Summer has arrived and you might be gearing up for a holiday soon. Knowing some of the local language is always helpful, but to genuinely speak like a native English speaker, you must grasp and use common phrases and idioms that locals employ in daily conversations. Native English speakers have a natural command of these phrases, whereas non-fluent speakers often need to study and practice them to achieve fluency.
In this blog post, we¡¯ll delve into essential English phrases that will help you sound more like a local and less like a tourist.
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Depending on where you go, the language will be vastly different, but quite often, certain English phrases overlap, so you might hear some common phrases being used in more than one country.
This quirky phrase means that something has gone wrong or not as planned. For example, if your holiday plans fall apart due to bad weather, you could say, ¡°Our trip to the coast has gone all pear-shaped.¡± In other words, it¡¯s bad news for our vacation.
In Australia, you¡¯ll often hear the phrase ¡°No worries, mate!¡± used to convey that everything is fine or that there¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s a versatile expression of reassurance and friendliness. For instance, if you apologize for bumping into someone on a busy street, you might receive a cheerful ¡°No worries, mate!¡± in response.
This phrase is an invitation to help yourself to as much of something as you want. For example, if you¡¯re at a buffet and someone says, ¡°Fill your boots,¡± they¡¯re encouraging you to enjoy as much food as you like. It¡¯s a welcoming expression that showcases generosity and hospitality.
This expression is used to affirm the truth or genuineness of something. It can be equated to saying ¡°really¡± or ¡°honestly¡± in other English dialects. For example, if someone tells you a surprising fact about the local wildlife, you might respond with ¡°Fair dinkum?¡± to confirm that it is indeed true.
This phrase means that something is full to capacity. For instance, if a pub or restaurant is very crowded, you might hear someone say, ¡°The pub is chock-a-block tonight.¡± It¡¯s an evocative way to describe a situation where space is limited or an area is very busy.
In Canada, especially when discussing coffee, a ¡°double-double¡± refers to a coffee with two creams and two sugars. For example, if you¡¯re at a cafe and want a coffee with two creams and two sugars, you would say, ¡°I¡¯ll have a double-double, please.¡± This phrase will make you sound like a fluent English speaker.
Feeling extremely tired? Then you¡¯re ¡°knackered.¡± This phrase is commonly used in the UK to express exhaustion. After a long day of sightseeing, you might say, ¡°I¡¯m completely knackered!¡± If you only feel this tired once in a blue moon, you¡¯re lucky! This is a common way to express tiredness in everyday conversation in the UK.
If something isn¡¯t to your liking, you might say, ¡°It¡¯s not my cup of tea.¡± This phrase is a polite way of expressing disinterest or dislike. For example, you might say, ¡°Horror films are not my cup of tea.¡± Even if English is not your native language, using phrases like ¡°It¡¯s not my cup of tea¡± can help you sound more natural.
If you find yourself slightly annoyed or irritated, you might use the phrase ¡°a bit miffed.¡± It¡¯s a mild way to express discontent. For example, if you¡¯ve been waiting a long time in a queue and someone cuts in front of you, you might say, ¡°I was a bit miffed when they pushed in.¡± If you think cutting in line will get you served faster, you¡¯re . Fluent English speakers often use ¡°a bit miffed¡± to express mild irritation politely.
A common greeting in the United States, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± is a casual way to ask someone how they are or what they are doing. It¡¯s extremely common and often used among friends and acquaintances. For instance, when meeting a friend, you might say, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± to start a conversation.
Another casual greeting you might hear is ¡°How¡¯s life?¡± which is used to check in on someone¡¯s well-being.
If you hear someone use this phrase, ¡°in a jiffy,¡± it means they will do it very quickly. It¡¯s a phrase used to indicate promptness or immediacy. For example, if you¡¯re waiting for your meal at a restaurant and the server says, ¡°It¡¯ll be ready in a jiffy,¡± you can expect it to arrive shortly.
If you¡¯re ready to go to bed or sleep, you can use the phrase ¡°hit the sack.¡± It¡¯s a casual way of saying that you are going to sleep. After a long day of activities, you might tell your friends, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I think I¡¯ll hit the sack.¡± When speaking English, using phrases like ¡°hit the sack¡± can make your conversations sound more natural.
Brits love talking about the weather, so it's no surprise this idiom is weather-related. The idiom is a colorful way to describe heavy rain. Using this idiom not only conveys the severity of the rain but also adds a touch of humor to your conversation. If you visit during its rainy seasons (which is more often than you think), you'll have plenty of opportunities to use this phrase.
