Color Idioms

A lot of students need to improve their speaking by building up their knowledge of idioms and phrasal verbs. Colors are used quite often as symbolism for different emotions in so many languages around the world. The themes of color and its symbols can be found in movies, literature, music and art. Some of the color idioms I teach in my lesson may be new to you and I strongly encourage you to learn them as we native speakers use them all the time!

Are there more color idioms than those explained in this lesson?

Yes! In fact there are two that I want to share with you: green with envy and to paint the town red. Green with envy means that you feel bad because you would like to have what other people have. So let’s say that your friend just bought a really cool looking sports car. You’d give anything to have the same car, but you can’t afford it. You could say that you are “green with envy” because your friend has that car of his. Have you ever felt “green with envy”? It’s a hard thing to admit, but I am sure we have all felt that way at one time or another. Another great additional idiom I’d like to add here is “to paint the town red”. This is an oldie but a goody and it means to go out and enjoy yourself in the evening, often drinking a lot of alcohol and dancing. Have you ever painted the town red? This is something we often do at the last minute when we want to celebrate something. So let’s say you just finished something like an exam or maybe you just got that job that you always wanted! 

Will native speakers understand if I use these color idioms?

Sure they will. Just make sure you use them in the right context. You want to make sure you know how to use them correctly before using them in your speaking, so write out a few practice sentences. For example: My brother was green with envy when I won the award. I had a hard week, let’s go out tonight and paint the town red. 

Bye for now!

Steve

Making Wishes

Making wishes can be tricky in English and the main challenge is what verbs you are using and if you are making the wishes in the present or about the past. In my lesson we cover some examples for making wishes in the present. So let’s look at some examples of “stative” or “non-action” verbs: I wish I had more time, I wish I knew more English and I wish I were taller. All of the previous examples use verbs which are not actions and when you make a wish, you need to put them into the simple past according to the correct conjugation of the subject pronoun. So, I wish I had time, she wishes she had time etc. There is one verb which I am sure you are wondering about which is “be”. Why did I say, “I wish I were” and not “I wish I was”? Simple put, we need to use “were” with all of the subject pronouns and yes that includes “I, she/he/it”. Why? This is the conditional structure we have to follow when using wishes with “be”. 

Why can’t I say, “I wish I was”?

You’ll hear “I wish I was” or “I wish he/she/it was” in colloquial English. It is a common mistake among native English speakers, however, you need to know that this would be considered a mistake in speaking for writing or formal speaking. So be careful with how you particularly use the verb “be” when making wishes.

What about “if I was and if I were?

There has always been a lot of talk among English teachers about this subject too. If you say, “I wouldn’t do that if I was you” it sounds colloquial. Why? Well with if sentences, when the situation is impossible, you need to use “were” as in “I wouldn’t do that if I WERE you”. You would be able to use “was” in conditional sentences where there is a real possibility. For example, “if I was less busy, I would visit you more”. In this last sentence, you can use “was” since the situation is possible. At the end of the day, if you can’t be bothered to figure out if the situation is possible or impossible, just use “were” for all subject pronouns in if sentences and you should be fine

What about “I wish that I could fly” and “I wish you would stop”?

As I said previously, when you make wishes for yourself or other people using action verbs you can use “could + verb”. So “I wish that I could fly” or “I wish that you could fly”. Please note that “that” is optional. In my second example I used, “I wish you would stop”. We can only use “would” when making wishes about something in the moment you wished would actually happen. I find many students using would the wrong way, for example: “I wish I would fly”. This is wrong since “would” is only used for making wishes about other people and things you wish about them. Wishes using “would” are very real and tangible. So you could say, “I wish you would stop making so much noise” or “I wish you would call me more”. That’s more of a polite request to ask the person to call you, but maybe they just can’t be bothered to. If you said, “I wish you could call me more”, the meaning changes to your wishing the person had the ability. Maybe they’re too busy or have some other circumstance beyond their control.

Great Descriptive Vocabulary

I have included a lot of descriptive vocabulary in my lesson as I walked through the forest here in Vancouver. I also included some phrasal verbs detailing how I was looking at things which are used a lot by native speakers

Well everyone enjoy the video and I invite you to try the quiz which covers everything I taught in “Steve in Vancouver” part 1 and 2

Bye for now!

