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Speak With Me About Feelings: English Speaking Practice

聞く/Video/Speak English With Vanessa/Speak With Me About Feelings: English Speaking Practice

Speak With Me About Feelings: English Speaking Practice

Speak English With Vanessa
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Vanessa: "Oh, that must  

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0:00Vanessa: "Oh, that must  
0:00have been hard. Do you want to talk about  it?" If I said this to you, would you go,  
0:07"Yes. Maybe. I don't know"? Well, don't worry.  Today, I'm going to help you talk about your  
0:15feelings in English. This is not the easiest  thing to do in your native language either,  
0:20but I want to help you level up your  English-speaking skills and not just talk  
0:25about the same basic boring topics, but about  complex and important topics as well. Hi, I'm  
0:32Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. And like  always, I have created a free PDF worksheet where  
0:39you can learn all of today's important vocabulary  questions, definitions, sample sentences,  
0:46and you can see the sample conversation so that  you can practice using what you've learned today.  
0:52You can click on the link in the description  to download this free PDF worksheet today.
0:57All right, before we get started, I have to say  something. If you want to get closer with your  
1:02friends and family, you need to be vulnerable with  them. This is something that I struggle with. So  
1:09this lesson is for me and it's for you. This means  that you need to talk about difficult things,  
1:16about your feelings, try to get deeper in your  relationship with them. So in today's lesson,  
1:22we're going to start by talking about how  you can express your feelings, especially  
1:28negative feelings. Because I feel like in some  cultures, we often try to glaze over difficult  
1:35feelings. Maybe you had a really hard time and  you say, "Well, but I'm doing better now." Well,  
1:41sometimes it's important to talk about those  difficult feelings. I want to give you the words  
1:45to say that in English. And then in the second  part of this vocabulary lesson, you are going to  
1:51learn how to respond when one of your friends  or family members talks about their feelings.
1:58Because the reciprocal part is that you need to  be able to be open to hearing when your friends  
2:05and family are vulnerable with you. What should  you say to them? How can you encourage them to  
2:10continue sharing their feelings with you?  And you can seem empathetic and kind. Well,  
2:16in this lesson, I will also help give  you the words so that you can respond  
2:20kindly to your friends and family. And  finally, at the end of this lesson,  
2:25you're going to have a chance to practice  speaking with me about your feelings. So  
2:30pay attention. It's going to be your turn soon.  Let's get started by talking about some important  
2:35vocabulary where you are going to talk about your  feelings. Let's imagine that you've been going  
2:40through a hard time. You've been working really  hard at your job and you thought that you would  
2:46get the promotion that you really wanted, and  then it turns out someone else got the promotion.
2:53This is really disappointing and you feel like  it's not a good idea to keep it inside. You want  
2:58to talk to someone about it. So you call your best  friend and you say this, "Hey, can we talk? Hey,  
3:05can we talk about something?" This is a good way  to introduce talking about a difficult feeling  
3:11that you have, especially if you don't really  feel comfortable talking about difficult feelings,  
3:16you're kind of getting their permission. Is this  something that's okay to ask you about? "Hey,  
3:21can we talk about something?" And if they're  a good friend, of course they'll say, "Yeah,  
3:25what's going on?" So let me give you some  next expressions you can say. You might say,  
3:30"I just need to vent." Do you know what  a vent is? This is a vent in your car.  
3:37That's where all the air comes out and it  blows out without much filter or blockages.
3:46So when you need to vent, that means that you are  just going to share everything that comes out. I  
3:53just need to tell you all the difficult  things that have been happening at work,  
3:57and you vent to them. I often say to my friends  after I vent, "Hey, thanks for letting me vent."  
4:04It feels good sometimes. If you didn't get the  promotion that you thought you were going to get,  
4:10you might say something like this,  "I'm feeling really frustrated," or,  
4:15"I'm feeling a bit down lately." Down means sad.  Or, "I've been feeling a bit lost." Usually we  
4:23use this term lost to describe a career goal that  you thought you had and it's not exactly what you  
4:30thought it would be. You thought you could work  hard, maybe get the attention of your manager and  
4:35boss and get a promotion, but when it didn't  line up like that, you might feel a bit lost.
4:41What do I do now? I thought if I worked hard,  I would get the promotion and now I'm lost. I  
4:46don't know what to do. When you're having a  hard time, the next expression's a good one.  
