Understand FAST English Conversations [Advanced Listening Lesson]

Speak English With Vanessa

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Welcome to today's live English lesson, here on the Speak English with Vanessa YouTube

I'm Vanessa, thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to study English with

Today I have a special advanced listening lesson for you.

You're gonna be learning, first of all, how you can understand fast native English.

I know a lot of you can understand me, maybe you've been watching my English lessons for

a long time, or maybe you just joined me.

Have you ever thought why can I understand Vanessa, but I can't understand news reporters,

or TV broadcasters, or TV shows and movies?

Well here I'm speaking with you.

We're not having a quick conversation chit-chat back and forth.

The style of speaking is different.

Well I want to help you be able to understand that, because that is the key to having great

friendships and communications in English is understanding what other people are saying.

Today I'm gonna help you understand, first of all, how to understand native English speakers,

especially when they are speaking quickly.

Second of all, we're gonna do it, we're gonna practice this technique together.

Finally, I'm gonna help you continue to study like this because today's lesson is just maybe

twenty, maybe thirty minutes ... it's good, but you need to continue, so I'll help you

learn at the end of this lesson how you can continue to study with this style, and improve

your speaking so that you can understand and speak like a native speaker.

Thank you so much for everyone whose joining me live today.

I see we have friends from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Kurdistan, Syria, Mexico, Myanmar.

Thank you so much for joining me live.

Let's talk about our first point.

How in the world can you understand fast native speakers?

Maybe you've heard some tips like you should listen to English.

Listen, listen, listen as much as you can.

Well what happens if you just watch a TV show in English 50 times?

Will you eventually understand it?

Maybe, but if you understand only 10%, after you watch it 50 times will you understand

100%?

It seems like it's not the most effective method to me.

If you watch TV shows that you feel overwhelmed by because it's just too fast, and there's

too much going on, we need to take it back a little bit, we need to scale down, we need

to step back and shorten the material.

Something that I often recommend to my students is if you feel overwhelmed by a big chunk

of material, take a small piece of it.

We call these bite sized chunks.

Bite sized chunks means small, easily accessible pieces, and study that small piece.

When you analyze a small clip from a real conversation, you're getting the chance to

see really how native speakers talk, but in a more accessible piece of information.

Just maybe one minute, maybe even thirty seconds of material.

That's what we're gonna do today.

We're gonna take a look at a short clip, it's only thirty seconds, you're gonna study it,

you're gonna listen to it, and I hope that you'll be able to understand it by the end

of this lesson.

So I want you to get a pen and a paper, because I want you to study today.

This is an active lesson.

Make sure you are preparing, and not just watching me.

Make sure you are actively participating.

We are gonna be analyzing a short conversation for idioms, phrasal verbs, sentence structure,

There's a lot of natural linking that happens, a lot of reductions that happen, and maybe

some expressions that you've never heard before.

We're gonna quickly study those together.

The four steps we're gonna follow today are, first of all, we're gonna listen to a fast

English conversation clip like I mentioned.

Thirty seconds, twenty seconds, maybe up to a minute.

Then we're gonna listen to a slow version of that clip.

This version is not a natural speed, this clip is much slower because I want you to

understand every single word.

When you listen to that slow clip you will probably realize oh, that's what they were

saying, now I understand.

Hopefully you'll have a light bulb moment.

This expression, a light bulb moment, means that you suddenly realize something, you suddenly

Oh, I can understand what the fast version is saying.

When we slow it down you'll realize okay I understand this word, and this word, and this

word, and then we'll go back to the fast version and I hope that you'll be able to pick it

up, because while you're listening to that fast and slow version, the third step is to

write down everything that you hear.

Because it's a short clip we're not talking about a full movie, we're talking about just

a short clip, you'll have the chance to write down word for word what you hear.

Then we'll listen to it again, and I want you to check your writing with the original

This way you can see which words you missed, which words were more difficult for you.

Maybe there's a specific sound, or a specific type of linking that's difficult for you.

When you study it and analyze these small clips hopefully you will have a light bulb

moment and say aha!

I never realized that this sounds was difficult for me, but now I know.

So you can specifically study that sound and practice it yourself again and again.

This is just helping you to become master of your own English learning so that you can

take charge and improve.

So we'll check your writing, and then we'll take a lot at some clips.

