Phrasal verbs from A to Z #day11 - K

English Tutor Alice here: The other thing too that is very common.... is American English language learners that are A2 tell me they've only watched American English podcasts that talk about something like finances or the gov't. Podcasts that use professional English. Scripted/rehearsed American English. Then they wonder why they struggle to come up with more words/phrases when they try to actually do small talk about hobbies, books, games or movies. Or they feel just 'stuck' in their level. I always suggest also watching a Youtube channel that is geared towards helping someone speak American English. A channel that uses basic, small talk English with words and phrases that would be common for the average everyday American English speaker to use. They watch things that only talk about the news....but they don't watch/listen to anything that would help them learn how to talk to someone at a restaurant or book store. If you're A2...and lack enough basic vocab to hold a substantial conversation with someone that is a native English speaker from the US...then only watching/listening to words and phrases about the government of science or finances isn't going to help you get a broad grasp of basic general vocabulary. It's going to put you in a box where you could only have a conversation if that random niche topic is brought up to you. Knowing a lot of American English words about government issues is great but it's not gonna help you when someone from the US asks you about your hobbies and you can barely say like two sentence responses.

Choose the correct answer.

🚗 Which sounds natural?

When you're having a face to face conversation with someone you don't want to make them do all the work to try to 'figure out what you're trying to say.' You want a clear, flowing, natural conversation with someone. You want to learn what to say and how to say it. And chances are if you're talking with a friend or family member or coworker they aren't going to directly tell you that they didn't understand you completely. You most likely have never been told exactly what you say wrong. Most students have no idea. They know they struggle but they've never actually been told if it's pronunciation or vocabulary or sentence structure. They have never really had someone from the United States really listen to all the sounds that come out of their mouth and watch what their mouth does (If it moves much or not.) Most students are taught that pronunciation isn't important.... then they wonder why they still have such a strong accent that sounds nothing at all like American English. I could have a conversation with you and point out either your pronunciation mistakes or your sentence structure mistakes depending on which you choose or you can choose to get corrections on both. You would get typed and verbal corrections from me. I could also help you learn phrasal verbs (most students know and use some but they don't know or use many of them). Prepositions (many students forget to use these or don't use the right one. Vocabulary. Idioms. proverbs. slang. You can improve your American English speaking. Check out my tutor schedule and my tutor profile!

Learn how to pronounce two short and long vowel sounds.