15:01
If you study English mostly by watching and reading, here is what happens. You understand a lot, but when it's time to actually speak, the words are in your head and they don't come out fast enough. Believe me, I've been there. The fastest way I know to fix this is called shadowing. And I see how much you guys enjoy these videos on the channel, so we are turning shadowing into a full series. Each video gives you a real conversation built from a very small list of words. You practice speaking it out loud and you see for yourself that fluency is not about how many words you know. This time there are only 210 words in the dialogue. The level is around B1. Before we start, tell me in the comments where you
watching from. Brazil, Vietnam, India, Spain, Bangladesh. I love seeing the map fill up. If you're new here, welcome to Lingua Marina. I moved from Russia to the US 11 years ago and I'm still working on my English every single day. Subscribe so you don't miss the next video in these series. Here is how this whole going to work. You'll see the word list on the screen. Then we'll go through the tricky words together. Then we play it again and you shadow. Let's dive in. Take a few seconds and just read through the word list. Almost all of these words are ones you learned in your first or second year of English. And yet, with this list, two people are about to have a full conversation, disagree with each other,
make a decision, and tease each other along the way. Fluency isn't about how many words you know. It's about how well you use the ones you already have. Before we get to the actual conversation, I want to walk you through some of the words that might trip you up. Either because the pronunciation is a little bit surprising or because the meaning is not exactly what you'd guess. Let's start with the ones that can be hard to pronounce. Hour. So, the H is silent. You say hour. An hour, half an hour, an hour and a half. Honestly. Same rule, silent H. Honestly. Maya, our character, uses this word twice in the dialogue. Budget. The G is soft. Budget, two syllables. Commute.
Two syllables, stress on the second. Commute. The commute is the trip you take from home to work and back. Tenant. Two syllables. Tenant. A tenant is a person who rents an apartment. The owner is the landlord. The renter is the tenant. Now, let's look at some words that you've probably known for years, but they have a second meaning that catches a lot of learners off guard. These are the ones where you understand the sentence on paper, but in real conversation, you'll miss what the person actually meant. Pretty. Before an adjective, does not mean beautiful. Pretty far means quite far.
Pretty good means fairly good. Native speakers use this constantly. Pretty tired, pretty quiet, pretty serious, fair. Fair alone means equal or just. But, that's fair in conversation means okay, you have a point. Maya says it after Jess teases her about the neighbor. Talk into. This is a phrasal verb. To talk someone into something means to convince them. Jess says, "Are you trying to talk me into it or talk yourself into it. That means convince me or convince yourself. Come down. Another phrasal verb. When the price comes down, the price gets lower. Gus says, "You ask if you can come down 50." That means lower the rent by $50.
A green flag. You know a red flag, right? A warning sign. A green flag is the opposite. A good sign. Something that tells you a situation is healthy and safe. This phrase is everywhere in social media right now. Use it. A deal. When someone says deal at the end of a conversation, they are agreeing to something. Like a small handshake without the hands. Make it work. This means to find a way to handle a difficult situation. I'll make it work means I'll figure it out. By the way, before we get into the conversation, I want to tell you about something I think a lot of you will actually use. We just put together a new offer on our Language Trip Handbooks. It's called Turbo English and it's buy two, get one
free. The reason I love it is that we built two different sets depending on where you are stuck in your English right now. The first set is for speaking and vocabulary. It's for you if you understand a lot, but the moment you have to actually speak, you freeze. The words don't come out. You always reach for the same simple phrases even though you know a lot more. This set gives you the natural expressions native speakers use in everyday conversations. Plus a workbook from me that shows you how to bring English into your daily life so it stops feeling like a school subject and starts feeling like something you actually use. The second set is for grammar. It's a great fit for you if you
keep getting confused by the same grammar rules over and over, especially the tenses. This set takes the trickiest grammar topics and breaks them down with examples that actually stick. It also includes a handbook for the small everyday mistakes that even advanced learners still make. Each set is around $12 and because it's buy two get one free, you're really getting three handbooks for the price of two. The link is in the description. Now, let's move on to the dialogue. We are going through this conversation in two passes. The first time, just listen. Do not try to repeat anything yet. Get familiar with the rhythm. Get familiar with how Maya and Jess talk to each other. Here's the situation.
Maya found an apartment she really likes. The problem is that it is 40 minutes away from her job and it costs a little more than she planned to spend. She's calling her best friend Jess to talk it through. Jess is not sure it's a good idea. Just listen. Jess, hey. Do you have a minute? Yeah, what's up? I think I found my apartment. Wait, really? The one you saw yesterday? Yes, I'm going to take it. Oh my god. Okay, tell me everything.
It has big windows. There's a small balcony and the kitchen is actually really nice. What floor? Fourth. There's no elevator, but the stairs are fine. You say that now. Wait until you carry groceries up there. Okay, fair point. So, what's the problem? You sound like there's a problem. It's 40 minutes from work. 40 minutes? Maya, that is a lot. I know, I know. That's almost an hour and a half every day. Every single day.
