TRANSCRIPT

The problem. You want to speak to English speakers, but you feel nervous, you can’t understand, and you don’t know what to say. Well don’t worry, today I will teach you how. Welcome to speak English with Tiffani. I am teacher Tiffani, let’s jump right in. So here’s the truth about native English speakers. First, they are willing. Native speakers, specifically Americans, are usually willing to talk to you.

Second, they talk to others. Native speakers talk to strangers frequently, so they are seen to be quite friendly. And third, they are interested. You see, native speakers have opinions, and they are interested in other people’s opinions. So let’s look at the five steps to help you communicate with native English speakers. Now, we must remember that the term “communicate” means an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions, or emotions by two or more persons. In other words, it means to inform, to express feelings and to influence. So, let’s keep going with the first step.

Alright, number one, how to start. The first thing you need to do is let them know you are an ESL learner. Don’t be shy, don’t be ashamed. It’s better to let them know. So you could do this by saying “Hi, my name is Sue. “I’ve been studying English for almost two years “and I love it.” So what happen? By saying “I’ve been studying English for almost two years” you let the person know that you are an ESL Learner.

Okay, so the person listening to you will have a better understanding. Or you can say “This is my first time speaking with a native “English speaker.” Well right here by saying “my first time speaking with” you’re letting the person know that you are an ESL Learner. This is what you need to do. Or you can also say “It is nice to talk to you. “Please forgive me if I make any mistakes while speaking.”

So right here you say “Please forgive me.” “Please forgive me.” So what’s happening is you’re once again letting them know that you are an ESL Learner. Or you can say “Hi, I’m from Brazil. I love learning “and speaking in English. Are you from America?” In this example we’ve done two things. First, you’ve said the country that you are from, and it’s not a native English speaking country. And you also said “I love learning and speaking in English.” But this word right here is the key. Again, it shows that you are an ESL Learner. Alright, and you could also say “Hello, I’m Max. “My hobby is studying English.” Well, right here we have “hobby” that means, once again, you are an ESL Learner. This is step number one, how you should start when you’re trying to communicate.

Now, number two, how to choose a topic. You see, the second thing you need to do is find a topic that interests you both, something you both want to talk about. So, what to do is think about your personal interests, and you want to pick three of them. So, right here we have, maybe you like fishing, maybe you also enjoy running and exercise, maybe you like extreme sports or painting and drawing or even baking.

Well, what you want to do again is pick three of them. Okay, this is all happening in your mind, pick three of them then what you’re going to do is, the native speaker needs to know more about you, so say your top three interests. You can say “I have many hobbies, “but I really enjoy running, baking, and drawing.” Okay, so this pattern right here “really enjoy” means you’re going to focus on your top three. What you’re going to do next is give the native speaker a chance to answer. You’re going to ask them about their hobby or interest. And how you do that, you just say “How about you?” This is asking them for their interests.

Alright, now, warning, don’t pick a topic you are not interested in. If a topic comes up that you are not interested in, try to change the subject, okay? You don’t want to get stuck when you’re communicating with a native English speaker, you want to be able to speak fluently and comfortably. Okay, let’s go to number three, How To Listen.

The third thing you need to do is listen closely to what they say. So, this is what happens, in your mind you want to be able to recognize the who, what, when, where and why in the native speaker’s statements. Basically, you’re listening for the 5W’s. Remember, if you need to get a refresher on this, go to the lesson, the link is in the top right of this video that talks about the 5W’s and how to recognize them, okay?

Now, after that, as you are listening, you need to find the key point. In other words, listen for the most important part of what they are saying. Okay, this is all happening inside of your mind as you’re listening. Now what you’re going to do, finally, as you listen, you need to find something that you are curious about, in other words, find something to ask a question about.

Remember, curious, this word, just means something that you are interested in. Interested in or want to learn more about. Want to learn more about. That’s what the word curious means. Warning number two, don’t assume that native English speakers don’t want to listen to you. Instead, think positively before you speak, you can do it. So let’s go on to number four, how to answer.

The fourth thing you need to do is give an answer that leads to more talking. This is how you do that. The first key point to answering is to restate the question or previous comment. You see, you’re going to be talking about a lot of things and they’re going to be making a lot of statements. What you need to do is, as you’re listening, pick one thing and then restate it when you speak, okay?

Alright, now, the second key point to answering is to give your opinion on what they said. For example, you can say “I think…” or “In my opinion…” You’re giving your opinion on what they said. Now, the third key point to answering is to use the following equation for your answer. First thing you’re going to do is give your response, as you’re giving your response, you want to give one proof for why you think that, and the last thing is you want to give a follow-up question. This is key, giving a follow-up question, back and forth.

Remember, this is what it’s all about when you’re having a conversation. If you need to brush up or get a refresher course go to the video on the top right corner that talks about how to master English conversation. It’s a back and forth in a conversation. Okay, number five, how to end. The fifth thing you need to do is end the conversation properly. So let’s look at some ways to end the conversation. Here is the first example of how to end a conversation. You can say “It was great talking to you.” You see right here you’re giving a little bit of emotion.

“It was great talking to you.” It means you enjoyed speaking with them. The second example of how to end a conversation is “Let’s do this again.” “Let’s do this again.” So you’re showing that you enjoyed, and you want to speak again. You want to speak to that person again. The third example is “It was great chatting with you.” The word chatting is just another way of saying talking. Talking comfortably or in a relaxed way. “It was great chatting with you.” Or for the fourth example you could say “I really liked how you said…

Let’s talk more.” In this spot right here, what you’re going to do is restate something that was interesting from your conversation. Restate something that was interesting, something they said during your conversation that was very interesting. It shows again that you were listening well and you’re also saying “let’s talk more.” Now, the fifth example is “Thank you for the great conversation. Have a good day.”

We talked earlier about saying “great” and now we have “Have a good day.” You’re letting them know that you appreciated the conversation and you want them to enjoy the rest of their day. Now this is a warning. Don’t act like you understand something if you don’t. In other words, instead of pretending, it is better to ask them to repeat what they said.” Please remember this. Don’t be shy, don’t be embarrassed, it’s okay to ask them to repeat if you don’t understand.

If you want to continue studying with me, you can go to my website SpeakEnglishWithTiffani.com/EBOOKS and look at my eBooks that I made just for you, or you can also go to SpeakEnglishWithTiffani.com/COURSES to start studying my special courses just for you. Also, remember on the left side of your screen, to watch my next English video lesson. Until next time, remember to speak English.