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Look and Listen English Lessons | English conversation practice Podcast with Sharon Faye
Do you know some English but still have trouble expressing yourself in
social situations?
If yes, then this is the right podcast for you to improve your
daily English conversation skills.
This Podcast presents a lot of useful phrases
and sentences you would never think of unless you come across them.
It contains plenty of common corrections used by native English speakers in
everyday life.
It covers topics such as meeting new people and making small talk,
dating and visiting friends, eating out, emergencies situations and doctor’s appointments,
car and flat rental,
staying in hotels and travelling by air, shopping and much more
As always I’ll be playing the characters
All you have to do is to sit back and enjoy your listening.
Look and Listen English Lessons | English conversation practice Podcast with Sharon Faye
What Happens When Your Mind Knows English But Your Mouth Won't Cooperate?
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The Speaking Challenge
Speaker 1Listen to this. I can speak to myself and explain to myself in English, but when I have to speak in front of people or with people, I run out of words. Why Does it sound familiar? Hi, I'm Sharon and welcome back to Look and Listen English Lessons. I'm Sharon and welcome back to Look and Listen English Lessons. Many of you probably find yourself struggling with the speaking part. Even though you can understand and express yourselves in writing, still something blocks you up and disables you from opening your mouth and just speaking, and that is why I decided to make this special video showing different accents and pronunciations and how we can improve our speech with fun exercises and theatrical improvisations. Against all odds, I finally succeeded to make this Zoom session, hopefully to inspire you, with my dearest, dearest friends who come from different places and kindly agreed to share with you the difficulties and challenges in speaking English. So let's meet them and find out more about them. So we're going to start with a short introduction. David, David, go ahead.
Speaker 3Thank you everybody. Hi, my name is David. I come from Ecuador. The city is Quito. My profession is football coach. The most difficult thing for my English is the pronunciation and verbs. I speak with some people of America or English, british. It's very difficult to understand some people there. I'm happy to have you, miss. Thank you very much everything. Good luck everybody. Thank you David.
Speaker 1That was amazing, thank you. We can clap David. Thank you so much. All right, amazing, thank you, we can clap David. Thank you so much.
Speaker 4All right.
Speaker 1Let's move on to Janet. Hi Janet.
Speaker 5Hi everyone. My name is Janet. I am originally from Ukraine and now I am in Italy and I promote and manage YouTube channels.
Speaker 1Thank you, Janet. Let's move on to Shai Shai, Hello Shai.
Speaker 2Hi everybody, hi Sharon, hi, my name is Shai. I'm originally from Israel. My professional is a diving instructor. I used to live for many, many years in Galapagos in the Pacific Ocean and I met a lot of people and I worked most of the time in English.
Speaker 1Right, that's why I'm, you know. I invited you, shai, because I know that you spent so many years working with tourists in Galapagos and you had such amazing life there, full of adventures, so I'd like you to share with us, if you have I don't know a story that you can share that something that could have happened with one of the tourists that had problem with his or hers accent, because many people you know speak English, but unfortunately, they all come, you know, with different accents and some few have heavy accents and sometimes it might get dangerous, right, shai?
Speaker 2Exactly so. I don't remember a special story, but, as you've been telling, it's sometimes becoming very, very complicated when you're getting a group of eight people and each one of them coming from another place around the world, and all of us usually communicate in English, unless if they speak Spanish, that it's the national language there, and you're hearing very different types of accents and you need to work with your ears to understand. And what helps us is that most of the time we are talking about something very technical, that everybody makes the same practice on the same techniques. That help us to understand each other.
Speaker 1Could you share with us maybe an occasion that something dangerous happened during diving with someone who couldn't understand you so well?
Speaker 2I can think about things like that happened that occurred to me, but it's not something that I can put the finger and say that happened because they couldn't speak English. Mostly that's happening because they're not doing what you're telling them to do, but but usually when you're saying to them no, no, and they're approaching to places they're not supposed to get to, to visit there, and think that can happen. I'm not trying not to talk about problems and things like that in a place like this, because I love my profession and I would like all the people that can do it to dive and I don't want them to get scared.
Cultural Interactions in Georgia
Speaker 1Absolutely, absolutely, thank you. Thank you, shai. Let's move on to Sasha. Sasha, share with us.
