English Speaking Practice – Learn English Pronunciation through Real-Life Conversation – Pie Making!

In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to study real-life English while I make an apple pie

with my dear friend Laura.

Okay, time to eat the caramel sauce.

Caramel. Caramel. Caramel.

They're all okay. They're all okay. Okay.

Hmm… this tasty word can be pronounced three ways.

Caramel. Caramel. Or caramel.

Each pronunciation is accepted and you will find all three of these pronunciations listed in the dictionary.

Here's what it says.

Whisk in a medium saucepan.

Now it doesn't say over medium-low heat.

Okay.

Okay.

-I'll do that. -Okay.

Notice how we respond to each other. K and mkay.

These are both common variants of the word ‘okay’.

This word is used a lot in conversational English.

It can be used to say ‘I understand, I'm listening’

which is how Laura and I both use it here.

Over medium-low heat.

K. Mkay.

I've read a part of the recipe and we're both saying I understand that.

Then she offers to take care of it and I say ‘mkay’ again here, meaning I understand.

-I'll do that. -Okay.

We also use it for ‘yes’.

Will you add the sugar?

Okay.

Over a medium low heat.

-K. -Mkay.

-I'll do that. -Okay.

Here's what it says. Hmm…

So we do this until the sugar is dissolved then we add the butter

-which I put out on the counter. -with a stick.

-Just light on the butter. -Yeah.

You know, it's not… this, this pie is not very high in calories.

So that's false.

False.

I've said something here that's not true. It's false.

I'm not being serious.

The pie is very high in calories.

Listen to the different ways you can say I'm not being serious.

False. I'm joking. I'm being facetious.

I'm just kidding.

- How else could you say that? - She's joking.

You already say that?

- I did say that. I'm pulling my leg. -You’re pulling your leg.

Yeah, I'm pulling your leg. It's a high in calorie pie.

Okay so um...

- Just joshing… - I'm just joshing you.

Where does that one come from?

I'm just Joshin.

You could say that. I'm just joshing. Hey, don't get upset. I'm just Joshin.

I'm joking. I'm being facetious. I'm just kidding. I'm pulling your leg. I'm just joshing.

All of these things mean what I'm saying should not be taken seriously or literally.

I could have also said I'm just playing or I'm playing.

The word ‘just’ in all of these phrases can be used but doesn't have to be used.

A note on the pronunciation of the word ‘just’,

if it's followed by a word that begins with the consonant, the T will usually be dropped.

For example, I'm just kidding.

Jus kidding.

Straight from the S sound into the K with no T.

False. I'm joking. I'm being facetious.

I'm just kidding.

I'm pulling your leg. It's a high in calorie pie.

I'm just joshing you.

Where does that one come from?

You want to grab the stick of butter?

Yeah.

So every fall, for what, how many years have you been doing this?

Well we've lived here since 2010.

- No way. - And it probably started...

No way.

Here? No way.

What does that mean?

That means I can't believe what she's saying.

I don't think it's true and it turns out I misunderstood.

I thought she meant she had been living in that house since 2010

but she meant she'd been living in the town since then.

Well we've lived here since 2010.

- Here? No way. - And it probably started...

- No. No. No. In North Hampton. Yeah. - Oh, you mean North Hampton.

-Seven-ish. -6 or 7 years. Yeah.

I said seven-ish years while Laura said six or seven years.

‘Ish’ is something you might hear put at the end of a word to show approximation.

-Seven-ish. -6 or 7 years. Yeah.

Every fall I come up to Laura's house and we have a fall baking weekend

and actually we've made lots of videos from the fall baking weekend

so I’ll put a link to that playlist in the comments below.

Also right here, just click the I.

They're really fun.

They are. At least we have fun.

We have fun.

We keep on working on the sauce for that pie adding butter and then adding cream.

Okay, are you ready to whisk?

- I think I’m supposed to add this really slowly. - Slowly.

Am I supposed to keep on whisking or stirring?

There we're both unsure of what the recipe says.

We both used the phrase ‘supposed to’.

We both reduce this phrase to: spose ta.

We reduced it from 3 syllables to 2.

This is really common.

The S and T can either be pronounced: Ss-- sposta, or ZD, spose ta.

- I think I’m supposed to add this really slowly. - Slowly.

Am I supposed to keep on whisking or stirring?

Alright. Here we go.

- Woah! - Woah! Steam bomb! The camera!

Ok, so now we're slicing the apples. We're using machine

to make it a little easier. You can put them in here then.

Yeah. Okay.

There are always lots of reductions in American English.

Let's look at the ones I just used.

‘We are’ contracts to ‘we're’ and is often pronounced ‘were’ in conversation.

