ONE HOUR English Master Class: Improve Your English Fluency FAST!

Today I have a one hour English  fluency master class for you.

Welcome back to JForrest  English, of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, in this master class, let's talk about how  

you can think and speak in English  without translating in your head.

I'm going to share some tips and advice to  help you do just that, very quickly and easily.

Let's get started.

Tip #1.

Surround yourself in English.

You might live in a non-english speaking country,  or maybe you live in an English speaking country.

Either way, you need to make your  environment as English as possible.

You need to immerse yourself in  the language as much as you can  

and you have control over your room, your  workstation, your kitchen, your bathroom.

You.

Absolutely have control over your environment.

Do you know what these are?

They're sticky notes.

And these are your best friends  when you're learning a language,  

because you can put them all over your house.

You can label objects, you can remind yourself of  

vocabulary that you're learning,  verb structures, verb tenses.

You can put them everywhere and just seeing them.

Even if you don't focus on  it, just seeing it quickly.

Your brain is processing that,  remembering it, and learning it.

Other easy things you can do.

You can write your daily To Do List in  English instead of your native language.

You can change all of your  devices to display in English.

And you can get creative and think  of many different ways that you can  

immerse yourself in English in your environment.

But by the end of the week, I want  you to go out and buy some sticky  

notes and start labeling one room of your house.

Tip 2.

Think during everyday activities.

There are so many activities that you do  every single day that are wasted time.

But you can turn that wasted time  into productive time if you simply  

think in English as you're doing that activity.

Some common wasted time activities that you  do every day are working out, having a shower.

What a perfect time to think in English  for me is definitely getting ready.

I always make sure I do something productive  while I'm putting on my makeup, drying my hair.

Otherwise it's wasted time making breakfast,  doing chores, and of course, commuting.

Commuting is a great time to think in English,  and I'm sure you spend a lot of time waiting.

Waiting in lines, waiting for things to finish.

Waiting is the perfect time to think in English.

But you're probably wondering, how can  I turn commuting into productive time?

Well, that leads to tip #3, which  is to make simple observations.

This is such a powerful exercise because it forces  you to become very present in your environment, so  

you'll also be practicing mindfulness at the same  time, which is very good for your mental health.

So as you're out in the world,  maybe you're walking, commuting,  

waiting in line, and it's wasted time.

I want you to simply look around  and observe your environment.

What do you see?

And your goal is to make simple observations.

And of course, you're doing this in English.

You're thinking in English.

So let's say you're at a park, you're going  for a walk, or you're walking your dog.

You're eating your lunch, You're at a park.

You can make some simple observations.

There's a big tree.

The tree is green.

The tree has leaves.

There's a pond.

There are ducks in the pond.

There are mountains.

The sky is blue.

So turn wasted time into productive time by making  

simple observations and it will  force you to think in English.

But let's move on to tip #4,  which is to add complexity.

First of all, don't underestimate  the power of simple sentences.

Don't think that making a very simple sentence  like the tree is green isn't helping you.

It absolutely is helping you to think in English  and get more comfortable thinking in English.

But of course I understand  you want to add complexity,  

so let's talk about some ways to add complexity.

One of the easiest is to add an  adjective, adverb or modifier.

The palm tree has vibrant leaves,  

so adding vibrant makes that  simple sentence sound more complex.

You can share your opinion  or make a general statement.

In my opinion, spending time outside every  day is important for our mental health.

Another great way is to compare and contrast.

You could say these mountains are more  impressive than the mountains near my work.

So start simple and then add  complexity to your simple sentences.

And remember, you're doing this in English.

You're thinking these thoughts in English,  

so you can make observations in  any environment that you're in.

Whether it's an interesting  environment like a beautiful park,  

or a boring environment like a plain room.

You can still make observations.

But let's move on to Tip  5, which is to use images.

You can use Google Images and simply look  for any style of images that you like.

And if you're not sure what to search for,  just search interesting images on Google  

Images and you can look through the images  and then find one that catches your eye.

As for me, this image with the  cat of course caught my eye.

So now you're going to make simple statements,  simple observations about this image.

The cat is adorable.

The cat is standing on a mountain.

The cat looks majestic standing  on this breathtaking mountain.

So remember, start simple and then add  complexity as you do this exercise.

And I recommend doing this  for five to 10 minutes a day.

And by doing this, you're going to  turn wasted time into productive time.

Tip 6 Speak Out Loud.

Until now, these tips have  focused on thinking in your head.

You can also write them down, like  writing your To Do List in English,  

writing your sticky notes, but  I want you to speak out loud.

What I mean by that is you're producing  sound that other people can hear.

Right now I'm speaking out loud because you  want to gain confidence speaking as well.

So thinking those simple statements and  

verbalizing singing them out  loud is a different skill.

Now even if you're at a beautiful park, I  still want you to verbalize your statements.

Your observations say them out loud.

If you feel self-conscious doing this, then  you can always just pick up your phone and  

pretend you're talking to someone on your phone,  even though you're just talking to yourself.

Tip #7.

One of my favorites, A daily recap.

