INTRODUCTION |
Sadia: Hi from New York. This is Sadia. |
Keith: Hey and I’m Keith. “A Conversation Mistake You Don't Want to Make.” |
Sadia: In the last lesson, Lesson 3 - “Do People Understand Where You're Coming From?”, you learned how to get to know someone and tell more about yourself. |
Keith: You also learned how to ask Who and Where using interrogative pronouns--question words |
Sadia: And you learned how to answer questions about yourself using affirmative and negative statements, saying yes or no. |
Keith: Well, in this lesson you’re going to learn about... |
Sadia: getting to know more about people and talking about yourself. |
Keith: Ok, and this conversation takes place, where? |
Sadia: It takes place on a plane. |
Keith: And the conversation is again between... |
Sadia: The main character Zo and the girl sitting next to him, Michelle. |
Keith: They’re friends though, I think, right? |
Sadia: Yeah, I think they are. |
Keith: Alright, well let’s listen in to the conversation. |
DIALOGUE |
Michelle: (to flight attendant) Excuse me, may I have some water, |
please? |
Flight attendant: Oh, certainly, ma'am. |
Michelle: Sorry. So, Cape Town is nice. It seems so…interesting! |
Zo : (laughs) Los Angeles is nice, too! So, what do you do |
in Los Angeles? |
Michelle: I'm a nutritionist and personal trainer. |
Zo: Once again, slowly please. |
Michelle: I'm a (enunciating) nu-tri-tion-ist, and a per-so-nal |
trai-ner. |
Zo: Sorry, I don't understand. |
Michelle: Nutritionist and personal trainer. I help people eat |
healthy foods and exercise the right way! |
Zo: Oh, I see! |
Keith: One more time, slowly. |
Michelle: (to flight attendant) Excuse me, may I have some water, |
please? |
Flight attendant: Oh, certainly, ma'am. |
Michelle: Sorry. So, Cape Town is nice. It seems so…interesting! |
Zo : (laughs) Los Angeles is nice, too! So, what do you do |
in Los Angeles? |
Michelle: I'm a nutritionist and personal trainer. |
Zo: Once again, slowly please. |
Michelle: I'm a (enunciating) nu-tri-tion-ist, and a per-so-nal |
trai-ner. |
Zo: Sorry, I don't understand. |
Michelle: Nutritionist and personal trainer. I help people eat |
healthy foods and exercise the right way! |
Zo: Oh, I see! |
POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
Sadia: So, uh Zo is really cozying up to Michelle at this point, |
huh? |
Keith: Yeah, he is! He’s cozying up. He’s becoming a little more comfortable, I guess. |
Sadia: Mm-hmm. |
Keith: And he's doing a really great job of getting to know her! |
Sadia: Right, a great job indeed-- he’s obviously has learned that |
next to the weather, the second most popular topic of |
conversation is jobs, or what people do for a living. Some people love talking about what they do. And others, I’d say most people, they hate it. Why do you think it's such a |
popular topic? |
Keith: Well, like the weather, EVERYONE can talk about their |
jobs or jobs they've had in the past because they've |
spent so much time working! |
Sadia: Yeah, that's true. I know I've had my fair share of jobs |
since I started working in high school. |
Keith: Oh yeah? What was your first job? |
Sadia: Actually, I was thinking about it and I never really had like a “job” job in high school. I interned at a magazine, so I wasn’t really getting paid. Is that still a job? |
Keith: That’s still a job, I think. |
Sadia: OK. |
Keith: Intern at a magazine, so you were writing, right? |
Sadia: Yeah, Getting coffee. [laughs] |
Keith: [laughs] |
Sadia: What was your first job? |
Keith: Well, I worked at my aunt’s dry cleaner. |
Sadia: Aah.. |
Keith: It was fun. |
Sadia: Yeah? |
Keith: Yeah. And kind of boring too. [laughs] |
Sadia: [laughs] You probably had a lot of free time too though, to read, or do your homework. |
Keith: A lot of free time to just sit. [laughs] |
Sadia: [laughs] Well, I bet we could go on and on about jobs, right? |
Keith: Yeah, we could definitely go on and on, but instead how about we take a look at the vocabulary? |
Sadia: Let’s. |
VOCAB LIST |
Keith: The first word we shall see is... |
Sadia: water [natural native speed] |
Keith: clear liquid; rain, ocean, lake, stream; H2O |
Sadia: water [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: water [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
please [natural native speed] |
Keith: used for polite requests |
please [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
please [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: ma'am [natural native speed] |
Keith: polite way to address a woman |
Sadia: ma'am [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: ma'am [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
sir [natural native speed] |
Keith: polite way to address a man |
sir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
sir [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: everyone [natural native speed] |
Keith: every person; each person |
Sadia: everyone [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: everyone [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
be [natural native speed] |
Keith: to exist or to exist as |
be [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
be [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: also [natural native speed] |
Keith: in addition; besides; too |
