Speak With Me: English Speaking Practice

Vanessa: Hi, I'm  

Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.  What did you say? Let's talk about it.  

Oh, hey. I was just listening to one of my  favorite playlists. It always puts me in a  

good mood, because the songs are so catchy.  What about you? What's your favorite music?  

Oh, if I asked you this question, would you  freeze and say, ah, ah, ah, and your heart  

starts beating really fast? Well, don't  worry. Today, I'm going to help you speak  

in English about music. You're going to learn the  most common questions, answers and phrases about  

music. Plus at the end of this lesson, you'll have  a chance to speak with me, and use everything that  

you've learned in this lesson. Like always, I  have created a free PDF worksheet for you to  

download, using all of today's vocabulary,  sample sentences, sample conversations,  

and at the end of the PDF worksheet, you can  answer Vanessa's challenge question. So that  

you never forget what you have learned today. You can download that free PDF worksheet with  

the link in the description. Just click on it.  You could print it out, put it under your pillow,  

sleep on it at night and dream about English,  or while you're listening to some music.  

All right. Let's get started with some of the  most common questions and answers that we use  

when talking about music. Question number one is,  whatcha listening to? What are you listening to?  

This is a reduction of the full question, what are  you listening to? But oftentimes you becomes cha  

with a question, so we can say whatcha listening,  we're cutting off that final G, to what are you  

listening to? You might ask this if someone  pulls up in their car and you hear some music,  

so you could say, Hey, I heard you listening to  some music in your car. Whatcha listening to? 

They'll let you know what they were listening  to. If you're listening to some music,  

but you don't know who sings it, a common question  is, "Who's this? I like this song." Who's this,  

of course, who is this could be used in a lot  of different contexts. But here, when we're  

talking about music, you're asking who is the  singer? I like this song. I want to listen to  

it again. Who's this? If you want to get to know  someone better, you might ask, what type of music  

do you like? What type of music do you like?  We're going to talk about all of the different  

genres or types of music a little bit later,  but a little sneak preview. You might say,  

what type of music do you like? I really  just like pop music. Whatever is on the top  

of the charts these days, that's what I like. What type of music do you like? If you've ever  

listened to Spotify, you've probably listened  to a playlist. This is a group of songs that  

have something in common. Maybe it's just songs  that you like, or it might be songs that have  

a common theme or similar to a type of singer  that you like. So, you could ask, did you make  

this playlist? Did you make this playlist? For  my husband, he loves to make playlists himself.  

So, all of the playlists that we listen to in  our house are specific to different activities.  

Maybe they're for the evening. Maybe they're for  feeling energized. All of these different things  

can be included in a playlist. Do you like to make  playlists? For me, I never listen to the radio,  

but if you listen to the radio, you could say,  what station is this? What station is this?  

When you turn the dial or change the radio  station, this is kind of like channels. 

We call it a station. So, if you like some music  and you're listening to it, "Oh, I like this.  

What station is this?" Maybe you can listen  to it on your own. "Have you ever seen them  

live?" Who do you think them is here in this  situation? Well, if we were talking about a group  

that you like, and I asked you, have you ever  seen them live, this means, have you ever been  

to their concert? You could say, "Have you ever  been to their concert?" But it's more common to  

say, "Have you ever seen them live?" That means  in-person, not in a video, but in- person. Oh,  

I saw them live and it was amazing. Have you  heard the new song? Have you heard the new Taylor  

Swift song? It's great. I'm not a huge Taylor  Swift fan, but I know she's a popular artist. 

So, let's use her in this question. "Have  you heard the new Taylor swift song?  

I think it's fantastic." Or you could insert any  singer or group that you like, and you're talking  

about their new song that has just been released.  Let's imagine that you're talking with someone,  

and you ask what type of music do you like, and  it turns out that they like the same music as you.  

You could say, "Oh, I like folk music too.  Do you have any recommendations?" People love  

sharing song and group music recommendations.  So, this is a great question to ask, "Oh,  

I like that kind of music too. Do you have any  recommendations?" I'm sure that they'll give you  

plenty of ideas. Now, let's talk about  some common phrases that we use to talk  

about music, especially music that we like. But first let's talk about some genres of music.  

These are different types of music. Take a  look at this. You might say, "I like pop music,  

folk music, rock music, country music, alternative  music, classical music, jazz music, guitar music."  

There are so many different types of genres, but  these are probably the most common. If I asked  

you what type of music you like, and you have  trouble describing what you like, well, maybe this  

sentence is a good fit for you. You can describe  how the music makes you feel. You could say,  

"I like music that's energizing, and makes  me feel good, like rock music." Cool. You're  

talking about that feeling inside of you that  you get, when you're listening to the music.  

Some common descriptions of music that you could  say are, "I like music that's soulful. I like  

music that's got a good beat. I like music that's  easy to dance to. I like music that's relaxing." 

These are all wonderful terms that you can use to  talk about music, and what if you hear some music  

that you love? What can you say? Let me give  you a bunch of expressions that you can use.  

You might say, "Oh, this is a great song. Turn it  up." Turn it up means make it louder. "Turn up the  

volume. I love it. Turn it up." Or you might say,  "Oh, I love this song. This is my jam." This is a  

little bit older, an older type of expression,  but I use this. You are welcome to use this.  

