Speaking English: Free Conversation and Vocabulary Skills (While I Cut My Sister-in-Law’s Hair!)

In this video, I share a real conversation I had with my sister-in-law while cutting her hair. This engaging lesson will help you improve your speaking English skills through practical vocabulary and conversational techniques.

Tagged With: American English   YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video.

Video Transcript:

Let’s study real English. I’ve never cut hair before but my sister-in-law asked if I would cut her hair and I said yes. Was it a disaster? Maybe. Stay tuned for some good laughs and a great English lesson.

I don’t know. Should I have you look down?

I don’t think so.

I’m Rachel and I’ve been teaching the American accent and English as a second language here on YouTube for over 15 years. Check out Rachelsenglish.com/free to get my Free Course on Mastering the American accent.

Maybe take your earrings off. I can just tell that’s going to get in my way.

(laughing)

What? That seems normal.

So funny.

To start, I had a lot of questions about the basics.

Okay, how’s this work?

Okay so, take this, bring it down,

Yeah.

Trap it with your fingers.

Yeah.

And then go under.

Okay. Are you, am I doing one layer for everything?

Sure.

Okay. How much am I taking off?

An inch.

Should I start at the back an inch.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, first I have to comb it out, just like you did for me.

Comb it out. Why did I use a phrasal verb comb out, instead of just the verb comb?

Comb means simply to pull comb through hair.

Comb out the definition is a little more specific. It means to make hair neat and smooth with a comb. Notice the B in comb is silent. K sound, O diphthong M. Comb. So you can comb your hair and do a bad job but if you’ve combed it out, you’ve gotten rid of all of the tangles.

Also, the verb comb can relate to things other than hair.

For example, they’re combing the park where she thinks she lost her engagement ring.

This means to search or examine thoroughly.

Comb out, this is for hair only.

Well, first we have to comb it out, just like you did for me.

Okay we’re just taking off an inch. Now, here’s another question. Do you do like the top layer and then the layer underneath and then the layer underneath?

I was intimidated by how to deal with all this hair at the back of the head. I was pretty sure I should divide it into layers to cut each layer separately. This is different than sections, which can mean to divide something in any way. Layer is a section that goes one on top of the other.

Do you do like the top layer and then the layer underneath and then the layer underneath?

Uh, I would just say go for it.

Okay. I don’t even know what that means but we shall see. Okay so,

This is too funny!

Also, how wide of a swath am I cutting at any given time? Like an inch?

At this point I think Kristina can’t hardly believe how many questions I have.

I used the word ‘swath’. Do you know that word? It means a broad strip or section. It’s used with hair but also with land. Corn and soy fields seem to take up vast swaths of Indiana’s land across the state. Here, we’re not talking about hair or land, we’re talking about AI and how it’s poised to take over large swaths of human activity. Simply meaning huge sections. Swath. It’s poised to take over large swaths of human activity and in doing so erode our individual and shared humanity.

How wide of a swath am I cutting at any given time? Like an inch?

Like this.

Oh, that’s that’s wider than I would have thought.

Well, whatever her hand can hold.

Okay, so I do the comb and then I trap it with my finger and then I stick the comb between my legs and then I cut about an inch.

(laughing)

I hear it.

Jacob’s dying.

It flew through the—

Not the straightest line I’ve ever cut.

Did you catch that? I just said it’s not the straightest line I’ve ever cut. You don’t want to hear that from your hairdresser. But to be fair, a bunch of family came out on the deck where we were and were watching, so there was a lot of pressure. I was not happy with how my first snip went.

David my husband quickly added his own two cents meaning his own opinion.

It might be bad.

[Laughter]

I don’t know. Should I have you look down?

Yeah.

I can tell I’m going to be able to clean it up when I’m done.

Okay.

Clean it up. Make it better. Go back and take care of the little issues after the larger work is done.

It’s going to be cute that way. That is a very generous inch.

If you use the word generous with an amount, that means you actually went over the amount. So, I was going to cut an inch but generous inch is more like an inch and a half or 2 inches.

You think I did more than an inch?

