Podcasts about go natural english

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Best podcasts about go natural english

Latest podcast episodes about go natural english

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
5 Ways to Improve Your English in 5 Minutes

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2023 4:21


☝️ Get info on the Complete English Fluency course here: https://gonaturalenglish.com/prereg  00:00 Introduction to Improving Your English Every Day  00:28 Choose an article to practicing reading  01:53 Practice a few difficult words  02:28 Review advanced grammar rules 03:03 Create vocabulary flash cards Improving your English skills every day is an excellent goal!  Here are some practical tips to help you enhance your English proficiency: Read regularly: Make reading a habit by engaging with various English materials such as books, newspapers, magazines, and online articles. This practice will expose you to different writing styles, new vocabulary, and sentence structures. Expand your vocabulary: Learn new words and phrases each day. You can use vocabulary-building apps, flashcards, or online resources like dictionaries and word-of-the-day websites. Apply these new words in your conversations or writing to reinforce your learning. Practice speaking: Find opportunities to speak English as much as possible. Join conversation groups, language exchanges, or engage in conversations with native English speakers. Don't be afraid of making mistakes; it's a natural part of the learning process. Listen actively: Improve your listening skills by regularly listening to English audio, such as podcasts, music, or audiobooks. Focus on understanding the context, pronunciation, and intonation patterns. Repeat and mimic what you hear to improve your own speaking skills. Watch English videos and movies: Choose English-language films, TV shows, or YouTube channels that interest you. This will help you familiarize yourself with colloquial expressions, cultural references, and improve your comprehension skills.  #LearnEnglish #EnglishLesson #GoNaturalEnglish About Go Natural English: In regular English classes, you learn English grammar and English vocabulary, and in our English speaking lessons, you'll learn English the Go Natural English way - with advice to help you speak English like a native, with real English conversation and listening practice. Here you'll finally learn American English with a focus on English speaking skills. Unlock the English speaking world and finally understand English conversation. Learn how to speak English fluently with our English speaking course!

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How to Call in Sick to Work or School | English Speaking Practice | Go Natural English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2022 5:42 Very Popular


Do you know how to call in sick for work or class with confidence? What information do you need to share? Watch this English lesson with teacher Vida to find out the best most professional and correct phrases that native English speakers use. We hope you won't use these phrases, but when you do, you're now prepared to tell someone the natural English way to call in sick.

Language Hacking
#115 Gabby Wallace on How Language Teachers Learn a Language

Language Hacking

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2022 40:32


Gabby Wallace, creator of Go Natural English, joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to talk about teaching English online, how renovating houses is like learning languages, and what it was like to live in a favela in Brazil.Featured ResourcesitalkiPatreon Extended EpisodeEnjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here's what you'll hear in the long-form episode: Building a language teaching business online Learning languages to travel - how to prepare and what to do with the language after travel is over Shannon and Benny's tips for avoiding language interference with similar languages Gabby's ideal day of language learning Learn more and access this bonus content on Patreon.Mentioned in this Episode TuneIn Radio Go Natural English Website Go Natural English on Youtube Go Natural English on Twitter Go Natural English on Instagram Go Natural English on Facebook Go Natural English Podcast Episode OverviewSome of the topics brought up during the interview are: What inspired Gabby to begin teaching English How being a language learner makes you a better language teacher Ways renovating houses and real estate connects to language learning How to balance really diverse projects Living in a favela in Brazil How to choose topics for online content as a language teacher Corporate language training Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How to Introduce Yourself Fluently | Advanced English Lesson

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 12:32 Very Popular


Today we're going to learn about how to fluently confidently introduce yourself for the first time to new colleagues, new classmates or just anyone that you meet. This is really important because first impressions are everything! We're going to talk about how to really connect with people and the phrases that you need to know to sound like a native speaker.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Practice with Us! Difficult Words & Pronunciation Drills

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2022 10:01 Very Popular


Did you know that the way you pronounce words can really make a difference in how people understand you, or even if they want to talk with you? Practice difficult words with us today!

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
3 Tricks for Advanced English Fluency

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2022 17:02 Very Popular


Do you want to improve your English speaking skills? Here are three easy ways for you to speak English more fluently and confidently like a native.

Casual English with Amy
10 YouTube channels that you can LISTEN to for learning English

Casual English with Amy

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2020 12:42


10 YouTube channels that are great for learning English. 1) Speak English with Vanessa' 2) Learn English with English 101', 3) Linguamarnia, 4) Go Natural English, 5) James ESL English Lessons, 6) Accent's Way English with Hadar, 7) Rachel's English, 8) engvid, 9) VOA Learning English & 10) Casual American English with Amy - my NEW channel where I use Doodly to write the words on the screen, but you can easily listen to my playlist without video. Thank you!!!

Should I start a podcast with Ronsley Vaz
200. Gabby Wallace on Why You Should View Content Creation as a Craft

Should I start a podcast with Ronsley Vaz

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2020 33:03


In the online entrepreneurial world, the word “content” gets thrown around quite a bit. What is content? It's the words we write, the videos we film and the audio we record and put out into the world. But it's also so much more than that.  Welcome to Should I Start A Podcast  where each week Ronsley Vaz, with the help of a star-studded entrepreneurial guest lineup, explores why you should start a podcast; build an audience, and how to keep them hungry for more. If you're thinking about starting a podcast or simply looking for a better way to get your message out to your audience, then this is the podcast for you. In this episode of Should I Start a Podcast, Ronsley speaks with Gabby Wallace, creator of the massively popular YouTube channel Go Natural English. Gabby started out as an ESL, or English as a second language teacher years ago and fell in love with teaching. But after a while, she longed for a career that allowed her a bit more freedom to travel.  In 2011, Gabby started her YouTube channel, which she puts out as a podcast now as well. Over the years, she spent more and more time “improving her craft” as she says. She now is able to share her passion for teaching English to her 1.76 Million subscribers, with 55 million total views on her videos. This immense following has made Gabby realize that content creation is an art form. And with any art form, you have to put in the work and dedication in order to evolve as an artist. Ronsley and Gabby discuss the habits she sets for herself in order to develop her craft and continue to grow her channel. They also dabble in how influential your audience can be in how you shape your content, how to stick to a schedule when you work for yourself, and why you should just get over your fear and put yourself out there.   Also within this episode: Why Gabby defines herself differently depending on who she's talking to Why despite your fears you should always hit that Publish button Why your content isn't about you How a lack of deadlines can put a damper on your content creation Gabby's production process How to challenge yourself through content Why you shouldn't be afraid of competition   Resources: Watch Go Natural English  Listen to the Go Natural English Podcast  Go Natural English Website Gabby Wallace on LinkedIn

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
An International Accountant Talks about Go Natural English Premium Course Experience

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2016 4:08


international accountant go natural english
Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
10 Top Words for Beginners to Start Speaking English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2016 3:28


  Episode transcript below:   Hey. How's it going? You know, I've been getting a lot of questions from Go Natural English learners like you asking me, “Where should I start?” You know, English is a big language with lots of words. So, if you want to know where to begin, in this episode, I'm going to share the top ten English nouns. These are the most popular nouns that are used the most in the English language. So, before I forget, before I tell you the top ten nouns, I want to tell you that I have a free training on the Go Natural English website that will help you to understand how to learn English independently. So, come over to gonaturalenglish.com/7steps and I'll be happy to share that free training with you. So, now I'm going to check on my laptop. I have the top ten words in the English language and, actually, these are not just the top ten words in general, because that would include articles like “the” or “a”, which are actually the most common words. But I wanted to tell you the most common nouns because I think that's more helpful. Don't you? Okay. So, the number ten – we're going to countdown from ten – the number ten most common word in English is “hand”. “Hand!” Can you believe it? That's interesting. It's probably because there's some idioms in English that include the word “hand”, like, “Could you give me a hand?” Number nine is the word, “life”. “Life.” We talk about life a lot. It makes sense. Number eight. The number eight most popular word is “world” and I know this word is quite difficult to pronounce for a lot of English language learners. So, try repeating if after me now: “world”. Okay. Very good. Number seven is “man”. Okay. Number six is “thing”. This is also kind of a difficult sound, the “t-h” sound, so try repeating this word after me: “thing”. Awesome! Number five is “day”. Four is “way”. It rhymes with “day”. Number three is “year”. Number two is “person”. And the number one most popular noun in English is “time”. So, now it's time to end this episode. I just want to thank you for watching and, hey, if you want to learn more of the most common words and phrases in American English, I recommend that you purchase the Go Natural English audio e-book, “The 100 Most Common Phrases in American English.” You can find out more about that at gonaturalenglish.com/100. So, I'll see you there. Come check it out. See if it will benefit you and your English fluency. I think it will! Bye for now! The post 10 Top Words for Beginners to Start Speaking English appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
3 Things to Say to Your English Teacher

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2016 4:58


    The post 3 Things to Say to Your English Teacher appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Never Say These 5 Phrases to Your English Teacher

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2016 5:06


  Episode transcript below:   Shh! I have a secret to tell you. But you cannot tell your English teacher! In this episode, I'm going to share the five things that you should never say to your English teacher, even if you're thinking them. So is it okay? Can I share them? Can we keep it a secret? Okay. Awesome! Just before I share these five phrases, I want to let you know that you can come to gonaturalenglish.com and I have a free training for you. The Seven Steps to Fluency Training will help you start improving your English – now, today, immediately! So, be sure to check that out. Now, I want to share these five things to never say to your English teacher. First of all, never, ever, ever say, “I'm too busy to study.” Why? Maybe it's true. Maybe you're really busy. But why should we not say this? “I'm too busy to study.” Well, we're all busy. Teachers, especially, are super busy. So, I'm not sure if your teacher would feel sorry for you. Maybe. But the thing is, we make time for our priorities. So, if you do want to improve your English, you have to make it a priority and give it some time in your day. Okay. Number two: Never ever say, “Yes, I understand,” if you don't understand. This is very important for you because it doesn't help anyone to lie. If you don't understand something, it's much better to say, “I don't understand. Could you explain? Could you help me?” Teachers usually like to help their students and, of course, it's better for you to have a full understanding of the point or the phrases that you didn't really understand. So, I know it can be a little embarrassing sometimes to say, “I don't understand,” but it's okay. Just understand it's a good thing to ask for help. So, don't be shy to do that. Okay, the third thing that you should never say to your English teacher is anything not in English. I've had students come up to me and ask me questions in their native language – like in Japanese. And my Japanese is not very good and I couldn't respond in Japanese to my students' question. Actually, English class is a time for English. So do everything in English. Do not revert to your native language. This is a time for you to try out new things, to make mistakes. So go ahead and even if you're not sure or you're not comfortable about how to say something in English, just try it in class. It's a great time to experiment. Okay, next. Another thing that you should never say to your English teacher is, “I'll never use this tense.” Okay, a lot of people don't like to learn grammar, right? It can be boring. It can be dry. But just understand that your English will sound so much better if you use the compound tenses. So, you can probably communicate just fine if you use simple tenses, but if you want to sound like a professional in English, like you're fluent in English, then you need to know all the tenses and you'll definitely find times when you can use them. Finally, the last thing that you should never say to your English teacher is, “Since I only need to write emails, I don't need to learn how to speak in English.” Or it could be vice versa. Maybe you might say, “Oh, I only want to learn to speak, so I don't need to learn how to write.” Well, this is not really a good idea to tell your English teacher, because your English teacher wants to help you with your all-round fluency. And in order to have really good English fluency, you need to know all the skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking. Now, if you're doing more speaking than writing, you could focus more on those skills. Like at Go Natural English, I focus mainly on listening and speaking because those are the skills that help you to connect with people on a daily basis. Of course, you want to use writing and reading every day, too. But it's really important to know each skill and then you can focus on learning what you like according to your goals. Alright!

