Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice

Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.  

I have some good news. I'm coming  to visit you. Let's talk about it. 

I can't wait. I just booked my flight. I've  got everything set up. I can't wait to hear  

more about where you live. What should I see?  What places should I avoid? Tell me all about.  

Is your heart starting to beat, tell you  about where I live? What? What do I say? How  

do I explain it? Well, don't worry. Today in this  lesson, I'm going to help you talk about where you  

live and also you will have a chance to speak with  me and use what you've learned. In this lesson,  

you will learn some common vocabulary to talk  about where you live. You can accurately explain  

where you live and give some advice to people who  could be visiting your city. Then we'll talk about  

some common conversation questions about where you  live. And finally, you will see a little sample  

conversation between my husband, Dan and I, as  we talk about visiting another city, and then you  

will have a chance to practice speaking with  me. I will ask you a question and you will  

need to use what you've learned. So pay attention  well, and get ready for the end of this lesson. 

To help you with today's lesson. I have created a  free PDF worksheet with all of today's vocabulary,  

questions, tips, sample conversations, and  Vanessa's challenge question at the end of  

the PDF worksheet so that you can use what  you've learned and remember it so that you  

don't feel too nervous and you can express  yourself clearly. So don't forget to download  

the free PDF worksheet. There is a link in the  description of this video. It is my gift for you. 

Okay, let's get started with some common  vocabulary to talk about where you live. 

If you live in a city, you might say, "It's really  busy where I live. New York city is a busy place."  

Or you could use the word crowded. "Tokyo is a  crowded city. There are lots of people everywhere,  

and there are not many places where you can be  alone and have a quiet moment." Maybe you might  

say that your city is busy and crowded. What's  the opposite of this? You can say, "Stockholm,  

Sweden is a relaxed city. It's a quiet place."  I don't know. I have never been to Stockholm.  

If you're from Stockholm, Sweden, let me know.  

But you might say, "Where I live is just a relaxed  place." Or we can say it's relaxing. "If you  

come visit where I live, it's very relaxing and  quiet. Maybe that's because it's in the country." 

Let's go on to these two common words to  talk about the type of place you live.  

You might say, "Yeah, I live in Delhi, India, and  it's one of the largest urban areas in the. There  

are so many people here. It's busy, it's crowded.  It's an urban area." And this means it's the city.  

It's quite busy. It's crowded. It's an urban  area. There's not many trees, not much nature.  

But on the other hand, you might say, "I live  in the country." The word country means United  

States, France, Japan, these places, but in the  US, we use this to mean countryside. We do say  

countryside sometimes, but we're more likely in  the US to say, "I live in the country." That means  

in nature. Maybe there's some farms around you,  maybe there's forests around you and you don't  

live in a busy urban city center. You live in the  country. So I wonder for you, do you live in the  

country or do you live in an urban city center? Do you live somewhere that's difficult to get  

to? You might say, "Yeah, my city is off the  beaten path, but it's worth visiting." So for me,  

my city, Asheville in North Carolina, it is  definitely off the beaten path. It's not a huge  

city. It doesn't have a big airport that comes  here. It's off the beaten path. But if you want  

to check out some other local sites in the US, it  could be nice to visit. It's off the beaten path. 

This also can be used to talk  about locations within a city.  

So if you visit Paris and you go to the  Eiffel Tower, and then you get hungry. Well,  

the places that are close to the Eiffel Tower  to eat, those are what we call tourist traps.  

Those places are only for tourists. They're  extremely expensive. They're not high quality.  

It's just to trap tourists. But if you want to  eat at a great location, you might go somewhere  

off the beaten path. This is somewhere that not  many other people go to. And it's an expression  

that's great to use about like little secret local  locations. So when I visit your city, I might ask,  

"Are there any places off the beaten path that  I can visit? Are there any restaurants off the  

beaten path that only locals know about? What  is something off the beaten path that I can do?" 

Let's say that where you live is not extremely  popular, but it's becoming more popular.  

Maybe because of the pandemic last year, people  are traveling to different types of destinations.  

