Video lesson

Welcome

Hi everyone, and welcome to English Watch and Learn! We have two conversation scenes in our lesson today: Remi and Barnes are discussing their big plans and then reveal their ideas to Remi’s parents. It’s perfect for learning real-life English: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation. Let’s watch the scene and learn vocabulary with Scene 1.

Learn vocabulary

visa application is a form you submit to get permission to enter another country. Remi’s got one for their turtle-saving adventure!

put off means to decide or plan to delay an event or activity until a later time or date. Remi wants to put off school for a year.

Remi jokes the situation might “get ugly.” This idiom means a situation could become unpleasant, difficult, or even violent.

Remi also jokes her parents might “chop you up.” The phrasal verb “chop up” means to cut something into small pieces. It’s used humorously here, but it shows how worried she is!

fertilizer means a natural or chemical substance that is spread on the land or given to plants, to make plants grow well.

Barnes says, “I think you’re underestimating them.” To underestimate someone means to think they are less capable, important, or skilled than they really are. Barnes believes Remi’s parents might react better than she expects.

Barnes mentions sending “Supertramp videos.” Supertramp isn’t a vocabulary word in the usual sense – it’s the name of a popular British rock band, particularly famous in the 1970s and 80s. This detail shows they’re finding common ground and building a friendship based on shared musical tastes, which surprises Remi.

Barnes says Remi’s parents are “obsessed with me.” To be “obsessed with” someone or something means to think about them constantly, maybe too much. But here, Barnes is likely making it sound much stronger than it really is [exaggerating], probably to be funny. He doesn’t mean they really have an unhealthy fixation on him, but jokingly says, that they like him a lot.

temporary means lasting for only a limited time; not permanent.

rebellious means difficult to control and do not behave in the way that is expected. Remi’s parents see Barnes as a “summer fling.” A fling is a short, casual romantic relationship.

Parents see Remi as their “perfect, Ivy League-bound daughter.” Ivy League refers to a group of prestigious universities in the northeastern US (like Harvard). “Bound” means heading towards or destined for. So, she’s expected to attend one of these top schools.

Great! Now let’s watch the second scene where they talk to Remi’s parents. This one gets intense!

prank is a trick that is intended to be funny, but not to cause harm or damage.

sea turtles. Javier asks about ‘sea turtles’ to show he believes they are not important at all compared to Harvard.

Remi says sending someone else in her place “defeats the purpose”. If something defeats the purpose, it makes the original goal or reason impossible or meaningless.

She feels her parents are “missing my point”, meaning they don’t understand her main idea or intention.

Carmen says Remi can’t just “throw that away.” To “throw away” something valuable means to waste it or get rid of it carelessly. Here, “that” refers to her place at Harvard.

Barnes suggests a “gap year.” A gap year is a year that a student takes off between high school and university, often for travel or work experience.

Barnes says Remi can “re-enroll,” meaning sign up again for school after her break.

Javier is furious, repeating “it’s Harvard” to emphasize its importance.

Carmen asks if Barnes “forced” Remi, meaning made her do it against her will.

Remi tells her mom to stop trying to “pin this on him.” The phrasal verb “pin something on someone” means to blame someone for something, often unfairly.

Javier calls Barnes an “aimless loser.” aimless means without purpose or direction. A loser is a harsh term for someone considered unsuccessful or ineffective.

Carmen makes a dramatic prediction involving “muling” (smuggling drugs) and a “Thai prison.”

“no relevance” means it’s not connected or important to the current topic.

“no reason”. Javier feels that Remi giving up Harvard is the same as destroying something important for nothing.

“You’re grounded”. To be “grounded” is a punishment, usually for teenagers, where they are not allowed to leave the house or see friends.

Vocabulary Recap

Fantastic job! Let’s quickly recap the useful words and phrases we learned:

• put off: to delay or postpone.
• get ugly: to become unpleasant or difficult.
• chop up: to cut into small pieces.
• underestimate: to think someone is less capable than they are.
• temporary: not permanent, lasting a short time.
• summer fling: a short, casual summer romance.
• Ivy League-bound: expected to attend a top US university.
• defeats the purpose: makes the original goal meaningless.
• throw (something) away: to waste something valuable.
• gap year: a year off before or during university.
• pin (something) on (someone): to blame someone unfairly.
• aimless: without direction or purpose.
• grounded: restricted from going out as a punishment.

Try using these in your own sentences this week!

Grammar: Future Tense: ‘Going to’ vs. ‘Will’

Now, let’s talk about grammar. The scenes use the future tense, ‘will’ or ‘going to’ for talking about plans. We’ll look at how Remi and Barnes use going to and will, and see a slight difference when to use one or the other.

Notice how Remi uses “going to” when talking about her definite plan: “When we tell my parents that I’m going to put off school…" We use “be going to” for plans and intentions we’ve already decided on.

Compare this to how Remi predicts her parents’ reaction: “It’s gonna get ugly." (‘gonna’ is the informal spoken form of ‘going to’). Here, it’s a prediction based on her knowledge of them. We also often use ‘will’ for predictions, especially spontaneous ones. For example, Barnes says: “Maybe they’ll be happy for us." (‘They’ll’ is ’they will’). He’s making a hopeful prediction or guess.

Practice this. Make a sentence about your plans for next weekend. Use “I’m going to…”, like “I’m going to visit my parents next weekend.” Say it out loud to get comfortable! Now, think about the weather tomorrow. Make a prediction using “will”, like “I think it will be cloudy tomorrow”. Say it out loud!

Speaking Practice

It’s time for speaking practice! Listen to how Javier and Carmen tell Barnes to stay out of the discussion. They say:

“This has nothing to do with you.” This phrase means that the situation or conversation does not concern someone, or that it’s not their business. It’s often used to tell someone to stay out of something. Let’s practice: repeat after them, ‘this has nothing to do with you’. nice, I like the way you sound.

Listening practice

Find extended lesson with listening practice (including full scene to check your knowledge) here: 👇

☕ Check your knowledge - watch the full scene without subtitles.

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