Shadowing Practice: Real Talk#1 In a cab - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creando lección...
1
Hi, I'm Andrew.
2
Hi, it's Suzanne.
3
And you are listening to Q -Lips.
4
Yay!
5
If you want to learn English for everyday use, you've come to the right place.
6
At Q -Lips, we help make English understandable.
7
natural expressions, and conversational structure.
8
If you're interested in learning more about Q -Lips and what we do, check us out on Facebook or our website, QLips .com.
9
That's C -U -L -I -P -S dot com.
10
Thanks for listening.
11
We hope you enjoy this episode.
12
Today we are very excited to introduce a brand new type of episode.
13
A Real Talk episode.
14
And Suzanne, could you explain what a Real Talk episode is?
15
Sure.
16
It's really fun.
17
In Real Talk episodes, we're going to focus on expressions, practical expressions that you use every day.
18
And in today's episode, we're going to look at how to take a cab,
19
things you'll say when you would take a cab and speak to the driver.
20
Exactly.
21
So this is something...
22
a lot of people do very often is take a cab or take a taxi.
23
So first you will hear a dialogue where A character named Lisa is taking a taxi home from work.
24
and she needs to give directions to the cab driver to bring her to her apartment.
25
So take a listen to this dialogue and afterwards we will discuss it
26
and dissect it and talk about the key expressions that Lisa uses to make sure she gets home okay.
27
Hey there.
28
Hey, where are you going today?
29
Uh, Fifth and Franklin, please.
30
No problem.
31
Okay.
32
So here we are, Fifth and Franklin.
33
Oh great, my apartment is just down there.
34
Can you keep going a little bit?
35
Sure.
36
Okay, make a right on this side street coming up.
37
Okay, no problem.
38
and it's just up here on the left.
39
I'm in this brick building.
40
Uh, okay.
41
You can pull over right here.
42
Sure thing.
43
Okay, so $16 please.
44
Here's a 20.
45
Keep the change.
46
Great.
47
Thanks.
48
Have a nice day.
49
You too.
50
Bye.
51
Okay, so...
52
We just heard...
53
a conversation, between Lisa and the taxi driver
54
And now we are going to talk about some of the key expressions that were used in this conversation.
55
So, The first key expression is Fifth and Franklin, please.
56
Lisa gets into the cab and she tells the driver, "Fifth and Franklin, please." Suzanne, what does this mean?
57
So Lisa is telling the cab driver,
58
the two streets that come to an intersection where her house or her apartment building is located.
59
So we don't know for sure if her apartment is on Franklin.
60
or on 5th.
61
But it's in the general area.
62
it's right near one of those streets so she's giving him the best cross section,
63
to then get to her more specific apartment number and street.
64
Exactly.
65
So you can give a cab driver an exact address.
66
you could say, take me to one, two, three, four.
67
Franklin Street, please.
68
but it's more common to give an intersection.
69
The place where two streets cross.
70
And In the dialogue we heard, it was Fifth Avenue and Franklin Street.
71
And this is a very common way to direct your cab driver.
72
Yes, this is a very common
73
and good way to give directions to a cab driver or anyone that's giving you a ride home.
74
Okay, let's look at the second key expression today.
75
It's just down there.
76
Can you keep going a bit?
77
When the cab arrives at the intersection,
78
Fifth and Franklin, Lisa gives the additional instructions It's just down there.
79
Can you keep going a bit?
80
And what does this mean, Suzanne?
81
This means, that we haven't quite approached where her apartment is.
82
They're not far away, but they're far away enough that they have more directions coming.
83
So just down there, is a polite way to let the cab driver know that we haven't quite reached it.
84
There's still a bit more to go.
85
Can you keep going a little bit?
86
is also another polite way to make sure that the cab driver keeps going in that direction.
87
because there's more directions to come.
88
So the cab is in the vicinity of where Lisa wants to go, but there's still a little bit more to go.
89
And this is a way to communicate that she wants the driver to keep going.
90
so that she's not let off on the corner of Fifth and Franklin.
91
Exactly.
92
She wants to get her money's worth.
93
Yes.
94
Okay, very good.
95
What is the next key expression, Suzanne?
96
So the next key expression is when Lisa tells the cab driver to make a right.
97
How would you explain what this one means, Andrew?
98
Well, this one is fairly straightforward.
99
If you make a right on a street you are making a right hand turn you are turning right onto that street.
100
So when we're taking a taxi, this is a super useful expression.
101
We can tell the taxi driver, to make a right or make a left.
102
Alternatively, we can say "take a right" or "take a left." They're two expressions that have the same meaning and they rhyme.
103
So that's cool.
104
That's true.
105
And it's in place of really saying turn right up here or turn left up.
106
down there.
107
And that's another expression you can say too.
108
They're all polite.
109
They all mean the same thing.
110
Yeah.
111
So our next one is...
112
It's just up here on the left.
113
Interestingly, in our second key expression, we heard Lisa say it's just down there.
