The RealLife English Pronunciation Podcast

Podcast #50 Things Not to Do When Speaking English

CHAD: What about1 to drop the kids off at school2? JUSTIN: That's pretty nasty, that's...

Intro
Hey there, citizens of the world! Welcome to the Real Life Podcast, where our mission is to inspire, connect and empower the world to learn English the fun, natural and real life way. We believe that English should not be a dry and boring school subject, but an inspiring, enriching lifestyle that you can practice and enjoy whenever and wherever you want. In this podcast you will have lots of fun, learn plenty of new expressions, and drastically improve your listening comprehension. We'll also teach you the secrets of native pronunciation, connected speech, and help you tune in your listening and speaking to the rhythm and flow of English. So sit back, relax, and let's get on with the show. Dark red for pronunciation - Blue for general vocabulary Green for grammar - Purple for verb phrases

CHAD: Aww yeah! What's up? This is Chad, from RealLife English, where we believe that listening to podcasts is a fun, natural, effective, and freaking3 awesome way to learn English. So, download this podcast now and listening to us while you are stuck in traffic4. JUSTIN: riding5 your bicycle... CHAD: fixing your car... JUSTIN: or riding on top of the bus. CHAD: Chewing gum6, or... JUSTIN: watering your lawn7. CHAD: There you have it8. There are so many ways, right? JUSTIN: You can9 listen to it anywhere. CHAD: Yeah.

1. what about: whad-about 2. drop (somebody) off: to let someone out of your car. 3. freaking: (frequently used as a less offensive alternative to fucking) word used to give more emphasis to the following word. Ex, This party is freaking crazy. 4. stuck in traffic

5. ride: (common collocation: bike, horse) to be on your bike/horse and control the direction course. 6. chewing gum

7. watering your lawn

JUSTIN: Anytime. CHAD: So practical10! JUSTIN: Yep. CHAD: Oh, but let me introduce you to my co-host, the man who taught JeanClaude Van Damme everything he knows about martial arts, Justin Murray. JUSTIN: That was me, and Chuck
8. there you have it: Thats it. This is how you do it. This 9. you can: you-kn 10. practical: (convenient, handy) Ready and easy to use when you need it.

Norris. CHAD: And Chuch Norris? I mentioned Van Damme because I recently say a picture of you in some kind of martial arts studio, standing in front ofwith a karate pose. JUSTIN: That's actually when I was teaching Van Damme martial arts. I was at his11 house and he took a picture. CHAD: Ok. He wanted12 to make sure he got a13 picture of you next to his picture. JUSTIN: Yeah, absolutely. CHAD: Ok, yeah. JUSTIN: So, that's in the transcript, if you want to14 laugh your ass off15 That was a picture from, like, 2008, and somebody went on16 my Facebook and liked it, and commented17, and then all of the sudden18 everybody was, everybody, like, a couple of weeks ago, was saying "ohh, look at that." CHAD: It reappeared on Facebook, right? Awesome! So, we're really excited, got an19 awesome show for you guys today, enough dillydallying20. JUSTIN: What does21 dilly-dallying mean?
11. at his: uht-his-house 12. wanted: waned 13. got a: gotta 14. want to: wanna 15. laugh my ass off: to laugh really hard. In Internet its often abbreviated to LMFO. 16. went on: wen-on 17. commented: commenned 18. all of the sudden: It means that something happened very quickly and without anticipation. 19. we got on: colloquial omission of the subject pronoun. 20. dilly-dallying: the act of talking about irrelevant subjects.

CHAD: Yeah, I think we've mentioned that a few times, so, it just means talking about irrelevant subjects. JUSTIN: Isn't that what we do in this podcast? CHAD: Yeah, that's pretty much the podcast. JUSTIN: But not today, not today's podcast. CHAD: No? No more dilly-dallying? JUSTIN: No. Today's podcast is a special topic. CHAD: So, why don't you tell us, what's the main topic of this podcast? JUSTIN: Things not to do when speaking English. CHAD: Things not to do when speaking English. JUSTIN: These are very important. CHAD: Also, if you stick around22 to the end of this podcast, we're going to23 give you some insightful24 information about common mistakes people make with countable and uncountable nouns. Oooh! JUSTIN: Aww yeah. Let's do that!

21. what does: wha-does

22. stick around: to stay somewhere for a longer period of time. 23. going to: gonna 24. insightful: full with details and new information. 25. without further ado: no continuing the introduction any longer. Ex, with no further ado, lets begin the celebration. 26. jump into: to promptly start something new. 27. shout out: colloquial expression to say hello to people - shou-dout

CHAD: Ok. But, without further ado25, let's jump into26 some shout outs27.

[shout out music] You know you make me want to shout, kick my heels up and shout, throw my hands up1 and shout, throw my hands back and shout CHAD: What you got2 for us, Justin?

1. throw my hands up: to rise ones hands.

2. what you got: whatcha-got

JUSTIN: We have a shout out from a person named People2. Not their real name, I imagine, but called it "a fantastic podcast. Spontaneous, rich, deep. What separates this podcast from the other good ones is probably the length of the episodes and their density. That might not be perceptible immediately, but it's a colossal3 work. Good job!" CHAD: When People2 said density, do you think they meant the density of the podcast or our density? JUSTIN: Probably, I don't know, probably a bit of everything, the transcript too, I think. CHAD: Ok.