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Go Natural English Fluent in 15 Student Opinion from Norway

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2016 5:53


        Episode transcript below:   Hello! Hello! Hi! Hi Emrah! How are you? I'm okay. I'm good, thanks. So where are you? You… tell me again where do you live? I live in Norway. Actually, I'm… my parents are from Kurdistan. Oh, wow! Yeah. They… Actually I born and raised up in Kurdistan. When I was fourteen years old, then I moved to Norway with my family. Tell me a little bit about you. Are you now, are you working? Are you studying? What do you do? Yes, I am working now, and I am working in a factory with this aluminum produced from raw material. I like the work, but I just want to change my life because I have been at this work about nine, ten years. And I just want to change my life because I just bounced on someone on YouTube. His name is Jack Jones. He was from Canada. Okay. So he, speaks English, so you're listening to him in English. Great! He speaks English. And about for a year now, just watching his videos and sign up his newsletter. Tell me more about your goals to maybe do something different with your professional life or… yeah, what are you thinking? I want to move to America. Alright! Tell me a little bit more about why you decided to learn English. How long have you been speaking English? It is from the school because here in Norway, they teach English because … yeah, all Norwegians, they talk so well because they're talking better than me. I'm not… maybe... I'm trying to talk like them. How did you find Go Natural English? How did you find me? How did you find Go Natural English on the internet. D,o you remember? I remember it. I searched how to improve your English and like, saw your video, and you just sit there like this, something like that. Yeah, I have a cover, and image like this. “Oh, the secrets to English!” That's so cool! If your friend from Thailand asked you about how to learn English, or, yeah, where to look for English, what would you recommend? I would recommend you. Thank you! That's very sweet! Thank you! Can you tell me maybe three positive things about Go Natural English? That you just, you care about people, that is, I think, and you are genuine, you want to help people. That is like, it will magnetize the people. Oh, that's great! Thank you! Thank you for saying that! It's true! But it's important for me to know that you know that. Yeah. And that you are warm. Because some other, maybe, I just look at some others, but they wasn't warm because we think, maybe we think that the camera, the video camera, maybe it is, there is no someone, no one is there. Yeah. I know what you mean. They're just talking to no one. Expression. Your expression, your… yeah, it is like you connect with people. How can I help you more with your English studies? Do you have any questions about English. Actually, the main thing, when I saw that you just want to talk with individuals and I saw that, “Oh, it's a great opportunity to just overcome my shyness or something.” Yeah, definitely! That's great! What's your goal for the end of the year? I have vision like move to America. Move to United States. This year? Maybe start. Start the process. Yeah. Just start. Like I said, I said to myself, I am going to be, I just want to improve my verbal, the speaking skills. I am so grateful for this time. Oh, no, I am grateful. Thanks. It's my pleasure. And I really want to know about your journey to the United States, if you still want to go. Tell me about your plans and tell me if you have questions. Maybe I can help to tell you about the different cities or something. Oh, thank you so much! Yeah. Alright. Well, stay in touch, Emrah, and good luck with everything. Thank you! Alright.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Top 5 Native English Slang Words for 2016 from America

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2016 3:08


  Episode transcript below:   Hey! How's it going, Awesome Go Natural English Learner? In this episode, we're going to learn the five freshest, hottest slang words for 2016. You know, vocabulary words come in and go out of use. If you're speaking English like your textbook that was published in 1950, you probably don't sounds like a native speaker. That's why we have this episode and lots of other episodes from Go Natural English, as well as our courses and materials at gonaturalenglish.com. In fact, if you come to gonaturalenglish.com, I have a free training for you to get started on today. Just come to gonaturalenglish.com and you'll see it right there. Okay! So, let's get to the top five slang words for 2016. Number One is “extra”. Keep in mind, you probably already know the word “extra”, but this is a new use of the word as slang. That's what slang is, right? It's taking a word that we already have and using it another way. So “extra” means “trying too hard, or being over the top.” Okay? “Oh, that's extra! That's too much!” It's negative. It's not a good thing. Number Two is “OTP”. This is an abbreviation that stands for “one true pairing”, a couple that you are emotionally invested in. Forever, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are my OTP. Who is your OTP? You can tell me in the comments. Next: “Netflix and chill.” This phrase has been in use for a little while. What it means is – and I think it'll continue to be in use throughout 2016 – what it means is inviting someone over to your home for a romantic encounter, but pretending you will just watch streaming movies and hang out. Next is number Four: “snatched”. It's used to describe something that looks really good. It's the new “on fleek” and “on fleek” is the new “on point” and “on point” is the new “cool.” So, you just learned a lot of new slang words there. Number Five – finally, our last one – is “hunty”. “Hunty” means your best friend, someone you always hang out with. You have a group of “hunties”. Alright. I hope that you enjoyed our five-plus slang words. Have you heard them before? Are you using them? Tell me what you think in the comments. Subscribe to Go Natural English so that you can enjoy more episodes like this one. And come visit gonaturalenglish.com! I'll see you there. Bye for now! The post Top 5 Native English Slang Words for 2016 from America appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How to Read Faster and Better – 3 Ways to Understand and Enjoy English Reading

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2016 5:57


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEiDxfGpxeI   Episode transcript below:   Hey! How's it going? I'm so excited to talk to you about reading today, because a lot of Go Natural English learners have asked me, “How can I read faster, better? How can I enjoy it more? How can reading help me learn English?” So, I'm really excited to share some things with you because reading is an amazing way to improve all of your English skills: your reading skills, obviously; your writing skills; your speaking skills; and even your listening skills. All your English skills will benefit from reading more, because reading will improve your vocabulary a lot, and reading will help you to understand the structure or the grammar of English. You'll see the way that we put sentences together in different ways, and you'll see how we organize our thoughts in paragraphs and across pages and in chapters. So, it will really help you. Not only will it help your English, but reading is really enjoyable. Well, it can be. Listen, I remember when I was in grad school, I had to read some really boring textbooks. And I was so tired of reading by the time I got my Masters degree in teaching English as a second language, that I swore I would not read another book for an entire year after I graduated! And I didn't! And it was a very sad time in my life, because reading is actually very pleasurable if you're reading things that you want to read. So, I encourage you to find something that you want to read. Now, I try to read every day and my goal for the year is to read a book each week. So, let me know what your goal is and also if you have some recommendations for good books that you like, or if you have questions about books. I'll be happy to hear from you in the comments. Now, when you go to read, make sure that you are putting yourself in an environment that's good for reading. It should be a quiet, relaxing, calm environment. So, there's a reason why people don't read at the nightclub. Typically, they don't read books at the nightclub or at a bar because it's noisy, there's a lot of social interaction, a lot of distractions. So, I don't recommend the nightclub or bar. I recommend maybe a library or at home or in a café or something like that. What else? Choose something that is enjoyable for you and, yeah, there's three tips I have to help you to read faster and better, but before I share those, before I forget, I want to invite you to join the Go Natural English Seven Steps to Fluency training course. There's seven videos and they'll teach you more about how to become fluent in English. All you have to do is visit gonaturalenglish.com and click on the big button to sign up for the training and I'll share that with you for free! So I hope to see you there. Now, three ways to improve your reading, to read faster, to understand better and to enjoy it more. First of all, if you're reading and you don't understand a certain word, just keep going. It's likely that you'll understand the word through other words, through the context or later on down the page once you realize the situation. You could probably get a general idea of what the word means. And if you don't, if you still don't understand what the word means, then after you're finished reading, go back – you know, after you read for thirty minutes or so – go back and check the word later. You don't want to stop many times when you're reading because that will interrupt your flow. So, get into the flow of your reading and just enjoy the story. Second, use your finger to read along, to trace the line of words as you read it. That will help you to focus and it will help to keep your mind from wandering or looking at other words or thinking about other things. So, when you involve some physical aspect, like moving your finger along the page as you read, it actually keeps you more focused. So,

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How to Stay Young and Smart by Learning a Second Language

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2016 4:38


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TR_yTBu54I   Episode transcript below: Hey! What's going on? Did you know that learning English as a second language can actually keep you smarter and younger? You know, I believe in working out. I go to the gym, I work out! But did you know that learning a second language is like a workout for your brain? And that keeps you smart and it keeps you young over the years. So, learning English as a second language is, of course, really good for your professional life, your career. It's great for your social life. It can help you make friends when you travel, or in your hometown with other English speakers. So, English is pretty awesome for a lot of reasons. But I wonder if you ever considered that it's good for your brain. Science tells us that there's several reasons why learning a second language, such as English as a second language, is really good for your brain. So, let me share those four reasons with you. Before I forget, I want to let you know that if you are an English learner and you want to learn the Go Natural English method, the Seven Steps to Fluency, you can come join that training, that seven-video training, for free, just by visiting my website, gonaturalenglish.com and signing up there. So, I hope that you'll join. I hope to see you there! Now, for science! The four ways that learning a second language keeps your brain younger, smarter, stronger: First of all, people who learn a second language have been found to have denser gray matter in the area of the brain responsible for language learning. So, that means you have more brain material in your language learning area of your brain. So, you have more brain when you learning a language, basically speaking. Second, people who learn a second language are better at switching tasks. They're better at multitasking or doing more than one thing at once because, as a person who speaks more than one language, you naturally have to switch from one task to another, one language to another. Have you ever been in a situation where you're around people, maybe your family, who speak your native language, but you're also around your friends who speak English? And you're switching back and forth? Or maybe you've been in a situation where you interpret for your friends or family who speak your native language. I've been in those situations and I'll tell you, it is a real brain workout to be an interpreter or translator. Next, people who learn a second language have been found to be better at reasoning, planning, memory and logic. So, learning a second language means that you have to learn a lot of new words and different grammar patterns, and that requires a lot of memory training. So, you're naturally going to get better with your memory. Okay, and finally, learning a second language will help you and your brain to stay young because it delays the onset of a disease called Alzheimer's. So that, by learning a second language, you're actually working out your brain and it keeps your brain healthy, just like going to the gym and working out your body, it keeps your body young and healthy. So, I just want to encourage you to learn a second language. Keep up with your English if it's your second language. Or if you're a native English speaker watching this video, well, welcome to Go Natural English! And I encourage everyone to learn a second language. I love learning languages and I've spent a lot of fun time learning Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese and I've learned a few words in other languages like Turkish, and Arabic, and I just can't wait to learn more second languages because I just love it! So, I hope that you enjoyed this video episode of Go Natural English. Remember you can come back to gonaturalenglish.com to learn more about how the Go Natural English learning method works. I hope to see you there.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
English is Essential – Join the New Class Fluent Communication

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 8, 2016 3:49


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkbd5Z_l9F0   Episode transcript below:   English is essential. It's the number one second language in the world. There's more non-native English-speakers than native speakers. And in any case, English is essential for your professional, for your personal life, and for growing as a person. If you want to do business, if you want to study or travel abroad, if want to connect with people, if you just want to know more about the world around you, English is the best tool to do that. Maybe you've been studying English for years, but you still struggle with shyness, with hesitation. You struggle to speak. If you're struggling to speak, it's unfortunately probably because traditional English classes haven't really caught up with the modern English-speaking world. We lack practice in the classroom speaking with native speakers and other fluent English speakers. The same thing happened to me when I was learning Spanish. I was taking university Spanish classes and I learned a little bit of grammar, how to read and even how to write a little bit, but then, when it came to speaking Spanish in the real world, I was totally lost. So I created my own method for learning Spanish fluently and that's how I created Go Natural English, to help English learners like you. Now, the Go Natural English method is a course online. The Go Natural Team and I have created our best course ever, and I want to invite you to be part of it. Fluent Communication is the best course to help you with your fluency. We cover all skills and you get tons of practice. Compared to taking private English classes, it's much faster and easier. That's my goal: to make it fast, fun and easy for you to learn English. Instead of taking years of private lessons and spending a lot of money, the fluent communication course is sixteen weeks long and it's an incredible value. With one week of lessons at a time, you can study independently online from anywhere on your own time. No commuting, no worrying about schedules. It's all up to you. And now there's more detailed video lessons and lots of supplementary materials to help you to learn faster and easier, and to get tons of practice too. So you feel confident in the skills that we're learning together. With Fluent Communication, you'll feel confident in your English fluency and you'll also feel like you belong in our community of like-minded English learners. You've probably met me through Go Natural English online, but in case you don't know, I'm Gabby Wallace, an American English teacher and I've been teaching English in the classroom for ten years, and online for five years. So I know what it's like to struggle with English, but my goal is to help you to learn quickly, in a fun way, and I've also studied and learned other languages to fluency myself, so I know what it's like to be a learner. Also I have my master's degree in teaching English, and I've taught in the US and abroad, to university-level students and to corporate business people as well. Check the details below for how to join the course. You can click on “Buy Now” to be part of the course when it launches. Now, I hope that you'll take action to get fluent now. Don't wait on your decision for fluency. Start enjoying confidence and fluency in English now. I hope to see you on the inside of the course. The post English is Essential – Join the New Class Fluent Communication appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How to Find the Best English Learning Language Exchange Partner

