info for Advance Searching Tools: June 2011

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Roommate - Interactive Practice

Roommate - Apartment

When people live in an apartment, it is usually among friends. So there's no need to worry about being too polite. As long as you have common courtesy, you will have no problem. On the other hand, if you are looking for a roommate, then there are some things you should learn how to say. The list of questions below are examples of questions you should ask when looking to join existing people in an apartment.

Questions

"What is the rent here?"
"How many people live in the apartment?"
"How many bedrooms does the apartment have?"
"How much is utilities?"
"Does the rent cover the utility bills?"
"Do you have any rules for living here?"
"Does it get loud in here?"
"What time do people usually go to sleep?"
"Do you hold any parties here?"
"How many people share the bathroom?"
"Do you have cable?"
"Do you have high speed Internet?"

Common answers

"The rent is $1200, so you would only pay $400."
"This is a three bedroom unit, so you would be the third person."
"On average, utilities are about $125."
"The rent does not cover utilities. You would be responsible for 1/3 of the utilities."
"We are pretty quiet during the week days, but on the weekends, it can get a little loud."
"We have both cable and DSL here."

Roommate - Sharing things and Questions

Sometimes a roommate will bring a mini refrigerator, or it might turn out that you will. It's polite to let your roommate use the refrigerator too.

"Feel free to use the refrigerator."
"Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"
"Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"

If you connect with the person and you become friends, then you will not even need to ask. For example, after you get to know the person your comments will be different. Say I become a friend of my roommate. And then after a month or so, he brings a refrigerator. I wouldn't ask to use it, I would rather comment on how useful it will be. It's assumed that a friend can use the refrigerator, so no need to sound weird by asking politely. Instead you can say,

"Cool, you brought a fridge. I can go buy milk now."

This comment is saying that you appreciate the refrigerator by saying, 'cool', then you indicate that you are going to use it by saying you will buy milk. If your friend doesn't object to your comment, then it is the same thing as getting permission to use the refrigerator.

Responding to questions

"Are you a night person or a morning person?"
"I'm a night owl. I usually sleep pretty late."

"What time do you usually go to sleep?"
"It varies. Usually between midnight and one in the morning."

"What time do you usually wake up?"
"I don't wake up until I have to."
"I usually wake up at nine in the morning."

"Does the music bother you?"
"No not at all. I like it."

"Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"
"Oh, feel free."
"Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"
"Sure. Don't worry about it."

"Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"
"No problem at all."

Roommate - Dormitory

While in school it is common to have a roommate when you are in the dormitory. In the States, it's also common to share an apartment with a roommate. This lesson will cover the English you will need to talk to your roommate. Of course you can talk about many tings, but I will specifically target this lesson towards roommate stuff.

Dormitory Roommate

When you first go into a dormitory, you will either be greeted by the person already there, or you will have to greet someone that is coming later than you. Most dormitories have one room for two people. After the dormitory section, I will cover living in an apartment with a roommate.

When you arrive to the dormitory, you can usually engage in small talk first. Most of the time, you have to get to know one another. Talk is initiated by both parties simultaneously. You can ask questions like where they came from, what year they are in, or what they like to do. But besides that, you have to find out the living habits of each other. After you engage in small talk, you can ask these questions:

It's important to know the sleeping habits of your roommate, so ask if they are a night person or a morning person.

"So, are you a night owl or a morning bird?"

A night person is referred to as an owl. That is because owls are more active at night. Birds on the other hand wake up early. So they associate morning people to birds.

If you don't want to use this expression, you can ask,

"Are you a night person or a morning person?"
"What time do you usually go to sleep?"
"What time do you usually wake up?"
"If you didn't have anything to do the next day, what time would you sleep till?"

It's common courtesy to respect each other. If you are asleep, the roommate should be quiet. This goes for you too.

When you get sleepy, you can either go to sleep, or tell your roommate that you are going to sleep.

"I'm a little tired. I'm going to sleep now. Have a good night."
"I'm sleepy. Time to go to bed. See you in the morning."

If you like listening to music, you can ask your roommate,

"Does the music bother you?"
"Let me know if you want me to turn the music off."
"Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"

But when you ask questions about music or TV, you should make sure that person is not studying. If they are, then it's pointless to ask because it should be quiet. This is only good for times when you are both doing nothing.

Examinations - Interactive Practice

Examinations - More Information

"Was the final exam short answer questions, or was it multiple choice?"
"It was multiple choice."
"Neither. The exam had 2 long essay questions."

"Did you have any pop-quizzes in your geology class?"
"We had 3 pop-quizzes in that class. Luckily, only five percent counts toward the final grade."
"Fortunately we didn't have any."

"How much time did you get to write your research paper?"
"We had two months to write the research paper."

"How often did you have a quiz?"
"Once a week."

"What day did you take your final?"
"I took the final last Monday."
"I didn't take it yet. I take the final tomorrow."

"The syllabus for the econ class says you have six exams. What were they like?"
"It was pretty easy because they only covered 2 chapters. If you keep up, then you shouldn't have a hard time."

"Does Professor Giles use old exam questions for his tests?"
"He always creates new test questions so old ones will not help you."

"Can I borrow your old exams for Intermediate Accounting? I want to use the questions to test myself before the real exam."
"Sure, I have it in my dormitory. I'll bring them tomorrow."
"He didn't return the exams, so I don't have them."

"What were the long essay questions on?"
"Both questions were on supply and demand. Make sure you know that stuff inside and out."

"I was thinking about buying the study supplement for the engineering class. Do you think it will help?"
"I highly recommend it. I didn't have it for the first exam, and I got a B-. But after I studied with the supplement, I aced the next test."

Examinations - General Information

The hardest types of questions to answer are the, 'What was it like' types, and the 'how was' types. The reason it is hard is because you have to explain in your own words the answer. It's not as simple as a number or a 'yes' or 'no.'

"How much percentage is the mid-term towards the final grade?"
"The instructor said it was twenty percent of our final grade."

"Do you have to write any papers in that class?"
"No. We only had one mid-term and one final."
"Yes. We had to write 2 essays for that class."

"How many pages did you have to write for your essays?"
"We had to write 5 pages for both essays."

"Was the open-book exam hard?"
"Most of the time, open-book exams are harder, but this one was really easy. All the questions were in the glossary so I found the answers quickly."

"How difficult was the take-home final?"
"It is easy that we have the material to look through, but it is very time consuming. I had to do an all-nighter just to finish."

All-nighter means to stay up all night.

Examinations - Finding Information

Having a lot of information about tests can help prepare for exams. The next several questions are geared towards finding specific information.

