David and I discuss five of the 11 vowels of American English, and go over the various ways each sound can be spelled.  This leads to discussions of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and spelling bees (David won his school spelling bee!).  The idioms 'rule of thumb' and 'off the top of my head' come up in conversation.  Vowels covered:  AH [ɑ], AW [ɔ], AA [æ], EE [i], IH [ɪ].

010:  Vowels, Part 1

Study English conversation skills with one of YouTube's most popular English as a Second (or third!) Language teachers, Rachel of Rachel's English.   Most beneficial for intermediate to advanced students, Rachel's specialty is the nuance and musicality of spoken English.  Learn about English stress, sounds, and melodies, in addition to American slang, idioms, phrasal verbs, vocabulary, common phrases, culture, and more!  Each episode is a CONVERSATION, so join the conversation now and learn how to communicate naturally in English.

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Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Today we discuss the kinds of resolutions we make, and discuss tips on how to keep them. Learn what a SMART goal is, and learn the idioms and interesting vocabulary words we use when speaking: ‘to be on to something’, ‘flip on its head’, ‘just in the nick of time’, ‘down to the wire’, ‘went by the wayside’, and more!

025:  New Year's Resolutions

Today we talk about the best present we’ve ever gotten, and define interesting words, terms, and phrases that come up in natural conversation. Learn the phrases ‘freaking out’, ‘big deal’, ‘to be up to it’, ‘nailed it’, ‘stand out’, ‘add up’, the difference between ‘implode’ and ‘explode’, and more!

024:  The Best Present You've Ever Gotten

David and I ask each other questions to get the conversation going – then we stop when we use an idiom, phrasal verb, or challenging vocabulary word and explain it.  You’ll learn and these words and phrases because you heard them in context!  Some of the phrases we discuss this week:  to roll with something, under your belt, to be caught off guard, amped, back pedal. 

023:  Conversations:  Describe a Recent Situation that Made you Crack Up

When we were in Italy recently, we often struggled with knowing the polite way to phrase a request or ask for something.  We could get the point across, but we lacked nuance with the language.  Today we discuss phrases you can use to be polite in American English, like, “would you be able to tell me if you have ___”, or “we’re ready for the check, when you get the chance.”

022:  Phrases for being Polite in American English

Today we reflect on our trip to Italy and what is was like being non-native speakers. We discuss how we picked up language there, and how it felt not being able to fully communicate. We talk about becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable, and how to engage native speakers to help you learn.

010: Vowels, Part 1

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