Shadowing Practice: What Americans Do Every Day | English Conversation for Beginners - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi friends, welcome back to Daily English Talk.
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Hey everyone, I'm Tom and this is Lily and we are your English learning friends.
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And if this is your first time here, we are so glad you found us.
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Please write your English level in the comments.
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We are talking about a day in an American life.
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Like, what do real people actually do from morning to night?
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Right.
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Not the movies, not the TV shows.
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Real life.
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Coffee, commutes, lunch breaks, all of it.
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And we have so many natural, everyday phrases for you today.
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The kind of English you actually need.
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So, grab your notebook, get comfortable, and let's do this together.
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But first, we have a question for you.
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Ooh, yes.
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So, later in this episode, Tom is going to tell us a story about something very funny that happened to him during his lunch break at work.
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Oh no, are we really doing this?
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We are absolutely doing this.
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So here is the question for you.
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Great.
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Just great.
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What do you think happened to Tom at lunch?
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Did he forget his food at home?
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Did he spill something?
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Or did he order the wrong thing completely?
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It's worse than all of those options.
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Ooh!
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Okay, so comment below, You were right.
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Okay, Tom, let's start from the very beginning of a typical American day.
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What time do most people wake up?
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Oh, people wake up early, like 6 or 6 :30 in the morning.
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Yeah, Americans love an early morning.
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Well, love is a strong word.
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More like they have no choice.
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Okay, fair.
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So, you wake up, what's the very first thing most people do?
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Grab their phone and check it for like 15 minutes.
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Yes, that is too real.
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you grab a coffee.
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Oh, coffee is very serious in America.
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Very serious.
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Some people make coffee at home, some people stop at a coffee shop on the way to work, but almost everyone has coffee in the morning.
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And then what?
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You head to work?
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Exactly, you head to work.
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Some people drive, some people take the subway or the bus, some people work from home now, which is very common.
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Oh yes, working from home became really popular in recent years.
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walk to your home office.
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Or your kitchen table.
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Or your couch, let's be honest.
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So then you work through the morning, and around noon or 12 o 'clock, you take a lunch break.
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Yes, lunch break.
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And this is where your story happens, right, Tom?
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Yeah, we'll get there.
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We'll definitely get there.
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After work, usually around 5 or 6 p .m., people go home and then they do things like cook dinner, hang out with family, watch TV, or go to the gym.
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And on weekdays, most people go to bed around 10 or 11 p .m.
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hang out, go to bed.
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Simple, busy, and very, very caffeinated.
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Perfect description!
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Okay, let's talk about something important in today's conversation.
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Did you notice we used a lot of verbs together, like "grab coffee" or "head to work"?
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Yes, these are called verb + noun combinations, or we can call them collocations.
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A collocation is when two words go together naturally in English.
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Native speakers always use these combinations.
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They sound very natural.
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For example, we don't usually say "take a coffee" in the morning.
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We say "grab a coffee." And we don't say "go to work" only.
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We also say "head to work." Both are correct, but "head to" sounds more casual and natural.
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Another example, we hang out with friends, not spend time with in casual conversation, just hang out.
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So today, we are going to teach you the most important daily routine collocations.
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These are phrases that real Americans use every single day.
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Learn these and your English will sound so much more natural.
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Ready?
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Let's go.
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Okay, phrase number one: wake up.
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Wake up.
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This means to stop sleeping and open your eyes.
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Very simple, very important.
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I wake up at 6 :30 every morning, but honestly, I hit the snooze button like three times first.
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Oh yes, the snooze button.
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That is a very American habit.
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culture.
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Now let's practice.
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Repeat after me.
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Wake up.
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I wake up at 6 :30.
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I wake up early every morning.
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Great job!
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Phrase number two.
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Grab a coffee.
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Grab a coffee.
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Grab means to quickly take something.
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So grab a coffee means to quickly get a coffee.
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I always grab a coffee before I do anything in the morning.
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It's like my brain doesn't turn on until that first sip.
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Same.
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I actually went to work once without my coffee and I forgot my own name for like the first hour.
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I'm only slightly exaggerating.
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Repeat after me.
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Grab a coffee.
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I grab a coffee every morning.
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I grabbed a coffee on the way to work.
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Excellent!
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Phrase number three, head to work.
