Lesson 23: What Do You Want?

Summary

Anna and her boss go on a trip around the world. That is, they eat foods from around the world. What will they find?

Speaking

In this video, you can practice saying the new words and learn about counting when you give someone change.

Pronunciation

In this video, you can learn about three informal English expressions: outta, yep, and whaddaya.

Anna: Washington, D.C. has great food from all over the world.

Anna: Today I’m having lunch with my boss. Ms. Weaver says we’re going on a trip around the world. But she knows I only have an hour for lunch! Silly woman.

Jonathan: Hi, Anna!

Anna: Hi Jonathan! Hey, we are meeting Ms. Weaver for lunch at noon, aren’t we?

Jonathan: Yes.

Anna: What time is it now?

Jonathan: 11:50.

Anna: 11:50! We have to go!

Anna: So, where is this world food restaurant?

Caty: We’re not eating at a restaurant.

Anna: Where are we eating?

Caty: We are eating at ... food trucks!

Anna: Food trucks … awesome! What’s a food truck?

Caty: These are food trucks!

Anna: Wow!

Jonathan: Whoa!

Caty: Okay, Jonathan, you will buy the first dish. Here is $10. Surprise us!

Jonathan: Okay, I’ll be back in 15 minutes.

Anna: What country do I want to visit?

Caty: Anna, you pick the second country. Here is $10.

Anna: I want chicken.

Caty: The food truck, over there, has great chicken.

Anna: Awesome!

Caty: After you buy your food, meet me here.

Jonathan: Excuse me, I’ll have the shrimp.

Jonathan: Oh, you’re out of shrimp. Okay, I’ll have the beef then.

Anna: Hello. I want the chicken dish.

Truck worker: We're out of chicken.

Anna: You're out of chicken.

Worker: Yep.

Anna: I’ll try another food truck. Thanks!

Worker: You're welcome.

Jonathan: Okay, here is your change. The dish is $7. So, here is 1, 2, 3 dollars back from your 10.

Caty: Great.

Jonathan: Where’s Anna? Is she dancing by that food truck?

Caty: Yes. Yes, she is.

Anna: Ms. Weaver, here is your change. The dish costs $5. So - $5 back.

Caty: Thanks, Anna. But where is the food?

Anna: I’m eating it. The Peruvian chicken is delicious! Try some!

(Caty and Jonathan shake their heads “no”)

Caty: Well, we still have $8! What do you want now?

Anna: We can buy dessert!

Caty: I’ll buy dessert.

Anna: In Washington, D.C., you can travel around the world … with food trucks! And it does not cost a lot.

Anna: Until next time!

Writing

Anna and her co-workers are going out for lunch together. What do you usually have for lunch on a weekday? Describe it and send us a photo if you can! Send us an email or write in the Comments section.
Use the Activity Sheet to practice writing and talking about money and change.

Lesson 23 Activity Sheet

Learning Strategy

Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.
The learning strategy for this lesson is Respond. In many everyday situations, we have to respond to what we hear. Speaking English as a second language might make it hard for you to respond quickly. The strategy respond is part of listening actively. After listening to what the other person says, you respond on the same topic.

Lesson 22: Next Summer...

Summary

Anna and her producer, Amelia, are planning the new children's show. Anna has lots of ideas for the show. Will Amelia like them and work well with Anna?

Speaking

Learn to pronounce the new words for this lesson and how to talk about your favorite season and vacation activities.

Pronunciation

Use this video to learn how to do shadowing, or repeating soon after you hear a native speaker.

Conversation

Anna: Washington, D.C. has four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn or fall. My favorite season is summer because of summer vacation!Hey, that will be a great subject for my new work assignment -- the children’s show. I can teach what families in the U.S. do during summer vacation.Today, I’m planning the show with Amelia. This is the first time we are working together. I hope we can work well together. Hi, Amelia!

Amelia: Hi, Anna! So, what are we going to talk about on the first show?

Anna: I want to talk about summer vacation.

Amelia: That will be fun! Are you going on vacation this summer?

Anna: No. This summer I am too busy.

Amelia: That’s too bad.

Anna: It’s okay. I can go on vacation next summer. This show will be a lot of fun too!

Amelia: So, Anna, what’s the plan for the show?

Anna: First, we’re going to introduce the subject. Then we can show pictures and video.

