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Hello
and welcome back to my Slow English
podcast.
[music]
I am visiting China
right now.
And if you didn't know,
I have been learning Chinese
for about 3 years now.
But honestly,
nothing prepared me for the Chinese that
I would actually need in China.
The real life Chinese.
The words that help you sound natural,
blend in,
and even get those little compliments
from locals.
There's something really special about
being in a country. and actually
connecting with people in their own
language.
It feels so good to see someone be
genuinely surprised
or impressed
when you can speak to them, even just a
little. And it's such a nice feeling
when you can finally understand the
little phrases
and just the way people here really
speak. All those tiny things
help you sound more polite,
natural,
respectful,
and confident.
My sister Brianna
is going to help me walk through each
scenario.
Now, if you're ever lost and you need to
ask for directions,
you can say,
"Excuse me, I am lost.
Do you know where
this is?" Whatever you need to find.
Excuse me. Do you know where the ATM is?
Yes, there's one two blocks down on this
road. Great. Thanks a lot. That's a
better way of asking for directions.
Most native English speakers would ask
this way. They wouldn't say, "Where is
the ATM?"
They would say, "Do you know where the
ATM is?"
A little longer, but a lot more natural.
Sorry. Do you know where the closest
Walmart is from here? The nearest
Walmart is on Fifth Avenue between Brick
and Maine. Oh, I see. Is it this way or
that way? This way.
Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.
Hi. Sorry. Do you know where the crispy
cream is? Yes. Try the second floor to
your right. Keep going until you see the
food court. The crispy cream is there.
[laughter]
[gasps]
I love it. Oh, okay. Okay. Thanks a lot.
Is it up the escalator or down the
escalator? We're on the fifth floor, so
you need to go down the escalator until
you're on floor two. Oh, okay. Okay,
that's super helpful. Thanks a lot. No
worries.
What's the first thing you do when you
land
in a new country?
You probably go straight to the
bathroom.
Right.
[snorts] At least that's what I do right
away.
Asking for the bathroom. Excuse me.
Where is the bathroom? It's up the
stairs to the left. Oh, okay. Okay.
Thank you. No problem.
Something you will definitely end up
doing is going to eat at a restaurant.
Going to a restaurant. Good morning,
good afternoon, or good evening,
depending on what time it is. Good
morning. Can I have a table for two,
please? Yes. Write this way, please.
And maybe if it looks [snorts] full,
there's no room. You can ask, "Is there
a table for two?" Let me check.
Unfortunately, we don't have a table
available. The wait time would be about
50 minutes.
Should I put you down on the list? Yes,
please put me down. Perfect. I've added
your name. We'll call you now. When you
are ready to order,
you could say, "Excuse me." "Hi, are you
ready to order?" "Yes." "Can I have a
number nine without salad?" "Sure thing.
Would you like to add anything to
drink?" "Yes." "Can I have a water,
please?" "Of course." "Would you like
ice?" "Yes,
just a little bit, please." Sure thing.
Anything else I can get you? Not at the
moment. Thanks. This sounds very
natural. This is what you'll hear from a
waitress or waiter taking your order. In
English, we use please and thank you a
lot. I think a little more than other
countries do. Right now, let's say
you're ordering fast food. That's a
little bit different, right? You don't
get served by someone. You have to go to
the counter and order yourself.
Ordering fast food. Good afternoon. May
I take your order? Good afternoon. Can I
get the double cheeseburger
without pickles, please? You got it.
Would that be in a combo? Yes, please.
All right. Small, medium, or large?
Large, please. And what drink would you
like? We're out of Coke. Do you have
Fanta? Yep, we do. I'll have a Fanta,
please. Okay. To confirm your order, you
want a number 12 without pickles, large
fries, and a small Fanta. That's right.
Your order will be ready soon. Please
wait on the side. Thank you. Now, you'll
eventually
need to go to the store. And I don't
know about you guys, but I feel like
stores are where people make the most
conversation with me. It might go
something like this. Hello. Good
morning. How are you? Hey, I'm great.
How are you? Not too bad. How can I help
you today? I'm looking for the sunscreen
section
and also the chapstick. That would be in
aisle 9 next to the makeup. Great.
Thanks. Okay. If you need anything else,
I'll be right here. Thanks a lot. What
phrase did you learn today? What English
phrases would you like to learn?
>> How would they know what English phrases
they want to learn?
>> What are some other situations that you
find yourself in where you could use
some more English phrases? What do you
think the most difficult situation to be
in is?
The other day when we were out and
about,
we wanted to buy fresh produce at a
local market. So, the woman was very
busy. She did not have a lot of time to
listen to us and be patient with us. She
was very, very busy. It was difficult
because we didn't speak the language.
So, it takes longer to get the food we
want, the amount that we want, and
to ask questions about the produce. So,
I'd say that was the most difficult
situation since she did not speak any
English. It was a very local business,
and she was very busy. I think when
you're asking for directions, it's the
hardest situation to be in because
you're lost, you're frustrated, and you
just want to arrive where you need to
arrive. We got lost on our first day in
Shanghai. We were asking everyone, but
nobody spoke English and nobody knew
what hotel we were talking about.
So, it was super frustrating to have all
of our luggage with us and not know
where we were going. I think speaking
English when going to the US is a big
help. I think many people in the USA
don't encounter a lot of people that
don't speak English. So, they're very
bad at communicating when somebody
doesn't know their language. This can
make it very difficult when you're
traveling if you don't know the correct
words. So they are bad at listening and
they are also bad at speaking sometimes
because they're very used to speaking to
people who know their language. So they
will still speak to you in the same way
that they would speak with a local. They
speak very fast. They don't speak slow.
So it's good to know what they might say
and how to interpret it. So, it's good
to know the different phrases they might
use, not just the basic ones. The basic
ones are good to know, but almost nobody
actually uses those. Tell us about a
strange or not so common habit that
people who speak your language have.
Maybe they say please too much or
[snorts] thank you a lot. Maybe they
never say thank you. Tell me in the
comments below. Thank you for joining
us. I'll see you next time. Bye bye.
Don't forget to like and subscribe.
Bye. And if learning through videos
isn't really your thing, then you can
always check out my podcast on Spotify,
Apple Music, and all streaming platforms
where you can just listen. It's perfect
for when you're on the go, in an
airplane, maybe on the road, and you
feel like practicing
your English. Check it out. The link is
in the description.
[music]
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