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Head to work.
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Head to means to go somewhere.
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It's a casual, natural way to say go to.
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You can also say, "I'm heading out." That means I'm leaving now.
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Every morning I head to work at 8 :15.
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I try to leave by 8, but it never happens.
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Never?
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Never.
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There's always one more thing I forgot to do.
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Repeat after me.
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Head to work.
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I head to work at 8.
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She heads to work by bus.
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Perfect.
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Phrase number four.
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Get stuck in traffic.
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Oh, this one.
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I know this one too well.
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Get stuck in traffic means your car cannot move because there are too many other cars on the road.
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In big American cities like Los Angeles or New York, traffic is very, very bad.
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People can sit in traffic for one hour, sometimes two hours, just to get to work.
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That sounds so exhausting.
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It is.
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I got stuck in traffic for 90 minutes minutes once and I just sat there listening to the same song on repeat. Which song?
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I'm not telling you.
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It was embarrassing.
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Repeat after me.
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Get stuck in traffic.
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I got stuck in traffic this morning.
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She gets stuck in traffic every day.
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Well done.
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Phrase number five: Take a lunch break.
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Take a lunch break.
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A break is a short time when you stop working.
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So a lunch break is when you stop working to eat lunch.
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And this is where my story happens.
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Yes, Tom, tell us.
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Okay, so, one day I decided to take a lunch break at this nice restaurant near my office.
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I ordered a big bowl of soup.
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And then I was very carefully walking back to my table, and I...
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I tripped.
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And the soup went everywhere.
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On my shirt, on my pants, on the floor.
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Tom!
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And the worst part, the absolute worst part, I had a very important meeting at 1 p .m with my boss and his boss.
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No!
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What did you do?
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I went to the clothes store next door and bought the only shirt they had in my size.
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It had a picture of a large, smiling frog on the front.
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You wore a frog shirt to a meeting with your boss's boss.
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I did.
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And you know what?
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Nobody said anything.
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I think they were too confused.
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That is the best story!
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Repeat after me.
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Take a lunch break.
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I take a lunch break at noon.
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He took a lunch break and spilled his soup.
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And maybe don't order soup.
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Phrase number six: get off work.
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Oh, my favorite phrase: get off work.
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This means to finish your workday.
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I get off work at 5.
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That means my workday ends at 5 :00 p .m.
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That feeling when you get off work on a Friday, there's nothing better.
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Absolute freedom.
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Ha ha ha.
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Repeat after me.
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Get off work.
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I get off work at 5.
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What time do you get off work?
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Amazing.
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Phrase number seven, hang out.
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Hang out.
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This means to spend time with people in a relaxed, casual way, not formal, just fun time together.
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You hang out with friends.
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You hang out at home.
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You hang out at a coffee shop.
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After work, a lot of Americans hang out with friends for a little while before going home.
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Maybe they grab a drink or go for a walk or just sit and talk.
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Americans work hard, but they also really value their social time.
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Hanging out with people is really important.
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Repeat after me.
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Hang out.
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I hang out with my friends after work.
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Do you want to hang out this weekend?
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Great.
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And our last phrase, phrase number eight: "Call it a night." Oh, I love this one: "Call it a night." This means to decide to stop doing something
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and go home or go to sleep.
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You might say, "I'm exhausted.
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Let's call it a night." It's like saying, "Okay, we are done for today.
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Let's go to bed." After a long American day of waking up early, grabbing coffee, heading to work,
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maybe getting break, hopefully without the soup disaster, getting off work and hanging out with friends.
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You call it a night.
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Sounds exhausting when you list it all like that.
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It does, but it's also a full, good life.
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Repeat after me.
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Call it a night.
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It's late, let's call it a night.
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I called it a night at 10 p .m.
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Well done.
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Okay, let's do a quick review of everything we learned today.
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Today's topic, A Day in an American Life, and here are the eight phrases we practiced.
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Number one, wake up to stop sleeping.
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Number two, grab a coffee to quickly get a coffee.
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Number three, head to work, to go to work.
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Number four, get stuck in traffic, when your car can't move because of too many cars.
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Number five, take a lunch break to stop working to eat lunch.
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Number 6: Get off work to finish your workday.
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Number seven, hang out, to spend relaxed, fun time with people.
