live somewhere that’s difficult to get
to? You might say, “Yeah, my city is off the
beaten path, but it’s worth visiting.” So for me,
my city, Asheville in North Carolina, it is
definitely off the beaten path. It’s not a huge
city. It doesn’t have a big airport that comes
here. It’s off the beaten path. But if you want
to check out some other local sites in the US, it
could be nice to visit. It’s off the beaten path.
This also can be used to talk
about locations within a city.
So if you visit Paris and you go to the
Eiffel Tower, and then you get hungry. Well,
the places that are close to the Eiffel Tower
to eat, those are what we call tourist traps.
Those places are only for tourists. They’re
extremely expensive. They’re not high quality.
It’s just to trap tourists. But if you want to
eat at a great location, you might go somewhere
off the beaten path. This is somewhere that not
many other people go to. And it’s an expression
that’s great to use about like little secret local
locations. So when I visit your city, I might ask,
“Are there any places off the beaten path that
I can visit? Are there any restaurants off the
beaten path that only locals know about? What
is something off the beaten path that I can do?”
Let’s say that where you live is not extremely
popular, but it’s becoming more popular.
Maybe because of the pandemic last year, people
are traveling to different types of destinations.
Maybe they’re deciding to travel to
more nature places, places that are
in the mountains or places that are not in big
city centers. Well, that might mean that where
you live is becoming an up and coming place.
We use this term, up and coming, to talk about
somewhere that’s not extremely popular, but it’s
becoming more popular. So you might say, “Yeah,
my city isn’t really popular now, but it’s an up
and coming place, you’ve got to check it out.” We
can use this on a smaller scale, just like off
the beaten path, to talk about a restaurant or
a neighborhood. “That neighborhood used to not be
a good neighborhood, but now it’s an up and coming
neighborhood. You’ve got to walk through it. Just
look at the houses, look at the architecture,
enjoy the sites.” So you might say, “It’s an
up and coming place.” Excellent expression.
Our final expression to talk about where you
live is must-see, or some must-see locations.
Can you imagine what this means? Does it mean
it’s not important to see it? No. You can skip
that. No, you must see this. For example, when
you visit Egypt, the pyramids are a must-see.
So we can use it as a noun. A must-See. Of course,
when you go to Egypt, the pyramids are a must-see.
When you go to London, Big Ben is a must-see. When
you go to New York City, the Empire State Building
is a must-see. These are kind of like the top
things that you need to see. But even if you don’t
live in one of those really popular cities, if you
live somewhere a little bit off the beaten path,
you can still use this expression. You might
say, “In my city, this view on the top of the
mountains, that is a must-see. You drive up
this hill and you can have a great 360 view.
That is a must-see.” So it’s something that
you cannot miss when you visit that location.
So when I visit your city, tell
me what are some places that
are a must-see? I don’t want to miss them.
Next, let’s talk about some common questions
that you can ask other people about where
they live and also other people will ask you
about where you live. So make sure you’re
comfortable answering them about where you live.
The first question is, where are you from? This
is an extremely common question. And you can
just say, “Yep. I’m from the US.” But it’s nice to
give a little more details. So you might say, “I’m
from Asheville in North Carolina. It’s a pretty
quiet place, but it’s kind of up and coming.”
Great. You’re giving some details. It’s
quiet, but it’s also up and coming. I live
in Asheville. You’re inviting a conversation.
If you just say, “I’m from the US.” Or,
“I’m from Asheville.” That’s where I’m from.
Someone might ask you, “What’s it like there?”
Or if someone doesn’t give you more details
about where they live, they just say France.
“I live in London. I live in LA.” Okay, well,
you might want some more details. You don’t want
to continue the conversation. This is a great
question to ask: what’s it like there? What’s
it like there? What is it like there? They might
say, “It’s so hot in the summer, but in the fall,
it’s awesome because we get some great leaves and
you got to check it out in the fall.” Excellent.
If someone has not mentioned the weather yet,
you can say, “What’s the weather like there?”
They can go into some details. You could say about
your city. “The winter is so cold. We get tons of
snow, but when it melts in the spring and all of
the leaves become green and the flowers bloom,
it’s awesome. You got to visit in the spring.”
If you have not told someone what time to visit
yet, they might ask, “What’s the best time to
visit?” When Dan and I were planning a trip to
go to Costa Rica, a couple years ago, we did a
lot of research about what is the best time to
visit Costa Rica. Their seasons are very different
than our seasons and we were going to be spending
a lot of time outside. So we wanted to make
sure it wasn’t going to be raining the whole
time, it wasn’t going to be pouring down rain or
too hot the whole time. So we asked this question,
“When’s the best time to visit?” So
someone might ask you, “When’s the
best time to visit your city?” For my city,
I think the best time to visit is the fall.
The leaves are beautiful and the mountains.
There’s so many different colors and the air is so
crisp and fresh. Got to visit in the fall.