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2015 5:43


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAFdn7woLXI   Episode transcript below: Hey guys! How's it going? I have gotten a lot of questions recently about how to find someone to practice English with you. So, in this episode, we're going to answer that question. I'm going to help you to find the perfect English language exchange partner, someone who you can practice with any time you want and it's free. So, I think you're going to want to watch this one. Let me tell you, before I explain exactly how to find your perfect language exchange partner, that if you want to learn more about Go Natural English Method: the Seven Steps to Fluency, you can find a free course. You can sign up for it at gonaturalenglish.com/7steps. Okay, so back to the question about finding the perfect language exchange partner. I know there's a lot of problems: like, okay, where do you find someone? So, if you live in an American city, or an English-speaking country, that's awesome. But maybe a lot of you don't. I know that the Go Natural English community is all over the world, and that's really exciting! I see you watching from Brazil, form Japan, from Germany, from all different countries. It's amazing! So I know some of you are watching from the United States or other English-speaking countries, but some of you are not. So, what if you live in a country where there's really not as many English speakers around? You're lucky if you live in a big city, because you can probably find them. But if you live out in the countryside, it might be more difficult to find them. And even if they are around, how do you find them? Well, often I say, “Okay, we can look online, right?” How do you find an exchange partner online? It can be a bit difficult too, right? How do you find someone who can commit to meeting you, who is there and available on your schedule? How do you find someone who's as interested in speaking to you in English as you want them to be, someone who's patient, someone who will always practice with you? Okay. I have a solution. I want you think about: who is the person who you already speak with the most? Is it your friends? Is it your family? Think a little harder. Where's that voice coming from that you hear all the time? Maybe the voice that, you know, comes to you when you think about things? How about talking to yourself? Don't laugh! Don't laugh! Okay, you talk to yourself in your mind more than anybody else. More than your friends, more than your family, more than anybody else, you're always talking to yourself. You probably don't talk out loud to yourself all the time, but your thoughts are always going. And what language do you speak to yourself in? Probably your native language. How about we change that to: talk to yourself in English? So, I'd like to suggest that the perfect language partner for you to begin with, for free, no hassle, no scheduling issues, no commitment issues, takes no time to set up, super easy – is to begin to think to yourself in English! So, how do you do that? Start small. You don't have to think everything in English because there's going to be a lot of words that you're not sure about in the moment. So, you can find out; you can look them up; you can make a list of new words that you want to use with yourself. But start an inner dialogue in English. Instead of asking yourself in your native language, “Oh, what should I do today?” ask yourself in English. And then you can answer in English. You can write down your ideas in English. You can even talk out loud to yourself in English. There's other things, like singing a song in English, that you can do, you know, just on your own time; you don't need anyone else to do that. Ask yourself, “What am I going to eat for lunch?” in English. These are all thoughts that everyone – well, I have them, I think everyone has them: “Well, what am I going to eat today?” You have them naturally. So,

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc5s2jK2JfU   Episode transcript below: Hello, how are you doing? In this episode we're going to take a look at some interesting, surprising myths about learning English. The top ten myths in fact. I'm really excited to share them with you, I think you're going to like them. They might make you think about your English fluency in a new way. Let's challenge some of those thoughts that you have about English fluency. I've heard from a lot of learners that they say, "Oh you know I really need to learn in a Native speaking country. I can't learn English until I can move to the United States." Seriously? It's not true. If you're planning on moving to the United States for example, you should probably start learning English before you move there. You don't need to live or even to travel to a native speaking country to become fluent in English. There's so many resources, especially online with so many interesting websites, news sources, video clips that you can watch, movies that you can stream, music sites that you can listen to music on, there's so many ways that you can get immersed in English in your living room, or wherever is convenient for you. You don't have to be in an English speaking country, you just need to bring English to you wherever you are. In fact I know a lot of people who live in the U.S. and they've lived there for years, maybe ten years, and they still don't speak English. Why? They spend their whole day everyday with people from their own country speaking their native language. Simply living in the United States is not the secret to fluency. It's a great place to be don't get me wrong, but fluency has to come from you and your effort, and knowing how to become fluent. That's why I'm here to help you. Stop making excuses, this excuse is not valid, you do not need to live in an English speaking country to become fluent. The next myth that I'd like to bust is that you have to major in English in University in order to be fluent. Now this is wrong on so many different levels, of course majoring in English can help you with your English but in a University you're typically going to study literature, and writing, and maybe how to become an English teacher. Sure, maybe it's a good idea if you want to be working with those fields but, in fact if you want to be able to speak English fluently I would suggest that you don't focus on it at your University. I would suggest, if you're taking English classes at University or a private language school that's great, but you have to do so much more outside of the class to develop your fluency, and make sure that you're not relying on your textbook, your teacher, or your course work to make you fluent. You really have to use English outside of the classroom to become fluent. Okay, next number three is really fun. I get a lot of requests from Go Natural English viewers, if they could become fluent by marrying an English speaker. Well, you do not need to marry an English speaker in fact to become fluent in English. It's great if you can have connection, or friendship, or even more with an English speaker, but you do not have to marry an English speaker to become fluent in English. I would suggest to reach out to people with similar interests and discuss those interests with them in English. Maybe you're really into sports, you could find a sports community using social media, or maybe a forum online. That's a great way to connect with people. I would suggest you put your effort into finding people with similar interest who also speak English. Number four, English is the most difficult language to learn. This is simply not true for most English language learners. English can be more difficult for some people and easier for some people depending on your native language, and depending upon your experience learning languages. If you've already learned another language it can become easier an...

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Student Opinion of Go Natural English Premium Members Courses

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2015 6:45


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P9jhpomtP4     Episode transcript below:   It's so good to see you. I'm so happy to see you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Please, ask me anything that you'd like. Great. I have four questions for you. The first one is I'd like to know nowadays, what is your biggest challenge with English? Speaking. Speaking, okay. Just speaking in conversation or for business, or for using English with friends? Is there something specifically that you're having a problem with or a challenge with? Not work, for wok, just I want to make what I mean clear. Yes. Express yourself. Yes. Okay, I understand. And I think the more phrases that you become familiar with and you can understand more phrases and then use more phrases to express yourself specifically. So that's your biggest challenge: to express yourself, what you mean to say. Do you think about using examples? Because I think examples are very powerful to show what you mean. So, if I say, ‘Do many tourists come to Japan?', would you say ‘Yes' or ‘No'? Maybe ‘Yes, many tourists come to Japan.' But you can express yourself with an example, like, ‘Oh, the last time I went to Kyoto, I went to ­­­­­­­­­–Kiyomizu-dera, and I saw so many people. People everywhere.' So, examples are really powerful. Do you feel like you use examples sometimes? Sometimes. Okay, great. Sometimes it takes me time to consider what to say. But let me ask you why are you learning with Go Natural English? At first, I learned from Fluent in 15. Okay, yes. It was very wonderful experience. Thank you. I didn't have much opportunity to listen to native English speakers' composition. So, I thought I had to get used to listen more. So, that's great experience. Wonderful. Okay, so… Oh, go ahead. No, I reviewed each pack. Wonderful. Okay, great. Let me ask you my third question. So, what are three things that you like about Go Natural English courses? Just three things for example. Three things that you like. First, your English is very easy to understand for me. Great. Very clear. And your advice. Thanks to you, I get a very useful mind-set. At first, I was very annoyed making mistakes. But you always encourage us, ‘Don't be afraid to make mistakes.' So, I have gotten very positive mind-set. So now, I'm expert of making mistakes. I love that. That's wonderful. And second is now, learning with English Insider, I practice pronunciation. I watch your mouth and tongue moving and how to make sound. So, that's very useful for me. And third is Go Natural English Facebook. I think that is very great community, because there are many people with different backgrounds. So, I can learn not only English, but also very wide programs in the world. Yes. So, it's very great experience for me. That's wonderful. I'm so happy to hear those three things that you like. Thank you for that. Thank you about that. I really want to understand your experience and to improve the course. So I think it's really helpful to know where to put my time and my energy to make the course better. So, I really appreciate that. I really appreciate your opinion. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me this morning. I really enjoyed company with you. Thank you. And I thank you for providing us with very interesting and useful programs. Thank you. I'll do my best to continue and to make them better too. Thank you so much. So…

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Is your English class hurting your fluency?

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2015 8:09


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHYK07EUzvs   Episode text below:   Hey, Go Natural English learner! How are you doing? I'm so happy you're here today. We're going to talk about classroom English versus real life English and how they're not the same. Maybe you've thought about this before. Of course, classroom English is different from real life English, but how are they different and how could you actually be hurting your English fluency by learning in the classroom? It seems so counterintuitive: you want to study English, you sign up for English class, you go to your class every day, you learn from a good teacher, why are you still not fluent in English? These are the thought that you might be having in your own head. So, let's talk about it a little bit. I taught English as a second language in a classroom for over ten years. That's right, ten years. So, I know what it's like. And I did my best to help my English learners to become fluent in English. But the fact is inside the classroom is not the real world. We can do role plays, we can pretend, we can act, we can do theatre, and that's really fun, and they are all great ways to learn, especially at the beginning levels of English, but when you are ready to become and advanced, fluent English language speaker, you need to get out in the real world, you need to get out of the classroom. Here's why. The classroom is rigid, the classroom is its own real world, its own bubble. In the classroom, you're going to learn more classroom English, such as ‘Turn to page twenty,' such as ‘Please, raise your hand,' such as ‘Any questions?' These are phrases that you don't always hear on daily basis in the real world. Sure you might hear them, but it's going to be more likely that you hear something different, like ‘Hey, what're you doing? Where're you going? What're you up to?' And these are phrases that… They're a little bit casual for most English teachers to be teaching. Now, maybe you have a really great English teacher, and yes, I was a pretty good English teacher, but the thing is we often have to use textbooks, and textbooks can be quite rigid. And the time we have in the classroom is limited. So, as teachers we can't always cover natural, conversational, casual English in the classroom. When you learn English in a classroom with an English teacher, that English teacher might be an amazing English teacher, but they might only have experience as an English teacher, not in the specific area that you want to learn English for. For example, if you want to become a doctor, you want to learn medical English. Or if you want to have conversational English, maybe out in the world, like in a bar or a restaurants, well, sure your English teacher might have experience in bars and restaurants, but in the classroom, they're probably not focusing on English for the bar. Anyway, other specific examples. If you want to be a pilot, a flight attendant, these are English for specific purposes. So, you may want to find a course or a teacher that helps you in those areas. If you're preparing for a test, find a teacher who can help you with those areas. So perhaps, you have a course or a tutor that can help you, but just be aware of what you want to learn, what are your goals and can your teacher, can your class, can your textbook help you with those. Another thing is inside the classroom, conversations can seem a bit forced, scripted. You might be reading examples from a textbook, and then, your teacher calls on you, and you know you have to answer. But in real life, how do you know when to join the conversation? I find this is a big issue for a lot of English learners.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
What to Do When You Don't Feel Like Studying English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2015 8:45


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhlW1ma6AmM   Episode Transcript Below: Hey! What's up? Welcome to Go Natural English. In today's episode, we're going to talk about what to do when you don't feel like studying English. I know your goal is to get fluent in English, that's why you're here. And I'm here to help you. But I also know that sometimes you can lose motivation. You might feel like you're tired, you just might feel like you don't have the time or maybe you have other things that you'd rather be doing besides studying English. So, in this episode, I'm going to give you some pointers, some suggestions that I think will  really help you to stay on track towards your goal for fluency in English. And before I forget, I want to invite you to sign up for the free ‘7 Steps to Fluency' course at GoNaturalEnglish.com/7steps. And at the end of this episode, I'll link to that page again. So, you don't have to go right now, you can watch this episode and then meet me there after. So, we have a few different ways to get us motivated to study English. First of all, with anything, like whether it's studying or going to the gym, I always remind myself that a little bit is better than nothing. So for example, like if I don't feel like going to the gym, I remind myself that fifteen minute in the gym is better than nothing. I can get on the treadmill, I can break a sweat, and I can feel like I had a little workout in fifteen or twenty minutes, and that's way better than nothing. So, the same thing is true for your English study. And I think it's even easier to do more in fifteen minutes sometimes than if you study for an hour, because if you stay super focused for fifteen minutes, and you know that's all the time you have, you might actually be able to do more than if you're half focused or a little bit focused for an hour. So, just try to take a little bit of time, stay super focused during that time, and it's going to be way better than nothing, and maybe even better than longer time unfocused. Next, try making your English study like a game. So, see if you can challenge yourself to do better than the last time you studied. Sort of like breaking your best score or doing better than before at a videogame or something, at some game you play, or maybe you like to play a sport. So, how can you challenge yourself to do a little bit better each time you study English? With things that I'm learning or challenges that I try to force myself to do, I love to time myself. I think timing yourself with a stopwatch can make it a fun game. For example, if I time myself for fifteen minutes, how many articles in the news can I read in the language I'm learning? So, maybe for you, how many flesh cards you can look at with vocabulary words that you're trying to remember? Or just the same example that I gave just now. Try to see how many short news articles you can read in fifteen minutes. Or with a longer article, how much of it you can read at that time. So, try to gamify your English learning. And the easy way to do that is to use a stopwatch on your smartphone or online. The next thing you can do (and there's three more things). One thing is make it a habit. So, studying English will become much easier if you kind of put yourself on autopilot and make it a habit that you do the same time every day, especially if you have some habits that you do before or maybe a reward that you give yourself after. For example (and I keep likening studying English to going to the gym, because it's something that's good for you, but sometimes you don't feel like doing it), so I try to make going to the gym a habit that I do every that it's possible. Like if I'm on an airplane or something,

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
10 Phrasal Verbs You Need to Know for Fluency in English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2015 6:39


