Shadowing Practice: English Small Talk Practice: How to Keep the Conversation Going - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Hello, High Level listeners.
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Today we're going to help you keep your conversations going in English so you can learn to ask more questions,
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learn more about your friends in English and keep that conversation moving
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when you feel a little awkward and you don't really know what to say next.
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So, like always in these small talk lessons, we've got some short, natural conversations for you today.
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First, you're just going to listen to us go through the conversation.
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Then we'll go back to the start and we'll slow down
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and we'll repeat and explain the useful phrases so you can repeat and shadow along with us and improve your conversational English.
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And if you want more fast -paced American English speaking practice with me, check out my fluent and friendly American English speaking course below,
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where you'll learn real -life chunks and phrases just like you learn in this video
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that you can feel more confident using in your English speaking skills.
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Yeah, We've also got a study guide with all of our PDF transcripts and small talk conversations in a downloadable ebook.
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You can find that in the link in the description down there as well.
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Let's get started with the first conversation.
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Okay, so our first conversation, we're going to be working on follow -up questions.
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Follow -up questions.
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Now, follow -up questions are basically where someone tells you something and you want to keep the conversation moving.
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So you're going to ask another little question.
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So listen to this dialogue
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and then we're going to give you some more follow -up questions that you can practice on your own.
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Hey, Mark, do you get up to much this weekend?
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Yeah, actually, I went hiking on Sunday.
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Oh, nice.
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Where'd you go?
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We found this little trail about an hour outside the city.
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Oh, that sounds really cool.
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Have you been there before?
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No, first time.
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It was really nice, actually.
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OK, so did you notice that Mark gave me an answer, but it didn't really give me much to go on,
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so I kept the conversation going by asking some extra questions.
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These are called follow -up questions, all right?
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So let's hear that dialogue once more and you can hear them once again.
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Hey Mark, did you get up too much this weekend?
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Uh, yeah, actually.
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Went hiking on Sunday.
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Oh, nice.
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Where'd you go?
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We found this little trail about an hour outside the city.
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Oh, that sounds really cool.
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Have you been there before?
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No, first time.
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It was really nice, actually.
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So, again, yeah, Kat's questions, her follow -up questions, helped extend the conversation.
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So yeah, if you're ever struggling to keep conversations going, we're about to share some more really good follow -up questions,
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especially if the other person is talking about a trip they went on, a vacation or a holiday, or they did some kind of outdoor activity.
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Let's start with the first one.
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I'll go nice and slow, and then we'll do a natural speed.
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This would be a really good time for you guys to shadow
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and practice listening and then speaking at the same speed as us.
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oh nice where'd you go oh nice where'd you go how was it how was it how was it
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have you been there before have you been there before who'd you go with who'd you go with Oh,
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would you go again?
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Oh, would you go again?
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Okay, this is the second conversation.
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In this situation, me and Kat run into each other at a coffee shop.
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Again, we'll go through the conversation two times and yeah, listen out for ways we keep the conversation going.
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Hey, how's your week going?
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Yeah, pretty good.
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I've been busy with work, but I'm looking forward to having Friday off.
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Oh, nice.
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Yeah.
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Anything planned?
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Well, nothing too exciting, but I'm thinking about going out for lunch somewhere.
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How about you?
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Got any plans for the weekend?
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I've got a few things planned, actually.
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We're heading out of town to see my family.
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Oh, that sounds really nice.
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I hope you have a great time.
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okay so did you notice
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that i could have just said something like oh pretty good oh nothing too exciting
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and yeah that would be perfectly acceptable especially
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if it's a quit conversation at work or something like that
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but we're working on speaking more right we want to talk more
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so let's listen one more time and see
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if you can hear how i start each sentence
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and how mark starts a sentence so that we can fill it in with interesting activities that we've been doing.
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Hey, how's your week going?
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Yeah, pretty good.
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I've been busy with work, but I'm looking forward to having Friday off.
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Oh, nice.
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Anything planned?
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Oh, nothing too exciting, but I'm thinking about going out for lunch somewhere.
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How about you?
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Got any plans for the weekend?
