Can you spot a lie in English? Happy April Fool's Day!

Ready for an April Fool’s Day lesson?

Wait.

Does everyone watching know what April Fool’s Day is?

I can sum it up in a single line: it’s a day when people play silly jokes on one another.

Right.

We try to fool friends and family.

And it’s all done in fun.

And when people discover that it’s a joke, the joker can say, “April Fool’s!”

So five of us teachers have come together to see if we can fool you.

We’re each going to ask a true-false question.

Some of us will tell the truth.

Others are going to try to fool you.

Do I look like a person who can handle weapons?

Actually, I know how to use three types of weapons.

True or false?

True.

I briefly studied tae kwon do.

And that’s when I learned how to use a long staff, a short stick, and nunchucks.

Double and single.

Did you hear how I stated my list?

A long staff, a short stick, and nunchucks.

A common pattern is to use rising intonation on all but the last item of a list, as in

one, two, and three.

We use falling intonation on the last item.

For more information and practice, please check out my lesson on intonation patterns

for stating lists and presenting alternatives.

I'm from the United States of America but do you know which state I currently live in?

Well, if you follow 'Go Natural English' you probably know the answer.

I live in Missouri.

True or false?

The answer is false.

I made one of the Go Natural English videos in Missouri when I was visiting family.

My father lives there.

But I am not from there and I don't currently live there.

But you can see the video I made and learn about how to use words stress correctly to

sound more like a natural English speaker.

I went to graduate school to study Linguistics.

True or false?

False!

I went to graduate school to study opera singing.

Check out this video I made about intonation in American English and how it can help you

sound more native.

I have a short clip of me singing opera in that video!

I’m British and this is my husband, Jay.

He’s American.

That’s true!

So he says tomahto and I say tomayto.

Is that true or false?

It’s false!

It’s the other way round.

I say tomayto and she says tomahto.

So watch our video on British and American pronunciation differences to learn more.

Check this out.

I used to work at a fish market.

True or false?

True!

Actually I worked at a fish market for six summers when I was a teenager.

Did you notice the rhythm while I was speaking?

Did you?

When we speak we stress the words that are most important for people to understand.

Those words are on the beat in English.

The other words - usually little grammar words - they shrink, they get smaller, or link together.

That's the shrinking and linking.

If you're interested in this topic - so important for practicing English - please check out

this video I made.