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRBaEM3ngCc   Hey there! What's up? Welcome to Go Natural English. I'm here with you today on my porch. It's a beautiful evening. It's a great time to talk about how you can improve your English fluency with the top 10 phrasal verbs. So, I'd like to share these with you. I'm not holding back any secrets. These are the top ten phrasal verbs that you need to know and examples of each. Now, first of all a phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition. And often in English, that preposition will change the meaning of the verb. So, for example, ‘get' usually means ‘to receive something'. But, for example, if I say, ‘Get out,' it means ‘Leave, exit.' So, the meaning is different. I think you can see how a phrasal verb is different. And what's really special and interesting about phrasal verbs is that native speakers use them all the time. We use them a lot more than a more formal version of the verb, like ‘leave'. I would tell my friend ‘Get out,' I wouldn't say ‘Leave.' Well, that would be kind of rude in either situation. But anyway, what I want to help you out with are the top ten phrasal verbs. And this episode is just scratching the surface. These are all phrasal verbs that are included in the new Go Natural English course that the GNE team and I are working on really, really hard right now so that we can release it early next year and so that you can be a part of it. So, this course covers a lot of areas. The phrasal verbs are one of five things that you're going to learn in the course. It's going to be super awesome. So, I just wanted to mention that I'm working hard on it, and I hope that you'll keep your eyes open to find out more about it. So, let's start with the ten verbs. The first one, ‘come'. So, for example, ‘come by' means ‘to find'. ‘Hey, did you come by my keys anywhere? I can't find them anywhere.' The next one is ‘get'. ‘Get by' means ‘to do the minimum amount of work required'. For example, ‘I'm just getting by in my English class, because I never do my homework. But I participate in class, so I'm doing okay, I'm getting by, I'll have a passing grade.' ‘Make for'. I say, ‘Make for the hills.' That means ‘Run, run away.' ‘Make for' is to go in a specific direction. ‘Go for' is different. You think that since ‘make for' means ‘go', ‘go for' would mean the same thing? It doesn't. Of course not. ‘Go for' means ‘to pursue something'. ‘Hey, I think I'm going to go for a degree program.' ‘Put'. ‘Put up' means ‘to withstand something'. ‘I can put up with hot weather better than cold weather.' ‘Take up' means ‘to start or to begin something'. ‘So, I'm thinking about taking up a new hobby. I really like sports, so maybe I'll take up a new sport.' ‘Break'. ‘Break into' means like when a robber enters your house without permission. They break in or break into a house. ‘Look into' means ‘to research something'. ‘Oh, let's find some information about the best place to travel over a next vacation.' ‘I'll look into it.' ‘Pull up'. ‘Pull up' means ‘to find', maybe ‘to research and to find some information'. ‘Did you know the information, the phone number for that restaurant I want to go to?' ‘I'll pull up the information.' ‘Pick up' is ‘to start something'. So, I mentioned ‘I'm going to take up a new hobby.' Well, ‘pick up' is similar. ‘I'm going to pick up a new hobby.' ‘Set on'. ‘Set on' can be ‘to feel determined'. ‘I'm set on helping you to become fluent in English if you'll let me.' ‘Keep on', our last one.

english run fluency phrasal verbs gne go natural english
Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Why You Can't Understand Some Native English Speakers

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2015 15:38


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYM92pioYyQ   Episode transcript below:   Hey! How's it going? ‘Why is it that I can understand some native English speakers and not others?' This is a really common question that I've been getting over and over from you, members of the Go Natural English community. And I think it's a really good question to discuss in this episode. Don't you think so? So, why is it that you can understand some native English speakers, like me. I know that a lot of you while I've received many, many, many emails saying, ‘Oh my Gosh, this is so exciting! Gabby, I can understand every single word you're saying.' Or ‘Wow, I can't believe I understand 70% of what you're saying. This is amazing. I've never felt this way before. I feel so good when I listen to your English, Gabby. But why when I listen to other native English speakers, can't I understand them?' So, let's talk about that. Today, we're going to solve this problem, and I'm going to share resources, suggestions with you on how to fix this problem. This is some big deal, because you don't want to feel left out of native English conversatione. It feels horrible. It feels really horrible when you cannot understand some native speakers, but you can understand others, because it makes you wonder is this your problem, is that the native speakers' problem, is there something wrong with them or is there something wrong with you. It's embarrassing when you're in a group of native speakers, and maybe you can understand some of them, but not others. Or maybe in the morning, you're watching a Go Natural English video or listening to the podcast, and then in the afternoon, you go to talk with your native English speaker friend or your colleges, and you can't understand some of them. So, in this episode, we're going to solve that. So first of all, natives talk funny. Native English speakers have different ways of talking. I'm a native English speaker. I was born and raised in United States of America, and I speak a very standard kind of American English. I was born in Minneapolis, so some people who are really, really good at English know that sometimes, there's a tiny, tiny, incy-wincy hint of that kind of regional accent in my English. But not so much. I tend to speak standard English, because as I was growing up, I actually moved to different states. I lived in Minnesota until I was ten, and then Hawaii until I was thirteen, and then Indiana, until I was fifteen, and then Maine until I was twenty, Massachusetts until recently. So anyway, I'm a very good kind of even English. So anyway, my English is really clear, because I also have over ten years of experience teaching English as a second language, travelling the world and working with English-as-the-second language speakers. Other native English speakers don't have the same experience, they're not English teachers. So, in order to communicate with people, they just speak like they would speak with other native English speakers. I'm speaking to you right now like I would speak to my native English-speaking friends. What I mean is I think I'm more aware of speaking clearly, I annunciate my words. People that work on the radio or in broadcasting, or on TV also speak very clearly whether they're English speakers or not. Other people that are used to working all day every day with other Americans speak pretty quickly, and they might combine their words more. So, for example, I might say, ‘Don't you know how to understand native English?', and they might say, ‘Don't you know how to understand native English?' ‘Don't you know?' Which is also vert Minnesotan of me to say.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
The Amazing Impact of Mastering English Fluency in your Life

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2015 18:54


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSKkrdFAMU0     Episode transcript below: Hello! How are you doing? I'm so excited to talk to you about why you should become fluent in English. Maybe you've thought about why you want to become fluent in English language. Maybe you haven't thought much about it. Maybe you've just been studying, because it's something you are required to do or you think you should do, but maybe you haven't thought much about it. Well, if you have or haven't, either way, this episode of Go Natural English is going to present some ideas that are probably new, you probably haven't thought about. And so, I'm going to share with you my reasons why I think English fluency is the best thing that you can do for yourself. So, I've made a lot of notes, so I'll be looking over at them while I talk to you. So, a lot of people talk about why you should become fluent, and I think there're some basic reasons that you probably already know. I'm going to say these, and you're going to think, ‘Duh. Yeah, I know that.' So, for example, freedom of communication. English is the language of the Internet, the language of science, medicine, technology, travel. You can find out a lot of information in English. As opposed to, perhaps, if your native language is not as widely used as English. So also, English can give you a lot of opportunities to travel abroad, to study abroad. When you travel, you might want to use English to communicate with people who speak other languages. Maybe English is their native language, maybe it's not. Did you know that there's more people in the world that speak English as a second language (or third, or fourth, or fifth) than people who speak it as their native language. I just think it's a fascinating fact. So, English is really the language that we use to connect with each other internationally. So, if you want to travel the world and work abroad, or study abroad, or meet people from different countries, English is the best way to be able to do that. I was lucky that I was born into an English-speaking family in an English-speaking country, so I have English, but I've worked really hard to become fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, I can speak some French and Japanese, so I know what it's like to learn another language. Also, English, of course, is really helpful for your career. Most careers will benefit from speaking English. If you work with international colleagues, if you have to travel for work, if you have to do research for work, if you're selling things to people in different countries or doing marketing (I mean I could go on and on, and on), if you work in tourism of any kind, if you work in a hotel, restaurant, giving tours or anything like that, really, your career is going to benefit from English. Think about if you want to go to a conference overseas, you're going to benefit from knowing English. So, all of these things so far, you're probably thinking, ‘Okay, Gabby. I've already thought of that. Really, what's new?' Well, I'm going to share my not-so-obvious reasons for becoming fluent in English. And before I do that, I want to talk to you about levels of fluency in English. Because I think that fluency in English means that you can do what you want to do in English. So, if you want to order coffee, for example (I just got a coffee myself, so that was the first thing I thought of). I ordered my coffee in English, because I'm here in Bangkok actually, and I don't speak enough Thai to order my coffee in Thai. But I did learn how to say ‘Hello' and ‘Thank you'. But anyway, I said, ‘Could I please have a coffee?' So, ‘Could I please have a coffee?' Was that five, six words? Well, for that moment,

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
The First Thing You Need for Fluency in English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2015 4:39


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5hdCi9cZK0   Episode transcript below:   Hey! How are you doing? In this episode of Go Natural English, I'm going to share a number one thing that you need for English fluency. The first thing that you need first and foremost is not a textbook. It's not even a lesson. What you need to know is why you are learning English. I help you to understand what you need to say in English, how you should say it, how you can learn English, but what I can't tell you is why you are learning English. That has to come from inside you. And I want to know what is your reason why you want English fluency. This is so important for you to think about and to know, because it will keep you motivated, it will keep you going when English becomes challenging. And let's face it, English can be really challenging. So, we have to ask ourselves why do we want to be fluent in English. I receive thousands of e-mails from people asking me, ‘Gabby, how do I become fluent in English?' And I'm happy to help you. That's why I'm here. But you can help me by thinking about and telling me in the comments right here why do you want to be fluent in English. Why? Really, ask yourself why, and then ask yourself why again. I ask myself this with Go Natural English, ‘Why do I want to help people become fluent in English?' Well, I think it's great to be able to communicate and connect with people, I think it will help you in your professional life, maybe to get a better job, to work overseas, to travel. You can make more friends if you speak English. It will even give you confidence and help you with your personal development in life. It will bring you knowledge. You can learn about the world through English. There's lots of reasons why I love teaching English to you through Go Natural English. But really the number one reason why is freedom. I created Go Natural English so that I could have more freedom as a teacher. But I also created it to give you more freedom  as an English learner, because you can learn with Go Natural English anywhere anytime. That's freedom. You can self-study, and you can interact and ask questions, and you can practice together with our on-line community. You can join a paid Premium Class, and you can learn more and have the freedom to do that anywhere anytime. And it gives you the freedom and opportunity to do more and achieve your goals through English. That's my ‘why'. I want to know your ‘why'. So please, take two minutes, think about why you're learning English and tell me. Tell me please, I really want to know. Now, moving forward. Things are changing a little bit here on the Go Natural English YouTube channel. I've thought about why I'm helping people learn English at Go Natural English, and I think that moving forward, we can improve by going deeper with each English tip episode. So, from October, moving forward October 2015, we're going to have one longer episode every week where I go deeper into answering one of your questions. So, next week, we're going to go deep learning several points (I can't even count them all, there's so many) on how to become fluent in English. So, I hope you come back, I hope you check out the episode, and I hope you love it so much that you watch it, you share it with your friends and that you comment on it too. So now, you know my ‘why', you know what's going on moving forward with Go Natural English. I hope that you enjoy it, and I hope to hear from you to learn your ‘why'. Please, share it with us. We want to know. Alright. So, I look forward to seeing your comment real soon. Bye for now. The post

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Your biggest challenge for fluency in English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2015 1:44


  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJb5e27gRrw   Episode transcript below:   Hey! How are you doing? Today, I have a question for you, and you're going to give me your answer. See, usually in these quick English tip videos that I've been making three times a week every week this year, I tell you some information. But this time, it's different. This time, I want to ask you, the Go Natural English audience, a really important question. I want to know the best way to move forward with the Go Natural English YouTube channel, podcast and blogpost at gonaturalenglish.com. So, I want to ask you what is your biggest challenge in English? Please, take a minute right now and leave a comment on this video to tell me what is your biggest challenge in English. And moving forward the rest of this year, I'll create my best English quick tip answers to help you and the Go Natural English community here online. So, I really appreciate your answer. I will read each and every one and do my best to respond, especially to the ones that will help many people. So please, take a minute and leave a comment telling me what is your biggest challenge in English. Thank you so much. This is a huge help. And it'll make me really happy to see your comment. So, thanks in advance for that. Alright, I'll see you real soon. Bye for now. The post Your biggest challenge for fluency in English appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Fluency in 15 Minutes a Day – Go Natural English Book Release News