Maybe they're deciding to travel to  more nature places, places that are  

in the mountains or places that are not in big  city centers. Well, that might mean that where  

you live is becoming an up and coming place.  We use this term, up and coming, to talk about  

somewhere that's not extremely popular, but it's  becoming more popular. So you might say, "Yeah,  

my city isn't really popular now, but it's an up  and coming place, you've got to check it out." We  

can use this on a smaller scale, just like off  the beaten path, to talk about a restaurant or  

a neighborhood. "That neighborhood used to not be  a good neighborhood, but now it's an up and coming  

neighborhood. You've got to walk through it. Just  look at the houses, look at the architecture,  

enjoy the sites." So you might say, "It's an  up and coming place." Excellent expression. 

Our final expression to talk about where you  live is must-see, or some must-see locations.  

Can you imagine what this means? Does it mean  it's not important to see it? No. You can skip  

that. No, you must see this. For example, when  you visit Egypt, the pyramids are a must-see.  

So we can use it as a noun. A must-See. Of course,  when you go to Egypt, the pyramids are a must-see.  

When you go to London, Big Ben is a must-see. When  you go to New York City, the Empire State Building  

is a must-see. These are kind of like the top  things that you need to see. But even if you don't  

live in one of those really popular cities, if you  live somewhere a little bit off the beaten path,  

you can still use this expression. You might  say, "In my city, this view on the top of the  

mountains, that is a must-see. You drive up  this hill and you can have a great 360 view.  

That is a must-see." So it's something that  you cannot miss when you visit that location. 

So when I visit your city, tell  me what are some places that  

are a must-see? I don't want to miss them. Next, let's talk about some common questions  

that you can ask other people about where  they live and also other people will ask you  

about where you live. So make sure you're  comfortable answering them about where you live. 

The first question is, where are you from? This  is an extremely common question. And you can  

just say, "Yep. I'm from the US." But it's nice to  give a little more details. So you might say, "I'm  

from Asheville in North Carolina. It's a pretty  quiet place, but it's kind of up and coming."  

Great. You're giving some details. It's  quiet, but it's also up and coming. I live  

in Asheville. You're inviting a conversation.  If you just say, "I'm from the US." Or,  

"I'm from Asheville." That's where I'm from.  Someone might ask you, "What's it like there?"  

Or if someone doesn't give you more details  about where they live, they just say France.  

"I live in London. I live in LA." Okay, well,  you might want some more details. You don't want  

to continue the conversation. This is a great  question to ask: what's it like there? What's  

it like there? What is it like there? They might  say, "It's so hot in the summer, but in the fall,  

it's awesome because we get some great leaves and  you got to check it out in the fall." Excellent. 

If someone has not mentioned the weather yet,  you can say, "What's the weather like there?"  

They can go into some details. You could say about  your city. "The winter is so cold. We get tons of  

snow, but when it melts in the spring and all of  the leaves become green and the flowers bloom,  

it's awesome. You got to visit in the spring." If you have not told someone what time to visit  

yet, they might ask, "What's the best time to  visit?" When Dan and I were planning a trip to  

go to Costa Rica, a couple years ago, we did a  lot of research about what is the best time to  

visit Costa Rica. Their seasons are very different  than our seasons and we were going to be spending  

a lot of time outside. So we wanted to make  sure it wasn't going to be raining the whole  

time, it wasn't going to be pouring down rain or  too hot the whole time. So we asked this question,  

"When's the best time to visit?" So  someone might ask you, "When's the  

best time to visit your city?" For my city,  I think the best time to visit is the fall.  

The leaves are beautiful and the mountains.  There's so many different colors and the air is so  

crisp and fresh. Got to visit in the fall. If someone asked you, "What's your city known  

for?" What would you say? This means, what is your  city famous for? Why do people visit your city?  

It might just be something simple  like, "The air is so fresh."  

Or it might be, "Oh, they just love  this pastry. This type of dessert  

that's made in my city and a lot of  people like to come and eat that pastry."  

Cool. It could be something simple. Or if you live  in a bigger place, you can obviously talk about  

some famous destinations that your city is known  for. But if people have not heard about your city,  

they might ask this question, "Oh, what's  it known for? What's your city known for?"  

And then you can think about some great places  to visit that people might be interested in. 

Whenever I ask someone about their city,  especially if I'm going to visit like your city,  

I like to ask about their personal favorite  thing to do. So someone might ask you,  

"What's your favorite thing to do in your city?"  Or, "What's your favorite thing to eat there?  