Steve

Hello! Hello! Hello! Leda(my wife) and I filmed this video here in Vancouver on Saturday and here it is: a brand new lesson on English idioms and expressions.This video was shot on location at Vancouver tourist attraction Capilano Suspension Bridge. There are lots of fun and useful idioms and expressions.

Outdoor location for our lesson: Capilano Suspension Bridge

We got some great sunny weather to shoot our lesson. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The current bridge is 140 metres (460 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) above the river. It is part of a private facility, with an admission fee, and draws over 800,000 visitors a year. The bridge has been featured as a setting in episodes of several television series, including MacGyver, Sliders, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, and Psych. I was quite inspired to make this lesson and there are some golden idioms and expressions that are commonly used by native speakers of English.

Will there be “Steve in Vancouver Part 2″?

I had enough material left over to go over a grammar topic I have always wanted to teach and yes it is part of the master film footage we shot in Capilano Park. I also have some additional expressions and vocabulary left over from part 1. So stay tuned for part 2.

Music

I worked all Sunday and Monday recording and mixing: electric and classical guitar, bass and piano. I improvised the melody on my classical guitar and had originally wanted to sing it, but I changed my mind at the last minute.

So everyone, I hope you love this lesson since I sure did. Feel free to try your luck at the hangman quiz after you watch the video!

Bye for now!

Hello! Hello! Hello everybody! As promised, here is my newest video: How to speak English fast – Learn English Live 17. In this video, you’ll hear me talking about how the perfect tenses are used in spoken English here in North America and the differences and similarities between “I’m sorry” and “I’m afraid”.

Do Americans and Canadians use the present perfect?

The answer is: yes and no. I have observed from talking to people from different classes of society that usage of the present perfect will vary. One of the common trends I talk about in this lesson is how the simple past is quickly taking the place of the present perfect in daily speech. The more I do research, the more I find that even news anchors and TV personalities are replacing: “I have been travelling these past few weeks” with “I am travelling these past few weeks”. I’m pretty certain these new tense substitutions come from the influence of Spanish on American English since they are exactly the same when translated. In many U.S. states where nearly half the population is of Hispanic origin, it is quite plain to see that their speaking has influenced popular American English. This should come as no surprise as Afro-American English has been part of the “cool” vocabulary of the U.S.A. for decades. “Chill out” is a prime example.

So what am I supposed to use? Present Perfect or Simple Past?

My advice if you’re intermediate to upper-intermediate is to learn to follow the rules using the perfect verb tenses before you start breaking them. The grammar books still haven’t incorporated this verb tense change and in more formal English, the perfect tenses are still used. At the most, North Americans still mix the present perfect and simple past. The important thing as you will see in my video examples is how the verb tenses are used according to level of formality i.e. register.

“I’m sorry vs. “I’m afraid”

Sometimes when two words are similar in meaning it can be tricky to use them in the right way. “Sorry” and “afraid” are two good examples. Sometimes, as you will find out in the video, “sorry” and “afraid” can mean basically the same thing. The formality might change though. On other occasions, “sorry” and “afraid” can be totally different and sometimes inappropriate.

Well everyone, this lesson was a lot of work and fun. I spent a long time researching the topic and actually had to film it twice. Please give it a like and feel free to ask me any questions here or on the comment section of the Youtube video.

Bye for now!

Steve

Hello! Hello! Hello everybody! I have a video “hot off the press” and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it! I’ve got two questions from Brazil and a mystery country and they were all good questions. Let’s go over the three topics I’ll be talking about in my lesson.

Who vs. Whom

In the first part of the lesson we learn how “whom” is used in English. Many English learners have questions as to whether it’s common to hear native speakers using “whom” on a day-to-day basis. I explain all of this in my lesson. The trick, in case you need it, for learning how to use “whom” is by remembering that “who” represents the subject while “whom” represents the object. So let’s go over an example:
Who is an interrogative pronoun and is used in place of the subject of a question.