If you enjoy this style of learning that we're about to do, right now there is the 30 Day

English Listening Challenge that uses this technique every day for 30 days.

You can study five to ten minutes every day for 30 days.

Last year we did this twice.

There was the listening challenge pack one, listening challenge pack two, now the listening

challenge pack three is available.

This will be available until the end of the year, December 31st.

If you're watching this after December 31st, you can check out the link in the description

to see when the next listening challenge will be open.

But I hope this technique will help you in the new year as your New Year's resolution

to improve your English.

Okay, so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna share my screen with you.

I'm going to show you the worksheet.

This is what I want your paper to look like.

So here we are, I'm going to quickly share this worksheet with you ... because we're

in a live lesson sometimes it takes a moment to switch between things.

Alright, let's take a look at this worksheet.

Here we have day 30 English listening challenge three.

This is the day 21 lesson, this is pretty typical for all of the days.

You'll see on the worksheet, this is what I want you to write down; Vanessa, Bruce,

Vanessa, Bruce- Bruce is the person I'm talking with, Vanessa, Bruce.

Or you can write V, B, V, B, V, B. You'll hear us have a conversation back and forth,

and I want you to write that down.

Let's zoom in really quick so you can take a look at that.

I know some of you are studying on your phone, so it's a little bit difficult to see the

This is a quick summary of what you're gonna hear.

In this conversation Bruce explains that it's difficult to get a job at the hospital.

Can you hear his accent from Chicago?

Bruce is from Chicago so you'll be exposed to a slightly different accent than mine.

I want you to write down on your paper Vanessa, Bruce, I believe it's three different times.

Vanessa, Bruce, Vanessa, Bruce, Vanessa, Bruce.

Then you'll hear us have a conversation.

Try to write down exactly what you hear.

Okay we're back, so I'm gonna let you listen to this conversation in the fast version three

I want you to take a deep breath.

It might seem a little bit fast, or maybe it won't seem fast.

If you feel like you can understand everything I challenge you to write down exactly what

you hear, because I've found that students who took the 30 day listening challenge course

in the past, they felt like oh I can understand this okay but when they tried to write down

everything they were surprised that there were quite a few words that they missed.

Maybe these are small words, but these words are essential for really speaking naturally,

and using correct grammar.

Challenge yourself to write down exactly what you hear.

I'm gonna switch over my microphone so that you only hear Bruce.

You'll only just see my face, but you won't see Bruce, you'll just hear it.

So you're gonna be testing your ears to see if you can hear him accurately.

Alright we're gonna listen to Bruce, and we're gonna listen to him three times.

Alright, let's listen to him.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

Alright, that was the fast version three different times.

You already knew that Bruce worked at the hospital.

He's talking about how difficult it is to get into the hospital.

Now what we're gonna do is we're gonna listen to the slow version three times.

This is not Bruce's voice, this is my voice with my husband Dan's voice.

So hopefully this is a voice you might be familiar with, or a voice that might be easier

for you to understand.

The purpose of this slow version is for you to catch each of the little words and then

we'll go back to the fast version.

So take your notebook, take your pen, and try to write down everything that you hear.

You can try to write it down in the comments.

You can try to write it down in your notebook.

This is a good test exercise.

Alright, let's listen to the slow version three times.

Alright, just a moment I've gotta switch over my microphone.

Let's get started.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

Alright, how did you do?

Was it easier to understand that slow version?

I wanna ask you a quick question.

How many years had Bruce been trying to apply to work at the hospital?

Did you hear that number that he said?

And what was the specific phrase that he used about the hospital?

It is one of the largest ... what did he say there?

Did you catch every word he said?

What I'd like to do now, if you would like to finish writing down what he said go ahead.

I'd like to show you the transcript so you can see word for word everything that he said.

Hopefully it will help you to pick out the words that were the most difficult for you.

Alright let's go on to the transcript.

I'm gonna share my screen with you one more time.

Alright, here you can see the transcript.

We're gonna zoom in.

Day 21, Hospital.

You can see Vanessa, Bruce, Vanessa, Bruce, Vanessa, Bruce.

This probably looks familiar from the worksheet I showed you a moment ago, and maybe you wrote

that in your notebook.

We have word for word what we said.

I said, "How did you decide to work at the hospital?"

Notice the pronunciation of this word hospital.

In American English this T changes to a D. I want you to say that correctly, hospital.