3. colossal: extraordinarily great en quality or size.

JUSTIN: If you haven't checked out the transcript, aw, man, that's dense4. CHAD: Yeah. Because "dense," I can also use that as a bit of a slur5 "Oh, that guy is kind of6 dense." JUSTIN: Sorry man, I didn't catch that 7. Im kind of dense? CHAD: Yeah. Hopefully he was talking about the density8 of the content, and not calling us dense, which means idiots, right? JUSTIN: We never know9. CHAD: Can I just quickly give one more, extra, special shout out? JUSTIN: Yeah, go for it10, man! CHAD: Ok, so, uh, I got an email from one of our listeners, Mortamid Nadia, I think maybe the name is Nadia Mortamid, I'm not too sure, and they say "I thought that this podcast was a humorous one, once again, I've loved the transcript as well, as of course the podcast. For me, everything seems to be perfect. In the transcript, things are lucid and well explained. You guys have clarified it enough, I really have nothing else to say so far11. Keep up the good work12. P.S.13 Does 512 Aww Yeah Avenue really exist in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, or what?" They say "because14 I was looking for it on Google Maps, so, I think it's another one of your

4. dense: packed with a lot of information. When said to a person its an offensive remark meaning stupid. 5. slur: insulting remark 6. kind of: kinda 7. not to catch something: not to understand.

8. density: densidi 9. never know: used to say that theres always a chance for something to happen, even if its very slim.

10. go for it: go ahead, do it. Its used to communicate that someone is allowed to do something. Ex, A: Can I use your pc for a little bit? B: Yeah, go for it, man! 11. so far: up to this present moment. 12. keep up the good work: (also: keep it up!) it means keep doing good things. 13. P.S.: Acronym standing for postscript. It introduces a piece of extra information at the bottom of a letter. 14. because: cause 15. so you know: for your information. 16. avenue

jokes." On the email we send to all of you subscribers, it has our address as Aww Yeah Avenue. And, just so you know15, it does exist, it's just that we aren't located on Google Maps. It's a secret avenue16. Alright, so, let's move on to17 the news...

17. move on (to): to stop talking about something, and start discussion the next topic.

[News music] What's new pussycat? Woah1, Woah. What's new pussycat2? Woah, Woah JUSTIN: Ok, so, today, Chad, I believe you have a special news story for us? Am I correct? CHAD: Well, yes, Justin, you are correct. I do3 have a killer4 news story for us today. I'm just going to read out5 the headline, that is "Dave Matthews hitches ride with a fan to Hershey show, after getting stranded on Pensylvannia roadside." JUSTIN: Wow. First of all, who's Dave Matthews? CHAD: Well, I should maybe ask you that question, as he is from your

1. woah!: Alternative to WOW! 2. pussycat

3. do: we use do here to add emphasis. Ex: Girl: You dont love me Boy: I DO love you, baby! 4. killer: impressive, with great impact. 5. read out: to read aloud. Dave Matthews

country. JUSTIN: Yeah, actually he's from South Africa, but he did become a very... CHAD: Oh, is he from South Africa? JUSTIN: ...he did6 become a very famous musician in the United States7. He was born in South Africa and I think he moved to the United States when he was an adolescent. CHAD: Oh, there you go8. My ignorance. JUSTIN: He's a very famous musician, he was very famous for about ten years, probably the most famous, one of the most famous artists amongst, like, college students, you know, around like 959 2005. And, I went to a couple of shows of his. But... CHAD: His group is known as, like, The Dave Matthews Band. JUSTIN: Yeah. CHAD: Yeah. Do you like his music? JUSTIN: Yeah, I love it. It's like really rich, it's got, like, kind of jazz, kind of rocky, pop. CHAD: Exactly. Yeah, so, uh... That's the headline, so, Dave Matthew
10. hitch something to something

6. did: as with do above, did is used to show emphasis here. 7. United States: Unidid-States

8. there you go: used here to acknowledge the new information.

9. 95: nine-dee-five

hitches ride with a fan, what's to hitch a ride10? JUSTIN: Well, to hitch, literally11, it's like, you hitch a trailer12 on the back of a car, right?
11. literally: liderally

CHAD: So, in that case it's to...attach?

12. trailer

JUSTIN: Connect. CHAD: Connect. JUSTIN: And to. Yeah, another use of the word hitch is to, like, get married as well. But he hitches a ride with a fan. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: To the Hershey show. So he hitchhiked13. CHAD: Ok, we talked about that on a recent podcast, right? JUSTIN: Yeah, to hitchhike is when you put your thumb out and to get a ride with somebody. CHAD: Yeah. So, that's the act, to hitch a ride is to get a ride, put your thumb out. JUSTIN: "After getting14 stranded15 on the Pensylvannia roadside- roadside" CHAD: Stranded? What does stranded
14. getting: geddin 15. stranded: left somewhere with no way of going anywhere else.

