Shadowing Practice: My Morning Routine: English Vocabulary Lesson - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Welcome to my American home where you are invited to learn real daily life English about your morning routine while I show you my morning routine.
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Welcome to my American home where you are invited to learn real daily life English about your morning routine while I show you my morning routine.
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Come on!
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First things first, we have to turn on the oven.
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I have turned on the oven already so that my pan can preheat.
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It has to get warm before I put the eggs on or else the eggs are gonna stick.
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Nobody likes that.
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So now that the pan is slightly warm, a little bit preheated, I'm going to pour in some olive oil.
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And we're going to make some scrambled eggs this morning.
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This is something that I make quite often.
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Usually I'm making it for five people, not just me.
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So this is a treat.
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I'm only going to crack two eggs today.
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These are eggs from my chickens.
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And the fun thing is, depending on the color of the egg, sometimes I know which chicken laid the egg.
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Now this egg, I'm not sure because it's just a brown color, but this egg is a light green color and I know who laid it.
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All right, let's crack the eggs into the pan.
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I'm going to use my spatula a bit to get everything, the oil kind of evenly on the bottom of the pan.
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Sometimes one way that I test to see if the pan is hot enough is just kind of move the oil.
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If it slides smoothly, then we're ready.
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All right, I'm going to crack my eggs.
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And let's get one more.
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I'm going to scramble these.
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So I don't really care if the yolks break, but I did it perfectly.
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They didn't break anyway.
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Hooray.
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All right, I'm going to scramble these, and while I do a quick scramble, I'm going to do part two of my morning routine, which is my favorite part.
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Just a moment.
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All right, let's set these for just a minute.
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It is tea.
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I am always excited to drink tea in the morning.
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There's already some water in this electric tea kettle, so I'm just going to push start, let that go.
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And I am going to put some bread in our toaster so that I can have bread with my eggs.
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This is something that I really like to have together, especially with a little jam.
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The little bit of sweetness with the bread is great with eggs.
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I love it.
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So I'm going to put this in the toaster.
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this bread is really big.
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I don't think I need that whole thing this morning.
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So I'm just going to break it in half, put it in the toaster and wait for it to toast.
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Do you know what this is called?
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This is a bread tie.
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It's pretty cool because you can use that word tie in a lot of different ways.
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This is a bread tie, but I often wear my hair in a hair tie.
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Same idea.
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You're pulling it back, pulling it back.
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While we're letting these eggs scramble, I'm going to put some seasoning in here, some salt, just a pinch of salt.
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my kids really like to do this for me they love to crack the eggs and put the seasoning in but sometimes with salt
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they put too much in so we have to be a little bit careful some garlic powder this is kind of a cheat right and now I'm going to grate some cheese this is a giant block of cheddar cheese.
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And I don't always add this, but I think it adds just another level of flavor.
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And I like to add it while it's still in the pan.
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So I'm grating the cheese.
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Notice that when I say this word, grading, there's a T in it, but we're going to make it sound like a D,
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grading, grading the cheese because in American English we love for T's surrounded by vowels to sound like a D sound.
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Alright I'm gonna let this just sit here for a moment.
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Some people like scrambled eggs to be very runny, but I don't.
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I like them when they're a little more cooked.
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All right, so we have the salt, we have the cheese, the toast is going.
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I hear the water is boiling.
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I'm going to get my plate ready, my fork ready, and I want to tell you that if you are new here, welcome.
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I am Vanessa from
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speakenglishwithvanessa.com and I have been teaching real life English here on my YouTube channel for over the past 10 years and now there are more than 7 million of you,
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I can't believe it, 7 million of you watching me in real daily life situations.
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Every single week for my free YouTube lessons I create a free PDF worksheet for you.
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This worksheet today, here you can see it, it includes all of the vocabulary that has appeared on the screen here, real daily life vocabulary.
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And also it includes two bonuses.
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There is a vocabulary quiz, test yourself, see if you can really use these yourself.
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And there is a listening version of today's lesson.
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This is like a little podcast episode.
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You can practice listening to real life English, see if you can understand fast English, and you can download it.
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So you can use these two bonuses in the free PDF worksheet.
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All you have to do is click on the link in the description, enter your name and email address.
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I'm going to put this on my plate.
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Enter your name and email address and voila, just like that, the free PDF worksheet plus the two bonuses will land in your email inbox.
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This is my gift to you.
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All right, I just heard our toast pop.
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That is the lovely word that we use when the toast comes out of the toaster.
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The toast pops.
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Has it popped yet?
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Yes, it has popped.
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All right, I am going to now scrape all the little bits and pieces off of the bottom of the pan so that they don't burn.
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push this to the side and now it is time our tea is done too.
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Now it is time to put some butter and jam on the bread.
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I forgot a butter knife so I'm going to grab that.
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I'm back.
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This is called a butter knife.
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Can you guess why?
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Because we use it to put butter on but you can use it for other things as well.
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It just means a knife that's not sharp.
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So this is the kind of knife that I would put at the table if we needed to cut something soft during dinner,
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or I use it to spread things like this.
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I'm spreading the butter.
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You can see here, I'm spreading the butter on, and now I'm going to spread the jam on.
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This has been one of my family's favorite jams recently, wild blueberry jam.
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Oh, it's so good.
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It's a little bit tart and sweet at the same time.
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I usually like to get jams that aren't just pure sugar.
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Fruit is already so sweet.
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So I like to have jam that actually tastes like fruit, not just sugar, right?
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All right.
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We got the jam on the toast.
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We have the eggs that are ready.
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And now it is time for my favorite parts, tea.
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So I'm going to put my tea bag in my mug.
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This is my favorite mug.
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I use it every day.
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It says best mom ever.
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And it has ginkgo leaves on it.
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I love it.
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My kids gave this to me for Mother's Day many years ago.
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And it has not broken yet.
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I'm so glad someday when it breaks, because I know it will someday, due to the nature of using something every day that's breakable with kids, I will put something growing in it.
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I'll put some soil and some flowers will grow out of it or some herbs, something.
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I will still use this even when it breaks someday.
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All right, so we have our very hot boiling water.
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I'm going to pour the water from the tea kettle into the mug.
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I sometimes use loose leaf tea, but usually I use loose leaf tea just for green tea in the afternoons.
