Vanessa:
Are you ready to level up your vocabulary so that you can express
yourself completely? Well, good news. Today, you are going to learn some key expressions that
will help you to express yourself in daily life, and I guarantee you will hear these expressions
in movies and TV shows, so when you watch them, you'll be able to understand them more easily.
Hi, I'm Vanessa from speakenglishwithvanessa.com. A few weeks ago, you might have watched this
video where my husband Dan and I talked
about education in the US. In that conversation, we
used some important vocabulary expressions that I would like you to be able to use comfortably
and naturally when you speak. So today we're going to go over those expressions and I hope that
you'll be able to add them to your vocabulary and never forget them. But a great way to never
forget these expressions is to download the free PDF worksheet for today's lesson.
It includes all of today's expressions, definitions, sample sentences, and
at the
bottom of the worksheet you can answer Vanessa's challenge question so that you never
forget what you've learned. You can click on the link in the description to download that
free PDF worksheet today. All right, let's get started with the first expression so that you
can improve your vocabulary and express yourself completely. The first expression is out of pocket.
In the conversation we said that parents have to pay for preschool out of pocket. This means
that they have to pay for
it themselves. It is not provided by the government. There is no
subsidy. It's something that parents have to pay for themselves. Or you could say that in the
US usually a company will pay a percentage of your health insurance and you have to pay the
other percentage out of pocket. That means you are responsible for paying for it. All right,
what we're going to do in today's lesson is we're going to watch the original clip from the
conversation that uses this key expression out of pocket. S
o right now we're going to watch that
clip and then we'll go on to the next expression. Dan:
In a lot of cases, this is not provided by the state.
Vanessa: Yeah, this is something that parents
have to pay for out of pocket. Dan:
Mm-hmm. In a lot of cases, this is not provided by the state.
Vanessa: Yeah, this is something that parents
have to pay for out of pocket. Dan:
Mm-hmm. Vanessa:
Important expression number two is to pull out of a hat. We're talking
about a figurative hat here In the
conversation we said that charter schools pull kids' names
out of a hat to decide who gets to go to that school. They don't judge the students by their
grades or by their merit. Anything else? Nope. They just randomly and spontaneously choose a
child due to their name being pulled out of the hat. You could also say that for Christmas, my
family pulls names out of a hat to decide who to buy a gift for. This way we don't need to buy
a gift for 10 people. We just pull a name out of a hat and t
hat's the person we buy a nice gift
for. All right, let's watch the clip. You just sign up and they pull a kid's name out of a hat.
Totally random and if you get it, you get it. And if you don't, you don't. You just sign
up and they pull a kid's name out of a hat. Totally random and if you get it, you
get it. And if you don't, you don't. Important expression number three is vastly. In
the conversation we said, just because you pay for a school doesn't mean that it's vastly
better than a fr
ee school. You need to make sure that the academics are actually what you
want them to be before you pay for it. Maybe you should do this for a public school as well.
Make sure that it's the kind of education you want your child to be getting. You can also say,
I vastly underestimated how challenging this hike would be. This is a common expression that we put
together vastly underestimated. That means, well, I thought this hike would be pretty simple. I just
wore sandals. I just packed a li
ttle water bottle, a little snack, but I vastly underestimated how
challenging it would be. This hike is really hard. All right, let's watch the original clip. And
there's varying degrees of quality. Just because you're paying for it doesn't mean that it's going
to be vastly better quality and there's varying degrees of quality. Just because you're paying
for it doesn't mean that it's going to be vastly better quality. Important expression number
four is as of. If I just said as of to you,
you would probably say, "What?" But it
makes a lot more sense in a sentence. In the conversation I asked the question, what
percentage of Americans are homeschooling as of 2021? This means at or starting on a certain
date. So around 2021, how many students in the US do you think are homeschooled? Well, you'll
have to watch the original video to find out. Another way you can use this is if you are a
parent, you might say, "As of 8:00 AM I have already done so much." Sometimes in the morning
I look at the clock and say, "It's only 8:00 AM," or, "It's only 10:00 AM." You feel like you have
done so much in the morning. As of 8:00 AM I've already done so much. All right, let's watch
the clip. What percent of American children are homeschooling as of 2021? What percent of
American children are homeschooling as of 2021? Important expression number five is
good-hearted. In the conversation, Dan said, "I know there are a lot of good-hearted
people in the education system, but the edu
cation system is still broken." Well, he wanted to say
that there are a lot of nice kind teachers who have good intentions in the system, but they're
just trying their best in a broken system, at least according to Dan. We often use this
expression in a comparative sort of way. The system is broken, but there are good-hearted
people in that system still. Or you could say, "I don't agree with everything he says, but
I know he's a good-hearted person." Okay, you're trying to compare and kind
of give
someone something positive to say. All right, let's watch the original clip.
