English Speaking Practice | How to Make Good Small Talk

What's up? I'm Ethan, your RealLife  English Fluency Coach and because  

you asked for it today we are  going to speak English TOGETHER!

So, do you remember the first  conversation you had in English?  

How did you feel? Maybe you felt anxious…  slightly awkward... or even afraid…  

right? Did you freeze up? Did the words you  spent so long memorizing suddenly disappear?

I feel you! All these things happened to me the  first time I spoke with a stranger in German.  

So, today's lesson is to help  you NEVER feel this way again.

Isn't it funny to think that your best  friend today was once a stranger to you?  

That once you knew nothing about the people  you work with? Starting a conversation is an  

ADVENTURE. We define and learn about others  and ourselves in each conversation we have.

So are you ready to start living a new adventure? But before we overcome our nervousness and start  

speaking I want to invite you newcomers  to join our community by hitting the  

Subscribe button and the Bell down below. In return we promise to bring you new  

dynamic tips every single week. We'll  help you to understand fast speech,  

be understood by anyone and connect to the world. In fact RenasS says that every one of our  

videos that she watches gives her  more motivation to keep learning!

Being new to a place or a social  situation can be quite scary,  

especially if like me you're an introvert.

But, you can use that to your advantage.  Start the conversation by saying you are  

new to that place and ask the person  for his or her advice on something.

Most people like to feel helpful and this  can be your hook to engage in a conversation.

By the way, did you notice that you  don't necessarily need to say and answer  

"Nice to meet you" with "Nice to meet you, too."?

Here I used nice meeting you and the answer was  likewise. This means, "I feel the same way".

Next, let's look at the pronunciation  of "Do you know the area well?".

Here you can reduce the word do and you  to [do-ya] or just [ja]. Try it with me

ja-know the area well?

Great! Now, in the next part there are many  words you can reduce to sound more natural.

Now you can go back and practice  as many times as you want  

and I highly encourage you to add new  ideas to your answer every time you do. 

Now, let's practice this first  part all together. You start OK?

So, how are you doing so far?  If you would like to continue  

improving your English comprehension  and fluency with me after this lesson,  

a fun and super convenient way is with  our RealLife Native Immersion course. 

In it, you will get the vocabulary you really  need and improve your pronunciation so you can  

speak clearly, with real, native conversations. You can try it for free with our Power Learning  

Mini-Course! Learn more and sign up by clicking  up here or down in the description below.

Now, remember that having a conversation  is like playing table tennis.  

The ball goes back and forth  from one player to another.  

The best way to keep a conversation going  is by answering questions confidently. 

What would you answer if I asked  you What brings you to the US? or  

Are you enjoying yourself so far? I am going to help you with these two  

very common conversational questions.  Let's start with the pronunciation.

What brings you to the US? Notice that I emphasized What, bring and US.

These are the essential  words in the question. Also,  

you are going to connect you  to brings -> [bring -zuh]

All the other words will be reduced and  you are barely going to pronounce them.  

Let's try it. What brings you to the US?

Nice job! This question is similar  to Why are you visiting the US  

or What's the reason for your visit?

There are different ways you  can answer it. You could say:

"I'm on vacation" or "I'm going to school  here" or even "I'm visiting a relative" .

The next question is Are you  enjoying yourself so far?

So far means "up until this moment".  That is, the person wants to know  

your experience up to that  moment of your conversation.

One way of answering this question and sounding  more advanced is by using the present perfect:

You can say: "It's been so much  fun so far" or "It's been quite  

challenging" >>> 

Now, before we continue, I want you  to imagine that you have really just  

arrived in the US and we're meeting  at a common friend's lunch party, ok?

Pause the video for a couple  of seconds and write down the  

following information on a piece of paper.

Now let's practice this twice. First you'll ask me the questions  

First, you'll ask ME the questions,  

and then we'll invert. On the second time  around, I want you to use your personal answers.

By the way, if you need to get more speaking  practice at home, don’t miss this lesson where  

Ollie gives you 8 effective exercises that you  can do alone to improve your English speaking! 

You'll find that clicking up here  or down the description below.

Alright! For the third and final practice we'll  put everything together in one conversation.

First, you'll read the lines  like they appear on screen.

For the second time, I want you to  make all of your answers personal.

No lines on screen to follow. Just breathe  and remember what we've practiced, ok?

Congratulations on your amazing job! If  you would like more lessons like this,  

let us know in the comments below. By the way, you can now travel  

around the world and continue having  this conversation with me, Andrea,  

Ollie and other learners. Embark on a Global  Adventure and join the list to be a tester of  

our exclusive speaking and listening app. Just  click up here or down in the description below. 

Thanks so much for joining me today, remember  to subscribe so you don’t miss the next lesson,  

and now it’s time to go beyond the  classroom and live your English. Aww yeah!!