45 Minute English Lesson: Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation

Vanessa: Hi. I'm Vanessa  

from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. Are you  ready to learn a lot of English? Let's do it.  

Over the past couple months, I've been creating  some 30-second to one-minute short English lessons  

for my social media channel in China. If you're  in China, you can click on this code over here  

to follow me. But for those of you on YouTube,  maybe you can't visit this social media in China,  

so I want to give it to you here on YouTube.  You're going to see a lot of 30-second to  

one-minute English lessons pushed together in  this 45-minute lesson. I hope that you will  

improve your vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation,  cultural concepts, and you will gain a passion  

and excitement for English. These are all real  daily concepts in English. Generally, they are for  

beginner or low intermediate English learners, but  anyone can benefit. So I hope that you will enjoy  

them. Are you ready? Let's get started. Peekaboo.  

Peekaboo. Peekaboo. His favorite game is,  peekaboo, peekaboo. He also loves a swing,  

a walker, and some baby toys. But his  favorite game is just with mommy. Peekaboo.  

Do you have a baby? You need to take  care of your baby. To take care of  

means you need to feed them, you need to help them  sleep, you need to change their diaper, you need  

to do everything for your baby. I need to change  my baby's diaper. Diaper. He is on a changing pad.  

A changing pad. I have some wet wipe or  just wipes. Yes. And I have some disposable  

diapers. Disposable diapers. Maybe you use cloth  diapers. Cloth diapers. To sleep like a baby. To  

sleep like a baby is an idiom that means you  sleep very well. I want to sleep like a baby.  

Do you sleep like a baby? I hope so. Do  you sleep like a baby? Yes, you're a baby. 

Oh, he's so cute. How can you compliment a  baby? You can say, "Look at all of his hair.  

Look at all of his hair. How cute. How cute.  How precious. How precious. He looks like you.  

He looks like you." When my baby is hungry, he  nurses, nurses, or he breastfeeds. He breastfeeds.  

This means I give him mine milk. But some babies  drink formula in a bottle. A bottle. But now,  

he's a little bit older, so he also eats solid  food. Solid food is regular food. What are you  

eating, Freddy? Some bread. Yum. When my baby,  Freddy, is ready for bed, he needs to sleep in the  

crib. The crib is a bed for a baby. Some babies  sleep with a pacifier, but Freddy doesn't like it.  

When he's a little bit older, he can sleep with a  blanket. Do you want to sleep with the blankets? 

It's cold. Do you know these winter clothes  in English? A long-sleeved shirt, a sweater,  

a sweatshirt, or a hoodie, a jacket, a coat, or  a winter coat with a hood, a hat or a beanie,  

a scarf, gloves, mittens, and winter boots.  Are you wearing a long-sleeved shirt today?  

Where do you put your clothes? I hang up my  clothes in the closet. The closet. The closet is  

a little room in my house. Or maybe you hang  up your clothes in a wardrobe. A wardrobe.  

A wardrobe is a separate piece of  furniture. I hang up my clothes on a hanger.  

A hanger. Do you hang up your clothes on a  hanger? Do you know these clothes in English?  

A shirt, a t-shirt, a button-up shirt  with a tie, a tank top, a skirt, a dress,  

shorts, shorts, not short, shorts, pants,  pants, not pant, pants, a sock, a sock,  

socks. Are you wearing socks today? I sleep in a bed. A bed. My head is on my pillow.  

My pillow has a pillow case. On my bed,  there is a fitted sheet, a flat sheet, and  

a comforter. My bed has a mattress and a box  spring. These are on the bed frame. Some beds  

have a headboard and a foot board. Does your bed  have a headboard? Are you tired? You can say,  

"I'm exhausted. I'm drained. I'm worn out," or  more casually, "I'm beat. I'm pooped. I'm dead.  

I'm ready to crash." Are you ready to crash?  My dresser has many drawers. Can you say this  

with me? Drawers. Drawers. I use the draw  knob to open the drawer and get my clothes.  

The word knob has a silent K. Say it with  me. Knob, knob, knob. Do you have a dresser? 

Let's talk about the internet. The internet.  Can you say this in English? Wifi. Wifi.  

A web browser. A web browser. I click on  a link. I click on a link. The website  

is online. The website is online. Oh no,  the internet cut out. The internet cut out,  

it's not working. Our connection is slow, or  our connection is bad. I can't hear you. Can  

you hear me? Hello? Hello? Are you there?  Can you say this word with me? Business.  

Business. My business is on the internet. I teach  English on the internet. Business. Business.  

