Give Me Tea, Please
Natasha Broodie (lifewiththebige.com) has a new book called ‘Give Me Tea, Please’ (Amazon Link), which helps English learners sound more polite and less direct when speaking English. There are so many subtle nuances to pick up here and it’s never as simple as just translating from your mother tongue.
We cover many topics including: learning 4 languages at the same time, how to sound less rude, the differences between UK and US culture, and Natasha’s language learning mistakes.
Timestamps
These timestamps are for the video. Audio timestamps will be about 20 seconds ahead.
- 0:00 – Intro
- 3:29 – Who is Natasha?
- 4:43 -Why did you start teaching business English?
- 7:19 – How did learning 4 languages go?
- 9:48 – What would you do differently learning languages in the future?
- 14:57 – What does the book cover?
- 19:59 – Why are “You”, “What” and “Want” dangerous?
- 24:48 – Is the book suitable for all learners?
- 26:38 – Is formal language suitable for all situations?
- 29:07 – Have you spent time in the UK?
- 31:49 – Is ‘politeness’ different in the UK and the US?
- 36:46 – Are British people cold?
- 47:09 – What embarrassing language mistakes have you made?
- 52:33 – Where to find Natasha
“If you are willing to laugh at yourself, it is one of the best helpers to get you through learning a language.”
Vocabulary & Expressions
- Pendulum (29:34) – A weight hung from a point that swings from side to side, like in a Grandfather clock. It’s often used to refer to a situation that moves from one extreme to another extreme.
- In any way, shape or form (29:57) – Under any circumstances or conditions (a common phrase)
- Stark (32:23) – Complete, clear, well-defined (a stark difference)
- To flip flop (33:36) – To change your mind about something suddenly
- To step on someone’s toes (34:17) – To offend or bother someone
- Ripple effect (34:37) – An action that causes many other things to happen (like ripples getting larger in a lake)
- In your face (35:10) – Obvious and impossible to ignore
- To parade (43:10) – To display
- To shunt (45:05) – To push someone
- Solemn (45:56) – Not cheerful or smiling, serious
- To dabble (47:22) – To try something a little bit, but not get too deep into it
- Spot on (52:52) – Exactly correct
Where to Find Natasha
The Book – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo,
“Block out a chunk of time in your day and really just kind of absorb everything about that culture or language as much as possible.”
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