跟讀練習: English Small Talk: Start Conversations Easily - 通過影片學習英語口語

選擇練習模式

每種模式都會開啟全屏練習室。

341 句

如果句子過短或過長，請點選 Edit 進行調整。

How do you start a conversation in English?

Well, if you want to learn some natural English small talk so that you can start conversations easily,

you're in the right place.

Hello, this is Keith from the YouTube channel English Speaking Success, and I also run the website, The Keith Speaking Academy.

And I'm here.

Why am I here?

Oh yes, I'm here, well, not only to help you study English,

but also I really want to help you speak better English and become a better communicator in English.

Yes, that's what I would like to help you with today and the days coming.

And I think that's why small talk is important, right?

Because when we meet people, we often talk about unimportant things, what we call trivial things,

like the weather, And this is just a way to break the ice, or it's a conversation starter.

It's a way to get to know the person better sometimes.

Sometimes it's just a way of saying hello.

Sometimes it's just one sentence and then bye -bye.

Other times you want to get to know the person better

and find some common ground that you can talk about and discuss.

So I wonder, what do people in your country talk about

when you meet somebody or you meet a new person for the first time?

Let me know.

Leave me a comment down below.

So in this video, we're gonna be talking about three typical situations where you might use small talk,

the common topics that you might talk about, and I'll show you some natural,

easy to use phrases that you can be using and put into action well, right away.

Also, I have a bonus at the very end of the video because, you know, I think around the world,

by and large, people talk about the same things in small talk.

However, it does depend sometimes on the culture and the country.

There are certain topics that are more popular and there are certain topics which are taboo.

Taboo just means you shouldn't talk about them.

So the bonus is at the end of this video, I'm going to tell you some of the taboo topics for British people, right?

The things that you shouldn't say to British people when you're engaged in small talk.

And just before we move on, I'd like to say a big, big thank you to Cambly who are sponsoring this video.

If you don't know Cambly, it's an online platform where you can learn English with qualified native English speaking teachers.

Very practical, very easy to use, fantastic way to practice your English and become a better communicator.

I'm gonna tell you more about that later in the video.

Right now, let's get into that first situation where we may be using small talk.

Okay, so the first scenario, if you like, is parties and social events.

So maybe it's a birthday party or an office party, Christmas party, social events, you know, could be a wedding, could be a conference,

a networking event, that kind of situation where you're meeting people and you want to start conversations to get to know them better.

Now, there may be different things you can talk about.

And I think you can talk about location, about food, about people, about travel and hobbies,

to name a few, probably others.

But let's have a look at each of these in turn.

So first of all, the first one, when you're kind of wanting to break the ice,

the location can be a good thing to talk about location can be either where you are now or where you're from.

So for example, I mean, if you're at a conference, for example, have you been here before?

It's a classic sentence, right?

A classic question.

And also, what brings you here today?

Which is nicer than why did you come here today?

Which sounds a bit, why did you come here today?

Sounds a bit strong.

What brings you here today?

It's much softer and politer.

And of course you can ask about where people are from.

So where are you from?

Where are you from?

And just be careful with this one because sometimes people say, you know, I come from, well, for example, I come from China.

And the other person says, oh, right.

I met a woman once from China, a Mrs. Wang.

Maybe you know her?

It's like, come on, seriously?

And I think what happens is people are so eager to find this common ground and keep the conversation going.

They say rather silly things, right?

It's much better sometimes just to say, well, if you've never been there, right?

Well, oh, I've never been to China.

What's it like?

Absolutely.

And that's great because then you give them the opportunity to talk about where they're from.

People love talking about where they're from and their hometown.

Okay, location.

Next, food.

If you're at an event where they have put on some food

or they've given you some food or a dinner or a buffet or a finger buffet, of course you can say, how's the food here?

How's the food here?

Great.

Or even, it's a nice spread, isn't it?

It's a nice spread, isn't it?

A spread is a meal because you spread the food on the table.

That's a meal, typically like a buffet.

It's a nice spread, isn't it?