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2015 2:00


Are you able to learn to speak and understand American English? Gabby says that while English is a crazy language, if you have the ability to speak, you can learn other languages beside your native language, including English. It is well worth the effort as English is spoken around the world. With Gabby's release of the Go Natural English book, you will have at your disposal a wonderful tool to make the most of your American English journey. Along with the book, when you visit gonaturalenglish.com you will be introduced to materials and support to help you with your learning. Don't be afraid to explore the Go Natural English method and see how you can reinforce your language skills, while at the same time meeting other American English learners with whom you can communicate.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6RtqHdMX7M   Episode transcript below: Hello, and welcome to Go Natural English. I am so excited to announce the release of the Go Natural English book. This book will share with you the natural way of learning language. I'm Gabby Wallace, your American English teacher and Number One fluency coach. And I'm here to share special strategies I've developed for learning the English language. English is a crazy language, but I believe it is possible for anyone to learn it, and that includes you. It's our natural ability to be able to use language to communicate with each other, and if you can speak your native language, then you can speak English. In the book you'll learn strategies for speaking English with confidence and fluency. You'll see real examples from native speaker conversations broken down into lessons that you can easily understand, and vocabulary that you can use in your everyday conversations. I believe this book is the perfect guide for the intermediate English learner who desires to become fluent and confident to use English as a tool in your daily life, to live the life that you want, an international life where you're connecting with people from all over the world, and you're using English as a tool to be able to pursue your passion, and your professional life. So, if you'd like to find out more about the book, come to gonaturalenglish.com/book – that's b-o-o-k. I'll see you there. Bye for now. The post Fluency in 15 Minutes a Day – Go Natural English Book Release News appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 7 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2015 2:49


The seventh step to fluency with the Go Natural English method is to repeat, review, and grow. What does this mean? Well, as you learn you should be repeating what you have learned to reinforce it in your mind. Throughout your English learning experience you should also continue to review the materials. As you blend the new materials with the information that you already know, you will see that your path to fluency becomes quicker and easier. As you review and repeat the material, you will be surprised at your growth in English.   At Go Natural English, Gabby wants you to have all the materials, support, and practice that you need to become a successful American English speaker.  Try to watch and listen to as many English videos and podcasts as you can. In addition to that, push yourself to read more and try writing simple sentences at first, and then gradually create larger sentences and turn them into paragraphs.   Languages are living, changing entities and learning a language should be an adventure. Seek out native American English speakers and talk to them. Find newspapers, magazines, and books to read that challenge your skills a little bit. Listen to music and American English shows so you can learn to imitate the sounds. You can do it!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b__tVWdkx2Q   Episode transcript below:   And welcome to Step 7 of the 7 Steps to Fluency with the Go Natural English method. Step 7 is to review, repeat, and grow. You want to review the vocabulary, and the phrases, and everything that you're learning in English. You want to repeat the other six steps that I mentioned before, and you want to continue to grow with your English skills. Find different ways of expressing yourself. Find synonyms; find related words or antonyms, the opposite of the words that you've just learned. The beautiful thing about learning a language is that you can continue to evolve with the language. You can continue to develop your skills. It is an ongoing, living adventure and that is so exciting. I hope that you enjoy continually developing your skills with the English language. It is a real pleasure to be able to do that throughout life, and I want to give you the tools and the guidance to become a lifelong independent learner, so that English becomes your tool that you are constantly using and improving on. I want English to become your tool for a wonderful, successful, enjoyable, and meaningful life. So, thank you for being a part of the Go Natural English community. I'm so happy to have shared the 7 Steps to Fluency with you. Please come back and see me again at gonaturalenglish.com and I hope to see you become part of the premium Go Natural English course. Thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you again real soon. Bye for now. Hey guys, one last thing before you go. I'd like to share all seven of the Go Natural English steps to fluency with you in a free mini course. You'll receive all the videos, all the audio, and transcripts of everything if you come to gonaturalenglish.com/7steps, that's the number 7 s-t-e-p-s. Alright, I hope to see you there so that I can share this awesome English learning material with you to help you get fluent. So, let's go I'll see you there. The post Step 7 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 6 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2015 2:20


One of the most important things to do with any new skill that you have learned is to use it immediately, and often. This goes for learning a new language as well. As soon as you learn new words or phrases, be sure to work them into conversations as soon as you can after learning them. This will reinforce what you have learned, and it will help you become fluent faster.   I cannot stress enough how important this step is. Once you begin to expand your vocabulary and your knowledge of idioms, you will be able to understand more of the conversations you hear, and you will be able to contribute more of your own thoughts and ideas.   Visit gonaturalenglish.com and learn about all of the materials and support you can get from Go Natural English. Gabby, your American English teacher, is excited to meet new learners and to be able to help them on the way to English fluency.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXGGpiTv2I   Episode transcript below: Step 6 of the 7 steps to fluency at Go Natural English is to actually use your new words as soon as you can. It's okay if you don't use them correctly at first because you want to get feedback so that you can understand how to really use the word correctly. So, use the word. You can use it in a variety of ways. Of course, you can use it in conversation with another English speaker. You could use it in a class with your English teacher or tutor. You could use it in your own writing, or even in a search on the Internet and see what comes up. You can use the word to yourself in your mind. You could find a song that has the word and sing it to yourself, or better yet, create a song. So, using vocabulary is very important and this is different than simply repeating the word because when we use the word, we need to use it as a tool, perhaps for communication or for pleasure, for enjoyment such as singing a song, or reading, or writing a poem, or a journal entry, or a blog post. But this step is all about using the word as a tool, and getting feedback on it so you can refine the way that you use it to sound more like a fluent, native English speaker. Hey guys, one last thing before you go. I'd like to share all seven of the Go Natural English steps to fluency with you in a free mini course. You'll receive all the videos, all the audio, and transcripts of everything if you come to gonaturalenglish.com/7steps, that's the number 7 s-t-e-p-s. Alright, I hope to see you there so that I can share this awesome English learning material with you to help you get fluent. So, let's go I'll see you there. The post Step 6 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 5 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2015 2:03


Have you ever been affected by a smell or scent that took you back to a place from your past? This often happens because in our minds we have associated that particular aroma with an event. This is a similar process that we can use to associate words with other words or ideas.   In this fifth step for English fluency Gabby talks about connecting words in your mind as an aid to remembering new vocabulary. Anything you can do to make it easier to learn a new language is a good thing. Never give up. Just try to find ways past any obstacles that you encounter on your English-language learning journey.   For more tips and resources to help you become more fluent in American English, be sure to visit gonaturalenglish.com and introduce yourself to the Go Natural English community. You will find useful resources there as well as many other learners who want to improve their English language skills. You are not alone.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIZ3JhyAKIU   Video transcript below:   Step 5 in the 7 Steps to Fluency in the Go Natural English method is to connect new words with other old words that you already know. So, if you know a word that sounds similar, or perhaps is a synonym either in English or in your native language, you can connect them in your mind. You can connect your new word with a feeling, or maybe a smell, or a sound. It could be anything really but the important thing is to connect that new word with something you're already familiar with, and comfortable with. Also, the step 5 is important to connect not only the idea of the word with something you already know, but to connect the new word with a situation that you might use it in. Connect the new word with other words to make a phrase that you can imagine using in an everyday situation. So, step 5 is to connect in various ways Hey guys, one last thing before you go. I'd like to share all seven of the Go Natural English Steps to Fluency with you in a free mini course. You'll receive all the videos, all the audio, and transcripts of everything if you come to gonaturalenglish.com/7steps – that's the number 7 s-t-e-p-s. Alright, I hope to see you there so that I can share this awesome English-learning material with you to help you get fluent. So, let's go. I'll see you there. The post Step 5 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 4 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2015 2:12


Practice! Practice! Practice! I am sure that you have heard this said many times for, a variety of scenarios from sports, to music, to academic studies. You not only have to practice your English but you must practice pronouncing the words correctly. It does you no good if you continually mispronounce the words you hear.   Your Go Natural English teacher, Gabby, stresses the point in this fourth step to American English fluency. Language fluency comes faster when you constantly use the new words and phrases that you have learned. By imitating the pronunciations you hear from native American English speakers, you will be reinforcing correct pronunciation while strengthening your overall English language skills.   If you listen to English every day, and read, and write what you have heard, you will be surprised at how quickly your language skills improve. Also, make sure you visit gonaturalenglish.com and connect with the Go Natural English community so you can practice, practice, and practice some more.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJaaAxmq9LU   Episode transcript below:   The Go Natural English method Step 4 to fluency is once you've identified new words, and you know the meaning of the new words, then you must use them immediately. If you don't feel ready to use them immediately in a conversation, there are other ways to use the word. You can simply repeat the word out loud to yourself, or you can think the word to yourself quietly in your mind. Even doing that will really help you to remember the word. I suggest that you listen to the word the way a native speaker says it and then you repeat the word out loud to yourself. You could do this in the quiet of your own home; you could do it wherever you are just saying the word quietly to yourself. Repeat it several times and try to make a connection in your mind with the sounds of the new word and a word that you already know. It could be a word in English or a word in your native language, but it's very important to connect new information with old information. That's how our memory can be accelerated, and how we can learn faster, and reach fluency faster. Hey guys, one last thing before you go. I'd like to share all seven of the Go Natural English steps to fluency with you in a free mini course. You'll receive all the videos, all the audio, and transcripts of everything if you come to gonaturalenglish.com/7steps – that's the number 7 s-t-e-p-s. Alright, I hope to see you there so that I can share this awesome English-learning material with you to help you get fluent. So, let's go. I'll see you there. The post Step 4 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 3 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2015 2:46


In this third step toward American English fluency, Gabby talks about how you should try to push yourself to listen to materials that might seem a bit more difficult for you. If you're always listening to materials that you completely understand, you won't learn new words and phrases.   As your listening and conversational skills improve, you need to find more difficult materials to use. If you read books, you should continually raise the level of difficulty so that you are constantly learning and improving. As you read, or listen to audio books or music, write down the words or phrases that you don't understand so that you can look up the definitions later.   One way to stay engaged in your American English journey is to vary the types of materials you use. In any given day you can listen to lots of music, you can read a variety of books, newspapers, and magazines, and you can watch different types of TV shows or videos. The key is to keep it interesting and not to let yourself get bored or tired of the materials. The Go Natural English community is there to support you in your learning. Reach out and get to know them.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iENT7vHMyg   Episode transcript below:   The third step to fluency the Go Natural English way is to pay attention, or to understand that you don't know everything. So, try to understand which areas, or which words in English you don't understand. If you don't understand about 30% of what you're listening to, that is a good material to listen to because it will challenge you to learn more. If you understand about 80%, or 90%, or 100%, then that material is great but it should just be regular maintenance. You are not going to learn a lot of new vocabulary from something that you completely understand. So, if you are aware that you cannot understand about 30% or more of what you're listening to, then it's a good challenge material. If you cannot understand more than 50% of what you're listening to, then it's too difficult. Try something that's a little bit easier. Now, when you're listening to material that is good for your level and giving you a little challenge you have to pick out or select the words that are new, that you don't know yet so that you can research them, so that you can ask your native speaker teacher or friends about what those words mean. And that is how we grow our vocabulary, little by little, listening to the kinds of materials that we want to be able to understand and to speak like. So, step three is to notice the new words that you want to learn. The post Step 3 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 2 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2015 1:55


This Go Natural American English tip from Gabby is, in my mind, one of the most important. It has been said that immersion in a culture is the best way to learn a foreign language. If living in another country is not possible, then the next best thing is to listen to as much of the language as you can.   You should try to read a little bit more every day and listen to television and radio shows as often as you can. Try to mimic the accents that you hear. Audio books are a great way to listen to a language. You can use the time that you spend riding the train or bus to listen to a few book chapters. If you don't have audio books, then listen to song lyrics and try to imitate the way the words sound. Whatever you do, never give up.   Be sure to visit gonaturalenglish.com and discover a community of American English learners who are experiencing the same struggles, anxieties, and even joys of learning a new language. You will be amazed at how quickly your fluency improves once you start spending time immersed in the language.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTWirJIlk4E   Episode transcript below:   The second step to fluency here at Go Natural English is to listen a lot. Listen! Not to everything but listen specifically to the kind of English that you want to be able to understand and to speak. So, for example, if you're interested in being able to discuss the news with people, you should listen to the news in English. If you want to talk about sports with your friends in English, then listen to sports news. If you want to be able to have regular conversations with people, then perhaps watch some sitcoms on TV, or listen in to real conversations, or listen to podcasts. They're a great way to hear natural English. So again, step two is to listen a lot, and make English a part of your daily life so that you're listening to English a little bit, or a lot, every day. The post Step 2 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Step 1 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2015 2:15


Before undertaking any task or project, it is best to lay out your plan of attack. If you are building something out of wood, a popular saying is “measure twice and cut once.” Why? Because it is best to err on the side of caution and make sure the plan and measurements are right before actually cutting any materials.   Learning a language is no different. In this first step to American English fluency Gabby talks about planning and determining what your goal is. Whatever your reason for wanting to learn English, be sure that you study the proper way. This means focusing your attention on the type of English you want to use. Different trades require different vocabularies, some very technical and scientific or medical.   Go Natural English is a great place to learn and practice your English skills. Gabby teaches you how to speak conversationally and smoothly so that you are well understood. Go Natural English also provides a great forum for finding other learners with similar skill levels to your own.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUmxkQCMTAQ   Episode transcript below:   Hello, and welcome to The Seven Steps to Fluency, the Go Natural English way. This is a method that I've developed over years of experience teaching English as a second language, and also learning foreign languages myself. The first step for fluency is to plan your English learning. Don't simply follow the textbook plan, or even your teacher's plan. You need to figure out why you are learning English. You need to think about why you're learning, what you want to say, and with whom you want to talk. For example, if you want to learn English so that you can become a doctor, the vocabulary that you're going to study is going to be very different than if you want English to be able to have a conversation in a bar with regular people. If you want to learn legal English so that you can translate in a courtroom, the vocabulary that you're going to learn is going to be very different. So, the first step to fluency is to actually think about why you want to learn English and how you want to use it. So, answer those questions and you will be off to a great start. The post Step 1 for Fluent English Listening and Speaking appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Why English is so Difficult and 7 Steps to Fluency in Listening and Speaking