13. hitchhike

mean? JUSTIN: Stranded means, to get stuck some place, to get caught some place, without a ride16. CHAD: Yeah, and roadside? JUSTIN: On the side of the road. CHAD: Aww yeah. Ok, so let me just give you the gist17 of this article. JUSTIN: Wait, gist? What does that mean? CHAD: Yeah, uh, gist means a summary. JUSTIN: Ok. CHAD: Yeah. So, let's go. "Emily Kraus was in for a big surprise18 when she pulled over19 to pick up20 a stranded man on her way to a Dave Matthews Band show in Hershey, Penn., Saturday. The man with a brokendown21 bicycle was no ordinary hitchhiker; he was Dave Matthews, and he needed to hitch a ride to his own concert." There you go. JUSTIN: That's a cool ride22, right? CHAD: That is, it's a cool hitchhiker to pick up. JUSTIN: Yeah.
17. gist: the central idea of a story. 16. ride: vehicle in this case.

18. in for a big surprise: was about to have a big surprise. 19. pull over: to stop a vehicle on the side of the road. 20. pick up someone: to make someone get into your car. 21. broken-down: not working. 22. ride: here ride refers to the trip form one place to other.

CHAD: So, Justin, what do they mean by "when she pulled over to pick up?" JUSTIN: Yeah, so, pull over is to stop on the side of the road, actually. CHAD: Ok. And pick up? JUSTIN: Pick up is the opposite of23 drop off. Didn't we talk about this before? CHAD: Well, that was in my recent phrasal verbs video. JUSTIN: Ok. So, yeah, you drop somebody off, you know, you drop your kids off at school, and then you pick them up afterwards. Pick them up is to collect them, as you said in your video. CHAD: Yeah, exactly. Pick up24 can also have another meaning there, right? If you're a single man and you're like "hey, did you25 pick up last night?" what would that mean? JUSTIN: Pick up is to, like, I don't know, when you, like, get a girl or something. Or, like, a girl can pick up a guy. CHAD: Yeah, yeah. It has more of a, maybe, I'm not even sure if it's a sexual connotation, but at least they have some kind of fling26, maybe they kissed each other or something like
23. opposite of: the contrary of. Ex, black is the opposite of white.

Article: WTF are Phrasal Verbs?

24. pick up: to meet a girl and have some kind of romantic/sexual encounter. 25. did you: d-cha

26. fling: a brief sexual relationship.

that. JUSTIN: Or, Josh, actually, our friend that was on the Christmas podcast, apparently he- we had a party on Saturday, last Saturday, we had a RealLife English Party, and Josh was literally picking up women. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: Picking them up in the air .
28. broken down bicycle

27. pick someone up in the air

CHAD: Yeah. And Justin, when they say, "the man with a broken down bicycle," so, what does broken down mean, Justin? JUSTIN: So, it means to not be functioning, usually something like a machine or something that, thats a type of heavy machinery, right? CHAD: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, so, his bike broke down and that's why he was hitchhiking. Have you ever had bike problems? JUSTIN: Uhm, yeah, I've hitchhiked before, too. CHAD: You've hitchhiked? JUSTIN: Yeah. CHAD: Where have you hitchhiked? JUSTIN: I've hitchhiked in Mexico, and

in South Brazil. How about yourself? CHAD: I've actually never hit- Oh, I've only hitchhiked like once in my life, and that was in Brazil as well. In Bahia, when I was literally stranded in a place. I had no idea where I was. JUSTIN: How long did it take you29 to get a ride? CHAD: It probably took me and another foreigner who was traveling with me about 40 minutes. JUSTIN: Okay. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: That's awesome! CHAD: Yeah. One last thing here, from the article, I'm just going to read this, "Fortunately for Kraus," who was the woman who picked up Dave Matthews, "she was an avid30 Matthews fan," fortunately for her, "Matthews returned the favor31 by inviting32 Kraus and her boyfriend to dinner, presenting them with frontrow seats33 and signing their tickets. The singer also gave Kraus a shout out during his show, reciting his experience in song." JUSTIN: Wow, he sang34 it. CHAD: Yeah, I guess he35 mustve
30. avid (fan/reader/video gamer, etc): very enthusiastic. 31. return the favor: to do something nice and generous for the people who have done a favor to you. 32. inviting: inviding 33. front-row seats: the seats closer to the where the singer is. 34. sang: past form of the verb sing. 35. I guess he: I-guess-e

29. how long did it take you: This is the structure we use when we want to know about the time needed to do something: How long does it take you to go from your home to work? How long did it take to flight from Sao Pablo to Madrid?

36. about it: aboud-it

invented some kind of song and, about his experience that happened earlier that day, and made a quick song about it36. JUSTIN: Why don't we start doing songs for shout outs for our listeners? CHAD: Yeah, well, they use the term a shout out, he gave her a shout out. Kind of like what we do in our podcast. JUSTIN: That's awesome, that's a really great story. I would love to37 meet Dave Matthews. CHAD: Yeah, yeah. JUSTIN: Dave Matthews, a really great artist38 and we're going to play you out with one of his songs today. CHAD: Ok, so that wraps up39 another random40 RealLife news story. So, let's move on to today's conversation topic, which is... things not to do when speaking English.

37. love to: love-t-meet

38. artist: arist

39. wrap up: finish. 40. random: with no particular order or purpose.

