Shadowing Practice: 2671 - Splash Into Summer Part 4: How’s Your Summer Going? - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello, Lindsay. How are you? Good, Aubrey. How's  it going on your end? How's everything? I'm great.

What have you been up to this summer, Lindsay? Oh  my gosh. I have been learning how to take care of my baby, my newborn baby. Um, hiking with him and  getting active out into the world. First baseball games, things like that. Amazing. Do you have um  like a baby born or whatever it's called? Some kind of carrier that you hold him in? Yes, we do.  So, we carry him everywhere. He goes everywhere.

I love that. I remember graduating from one that  where I held the baby on the front and then like a backpack when they're older they'd be in. So,  you're going to have to go through all of the different carriers stages. It'll be a Yep. Oh,  for sure. But I like the question you asked me, Aubrey. Uh this applies to all of our listeners  whether they have a baby or not. Um you said, "What have you been up to this summer?" What's  different about this question as opposed to asking, "Hey, what did you do this summer?"  or "What are you doing this summer?" Yeah, this is interesting. This assumes that you are  right where we are in the states, right toward the end of summer, but still in it. So, you  know, you're not going to ask them, of course, a question set in the future or as if the summer  is totally past. You're still in it, right? So, we use present perfect. We say, "What have you been  up to?" And we have a few questions today that are perfect for this time of year to ask someone what  they've been doing over the summer. Oh, yeah. So, we're using present perfect. Good. Yes. Yeah. And  this is interesting because this happens all the time. Anyone that you run into right now, if  you haven't seen them since the beginning of the summer, especially, this is the question to  ask, right? There are a lot of things that would, you know, that you wouldn't want to ask. Like,  this is the go-to. Like, ask what they've been doing this summer. Yeah. You might say, "How's  your summer going?" But then getting into more depth, like, "Okay, what have you been doing?"  Right? What have you been up to? Exactly. Um, what do you consider midsummer? Everyone has a  different opinion as to when midsummer is. Oh, it's different if you live in Arizona where I  live because it gets hot in April and May. So June feels like midsummer. June is mid summer for  you. August and September is like still height of summer, but then we're annoyed. I'm like, okay,  got it. Funny. What about you? What's midsummer in Colorado? I guess I have a more traditional  definition of summer. Memorial Day to Labor Day.

So I always thought Fourth of July was like the  dead of summer. Yeah, that makes sense in the States for sure. And this is interesting. I have  um a friend from Guatemala who was just mentioning that it's winter in Guatemala right now. Right.  So, this kind of depends on where you are in the world. But if you are in the States or somewhere  else where it's summer right now, right at the end of summer, you need these phrases. And if not,  put them in your pocket or you can say winter, right? How's your winter going? What have you  been up to this winter? How's your fall going?

Right? What have you been up to? We would say,  what have you been up to this fall? Yes. So much more common because I think people go on summer  vacation, right? And then they see their friends that they haven't seen in weeks and what have you  been up to this summer? A little a little bit more of a common question. Exactly. Yeah. So, this  is part four of our splash into summer series.

This has been really fun. We have shared tips on  connecting about summer activities, vacations, road trips, and in this final installment, we're  sharing these fun phrases to ask how someone's summer is going. And you can absolutely listen out  of order. So, if you missed the first three, stay to the end. We'll share where you can find those  and just stay on the episode so that you can get these fun phrases to spark up this conversation.  Perfect. I love it. So, first question, right?

How's your summer going? Right. Yes. And the  really important thing here is it's open-ended, right? It's a friendly open-ended way to ask about  someone's overall summer experience so far. So, for example, let's do a little mini role play. All  right. Um, hey, good to see you. How's your summer going? Pretty well. We've been spending a lot of  time at the lake. Oh, fun. Which lake do you go to? There you go. So, now we have the beginning of  a great connection, a great conversation. Exactly.

It's always going to open from there. It's going  to build. You'll have something fun to ask about.

Yeah. This episode reminds me of just being a  kid and being off on summer vacation, you know?

Yes. The best. Again, you don't have to be off on  summer vacation and a kid to use these phrases.

It just reminds me of that, you know. Yeah. Right.  summer. You can't help but remember being free as a kid. But let's do another little role play here.  Um, start us out on this one. Let's see. Hey, how's your summer going so far? Busy. We've taken  a few short trips and we leave again next week.

Oh, fun. Where are you going next week? Nice. So,  notice for both of these, it's so interesting how if you're only thinking about what you're going to  say next, or maybe you're thinking about what you can share about yourself, it would be really easy  to immediately turn it to you and be like, "Oh, I've been busy, too." and share something.  But notice for both of these role plays, instead we're opening it up. We're asking  follow-up questions, and that's what's going to build the connection more, right? Whatever  they say they've been doing. Ask for details. Ask for more information. Yeah. Really important here.  Such a connection moment. But it really depends on how you answer those questions. What is the next  question you ask? Is it about you or is it about them? Right. Exactly. Yeah. And our next question  here is what I asked you. What have you been up to this summer? And this is fun. Up to is just  this like much more positive spin on what have you been up to. It It assumes something fun could  be shared. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Looking for, you know, maybe they've taken a trip, done any  activities. So, let's do a role play. All right.