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2015 3:48


Listen up! I want to tell you about an exciting offer that Gabby is making for the Go Natural English community to help build confidence and English fluency. In the coming weeks there will be a series of YouTube videos released regarding steps to fluency in listening and speaking.   You will not want to miss this if you are serious about improving your American English language skills. Go natural English is dedicated to teaching you how American English is actually spoken, not just the rules of grammar that so many courses teach.   Be sure to visit gonaturalenglish.com to find out about all of the resources and support available to you regarding the learning of American English. This is a great opportunity to share your adventures with other English language learners. Stop by and leave a comment, or ask a question. Just remember, there are many people out there in the same boat as you who want to be able to communicate in English to improve their fluency. Don't be afraid to make contact with them.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t4eA-CkgEU   Episode transcript below:   Hey. How's it going? I'm Gabby Wallace, your American English teacher and today I'm not in a recording studio. Today I'm coming to you from the shore of the Bosphorus River. You can see behind me. I hope it's not too distracting but this is the best place – kind of quiet – where I could make a quick English tip and update for you today. So, in this quick tip, I want to talk about why it's difficult to become fluent in English and what the answer is. How to become fluent in English. I get this question so much. How can I become fluent in English? What should I do? Well, I think the biggest problem is that in most English classes we don't start with steps or formula, or instructions. You know how when you get a new – it could be a new toy, it could be a new piece of furniture, it could be a new game – you usually read the instructions or maybe a friend tells you how to play the game. But you need to know the rules in order to play the game, and for me, that's a lot like learning English. I mean, in my mind it really helps me to know the rules before I play a game, and learning a language to me is a lot like playing a game. So, what I'd like to do with you over the next seven quick English tips, back-to-back, I'm going to share my seven steps for English fluency. These are steps that I made for the Go Natural English community, for you, to show you exactly the rules of the game – How to become fluent in English. So, it's kind of detailed, so, I want to take it one step at a time. Now, if you would like the video, audio, and the text – all of the subtitles for all seven steps, come to gonaturalenglish.com/7steps. That's the number 7 s-t-e-p-s, and you can download all of that with one click. I want you to come visit so, I would love to share that valuable resource with you to help you improve your fluency. I'm going to keep this really quick but for today what I want you to remember is that it's really important to understand the rules of the game if you want to win it. Okay, so that's what we're going to do with English – with our seven steps to fluency over the next few days. This is a really valuable series that I'm sharing with you that could be its own course but I want to offer it free for you to help you as much as I can. So, come on over and grab the video, audio, and text for all seven or you can wait over the next week or two weeks, I believe, it'll take some time since we're on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday release for quick tips. You can wait and you can watch the videos separately, the audio separately, and read the subtitles as you watch the videos on YouTube, or you can come over to gonaturalenglish.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Learn Fluent American English: Must vs Have to

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2015 4:02


Learning English is not easy, but can be both fun and challenging. You must have heard people talk of their own experiences and struggles trying to become fluent in English. There are so many little words and phrases that can either make you sound more natural, or less natural, depending on how you use them. Everybody wants to sound like a native speaker and that takes effort and perseverance.   In these American English language tips Gabby provides hints and suggestions on how to sound less stiff and more native-like. If you want to achieve success at American English fluency, you have to listen to as much American English as you can, whether it be music, radio, or television programs. You should also take advantage of all the resources that Gabby makes available to you.   Make sure you visit gonaturalenglish.com and get a free eBook guide and don't be afraid to join some of the many English language conversations that are going on. Almost everybody there has been nervous at one time or another about being embarrassed by their accents, or vocabulary, or grammar. The Go Natural English community is there to support you and encourage you along the way to American English fluency.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUIQH410Rsc   Episode transcript below:   Hello there! How are you doing? Welcome to Go Natural English. In this video tip we're going to take a great question from Paolo. Paolo asked, “What is the difference between ‘Must' and ‘Have to?'” Paolo, I love this question because the confusion I think comes from traditional – I was going to say “bad.” I don't want to say “bad” – I don't like passing judgment but you know what? Bad! Bad traditional English lessons that are too focused on grammar and that don't look at real, natural conversational use of English – at least American English. Remember, I'm your American English teacher so I'm talking always about American English. So, “Must” and “Have to” according to the grammar books are very similar. They mean the same thing, right? Kind of like “Should – You should do something” – it's a suggestion but more powerful, right? So, here's the catch. What your grammar books don't tell you is that we really only use “Must” when we're talking about probability. This is how we really use “Must” in conversation – in daily use. You know how I know when someone hasn't had enough exposure to real English is when they use “Must” to suggest something. Like “You must go to bed at 8 PM because it is good to go to bed early.” Okay, thanks. It sounds really unnatural. You could say in a better, more natural way “You should” or “You have to go to bed at 8 PM” right? That's really early I don't know why I said 8 PM. Oh, another dead giveaway that you really haven't had much exposure to natural English is if you say, “Ought to.” “You ought to go to bed at 8 PM.” Now, actually I should take that back because I think people might say that in other countries like maybe British English but like I said – disclaimer – I am teaching American English. I am American. I have very little exposure to British English so keep that in mind. Okay, so “Must” is used for probability, not suggestions. In real life, okay, I'm talking about real-life usage so, “You must have” so we always use – I shouldn't say always but most of the time we use “Must” and “Have” together. “Oh, you must have read the weather report; you brought your umbrella, so you know it's going to rain.” Wonderful, okay? “Oh, you must have gone to bed at 8 PM last night because you're looking so handsome today” – so, probability, right. We use “Must have” to show probability which is not actually discussed that often in traditional English classes.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Native English Answer: What's the Difference Between Being and Been?

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2015 4:05


Are you being faithful and persistent in your English-learning journey? Have you been pushing yourself to listen and hear as much spoken English as you possibly can? Learning English is hard enough but mastering it takes an extra effort. The good news is you can do it. Don't give up!   It takes a bit of work to understand tenses in English because English is such a descriptive language. In Gabby's English tips such as this one, she explains how to have a better understanding of the grammar and usage of all the parts of speech in American English. We have been working hard to provide excellent materials and support to assist you on your quest to learn English.   To have a full understanding of English you should read and listen to native English speakers. This will allow you to better grasp sentence structure and the flow of the words. Remember also, the premium Go Natural English course provides many more resources to help you. Get involved in the conversations and practice speaking English as often as you can.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqkG9J9Fbg0   Episode transcript below:   Hey! How's it going? Welcome to Go Natural English. In this English tip I'm going to answer a question from a Go Natural English audience member, Kenza. Kenza asked, “What is the difference between “being” and “been?” So, Kenza, that's a great question. It's kind of a grammar and usage question and I'm happy to share my answer with you. So, I would like to start off by saying that a really great way to start to be an independent learner is to expose yourself to a lot of English and you can start recognizing the differences between things like “being” and “been.” Of course, it's going to help a lot and you're going to learn faster if you have some direct explanation. At least, in my opinion, I learn better when I have some direct answer like this English tip video. And also in the premium Go Natural English course where you get more explanations, you get more answers directly, and you learn from exposure to more English because in the course we have tons of native English conversation for you to listen to and see how we really use vocabulary and grammar in everyday American English conversation. So, you can find out more about that on my website, gonaturalenglish.com. So, back to your question, Kenza, about “being” and been.” Now, they're both a form of the “to be” verb, but they're used in different tenses. So, I could use “being” with the progressive like “I am being” – let me change that a little bit – “He is being annoying.” Okay? “I am being amazing.” Okay, so, “He is being annoying.” Another progressive tense would be “He has been annoying.” So, see, with the present perfect progressive we use “been” and in the present progressive we use “being.” So, “He is being annoying – He has been annoying, but now he's not annoying.” So, they're both forms of “to be” so I would recommend to perhaps review grammar a little bit but don't focus on your books. Get out of your books. Listen to more English, perhaps for identifying how you use “being” and “been” in different tenses. It would be helpful to listen to stories or to conversations, and as I mentioned with the Go Natural English premium course, we have a lot of conversations where we talk about the past and experiences, so we use tenses like “has been” or “have been” so you'll be able to hear a lot of examples. So, one more time just to recap – they're part of the same verb “to be” but we use them with different tenses. So, again, “I am being a great teacher”, okay? – the present progressive and in the present perfect progressive, “I have been a great teacher.” So, we just use them in different tenses. Alright?

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How to Learn Fluent English and Feel Awesome

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2015 4:46


When was the last time you did a good deed for someone, or maybe somebody performed a good deed for you? Can you remember what it was? Do you recall where it was? Well, it just might be time that you try again. In this episode Gabby brings up the idea of doing a good deed for someone using English language skills.   As travelers in foreign lands we could all use help once in a while, whether it's about the signs that are not in English, or the restaurants where the menus are not in English. Wouldn't it be nice if you were in a strange city, and somebody noticed that you looked lost, and then offered to help you find your way again – in English?   Tips like this are useful and can be found at gonaturalenglish.com, along with other resources materials and support. Be sure to take advantage of all that Gabby and the Go Natural English community have to offer.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGGc2UjTEZU   Episode transcript below:   Hey there! How's it going? Welcome to Go Natural English. Are you ready to get fluent? Let's get started. In this English quick tip I'd like to talk with you about the idea of a good deed English day. A lot of the time we focus on how English can benefit you. You can make more money; have a better position; have an international career; meet new people; be able to communicate with people from all over the world; enjoy travel; enjoy access to knowledge and information; and the list goes on. Obviously English is a very powerful tool for you and your success. But wait just a minute. It's not all about you. English can actually be a tool to make the world a better place. And that's what I want to encourage us to think about today – with a good deed English day. So, today, after you watch this episode, I'd like you to do a good deed involving English. What is a good deed? Well, a good deed is when you volunteer to help someone. You do something where you go out of your way – something you didn't have to do, you didn't need to do, but you did it because you want to help people. You want to be a good person, and you want to make the world a better place. So, a good deed doesn't have to be big. You don't have to make world peace. A good deed is something small. Maybe you could say “Good morning” to someone, especially if you live in an English-speaking country. Use your English to greet someone, and smile, and make that person's day a better day. If you don't live in an English-speaking country, you can certainly still do a good deed in English. You could someone a message on social media or by email in English. Perhaps you know an English speaker, or you could communicate with the Go Natural English community at facebook.com/gonaturalenglish or on Twitter at gonaturaleng, and help us out (glitch on recording here) on the page or tweet a positive message to someone who you know who is also learning, or who speaks English. How can you use your English to help people? Perhaps if you see someone who looks a little bit lost like I was today in the train station here in Tokyo. A very nice man came up to me and he said, “How shall I help you?” which is very proper English – not very common actually. I would suggest saying, “How can I help you?” or “May I help you?” You could help someone if you see them lost or perhaps if you see someone trying to find their way using a map, or maybe they need some kind of help from you. It could be a different situation depending on your daily situations or where you live. So, think about how could you use English to do a good deed today? Could you pay a compliment? Could you help someone with information? Could you even do something more like offer your help with a bigger p...

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Learn English Fluently with Phrasal Verbs: To Put Off

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2015 2:37


Have you ever had to put off doing something you really wanted to do because of circumstances beyond your control? That seems to happen all the time when your life becomes very busy from everything going on around you.   In this episode, Gabby provides a great tip about three ways that the phrasal verb “To Put Off” can be used in American English. This is one of those phrasal verbs that is versatile enough to be be used in different ways depending on the circumstances. You should try to make use of this in your English conversations. It will make you sound more conversational and fluent in English, and will be readily understood by native English speakers.   Go Natural English is a wonderful site for learning useful and colorful English tips such as this one. Visit gonaturalenglish.com often to learn new phrases that will increase your fluency and enable you to express yourself more naturally in conversational English.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTxU_27SJG0   Episode transcript below:   Hey, what's up? How's it going? Welcome to Go Natural English, the place for fluency in American English. Are you ready to get fluent? Let's get started. In this episode I want to talk about an important phrasal verb – “To Put Off.” So, there's several different meanings. Now, phrasal verbs are the key to understanding everyday natural English. And, in the Go Natural English premium course we focus a lot on them. So, if you're interested in learning more, and you want to learn faster, then come find out about the Go Natural English premium course at gonaturalenglish.com. Also, when you visit the website you can grab a free eBook for instant download. So, I'd love to share that with you to help you with your English skills. So, “To Put Off” can mean three different things. So, “To Put Off” can mean actually to offend someone – for example, “I was put off by his strong cologne, it was too strong and it – woo, it was just too much. So, I didn't like it. I was put off by it. I couldn't even stand close to him,” for example. “To Put Off” can also mean “To Postpone.” “So, I really wanted to meet with my friends for dinner, but we were all really busy so we put off dinner – or we put dinner off” - either one is Okay - “until next week.” “To Put Off” to the side – you can also use “To Put Off To The Side” to mean to move an object over a little bit. “So, let's just put this salad dressing off to the side of the salad. I don't want it on the salad.” So, those are three ways to use “To Put Off.” I hope this was helpful. Remember, come on back to gonaturalenglish.com where you can find out more about how to get fluent in natural American English. Thanks so much for watching. Hope you subscribe on YouTube, and thank you so much for being a part of the Go Natural English Audience. You're doing great. I want to keep you motivated to keep learning English. It is an exciting language to learn and it's a great way to develop personally. Alright? Thanks and I'll talk to you soon. Bye for now. The post Learn English Fluently with Phrasal Verbs: To Put Off appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Learn American English: What's the Difference between Then and Than?