What's your favorite thing to see?" Because I  think that local people's perspectives are often  

different than a tourist perspective. So finding  out what the locals like to do, specifically what  

you like to do can be really valuable and can add  to a rich visiting experience. So if I asked you,  

"What's your favorite thing to do in your city?"  You might tell me, "Oh man, there is this little  

bar off the beaten path, down this alley, and you  got to check it out. It's so cool. They brew their  

own beer and the atmosphere is awesome. It is a  must-see." Great. I bet that my trip to your city  

would be a lot more amazing because of that  information. So make sure that you have some ideas  

that you can tell other people about your city. Our final question is a little more broad. Someone  

might simply ask you, "What do you recommend?"  Or maybe if you're talking to someone who lives  

in New York and you are about to visit New York.  Great, you can ask them some questions and say,  

"What do you recommend? What do you recommend  about New York? What do you recommend that I do?" 

"Oh, you've got to see this museum. It's really  cool. They have local artists that they have  

on display. All these different things you can  see." Great, you're asking, what do you recommend  

in general? It might not be that person's absolute  favorite thing personally, but to visit the city,  

what do you recommend? Great. A wonderful  question to ask. What do you recommend? 

All right, now that we've talked about some  common vocabulary to describe your city,  

some common questions that you can ask or other  people might ask you about where you live,  

let's see a quick sample conversation between  me and my husband, Dan, where we talk about  

visiting Rome. Now, neither of us are from  Rome, but I want you to use your imagination.  

Let's imagine that Dan is from Rome. He's actually  from the US, but let's imagine that he's from Rome  

and he is giving me some insider tips about what  I should do on my upcoming trip to Rome. Let's  

watch the sample conversation and listen for some  of the key vocabulary that we just talked about,  

because you are about to have a chance to use  it yourself, speaking with me. Let's watch. 

Hey Dan. Dan: 

Hey Vanessa. Are you excited  for your trip to Rome? 

Vanessa: Yeah, I can't wait. It's such a historic place,  

but are there any tourist traps I should avoid? Dan: 

Yeah, avoid all the gelato shops except this  one. It's off the beaten path, but trust me,  

it's worth it. Vanessa: 

Oh, thanks for the tip. Any other must-sees? Dan: 

Well, the Colosseum is great, but my favorite  thing to do is wander around and see all the  

little chapels. It's usually more  relaxed and less crowded that way. 

Vanessa: Oh, that's good to know. Thanks for the tip. 

Dan: No problem. Enjoy your trip. 

Vanessa: I will. 

All right, now it is your turn. I'm going to ask  you some questions about where you live because  

I'm coming to visit. I need to know what it's  like. I'm going to ask you some questions and then  

I will pause. I will be listening to you wherever  you live around the world. I will be listening. So  

please speak out loud. Use the expressions that  you have learned. And I can't wait to learn more  

about your city. Are you ready to get started? Hi, I'm taking a vacation to your city and I  

can't wait. Tell me, what's the weather like in  the summer? I need to know what I should pack. 

That's good to know. Thank you. Well, what's  your favorite thing to do or see in your city? 

Well, that sounds really interesting.  So I got to know, are there any tourist  

traps that I should avoid when I go? Thanks so much for the tip. I look forward  

to visiting. I can't wait to see you soon. Bye. All right, how did you do having this conversation  

with me? You're welcome to review that  and say it again and again and again,  

to practice and grow your confidence. Now I want to learn about where you live  

in the comments. Tell me what is a must-see place  in your city. Let us know in the comments. I can't  

wait to learn more about where you live. And feel  free to read other comments as well to get to know  

other places around the world. And don't forget  to download the free PDF for today's lesson so  

that you can review all of the common vocabulary,  questions, sample conversations, and also answer  

Vanessa's challenge question at the end of the  free PDF worksheet. You can download it with the  

link in the description so that you can continue  practicing and master conversation in English. 

Well, thanks so much and I'll see  you again next Friday for a new  

lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. The next step is to download the free  

PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this free  PDF, you will master today's lesson and never  

forget what you have learned. You can be a  confident English speaker. Don't forget to  

subscribe to my YouTube channel for a  free English lesson every Friday. Bye.