At the end of your day, you  can simply summarize your day,  

and by doing that you force  yourself to think in English.

Think of different verb tenses, different  vocabulary that you need to summarize your day.

You can also talk about the best part of your day,  

three things you're grateful for, and  any areas for improvement today that  

could force you to think of some interesting  vocabulary and grammatical structures as well.

And you can also plan your day for tomorrow.

So these are all the different  things you can do for TIP #7.

Now for TIP #7.

You can think in your head.

You can think about three  things you're grateful for.

You can also speak them out loud.

You can verbalize the best part of your day,  even if nobody is there to listen to it.

That doesn't matter.

Now.

You can also keep a journal which forces  you to write all of this information down.

My recommendation is that you schedule 10  minutes in your day before you go to bed  

to write in your journal, to write  about your day, and finally tip #8.

Be patient.

This is so important because many students they  try these tips once or twice, they get frustrated  

because they don't get instant results, and  then they quit or say I'll never learn English.

I'll never become fluent, but the reality is that  they weren't patient enough to get the result.

So let's imagine that you improve your ability  to think in English by 1% each day, 1%.

That's not very much, right?

But at the end of the year, how much of an  improvement would that be, 365% improvement?

That's pretty amazing, right?

So small improvements absolutely matter.

Getting better by 1% each day matters.

You will not notice any results after  one day of following this advice.

You will notice some results after 30 days  of consistently following this advice.

You will notice good results after  60 days and great results after 90  

days and incredible results after 365 days.

So you just need to be patient.

So put in the comments.

I'm committed.

I'm committed.

1% better each day.

I'm committed.

Put that in the comments.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finely Fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

the movies, YouTube, and the news so you  can improve your listening skills of fast  

English, expand your vocabulary with natural  expressions, and learn advanced grammar easily.

Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach.

You can look in the description  for the link to learn more,  

or you can go to my website and  click on Finally, Fluent Academy.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

Now remember you're going to start simple and then  

add more complexity when you're  thinking and speaking in English.

To add more complexity, you need  to feel confident with verb tenses.

But did you know that only 5 verb tenses make  up over 96% of a native speakers vocabulary?

So now let's review those  five verb tenses in detail.

The five verb tenses are the present  simple, which makes up 57.51% of speech,  

the past simple which makes up  19.7%, the future simple at 8.5%,  

the present perfect at 6%, and the present  continuous at 5.1% of a native speakers speech.

And the total of all 5 verb  tenses is 96.81% of speech.

So let's make sure that you feel very  confident using all 5 verb tenses.

And don't worry, because I summarize  everything in a free lesson PDF,  

so you can look in the description  for the link to download the PDF.

And at the end of this lesson,  

there's going to be a quiz to make sure  you really understand these verb tenses.

So let's start with the present  simple and pay close attention.

Because I correct mistakes from my advanced  students in the finely fluent Academy.

They make mistakes with the present simple almost  every time they submit their practice exercises.

So pay close attention.

Let's review the structure.

For the subjects I, you, we and  they, You add the base verb.

Now for the subjects ** *** it,  you add the base verb plus S or ES.

And this is one of the most common mistakes that  

my advanced students make for getting  to add that S, So don't forget that.

As for ** *** it subjects.

The present simple is used to describe  routines, habits in your daily life.

For example, I eat breakfast every day at 6:00 AM.

It's also used to describe  general facts and truths.

For example, the sun rises in  the east and sets in the West.

And notice I added those s s  because the sun is it ** *** it.

You need those s s It is also used for  feelings, emotions and states of beings.

We are very excited for the concert tonight.

Now here's one that most of my  students don't use correctly,  

and the present simple is also used for timetable  events, even if that event is in the future.

For example, the train leaves at 5:00 AM tomorrow.

It's very common to use an adverb of  frequency with the present simple,  

which is 1 easy way that you can identify it.

The most common adverbs of frequency are every  day or always for seven times a week, often,  

usually, or frequently for about four to six times  a week, sometimes for three to four times a week,  

rarely or seldom for one to two times a  week, and never for zero times a week.

So let's practice this just for fun.

Share something silly that you never  do or always do in the comments below.

For example, I never brush  my teeth while I'm driving,  

so share something silly in the  comments just to have a little fun.

Now let's move on to the  past to form the past simple.

You have your subject and then you have your base  verb plus Ed or an irregular past simple verb.

And there are many irregular verbs,  so you simply need to memorize them.

The past simple is used for an action that started  and finished at a specific time in the past.

For example, I went to the store yesterday.

She took a shower at 8:00  AM, but now it is 11:00 AM.

So 8:00 AM is in the past.

They ordered pizza for dinner  and now it's 10:00 at night.

So dinner is in the past.

We sang all night, but I'm talking about  

maybe yesterday or the night  before, so it's in the past.

Let's review some past simple keywords so you  

can easily identify when you  need to use this verb tense.

Yesterday, last week, month or year in 2020,  

at 3:30 PM four hours ago on Monday on July  15th when I graduated or during the meeting  

and remember all of those keywords, the  actions started and finished in the past.

Now let's talk about the future.

Simple.

