Shadowing Practice: CONVERSATIONS in British Pubs | Easy English 225 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi everybody, welcome to a new episode of Easy English.
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Hi everybody, welcome to a new episode of Easy English.
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So carrying on from our series of conversations with native speakers,
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I wanted to bring you something special, something very quintessentially British.
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The pub.
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This time I'm going to be going inside pubs and making conversations with the bartenders.
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Not only are you going to get advice,
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but you're going to learn some of the phrases and some conversational pieces to get you going,
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but also some advice on what you should
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and shouldn't be doing in a British pub and some secret tips that you maybe don't know.
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So here we go, this is Conversations in a British Pub.
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Hi, how's it going?
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Yeah, all good mate, how are you?
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Hiya, you alright?
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How's it going?
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Yeah, not bad, yourself?
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Yeah, good, thirsty.
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Oh, what would you like?
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We've got some good beers here, ciders.
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Ah, yeah, okay.
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We've got quite a few different beers.
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Are you kind of after more lager stuff,
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or we've got some local stuff over here as well?
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We've got obviously Guinness style on tap.
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We've got lagers, we've got pale ales.
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Over here we've got Cruz, Red Stripe and Moretti.
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Okay, and these are all lagers?
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Yeah, these ones are all lagers and then if you're after a stout we've got Guinness here.
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Okay.
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Which is a bit more heavier.
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Like percentage wise?
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Not percentage wise, just like on like taste.
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What is a cider?
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So, a cider is basically made of apples,
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instead of like wheat, barley and stuff like beers.
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Okay.
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If you want to try a bit you're more than welcome, it's quite sweet.
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Is it okay to try a bit?
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Yeah, of course.
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Can I try.. which one would you recommend?
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So this one's very fruity,
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very sweet, and this one's more like a traditional cider.
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So if you haven't tried cider, try this one.
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If you'd like, you can have a tester of anything you want.
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Oh, is that okay?
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So I'd probably recommend, if you want to try something local,
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probably recommend the Sonar or the ABS Super Pale.
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Okay.
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Like usually somewhere will have like,
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you know, a local thing on top that you can just drive through.
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Oh yeah, I've heard of like Pale Ale's.
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Yeah, do you want a little tester of those?
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Yeah, why not?
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Yeah, sure.
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So what's the difference between a beer and a lager and an ale?
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So your lager are sort of like your normal beers that you get.
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They're not too complex, they're quite hoppy for the most part.
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And then your ales, you get a little bit more complex with like more fruit in them for example.
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A lot of the ones on casks are like your sort of old man beers,
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sort of the old sort of English pub sort of beers that you get.
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Quite easy drinking a lot of the time and a quiet taste I'd say.
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Is it this warm, flat?
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Warm sort of flat feeling.
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Very different to the sensation of drinking a lager for example.
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And that's quite common in the UK.
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Very common in the UK.
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Places like America and stuff,
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if they came here and they saw this and they got given a warm beer,
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they'd be like what is this they'd be
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so confused is it possible to taste yeah i'll take some yeah would
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that be okay yeah is
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that normal in a pub to be able to taste yeah no literally yeah people come in all the time
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and be like oh i've never tried that
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so we always try to offer people if they want to try Try something new.
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So this topic gives me a really great reason to recommend our conversation membership of Easy English.
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It's a membership that allows you to grow your confidence in speaking in the English language to native and non-native English speakers.
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Each week, I sit down at my laptop like I'm doing now on a Tuesday night
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and have conversations with our conversation members on Zoom.
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There we create an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere where we create pre-arranged topics
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that we talk about for one hour on a Tuesday night.
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I truly believe that the best way for you to improve your speaking and listening skills is just by doing it.
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Making mistakes is all part of learning a language.
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And that's what we promote in our conversation calls.
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It's a fantastic place for you to come and practice your English speaking skills learn from making mistakes.
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On top of that you're also going to get to meet myself,
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EZ and our other wonderful conversation members from all around the world.
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Perhaps you're learning for family or friends
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or perhaps you're moving to an English-speaking country or maybe you're even starting a job where English is the desired language.
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All are welcome to our conversation calls online.
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Currently our conversation membership is offering a seven-day free trial which gets you one free lesson on Tuesday nights.
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If you're interested in joining the conversation membership,
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then go to easyenglish.video forward slash membership and we'll see you online.