“Who is going?”, “Who are you?”, “Is this who told you?”

Who can also be used in statements, in place of the subject of a clause.

This is who warned me. “Jack is the one who wants to go.” “Anyone who knows the truth should tell us.”

Whom is also an interrogative pronoun, but it is used in place of the object of a question:

“Whom is this story about?” “With whom are you going? Whom did they tell?”

And whom can be used in statements, in place of the object of a clause:

“This is the man whom I told you about.” “John is the man whom you met at dinner last week.”

Whom is always the correct choice after a preposition:

“The students, one of whom is graduating this year, failed the test”. “Lisa is the girl with whom I’m driving to Maine.”

Should I watch movies with or without subtitles in English?

There are two things which can make subtitles hard to follow: the pronunciation of the actual words and new vocabulary. In the lesson I show an example of how text can differ from what is being spoken in a movie and this means you are probably missing a good part of the movie since all of the words are spoken quickly with linkages and contractions.

Greetings

In the third and final portion of my lesson, I explain many different greetings from extremely formal to street talk. One thing you’ll see is how native speakers use the same greeting at different speeds. This changes the pronunciation and with my tips, you should be able to use all of them by the end of the lesson. One part that I took out of the lesson was regional greetings from Texas and London. It’s possible to hear in rural regions of Texas the greeting: Howdy!”. You need to know that such a greeting would not be appropriate all over North America. The same can be said in regard to the British greeting, “Are you OK?, “Are you alright?” “Alright?” “Alright mate?”. If you were to use these greetings with North Americans, they would understand that you are worried there is something wrong with them. “Are you OK?” is used to ask if people are sick or hurt, so be careful with where you use such regionalisms.

Well everyone, this lesson was a lot of fun to make and I hope you have as much fun watching and learning as I had making it!

Bye for now!

Steve

Try Steve’s Greetings Quiz

Please note that when guessing the greetings, you don’t need to include the question mark at the end of each greeting

Hello everybody! Here is a new video I filmed and produced in response to two student questions from India and Vietnam. Both qustions are related to English conversation skills and the topics that will be covered are as follows:

Self-observation

Too often the simplest of methods can be very helpful in regard to improving your spoken English. During my teaching career, it’s always been a bit of a surprise when I’ve played back recordings to my students of their own speaking. Common reactions range from, “oh, I can’t believe I made such a stupid mistake” to “that’s not me, it’s my twin brother!”. One thing is for certain: my students have all made considerable progress by detecting mistakes they were previously unaware of. It’s not easy to “face the music” sometimes, but it’s a surefire way to erase bad habits and boost self-confidence.

Typical Mistakes According to Nationality

Each of you reading this are from different parts of the world and have specific areas of the English language that you need to work on. For many mistakes range from: articles, verb tenses, redundancies, word choice, word order, pronunciation and many more. One of the hardest mistakes that ESL and EFL students make is trying to use “loan words” from English the same way they use them in their mother tongue

Incorrect Usage of Loan Words

Let’s go to the “shopping”. This should be: let’s go to the “shopping center” or “mall”. I give other examples in this video, but I will give you a few more based on my teaching experience. The following are just a few: the pronunciation of “hamburger”, wearing a “smoking” instead of the correct “smoking jacket”, going to a “cocktail” instead of going to a “cocktail party”.

Speaking quickly linking words together

Everyone should embrace using contractions when they’re speaking such as: ‘ve, ‘s, ‘ll. One of the challenges English learners have is trying to understand when native English speakers are talking in movies and in a TV series. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that almost every word is linked to another word producing new sounds and omitting others. I teach many in my video, but here is an example: “what are you doing?”. I can assure you nobody would pronounce every single letter of each word and in fact they will change it to: waddar you/ya doing or waddar you/ya doin’?. The key is to learn and write these linkages down the way you hear them so that you can listen, understand and eventually use them in your own advanced speaking in English. 

What makes a good communicator in business?

There are many factors to consider in regard to how someone can be the best communicator possible in business. Sometimes factors come into play which may, at first glance, not be so apparent. Some people are naturally born as good communicators while others need to work on it. The bottom line is that without combining a number of different skills, even the most charismatic people are doomed to fail as communicators. For this reason I have highlighted the first of many factors which come into play when someone is communicating in business.