Another verb tense I see a lot of mistakes with.

The structure is very easy.

You have your struct subject will and base verb.

It's the same for all  subjects, which makes it easy.

This verb tense is used to make predictions,  but when it's based on your opinion, not facts.

Argentina will win the World Cup.

This is just my opinion.

I don't know this as a fact.

Someone else could say I think  France will win the World Cup.

Notice here I added.

I think it's very common to use an  opinion word with the future simple.

This verb tense is used for  spontaneous actions or decisions,  

which means they were not planned in advance.

For example, let's say you see a woman  struggling with her grocery bags,  

and she has many grocery bags.

You can say I'll help you with those bags.

You didn't plan this in advance,  It was a spontaneous action.

It's also used with promises,  commitments, offers, or refusals.

If you say I'll send you the report at 5:00  PM, you are making a promise or a commitment.

It's like saying I promise I'll  send you the report at 5:00 PM,  

so the other person will expect  it if you use the future.

Simple.

Now let's talk about the present perfect, a  verb tense that confuses a lot of students.

But absolutely you must know how to use it.

The structure is I, you, we, they  plus have plus the past participle,  

and you simply need to memorize  all the past participles.

Now for the subjects ** ***  is you need to use has as.

Your auxiliary verb.

And the past participle Now, did you know  that the present perfect is also used with  

the completed past action, but one that  has a result or consequence in the present?

For example, I have eaten that  is a completed past action.

Now it's common to use  already, but it's not required.

I have already eaten, so what's  the result in the present?

So now I'm not hungry.

It's also used for life experience  when it's an unfinished timeline.

For example, she's been to Panama twice now  because she is alive, she can go to Panama again.

So it's an unfinished time reference.

Or you could say I haven't seen that movie yet.

Yet is a keyword for the present perfect,  and we use it in negative sentences.

And by saying yet, you're letting the  person know that it's still possible  

for you to watch that movie in the future,  so it's an unfinished time reference now.

The present perfect is also used for an action  that started in the past and continues until now,  

but only with three common  verbs, live, work, and study.

For example, they've lived  in that house for 20 years,  

they still live there now,  and it started in the past.

It started 20 years ago.

Very important point.

You can't use a specific time  reference with the present perfect.

You must use the past simple.

This is a very common mistake  that I see my students make.

So you can't say I've tried  sushi last week because last  

week is a specific past time reference.

So you would have to say I tried sushi last week,  

or you could get rid of last  week and say I've tried sushi.

Let's move on to our last verb  tense, the present continuous.

This structure is I am plus verb in your ING form.

Your gerund verb you we they  are plus verb in ING or ** ***.

It is plus verb in ING.

So don't forget you have to conjugate  the verb to be according to the subject.

The present continuous is used for an action  that is currently taking place right now.

Now.

So I could say my students  are because the subject is  

they My students are watching my video right now.

Right?

You're watching this video right now.

You can also use the Present Continuous  with the future if it's a planned action,  

a planned action in the future.

For example, he's attending  the conference next month.

It's in the future, but it's planned.

He's attending the conference next month or  she's performing at the World Cup in 2026.

So even though it's way in the future,  

you can still use the present  continuous if it's a planned event.

An important note that you should know  because I know it might confuse students.

Native speakers use the present  continuous with always to stress  

the continuation of something negative.

She is always coming to work late.

So instead of saying she always comes to work  late because always is a keyword for the present  

simple, native speakers frequently  put this in the present continuous.

I don't recommend that you do  that because it really depends  

on the context if it sounds correct or incorrect.

But grammatically, it's always correct  to use the present simple with always,  

so that's what I recommend that you do.

I'm just sharing this so you don't get confused  

when you hear a native speaker say  she is always coming to work late.

Now you know the five verb tenses  that make up 96% of your speech.

So Are you ready for your quiz?

To make sure you really know how to  use them, here are the questions.

Hit, pause and take as much time as you need.

And when you're ready to continue, hit play.

Here are the answers.

Hit, pause, Review the answers.

And when you're ready to continue, hit play.

Amazing job.

Those verb tenses are absolutely  going to help you add more complexity.

Now, two of those verb tenses.

I see students make a lot of mistakes with  the past simple and the present perfect.

They're not sure when to  use them or how they differ.

So let's review those two verb  tenses in more detail, right?

Now let's compare 2 sentences.

I saw that movie.

I've seen that movie.

I'm sure you know that.

I saw that movie is the past simple, and  I've seen that movie is the present perfect.

Easy, right?

Let's quickly review the structure.

To form the past simple, you need  the subject and the past simple verb,  

which is either the base verb  plus Ed or an E regular verb.

In this case we have an  irregular verb because it isn't.

I seed that movie with Ed, it's I saw that  movie, so it's an irregular past symbol.

To form the present perfect, you need the  subject have or has depending on the subject.

And you need the past participle.

For the subjects I, you, we and they you need,  

have, And for the subjects  ** *** it, you need has.

I have seen that movie.

She has seen that movie.

Now let's talk about how to use these verb tenses,  

because native speakers use them in ways  that most students don't use correctly.