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Now back to our episode.
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And is it normal to get like these little tasters?
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It is very normal, yeah.
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Okay.
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We always ask because it makes it easier for us anyway.
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Purely on the...
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If you're enjoying what you're drinking then it's way easier next time.
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And what sizes do beers come in?
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We either have a pint or a half pint.
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Ah, okay.
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That's the two sizes you can get.
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Okay.
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And is it possible to try everything here?
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Yeah, you can try as many as you like.
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Is it even possible to try wines and stuff?
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Yeah, you can try a little bit of wine.
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Really?
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You just can't try any of the spirits just
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because they're really strong drunk so you can't try any of those otherwise you might get drunk.
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What are like normal opening and closing times for a pub?
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So a lot of pubs really will open around midday maybe 11 for the most part,
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maybe close around midnight.
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Whereas the weekend you'll go on to a bit later.
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We have a very late license and we go until 3 o'clock on the weekend
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so we'll be open 12 midday till 3 in the morning.
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Okay, and you, there's this thing that happens
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when you go to a pub where people will ring bells at the end of the day, right?
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What does that super- So that's the last order bell.
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Not every pub has them.
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Most people normally just turn the music down and shout,
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but we have a big bell just up here.
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Hear a load and then just scream last orders until everyone notices.
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And what does that mean?
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That's last- means that that is the call to come get your last drinks.
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It's about 15, normally about half an hour to 15 minutes before we close.
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And then when we close,
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when the bar's closed, you ring it again and shout time at the bar so everyone knows no more drinks.
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And I see you have like crisps behind you.
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I do, so we've got crisps and nuts.
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It's very standard, just to have crisps and nuts as a snack.
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That's normal in a pub?
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Yeah, that's normal.
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What about food, if I'm hungry as well?
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Do you need food?
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Food?
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Yeah, we've got a food menu just over here on the table.
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At the moment here we So we do burgers,
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chicken wings and tenders, and then we've got quite a bit of fry menu over here as well.
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So like a normal dish is like burgers and chips?
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Yeah, a normal dish in pubs is like burgers,
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fish and chips is probably quite common as well.
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On Sundays, some pubs might do a roast dinner,
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which is very common in the UK.
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Do you only serve alcoholic drinks here?
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No, no, no. We've got non-alcoholic stuff as well.
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So you do non-alcoholic fairs.
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um so you've got lucky saint
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which uh once again also is quite low too um it's
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brewed by actually no it's not i lie it's just english
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it's not brewed by these these guys do their own good stuff though nice
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and yeah you've got cider guinness probably the best one uh i would say
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and then heineken erdinger which is more i think less soft drink
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and loads of soft drinks as well do you have anything else
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that like maybe someone who would never been to a pub before wouldn't know they could do
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or should do or any etiquette.
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Most pubs you're allowed to bring children until a certain time so here it's 8 o'clock
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after 8 o'clock we can't have any children.
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And that's normal?
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Yeah and it's normal and also anyone under 18 has to be with an adult.
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Moving from Australia to here the biggest difference is that you can bring pets in here.
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Oh yeah, bring my dog in?
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Yeah you can bring a dog in.
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My tortoise?
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Yeah I mean so I would never say the tortoise bring in here but yeah.
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Do you pay at the end of your drinking session?
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No, no, no, there's nothing that is different.
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Especially in America, you do tabs all the time.
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Ah, okay, yeah.
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Yeah, right, tab.
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In England, if you want to do a tab, you can ask us.
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What is a tab?
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A tab is where you put a car behind the bar and then you,
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you know, just get us to put drinks on your table.
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Yeah.
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Whereas, well, but in general,
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unless you're in a massive group,
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this isn't really the done thing to do,
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especially if you're in individual drinks.
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A lot of pubs will just prefer you to pay as you go.
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The main thing is just be respectful and chat to your bartenders,
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because they're always up for a chat.
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That's the thing.
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It gets very boring standing behind a bar doing the same thing constantly.
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So people are always up for a chat and if you've got any questions,
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it's always good to ask.
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People, for the most part,
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will be very, very receptive to that.
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And we'd love to just talk to people.
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When you come into a pub,
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if you just ask for a beer it will always be a pint
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so if you want a half pint ask for a half pint otherwise you'll always get a pint.