I did the math, I know. And how much is it? $100 over my budget. Maya. I know. You're calling me tell you it's a good idea, aren't you? Maybe. I'm not going to tell you it's a good idea. I know, but honestly, Jess, I walked in and I just felt it. Okay. Tell me about the neighborhood. There's a coffee shop on the corner, a park right behind the building. The street is quiet at night. Quiet is good. What about the neighbors?
I met one of them in the hallway, an older woman with a tiny dog. She told me everyone is nice. Of course she said that. She lives there. That's fair. Did you see anyone your age? A few. Two girls were sitting outside the cafe. They smiled at me. That's a green flag. And the landlord, did you meet him? Yes, his name is Mark. He's been the owner for almost 20 years. What was he like? Honestly, really nice. He gave me his number and said I can call him anytime.
Okay, I like him already. Most landlords just send an email. Right? And what about the rules? No loud parties after 10:00. Pets are okay. He fixes things in 1 or 2 days. That actually sounds good. So, back to the money. Yeah, the money. $100 is a lot, but it's not impossible. Can you ask him to lower it? That's what I was thinking. But I don't know how to ask. Easy. You send him a short email, say you love the place, mention it's a little above your budget, and ask if he can come down 50.
Just 50? Not the full 100? 50 is realistic. 100 sounds like you're trying to win a deal. 50 sounds like you're being honest. That makes sense. And tell him you can move in next week. Landlords love a fast tenant. Okay, I can do that. I'll write it tonight. Good. And the commute? Have you actually looked at it? There's a train. It takes 30 minutes if I leave by 8:00. If I leave 15 minutes later, it's closer to 50 because of traffic. So, you have to be a morning person now.
I am going to become a morning person. You hate mornings. I'm going to learn. Maya, I'll listen to podcasts. I'll be the most informed person at my office. Or the most tired. Probably both. Send me pictures when you move in. I will. Talk soon. Now the real practice. We're going to play it again and this time you're going to shadow it. You're going to speak with Maya and Jess, not after them. Do not stop if you miss a line. Just keep going. The point is to keep your mouth moving at real conversation speed. Ready? Let's go.
Jess, hey, do you have a minute? Yeah, what's up? I think I found my apartment. Wait, really? The one you saw yesterday? Yes, I'm going to take it. Oh my god. Okay, tell me everything. It has big windows. There's a small balcony and the kitchen is actually really nice. What floor? Fourth. There's no elevator, but the stairs are fine. You say that now. Wait until you carry groceries up there.
Okay, fair point. So, what's the problem? You sound like there's a problem. It's 40 minutes from work. 40 minutes? Maya, that is a lot. I know. That's almost an hour and a half every day. Every single day. I did the math. I know. And how much is it? A hundred dollars over my budget. Maya, I know. You're calling me to tell you it's a good idea, aren't you? Maybe. I'm not going to tell you it's a good idea.
I know, but honestly, Jess, I walked in and I just felt it. Okay, tell me about the neighborhood. There's a coffee shop on the corner, a park right behind the building. The street is quiet at night. Quiet is good. What about the neighbors? I met one of them in the hallway, an older woman with a tiny dog. She told me everyone is nice. Of course she said that. She lives there. That's fair. Did you see anyone your age? A few. Two girls were sitting outside the cafe. They smiled at me. That's a green flag. And the landlord, did you meet him?
Yes, his name is Mark. He's been the owner for almost 20 years. What was he like? Honestly, really nice. He gave me his number and said I can call him anytime. Okay, I like him already. Most landlords just send an email. Right? And what about the rules? No loud parties after 10. Pets are okay. He fixes things in one or two days. That actually sounds good. So, back to the money. Yeah, the money. $100 is a lot, but it's not impossible.
Can you ask him to lower it? That's what I was thinking. But I don't know how to ask. Easy. You send him a short email, say you love the place, mention it's a little above your budget, and ask if he can come down 50. Just 50? Not the full 100? 50 is realistic. 100 sounds like you're trying to win a deal. 50 sounds like you're being honest. That makes sense. And tell him you can move in next week. Landlords love a fast tenant. Okay, I can do that. I'll write it tonight. Good. And the commute? Have you actually looked at it?
There's a train. It takes 30 minutes if I leave by 8. If I leave 15 minutes later, it's closer to 50 because of traffic. So, you have to be a morning person now. I am going to become a morning person. You hate mornings. I'm going to learn. Maya. I'll listen to podcasts. I'll be the most informed person at my office or the most tired. Probably both. Send me pictures when you move in. I will. Talk soon. How did it feel? Was Maya's space easy or hard? Was Jess harder to follow? Tell me in the comments and tell me, would you take the apartment or would you side
with Jess? Honestly, I would not be spending so much time driving back and forth. Uh-uh. You can spend time doing something better. If you want more shadowing videos like this, let me know in the comments. I read them all. I see what you ask for. The next story is already in my notes. See you in the next video and don't forget to subscribe. Bye-bye.