Isn't it is a very high level of English.

This, we call it a question tag.

It is a nice spread, isn't it?

is quite difficult to use.

And many learners of English find it very challenging to use naturally.

If you can, great, you'll show you've got a high level.

If not, you can just say, right.

It's a nice spread, right?

Next, people.

So you can talk about the other person or you can talk about yourself or about other people at the event, okay?

The first thing I always do when I introduce myself at parties is I keep it super simple.

Hello, I'm Keith.

And I say my name really slowly.

And that's it, because people are not going to remember.

I mean, you'll be lucky if they remember your name.

But some people go, hello, my name's Keith.

I'm an English teacher.

I'm from Manchester.

100

And at I'm living in Spain, and all the other person hears is and that's it,

101

that's all they get.

102

So keep it super simple.

103

Hello, I'm, right?

104

Now, if it's for example, Matthew's party or Matthew's wedding, you could say, so how do you know Matthew?

105

Nice question.

106

And then if you're digging deeper to get to know the person better, and what do you do?

107

Even deeper?

108

How did you get into that?

109

How did you get into that?

110

Meaning, how did you start that work or that job or that activity?

111

People love to tell their life story about how they started a business or how they started working in a certain field.

112

It's a great question.

113

How did you get into that?

114

And if things are going well and you're digging even deeper, right, you could say, and what are you working on at the moment?

115

What are you working on at the moment?

116

Notice the stress.

117

What are you working on at the moment?

118

Try.

119

Yeah, that's great.

120

And again, people love to tell you about the projects they're doing or what's keeping them busy at the moment.

121

It's a really nice way to dig deeper into the conversation.

122

Now, that's going quite deep.

123

You may at times want to switch and make things lighter, a bit more lighthearted, right?

124

So you You could talk about travel,

125

for example, and you could say, been anywhere nice recently? Been anywhere nice recently?

126

Great, good.

127

So been is been, it should be, have you been anywhere nice recently or lately?

128

But actually in natural spoken English, we drop the have you and just say been, been anywhere nice lately?

129

Been anywhere nice lately?

130

You'll see this more as we go through this video.

131

Or maybe you could talk about hobbies.

132

right?

133

And a nice question for this is, what do you get up to when you're not working?

134

What do you get up to when you're not working?

135

To get up to is to do something in a relaxed way, if you like, right?

136

Great question.

137

Not what is your hobby, which sounds a bit bookish and formal.

138

What do you get up to when you're not working?

139

Try it.

140

That's it.

141

Lovely.

142

So all of these topics can be great things to talk about when you're at a party or social event.

143

Right, the next situation is not quite as serious as the first one.

144

This is actually much more the kind of conversation where it's a hello, goodbye, right?

145

Very, very brief, small, really small talk.

146

So this may be when you bump into your neighbour.

147

Bump into means to meet by chance or by accident.

148

When you're maybe queuing in line or queuing in line, waiting in line or queuing, maybe at a shop, in the supermarket, at the bus stop.

149

We love queuing at the bus stops in England, honestly.

150

Maybe it's with a taxi driver or a shop assistant, just something very brief to be friendly, basically.

151

So the classic here is to talk about weather, right?

152

So you could say, nice day, isn't it?

153

Nice day, isn't it?

154

Remember the isn't it, you could just say, right, right?

155

Nice day, right?

156

And notice instead of saying, it's a nice day, we drop that and just say, nice day.

157

Nice day, right?

158

Nice day, right?

159

Lovely day, right?

160

Very simple, right?

161

Or if you're in England, looks like it's going to rain.

162

It looks like it's going to rain or drop the it, looks like it's going to rain.

163

Very simple.

164

Weather, classic, you can't go wrong with weather.

165

More generally, and a very easy question to ask, but can open up simple conversations.

166

How's everything?

167

How's everything?

168

How's everything?

169

Which is better than how are you?

170

Because how are you?

171

People just say, fine.

172

And that's it.

173

How's everything?

