FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #23: BUSTING ON SOMEONE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk4DYW-hLyA Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Good morning everyone! :grin: Today I’m participating in a 10K run which takes place on the Curragh, in Ireland (and it’s only within five minutes driving distance from my home so it’s quite handy to get there!), but it doesn’t deter me from learning new American English phrases and recording videos while I’m preparing for the run mentally! It only stands to reason that if one wants something badly, one will do everything within one’s power to achieve that goal, and in my particular case I just HAVE TO record two videos a day no matter what happens! I also have to ignore negative attitude shown by others while I’m going about my daily business if I want to stay focused on my goals, and even if someone starts BUSTING ON ME, I simply have to let it go. It’s not always easy – especially if they’re being really mean (BUSTING ON SOMEONE might carry different connotations depending on context – there’s friendly busting and there’s also quite aggressive busting), but it’s a concept I have to embrace if I’m really serious about my English fluency development. I’ve no time for other people’s petty grievances; I’d rather stay focused on my goals and as far as today is concerned, there are quite a few things on my schedule: (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Phrasal Verb #18: See What We Can ROUND UP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_CgLyHNOOo Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Currently I’m reading the last book in GONE series, and here’s a sentence I came across yesterday: “See what food we can ROUND UP!” The situation in the book was the following: a kids settlement near a lake had been attacked by a monster of extraordinary powers, and half of all humans got massacred (quite grisly for a teenage fiction, isn’t it?). When the monster was fended off by one of the human mutants (you must be thinking now – “What kind of books are you reading, Robby?!”), the girl in charge started organizing their retreat to the town. Quite obviously, when almost everything you own is destroyed, first you have to see what supplies you’re left with, so that’s when this phrase “See what we can ROUND UP” comes in really handy! The funny thing is, I knew the phrasal verb TO ROUND UP in quite a different context. It’s a mathematical term and it’s used when rounding up figures. Let’s say, for example, if you’re asked to round up the number 27, you get 30. You can also round figures down, in which case 27 becomes 25 – and I’m sure everyone having even attended a primary school is familiar with this concept! Today’s video, however, isn’t about rounding figures up or down. It’s about using the American phrasal verb TO ROUND UP in a much different context, namely – when rounding up… (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #16: I’VE HAD A RUN-IN WITH…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bv2PozTfTA Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Good morning boys and girls! When was the last time you’ve HAD A RUN-IN WITH someone? Do you like HAVING RUN-INS WITH people? Personally I prefer to resolve all differences in a peaceful and diplomatic manner, but it’s simply our human nature to HAVE RUN-INS WITH other people from time to time. Now, I’m pretty sure that you got the meaning of today’s American English expression, but in case you still have some doubts – please watch the video above where I’m discussing my sixteenth American phrase I’VE HAD A RUN-IN WITH and how it’s used in real-life English conversations! Chat soon, Robby ;-)
FGC Goal #1: Using American Phrases 1 – 12 in a Self-Practice Session
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #11: GOT A THING FOR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTMVZmFGCrI Good morning my fellow foreign English speakers! :-) Today I got up a bit later – despite the fact that I’ve really GOT A THING FOR early mornings! Could it have anything to do with the fact that I attended a party last night and went to bed at around 2:00 AM? :grin: On pretty much any other day of the week, however, I’d be up and going by 6:00 AM for the simple reason that I love getting a lot of things done in the early morning hours while everyone else is still fast asleep! So, I’ve GOT A THING FOR early mornings. And, speaking of the opposite sex, I have to admit that I’ve GOT A THING FOR high cheekbones (in case you don’t know what it is – just do a Google search!) But what have you GOT A THING FOR? There’s no way, my friend, that you don’t have a thing for anything! It’s just human nature to be drawn to specific things or to be attracted to certain characteristics and features of members of the opposite sex, or indeed – to be attracted to a particular girl or a boy in which case you’d say the following: (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Collocation #9: ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE
FGC Goal #1: American Collocation #7 – RINGED WITH CHAIN LINK, TOPPED WITH RAZOR WIRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4WIr20KD0o Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! You definitely must have noticed the typical military facility settings in American TV programs and shows: Guard towers and massive light beams probing the area; Helicopters flying all over the place; And most importantly – the facility is always RINGED WITH CHAIN LINK AND TOPPED WITH RAZOR WIRE! That’s today’s American English phrase, and if you’re interested in my take on the whole thing, please watch the video above! As always, I’m touching upon other subjects in the video as well, so you’re guaranteed to have an even deeper insight into intricacies of the English language and you’ll most likely learn more idiomatic expressions on top of the one I’m focusing on today - RINGED WITH CHAIN LINK AND TOPPED WITH RAZOR WIRE. (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #5 – IT HAS WRONG WRITTEN ALL OVER IT!
FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #3 – ZONED OUT
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #1: TELL YOU WHAT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNRyDDDikUQ Hi boys and girls :!: I’m going to learn some American English phrases within the next 25 days, and I’m going to shoot for 50 phrases in total. Here’s the video I published yesterday on my English Harmony blog where I announced this mission, and it’s all done as part of my Fluency Gym Coach Program (FGC – hence the title on the video “FGC Goal #1”) where people can set their own English confidence and fluency improvement related goals and achieve them using my program as an effective framework. My goal is basically to add 50 new American phrases onto my active vocab, and the first phrase I’m doing today is TELL YOU WHAT. It’s a very handy way to make your point when speaking with another person, and it could be put into other words simply as HERE’S THE THING. (more…)
FGC Goal #1: Learning 50 American English Phrases in 25 Days!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeQklHAyybA Hello guys! :grin: As you may have heard, I recently launched a brand new English fluency coaching product called Fluency Gym Coach Program (FGC Program) , and it’s mostly centered around confidence building and creating an English fluency improving routine (as opposed to purely technical speech pattern building which is the scope of the English Harmony System). The Action Plan – a file outlining the goal setting and execution - is an integral part of the FGC Program, so I decided to showcase it by setting a goal for MYSELF. And, as you can guess by the headline of this blog post, my goal is to acquire 50 new American English phrases within the next 25 days! (more…)
Rapid English Vocab Building in 3 Easy Steps!
What Typing Has in Common With Spoken English Performance
Yes, in this article I’m going to draw parallels between using the keyboard to input text into your PC or laptop AND speaking in English as your second language. Do you think I’m mad? Do you think I’m trying to make all different sorts of connections between things that don’t really go together just so that I could publish more content on my blog? Well, you’re right – I have been finding commonalities between seemingly unrelated concepts. I published an article called 12 Reasons Why Spoken English is Just Like Playing a Guitar. I created the Fluency Gym Coach Program where hundreds of parallels are drawn between our fitness performance and spoken English practice. If you think about it a bit deeper, however, you’ll realize I’m not such a nutcase as you might have thought when seeing this blog post’s headline. You see, all the previously mentioned activities – playing an instrument, using our body and also using a keyboard for text input purposes are PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES. Spoken English is also a VERY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY because you use your mouth to produce sounds and your brain constantly works in unison with your sound producing organs so that you can verbalize your thoughts. So read the rest of this article to find out exactly what the two types of physical activities – TYPING and SPEAKING in English have in common. (more…)
English Phrasal Verb “To Pull Off”
English Fluency, Pronunciation & Confidence Improving Products
Are you an English learner seeking to improve your spoken English fluency, confidence and pronunciation? Then check out my English improving software products below! English Harmony System de Luxe Edition This bestselling English fluency improvement program is going to improve your spoken English naturally and effortlessly. It’s made up from 90 speech exercising lessons containing 1350 English sentences, phrases and idiomatic expressions covering a wide variety of study, work and personal life related topics. The unique speech exercising methodology ensures you acquire all those natural English sentences so that you can use them later on without much thinking thus facilitating natural English fluency. This is an ideal product for those non-native English speakers who are good at reading, writing and understanding English but struggle with speaking! Buy English Harmony System HERE. Accent Genie American Pronunciation Program Accent Genie American Pronunciation Program is going to teach you how to sound like an American English speaker by utilizing the same unique speech exercising technology used in the English Harmony System – only this time around the focus is put upon mastering those specific sounds unique to American English. Unlike other similar accent courses online, Accent Genie won’t waste your time telling you to repeat individual sounds over and over again; instead you’ll be repeating entire sentences which have been phonetically mapped with a non-native English speaker in mind! This product is also great if you simply want to improve your English pronunciation and make it clearer. Buy Accent Genie American Pronunciation Program HERE. Fluency Gym Coach Program Fluency Gym Coach Program is the ONLY English confidence improving product online! It’s exactly what you need if you’re afraid of speaking with other people and you constantly feel inferior to other English speakers. Fluency Gym Coach Program contains 33 motivational video lessons where I’m going to provide a very thorough and in-depth information on how to manage your English fluency and maintain your confidence even at moments when you may feel that you’re useless as a non-native English speaker! Buy Fluency Gym Coach Program HERE.
Don’t Learn Some Obscure English Words that Even Native Speakers DON’T KNOW!
Don’t Even TRY Watching Common English Mistakes Videos on YouTube!