My business is on the internet. Where  can I speak English? How can I cook this  

fish? Is Vanessa from the United States? You  can look up these answers on the internet.  

To look up does not mean your eyes go up. No, to  look up means to research. When I have a question,  

I look up the answer on the internet.  Do you look up answers on the internet? 

What should I do? I need to log in with  my username, username, and password,  

password. Don't forget your password.  I log in to my social media accounts.  

I follow my friends. Sometimes I comment  on their posts. I check my notifications  

one time each day. Don't scroll  on social media too long.  

How often do you check your notifications? Some  English words can be a verb and a noun. I mop  

with my mop. I vacuum with a vacuum. But  remember, we do not broom with a broom,  

we sweep with a broom. We sweep with  a broom. How often do you sweep? 

Oh hi, I'm doing the housework. You  can use the verb do for housework. I'm  

doing the laundry. I'm doing the laundry.  He's doing the dishes. He's doing the dishes.  

Are you doing any housework today? My house is  as clean as a whistle. This means my house is  

very clean. My house is as clean as a whistle.  Or you can say, "My house is squeaky clean."  

My house is squeaky clean also means my house  is very clean. It's squeaky clean. Is your  

house squeaky clean. Hi, I'm cleaning up. I'm  cleaning up. Sometimes in English, we need to add  

up down or off to a verb. I am clearing off the  table. Clearing off the table. Then I will wipe  

down the table. Wipe down the table. Do you wipe  down your table? Today is trash day. I have to  

take out my trash and my recycling. I have to take  out my trash and my recycling. I take out my trash  

to the dumpster. The dumpster. In the  recycling bin, I put plastic bottles,  

cans, paper, glass, and cardboard. Do you recycle? Oh, there are too many cooks in the kitchen.  

There are too many cooks in the kitchen. This  is a wonderful idiom in English that means  

too many people are trying to be the leader  and in control. This is not a good thing.  

When too many people are trying to be a leader,  there are too many cooks in the kitchen.  

Oh no, there's too many cooks in the kitchen.  Do you know these kitchen items in English?  

A spatula. This is a spatula. A pot. This is a  pot. A lid. This is the lid. A pan. This is a pan.  

Can you make an omelet? An omelet in  English, you need to crack the eggs  

then beat the eggs. Beat the eggs. Then you need  to melt the butter. Add the eggs to the pan.  

Add the eggs to the pan. Add the cheese. Add  the cheese. Fold the omelet. Fold the omelet.  

Have you ever made an omelet? Do you know these different ways to  

cut in English? I cut the Apple. I cut. I slice  the Apple. To slice. I dice the Apple. I dice.  

I chop the Apple. I chop. You try it. Cut, slice,  dice, chop. Baking is more popular in the United  

States. I bake in the oven. Before I bake, I need  to turn on the oven. This is called preheating the  

oven. I need to preheat the oven. Do you have an  oven? It's laundry day. Laundry day. Do you know  

these items in English? Laundry detergent.  This is laundry detergent. A laundry basket.  

This is a laundry basket. The washer and  dryer. This is my washer. This is my dryer. 

Hi, I'm doing the laundry. Do you know  these common verbs for doing the laundry?  

The washer washes the clothes. Then I throw  them in the dryer. Throw in the dryer.  

Or you can hang dry your clothes. Hang dry  your clothes. Last, I fold the clothes.  

I fold the clothes. Do you fold your clothes?  Do you have a dryer? In America, it is very  

common to have a dryer. I need to take out the  lint collector. The lint collector. Lint is  

dust from your clothes. I need to clean out  the lint collector then I can put it back and  

dry my clothes. Some people use dryer sheets in  their dryer, but I use a dryer ball. A dryer ball.  

Do you have a dryer? Do you know the  settings of a washing machine in English?  

The power button. The power button turns on  the washer. Then you need to choose a setting.  

Normal is the most common setting. You can  choose the temperature, the spin speed,  

and the soil level. This is how dirty your clothes  are. Do you use the normal setting on your washer. 

Do you know these verbs for liquids in  English? I pour some water. I pour some water.  

Do you hear that? To slush. The water  sloshes in the kettle. To slosh. Oh oh,  

I spilled the water. I spilled the water. Do you  know these types of water in English? Water from  

a bottle is bottled water. Bottled water. Water  from the sink is tap water. This is tap water.  

This is sparkling water. Sparkling  water or flavored water. Flavored water.  

