Shadowing Practice: The best English 261#English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Let's Talk in English on PTS Friends, welcome to Let's Talk in English on PTS.
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Get ready to learn something new with us today.
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I'm Andrea.
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And I'm Gabe.
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And today we have another great lesson for you about Christmas.
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Now, let's get started with some key words.
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The first word is wonderful.
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Wonderful.
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I am having a wonderful day.
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Church.
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Church.
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Sarah goes to church every Sunday.
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She likes to sing there.
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Close.
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Close.
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Stand close together, then you can all be in the photo.
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candle candle the lights don't work
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let's use some candles snow snow on a winter day Danny
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and Christine played in the snow pray pray
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when I'm happy or sad I pray
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and talk to Jesus well friends let's say these key
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words together again the first one is wonderful wonderful church church close
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Close.
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Candle.
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Candle.
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Snow.
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Snow.
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Pray.
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Pray.
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Okay, everybody.
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I think Eddie is ready.
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And Eddie, Andrea, are you ready?
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Yes, I am.
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Okay, everybody.
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Merry Christmas.
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That's right.
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Today is Christmas and we have a special Christmas mission.
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Yeah.
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Right?
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Yes, yes, yes.
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Can I give it?
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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All right.
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Here it is.
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Today's mission is what isn't Christmas about?
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What isn't Christmas about?
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Well, let's go and look into our wonderful lesson and find out the answer to this question.
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That was a great party.
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Yeah, I love Christmas.
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Me too.
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It's the most wonderful time of the year.
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Yes, it is.
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I have so many special memories about Christmas.
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Tell us about one of them.
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Well, every year there's a special Christmas Eve program at my church back home.
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That's nice.
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Yes, it's usually a beautiful service, but one year something happened.
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What happened?
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What happened?
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What happened, Gabe?
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Andrea, we don't know.
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Something happened, but we'll find out soon.
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But do you know what we can do right now?
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Maybe teach a keyword?
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Yeah, that's right.
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We got two keywords here, friends.
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Here friends, the first one we're going to look at is wonderful.
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Say it again, wonderful.
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Wonderful means great or really good, excellent.
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If something is wonderful, then it gives you a good feeling.
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It's wonderful.
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Max says that Christmas is the most wonderful time of year.
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That means it is the best time of year.
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So he's talking about the most wonderful time of the year, but many things can be wonderful, right?
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Maybe you saw a movie that you thought was wonderful, Or maybe you went to a concert and the music was wonderful.
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Or when you have a really good day, you can say, oh, what a wonderful day.
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What a wonderful day.
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Well, we have another wonderful keyword here, everybody.
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The keyword is church.
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Say it again.
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Church.
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A church is where Christians go to get together, especially on Sundays.
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They go to a church.
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And what do you do at a church?
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Well, you meet people, you listen to someone share, you sing songs at church.
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Church is a place to celebrate peace and joy.
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You can go to the church.
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that means you are going to the church building.
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But if you say, I am going to church, that means I am going to meet with other people at the church.
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What happened?
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Well, one of the ladies at church got too close to the candles.
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I remember that.
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It was Mrs. Chen.
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Her hair caught on fire.
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Right.
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She wore hats for a month after that.
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Oh, no. What is one of your Christmas memories, Simon?
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I remember my first white Christmas.
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I love getting snow on Christmas.
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Well, friends, we find out what happened in this conversation.
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Gabe, you are standing very close to me.
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I am?
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I'm too close to you?
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Well, a little too close, yes.
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Oh, well, I guess I shouldn't be this close.
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I'll go a little further away.
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Well, that's nice, Gabe.
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We're still close to each other.
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This is just a bit more comfortable.
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Okay, good.
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All right, now, Gabe, what happened at Renee's church?
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Well, one of the ladies got too close to the candles.
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That's not a good thing.
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No, that's not.
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But we do see some key words here.
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That is a good thing.
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The first one is close.
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Close.
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Now, if you are standing close to something, that means you are near it.
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You are not far away.
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Don't get too close to the fire, otherwise you might get burned.
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We also use this word with the word together.
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Something is close together.
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That means it is very close with something else.
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Two things are close together.
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And of course, you don't want to get too close to candles.
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We found out what can happen in our conversation.
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Our key word is candle.
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Candle.
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A candle is something that you use to make light.
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When it's dark outside, you can light a candle to see where you are going.
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And you just said light a candle.
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That's what you do with a candle.
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You light it.
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That means you add fire to the candle.
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Here's another way to use this word.
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How many candles are on your cake?
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That's another way of asking, how old are you?
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And we see lots of candles around Christmas time.
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People use candles to decorate.
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You might also see snow at Christmas time.
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Our key word is snow.
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Snow.
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Now snow is white and cold and it falls from the sky when it's very cold outside.
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Andrea, I got some snow for you.
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Oh!
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Oh no. Oh Gabe.
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It's not snow anymore, it's just water.
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Oh, well, that's what happens when snow gets too warm.
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Yeah, sorry.
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Well, thank you for the water.
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Snow.
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Snow?
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Yeah.
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The day was great.
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My family sang songs and prayed together.
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Then you opened your presents?
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Yes, and then my brother and I had a snowball fight.
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What a fun day.
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So, what presents did you get?
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You know, I can't remember.
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Isn't that interesting?
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That just shows us Christmas isn't about the presents.
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That's right.
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It's about the moments we've shared together.
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That's good.
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What does Kelly say Christmas is about?
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Kelly says that Christmas is about the moments you share together.
