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0:00Hello lovely students and welcome back
0:02to English with Lucy. Today's lesson is
0:05advanced fast and clear English
0:08practice. I'm going to train you to
0:10improve your advanced listening and your
0:13speaking. We are going to focus on C2.
0:16This is the highest level of English.
0:19Today I'm going to test your listening
0:21skills with real incredibly advanced
0:25clips from British TV programs. Now, as
0:29I test you, I'm also going to teach you.
0:33They go hand in hand. I'll test your
0:35listening, but I will teach you lots of
0:38advanced vocabulary, advanced grammar,
0:41and advanced pronunciation tips. We will
0:44focus on informal language because,
0:47ironically, it's often harder for
0:50learners than formal English. I will
0:52save formal English for another video.
0:56We are covering so much C2 level
0:59language today. You definitely need to
1:02download the free PDF that goes with
1:05this video. It covers everything from
1:07this lesson plus more indepth analysis
1:11of the language used in the clips. To
1:13download that, scan the QR code here or
1:16click the link in the description box.
1:18One last thing. If you are interested in
1:21reaching the highest level of English, I
1:24am in the final stages of production of
1:28my brand new Beautiful British English
1:32C2 program. I will launch it in early
1:352026. If you want to be the first to
1:38know about it, join the waiting list.
1:42You can scan the QR code there or click
1:44the link in the description box. Let's
1:47start the test. We'll begin with a clip
1:50from a program that's become both a
1:52national treasure and a British
1:55institution, The Great British Bake Off.
1:58In this reality TV show, amateur bakers
2:01compete or face off against each other
2:04in a series of baking challenges. This
2:07first clip is from Celebrity Bake Off
2:10with contestant Kate explaining what
2:12she's creating in the kitchen. We'll
2:14listen with some of the most challenging
2:16vocabulary missing from the on-screen
2:19transcript. For an extra challenge, you
2:21can try listening without reading the
2:24words at all. After listening, we'll
2:26examine the most interesting language
2:28from each clip. And once we're done, you
2:30can download the PDF to review the
2:33script. I've included the scripts in the
2:35downloadable PDF. QR code there, link in
2:38description box. Okay, let's listen to
2:40the first clip. So, this is the crucial
2:43ingredient. And it's chai tea full of
2:45cardamon. It's got all sorts of ginger,
2:46beautiful flavors in it. Oh, it's just
2:48amazing. It's basically a hug in a mug.
2:50So, I just thought why not whack it into
2:53>> Infusing her love of a cuppper into
2:55cake, Kate will add the lightly spiced
2:57char to her mini loaf sponge and the
2:58buttercream topping. She'll adorn the
3:00lot with orange candied peel.
3:02>> How much of that did you put in?
3:03>> Well, they recommended a kind of large
3:06teaspoon. I've gone for two. I don't
3:08think you should skimp on flavor in
3:11>> How did you find that? Let's go through
3:13some of the trickier vocabulary. Now we
3:18Cardamom. Notice the schwa uh at the
3:22end. Cardamom, not cardamom. Cardamom is
3:26an aromatic spice made from the seeds of
3:29various plants in the ginger family.
3:32This here is a cardamom pod with the
3:34seeds inside. Now, one of the reasons
3:36this clip is quite challenging, well,
3:38the whole program is to be honest, is
3:40that it's full of advanced food
3:42vocabulary and specialized baking
3:44terminology. If you speak or understand
3:47a European language, you might have
3:49understood this word. It sounds similar
3:51in Spanish and Italian, for example. But
3:53did you catch all of this? This short
3:56clip contains loads of highlevel food
3:59vocabulary. So, if you want to build up
4:01your vocabulary knowledge in this area,
4:04you should watch this program. I've
4:06included more information about this
4:07food vocabulary in the lesson PDF. Next,
4:10we have an expression I absolutely
4:12adore. A hug in a mug. A hug in a mug. I
4:15love the way it sounds. That little
4:17internal rhyme is so satisfying to say.
4:20This informal British expression
4:22describes a comforting hot drink. Tea,
4:25hot chocolate, even soup. The idea is
4:27that when you hold the mug and take a
4:29sip, it feels especially soothing, like
4:32getting a warm hug. Then we heard the
4:35informal verb to whack. If you whack
4:38something somewhere, you put it there
4:40quickly without much care or attention.
4:43Where should I put these clothes? I'll
4:45just whack them on the bed. In the clip,
4:47Kate says, "So, I just thought, why not
4:50whack it into a mini loaf cake?" Here,
4:53the object pronoun it refers back to the
4:56chai tea, meaning she's going to add the
4:58chai tea spices to her cake mixture.
