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  • Vanessa: Hi!

  • I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.

  • Let's have a real English conversation.

  • Today I have something super special to share with you.

  • I'm going to share with you a real conversation that I had with a local yoga instructor here

  • in my city.

  • She also teaches yoga on YouTube, so you can check out the link to her channel in the description.

  • Here you're going to meet Gayle.

  • Vanessa: Gayle teaches yoga, and she talks about her journey, getting into yoga, and

  • just what it means to her life.

  • I'm sure you also have hobbies and passions and interests, so it's a good way to hear

  • how she talks about it, and to try to imitate that style of speaking, because we all want

  • to talk about our passions and share them with other people.

  • Vanessa: Throughout the conversation you're going to see little subtitles pop up.

  • These are for vocabulary expressions, phrasal verbs, and also some special pronunciation.

  • After the conversation with Gayle, you're going to also have a vocabulary lesson today.

  • Wow!

  • You're going to see my husband, Dan, and I explain these vocabulary expressions in detail.

  • This is a really great way to engrain them in your memory, and I know a lot of you have

  • difficulties with remembering words after you've learned them.

  • So, hearing them in the conversation with Gayle is a good first step, but it's also

  • great to hear us talk about it later, give examples, make it more vivid in your mind.

  • Vanessa: So, you're going to watch that vocabulary lesson, and then you're going to watch a phrasal

  • verb lesson.

  • This grammar lesson is super helpful for helping you sound like a native speaker, because we

  • use phrasal verbs all the time.

  • Vanessa: Finally, we're going to practice some in-depth pronunciation so that you can

  • speak exactly the way that Gayle and I did in our conversation.

  • Are you ready to hear a real English conversation?

  • If you enjoy this lesson today I hope that you can join the Fearless Fluency Club, which

  • is my monthly course.

  • You'll get information and lessons like this every month.

  • This is just a short clip from it.

  • About half of the material, or actually less than half, maybe a third of the material,

  • but you'll get an even longer lesson sent every month when you join the course.

  • Vanessa: Alright!

  • Let's meet Gayle and learn real English.

  • Vanessa: Hi, everyone!

  • I'm here today with Gayle.

  • Gayle: Hi.

  • Vanessa: We're going to talk about yoga and all of your experience with that, and really

  • anything that comes up along the way.

  • Gayle: Sounds great.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, can we start at the very beginning?

  • When did you first start with yoga?

  • Then we'll go on to what's happening now.

  • Gayle: Well, that's interesting.

  • I was living in New York City at the time, pursuing a career as a professional freelance

  • photographer.

  • Vanessa: Oh!

  • Quite different from yoga.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • Although, you know, everything kind of ... It's a lot about your vision and being mindful

  • and exploring.

  • And so, they kind of weave together in some ways.

  • Vanessa: I could see that.

  • Gayle: But anyway!

  • I just dabbled in it.

  • One thing that I always remember, and, I think, one of the funniest things, is my first class

  • when the teacher said, "Pay attention to your breath.

  • Like, focus on your breath."

  • I thought, "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

  • Like, I'm here to move and do some cool poses.

  • Like, why would I think about my breath?

  • I'm breathing."

  • Right!

  • So, let's get to the good stuff.

  • You know?

  • Gayle: Then as I progressed in my yoga, I just realized like, breath is everything.

  • Breath is so key.

  • So, now I focus on that, or I try to focus on that, more than anything.

  • It's really a powerful healing mechanism.

  • Yeah.

  • We do it all the time.

  • It's part of our sympathetic nervous system, so we'll breathe.

  • I mean, if we tried to stop breathing we'd pass out and then we'd breathe again.

  • Vanessa: Your body wants to breathe.

  • Gayle: Right.

  • But still, there's ways of like, breathing more fully, breathing more mindfully, that

  • can, you know, help your overall health.

  • Vanessa: That's funny that at the beginning you thought, "What is she talking about?"

  • Gayle: I thought it was ridiculous.

  • Vanessa: Especially if you've never heard that kind of phrasing before.

  • Gayle: Yeah!

  • Vanessa: Everyone breathes.

  • I feel like, for me, whenever they talk about breathing in yoga class, I realize, "Oh, I

  • have been breathing all this time, all day, and haven't been thinking about it."

  • Then when you start to think about it maybe it's just that physical element, but I kind

  • of ... It clears my mind a little bit.

  • Once you focus on breathing it's not hypnotic, but I almost feel like I'm in the zone or

  • like, when you're thinking about your breath you can focus more on what's going on, at

  • least for me.

  • Gayle: No.

  • That's totally it.

  • Here's the thing.

  • Yoga is about union, and the union of opposites complementing each other.

  • So, the breath is composed of two opposites, right?

  • The exhale and the exhale, and it's kind of got an ebb and flow.

  • So, like, if you sit by the ocean or by a waterfall when you have that kind of constant

  • repeating noise, it really relaxes you.

  • So, when you turn into your breath, it's kind of the same thing.

  • Gayle: A lot of the times when you pay attention to your breath, you might realize that your

  • inhale is stronger than your exhale.

  • What we're really trying to do is balance the breath, because the inhale is more energetic

  • and the exhale is more relaxing and soothing.

  • So, if you're like, feeling stressed out or anything like that, if you just take moment,

  • focus on the breath, and really letting that exhale draw out, it's amazing how much it

  • can calm you.

  • Gayle: You're like, totally right on there.

  • Vanessa: This seems like a simple thing, but it could do a lot.

  • Gayle: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: So, I'm curious what happened after that.

  • First, you were at class, you thought, "What in the world is she talking about?

  • Breath?

  • Okay."

  • Did you just go in full force after that, or was there just a slow progression?

  • Because you've been doing yoga for ... Gayle: A long time.

  • Vanessa: A long time.

  • Gayle: It was like ... I dabbled.

  • You know, when I was in New York City I dabbled.

  • Like, sometimes I would go to class, but I never completely committed like I did later

  • on.

  • So, I dabbled in New York, and then I moved from New York to Bryson City, North Carolina

  • and got into white water paddling.

  • Gayle: So, occasionally ... I knew how to do sun salutations and occasionally I would

  • do some yoga.

  • I was teaching kayaking at that point, also white water kayaking.

  • So, occasionally I'd lead people through a little bit of yoga but not that often.

  • But then when I left Bryson City and moved to Asheville, that's when I really committed,

  • and I found a class I liked.

  • It was just like, Tuesday night, that's what I was doing.

  • Yoga.

  • Gayle: I did that class religiously for two years.

  • Vanessa: Oh!

  • That's dedication.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • Then the yoga teacher started offering yoga teacher trainings.

  • So, I thought, "Oh, I'll do that.

  • You know, I don't know if I want to teach but, you know, I'll just ... Why not?"

  • I wanted to learn more.

  • Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Gayle: And so, that helped to grow it more.

  • So, I got to the point where instead of like, waiting for what the teacher was going to

  • say, I could do my own poses.

  • Vanessa: You had that confidence to just branch out yourself.

  • Gayle: And so, then after that I stopped going to yoga classes because I'm like, "I want

  • to breathe how I want to breathe.

  • And I want to take as long in a pose as I want to take, and not just be dictated to

  • all the time."

  • I learned a lot of poses, I understood them more.

  • So, I started more of my own practice.

  • Gayle: But then, unfortunately, I got this tech job where I was sitting at a desk, and

  • I was sitting, and sitting, and sitting.

  • I had never sat so much in my whole life.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Gayle: Oh!

  • I knew it was.

  • But I just thought, "I've got to do this."

  • Vanessa: Sure.

  • Gayle: But it did take a toll on me, and actually, I had a habit, which I wasn't even aware of,

  • but I would lean on my left elbow, put my chin, and stare at the screen, and then, you

  • know, use the mouse here.

  • I had meanwhile, had kind of lapsed in my yoga, hadn't really done yoga in a while.

  • Like, a while.

  • Gayle: Then I went to a yoga class, and I couldn't reach my arms, lying down to the

  • floor.

