Learn Advanced English Words and Expressions from a News Article

Today we're going to read a news article  together so you can fill your vocabulary  

with advanced expressions, learn correct  grammar, and improve your pronunciation.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline, Practical ways  to improve Your confidence and why you Should.

I'm sure you want to improve your confidence  when it comes to speaking English in public.

Is that right?

And that's why I chose this article.

Now I like how they specified practical ways.

What do you think of when you hear  the word practical, a practical way?

If something is practical, it  means it's realistic or the method,  

the strategy is useful or  applicable in the real world.

So a student might say, your friend could say to  you, I know I want to improve my speaking skills,  

so I'll speak to native  speakers for five hours a day,  

every day and for free because  I don't want to pay any money.

Your friend could say, well, that's  not practical, That's not practical.

You don't live in an area with native speakers.

How are you going to find these native speakers?

5 hours a day is a long time.

So that's not practical.

So we common use commonly  use this in the negative.

So you can just make it negative,  not practical, That is not practical.

Or you could say that isn't practical.

There's two ways to form that contraction.

A practical way to improve your English fluency,  

which will help you feel more confident,  is to spend 30 minutes a day watching  

J Phrase English lessons for free on  YouTube, like you're doing right now.

So if you agree that that's practical, then  put absolutely put absolutely in the chat.

So this article is on practical ways to  improve your confidence and why you should.

So notice this modal verb  should and why you should.

If a verb came next, it would  be the base verb because it's  

always modal plus base verb and why  you should improve your confidence.

They don't need to repeat that  because it's already stated.

Now the modal verb should is for  a recommendation or a suggestion.

Your friend, Co worker, boss, parent could say  to you, you should improve your English fluency.

They're making a recommendation.

So remember modal plus base verb.

Now you should improve your English fluency.

Do you agree with that suggestion?

Again, if you do, put absolutely.

If you haven't yet, put absolutely in the  chat in the comments and don't worry about  

taking notes because I summarize  everything in a free lesson PDF  

to make this lesson even more practical for you,  useful for you because you can review the notes.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's continue and learn about these  practical ways to improve your confidence.

self-confidence is just one  element in a triad of things.

What's a triad?

Triad comes from the word  try Tri, which means 3 triad.

So it would be a group of three things  that make up our overall confidence.

And notice that pronunciation.

Try triad.

Repeat after me, triad.

Here's what you can do to boost yours.

Of course, you know what Boost means, right?

Because you want to boost your English  fluency, boost your speaking skills,  

boost your vocabulary, boost your grammar,  all of which you'll do in this lesson.

Boost means increase or improve  depending on the context in terms  

of your English fluency, it could mean both.

You could say these lessons, these  learn English with the news lessons.

These lessons help boost my overall fluency.

So boost of course, means increase, improve.

Now overall, I wrote the definition here.

If you look at overall confidence,  you're looking at all areas of it.

So the entirety, the totality  of it, not just one part.

So for your overall fluency, it's all areas  which include grammar, vocabulary, speaking,  

reading, writing, pronunciation, not just  one part, but the totality, overall fluency.

Now, we also use overall as a transition word  when you want to present information as a summary.

So you could say overall this was a great lesson.

So you're not talking about one specific part,  

you're talking about the lesson  in its entirety or totality.

Overall, this was a great lesson.

We use this a lot when you're talking about,  

let's say, your weekend, you're  saying the different things you did.

And then to summarize, you can say overall.

Overall it was a great weekend.

So keep that in mind for your presentations  to sound more professional for your IELTS.

And if you agree with these two  statements, then put absolutely.

Again, why not put absolutely in the comments?

self-confidence is your belief  in how good you are at something,  

but it's not a measure of your actual skill.

This is very important when it  comes to your English fluency.

self-confidence in your speaking  skills does not mean that you speak  

perfectly or you don't make mistakes  or you don't have an accident accent,  

because it's not a measure of your actual  skill, it's a belief in how good you are.

This is a very important point to remember when it  

comes to your speaking skills or anything  you want to feel more calm, confident in.

And notice here for sentence  structure, you're good at something.

So notice that preposition, the  sentence structure is to be.

So we need our verb to be.

It's right here.

You are to be and then adjective at something.

So for example, she's excellent.

So in this article, the adjective was good, but  you can use any adjective, positive or negative.

She's excellent.

She is.

She's excellent at.

Now, because I have a verb, it needs to be  the gerund verb because AT is a position.

She's excellent at explaining  complex topics easily.