5:01Next, we had cha, an informal word for
5:04tea. The speaker likely used it as a
5:06synonym for cuper in the same sentence
5:08to avoid repeating the same word twice.
5:11I love that we have such a rich and
5:13varied vocabulary to choose from in
5:15English. Let's take a quick look at the
5:17grammar in this sentence. Here we have a
5:20participle clause beginning with the ing
5:23form of the verb infuse. The sentence
5:26has two clauses. The main clause, Kate
5:29will add the lightly spiced char to her
5:32mini loaf sponge and the buttercream
5:34topping. And the subordinate clause,
5:37infusing her love of a cuper into cake.
5:40We can use participle clauses to show
5:42things like time, reason, cause, result,
5:45and so on. They're great for making
5:47sentences more concise. So, how would
5:49you expand this participle clause? Well,
5:52this one likely expresses purpose. So,
5:55the longer version would be something
5:57like in order to infuse her love of a
6:00cuper into cake. Or similarly, it could
6:03express reason. For example, because she
6:06wants to infuse her love of a cuppper
6:08into cake. Either way, Kate wants to
6:11infuse her love of tea into her cake.
6:13and she'll do that by adding the lightly
6:15spiced char. Participle clauses can be
6:18tricky, but they are powerful and we
6:20explore them in detail in my brand new
6:23C2 program. Join the waiting list by
6:26clicking the link in the description box
6:28or scanning the QR code there. Finally,
6:30the verb to skimp on something. In this
6:33context, it means to not use enough of
6:36something to get the desired result. If
6:38you skimp on sugar when making jam, for
6:40example, it might not set or taste
6:43right. So, I definitely recommend
6:45watching this program, The Great British
6:47Bake Off, to improve your highle food
6:50and baking vocabulary, to practice
6:52listening to a wide range of accents
6:55because they have contestants from all
6:57over the UK and beyond, and to better
7:00understand word play and puns. They play
7:03with the English language a lot in this
7:06program and I've included information
7:08about an excellent pun that comes just
7:11before this clip in the PDF. This show
7:14is just full of them. Okay, let's move
7:16on to our second clip. Now, this one is
7:18from a series called Travel Man. The
7:20concept is simple. Presenter and
7:23comedian Joe Lyset invites a celebrity
7:25to join him for 48 hours in a different
7:28city. Think weekend city break vibes. In
7:31this episode, he's exploring Prague with
7:33fellow comedian Adam Buckton. Let's hear
7:37>> The second half of our Prance Around
7:38Prague finds Adam Buckston and I in
7:43>> Can we go on that, please?
7:45>> Yes. Okay. As long as you sign a waiver
7:46because it was built in 1894 and it
7:49almost certainly doesn't stand up to
7:50modern safety standards.
7:52>> It's beautiful. Look at it. Beautiful is
7:55>> I love the smell of horsehide in the
7:57morning. So, we choose our steeds and
7:59>> Oh, yeah. You look I I think the word
8:01I'd use is ridiculous.
8:03>> Oh, giving Thor Park a run for its
8:06>> I feel regal. The Letner Carousel has
8:08been frightening the good people of
8:09Prague for almost 130 years.
8:12>> Okay, so bonus points if you spotted the
8:15grammatical error at the start of the
8:16clip. Yes, even native and proficient
8:20speakers make mistakes, especially when
8:22speaking. Presenter Joe Lyset says, "The
8:25second half of our prance around Prague
8:27finds Adam Buckton and I in Letner Park.
8:31Grammatically, it should be finds Adam
8:35Buckton and me in Letner Park as Adam
8:38and Joe are the objects of the verb to
8:41find. Well done if you caught that
8:43mistake. There's some rich highlevel
8:46language in the first sentence of the
8:48clip. Prance around Prague. Why prance
8:53and not walk or wander? Well, I think
8:56Joe chose this word for two reasons.
8:58Firstly, we have the lovely
9:01Prance around Prague. So satisfying to
9:04say. The repetition of the P sound at
9:07the beginning of these two words is
9:09callediteration. It's a literary device
9:12often found in novels, poetry, and
9:14drama. We explore this and many other
9:16advanced techniques in the C2 program.
9:19I'm so excited to launch it very early
9:21next year. Understanding them is key to
9:24catching the subtle nuances and word
9:27play proficient speakers use. Second,
9:30prance has a double meaning with people.