JUSTIN: Yeah, so, we're basing this on1 one of our articles, actually. It's called "7 things not to do when speaking English" that Josh wrote, actually. Again, from the Christmas episode. CHAD: He's been on the podcast other times too. JUSTIN: Yeah, this is probably our most popular article. CHAD: Why do you think it's so popular? JUSTIN: Because that really identifies a really big problem that people have. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: Which is kind of that fear. Let's just jump right into2 this, okay? CHAD: Ok man, let's do it3. JUSTIN: So, number one, don't be too ashamed4 to speak. CHAD: Too ashamed to speak. JUSTIN: Yeah. So, what's the problem here, people are ashamed. People are scared, people are embarrassed. CHAD: Yeah, I think people get a little bit self-conscious5 of how they sound when they speak another language, it's- it's definitely a very overwhelming6 feeling, I think. When

1. base on: use particular ideas or facts to develop something of your creation. Ex, I base my opinion on my experience in life.

Article: 7 things not to do when speaking English

2. jump (right) into: to promptly start something new.

3. lets do it: enthusiastic way to say that one is going to do something. 4. ashamed: embarrassed.

5. self-conscious: too worried of what people think of you. 6. overwhelming: very strongly present and with a great impact on you.

I've first started speaking, for example, Portuguese, and the first time that I actually had, like, a conversation, I'm like " holy shit7, I'm speaking Portuguese, oh my God8, am I saying things right?" Its kind of very overwhelming for me, when I first... JUSTIN: It can be, like, just being thrown into the deep end of the pool9, right? CHAD: Yeah. What is that, to throw someone into the deep end? Nice expression, what does it mean?

7. holy shit: expression of utter surprise. 8. oh my God: another expression of surprise.

9. throw somebody in at the deep end: to get someone do something theyre not prepare for.

10. part of the: par-tuhv-the

JUSTIN: It means, you throw them, you place them in the part of the10 water that they can't touch the bottom. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: And so, sometimes, if you don't know how to swim, it can be a difficult experience, you might drown11, you might have to really learn how to12 swim quickly. CHAD: Yeah, exactly. And- but I guess that kind of experience isn't an opportunity that everyone has, to be thrown into the deep end. I mean, for my language learning experience, I really threw myself into the deep end, because I just, I just came to Brazil. I didn't really speak any Portuguese, so, I had to speak to
11. drown: die from lack of oxygen under water. 12. have to: haf-ta

13. hometown: the city or town where you grew up.

survive. But, maybe, you do n't . really get that opportunity if you're studying in, like, your hometown13, you know, home country. Because14, I mean, I like to put a lot of my students on the spot 15, and I just, even if they are like... JUSTIN: Wait, what does on the spot mean? CHAD: Oh, just put them into a situation where I'm not preparing them, I'm just straight away16 testing their English and just speaking to them, how I would naturally to you, or anyone else. JUSTIN: It's like a highly focused pressured situation, maybe?

14. because: cause 15. put someone on the spot: to make someone feel uncomfortable by getting them to do something difficult.

16. straight away: immediately and very directly.

17. stage fright

CHAD: Yeah, exactly. Just on the spot. And they generally are ashamed, you can see their face, they get kind of a little bit nervous, and "oh my God, how do I respond, oh, what's going on?" JUSTIN: Yeah, this is that moment, we all know this moment, it's like, kind of like stage fright17. CHAD: Yeah, what's stage fright? JUSTIN: It's like when you get up18 and you're about to19 talk to a group of people, like a room full of people, or an audience, and you get scared.
20. come into your mind: a thought that becomes present in your mind. Ex, an idea came into my mind. 21. clench 18. get up: ged-up 19. you're about to: yir-abou-tuh

CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: Fear comes into your mind20. There's a psychological reaction that you clench21, you tighten22. CHAD: Yeah, yeah, wait, clench? What does clench mean? JUSTIN: Like, you clench your fist21 when you close your fist, your hand. Close it. So when you clench, it's to close, to tighten. And so this happens to your mind, too. And, this is exactly what we want, to learn how to transcend. CHAD: Yeah, and, do you have any advice for doing that, if you're a language learner, an English learner, obviously, our listeners, when they get into that situation where they just kind of clench up and they experience stage fright, what should they do? JUSTIN: First of all, recognize that it's going to happen, and you can even imagine it happening, you can visualize it happening. And, put yourself into that situation23 and recognize it's just part of the process. There's no reason to have any fear about it, there's no reason to just exaggerate. There's a quote that I really like, by Mark Twain, an American writer. He says "courage is resistance to fear, mastery24 of fear, not absence of fear," which is to say,

22. tighten: tight is an adjective that means tense, compressed, hard. Now, some adjectives can be turned into verbs adding en in the end. As tighten is, other examples are shorten, straighten, soften, brighten, etc.

23. put yourself into someones place/position/shoes/situation: to imagine yourself in a certain situation where another person is.

24. mastery: when you fully understand and are able to do/use something. Ex, mastery of English.

like, even the best performers, the best speakers, everybody feels fear. CHAD: Yeah, and I wonder, I mean, I know a lot of my students to a very, you can just tell25 their personality, they're kind of outspoken26 people, so it seems like that fear of like communication, because I know communication in general can sometimes be a, kind of even scary, even in your native language, depending on who you're talking to. But, obviously, people who are more outspoken, I think maybe they don't have this problem as much as people who are a little bit more introverted27, I think as a language learner, what do you think28? JUSTIN: Yeah, that can be true, but also, you see a lot of times, like, people who are more like, you know, type A personality29. CHAD: A what? JUSTIN: Type A personality, or, like, perfectionist. CHAD: Ok. Is that what a type A personality means?