"Does Professor Giles use old exam questions for his tests?"
"Can I borrow your old exams for Intermediate Accounting? I want to use the questions to test myself before the real exam."
"Do you know anybody who took Physics 340? I want to know the types of questions that were asked on the final."
"Do you think I need to study chapter 6 for the mid-term? It's so boring, and I can't seem to apply it anywhere."
"What topics did the professor cover the most in the final exam?"
"What were the long essay questions on?"
"Do you remember the long essay questions you had on the final?"
"I was thinking about buying the study supplement for the engineering class. Do you think it will help?"

And of course, you may be required to answer these types of questions, so let's get into answering:

"How many tests did you have to take in your Math class?"
"We had a total of 4 tests in that math class." Or more simply, '4 tests.'

Answering can be real easy. The reason I put full sentences is for your practice. But remember when you really answer, you are not required to put them in full sentences. I'll try to mix it up so you get a familiar feel answering both long and short ways.

"What was the mid-term like?"
"The mid-term was hard. If you read all the material, you will still have a hard time because the professor wrote up all the questions in a difficult way."

Examinations

What is a school without examinations? They all have it. So, we will have to spend a session talking about exams.

There are many types of tests and different terminologies. You can be taking an in-class test, or it could be a take-home final. It could be a multiple choice exam or an essay type format. In either case, we will cover it here. First, let's learn the different terminologies associated with testing.

Examination
Mid-term
Finals
Test
Quiz
Pop-quiz
Exam
Take-home final
Research paper
Final paper
Report
Essay
Presentation
Open-book test/final

Common questions you can ask about exam format:

"How many tests did you have to take in your Math class?"
"What was the mid-term like?"
"How much percentage is the mid-term towards the final grade?"
"Do you have to write any papers in that class?"
"How many pages did you have to write for your essays?"
"Was the open-book exam hard?"
"How difficult was the take-home final?"
"Was the final exam short answer questions, or was it multiple choice?"
"Did you have any pop-quizzes in your geology class?"
"How much time did you get to write your research paper?"
"How often did you have a quiz?"
"What day did you take your final?"
"When did you take your final?"
"Are you done with your mid-terms?"
"When is finals week?"
"The syllabus for the econ class says you have six exams. What were they like?"
"How difficult is the mid-term for psychology 101?"

University Classes - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

1
A: "Hey John, did you register for classes yet?"
B: "I register this Friday."
A: "What classes do you plan on taking?"
B: "I really want to take the communication class, but I don't know if it will be available."
A: "Is that class really that popular?"
B: "Yeah. I tried to get in last semester, but it was full by the time I registered."
A: "What other classes are you going to take?"
B: "I still need to take English 201, but I really don't like writing."
A: "I took that class already. There is a lot of writing, but it's not that bad."
B: "Oh really? Who was the instructor? There are like 4 different instructors to choose from."
A: "I had Professor Mahoney."
B: "Is he an easy grader?"
A: "I'm not sure if he is or not, but I thought he was definitely fair."
B: "Do you mind if I ask you what you got?"
A: "Not at all. I got a 3.8."
B: "Well, what did you get in English 101 last year?"
A: "I got a 4.0 in that class."
B: "Well, I can't compare to you. I got a 3.1 in English 101. That means if you got a lower grade in English 201, it must be harder."
A: "It's not what it appears. I actually tried harder in the 101 class. If I put as much effort into the 201 class, I would have received the same grade."
B: "Oh. That helps. Thanks."

2
A: "Hey Mike. I forgot about registration. I'm a day late, so all the classes are mostly full. What do you think I should do?"
B: "You're screwed. You can't do anything about that. You have to hope that you get some classes that will be useful."
A: "Do you think going to the registration building will help at all."
B: "No. They will tell you the same thing in a worse way."
A: "Did you register yet?"
B: "Of course. Registering for classes is not something you want to miss."
A: "What classes do you think are still open?"
B: "Well, I know psychology 101 is a big class, so there will always be seats in that class. You can also get into Sociology."
A: "That's helpful. Thanks. But what do you think about philosophy. I wanted to take that class this semester."
B: "I took that class last year. The professor is really cool, so if you go to his office, you can have him sign a card that will let you in even if the class is full."
A: "He does that?"
B: "I guess that's because so many people drop out of that class."
A: "That makes sense. I think I'll do that. Thanks for all the help."
B: "No problem man."

3
A: "Did you get your grades yet?"
B: "Yeah. My whole GPA is screwed up now."
A: "Why? What happened?"
B: "Well, I bombed my econ final and ended up with a 1.7."
A: "Ouch. You must be very disappointed."
B: "Well, it's my fault because I didn't study as much as I should have."
A: "Why don't you re-take the class next year?"
B: "That's what I plan on doing unless I keep screwing up. How did you do this semester?"
A: "I didn't do that well either. I ended up with a 3.2 this semester. That drops my total GPA to 3.45."
B: "My GPA is pretty similar to yours. I have a 3.1 now because of the stupid econ class."
A: "What was your GPA before this semester?"
B: "I was sitting happy with a 3.4."
A: "Why did it go down so much?"
B: "Let's just say I screwed up more than my econ class."
A: "What happened to you?"
B: "I started playing StarCraft and ended up wasting a lot of time."
A: "You better stop slacking off."
B: "You're right. I'm not going to play games during school anymore."

4
A: "Did you ever take History 231?"
B: "Yeah. Last semester."
A: "Who was the professor?"
B: "It was Professor Johnson."
A: "I have him this semester. What do you think about him?"
B: "He's a terrible instructor and demands a lot, but fortunately, he's an easy grader."
A: "What did you end up getting?"
B: "I got an A-. Sounds good, but none of my test scores were that high, so I don't know how I got a decent grade."
A: "That's probably because he grades on a curve."
B: "Are you enjoying the class so far?"
A: "I hate it and I was about to withdrawal. But after hearing your experience, I think I will tough it out."
B: "Yes. Definitely stay in the class. You will get a better grade than your test scores. He does that deliberately to make all the students study a lot."
A: "Thanks for letting me know. I feel relieved now."

5
A: "Hi Mark."
B: "Oh, hi Stacy."
A: "How was your summer vacation?"
B: "I worked over the summer at a restaurant. Have to make tuition money right? What did you do?"
A: "I took summer school. I withdrew from two of my classes last year so I wanted to make them up."
B: "So are you officially a junior now?"
A: "Yeah. And I have 5 credits to spare. I only needed to take 10 credits over the summer, but I took 15 because the price was the same."
B: "That makes sense. So where is Nicole?"
A: "She dropped out of school completely."
B: "Really? Why?"
A: "She worked at a startup company as an intern and since the business did well, they asked her if she wanted to work full time."
B: "Wow. She's so lucky. She doesn't have a degree and she already has a job."
A: "It sounds good now, but I'm traditional. I want the degree, so I wouldn't have accepted the offer."
B: "Do you know how much they are paying her?"
A: "I don't know. But I bet it must have been a good offer, or she wouldn't have accepted it."