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For black tea, for everyday use, I just use tea bags.
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They don't belong in this container, but my friend from England gave me this container full of tea, oh, I don't know, 15 years ago.
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And I have continued to use this container because I think it's so pretty.
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So I just put my tea bags into this.
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I feel like it's the simple things, right?
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Enjoying opening the container, putting your tea bag into the mug that you love, pouring the egg, cracking the eggs into the pan and not breaking them.
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It's the small things in life.
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All right.
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I'm going to let this steep for a few minutes.
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And while, after I let it steep, I'm going to pour some milk into the tea.
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Maybe you make tea in a different way.
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This is how I make tea.
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Not saying it's the correct way, but while we're waiting, normally I would sit at the table, but while we're waiting, I'm going to try my eggs, take my hair off of it.
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and see how they are
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hmm light fluffy slightly garlicky now you might be thinking vanessa why would you put garlic powder with jam don't ask just try it so sometimes what my family likes to do is we like to put the eggs
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on the toast and then kind of like a sandwich eat it like this Mmm.
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Mmm.
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So good.
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Every time that I have jam with eggs, I just feel like this is the perfect combo.
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Sometimes, usually it's my husband who makes breakfast for our family, and sometimes he puts just butter on the toast, and I think, why wouldn't you put jam?
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So usually I put jam on it too, because jam is the perfect touch for eggs, I think.
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Don't put it on the eggs, put it on your toast.
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All right, we're going to see how this is doing.
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Oh, it's very hot.
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Pretty good.
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I like to leave it in there a little bit longer just to get it slightly stronger.
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We often use the word strong to talk about drinks.
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Strong coffee, strong alcohol, strong tea.
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You wouldn't really use it for water or juice or milk, but these types of things that can have a gradation of strength.
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Weak tea.
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Nobody wants to have weak tea.
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Nobody wants to have weak coffee.
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Everyone wants strong tea, right?
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Strong coffee.
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I do not put sugar in my tea on a regular basis.
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I just like it pure with milk.
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If I have chai, so a more seasoned spiced tea.
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I do like to put a little bit of honey in it, but on a regular basis I just have it with milk.
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And this is the morning routine.
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All right, I'm going to pause for a moment, let this steep, and I'll get back to you and show you pouring in the milk.
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Actually, while we are waiting for my tea to steep, I want to tell you about a couple other morning routine breakfast drink type of words.
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I made scrambled eggs.
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I just mixed them together, but there are a couple other types of popular ways to make eggs.
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You could make fried eggs.
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Some people call this eggs over easy.
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Some people call this eggs sunny side up, and it's where you don't mix them.
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Or you could make an omelet.
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I liked making omelets when I was in high school.
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I made a beautiful big omelet mixed the eggs before putting them in the pan.
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And then I put a lot of toppings and then I folded it over.
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I put different types of maybe ham or turkey or spinach, sometimes broccoli, cheese, and then folded it over and ate that.
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Man, let me tell you what, that is the breakfast of champions, as they say.
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I had great energy, great nutrients ready for high school.
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That was a long time ago.
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Also, I want to tell you about bread.
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So this is just bread.
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It's baked, you know, it's this is sourdough bread.
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But when you put it in the toaster, what does it become?
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It becomes toast.
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So this is not toast, but this is toast because it is crispy.
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It has been in the toaster for a bit.
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It's not burnt.
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It's just toasted.
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So we can use the we're toasted to talk about other things as well.
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You might put some, uh, something in the oven, like some almonds.
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You could toast almonds.
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You can toast bread.
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You could toast other things, I guess.
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Um, and this pan, I wanted to talk about this pan for a moment.
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It's pretty hot, so I'm not gonna pick it up for you.
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Actually, I will, I will sacrifice.
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I'll use this.
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This is a little hand towel so that I can not burn myself.
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This pan is called a skillet, but you can also call it a frying pan.
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You might call it a specific word like a cast iron skillet, something like that.
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Mine has eggs all stuck to the bottom.
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But what I'm going to do is I'll pour some water in here and soak it and the eggs will just come right off.
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I'll do that later once it cools down a bit.
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and this guy, I mentioned this word earlier.
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This is a spatula.
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Make sure that the middle of this word has a nice ch sound.
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Spatula.
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Spatula.
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This is a spatula.
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You might call it something else.
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If I can think of any other words, I'll put them up here, but I call this a spatula.
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I would only use this for flipping things.
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When I make pancakes, I use this.
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When I make eggs, I use this when I'm, yeah, usually just for eggs in the morning.
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This is our egg spatula.
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In the U.S., usually we keep our eggs in the fridge, but because we have chickens, we don't have to refrigerate our eggs.
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And that's the word that I would use, refrigerate our eggs.
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They don't need to be refrigerated.
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Notice at the end of this word,
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two the t becomes a d refrigerated these do not need to be refrigerated because they came right
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from the chickens outside but when you buy eggs in the u.s you will find them in the refrigerated section and you have to keep them in your fridge okay i think my tea is probably ready.
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I'm going to take out my tea bag and pour in some milk.
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It's a nice dark, rich brown color.
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And I'm going to pour in a little bit of milk.
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I love watching it plumes of milk coming up.
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and I will stir it a bit.
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I might put a little dash of milk in a little bit more.
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All right, this is piping hot right now.
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I cannot drink it.
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I'm going to need for it to cool down a bit, but I will take my tea, take my breakfast and go sit at the table, eat this in some peace and quiet.
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I hope you have a wonderful morning routine.
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I hope that these words are helpful to you.
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And don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet for this morning routine daily life vocabulary lesson.
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In the PDF worksheet, don't forget you will find the vocabulary quiz to test you to see if you can really use these words yourself.
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And you will find the listening version of this lesson.
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That way you can see if you can understand fast, natural conversations.
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This is a great test.
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So all you have to do is click on the link in the description, enter your name and email address, and voila, just like that, you will get this free PDF worksheet and bonuses in your email inbox.
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My gift to you.
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Well, thank you so much for learning English with me.
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I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.
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Bye.
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But wait, do you want more?
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I recommend watching this video next where you will be able to see how to talk about the laundry in English, including some items of clothing that maybe you've never heard of before, but you need to.
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I'll see you there.
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About This Lesson