Amelia: We can show tons of video!

Anna: Right! We can interview children and have guests, too.

Amelia: Kids can ask us questions.

Anna: Great idea! Finally, we can read the questions and tell them where to learn more.

Amelia: Okay, let’s try it!

Anna: Let’s do it!

Anna: Hi there! And welcome to … Amelia, we don’t have a name for the show.

Amelia: We’ll think of a name later. For now, we'll call it “The Show.”

Anna: Great. Hi there! And welcome to “The Show.”

Anna: Today we are going to take you on a summer vacation! You will see popular things to do on vacation!

Anna: One is camping. When you go camping, you cook, sleep and play outdoors!

Amelia: When I go camping, Anna, I like to go hiking and fishing.

Anna: Me, too. Those are fun things to do when you go camping!

Anna: These people are hiking.

Amelia: Okay, let’s talk about the next vacation.

Anna: Another popular summer vacation is going to an amusement park. At an amusement park, you go on rides and eat lots of fun food!

Amelia: I love cotton candy … !

Anna & Amelia: and rollercoasters!

Amelia: This show is going to be a lot of fun.

Anna: I know!

Anna: This is riding a rollercoaster!

Amelia: Whoooo! What is the last vacation?

Anna: One of the most popular vacations is … going to the beach!

Anna & Amelia: I love the beach!

Anna: When I see that blue ocean, I want to leave Washington, D.C. immediately and go to the beach!

Anna: Maybe next summer.

Amelia: But right now, it’s time to work!

Anna: Right. Until next time ...

Writing

What is your favorite season? What do you like to do when you go on a vacation? Tell us about the next vacation you plan to go on. Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice with a friend.

Activity Sheet Lesson 22

Learning Strategy

Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.
The learning strategy for this lesson is Plan. When we learn a new language, planning helps us to continue to learn well.
In the video, you can see Amelia and Anna planning for the new children's show. Notice how they talk about a list of the things they will do. "First, we’re going to introduce the subject. Then we can show pictures and video. ... We can interview children and have guests too. Great idea! Finally, we can read the questions and tell them where to learn more."

How do you plan when using or learning English? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy.

Quiz

​Listen to short videos and test your listening skills with this quiz.

Quiz - Lesson 22

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New Words

amusement park - n. a place that has many games and rides (such as roller coasters and merry-go-rounds) for entertainment

beach - n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean or lake

camping - n. the activity of sleeping outdoors in a tent usually for enjoyment

cotton candy - n. candy made from sugar that is boiled, spun into a soft material using a special machine, and then wound around a stick

fishing - n. the sport or business of catching fish

guest - n. a usually well-known person who is invited to appear or perform on a program

hike - n. to walk a long distance especially for pleasure or exercise

immediately - adv. without any delay

introduce - v. to speak briefly to an audience about something that is about to begin

kid - n. a young person

outdoors - adv. outside a building or not inside a building

plan n. - a set of actions that have been thought of as a way to do or achieve something

plan - v. to think about and arrange the parts or details of (something) before it happens or is made

right - adv. in a direct course or manner
right now = immediately

rollercoaster - n. a ride at an amusement park which is like a small, open train with tracks that are high off the ground and that have sharp curves and steep hills

season - n. one of the four periods into which the year is commonly divided

subject - n. the person or thing that is being discussed or described

swimming - n. the sport or activity of moving through water by moving your arms and legs

vacation - n. a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel

The Four Seasons:

spring - n. the season when plants and trees begin to grow

summer - n. the warmest season of the year

autumn - n. the third season of the year, when crops and fruits are gathered and leaves fall

winter - n. the coldest season of the year

Lesson 21: Can You Come to the Party?

Anna: Hi there! Washington, D.C. has some great coffee shops. My favorite is this one -- Busboys & Poets.

Anna: Actually it’s more than a coffee shop. It’s also a bookstore, a restaurant and a theater!

Anna: Marsha and I love coming here.

Marsha: Hey, Anna, my friend is having a party on Saturday. Can you come with me?

Anna: Sorry, I can’t come with you. I have to get my driver’s license.

Marsha: Will you be busy all day?

Anna: I don’t know. First, I have to take a test on the computer. Then I have to take a test in the car.

Marsha: But you have to take the test during the day, don't you?

Anna: Yes.