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I've got a few things planned, actually.
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We're heading out of town to see my family.
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Oh, that sounds nice.
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I hope you have a really great time.
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so we're going to give you some sentence starters kind of some chunks
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that you can easily use and fill it in with your own activities okay
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so let's listen to it a little bit slower at first
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and then at the natural speed yeah pretty good I've been busy with pretty good I've been busy with
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and then you can add in your own activities so I've been busy with work I've been busy with my kids.
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I've been busy with projects.
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Okay?
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So, you can add any different activity that you've been busy with.
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Yeah.
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A great way to keep the conversation going is to share more about yourself.
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You don't have to wait for a question.
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So, another way you can start sharing is say, not bad.
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I've got a few things planned for...
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So, the main chunk is, I've got a few things planned for after four, say a time.
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So I've got a few things planned for this weekend.
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I've got a few things planned for tomorrow.
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Maybe there's a national holiday coming.
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So yeah, I've got a few things planned for Christmas.
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And then you can keep explaining.
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Another one is this is kind of a response to how have you been or how are things going?
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Good, actually.
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I'm looking forward to it actually.
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The word actually here is kind of like surprisingly, like even though it seems like a boring week,
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I'm looking forward to, or I'm excited about something in the future.
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Yeah, I'm looking forward to skiing this weekend, or I'm looking forward to a day off,
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or I'm looking forward to taking my kids to the zoo, something like that.
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So you can use the to and then the activity.
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I'm looking forward to cooking with my family, going out to eat, spending the weekend with my family, something like that.
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Nothing too exciting, but I'm thinking about...
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Oh, I like that one.
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So, if someone asks, well, what did you do?
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Anything interesting?
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Nothing too exciting.
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That means I had a very normal, standard time.
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I'm thinking about doing something.
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I'm thinking about going on a trip.
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I'm thinking about getting away for the weekend.
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I'm thinking about visiting my family.
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So just like Mark's sentence, I haven't decided yet, but I might do something.
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I haven't decided yet, but I might go see my family.
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I haven't decided it yet, but I might take off next weekend.
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So I might do something.
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That's a really good way to kind of talk about maybe these plans will happen, maybe not, but it is a good way to continue chatting and speaking more in your conversation.
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All right.
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So our last conversation is a good way to kind of show interest
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or show your curiosity in another person and the conversation that we're having.
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So Kat and Mark, that's me and Mark, are talking at a friend's get -together.
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Okay, so I'll start with this one.
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So Mark, what have you been up to lately?
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I've actually started taking Spanish classes.
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Oh, no way.
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How are you finding it?
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Good.
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It's harder than I expected though.
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Oh yeah, I bet.
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What made you want to learn Spanish?
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I've always wanted to learn another language.
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that's super interesting okay so again maybe you heard cat's reactions
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and yeah showing interest in my new hobby is another way
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to keep the conversation going little things like no way
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or yeah i bet there are lots of little phrases like this in english see
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if you can hear them one more time we'll go through the conversation again
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so mark what have you been up to lately I've actually started taking Spanish classes.
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Really?
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No way.
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How are you finding it?
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Good.
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It's harder than I expected, though.
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Yeah, I bet.
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What made you want to learn Spanish?
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I've always wanted to learn another language.
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Oh, that's super interesting.
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Okay, so these are kind of short and fast, right?
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No way.
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Oh, no way.
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This is a good one to say when you're a little bit surprised.
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That's really interesting.
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No way.
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That's cool.
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It's kind of a one that you use if you don't believe them.
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Like, oh, that's...
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I'm shocked to hear that.
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No way.
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So, you can use it in a friendly way or you can use it in a serious way.
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No way.
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I can't believe that.
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Right?
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So, it's just no way.
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No way.
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Okay.
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So, as I said, there's lots of different phrases you can say to show interest.
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And by showing interest to the other person, you might encourage them to keep sharing if they think you're interested,
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maybe they'll feel more willing to open up to you and share more.
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And then the conversation gets longer, more chances to practice your English.
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So after Kat said, no way, another one is, oh, really?