Charisma

We all know there are some people that can come into a room full of people and as soon as they arrive, they light up the place with their presence. This type of person has such a strong presence that they are able to draw others toward them with ease. Nonetheless, charisma is not the only factor which determines whether or not someone can be successful in business communication. A wide range of factors also make up the larger picture

Breaking the ice

In this lesson, I have included two examples on how to break the ice with an audience. It’s always about day-to-day topics like: the weather, traffic, sports etc. This is your way to get your foot in the door. The more you break the ice with people in the sincerest way possible, the easier it will be to move on to your next step.

Fluency

The way to address your fluency in business English is to try and put yourselves in the shoes of the people who are listening to you speak. Are you going too fast? too slow? Do you tend to make long pauses or choose the wrong words? Such are some of the contributing factors which will make or break a negotiation in business. Without a doubt winning customers and clients over in business is all about trust and your fluency in English is a contributing factor  

Enjoy the video and the quiz everyone!

Language Usage(grammar/word choice)

It’s no secret that even the most advanced English speakers may be in need of polishing old habits related to grammar and choice of words. Up to a point, English may seem easy, however, when someone reaches a higher level of English, mistakes start to pop up. In my years of preparing people for the TOEFL, job interviews, University program applications and immigration,  I find people tend to make more mistakes under pressure. I recommend you record yourself so that you can believe it with your own ears. Common mistakes in grammar range from: incorrect usage of the present and past perfect, conditional sentences 1,2 and 3, prepositions and articles and so on. Word choice is equally essential to improving your English and widening your horizons beyond your scope of work or studies. For example, in a very formal business meeting or lecture, if someone doesn’t hear what you said, he/she might say: “I beg your pardon?”. The words would be different if you were talking to your letter carrier. They might say, “sorry? how’s that? what?”.

Delivery(pace/pronunciation)

Do you know the story of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears? This little girl finds her way into the bear family’s house and there are three beds for the mamma bear, papa bear and baby bear. One bed is too hard, one bed is too soft and the last one is just right. This is how advanced English speakers could be categorized. So some speak too fast, some speak too slowly and some speak just right. That is their “pace” of speaking. Pace can certainly improve when someone feels comfortable and it’s possible to gain confidence by being sure of your pronunciation. It’s important to remember that your pronunciation can get better. I see it every day with my one-to-one students. If you are having problems saying “simultaneously”, I will spell it out the way you should say it:
“s + eye + mul+ TAY + nee + iss + lee.” Done!

Topic Development

Some people are more left-brained and therefore logical. Staying on topic, developing a sequence of related ideas comes easily to such people. Others, on the other hand,  may be more right-brained and creative. Their ideas might be more colorful and fanciful while at the same time hard for others to follow. My advice to all of you is take what you have to say and try to learn to cut down on redundant ideas and overly descriptive phrases. It’s hard to stay on topic, so when we break off on a tangent, we run the danger of going off topic. Topic development and overall speech making is certainly an art and one that we can all develop. Conversely, some may find the question they are asked too abstract and boring, in this case you need to learn to ad lib more. 

Enjoy the video and the quiz everyone!

Steve

Hello everyone! I was shocked as everybody to hear about all of the young people who lost their lives today in Santa Maria, Brazil. When I saw the tragedy on the news and the pain of the families, it hit me hard and very close to home. Seeing mothers and fathers anxiously waiting to find out if their son or daughter was on the list of those who had died was simply heartbreaking. I want to do my part here and share with you all a video on how to cope with losing someone. My lesson has great words of comfort and ways you can give your condolences in English.

My heart goes out to all of these families and may they find the strength to get through such a difficult time

Steve

New Interactive Quiz

I am currently video editing a new TOEFL test preparation video for high level students in need of improving their speaking. In this upcoming video I will show you a recording from a real life student example. Afterward, I will show how TOEFL raters will analyze your score and I will give you my input on which points can be improved upon ranging from vocab. suggestions to grammar tips and topic development.