Or you can use it in the  negative, which is commonly done.

He's terrible at communicating  his ideas concisely.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finally 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.

If you believe you can get your dream job,  

get is very commonly used with a position  or a client, a sale or a promotion.

I got the promotion.

Now with positions, you can also  use land can land your dream job.

So in this case, land is a verb  and it means get or achieve.

Native speakers use the verb land a lot when it  comes to positions, promotions, opportunities.

For example, would be very common for  a native speakers to say Congrats,  

which is the short form of congratulations.

So repeat after me.

Congrats.

Congrats and you congratulate  someone on doing something.

And that's why I have the  preposition on and the verb in ING.

Congrats on landing the new client.

So land is a replacement to get which  means to obtain or to successfully achieve.

Congrats on landing the new client.

If you believe you can get land  your dream job if you apply,  

there's a chance, however small you might get it.

So might is another modal of possibility.

Now, if you say it might rain, it  means there's a chance of rain,  

but you are not sure if it will rain.

There's just the possibility.

So you might get it, you might land it  because it represents the dream job.

So again, you could replace the  verb get with land and it's the  

base verb because it's modal plus base verb.

Notice the article said  there's a chance however small.

By adding however small, it means even  if the chance is the smallest chance,  

a 1% chance, there's still a chance.

1% is still a chance, however small.

So it's saying even though the chance  may be extremely small, it still exists.

The chance exists.

If you don't believe that you can  get it, land it, and you don't apply.

It's guaranteed that you  won't, that you won't get it.

And that makes sense because you didn't apply.

So even though it's a small chance, it's  still more of a chance because you applied,  

and in this case you didn't apply because  you didn't believe that you could get it.

self-confidence doesn't magically  make you better at what you do,  

but it does prime you to take the  risks necessary to achieve your goals.

Now notice here the same preposition better at  

these lessons will help you become  better at speaking in English.

And here they you could use make you These lessons  will make you better at speaking in English.

Let's look at prime.

But it it represents what but it but  self-confidence having self-confidence.

But it does prepare you does  prime you So prime means prepare.

What do you notice about this sentence structure?

But it remembers self-confidence.

But it does prime you to take the risks necessary.

Hmm.

Well, prime is our base verb,  

and then does is being used as the  auxiliary verb in the present simple.

But grammatically this isn't required  because in the present simple all you  

need to do is take your main verb prime  and then conjugate that with the subject.

Because the subject is it in the present  simple, you need to add that S or ES.

It primes you to take the risks necessary.

That's the standard present  simple sentence structure.

Grammatically, you can add  the auxiliary verb do or be  

or have to add emphasis, but it does prime you.

But grammatically, this isn't required.

Native speakers frequently use this.

So let me share a practical example.

I could say make sure you  subscribe, and that is real.

Make sure you subscribe.

Now you may say, Jennifer, I subscribed.

So you put your verb in the past.

Simple.

Now to add emphasis, you can say I did subscribe.

I did subscribe.

So you take your auxiliary verb do, and that's the  verb you conjugate in whatever verb tense needed.

In this case it was the present simple,  and in this case it was the past simple.

But the regular past simple sentence structure,  

you just add the Ed to the verb or  it's an irregular past simple verb.

So this one is only used to emphasize size.

Jennifer, I did subscribe.

So again, make sure you subscribe  and if you already have,  

you can say I did subscribe to add that emphasis.

So now I see our first header, our headline,  

our header, which is the practical  way to improve yourself confidence.

Start working out now.

Notice this is in the base verb  because it's used as a recommendation.

Start working out.

This is the imperative verb tense.

Many people start working out  to lose weight or build muscle,  

but exercise can also be a huge  boost to yourself confidence.

Our phrasal verb is to work out.

Notice in both cases it's in the  gerund form and that's because  

it follows the verb start, which is a gerund verb.

So you have your verb starts, the gerund verb and  your next verb in this case to workout is in ING.

So that's why you see it in both cases in ING.

But the verb is to workout and then you conjugate  work according to the sentence structure.

Now to workout this means to  exercise or to do exercises.

So in this case the verb is exercise to exercise,  

but in this case the verb is  due and exercises is a noun.

Students commonly use these structures  when they talk about their daily routine.

Every morning I exercise.

Every morning I do exercises.

Native speakers use the phrasal  verb workout 90% of the time.

So this is one area that if you instantly  want to sound more like a native speaker,  

just use the phrasal verb workout  instead of exercise or do exercises.

Many people start working out to lose weight now.