174

Maybe you're asking about the business, if they're a shop assistant, or if it's a neighbour, about things in their life,

175

and maybe they want help with something.

176

How's everything?

177

It's just going to open up a little bit more of the conversation, if you want to. So that's it.

178

That's Brief Encounters for really, really small talk.

179

Let's move on.

180

I would just like to take a moment to tell you more about Cambly, who are sponsoring this video.

181

Cambly is a fantastic online platform where you can find native English speaking teachers who can help you learn,

182

encourage you, correct you, give you feedback and really help you become a better communicator in English.

183

It's great because you can choose your own teacher.

184

You have the one -on -one classes.

185

You get to choose when you want to do the class and how often.

186

You can choose the content or the teacher can help you with that.

187

And you can also go back and watch the recording of the class so you can review what you've done,

188

which is so important to your learning.

189

Cambly offers lots of different plans.

190

You can choose the one that's flexible for you.

191

And also because you're following me, Cambly have some special discounts for you.

192

First of all, if you want to check it out as a first -time user,

193

you can get a 15 -minute free lesson to find out if it's right for you and what you really want.

194

Then if you go for a 12 -month plan, and that's really where you can start to become an effective and better communicator in English,

195

you can get a 40 % discount off any of the 12 -month plans.

196

40 % think about it.

197

It's a really good investment, great opportunity.

198

If it's what you're looking for, you can go and check out the link below.

199

So click on there, find out more about it.

200

Use the code there, newkeith, N -E -W -K -E -I -T -H.

201

And you can go and see what it's like.

202

If it's right for you, go and check it out.

203

You will absolutely love it, I'm sure.

204

Right now, let's get back into some small talk and how to start conversations easily.

205

Now, the final situation is actually for people that you already know.

206

So this could be friends, colleagues, classmates, and I call this at the water cooler because traditionally that's the kind of the,

207

it's where you go for water.

208

It's where you gather around, chat, have a chit chat, bit of small talk, killing time maybe,

209

but it could be down the pub or at the coffee bar.

210

And sometimes you're not sure how to start a conversation or you're not sure what to talk about.

211

And well, these phrases, tried and tested, guaranteed to work.

212

They're very easy, easy to use.

213

Try them out.

214

So first one is this one.

215

seen any good films lately?

216

Notice instead of have you, you can just say seen any good films lately?

217

Notice the intonation.

218

Seen any good films lately?

219

Try.

220

Great.

221

And that is great because most people watch films

222

and would love to tell you about a film that was great

223

and they recommend or a film that was terrible and they don't want you to watch.

224

Similarly, you could say, read any good books lately?

225

Or been to any good gigs lately?

226

Been to any good gigs lately?

227

A gig is just a concert, right?

228

Have you been to any good concerts lately?

229

Been to any good gigs lately?

230

So you can see that formula.

231

You can use it for magazines, books, concerts, TV series, all of that kind of stuff, okay?

232

Next, talking about the weekends, classic, dead easy to do.

233

What did you get up to at the weekend?

234

What did you get up to at the weekend?

235

Remember, get up to is when you do something in a relaxed way normally.

236

So that's a nice way to ask about what they did at the weekend

237

You could also ask about the future

238

Got any plans for the weekend?

239

Got any plans for the weekend?

240

Notice I'm dropping have you got any plans for the weekend?

241

Great, the weekends are really easy to talk about for most people

242

Now, you could, again, you could focus the conversation on work or study.

243

And again, you could say very simply, what are you working on at the moment?

244

Or what are you studying at the moment?

245

Easy conversations.

246

People often like to tell you about the projects that they hate, but they have to do,

247

or the exciting project they're doing and they really want to tell you about and spread their passion about what they're doing.

248

It's a nice question to ask.

249

The final or third part of these questions is all about, I was going to say gossip.

250

It's not exactly gossip.

251

Let's call it news, news slash gossip.

252

And this is where, because people love to talk about gossip, right?

253

People love to talk about what other people are doing, new places, new things.

254

And there are lots of questions you can ask here.

