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Welcome to this premium episode of LEP. This is premium #5 and this is where we dive
deep into language which has already occurred naturally, paying special attention to
vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation in an effort to broaden your English and help you to
learn how to speak English like me.
Episodes 464 & 465 were called “How I make episodes of the podcast” and I recorded them
because I thought that some people would find it interesting and to be honest it was also just
really fun for me too geek out over all my equipment and talk about my process for doing the
podcast.
But I was also slightly concerned that it would be a bit too specific, possibly boring for some
people and so I made sure I used various bits of nice language, which I could teach later.
First of all there were all the uses of the verb “get” and I went through all of those in episode
466, called “Get this word into your life”. But I also added loads of other really natural English
expressions, and that’s what I’m teaching to you today.
So, get these words into your life too.
Going through other vocab from ep 464 & 465.
This is in two parts. In this part we’re looking at phrasal verbs and verb collocations and in
part 2 we’ll look at lots of adjective collocations, noun collocations and some idioms.
I’m still mining language from those two episodes. It just goes to show how much there is to
learn from episodes of the podcast if you just break them down like I’m doing here.
The thing about learning natural expressions, phrasal verbs and idioms especially when
you’re looking in a dictionary or on a list in a blog or something, is that you wonder if people
really do use this language. It’s a common thought for students do people actually say
these things?
As a teacher that is an important question because you have to give students the language
they will really need in the real world and that they will hear from people. There are loads of
idioms and fixed expressions that people don’t actually use that much. So when you’re
teaching this kind of language you’re always asking yourself do people really say this?
Would I say this? Where would you hear or use this bit of language? Often the only way to
be sure you’re teaching the language as it is used is to go with what you usually say in your
normal life. So I’m always asking myself “What do I say? What do other people say?” and
that’s exactly what you can hear in LEP.
All I have to do is point it out to you.
So, you know these things are used because I used them myself without really thinking
about it in episodes 464 and 465.
So there you go I’ve given them the seal of approval. Here’s your chance to learn the
English spoken by me. So, learn how to speak English like me.
In this one we’re looking at vocabulary again one of the foundations of English as a foreign
language.
Verbs / verb phrases / verb collocations
Like in the episode about “get”, the vast majority of these phrases contain little ‘delexical’
verbs (such as go, come, start, set, build, feel, put, bring, fly, break, bang, tick, slip) and
various preposition, adjective or noun collocations.
So, like I said before, this is the sort of English vocabulary that will mark you out as a really
natural speaker of English if you can understand it, remember it, use it at the right moments
and pronounce it confidently.
This episode should help you do that!
But it will especially help if you:
Listen and repeat what you hear
Check the pdf where you can see the vocab written down
Listen back to episodes 464 and 465 and notice the language
Do the test
Actually try to use the language yourself
Here’s an idea
Perhaps you can put the phrases on bits of paper, stick them in a box, pull them out and try
to make a sentence, keep going, make a story! Keep all the vocab in a box and keep
building it up and up, pulling out papers and making more stories. The magic box technique.
I will get all this language into your head if it’s the last thing I do!
Honestly doing those things will make a huge difference to you actually picking up these
expressions and using them.
You can and will learn all this stuff even if you don’t get it all the first time round. Learning
new vocabulary is a repetitive process and as adults you can use strategies to help learn
them more quickly.
Notice, understand, repeat, listen again and notice again, repeat. Keep going until you’ve
rolled this vocabulary into your life.
These two episodes contained some details about how I record episodes of the podcast. I’ve
had a few questions about that recently so for an inside look into how I make my podcast
episodes, listen to episodes 464 and 465. I expect some of you out there haven’t heard
those episodes yet. If you have heard them, it was probably a while ago so it’s worth
revisiting them, especially after you listen to this.
I must say, I’m really enjoying making these premium episodes and I feel like it makes total
sense. With all the normal episodes of the podcast we have a sort of library of English. My
job is to point certain things out for you and basically save you the time and effort you would
otherwise spend searching for these phrases, looking them up, checking them etc.
Let’s dive into the phrases then and crack on with this episode.
So, in these episodes I was talking about: coming up with ideas, communication, creativity
and presenting information so I think if you’re looking for a topic for all this there it is.
Generally, this language should relate to that in some way.
Verbs / verb phrases / verb collocations
1. You’ll hear me going through all that language (check, look at, consider things one
by one, in order compare with ‘get through’ which means to do the same thing but
with difficulty)
To go through something
We’re going to go through some grammar. I’m going to go through some bits of
language.
We’re going to go through a list of reasons why England have to watch out for
Croatia.
Let’s go through the contract on Monday morning.