Notice here, Wait, wait.

Don't confuse this with the verb weigh.

How much do you weigh?

Weigh is the verb here.

How much do you weigh now?

To lose weight you need that T and the  pronunciation is exactly the same as weight.

This verb for pronunciation I lost weight.

This means you went from 180 lbs to 175 lbs.

Even if you went to 179, you lost weight.

If you went the other way to 181,  you would gain you would gain weight.

I gained because that's the past simple weight.

So don't confuse way and weight.

But exercise notice here they're using exercise.

This is more the category exercise.

This is physical movement, whereas working out  workout is the exercise that you do every day.

So again, native speakers use workout  to describe the exercise that they do.

But then exercise is the concept.

So I could say I workout daily because I  

understand the importance  of exercise for my health.

So exercise is the concept, but  then workout is the actual action.

But exercise can also be a huge boost.

We already know what boost means,  increase, improve to yourself, confidence.

But in this case, notice  grammatically it's all boost.

And then huge is an adjective.

So in this case, boost is a noun, a  huge increase, a huge improvement.

Those would be the noun forms to  yourself confidence the American  

psychological notice the pronunciation.

This P is silent psych psych and this  is AK sound psychological psychological.

The American Psychological Association  has noted that exercise again the concept  

that exercise can improve boost your mood  and help combat depression and anxiety.

Noted means observed or acknowledged.

Native speakers commonly use this as a  reply, and we use the one word noted.

For example, let's say your colleague  or your subordinate sends you a message  

and says I'm leaving at 3:00 PM  today for a dentist appointment.

So normally they work until  five and they're leaving early.

I'm leaving at 3:00 PM today for  a dentist appointment and they  

just send this to you on Teams or  Slack or text, and then you reply  

back with this one word because you're a  native speaker and you say noted, noted.

They're using this to say I acknowledge  that you are leaving at 3:00 PM today.

Noted.

So now this person knows that it's  OK for them to leave at 3:00 PM.

So they're acknowledging it and at  the same time they're approving it.

So it's a very powerful one  word to have in your vocabulary.

Let's continue.

It can also help remember it.

We're talking about exercise as the concept and  

then working out as the activity that  you do as part of your daily routine.

It can also help improve your confidence  if you stick with it for a while.

So for a while.

How long is this?

We don't know because it's unspecified, but it  sounds like more than a day, more than a week.

It sounds like a longer period  of time, but it is unspecified.

And if you stick with it,  that means you keep doing it.

We use to stick with something when  you want to encourage someone to  

keep doing something that is difficult or  challenging or uncomfortable in some way.

For example, recording myself speaking feels  awkward, but I'm going to stick with it.

I'm going to keep doing it even though  there is some negativity involved.

I'm going to stick with it, so make  sure you stick with it as well.

Let's continue.

So our next practical thing  again in the imperative.

So starting with that base verb, try  things that make you uncomfortable.

Well, isn't this appropriate because I just  shared an example that makes you uncomfortable.

I I chose the word feels awkward, but  that's the same meaning as uncomfortable.

Try things that make you uncomfortable,  like recording yourself speaking.

Stepping outside your comfort zone is,  as you might expect, uncomfortable.

So if you stretch your comfort  zone every day, very quickly,  

you'll have a large comfort zone and be able to  feel more comfortable even when outside of it.

You may know about your comfort zone, the concept.

So your comfort zone, inside your comfort zone are  the activities that you feel comfortable doing and  

then outside your comfort comfort zone are the  activities you don't feel comfortable doing.

So when it comes to working out exercise,  maybe you feel comfortable working out at  

home that's inside your comfort zone, but  you've always wanted to learn how to dance,  

but the idea of dancing in public in front of  other people is outside of your comfort zone.

So taking a ballroom dance class  is outside of your comfort zone.

So you're more likely to do this  and less likely to do this for you.

Learning English online  lessons like you're doing now?

Very comfortable.

Public speaking, not very comfortable.

So which one are you more likely to do?

Of course, this one.

And that's the problem.

You need to do more things outside of  your comfort zone in order to develop  

self-confidence, according to this article.

Now here notice they say if  you stretch your comfort zone.

So for physical activity exercise, when  you stretch, you extend your muscles.

So right now I'm stretching my neck.

You can stretch your arm, which feels  really good after a workout, right?

But in this case, when you  stretch your comfort zone,  

it's about banding or extending your  comfort zone, making it bigger in this case.

So you can do that by adding these  activities into your comfort zone, right?