255

For example, have you been to that new Spanish bar, right?

256

Or even, you can drop the have you, been to that new Spanish bar yet?

257

Been to that new Spanish bar yet?

258

Have you met the new sales manager yet?

259

Have you seen the new product we're launching?

260

So all of these questions about have you been, have you seen, have you met, have you heard, Have you read the new policy about,

261

all of these are great questions because they're talking about recent news, recent events, finding out or exchanging your opinions about it.

262

And it's kind of touching on gossip almost.

263

I don't really like gossip, but it's a very, very easy conversation starter, right?

264

Let's call it news slash gossip.

265

So lots of things you can ask about.

266

Great, let's move on.

267

Right, and as promised, here's that bonus, all about those taboo topics, the things you shouldn't say to British people.

268

Now...

269

To be clear, right, this is when you don't know the people at all.

270

I think these are the kind of topics and phrases you wouldn't ask or say when you're meeting complete strangers, right?

271

It's just not safe.

272

Of course, as you get to know people and you know them better, you could start asking these questions.

273

But let's assume this is for people you don't know.

274

The first kind of taboo topic or delicate topic is family, interestingly, right?

275

Because you may think that's, you can ask about family, about, you know, are you married?

276

Do you have any children?

277

What does your wife do?

278

And probably 30 years ago, these would be innocent questions.

279

But I think in today's climate, in Britain, they can be delicate with strangers, right?

280

So for example, are you married?

281

but what if that person has just got divorced or they've had an engagement that has failed?

282

And you may be touching on a delicate topic.

283

Likewise, well, what does your wife do?

284

But maybe they've just lost their job.

285

They've been laid off.

286

They're unemployed.

287

And again, that's a really delicate topic you probably don't want to touch.

288

And again, what does your wife do? asking me, but maybe a man is married to a man

289

and they have a husband and they could feel a bit uncomfortable if you assume that they're automatically married to a woman.

290

So these are things that can be delicate, I think, with complete strangers.

291

I would steer away from, move away from this topic until you get to know them better.

292

I think otherwise it can be a minefield

293

Another topic is age, right?

294

Generally, we don't talk about age.

295

Women more so, but men also possibly.

296

So the question, how old are you?

297

Probably not appropriate, right?

298

And another one around work and salary.

299

In Britain, we tend not to talk about money too much.

300

We're not very comfortable talking about money.

301

So you certainly would not ask, how much do you earn?

302

Which is an interesting question.

303

I've been asked that question in a few occasions when I've traveled around the world and it's always shocked me.

304

And I feel really uncomfortable talking about it.

305

So be aware that in the UK, you may make people uncomfortable if you ask them, how much do you earn exactly?

306

Okay.

307

Another couple of topics that I would stay away from are politics and religion, right? politics.

308

Sometimes you're tempted to say, oh, I can't believe what your president did the other day.

309

And maybe you are shocked by what the president of that country did.

310

But you don't know if the other person maybe is a big advocate of their president and they love their president.

311

And by you could easily offend their culture, their country, their sense of nationalism, if you attack their president.

312

And likewise in religion.

313

Again, I've had several occasions on my travels where people have said, hello, my name's Tom.

314

Do you believe in God?

315

Well, that for me is a very personal question and one that I'm happy to discuss with people I know very well.

316

But with somebody I don't know, I would find that inappropriate.

317

So these are some taboo topics and questions, especially in Great Britain.

318

That's it.

319

Fantastic.

320

You've done a great job today with your practice.

321

So we've been looking at small talk, looking at parties and social events.

322

Then we talked about neighbours and queuing and taxi drivers and also small talk at the water cooler with your friends, colleagues or classmates.

323

And finally, of course, we were looking at taboos, kind of questions that you shouldn't ask if you're in the UK.

324

I hope all of this has been useful.

325

I hope it's helping you not only to learn English, but to become an English speaker.

326

I'd love for you to change your mindset from being a student to becoming an English speaker

327

and becoming a much more effective communicator in English.