4:51I'm in a funk or I'm in a rut. A rut is  like a little dip in the road. It's not a  
4:59great place. If you are in a funk or in a rut,  it means you're having a hard time progressing  
5:05and moving past the difficult time that  you're in. So when you tell your friend this,  
5:10"I've really just been in a rut lately and I don't  know how to get out of it," your friend might give  
5:15you some suggestions like, "Hey, why don't we  just go for a hike and get out in nature and you  
5:20can vent and maybe you'll have some clarity after  that." That would be what a good friend would do.
5:26Or you might say, "I feel really frustrated when  I work hard and I don't get the promotion that  
5:31I thought I would." Or you could use this in  a positive way and tell your friend, "I feel  
5:36relieved when I can talk to you about difficult  things. I feel happy. I feel relieved. I feel  
5:43frustrated when I don't get the promotion. I feel  relieved when I can talk to you." This is a great  
5:50way to express your feelings. Or you might say,  "It's hard when other people get a promotion and I  
5:57don't. It's hard when I thought I was going to get  the visa to go to the US and I just got denied.  
6:04What am I supposed to do now? I feel so lost." Or  you could say, "It's like I do all the work and  
6:10other people get promoted." Or, "I just feel like  I do all the work and other people get promoted."
6:17This is a great phrase to use when you're venting,  
6:20when you're going through a hard time and  you just need to get it all out. I just  
6:24feel like I do all the work and no one else  is doing stuff and I don't get the promotion.  
6:30I'm so frustrated. After you have shared  everything, after you have vented, you might say,  
6:38"Thank you. I feel like I can be myself when  I'm with you." This is a beautiful compliment.  
6:45If someone says this to you, cherish that person.  I feel like I can be myself with you. You don't  
6:52need to put up any walls or barriers or pretend. I  feel like I can be myself with you. And after you  
7:00have vented, you might even say this, "Thanks  so much for letting me get that off my chest."
7:07When you're going through a hard time,  it feels like a weight is on your body.  
7:10A weight's on your shoulders, a weight  is on your chest. And when you speak,  
7:16"I feel like a weight was lifted." And you  could tell your friend, "Thanks for letting  
7:22me get that off my chest. Thanks for letting  me vent. I feel so much better now." All right,  
7:27so now we have just talked about when you are  going through a hard time, but what happens if  
7:32your friend is going through a hard time and your  friend is telling you... Your friend's venting to  
7:37you about what's going on. How can you reply?  What kind of little phrases can you use so that  
7:43your friend feels supported and your friend  knows that you truly care? Let's talk about  
7:49those. If you notice that your friend isn't  doing that well, you might say something kind  
7:54like this. "Are you feeling all right? You don't  seem like yourself. Are you feeling all right?"
8:01Notice my tone of voice. I'm not accusing  them, "Are you feeling all right?" No. Instead,  
8:06I'm really soft and empathetic. "Are  you feeling all right? You don't seem  
8:10like yourself lately." And when they say,  "Oh, I just didn't get the promotion that  
8:15I wanted," you might say to them a very kind  question, "Do you want to talk about it?" You  
8:20are opening the door and letting them know,  "I'm willing to hear what's going on and to  
8:25listen to you. You don't need to feel worried  about venting to me. Do you want to talk about  
8:30it?" And when they tell you they did not get the  promotion that they wanted, you can use one of  
8:35my favorite empathetic phrases that I use in  conversations all the time. It's this, "That  
8:41must have been really frustrating." That must  have been really annoying, really aggravating,  
8:50really surprising. This wonderful advanced  verb tense you can use, that must have been.
8:58You're kind of assuming what  kind of emotion they might have,  
9:02and you're empathizing with that emotion. "Oh,  that must have been really frustrating. Oh,  
9:08that must have been really surprising. You worked  so hard and you didn't get the promotion. That  
9:13must have been..." You can use this too.  A question that you can ask your friend  
9:17who's going through a hard time is this, "What  can I do to support you?" Maybe they'll say,  
9:24"Oh, nothing, but thanks for letting me vent."  Okay. Sometimes just letting someone vent is  
9:29a great way to support them. But I recommend  asking this because you never know what they  
9:33might say. Maybe they have another stressor  on their mind and they'd like to tell you  
9:37about it. In my experience, when I'm talking to  someone about a hard time, the other person or  
9:43sometimes me feels uncomfortable talking about  negative feelings and negative experiences.
9:50So you can use this expression to encourage  your friend. If your friend says, "Oh, we  
9:55don't need to talk about this," or, "Oh, this is  too depressing, we don't need to talk about it."  