25. tell: recognize something as a result of your knowledge or experience. Ex, when you hear someone speaking you can tell where theyre from based on their accent. 26. outspoken: someone not afraid of saying what he or she thinks.

27. introverted: introver-ed 28. what do you think?: whad-ju-think Type A and B personality

JUSTIN: Type A personality is like the go getter29, they're really focused, really like, high achiever30.

CHAD: Ok. JUSTIN: Maybe. A lot of times they will have a certain tendency to, like, want to be the best, and want to31 communicate really well and stuff, and they can't really lower themselves to32 speak that second language. CHAD: So you're saying that maybe perfectionists, they, they're a little bit hesitant33 to learn a language because they realize they have to start from the bottom. JUSTIN: Yeap34. Exactly. It takes humility. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: And maybe it's this whole excuse of, like, "hey, you know, I'm going to wait until I speak perfectly." CHAD: Yeah, I guess it depends on your mindset35. I mean, to tell you the truth36, man, I kind of like that situation of being in Brazil when I didn't really speak the language very well, I was just the dumb37 gringo38. I mean, obviously the people didn't think of me as dumb, but they realize that I didn't understand the language so well, so, I could just say, like, random stuff, and stuff that I generally wouldn't say, in English to a person, and people would just be like "oh, he's just, he's just a foreigner who just can't

29. go getter: somebody who is very proactive and aggressive about reaching their goals. 30. high achiever: somebody who achieves their goals. 31. want to: wanna 32. lower oneself to: to bring down ones level. To do thinks that according to your believes people less important than you should do. 33. hesitant: not completely sure to do something. 34. yeap: a more relaxed and colloquial way to say yes when in agreement

35. mindset: set of believes that affect the way you look and live your life. 36. to tell you the truth: honestly, actually. Used in the beginning of a sentence to mark the honesty with which youre going to say something. 37. dumb: stupid. 38. gringo: in Brazil gringo means any foreigner, while in other countries it only refers to Americans.

speak very well." It's not really a good way to be perceived by people, but if you just make the most of that situation, it's not too bad. JUSTIN: You have to have a playfulness39 about it, because your essence can really still shine through40, and people can get to know41 you. CHAD: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And thats what you kind of feel like, especially when I came to Brazil, and I couldn't just openly speak to anyone and make like a really close connection, that was all I had, so I just used it to my advantage42. So, yeah, I'll just try to connect with these people, just by being that kind of guy who can't speak very well but really tries and even maybe makes some embarrassing mistakes, quite often. JUSTIN: And what happens when you connect with them? Do they help you? CHAD: They help me a lot more, they really go out of their way43 to help me. JUSTIN: Because if you put up44 barriers, and you don't connect with them, you don't actually expose yourself, make yourself vulnerable, then people aren't going to help you, they're not going to feel connected to you.
39. playfulness: playful behavior. 40. shine though: be noticeable (good quality of something) 41. get to know somebody: to know more about someone through interaction.

42. advantage: ad-van-ich

43. go out of ones way: to do somebody a favor, but which makes do a great effort. 44. put up something: to build.

45. isolated: feeling alone and with no

friends.

CHAD: Yeah, exactly. JUSTIN: You're going to be isolated45. And that leads us to another point here, which is "don't be afraid to make mistakes." CHAD: Yeah, that's very, like, pretty much exactly what we were just saying, like, making mistakes, you embarrass yourself, and that does make you a little bit vulnerable, like you said, and that vulnerability opens you up to46 other people and they want to help you. Is your experience like that, what was your experience? JUSTIN: Yeah, I mean, definitely. Coming here, not speaking the language, you connect with people, it's like, my first experience was learning Spanish, in Mexico, and, just connecting with people, just strangers I met on47 the street, as well, like, people in hostels as well, and what I noticed was that those people, when I first came there, when I first went to Mexico, I met these people, and I had an experience it was very, like, I didn't get to know them, I thought, so well, because I didn't speak the language, but then I traveled a bit, and I got more fluent. I went back, and I realized that my perception of them was still accurate49, it was the same thing. CHAD: So, independent of your actual

46. open up to: if something/someone opens you up to someone, it makes easier for you to talk with these people and be their friend.

47. met on: med-on

49. accurate: correct and precise.

50. you were still able: you-w-still-able

level of Spanish, you were still able50 to kind of feel like you knew them, in a deeper sense. JUSTIN: Uh-huh. Like, social scientists say that as much as 90% of communication is non-verbal, it comes from body language, it comes from kind of what we present with our presence, who we are, rather than what we say. CHAD: Ok, that's interesting. JUSTIN: Ok, and, next one, "don't apologize51 for your level." CHAD: Don't apologize for your level. What do you mean52 by that? JUSTIN: I mean you don't need to say "oh, I'm sorry, I don't speak English." CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: Because, I think, you're lowering yourself in that sense, and you're not kind of accepting who you are. CHAD: Yeah, and it sounds like you're doing something wrong. When you apologize, it's like, "hey man, what are you53 apologizing for?" You're just trying to speak54. JUSTIN: Yeah, and everybody is where they are, in their path, and they're in their process, so, all you have to do is