Speaker 4Hi everybody, I'm Sasha. I'm originally from Russia, but now I live in Tbilisi, Georgia, and I have a travel agent there agency, I'm sorry, travel agency there and I show people our beautiful Tbilisi and Batumi in Georgia. Overall, that's it, I guess.
Speaker 1All right Now. Was there any kind of you know story you would like to share with us, something that you know? An interaction between cultures and languages.
Speaker 4Well, the biggest interaction is actually with the people that live in Georgia. Biggest interaction is actually with the people that live in Georgia because the elderly people speak Russian, so it's easier for me, but the younger people they speak English and not a very good English, so we kind of managing understanding each other, but it's not always working. But I have a funny thing that I actually catch accents from hearing. So a lot of times when I talk to people for a long time I'm starting to speak in their accent and then if you can't understand him, so he can't understand me because I'm not speaking with his accent. That's the funny things that can happen. But overall, mostly I speak because when I'm showing the city I'm the one who's speaking.
Speaker 1And did you get from people that, although their English is not fluent, they have the ability to communicate? Or they won't, or they try, or they're reserved and blocked.
Speaker 4They just don't want to talk in english no, actually, because I try to make my tours uh very fun and uh interactive. I I always uh tell people to speak up and they try, they try and we manage to understand each other in our, in our I say our accents, because my accent is now theirs. It's funny, it's challenging, but you know you manage to do it because you have to.
Speaker 1Thank you. Thank you, sasha. That was great. Okay, now it's Monica's time. Oh, oh, my god. Oh, this is Betty. Oh hi, betty, hi. I'm so glad that you're here, my love, oh my god, this is so thrilling that you're here. Thank you, betty. Oh, this is Betty. Guys Clap for Betty.
Speaker 5Okay, yeah, Monica, go on. Hi Sean, Hi everybody. My name is Monica, I come from Spain, I am a ballet teacher and the most difficult thing for me in English is the pronouns. I know my accent is very, very heavy and difficult. Very much my communication with others.
Pronunciation Warm-up Exercise
Speaker 1So, okay, hopefully we're going to work on it, monica, right, but you are fabulous, you are amazing. Thank you, Monica, okay.
Speaker 5Thank you, John.
Speaker 1Thank you, let's move on to. Unless someone wants to say something, no, that's okay. Right Now, this is the second fun part of this session. Now what I want to do with you is just a short warm up. We're going to work on pronunciation, right? We're going to show people how each one of you hear differently, ok, and what I want you to do is to try to imitate me, to copy me In in.
Speaker 3In, in.
Speaker 1Thank you, janet, on, on, on on. Thank you, janet, sasha year. Janet Sasha Year, year, year, Year. Thank you, sasha Monica, thought, thought.
Speaker 5Thought, thought. Thank you.
Speaker 1Shy Rough, rough.
Speaker 2Rough, rough.
Speaker 1Okay, okay, thank you, monica, go Go.
Speaker 5Go, go Go.
Speaker 3Late. You must be home and help, that's it. That was good Nice.
Speaker 1You must be home and help, that's thing that was good nice how, how did it feel like when you just read the? How was the experience for you reading this text that you haven't seen before for the first time? Who wants to say something? David?
Speaker 3In this text. My difficult pronunciation is the month. The final word is month. Month come or must be? Uh, this word is difficult for me and a other difficult a quarter quarter quarter quarter yes yes, I don't know this pronunciation exactly I understand.
Speaker 1is there something similar in Spanish pronunciation?
Speaker 5No, no, this word is no similar. No, okay.
Speaker 1And what about you guys? Janet Shai Sasha your experience with the reading part.
Speaker 5I wish I had a better accent.
Speaker 2I think the most important is if the other side understands you, it doesn't matter how you use your accent or what kind of accent you have. While the other side, when you speak with somebody, is understanding and you can pass the idea that you want to pass, it's okay.
Restaurant Improvisation Game
Speaker 1Absolutely, I agree with you, because it's not a matter that you need to change your accent. Yes, it is good to sound good in another language. It is good to sound good in another language, it is, but, uh, the main point is that you can deliver your message, uh, in a nice and clear way, as much as you can. Okay, so it's not about really the accent. It's more about trying your best in your pronunciation and step by step. You know, and the most, the most important thing, it's not to be afraid of open your mouth. And we're going to finish our session. If you don't mind, we're going to make a short improvisation now, so we're going to pretend that we are in the restaurant good, good afternoon, good evening.