Is the glass half empty or half full. This is a  great English idiom. The glass half empty means  

you are feeling negative. The glass half full  means you are feeling positive and hopeful. I like  

to see life as a glass half full. Do you think  the glass is half full or half empty in life?  

Do you know these popular alcoholic drinks in  English? Beer, beer, wine, champagne, margarita,  

martini, Mojito, whiskey, rum, vodka, sake, eight.  Cheers. What's your favorite alcoholic drink? 

Do you know how to drink in  English? Every time we drink, we  

swallow. Swallow. I sip. I sip the water to sip  is just to drink a little. To sip. To swig. Ah,  

a lot of water. I swig a lot  of water. To chug. To chug.  

To finish your drink. To chug. Do you ever  chug your drink? Do you know what these  

are in English? It's a glass or a cup.  A glass or a cup. This is a coffee mug  

or a coffee cup. A mug or a cup. This is  a tea cup. A tea cup is for drinking tea.  

A tumbler. A tumbler keeps my tea or coffee  hot. A tumbler. Do you have a tumbler? 

I walk in the snow. I walk. I stroll in the  snow. I stroll. I run. I run. I sprint. I sprint.  

I hold my baby. I hold him. I pick up my baby. I  pick him up. I grab the toy. I grab it. I hug my  

baby. I hug him. I look at the bill. I look at the  bill. I squint at the small words. I squint at the  

small words. I stare at the shocking numbers.  I stare. Let's review. To look, to squint,  

to stare. I cut the paper. I cut the paper.  I snip the paper. I snip. I rip the paper.  

I shred the paper. I shred it. Do you want to contact someone, but you want to  

be polite? You can ask, "Hey, what's your number?  Hey, what's your number." This is very polite,  

but be careful, you don't want to ask them on a  date, you want to be polite. So you can add, "Hey,  

hey, what's your number? Can I send  you a text? Hey, what's your number?  

Do you have a flip phone or a smart phone?" I  have a smartphone. My smartphone has a case,  

a screen protector to protect it from  scratches, and my smartphone has a touch screen.  

Do you like to listen to music on your phone?  You need headphones, headphones, or ear buds,  

ear buds. Or you can listen to  music on the phone's speaker.  

The speaker. Do you like to listen to music  on your phone? Oh no, my battery is low.  

My battery is low. I don't want my phone to  die, so I will plug in my phone. I will plug in  

the cord from my charger. This is the cord  and this is the plug. I plug in the plug  

in the outlet. The outlet is on my wall. Do you hear  

alert on your phone? This means you have a lot  of notifications. A notification is a sound  

or light that you see when someone sends you a  message. For me, I don't like notifications, so  

I turn off the notification sound. This helps me  feel peaceful. Do you like the notification sound?  

My smartphone has some buttons. There is  a power button. The power button turns on  

or turns off my phone. There is a volume button  to turn up or to turn down the volume. There is a  

headphone jack for listening to music. And there  is a charging port for plugging in my phone. 

Are you waiting to hear some important  news from your family? You can say,  

"Send me a text. Send me a text." Or you can say,  "Give me a call. Give me a call," and they will  

give you a call on the phone. Do you like to send  a text or do you like to give a call? What is this  

in English? What is this? This is an external  hard drive. An external hard drive. Usually,  

an external hard drive has a lot of space, a  lot of memory. This has two terabytes of space.  

It's an external hard drive for my videos and  pictures. Do you have an external hard drive? 

What is this in English? This is a flash drive.  A flash drive. You can put documents, files,  

pictures, or videos on a flash drive and easily  carry it somewhere else. A flash drive. What's  

this in English? It's a tripod. A tripod.  Can you say that with me? A tripod? I put my  

camera or my phone on top of the tripod. Tri means  three. One, two, three. What's this in English?  

It's an extension cord. Extension cord. Can you  say that with me? Extension cord. When the plug  

is too far away, I use an extension cord. Let's talk about the bathroom. The bathroom  

is a room in your house. The restroom is a room  in a public place like a restaurant or the office.  

Washroom. In the US, we do not say washroom,  this is a Canadian word. Port-a-Potty. A  

bathroom outside, usually at a park. A comb,  a brush, nail clippers with a nail file, and  

tweezers, cotton balls, cotton rounds, Q-tips,  bandages, or band-aids, a razor, shaving cream,  

and aftershave. I use a wash cloth to wash my  face. Do you use a wash cloth to wash your face?  

Hair ties, hair clip, a curling iron, a  straightener, a hairdryer, or a blow dryer.  

I blow dry my hair sometimes. Do you blow dry  your hair? This is my shower. My shower does not  

have a tub. This is a tub. My shower does not  have a shower curtain, it has a shower door.  