Of course the past simple is  used for a completed past action.

I saw that movie.

But did you know that the present perfect  is also used with a completed past action?

However, there has to be a result in the present.

That's why we call it the present perfect.

So just remember that present completed past  action but result or impact in the present.

Right now I've seen that movie.

So what could be the result in the present?

I've seen that movie so now  I don't want to watch it.

So now I can tell you about it.

So now we can discuss it  and I can share my opinion.

So always remember there's a SO now with the  present perfect, when is a completed past action.

But very important native speakers rarely say  the SO now it's just implied based on context.

So your friend could invite you over and say, do  you want to come over and watch Barbie tonight?

And you can reply back and say, I've seen it.

Now your friend understands the so  now you don't want to watch Barbie.

You don't need to vocalize that and most  native speakers will not vocalize it.

So you might say I've seen it and then ask  your friend, have you seen the new Leo movie?

Did you notice I use the present  perfect in that question?

Have you seen the new Leo movie?

We also use the present perfect  to talk about life experience,  

things we have and haven't  done in our lives until now.

For example, have you ever eaten sushi?

To reply, you can say no, I haven't eaten sushi  or yes I have, yes I have is the short form.

The full form would be yes, I have eaten sushi.

You could add on and say I ate  it last year for the first time.

This is the past simple because  it's a completed past action.

You could also add on.

I lived in Japan for a year.

Again, this is the past simple,  a completed past action.

You do not live in Japan now.

What if you said I've lived in Japan for a year?

This is the present perfect and it's  used for an action that started in the  

past and continues until now and will  continue into the future indefinitely.

Now, it's important to note  that you can use the present  

perfect or the present perfect continuous  interchangeably with three common verbs.

Live, work, study.

I've lived in Japan for a year.

I've been living in Japan for a year.

They're exactly the same.

But this is only for those 3 verbs.

Live, work and study.

You could say I didn't eat  sushi when I lived in Japan.

This is in the past.

Simple because it's a completed time reference.

It's impossible for you to eat sushi now  because the whole time reference is in the past.

But you could also say I haven't eaten sushi yet.

This is the present perfect, and it's  an unfinished time reference because  

it's still possible for you to eat sushi now.

Why?

Because you're alive.

You could eat sushi tomorrow or next week,  so it's an unfinished time reference.

So let's review our uses for the past.

Simple.

You can use it for a completed past action or  

life experience with a finished time  reference for the present perfect.

You can use it with a completed past action,  with a result in the present life experience,  

life experience, with an unfinished time  reference, and with an action that started  

in the past and continues until now with those  3 common verbs which are live, work and study.

Now let's review some common  mistakes that I hear students  

make again and again with these  two very important verb tenses.

Let's review this sentence.

I've tried sushi last week.

What's the mistake in this sentence?

Do you know you can't use a  specific time reference last week?

That's a specific time reference.

You can't use a specific time  reference with the present perfect.

So how would you correct this sentence?

Write it in the comments.

I ate sushi last week because you  have last week, you need the past.

Simple.

Some comments specific time  references are yesterday,  

last month, last week, last  year in 2020 at 3:30 PM.

Assuming now it's after 334 years ago on July  15th, which is in the past when I graduated  

because you graduated at a specific time in the  past, perhaps July 15th, 2020 during the meeting.

Again, the meeting took place at a specific  time on Monday at 3:30 and today's Tuesday.

So it's in the past.

How about this sentence?

We've lived here since 10 years.

What's the mistake?

Do you know the mistake is confusing for or since?

One of the most common mistakes.

How can you fix the sentence?

Put it in the comments.

We've lived here for 10 years.

We've lived here since 2013.

You need 4 + a duration and  sense plus a starting point.

2013 is the starting point for that action,  

which continues until now because  it's in the present perfect.

Because remember, you can use the present perfect  

or the present perfect continuous with  which three verbs live, work, and study.

You got it.

Now I'm going to quiz you  to see how well you really  

know the past simple and the present perfect.

Are you ready?

Question one.

She breakfast an hour ago.

Do you need the past simple  or the present perfect?

And how do you conjugate it?

Put your answer in the comments.

She ate breakfast an hour ago.

Past simple because it's a completed past action  with a specific past time reference an hour ago.

And notice eat is an irregular verb.

She ate question two.

You need to rewrite the sentence  so it's in the present perfect.

The sentence is she ate breakfast an hour ago.

How would you rewrite this in the present perfect?

Put it in the comments.

She has already eaten breakfast.

You don't need already.

That's optional.

She has eaten breakfast, so now she's not hungry.

But remember, a native speaker  won't communicate that so now.

So you can simply say she's eaten breakfast.

She's already eaten breakfast.

So you need to get rid of  that past time reference.

It can't exist with the present perfect  question Three we three paintings so far.

Do you need the past simple  or the present perfect?

How do you conjugate it?

Put the correct answer in the comments.

We have bought 3 paintings so far.

This is in the present perfect because it's  possible for you to buy more paintings.

You can go to the store tomorrow or next week.

So it's an unfinished time  reference because you're alive.

So it's still possible for  you to buy more paintings.