Dan: Not to say that there's not a lot of good-hearted
people in the system. I just think that the system is, well, it might sound a little cliche, but
it's broken. Not to say that there's not a lot of good-hearted people in the system. I just think
that the system is, well, it might sound a little cliche, but it's broken.
Vanessa: Yeah. Important expression number six is
a phrasal verb, to look down on. We
're using this figuratively. You can kind of get the
sense of superiority. So you could say from the conversation, just like we did, you are looked
down on if you choose a different educational system. If you don't follow the mainstream
option, other people look down on you and say, "Why would you choose that? This is obviously
the best choice," but here in the US this is not the case. You are not looked down on if
you choose something different. Unfortunately, this is something that happen
s a lot in schools.
You might say the other students look down on him because he doesn't wear the right brand name of
clothes. Unfortunately, students can also be quite mean to each other and if someone doesn't wear
nice clothes, a certain brand name of clothes, they might look down on him. Sometimes that just
happens. All right, let's watch the original clip. Everyone uses the same education system
and deviating from that norm is really unusual in that culture.
Dan: Yeah, or even looked do
wn on.
Vanessa: Everyone uses the same education system and
deviating from that norm is really unusual in that culture.
Dan: Yeah, or even looked down on.
Vanessa: Important expression number seven is actually
a reduction, shoulda, the full expression is should have, but when we're speaking we just
reduce the word have to sound like uh and it's shoulda. In the conversation, Dan said, "I shoulda
thought of that." Sometimes also the second of is reduced. I shoulda have thought of that. Oh,
I
shoulda thought of that. And this means that something didn't happen or you didn't think of
something but you wish you had. Let me give you another example. I knew there was a chance of rain
today. I shoulda brought my umbrella. This means, well you didn't bring your umbrella but you wish
you had. I shoulda brought my umbrella. All right, let's watch the original clip and listen for that
pronunciation. I shoulda thought of that. That's why you think it's so high.
Dan: Dang it. I shoulda thou
ght about that.
Vanessa: Okay, that's why you think it's so high.
Dan: Dang it. I shoulda thought about that.
Vanessa: Okay, important expression number eight is on the
rise. We said in the conversation that graduating from high school is on the rise. Can you guess
what this means? It's increasing. More and more people are graduating from school. Other
things are also increasing in our world today, you might say the cost of housing in the
US is on the rise in general. All right, let's watch
the original clip. All of the charts
that I saw were all going up. So finishing high school and college are definitely on the rise.
All of the charts that I saw were all going up. So finishing high school and college are definitely
on the rise. Important expression number nine is a little bit tricky it's um by um. And in that
blank we can add a bunch of different expressions. So I'd like to give you a couple examples. Let's
take a look at what we said in the conversation. In the conversatio
n we asked, is college
important in the US? And we answered, well, it's probably family by family. And that means
there's not one answer for everyone, it's just on an individual basis. So one family might have
a different value about college than another family. It's probably just family by family.
Let me give you another example. At the bank, loans are given out on a case by case basis. That
means they don't just give loans to everyone, even not everyone who fits into a certain category.
It's just an individual basis, a case by case basis. This fixed expression case by case basis is
something that you'll hear a lot in movies and TV shows and you can add it to your own vocabulary
too. All right, let's watch the original clip so that you can see how um by um was used.
Dan: In my social circle, it was super important
and I think this is probably family by family. Vanessa:
I would say it's almost expected. Dan:
In my social circle, it was super important and I think this is proba
bly family by family.
Vanessa: I would say it's almost expected. Important
expression number 10 is for what you get out of it. This is kind of a long expression, so we'll
break it down a little bit. In the conversation we were talking about how college or university in
the US is really expensive. So we said college is way too expensive for what you get out of it.
It here is the college education. So it's the knowledge that you get, the degree that you
get. It's really expensive and it shoul
d be, in our opinion, less expensive for what you
get out of it. You're not guaranteed a job, you're not guaranteed anything and maybe that
education didn't really prepare you for a specific job or for the real world. So here
we're using it in this negative way. College is too expensive for what you get out of it,
but you can use this in a positive way too. If you ask my Fearless Fluency Club students,
this is my paid course, if you ask those students, is the course worth it for what you ge
t out of it?
I hope that they will say, "Absolutely," like one of my students Gely said, "This is the best course
I've ever had." So for her she thinks that it is worth it for what you get out of it. The price is
equal or maybe even less compared to the results and the reward at the end. It is absolutely worth
it. Maybe it will be for you too. If you would like to become my Fearless Fluency Club student,
you can click on the link in the description to start speaking confidently in English t
oday. All
right, let's take a look at the original clip. Dan:
It's just way too expensive for what you get out of it and it doesn't really
prepare you and all this stuff. It's just way too expensive for what you get out of it and it
doesn't really prepare you and all this stuff. Vanessa:
Important expression number 11, to mean something. The word mean can mean a lot,
but here in the conversation, this is how we used it. A four year degree still means something.