  • I couldn't do dolphin pose, and I was like, "What's up with my shoulders?"

  • My left shoulder had lost all this range of motion from doing this thing.

  • Sitting like that for hours at a time.

  • Vanessa: That can make a big difference.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • Vanessa: That's just an unconscious movement that you're making.

  • Gayle: Right.

  • I thought, "What happened?

  • I didn't fall on my shoulder.

  • Like, why would it be like this?"

  • As soon as I thought, "I'll observe myself," which is one of the things that yoga teaches

  • you, also, is to observe yourself and to get to know yourself better, even though you think,

  • "Well, of course I know myself.

  • I'm myself."

  • Vanessa: I know I'm breathing all the time!

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • So, as soon as I saw that, I knew that's what it was because I was rounding forward, stretching

  • this, weakening this.

  • And so, it took me like, a year to rehab.

  • But it was yoga that kind of showed me, and that's what yoga will do.

  • It'll show you your limitations.

  • It can show you where you're injured.

  • It can show you like, the good stuff and the bad stuff, essentially.

  • Gayle: Then it's up to you to pay more attention, to deal with it, and to not be ... not like,

  • get too wound up in self criticism.

  • You know, because you realize like, "Well, I'm not very strong or I'm really limited."

  • Yeah.

  • Exactly.

  • So, that was like, a whole journey.

  • Then I decided to teach yoga.

  • Vanessa: Oh!

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • Then I really got into it, and I started off teaching in businesses around Asheville, did

  • that for a while.

  • Vanessa: So, the businesses would just hire a yoga teacher to come in and like, teach

  • their employees?

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • I mean ... Vanessa: That's amazing.

  • Gayle: All businesses should do that.

  • Bring yoga to your business.

  • Vanessa: That's a great idea.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • So, I had a couple places like Volvo and Liberty Bikes, and, you know, a couple other offices

  • that would bring me in.

  • A lot of times the company would pay.

  • Sometimes the people would pay.

  • So, that was good.

  • But then that kind of dried up a little bit.

  • And so, then I got into teaching more public classes, and teaching privates.

  • Gayle: That's what I really like, is teaching privates.

  • Because it was one on one.

  • I could focus on that person and what they need.

  • It's interesting.

  • In a class people are trying to cue to the common issue, but there's other people that

  • are going to get ignored.

  • If they don't understand like, how to pay attention to their body, the cues might not

  • even be the best cues for them.

  • Vanessa: Like, what the teacher is suggesting.

  • Gayle: Yes.

  • And as I've gone through the years it's like, things that I thought or was taught years

  • ago, I'm questioning now.

  • I'm realizing that things are changing.

  • 20 years ago people didn't think fascia was important.

  • Like, when they would cut up a cadaver it's just like, "Get this wrapping paper out of

  • the way."

  • You know?

  • Now it's like, we realize the fascia is this big connected network that connects everything

  • in our body.

  • Gayle: So, even though our muscles have points of origin and insertion, really the whole

  • muscle's connected via the fascia to all like, our whole body.

  • So, if I like, pulled on my shirt, you know, this hole ... There's going to be a whole

  • thread that's going to feel that tug.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • It's all connected in some way.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • That brings us back to yoga is about connection.

  • So, in a way, the last pose that you almost always do in a yoga practice is called [shavasana

  • 00:11:05].

  • It literally translates to corpse pose.

  • So, in a way, it's like practicing our own death and letting go, because death is the

  • ultimate letting go.

  • Just can we let go, and can you relax in savasana?

  • For some people it's the hardest pose.

  • Gayle: They just want to jump up and run and start doing things again.

  • You know, their mind is so busy.

  • But can you relax your mind, relax your body, and the two are very connected, so that when

  • your body's relaxed it is easier to relax your mind.

  • If you've been focusing on your breath the whole time doing your yoga practice, you will

  • feel more centered, because you haven't been thinking about all the other stuff that's

  • driving you crazy.

  • Right?

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • Gayle: So, you know, it's like, a whole really interesting system.

  • Then you can come into the whole thing of what is yoga.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • What is yoga?

  • Gayle: You know, is it just mindfulness?

  • Mindful action?

  • Being aware of your thoughts?

  • You know, they say your thoughts become words, and your words become actions, and your actions

  • becomes your life.

  • We oftentimes, you know, myself, very much so.

  • You think about all this negativity and don't realize like, that has a lot of implications

  • down the road.

  • Vanessa: I think that's been pretty proven that your thoughts have a physical effect

  • on your life, whether it's just your mental health or your body's physical health.

  • Gayle: Right.

  • Vanessa: Like, what you think is really important, and if yoga can help you to kind of calm down

  • those anxious thoughts or whatever else is going on, that's great.

  • It's also good exercise, but it works for your mind.

  • That's really awesome.

  • Gayle: Right.

  • We just, you know ... There's different types of yoga, different styles, and some yoga can

  • be more rigorous, vigorous.

  • Some is more relaxing.

  • But I think we need to balance it, because yoga's also about balance.

  • How do we balance opposite actions, opposite energies?

  • Like, the breath, the inhale, the exhale.

  • There's a rising up, kind of an energizing on the inhale, then there's a relaxing, settling

  • down, connecting to the earth on the exhale.

  • Gayle: And so, in every yoga pose ... Like, the asanas, the poses, are really a way of

  • bringing things up for you, and noticing like, are you impatient?

  • Do you have a lot of negative self talk?

  • Are you distracted?

  • Are you just like, thinking, "I just want to get this done," but meanwhile you're thinking

  • about what you're going to eat after class.

  • Vanessa: Yep!

  • Gayle: But if you can be fully present in the moment, in this moment, then that's when

  • your mind starts to relax.

  • You do have that sense of ... At the end of yoga class, it's really interesting how people

  • will feel very relaxed, but also have energy.

  • But it's not that crazy kind of energy that just like, you know ...

  • Vanessa: It's not chaotic.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • It's like, really getting your nervous system all wound up.

  • It's a more like, you know, I'm ready for whatever life presents kind of energy, and

  • I have energy to do things, and I feel inspired.

  • Vanessa: That's the kind of energy you want.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • People think it's all about flexibility.

  • Well, it's about balance.

  • It's about building strength and flexibility, and trying to have the two be more or less

  • equal, so one isn't overpowering the other.

  • And also to have different muscle groups balanced, so, you know ... For example, oftentimes our

  • quads are really strong, but the hamstrings are weak.

  • That's like, really common.

  • Gayle: So, you know, a good practice, which takes some thought and takes some like, kind

  • of understanding what's going on, is to try and balance those two energies.

  • But the more ... That's why it's nice to have a home practice too, because you might discover

  • something in a yoga class that was brought up, and then you can practice on, you know,

  • practice that at home.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • Taking care of yourself in the way that you need to do, not just what the teacher has

  • prepared for the day, which is kind of like, learning English.

  • You know, maybe go to a class and the teacher says, "Hey, we're going to talk about this

  • today," but you want to learn that and other things.

  • You know, taking charge of your own education or exercise is always going to be a recipe

  • for success.

  • Vanessa: How did you enjoy that conversation with Gayle?

  • Was it a little fast?

  • Was it a little tricky?

  • Did you understand everything?

  • What we're going to do now is we're going to go on to the vocabulary lesson.

  • You're going to see my husband, Dan, and I, going back and explaining some vocabulary

  • expressions that we used in that conversation.

  • You're going to see a short clip from the conversation with Gayle, so that you can remember,

  • "Oh, yeah.

  • That's what she said."

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's go on to the vocabulary lesson.

  • The first expression we're going to talk about today is vision.

  • Dan: Vision.

  • Vanessa: What does this literally mean, and then we're going to talk about it in the figurative

  • sense.

  • Dan: Well, it literally just means your sight.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • To see.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • My vision is seeing the room.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, do you have good vision?

  • Poor vision?

  • Dan: Oh.

  • So, my real vision is very bad.

  • I have to go to the eye doctor and get classes and contacts.