Sadia: also [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: also [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
happy [natural native speed] |
Keith: filled with joy; joyful |
happy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
happy [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: what [natural native speed] |
Keith: used as an interrogative about the identity, nature, or |
value of something |
Sadia: what [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: what [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
to do [natural native speed] |
Keith: to perform; to make happen |
to do [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
to do [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: you [natural native speed] |
Keith: the one(s) being spoken to |
Sadia: you [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: you [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: in [natural native speed] |
Keith: place where |
Sadia: in [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: in [natural native speed] |
Next:" |
Sadia: understand [natural native speed] |
Keith: to grasp the meaning of; comprehend |
Sadia: understand [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
Sadia: understand [natural native speed] |
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
Keith: Alright, well let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
Sadia: The first phrases we’ll look at are, |
Keith: "Yes, ma'am" and "Yes, sir." |
Sadia: So after Zo and his new friend, Michelle, are settled |
into their seats, they ask one of the flight attendants |
for some water. To Michelle, the flight attendant |
says, "Certainly, ma'am," and to Zo, she says, "Yes, sir." These |
sound fancy, very fancy. Why? |
Keith: Well, you're definitely right. They’re fancy words, because "Certainly, ma'am" (which is the same as "Yes, ma'am") and the phrase "Yes, sir" are very formal |
ways of showing you agree or you will do something. |
Sadia: Maybe if you’re at a restaurant or something, and I say, “Can I order now?” |
Keith: And the waiter, because he wants to be polite, he’ll say, “Yes ma’am.” Well, what about when Michelle tries to explain her job to Zo, he says, "Sorry, I don't understand." Why does he |
apologize? Why does he say he’s sorry? |
Sadia: Good question. This is a useful phrase to use when you're in a |
conversation, but don't understand what is being said. The "sorry" bit is a way of apologizing for making the person you're speaking to repeat herself. |
Keith: So, "Sorry, I don't understand," is a very polite way |
of asking someone to repeat herself. If your teacher said something in class but you didn’t hear it, you have to hear it one more time, what can you say? |
Sadia: You’d say, “Sorry, I don’t understand.” Finally, let's take a look at "I see!" What's "I see!" |
used for, Keith? |
Keith: "I see!" is a nice, lively phrase that indicates that the person speaking understands what’s being said. It's usually said after the person speaking has trouble understanding what he or she is hearing and then, all of a sudden, that person understands. |
Sadia: So it's a phrase that shows that the person speaking understands what’s being said. “I see” is usually said after the person speaking has trouble understanding what they were hearing and suddenly does understand. |
Keith: Exactly. |
Sadia: I see! So it’s an expression of surprise and of relief-- the speaker is happy that he or she can continue the conversation, right? |
Keith: Right. When Michelle first tells Zo what she does for a living, the main character, Zo, doesn't understand. And after she explains her job slowly and clearly, Zo finally understands |
what Michelle is saying-- |
Sadia: so he says, "I see!" |
Keith: Precisely! |
Sadia: I see! |
Keith: [laughs] |
Lesson focus
|
Sadia: The focus of this lesson is asking, “What do you do?” and talking about jobs. |
Keith: Yeah. In this dialogue, Zo asks Michelle, “What do you do in Los Angeles?” |
Sadia: And she responds, “I’m a nutritionist and a personal trainer.” |
Keith: Pretty fancy jobs. |
Sadia: Uh-huh. |
Keith: Well, “What do you do” is probably one of the most commonly used phrases in the English language, particularly among those who have just met. |
Sadia: For sure. In many English-speaking countries, especially America, I think, talk about jobs and work can steer, they can drive, entire conversations. Luckily, asking what someone does is quite easy. |
Keith: It’s very, very easy. You simply say, “What do you do?” |
Sadia: Mm-hmm. After Zo discovers that his new friend Michelle is from Los Angeles, he asks, “So, what do you do in Los Angeles?” |
Keith: But actually adding the place name is not really necessary. You don’t have to say the place. |
Sadia: If Michelle had said she was from Detroit, say, or Miami, Zo could’ve asked, “What do you do in Detroit?” or “What do you do in Miami?” |
Keith: Right. You can always change the place name. But you can always just say, “What do you do?” |
Sadia: That’s true. Let’s take a look at how Michelle responds. She says she’s a nutritionist and a personal trainer. Pretty snazzy work. |
Keith: Very, very snazzy, but what’s the deal? What does “snazzy” mean? |
Sadia: “Snazzy” means kind of fancy or maybe glamorous or exciting to some degree. |