Repeat with me, hospital.

Then Bruce said, "I'd been applying at the hospital for three years."

A lot of you got that number correct, three years, but I'm curious.

How many of you got this correct?

What does that D stand for?

That D stands for had, I had been applying at the hospital for three years.

Here he is using that past perfect tense, I had been applying, and the reason why he

uses the past perfect is because in the past it was a continual action.

It happened a lot in the past, but now something has changed.

He is not applying anymore, and I can understand that he's not applying anymore because he

used I had been applying.

That means that he either stopped applying or he got a job there.

Then I continued and said, "Really?"

I'm surprised because three years is a long time to apply for a job.

He said, "Super hard to get into."

Did you get this phrasal verb?

We'll talk about that in just a moment.

"Super hard to get into, yeah."

Then I say, "Does everyone want to work at the hospital?"

I'm trying to find a reason why, why did it take three years?

And he said, "Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area."

Here we have that wonderful phrase, employers in the area.

Did you get all of this?

Maybe there were a couple of words that were difficult for you to get.

Maybe the phrasal verb, maybe the specific verb up here.

Let's go on to the bottom of this page where we talk about these three red vocabulary expressions.

Every day in the 30 Day English Listening Challenge there are three different expressions

because its useful to understand the words, but you need to know what they mean as well.

So let's go on to the bottom of this page and check out I had been applying, we just

talked about this.

Why he uses the past perfect tense, and then there's the lovely phrasal verb, get into.

This mean you're accepted.

I'm trying to get into Harvard.

I'm trying to get into the school of my dreams.

I'm trying to get into the hospital because I want to work there.

I couldn't get into my apartment because I forgot my key.

You can see we're entering here you're accepted.

What about that final part, in the area?

This is a pretty common daily expression.

Instead of saying the hospital is one of the largest employers in my city, or in Asheville,

which is the city where I live, he said in the area.

This is quite a general expression to just mean this city or region, it's not very specific,

it's a general expression.

So I hope that these three expressions help you to gain a deeper understanding of what

This specific transcript here is quite useful for that.

Alright, before we go on to the final step which is re-listening to that fast version,

I want to know- how did you do?

When you look at this transcript, what words were difficult for you?

Let me know in the comments.

Now we're gonna listen to the fast version again three times, and we're gonna look at

the transcript at the same time.

So that you can see which words maybe were difficult for you.

You can see exactly as he's speaking.

This is the technique I recommend using in the 30 days English listening challenge.

Test yourself first, listen to the fast, then the slow, then write it down and then go back

and listen to that fast version again.

See, oh I can understand more, I can really see what he's saying.

Alright, let's listen to that fast version.

I'm gonna show you the transcript and you'll be able to see every single word as he's speaking.

Let me share my screen one more time as we listen to this audio.

I'm going to open the audio for you ... this original audio.

Okay, I'm gonna switch over ... my screen so you can see that as well.

Alright, let's listen.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

V: How did you decide to work at the hospital?

B: I’d been applying at the hospital for, like, three years.

B: Super hard to get into.

V: Does, like, everyone want to work at the hospital?

B: Yeah, it's one of the largest employers in the area.

Oh, sorry about that.

I didn't turn my microphone over.

I want to know how did you do?

I hope that this will be able to test your listening skills, but also launch you into

the real world because these listening skills are great for having natural conversations,

having a business meeting, traveling to New York when you want to go to the US.

But when you have those conversations you can't say, hey stop I need to look at the

transcript, because there's not a transcript when you're having a real conversation.

So I hope this practice time will launch you into understanding better in those real situations,

especially if you study this every single day for 30 days in the 30 Day English Listening

You'll really be able to improve those skills.

What I'd like to tell you now, is we've already talked about how to understand, analyzing

those small clips, we've practiced this together with Bruce's clip about the hospital, and

now finally how can you continue this?

Well I have some good news, today December 21st, 2018 until December 31st, 2018, until

the end of the year, the 30 Day Listening Challenge pack three is available.

So you can really practice listening every single day and test your listening skills,

but it's only gonna take five to ten minutes.

I know it's difficult to do something every single day, so I wanted to make these lessons

accessible, bite sized chunks, ones that you can say oh I woke up a little bit early today

before breakfast, my family's not awake yet, I'm gonna study it.