  • Right now I'm wearing contacts.

  • They kind of hurt my eyes.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • Your prescription is pretty strong because you have poor vision.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • I have poor vision.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Dan: It's a general way to describe sight.

  • Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative), but if we want to talk about this in a figurative way, you

  • can kind of imagine your mind or your heart seeing in the future.

  • It's kind of your plan or goal for the future.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Vanessa: What is your vision for the future?

  • You might even use this for English.

  • "I have a vision for my English studies.

  • I'm going to become a fluent English speaker.

  • I'm going to speak confidently and make a lot of friends around the world."

  • That's my vision.

  • It's kind of your dream.

  • Dan: I think it is more emotional than plan or goal, because essentially it's a plan or

  • a goal but when you say it's a vision you're picturing yourself in that moment, how you're

  • going to feel, what's your vision for your English lessons?

  • Are you envisioning going to America and meeting all the new people, meeting Vanessa and speaking

  • perfect English?

  • Vanessa: Whoa!

  • Dan: That's your vision.

  • Vanessa: So, you can tell there's a lot of emotion behind this, a lot of passion behind

  • it.

  • It's your vision, and that's pretty much how Gayle used it in the conversation.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Vanessa: When she talked about her vision.

  • I think that you'll see that in the clip in just a moment.

  • Are you ready to watch it?

  • Dan: I'm ready.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • Although, you know, everything kind of ... It's a lot about your vision and being mindful

  • and exploring.

  • And so, they kind of weave together in some ways.

  • Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and being mindful.

  • Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and being mindful.

  • Dan: The next expression is a casual expression, and it is to dabble in something.

  • And this basically just means to try something.

  • But it means try something not seriously.

  • So, "I dabbled in baking."

  • Actually over this last holiday I baked some waffles.

  • It was Belgian waffles, really sweet dessert waffles.

  • I would say I just dabble in baking, because I only make that every now and then.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • You don't bake every week or every day, just every couple months you make these amazing

  • Belgian waffles.

  • But it's just, you know, casually, not so seriously, every now and then.

  • Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: So, you can use this for really any hobby that you do that's not so serious.

  • So, that's how Gayle used it.

  • She said that, "I dabbled in yoga."

  • Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: I did it occasionally, maybe once a month, maybe once every couple months.

  • It wasn't a big important part of her life.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • When I've heard this used it's usually when somebody asked you if you do something, and

  • you just say, "Eh.

  • I dabble."

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • So, you don't want to show them, "I'm so serious about this."

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Vanessa: You just want to say, "Oh, it's not so serious.

  • Oh, yeah.

  • I dabbled in art for a while.

  • I dabbled in painting, but, you know, it wasn't anything serious."

  • Dan: Right.

  • Vanessa: So, you're kind of being modest.

  • You're not really saying, "I love this!"

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • "I do it all the time!"

  • Vanessa: Oh, yeah!

  • Instead it's a little more casual than that.

  • So, I hope that you'll be able to see that from the conversation with Gayle.

  • Let's watch it.

  • Gayle: I just dabbled in it.

  • One thing that I always remember ... Gayle: I just dabbled in it.

  • Gayle: I just dabbled in it.

  • Vanessa: The next expression is to be mindful.

  • Dan: Mindful.

  • Vanessa: Mindful.

  • Your mind is your brain.

  • So, you can kind of imagine here that you are aware.

  • You are intentional.

  • You're not doing something by accident.

  • You are intentional.

  • You're doing it consciously.

  • You are aware.

  • You are mindful.

  • This is a word that's often linked with yoga, because you are not just doing say, boxing,

  • where you're punching.

  • No.

  • Vanessa: Instead you're thinking about each muscle.

  • It's kind of slow and careful.

  • So, you're in your mind, you're thinking about each movement, you are mindful.

  • You're careful and intentional.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Vanessa: With each movement.

  • We can use that for other activities as well.

  • So, what about for you?

  • How would you use mindful?

  • Dan: Well, I think this has become a pretty popular thing in modern society.

  • Actually, we have a whole extra term, which is mindfulness.

  • Vanessa: Mmm.

  • Dan: So, this is the art of being mindful.

  • I assume that probably, you know, 100 years ago, everybody was being mindful at some point,

  • because they had more time.

  • Vanessa: And they didn't have too many things to distract them, like screens.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Not as many distractions.

  • But now you have to say, "I practice mindfulness."

  • Vanessa: Mmm.

  • Dan: So, that just means at some point in the day I stop and I think about my body,

  • my thoughts ... Vanessa: My life.

  • Dan: What's just going on in my mind?

  • I'm not looking at my phone.

  • I'm not watching a TV show.

  • I'm being mindful.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • I think that that's actually a really good New Year's Resolution that a lot of people

  • make, is, "I'm going to be mindful every day."

  • It could just be, "Okay, I'm going to sit down for 10 seconds, and just sit down and

  • breathe, and think about nothing, or think about, 'Oh, what was my posture like?

  • How do I feel today?'"

  • Dan: Let the emotions hit you right, left, anger, sorrow!

  • Vanessa: And really just [crosstalk 00:20:49] conscious about that, being mindful about

  • it.

  • Or we can use this same idea and talk about more of a concrete situation.

  • So, for example, if you are a teacher and you have a classroom, you have to be mindful

  • of all of the students' behavior.

  • This means aware of their behavior.

  • Just like I'm mindful of myself, I'm aware of my own thoughts and feelings, you can be

  • mindful of the students, and kind of aware of that situation?

  • Vanessa: What about the verb to mind?

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Just to mind something.

  • Vanessa: How would you use that?

  • Dan: I mean, it's basically the same thing, be aware, but it's almost like, be careful.

  • Like, mind the puddle.

  • Vanessa: It's usually used as some kind of warning.

  • Like, "Mind the puddle!"

  • That might be a little bit ... Dan: Don't step in the puddle.

  • Vanessa: Old English, maybe?

  • Dan: It's not super common.

  • Vanessa: I feel like there's a phrase where we definitely use it.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • What's that?

  • Vanessa: Mind your manners.

  • Dan: Oh, that's right.

  • Of course.

  • Vanessa: I know that parents say this all the time.

  • If you were a kid and you were at the dinner table, you just had your hands everywhere,

  • and you're eating, your parents would probably say, "Mind your manners."

  • Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: This means be careful of your manners.

  • Don't put your hands all over the table.

  • Be kind of more responsible and mature.

  • Mind your manners.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • This is also definitely an old term, but it's carried over into modern popular culture.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Have you ever visited London and seen this expression?

  • Do you remember where this is in London?

  • Dan: Mind the gap?

  • Vanessa: Mind the gap!

  • Yes.

  • If you go on the subway or the underground, or they call it the tube, everywhere there's

  • signs that say, "Mind the gap."

  • The gap is the space between the platform and the train.

  • Don't fall there.

  • It's dangerous.

  • So, they're saying, "Watch out!"

  • Dan: Remember.

  • Vanessa: Be careful.

  • Dan: Look.

  • Vanessa: Of the gap.

  • But it's a really polite way of saying, "Mind the gap.

  • Be careful."

  • So, if you go to London you might see that expression everywhere.

  • You might even hear the announcer say, "Mind the gap as you get on the train."

  • Dan: But would you say, "Be mindful of the gap?"

  • Vanessa: You could.

  • It makes sense.

  • Dan: Technically, it's right.

  • Vanessa: It's a little bit weird.

  • Dan: It's strong.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • It's like, a little bit too strong.

  • Dan: Be mindful of is like, really watch.

  • You can work with this thing.

  • You can't really work with a hole in the ground.

  • You're just trying to miss it.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • Avoid the gap in the ground.

  • Just step over it.

  • Yeah.

  • So, I feel like if you say, "Be mindful of something," it's more, "Be thoughtful about

  • it.

  • Think about it."

  • Kind of more than inner feeling like, with yoga.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip so that you can see how it was used.

  • Gayle: But still, there's ways of like, breathing more fully, breathing more mindfully, that

  • can, you know, help your overall health.