If someone asked you, “What’s your city known
for?” What would you say? This means, what is your
city famous for? Why do people visit your city?
It might just be something simple
like, “The air is so fresh.”
Or it might be, “Oh, they just love
this pastry. This type of dessert
that’s made in my city and a lot of
people like to come and eat that pastry.”
Cool. It could be something simple. Or if you live
in a bigger place, you can obviously talk about
some famous destinations that your city is known
for. But if people have not heard about your city,
they might ask this question, “Oh, what’s
it known for? What’s your city known for?”
And then you can think about some great places
to visit that people might be interested in.
Whenever I ask someone about their city,
especially if I’m going to visit like your city,
I like to ask about their personal favorite
thing to do. So someone might ask you,
“What’s your favorite thing to do in your city?”
Or, “What’s your favorite thing to eat there?
What’s your favorite thing to see?” Because I
think that local people’s perspectives are often
different than a tourist perspective. So finding
out what the locals like to do, specifically what
you like to do can be really valuable and can add
to a rich visiting experience. So if I asked you,
“What’s your favorite thing to do in your city?”
You might tell me, “Oh man, there is this little
bar off the beaten path, down this alley, and you
got to check it out. It’s so cool. They brew their
own beer and the atmosphere is awesome. It is a
must-see.” Great. I bet that my trip to your city
would be a lot more amazing because of that
information. So make sure that you have some ideas
that you can tell other people about your city.
Our final question is a little more broad. Someone
might simply ask you, “What do you recommend?”
Or maybe if you’re talking to someone who lives
in New York and you are about to visit New York.
Great, you can ask them some questions and say,
“What do you recommend? What do you recommend
about New York? What do you recommend that I do?”
“Oh, you’ve got to see this museum. It’s really
cool. They have local artists that they have
on display. All these different things you can
see.” Great, you’re asking, what do you recommend
in general? It might not be that person’s absolute
favorite thing personally, but to visit the city,
what do you recommend? Great. A wonderful
question to ask. What do you recommend?
All right, now that we’ve talked about some
common vocabulary to describe your city,
some common questions that you can ask or other
people might ask you about where you live,
let’s see a quick sample conversation between
me and my husband, Dan, where we talk about
visiting Rome. Now, neither of us are from
Rome, but I want you to use your imagination.
Let’s imagine that Dan is from Rome. He’s actually
from the US, but let’s imagine that he’s from Rome
and he is giving me some insider tips about what
I should do on my upcoming trip to Rome. Let’s
watch the sample conversation and listen for some
of the key vocabulary that we just talked about,
because you are about to have a chance to use
it yourself, speaking with me. Let’s watch.
Hey Dan.
Dan:
Hey Vanessa. Are you excited
for your trip to Rome?
Vanessa:
Yeah, I can’t wait. It’s such a historic place,
but are there any tourist traps I should avoid?
Dan:
Yeah, avoid all the gelato shops except this
one. It’s off the beaten path, but trust me,
it’s worth it.
Vanessa:
Oh, thanks for the tip. Any other must-sees?
Dan:
Well, the Colosseum is great, but my favorite
thing to do is wander around and see all the
little chapels. It’s usually more
relaxed and less crowded that way.
Vanessa:
Oh, that’s good to know. Thanks for the tip.
Dan:
No problem. Enjoy your trip.
Vanessa:
I will.
All right, now it is your turn. I’m going to ask
you some questions about where you live because
I’m coming to visit. I need to know what it’s
like. I’m going to ask you some questions and then
I will pause. I will be listening to you wherever
you live around the world. I will be listening. So
please speak out loud. Use the expressions that
you have learned. And I can’t wait to learn more
about your city. Are you ready to get started?
Hi, I’m taking a vacation to your city and I
can’t wait. Tell me, what’s the weather like in
the summer? I need to know what I should pack.
That’s good to know. Thank you. Well, what’s
your favorite thing to do or see in your city?
Well, that sounds really interesting.
So I got to know, are there any tourist
traps that I should avoid when I go?
Thanks so much for the tip. I look forward
to visiting. I can’t wait to see you soon. Bye.
All right, how did you do having this conversation
with me? You’re welcome to review that
and say it again and again and again,
to practice and grow your confidence.
Now I want to learn about where you live
in the comments. Tell me what is a must-see place
in your city. Let us know in the comments. I can’t
wait to learn more about where you live. And feel
free to read other comments as well to get to know
other places around the world. And don’t forget
to download the free PDF for today’s lesson so
that you can review all of the common vocabulary,
questions, sample conversations, and also answer
Vanessa’s challenge question at the end of the
free PDF worksheet. You can download it with the
link in the description so that you can continue
practicing and master conversation in English.
Well, thanks so much and I’ll see
you again next Friday for a new
lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye.
The next step is to download the free
PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this free
PDF, you will master today’s lesson and never
forget what you have learned. You can be a
confident English speaker. Don’t forget to
subscribe to my YouTube channel for a
free English lesson every Friday. Bye.