AEE 299: 4 Topics that You Should NEVER Discuss in a First English Conversation

Taking IELTS? Get our free IELTS video training   What's your English character? Today Josh Plotkin from Brazilian Gringo is going to show you how copying a celebrity and creating an English character can help you improve your English. You'll also learn how to learn more about the culture as well as the language when you try to become fluent in English. If you want to get fluent in a language you have to think about the people with whom you'll be using the language.   Come back to our site for more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Juli 201422min

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July! Yay! Today you’ll learn how to respond to a typical Fourth of July invitation and you’ll find out what most Americans usually do on the Fourth of July. What is special about July 4, 1776? It was the day that we signed the Declaration of Independence to become independent from Great Britain.   What do Americans usually do? Barbecues: It’s common to have a barbecue all summer but especially on the 4th of July. The beach: Even in Boston we have beaches. Fireworks: Every US city has fireworks. Find out where they’re showing them and invite your friends. Bring a blanket and choose a specific meeting place to meet up with your friends. Go to a parade: This usually happens during the day Special menus or events at restaurants or bars Camping and hiking: It’s a great opportunity to take a 3-day weekend this year because the Fourth of July is on a Friday.   Come back to our site for more information Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 Juli 201410min

Taking IELTS? Get our free IELTS video training now Today you’ll learn about 3 mistakes that you are making that might be killing your connections with native English speakers before they even start! In this episode you will hear a role play where there is a misunderstanding when it comes to scheduling a time to practice English online. Here are some mistakes that you are making when you try to meet Americans online:   Come back to our site to learn more   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 Juli 201411min

Today you’ll hear a conversation between the co-hosts where Lindsay tries politely escape the boredom of looking at her co-host's vacation photos. Learn how to politely end a boring conversation in English today!   Here are some phrases that you should NOT use: “Ok bye.” “See you later.” ” I have to go to the bathroom.”   Here are some phrases to get out of the conversation: “Ya know what? I really gotta get going.” “I’d love to hear more but I gotta run.” “I have to be somewhere.” “It was great talking to you but I want to talk to someone else over there.”   Talk to us in the comments! Have you tried to use these phrases? Did you successfully get out of the conversation? Tell us what happened! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1 Juli 201412min

Taking IELTS? Get our free IELTS video training course Do you have to make presentations in English sometimes? Do you know how to start your presentation in English? Today you’ll find out 3 awesome tips from our guest Carl Kwan! Carl has been on our show a few times this year! He is a presentation expert and he told us why it’s important to know your audience when you present and how to end your English presentation. Today he’s here to show you how to get your presentation started!   3 Ways to Start your Presentation in English: Start with a surprising fact: After you state the interesting or surprising fact, tell people what they should do with it. This gets their attention and this makes it easy for you to show them what they are going to learn. This is a more effective way to start than saying your name or “thanks for coming to my presentation.” Use a story: Talk about what you were doing at a specific time when you thought about your presentation topic. For example, “Recently I was having a conversation with a friend when she told me about a really interesting method she is using to learn English.” With this strategy you should use a time reference. Talk about a situation and the action that was going on at the time. Use the word “when.” Using “when” is a good way to introduce the topic that you are about to talk about. This will get your audience interested. Use a question to talk about a problem and your solution: Start by asking “have you ever…?” Then say, “well, here’s…” Here is an example from Carl: “Have you ever wondered how you can use CNN to learn English? Well here’s a 5-step process for using CNN to learn English.” To do this you have to know your audience and your question has to speak to them.   Carl Kwan is a presentations, video and marketing consultant with an MBA who also has over 10 years experience as an ESL teacher. Carl was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada at age 3. Like many immigrants, his parents always struggled with English. This eventually led him to pursue teaching English to help people like his mom and dad. Since 2009 he has produced presentations videos. Currently, his YouTube Channel has more than 120 videos on presentations.   Carl lives in Seoul, South Korea with his wife and son. He offers presentations workshops and consulting, he produces live and animated videos for business owners and works as a professional voice actor and radio personality. He believes that everyone deserves a chance at success. To learn more about Carl, please visit his website at www.carlkwan.com, check out his videos on YouTube or connect with him on LinkedIn. Here is Carl’s most recent website: Carl’s English And check out his photos on Instagram at instagram.com/thecarlkwan.  Have you tried any of these techniques? How did it work? Let us know! Do you feel confident when you present in English? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 Juni 201422min

Go here to read the full episode summary Ten years ago Michelle moved to New York City. In this episode you get to hear about the four lessons she learned about life from her move. Learn how to be resilient in your life in a new country and a new city even when you don't know anyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Juni 201416min

Do you ever feel frustrated because you can’t travel to an English-speaking country to learn English? Today we have Ana Luiza from Ingles Online. She is going to offer you three tips to make it work from home.   3 Ways to Learn English from Home: Don’t only read, start with audio: Don’t invest too much time in just reading if you don’t know the sounds of English. It’s common for people to start with just reading but they don’t use the audio to go with what they are reading. These students end up having strange pronunciation because they use the sounds of their native language. If you do this, it will be a huge waste of time. Listen to things that you understand: Start with English audio that you understand but can’t use quite yet. Don’t focus your time on English that you don’t understand. Once you understand something once, you need to see it again and again and review it. You need to see it used in different contexts and see it being used by different people. It takes time to acquire the language. It’s a process. Don’t jump ahead and skip over words that you think you already know. Start small: If you are busy and don’t have a lot of time consume English in small chunks. Fifteen minutes a day is great. Take small steps. Listen to English while you are doing something else like cooking. Ana Luiza has shown us that it is possible to get better at English even if you can’t travel to an English-speaking country. Go get started with some of these tips and techniques today!   Ana Luiza’s Bio: Ana Luiza Bergamini is the founder of http://www.inglesonline.com.br, a website that teaches English to Portuguese speakers with a focus on comprehension and speaking, and features weekly tips and a podcast, and a multimedia course of basic English. Ana has taught English for over ten years and she now lives in London, UK.   Talk to us in the comments! Have you tried using any of these tips? How did they work? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

25 Juni 201419min

Taking IELTS? Get our free IELTS video training now What can you say in English to make people like you? Today you're going learn a few phrases, questions, and vocabulary words that you can use in any conversation to make people enjoy your company more.   Phrases to make people like you: "How about you?": This is better in the middle of a conversation. People want to talk about themselves and share their opinion on a topic so give them a chance to do it. This shows that you are interested in the person and that's why they'll find you interesting. Use the person's name: This shows that you care enough to remember the person's name. Use their name to show that you care. Try to insert their name at the beginning or the end of a conversation. Don't be afraid to ask for their name again if you forget it. Do NOT use "sir" or "ma'am" in the US: This is too formal in the Northeastern United States or on the West Coast (Boston, NY, Portland, Washington State). It can also make you sound submissive or like you are putting yourself below the person. "You're welcome" instead of "no problem": When you say "no problem" you are saying that what you just did for that person was easy and it didn't mean anything to you. "You're welcome" doesn't make a judgment about what you have done for the person. It's simple and polite. "What would you like me to do?": This allows the person to be direct if they are trying to hint at something and it gives you a chance to help someone.     Have you tried any of these phrases? If so, how did it go? Do you know another phrase that will make you more likeable? Let us know in the comments section!     Source: Inc Magazine 19 Words That Will Make People Like You More Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Juni 201414min