Shadowing Practice: Improve English Speaking Skills: Real Conversations About Weather - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hello, High Level listeners.

Today, we're going to show you how to improve your English speaking skills by practicing some quick and easy English small talk.

You know, those kind of quick, everyday moments when you want to sound natural, friendly, and confident in English.

Yes, that's right.

And today's small talk topic is one of the most popular and common ones, especially in the UK.

It's the weather.

exactly

so more specifically we're going to be talking about the hot

weather for this summer i know it's been hot all over the world this summer

and when it's really hot outside people in the u.s

and the uk love to make little comments about the heat

when they want to chat with other people it's a very

easy funny funny enough an easy ice breaker despite it being hot outside uh they might say wow It is

so freaking hot today.

Or man, how about this heat, right?

Yes.

So we did a similar small talk episode about cold weather, which is also another good icebreaker.

And that shows that complaining a little bit about the weather is very normal in English cultures.

And it doesn't make you seem like you're in a bad mood or you're an angry, grumpy person.

It's just a topic that helps people connect.

And let us know in the comments if this is similar in your culture as well.

I think the key to like a good complaint is to not take it too far.

Okay, so we don't want to spend too long talking about it.

That's why some of these conversations are going to be really short today

because they really are just a quick sentence or two and that's it.

Then we can move on to something else.

We kind of established that, yes, it is hot outside, but we don't want to spend too much time complaining about it or it can start to sound a little awkward.

Yeah.

So today we'll give you short, fast English small talk conversations all about hot weather.

And before we start, if you want more real small talk practice, check out our Active English Small Talk Dialogues ebook.

It's made for B1 and B2 students, and it gives you these natural everyday conversations with both me and Mark with American and British English side by side.

So you can really get into those natural conversations that native speakers would have.

Okay, so here's our first small talk conversation.

Kat and I are co-workers and we are coming back into the office together.

Oh my gosh, the heat just hits you the second you step outside.

I think I came back feeling completely drained.

Yeah, I know.

I only went out for lunch and instantly regretted it.

The aircon in here feels amazing.

Okay, so let's hear that conversation one more time.

Oh my gosh, the heat just hits you the second you step outside.

I came back feeling completely drained.

I know, I only went out for lunch and instantly regretted it.

The aircon in here feels amazing.

All right, so we came back into the office and, you know, it was hot.

So if I'm hot, I assume everybody else is too.

So it is very common, especially after you've left the air conditioning, the AC of the office, that you had to go outside for a second and it was hot.

So the first one I said, oh, my gosh.

Oh, my gosh.

You can say, oh, my God.

That's totally fine, too.

I tend to say, oh, my gosh.

The heat just hits you.

All right.

The cold just hits you.

The rain just hits you.

Now, it's like going from the nice, cool weather to very different weather outside.

And it just hits you the second you step outside.

The second, the moment, the right away, right?

The second you step outside.

I came back.

So I was out, maybe went to lunch or something.

I came back feeling completely drained.

When you feel drained, you are lacking in all energy.

You have no energy.

So I am completely drained.

Wow.

I stepped outside for 30 seconds and I am completely drained, right?

So that's very common that the heat takes up all your energy.

Yes, me too.

When I go outside in very, very hot weather, it takes all my energy.

I want to go home and just sleep because I'm drained.

My part of the dialogue was, I know, I only went out for lunch and instantly regretted it.

The aircon in here feels amazing.

I know, I only went out for lunch and instantly regretted it.

The aircon in here feels amazing.

So Kat went out and she got very, very hot.

Me too.

I know.

If you want to sympathize with someone.

Oh, I know.

It's horrible outside.

I only went out for lunch.

So I only went out to eat lunch and instantly regretted it.

I opened the door.

I felt the heat and thought, oh no, this is a bad idea.

I've made a mistake.

I regret this now.

And afterwards, I regretted it.

I instantly regretted it.

The aircon in here feels amazing.

So hopefully you're lucky enough to live in a country with aircon.

So inside can be nice and cool.

If you want to talk about how nice it is inside, the aircon feels.

oh it feels so nice when we talk about the weather

and how it affects your body it feels so outside feels

and inside feels so the aircon in here feels amazing

so it's nice and cool inside and super hot outside okay

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so we're going to move on to conversation number two

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and this is going to be a little bit more casual okay

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so we're going to use a couple of words that we probably wouldn't use at work.

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And so this is at a bus stop with a friend.

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It is so freaking hot out today.

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I'm so sorry.

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I didn't realize there'd be no shade at this stop.

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Same.