  • Gayle: There's ways of like, breathing more fully, breathing more mindfully.

  • Gayle: There's ways of like, breathing more fully, breathing more mindfully.

  • Dan: The next expression is to clear your mind.

  • This is a pretty self explanatory expression.

  • It just means to forget, usually, your problems.

  • Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Yes.

  • We can imagine you're erasing the problems, you're clearing the problems from your mind.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • It might not even just be problems.

  • Maybe you're just doing a lot of things.

  • Maybe there's a lot of noise around you.

  • So, you need to go outside.

  • I would say usually it's going outside to clear your mind.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • I this was something that happened to us a couple months ago over Christmas break.

  • We went to Dan's parents' house.

  • There were a lot of people there.

  • Every day there was so much going on, especially when we were running after our toddler.

  • It was just so busy.

  • Every day it was like, "Okay, we need to get outside, clear our minds."

  • So, every day we went for a walk, we went to the park, and it was kind of necessary,

  • because in that busy environment we're not really worried or, you know, stressed.

  • It's just a lot going on.

  • Vanessa: So, it's nice to step outside, and clear your mind.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • I definitely would say though, it is mostly associated with stress.

  • So, if you're ... Vanessa: It was a little bit stressful with

  • lots of people and a toddler.

  • Dan: It was.

  • Yes.

  • So, like, if you're in an argument with somebody, and you just need to walk away because you

  • can't solve the problem now, you might need to say, "I just need to go and clear my mind.

  • We'll come back to this problem."

  • Vanessa: That's a very responsible thing to say.

  • "Go clear my mind, and then we'll get back to this."

  • Vanessa: Just to let you know, a quick grammar about this, make sure that our possessive

  • pronoun, clear my mind, clear his mind ... Make sure that it matches with the subject.

  • You can't say, "I need to clear his mind."

  • Dan: No.

  • Vanessa: I, his.

  • It doesn't really work.

  • You can only clear your mind.

  • Dan: That sounds like a threat.

  • Vanessa: I need to clear his mind!

  • Kind of like you're going to erase his memory.

  • So, instead, make sure that your subject matches that possessive pronoun.

  • He needs to clear his mind.

  • She needs to clear her mind.

  • I need to clear my mind.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip.

  • Vanessa: Then when you start to think about it maybe it's just that physical element,

  • but I kind of ... It clears my mind a little bit.

  • Vanessa: It clears my mind a little bit.

  • Vanessa: It clears my mind a little bit.

  • Vanessa: The next expression is one that I love.

  • It's to be in the zone.

  • We can kind of imagine here, this thing that Dan's doing with his hands.

  • In the zone.

  • You're completely focused.

  • You're not looking at other things.

  • You're not distracted.

  • You're so focused, you are in the zone.

  • We can kind of imagine that mental thing that's happening where your mind is blocking out

  • other things.

  • You are in the zone.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • You're not thinking about anything else.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • I mentioned this in the conversation with Gayle.

  • This happens to me in yoga class sometimes, if I really concentrate on breathing, and

  • then also my emotions, I am thinking about my breathing, I am thinking about my emotions.

  • There's not space in my brain to think about other things.

  • So, I kind of forget what's for dinner.

  • I forget what else I was doing.

  • I can just focus.

  • I can be in the zone.

  • It's kind of a great place to be.

  • Vanessa: You feel relaxed.

  • You're blocking out other distractions, as long as that's okay.

  • So, what about for you?

  • When have you been in the zone?

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • I definitely used this term for sports.

  • So, when I play hockey I get in the zone.

  • I'm not thinking about anything else.

  • But I would also say for sports, when we say, "in the zone," that also means you're playing

  • very well.

  • Vanessa: Oh, right.

  • Dan: Like, if you said, "he's in the zone," that means that he is scoring goals.

  • He's playing really well.

  • He's not making many mistakes.

  • Vanessa: He's not distracted by other things.

  • He's doing well.

  • You're in the zone.

  • Vanessa: So, I want to know for you.

  • You can even use this when you're studying English.

  • When you're studying English, are you so focused, you're so into it, your brain is tuning out

  • other things, your brain is ... You're clearing your mind of other things, and you're in the

  • zone, and studying English.

  • Vanessa: I want to know if that has ever happened to you?

  • Maybe there's a lot going on in your house, where it's not so possible ...

  • Dan: Yes.

  • I think they call it a flow state, as well.

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • Sure.

  • Your brain is just flowing, and you're just going.

  • Dan: In the flow.

  • Vanessa: In the flow.

  • That's another great way to say this.

  • In the zone.

  • In the flow.

  • It means you're just going, and going, and going.

  • You're really on the ball.

  • Oh, so many good expressions.

  • Dan: On the ball too!

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • You're on the ball, you're really just focused.

  • So, I hope that all of these expressions, in the zone, on the ball ...

  • Dan: In the flow.

  • Vanessa: In the flow.

  • I hope that all of those are useful to you.

  • To me, the similar thing of focused.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip.

  • Vanessa: I almost feel like I'm in the zone or like, when you're thinking about your breath

  • you can ... Vanessa: I almost feel like I'm in the zone

  • or ... Vanessa: I almost feel like I'm in the zone

  • or ... Dan: The next expressions is religiously.

  • This just means to have full commitment to something.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Dan: Almost in like, a spiritual way.

  • I would say nine times out of 10, you're going to use this as a joke or as hyperbole.

  • Vanessa: Exaggeration.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • So, "I eat pizza religiously."

  • Vanessa: It doesn't mean that three times a day you eat pizza.

  • That would be literally religiously.

  • Dan: Well, it would also mean you go to the pizza and you worship the pizza.

  • Vanessa: It's not that.

  • Dan: No.

  • You don't pray to pizza.

  • You just love pizza so much, and you eat it very often, and very regularly.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • But it doesn't mean actually that you treat it like a religious.

  • So, in this way it's a hyperbole, which is a great way of saying an exaggeration.

  • Dan: Yeah, and I mean, technically, you could use this in a religious, a true religious

  • sense.

  • Like, "I go to church religiously."

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • It actually is religion.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Vanessa: But you mean the same thing.

  • You do it often.

  • You're committed.

  • You treat it seriously.

  • Dan: Or if you say, "I prayed at church religiously," that doesn't really make sense, because it's

  • a given.

  • You're at church.

  • Vanessa: Of course, you're going to be doing it religiously.

  • Dan: Of course, it's religion.

  • Right.

  • Vanessa: So, I want to know for you, is there anything that you do religiously?

  • I know I can think of one thing.

  • Dan: Oh, no.

  • You can?

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Drink coffee!

  • Dan: Oh!

  • That's true!

  • I do drink coffee religiously.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • If Dan ... Dan: I maybe do pray to it too.

  • Vanessa: Secretly.

  • Dan: Thank you.

  • Vanessa: If you don't have coffee in a day, I'm pretty surprised.

  • Like, it happens every day religiously.

  • You're committed to it.

  • It happens every single day.

  • You can kind of see it's a little bit of a joke.

  • Dan: It's funny.

  • Vanessa: It's funny because ... Dan: I'm committed to coffee.

  • Vanessa: You're committed to coffee.

  • Dan: I'm following coffee.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Dan: To my grave.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • So, I want to know, for you, what is something that you do religiously?

  • It can be a little bit of an exaggeration.

  • That's fine.

  • Or something silly like coffee.

  • Do you drink coffee religiously?

  • Vanessa: I would say I drink tea, but I don't drink tea religiously.

  • I don't drink tea absolutely every single day, and if I don't have it there's a problem.

  • Dan: You don't do very many things religiously.

  • Vanessa: Oh, yeah?

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • It's just chaos.

  • Vanessa: Just chaos!

  • Dan: Clearly.

  • Vanessa: I, especially with teaching English, there's a lot of things that I do religiously.

  • Dan: We hope you religiously watch Vanessa's videos.

  • Vanessa: Oh!

  • That means that you are committed.