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Well, we also found the answer to our mission, which is what isn't Christmas about.
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What isn't Christmas about?
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Christmas isn't about the present.
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No, it's not.
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It's about the times that you share together.
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We also learned a little bit about what Simon did with his family.
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We find out that his family sang songs and they prayed together.
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Let's look at this key word, friends.
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Pray.
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Pray.
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Pray.
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When you pray, that means you talk to God or you talk with God.
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You pray.
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Yes, you pray.
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Now, how do you pray?
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Will you just talk to God like he is your friend?
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You can pray at church.
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You can pray at home.
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You can pray anywhere.
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And you can use this word like this.
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It has been very, very hot recently.
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So the farmers are all praying for rain.
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Karen and her family always pray together before they eat.
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When they pray, they thank God for the food.
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Inspector E.
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Hi, friends.
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It's Mrs. E here.
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Merry Christmas!
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This week, our friends celebrate Christmas.
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But Hugh wants to work.
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But he changes his mind later.
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Simon says something that we can all learn together.
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Let's look again.
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Even Hugh got into the Christmas spirit.
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Even Hugh got into the Christmas spirit.
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Even Hugh got into the Christmas spirit.
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Hugh got into the Christmas spirit.
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That means Hugh started to really enjoy Christmas.
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To get into something means to start liking it or becoming more interested in it.
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When you use to get into something, it means before you were not interested or you didn't really enjoy it.
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But now you enjoy it and you like it.
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Here is one example.
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Danny got into bike riding on weekends.
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That means Danny started to ride bikes on the weekends and he really likes it.
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Now I hope you are getting into English and really enjoying it.
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And I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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This is Mrs. E signing off.
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That was a great party.
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Yeah, I love Christmas.
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Me too.
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It's the most wonderful time of the year.
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Yes, it is.
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I have so many special memories about Christmas.
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Tell us about one of them.
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Well, every year there's a special Christmas Eve program at my church back home.
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That's nice.
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Yes, it's usually a beautiful service, but one year something happened.
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What happened?
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Well, one of the ladies at church got too close to the candles.
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I remember that.
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It was Mrs. Chen.
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Her hair caught on fire.
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Right.
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She wore hats for months after that.
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Oh, no. What is one of your Christmas...
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It's about
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the moment we've shared together.
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Calendar phrase.
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Merry Christmas, Andrea.
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Merry Christmas, Gabe.
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Merry Christmas, friends.
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That's right.
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Today's calendar phrase is Merry Christmas.
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Merry Christmas.
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Of course, this is a great phrase to know.
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These two words, Merry Christmas.
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It is Christmas today, right?
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It is.
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And the word merry means happy.
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When you say Merry Christmas, you're telling your friends and family you want them to enjoy this special holiday.
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So say that sometime today and let's learn more with today's skit.
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Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas!
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Thanks, Stan.
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Where are you going?
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I'm going to my aunt's house for Christmas dinner.
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Where are you going?
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I'm going to my grandma's house.
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Okay.
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Well, Merry Christmas.
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Merry Christmas.
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Merry Christmas.
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Merry Christmas.
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Friends, now it's time for the question of the day.
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Hey, Eddie.
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Yes?
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Eddie, do you have a great Christmas question of the day for us?
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Yes, yes, yes, yes, I do.
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All right, the question of the day on this very wonderful Christmas day, what is your favorite memory during winter?
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Tell about it.
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What is your favorite memory during winter?
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Tell about it.
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Well, my favorite memory during winter is my winter wedding.
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Daniel and I got married on a day with lots of snow outside.
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And now when I think of winter, that's a special memory.
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Aww.
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That is a special memory, Andrea.
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I'm glad you were there too, Gabe.
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Yes, I was.
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Well, friends, thank you for joining us here today on Let's Talk in English on PTS, where Learning English can be fun.
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Merry Christmas.
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Merry Christmas.
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The presents.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Learning English with YouTube is a fantastic way to build real-world speaking skills, and this video is perfect for shadow speech practice! The casual, conversational tone between Andrea and Gabe mimics everyday interactions, making it easy to follow and replicate. Whether you’re prepping for IELTS speaking practice or just want to sound more natural, shadowing their dialogue helps you pick up rhythm, intonation, and common phrases. Plus, the Christmas theme adds fun context—who doesn’t love talking about holidays? You’ll feel confident using these words in your own conversations in no time!
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The video is packed with useful structures to master. Let’s break down a few:
- "I am having a wonderful day" uses the present continuous tense to describe an action happening right now. Notice how "having" shows temporary activity—great for talking about current experiences.
- "Let's use some candles" features the imperative "let's" to make suggestions. This is super common in friendly conversations, so practice saying it with warmth!
- "When I'm happy or sad, I pray" uses a time clause ("when I'm...") to connect two ideas. This structure helps you explain habits or reactions, which is key for IELTS speaking tasks.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Pay attention to these tricky words to avoid mispronunciation:
- "Wonderful" has a silent "l"—say "WUN-der-ful," not "WUN-der-ful" with a hard "l."
- "Church" ends with a "ch" sound, not "tch." Practice saying it sharply: "CHURCH."
- "Candle" has a short "a" sound—"CAN-dle," not "KAN-dle." Listen closely to how Andrea says it!
Shadow speak along with the video to nail these sounds. Repeat each line slowly, then speed up to match the speakers. You’ll be surprised how quickly your pronunciation improves!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've shared · has been |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most wonderful · the best |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might get · might also see |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | love getting · start liking |
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.