My Watching Suggestions

I often give my students the advice to listen to the native speakers of English as much as possible. I did it at least twice this week - first when we discussed the formation of listening comprehension skills at the lecture and then during a lively spontanious discussion in class about improving pronunciation. So I wondered if they usually follow it and do as I say having a wide range of possibilities at their hands. And I also thought that one can get lost in the amount of available videos on the Internet and that English learners may need a guide in the world of English-speaking Youtubers.

I personally think that watching vlogs and following British native speakers is a good idea both if you want to improve your English systematically and if your goal is to brush up the language from time to time. You can also learn a lot about the culture and the lifestyle.

As the Halloween vibes are still in the air I chose the videos which can give you the idea what place this traditinal holiday takes in the lives of common British people.

Video 1

Watch how British fashion blogger Emma Hill gets ready for Halloween - she and her husband Simon visit the pumpkin patch to buy pumpkins (see how long the queue is there - they say that queuing is a British tradition :) Pay attention how much the British love their dogs.

Video 2

This one is a tutorial how to make a Halloween pumpkin display. The British like DIY projects when it comes to decorating home for a holiday. Pay attention how Debs pronounces some words with the sound [ʌ] - it's actually [ʊ], this accent is common for the north of England.

I hope you didn't find the suggested videos too difficult. It's OK if you don't understand every word, just try to get a general idea. Let me know in the comments if you want me to post such watching suggestions from time to time.