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2015 2:27


If you would rather improve your English language fluency the easy way rather than fight a continuous battle learning grammar, then Go Natural English is the place for you. At gonaturalenglish.com, your American English teacher, Gabby, provides great tips and advice like this on how to learn English better and faster.   Even though the words THEN and THAN can sometimes sound similar, they are very different in meaning and you must learn to use them appropriately if you want to be understood when you speak English. Usually you would use the word THEN when you have one event following another in time. For example, you might say, “I get off work at 5:00 PM and then go bowling with my friends at 6:00 PM.” On the other hand, THAN is used for comparison. For example, “I would much rather eat pizza than tacos.”   English is a fun language to learn and use but you must constantly put yourself in situations where you are forced to use it. Read, write, and speak as much, and as often as you can. You will be surprised at how quickly your English comprehension and fluency will improve.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNAuFultCIw   Episode transcript below:   Hey there! How's it going? Welcome to Go Natural English. Today I have a great tip for you. It is, “What is the difference between THEN - T-H-E-N and THAN - T-H-A-N? So, this is a commonly confused point both with English language learners and native English speakers because when we speak English, especially when we're speaking quickly they sound very similar – THEN THAN, THAN THEN. So, there's a little difference but we confuse them pretty often, right? So, quick answer for you – this is a quick English tip. If you want to learn more, you can find out about the premium Go Natural English course at gonaturalenglish.com, but THEN is to talk about time, right? So, “I'm going to work out, THEN take a shower.” “I'm going to eat, THEN get a coffee.” “I'm going to go to work, THEN meet with my friends.” Okay? THAN is a comparison. “I like chocolate better THAN vanilla.” “I like to wake up early better THAN staying up late.” I'm not sure if that's true. Sometimes I like to stay up late too, but anyway, THAN is a comparison. THEN is to talk about time. Alright? So I hope that that quick tip is helpful. Again, if you'd like to learn more, find out about the Go Natural English premium course. There's a lot of good things inside including natural English conversations broken down so that you can feel confident in your comprehension and also learn how to speak more like a natural American English speaker – gonaturalenglish.com for that course and also you can grab a free eBook guide to help you with your fluency to start with. Alright. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure you're subscribed on YouTube. Come join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter – facebook.com/gonaturalenglish or tweet at gonaturaleng, and I hope to see you back at the website – gonaturalenglish.com. Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Bye for now.   The post Learn American English: What's the Difference between Then and Than? appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Are You Learning English Backwards? Learn Conversation then Grammar

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2015 2:29


Have you ever had a teacher say to you, “Put the book down and listen to me?” While books are good and necessary for learning, there comes a time when exposure to the conversational tone of the language is absolutely necessary. Even though English is spoken in countries around the world, different countries and even different regions within countries tend to have a variety of accents and phrases that may not always make sense outside of their respective communities.   Traditionally we have been taught that learning rigid grammar rules (along with their exceptions) is the proper way to learn a language. In this episode Gabby explains that maybe a better way to learn is to actually listen to people speak, and pay attention to how they use certain words and phrases. Once you hear the spoken word, it might be easier to study the grammatical structures behind the words and their meanings.   If you want to learn English faster and better while improving your conversational skills, visit gonaturalenglish.com and use the resources that Gabby provides to help you with your fluency. Good luck in your English language studies.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtb3J8rSnKE   Episode transcript below:   Hey, Hey! How's it going? What's up? Welcome to Go Natural English. I have a quick English learning tip for you. What I'd like to request, with all sincerity and respect, is that you stop trying to memorize grammar rules. Don't try to go from learning grammar rules to conversation. I want you to do this backwards. Do it a little different than the traditional classroom learning English way that is not working. So, we're going to flip things around. I want you to start with English conversation. I want you to listen carefully to the way that people are trying to express themselves in English, and notice the grammar that they're using in specific situations, and then copy that and use it in the same situation. For example, if you notice people are talking about their experience, they're probably using the present perfect – “I have worked”, “I have traveled”, “I have blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” So, you notice – ooh, I need to use – I've heard “I have” in the present perfect, you use that structure to talk about experience. So, I need to use that to talk about my experiences instead of trying to go from your textbook memorizing every single tense and then trying to apply it when you speak English without even hearing it. That way seems backwards to me. So, what I suggest for you is a natural way of learning. Listen first – try to understand the patterns, and then use it yourself. You're just copying what you already heard and it's so much better. I've learned Portuguese this way. This is how I am able to express myself fluently in other languages and I recommend it for you too. So, if you're interested in learning more about how to learn the Go Natural English way then come to gonaturalenglish.com and I'd love to share a free eBook with you and I'd love to invite you to join the premium Go Natural English course. It has tons more tips, materials, support, and practice for you to get fluent fast. I hope to see you there. Bye for now. The post Are You Learning English Backwards? Learn Conversation then Grammar appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
How NOT to Learn English Fluently – Stop Comparing to Your Native Language

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2015 1:56


Are you fortunate enough to be able to pick up foreign languages? Not everybody is, so, consider yourself lucky if you are. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to try and provide a literal word-for-word translation. If you've ever watched a foreign film with English subtitles, you have probably had a good laugh at some of the translations. In fact, I'd bet on it.   When it comes to learning a new language, it takes time, but you have to get to the point where you are not translating in your head from one language to another. You get to that point where you simply understand what is being said without the intermediate translation. This is what you should be striving for in your quest for mastery of the English language.   In this English tip, Gabby explains that process and the reason why it is so important. Don't get frustrated and give up. Push yourself to improve your English comprehension. Visit gonaturalenglish.com for more tips and support.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9TyrwW3-Qc   Episode transcript below:   Hey there! What's up? I have a quick English tip for you to help you improve your fluency like a native speaker of English. So, I know it's really tempting to compare English, or to translate English to your native language, and it's true that the more languages you know the faster you can learn a new language because you've acquired all those language-learning skills. However, I want to encourage you to stop comparing, and stop translating English to your native language. Why? Because what you should do instead is to directly connect meaning with English words. So, instead of hearing English, and then translating, and then getting the meaning from your native language translation, I want you to hear English, and get meaning directly. That will cut down on a lot of time and effort in trying to process everything that you hear or read. So, I want you to stop comparing because things are different and you really cannot directly translate a lot of English into your native language. Especially idioms and slang are totally different. It's kind of funny actually when you see bad translations because you know someone just tried to directly translate and it didn't quite work out the way they thought. So, try to associate directly meaning and English. If you like the natural way of learning language come back to gonaturalenglish.com and I'd love to show you the premium course to help you get fluent, and better, and faster. Thanks for watching and I'll talk to you again soon. Bye for now.   The post How NOT to Learn English Fluently – Stop Comparing to Your Native Language appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
3 Biggest Mistakes Often Made When Talking About Yourself in English

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2015 3:05


Have you ever had to interview for a job where you were asked to talk about yourself? Many people find this awkward because they are uncomfortable boasting about themselves. The key is to be able to speak confidently about your abilities and how you can contribute value to the new company, without making claims that are not quite true.   You don't want to exaggerate your skills but you do want to explain them strongly and accurately. Most people undersell themselves because they feel that their accomplishments are not that impressive. If you really want the new job, you have to be able to impress your new boss with the projects and contributions that you can successfully complete, thereby adding value to the new company.   In this English language tip Gabby discusses that very issue and provides useful advice on how to handle those types of situations. For further advice and support, be sure to visit gonaturalenglish.com and think about subscribing to the premium course to improve your English language fluency. Hope to see you there.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aspxZv8NaxE   Episode transcript below:   Hey there! How's it going? Welcome to Go Natural English. I am so excited about this English tip today because it can not only help English language learners but it could help native English speakers as well. What I'd like to talk about are three big mistakes that people make when talking about themselves in English. So, number one is they talk – they say something about themselves without actually showing it. So, if someone is like, “Oh yes, I am the greatest guitar player in the world”, but they never really say any examples – they never talk about maybe they took lessons or they played in a concert or any examples of being a great guitar player. This is just a silly example but I really like it when people show instead of tell, right? So, that's really important. I hope that's clear. If not, ask me a question, leave it in a comment. Number two is talking too much about yourself without considering your audience. So, let's say I am talking to my new boss, right? My new – let's say I'm getting a job as an English teacher at a language school and I have a new boss and I want to talk about myself so that my new boss is really impressed. Well, I'm not going to tell my boss about how I am the Salsa dance champion of the world. I mean, maybe if my boss was interested in Salsa dance – and I'm not the Salsa dance champion of the world, by the way, that's just an example – in my dreams, maybe. But, yes, I need to consider what my boss would find interesting or important, and so, that's just an example but when you're talking to different people, look at the situation, the conversation from their point of view and what they might find interesting or beneficial about knowing about you. And my number one mistake – the number one mistake that I find a lot of people make, especially women, so, if you're a woman, be sure to listen up, is being too quiet, too humble and not talking about yourself, your accomplishments, and your positive traits. So, be sure to share of yourself because other people should know about how awesome you are. Each and every one of you is awesome and has unique traits that can make the world a better place. So, don't keep them to yourself because that's the real mistake. I hope that you enjoyed this quick English tip and if you'd like to learn more with me, you can come to gonaturalenglish.com. I hope to see you back there. Bye for now. The post 3 Biggest Mistakes Often Made When Talking About Yourself in English appeared first on

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Learn English like a Native – How to respond to “Guess what?”

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2015 1:54


Guess what? This is your lucky day. In this English tip Gabby explains how to handle a conversation when somebody says, “Guess what?” This is one of those English sayings that can be either an exclamation or a question.   When you hear “Guess what?” what is your first thought? Do you wonder what you're supposed to say because you really have no idea what the context is, and so your answers could be many and varied. Some people might just throw out random answers like “42” or “the sky is falling.” Of course, the person saying “Guess what” is eager for you to respond with “What?” because they can't wait to tell you the news they have. Often the conversation goes something like “Guess what?” “What?” I passed the driving test and got my license.”   English tips like this will help you to understand native English speakers when they use phrases that should not be taken literally. When people say “Guess what?” they are not really expecting you to guess anything – just to ask “what?” Be sure to visit gonaturalenglish.com and Go Natural English on YouTube for more helpful tips, advice and support for your English learning experience.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mgHiS_KLPE   Episode transcript below:   Hey guys! What's up? How's it going? Guess what! Today we're going to talk about how to respond to “Guess what”! Don't worry if you didn't know what to say then – we're going to answer that question. We're going to answer how to answer that question, actually. So, when someone says, “Guess what!” what are they trying to tell you? They're trying to get your attention. They're trying to make you feel excited. So, if your English-speaking friend says, “Guess what!” how do you respond? Well, you need to respond by saying, “What?” And use that kind of intonation, that stress – “What?” like you're actually interested and you want to hear what they have to say. Otherwise, if you say, “what, “what” – it sounds like you're not interested. So, put some oomph, some feeling into it. Let's say it – “What?” Okay, great. So, next time someone asks you, “Guess what!” say “what?” and then wait for them to tell you what they want to tell you so badly. I'm sure it'll be interesting. This is a very common expression and you're not going to see it in a traditional textbook or in a normal English class. This is the kind of tip that I love to share on the Go Natural English channel on YouTube, and on the podcasts, and iTunes, and on Stitcher, and also through the premium course at gonaturalenglish.com. So, if you want to learn more about how to be like a native English speaker, come visit me. I'd love to give you a free eBook and to show you all about the premium course. Alright, thanks so much and I'll talk to you soon. Bye for now. The post Learn English like a Native – How to respond to “Guess what?” appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
1 English Vocabulary Word You Need when Searching for an Apartment