Speaker 2Welcome to the Red Fox. How many are you?
Speaker 5We are a four.
Speaker 2Sorry, I can't understand you once again.
Speaker 5We are four people and we do reservations.
Speaker 2Nice, lovely, oh, you made reservation. Great, jolly good. And your names, please Fox family, fox family. Let me look for you, right? I can see here Fox family, two adults and two children. Oh, those are your girls.
Speaker 5Excuse me Sorry.
Speaker 2Those little girls that standing near you, are they with you or the other family?
Speaker 5Yes, yes, two little girls that are standing near you are they with you or the other family. Yes, yes, two little girls.
Speaker 2I see, I see. Would you need a special chair for them?
Speaker 5No, I don't think. Girls, do you think you need a special chair? No, I'm big, I want pizza.
Speaker 3What is the menu of?
Speaker 2the day. Wait a second. Let me take you first to your table. Would you like to sit down near the window, or maybe you prefer close to the chimney?
Speaker 5What do you think, darling?
Speaker 3Do you have a food, kosher, excuse me sir, do you have food kosher?
Speaker 2I'm sorry, this is a cuisine restaurant. We don't have this kind of food here.
Speaker 3Ah no, Don't have Israeli food.
Speaker 2No, we are special in seafood. Ah, okay.
Speaker 3Nice.
Speaker 5I want fries. I love seafood. Girls, do you love seafood? No, I want pizza.
Speaker 2I think I believe you came to the wrong place. If you're looking for fish and chips, you just need to cross the street Only chips.
Speaker 3You don't have a steak, you have chicken.
Speaker 1Johnson, what's going on in here? This is outrageous. I'm sorry, my lady.
Speaker 2Those people came here. They're not supposed to sit here. Look at them.
Speaker 1They're supposed to be across the street how did it feel like when we just improvised? That's nice, not only like a drama club how people understand each other and continuing the story more drama more drama, yes, and and what I like to when I watched you is that you were actually listening to each other, and that's very, very important. So what can I say? Thank you guys. Thank you so much being here. Do you want to say something? Because we are about to finish our session, david, you've vanished somehow. Yes, someone.
Speaker 5Yes, I want to say thank you very much. I think your videos in this way can help very much people like me really.
Speaker 1Absolutely.
Speaker 5Muchos éxitos. Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1Say something, maybe, to your Spanish friends or people from Ecuador. What would you tell them If they are afraid to speak? Say something in Spanish. If they are afraid to speak in English, what would you recommend them?
Speaker 5Bueno, a todos mis amigos de todo el mundo, de España, de todo el mundo, les quiero decir que les recomiendo muchísimo entrar a los videos de Sharon. I want to tell all my friends from Spain that I highly recommend you to watch Sharon's videos.
Speaker 1You can learn a lot in pronunciation and in her English.
Overcoming Fear of Speaking
Speaker 3Yes, thank you. Thank you, principal, for you for this, hearing me today this class online with Zoom. I'm very happy. I study in this moment. Words, different words publication pronunciation. Different words publication pronunciation. Thank you, my friends in here, the distinct countries in the world.
Speaker 1As you can see, there are so many people with the same fears, just like you, but few drama games, fun exercises and encouragement might help people start opening their mouth and enjoy themselves. The fear of speaking a foreign language is mostly in your head, so this is not a physical limitation. Therefore, the way to get rid of fear starts with awareness and positive thinking. Instead of thinking about failures, try to identify the opportunities that are in front of you, even if you can't see them at the moment. The way to do this is by trying to identify with your abilities and talents. Identify with your abilities and talents the things that you know about, the things you can, and don't be afraid to challenge yourselves, and don't be bothered so much about other people's opinions about the way you talk and sound. That's it, guys. Please give a thumb up if you enjoyed today's special and subscribe, and if you are ready to join us for this wonderful journey, don't forget to leave a comment and let me know about your difficulties in English. I see you next time. Have a great day. Bye.