EASY ENGLISH CONVERSATION: Talk about interests and hobbies

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video,

we are going to talk about fun things. We're

going to talk about hobbies and what we like

to do in our free time. So, in this video,

I'm going to talk about some common interests

and hobbies people have, and I'm also going

to teach you how to ask people about their

hobbies. So, this video is great for conversation

because many learners of English sometimes think,

"Okay, what can I talk about?" This is a great

subject to talk to strangers about, or a great

subject for small talk. So, let's learn about

some words we use when talking about hobbies,

and then let's look at some ways to ask people

about their hobbies in English. So, the first

word that we're talking about is "hobby".

What is a hobby? A hobby is something you do when you are not working and you are not

at school. A hobby is something you can do for fun. You do a hobby to make you happy.

So, there are many different kinds of hobbies.

Some people like doing yoga. Some people like

sports. I like swimming. Some people like going

on their bicycle. They like cycling or fishing

or camping. Another popular hobby is reading.

I personally love gardening. Exercise,

many people like exercise. Another word for

exercise is workout. Some people like watching

Netflix or TV shows or movies. Some people love art. Maybe they like photography.

So, here is a list of common hobbies. So,

"hobby" we can use when we're talking about one.

The plural of "hobby" is "hobbies". Okay? So, I have a hobby. I have many hobbies.

So, many of you probably know this word, but I'm

now going to teach you a word that you might not

know, and that is the word "interest". An interest

is the same thing as a hobby. So, if you think

about the word "interesting", that's an adjective.

When we put this in the noun form, like "interest",

it means the same thing as "hobby". I have

many interests. These are all common interests.

So, this is a great word to use, and it's a very common word to use in conversation.

I just wanted to tell you now how to pronounce this word.

It is spelt a certain way, but the pronunciation

is a little different. When we say it, "interest",

it tends to be two syllables. Instead of

"interest", we usually, as native speakers say,

"interest". I have many different interests. These are some of them.

So, now that we've talked about some of these

words, like "hobbies" and "interests", let's now

learn some questions we can ask people to talk about these things.

The first question is a question I love. I love, actually, all of these questions,

because I like learning about other people and what people like to do.

So, my first question is, "Do you have any hobbies?"

I often ask people this question at parties,

or when I meet somebody for the first time, "Do

you have any hobbies?" You might want to ask

somebody, "Do you have any interests?" Both of these questions have the same meaning,

so they're a great conversation starter. Another

way to say this is, "What do you do for fun?"

What do you do for fun? This means what are your hobbies? What are your interests? So,

it's another way to say the same thing. Now,

I want you to be very careful with this,

and the reason is many learners forget this word "do". So, "What do you do for fun?"

Let's say it together just to practice this one. So, together, let's say this.

"What do you do for fun?" Okay, and your answer

might be, "There's a lot of things I do for fun.

I like to cook. I like to garden. I like to go

to parties. There's many things I like to do

for fun." Okay, another way... So, again, we

have many ways to say the same thing in English.

It's important to learn these different questions

because people might ask these questions to you,

so it's good to know many different ways to say the same thing.

So, the next question is, "How do you spend your

free time?" This means what do you do when you're

not working or you're not at school? What do you

do in your free time? How do you spend your free

time? So, if someone asks you this question,

"How do you spend your free time?" you might say,

"Well, I study English in my free time. It's

a hobby." Or, "I play sports in my free time.

I watch soccer in my free time." So, again, your

free time is the time where you are not at work,

you are not at school, you are... You have time to do what you enjoy.

And, again, we have here our word "do", which

many students forget. So, again, it's, "How do

you spend your free time?" The next example means

the same thing. The difference is we've changed

the "how" to a "what". "How do you spend your

free time?" You can also ask, "What do you do

do in your free time?" They have the exact

same meanings. The difference is with "how",

we usually use the word "spend", whereas "what

do you do", we don't use the word "spend" here.

And, again, I'm going to circle this word. I like

to circle the word "do" because it's something

many people forget. So, let's say this

together. "What do you do in your free time?"

All of these have the same meaning, essentially.

Another thing you might ask somebody that you

meet for the first time is you might say, "Tell

me about your hobbies." This is a great question

to ask because it's an open question. This

means that the person should respond with more

information. "Tell me about your hobbies. Tell

me about your interests." And, again, the person

might say, "Oh, you know, I love gardening."

"Oh, I love yoga." And then you can ask more

questions on what their interest or hobby is.

Finally, the sixth expression or the sixth

question I want to teach you is "What kind of

things are you into?" So, the word "into" in

English has different meanings. In conversation,

we can say, "I am into something." That means

I'm interested in it; it's my hobby. So, for

example, I'm into reading. I'm into movies.

I'm into swimming. I'm into basketball. I

love basketball, so I'm into these things. So,

we use this a lot when we talk about hobbies

or interests. So, what kind of things are you

into? So, again, same meaning as everything else

we've written here. So, my recommendation to you,

choose one question to memorize. Work on it,

practice the pronunciation, practice asking

this question, so then when you meet somebody,

immediately, it comes out naturally. Okay? So,

just memorize at least one of these. That's my

tip for today. So, if you want more practice,

I would love to hear what your hobbies and interests are. In the comments below,

you can answer my question. What do you do for

fun? I'd love to hear what kinds of activities

you do for fun. So, you can write in the comments

below. You can also check out our website at

www.engvid.com. There, you can actually find

a quiz to practice what you learned in today's

lesson. You can also subscribe to my YouTube

channel. I have many different resources there

on all sorts of different topics related to

English. Just don't forget to ring the bell.

When you ring the bell, you will receive notifications of new videos. Finally,

you can check out my website at www.teacheremma.com.

There, you can find more free resources on

learning English. So, thank you so much for watching, and until next time, take care.