51. don't apologize: don-apologize

52. what do you mean?: wha-ru-youmean

53. what are you: what-r-you 54. trying to speak: tryin-t-speak

just be the best you can be at that given moment, right? CHAD: So, you feel guilty because you can't speak the language perfectly? JUSTIN: Yeah. And a lot of the times those people you're speaking to, for native speakers, they might, you know, they probably don't speak another language. CHAD: Yeah, exactly. And even sometimes I think people are really hard on themselves55, like, I'm talking to them in English, maybe they make a few little mistakes, but I'm not even really realizing their mistakes, and suddenly they just say "oh my God, I'm so sorry, I'm so embarrassed, my English, blah blah blah" and I'm like56 "oh, your English is actually pretty damn good57, man." JUSTIN: Yeah, there is like kind of a tendency to, one of the things I notice58, is that, I think native speakers in general don't really pay attention so much to those little grammar errors. CHAD: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. JUSTIN: We pay attention when we step back, especially if you're not a teacher. When I'm in teaching mode59. I try to correct and, I have my strategies for that, but when I'm just
55. hard on oneself: to be overly critical with oneself.

56. Im like: this is used to narrate something. We say Im like followed by what we said or felt at a given moment in the past. 57. pretty damn good: damn is a word that gives emphasis as well as more color and life to certain phrases. 58. notice: no-dis

59. in teaching/studying/relaxing mode: when you are in, for example, relaxing mode, thats the main thing you think about and thats what you want to do.

talking to somebody, I just get their meaning. I feel the meaning of it, and if that person is communicating to me, then it's all good. CHAD: I personally, now that obviously, obviously you're probably saying that, we've been teaching English now for so long, we do kind of pick up on60 these little things, but it doesn't really affect the way we understand that person and, like you said, sometimes we don't even notice. JUSTIN: Yeah, so, a lot of times it's really just about getting58 that person, if you can just speak and flow and just get your confidence up, just get that, that fear down, kind of like, just open your mind up, just relax, and you're going to59 be a lot better of a communicator. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: Because if you can choose between confidence and grammar, confidence is a much more valuable skill. CHAD: Exactly, exactly. Because it's like you just build the confidence you start talking, youre making mistakes, whatever, but you're communicating then you just fill in those gaps later. JUSTIN: I've met so many people who, just really confident but their grammar

60. pick up on: to notice it.

61. getting: gedding

62. going to: gonna

63. build confidence

64. lock up: paralize

65. try to speak: try-uh-speak

isn't very good, but they communicate really well and I would say their fluency is a lot better than somebody, the inverse, who has a lot of grammar, which is very, very common, but very little confidence. Its like, they just lock up64 when they try to speak65. CHAD: Yeah, yeah. Just uh, because66 we recently had a Real Life English party67 here in Belo Horizonte and I met this girl, and she said "oh, let me introduce you to my cousin, she's really shy and her English isn't so good." I was like, "oh, ok" and then- I was like speaking to her for a little bit and she's like, she didn't even want to speak English, then when I got her finally to talk in English, I was like "wow, your English is actually really good," you know, how could you even say that you don't speak English very well? It was just a total68 confidence thing. JUSTIN: Yeah, and so, that's a limiting belief 69. It's like, the story you tell the world about yourself- the story you tell yourself about yourself. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: So, it's like, you don't need to interpret your English the way everybody kind of wants you to, you can really just say "hey, I'm going to be the best I can." We're speaking about this, I don't know, for me,

66. because: cause 67. party: par-i

Real Life English party

68. total: to-duhl 69. limiting belief: the stories you tell yourself about yourself and the world that prevent us from reaching our true potential

70. battle: ba-dull

personally, I still get scared, so it's not like I'm saying, like, "ooh, I'm above this." I battle70 with these problems too, in my language learning. CHAD: Me too, all the time. JUSTIN: But it's kind of, like, I'll speak with somebody, and, kind of with that fear, and then, sometimes it... CHAD: Fear of what, of making a mistake, fear of looking like an idiot, fear of...? JUSTIN: Looking like an idiot and just that blockage71 that we're talking about. And so it's almost like, just knowing that that can happen, so, I need to just, kind of relax, and kind of do this process with myself sometimes when I get in those situations, you know? CHAD: And think about this situation when you're going to be really scared: what's the worst thing that could happen? JUSTIN: Yeah, this is a very good strategy71, actually. CHAD: It's like, the persons going to say "oh, sorry man, can you just, what did you say?72" JUSTIN: No, somebody might even73 laugh at you, too.

71. blockage: something that keeps something from moving. In this case, a mental blockage that doesnt allow you to do certain things freely.

71. strategy: stra-der-gy

72. what did you say: whad-you-say

73. might even: migh-deven (might rhymes with right)

74. what are you going to do?: what-ryou-gonna-do

75. set of: group of

CHAD: Yeah, true. JUSTIN: But, really, is that that bad? CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: If somebody laughs at you, what are you going to do74? Its likeSo, I guess, like, the gist of what we're saying here is that, just, you can take a different perspective. You can really open your mind to a whole new set of75 beliefs and kind of just ideas about what it is to speak a language, and what you need to really drive your process forward76. And it's very, very important for you to have the right attitude, to have kind of the right relationship with yourself, going into these situations. If you're going to get the practice and get the confidence that you need to really speak English. CHAD: Any tips for confidence, building confidence? Putting your hands up in the air? JUSTIN: Yeah, this is actually- it works. Maybe we can do this as a tip someday, but, this is like, it's a body language - I wrote an article about this, we can link it, but you put your arms up in the air for 2 minutes and it will increase your hormones, aboutlike your testosterone about I think like 20% and decrease cortisol, which is the hormone of stress, and this does77 give

76. drive your process forward: to advance on your process.

