Vocabulary is not enough

Today I would like to comment on nonverbal communication. Lately we have touched on the power of intonation. As you know, there are lots of factors that influence the perceived meaning of a statement. Generally speaking, body language accounts for 55 % of what you “say”. Intonation is responsible for 38% of the message and, of course, the remaining 7% depends on your choice of words. That’s a pretty rough average. The bottom line is: your vocabulary is not necessarily as important as we believe. That said, there are situations in which your words are far more powerful. Just think about a phone conversation: little body language there, right? And how about emails? Can emojis match the power of intonation? In those cases vocabulary is key. In terms of communication, things get even trickier when you consider the connotations of certain words or the radically different meanings of some words in different dialects of a language. But I'm not going to deal with those issues because they belong to the advanced levels.

At any rate we need a repertoire. Look at these options: I (don’t think I can) agree with you on that. I’m a little bit skeptical of it. I’m not really convinced. That’s a fair point. I see your point but... They go well beyond the rather elementary I agree and I disagree, don't they? 

Does it mean that I can communicate effectively if I know a whole page of expressions? Not really. Your attitude affects people’s reactions to your words. Dramatically. Just consider these different replies to an indiscreet question: 

Formal	Friendly	Potentially offensive
I’d rather not discuss that	I’m not going to tell you that	That’s none of your business
I’m not sure I follow you	What do you mean?	What’s your point?

How do people respond to those sentences? There's not just one answer. Depending on your intonation the question what do you mean? may sound concerned, distant, funny or friendly. What's your point? can express surprise, impatience or aggressiveness... It all boils down to intonation.

In short, building your vocabulary is essential when you’re learning a language but you should bear in mind that there are many, many other factors that can alter the intended meaning of what you say. And remember that sometimes even the extralinguistic circumstances can make comprehension difficult. An example of that is this clip I recorded a couple of days ago:

Phrasal verbs and storytelling

Funnily enough we are all dealing with the skills that allow us to tell a story in an interesting way. In the process we have learnt some stimulating vocabulary (silver bullet, major, page-turner) as well as some useful phrasal verbs (come down with something, get away with something, look up to somebody, look down on somebdoy). But since the main focus of the current lessons is the art of storytelling I’m going to ask you to consider the differences between these two versions of a story that one of you told at school.

The bare bones version

I read about a man and a woman from America who were building a house. The woman thought she was sick and went to see a doctor. After some tests, the doctor told her she had cancer. It was extremely surprising for the man and the woman but they decided to continue building the house. Now she is getting better and she thinks that building the house helped her face her problem. There is always something positive in negative situations.

This is certainly not perfect but looks a lot better:

Just last week I read a story about an American couple who agreed to build the house of their dreams themselves. One day the woman, who had been feeling sick for some time, decided to see a doctor about some chest pains. After running some tests the doctors asked her to come back. Eventually she was diagnosed with cancer, which came as a shock to both her and her husband. However they chose to focus their attention on the house they were building. She is now gradually recovering and they both live in the house they built together. She is convinced that she wouldn’t have known how to handle the situation if they hadn’t had a project like the house. Apparently it is true that every cloud has a silver lining.

You see the differences? Now you know what to do. The next time you feel the need to say something like I thought Mr. Sheil’s behavior was bad make an effort to come up with something along the lines of It was then that I realized how unprofessional Mr. Sheil had been. Just an example.

Avanzado 1 and Avanzado 2. Remember the essay I asked you to write. You’re supposed to discuss your views on the following statement: Most people waste their leisure time on meaningless activities. Don’t forget it is due next Friday.

Learn phrasal verbs with little Becky

So. How do you feel? Tired of so much new vocabulary? Should I dial it down a little? I'll give it some serious thinking.

This time I must say I’m glad that all my students are working on the same topic. Believe it or not, the art of story-telling is indeed a necessary skill you should try to master. It’s something we all do every day whenever we choose to answer questions like how was your day, honey? or every time we meet a friend and say you will not believe what happened to me this morning. That's story-telling, isn't it? The truth is some of you have come up with some refreshing, thought-provoking six-word stories:

So far so good, she said.

I was not on the list.

Finally he came to my life.

It turned out she was alive

We'll keep on working on that and I guarantee that we’ll soon come back to the first unit, which deals with personal descriptions and first impressions (remember?) but it's time to get ready to tackle our next obsession: phrasal verbs.

For the time being, you may check out this hilarious video featuring an eight-year-old Irish girl who calls a demolition company to have her school destroyed. The clip has been around for about six years but I think it’s definitely worth watching. Some of the vocabulary is interesting but this time I would like you to pay close attention to the phrasal verbs that are used: knock down, tear down, blow up, get away with, fall down.

The sound quality is considerably better in this version of the prank which, inconveniently enough, doesn't have subtitles. Enjoy

N.B. Avanzado 1: Remember to write a fifty-word story.

Beyond the verb to be part 2

Hi everyone! How are things? Still trying to find time to practise your English? This time I've decided to post a brief video which (yet again) emphasizes the need to kick old habits such as those basic descriptions that rely on the verb to be. The difference between It's nice and It's enthralling lies in the use of a thesaurus. The syntax is identical.

Beyond the verb to be

I was reading about Beautiful Girls (one of my favorite movies) and I came across an description of Uma Thurman, one of the great actresses in that film. These are just three lines of that review:

Uma Thurman has been systematically compared to screen legends of Hollywood’s Golden Era: Dietrich, Garbo and Lauren Bacall. Like them (…) she projects a special allure, a magnetic aura of self-possession, sophistication and intelligence.

Check this out:

The writer says	An intermediate student would probably say
She has been systematically compared to	She is like
Screen legends	famous actresses
She projects a special allure	She is very attractive
Self-possession	Self-confidence

So… How can we make our descriptions more interesting? Well. First of all, people don’t need to be things. They can make you feel good. They can project an aura. They can look like the gorgeous neighbor next door. They can turn your stomach. They can inspire you to do something. You can melt when you see them. You can look up to them or look down on them. You can find them interesting. You can say you don’t think much of them. There are so many alternatives to “they are”.

Next time you talk about someone in particular bear all this in mind. Your audience might appreciate it. I know your English teacher certainly will.

My interrogative mood

So… do you have the feeling that you have already learnt something in my classes? Are you aware that both learnt and learned are grammatically acceptable? Have you realized that I am writing in questions? Do you know that there is a book (a whole book!) whose entire text is made up of questions? Do you doubt that I have bought and read that book? Are you growing tired of reading interrogative sentences? How many versions of “can you repeat that” are part of your productive English? Would you rather say uh or I beg your pardon? Do you favor unconventional questions like where do you stand on this? and what’s your take on that? or do you prefer boring phrases like what do you think about it? ? Are you familiar with what’s your slant on this? ? Have you already incorporated you have a point and fair enough into your idiolect or are you still stuck with I agree and I disagree? Would you agree with someone who claims that the intermediate level is about just getting the message across? Do you even try to use what I call "unnecessary expressions" such like, you know, sort of, the thing is, actually, etc? Do you settle for being understood or strive to speak real English? Do you have your own idea of what real English is? Do you remember which student said “oh my!” in class? Have you clicked on the previous “oh my” out of curiosity? Now that you have, have you recognized George Takei? Are you ready to be blown away? Will you click on this? What do you think about it? Would you buy it?