Keith: Yeah, pretty exciting, I think. |
Sadia: Zo doesn’t understand at first, so Michelle explains that a nutritionist helps people kind of figure out what foods to eat and that a personal trainer helps people exercise the right way. |
Keith: Yeah, that’s not a bad way to make a living. |
Sadia: Not bad at all. |
Keith: If someone asks, “What do you do?” answering is very, very easy. |
Sadia: Yeah, it is pretty easy. |
Keith: And of course the list of jobs is endless. There’s so many. |
Sadia: Yeah, there are so many jobs. So there are so many answers to the question, “What do you do?” |
Keith: So you may hear or you may say, “I’m a doctor” or “I’m a bartender.” |
Sadia: Right. Or even, “I work with children,” or “I teach,” or even, “I’m a professional wrestler.” |
Keith: [laughs] You, Sadia? I don’t think so. [laughs] |
Sadia: [laughs] |
Keith: Maybe you can also hear, “I clean houses,” “I’m a writer,” or “I sell wine.” |
Sadia: It’s endless. But tell us, what do you do? |
Keith: Yeah. Now you, our listeners, know how to answer the question. |
Sadia: And you also know how to ask others, so get ready for some pretty interesting conversation. |
Outro
|
Keith: That’s right. Alright, that’s going to do it for this lesson. Thanks for listening. |
Sadia: Thanks for listening. Buh-bye. |
Comments
HideIn the dialogue for this lesson, the two characters are introducing themselves to one another; perhaps this is the start of a long friendship? What do you think? Have you ever met anyone on a plane that you've "kept in touch with"-- someone you're still friendly with today?
Hello Aixuexi,
Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing your goals with us! We're thrilled to be part of your language learning journey. 👍😄
You're already on the right path by expressing your thoughts and asking questions. To answer your question, improving your English, especially speaking and writing, requires consistent practice. Try to engage in conversations with English speakers, watch English movies or shows, and read English books or articles.
Now, let's look at your message and see how we can improve it:
1. "I am a web developer by writing code, I like it job."
Correction: "I am a web developer who writes code, I like my job."
Reason: Using 'who' correctly connects the two parts of the sentence. Also, 'it' should be 'my' to correctly refer to your job.
2. "I want to learn English to get more konwledge and skill from all the world."
Correction: "I want to learn English to gain more knowledge and skills from all around the world."
Reason: 'konwledge' should be 'knowledge', and 'skill' should be 'skills'. Also, 'from all the world' should be 'from all around the world'.
3. "What can I do to improve my english, especillay speaking to some people and write right sentences ?"
Correction: "What can I do to improve my English, especially speaking to people and writing correct sentences?"
Reason: 'especillay' should be 'especially', and 'write right sentences' should be 'writing correct sentences'.
4. "Sometime I can’t understand someone what is said? I can said “once again,please solwly and expain use easy words”, Is It right?"
Correction: "Sometimes I can’t understand what someone is saying. Can I say “once again, please slowly and explain using easy words”?
Reason: 'Sometime' should be 'sometimes', 'what is said' should be 'what someone is saying' and 'I can said' should be 'Can I say'. Also, 'solwly' should be 'slowly' and 'expain' should be 'explain'.
Remember, it's perfectly okay to make mistakes when learning a new language. They are opportunities to learn and grow. Keep up the good work, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I am a web developer by writing code, I like it job.
I want to learn english to get more konwledge and skill from all the world.
What can I do to improve my english, especillay speaking to some people and write right sentences ?
Sometime I can't understand someone what is said? I can said "once again,please solwly and expain use easy words", Is It right?
Thank you for help. Today is my first day to order the premium for two years.
Hello Nasir Hamid Harry,
Thank you for your message! 😄👍❤️
It seems like you're in a great mood. If you have any questions or need help with anything, feel free to ask.
We're here to support you in your English learning journey.
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hello Alp,
It's fantastic to hear about your ambitions to become Cabin Crew! Yes, you're absolutely correct. English is indeed the universal language of aviation, and having a strong grasp of it will definitely be beneficial in your career. 👍👍👍
Now, let's look at your sentences:
1. "I’m studying English because i want to be Cabin Crew." - This sentence is almost perfect, just remember to capitalize the 'I' in 'i'. So it should be "I’m studying English because I want to be Cabin Crew."
2. "English is Language of Aviation and every lesson takes place on plane." - Here, you should include 'the' before 'Language' and 'plane'. So, it should be "English is the language of Aviation and every lesson takes place on the plane."
3. "I have to learn English like my main language and I will." - Instead of 'like' you should use 'as'. So it should be "I have to learn English as my main language and I will."