We have bought 3 paintings so far.

Question 4.

Rewrite this sentence so it's in the past.

Simple.

We have bought 3 paintings so far.

We we bought past Simple irregular verb.

We bought 3 paintings last  week, yesterday, an hour ago.

You simply need a past time  reference question 5 Ling  

as a realtor from 2005 to 2015 do you  need the past simple present perfect?

Put the correct answer in the comments.

Ling worked as a realtor because  it's a completed past action.

Your final question, you know what to do.

Rewrite the sentence so  it's in the present perfect.

Ling has worked as a realtor and  now we need since since 2005.

Or we can use for for 20 years.

But because it's in the present perfect,  it means Ling is still a realtor now,  

whereas in the past simple,  she is no longer a realtor.

You're doing such a great job.

Think of everything you've learned so far.

Let's do something a little different.

Let's review a news article together.

And by doing this you're going to  improve all areas of your English.

Let's review the article.

Right now, first I'll read  the headline US Election 2024,  

Why the World is watching so closely.

Let's take a look at this  because you can say so closely.

You could say so carefully, or  you could say so attentively,  

which is a little more of  a formal way of saying it.

And people are watching so closely, carefully,  attentively, because it's a hot topic.

A hot topic is simply a topic of great  interest, relevance or popularity.

So a lot of people are talking about it.

What about for you?

For you, Is the US election 2024 a hot topic?

If it is.

Then put in the comments hot topic.

Put hot topic in the comments and don't worry  about taking all of these notes because I  

summarize everything in a free lesson PDF so  you can look in the description for the link.

Let's.

Continue.

After recently spending a few weeks in Europe,  the subject of America's presidential election  

was a constant topic of intense curiosity  and concern among the people I spoke to.

Now all of this that I have highlighted  could be summarized with HOT topic,  

which we already discussed was a hot  topic among the people I spoke to.

Now I made a note here because sometimes I hear  amongst, but if I hear that I know the person  

isn't American because in North America  we don't use amongst, we only use among.

But in British English,  they use among and amongst.

So if you want to sound more  American, just use among.

But of course we know what it means,  concern among the people I spoke to.

Now just notice this preposition here.

You couldn't get rid of it.

You couldn't say among the people I spoke because  you speak to someone, you talk to someone.

So this too is required grammatically.

This is a mistake I see a lot of  students make, even advanced students.

So don't forget that too.

You speak to you talk to someone,  you listen to someone as well.

Now notice here the author said  a constant topic of intense.

That means very strong  intense curiosity and concern.

These two adjectives have different  meanings, so curiosity is more of interest.

So I summarized it with this emoji.

But concern is more more of a worry.

So it's interesting that  the author included these,  

because if the author didn't, you wouldn't  have this idea that there's also the worry.

So that communicates a lot by  including those two adjectives.

So I summarize those 3 common verbs.

You speak to, talk to, or  listen to someone or something.

But remember that not every  verb follows that structure.

For example, you watch someone, oh,  I'm watching my kids play at the park.

You watch something.

I'm watching the news on the 2024  presidential election and no wonder.

By saying, and no wonder you're saying,  I'm not surprised that it's a hot topic.

I'm not surprised that it's a topic of intense  

curiosity and concerned I  wrote that there for you.

So.

For another example, she's concerned about notice.

You're concerned about someone or something.

She's concerned about her  family in Gaza, and no wonder.

I'm not surprised.

She's concerned about her family.

It isn't surprising.

This isn't surprising, so it's  a great expression to have in  

your vocabulary if you want to sound  very fluent, natural and American.

the US.

Don't forget this article  because this is an exception.

Countries don't have articles as a  rule, except when there's an exception.

the US, the UK, the US.

The US is currently involved in two hot wars.

Now you know how this adjective is being used.

Is being used in the same way  that hot topic hot is being used  

and it represents a topic of great  interest, relevance or popularity.

So instead of topic it would be a  war of great entrance relevance.

Of course, popularity does  not fit in this context,  

so just interest or relevance  to hot wars Ukraine and Gaza.

Meanwhile, US China relations have deteriorated,  so if something deteriorates, it gets worse.

So the relationship between the US,  the US and China has gotten worse or  

is getting worse, has gotten worse in the present.

Perfect sounds like it's a completed  action, but there's a result in the present.

Now our relationship isn't good.

If you say is getting worse,  it's in progress right now.

But notice they use have deteriorated,  

which means the action has happened in the  past and now there's a result in the present.

Well, what's the result?

If they don't have a good relationship, then  maybe be they're not trading as frequently,  

they're not helping each other as  frequently or many other results as well.

I wrote those notes for you.

So the relations have deteriorated and  tensions in the Asia Pacific region have risen.

So same thing, present perfect because it's a  

completed past action with  a result in the present.

So the tensions have already risen, increased.

There is more tension.

Tension is when two people,  they're just tense, right?

So when you're communicating  with your boss, your spouse,  

your friend and your tense, obviously you're  not going to communicate in a very friendly way.

So if tensions have risen, completed past  action, the result in the present is well,  

and now they're not working together very well,  

and now they're not sharing information  and now they're not helping each other.