77. does: we use does here to add emphasis.

78. way up there: way here emphasizes the idea being expressed.

79. believe it or not: used before a surprising statement, and means that even though you may not believe it, its true.

you more confidence. CHAD: Okay. I was thinking about maybe just drinking beer all day and then youll just be drunk, and nothing can- and your confidence is just way up there78, man. JUSTIN: And this is why, you know, believe it or not79, alcohol does help when people speak English, with their confidence. CHAD: Yeah, it does. JUSTIN: It just kind of like removes that barrier and then the next day, you know, maybe youre like, oh, I was speaking- I was speaking really well last night, and so you have that experience of what it was like. Its not hard to go back to it. Maybe you become dependent on alcohol to do that, but.... CHAD: Yeah, yeah. Its like my student who was just at the party last weekend and she- she just wouldnt speak English with me at the start of the party. Im like, hey, why the hell80 did you come here if youre not even going to try to practice your English. I speak with you all the time. I know you can speak English. Then shes like, no, no, Im just here to just observe. Ahh okay then, I saw her drinking a few drinks and like by the end of the night she was talking with everyone, she
80. why the hell: in questions we use the hell to show surprise. Alternatives to this expressions are the fuck (more offensive) and the heck (less offensive).

81. communities: communi-dis

82. get the best out of: to fully utilize something in order to achieve something.

was dancing, she was having a good- I think she was maybe speaking Japanese as well. She was that confident. JUSTIN: And part of this, actually, in our situations, something we really promote is, like, finding communities81 of people to support you. If you're around people that support you, that's going to remove that fear, and to help you to relax, too. So you can get the best out of82 yourself in that moment, because you need to be around people, as well, who support you and kind of hold your confidence, they make you more confident. CHAD: Yeah, I think there's a lot of, especially nowadays83, because English is this kind of language that is used in these big, multinational companies, so, people have to speak English nowadays, whether that's right or wrong, that's not what we're going to talk about right now. JUSTIN: But it's the culture in these companies, right? CHAD: Exactly, and I have someagain, another student of mine, I prepared him for a big speech84, and he was really nervous. I said " why are you so nervous?" I'm sure most English speakers can understand everything you're saying, you're going to be fine.

83. nowadays: these days

84. a speech

He's like "I'm not nervous about the English speakers, I'm nervous about my colleagues who are going to judge my English." JUSTIN: Yeah, there's this competitiveness, right? CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: Ok, so, you have to recognize that that exists, but you don't have to play that game. CHAD: Yeah. JUSTIN: You just have to do the best you can and recognize that this is an aspect of the world, but you don't have to get your confidence from that. CHAD: These people that judge you and are really competitive about something like language learning, they're just really sucking all your energy out. JUSTIN: Yeah, and you have to be ready for that too, right? CHAD: Yeah, exactly, exactly. I mean, even here in Brazil, I've had some experiences with people who seem like they just didn't want to try to understand me, whether it's a cultural thing, something that I didn't understand at the time. I mean, in Brazil they have a tendency, when
85. suck out: In this context, this expression is used metaphorically to mean that your energy is being absorbed by these people.

86. carry oneself: the way you behave 87. subtle: suh-tul (silent B) it means barely perceptible.

they don't understand, they say "Ahn?" and, just coming from my culture, that, maybe, that seems like they're a little bit impatient, they don't really have the time of the day to give me at that particular time, but later I realized "oh, actually, it wasn't that they were, didn't have any patience to talk to me, it was just some cultural thing that I just had no idea about at that time. So, that kind of stuff happens too. JUSTIN: Yes, so this brings along, like, the cultural fluency and, actually, learning how to carry yourself86 in these subtle87 cultural elements of communication, like, this is a lot body language, right? CHAD: Yeah, that is. Body language, and just like, you know, I think culture, the people have, like, these different sounds that they make when they speak, you know. JUSTIN: So, I would say, like, based off of88 this, this whole idea of cultural fluency, learn survival phrases. I mean if- just learn to say, like, "sorry?" "can you repeat please?" Like, this is, like, kind of armor89 in the situation when you're being judged, you're being evaluated. You feel like you are, at least. Yeah. This will help you a lot. CHAD: Awesome, man. I think we might have to wrap that up90 there. We've been chewing everyone's ear

88. off of: of-uhv

Learn more about Survival Phrases here

89. armor

90

what up: to finish something.

91. chew your ear off: used when someone talks so much that and it starts to be annoying. 92. feel free to: it means dont hesitate to or dont feel afraid to

off91. But, uh, yeah, keep that in mind if you guys have any questions about this subject, feel free to92 write a comment on this post, or send me a personal email if you like, it's chad@reallifebh.com. JUSTIN: Or justin@reallifebh.com too. CHAD: And let's wrap up this conversation topic and quickly move on to the, what is it again? JUSTIN: The question. CHAD: That's it, it's the question. You're right.