It's really fast and it sounds just like this word: were.

I use that contraction twice here.

So now we're slicing the apples. We're using a machine to make it a little easier. You can put them in here then.

Yeah. Okay.

You're going to put them in here then.

Some more reductions.

The word are at the beginning was dropped.

We need that word to be grammatically correct but it is sometimes dropped in spoken English.

‘Going to’ became ‘gonna’ and the TH was dropped in them.

‘Put them’ becomes: put ‘em— put ‘em—

No TH and a flap T to connect the two words.

Put ‘em— put ‘em—

You can put them in here then.

Yeah. Okay.

Right. Watch this do its magic.

Love it. They come out at the bottom. Totally thin slice.

Let's put the lemon juice in.

Let's put the lemon juice in.

The word ‘let's’ is really unclear.

It's very common to drop the beginning and basically just make the TS sound.

Let's put the lemon juice in. Ts- ts- ts-

That's, its, and what can also make this reduction.

We're just putting the TS sound in front of the next word.

See this video for further examples and explanation.

Let's put the lemon juice in.

And the baby’s up. Let me go get him.

Let me go get him. A couple reductions here.

Let me becomes lemme, and the H is dropped in ‘him’.

Dropping the H in this word is a really common reduction.

When we do this, it sounds just like when we dropped the TH in them.

'Get him' becomes 'get um'.

Just like 'put them' was 'put um'.

The flap T links the words and the reduction of ‘them’ and ‘him’ are the exact same sounds, schwa and M.

Get em— put em—

Let me go get him.

Can you look right there? Say ‘Hi! I just had a nice nap!’

Can you say ‘Hey everybody!’

Can you try that?

‘Hey everybody!’ You want to try?

No. Okay.

Can I go ahead and put the apples in there?

Yeah, dump them in.

Dump them in. ‘Them’ is reduced again.

Dump em— dump em— Yeah, dump em in.

I'm going to take you down to daddy.

I'm going to take you down to daddy.

'I'm going to' got reduced.

With our most common words and phrases, we tend to do the most dramatic reductions. I’m gonna--

There's almost an idea of I in front of it but not really.

I’m gonna-- I’m gonna-- I’m gonna-- I'm gonna take you down to daddy.

I made a video where I go over this reduction and more examples.

Click here or in the description below to see that video.

I'm going to take you down to daddy.

Alright.

- All of them? - Let me read ahead.

Yeah, all of them.

I love how when you start paying attention to a particular reduction, you constantly hear it.

Did you catch the reductions of ‘them’ here?

We're talking about the apple slices.

- All of them? - Let me read ahead.

Yeah, all of them.

All of them. Nice ‘them’ reduction, Laura.

- All of them? - Mm-hmm.

I like it.

Okay.

Then we mixed the apples in with the other dry ingredients.

We packed the apples into our pie shell and drizzled on the caramel sauce which got too thick as it cooled.

We overcooked it and finally we make the lattice top for the pie.

I had some problems and I kept messing it up.

What is wrong with me?

I’m like really screwing up.

Really screwing up.

Screw up is a phrasal verb which means to do something the wrong way

or to do a bad job with something.

I screwed up the pie crust.

You could also say mess up.

I messed up the pie crust.

I’m really screwing up. I have to wipe that out.

Oh darn. I I have to eat that caramel sauce.

This is weird, Laura. Last time I made this, it seeped in much more.

So when... because look when I'm doing the lattice now, when I pull it up, it's like bringing up all this goo.

- It’s thicker. - It's weird.

I gotta say right now I'm like, I'm feeling embarrassed about how this is turning out.

Turn out. Another phrasal verb.

As I'm using it here, it means how something develops or ends.

I'm not happy with how it's going, I'm embarrassed with the end result of my pie.

I got to say, right now, I'm like, I'm feeling embarrassed about how this is turning out.

I finished making the top and we put it in the oven and the final scene of course needs to be trying the pie.

It’s out of the oven, looking good. Laura, how are you feeling about it?

I’m feeling great!

Oh, also we made a pumpkin pie.

I’m also feeling great about that.

From scratch with a pumpkin.

We made whipped cream. Big deal.

And Dana made chocolate-dipped macaroons.

Macaroon or Macaron?

To clarify, this is a macaroon and this is a macaron,

which is also pronounced ‘macaroon’.

I don’t know, I’ll look it up and I’ll let everyone know. Okay, let’s cut this pie. Who wants a little bit of apple?

If you'd like to recreate this pie, it really is amazingly delicious.

Please see the link in the video description below.

It's from my favorite pie book, the Four and Twenty Blackbirds book.

I’m going to have a caramely taste.

It turned out well.

That’s it guys, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English!