  • Dan: Pray to Vanessa.

  • Vanessa: It doesn't mean that.

  • Dan: Worship Vanessa.

  • Vanessa: It doesn't mean that.

  • It means that you are doing it consistently.

  • Dan: That's what I do.

  • Vanessa: I hope that it's something that's a part of your daily life, at least learning

  • English is.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip, so that you can see how it was used.

  • Gayle: I did that class religiously for two years.

  • Vanessa: Oh!

  • That's dedication.

  • Gayle: I did that class religiously for two years.

  • Gayle: I did that class religiously for two years.

  • Vanessa: The next expression is a great idiom, to take a toll or to take its toll.

  • Dan: Take its toll.

  • Vanessa: Both of these are the exact same thing.

  • We had a long discussion about what's the difference between these two, and in the end

  • we came to the conclusion that they're exactly the same.

  • So, good news!

  • You get two for one.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Do you know where it came from?

  • The term?

  • Vanessa: A toll?

  • Do you know what a toll is?

  • It's like, when you're driving and you have to pay ...

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Vanessa: To pass to another road.

  • It's a toll.

  • Dan: It's a road or a bridge that you have to pay to cross.

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • Dan: So, that's the original meaning.

  • I was actually looking this up.

  • In ancient times, sometimes the toll on the road was a lot.

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • Dan: It was a lot of money, or you had to give like, your cattle or something.

  • Vanessa: Something really valuable.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • People would really make the toll expensive, to go across a bridge.

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • Dan: Maybe there's only one bridge and you're like, "Hey, cross this bridge, but give me

  • your cow."

  • Vanessa: So, in this sense, back in the day, it was quite expensive to pay the toll.

  • Nowadays it's like, a dollar.

  • Dan: Yeah, there are roads and transport everywhere.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, you don't really have to pay that much nowadays, but this meaning, it kind of seems

  • to go back to that original meaning of toll, to take a toll.

  • It means that something has gradually, over time, weakened something.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Vanessa: So, let me give you a quick example.

  • You might say that, "I drove my car 60 miles every day, and it took a toll on my car."

  • Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: That means that driving my car 60 miles every day, that's like, 60 kilometers,

  • we could say.

  • 60 kilometers every day took a toll on my car.

  • It's a lot of driving.

  • So, my car gradually weakened because of that.

  • It took a toll.

  • Vanessa: What's another way that we could say take a toll or take its toll?

  • Dan: Yeah You often use this with just your body.

  • Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Dan: So, maybe your job has taken its toll on you?

  • Or your job took a toll on your body?

  • So, if you stand a lot or you sit a lot, or maybe you're working with machinery, it can

  • take a toll.

  • Maybe you get injured, just over time, or you're 40 years old and all of a sudden, "Oh!

  • My arm.

  • I can barely move this arm."

  • Right?

  • Vanessa: Sure.

  • Dan: Or in the most general sense, you can even just say, "Life takes its toll."

  • Vanessa: That's quite dark.

  • Dan: Yep.

  • Vanessa: It's true!

  • Over time ... Dan: As time goes on you just get older and

  • weaker, and life is taking its toll.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • That happens to everybody.

  • It's nothing to be ashamed of.

  • Vanessa: So, when you use this expression it's implying that something is weakening

  • over time.

  • We could say my car is weakening over time.

  • We have kind of a cause and effect.

  • Driving my car 60 miles took its toll on my car.

  • The cause is driving 60 miles, and its effecting my car, or maybe sitting down every day for

  • eight hours at my office took its toll on my body.

  • We have this ... Dan: Parenthood ...

  • Vanessa: Cause and effect.

  • Oh!

  • Dan: Is taking is toll on my mental well being.

  • Vanessa: Maybe that's ... Dan: That's a little strong.

  • Vanessa: Maybe that's just having a toddler.

  • Vanessa: So, maybe there's something in your life that is, over time ... The first time

  • it happens, maybe the second time or third time, it doesn't really effect you, but gradually

  • over time something has weakened you.

  • Maybe that's you physically, or maybe that's mentally, or it could be something else in

  • your life, like your car ... It's taking its toll.

  • So, I recommend checking out the lesson guide so that you can get a couple more sample sentences

  • for this.

  • This is an excellent idiom that we use in daily conversation.

  • So, make sure that you're familiar with it.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip.

  • Gayle: I had never sat so much in my whole life.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Gayle: Oh!

  • I knew it was.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Dan: The next expression is an idiom, down the road.

  • This is not literally down a road.

  • This just means down in the future ... Vanessa: Some time in the future.

  • Dan: Or up in the future.

  • Some time in the future.

  • It doesn't mean tomorrow.

  • It means in a later date, probably over a year, I'd say.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • It's kind of vague.

  • If you don't want to say exactly when something will happen, you might say, "Oh, I'd like

  • to go to Japan down the road," or, "Some day down the road I hope to be fluent in English."

  • This just means in the future.

  • We can kind of imagine the road of life, and somewhere down the road of life you will go

  • to Japan, or you will be fluent in English.

  • Dan: It's obviously very non-specific and non-committal.

  • Maybe it will never happen.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, you don't want to use this if someone says, "Hey, can you help me to clean the floor?"

  • "Oh, I'll do it down the road."

  • That's not a good way to use this.

  • Dan: Some day down the road I'll clean the floor for you, honey.

  • Vanessa: That means maybe next year.

  • So, we want to use this in situations where it's pretty far in the future, or just some

  • unknown time in the future.

  • Maybe some kind of goals you have for your life, or you have a vision for something that

  • will happen in the future, and you say, "Oh, down the road I would like this to happen."

  • Dan: Gayle actually used it in a negative way.

  • She was saying negative thoughts can have implications down the road, or bad implications,

  • which means ... This is like, an unspoken thing that will happen.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, something will happen down the road if you have bad posture, if you don't exercise,

  • something negative will happen down the road if you don't take care of yourself now.

  • So, this might be motivation for you to start exercising or eating healthy, or making some

  • kind of lifestyle change.

  • Vanessa: Well, if I don't start eating more vegetables, I will be very unhealthy down

  • the road.

  • So, I need to change something now in my life.

  • You're kind of looking towards that unspecific time in the future.

  • Down the road.

  • This is another lovely expression.

  • We've got a lot of lovely expressions in this lesson.

  • So, I hope that you'll be able to use it yourself.

  • Vanessa: Let's watch the clip so you can see how it was originally used.

  • Gayle: You think about all this negativity and don't realize like, that has a lot of

  • implications down the road.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Vanessa: How did you enjoy that vocabulary lesson?

  • I hope that you learned a lot, and you can include those into your daily vocabulary!

  • Vanessa: Next, it's going to be time for the grammar lesson.

  • This is phrasal verbs.

  • You're going to be learning some important phrasal verbs, four to be exact, so that you

  • can use these and integrate them into your daily conversation.

  • Let's watch.

  • Vanessa: The first phrasal verb that we're going to talk about is to tune in to something.

  • In the conversation with Gayle, it kind of sounded like she said turn in, but really

  • the expression is to tune into something.

  • This means to have an understanding of something, maybe a deeper understanding of something.

  • So, you tune into your thoughts.

  • It means you're thinking about your thoughts, tuning into your thoughts.

  • Vanessa: How would you use this get phrasal verb, to tune in?

  • Dan: Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is tuning into a radio station.

  • Vanessa: This is a good physical, literal way to use that.

  • Dan: This is a little more old school, but people still say this today.

  • Tuning in for a TV show.

  • Tune in on Friday to see the brand new episode of ...

  • Vanessa: Dan's TV show.

  • Dan: Dan's TV show.

  • Tune in Friday night.

  • Vanessa: So, you can tune into the radio station, which means that you can try to hear it more

  • clearly.

  • You're changing the stations.

  • You're hearing it more clearly.

  • But this also works in a figurative way.

  • Maybe you could tune into your body.

  • This means that you're thinking about the different muscles.

  • How does my back feel right now?

  • How do my feet feel?