This lesson focuses on enhancing your English vocabulary through the context of a daily morning routine. By watching and listening to the video, you will learn practical phrases related to cooking, preparing breakfast, and common household items. This real-life application of English will help you better understand native speakers and incorporate everyday vocabulary into your conversations. With the right practice, including a shadowing app or other shadowing techniques, you can significantly improve your fluency and comprehension.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Preheat - to heat an oven or pan before using it
  • Scrambled eggs - a dish made by mixing beaten eggs in a pan
  • Toasted - bread that has been heated until crisp and brown
  • Butter knife - a non-sharp knife used for spreading butter
  • Tea steep - allowing tea leaves or bags to soak in hot water to extract flavor
  • Garlic powder - a seasoning used to add flavor to dishes
  • Spatula - a kitchen tool used for flipping and serving food
  • Jam - a sweet spread made from fruit, often used on toast

Practice Tips

To maximize your learning experience, consider using a shadowing approach while watching this YouTube lesson. Shadowing involves mimicking the speech of the speaker, which can greatly improve your pronunciation and intonation. Here's how to do it effectively:

  • Start by watching the video without pausing and take notes on key phrases. This will help you get familiar with the context and rhythm of natural speech.
  • Next, use a shadowing app or the video controls to play segments of the video repeatedly. Focus on short sections, like the phrases about making scrambled eggs or preparing tea.
  • Try to mimic the speaker's tone and pacing. Notice how Vanessa speaks clearly but at a natural speed, making it ideal for practice.
  • After a few rounds of practice, test yourself by trying to repeat phrases without the video. This will help reinforce your memory and confidence.
  • Don’t hesitate to utilize shadowspeaks or similar methods for further practice in your IELTS speaking preparation, as comprehension and speaking fluency in real-life contexts are crucial for success.

By incorporating these strategies, you will not only enhance your vocabulary but also improve your overall confidence in speaking English.

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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