Those are just examples.

I don't know if that is actually the case.

Let's continue closer to home.

So in this case, home being the United States  

because China geographically is  quite far from the United States.

But then let's look here closer to home.

Well, Central America is  closer to the United States,  

so that's what the closer to home reference means.

Closer.

To home, Central American  nations are under the spotlight.

So if someone or something is under the spotlight,  it means they're being watched carefully.

But remember, we learn those three  different adjectives being watched  

carefully, closely or attentively as a  growing number of migrants are trying  

to get to the US through a border  which seems more porous by the day.

Porous describes something with small holes,  holes so small you might not even see them,  

and generally it's so liquid  or air can get through.

You might describe soil as porous  or ground in general as porous and  

pores are all over our face and liquid  in terms of sweat gets through our pores.

So the noun is poor and then  the adjective is porous.

Now in this.

Case Of course, they're not talking about  liquid or air, they're talking about people.

So you can imagine there's this board and then  if there's holes in the border, people can just.

Go through those.

Holes.

So that is the the image that they want you  to have by using this more porous by the day.

There is almost no area of the world  where American leadership doesn't matter,  

which is why, again, at the top  we can describe it as a hot topic.

From Beijing to Buenos Aires,  people follow the fortunes of  

the US election candidates and TuneIn  for the results when you tune in to.

Something, or in this case, for something.

For the results for is, in order to  receive, you would tune into a TV show.

It simply means you watch that TV show.

But it's for.

Any media.

So it could be to listen to  podcast or listen to the radio.

Tune in TuneIn tomorrow,  Listen to our show tomorrow.

Watch our show tomorrow, TuneIn.

So a great phrasal verb  that you can use for media.

Now there is a great expression  that I thought of when I saw TuneIn,  

which is stay tuned, stay tuned.

Have you heard that?

Stay tuned.

So I could say I'll post another lesson soon.

So stay tuned.

That means keep watching, keep listening.

Because when you tune in, you start  watching, you start listening.

So I want you to stay remain, stay  tuned, keep watching, keep listening.

So will you stay tuned to my YouTube  channel if you will then put.

I'll stay tuned.

I'll stay tuned in the future.

Simple because you're promising.

You're making a commitment.

I'll stay tuned.

Jennifer, please do so.

Put that in the comments.

OK, so and TuneIn.

For the results, so watch the results.

Turn on the TV, go to the specific  channel and watch the results.

TuneIn.

It has a global audience like no other  

election because America still  matters like no other country.

But this my 6th presidential election.

So the author of this article must be  a reporter or a journalist who covers  

presidential elections, and this  is his sixth presidential election.

But this, my 6th presidential election, seems  to have an international focus that is more  

intense than ever, partly because the US is so  involved in so many areas of the world, but also  

because of what happened after the last one, the  last one being the last presidential election.

The events of January 6, 2021 revealed  the precariousness of America's democracy.

So this symbol, this keyboard symbol, is called  an* and it's used to represent a footnote.

So a footnote is when you want to give  more information about a specific point.

It might be a clarifying point.

It might be just more information, a statistic.

Who the author is, where this  information comes from, Any of that,  

and generally footnotes are  at the bottom of the page.

But for reading this, I put the footnote.

I put the footnote right here just so  you can get the information right now.

So I'll read the footnote for you.

The White House was attacked by  a mob of supporters of then U.S.

President Donald Trump.

By saying then U.S.

President, it means at this time because  he's not the president right now.

So then U.S.

President at this specific time, U.S.

President Donald Trump two  months after his defeat.

So one's defeat is if they lose after his  defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

So this information isn't relevant to the article,  is only relevant to this specific information.

The events of January 20, January 6th, 2021.

Just so you're not wondering,  

you might stop reading the article  because you're like, well, what events?

I don't know what these events are.

So the footnote just shares  that information with you,  

but it's considered separate from  the actual topic of the article.

So the the events of January 6th, 2021,  which now you know what those events are,  

revealed the precariousness  of America's democracy.

Let's talk about this precariousness.

This is when something is in a dangerous state  because safety or security is not guaranteed.

Now revealed because the events revealed.

Revealed means made this information  known, made it publicly available.

So these events, the fact that  the White House was attacked,  

that showed May known, revealed the  precariousness of America's democracy.

The fact that democracy, even in the US, isn't  100% guaranteed something like this happened.

Now the world wants to know how well the country  will fare in its next big democratic test,  

which is the 2024 election, as well as the host  of crises that America already is confronting.

So let's just pause and review this one.

The crises.

Crises.

Crises is the plural form of crisis.

So it's an irregular plural.

And notice the pronunciation,  

because we have crisis is crises E So you  have that long E on the plural crisis.

Crises as well as the host of crises  that America already is confronting the  

next president, the next president will  also have to deal with the unexpected.

2023 was the hottest year on record.

2022 brought war in Europe.

2020 brought a global pandemic no one saw coming.

So all of these are examples of the unexpected,  

which is a very useful thing to  do when you're communicating.

An idea is to share examples  of what you mean by unexpected.