9:33It means to walk energetically with more
9:36movement than necessary, almost like
9:38dancing. But it can also be used to
9:40describe the way a horse moves. If a
9:43horse prances, it moves quickly with
9:46small high steps. Joe's word choice
9:48gives us a playful image of him and Adam
9:51happily dancing around Prague and it
9:53neatly leads into the next part of the
9:55program where they ride a carousel, a
9:57children's ride with model horses that
10:00go round and round. English is full of
10:02these playful double meanings or puns,
10:05but you need an excellent grasp of
10:08vocabulary and nuance to catch them.
10:10Let's take a look at some more tricky
10:11language from the clip. We'll hear
10:13Adam's request to ride the carousel and
10:15Joe's response one more time.
10:17>> Can we go on that, please?
10:19>> Yes. Okay. As long as you sign a waiver
10:20because it was built in 1894 and it
10:23almost certainly doesn't stand up to
10:25modern safety standards.
10:26>> First up, sign a waiver. If you sign a
10:30waiver, you officially agree in writing
10:33that you won't hold someone legally
10:35responsible for any harm, damage, or
10:37loss that might occur, often before
10:40participating in a potentially dangerous
10:42activity. It basically means that you
10:44can't sue anyone if you get injured. Joe
10:47jokes that Adam should do this because
10:48the ride doesn't stand up to, meaning
10:52doesn't meet modern safety standards.
10:55Here, Joe is clearly being sarcastic.
10:58How do we know? While riding a carousel
11:00is not generally considered to be a
11:02particularly hazardous activity, his
11:04tone of voice gives us another clue.
11:06Now, sarcasm is a key feature of so much
11:10British comedy, and these two comedians
11:12are well known for using copious amounts
11:15of the stuff. Copious amounts of
11:17sarcasm. We've got more sarcasm when
11:19Adam says, "The horses are beautiful."
11:22And Joe replies with
11:23>> beautiful is one word.
11:24>> Notice how his intonation rises at the
11:26end. This suggests that he hasn't quite
11:28finished thinking and we can infer from
11:31his tone of voice that he would probably
11:33choose a very different word to describe
11:35them. To infer something means to reach
11:37a conclusion about what a speaker means
11:40even if they don't say it directly or
11:42explicitly. This is also known as
11:45reading between the lines. The ability
11:47to pick up on these subtle cues and
11:50deduce meaning without explicit words is
11:53an essential skill from C1 level up. The
11:56next part of the clip includes some more
11:59challenging horse related vocabulary.
12:02Hide is the skin of animals used to make
12:05leather. Horsehide is horse leather.
12:08Steed is another word for horse,
12:11specifically a horse that's ridden.
12:13Saddle up means to put a seat like this
12:18on a horse and ride it. Another thing
12:20that makes this sentence potentially
12:22confusing is the cultural reference. Did
12:26you spot it? The phrase, "I love the
12:28smell of horsehide in the morning," is a
12:31playful nod to a famous quote from the
12:34film Apocalypse Now. Lieutenant Colonel
12:36Kilgore ironically says, "I love the
12:39smell of napalm in the morning." There
12:41are a couple more cultural references
12:43here, too. Joe sarcastically compares
12:45the carousel ride to rides at Thor Park,
12:49a famous amusement park in England,
12:51which has much scarier rides than this
12:53carousel. And did you spot another
12:55participle clause in there? That's
12:57right, it's this. What do you think this
12:59participle clause is a reduced form of?
13:02Let me know in the comments. I
13:04definitely recommend watching the series
13:06if you want to get a better
13:07understanding of British humor,
13:09especially sarcasm. Are interested in
13:12poetic language such as alliteration and
13:14word play. And if you enjoy references
13:16to popular culture, I've watched a few
13:19of the episodes and the language used in
13:20them is super super high level. So give
13:23them a go if you really want to
13:24challenge yourself. Our final clip today
13:26is from a documentary called Jaime's
13:29Dyslexia Revolution. It's presented by
13:31the famous British chef Jamie Oliver.
13:34Here Jaime shares his experience growing
13:36up with dyslexia. This is a condition
13:38that generally makes it difficult for
13:40someone to read and write, but it does
13:42not affect intelligence. Let's listen.