University Classes - Dropping Out / Withdrawal

There are two ways to leave a class. You either drop out, or you withdrawal. Dropping out usually means you are going to get a failing grade and you don't care about it. But primarily, dropping out refers to leaving college life altogether. So if you intend to say that you dropped out of a class, you should use withdrawal. There are several time periods for withdrawal. The first week, there is no penalty. The second week up to the first month, a W will show up on your transcript. And finally, withdrawal after the half way point will give you a failing grade. But this is dependent on each school policy. So learn the withdrawal format of your school. I was using the dates mentioned above only as an example. Let's learn some sentences to say these kinds of things.

"I dropped out of my chemistry class."
"I withdrew from my biology class."
"I had too many classes as it is, so I dropped out of my statistics class."
"I couldn't keep up with the schedule, so I dropped out of that class."
"I couldn't understand the material, so I withdrew."
"I hated the professor, so I just withdrew."

If you need to ask questions about withdrawal, these may help:

"When is the last day to withdrawal?"
"If I withdrawal now, will it show up on my transcript?"
"Does a withdrawal look bad on the transcript?"
"How do I drop out of a class that I don't want to take anymore?"
"What is the procedure to withdrawal from class?"
"How do I withdrawal from a certain class?"

Other things you might want to say when discussing this topic...

"Are you sure you want to drop out of that class. You only have 4 more weeks. At least you can get the credit."
"If I stay in that class, I'm going to screw up my GPA."
"The best I can do is a C in this class. I don't want a C on my transcript. I'm going to withdrawal from the class."
"If you get a bad grade, can't you just re-take the course?"
"Even if I retake the course, both grades are used. This school has a different system where re-taking the course doesn't really help."

University Classes - Professors and Curriculum

"How is Professor Johnson?"
"Is Professor Smith an easy grader?"
"What is Professor Lee like?"
"Would you take another class from Professor Jackson again?"

"How many exams did you have to take in Sociology 121?"
"What's the curriculum for Chemistry 101?"
"Do you have to give any presentations in journalism class?"
"What do you do in poetry class?"

If somebody asks you these types of questions, you can answer like the following:

"Professor Johnson is so uptight. He's always lecturing and never allows students to ask any questions."
"Professor Johnson is a brilliant professor. I learned so much from him."

"No way. He is such a hard grader. I was expecting a 3.7, but it turns out that I got a 3.1. Can you believe that?"
"His grading system is messed up. He grades according to how much he likes you."

"He's a difficult grader."
"He's an easy grader."

"So far, I have taken 2 classes from Professor Jackson. I'm going to take every class he offers."
"I wouldn't recommend Professor Jackson. His classes are so boring."
"He's an idiot. He doesn't know anything."

"There were just two exams... the midterm and the final."
"There is an exam ever other week. It was hard, but at least it prevented me from cramming."

"The curriculum is pretty basic. We have two days of lecture, two days of lab, and one day of discussions. Every now and then we have a quiz, but it's pretty routine."

"In journalism, we have to give a presentation 3 times during the course. I didn't mind it, but a lot of other students were complaining."
"We had two presentations, but they were pretty easy. It was the writing that was hard."

University Classes - Grades

Grades in Classes

Talking about grades is all dependent on if you open up about these things or not. I know some people are very secretive about their grades, and others like me freely talk about grades. So make sure you are close friends with the person you are talking to about grades.

Grades are different depending on school. Some schools give letter grades that translates into number grade. Other schools strictly give number grades only. The difference is in letter grades, you cannot get a 3.5. You either get a B+, which is a 3.3, or an A- which is a 3.7. However, in number grades, the instructor can give a 3.4, 3.5, or 3.6.

"What did you get in English?" If you are talking about the subject, you do not need to say grade. But if not, you can ask, "What grade did you get in English?"
"I can't believe I got a 3.1 in biology. What did you get?"
"How was your GPA this semester?" GPA stands for Grade Point Average.
"How were your grades this quarter?"
"Did you do well this semester?"
"Did you screw up your grades this semester?"
"What was the lowest grade you ever got?"
"What is your overall GPA?"
"How are your grades?"
"What's your accum?" This is short for accumulated. This is asking what your overall GPA is.

I'll give examples for both specific and general answers.

"In English, I got a B+."
"I got a 2.9 in English."
"I did similar to you."
"I got a 3.4 this semester."
"If I didn't get the C+ in Biology, my GPA would have been awesome this semester."
"My grades were ok."
"I did average this quarter."
"My accum is 3.6 right now. I really want to get over 3.75."
"My overall GPA is 2.94. I need to get a 3.4 next semester to bring my GPA above 3.0."
"My GPA sucks."
"I did pretty good this semester." Although grammatically this is incorrect, spoken English allows such errors. If you want to be grammatically perfect, you will need to say, "I did pretty well this semester."

University Classes

In this lesson, we are going to learn about the terminologies you need to know when you talk about classes with your peers.

There are several sections I will break this up into:
Registering for classes
Grades in class
Professors and different curriculum
Dropping out/Withdrawal

First, let's talk about registering for classes.

Questions

"Did you register yet?"
"When do you register for classes?"
"When does registration start for next semester?"
"How do you register for classes?"
"Where is the registration office?"

"What classes are you registering for?"
"What classes are you going to take?"
"What classes do you want to take?"

Ways to answer these questions

"I haven't registered yet."
"I register next Tuesday."
"Registration starts 4 weeks before the next semester."
"You register on-line. Go to the website, and click on register."
"The registration office is in Schmidt Hall. That's right across the street from the statue."

"I'm not worried about getting into psychology 101, but I think the physics class will be full by the time I register."
"If all things go well, I plan on registering for English composition, chemistry, and calculus."
"I really want to take computer programming, but I'll have to see if it is full or not."

Regular comments about registering

"I hate registering for classes. All the classes I want to take are always full."
"Being a sophomore sucks because we register last."
"Seniors have the first pick so registering is easy for them."
"If I get all the classes I want to take, I'll be so happy."
"Registration was great this time. I got all the classes I wanted."
"Registering for classes is such a big headache."

University Life - Interactive Practice

University Life - More Q and As

"What is an easy class to take?"
"Fishing 101 is an easy 4.0"
"I thought psychology 101 was an easy class."
"Communication is pretty easy if you're not afraid to make speeches."

"Where is the best place to hang out?"
"The best place to hang out is on the Ave."
"Currently, the bar on 4th and James is the best hangout. Everyone goes there on the weekends."

"Are you in the dormitory?"
"Yeah. I'm over at Terry Hall."
"Yes. At Buchanan Towers."
"No. I'm commuting from home."
"I have an apartment right next to school."

"Where do you live?"
"You know the McDonalds on the south side? Just 2 blocks from there."
"I live next to the west entrance. There are some apartments behind the dormitories."
"I live in the dormitory."
"I live in Seattle."

