Pratica di Shadowing: Write Emails in English | Learn English Quickly with podcast | English learning Conversation - Impara a parlare inglese con YouTube
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to EnglishPod.
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to EnglishPod.
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My name is Marco.
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My name is Catherine, and we have an unusual lesson for you today.
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It's more about writing than about speaking.
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That's right.
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Well, many times we have to write emails, and if we're working in a sales environment, we may need to write an email to a potential client.
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All right, so we're going to learn what is appropriate and what is not in today's lesson.
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Let's take a listen to our dialogue.
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Melanie, can you help me with something?
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We need to finalize the account with the Mexican Embassy, and I need some advice on phrasing this letter correctly in English.
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Sure, Tracy.
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Let me just get my laptop.
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Right, all set.
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Okay, so, to whom it may concern, I am writing...
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Um, Tracy, I think that's a little too formal.
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I know you want to be polite, but you've already made contact with them, so in English, you can be a bit more relaxed in the opening.
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Okay, more relaxed.
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Got it.
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Hey, Sally, what's up?
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It's Tracy here, just...
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Okay, Tracy, now it's too relaxed.
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You've still got to show some respect.
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How about starting with Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm.
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Great, okay.
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Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm the final quotation for the full page
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back cover color advertisements you requested for the spring issue of Viola magazine.
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That's great.
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The final costing, including advert design and production, comes to 45,600 RMB.
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We want payment 10 working days before publication, or we will cancel the ad.
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Thanks for...
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Whoa, okay, back up a second, Tracy.
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That's too direct.
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Can I suggest you say, please note that the final payment is due two working weeks before publication.
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You don't want to offend her.
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Oops.
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Okay, you're right.
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Then I can just end with all the best, Tracy.
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Hmm, maybe I'd play it safe and just finish with yours sincerely.
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That's more professional.
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Oh, Melanie, you're a lifesaver.
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Thank you.
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Alright, we're back.
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So now let's take a look at some of that vocab we heard on language takeaway.
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Language takeaway.
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We have some wonderful adjectives today.
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The first one that I wanted to discuss, Marco, is formal.
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Formal.
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That's right.
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We want to be a little bit more formal when we're writing someone we don't really know too much.
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That's right.
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But we have to be careful because sometimes you can be too formal.
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So what exactly does formal mean?
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So if you write a formal email, it's very proper, very respectful.
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So proper in the way that you wouldn't use colloquial terms or phrasal verbs that you would use with your friends.
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No, a good example is writing to a lawyer or a judge.
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You want to use formal language.
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Even with a teacher, you might use more formal language.
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But with a friend, you don't have to.
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That's something else.
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That's right.
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So when you're writing something that's formal, it's important to be polite as well.
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Now, what is polite?
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Right.
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So you want to be formal, you want to be serious, and you want to be polite.
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You want to show respect.
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You want to be nice, basically.
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That's right.
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And so people can often be described as polite.
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He's very polite or she's not polite at all.
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Right.
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And, you know, when I was a little kid, my mom used to say, it's very important to be polite.
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Always say thank you and you're welcome when you're talking to other people.
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That's right and that's one way of being polite.
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Now, also when we are describing the way that you speak to someone or the way that you write, you can be very direct.
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Now, being direct means that you say exactly what you want or exactly what you're thinking.
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Okay, so maybe if we're talking to this company, you say, Hi, I want this.
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I will pay this much.
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Thank you.
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Bye.
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Right.
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That's maybe too direct.
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So sometimes you need to be a little less direct and say nice things in an email.
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That's right.
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So maybe you want to say to someone that you don't really like the clothes they're wearing, right?
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Then you say, hey, do you like my new shirt?
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And if you're very direct, you would say, no, I think it's very ugly.
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I hate it.
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Right, that's too direct.
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So maybe you would say, I don't really think it suits you very well.
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Or I think a different color would be better on you.
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That's right.
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So that's being a little bit less direct.
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Now, obviously, if you're too direct with someone, you may offend that person.
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All right, to offend is a verb
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and to offend someone means to say something that makes them unhappy or upset or even angry.
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So going back to the same example of the shirt, if you say, I think that shirt is very ugly, that person might be offended.
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Gosh, or maybe if you say, you know, I think people with brown hair are so ugly and there's someone next to me with brown hair,
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they say, oh, I'm offended.
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Right.
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I'm not ugly, but I have brown hair.
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That's right.
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Okay, so you don't want to offend anyone by being too direct, or you don't want to have anyone feel offended.
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Now, for our last phrase here on Language Takeaway, we have towards the end of the dialogue,
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Tracy, Tracy, thanks, Melanie, by saying, you are a lifesaver.
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Thank you.
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Okay, so don't be confused.
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There is also a candy called lifesavers, and she's not calling her a candy.
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Right.
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She's saying, wow, thank you.
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You really helped me.
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Okay.
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So when someone helps you a lot, you can call them a lifesaver.
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Right.
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Marco, what exactly is the object, the lifesaver?