328

And I think understanding areas of small talk is a small but important step in that direction.

329

Do remember, subscribe and turn on notifications to find out about upcoming videos from me.

330

Do remember to go and check out Cambly if you really want to become.

331

an effective communicator in English, go and find a teacher on Cambly, qualified native English speaking teachers who can really help you.

332

There are lots of different plans, but you can check out a 15 minute lesson for free.

333

Or if you go for any of the 12 month plans, you'll get 40 % discount.

334

Amazing.

335

Go and check it out.

336

It's well worth trying.

337

Go down below and click on the links to find out more.

338

In the meantime, keep practicing, stay safe, and I will see you just around the corner in the next video.

339

Thank you for spending this time with me, my friend.

340

See you very soon.

341

Bye -bye.

下載應用

流利口語所需的一切

AI 發音評分逐句打分

音標練習掌握每個音

詞彙學習建立你的詞庫

詞彙遊戲邊玩邊學

掃碼

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

同頻道

FOR YOU

本課的詞彙與口語要點

這節口語課以影片“English Small Talk: Start Conversations Easily”為素材。影片中反覆出現的詞有：English, topic, conversation。這段影片共有 341 個句子、3552 個單詞可供跟讀。講話部分時長為 25:36。說話人語速平穩，每分鐘約 139 個詞，很適合跟讀。 89% 的單詞屬於英語最常用的 3,000 詞，詞彙容易理解。全部 341 個句子中有 106 個是問句，適合練習疑問語調和簡短回答。

影片中的重點詞彙

影片中 15 個值得學習的單詞，附發音和釋義：

單詞	發音	釋義
topic 名詞	/ˈtɑpɪk/	主題 /主題, 話題 /話題
gossip 名詞	/ˈɡɑsɪp/	閒話 /閒話, 山海經 /山海經
delicate 形容詞	/ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/	微妙, 纖巧 /纖巧
queue 名詞	/kju/	佇列 /佇列
bonus 名詞	/ˈbəʊ.nəs/	額外收獲 /額外收穫
discount 名詞	/ˈdɪskaʊnt/	折扣
phrase 名詞	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	短語 /短語, 片語 /片語
stranger 名詞	/ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒɚ/	陌生人
uncomfortable 形容詞	/ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/	不舒服
gig 名詞	/ɡɪɡ/	演出, 音樂會 /音樂會
hobby 名詞	/ˈhɑ.bi/	愛好 /愛好, 嗜好
neighbour 名詞	/ˈneɪbɚ/	鄰居 /鄰居, 比鄰 /比鄰
buffet 名詞	/bəˈfeɪ/	餐具櫃 /餐具櫃
earn 動詞	/ɝn/	掙 /掙, 賺 /賺
meal 名詞	/ˈmiːl/	餐, 飯 /飯

影片中出現的短語動詞

單詞	釋義
get up to 動詞	幹 /幹, 做
find out 動詞	找出, 查明
check out 動詞	退房
go back 動詞	回去, 返回
go down 動詞	下降, 下去
go through 動詞	通過 /通過

值得反覆跟讀的句子

影片中簡短而完整的句子，可以直接用在日常對話裡：

What brings you here today?
How did you get into that?
What are you working on at the moment?
What do you get up to when you're not working?
Have you seen the new product we're launching?

影片中的語法

說話人最常用的結構，並附上影片中的原話：

結構	影片中的用法
現在完成時 have/has + 過去分詞 — 過去發生但與現在仍有關聯的事	you've never been · I've never been · have put
被動語態 be + 過去分詞 — 強調發生了什麼，而不是誰做的	They've been laid · I've been asked · are shocked
定語從句 who / which + 從句 — 補充說明人或事物	topics which are · teachers who can
用 “might / may” 表可能 might/may + 動詞 — 有可能但不確定的事	might use · might talk · may be