13:45>> In the 80s, the dyslexia word was used
13:47very rarely. being extracted for special
13:49needs during a class is like is not
13:52cool. And he always came with a little
13:54bit of a tag and a little bit of a kind
13:55of I guess a dun's hat. It doesn't take
13:57long for feelings of like being stupid,
14:00being sick, being dumb, not being
14:02bright. Even in the primary school
14:03level, that was already in my psyche. I
14:05kind of wrote myself off. So that's why
14:07for me like cooking absolutely saved me.
14:10>> Perhaps one of the first things you
14:11noticed in that clip was Jaime's use of
14:14the word like. This word is used a lot
14:16in English as a filler. In these
14:18phrases, like is not cool and like
14:22cooking absolutely saved me. The word
14:24doesn't really have any meaning. Jaime's
14:27probably using it to give himself more
14:29time to organize his thoughts. In this
14:33>> feelings of like being stupid, being
14:34sick, being dumb, not being bright. It's
14:37used as a more informal alternative to
14:39for example or for instance.
14:42Understanding multiple meanings of the
14:44same word and being able to use fillers
14:46when speaking is really important at C2
14:49level. Before we look at some of the C2
14:51language from this clip, let's take a
14:53moment to analyze the first sentence.
14:56Jaime's precise turn of phrase, the
14:59dyslexia word, is quite unusual.
15:02Normally, we'd say something like the
15:05term dyslexia. By inverting the typical
15:07word order, Jamie mirrors the structure,
15:11the letter word. This is a euphemism
15:14used to avoid using unpleasant or
15:17offensive swear words like the f word.
15:20Jaime likely used this particular
15:22structure to highlight that in the 80s,
15:24dyslexia was treated as a taboo subject,
15:27just like swear words are considered
15:29taboo. Do you notice any more unusual
15:32word order here? Perhaps you picked up
15:34on was used very rarely. Again, the
15:37typical or neutral word order here would
15:39be very rarely used. By placing the
15:42adverb phrase at the end of the
15:44sentence, Jamie draws attention to very
15:47rarely, emphasizing the frequency or
15:49lack of in this case. Adverb order in
15:52English is really challenging and that's
15:54why I've made sure to include it in the
15:55C2 program. The second sentence is
15:58really interesting, too. Here, Jaime's
16:00talking about when he was taken out of
16:02class because of his different learning
16:04needs. And yes, that's another
16:06participle clause. This is probably a
16:08reduced form of the act or experience of
16:13being extracted for special needs.
16:16However, instead of using the more
16:17common phrase taken out of, Jamie
16:20chooses the word extracted.
16:23To extract means to remove something,
16:26especially with force or effort. We
16:29often use this word with surgery. You
16:32have a tooth extracted at the dentist,
16:34for example. So Jaime's precise choice
16:36of word here suggests to the listener
16:38that this was a painful, traumatic
16:41experience for him. Next, we have a
16:43dun's hat. Again, there's a cultural
16:46reference here that makes this term
16:48difficult. A dunce's hat is a tallointed
16:52hat like this that some children were
16:56forced to wear in class if the teacher
16:58thought that they were learning too
16:59slowly. It was used in classrooms in
17:02Europe and America. And the idea was to
17:04shame the child in front of their
17:06classmates. Now Jaime isn't saying that
17:08he literally had to wear a dancers's
17:10hat. This practice died out long ago,
17:13thank goodness. rather he is using the
17:15term metaphorically to express that he
17:18felt ashamed of being labeled dyslexic.
17:21Next we have the word psyche. This is a
17:24formal word which refers to the mind and
17:27a person's deepest feelings and beliefs.
17:29So in this sentence Jamie saying that
17:32deep down he felt stupid. Our last
17:34advanced phrase from the clip is the
17:37phrasal verb to write somebody off. If
17:40you write somebody off, you decide that
17:42someone is a failure and will never be
17:45successful. And this is often an unfair
17:47judgment. Sadly, Jaime actually wrote
17:50himself off, likely due to the way he
17:52was treated at school. I recommend
17:54watching this documentary as it has a
17:57really interesting mix of formal and
17:59informal language. Later on in the
18:01program, Jaime speaks to various
18:03politicians about trying to change the
18:06British education laws. I've included
18:08the script of the clip along with
18:10interesting language analysis in the PDF
18:13that goes along with this lesson. So,
18:15lovely students, that brings us to the
18:17end of this lesson. We've gone through a
18:19lot of really advanced language today,
18:21but we've only just scratched the
18:23surface. If this lesson has wetted your
18:26appetite, don't miss out on the updates
18:28for my brand new C2 program. Sign up to
18:31the waiting list. The QR code is there,
18:34or you can click the link in the
18:35description box. I will see you soon for