Marsha: The party is at night.

Anna: Oh. Then I can come with you to the party on Saturday night.

Marsha: Great! I have to help my friend with the party. Can you help me?

Anna: Sure. That sounds like fun.

Marsha: Everyone has to bring something or do something. You can bring food, or you can perform.

Anna: Really, I can perform?

Marsha: You can! Can you?

Anna: Yes! I can recite poetry. (Anna is in a club reciting a poem)

- A poem -

Light dark

Light dark

Darkness

Dark

Marsha: In this country, nobody recites poetry at parties. Um … can you do anything else?

Anna: Hmm, yes. I can do a card trick. (Anna is doing a card trick)

Your card is the 10 of diamonds! No?

Pick a card. Any card.

Here, just pick this one.

Great!

Marsha: Anna, maybe you can just bring food.

Anna: No, I can’t cook. And I really want to perform. You know, there is one thing I can do. (Anna plays a song on the ukulele and sings)

Trouble in mind. I’m blue...

But I won't be blue always

The sun's gonna shine in my back door some day.*

Marsha: That’s it! You can sing at the party. Now, I have to go shopping for food.

Anna: Can I help? I’m not busy right now.

Marsha: Sure, let’s go!

Anna: We have to go. I have to help Marsha shop. And I have to practice my song! Trouble in mind. I’m blue...

Anna: Until next time!

*The song Trouble in Mind was written by jazz pianist Richard M. Jones.

Writing

In this lesson, Marsha asks Anna to come to a party on Saturday. What do you like do on the weekends? Write to us to tell us about what you plan to do next weekend. Send us an email or write in the Comments section.
Use the Activity Sheet to practice talking about your talents and skills.

Activity Sheet Lesson 21

Learning Strategy

Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.
The learning strategy for this lesson is cooperate​. When we work together to help others we are cooperating. We also cooperate when we help someone understand their second language.
In this lesson, Marsha tells Anna about a party. Everyone who comes to the party cooperates by bringing food or performing something. Anna wants to cooperate by performing at the party.
Can you find another time in the video when Anna or Marsha cooperate? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy.

Lesson 20: What Can You Do?

Summary

Anna meets her friend Pete in a coffee shop. Pete needs a job. Can Anna help him to find the right job for him?

Speaking

In this video, you can practice saying the new words and learn how to ask questions when you do not understand someone clearly.

Pronunciation

This video teaches about the shortened form of cannot and the two ways to pronounce can.

Conversation

Lesson 20: What Can You Do? (3:39)

Anna: Hi, there! Washington, D.C. is a great place to work. Many people here work in government and politics. But there are many other jobs. You can work at a hospital; a university. You can work in a coffee shop. Wait a minute, I think I see a friend of mine. Pete? Is that you?

Pete: Hi, Anna.

Anna: You look different. Your beard … is really big.

Pete: You don’t like it, do you?

Anna: No, no. You just look … different.

(To server) Thank you. So, what’s wrong? You look sad.

Pete: I don’t have a job.

Anna: Sorry, I can’t hear you.

Pete: I do not have a job!

Anna: Oh. I’m sorry to hear that, Pete.

Pete: I don’t have a skill.

Anna: Everyone has a skill. You need to find yours.

Pete: I don’t know, Anna.

Anna: Pete, I am good at asking questions. Let me ask you some.

Pete: Really, Anna? Can you help me?

Anna: Yes, I can. Let me help.

Pete: Sure, Anna. Maybe you can help.

Anna: Can you write code?

Pete: Sure, c-o-l-d. How is this going to help?

Anna: No, not “cold.” Code; you know, for making phone apps, or websites. You can make tons of money writing code.

Pete: Tons of money? But I can’t code.

Anna: Next question. Can you drive?

Pete: Do you mean drive a race car? It’s really hard to be a race car driver. First, you need a race car ...

Anna: No, I mean drive a taxi or drive a bus.

Pete: No, I always fall asleep when I drive.

Anna: Oh, that’s not good. Next question. Can you teach? You can be a teacher in a school.

Pete: No, I cannot teach.

Anna: Can you cook? You can be a chef in a restaurant.

Pete: No, I can’t code! I can’t teach! I can’t cook! Anna, I can’t do anything. This is sad. I’m gonna write about my feelings in my blog.

Anna: You write a blog?

