Simple Way to Learn 1000+ Words in English

162,746 views ・ 2022-03-28

RealLife English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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If you have ever felt stuck in your English learning progress
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as an intermediate learner, well, today's one trick can help you
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to dramatically change the way that you speak English forever.
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Now, word formation can help you to really increase
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your vocabulary and even sound more advanced when you speak.
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We created this lesson because we had many requests from learners
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like you to make them more on the topic.
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So if you watch this lesson until the end,
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you'll get a much better idea of what exactly work formation is
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and how it can help you to speak English in a more advanced way.
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Plus, you will never use words the same way again.
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So grab your notebook
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because you're going to be taking a lot of notes in today's lesson.
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And before we continue, I wanted to let you know that
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if you are new here every week, we help learners like
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you go from feeling like a lost and insecure English learner
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to being a confident and successful English speaker.
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So if that sounds like what you want for your English, then be sure to hit that
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subscribe on and the bell down below to join your community
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and not miss a single new lesson.
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All right, take a look at this text.
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Now what if I told you you could make this text sound
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way more advanced just by applying this concept of word formation? Check it out.
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Pretty cool, isn't it?
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Well, in today's lesson,
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you are going to learn how you can use this one trick
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to sound more advanced when you speak English.
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But first, let's quickly understand what word formation is.
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Word formation basically has to do with the forming
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of new words, with the words that you already know.
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The key for you to master word formation is learning about prefixes and suffixes.
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Now these change the meaning of a word.
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Prefixes are added to the beginning of the word,
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and suffixes are added to the end of the word.
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For example, let's look at the word imperfectly.
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The first thing you want to do is get to the root or base of the word.
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In this case, the root is perfect.
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From there, you add either prefixes or suffixes to change the original meaning.
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In this example, we have the suffix ly and the prefix Im.
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Also notice that we use the words differently.
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For example, he's a perfect swimmer.
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He swims perfectly.
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Now you might be wondering,
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why should I care about prefixes and suffixes and word formation anyway?
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Well, let me give you three reasons.
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So first of all, it helps you to reduce the work count in your sentences.
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For example, instead of saying not aware, you can simply say unaware.
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Instead of saying not sure, you can simply say, I'm sure
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this is extremely useful because it makes you a more concise speaker.
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In other words, you can communicate more ideas by using fewer words.
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This is also useful if you ever take a proficiency exam
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such as Cambridge, or IELTS
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because these tests usually give you a word limit for you to write your essay.
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So you want to be able to communicate more with less.
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Second, it helps you with spelling.
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Let's do a short experiment.
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So grab a piece of paper and write down the word unsuccessfully.
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Pause the video if you need to know.
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So could you spell this word correctly? Let's check.
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Now, this can be a tricky word to spell because it's full of double letters.
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However, if you do the mental exercise of getting to the root first,
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it becomes much easier.
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If you break this fear down, you have un, success,
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ful, ly. A common mistake that I've seen some learners make
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is writing the word successful with double l.
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Even some natives do this.
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But notice that the suffix Ful only has one L.
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However, the word successfully is written with double l.
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Now this is because we now have the L ful four with L from ly.
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See how this can be helpful when it comes to spelling?
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Finally, it helps you to decode the meaning of long words.
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Now, learners of any language usually panic when they see a long word.
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Well, you don't need to be one of them anymore.
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Understanding the basic idea that prefixes and suffixes
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give to a word also helps you to decode meanings.
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So, for example, spinelessness again, we have the root spine
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and the two suffixes less and ness. The suffix less means without.
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For example, cashless means without cash,
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so spineless means without a spine.
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The suffix ness means the state or condition of.
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For example, kindness, which is the state of being kind.
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So the word spinelessness means the state of being without a spine.
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By the way, spine is the long bone that we have on our backs.
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However, we call someone spineless to say that this person
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doesn't have any courage.
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So the best way to remember
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new words and phrases when you learn them is to use them as soon as possible.
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But I know for a lot of you, you say that you have the problem
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that you have plenty of ways to listen to English, to read English.
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But there's just not enough opportunities to speak English.
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Well, don't worry, because we decided to go ahead and solve
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this problem since we've heard it so much from learners like you .
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We created the RealLife App, which is the only place where you can go,
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press a button and connect instantly to another English speaker
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in another part of the world for a fun and dynamic conversation.