"Why did you decide to come to this school?"
"It was the most convenient."
"It was either this school or the University next to my home. I wanted to get away from home, so I came here."
"I researched a bit, and found that this school offers exactly what I am looking for."
"This is the best school that I could afford."

"Do you know where the music building is?"
"The music building is 2 buildings away from the library."
"Over by the fountain. It's the building with the round looking doors."
"I'm not sure. There are maps in the Student Union Building though."
"I think it's over in that direction, but not exactly sure."

"Where is the student union building?"
"Ah, that's what I'm looking for too."
"I was told it was right next to the east parking lot."
"It's the brick building behind the large oak tree."

Remember that when you are talking to somebody, an answer to a question is another potential topic to talk about. I'll show you an example of a conversation. Please take note that I ask questions about the answer. Look for it in the practice session.

University Life - Questions and Answers

"What high school did you attend?"
Before we answer this question, keep in mind that a foreigner will not be asked this question. Usually they will not ask a foreigner because they think that they will not know the high school you mention. But it is still good to know how to say such things.
"I went to Lynnwood High."
"Lynnwood High"
"I went to a high school in San Francisco."
"A high school in Olympia."

"What are you going to major in?"
"I haven't decided, but I'm leaning towards biology."
"I'm thinking about majoring in psychology."

Universities in the States are a little different than others. You don't choose your major until you are in your 3rd year. Basically, you apply to get into a major your junior year and if accepted, you have a major. If you get turned down, you have to find a different major, or spend another semester or year trying to get in. That's why you see so many people not graduate after 4 years. The problem is that they do not know what to major in.

"How many credits are you taking?"
"I'm taking eighteen credits this quarter."
"I'm only taking 10 credits this semester."
"I'm taking 20 credits this semester."

"What classes are you taking?"
"I'm taking chemistry 135, math 231, and English 101."
"This quarter I'm taking Intro to Sociology, Basics of Music Composition, and Spanish 101."

"What year are you?"
"I'm a junior."
"I'm a freshman."
"I'm a fourth year junior."
"I'm a fifth year senior."

If you wonder how you can be a fourth year junior or a fifth year senior, you must understand that the number of credits you have completed represents what level you are. So a fourth year junior is someone who has been in school for four years, but has the same credits as a junior.

University Life - Meeting New Students

As you can see, these portions of our lessons are dedicated to school. There are many things to learn here, so we are going to spend numerous lessons on school. But don't worry; only a couple will be geared towards classes. The rest will be about night life, partying, and having a good time. Before we start learning about topics such as classes and examinations, let's learn some general university phrases.

The first type of speaking you will have to do is when you meet new people. During this time, you can engage in idle small talk. Since you have learned small talk, feel free to use your new skills. On top of that, let's learn some new phrases that will help you.

"Where are you from?"
"What high school did you attend?"
"What are you going to major in?"
"What are you majoring in?"
"How many credits are you taking this semester?"
"What classes are you taking?"
"What year are you?"
"What is an easy class to take?"
"Where is the best place to hang out?"
"Are you in the dormitory?"
"Where do you live?"
"Why did you decide to come to this school?"
"What made you choose Berkeley?"

Many of the answer to these questions are general things you should already know. But it never hurts to review again, so let's go over how we can answer some of these questions.

"Where are you from?"
"I'm from Seattle, Washington."
"I'm an exchange student from Seoul, Korea."
"I'm from Dublin, Ohio."
"I'm from Southern California."

General Things Review - Interactive Practice

1

A: "How are you doing?" B: "I'm doing great." A: "What movies have you seen lately?" B: "I saw Forrest Gump the other day." A: "What type of movie is that?" B: "The movie type is drama." A: "I can't believe you are watching movies. The weather is great. You should be outside." B: "I hate the hot weather. I'd rather stay indoors with the air conditioner." A: "What else do you like to do besides watching movies?" B: "I like to play computer games, read books, go shopping, and play pool." A: "Out of those what is your favorite?" B: "My favorite is to play computer games." A: "What is your favorite computer game?" B: "My favorite is Diablo. It used to be Star Craft, but it is getting a little old." A: "If you like to play so much, when do you ever exercise?" B: "Although I hate to exercise, I go jogging at least twice a week." A: "That's pretty good. By the way, what are you doing next Saturday?" B: "I am going to go to the bookstore." A: "I am having a party Saturday night at my house. If you have time, you should come." B: "That sounds like fun." A: "Great. I'll see you on Saturday." B: "Ok. See you later."
2

A: "Hello?" B: "Hi Steve. This is Mike. What are you doing?" A: "Oh, hi. I was just watching TV." B: "There's nothing to watch right now." A: "I know. I was watching a re-run. I have nothing to do and I was bored." B: "Me too. Let's get together and do something." A: "I'd like to, but I have to meet my parents in an hour for dinner. How about tomorrow?" B: "Yeah. Let's plan something tomorrow." A: "Did you hear the weather forecast for tomorrow?" B: "I think it is going to be the same as today. Clear and sunny." A: "That's great. We can do something outdoors then." B: "Are there any special events going on tomorrow?" A: "Yeah. I think there's a live outdoor concert by the river tomorrow." B: "Oh yeah. I heard about that too. Let's go check it out." A: "Do you know what time it starts?" B: "It starts at one PM." A: "Let's meet for lunch at eleven thirty and afterwards, we can head over there." B: "Perfect. I'll see you in front of the apartment at eleven thirty."
3

A: "Steve. Is that you?" B: "Yeah. What's going on?" A: "Not much. What a surprise to see you here." B: "Yeah. It's been a couple of months since I saw you." A: "What have you been up to?" B: "I just started working out." A: "Really? Where do you work out at?" B: "I joined the Samsung Health Club last month." A: "What do you mostly do during your workout?" B: "I concentrate mostly on my legs, chest, arms and stomach." A: "I should start exercising more." B: "It's hard work while exercising, but it is a great feeling when I get done." A: "I have a running machine at home. I used to use it, but I already got sick of it." B: "Exercising at home is hard. The environment is not suited for exercising." A: "If I want to exercise, I will need to join a gym." B: "I have a couple of guest passes. You want to check out my health club." A: "That's a good idea. Let's go over the weekend." B: "Great. I'll call you Saturday morning." A: "Aright. I'll talk to you later." B: "Ok. Bye."
4

A: "The weather is terrible." B: "Yeah. It's been raining a lot these days." A: "I have been watching a lot of videos at home because of the constant rain." B: "Have you heard when it's supposed to get better?" A: "I saw the weather report, and it's going to rain for the next eight days." B: "That sucks so much. What are we going to do?" A: "I'm getting pretty bored. We should do something despite the rain." B: "I'm with you. What do you have in mind?" A: "I haven't been to the Mall in a long time. Let's go there." B: "That sounds good. They have a movie theatre there, so if we get bored, we can watch a movie." A: "Great. I'll stop by your place now." B: "Ok. Don't forget to bring your umbrella. The rain can start up again anytime."

