3. Understanding Casual Conversation
To understand casual conversation at
natural speed
Remember: No translating in your head!
Make the switch from books → real life
Learn from "natural" sources
4. Textbooks and Real-Life Materials
Books teach rules
Right and Wrong
"Real-life" English teaches
exceptions to rules
5. Colloquial Phrases and Expressions
• Difficult for second language learners
• Need chance to hear naturally and use
• Master basics, then slang
• Slang common in real-life English, not tests
• Important to learn some slang
6. Colloquial Phrases and Expressions
Example phrases/expressions:
• give a damn about = to care about
• have a thing for = to like
• be thrown for a loop = to be really surprised
• let the cat out of the bag = to reveal a secret
• be lost for words = to not know what to say
• foot in your mouth = to have said too much
7. Understanding English Spoken at
Natural Speed
• NOT important: Hearing EVERY detail
• Important: Hearing key words and phrases
• Word omission is normal- Don’t worry!
• Follow the flow of conversation
9. Understanding English Spoken at
Natural Speed
"Attention customers:
Please stay calm. This is an emergency. We would
like to ask you to evacuate the building immediately.
The building is not safe. Exits can be found at the
main entrance and the west and south sides of the
building. We repeat: due to the recent earthquake
the building is not safe. Please leave your
merchandise and head for one of the three exits
immediately."
The objective of this lesson is to understand casual conversation spoken at natural speed. At this level you should be able to understand most of spoken English without going through the process of translation (from English to Japanese, or vice versa) in your head.
Now is the time to switch your study materials from textbooks, which are specifically made for the purpose of language learning, to more “natural” sources that are based on real life materials that would give you a greater and deeper insight into cultural as well as historical background of the English language.
Textbooks and real life materials
In general, textbooks are meant to teach you the right and wrong of languages. You would first learn some rules of the language and then practice those rules in a variety of exercises which would test your understanding of grammar, vocabulary and other skills deemed necessary to be fluent in that language.
However, there are a lot of exceptions to these rules and the only way you can learn them is to get more exposure to “real-life” English. While textbook materials are designed to teach you rules, often times with audio sources read at slower speed, real-life materials are meant to be a direct source of information for or communication among native English speakers.
Colloquial phrases and expressions (idioms and slang)
Understanding colloquial phrases and expressions is difficult for any second language speakers because they usually don’t get a chance to hear them or use them in their studies.
Perhaps many of you have been told at least once by your English teachers that you should not use slang (or idioms) until you have mastered the basics of English and learned its appropriate usage. Although learning colloquial expressions in many cases is not a required process in language learning, in real life conversation you would most likely hear many phrases that you would never be tested in your exam.
Let’s look at some examples...
Take some example phrases/expressions from scripts:
e.g.
give a damn about - care about
have a thing for - like
be thrown for a loop - be really surprised
let the cat out of the bag - reveal a secret
be lost for words = to not know what to say
foot in your mouth = to have said too much
... and many more!
Understanding English spoken at natural speed
You don’t need to pay attention to every single detail of a conversation in order to understand what the speakers are talking about. All you need to do is catch some key words and phrases, enough to give you an idea of who’s doing what (subject and verb) in each conversation.
From a standpoint of speakers, when talking at natural speed, sometimes they don’t speak in complete sentences. Just think about how you would talk to your friend in Japanese. Most likely you would omit some parts in a sentence, which would otherwise be considered grammatically incorrect in formal speech or academic writing; however, this is how native speakers talk in everyday conversation. Identify the most relevant information and try to follow the “flow” (main ideas) of each talk.
Let`s look at some examples...
"Attention customers:
Please stay calm. This is an emergency. We would like to ask you to evacuate the building immediately. The building is not safe. Exits can be found at the main entrance and the west and south sides of the building. We repeat: due to the recent earthquake the building is not safe. Please leave your merchandise and head for one of the three exits immediately."
From the dialogue you just heard, even if you did not catch every detail, you can probably understand the situation by listening for key words. For example, the word "immediately" was used more than once. This must mean that the situation is serious and most likely an emergency. The word "exit" was also repeated more than once. Even if you did not understand the more advanced word, "evacuate," if you heard "exit" you would still be able to understand the key message of the conversation. Simple directional words like "west" and "south" would increase your chances of finding an exit. Other simple key phrases, such as "not safe" are also red flags.
From the dialogue you just heard, even if you did not catch every detail, you can probably understand the situation by listening for key words. For example, the word "immediately" was used more than once. This must mean that the situation is serious and most likely an emergency. The word "exit" was also repeated more than once. Even if you did not understand the more advanced word, "evacuate," if you heard "exit" you would still be able to understand the key message of the conversation. Simple directional words like "west" and "south" would increase your chances of finding an exit. Other simple key phrases, such as "not safe" are also red flags.