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You can speak about your hobbies, your passions, discover
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other cultures, or even just chat about the weather if you want.
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And of course, you can practice all of the new words that you're using
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today, or maybe even teach someone else about this concept of word formation.
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So why don't you give it a try? It's absolutely free.
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Just click up here or down in the description below to give it a go now.
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Or you can search for RealLife English in the Apple app or Google Play Store.
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All right, now that you know why you should master prefixes
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and suffixes, let's get into how to implement word formation.
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All right, so the first thing
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that you want to do is divide the words in English into four categories,
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which I'm sure you already know nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
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Then you need to learn the main prefixes and suffixes to form each word class.
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For example, there are specific suffixes
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to form nouns, specific suffixes to form adjectives, and so on.
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Let me give you some examples.
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Now you can make this easier by using word maps.
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Choose a word and write it in the center.
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Then look up other possible formations of the word and add them to the word map.
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Notice that some words will have more than one variation for the same word class.
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Also, some words might not have variations in all word classes.
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For example, the words employee employer employment
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and employability are all nouns.
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The words employed, unemployed and employable are adjectives.
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We have one verb form to employ and no adverb form.
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Now, I can imagine this feels a bit overwhelming.
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So many prefixes and suffixes, so many possible new words.
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But don't fear the more you expose yourself to complex words.
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Whether it is when you are reading a book or watching your favorite series,
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the more naturally that you will be able to do this on your own.
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Now, when I speak Spanish or Catalan, for example,
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I often take risks to invent a word that I don't know
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by adding some prefixes or suffixes. Now, it doesn't always work,
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but I'd say about 80% of the time it does.
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And you can tell pretty quickly when the person doesn't
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understand what you mean.
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So for you, the Longman dictionary is an awesome resource
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to check out the different word classes in English.
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And by the way, we've recently recorded a podcast episode about word formation
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I'll link it down description for you to check out later.
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Now, let's go back to that text from the beginning of the lesson.
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All right, now, let's turn selected words into other possible formations.
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For example, we can turn the adjective wise into the noun wisdom.
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Then we can turn the verb, forget into the adjective forgetful.
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Then we can change the adjective important into the noun importance
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the adjective strong into the verb strengthen.
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And finally, the adjective polite into the adverb politely.
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But of course, that's not all.
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Since we change the
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word classes now we need to use other structures in order to make them fit.
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So instead of,
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And finally,
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Now let's compare both texts again.
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Pretty cool, isn't it?
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Notice that the information in both text is exactly the same.
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But if you know how to use word formation, well,
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then you have more options at your disposal to express yourself.
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And that is one of the differences
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between intermediate speakers and advanced speakers.
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Advanced speakers know other ways to say the same thing,
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which gives them more flexibility to communicate.
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By the way, are you enjoying this lesson and want to learn more
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about word formation?
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If you are them, leave us a comment down below
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saying I want to deepen my knowledge of word formation.
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Did you see how we use word
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formation in that example? To deepen means to make more deep.
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So if we get enough requests, then we will definitely
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make you a lesson on this topic.
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Oh yeah. All right.
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So in the last part of today's lesson,
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we will test your knowledge of word formation.
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So there will be six exercises and they will slightly increase
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in difficulty as you move from one question to the next.
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Each sentence has a blank space at the end of each sentence.
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You will have the word you're supposed to use in parentheses.
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Why don't we take a look at an example?
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Now what form the word
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Forget best fits in that sentence?
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If you said forgetful, you are correct.
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My grandma can be forgetful at times.
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Now you can pause the video if you need.
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Are you ready? Let's begin.
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So, how did you do? Notice that sentences five and six are slightly more difficult and advanced than sentences one and two.
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Awesome job today.
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In this video, you learned what word
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formation is, why it is important and how it works.
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The better you become at word formation, the more advanced,
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sophisticated and fluent you will sound.
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Now, aside from improving your vocabulary, being able to understand
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fast speakers is also crucial if you want to have excellent English.
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We've recently made a lesson covering five secrets to understanding fast English.
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Let's watch a clip from that.
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I can barely watch movies with subtitles if I turned off the subtitles.
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I get so lost. Native speaks so fast.
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I can understand my teacher.
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But when I listen to someone else, I don't understand anything.
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My listening is really bad.
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I get so frustrated what I have to ask someone to repeat what they said.
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How can I improve my listening?
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