Intro and General Things Review

This review section is going to incorporate every lesson we had so far.
We are not learning anything new here, but the sentences and topics will be selected randomly from previous lessons. If you feel you have done poorly after the first grouping of questions, please stop and go through the lessons you failed to answer. The only way you will completely master English is through persistence, hard work, and repetition. You are judging yourself, so be honest. The rule of thumb is that if you cannot answer a question relatively quickly, you need more practice.

Exercise - Interactive Practice

Exercise - US Culture

Having lived in the United States and Korea, I realized one big thing immediately.

In Korea, I have to do a lot of walking. When I went to school or to work, I had to leave my house, walk to the bus stop or the subway which takes about 10-15 minutes, get off at my destination, and walk the rest of the way, which is another 15 minutes. Total time walking is about 25 minutes. This translates to 50 minutes a day round trip, and about 3-4 kilometers everyday. I didn't even know it, but I was exercising.

In America, everyone has a car. While going to work here, I literally walk about 7 minutes a day. That's a total distance of 300 meters. The reason is because I only have to walk to my car. I drive to work, and then I walk from the parking lot to my office. So, I realized I was gaining weight without having changed anything except the walking I wasn't doing.

I suppose that is why in America there is a big hype about exercising and losing weight. If you don't want to, you don't have to walk anywhere or exercise at all. In Korea, walking is part of the daily routine. So although you don't need to know this lesson as much as other lessons, it will still help when talking to foreigners about this subject. Let's continue with the lesson by doing the practice.

In the next exercise lesson, we will learn about speaking English in relation to working out in the gym

Exercise - Walking Jogging and More

Walking:
"Every morning right when I get up, I like to take a thirty minute walk."
"I like to take walks with my dog."
"Golf is a healthy sport because of all the walking it requires."
"I heard from some doctors that walking is the healthiest form of exercise."
"There's a trail by my house that is a perfect 20 minute walk."
"We usually go to a nearby lake and walk around it."

Jogging
"Every night, I go to an elementary school across from my house and jog a few laps around the playground."
"I go jogging in the morning when the air is still fresh."
"Some people find jogging stressful, but I find it as a way to relieve some of my stress."
"It feels so good after jogging for half an hour."
"I usually jog on a treadmill because it's convenient."

Sports: We will have another more comprehensive lesson on sports in a different lesson.
"I usually play a lot of basketball"
"I get enough exercise from soccer."
"I like to play sports because it is a good form of exercise and allows me to have fun all at the same time."
"Although bowling is a sport, I don't consider it a form of exercise."
"I play volleyball a couple hours a day."
"I practice baseball with my school team everyday."
"I'm in my high school's track and field team. I'm a long distance runner."
"I don't play soccer because it requires too much running."
"Running constantly is a hard thing to do."

Others
"Aerobics is an excellent form of exercise."
"I use a video at home to do my aerobic sessions."
"I like to do aerobics because it targets specific areas."
"I get my exercise from rowing. I'm on the junior varsity crew team."
"I ride my bicycle to work every day."
"I take the stairs because it gives me a little bit of a work out."
"I go to the local park and ride my rollerblades."

Exercise - Questions

There are various types of exercise. Some people might think walking is exercise, and some other people will think weight lifting is exercise. In the next couple of lessons, we will take a closer look at various types of exercise.

Exercising can be done in many different ways. Here is a small list to get us started:

Walking
Jogging
Running
Sports
Aerobics
Rowing (boat)
Commuting to work
Etc.

Here are some questions.

"Do you exercise at all?"
"Do you work out?"
"What type of exercising do you do?"
"Where is a good place to exercise?"
"Why don't you exercise?"
"Where do you usually jog?"
"How long do you take a walk for?"
"How often do you jog?"
"Where do you do aerobics?"
"How long do you usually run for everyday?"

Hobby - Interactive Practice

Hobby - Various Q&A

"If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?"
"I would probably find some hobbies and join an organization that works for a good cause."

"You just stay home most of the week. Don't you ever get bored?"
"A lot of my hobbies are things I do by myself such as oil painting, sculpting, and drawing. So actually, I have a lot to do with not enough time."

"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."
"Maybe you should start thinking about some hobbies."

"Is studying considered a hobby?"
"Studying is usually associated with school and work, so it's not usually considered a hobby. But if it's not for these purposes, then I guess it can be a hobby. That's just my opinion though."

"What do you do in your spare time?"
"I do a lot of writing, so I write every chance I get."

Like many topics in English, a conversation will go towards the content of the conversation. So let's review with longer dialogs in practice.

Hobby - Questions and Answers

Hobbies are a hot topic anytime. Similar to favorite things, hobbies are favorite things that you do. This is a small section so let's get started.

Questions you can ask:

"What are your hobbies?"

"What do you do in your spare time?"

"What do you like to do?"

"What do you like to do for fun?"

"If you had extra time, what would you do with it?"

There is not much else you can say. Remember that we can create many different sentences, but we want to use what is most common in spoken English. So we need to stay with the most common words.

Answering questions:

"My hobbies consist of golfing, reading novels, and watching movies."

"I like to play computer games in my free time."

"If I'm not working, then I'm busy chatting with people on the Internet."

"During my spare time, I like to cook."

"I like to read magazines."

"In the summer I play golf, and in the winter, I go skiing."

"I love every type of sports."

Making statements:

"I need to find a hobby. I have nothing to do all day."

"Maybe you wouldn't be so lonely if you had a hobby."

"Hobbies are great because it allows you to do what you enjoy."

"Although I have many hobbies, I wish I had more time to do more."

"I love to go snowboarding. It's exhilarating."

"I would go skiing more often, but it takes such a long time to go up to the mountains."

"I wish golfing wasn't so expensive. I would golf almost everyday if I could afford it."

Favorite - Interactive Practice

Favorite - Answering Questions

To answer these types of questions, it is very easy. All you have to do is change 'your' to 'my', repeat the last portion of the question and add your answer. We'll practice a couple of times.

"What is your favorite show?"
"My favorite show is Smurfs."

"What is your favorite movie?"
"My favorite movie is Matrix."

"What is your favorite dessert?"
"My favorite dessert is cheesecake."

"Who is your favorite singer?"
"My favorite singer is Josh Groban."

"Who is your favorite athlete?"
"My favorite athlete is Tiger Woods."

"Who was your favorite elementary teacher?"
"My favorite elementary teacher was Mrs. Smouse."

Different ways to ask about favorite things

You don't necessarily have to use the word favorite. Favorite basically means what you like the most. So, you can ask favorite questions without the word favorite.

"What do you like to eat the most?"
"My favorite food is ice cream."

