Tip for YearOfEnglish.com Subscribers: Learn English Song Lyrics!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVszoY1C6m0 Let’s face it my friends: Songs performed in English are topping the charts all over the globe, and even if you’re a fan of music performed in your native language, you surely listen to popular songs or some classic hits every now and then, don’t you? If you’re anything like the average foreigner out there, I guess I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that you normally don’t pay attention to English song lyrics; you just allow the music wash over your ears and touch you emotionally rather than with the actual meaning of words. To tell you the truth, my friends, I don’t even pay conscious attention to words when I listen to songs performed by my fellow country-men (or women for that matter!), and sometimes it’s next to impossible to decipher those lyrics regardless of the language! :grin: If you do learn lyrics of your most beloved English songs, however, you will most definitely avail of all the following: (more…)
4 Reasons Why You Can’t Compare the Average Foreign English Speaker With a Small Child in a Native Speaking Family
How Using Hand Gestures & Facial Expressions Helps You Speak Better English!
Funny English Phrases: Sports Related Idioms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrYKYEgJOgI Hello my dear fellow foreign English speaker from YearOfEnglish.com! I’m back again with yet another funny English phrase video, and in this particular installment I’ve done a role play around sports-related conversations people would normally have when discussing last night’s game or while watching a live baseball or football match. You might and you might not be a sporty person, but whichever is the case, some of these sports-related English idioms will definitely come in handy for you at some stage in life. Especially considering the fact that many of those idioms can be used in figurative speech to describe completely different concepts – it doesn’t necessarily have to be sports :!: Want to see it for yourself? Then watch the video above, and you can also refer to its transcript below: (more…)
Fluency Gym Coach Goal #1 Complete: 50 American Phrases Acquired!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjT-stTQipU 27 days ago – April 30, to be more specific, I published the first video featuring an American English phrase TELL YOU WHAT. It marked the start of a journey that saw me record 42 videos within 25 days learning 50 new American English phrases, expressions, collocations and grammar constructs. A few facts about this 50 American Phrase Acquisition Mission: All American phraseology acquired during this mission has been sourced from GONE series dystopian fiction; I was recording 2 daily videos – one in the morning and the other one in the evening. The morning video got published on my Easy Idioms blog while the evening one went live on my Accent Adventure website. I was using my own Fluency Gym Coach Program and its Action Plan to set the overall goal and organize my spoken English self-practice sessions; I was making sure to use those newly acquired expressions also outside my video recording activities (extra self-practice sessions and also speaking with my work colleagues during the day) thus imprinting them into my active vocab permanently! And here are the videos published on this blog where I’m using all those newly acquired American phrases: American Phrases 1 – 12 American Phrases 13 – 24 American Phrases 25 – 38 American Phrases 39 -50 (more…)
FGC Goal #1: Learning American Phrases 39 – 50 using the English Harmony Method
FGC Goal #1: Using American Phrases 25 – 38 in a Self-Practice Session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZloj4PWjFQ Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Hi Boys and Girls! I’m almost 4/5 through the mission to learn 50 new American English expressions, and since the last video I published ten days ago I’ve added another 14 expressions onto my active vocab, here they are: I JUST…, IS ALL! TO DRAW A BLANK CALL BS ON… GO SEE/WATCH/DO SOMETHING… RUN THROUGH A LAUNDRY LIST OF… TRY + AND + VERB YOU THINK YOU’RE SUCH A BIG DEAL? GO OUT IN A BLAZE OF GLORY AT LOOSE ENDS To FALL OUT OF Use COME + VERB GET PAST THE FACT THAT… YOU GUYS HEAR ABOUT? WHAT FELT LIKE… You’re welcome to watch the video above where I’m using all these phrases in a spoken English self-practice session, and I hope you’ll be also trying to copy what I do and apply onto your own spoken English practice! And by the way, here’s the Activity Sheet for today’s spoken English practice session: (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #37: YOU GUYS HEAR ABOUT?
FGC Goal #1: American Grammar Construct #35: COME + VERB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crxLLbZaI7Y Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Five days ago I learned an American English grammar construct whereby you use the verb GO followed directly by another verb. Today I’m learning how to use another English verb in a similar fashion; it’s the verb to COME, to be more specific, Here’s an example: COME SEE ME at 2:00 PM sharp, I’ll be waiting for you at the shopping mall car park exit! What’s so special about the phrase COME SEE ME? Well, before I came across this particular grammar construct in one of the GONE series books, I would have said “Come AND see me at…” It’s not that it would make a massive difference in the message that’s being communicated to the other person; it’s just that native English speakers omit any words in between COME and the verb that follows it in conversational English, and you’ll sound just that little bit more native-like if you adopt the same speech pattern! Other sample sentences where this grammar construct is used: (more…)
YearOfEnglish.com: 3 Reasons Why Enjoying Your Hobbies Through English is The BEST Thing You Can Do To Your FLUENCY!
GONE Series Finished: What I’ve Gained From Reading It
FGC Goal #1: American Idiom #33: AT LOOSE ENDS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acB-JzCzXbE Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Have you ever been AT LOOSE ENDS? Not sure what it means? Well, no wonder you find it impossible to guess the meaning of this phrase; it’s a typical English idiom and you simply have to know what it means in order to understand the meaning of it! Still, it’s quite easy to infer the meaning of any idiomatic expression from context alone, and now I want you to give it a shot. Have you ever been unable to find your place after a break-up with a boyfriend or a girlfriend? That’s when most people find themselves AT LOOSE ENDS, and that’s when it’s of the utmost importance to engage in some other activities to take your mind off the problem at hand! Now, have you got a general idea of what the idiom AT LOOSE ENDS might mean? Are you still not sure? Then here’s another example. (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Slang #31: YOU THINK YOU’RE SUCH A BIG DEAL?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox1iwcWEM1U Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Hello boys and girls! :-) I’m still on my 50 American Phrase Acquisition Mission, and while the GONE series books have been finished by now (that’s where I’ve been sourcing all these American Phrases), the mission isn’t anywhere near completion! I still have 19 phrases to learn, and today I’m doing the 31st phrase which is the following: YOU THINK YOU’RE SUCH A BIG DEAL? You see, the thing is, up until recently (or, to be more specific - until I came across this phrase in one of the GONE series books) I thought that the English collocation A BIG DEAL can only be used when referring to things and abstract concepts. (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Slang #28 GO SEE/WATCH/DO SOMETHING…
FGC Goal #1: American Slang #27: CALL BS ON…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4iLutqdvUY Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Hello my friends foreign English speakers! Do you know what you have to do when you clearly see that someone’s been lying? You have to CALL BS ON that! And even if that person strongly believes in what they’re saying, you can still CALL BS ON their claims and statements because you have all the rights in the world to disagree with their opinion! Obviously, you have to bear in mind this is a slang phrase and it’s is used in highly informal situations only :!: (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #25: I JUST…, IS ALL!
FGC Goal #1: Using American Phrases 13 – 24 in a Self-Practice Session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzGwdecCTGc Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Hello my friends foreign English speakers on this wonderful Sunday evening! How’s your week been? I’ve been pretty busy learning new American English phrases, idiomatic expressions and slang words which is all part of my 50 American Phrase Acquisition Mission, and here’s the list of phrases I’ve acquired during the last six days: RUNNING JOKE IT STANDS TO REASON I PLAIN HATE/LOVE/LIKE IT I’VE HAD A RUN-IN WITH… TO SHIRK WORK See What We Can ROUND UP TELLTALE SIGN TO HAVE A SHORT SHELF LIFE FOR MY MONEY FOR ALL I KNOW, IT MIGHT WELL BE… BUSTING ON SOMEONE TO BE HOGGING SOMETHING (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #23: BUSTING ON SOMEONE
FGC Goal #1: American Idiom #21: FOR MY MONEY
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #19: TELLTALE SIGN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spJ-dEwMMHM Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Hi guys! This morning I’m bringing you a new American English phrase – TELLTALE SIGN. Have you not heard this one before? Well, I hadn’t come across it either until one fine day I encountered it while reading one of the GONE series books and decided to add it onto the fifty American phrases I’m learning as part of this Fluency Gym Coach Program goal! So, what is a TELLTALE SIGN? Well, this time around I’m not going to reveal a single bit of information to you in writing; you’ll have to watch the video above to find out what a TELLTALE SIGN is! Am I being mean? :-( Well, maybe, but then again, why couldn’t this blog post be different in that you simply HAVE to watch the video to find out the meaning of the phrase? Robby :grin:
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…
FGC Goal #1: American Idiomatic Expression #14: IT STANDS TO REASON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv7kr3EeaeA Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Hi my friends foreigners! :grin: Here’s my fourteenth American English phrase, and IT ONLY STANDS TO REASON I’ve started feeling a bit overwhelmed by this whole 50 American phrase mission for the simple reason that pretty much my entire time is taken up by video recording and editing! Now, the above sentence is probably going to merit some criticism by perfectionists because the word “reason” is repeated a couple of times in it. (more…)
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
FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #5 – IT HAS WRONG WRITTEN ALL OVER IT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEXh59NTBnY Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Good Morning on this wonderful Thursday morning! I got up at 5:30 AM, had my breakfast and my morning coffee while reading a few pages out of my current book (which is the source of all these American phrases I’m learning at the moment), and then I recorded another video for you, my friends! This time around the American phrase in question is IT HAS WRONG WRITTEN ALL OVER IT, and it’s a handy way to describe a situation when you have a premonition about something and you feel at an instinct level that the situation it going to spell trouble if you don’t stay away from it! Here’s the last time I had such a feeling about something. It happened early this year – mid-January, to be more specific. I was having slight problems with my website loading time; my English Harmony blog just wouldn’t load quickly enough. It would take good two minutes for the site to load fully, so I started considering moving the entire website to a different server. (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #3 – ZONED OUT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj2BeNh1uV0 Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days! Good morning my friends! :grin: So far so good – I’m on the third American phrase today and there’s only 47 more phrases to go! Today’s American slang phrase is to be ZONED OUT and it’s an informal way of describing when someone is daydreaming or in a state of absolute relaxation. You know the feeling when someone talks to you but you don’t even hear them? That’s a typical example of you being ZONED OUT, so next time it happens you can say to that person: (more…)
FGC Goal #1: American Phrase #1: TELL YOU WHAT!
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…)