In my presentation I’m going to go through the details of our new product range.
2. What goes into the mak ing of episodes (what is included in the process)
What goes into the preparation for a big game like this?
There’s so much that goes into preparing an olympic ceremony.
Let me give you an idea about what goes into creating a successful business.
3. I’m going go into some detail (describe it)
Go into your training routine for us, would you?
Could you go into some of the reasons why you started this podcast?
Difference between 3 and 4?
Things go into something else = things are part of something else
I go into something = I describe it
Let me go into what goes into making this podcast.
4. (starting) from scratch ( start from nothing)
Scratch = a line scratched on a board, or a line scratched on the ground a starting
point.
I built this business up from scratch.
I’ve decided to break up the team sheet and just start from scratch.
Sometimes I think about beginning a new project from scratch.
Build / start / begin + from scratch
5. I’ve built up my technical knowhow bit by bit.
Build up = develop it bit by bit (build = from nothing, build up = develop what exists)
Sometimes we say “built up from scratch” which is another way of just saying “build”
but it sounds better. I built up this business from scratch! Emphasising that you
started from nothing and have developed the business from there.
knowhow = knowledge, or knowledge of how to do something
What kind of knowhow have you built up over the years, doing what it is that you’re
doing?
6. A lot of my advice just went straight over her head (she didn’t get it at all it was
too complex for her to understand) advices
I didn’t get what he said to me, it just went straight over my head.
That joke just went straight over your head, didn’t it?
The Russian Joke just went straight over the heads of my audience.
(Sometimes this is accompanied by a gesture a hand whizzing over your head)
7. I’m just feeling my way through the process and working it out as I go along . Feel
your way through (as if) you’re blind and you just use your hands to manage to
work out what’s going on and get through something
Work it out as you go along = you don’t understand it and you just fix little details
as you meet them you don’t have an overall understanding of it, you’re just using
your hands to feel what’s in front of you and understand it bit by bit as you move
forwards.
The guitar parts usually came first, feeling my way through these chord
progressions, usually with a central lyrical image in mind.
I’m just feeling my way through it .
Working it out as I go along
Making it up as I go along
To work something out = understand it
To make something up = create it, invent it
Whenever I assemble IKEA furniture I like to just forget the instructions and work it
out myself.
That’s not true, I was just making it up . I always use the instructions as it’s usually a
disaster if you ignore them.
8. Put yourself in my shoes and it might help you keep up with all of the technical
stuff (put yourself in my shoes = see it from my point of view)
(keep up with = stay at the same level or speed, try not to fall behind)
Put yourself in my shoes for a minute, ok?
What would you do in this situation?
(sort of used to defend yourself or justify your actions)
*all these phrases are like chunks that always go together, so learn them as phrases,
not just individual words. They might feel unsubstantial because they don’t have big
meaning words in them, instead it’s little words with ambiguous meaning like put,
keep, make, work.
To work something out, to make something up, to feel your way through, to put
yourself in my shoes, to keep up with it, to come up with ideas, to turn them into
something, bring something to life… it goes on! Phrasal verb city here.
9. I’m going to talk about how to come up with ideas and then turn them into actual
content. (come up with ideas = get ideas in your head) (turn into = transform them
into something)
You came up with a good idea at the meeting.
Let’s see if we can come up with some ideas.
We’ll come up with something eventually.
(something will come up = something will happen)
Turn something into something else
I’m going to turn my flat into a coffee shop.
10. bring those ideas to life ( to bring something to life take your ideas and make them
into tangible things, also a bit like Frankenstein)
It’s nice to be able to bring my ideas to life on the podcast.
In Lord of the Rings, the Balrog is brought to life after Sauron grows in strength and
the dwarfs dig too deep.
Bring something back to life
My car broke down but the technicians brought it back to life.
11. I have to write it all down . (write it on paper)
To write something down
I always carry a small notepad with me so that if I come up with any ideas I can write
them down and remember them later.
Sorry, let me just write that down.
I’m just writing that down.
12. To fly by the seat of your pants (just make it up as you go along, survive in a
situation in which you have no experience)
When I first became a teacher…
That’s the end of part 1!
There will be a test at the end of part 2 on the pdf and then this will carry on with more
language in part 3!
There’s so much language to be learned from just this one episode of LEP. I think that
listening to it on your own you are bound to notice some of these things, but I wonder how
many you get now that I’ve explained so much of it for you. Listening again to the original will
really help the language stick in your head more.
So, if you like you can do the first 12 items in the test, but that’s in the pdf for part 2 of this.
Otherwise, just move on to part two and do the test at the end.
Thanks for listening!