"What is a childhood memory that stands out?"
"My favorite childhood memory is a time I went fishing with my dad."

"Which professor do you like the most?"
"My favorite professor is Professor Kim."

Likewise, you can answer questions without using the word favorite.

"What is your favorite baseball team?"
"I like Seattle Mariners the most."

"What is your favorite type of food?"
"I love Italian food... especially pasta. They are so good."

"Who is your favorite music group?"
"I really enjoy listening to Depeche Mode."

Favorite - What's your Favorite

The word favorite is used a lot in spoken English. It is very common to talk about your favorite things with your friends or acquaintances. Topics can range from favorite movies, favorite TV shows, favorite food, favorite cars, etc. Since there are so many favorite things in the world, you should pay close attention to this lesson.

Asking questions is the most common way to use the word favorite:

"Who is your favorite singer?"
"Who is your favorite person?"
"Who is your favorite athlete?"
"Who was your favorite ex-girlfriend?"
"Who was your favorite elementary teacher?"

Are you following me? It's very easy. Just change the word at the end and you can make dozens of sentences.

"What is your favorite show?"
"What is your favorite movie?"
"What is your favorite dessert?"
"What is your favorite program?"
"What is your favorite class?"
"What is your favorite game?"
"What was the title of your favorite song?"
"What was the name of your favorite sit-com?"

We used 'who' and 'what' in our sentences. It's possible to use 'where', 'how', and 'when', but the most common is 'what' and 'who'.

I'll provide a couple of sentences for the other words.

"Where is your favorite vacation spot?"
"When is your favorite time of day?"
"How is your favorite noodles cooked?"

It's not common, because even though it is grammatically incorrect, you can ask the same question with 'what'

"What is your favorite vacation spot?"
"What is your favorite time of day?"

Nobody is really going to notice and it's not a big deal. After this lesson is over, I suggest practicing with 'what' and 'who', but don't bother with the others. It's not as important.

Movie Discussion - Example Dialog

As of this writing, the latest movie I saw was The Last Samurai. After the movie, I had a meal with a couple of people. We had a good discussion due to this movie. It is difficult to specifically teach what you will need to know about movie conversations because every movie will require different words and sentences. The only thing I can do here is to give ideas and couple of examples about movie conversations. So this is not really going to be a practice section, but a chance to hear a real conversation from a movie. You can click on each individual sentence, or you can click on the link provided below to hear a real life conversation.

Listen to the conversation

A: "Did you like the movie?"
B: "It was better than I thought."
C: "I liked it."
A: "The movie didn't have many cheesy or stupid scenes."
B: "Yeah. I'm glad that they didn't have any love scenes. Sometimes a love scene destroys a good movie."
C: "I thought the scene where the girl was washing her hair and Tom Cruise came to say good bye was stupid. Why did they have that there? It didn't make sense."
B: "I agree. They didn't need that scene."
A: "I don't see the harm in that scene. They didn't do anything or show anything. What's the big deal?"
C: "When you are talking about good movies versus great movies, each and every scene counts."
A: "That's true."
B: "But besides those one or two scenes, the movie was great."
A: "I liked everything about it. I really liked the samurai that was beating up Cruise in the beginning of the movie. The guy second in command. He was cool too."
B: "Every movie has a guy like him. They try to make him awesome even though they don't say much."
C: "I don't understand why Tom Cruise went back to that village. If he was the only survivor, wouldn't that make everyone suspicious about where his loyalty lies?"
A: "It was clear in the movie that he loved the place and the samurais. Clearly everyone knows that he isn't a traitor. I would have done the same thing in his position."
B: "I think so too."
C: "But isn't it suspicious that he is the only survivor."
A: "Well, all the samurais were looking for a death in battle. Cruise wasn't."
C: "But only the boss received the satisfaction of being killed with the sword. Nobody else did."
A: "True."
B: "What are we going to order?"
C: "I am going to have a chicken burger because of the Mad Cow disease."
A: "Me too."
B: "I'm just having a soup and salad."

Movie Discussion - Describing a Movie

Didn't understand:

"Do you remember the scene when Mary walked into the dining room? Why was she carrying a knife? She didn't use it and the cameras focused on it."
"I can't understand why she betrayed him. The whole movie concentrated on her trust and loyalty. It just doesn't make sense."

Good Scene:

"I love the scene when Russell Crowe showed his face to the emperor after the first gladiator fight."
"What did you think about the last fight scene between Neo and Agent Smith in the rain?"
"The courtroom scene between Jodie Foster and Richard Gere was absolutely amazing."

Great Movie:

"That was such a cool movie. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time."
"Anytime I see a great movie I tend to look at my watch often. That's because I don't want the movie to end."
"The movie was great. I liked everything about it. I'm definitely going to buy the dvd."

Situational questions:

"What would you have done? Would you have taken the million dollars and give up your wife for a night?"
"Would you choose money and fame, or family and stability?"

Some movies are known to be 'based on a true story.' These types of movies are very interesting because they actually happened. The only reason they are not considered to be a non-fiction movie is because the director or writer will add some scenes that didn't happen, or change some facts around so the movie is more appealing to the masses.

A conversation can start from movies such as Schindler's List. When coming out of a theatre, I heard a couple talk briefly about this.

"What did you think about the movie?"
"I thought it was great. It was very powerful."
"How much of it do you think was true?"
"I learned about Germany and World War II in one of my classes, and this movie showed everything I learned from class."
"Wow. It's amazing that these things have happened in our history."

Movie Discussion - General Statements

In this movie section, we are going to have discussions about movies that we already saw. This is useful because whenever we come out of a movie theater, we always ask our friends what we thought about the movie. Sometimes, it's a simple answer such as, 'It was alright.' But sometimes, a good discussion can arise from a great movie. Let's get started...

Every time I finish watching a movie, I either ask someone, or someone asks me, "What did you think about the movie?" For the most part, the answer is a simple one line sentence:

"It was alright."
"It could have been better."
"It was pretty good."
"I liked it."
"It was entertaining."
"It was so stupid I almost fell asleep."
"Lame"
"Boring"
"Too unrealistic"

I can go on for a long time describing movies. I have listed a few so you get an idea how to answer simple movie questions.

Besides simple one line answers, there are a few reasons we need to say other things. It is because either we didn't understand something, want to describe a scene we liked, want to describe a scene that was stupid, or simply go on and on about how great the movie was.

Saturday 18 June 2011

Movies Types - Action and Drama

In the next three movie sections, we are going to learn about different movie types. Afterwards, we will cover having discussions about movies that you recently saw. But for now, let's work on movie types.

There are many different types of movies. You probably know them all in your language, but let's learn what they are in English. Also, we will learn how to say a couple of sentences related to a movie type. If you disagree with a sentence, feel free to change some words around so they fit what you want to say.

Although there are many categories, we will learn the most basic 10 types of movies.