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I've been standing here for five minutes and I'm already overheating.

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I just hope the bus has decent AC.

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Okay, so let's hear that conversation one more time.

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It is so freaking hot out today.

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I am so sorry.

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I didn't realize there'd no shade at this stop same i've been standing here for five minutes and i'm already overheating

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i just hope the bus has decent ac okay

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so let's start with the first sentence it is

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so freaking hot out today i say this all the time do you think

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that you would say this phrase mark freaking hot flipping hot

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uh-huh freaking is quite an american phrase the british version sounds like it flipping it's

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so flipping hot today now like we said these are going

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to be much more casual you would not use the word

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freaking hot you would not say flipping hot you might say

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flipping hot that's that's probably like the nicest one freaking is supposed to be a word

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that replaces the f word the f bomb in english

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so we're not going to say a horrible word but it definitely is very casual

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And you can totally use it with your friends, right?

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It is so freaking hot out today.

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So it's like freaking freaking hot out today.

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And the word is freaking, F-R-E-A-K-I-N-G, freaking hot.

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But we kind of say it's so freaking hot out today.

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I am so sorry.

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I didn't realize there'd be no shade at this stop.

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Now we're at the bus stop, right?

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And normally, you know, when you stand under a bus stop, there's kind of a cover and it's for shade and it's for the rain, right?

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But I'm apologizing because it must be a smaller stop.

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I'm so sorry.

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I didn't realize there'd be no shade at this stop.

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So shade, kind of like I'm creating a shadow here, but shade offers kind of some protection from the sun.

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Okay, like a tree, you would be in the shade of the tree and cooling down.

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I'm so sorry, I didn't realize there'd be no shade at this stop.

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Same.

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I've been standing here for five minutes and I'm already overheating.

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So I've been standing here for five minutes in the direct sun.

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If there's no shade, you're in the direct sun, which can be very hot and uncomfortable or even dangerous.

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Sometimes you should avoid direct sun.

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And I'm already overheating.

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A phrase you could say if you were in a small talk conversation about hot weather.

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Oh, I'm overheating.

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After five minutes, I'm already, like surprisingly, I'm already overheating.

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Sometimes it can be nice to feel warm when you go on holiday and you feel hot weather.

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That's great.

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But if you spend too long, you start overheating.

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Your body starts getting too hot and maybe you start sweating and you start feeling uncomfortable.

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That's overheating.

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So I've been standing here for five minutes and I'm already overheating.

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I just hope the bus has decent AC.

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I just hope the bus has decent AC.

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So in American English, we often use the letters A-C.

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And that means air conditioning.

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Mark said it in the last conversation, air con, that's more British.

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So I would say AC or air conditioning.

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Decent AC, meaning that it's cooling down.

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Because, you know, in the hot weather, sometimes the ACs don't work very well.

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I just really hope the bus has decent AC.

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It's funny you said it's British because it's not really British at all.

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Nowhere in the UK has AC.

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nowhere has aircon at the moment houses some offices do

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and some supermarkets might but most people's homes

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and even buses don't have uh air conditioning it's still a bit of a luxury

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but maybe in the future when it's

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so hot all the time maybe we'll eventually upgrade to to

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be like north america okay let's look at our third small talk conversation about hot weather this time we're

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making some outdoor plans, but we're going to change them because of the heat.

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I know we said we'd go for a walk, but have you been outside?

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Yeah, absolutely not.

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It is hot as hell outside.

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Let's grab a coffee somewhere cold instead.

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Here's that conversation once more.

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I know we said we'd go for a walk, but have you been outside?

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Yeah, absolutely not.

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It is hot as hell outside.

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Let's grab a coffee somewhere cold instead.

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Okay, so we made plans before.

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I know we said before we would go for a walk.

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So will, thinking about the future, in the past becomes would.

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So I know we said we would go for a walk.

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I know we planned to go for a walk, but have you been outside?

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Again, if you want to just remember a small chunk and use it to talk about cold or hot weather, have you been outside?

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As in today or during this time, have you been outside?

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I'm implying...

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Are you aware?

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Are you aware that it's really hot out?

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Right, yeah.

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Did you know?

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Have you experienced the temperature?

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Yeah.

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So if it's super hot or super cold, this works.

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Oh my, have you been outside?

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I mean, I'm referring to the weather.

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And I'm kind of joking around here because I know it's hot outside.

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So I'll just say something like, yeah, absolutely not.

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Yeah, no. This is kind of one of those famous, yeah, no. Yeah, absolutely not.

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I am kind of saying, yeah, I hear you.

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Yeah.