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And number eight, call it a night, to stop and go to sleep.
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These are eight phrases that real Americans use every single day.
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Now you can use them too.
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And now, one more time, let's say all eight phrases together fast.
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Wake up, grab a coffee, head to work, get stuck in traffic.
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Take a lunch break carefully.
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Get off work.
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Hang out.
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Call it a night.
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You just described a full American day in eight phrases.
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How amazing is that?
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You are learning so fast.
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Seriously, we are so proud of you.
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Every phrase you learn brings you one step closer to speaking English naturally.
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Keep going!
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Okay, now here is your comment challenge for today.
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Describe your typical day using at least three of these phrases.
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Write it in the comments below.
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We read every single one.
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For example, you could write, "I wake up at 7, I grab a coffee, and I head to school." Or maybe,
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"I get off work at 6, and then I hang out with my family." Use your own day.
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Use your own words.
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There is no wrong answer.
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And if you want to say, "Yes, I will do the challenge," just comment,
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"Yes, I will." every single time.
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Seriously, every comment means so much to us.
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Thank you for being part of this community.
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And if today's lesson helped you, please share it with one friend who is also learning English.
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One share can change someone's learning journey.
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You are not learning alone.
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We are here with you every single day.
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Okay, before we go, remember our question from the beginning?
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Oh yes, the soup.
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the answer.
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Tom spilled an entire bowl of soup on himself right before an important meeting, and showed up wearing a crab shirt.
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A smiling crab.
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Very professional.
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If you guessed he spilled something, you were absolutely right.
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And if you guessed crab shirt, I don't know how you knew that, but respect.
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Respect!
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And if you are watching this for the subscribe button and turn on notifications so you never miss one.
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Every day is a new word, a new phrase, a new step forward.
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That's what daily English talk is all about.
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We believe in you, every single one of you watching right now.
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You are doing something amazing by choosing to learn every day.
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Seriously, not everyone tries, but you are here and that makes all the difference.
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So keep We will see you tomorrow for another brand new lesson.
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Same time, same place, right here on Daily English Talk.
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Until then, take care of yourselves.
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Bye for now.
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See you tomorrow.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
This engaging video titled "What Americans Do Every Day" is an excellent resource for learners looking to improve their English speaking skills. The context provided in the video reflects real-life situations that many Americans encounter daily, making it relevant to your learning journey. By practicing with this material, you will not only learn everyday vocabulary but also gain a better understanding of how to express daily routines in English.
Moreover, by incorporating the shadowing technique, where you mimic the speakers, you can greatly enhance your fluency and comprehension. This technique allows you to practice shadow speech, improving your English pronunciation and intonation in a natural and enjoyable way. Engaging with authentic dialogues helps build your confidence in speaking, which is crucial as you work towards fluency.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The conversation includes several useful expressions and grammar structures that can enhance your spoken English. Here are a few key items to focus on:
- Simple Present Tense: “Most people wake up early.” This structure is commonly used to describe routines and habits.
- Time Expressions: “Like 6 or 6:30 in the morning.” Using specific time references helps clarify your statements and gives a clear context.
- Common Conjunctions: Phrases like “some people” and “almost everyone” provide a great way to combine thoughts and broaden your sentence structures.
- Expressions of Preference: The phrase “Americans love an early morning” shows how to express personal preferences, which can be very useful in conversations.
By practicing these structures in your own dialogue, you will be better equipped to communicate effectively in English.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When practicing the material from the video, pay attention to common pronunciation challenges. For example:
- Words like “coffee:” Listen carefully to the "o" sound and practice it to enhance your clarity.
- The phrase “head to work:” Note how native speakers may blend these words together, making the pronunciation flow more naturally.
- “Working from home:” Focus on the smooth connection between “working” and “from,” as quick transitions are key in everyday speech.
By identifying and practicing these tricky pronunciations, learners can improve English pronunciation and gain the confidence to engage in conversations with native speakers. Be sure to use the shadow speak method as you listen to the speakers and try to imitate their rhythm and intonation for better retention.
Incorporating these elements from the video into your learning routine will significantly enhance your ability to learn English with YouTube and engage in more fluent conversations.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are called · are done |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | now, which is · friend who is |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | stop sleeping · stop working |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the most important · the worst · the best |
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.