Work Idioms with Jennifer and Rachel - English Vocabulary

Idioms are colorful expressions,

and they're fun to learn.

You hear idioms quite often in conversation,

so you should definitely take some time

to study them.

But what's the best way?

In this lesson, I have a special surprise for you.

I'm teaming up with another YouTuber.

A very popular and talented English teacher.

Rachel of Rachel's English.

Together Rachel and I will be teaching

some work-related idioms.

We'll use some old and new footage.

I'll also be offering some useful study tips.

Rachel is going to teach the first idiom.

Are you ready?

Have you ever head anyone say,

"Keep me in the loop" or

"I want to stay in the loop"?

This idiom means to be informed or connected.

For example, if you're working on a project at work

and you've just been talking about it,

to let your coworkers know that you're interested

in staying involved or informed,

you could say, "Great. Keep me in the loop."

So keeping you in the loop means keeping you...

informed.

Making sure you get information

as it becomes known or shared.

Keeping you in that circle.

Rachel explained that this idiom can be used at work.

This is important.

Here's our first tip.

Learn when it's appropriate to use an idiom.

Not all idioms belong in the workplace

or within a professional exchange.

But "keep me in the loop" is

a great work-related idiom.

My second tip is learn how to use an idiom.

The basic idiom here is "in the loop."

Rachel gave us two ways to use it.

Keep me in the loop.

I want to stay in the loop.

It's a good thing to be familiar

with variations of an idiom.

Okay. Now I want to teach you the importance of context.

I'm going to show a clip from an old lesson of mine,

and I want you to learn how to use context.

That's our third tip.

Context refers to the situation that an idiom is used in

and also the words that come before and after the idiom.

How much can you learn from the conversation?

The idiom is "under the table."

Listen and try to understand the meaning

and listen for uses, for variations of the idiom.

Often you'll learn new idioms

just be listening to conversations.

- Either real conversations around you

or conversations on TV or in a movie.

You need to learn to use the context

to figure out the meaning.

In the clip, you heard two variations:

get paid under the table/

be paid under the table.

If you listened to the context,

then you understood

that paying someone under the table

means paying them secretly or illegally.

Anything that happens under the table

happens secretly or unofficially.

Rachel's going to teach you another idiom now.

Listen carefully and you'll learn the importance

of pronunciation.

Today I'm going to go over the idiom "on fire."

This means to be doing something very well.

For example, you're at a basketball game.

And there's a guy who keeps hitting three-pointer

after three-pointer after three-pointer.

And making them.

You might say, "Man! That guy's on fire!"

It can also apply to a social situation.

For example, let's say you go to a party with a friend.

And your friend is talking to everyone,

making everyone laugh...

Everyone wants to be around him.

You can say, "Man, you were on fire at that party!"

ON can be pronounced with the ‘aw’ as in ‘law’ vowel,

or the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ vowel.

I pronounce it with the ‘aw’ as in ‘law’.

It’s a little further back in the face than the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’, which is a little further forward.

ON, the N consonant sound, so the tongue will raise into that position.

On, ff, fire begins with the F consonant sound,

so you’ll raise the bottom lip, ff, to the top teeth and let air come through.

On ff, on fi-, the ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ diphthong, on fi-re.

And finally, the schwa and R sound, er, er. On fire, on fire.

Let's see how well you listened.

What's the correct way to say that idiom?

Listen.

The last one is correct, right?

On fire.

Here's the fourth tip.

Learn how to say an idiom clearly and naturally.

"On fire" is a great idiom

because it can be used in different situations.

Rachel explained that you can use "on fire"

when you talk about a basketball game

or a party.

You can also use it at work.

For example, if a coworker closed a few deals

earlier this month

and just closed another deal today,

bringing in a lot of money for the company,

You can say with admiration,

"You're on fire!"

Not all rodents are cute,

but this one is.

This is from my children's collection

of stuffed animals and hand puppets.

I'm not even certain if this is a mouse or a rat,

but seeing it reminds me of an idiom

we have in English:

rat race.

"Rat race" refers to the daily struggle

to be successful at work,

where there is competition and pressure to produce.

One day after the other

you go through this routine

hoping to come out on top,

but really you're one of thousands.

"Rat race" refers to this whole situation.

Many complain about the race race

and say they hate the rat race.

Some think about quitting the rat race.

Others actually leave the rat race behind.

They change jobs

or they change their lifestyle.

Maybe they retire early

or move out to the country

where life is more peaceful.

My suggestion now is to create your own examples.

It's my final study tip.

Learn through practice.

Test out a new idiom in conversation.

But this tip comes with a warning.

Idioms are colorful,

but don't overdo it.

Trying to use too many idioms at one time

won't make your English sound more natural.

If you'd like more practice with the idioms

we covered in this lesson,

click here for an interactive exercise.

If you want more idioms, just click

and you can see Rachel's lesson on animal idioms.

Be sure to check out Rachel's

American English pronunciation channel

and subscribe.

Rachel also has a collection of videos

on American English in real life.

Sign up for her newsletter

and you'll receive free weekly lessons

from Rachel and other great teachers.

Finally, Rachel wrote a 290-page eBook

on American English pronunciation.

And it has 2.5 hours of audio.

It's a great way to work on your American accent.

That's it and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.

Thank you, Rachel, for helping me teach this lesson.

That's all for now.

Thanks for watching

and happy studies!