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Have you been outside yet?

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Absolutely not.

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So that's kind of one of the funny phrases that, am I really answering it?

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Absolutely not.

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We are not going outside.

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Or absolutely not.

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I have not been outside because I know how hot it is.

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Yeah, absolutely not.

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It is hot as hell outside.

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hot as hell um when we visited the uk

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and france this summer i heard a lot of this yeah

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hot as hell hot as hell now this is a much more familiar phrase

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so we probably wouldn't use this one at work either even

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just using the word hell is not as commonly used in kind of more formal situations but with friends, perfectly acceptable.

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It is hot as hell outside.

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Let's grab a coffee somewhere cold instead.

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Let's grab a coffee somewhere cold instead.

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I mean, I can't stand it outside, right?

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So let's go somewhere else.

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Okay, so as a last helpful section to this video, if you want to start a little conversation about hot weather, but you don't know what to ask,

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here are some questions or some sentences you can say that all sound natural and friendly, and might start a little bit of small talk about hot weather.

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Is it just me or is it really hot today?

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Is it just me or is it really hot today?

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Wow, it is super hot out there, isn't it?

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Wow, it is super hot out there, isn't it?

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I cannot believe how hot it is today.

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Believe how hot it is today.

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It's like an oven outside.

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It's like an oven outside.

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I was not ready for this heat today.

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I was not ready for this heat today.

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Oh, I love your fan.

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Where did you get it?

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Oh, I love your little fan.

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Where did you get it?

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This heat is a lot today, isn't it?

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This heat is a lot today, isn't it?

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Are you managing okay in this heat?

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Are you managing okay in this heat?

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How are you coping with the heat?

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How are you coping with the heat?

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Wow, it feels good to be inside for a minute, doesn't it?

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Feels good to be inside for a minute, doesn't it?

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Is it always this hot around here in the summer?

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Is it always this hot here in the summer?

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All right, so there we go.

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Some easy English small talk conversations about the hot weather.

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Yes.

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So now, if it is hot where you are, you've got something to talk about in English.

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Absolutely.

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So let us know which words and phrases were new for you in the comments.

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We read and reply to every single one.

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So if you have any questions, let us know.

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Yes.

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And if you enjoyed these conversations, you can get our Real Small Talk Dialogues ebook for more realistic situations,

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more useful phrases and audio practice, PDFs and all sorts.

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It's a great way to build your English confidence and sound more natural in your everyday English as well.

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The link for that is in the description below.

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Thank you so much for watching, High Level listeners, and we will see you in our next English podcast episode.

263

Bye-bye.

264

Stay cool.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Improve English Speaking Skills: Real Conversations About Weather”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: hot, outside, weather, heat, conversation. This video has 264 sentences and 2502 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:46. The speaker talks at a natural 159 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
shade noun	/ʃeɪd/	Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.
overheat verb	/ˌoʊvɚˈhit/	To heat excessively.
drain noun	/dɹiːn/	A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK)
gosh	/ɡɑːʃ/	A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm.
flip verb	/flɪp/	To throw so as to turn over.
listener noun	/ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/	Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast.
oven noun	/ˈʌ.vn̩/	A chamber used for baking or heating.
uncomfortable adjective	/ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/	Not comfortable; causing discomfort.
grumpy adjective	/ˈɡɹʌmpi/	Dissatisfied and irritable.
icebreaker noun	/ˈaɪsˌbɹeɪkəɹ/	A ship designed to break through ice so that it, or other ships coming behind, can navigate on frozen seas.
sympathize verb		To have, show or express sympathy; to be affected by feelings similar to those of another, in consequence of knowing the person to be thus affected
breaker noun	/ˈbɹeɪkɚ/	Something that breaks (something else).
chunk noun	/t͡ʃʌŋk/	A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone.
supermarket noun	/ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/	A large self-service store that sells groceries and, usually, medications, household goods, and/or clothing.
imply verb	/ɪmˈplaɪ/	To have as a necessary consequence; to lead to (something) as a consequence.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come back verb		To return to a place.
cool down verb	/kuːl ˈdaʊn/	To become cooler; to be reduced in temperature.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
go out verb		To leave, especially a building.
take up verb		To pick up.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Are you aware that it's really hot out?
Have you experienced the temperature?
Have you been outside yet?
Where did you get it?
Are you managing okay in this heat?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	I've been standing
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	it's been · you've left · I've made
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	weather, which is · sun, which can

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 68 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shade /ʃeɪd/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/, surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/

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 shade, overheat, drain.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Improve English Speaking Skills: Real Conversations About Weather - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?