What You Say in English!

Tell me an anecdote

In episode 8 of my podcast, I spoke about how it is a wonderful social skill to master. The Cambridge Dictionary defines an anecdote as “a short, often funny story, especially about something someone has done.” In spoken discourse, experts group it with other forms of narratives, such as stories or jokes, and refers to it as “a highly regarded talent, probably in all cultures.” As it occurs in all forms of narratives, the staging of this storytelling genre can be summarized as follows:

The abstract and the coda may not be present in all anecdotes and the reaction (also called “evaluation”) may occur at any stage. However, the rest of the elements must be included for it to be a real story. The constituents of an anecdote do not necessarily have to follow this predetermined order either. What’s more, the story can involve and overlap in different layers of orientation or complicating events, which may depend on how simple or intricate the story is, or how acquainted the listeners are with the background information necessary to evaluate it. Experts, Eggins and Slade, even suggest that anecdotes need no clear resolution; it is a reaction from listeners (e.g. amazement, frustration, embarrassment, or humiliation) what the teller is after.

I used the example of Will Smith when he was invited to the Graham Norton Show and told the story of how he started writing his music. Here’s the video version (with subtitles), to listen to the analysis, you must download or play episode 8.

Episode 8

Pay attention to the vocabulary he uses

Useful vocabulary

Abstract

Did I ever tell you about the time I…?
Have I ever mentioned the time when I…?
I’ll never forget the time I…?
Funny you should say that. Have I told you about the time I…?
Talking about / of …, that reminds me of the time I …?

Orientation

It happened when I was (about) 16…
It’s quite a few years ago now
I was on my way to (place) to (verb)… , when…
Do you know (person or place)? Well, we were…
I’m not sure if you know… but it’s…

Remarkable (or complicating) event

At that moment…
She came into my room and then…
My dad found my diary and…
For some reason, I…
And he was like, “move out!”
And the strangest thing / funniest thing / best thing / worst thing was…..

Coda

To make the long story short,…
That’s why I always/never…
And from the moment on, I always (never)…

Reaction (or Evaluation)

That’s amazing! / That’s lovely! / That’s awful!
I felt so (embarrassed/humiliated)

Send your recording! Tell me an anecdote!

Exam success with takeIELTS.net

I’m super excited to let you all know that my podcast is now offering a 10% discount coupons to take IELTS mock exams with TakeIELTS.net.

They assess all the skills tested in the real IELTS exams, that is, Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking sections. Their mock tests require you to sit in front of a computer or laptop, with the questions presented on the screen and heard on the speaker or the headset. You then submit your answers through the use of a keyboard, mouse and a microphone, and they are seamlessly uploaded to their servers for evaluation.

The Speaking test is also on the computer. You will be asked pre-recorded examiner’s questions and your answers will be recorded and uploaded for review. What’s more, if you wish to have extra practice, remember that you can always send your recordings to my podcast to get an opinion before doing the mock test.

I will be including more information about their mock exams in my podcast, but if you are in a hurry, and need results in 48 hours, feel free to use my special 10% discount code when you check out:

WYSE

That stands for What You Say in English, and it would be, definitely, a WYSE choice!

To begin, click on the button below. Follow the instructions and you’re all set to start your road to success.

How to begin

Welcome to What You Say in English!

Icon made by Flat Icons from www.flaticon.com

Thanks a lot for stopping by! I guess I need to explain how this goes first. This is intended to be a weekly podcast in which I will give advice and tips on how to improve listeners’ speaking skills. Every week (or at least whenever my busy schedule allows me to) I will post up to three random recordings from listeners on a topic given every month. I will first introduce each speaker with the details they wish to share (name, age, place of origin, etc.), listeners get to hear the full recording, then I will go step by step giving feedback on what the person has done well (strengths) and mention the areas where some improvement may be needed.

The criteria I will be using will be:

Grammatical resource, which refers to the accurate and appropriate use of a range of both simple and complex forms (depending on the task and your level). Your performance is viewed in terms of the overall effectiveness of the language used when answering the questions.
Vocabulary resource, which refers to how much vocabulary the speaker has used effectively according to the situation given. This may go from simple, everyday situations to abstract expressions that convey more complex ideas.
Discourse management, which links to the speaker’s ability to produce coherent language that adapts to a specific context. I will pay attention to things like hesitation, relevance, organization, and development of ideas.
Pronunciation, which will focus on how intelligible the speaker is. This includes stress and intonation as well as individual sounds. I will try to put myself in the position of a non-specialist and assess the overall impact of the pronunciation and the degree of effort required to understand the speaker.

So, would you be up for the challenge? Get started and check the question of the month and submit your answers! I’ll be happy to listen to what you say in English!

You can find the podcast on Anchor and from there, you can subscribe through your favorite podcast provider.