That means it holds value. Ev
en though, like I just said, college in the US is way too expensive.
Well the truth is a four year degree still means something. It still has some kind of value. If you
are a child in the classroom, you might receive your homework back with a sticker on the top and
you could say that sticker means something. You don't even need to explicitly say it means that I
did a good job. We often just use this expression with the word something. It means something and
it's implied that there's some ki
nd of positive value. A four year degree means something,
that sticker on my paper means something. And what we're implying is that it means something
positive, something that we want to have happen. All right, let's take a look at the original clip
so that you can use to mean something yourself. Dan:
They'll just kind of assume that that means a lot. So I do think it does mean something.
Unfortunately, I don't think it has to be. They'll just kind of assume that that means a lot. So I
do t
hink it does mean something. Unfortunately, I don't think it has to be.
Vanessa: Important expression number 12 is assertive,
assertive. In the conversation I said if you're an assertive person, you can get a good job. This
means that your confidence, sometimes kind of a forceful personality where you are taking new
opportunities, you're volunteering for things, you're not just sitting in the background waiting
for things to happen. You are an assertive person. You're looking for that job, y
ou're applying
for the jobs, you're messaging back after the job interview. You are an assertive person.
Maybe you're not naturally an assertive person, but you could say this, "I haven't always been
an assertive person, but it's been a skill that I've grown over time." And that's true. It doesn't
always come naturally to people to be assertive, but you can grow this skill step-by-step. All
right, let's take a look at the original clip. If you are an assertive person who has done
a lot of
alternative experiences, now this takes a specific personality type I think.
If you are an assertive person who has done a lot of alternative experiences, now this takes
a specific personality type I think. Important expression number 13 goes with that previous word
assertive and it is of your own volition. This great word volition kind of sounds like voluntary
or volunteer. It's something that you're not required to do, it's something that you choose to
do. And usually this is seen as a pos
itive thing. So in the conversation I said that Laura, the
person who has been working for my business as a copywriter, she took copywriting classes of her
own volition. No manager or boss required her to do this. She said, "You know what? I want to learn
a new skill. I want to grow this skill. So I'm going to take some classes of my own volition."
Notice that this word always matches the subject. I am going to take classes of my own volition.
He's going to take classes of his own volition.
This is something that bosses and managers
are always looking for. The boss might say, "I gave him the promotion because he's always
fixing problems of his own volition." This means he's assertive. He's the one who's trying to fix
the problem. He's not waiting for someone else to ask him to do it. He's doing it of his own
volition. All right, let's take a look at how this was used in the original conversation. She
had taken some classes of her own volition and really done it. And that's wh
y I hired her.
And she's been amazing. She had taken some classes of her own volition and really done it and
that's why I hired her. And she's been amazing. Our final important expression is kind of a
grammatical expression, and it is would have. It's often pronounced woulda. In the conversation
I said, "I would have loved to do that." We were talking about taking a gap year. This is taking
a little break after high school before you go on to college or university. It's not a common thing
in the US but for me, I said, "I would have loved to do that." This would have fit my personality
really well and I think it would have helped me. But just a little note, this is grammatically
incorrect. I said in the conversation, "I would have loved to do that," or, "I woulda,"
reducing have to a. I would've loved to do that. But the word do is kind of incorrect. Instead,
we should say, "I would have loved to have done that." But the truth of the matter is that in
spoken English we often
use the more simple verb tense. So it's more common, even though
it's technically incorrect, it's more common to just say, "I would've loved to do that."
So you can kind of forget using the more complicated verb tense in this phrase. Good news.
All right, let's watch the original clips that you can see how this was used. Europeans who
were doing that gap year, and I felt really jealous like, oh, I would've loved to do that,
but it's just not an American culture. Europeans who were doing that
gap year, and I felt really
jealous like, oh, I would've loved to do that, but it's just not an American culture.
Well, congratulations on the leveling up your vocabulary so that you can express yourself
more fully. Don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet for today's lesson with all of these
expressions, definitions, sample sentences. And there is a quiz at the bottom of this worksheet.
So when you download that free PDF worksheet, you can take the quiz and test yourself to see
if
you can really use these expressions yourself. You can click on the link in the description to
download that free PDF worksheet today. And now I have a question for you. Are you a naturally
assertive person or is it a skill that you have to work on? Let me know in the comments and
I can't wait to learn more about you. Well, thank you so much for learning English with me and
I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. But wait, do you
want more? I recomm
end watching this video next, which is the original conversation that we just
saw a couple clips from. And you will also see why Dan did not go to school until he was 13 years
old. I'll see you in that video to find out why.
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