Pete: Yeah, I write a blog.

Anna: How many followers do you have?

Pete: I don’t know … 59,538.

Anna: Pete, that's a lot of followers! You can make money writing!

Pete: Writing is easy. Everyone can write.

Anna: Not everyone can write well. You can be a writer!

Pete: I can be a writer. I can be a writer! I can be a writer! Thanks, Anna.

Marsha: Hi, Pete. Hi, Anna.

Pete: Hi, Marsha. Excuse me, I have to go.

Marsha: Where are you going?

Pete: I’m going to be a writer!

Marsha: Good luck, Pete!

(To Anna) He does know that it’s not easy to be a writer, doesn’t he?

Anna: There are many different jobs you can have in Washington, D.C. Pete wants to be a writer. I wish him luck. Lots of luck. Until next time!

Writing

In this lesson, Anna is helping her friend Pete. He needs to find a new job. How do you try to help your friends? Write to us to tell us about the ways you help your friends. Send us an email or write in the Comments section.
Use the Activity Sheet to practice talking about jobs and skills.

Learning Strategy

Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.
The learning strategy for this lesson is identify problems​. When we are talking with someone in English it helps to identify problems in understanding and get the information we need to correct the problems.
In the video for this lesson, there are three problems. Here are two of them.
1. Anna identifies one problem. Pete is not talking loud enough. She tells Pete. "Sorry, I can’t hear you." Pete speaks more loudly so she can hear him.
2. Later, Pete does not understand Anna. He asks, "Do you mean drive a race car?" Anna explains that she means to "drive a taxi or drive a bus."
Can you find another time in the video when Anna or Pete identifies a problem? Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy.

Listening Quiz

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New Words

app - n. a computer program that performs a particular task (such as word processing)

beard – n. the hair that grows on a man's cheeks and chin

blog - n. a Web site on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences

chef - n. a professional cook who usually is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant

code - n. - a set of instructions for a computer

code - v. to change (information) into a set of letters, numbers, or symbols that can be read by a computer

drive - v. to direct the movement of a vehicle such as a car, truck, or bus

easy - adj. not hard to do

follower - n. a person who likes and admires (someone or something) very much

good luck - expression. used to say that you hope someone will succeed

hard - adj. physically or mentally difficult

lot(s) or a lot (informal) lots - n. a large amount

hospital - n. a place where sick or injured people are given care or treatment and where children are often born

school - n. a place where children go to learn

taxi - n. a car that carries passengers to a place for an amount of money

teacher - n. a person or thing that teaches something

university - n. a school that offers courses leading to a degree and where research is done

website - n. a place on the World Wide Web that contains information about a person, organization, etc., and that usually consists of many Web pages joined by hyperlinks