JUSTIN: So, today, we're going to talk about countable1 and uncountable 2 nouns. CHAD: Countable and uncountable nouns, but that just sounds so easy. JUSTIN: Yeah, it's like, give me3 a glass of water4. Give me three guitars. CHAD: Yeah.

1. countable: counnable 2. uncountable: uncounnable

3. give me: gimme 4. glass of water: glass-uh-water

JUSTIN: Right? Common Errors in Orange Correct Form in Red CHAD: Hey, I really love the advices that you gave me today. JUSTIN: Yeah, that's one of them, actually, it's not advices. CHAD: It's not advices? JUSTIN: It's a piece of advice. CHAD: A piece of advice! JUSTIN: Yeah. CHAD: Like a piece of cake, but... How do you cut? JUSTIN: I'm not sure, this is just what we say. CHAD: Yeah, I'm joking. JUSTIN: And, hey, you know, I really like the slangs you used today. CHAD: My slangs? You sure you don't mean my slang? JUSTIN: Or slang expressions? CHAD: Slang expressions, there you go.

JUSTIN: Yeah, so, slang is not a countable, but slang expressions are. CHAD: Exactly, well, yeah. JUSTIN: And... Yeah, the informations you gave me yesterday, those were really awesome. CHAD: Informations? JUSTIN: Oh! Piece of information. CHAD: Oh, piece, again, piece. JUSTIN: Pieces of information, right? CHAD: Yeah, you're right. So, you're saying that advice, the piece of advice5, or the question for today, is all about uncountable nouns that are often countable in other languages. JUSTIN: mh-huh. CHAD: So, what do we have so far? JUSTIN: So, we have a piece of advice, not advices. CHAD: Ok, go ahead . JUSTIN: We have two pieces of advice, and we have two slang expressions, not two slangs. And then, third one is we have pieces of information, and not informations. CHAD: Yeah. There are some other
6

5. one piece of advice

6. go ahead: to start or continue with something.

Advice, slang and information

We can say I have some advice, I speak some slang, and I have some information, but these nouns are not countable.

ones that I notice. Software? JUSTIN: Ok. CHAD: Many people say softwares, again, in English, software is uncountable. Furniture7, I think I hear a lot as well, people say furnitures. JUSTIN: And what is it? CHAD: Piece of furniture. JUSTIN: Yeah. CHAD: Or you can actually count each individual piece, like, two chairs, five beds, etcetera. JUSTIN: Yeah, uh, bread. CHAD: Bread, yeah, that's another one people always mistake. How do you say it in English? JUSTIN: Piece of bread. CHAD: A piece of bread, yeah. Or you can say a slice of bread8, a bun. We talked about buns9 last week, didn't we? JUSTIN: But, ok, we don't actually say that, only, like, hamburger buns. CHAD: Yeah, exactly. Like hamburger buns. Or, like, your butt. Yeah. JUSTIN: So, that's the question for the

7. furniture

slice of bread

9. Both sorts of buns: but and hamburger bread

week. CHAD: Awesome. So, another great tip, again, common mistakes that a lot of my students make at least, I'm sure that's why you brought up10 the subject, because your students make them too. JUSTIN: Yeah, definitely. Just, people I speak with as well. CHAD: Yeah. Alrighty, so that is the end, the conclusion, finale11 of this podcast, you said you were going to play them out with The Dave Matthews Band song? JUSTIN: I have a really great song for you, it's called One Sweet World, by Dave Matthews Band. It's a very optimistic song, listen to it, read the lyrics... CHAD: Yeah. We're going to put the lyrics on the pronunciation transcript, right? JUSTIN: Yup. CHAD: So, if you have that... JUSTIN: Check it out12, it's pretty awesome. CHAD: Yeah, got a lot of good feedback13. I think it's really going to help your pronunciation. Plus, we'll also put in there, not just the
13. feedback: opinion about a certain product. 12. check out: to examine, try or pay attention to something.

10. bring up: to start to talk about a particular topic in a conversation.

11. finale: another way to say the end.

14. putting in: pud-ing-in

expressions and aspects of connected speech, we're also putting in14 phrasal verbs. JUSTIN: Grammar tips as well. CHAD: And some grammar tips, yeah. JUSTIN: And, if you want to see a picture of me and Van Damme, actually. CHAD: Oh, yeah, you've got to see that. That's worth it. All right guys, so, I hope you guys enjoy the song, I hope you guys have a great day, night, morning, whatever, wherever you are, keep it real15. JUSTIN: Keep it real, aww yeah. CHAD: Aww yeah. JUSTIN: Peace out16, guys.

15. keep it real: a cool way to say goodbye

16. peace out: goodbye

Lyrics

"One Sweet World" Dave Matthews Nine planets round the sun Only one does the sun embrace Upon this watered one So much we take for granted So let us sleep outside tonight Lay down in our mother's arms For here we can rest safely If green should slip to grey But our hearts still bloody be And if mountains crumble away And the river dry Would it stop the stepping feet Take all that we can get When it's done Nobody left to bury here Nobody left to dig the holes And here we can rest safely One sweet world Around a star is spinning One sweet world And in her breath I'm swimming And here we will rest in peace