The water comes out of the shower head. I  turn on the water with the shower handle.  

I have shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair. Do  you use shampoo and conditioner to wash your hair? 

The sink, the drain, the faucets,  the house, hot and cold water handle,  

the counter or counter top, and the mirror.  Can you say this with me? Mirror. Mirror.  

Do you have a mirror in your  bathroom? This is the toilet.  

This is the flusher or the toilet handle. Don't  forget to flush the toilet. This is the toilet  

tank and down here is the toilet bowl. In the  US, we have a toilet lid and a toilet seat.  

Don't forget to put down the seat. This is toilet  paper on a toilet paper holder. A toilet plunger  

and a toilet brush. Do you have a toilet  brush in your bathroom? So you need to go  

to the bathroom, but you want to be polite, what  can you say? "Excuse me, where's the bathroom?  

Excuse me, where's the bathroom?" This is a great  question at your friend's house. A casual and  

comfortable place. Do not say bathroom at the  office. At the office, you can ask, "Excuse me,  

where's the restroom? Excuse me, where's the  restroom?" Where's the restroom is more polite for  

the office. "Excuse me, where's the restroom?" I don't like beer. I don't like beer.  

Don't say I don't like beer, instead you can say,  "I'm not a fan of beer. I'm not a fan of beer."  

Can you say it with me? I'm not a fan of beer.  Are you a fan of beer? Goodbye. Goodbye. No,  

don't say goodbye. This is too serious. We say  goodbye when we are leaving for a long time,  

maybe forever. Goodbye. It's very serious.  Instead, you can just say, "See you later.  

See you later." This is great English. See you  later. What? What? No, if you don't understand,  

don't say, "What?" Instead, you can say,  "Sorry? Sorry?" This is very easy to remember.  

Sorry. Sorry. It's also very polite. Can you  say it with me? Sorry. Sorry. He threw three  

free throws. He threw three free throws.  He threw three free throws. Oh my goodness.  

This is a difficult sentence. It's called a tongue  twister. A tongue twister. Can you say it with me?  

He threw three free throws. He threw  three free throws. Can you say it quickly?  

He threw three free throws. He threw  three free throws. He threw three free  

throws. Whew, great work. Dan: Will you marry me? 

Vanessa: Well, you're nice,  you're handsome, you're funny. 

Dan: Stop beating around  the bush. Will you marry me? 

Vanessa: To beat around the bush means to  be indirect. Stop beating around the bush,  

just tell me, will you marry me? Don't beat around  the bush. That's a good rule of thumb. Huh? What?  

Thumb? Rule of thumb? Well, this English idiom, a  rule of thumb, means a general rule or guideline.  

For example, texting your friend before you go to  his house is a good rule of thumb. It's a general  

rule to text your friend before you go to his  house. It's a rule of thumb. Hold your horses.  

Horses? What? I don't have horses. No, this is  an English idiom. To hold your horses means wait.  

For example, I want to learn 100 vocabulary words  today. I want to study eight hours today. Wait,  

hold your horses. Learn slowly.  Go step by step. Hold your horses. 

What is this in English? Paw, paw, claw, claw,  hoof, hoof. Notice, one hoof, two hooves.  

Hooves. Webbed foot. Webbed foot. Tail, tail, fur,  fur, feathers, feathers. What does a cow say? Moo.  

What does a lion say? Roar. A dog, woof,  woof. A cat, meow. A sheep, baa, baa.  

A duck, quack, quack, quack, quack. What does a  pig say? Oink, oink. A rooster, cock-a-doodle-doo.  

What does a rooster say in your language? Do you know these tools in English?  

A screw driver, a screw driver.  There is a Phillips head screwdriver  

or a flat head screwdriver. A level. A level  for making flat things. A level. A mallet.  

A mallet for pounding. A hand. A hand saw for  cutting. Do you have any tools? I saw my friend  

yesterday. I saw a truck yesterday. I saw a saw  yesterday. A saw is a tool for cutting wood. A  

saw cuts woods. I saw a saw yesterday. How long is  something? You need a measuring tape. A measuring  

tape. I measure with a measuring tape. Do you have  a measuring tape? My husband is building a cover  

for our deck. Building is hard work, but it's  worth it. It's worth is a wonderful English phrase  

that means the reward is high. The work is hard,  but the reward is high. Learning English is hard  

work, but it's worth it. Keep up the great work. My husband is building a cover for our deck.  