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2015 2:19


When I read a book, or watch podcasts on my computer, I want to be cozy.  What I mean by that is I want to be snugly warm and comfortable. Most of the time when you hear the word “cozy”, it will have a positive, encouraging meaning.   There are times when you should be just a little bit cautious when you hear that word. In this English tip, Gabby offers advice on what is really being said when the word “cozy” is used. A great example is when you are hunting for an apartment of condominium. The description might read, “Cozy studio apartment that is move-in ready.” Specifically when searching for apartments, houses, or condos, the word “cozy” can mean that the place is warm and inviting, but it can be small.   This is just one area where a positive word can have a slightly less-than-positive meaning. Grasping the idioms and slang usage of English words and phrases can greatly enhance your ability to deal with situations in English-speaking countries. Do not be afraid of idiomatic language usage – embrace it, and become more native-like in your speaking and understanding of the English language.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbpGy60nb8g   Episode transcript below:   Hey! What's up? Welcome back to Go Natural English. I have a quick English tip for you today that will really help you if you're searching for an apartment in English-speaking countries, especially in the United States. The word is “cozy.” “Cozy” is supposed to be a really positive word like, “Oh, I have my sweatpants on and I'm drinking a cup of hot chocolate, and I feel so cozy – so nice and warm and comfortable. But if you see the word “cozy” on an apartment add, it could be good or it could be bad. “Cozy” typically means a place that is pleasant, warm, and small. So, a lot of apartments in big cities, especially in the United States like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, especially on the east coast in New England, Boston for example use the word “cozy” because they want to tell you that it's not a very big space, but it's nice. They want to use a positive word to describe the space. So, this also an interesting trick for if you want to describe a small space in a positive way. “It's just so cozy. Who cares if it's small? It's such a nice little space.” So it's a really good word to use for describing a place, or for describing how you feel. Maybe on a cold winter's day when you have blankets on around you, and you're just feeling so cozy. You don't want to leave your house. So, I hope this was helpful for you. If you'd like to learn more about idiomatic use of English and how to reach a fluent native-like level in English, then come back to gonaturalenglish.com. It's what I'm here to help you do, to learn English in a natural way, the way that I believe you can become fluent best and fastest. So, I hope to see you over there – gonaturalenglish.com. Bye for now. The post 1 English Vocabulary Word You Need when Searching for an Apartment appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Do you Have to Speak Fluent English to Make American Friends?

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2015 4:52


What is the hardest thing about making new friends? Is it the culture? Is it the language barrier? Is it the fear of making a mistake and appearing foolish? The hardest thing is often that first step and taking a chance. In my experience traveling around the world, most people are feeling the same as you. They want to meet you, and speak with you, because they want to learn about other cultures and countries and they also want to practice their language skills.   The next time you have the opportunity to meet a new individual, and a potential new friend, don't be afraid to make the first move and say, “Hello, my name is _______, how are you today?” You might be surprised at how ready people are to engage in conversation and meet new people as well.   While on your English language journey, be sure to visit gonaturalenglish.com and grab your free eBook, introduce yourself to your American English teacher, Gabby, and strike up a conversation.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7E1VqhSkxg   Episode transcript below:   Hey There! Welcome to Go Natural English. How are you doing? In this English tip, I'd like to talk about the topic of making friends with Americans. Is it difficult to make friends in the United States or with Americans abroad? A lot of English learners really want to make English-speaking friends, especially American English-speaking friends if this is the dialect or the culture that you want to know more about but how do we do it, how do you make American friends, and is it difficult? Well, I would say the answer is it just depends how you think about it and how you behave. So, yes, it can be very difficult if you are a very shy person or a very doubtful, or timid, or fearful person. So, in order to make it easy on you to make great American friendships and to connect with native speakers, you have to change your mindset and you have to change your behavior. So, think about how can you be a more positive person. Always think positively. It's easy to make American friends. I have a lot of interesting things to talk about, and I have fun with new people I meet. These are the kinds of thoughts that you should be thinking if you want to make American friends. Now maybe, maybe it might be difficult because there might be cultural differences so how do you make American friends, or where do you make American friends? Of course, a lot of people make friends in the workplace. Now, I'm talking about adult English learners, right? So, if you're in school or in a university, you're lucky because it's easy to make friends with your classmates, but if you're not in a class or you're not working, or you don't work with native English-speakers, then how do you make friends? Well, if you live in an English-speaking country then the best way to make friends is to get involved with an activity – a sport, a club, or maybe a religious institution where you are repeating the activity at least once a week so that you see the same people over and over and that way you can establish a connection with those people using English. Now, if you don't live in an English-speaking country, then use the Internet. Use social media or even a language exchange site to meet native speakers, and that way you can also meet repeatedly because a friendship is built over time. You have to build trust – get to know each other and build rapport. So, a friendship doesn't happen from just one meeting – usually. Usually it takes time so just remember to – as we say – put yourself out there, which means that you need to take action, be proactive. You need to be the person to say “hello, how are you”, “my name is Gabby”, “I love to learn English”, I love to travel”, I love to listen to music”,

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Speak Fluent English and Make Your English Telephone Conversations Better in 2 Minutes

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2015 2:36


Speaking on the telephone or on Skype in a foreign language has to be one of the most terrifying things you can do. Speaking to someone who keeps quiet and does not say anything makes you feel even unsure of yourself. You begin to wonder if you've said something wrong, or are not being understood.   If a non-native English speaker is speaking with you in English, try to make them feel at ease. Give them positive feedback as they speak (without interrupting them). You should use comments such as “yes, I see” or “I know what you mean”, or even just “uh huh” to let them know that you are listening and understanding what they are saying to you. It makes the conversation flow better, and makes both of you feel better.   Tips like this one can be found at gonaturalenglish.com where you can also learn how to improve your English language grammar and spelling skills as well as speaking and listening. Gabby Wallace is there to support you along your English language journey.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwcPOSHuD7w   Episode transcript below:   Hey There! What's up? How's it going? I have a quick English tip for you that will help you to make your telephone conversations, or Skype conversations, whatever you use to call people up these days. It will make them even better – one big mistake to avoid – so, if you want to know, keep watching. Now, I had an experience where I was talking on Skype with a friend of mine – actually, now she's a friend but I guess you could say when I called her, it was the first time that we spoke so I didn't really know her at all, and when we were talking on Skype, I experienced this weird feeling because every time that I said something she was kind of silent. Actually, she was silent. She didn't say anything so I had to again say something more, or ask a question to see if she would respond but her silence made me realize that in American English telephone conversations, we're always making some noise or small comments to show that we're listening, that we're interested, and that we're really engaged in the conversation. So, without even using any new words, it's important to use these phrases like “uh huh”, “yes”, “I see”, “Okay.” These kind of phrases make a huge difference and they'll make your partner, or the person you're speaking with feel like you're really interested and part of the conversation. Now, I am not sure about this silence in other cultures or other languages, but I think in American English we don't like silence. So, try to be aware and observe how your conversation partners are feeling that silence or if they're not feeling that silence. It's all about observing and learning from your surroundings and that's the natural way. So, if you'd like to learn more about how to learn English the Go Natural English way, come back to gonaturalenglish.com, where you can find out about the premium course and I'd like to give you a free eBook just for visiting. Thanks so much for watching and I hope to see you soon. Bye for now! The post Speak Fluent English and Make Your English Telephone Conversations Better in 2 Minutes appeared first on Go Natural English.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
Natural: How to Say T in English Pronunciation like a Native Speaker

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2015 4:06


As you have probably discovered, unlike many languages where the letters or sounds are pronounced as they are written, English is not like that. So often, English letters, sounds, and words are not pronounced as you would think they would be. In this tip, Gabby explains how the “T” sound can be made in different ways, especially in American English. Sometimes it is pronounced as a “D” as in the word “city” but in other examples it is pronounced as a “ch” sound. We see this in words like “nature” and Adventure.” It is extremely important in English to learn how these words are pronounced because if you merely read them as they appear, it might not be understandable to a native English speaker. Go Natural English is a really great tool for learning to speak and understand American English in a natural way. Unlike the way languages are taught in textbooks, most people speak using a lot of idioms and phrases that cannot be translated literally. They just will not make sense. Immerse yourself in the English language and experience it like it was meant to be – naturally.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwmTnYQjK1w   Episode transcript below:   Hey there! How's it going? In this English tip episode, I have a question from Lamine. Lamine is a Go Natural English audience member, and Lamine wants to know, “why do we pronounce ‘natural' with a [ch] sound?” Didn't you say that a “T” between two vowels makes a “D” sound? Lamine, that's a great question. So, let's talk pronunciation. Yes, sometimes when you have a “D” (sic) between two vowels like “city” you have a “D” sound instead of a “T” sound. However, there are plenty of exceptions. As always, with English, there are exceptions. So, words like “nature”, “adventure”, “future” are all exceptions to that rule of vowel-T-vowel. So, these are words that instead of saying “t” we say “ch” especially in American English. So, one more time – “nature” or “natural” like Go Natural English, “adventure” and future.” So, that is how you really pronounce a “T” in those example words. Now, of course the “T” can be pronounced in many different ways in English. What I recommend is to have a lot of exposure to English. You can do this in many different ways. You can find some materials like music, or perhaps news, or stories in audio format in English and listen to English every day, especially when you have some time where your ears are free. A great way to do this is with podcasts. Go Natural English is also a podcast which you can download for free on iTunes for ios and on Stitcher for your Android device. That way when you're in the gym or when you're on the train or the bus or maybe when you're doing something at home like cooking or cleaning or whatever you have to do, you can listen with your ears while you do other things with your eyes, with your activities. You can make English a part of your life that way, and that is the way to really become comfortable with the different sounds of English. There are many different sounds, many different ways to say the same letter, and so it's important to have as much English in your life as possible. I invite you to visit me at gonaturalenglish.com where I'd like to give you a free eBook that will help you more with your English fluency. Also on the website you can find out about the Go Natural English premium course that's available for you to learn more natural fluent English, the way that Americans have conversation in daily life. This is not your traditional English class but I'd like you to come over to the site and learn more about it there. Now, I'll talk to you real soon in another English tip here on YouTube, but in the meantime why don't you come over and join the conversation with us on facebook.

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons
English Idiom – Rob talks about Losing my Mind!

Go Natural English Podcast | Listening & Speaking Lessons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2015 2:06


Have you ever wondered what somebody meant when they said to you, “I must be losing my mind?” You probably thought that is impossible because while a brain is a real thing, a mind is not. This is one of those rich idioms that adds flavor and color to the English language.   As Gabby and Rob explain in this English episode, the expression is normally used after someone seems to have forgotten something they had just done or seen. Most commonly it is heard when someone can't find their keys, as they're trying to run out the door. They will say, “I must be losing my mind, I was just holding my keys and only put them down for a second. Where did I put them?” Gabby and Rob explain that it is a similar phrase to “I must be going crazy.”   If you want to sound more native-like and fluent in English, be sure to add colorful phrases like this to your conversation, but make sure you are using them correctly. More tips and advice like this can be found at gonaturalenglish.com where your American English teacher, Gabby Wallace is always ready to help.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPV5n5PGIXo   Episode Transcript below:   Hello! Welcome to Go Natural English. I am so excited to be here with my friend, Rob. Rob, how are you doing? All is well, Gabby Wallace, I'm excited to be here with you and all of your audience. So, Rob is an English teacher and his students have asked him some interesting questions. One of those questions – was about - what was it- my mind – I'm losing ... Yes ...? ... something?.. I don't know – what was it? Yes, the question was, “what does ‘losing my mind' mean?” Oh, that's a great idiom. Yeah. So, it's pretty common, right ... Yeah ... ... to use “losing my mind?” ... Yeah. She lost her mind or ... You must have lost your ever-loving mind. That's a good twist on it. Yeah, the question was, “What does losing my mind mean?” Maybe – you're a little bit better at this than I am ... Oh, Please. ... but my explanation was, “basically, OK, if you forgot something or you can't focus on whatever you're trying to focus on, or if you're trying to do some work, or you're trying to find something like, “I just had my keys – I just saw my keys – what am I doing? I must be losing my mind. My keys were just right here “ and I don't know where they are now but they're in your pocket the whole time. I have to be losing my mind but you have so much on your mind, you can't focus. So ... Is it similar do you think to the idiom, “I must be going crazy”? Yeah. I might use it at the same time like, “I lost my keys. I can't find them anywhere. I must be going crazy.” It's in the same neighborhood. Mmmm. Cool. That's great. It's in the same neighborhood. Yeah, I must be going crazy. Another idiom, “It's in the same neighborhood.” It's very similar. Uh huh ... Exactly. ... awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that idiom with us. Oh, well, thank you. Super helpful. It's great. So, if you'd like to learn more idioms, more natural American English, then come visit me at gonaturalenglish.com. You can come get a free eBook and you can check out the premium course. Indeed. Alright. Thanks guys for watching. Take care. See you there.     Photo Credit: ClkerFreeVectorImages The post English Idiom – Rob talks about Losing my Mind! appeared first on Go Natural English.