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If you've ever been on a boat,
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you see this big orange circle that is used to throw into the water to help someone to prevent them from drowning.
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That is called a lifesaver.
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Okay.
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So I'm drowning.
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I'm having a hard time writing this email.
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I do not know what to say.
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Marco, you come and help me.
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I can say, oh, wow, thank you so much.
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You're a lifesaver.
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That's exactly right.
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All right, so we've taken a look at five key words there.
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Why don't we take a listen to our dialogue again, and we'll be back with Fluency Builder.
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Melanie, can you help me with something?
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We need to finalize the account with the Mexican embassy, and I need some advice on phrasing this letter correctly in English.
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Sure, Tracy.
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Let me just get my laptop.
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Right.
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All set.
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Okay, so, to whom it may concern, I am writing...
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Um, Tracy, I think that's a little too formal.
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I know you want to be polite, but you've already made contact with them, so in English, you can be a bit more relaxed in the opening.
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Okay, more relaxed.
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Got it.
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Hey, Sally, what's up?
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It's Tracy here.
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Just...
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Okay, Tracy.
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Now it's too relaxed.
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You've still got to show some respect.
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How about starting with Dear Miss Cooper?
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I'm writing to confirm...
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Great, okay.
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Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm the final quotation for the full page
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back cover color advertisements you requested for the spring issue of Viola magazine.
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That's great!
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The final costing, including advert design and production, comes to 45,600 RMB.
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We won't payment 10 working days before publication, or we will cancel the ad.
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Thanks for...
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Whoa, okay, back up a second, Tracy.
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That's too direct.
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Can I suggest you say, please note that the final payment is due two working weeks before publication?
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You don't want to offend her.
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Oops, okay, you're right.
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then I can just end with all the best, Tracy.
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Maybe I'd play it safe and just finish with yours sincerely.
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That's more professional.
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Oh, Melanie, you're a lifesaver.
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Thank you.
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So today in Fluency Builder, we have a number of phrases you can use when you're writing an email.
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Some of them are very polite and formal.
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Some of them are very informal or casual.
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Now, this first phrase, Marco, is very, very formal, right?
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That's right.
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We start our letter by stating, to whom it may concern.
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All right.
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To whom it may concern.
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Remember that M there.
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This is a very formal phrase, and we're going to take it as a phrase.
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This is how you begin a formal letter.
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That's right.
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Usually, you start this letter if it's directed to maybe a company or someone not specific.
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You don't know that person's name, and you're just saying, you know, whoever's reading this letter, whoever it concerns.
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That's right.
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Well, I could say, Dear Marco.
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Right.
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But in this case, maybe I don't know who the name of the person I am writing this email to.
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It's a big company.
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There are many people.
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So if you don't know who you're writing to in a company or in an organization, you say, To Whom It May Concern.
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That's right.
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Okay, now we started very formal.
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Melanie said, I think it's a little bit too formal.
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Maybe we should be more relaxed.
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So Tracy says, okay, got it.
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So how about, hey Sally, what's up?
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What's up?
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Okay, what's up?
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What's up is the kind of thing I say with my friends.
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You know, hey Marco, what's up?
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Right.
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But I would never say this in a formal situation with a boss or with a, you know, an employer or with a more serious situation.
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Exactly.
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Especially if you're writing an email to a client, you don't really want to say what's up.
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No, never.
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So remember, this is spoken English with your friends, but not something you would write.
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So, the key here is that you have to show some respect.
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Okay, so that's another great phrase.
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You show some respect.
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Alright, so the key here is that this is, the verb is to show, right?
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Not to give.
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You want to show respect to someone.
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Well how do you show respect?
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Well, the way that you act, your behaviors.
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So, if I'm polite and I say, you know, mister and miss and thank you and please, these are ways to show respect.
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That's right.
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So that's the way that you are being respectful.
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You are showing respect by being very polite.
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For example, in Japan, it is common to take your shoes off when you go to a friend's home, their house, in order to show respect to them.
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That's right.
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Very good.
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Now, as we continue writing the letter towards the end, we wanted to play it safe and just write yours sincerely to close the letter off.
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All right.
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So this phrase, play it safe, what does this mean?
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When we're talking about making a decision or taking a risk, we want to play it safe.
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We want to use the less risky option.
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All right.
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So the key here is that the verb is to play.
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Play it safe.
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This means that, yeah, there's maybe a risky option and a safe option.
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And it's better to take the safe option.
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Play it safe.
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That's right.
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That's right.
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So that's the way that you would use this phrase, to play it safe to make a decision
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that doesn't have too much risk or that you know that will work very well.
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And to close things off, another option to end the letter, we could say, All the best.
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All the best, Tracy.
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All the best, comma, Tracy.
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All right, so this is a way to end a letter.
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You can say, sincerely, or best, but it's a very nice way to end if you just say, All the best, and then you say, you know, after that you have a comma,
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and then you sign your name.
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That's right.
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Alright, let's listen to our dialogue one last time, and we'll be back to talk a little bit more.
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Melanie, can you help me with something?
