Better Speaking Podcast 🗨️🗣️ How to talk about the order of events

Yeah, I mean, those past few weeks have been amazing. I mean,

before Paris, I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to play Paris,

because I wasn't in the best of conditions and, you know, back hurting a little bit

and I didn't play a lot of matches in the past few weeks before that

and what kept me really going was really to get some match preparation

to come here to Wimbledon.

German tennis star Steffi Graf,

delighted at having one more chance to play in a Wimbledon final.

Steffi obviously speaks English very well,

but what is it that she's doing that makes her such a good communicator in English?

What's her secret to better speaking?

Two sets to one, seven-six, one-six, six-four.

German-born Steffi Graf was the most successful women's tennis player

of the early 1990s.

She won an amazing 21 major championships,

including seven singles titles at Wimbledon.

In 1999, which was her last year of playing professional tennis,

she won the French Open Championship,

even though she had had some injury problems

and wasn't as fit and well-prepared as she should've been.

And then she came to London and made it through, yet again,

to the Wimbledon Women's Final.

Steffi Graf was interviewed by the BBC after that semi-final match.

Well, now you're through to another Wimbledon Final.

I know that they all are very special, but is this one particularly so?

Because a month ago, you never thought you'd be here as French Open Champion

and in a Wimbledon Final.

Yeah, and those past few weeks have been amazing. I mean,

before Paris, I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to play Paris,

because I wasn't in the best of conditions and, you know, back hurting a little bit

and I didn't play a lot of matches in the past few weeks before that

and what kept me really going was really to get some match preparation

to come here to Wimbledon.

Then I went to France and now I'm here in the finals.

I mean, I can't ask of anything else.

You just seem to be enjoying your tennis so much.

Yeah, I'm absolutely do so.

I mean, how, how can't I? You know.

I'm, I feel I'm very happy to have reached what I've started now.

BBC Learning English dot com.

And with me again in the studio is teacher and teacher trainer Richard Hallows.

— Hello, Richard. — Hello, Callum.

Richard, Steffi Graf was a very successful tennis player,

but is she a successful user of English as an international language?

She's very successful. She communicates what she's saying very clearly.

What I'd like to talk about, thinking about Steffi,

is the way she sequences events when she's speaking.

— Sequences? — OK, so for example,

she makes it clear that one thing happened before or after another thing.

She uses things like "before Paris",

"and then I didn't play" and "what kept me going",

"then I went to the French Open".

So she's using words like 'before' and 'then'

to make it clear the order of events.

Before Paris, I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to play Paris,

because I wasn't in the best of conditions and, you know, back hurting a little bit

and I didn't play a lot of matches in the past few weeks before that

and what kept me really going was really to get some match preparation

to come here to Wimbledon.

Then I went to France and now I'm here in the finals.

I mean, I can't ask of anything else.

So this is not just being done through using the simple past or the past perfect.

It's not done through grammar, it's done through vocabulary.

Yeah. You can just say, and we often do when we're speaking,

use words 'and' and 'then'.

These two words are probably enough to communicate, you know,

the message, the idea.

But it may be a little dull for the listener.

— Mm. — It may sound a little boring.

So maybe we need to think of other ways of saying this.

OK, so could you just go over a few of those expressions again?

Well, why not use 'first of all',

'then', 'then after that', or you could say 'afterwards',

'and finally'.

Well, tell me, try and give an example of how that might work?

OK, well, you have a think about... I'm gonna tell you what I did this morning

and I'm not gonna tell you the correct order

and see if you can maybe put them into the correct order, using some of these words.

OK.

I got up.

I went to the pub.

I went to work.

I bumped into a friend.

And I came to the BBC.

Now, what did I do first and next?

Let me see, OK.

— Well, first, you got up. — Mm-hm.

And then you went to work.

After that, you went to the pub.

And while you were in the pub, you bumped into a friend.

And, finally, you came to the BBC.

Mm. That's actually correct.

So you went to the pub before you came here?

I did, but I only had an orange juice.

Ah, how very professional of you.

Now, very interesting,

— you used the word 'while'. — Mm.

Can you think why you used that word 'while'?

Well, because, well, because while you were in the pub,

you bumped into the friend — at the same time.