What have you been up to this summer? Well, I've  been hiking almost every weekend. Oh, that's awesome. Which hike was your favorite? Or for you,  I might say like, oh, are you taking the baby?

Right? So the more you know about them, the  more you can make it personal, right? If they have shared details, then you can ask about that.  And that's what builds the connection when you remember things, when you really care about the  details of their life. Exactly. And there's one more roleplay we have here. All right, I'll start  us off. So good to see you. What have you been up to this summer? Well, mostly visiting friends and  trying new restaurants. What about you? Nice. And this is interesting, too. You can answer of course  and then immediately ask them what about you like what's your answer for this? But I want to point  out something else here. Of course the next step is to build but we always want to make sure that  we are asking these open-ended questions. Right?

This is sort of a pro tip that it's not always  wise to ask have you taken any fun trips this summer for example because what happens if the  answer is no? The answer is no. It would be a real downer for connection, right? Exactly.  Because what if they haven't gone on a trip?

Then maybe they're too busy. Maybe they can't  afford it. They just have to say no. Then it's uncomfortable if they ask you and you have all  these fun trips to talk about. So that's why these open-ended questions are so important.  Let's do a little example of what that might look like if you if you do it wrong, right? Have  you taken any fun trips this summer, Lindsay? Oh, no. I've just been slammed with work. What about  you? Oh yeah, we just got back from California. It was so fun. Now I made it awkward. Just Yeah.  The energy just went out of our conversation completely. Exactly. So, it's much better to ask  these open-ended questions. How's your summer going? What have you been up to this summer?  Yes. Love that idea. So important for connection, Aubrey. Yes. Hey, quick question. Do you want to  feel more confident when you speak English? If so, we made a free guide for you. It'll help you avoid  those common mistakes and start speaking more naturally in real conversations. Go grab it in the  description below. And if this is helpful for you, make sure that you like and subscribe. We are here  five times a week to help you connect in English.

Right. So, we're back and let's go for a role  play, shall we? Yes, we are neighbors here and we run into each other at the grocery store. And  though we're neighbors, I'm pretty sure this cuz I was thinking you're especially going to ask  this if you haven't seen them for a few weeks, right? If I saw you last week, I might not  say, "How's your summer going?" Yeah, that'd be a little weird. It's more if you haven't seen  someone in a little while, so you know they've been doing some living this summer that you could  ask about, right? So, we haven't seen each other in a few weeks. Yes. Here we go. Hey, Aubrey,  how's your summer going? Really well. We've been spending a lot of time at one of the community  pools, the one by Highland High School. Oh, nice. I heard that one is really fun. It is. They  have a lazy river and two big slides. My kids love it. What about you? What have you been up to this  summer? Well, we haven't done too much outside to be honest. It's just so hot. Last week we went  to an event downtown though. That was fun. Oh, that's awesome. What event? Nice. Sounds like  a very typical conversation between neighbors, right? Yes. Right. But it's interesting because  there's a lot of connection skills going on here, right? Like we mentioned, open-ended questions so  that they are going to have some kind of answer.

Even if they haven't been able to go on any trips,  they've done something that they can share. Right.

Like this mom talking about a community pool  she's taking her kids to, they might not have gone on any trips, but she can share that they're  going to the pool. Exactly. So, it's all about Yeah. Not wanting You don't Yeah. It's so much  better because you'll learn more about people, too, right? You don't want to ask these specific  questions where it's just one answer. What else can you learn about the person? Right. By asking  open-ended questions. Exactly. And then allow it to go deeper like this. Ask follow-up questions,  right? Like here we had I first said, "How's your summer going?" Or you said, "How's your summer  going?" And then I'm saying, "Well, spending all this time at the pool." And you built on that,  right? Oh, I heard that one's really fun. Because you could immediately turn it back to yourself,  but you're going a little deeper, asking for details, sharing that you heard the pool is fun.  That's how we're building this connection because it feel it would make me feel like you really  care about what I've been up to. Absolutely.

Really good stuff. So, we do have another episode,  Aubrey. This is part three for our listeners to go back to the previous uh episode in this series.  Yes. This was on Saturday, August 15th. Splash into summer part three. And that was four games  for any road trip. So, if you missed that one, scroll up and you can also catch part one and  part two. This series was so fun with conversation strategies, phrases, everything you need to know  to have fun conversations this summer. All right.

Are you planning on taking any big road trips this  summer, Aubrey? I know gas prices are a little high in the US right now. No, gas prices are  terrible. We are going to Rocky Point next week and then I always drive up to Idaho, but I am kind  of dreading the gas bill. It's going to be ugly.

But nothing like summer road trips. They are the  best. So ask people, build connection by asking people what they're excited about. A lot of people  love summertime, so connect over it. Absolutely.

Yes. Use these phrases, ask somebody, and yeah,  connect in English this summer. Thanks for joining me, Lindsay. So fun. All right. Thank you,  Aubrey. I'll talk to you soon. Take care. Bye.