Action
Drama
Comedy
Romantic comedy
Horror
Science fiction
Suspense (Thriller)
Western
Commentary / Non-Fiction

Action: Movies with lots of fighting, shooting, exploding, etc.

"What type of movie do you like?"
"I like action movies because they are fast paced."
"Action movies are my favorite."
"I like all the action movies with a lot of guns."
"I like fight scenes that are choreographed."

Drama: Everyone knows drama. Like Titanic and Schindler's List

"What type of movies do you like?"
"I like all sorts of drama."
"I like movies that play with my emotion."
"Drama movies are great because they are the most realistic."
"The sad drama movies that make me cry."

Movies - Interactive Practice

Friday 17 June 2011

Movies - Example Conversation

Let's look at a couple of example conversations before going to the practice section.

Person A: "Hey John, I'm going to see The Matrix with Peter and Brad. Do you wanna come?"
Person B: "When are you guys going?"
Person A: "We're going to see the eight O'clock showing."
Person B: "That would be perfect. Where are you guys meeting?"
Person A: "We're meeting at the theatre at seven thirty."
Person B: "Great. I'll meet you guys there."

Person A: "Hey Jill."
Person B: "What's up Mike?"
Person A: "I was wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow night."
Person B: "Umm... I don't think I have anything special for tomorrow. Why?"
Person A: "Do you want to see The Titanic with me?"
Person B: "I wanted to see that. Yeah. Let's go."
Person A: "What time is good for you?"
Person B: "How about seven thirty."
Person A: "Sure. I'll meet you at the theatre at seven.

Movies - Asking Friend

In this section we will work on the planning aspect of watching a movie. In other Movie sections, we will cover discussing a movie, types of movies, etc.

Since this is the first Movie section, let me take a quick minute to explain how to find out movie times and how to pay for tickets in America. It's very similar and simple.

First, you need to find out what time a show is playing. In most cases, this is done by checking the internet. Usually, you type in the zip code and all the theatres in that area will display all the movies and movie times for that week. After you have chosen the movie to see, you need to buy the ticket. There are some places you can buy on-line, but it isn't that popular yet. You can go to the theatre before the movie starts and buy it at the theatre. The only thing you need to know how to say is the movie name and the movie time. Here is a quick example. Let's say you are watching the Titanic at 3:00. You walk up to the counter and say, 'Titanic. Three o'clock.' Wasn't that easy? Finally, big block buster movies usually sell out of tickets very quickly. So if you want to see it on opening day, it is wise to go to the theatre right when it opens and buy the tickets in advance.

Before you watch a movie, you need to plan ahead with friends. Either you are asking a friend to watch a movie, or you are answering. In either case, we will cover it here.

The following questions and statements are used when asking a friend to watch a movie.

"Hey John, do you want to (wanna) go see a movie tonight?"
"I'm going to watch Terminator 2. Do you wanna join?"
"Let's go see The Matrix tomorrow."
"What time should we meet at the theatre?"
"Let's watch a movie after dinner."
"The Titanic is coming out this Friday. Let's go see it."

If there are not enough details, a response can be in a question form. Here are a couple of examples.

"Who is all going?"
"Who are you watching it with?"
"Where are you watching it?"
"What time are you watching the movie?"

Normal answers:

"That sounds great."
"I always wanted to see that. Let's go."
"Let's meet at the theatre at four o'clock."
"Sure. Do you wanna eat lunch together before the movie?"

"I've already seen that movie. What else is playing?"
"I can't. I have to work that night."
"That movie sounds scary. I don't like horror movies."
"I really don't like the actors. I'm going to pass."

Small Talk - Interactive Practice

Small Talk - Two Example Dialogs

In this conversation, we initiated the conversation and talked about the other person. However, sometimes you will not have anything to talk about. In order to keep the conversation alive, you should think about topics such as the weather.

One: "Hi Mary."
Two: "Oh, hi."
One: "How are you doing?"
Two: "I'm doing alright. How about you?"
One: "Not too bad. The weather is great isn't it?"
Two: "Yes. It's absolutely beautiful today."
One: "I wish it was like this more frequently."
Two: "Me too."
One: "So where are you going now?"
Two: "I'm going to meet a friend of mine at the department store."
One: "Going to do a little shopping?"
Two: "Yeah, I have to buy some presents for my parents."
One: "What's the occasion?"
Two: "It's their anniversary."
One: "That's great. Well, you better get going. You don't want to be late."
Two: "I'll see you next time."
One: "Sure. Bye."

This example is when you run into someone. This is an easy type of small talk because when you run out of things to say, you can always say bye. There are times when you don't have that option. Let's practice a situation where you cannot leave, such as an interview. I go into depth about interview communication in a different section. For now, I am going to emphasize the small talk portion of an interview. There are times when you will not have an opportunity for small talk, but in other cases, you might have to talk about general things.

Them: "Hi. My name is Josh. It's a pleasure to meet you."
You: "Hi Josh. I'm glad to be here."
Them: "Did you have any problems finding this place."
You: "I didn't have any problems. I found directions on the internet so it was pretty easy to find. However, the traffic was not that great."
Them: "Traffic is never good around here."
You: "I agree. It would be great if there was a train or a subway line that went through here."
Them: "That would be so great. I would definitely take the train if they had it."
You: "Trains are great because you can read a book or get a little rest instead of having to fight the traffic."
Them: "Very true. Well, let me begin by telling you about our company..."

This is a good example of small talk. It shows that you are easy to speak with, and most importantly, you found a small connection even though it was about a small topic such as the traffic problem. In this type of situation, don't feel that you have to constantly talk. If it is not relevant to the topic, it might be better not to say anything. But if you can add on to the topic, it's a good thing. The person who is giving the interview has the control, and that person will direct the small talk to the interview when the time is right. In my example above, I made a small transition from the traffic and started the interview process. If you are interested about interview, please go to the Interview Section. You may now move on to the practice session.

Small Talk

Many people believe small talk is very boring and not personable. Although that is true, there are many places where small talk is very important. In the western culture, strangers talk to other strangers frequently. On the other hand, small talk is not so common in the eastern culture. Because strangers are friendly to one another in the western culture, small talk is very important to master in regards to learning English. One other place small talk is important is in an interview. That is why this session will be important to learn.

The best way to learn small talk is to provide many examples. So this lesson will be taught using an example format.

Small talk involves many different topics. We will have several sessions on small talk once we have covered other subjects such as sports, jobs, school, etc. But for now, we will go through the basics of small talk conversation. To initiate small talk, we can use what we have learned from our previous several sessions:

One: "Hi Bill, how are you doing?"
Two: "I'm doing great. How are you doing?"
One: "I'm doing well myself."