It just means, I like, oh, this is my jam.  I love this. Or you could say, "I love this  

song. It's so catchy." It's so catchy. That  means that you can't stop thinking about it. 

Just like this next expression. This song always  gets stuck in my head. This could be good or bad.  

If it's a song you like, well, cool, it's  stuck in your head. You're just humming  

and singing it all day. You're saying a couple  lines of it in your head. But if it's a song  

that you don't want to have stuck in your head,  this often happens to me with children's songs.  

You might say, "Uh, that song has been stuck in  my head all day. I need to do something to get  

it out." You can also say, "I like this song.  It's got a great beat." Maybe it makes you feel  

like you want to dance. It's got some good rhythm.  That's what the word beat means. It's got a great  

beat. I love this song. Maybe if it's got a great  beat, you might say, "It makes me want to dance.  

Every time I hear this song, it doesn't matter  if I'm in the doctor's office, the grocery store,  

if I'm listening to music, as I'm walking around  my neighborhood, it just makes me want to dance." 

Our final expression for music that you love,  you could say, "I have it on repeat." Oh, I've  

been listening to that song all day. I've had  it on repeat all day. Just a little note about  

this pronunciation. Usually when we say the word  repeat, it's the final part of the word that's  

emphasized. Can you repeat that please? Repeat  that. But when we use it in this context, I have  

it on repeat. Both of those words are going to  get equal emphasis, and the vowels are the same.  

Repeat. "I've had that song on repeat all day. I  love it." Before we go to our sample conversation  

and your chance to speak with me, I have a little  bonus section. What if you play an instrument  

or what if you want to play an instrument? What are some phrases that you could use  

to talk about that? I'd like to give you three  phrases that are fun, and you can include in your  

daily conversation. Let's take a look at this  one. "I play the piano, so I've always looked  

up to Ray Charles," for example. If you play  an instrument and you have an idol or someone  

who you really think is awesome, you can use  this phrase. "I play the piano, so I really  

look up to Ray Charles." I play the guitar, so I  really look up to Jimmy Hendricks," for example.  

If you have a dream to play an instrument, or  you want to play yours better, you might say,  

"I really want to play the flute like  Vanessa." I play the flute. Not perfectly.  

This is just a sample sentence, but you  could say, "I really want to play the flute  

like Vanessa." Notice in both of these sentences  that I'm saying play the, plus the instrument. 

"I play the piano. I play the flute. I play the  guitar." Let's take a look at the last sentence.  

"I love jazz music, so I would love to play  the trumpet like Louis Armstrong," for example.  

This is another way to incorporate an idol or  someone that you really think is a great musician  

into your desire, your motivation for  learning an instrument. "I love jazz music,  

so I would love to play the trumpet like Louis  Armstrong." Great. What a good motivation.  

Okay. It's time to see all of these phrases put  together in a conversation. You're going to take  

a look at a quick conversation between my husband,  Dan and I, where we talk about music. Listen for  

the key phrases that you learned today,  because after this sample conversation,  

it's going to be your turn to speak out loud, and  practice talking about music in English. Let's  

watch the conversation with Dan and I. Hey, Dan, whatcha listening to? 

Dan: Oh, Hey Vanessa.  

It's Kero Kero Bonito. They're a great new band, I  saw live this weekend, and I can't get their songs  

out of my head. Here, listen. Vanessa: 

Oh, it's great. It's so catchy. Dan: 

I know Vanessa: 

It's got a good beat too. Have you heard the new  Fleet Foxes's song? It's been stuck in my head  

all day today. Dan: 

I have. It's been on repeat all weekend. Have  you added any of their songs to a playlist? 

Vanessa: Yeah, I can send you a link, if you want. 

Dan: That'd be great. Thanks. 

Vanessa: No problem. I'm always happy to share music  

recommendations. Well, see you around. Dan: 

Later. Vanessa: 

Okay. Now it's your turn. I'm going to be  asking you a question. Imagine we're having  

a conversation together, just a chitchat.  I'll ask you a question at the beginning  

of the conversation, and then I will pause,  and it will be your turn to speak out loud.  

If you need more time, the good news is  this is a video. You can pause the video.  

You can always go back and repeat this section,  repeat this section, as much as you want, because  

it's a good way to grow your confidence. Okay.  Are you ready to get started? Let's do it. Hey,  

I'm making a playlist. Do you have any music  recommendations or a favorite song I should add?  

Oh, that's interesting. What  type of music do you like?  

Oh, very cool. Why do you like that type of music?  

That's awesome. Well, thanks for the  new music recommendations. I can't wait  

to listen to it, and I'll see you later. Bye. So, how did you do with this sample conversation?  

Remember, you can go back and repeat this as many  times as you would like to grow your confidence.  

Use different phrases, find what would be the  best fit for you. Don't forget to download the  

free PDF worksheet for today's English lesson,  with all of the common questions, the phrases,  

the expressions, the sample conversations, so  that you can feel comfortable and confident,  

talking about music in English. There's a  link in the description. You can click on  

that link and download it right now. Now I have a  question for you. What kind of music do you like?  

Let me know in the comments, and if  you have any recommendations, I would  

love a recommendation for some fun music that you  like. Thanks 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 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.