  • You're tuning into the specific understanding.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • I think, perhaps, the origin of this comes from tuning in music.

  • Vanessa: Oh.

  • Dan: So, if you're tuning in, everybody's trying to get on the same page, and sound

  • the same.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, you're tuning your instrument.

  • You're making your instruments all sound similar.

  • So, you could even say this as a teacher.

  • I need to tune into the needs of my students.

  • I need to tune into the needs of my students.

  • Dan: There needs to be harmony.

  • Everything needs to be together.

  • Vanessa: I need to have a deeper understanding of the needs of my students.

  • Vanessa: So, let's go ahead and watch the clip where you heard tune in.

  • It kind of sounds like turn in, but try to hear tune in ...

  • Dan: Tune in.

  • Vanessa: Then we're going to talk about a little bonus expression, which sounds like

  • the opposite.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip.

  • Gayle: ... it really relaxes you.

  • So, when you turn into your breath, it's kind of the same thing.

  • Gayle: ...it really relaxes you.

  • So, when you turn into your breath, it's kind of the same thing.

  • Vanessa: Now for the special extra material section!

  • In this section, I'm going to be quickly explaining some extra material that's not in the conversation

  • with Gayle, but it relates to what we just talked about.

  • Vanessa: So, we just talked about the phrasal verb, to tune in.

  • So, what you're going to do is you're going to be listening to a short clip from a song

  • called Incense and Peppermints by the band Strawberry Alarm Clock.

  • In this song they say, "turn in, tune in, turn your eyes around."

  • Vanessa: In this song ... Now, I'm just interpreting this from my own opinion, but in this song

  • they're talking about realizing the world for what it really is.

  • Look past all of those false things, all of the things that everyone says you should pay

  • attention to, and tune in, pay attention to, really understand what matters in life.

  • Vanessa: So, you're going to listen to this short clip of the song, and I hope that you'll

  • be able to gain a deeper understanding, you'll be able to tune into the meaning of this song.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip.

  • Singer: Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns.

  • Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around.

  • Look at yourself, look at yourself.

  • Singer: Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns.

  • Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around.

  • Look at yourself, look at yourself.

  • Vanessa: The next phrasal verb that we're talking about is kind of a bonus one.

  • It wasn't in the conversation with Gayle, but because we talked about to tune in, I

  • thought we'd talk about ... What's the opposite?

  • Dan: Tune out!

  • Vanessa: To tune out.

  • Dan: La, la, la, la, la.

  • Vanessa: Yep.

  • It means that you're ignoring something that somebody says.

  • You are not gaining a deeper understanding.

  • Dan: It's the opposite.

  • Vanessa: It's the opposite.

  • You are closing your ears, tuning out.

  • So, if, maybe you know someone who talks a lot, or maybe they talk about something that

  • you just don't want to hear, you can tune them out.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • I tuned her out.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • When she was talking too much.

  • Dan: Not her, somebody else.

  • Vanessa: I just tuned her out.

  • There's someone particular that I'm thinking of.

  • At Christmas this past year, Dan has a family member who talks all the time.

  • Dan: Quite a lot.

  • Vanessa: 24, seven, about everything, everything in the world, every pastry she's ever baked,

  • every friend she's ever had who's broken a hip or an ankle.

  • Oh, and it's just non-stop.

  • So, after a little bit of time I just had to tune her out.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Vanessa: I couldn't listen carefully to every single word.

  • It's too much.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Sometimes you have to do this to family members, certain family members.

  • Vanessa: You have to tune them out.

  • Dan: But this is definitely considered to be rude.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • You don't want to show that you're tuning them out.

  • Dan: You don't want to tell people, "I'm tuning you out."

  • If you say that to somebody, that means, "I am ignoring you.

  • I am not listening to you.

  • I'm trying to pretend you're not even here."

  • It's very strong, if you're tuning somebody out.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • Dan: Or, alternatively, you can tune something else out.

  • So, a lot of times in modern times we say this for maybe the news?

  • Or maybe Twitter.

  • You've got to tune out Twitter.

  • I don't even know why you'd be on Twitter.

  • I don't have Twitter because it just annoys me.

  • If you're tuning out the news you're just ... Talking heads just talking about all the

  • problems in the world, all the stuff.

  • There's all these bad things going on, I can't take it.

  • No.

  • You just have to tune it out and focus on the good things in life.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • You'll notice that oftentimes we split this phrasal verb.

  • In the lesson guide I specify, if you can split a phrasal verb and then how to do it,

  • but I'll just mention this briefly here.

  • We often split tune her out.

  • Tune it out.

  • If you're talking about the news, this is often done.

  • So, make sure you check out the lesson guide for some more examples.

  • Vanessa: The next expression and a great phrasal verb is to wind up.

  • There are two different meanings for this.

  • The first one ... Well, this is a literal sense, is to twist something.

  • You are winding up the clock.

  • Dan: You're making it tight.

  • Vanessa: You're making it tight.

  • So, this also links to the figurative sense.

  • Vanessa: What is that figurative sense?

  • If you say, "Oh, I was so wound up after work."

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • It means that you are stressed out.

  • Usually we mean this in a stressed out way.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • Dan: But it could also be excited.

  • I'm all wound up for the concert.

  • But, you know, I'd usually say it's probably associated with stress nowadays.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • And why are we using wound instead of wind here?

  • We're using the past tense, because we only use wound, "I am wound up," when we're talking

  • about that figurative sense.

  • I feel so wound up, like, a clock, like, a rope.

  • I'm so tight.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Vanessa: I feel uncomfortable.

  • Dan: It's how you feel now and it's something that happened in the past to make you feel

  • this way.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, I am wound up.

  • But if you say the second meaning of this phrasal verb, "I was driving down the road,

  • and I was following my directions.

  • I don't know how ... How did I wind up here?"

  • Dan: Wow.

  • Vanessa: What does this mean, the second meaning?

  • Dan: This means you end or conclude somewhere.

  • Vanessa: Surprising.

  • Oh, I thought I was following my directions, but then I ended up here.

  • That's another phrasal verb.

  • Ended up means wind up.

  • How did I wind up here?

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Vanessa: How did I end up here?

  • I thought I was following my directions.

  • Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: So, it's kind of a surprising place that you go.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • You weren't planning on something happening.

  • If you wind up somewhere ... For example, maybe you go to college and you are taking

  • biology ... Vanessa: Like Dan!

  • Dan: This happened to me.

  • Well, I started out in biology but I wound up studying business.

  • Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • So, when you use it in the past tense, for this meaning of surprisingly going somewhere.

  • You can use it in the present.

  • How did I wind up here?

  • Or we could say it in the past, "I wound up here."

  • We need to use both of those when we're using this specific meaning.

  • Vanessa: So, Dan wound up as a business major.

  • How did it happen?

  • How did I get here?

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • Vanessa: This is a little bit surprising.

  • Dan: I went to college and I wound up with Vanessa.

  • Vanessa: Wow!

  • How did that happen?

  • So, it's some kind of surprising conclusion.

  • Vanessa: So, make sure that you check out the lesson guide so that you can get both

  • of these meanings, and make sure that you get the grammar correct.

  • Gayle: ...and to not be ... not like, get too wound up in self criticism.

  • You know, because you realize like, "Well, I'm not very strong or ...

  • Gayle: ...and to not be ... not like, get too wound up in self criticism.

  • You know, because you realize like, "Well, I'm not very strong or ...

  • Vanessa: The last phrasal verb that we're going to talk about today in detail in this

  • grammar lesson is to bring up something.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • We want to bring up the term bring up.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • That is the first way that we are going to bring it up, and that is to just introduce

  • something in conversation.

  • For example, in the US we rarely bring up religion in conversation.

  • This means we rarely talk about the topic of religion spontaneously with, maybe people

  • we don't know that well.

  • Dan: It gets personal.

  • Right.

  • Yeah.

  • So, bringing up is definitely the first introduction.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Dan: Right?

  • Sometimes if you say, "All of a sudden he brought up politics ..."