Funny English Phrases: Animal Related Idioms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRezZtTzAXs Hello my friends! :grin: This Funny English Phrase video is my contribution to the YearOfEnglish.com project, and in case you haven’t noticed it yet, I’m publishing a video dedicated to YearOfEnglish.com audience once every three weeks. This time around, let’s learn some animal related English idiomatic expressions and conversational phrases. You’re more than welcome to watch the video above where I’m doing a little role play portraying two people at the same time. And, in case you need it, here’s the video script in written format: (more…)
How I Made a Nonsensical English Mistake 3 Times in a Row!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgouuqziNI Today I got talking with one of our secretaries about reading for the simple reason that I had Michael Grant’s book “LIES” sitting on the table. After a short chat about reading in general she asked me if I own a Kindle reader to which I simply wanted to reply with “Well, my daughter owns a Kindle reader!” Guess what? I made a completely stupid mistake in that simple sentence, and not only that! I tried to say the sentence once more, and the very same thing happened again! Then I started pronouncing those words for the last time, and to my dismay I made the same stupid mistake for the THIRD TIME! :mad: Now, the only explanation to this is a glitch in my brain. I can’t see any other reason as to why it should have happened especially considering the fact that the mistake was 100% illogical! (more…)
6 Types of Foreign English Speakers: Which One Are YOU?
7 Reasons Why Having Been Born a Foreigner Is One of the Best Things That Ever Happened to You!
I have a friend who’s made incredible achievements in terms of his professional life and he’s also very comfortable when it comes to his finances, but quite often he would tell me how much more he would have achieved if he’d been born in an English speaking country. While I can’t deny that there’s a lot of truth to what he’s saying, I can also tell you that being a foreigner isn’t always a handicap – especially if you know what you want to achieve in life! Here I came up with a list of things that should open your eyes and make you realize how lucky you actually are having been born a foreigner! (more…)
English Collocation: “Well Thought Through”
English Collocation: “In-depth Research”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aX7Cy027jA If you’ve ever been attending an academic institution, you’ve certainly conducted an in-depth research into some matter – be it deep-sea volcanic activity, bird migration or the true causes of the American Civil War. I picked these topics totally randomly, and it just goes to show that you can do an in-depth research into pretty much ANYTHING. Some research, however, no matter how profound and comprehensive it is, is bound to return some imprecise and misleading conclusions, so I always like to question everything I hear, see or read in the mainstream media. Not that I’m some mad conspiracy theorist, it’s just that I’ve heard a lot of contradictory information about a wide variety of subjects over the years, and now I’m quite cautious when it comes to making important decisions in life. (more…)
Just a Handful of English Phrases Will Enable You to Speak so Much More Fluently (Article #2)!
Who’s Your English Good Luck Charm?
English Phrasal Verb: “To Carry Out”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjSXmNJlrZU Hello my friends foreign English speakers! ;-) I’ve been away for some time due to my other commitments – Fluency Gym Coach Program – to be more specific. Now I’m back with another English idiomatic expression, and this time around it’s a phrasal verb ‘to carry out’. It’s quite a simple English phrasal verb meaning ‘to make it happen’, ‘to accomplish a task’, but I’d still advise you to watch the video above to see how this particular phrasal verb is used in real life conversations. (more…)
Robby is Back!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiU__kPihHc Hi guys! ;-) I've been away for a good while because I had to do a lot of video editing for my new product Fluency Gym Coach Program, and I simply couldn't handle it all. I tried to do both blog posting and video editing at the same time, but I failed miserably for the simple reason that multitasking requires you to be able to quickly switch between different tasks. Well, it’s not really a problem when it comes to performing relatively simple, technical tasks; content creation, however, is a whole new ballgame. It requires a great deal of inspiration and creativity, and it’s not that easy to switch it on and off at your will. Basically I’d gone into a totally different mindset for the last two weeks because I focused solely on editing Fluency Gym Coach Program videos and creating the final product. Now that the work is almost complete and I only need to put the final touches on the Fluency Gym website, I’m back to create regular articles and videos for this blog – and not only! (more…)
We’re All Capable of Correcting Our English Speech Ourselves!
33 Word Shortenings Any Foreign English Speaker Should Know!
VOCAB – this is a short version of ‘vocabulary’ and while it’s not something you’ll be using on a very regular basis, it’s always good to know that you can say things like: “I want to build my English vocab” or “I just added another useful English phrase to my vocab!” LIMO – short for ‘limousine’. Next time around when you see one, you can nudge your friend and tell him – “Hey man, look at that cool limo!” CELEB – I’m pretty sure you knew this one, but I had to put it on the list to make it complete! It’s obviously short for ‘celebrity’ and I wouldn’t be surprised if 20 years down the line people wouldn’t remember the original word at all! PIC – this is a very handy way of referring to a picture or a photograph. “Hold on a sec, I’ll take a pic and then we’re good to go!” SEC – this is how you can shorten the word ‘second’. As a matter of fact, I used this word in the sample sentence above, and here’s a couple more sample phrases: “Wait a sec!” or “Be back in a sec!” DECAF – this is a short version of ‘decaffeinated coffee’ and it will definitely come in handy when putting in an order in a coffee shop late in the evening – “I’d like a large decaf latte, please!” DETOX – this is a popular word in terms of dieting, and it refers to detoxification whereby you get your body rid of all sorts of toxins. ‘A detox diet’, for example, is a diet consisting mostly of juices, fresh salads and veggies and helps you get much healthier within a matter of days! (more…)