Wasn't that simple? If you studied the material in prior sessions, this should be real easy for you. Now that we have initiated the small talk, it's your responsibility to keep the conversation going. In order to do so, you can talk about anything that is not too personal. Let's first ask what the other person has been doing lately.

One: "What have you been up to lately?"
Two: "Well, I just started to work at the bank so I'm pretty busy learning everything."

You can elaborate on what you have learned to keep the conversation alive. In this example, you are going to ask more questions about school and work.

One: "Does that mean you already finished school? I thought you had 1 more semester left."
Two: "I took summer courses, so I finished one semester early."
One: "It's great that you got a job. I'm really happy for you."
Two: "Thanks."

As you can now tell, the conversation is getting old. You have a choice of ending the conversation, or changing the topic. Let's practice ending the conversation.

One: "We should get together for lunch sometime."
Two: "Yeah, that would be great."
One: "I'll call you sometime."
Two: "Ok. I'll see you later."
One: "Alright. See ya."

Tomorrow's Plan - I am going to

Talking about the future is something that is done very frequently. Whether we are talking about our dreams or simply telling someone what we will do tomorrow is all spoken in the future tense. As in the previous lesson, this isn't a grammar lesson. This lesson is to provide many different sentences using the future tense.

In the previous lesson, we concentrated on present tense using 'I am'

When we speak in the future tense, we can still use 'I am' but it is important what follows the two words that will make it future tense. Here are a couple of examples.

"I'm going to see Bob tomorrow"
"I'm going to meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight"
"I'm going to go home in an hour"
"I'm going to go to the bus stop right after class"
"I'm going to do that tomorrow"

When using 'going to' after 'I am' it is important that a future indicator is present. For example, if I say, 'I am going to meet John', this can also be present tense that we practiced previously. But if you add a future indicator like 'at 6 O'clock tonight' then it becomes future tense.

Other future tense indicators are:

'going to go'
'going to be'
'I will'
'I have to'

Let's practice using these words:

"I'm going to be dead if I don't finish this project by tomorrow"
"I'm going to go home next week"
"I'll meet you there at five"
"I can't go tonight because I have to work late"

Weather - Interactive Practice

Weather - Long Description

Being able to speak specific sentences is good, however, it is more important to be able to say a whole paragraph when talking about topics such as the weather. I'll have a specific lesson about putting sentences together in a future lesson. But I'll give one advice now. Basically, make about 10 sentences. After you know your ten sentences about this question, you can say all of them one after the other so it is a long answer. The ten sentences should be in a list format.

We will learn how to speak longer in a future lesson, but if you want to give it a try now, here are two examples.

Question: "What is the weather like in Korea?"
Answer: "Well, the weather in Korea is unique with four distinct seasons. In the winter, the temperature is about zero degrees Celsius. But, because it doesn't rain much in the winter, there isn't much snow and the air is very dry. In spring, the days warm up significantly but the night gets a little chilly. The summer has two characteristics. It is very hot and humid most of the time, and for about 3 weeks or so, we have a rainy season called monsoon. It gets very rainy and windy during that time period. But we all look forward to autumn. It is a beautiful time of year and the temperature is very pleasant. If you plan on visiting Korea, I highly recommend visiting during autumn."

Question: "Which season do you like the most?"
Answer: "I like summer the most, but at the same time, I hate it. I like summer because it's warm. I don't mind the heat and I like the longer days. So, I can do more activities like swimming, bicycling, rollerblading, and many other outdoor activities. I usually take a short vacation during the summer so I always look forward to that. However, the part about summer I hate the most is during the monsoon season. I can tolerate the humidity, but when it gets hot and humid along with the rain and the wind, then it gets terrible."

Weather - Questions and Answers

In this session, we are primarily going to practice speaking key sentences that will help you carry a conversation about the weather.

Asking about the weather:

"Do you know what the weather will be like tomorrow?"
"Do you know if it's going to rain tomorrow?"
"Did you see the weather forecast?"
"What is the weather like in Korea/Seattle/Los Angeles?"
"How is the climate in Korea?"
"Does it rain much in Denver?"
"How different is the weather between Pusan and Seoul?"
"What is your favorite season of the year?"

Answering questions about the weather:

"The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow."
"It's supposed to rain for the next several days."
"I didn't see the news yesterday so I don't know what the weather is going to be like."
"Weather in Los Angeles is usually hot in the summer and mild in the winter. It never really gets that cold."
"The weather in Pusan is very similar to Seoul. The main difference is that Seoul gets a little more snow in the winter and a little hotter in the summer. This is primarily because Pusan is right next to the water."
"My favorite season of the year is Spring. It's not too cold and the anticipation of a good summer puts me in a good mood."

Statements about the weather:

"I heard Seattle is a very gloomy city with so many clouds."
"The weather is beautiful this time of year."
"I hate the rain. It makes me feel depressed."
"Autumn is a great season."
"The summer months are so humid in Korea."
"I can't stand the cold winter months."
"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?"
"I wish the weather was like this everyday."
"It's been raining for 5 days straight. I wonder when it will stop raining."
"I hate the snow. The roads are dangerous to drive in, and when it melts, the streets are very dirty."
"I love snowboarding so I always look forward to the winter."
"The winter months are tolerable because I don't mind the cold."
"Korea has four distinct seasons."

Weather - Fahrenheit and Celsius

It's unfortunate that some countries still use the Fahrenheit system. It would be so much easier if everything was in Celsius. But because the United States still uses the Fahrenheit system, knowing the conversion of Celsius to Fahrenheit will help when speaking to Americans.

"How do you convert Fahrenheit to Celsius?"
"Well, you subtract 32 from Fahrenheit, multiply by 5 and then divide by 9."

"How do you convert Celsius to Fahrenheit?"
"You multiply Celsius by 9, divide by 5 and then add 32."

Here is an example dialog.

Person A: "What is the average temperature in Seoul during June?"
Person B: "It is usually about 26 degrees Celsius during June."
Person A: "What is that in Fahrenheit?"
Person B: "That would be about 80 degrees Fahrenheit."

Usually, it takes some time to convert degrees using the conversion method. So it's easier to have general temperatures already memorized. Here is a small table so you can quickly respond when talking with a foreigner about the temperature.

Fahrenheit Celsius
100 37.8
90 32.2
85 28.4
80 26.7
75 23.9
70 21.1
65 18.3
60 15.6
50 10
40 4.4
32 0
20 -6.7
10 -12.2
0 -17.8

You don't need to remember everything. But if you know a couple of numbers you can just change the other number slightly. For example, if you know that 80 degrees is about 27 degrees Celsius, then if the temperature is 77 degrees, you can figure that it will be about 25 degrees Celsius. Also, you don't have to be very accurate. In conversation, many people just want general numbers and being off by a half a degree will not do any harm.

Finally, during the winter months, it gets so cold that the temperature goes below 0 degrees Celsius. Let's practice a few sentences using negative numbers.

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