So that's the next practical tip.

And the next one is try a new look.

All look.

Notice this is a noun.

It's not a verb.

It's not the verb to look.

Right now you're looking at the screen.

But when you try a new look, it  would be the clothes you wear,  

your hairstyle, your makeup, the  jewelry or accessories you wear.

All of that would represent  your look, your appearance.

So in this case, try a new look.

So what about you?

Would you be willing to try a new look, a  different style, or a different appearance?

How you dress can affect how  other people perceive you,  

but it can also affect how you perceive yourself.

So it sounds like they're focusing on  the clothes you wear for this new look.

But just remember, it could be changing  your hair, changing your makeup.

It doesn't just represent your clothing,  but they're focusing on clothing.

Now.

Notice I just said clothing and the  article used clothes exactly the same.

It doesn't matter if you say  clothes or clothing, it's the same.

But just note that clothing is a  collective noun so we never add an S to it.

But clothes is used with the S.

So you would say I need new  clothes to help me get my new look.

I need new clothing.

So don't forget you add the *** with  clothes and no *** with clothing.

Wearing different clothes.

Clothing can prompt you to  think or behave differently.

Prompt is a verb that means to cause or encourage.

So something prompts someone,  or someone can prompt someone.

So my teacher prompted me to subscribe.

I encouraged you to subscribe.

Or sometimes you might get a notification on your  phone that says you haven't logged in in one week.

So that notification is prompting  you to log in and use that app.

It's encouraging you or causing you to.

So wearing different clothes,  

clothing can encourage you 'cause you  prompt you to think or behave differently.

What do you think about that point?

Do you agree, disagree.

Share your opinion in the comments as well.

If you want to feel more confident now,  notice here Confident is an adjective.

We've been talking about confidence,  

which is the noun form, and then  confident is the adjective form.

With the adjective form, it would either modify  

a noun or you would use it  in the sentence structure.

I am confident with the verb to be.

In this article, they used feel.

You can also use feel with  the adjective confident.

I feel confident in this shirt.

It's part of my new look, which isn't true.

I've had this shirt for probably 10 years.

I have confidence.

This is the noun form.

So confidence is a noun.

It's a something.

You still need a verb to complete the sentence.

The verb choice is have.

I have confidence or you would  talk about it as a concept.

Confidence is important.

I added that example for you.

If you want to feel be more  confident as the adjective  

dress the way a confident  version of yourself would.

So here confident is an adjective  because it modifies version of yourself.

This is the noun a version of yourself.

This is implying that there are different  ways that you represent yourself.

One version of myself is  Jennifer as your English teacher.

Of course I have another version of  myself as a wife, a friend, a sister.

Those are different versions of myself,  

so dress the way a confident version of yourself  would would dress if you want to complete that.

This is an interesting point.

What do you think about this?

Share your opinion on this in the comments.

And that's the end of our article.

So I'll read the article from start to finish  and this time you can focus on my pronunciation,  

practical ways to improve your  confidence, and why you should.

self-confidence is just one element in a triad  of things that make up our overall confidence.

Here's what you can do to boost yours.

self-confidence is your belief  in how good you are at something,  

but it's not a measure of your actual skill.

If you believe you can get  your dream job if you apply,  

there's a chance, however small, you might get it.

If you don't believe that you can get it and  you don't apply, it's guaranteed that you won't.

self-confidence doesn't magically  make you better at what you do,  

but it does prime you to take the  risks necessary to achieve your goals.

Start working out.

Many people start working out  to lose weight or build muscle,  

but exercise can also be a huge boost to yourself.

Confidence.

The American Psychological  Association has noted that  

exercise can improve your mood and  help combat depression and anxiety.

It can also help improve your confidence  if you stick with it for a while.

Try things that make you uncomfortable.

Stepping outside your comfort zone is,  as you might expect, uncomfortable.

So if you stretch your comfort zone  every day, very quickly you'll have  

a large comfort zone and be able to feel  more comfortable even when outside of it.

Try a new look.

How you dress can affect how  other people perceive you,  

but can also affect how you perceive yourself.

Wearing different clothes can prompt  you to think or behave differently.

If you want to feel more confident, dress the  way a confident version of yourself would.

Do you want me to make another  Learn English with the News lesson?

If you do, then put absolutely  put absolutely in the comments.

Why not?

You've already said it, so say it again.

Put absolutely in the comments.

And of course, make sure you like this lesson.

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 you can keep expanding your  vocabulary with this lesson right now.