well - adv. -- in a skillful way

Improve Your Listening Skills by Transcribing

 http://av.voanews.com/clips/VLE/2016/06/27/ca8af16f-2c1a-4bad-b865-9ff62fb279cb.mp3
In our Education Tips series, education experts in the United States offer advice on how you can improve your knowledge of American English. This week, Pascal Hamon, the Academic Director at the English Language Institute at Missouri State University, talks about how students can improve their listening skills.
English learners can improve their listening skills by transcribing spoken English.
That advice comes from Pascal Hamon, the Academic Director for the English Language Institute at Missouri State University.
Students often study listening comprehension in less than interesting, even boring ways, he adds. Transcription, however, provides a fun way to improve one’s listening skills.
Why is listening important?
At VOA Learning English, we often receive questions from English learners about how they can improve their listening skills.
Some learners want to build up general English skills, while others want to take exams that involve listening skills.
Take the TOEFL exam, for example. International students who want to attend an American college or university are often required to pass TOEFL, short for the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
This test has a listening section. It asks students to show their ability to understand short and long conversations in English. Those discussions are designed to test one’s understanding of common vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and special grammatical constructions used in speech.
Whether you want to build general English skills or prepare for a test, being able to understand spoken English is a necessary skill. And you will not get better at this skill unless you practice!
Pascal Hamon says that listening exercises should force English learners to focus on turning the sounds that they hear into words. Then, learners must use their brains to turn these words into a message.
Many students try to learn listening skills by performing listening comprehension activities. Hamon believes that such exercises have value but do not force the student to decode individual sounds.
Worse, some English learners listen to television or radio programs in English, but do not actively try to study how native speakers say words and sentences.
Building listening skills does not have to be boring, says Hamon. There are fun, game-like activities that build listening skills.
One such activity, Hamon says, is to make transcriptions.
What is transcription?
Transcribing is the act of writing down the words that have been spoken.
English learners should start working with transcriptions by finding audio or video material that has a transcript with it, Hamon says.
Then, he adds, English learners can start practicing.
"They [English learners] listen to a segment as many times as they need, and they try to write what they hear – without subtitles, without ... Just focusing on what they hear. And then they can check with the actual transcript to see what they got right, what they did not get right, if there are areas where they thought they heard two words but there is actually only one, or they missed a verb ending or plural or something."
Students should not stop the transcription exercise there, however. Hamon says that students should always try to learn from their mistakes.
Students should think, Hamon adds, about what they could do better. By identifying problems, and repeating the exercise, English learners will improve their listening skills.
What can you do?
You can start practicing transcription on your own by following these steps:
-First, find audio that has a printed transcript, but do not look at the words. You should choose audio that is right for your level.
One way you could do this on our website is to open a story and start listening to the audio before reading the story. All of our stories have audio below the headline of the story.
-Second, listen to a short section of the audio many times. After you have listened many times, try to write down what you hear.
-Third, compare what you wrote against the story.
-Finally, think about, as Hamon suggested, where you had problems. Ask yourself the following questions: What do I need to improve? What words or sounds did I not hear?
Remember: when you transcribe something, you do not always have to choose a news story. You could choose a song or part of a movie that you like. Just be sure that you are able to find a transcript for it to check your work.
To get you started, let me give you something to transcribe. Listen to part of a song at the end of this story. The song is called “How Deep is the Ocean,” and the singer is American Billie Holiday.
Transcribe what you hear and write it in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. Next week, we will give you the answer in the Comments Section of this story and on our Facebook page.
I'm John Russell.
Listen to the song from the 31 second mark until the 50 second mark.Then transcribe what you hear.

Review of Lessons 15 - 19

Congratulations! You are learning English well with VOA Learning English! Try the listening quiz and enjoy the video of our mistakes.

For Fun - 'Bloopers'

Sometimes we do not remember what to say. Or we say the wrong words. Watch the video above to see a few of these mistakes, or 'bloopers' from our lesson videos. There are no subtitles in this video. So listen carefully for the funny parts.

Review Quiz

In this quiz, you can test your listening skills. Watch a short video and answer the question.

Review of Lessons 15 - 19

Lesson Review

Lesson 15: I Love People-Watching!
Grammar focus: Descriptive adjectives; Tag questions
Topics: Describing Differences and Similarities; Watching People
Learning Strategy: Access Information Sources
Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Non-Verbal Expressions of Happiness; Rising and Falling Intonation in Tag Questions

Lesson 16: Where Are You From?
Grammar focus: Nationality and language names used as nouns and adjectives
Topics: Countries and Nationalities; Tourism activities
Learning Strategy: Monitor (comprehension and production)
Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Talking about countries, languages, and nationalities; Saying "a couple of" quickly

Lesson 17: Are You Free on Friday?
Grammar focus: Simple Future tense with will and going to.
Topics: Talking about schedules and leisure time activities
Learning Strategy: Evaluate
Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Future verb forms; shortened forms of future verbs and invitations.

Lesson 18: She Always Does That
Grammar focus: Describing frequency of actions; Object pronouns; ordinal numbers
Topics: Reacting to information; Facts vs. Feelings
Learning Strategy: Classify​
Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Object pronouns with /h/ sound deleted ['em; 'im]

Lesson 19: When Do I Start?
Grammar focus: Which as an adjective alone and with pronouns; Adjectives next and every
Topics: Saying the months of the year; Talking about seasons and activities​
Learning Strategy: Summarize
Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Using which and which one to offer a choice; using every and next with time expressions; Pronunciation of February
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What do you think?

How are you using "Let's Learn English?" Is it helping you to learn English? Please write to us in the Comments section or send us an email.
Thank you for coming to learn English with us!​

Special request to teachers and English learners:

As you see in the Lesson 19 video, Anna is going to have a new children's program. What should she call the program? Let us know in the Comments section or by email. We'll send a special thank you to the person who suggests the best name.