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Yeah there's a big commitment there.
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And also when you come up
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and order it's different than a lot of other countries you pay when you order so you come up,
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order your drinks, you get your drinks,
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pay straight away and then take your drinks with you to the table.
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I would say if you're ordering Guinness,
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which is a stout, always order it first.
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Why is that?
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Because you have to wait for it to settle and then we can do everything else while that is settling.
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And also, if we put it there and it isn't full up yet,
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don't take it off the bar.
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It's not done yet.
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I see.
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If that makes sense.
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That happens a lot.
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Also, don't grab your drink from who's serving you from their hand.
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Because everyone said just let us put it down.
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You'll put it down when it's ready.
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Oh and we have three different sizes of wine in England.
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Which I know like places like Spain and Italy,
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it's a glass of wine and you get a glass of wine.
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Here we have like three different measurements.
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So you have 125, 175, 250.
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So this is an Irish pub right?
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What would be the difference between a normal,
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typical pub and an Irish pub?
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A lot of the time it is just the decoration
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and sort of the vibe of the pub really
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but here especially we try and put a very big focus on the Irishness.
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We get a lot of Irish artists in,
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we always serve Irish beer, such as Guinness.
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We really, really, really try and put a big emphasis on Irish sports like rugby and football.
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We do a big street party for Paddy's Day,
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we have a big thing on Paddy's Day itself.
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and yeah a lot of English pubs you'll see them especially
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a different decor to here you get sort of you can feel sort of the age of the pub
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when you walk in here I feel with the exposed woods and the sofas and the seating and stalls.
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And is it okay just to like come in and not order alcohol or not order anything?
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It might be okay in a lot of places depending on who's working
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but it's normally polite to order something if you're coming in and sitting.
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Okay, so I could come in with my laptop and work and maybe order like a drink or something?
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Yeah, that would be fine.
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Yeah.
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Unless the pub owner is grumpy or the person working is angry.
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Amazing.
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Wow, thank you so much for your help.
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Yeah, thank you.
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See you later.
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See you later, have a lovely day.
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Thank you so much for your help.
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That's what I'm doing, man.
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Yeah.
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Okay, see you later.
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See you in a bit.
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Have a good day.
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Thank you for your help.
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No worries.
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Nice to meet you.
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Thank you so much for your insight, it was really useful.
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That's right mate.
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Context & Background
In this episode of "Easy English," the focus is on a quintessentially British experience: conversing in a pub. Pubs are an integral part of British culture, serving as social hubs where friends gather to enjoy a drink and bond over conversations. The speaker engages with bartenders to uncover not just useful phrases for navigating a pub but also insights and etiquette that may come as a surprise to non-locals. This context provides a rich backdrop for learners to immerse themselves in British English and cultural nuances while practicing their conversational skills.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “How's it going?” – A casual way to ask someone how they are doing.
- “What would you like?” – A polite way for bartenders or wait staff to ask for beverage preferences.
- “Can I try...?” – A phrase to ask for a sample of a drink, such as beer or cider.
- “Would you recommend...?” – A phrase to seek advice about what to order, showing interest in the bartender's opinion.
- “Is it okay to try a bit?” – A polite way to ask permission to taste something before making a decision.
These phrases will enhance your conversational skills and facilitate smoother interactions during your English-speaking practice, especially in settings like bars or cafes.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively learn and practice the dialogue presented in this pub conversation, following this shadowing guide will enhance your fluency and pronunciation:
- Listen Actively: Watch the video attentively, paying close attention to the pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm of the dialogue. Focus on how each phrase is delivered.
- Pause and Repeat: After hearing a phrase, pause the video and repeat it aloud. This technique, known as shadow speech, is useful for mimicking native pronunciation.
- Slow it Down: Use the video’s playback speed feature to slow down sections if you struggle. Gradually increase the speed as your confidence builds.
- Engage in Dialogue: Practice with a partner or in front of a mirror. Use the learned phrases to create your own conversations about drinks or similar scenarios.
- Record Yourself: Record your attempts at shadow speaking. Replay them to identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and fluency.
By integrating these methods into your practice, you will not only enhance your English speaking skills but also gain the confidence to navigate conversations in social settings. Remember, the key to mastery is consistent practice, so don't hesitate to learn English with YouTube to reinforce your skills further.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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