Beginner Lesson #1 - How's It Going?

Hi everyone, Jesse here. Daniel here. How's it going? So Daniel, what are we going to learn in this lesson? In this lesson, you will learn how to start a typical conversation. Sounds good. And where does this conversation take place? This conversation takes place on a college campus. And who is the conversation between? The conversation is between Mike and Vicky. And what kind of English are they using?

The speakers are friends, so the speakers will be speaking casually. Now let's listen to the conversation. Hey Vicky! Hi, Mike. How's it going? Great. How about you? How are you doing? Not so good. Oh, no. What's wrong? Oh, classes start tomorrow. Yeah, I know what you mean. Let's hear the conversation one more time slowly. Hey Vicki. Hi Mike, how's it going? Great. How about you? How are you doing? Not so good. Oh, no. What's wrong? Oh, classes start tomorrow. Haha, yeah, I know what you mean.

So, Vicky sounds a little upset that classes are starting tomorrow. She does. It sounds like it's a problem for her, but how do you feel about taking classes, going back to school? Well, on one hand... I think it's kind of exciting, you know, new classes, maybe meet new friends. But at the same time, you're sad that, you know, maybe summer vacation or spring vacation is over. So I understand how she feels. Yeah, I agree.

But usually I enjoy going back to school. Oh yeah? So you like learning new things? It's fun. Yeah, that sounds great. Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.

What's the first phrase? How's it going? How's it going? And the next phrase? How are you doing? This also is an expression to ask about someone's health or situation. How are you doing? How are you doing? Next? great this means very good great great and the next one not so good and this is

An expression meaning that one's health or situation is bad. Not so good. Not so good. And next? Summer vacation. This phrase means... a break from school or work during the summer months summer vacation summer vacation and after that pretty good this is A phrase to show you are fairly healthy and your situation is good. Pretty good. Pretty good. And next? Not bad. This is a phrase that means acceptable.

Fairly good. Not bad. Not bad. And the last one? Alright. This phrase means, okay, to one's liking, acceptable.

And now, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrases that we'll look at are... How's it going? How are you doing? And what do both of these phrases mean? Both of these phrases mean the same thing, and they are similar to How are you? The difference is simply that they are more casual expressions. Jessie, what phrase or phrases do you usually use to ask about someone's health or situation? I think usually I would say, how's it going?

If I was talking to a friend, if I were asking about their health in particular, I might ask, how are you feeling? Do you often use, how are you? I would say maybe in a more... polite or formal situation, I might use how are you. But with friends, it sounds more natural to use how's it going or how are you doing. I agree. I would use how are you usually only in a job interview.

Or maybe if I met the Queen of England. Something like that. Sometime when you have to be kind of more formal. And what's the next phrase? Not bad. Does that phrase just mean that something is okay? It can mean that something is just okay, but if you use a positive intonation, it can actually mean good. Can we hear an example of that positive intonation? Sure, why don't you ask me how I'm doing? Okay. So, Daniel, how are you doing? Not bad. But if I just said, not bad...

Yeah, you sound like you're not doing that great. Right. So make sure to put kind of the stress on bad. Not bad. Exactly. And now let's take a look at the grammar point for today's lesson. The focus of this lesson is asking about someone's health or general situation. Phrases such as, how are you doing? Or, how's it going? We often ask people we know about their health or situation.

The first time we see them on that day. You may be more familiar with the formal conversation that goes like this. How are you? Fine, thanks. And you? Fine, thanks. Although this conversation is useful in formal situations, most of our conversations are in more casual situations. We are more likely to hear questions such as, How are you doing? and How's it going?

between friends. We are also likely to hear answers other than, fine. Here are some examples of other answers that we might hear. Pretty good. Not bad. Alright. Okay. Not so good. So be sure to try some of these phrases in your own conversations. Jesse, shall we try a few examples? Sure, sounds good. How's it going, Jesse? Pretty good. How about you?

Not bad. Alright, so let's try it again, and this time I will start by asking you. How are you doing, Daniel? Great. How about you? Not so good. And now let's go over some pronunciation tips.

You may have noticed in these conversations that pronunciation and intonation is very important. In casual speech, sounds are often pushed together. Listen to how the sounds are pushed together in these questions. The first one is How's it going? How is it sounds like how's it when spoken casually. How's it going? And the other one? How are you doing? How are you doing sounds more like...

How are you doing when spoken casually? How are you doing? So be sure to practice the pronunciation with these questions. Well, that just about does it for today. Well, until next time, see ya! Bye. Hey Vicki. Hi Mike. How's it going? Great. How about you? How are you doing? Not so good. Oh no, what's wrong? Oh, classes start tomorrow. Yeah, I know what you mean.