需要注意的發音

說話人用了 94 次縮略和弱讀形式，例如 you're, I'm, they're。請按聽到的簡短形式來說。

“sh” 和 “zh” 音: shock /ʃɔk/, occasion /əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
長單詞——注意重音位置: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, similarly /ˈsɪm.ə.lə.li/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, inappropriate /ˌɪnəˈpɹoʊpɹi.ət/

中文母語者容易讀錯的音：

/v/ — 不要讀成 /w/，上齒輕觸下唇: divorce /dɪˈvɔːs/, advocate /ˈæd.və.kət/, trivial /ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/
詞尾子音 — 要讀清楚，後面不要加母音: topic /ˈtɑpɪk/, gossip /ˈɡɑsɪp/, delicate /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/, bonus /ˈbəʊ.nəs/, discount /ˈdɪskaʊnt/
/r/ 和 /l/ 的區別: relax /ɹɪˈlæks/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, practical /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/, formal /ˈfɔɹməl/, salary /ˈsæləɹi/

如何用這段影片練習

先完整聽一遍影片，不要開口，記下不認識的單詞。
用正常速度逐句跟讀，每句重複到你的節奏與說話人一致為止。
錄下自己的聲音並與原聲對比，特別注意 topic, gossip, delicate 這類單詞。

什麼是跟讀法？

跟讀法 (Shadowing) 是一種有科學依據的語言學習技巧，最初開發用於專業口譯員的培訓，並由多語言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。這個方法簡單而強大：您在聽英語母語原聲的同時立即大聲重複——就像是一個延遲1-2秒緊跟說話者的影子。與被動聽力或語法練習不同，跟讀法強迫您的大腦和口腔肌肉同時處理並模模擬實的講話模式。研究表明它能顯著提高發音準確性，語調，節奏，連讀，聽力理解和口語流利度——使其成為雅思口語備考和真實英語交流最有效的方法之一。

影子跟讀法: 閱讀完整分步指南 →

跟讀練習: English Small Talk: Start Conversations Easily - 通過影片學習英語口語

選擇練習模式

下載應用

Are you responsible?

Travel English: Getting Directions (A1 Beginners)

English at the Airport | Easy English Conversation for Beginners

English Travel Vocabulary: Beginners A1

Don t Give Up

Improve Your Spoken English in Just 15 Minutes

How to Understand Native English Speakers: Advanced Listening Skills

IELTS Speaking Part 2: Band 9 TEMPLATES - #2. PEOPLE

3 Simple Steps to Become Fluent in English

IELTS Speaking: How to Introduce Yourself - Tips and Tricks

Don't Waste Your Time Learning English Like This

How Squeezed Pronunciation Can Help You Sound More English

Fluency in 10 Minutes a Day

10 Advanced Phrasal Verbs to Understand Native English Speakers

IELTS Speaking Band 7: Five Tips

How to go from B1 to C2 without the pain!

How to talk about CLIMATE CHANGE in English

How to Answer Any IELTS Question Fluently

Linking Words to Get Fluent in English

How to Learn English: A1 Beginners

Small Talk | Useful Phrases & Questions for Everyday Conversation

Video

Natural Small Talk Everyone Gets Wrong #englishmistakes #conversationtips #speakingpractice

Day 2: Speak English in 30 Days | 100 Most Common English Words Used in Daily Life

How Small Talk Can Improve Your English Speaking | Mr English Podcast Ep. 45

3 Phrases To Keep A Conversation Going #communicationskills

50 Small Talk Questions with the Answers. Practice English Conversation

How to Talk to Anyone in English with Confidence with These Small Talk Phrases

Learn 75 English Phrases You'll Actually Use in Real Life | Slow English (A2-B1)

Real Life English Conversations to Sound More Natural | Podcast to Learn English!

English in Daily Life - Learn to Talk About Yourself in English | Easy English for Real Life!

Talk About Holidays & Traditions in English (B1-B2) | Cultural Differences, Sequence & Comparison

本課的詞彙與口語要點

影片中的重點詞彙

影片中出現的短語動詞

值得反覆跟讀的句子

影片中的語法

需要注意的發音

如何用這段影片練習

什麼是跟讀法？