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Oh, really?
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There's different ways you can say this.
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Really?
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When it's high at the end, sounds like a shock, a surprise, like, oh, wow, really?
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I didn't know that.
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But you can also say it in a, really?
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Oh, really?
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That's me being interested.
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And that means I want you to go on.
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So you can say it how you feel.
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If you feel surprised, oh, really?
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But if you're interested and you wanted to keep going, oh, really?
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This is one of my favorite phrases and I use it all the time.
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That sounds fun.
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That sounds really nice.
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Oh, that sounds lovely.
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Oh, that sounds fun.
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So it's a way to, if someone tells me something interesting, oh, that maybe I've never done that before.
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I don't even know, but that sounds fun.
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Like I can understand that that would be fun if I ever did it, right?
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Oh, that sounds really fun.
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another good one is yeah i bet oh yeah i bet this is a good one
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if someone's talking to you and maybe they're complaining something was really difficult at work
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or really frustrating you can sympathize and show that you're listening
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and say yeah i bet they say oh it's learning Spanish is really difficult.
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Yeah, I bet.
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This can be used positively as well.
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If someone went to a big concert and saw a famous band and they had an amazing time, say, oh yeah, I bet the crowd was crazy.
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Oh yeah, I bet.
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I can imagine.
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Another one just simply saying, oh, that's interesting.
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So we do say this word interesting.
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Interesting.
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Sometimes if you're very interested in what someone is saying, you can separate it out.
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Oh, interesting.
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Kind of like you're listening, you're thinking.
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That's very interesting.
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Interesting.
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It is weird.
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We do say it in both different ways.
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But you can also say interesting.
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Interesting.
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So it's more of a tr sound.
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Oh, that's interesting.
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Last one.
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How are you finding it?
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How are you finding it?
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Maybe you're talking to someone and they started something new, a new hobby, like learning a new language.
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If they stop and you want to keep going, how are you finding it?
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That means what do you think so far?
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How has it been so far?
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This is an easier form grammatically.
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How are you finding it?
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Are you enjoying it?
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Are you liking it?
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How are you finding it?
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Okay, there you go.
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Some more useful small talk Natural Conversations in English.
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And to keep the conversation going, you don't need a lot of complicated questions to get people to keep talking.
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Just remember, you can react, you can ask a follow -up question, or you can share some of your own details.
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Find something you have in common and the conversation will start flowing.
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And most importantly, you need to practice these phrases out loud.
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And if you want some more guided speaking and pronunciation practice, especially if you're practicing American English, check out my fluent and friendly American English speaking course.
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That'll be down in the link below.
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And let us know in the comments below which phrases or questions were new for you.
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Which ones did you enjoy or which ones did you like?
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Let us know.
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We read and reply to every single one we get here on YouTube.
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We'll see you next time for our next Small Talk video.
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See you soon.
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Bye -bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 256 sentences and 2256 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:44. The speaker talks at a natural 153 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 91% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| chunk noun | /t͡ʃʌŋk/ | A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone. |
| shock noun | /ʃɔk/ | A sudden, heavy impact. |
| trail noun | /tɹeɪl/ | The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the… |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| lately adverb | /ˈleɪt.li/ | Recently; not long ago; of late; not long since. |
| dialogue noun | /ˈdaɪəˌlɑɡ/ | A conversation or other form of discourse between two or more individuals. |
| hike noun | /haɪk/ | A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| fluent adjective | /ˈfluənt/ | That flows; flowing, liquid. |
| complicated adjective | /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/ | Difficult or convoluted. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| vacation noun | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| follow up verb | To take further actions remaining after an event; to continue, revisit, or persist; especially, to maintain communication or verify. |
| look forward to verb | To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). |
| get together verb | To meet, to gather together, to congregate. |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. |
| get up to verb | To do something, especially something that is forbidden or improper. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 91 contractions and reduced forms, such as I've, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, conversational /ˌkɒnvə(ɹ)ˈseɪʃənəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, acceptable /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, curiosity /ˌkjʊɹ.iˈɑ.sə.ti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like phrase, chunk, shock.
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.