  • Vanessa: Oh!

  • Dan: Or he brought up religion ... Vanessa: Oh!

  • Dan: It's suddenly.

  • Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Dan: So, it often means it's a sudden thing.

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • It's entering into conversation.

  • So, there are two main ways.

  • They have the same meaning, but they're two main things that are often brought up.

  • One is topics.

  • It is spontaneously entered into conversation.

  • Or what if you look at a picture of your childhood, and you see your brothers there, you see your

  • friends from across the street are there, and you're playing with your favorite soccer

  • ball?

  • It kind of brings up some warm feelings inside of you.

  • Dan: Perhaps it brings up some nostalgia.

  • Vanessa: Oh, nostalgia.

  • Dan: Nostalgia.

  • Vanessa: That warm feeling from your past.

  • So, it's bringing up some feelings inside of you.

  • It is rising.

  • It's not coming up in conversation.

  • But it's just coming up within you.

  • Dan: Yeah.

  • It could just be internal in the feelings, the emotions.

  • Vanessa: Yeah.

  • So, when you think back on our time, let's say our time when we first were married and

  • we lived in Pennsylvania.

  • What does that bring up within you?

  • Dan: What feelings does it bring up?

  • Vanessa: Yes.

  • Dan: It brings up a sense of ... It's good memories, I'd say.

  • But overall, I'm glad we're not there.

  • Mostly because we lived in a very cold house.

  • Vanessa: There are no heat in Pennsylvania.

  • Dan: We were very, very poor.

  • Vanessa: And very busy all the time.

  • Dan: Living off of a Starbucks salary.

  • Vanessa: We were really busy.

  • I think we had four jobs, and no heat in our house.

  • So, when I think about our first year married, it brings up a lot of mixed feelings.

  • Dan: Mixed emotions.

  • Vanessa: It was a special time because we were first married, but also we were really

  • busy.

  • So, it was quite difficult.

  • It brought up some mixed feelings inside of me.

  • Or maybe when you're thinking back on a difficult time.

  • "Oh, it brought up some sad feelings."

  • Or it brought up some excitement from my past.

  • It brought up some warm memories.

  • Dan: Yes.

  • Going back to the first meaning, you can also split the phrasal verb up.

  • So, you could say, "bring it up."

  • Or bring ... Vanessa: Bringing a topic up.

  • Dan: Bring blank up.

  • Right.

  • So, a lot of times as people are having an argument, they might say, "Why did you bring

  • it up," or, "Why did you bring that up?"

  • Vanessa: Something from the past.

  • Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

  • Vanessa: It's not a good idea to bring up stuff from the past.

  • Don't bring it up.

  • Don't bring it up now.

  • Someone might say that in an argument.

  • "Don't bring it up now."

  • Dan: Right.

  • Vanessa: Don't talk about that now.

  • Dan: That would mean don't talk about it.

  • Don't speak of it.

  • Vanessa: Yes, yes.

  • So, there is one main meaning to arise with bring up, but it could be topics in conversation,

  • or it could be feelings within yourself.

  • Vanessa: So, let's watch the clip so you can see how it was used.

  • Gayle: ... you might discover something in a yoga class that was brought up, and then

  • you can ... Gayle: ... you might discover something in

  • a yoga class that was brought up, and then you can ...

  • Vanessa: Were those phrasal verbs new to you?

  • I hope that you learned something new about using them in your life.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Now we're going to go on to the pronunciation lesson.

  • This is where we take an in-depth look at some of the vocabulary expression sentences,

  • and try to say them as naturally as possible.

  • I want you to try to repeat after me.

  • Speak out loud.

  • Try to really follow my prompts, so that you can speak naturally.

  • Vanessa: Let's go.

  • Vanessa: What we're going to be doing is breaking down each sentence.

  • I'll show you the clip from the conversation, we'll break it down in detail, you'll have

  • a chance to repeat with me.

  • Please be active during this lesson.

  • Please repeat with me.

  • Try to speak out loud as much as you can.

  • When I pause, make sure that you fill in the blanks.

  • I'll be giving you some instruction so that you can follow along.

  • Then we'll watch the clip again, so that you can hear every little thing that we talked

  • about.

  • Vanessa: I'm sure that this will be useful to you now as you improve, and also as you

  • go into the real world and have real conversations.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's get started with the first clip.

  • We're going to listen to the first sentence from the conversation with Gayle.

  • Gayle: Yeah.

  • Although, you know, everything kind of ... It's a lot about your vision and being mindful

  • and exploring.

  • And so, they kind of weave together in some ways.

  • Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and being mindful ...

  • Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and being mindful ...

  • Vanessa: Did you hear the vocabulary word, vision?

  • Vision?

  • We're going to be talking about this word, and also the rest of this short sentence.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • Vanessa: Let's start at the beginning.

  • Can you say with me, "It's."

  • It's.

  • Then we're going onto this next word, but it's actually two words together, a lot.

  • A lot.

  • Vanessa: Do you hear a lot?

  • Really, this is something that's reoccurring in American English, that that final T is

  • stopped.

  • Your tongue is at the top of your mouth.

  • You're going to make that T sound but you don't.

  • Instead it just gets cut short.

  • Your tongue stops at the top of your mouth.

  • Vanessa: So, can you say that with me?

  • A lot.

  • Is your tongue on the top of your mouth?

  • I hope so.

  • A lot.

  • A lot.

  • Don't let air pass through.

  • Don't say a lot.

  • Instead just let it stop there.

  • A lot.

  • Vanessa: Let's put those two words together.

  • It's a lot.

  • It's a lot.

  • It's a lot.

  • Okay.

  • Let's go onto the next word.

  • Vanessa: The next word is about.

  • About.

  • Do you hear something similar happening here?

  • That final T gets cut short.

  • Your tongue is at the top of your mouth, but there's no air going through.

  • Say it with me.

  • About.

  • About.

  • Let's say the full sentence up to this point.

  • Vanessa: It's a lot about.

  • It's a lot about.

  • Vanessa: The next word is your, but those two vowels in the middle, O, U, instead they

  • change and become E. Your.

  • Your.

  • This happens when native speakers are talking quickly.

  • So, I want you to be able to imitate this and use it yourself.

  • Vanessa: Your.

  • Your.

  • Your.

  • Can you say that with me?

  • Your.

  • Let's go and say the full sentence to this point.

  • Vanessa: It's a lot about your.

  • It's a lot about your.

  • It's a lot about your.

  • Vanessa: The final word is our key word here.

  • Vision.

  • Vision.

  • There's a lot of vibrations that are happening in this word.

  • First with the letter V.

  • There should be some vibrations here, happening with your lips.

  • That final sound is in.

  • In.

  • Just like I'm in my house, in.

  • Vision.

  • Vision.

  • Vision.

  • Those vowels are the same.

  • They're both short Is.

  • Vision.

  • Vision.

  • Vision.

  • Vision.

  • Can you say that with me?

  • Vision.

  • What's your vision?

  • Vision.

  • Vanessa: Let's go back and try to say this full sentence all together, and then I'm going

  • to pause so that you can say it by yourself?

  • Ready?

  • Vanessa: It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • It's a lot about your vision.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • I'm going to pause.

  • I want you to say it by yourself.

  • Go ahead.

  • Vanessa: Great work!

  • Alright.

  • Let's listen to the clip so that you can hear Gayle say the sentence.

  • Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and being mindful ...

  • Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and ... Gayle: It's a lot about your vision and ...

  • Vanessa: The second sentence that we're going to practice shadowing features the expression

  • it takes a toll.

  • It takes a toll.

  • If you've already studied the vocabulary expression you understand what this means.

  • Let's watch the clip where I said this, and then we're going to repeat it together.

  • Gayle: I had never sat so much in my whole life.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Gayle: Oh!

  • I knew it was.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: I said, "It takes a toll on you."

  • I said this quite quickly in the conversation.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • So, let's practice this together.

  • Vanessa: The first two words together have something unique happening, but we've already

  • talked about this.