So this is a very.

Powerful way to reinforce  your ideas to communicate now.

I like this expression.

No one saw it coming.

I didn't see that coming.

I didn't see the pandemic coming.

I don't know about you, but I certainly  did not see the pandemic coming.

I didn't see the first lockdown coming.

I didn't see the 2nd lockdown coming.

I didn't see running out of toilet paper coming.

I didn't see any of that coming,  which means I didn't anticipate it.

I didn't predict it.

So the expression is to see  something coming coming,  

and that's when you anticipate or  predict something before it happens.

So here's an example.

Jane was fired, which means her  boss said you no longer work.

Here.

Jane was fired and then you  can say saw that coming.

I saw that coming.

How did?

You predict this or anticipate this?

Probably because Jane was a terrible employee.

She did a really bad job.

She always came in late.

She was rude.

I saw that coming.

Or maybe Jane was the best employee ever.

Then you can use this negatively  and say I didn't see that coming.

I didn't see that coming.

So you could also say that.

So that's a great expression  to add to your speech.

You will again sound very American.

the US can't tackle any of those things  without strong global alliances, which  

is why the world's reaction to this election  doesn't just matter to the rest of the world.

It matters to America, too.

All right, let's look at here it is tackle.

I like this verb.

When you tackle something, it means you  try to deal with something negative.

So this is only used with problems.

Something negative and to deal with is  the phrasal verb form of saying resolve.

So when you try to resolve something negative,  it's important to note that it's when you try to.

It doesn't mean that you've successfully  done it, you're just trying to.

So you might say I need to tackle my finances.

If you say this.

You're saying that your finances, your  financial situation is in a negative state.

Maybe it's very disorganized.

You don't have a budget, you don't know  when your bills are coming in or going out.

So it's a negative situation.

So you want to try to improve, try  to resolve, try to deal with that.

You need to tackle it.

And that's exactly what you're  doing with improving your English.

You're tackling your fluency  and I'm so happy to help you.

And that's the end of our article.

So what I'll do now is I'll read  the article from start to finish,  

and this time you can just  focus on my pronunciation.

So let's do that now.

US election 2024 Why the world is watching  so closely After recently spending a few  

weeks in Europe, the subject of  America's presidential election  

was a constant topic of intense curiosity  and concern among the people I spoke to.

And no wonder.

the US is currently involved in  two hot wars, Ukraine and Gaza.

Meanwhile, US China relations have deteriorated  

and tensions in the Asia Pacific  region have risen closer to home.

Central American nations are under  the spotlight as a growing number of  

migrants are trying to get to the US through  a border which seems more porous by the day.

There is almost no area of the world  where American leadership doesn't matter.

From Beijing to Buenos Aires, people follow  the fortunes of the US election candidates.

And TuneIn.

For the results, it has a global audience like  

no other election because America  still matters like no other country.

But this, my 6th presidential election, seems  to have an international focus that is more  

intense than ever, partly because the US is  so involved in so many areas of the world,  

but also because of what  happened after the last one.

The events of January 6th, 2021 revealed  the precariousness of America's democracy.

The White House was attacked by  a mob of supporters of then U.S.

President Donald Trump two months after his  defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

Now the world wants to know how well the country  will fare in its next big democratic test,  

as well as the host of crises that  America already is confronting.

The next president will also  have to deal with the unexpected.

2023 was the hottest year on record.

2022 brought war in Europe.

2020 brought a global pandemic no one saw coming.

the US can't tackle any of those things  without strong global alliances, Which  

is why the world's reaction to this election  doesn't just matter to the rest of the world.

It matters to America, too.

Amazing job with this master class.

We are almost at the end,  so let's do something fun.

Let's review some of the most common  jokes in English, and you're going  

to expand your vocabulary and feel more  confident understanding English humor,  

which is a very advanced thing to do.

So let's review the jokes together.

Right now this lesson is all about jokes, which  is of course something humorous to make you laugh.

Another name for a joke is A ton,  a word play, or a play on words.

All three of these are the same, and  they're a joke about the English language,  

about how words can sound the  same but have different meanings.

And and that makes it humorous.

It makes it a joke.

And maybe you've heard of a dad joke.

This is also a pun, and it's a very typical  stereotypical joke, an obvious joke that almost  

makes you roll your eyes when you hear it,  something that your dad might share with you.

So here's our first joke.

Are you ready to laugh?

Did you hear about the cheese factory explosion?

There was nothing left but debris.

Get it?

Do you get it?

Now when I say get it, that  means do you understand?

Do you understand why this is funny?

Do you know what Brie is?

Brie is a specific type of cheese.

It's a soft cheese and it's delicious.

Now what about debris?

Do you know what debris is?

This is a noun, and debris represents  broken or small pieces of something whole.

So let's take an example.

There was a storm, a really bad storm.

So you have something whole, maybe a barn.

But after the storm, that whole barn is in  tiny pieces, and those pieces are everywhere.

Those pieces are debris.

For example, there was a lot  of debris after the storm.

And notice my pronunciation compared to the  spelling debris E Do you notice that debris?

Brie sounds exactly like Brie cheese.