9:59Well, it is important to talk about. So you could  say this. "No, don't bottle it up. Don't keep it  
10:05inside. Let's talk about it." This idea of a  bottle and closing the lid and keeping those  
10:11negative feelings inside. Don't bottle it.  It here is negative feelings. Don't bottle  
10:17it up. Don't keep it inside. It's not a good  idea because you'll probably explode at some  
10:23point. It's important to vent to get it  out. So you're encouraging your friend,  
10:30"Hey, it's okay. Don't bottle it up. This  is healthy and important." And finally,  
10:35when you're done having that feeling  of rich conversation with your friend,  
10:39you could say, "Thanks for sharing that with  me." This is a good conclusion that lets them  
10:45know you really care and you're glad that  they shared something difficult with you.
10:50It deepens your friendship, and here, you're  acknowledging that. "Thanks for sharing that  
10:54with me. That means a lot." All right, now that  you just learned a lot of feeling expressions for  
11:00you to talk about your difficult feelings and  for you to hear and respond to your friend's  
11:06difficult feelings, now it's time to take a look  at a sample conversation between my husband,  
11:11Dan and I, as we talk about our feelings. I  want you to pay attention. Listen for some  
11:15of the key phrases that you just learned,  because after that sample conversation,  
11:20it will be your turn to speak with me  about your feelings. Dun, dun, dun. Are  
11:26you ready? All right, let's watch  that sample conversation first.
11:29Hey, Dan, are you doing all right?  You don't seem quite yourself today.
11:33Dan: Not  
11:34really. Can I talk to you  about something actually?
11:36Vanessa: Of course. What's up?
11:38Dan: Well,  
11:39there's this thing at work and I worked really  hard at it and my coworkers got all the credit  
11:43for it. They didn't do anything. I feel like  the more work I do, the less recognition I get.
11:50Vanessa: That must be so  
11:51frustrating. It's hard when you work hard  on something and no one seems to notice.
11:55Dan: Yeah,  
11:57I just feel like if I say anything,  they're going to think I'm complaining.
12:00Vanessa: Yeah, I get that. But don't  
12:02bottle it up. You might stay mad at your boss and  coworkers and you might be distracted at work.
12:07Dan: That's  
12:08a good point. Well, thanks for  letting me get that off my chest.
12:12Vanessa: No problem.  
12:13Thanks for telling me. I really appreciate  it. I had no idea work was so stressful.
12:17Dan: Thanks. Well, I got to go. I'll see you later.
12:20Vanessa: See you later. All right,  
12:22now it's your turn to speak with me about your  feelings. Don't bottle it up, get it out and vent.  
12:29I am going to be your friend today and you are  going to be sharing with me something difficult  
12:35that is happening now or that has happened in  the past in your life. So I want you to take  
12:41a deep breath and during this conversation,  I will ask a question and then pause. And my  
12:46magic teacher ears will hear you around the  world no matter where you are. So make sure  
12:51that you speak out loud. If you need to pause  so that you can speak longer, that's totally  
12:56fine. If you need to review and go back to this  section again and again to practice, go ahead  
13:01and do it. That's the great thing about learning  English online. All right, are you ready? Let's  
13:06talk about your feelings. Hey, are you feeling  all right? You don't seem like yourself lately.
13:24That must've been really hard. So here you  can continue to tell me about the difficult  
13:29time that you're having. What can I do to  support you? Well, thanks so much for sharing  
13:53that with me. I'm glad you didn't bottle  it up. I really appreciate it. All right,  
13:59great work talking about a negative feeling  in English. This is not an easy thing to do  
14:04in any language, but hear you're leveling  up your speaking skills. Great work. Well,  
14:09don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet  so that you can remember all of these important  
14:15and difficult feeling expressions in English,  definitions, sample sentences. And on this  
14:21worksheet, you can see the transcript of the  conversation that I had with my husband, Dan,  
14:26and the sample conversation that you and I  had so that you can write out your answers,  
14:30read them out loud, practice them so that  you can really deepen your English skills.
14:35Don't forget to download this. You can  click on the link in the description to  
14:39download this free PDF worksheet today. It  is my gift to you. And now I have a question  
14:44for you. Tell me in the comments how are  you feeling today? And don't worry about  
14:49sharing a negative feeling. It's totally  fine. I want to support you and thank you  
14:54for sharing it. Let me know in the comments  and I'll read what you have to say. Well,  
14:58thanks so much for learning English with me and  I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson  
15:02here on my YouTube channel. Bye. But wait, do  you want more? I recommend watching this video  
15:09next where you will learn to speak in English  about sleep, including is sleeping like a baby  
15:16a good thing or a bad thing in English. You'll  find out there and I'll see you in that lesson.