  • So, I hope that it will just refresh your memory.

  • Vanessa: It takes.

  • The word, it.

  • That final T. The same thing is going to happen, what we talked about the T stopping short

  • on the top of your mouth.

  • It.

  • It.

  • We didn't say it.

  • But the tricky thing here is the next word starts with a T. So, it kind of sounds like

  • one word.

  • It takes.

  • It takes.

  • Just imagine putting a short I before the word takes.

  • It takes.

  • It takes.

  • You don't need to say it takes.

  • We don't need to two Ts.

  • Instead there's just one T and these words are linked together.

  • Vanessa: This is going to help you speak quicker and link those naturally.

  • It takes.

  • It takes.

  • Can you say that with me?

  • It takes.

  • It takes.

  • It takes.

  • Vanessa: In the final part of this sentence we have three different O sounds.

  • So, we're going to practice that together.

  • Get your lips ready.

  • We're going to practice these three different Os.

  • They are it takes a toll on you.

  • Let's start with that first word.

  • Vanessa: Toll.

  • Toll.

  • Toll.

  • Can you make your lips look mine?

  • If you have a little mirror try to look at your lips in that mirror so that you can see

  • if they're imitating me.

  • Toll.

  • Toll.

  • Vanessa: Then the next one is a little bit longer.

  • On.

  • Toll on.

  • Toll on.

  • Vanessa: The final one, we're going to kind of pucker our lips a little bit like a kiss.

  • You.

  • You.

  • Toll on you.

  • Toll on you.

  • So, it's starting small then tall, and then puckered together.

  • Toll on you.

  • Vanessa: Can you say that with me?

  • Toll on you.

  • Make sure that you kind of exaggerate your mouth like I'm doing.

  • Then we're going to say it faster, and it's going to be a little bit less exaggerated.

  • You're not going to see in the conversation my lips saying toll on you.

  • It's not going to be quite so clear.

  • But when we say it we're going to be using that same pronunciation, just a little bit

  • subtler.

  • Vanessa: So, let's go ahead and say it together.

  • Toll on you.

  • Toll on you.

  • Toll on you.

  • Can you say that with me?

  • Toll on you.

  • Toll on you.

  • Let's say it faster.

  • Toll on you.

  • Toll on you.

  • Toll on you.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • Let's piece the sentence all together.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: Are you saying that with me?

  • Say it with me.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • It takes a toll on you.

  • Alright.

  • Then a pause, and it's your tune.

  • Go ahead.

  • Vanessa: Excellent.

  • I hope that this practice doesn't take a toll on you.

  • I hope that it's helpful to you instead.

  • Let's watch the clip.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: It takes a toll on you.

  • Vanessa: The next sentence that we're going to practice includes the vocabulary expression,

  • down the road.

  • Down the road.

  • Let's listen to that clip.

  • Gayle: You think about all this negativity and don't realize like, that has a lot of

  • implications down the road.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Vanessa: Gayle says, "That has a lot of implications down the road."

  • That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Let's break down the sentence starting with the beginning.

  • Vanessa: The first word is that.

  • Do you notice that final T here?

  • I hope that you do.

  • I hope that you can say this now naturally with me, your tongue at the top of your mouth,

  • stopping.

  • That.

  • That.

  • That.

  • Are you saying it with me?

  • That.

  • Vanessa: Has a lot.

  • Has a lot.

  • Has.

  • Here we have a Z sound.

  • Has a lot.

  • Ooh, we have another T that's cut out.

  • Same word as before.

  • Has a lot.

  • That has a lot.

  • That has a lot.

  • That has a lot.

  • Can you say that with me quickly?

  • That has a lot.

  • That has a lot.

  • That has a lot.

  • Vanessa: Next let's try to tackle this beautiful word, implications.

  • Let's break it down.

  • Try to say it with me as I say it.

  • Implications.

  • Implications.

  • There needs to be a short I in the middle.

  • Impli ... That's the short I. Implications.

  • Implications.

  • Implications.

  • Implications.

  • Vanessa: Let's say the full sentence up to this point.

  • That has a lot of implications.

  • That has a lot of implications.

  • Say it with me.

  • That has a lot of implications.

  • That has a lot of implications.

  • Are your mouth muscles warmed up?

  • I hope so.

  • Vanessa: Let's go to the final part.

  • Our key expression, down the road, has one special element we're going to focus on.

  • It's the final letter.

  • Road.

  • Something happens with that D sound that we've already talked about with the T. It isn't

  • really pronounced.

  • Your mouth is in the position to say it, but there's really no air that comes out.

  • Vanessa: So, let's practice saying road.

  • Not road, but road.

  • Your tongue is there in place, about to make the D sound, but there's no vibration and

  • air that comes out.

  • Let's say that expression.

  • Down the road.

  • Down the road.

  • Down the road.

  • Down the road.

  • Vanessa: Of course, you can say down the road.

  • It's fine to add the D. But here in the conversation we didn't add it, so I want to make sure that

  • you can really imitate exactly the way that we're pronouncing, because once you learn

  • to break down sentences like this, you can also do it on your own.

  • You can listen carefully to a short clip, like, one sentence, like we're doing now,

  • and practice this yourself.

  • Vanessa: If you hear something in the conversation and you wonder, "Why could I not understand

  • that," you can break it down piece by piece like this.

  • I hope I'm giving you some general tools to help practice your pronunciation yourself.

  • Vanessa: So, let's say this full sentence together.

  • Don't forget the word implications.

  • Don't forget cutting off Ts, and then that final word, road.

  • Vanessa: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Make sure that your flow is natural.

  • Follow my hands.

  • That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Like a wave.

  • That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Can you say that with me?

  • That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Vanessa: Alright.

  • I'm going to pause, and I want you to say this wonderful sentence yourself.

  • Go ahead.

  • Vanessa: Great work.

  • Alright.

  • Let's watch the clip again.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Gayle: That has a lot of implications down the road.

  • Vanessa: Are your pronunciation muscles warmed up?

  • Along with the conversation, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation lessons in the Fearless

  • Fluency Club, you'll also get access to the MP3 versions of all of these lessons, and

  • full PDF transcripts so that you can follow along with each word, because I know there

  • are a lot of new things that you can learn with really every sentence.

  • Vanessa: You'll also be able to study with the story.

  • Let's take a look at that really quick.

  • Vanessa: The story is a fun, one page combination of all of the things that you learned this

  • month.

  • You'll see the vocabulary expressions, the phrasal verbs, the idioms, everything that

  • you have learned is combined into this short story that you can repeat and listen to, and

  • say out loud, and even memorize if you want.

  • Vanessa: I also host live lessons in our private Facebook group so that we can interact with

  • this material every week, and also so that you can meet each other.

  • A lot of members like to talk together, and I think it's a good way to increase and improve

  • your vocabulary, and just improve your speaking skills.

  • Vanessa: So, now I have a question for you.

  • Have you ever done yoga before?

  • If you join the Fearless Fluency Club in the month of April, which is this month, April

  • 2019, you'll also see a short clip of Gayle teaching me some yoga poses.

  • It's kind of embarrassing because I usually don't do this for my English lessons.

  • But it was fun, and it was a good chance for you to be able to see Gayle's teaching style.

  • But I want to know, have you ever done yoga?

  • Let me know in the comments.

  • I'll see you again next Friday, here on my YouTube channel, for another video.

  • Vanessa: Thanks so much for learning English with me.

  • Bye!

  • Vanessa: The next step is to download my free E-book, Five Steps To Becoming A Confident

  • English Speaker.

  • You'll learn what you need to do to speak confidently and fluently.

  • Don't forget to subscribe to me YouTube channel for more free lessons.

  • Vanessa: Thanks so much.

  • Bye!

Vanessa: Hi!

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A2 初級 美國腔

利用日常對話學英文! (Advanced English Conversation: Vocabulary, Phrasal Verb, Pronunciation)

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    Josephine 發佈於 2019 年 04 月 06 日
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