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We need to finalize the account with the Mexican embassy, and I need some advice on phrasing this letter correctly in English.
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Sure, Tracy.
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Let me just get my laptop.
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Right, all set.
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Okay, so, to whom it may concern, I am writing...
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Um, Tracy, I think that's a little too formal.
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I know you want to be polite, but you've already made contact with them, so in English, you can be a bit more relaxed in the opening.
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Okay, more relaxed.
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Got it.
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Hey, Sally, what's up?
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It's Tracy here.
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Just...
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Okay, Tracy.
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Now it's too relaxed.
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You've still got to show some respect.
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How about starting with Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm...
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Great, okay.
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Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm the final quotation for the full page
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back cover color advertisements you requested for the spring issue of Viola magazine.
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That's great.
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The final costing, including advert design and production, comes to 45,600 RMB.
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We won't payment 10 working days before publication, or we will cancel the ad.
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Thanks for… Whoa, okay, back up a second, Tracy.
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That's too direct.
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Can I suggest you say, please note that the final payment is due two working weeks before publication.
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You don't want to offend her.
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Oops.
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Okay, you're right.
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Then I can just end with all the best, Tracy.
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Hmm, maybe I'd play it safe and just finish with yours sincerely.
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That's more professional.
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Oh, Melanie, you're a lifesaver.
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Thank you.
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So talking about ending formal emails or emails that you're writing to clients, colleagues, we can say sincerely in your name, sincerely, Marco.
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You can say all the best, best regards.
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Now, I've noticed that some people who aren't native English speakers, sometimes they will close a letter,
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maybe even a formal letter, saying yours truly.
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Marco, for example.
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Is that really appropriate for a business setting or a client?
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I would not use yours truly.
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Maybe if you're trying to build a relationship with your client and you're very honest, but it seems to me to be very personal.
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Very romantic.
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Yes, yours truly.
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So I would say in that case, use sincerely or kind regards,
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which are a little bit more professional and less emotional.
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If you want to have a romantic letter, you can say, you know, all my love or love or yours truly or yours faithfully.
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This is a very important topic, I think, because many times in school we do learn how to write letters, but usually they are more personal letters.
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And so we memorize that usually at the end of the email or the end of the letter, you say yours, Marco or yours truly, Marco.
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and although it is correct, it's not really appropriate for a professional setting.
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That's right.
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So just as a reminder, if you're signing off your email or your letter and you're at an office, you're in your company, you want to say best or best regards
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or some of the things that we talked about here today.
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Very good.
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All right.
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So if you have any questions or any other doubts, you can always find us at EnglishPod.com and we'll see you guys there.
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Bye.
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Bye.
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Thank you.
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Contesto e Sfondo
In questo video, Marco e Catherine ci guidano attraverso un'importante lezione sulla scrittura di email in inglese. Spesso ci troviamo nella necessità di comunicare tramite email, specialmente in ambienti di lavoro o vendite, dove è essenziale comunicare in modo chiaro e professionale. La conversazione tra i due relatori ci offre spunti pratici su come gestire il tono e le frasi adeguate da utilizzare quando ci si rivolge a qualcuno con cui non abbiamo una familiarità eccessiva.
Le 5 Frasi Chiave per la Comunicazione Quotidiana
- Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm... - Una forma professionale per iniziare un'email.
- Please note that the final payment is due... - Un modo gentile per comunicare scadenze.
- Thanks for your assistance - Un modo cortese per concludere la comunicazione.
- Yours sincerely - Una chiusura formale e rispettosa.
- Hey, how's it going? - Un'apertura informale, ma da usare solo con chi conosciamo bene.
Guida Passo-Passo per la Pratica di Shadowing
Per aiutarti a migliorare la pronuncia inglese e acquisire confidenza nella scrittura e nella comunicazione orale, segui questa semplice guida di shadow speech. Iniziamo con alcuni passi fondamentali:
- Ascolta attentamente: Sintonizzati sul video e ascolta la conversazione tra Marco e Catherine. Fai attenzione a come si rivolgono l'uno all'altro e alle parole che usano.
- Ripeti ad alta voce: Metti in pratica ciò che hai ascoltato. Prova a ripetere le frasi insieme ai relatori, cercando di imitare il loro tono e ritmo.
- Pratica con un partner: Trova qualcuno con cui esercitarti. Potete unirvi nella pratica di conversazione in inglese, utilizzando le frasi chiave che hai appreso.
- Scrivi le tue email: Esercitati a scrivere email simili a quelle discusse nel video, cercando di applicare il giusto livello di formalità e cortesia.
- Riflettete insieme: Dopo aver praticato, discutete dei vostri progressi e delle difficoltà riscontrate. Questo potrà aiutarti a migliorare ulteriormente.
Utilizzando la tecnica shadowspeaks, puoi andare oltre la semplice memorizzazione e sviluppare una comprensione profonda della lingua. Imparare l'inglese con YouTube può rivelarsi molto efficace se accompagnato da esercizi pratici come questi, permettendoti di diventare più sicuro e fluente nella tua comunicazione quotidiana.
Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?
Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.
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