Preface and Introduction WATCH FREE
This video introduces the Speakit.tv Online Language Learning Course, what it includes, and how it works.
Video 1: Things You Need to Know WATCH FREE
It’s so important to make a good first impression. Greeting people with a polite “How are you today?” and saying “Please” and “Thank you” is a great way to start!
In this video, you’ll learn some keywords and sentences used in polite, everyday conversation. If you’re looking to chat, this is where you should start!
Video 2: Starting to Speak WATCH FREE
When you’re in a foreign country, nothing is familiar. You need to find out “Who?”, “What?”, “When?”, “Where”, “Why?”, and “How?”. You also need to understand the answers to these questions. After all, if there are two buses, and you want to know “which one” to take, you had better know the difference between “this one” and “that one”, or you’ll get lost very fast! And if you do find the right bus, how will you know when it leaves, unless you know the difference between “now” and “later”?
In this video, you’ll learn all of the question words, as well as possible answers, including pronouns and some prepositions. You’ll need these basic building blocks for many of the other videos in this course.
Video 3: How Much, How Many?
In this video, you’ll learn some words for sizes and amounts:
- How much water is in the bottle? “A little.”
- How much money is in your wallet? “Not enough.”
- How many sugars do you take in your coffee? “A bit more.”
These words will come in handy when shopping, ordering food at a restaurant, asking for directions, and more. Oh, and here’s one more example:
- How much do you think you’ll learn from this video? “Lots!”
Video 4: Common Questions
When visiting a foreign country, it always pays to have a list of prepared questions, such as:
- Where am I?
- How far is it to…?
- Can I please have…?
- Can you help me, please?
- What does… mean?
This video will teach you all of these useful questions and many more—but don’t forget to learn the “answers” from the other videos in this course, as well!
Video 5: Important Words
Every language has its “little words”, such as “in”, “on”, “to”, “from”, “but”, and “or”. These words are in almost every sentence, and they usually have different meanings in different contexts. But there’s no avoiding it. You have to know them because, without them, you can’t speak!
In this video, you’ll learn all of the prepositions and conjunctions. They may be little, but their importance in language is pretty big!
Video 6: Adjectives
Sometimes, you need to describe things in order to pay someone a compliment, complain about bad service, or simply make a statement.
- Is the tourist attraction “beautiful” or “ugly”?
- Is the food at the restaurant “hot” or “cold”?
- Is the hotel room “clean” or “dirty”?
- Is the rental car’s gas tank “full” or “empty”?
In this video, you’ll learn how to use adjectives to describe people, places, and things.
Video 7: Numbers
In this video, you will learn regular numbers, ordinal numbers, fractions, and other words related to numbers.
If you watch this “one” video just “once”, you’ll be “first” place in learning numbers!
Video 8: Colors
“Red”, “orange”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue”, “purple”…
In this video, you’ll learn all the colors of the rainbow! In fact, this video is pure “gold”!
Video 9: Days of the Week
In this video, you will learn the days of the week, as well as other day-related words, such as “yesterday”, “next week”, and so on.
Hey, don’t put this off till “tomorrow”! You really need to watch this video “today”.
Video 10: Telling the Time
In this video, you will learn how to ask what time it is, how to tell the time, and…
Excuse me? What did you say? You’re asking me, “What time is it?”
No, it’s not “quarter to five” or “two o’clock in the afternoon”. It’s time to watch this video, that’s what time it is!
Video 11: Personal Details
You know, traveling has its ups and downs. One of the downs is filling in forms at airports, hotels, car rental services, etc, and every one of those forms asks for your “first name”, “last name”, “address”, “passport number”, and “signature”, at the very least.
In this video, you will learn how to fill in a form, so that you can get through this chore quickly.
Video 12: Hotels WATCH FREE
Once you’ve landed safely, you’ll want to head over to your hotel. What? You didn’t make a reservation in advance? Oh, no!
Well, you’d better watch this video to learn how to reserve a hotel room, make sure that the room meets your needs, and find your way around the hotel.
When you say, “I need a room for one night, for two adults and two children, with a bathroom”, hopefully, the hotel clerk won’t tell you, “Sorry, everything’s taken”…
Video 13: Car Rentals
After arranging a hotel, of course, you’ll need a car. You’ll have a lot of requests:
- “I’d like to rent a car for a week.”
- “I’d like an automatic transmission.”
- “I’d like to pay by credit card.”
In this video, you will learn how to ask for all of these things and more. If you learn this lesson well, then hopefully the clerk at the car rental service will smile, say “Have a good trip!” and give you exactly the car you want.
Video 14: Friends and Business
This video builds on the basic conversational phrases and sentences you learned in video 1, “Things You Need to Know”, and explains how to hold a conversation for social or business purposes.
You’ll learn how to introduce people (“I’d like you to meet Mr…”), find out what they work at (“What do you do for a living?”), ask about their families (“How many children do you have?”), and more.
Video 15: A New Language
Anyone who’s new to a language knows that they won’t always be able to make themselves understood, and they won’t really understand everything said to them.
In this video, you will learn a few things to say to get yourself out of such “jams”, such as “Does anyone here speak…?”, “Please speak more slowly”, and “Can you repeat that?”
Yes, sure I can. I said, “In this video, you will learn a few things to say…” Just kidding!
Video 16: Phone Conversations
In face-to-face conversations, you can use your hands and facial expressions, or even ask a passerby to translate for you—but how can you make yourself understood on the phone?
In this video, you will learn how to have a conversation with someone on the telephone, from “Hello, may I please speak with” to “May I please leave a message” to “What’s the phone number of”.
Video 17: Restaurants and Food
Touring all day can make a person really hungry, and when you’re hungry, you’ll want to go to a restaurant and get something good to eat.
In this video, you’ll learn how to order food at a restaurant (“I’ll have…”), ask for more (“I’d like some more…”), and compliment the chef (“The meal was delicious”).
It’s a good thing that you only need to ask “How much is the bill?” at the end of the meal. You wouldn’t want to lose your appetite before the meal!
Video 18: Taxis
When you take a taxi, you might need to give the driver directions, such as:
- “Go straight.”
- “Turn right.”
- “Please stop after the traffic light.”
And speaking of directions, this video will direct you on how to order a taxi, explain to the taxi driver where you need to go and pay the bill.
Video 19: Public Transportation
There’s nothing like public transportation for getting to know a city! A train or bus will get you where you need to go while showing you different parts of the city: The streets… the buildings… the marketplace… the people… the—
Hey, don’t miss your stop!
Watch this video to learn how to locate a bus stop or train station (“Where’s the train/bus station, please?”), find out when the bus or train leaves (“When does the train/bus leave?”), and find out when to get off (“Where should I get off?”).
Video 20: Shopping
A trip abroad without going shopping? No such thing! You have to buy souvenirs for yourself and gifts for people back home.
Whether you’re the type of shopper who shouts “I’ll take it, I’ll buy it!” to everything the salesperson offers you, the type who says “I’m just looking”, or the type who immediately asks “Is there a discount?”, there are some words and phrases that everyone needs to know when they go shopping.
In this video, you will learn how to get help from a salesperson, ask about discounts, pay for your purchases, and more.