114
And now she's saying it's just up here.
115
So, What is the difference between these two, down there and up here?
116
It can be confusing.
117
It can be confusing, but what she means is when she's referring to up here,
118
It means that she's closer to the actual destination and just up here.
119
is narrowing the vicinity even more and they're kind of closing in on or getting closer to the location and
120
Up here is a direction where you're going.
121
So it's meaning to keep going up in this direction that we're traveling.
122
And here means that it's close to her.
123
So she's pointing to here on the left as opposed to there where it would be further from her.
124
Exactly.
125
So that's a very nice explanation.
126
I think we would use the expression, it's down there.
127
when something is farther away from us and we would say it's up here when something is closer to us.
128
Yes.
129
I think that's a nice...
130
distinction between the two.
131
And in both of those examples we heard Lisa say just.
132
It's just down there and it's just up here.
133
And there's Many reasons why we use this word "just" One of them is to sound more polite.
134
It's not being as direct.
135
You're not ordering the taxi driver.
136
so to speak, when you say just, it makes you sound very polite.
137
And can you think of any other reasons why we'd say just, Suzanne?
138
Yeah, I think we would say just as well.
139
to get more specific, Saying it's down there could kind of mean...
140
a bunch of different places.
141
It could mean on the corner.
142
It could mean go down there and turn around to the left.
143
It's a little bit more general saying it's just down there.
144
kind of points you in a tighter vicinity.
145
It brings you to a point.
146
You're telling the driver that it's not too far away.
147
Yeah, it's close.
148
Don't worry.
149
You don't have to go too far.
150
It's just a little bit more just down there.
151
Right?
152
So you're telling the driver that we're almost there.
153
Don't drive too fast.
154
We might pass it.
155
Yeah.
156
Okay, very good.
157
And what is our last key expression for?
158
this episode.
159
The last key expression is when Lisa says, "You can pull over here." pull over and I also think about pull up
160
Sometimes you can pull up over here as well.
161
Yeah, pull over, pull up.
162
They have the same meaning.
163
Mm -hmm.
164
And this is a nice, polite way to tell your taxi driver to stop and let you out of the taxicab.
165
So to pull over really means for the car to move to the side of the street and to stop.
166
When you ask a taxi to pull over, he's not going to let you out in the middle of the street.
167
He's going to move over to the side of the street and let you off near the sidewalk.
168
That's the safer place.
169
And this is, again, a very useful expression when you are taking a cab.
170
You can pull over here.
171
And it's also useful in case you get a ride from a friend or
172
an acquaintance from a party or something like that you can tell them to pull over here Totally.
173
Good.
174
So I think we should play this dialogue one more time for all of our listeners.
175
But before I we do that, we're going to ask you some comprehension questions,
176
some listening questions that you can answer on your own after you've listened to this dialogue for a second time.
177
Here they are.
178
The comprehension questions.
179
Number one.
180
When Lisa points out that she lives in a In this brick building, Is she close to the building?
181
or far away from it.
182
The second comprehension question: is why does Lisa say just in the dialogue.
183
Why does she use the word just?
184
As in just down there or it's just up here on the left. And question number three.
185
is why does Lisa say...
186
Keep the change.
187
as she gets out of the taxi.
188
okay so here's the dialogue one more time listen and try to answer these questions as you are listening to the dialogue.
189
Hey there.
190
Hey, where are you going today?
191
Uh, Fifth and Franklin, please.
192
No problem.
193
Thank you.
194
- Thank you.
195
Thank you.
196
So here we are, Fifth and Franklin.
197
Oh great, my apartment is just down there.
198
Can you keep going a little bit?
199
Sure.
200
Okay, make a right on this side street coming up.
201
Okay, no problem.
202
And it's just up here on the left.
203
I'm in this brick building.
204
Uh, okay.
205
You can pull over right here.
206
Sure thing.
207
Okay, so $16, please.
208
Here's a 20.
209
Keep the change.
210
Great.
211
Thanks.
212
Have a nice day.
213
You too.
214
Bye.
215
if you want to find out the answers for the comprehension questions.
216
Visit QLips .com.
217
And check out our blog post with the answers to the questions.
218
Exactly.
219
And we would be happy if you answered these questions for us.
220
You can send us your answers.
221
We will take a look.
222
for you and tell you if you are Correct or...
223
if there's something you should change to make your answers better.
224
Well, thank you for listening, everyone.
225
We really hope that you enjoyed this first Real Talk episode.
226
If you find this kind of episode useful, please let us know.
227
You can reach us through our Facebook page or our website, hulips .com.
228
where you can learn more about becoming a Q -Lips member.
229
All right, Suzanne, we'll talk to you next time.
230
All right, Andrew.
231
Thanks, everyone.
232
Bye.
233
Bye.
234
you make it break it up.