That's part of the joke.

We'll come back to that in a second.

So let's review our joke again.

Did you hear about the cheese factory explosion?

There was a lot of debris.

So explosion.

What happens after an explosion?

There's debris.

But this is at a cheese factory.

And remember, Brie is a a type of cheese.

So you can imagine there's tiny bits  of Brie, Brie cheese everywhere.

So the Brie cheese is the debris.

So now you understand this joke and  you can share it with your friends.

Our next joke Why did the Scarecrow win an award?

Because he was outstanding in his field.

Get it?

Do you get the joke?

First you need to know what a scarecrow is.

A scarecrow is a model of a person that you put  in a field, and its purpose is to scare birds.

A crow is a type of bird, so  you want to scare the birds.

Scare the crows away from the  field so they don't eat the crops.

Now what does a scarecrow do?

It stands in a field.

So notice this part from our joke.

Because he was outstanding in his  field, he was outstanding in his field.

Now native speakers will use  the word out to say not at home,  

and we often use out plus  gerund verb being the activity.

For example, my dad's out, my dad's  not at home, My dad's out shopping.

It's explaining the activity  that he's doing away from home.

My dad's out shopping.

So technically you could say the  scarecrow was out, not at home.

And what was he doing?

The scarecrow was outstanding in his field.

Are you with me so far?

But there's an expression to  be outstanding in one's field.

This is an expression that means that you're  exceptionally good at your occupation.

My occupation is teaching  English as a second language.

So if you think I'm doing an amazing job, you can  say, Jennifer, you're outstanding in your field.

The field being teaching, teaching English.

Jennifer, you're outstanding in your field.

Put that in the comments.

If you think that's true, if you  if you want to like this video,  

of course press that like button too and put  Jennifer, you're outstanding in your field.

But let's say that I live on a farm and  there is a big field on my property.

Technically you could say  Jennifer's out not at home.

Jennifer's out standing in her field.

So this is literally what I'm doing.

So now you know why that scarecrow won an award?

Because he was outstanding in his field.

Get it?

Get it?

Yes, you do.

Our next joke.

I used to be a Baker because I need a dough.

Get it?

Do you get the joke?

When you need dough, you press dough, which  is a mixture of flour, water and eggs.

You press dough repeatedly  and firmly with your hands.

And of course, a Baker is someone  who bakes bread, cookies, cakes,  

and other desserts as their occupation.

So a Baker of course needs dough  every single day as part of their job.

Now notice the pronunciation of need.

What does it sound like the verb to need?

And did you know that dough is  a slang expression for money?

So if you said I need some  dough, it means you need money.

The Baker kneaded dough.

This is literally what the Baker did.

The Baker kneaded dough.

The Baker needed money.

So now you understand why I used to be a Baker.

Because I needed dough.

Get it?

Now you do.

Our next joke.

Let's see if you can get this one.

I only know 25 letters of the alphabet.

I don't know why.

Get it.

Do you get the joke?

I like this one, actually.

How many letters are there  in the English alphabet?

Of course there are 26 letters.

The person in this joke knows 25 letters,  

so it means that they don't know  one letter of the English alphabet.

The one letter that they  don't know is the letter Y.

This explains the I don't  know why part of the joke,  

but of course the letter Y  sounds like the question.

Why?

Why?

It's exactly the same pronunciation.

So said another way, I don't know why  I only know 25 letters of the alphabet.

So now you know joke #4.

This is probably a dad joke.

I don't know if it was very funny.

It probably made you roll your eyes a little bit.

But I like this joke.

I like dad jokes.

And our final joke, This is the  most popular joke in English.

Let's see if you know it.

What did one plate say to the other?

Dinner's on me tonight.

Get it?

This is a good joke.

You have to share this with your  friends after you understand the joke.

So let me explain it to you.

Of course you know what a plate is.

And in our joke, we have one  plate saying to another plate.

Dinner's on me tonight.

Now, this is a joke because there's a  literal meaning and a figurative meaning.

So the literal meaning You eat dinner on a plate.

So of course dinner is on the plate tonight  because that's where you eat dinner.

But let's talk about the figurative meaning.

Let's say I'm out for dinner at  a restaurant with my friends,  

and towards the end of the meal, when the  bill comes, I say dinner is on me tonight.

That means I'm paying for dinner tonight.

So you definitely want to go out for dinner with  me because I always say dinner is on me tonight.

So that's why this is a funny joke,  because there are two separate meanings.

There's the literal meaning you eat dinner on  a plate and there's a figurative meaning where  

when you say dinner's on me tonight,  it means you're paying for dinner.

Now you don't only have to use this expression  with meals, you can use it with other things.

For example, the movies on me  tonight, I'm paying for the movie,  

The movies on me Tonight you can get the next one.

Congratulations on completing the master class.

Now did you enjoy this master class?

Do you want me to make more  master classes just like this?

If you do, then put master class.

Put master class in the comments below and  of course, make sure you like this video.

Share it with your friends and subscribe so  you're notified every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or look for.

The link in the description.

And why don't you keep improving your  English with this lesson right now?