He needs to go up the ladder. Go  up the ladder to reach the roof.  

Then he goes down the ladder. He goes down the  ladder. Great work. To see at night, you need  

a flashlight. A flashlight. But my flashlight  never has batteries. I need to put batteries in  

my flashlight. Maybe you need AA batteries, those  are bigger, or AAA batteries, those are smaller. I  

need to put batteries in my flashlight. Do you  have a flashlight? I have a hammer, a hammer,  

and a drill, a drill. What do you do with  a hammer and a drill? I hammer the nail.  

I hammer the nail. I screw in the screw.  

I screw in the screw. Do you like to eat out? To eat out is a common  

phrasal verb for eating in a restaurant. Let's eat  out. When you eat out, you can sit at a table with  

or at a booth, a booth, and the server will  give you a menu. A menu. Do you like to eat out?  

We are at a fast food drive through. A  drive-through is where you can order food  

from your car. Dan: 

Hi, what can I get for you? Vanessa: 

Can I get a burger, fries and Coke please? Dan: 

Sure. Vanessa: 

At a fast food restaurant, it's common to say,  "Can I get? Can I get a burger, fries and Coke?  

Can I get?" Dan: 

Hi. Welcome to the melting pot. Do  you have a reservation with us today? 

Vanessa: Yes. Two for Vanessa at six o'clock.  

A reservation, reservation, means that you called  the restaurant to save a table at a certain  

time. Two for Vanessa means two people and I am  making the reservation. This is a common way to  

save a table. Two for Vanessa at six o'clock.  Have you ever made a reservation. In America,  

it is necessary and polite to tip. Tipping means  you give 20% extra to your server. For example,  

if your bill is $40, you need to add $8 extra to  give to your server. This is necessary in the US.  

If you do not tip, you are very rude. So please  give a tip when you go to a restaurant in the US.  

In your country, is tipping normal. How can I pay  for my food at a restaurant? The waiter will leave  

the check on the table and walk away. When you  put the money or your credit card on the table,  

he will come back. Dan: 

Here's your check. Vanessa: 

Thank you. Dan: 

Thank you. I'll be right back. Vanessa: 

You should stay sitting at the table. In America,  

usually each person only pays for one meal.  We do not fight about the check. Who pays  

when you go to a restaurant? Important  notice. In America, we do not share food,  

except when we order an appetizer. Watch this. Dan: 

Hi, are you ready to order? Vanessa: 

Yes, we would like to get an appetizer, the garlic  bread, please. An appetizer is a small plate of  

food to share before the meal. The main course is  a larger plate for one person and only one person.  

We never share the main course. Do you share the  main course in your country? These are snacks.  

Can you say it with me? Snacks? I eat snacks  between meals or sometimes late at night. I eat  

snacks. What about you? Do you eat snacks? Where  do I keep frozen food? I keep frozen food in the  

freezer. In the freezer is my frozen foods. What  about you? Where do you keep your frozen food? 

These are seasonings, spices, and herbs, I use  them when I cook. I often use salt, pepper,  

garlic powder, paprika, and cinnamon. What spices  do you use? These are dry goods. Dry goods don't  

need to go in the refrigerator, they can stay  in your room. I keep my dry goods in a cupboard,  

but you can keep your dry goods on a shelf  too. Where do you keep your dry goods?  

Do you plan what you will eat? This is  called a meal plan. A meal plan. I plan  

two weeks of meals. This helps me to save  money and be organized and save time.  

This is my meal plan. Do you make a meal  plan? What's this in English? You can put  

your food inside a Tupperware container. These  are Tupperware containers. Can you say it with me?  

Tupperware containers. Tupperware  containers are very useful for storing food.  

There is fresh fruit in the fruit tray. In  the fruit tray. It's not in the refrigerator,  

it's not in the freezer, the fresh fruit is in a  fruit tray. Where do you keep your fresh fruits? 

How did you enjoy all of these quick, rapid fire  English lessons? I hope it was helpful for you.  

And at the end of a lot of these lessons, I asked  a question. So my challenge for you is to answer  

one of the questions that you heard in this  lesson. Use the English that you learned, write  

it in the comments, and I can't wait to see what  you have to say. I'll be reading your comments,  

and make sure you read each other's comments  as well. Let's support each other. Well, thank  

you so much for learning English with me, and  I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson  

here on my YouTube channel. Bye. The next step is  to download my free ebook, Five Steps to Becoming  

a Confident English Speaker. You'll learn what  you need to do to speak confidently and fluently.  

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel  for more free lessons. Thanks so much. Bye.