📺 Mismo canal
B11
Sunday funday | Learn English with real-life stories | Bonus 128
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B21
Intermediate English Practice | Nickel and dimed | Bonus 165
University StudentsWorking Adults+2
B11
My Embarrassing First Week at the Gym | English Listening Practice | Bonus 182
University StudentsBusiness English+2
B21
Chatterbox #311 – The Taylor Swift effect
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B11
Bonus Episode #036 – A chance encounter
University StudentsBusiness English+2
B2Not so fast | Learn English with real-life stories | Bonus 133
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B2One more try | Real English Listening | Bonus 179
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B2Modern identity labels | Intermediate-advanced English listening | Chatterbox 331
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B1Daisy's Big Day | English listening lesson | Bonus 76
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B21
Stories from Canada | Learn Real Canadian English and Slang! | Bonus 169
University StudentsWorking Adults+1
B16
Andrew and Kassy Catch up | Simplified Speech 169
High School StudentsUniversity Students+2
B11
Search for the lost ring | Bonus episode 8
High School StudentsUniversity Students+2
B14
Simplified Speech #186 – Christmas 2023
High School StudentsUniversity Students+2
B22
Lifestyle change | Learn English with real stories | Bonus 98
University StudentsBusiness English+2
B27
Special delivery | Learn English with real-life stories | Bonus 127
University StudentsBusiness English+2
![Chatterbox #244 - Meeting celebrities [English listening practice]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/l7P3ZCqCN4w/mqdefault.jpg)
B11
Chatterbox #244 - Meeting celebrities [English listening practice]
High School StudentsUniversity Students+2
B12
Home alone for the weekend | English listening practice | Bonus 161
University StudentsBusiness English+2
B14
Simplified Speech #93 - Big purchases
University StudentsBusiness English+2
B2Chatterbox #309 – Quiet quitting
University StudentsBusiness English+2
B23
Simplified Speech #32 - Dancing
Daily Conversation
✨ Recomendar Video
B11
26 oraciones
🚕☕ My Taxi Driver Stopped for Coffee! | Real English Conversation #esl #learnenglish #speakenglish
High School StudentsUniversity Students+3
B11
530 oraciones
Who's faster around London: a taxi driver or a GPS?
University StudentsWorking Adults+2
B12
233 oraciones
Living English - Episode 2
High School StudentsUniversity Students+4
B12
80 oraciones
22.9 Traffic
High School StudentsUniversity Students+3
B11
184 oraciones
Daily Easy English Conversation - Travel Agent - Speaking Practice for Advanced English Learners
University StudentsWorking Adults+2
B12
361 oraciones
Easy English Podcast for English Conversations | Asking for Directions
High School StudentsUniversity Students+3
B12
180 oraciones
Car Vocabulary
University StudentsWorking Adults+2
B13
31 oraciones
The Practical Lesson: "Would you like to sit?" 🚌 Polite English on the Bus
High School StudentsUniversity Students+3
B1157 oraciones
Real Talk CONVERSATION Role Play English Speaking Practice Repeat-After-Me
American Accent, en-USHigh School Students+4
B11
335 oraciones
🚕 English Taxi Dialogue | Handle a Price Dispute Like a Native Speaker
TeensHigh School Students+3
B13
483 oraciones
How to Talk About Getting Around the City Like a Native | Real English Conversation Practice
High School StudentsUniversity Students+3
Master Real-Life English: Taking a Cab Like a Native
The Scenario: Navigating a Taxi Ride with Confidence
Imagine finishing a long day at work and needing to get home. Taking a cab is a common task, but using the right phrases ensures you reach your destination smoothly. The video’s dialogue follows Lisa as she directs a taxi driver, from stating her initial destination to giving final instructions. This real-world scenario is perfect for practicing everyday English—no complicated grammar, just practical communication.
Useful Chunks & Collocations to Memorize
Native speakers rely on fixed phrases to communicate quickly. Here are 5 key chunks from the conversation to add to your toolkit:
- "Where are you going today?" – The driver’s standard question to start the ride.
- "Fifth and Franklin, please." – A concise way to state an intersection (common in cities).
- "Can you keep going a little bit?" – Polite phrasing to ask the driver to continue past a point.
- "Make a right on this side street coming up." – Clear direction for turns, using "coming up" to indicate proximity.
- "Keep the change." – A generous way to tip without calculating exact amounts.
These phrases work in almost any taxi situation, making them essential for english speaking practice.
Your Shadowing Challenge: Speak Like Lisa, Instantly
The shadowing technique is one of the best ways to improve fluency. Here’s your task: Play the dialogue, pause after each line, and repeat it immediately—matching Lisa’s tone, speed, and intonation. Focus on "shadowspeaks" moments, like how she says "Sure thing" with a natural rhythm. For extra practice, use a shadowing site to record yourself and compare. Do this 3 times, and you’ll notice your confidence in taxi conversations soar. Remember: shadow speak isn’t just about copying—it’s about training your mouth and brain to use English like a native.
Ready to try? Hit play, and start shadowing—your next cab ride will be a breeze!
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.