Incorporating these common English phrases into your conversations will not only help you blend in better but also make your interactions more engaging and authentic. Remember, language learning is an ongoing process, so don¡¯t be afraid to make mistakes. Expanding your spoken English vocabulary will also help you feel more confident in your interactions.
The more you practice, the more confident you¡¯ll become. The more you practice, the more you will sound like a fluent English speaker. If you can, consulting a native speaker can help you understand such idioms and use them correctly. Native speakers often talk quickly and use complex vocabulary, so don¡¯t hesitate to ask them to speak slower or provide examples to improve your understanding.
Read our blog post 'English words and slang terms you should know'
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Learning English with music can enhance learning and create a more engaging and dynamic classroom environment. In a previous post, we discussed if music can help you learn a language; this post looks at how music can be incorporated into the classroom.
Using music in your classroom can help improve student motivation, focus, and retention of information. Here are some ways you can use music to enhance your classroom teaching:
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Have you considered studying abroad? Moving to Canada to study? With more than 100 world-class universities across the country, there¡¯s good reason to. From coast to coast to coast, it offers many international students a safe and supportive learning environment and the opportunity to work after graduation.
Want to learn more? In this guide, we cover ten things you should know about studying in Canada:
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Teaching teenagers can be a rewarding yet challenging experience.
When planning classes, we need to consider the environment in which the students are growing up. Most of our teenage students do not know a life without the internet, instant messaging or Google.
Commonly referred to as ?(or Gen Z), they are the most tech-savvy generation to date; this should be reflected in how we teach them.
However, not all of us have access to computer labs, interactive whiteboards or class tablets. But there is something that many of our teens bring to class in their pockets and bags every day.
You¡¯ve guessed it - a phone.
By bringing students¡¯ phones into your classes, you can bridge the technology gap between the learners and the curriculum, keep them engaged for longer and make them feel more empowered at the same time.
Here are four low-tech activities that use phones in class.
Activity requirements: one phone per student (or group of students) and a pre-made quiz.
is an app designed to help you create quizzes online, which can be a fun, engaging way to challenge your learners in the classroom.
Quizzes are an ideal activity to use at the start of a class to recycle previous vocabulary or to pre-teach new language.
For example, you could choose 10 British English phrases or idioms. Write a series of four possible definitions for each word, phrase, or idiom (with only one correct answer).
In class, ask your students to take out their phones, find the app, and link to the quiz.
Tell the students that they must vote for the definition they think is correct. They can keep track of their scores directly on the app while competing with their friends.
Not only will it immediately engage your learners and help them interact with what¡¯s being learned, but they¡¯ll also have a lot of fun.
Activity requirements: a phone with the Google Translate app installed and a pen and paper per pair.
Did you know Google Translate has a feature where you can ? This is a perfect tool for text that you might find on a poster, in a book or uses an alphabet which you are unfamiliar with.
Bring in samples of different languages to class ¨C the more complex, the better. If you don¡¯t have anything suitable at home, find something online and print it out.
Get one student to take a photo of the text using the app and with their finger, select the section of the text they¡¯d like to translate from the original language to English. (Note: if you download the Google Translate language file to your phone, it will translate everything automatically).
Then, have them dictate what it says to their partner, who has to write it down.
Finally, they work together to improve the English translation. After all, everyone knows Google¡¯s English isn¡¯t perfect (not yet, anyway).
Activity requirements: a mobile phone with a camera per student.
Do your students love taking photos? Tap into their love of photography and make activities more exciting by incorporating the photos on their phones into your classes.
Adapt speaking activities from common exams such as the B2 Cambridge First. Instead of using the pictures in the book, put the students in pairs and get them each to choose a more relevant photo from their phones. You may find they have more to say and will communicate naturally while still practicing the necessary language and skills required in the exam.
Another idea is to get students to take photos of things they encounter in English in the street. This could be on a sign outside a restaurant or in their favorite clothing shop. Use these photos to start the next class with a discussion about where they saw it, what it means and if the English is correct.
You could also nominate one student each week to bring a photo they took that weekend. Share it with the class and get everyone to write Instagram captions. You wouldn¡¯t believe how many already do this in English, so why not help them?
If you are worried about the misuse of mobile devices in your class ¨C don¡¯t be! Here are our top three strategies to help avoid students getting distracted:
