One of the biggest challenges of speakers of English as a second
We settle for a word that is not the right word, but it's close enough.
We settle for being general than being specific, and we settle for
and not sounding as intelligent and sophisticated and witty as
we may be in our native language.
And the reason why that happens is mostly vocabulary.
Now, if you haven't watched my video about how to enhance your speaking
vocabulary, then I really recommend that you watch it after watching this video.
I'm going to put a link to it in the description.
But what I said there is that usually when communicating, we have, a circle
of basic words that we retrieve rather easily, that are really easy
for us to use in a conversation.
We don't need to think much and we don't have to hesitate before using them.
And then there was another circle of words, that circle is the words
that you know, but you don't use, also known as passive vocabulary.
And that's like a really broad and incredible list of words
that when we hear those words, we know exactly what they mean.
But we never seem to be able to pull them out when we need them.
And what I recommend in that video is to focus on those words.
And the last circle is words that you don't know and you don't use.
And a lot of times people put all their efforts into learning words that they
don't know and they are less likely to use, and that is counterproductive.
So what I recommended in that video was to focus on taking
all that passive vocabulary and turning it into active vocabulary.
So, basically growing the smaller circle.
What I'm going to offer in this video and in the series of videos
#vocabularyupgrade is a list of words that are basic words, are
probably easy for you to retrieve.
But I'm going to offer different words for you to use instead of those words.
So these are probably words that you know or phrases that you
know, but you tend to never use.
So I would just point out those words to you, and at the same time, at the
end of the video so stick around until the end at the end of the video, I'm
going to share with you the technique and strategy to integrate it into your speech.
Because it's all nice and fun when you see a video and you're like, "Oh yeah,
these words", but then you never use it.
So we want you to see results.
So at the end, I'm going to share with you how you can actually
do that, so stick around.
If you are new to this channel, welcome.
And I want you to know that this is the right place for you if you want
to improve your confidence, your clarity, and your fluency in English.
And we are going to make you feel super happy about who you are and
how you speak in English, even if English is not your first language.
Let's get started with the first word.
So the first word is "I think".
We use "I think" all of the time, and that's totally fine.
You are a human being, and human beings think, and you want to share that.
But then you find yourself using, "I think, I think, I think, I think, I
think" all of the time, and sometimes you just want to vary it a bit, or
you want to sound smarter to yourself.
Again, it's not necessarily about the other person and how they perceive
you, it's about how you feel yourself, expressing yourself, hearing yourself
using the same word over and over again.
And as you feel more varied, it also boosts your confidence.
And when you're more confident, obviously, the words are more accessible in general.
Because nerves, and judgment, and anxiety all of these things
If you constantly say "I think", here are a few phrases that you can use instead.
I often use "I feel that okay?
It's a little different because "I feel" and "I think" are two different
emotions, but a lot of times I would use "I feel", instead of "I think".
"I feel that we really need to consider all our options first
"I feel" instead of "I think".
Or, "It seems to me that you are not really paying
attention to what I'm saying".
Now, yes, of course there are nuances, it's not exactly the same as "I think",
but this is yet another way that you can use instead of just saying "I think".
"It seems to me that, you know, this might not be the right decision for us".
Another phrase "If you ask me".
So I could say, "I think it's a little too soon", or I could say, "It's
a little too soon, if you ask me".
Or "If you ask me, it's a little too soon".
"As far as I can tell" that's another way to say "I think".
"I think that no one will forget this time".
"As far as I can tell, no one will ever forget this time".
"To me, things really need to change".
"To me "I think" "I think, things really need to change here".
"I think, things really need to change here".
"To me, things really need to change here".
This word pops up really easily whenever we experience this emotion,
But if you don't want to use "hard", and "hard" is also a harsh
word, then in some situations or in some context and it's very
direct so you could use other words.
Like "challenging".
It doesn't have the same connotations.
And also, that's another word, a fancier word, for the word "hard".
"It's a really challenging project".
"It's been really challenging for me lately".
Instead of, "It's been really hard for me lately".
Now I'm not saying you can't use "hard", but if you want to have that extra edge,
or you feel frustrated with the fact that that's the word that you go back to every
time you want to express something with that idea, then these are your options.
"It's not that simple, or "it's not so simple", or "it's not so
easy" that's another way to say "hard", but in a different way.
Okay?
So, yeah, you're not using fancy words here, but it's just another
way of expressing something that is immediate, that we constantly
"I don't know, the situation is really tricky".
Instead of "hard", right.
So it takes the edge off of it.
So if something is really hard, oh, use "hard".
But "tricky" is a little more subtle, so you might want to use that.
That's the thing about English and about becoming fluent, and
about enhancing your vocabulary.
A lot of times we look for those really nice, fancy words, those big words.
And that's great too, and I'm probably going to add those in this video series.
But I want to tell you sometimes the basic words that we use
And we could use different variations for each word because these are very,
very frequent words, and we don't want to get repetitive for ourselves.
We don't want to delete this word from our vocabulary, not at all.
So, sometimes if we want to be a bit more expressive, we could
"I'm genuinely happy for you".
Or "I'm so incredibly happy for you".
So we can upgrade it a little bit by adding an adverb that
And we can also use other words like, "I'm thrilled".
I actually love the word "thrilled".
Because I know for some of you it may sound a little over the top, but in
American English it is frequently used.
Like you don't have to be, "Aaa, my God, I'm so thrilled!"
"I'm thrilled to be here with you".
Instead of saying, "I'm happy to be here with you".
So don't feel like you're turning it into like a really, really excited teenager
when you use the word "thrilled".
And if you go to 'YouGlish', for example, you will see how
often it is being used in videos.
If you don't know YouGlish, you should, I'm going to put a link
to it in the description as well.
Another word you could use is "excited".
Again, it's not exactly the same, but it's another way of expressing
something, like happy about something or excited about something.
And yes, "excited" is also a little overused, but if you don't
use it that much, then you can definitely start using it more.
"I agree".
If you want to agree with something, you could say "Yes", or "I agree", or "Sure".
So these are the basic words that we use to show agreement with someone.
But here are a few more options.
"Absolutely".
"Definitely".
"Oh, I definitely agree with you".
You can even still used the word "agree", but you added something to it.
That's the upgrade I'm talking about.
Then you feel a bit more expressive.
Yeah, so it's not yet you using academic language.
Okay?
You want to be conversational.
And you will notice that great speakers, they don't use fancy words.
They don't use words other people don't understand, or words that
are rarely used in the language.
Because when you use that in speaking, it feels like you're a
little stuck up or maybe patronizing.
It feels like you're positioning yourself above others.
So, the purpose is not to find those fancy 10-syllable words, just like
something that is a little different.
It's like, that's it, that's enough, you don't have to say much
if you really agree with someone.
"I was just thinking the same thing".
All of them express "I agree".
"Important".
That's a word that we use a lot.
For example, "It's important that you remember that you need to
practice these words at home before you use it in a conversation".
"It's crucial that you practice these words at home first".
"It's essential for you to practice these words at home first".
"It's imperative that you learn the pronunciation of these words first before
you try to use them in a sentence".
So these are a few examples of how you can upgrade the word "important".
"I'm worried that we're not going to be there on time".
And the state that I am constantly in.
"I'm worried that we're not going to be there on time".
"I'm concerned that we're not going to be there on time".
Or "I'm afraid that we're not going to be there on time".
So, two more words to use instead of the word "worried".
"I want".
It's a primal word, we use it all of the time.
You do not want to delete it from your vocabulary.
I just said want like 5 billion times.
But here are two other ways to say "I want", just to make it more interesting.
"I want".
Instead of, "I want to get some coffee" "I feel like getting some coffee.
Or "I feel like drinking some coffee".
Or, "I would love to", "I'd love to go home after this".
Instead of, "I really want to go home after this".
So, instead of adding the word "really want" "I'd love to".
"Good "is a great word, but what if we say "valuable" instead, right?
It doesn't really change the meaning.
It's just, it makes it a bit more varied.
Maybe a little more sophisticated.
I don't know why I always go to like that British annunciation,
when I say the word "sophisticated".
Instead of, "It's a good idea" "It's a valuable idea".
"It's an exceptional idea", if you want to say something that is really good, right?
"It's worthwhile".
So these are just a few other words to use, instead of just
saying that something is good.
Now, what is the best way to start using those words in conversation or freely?
First of all, all the words, all the other words that I suggested are not challenging
words either to pronounce or to remember.
These are not like long words, or they're not that rare in the
conversation or in the language.
So, the thing is that you just need to use it a lot.
What I recommend is to take one substitution for each word,
and just one, don't overdo it.
This is why I didn't give you an a list of 6-7 different synonyms.
I mean, for that you can go to the dictionary and look for it.
I gave you common words that I know would not be too challenging to say, and that
will make it easy for you to use them.
So choose one word or one substitution that maybe you use, but you don't
use that often or maybe you don't use at all and write it down.
So now you have a list of 8 words.
Then I want you to say each of those new words out loud, like 5-6-10 times.
If you're not sure about the pronunciation, then Google
Make sure you know exactly how to pronounce each syllable.
And if one part is exceptionally challenging instead of, "really hard"
have you noticed what we just did here?
So if one part is exceptionally challenging, then you want to repeat that
part again and again and again and again.
Okay?
So that is about developing the muscle memory of saying that word.
Because your mouth is not used to sing it that much.
So you want to practice just saying it out of context.
Then you want to use it in context.
Because you know the context in which this word should be used,
then I want you to just create 5-6 sentences for each of those words,
and use it and say it out loud.
You can't practice English in your head.
It's not going to be the same.
It will be helpful, but it's not going to be half as helpful as saying it out loud.
Because we really discover the challenges when we say it out loud.
We discover when we get stuck, we discover when something's not working,
when something does not sound right.
This is why I want you to say it out loud in context, like I did.
"It's imperative that you pay attention to the small details".
"It's crucial that you follow your morning routine".
So, for each word and remember, just choose one for
I know you, you want to get it all down and you want to practice everything.
Choose one, but that one word, drill it in 5-6 different sentences.
The next step is to choose 3 words out of the 8, and use them consciously
and deliberately in a conversation.
So you are aware of them and you try to use them because again,
these are very, very common words.
So you are very likely to end up using a few of them in almost every conversation.
If you don't have a lot of opportunities to speak in English, then I invite
you to join our community on Facebook.
I will put a link to it in the description.
Because there you'll get a ton of opportunities to
We have weekly discussions where we encourage you to post a video answering
one of the questions that we post.
We have weekly activities and most importantly, we have group conversations.
It's called the Speaking Club, it's on Zoom, we break into small groups.
So you have the opportunity of speaking with 3-4 different people.
And we have like 4 speaking clubs a week.
And again, it's totally free, just for you, a great opportunity to practice.
So I highly encourage you to come and join us.
Only with the best intentions, only with being fully supportive.
And don't forget to answer the questions at the beginning cause we do not approve
people who don't answer the questions.
Okay.
Thank you so much for watching.
If you have more ideas for word upgrades, for the words that I've
shared with you in this video let us know in the comments below.
And if you haven't yet subscribe to my channel, and subscribe to the
notifications so you get notified when I release a new video, that
is aimed at helping you feeling freaking awesome about your English.
Yeah, I said 'freaking awesome' instead of 'good' because it is freaking awesome.
Stay healthy, stay safe, and I'll see you next week in the next video.
Bye.