4. "I don’t translate, this sentences is my sentences and my current English so, sorry for my mistakes." - Here, you should use 'sentence' instead of 'sentences' and include 'these are' before 'my sentences'. So, it should be "I don’t translate, this sentence is my sentence and my current English so, sorry for my mistakes."
You're doing a great job, Alp! Keep practicing and you'll definitely achieve your goal. Remember, making mistakes is a part of the learning process. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions.
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I'm studying English because i want to be Cabin Crew (Is that true?) and English is Language of Aviation and every lesson takes place on plane 😎 I have to learn English like my main language and I will. (I don't translate, this sentences is my sentences and my current English so, sorry for my mistakes 😅)
Hello Daniel,
Thank you for your comment! I'm glad to hear that you found our lesson helpful. If you have any questions about making friends or speaking about business in English, feel free to ask. 😄👍
Just a small correction on your comment:
Instead of saying "Good lesson to find friend, and speak about business", you should say "Good lesson for making friends and speaking about business". In English, we use the verb 'making' before 'friends' to imply the process of forming friendships. Also, don't forget the importance of using the correct prepositions. In this case, 'for' is more suitable than 'to'.
Keep practicing and don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Good lesson to find friend, and speak about business
Hello Shahid Safi,
Thank you for your kind comment! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the dialogue and found the new words useful. Our teachers will be pleased to know their voices are appreciated. 👍👍
If you have any specific questions about the dialogue or any of the new words you learned, please feel free to ask.
We're here to help you on your language learning journey!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Nice dialogue with a few new words to know. I really like the two commentators with their voices
Hello Gisele,
Thank you for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the last lesson. If you have any questions or need further clarification on anything, please don't hesitate to ask. We're here to help. 😄👍
Just a quick note on your message: it should be "Thanks to everyone at English101.com". We use "thanks" instead of "thank" when expressing gratitude because "thanks" is an expression of gratitude, whereas "thank" is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., I thank you).
Keep up the great work, and remember, practice makes perfect!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hello Nikita! 😄
It's great to hear from you again! It seems like you're having some exciting experiences. I'm here to help with your English and I'm glad you're taking the initiative to start conversations and make friends. 😄😎
Here are some corrections for your message:
1. "When l was flight last time" should be "When I was flying last time" or "On my last flight". We use 'flying' to talk about the action of travel by air. 'Flight' is a noun that refers to a journey made by flying.
2. "I didn’t speak with my neighbor on a plane and slept" could be "I didn’t speak with my neighbor on the plane and just slept". The word 'just' can be used to emphasize what you did. Also, we say 'on the plane' when we're talking about being inside the airplane.
3. "So, in the next time" should be "So, next time". We use 'next time' to refer to the next opportunity or occasion.
4. "I will start a conversation for a long friendship" could be "I will start a conversation to make a long-term friendship". We use 'to' to express the purpose or intention of an action.
Keep practicing and don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions or need further clarification. You're doing great!
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Hi, I loved the last lesson. Thank to everyone at English 101.com
Hi teachers!😄
Long time no see 😉
When l was flight last time I didn't speak with my neighbor on a plane and slept😁
So,in the next time,I will start a conversation for a long friendship.
Hello Aung,
Thank you for your positive feedback! 😄😄
We're delighted to hear that you find our lessons useful. If you have any questions or need further clarification on any topics, please don't hesitate to ask.
We're here to help you in your English learning journey.
Thank you!
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
👍👍👍
Very useful
Hello Minh and William,
Thank you for sharing! Yes, maybe on your next flight you can practice your English language skills with a stranger! Great idea!
Some corrections for you here, I would change - "But it seems interesting to have one..." to "But it might be interesting to have one!"
Also remember to use a capital letter when you use the word "I." You would also say "Keeping in touch with them sounds great too" instead of using "that one."
@William - Thanks for taking the time to ask your question. The phrase "kind of" means 'slightly' or 'moderately.' In the context of the sentence you mentioned, "kind of" implies that Michelle teaching people what foods to eat is only some of what she does as a nutritionist.
Regards,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I've never had a conversation with a stranger on a plane. But it seems interesting to have one. So maybe, on the next flight, i'm gonna have a conversation with a stranger. Keeping in touch with that one sounds great too lol.
Love the way you give others questions in the comment <3
Correct me if I make a mistake. Thank you
In the following sentence, what function does "kind of" have? Seems to me that "kind of" has no meaning.
So Michelle explains that a nutritionist helps people kind of figure out what foods to eat
Hello Manasse,
A big thank you for your post and the positive feedback!
Please feel free to ask us any questions you have throughout your studies.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com