Or, oh I need to go to bed, but I'm gonna study this lesson real quick.

These lessons are real fast, five to ten minutes.

You saw the audio clip is not very long, so you can study it again and again in five to

Your listening will improve every day.

So what I'd like to share with you is on my screen, I'm gonna share the inside, sneak

preview into the course so that you can see really what each day inside the course is

gonna look like.

Okay, I'm gonna share my screen again.

Okay, this is inside the 30 Day English Listening Challenge pack 3.

It is zero percent complete at the moment because the course hasn't started yet.

You can see here all of these days.

Day one, day two, day three, all the way down here, day 21 is hospital, that's what we studied,

and there are 30 days all the way down.

Let's click to the start here, because if you join today you'll immediately gain access

to the day zero material.

Let's open here.

Here you're gonna find the course guide.

This is how to use the material.

When you're not studying in a classroom you need some guidance as to how to use the material

because there's not a teacher present in your house telling you do this, now do this, now

So this guide is my recommended study guide about how to follow the lessons.

Really this is exactly what we did today.

You're listening to the original clip, you're listening to the slow version, you're writing

it down, you're comparing it to the transcript.

Great, this is gonna take you step by step.

The next thing you'll find on this page is a calendar.

Each time in the listening challenge I've made this calendar so that each day when you

finish you can check, check, check.

You can check off each day, and a lot of students who've completed the challenge said that this

was a small motivation to help them see how many days they finished.

Oh wow, I finished 15 days already, I can keep going.

Or it was just a motivation to say oh I didn't check off the next day, I need to continue.

So I hope that this calendar will just motivate you a little bit because when you complete

it you can send me an email and get a certificate of completion.

This is an unofficial certificate, but it's my way to thank you for your hard work, and

also for finishing all of this.

Hopefully it will help you to see that you have certainly improved.

Let's go over to the page.

If you click the link in the description of this YouTube video you'll go to this page.

This page is where you can join the 30 Day English Listening Challenge.

Here you can see there's ten days, ten hours, 32 minutes, 26, 25, 24 seconds, 23 seconds

to join the pack three version of the Listening Challenge.

You can check out some more information about it, including some other sample lessons, some

sample information, so that you can go over that again, and a bunch of frequently asked

How can you download them?

Yes you can download every lesson.

What's the price?

The price is $30 if you join before the end of the new year.

Just one one-time payment, one price, $30 if you join before the new year it's $30.

The next time that the course opens it's gonna be more expensive, so this is the special

early bird entrance into the pack three because it's new.

The first lesson will begin on January 1st, so on January 1st you'll begin the day one

lesson, then day two on January 2nd, day three on January 3rd, and so on.

If you have any questions about this material, I'll be answering them through email, in the

YouTube comments, and also next week I'll be doing a quick live lesson again, maybe

about ten or fifteen minutes answering any of your questions about how to use this material,

and also how you can participate.

Because every day during the month of January you can ask me questions.

The comment section below each lesson is quite active.

I respond to almost every single question, every single comment, so that I can share

it with you and give you some feedback.

That's one of the benefits of having a teacher is having some feedback.

To let you know quickly, the material in the listening challenge, even though it is only

for 30 days, you'll have access to it forever.

So if you want to go back, maybe for you day seven is challenging.

Well you can go back at the end of the course and study day seven 50 times, because you'll

have access to this course for as long as it's available.

You'll be able to go back and study it again, and again, and again, and that's something

that's useful for the calendar.

You can circle days that are most difficult for you, because all of these are natural

conversations with different native speakers, do you'll be exposed to different styles of

speaking, different speeds, different accents.

These are all American English, but there's a lot of different accents within the US,

so you'll be able to study those.

Maybe one is more difficult than another, so you'll circle that one on the calendar,

and go back, and study it later.

If you would like to join me, click the link in the description or at the end of this video.

I hope that you'll be able to improve your English over the next 30 days.

This is the key to studying English really consistently, every single day.

Thank you so much for joining me today for this live lesson.

I hope that you learned a lot with the sample we did in the middle of this lesson with Bruce.

I hope you improved your English, and feel free to continue with me in the 30 Day English

Listening Challenge pack three that's open right now, only for $30, one-time payment.

You get basically 30 lessons, one dollar per lesson, every day in the month of January.

Thanks so much, and I'll see you again the next time.