At the same, at the same time,

which is very useful, to be able to say something happening at the same time.

Mm.

Now, we can think of other words around this area.

— We've got words like 'as soon as'. — Mm-hm.

Or 'just as', which are all around this same time.

And what's the difference between those?

OK, 'while' or you could use 'when' or 'as' means 'at the same time'.

'Just as' means 'exactly the same time'.

And 'as soon as' is when one thing happens immediately after another thing.

How about an example then, for 'as soon as' and 'just as'?

Well, as soon as I arrived here today, I went and got myself a cup of coffee.

So one thing happened immediately after you arrived.

— Mm. — You arrived, you got a cup of coffee.

As soon as you arrived, you got a cup of coffee.

Mm. And just as I was arriving, I saw a colleague leaving.

So you were arriving, you saw a colleague leaving.

At the same, exactly the same time.

So just as you were arriving, you saw a colleague leaving.

Now, moving on, or next or after this,

are there any other things about Steffi's English you'd like to pick out?

Other things that I'd like to talk about Steffi are that she does make mistakes

and I'd like to reiterate, say again, this message that it's OK to make mistakes

and that I said at the beginning of the programme

that Steffi is a good communicator

and this is in spite of the small mistakes that she makes.

The mistakes she makes are things with countables

and word order and prepositions — things which don't affect her meaning.

For example, she says it "kept me really going".

Of course, this should be it "really kept me going".

There's a mistake of countables —

she says "conditions" and it should be "condition".

And also, there's a mistake with a preposition.

She says, "I couldn't ask of anything else,"

when it should be "ask for anything else".

In fact, we also say "ask for anything more".

So these are mistakes that Steffi makes,

but I don't think it's affecting her message,

what she wants to say, what she wants to communicate.

That's clear for us.

And so, if you're communicating clearly

and people get, they understand your message,

that's what counts, that's what's important

and don't worry about these small mistakes.

— So communication is the key. — Mm-hm.

I wonder, Richard, if you could just summarise today's points for us?

OK, well, we talked about sequencing, putting things in the correct order

and using a variety of words,

things like 'first of all', 'then', 'next', 'finally'.

We looked at using words like 'as soon as', 'just as' or 'while'

to talk about things happening at the same time or around that time.

And then we also talked about how Steffi makes mistakes,

but she still communicates very effectively

and this is what our listeners really have to remember —

communication is the key.

Richard Hallows, for today, thank you very much.

Thank you.

BBC Learning English dot com.

We asked a few learners who are working hard at becoming better speakers

whether they are afraid to make mistakes when they speak English.

It was not my first language, so people make mistakes

and I think that people learn from their mistake.

It's not a shame to make mistake.

I think the most important thing is to be understood by other people

and I think that anybody who is...

That it is excusable to make mistake

and nobody would really be angry or upset if you do make mistakes.

English is not my first language.

I think it's reasonable to make mistakes,

as long as I can express my idea clearly.

All the speakers there make the same point —

that communication is most important

and that they don't worry too much about making mistakes.

After all, if you are not a native English speaker,

then it's only natural to make mistakes.

Now, before we go today,

if you didn't quite catch all of Richard's better speaking tips, don't worry,

here's a chance to hear them again.

When you're speaking English, make yourself easier to understand

by using words which show clearly when things have happened.

For example, if you're telling a story about something,

use words like 'first', 'next', 'after that'

and 'finally', just like we heard Steffi Graf do.

She makes it clear that one thing happened before or after another thing.

She uses things like "before Paris", "and then I didn't play"

and "what kept me going", "then I went to the French Open".

So she's using words like 'before' and 'then'

to make it clear the order of events.

Use expressions and words to show if two actions happen at the same time

or very soon after each other.

For example, 'while', 'just as', 'as soon as'.

'While' or you could use 'when' or 'as' means 'at the same time'.

'Just as' means 'exactly the same time'.

And 'as soon as' is when one thing happens 'immediately after' another thing.

Even the best and most fluent speakers of a foreign language

will sometimes make mistakes.

So even if your level is not very high,

don't worry when you're trying to speak English.

The important thing is to make yourself understood, to communicate.

And so, if you're communicating clearly and people get,

they understand your message,

that's what counts, that's what's important

and don't worry about these small mistakes.