I might have done a little bit more.

Like 2 inches?

3-ish.

No, no! Maybe one and a half.

Okay, just do it Rachel. I am easy going.

You’re so easy breezy, I’m going to do this next layer a little bit longer.

This is pretty funny. You are the most confident novice I’ve ever met.

I know it’s ridiculous.

The most confident novice.

A novice is someone who’s just learning something, no experience. I should say Kristina cuts my hair and many other people’s hair, friends and family. When my nephew came out on the porch and saw what was happening, he got pretty confused.

How did this happen?

Very good question. Kristina said, “would you cut my hair?” and I said yes and she said, “Do you know how?” and I said no and she said “I’ll teach you.” and I said okay and she’s teaching me. I mean it’s, I might be bad, I might be bad at this.

Here, a professional can clean up anything I do anyway.

Okay, right.

And I’ll pay for that.

I used clean up here again to mean to fix small mistakes after most of the work has been done. I might not do a good job but I was pretty sure a professional could clean it up.

It’s actually going pretty well Kristina.

Then I had a question about how professionals cut hair.

I’m always seeing them cut like this instead of a cross like, what is that?

Well,  that makes it like a softer edge?

Do you want me to do that?

I don’t think so.

Okay.

What do you think? Was she regretting her decision at this point?

I feel like I am starting to really shape something here.

And I have a feeling Kristina’s going to be asking for me to cut her hair on the reg.

On the reg. This is short for on the regular. I think she’s going to be asking me to cut her hair on a regular basis.

And I have a feeling Kristina’s going to be asking for me to cut her hair on the reg.

Okay.

Hi honey!

So—

Is this a good idea?

I think it’s fun.

I will pay for her to get a real haircut if she needs it, but we thought it would be a good learning experience.

Okay.

Then it’s just fun.

And it’s just fun. I mean you never know what you’re going to get.

Come on out.

Just don’t, you won’t cut my ear or anything.

No, that’s why I had you take off your earrings.

Okay.

So far she got the technique.

I taught her the technique.

Yeah, she taught me. She was like, ‘Can you cut hair?’ and I said No, but I’m a quick study.

A quick study. This is a phrase to mean someone who learns quickly she taught me she was like can you cut hair and I said no but I’m a quick study.

Rachel, do you feel like your family’s making fun of you?

No.

Good.

I’m way too, whoop! Don’t move your head like that. Mid-snip dude, mid-snip!

Mid-snip. Snip means a short quick cut made with scissors. Don’t move your head, mid-snip. Yeah, I see exactly what I need to do.

You know, you need to trap it with your fingers or it will go away.

Okay.

From the—

But I don’t know how I trap it with the fingers and hold the comb and cut with the scissors.

Yeah begin comb, comb takes over fingers,  take over with the comb on,

That’s what I was doing.

Mama?

Wait, you just changed your posture.

Okay, oh jeez.

Oh jeez.

Can you sit up straight still?

I’m up.

I use the word ‘posture’. Posture means the position of someone’s body especially relating to how straight and upright their back is. Here, I asked if she could sit up straight.

Momma?

Wait, you just changed your posture.

Okay, oh jeez.

Oh jeez.

Can you sit up straight still?

I’m up.

I mean I’m as straight as I can be.

Okay, but the back of my neck’s kind of getting raked with the—

Oh, really? Do you have a soft head? I didn’t know this.

It’s not my head, it’s my neck.

Okay.

In English, the phrase to have a soft head means a sensitive scalp. I on the other hand have a hard head. Pulling it tangles in my hair doesn’t bother me. Calling someone soft-headed can actually be an insult though because it’s also used to mean foolish, dumb or stupid.

To call someone hard-headed is not the opposite. It does not mean very smart. It actually means very stubborn. Someone who doesn’t easily change their mind.

But I still feel a little unhappy with the under layer.

Okay, so what I do for the under layer is I put my head down, put the people’s head down whoever the people are.

Yeah.

And then you get it.

But are you still taking the whole thing including the top when you do that?

No.

Just the parts below.

Jacob take a look at it.

I don’t know.

I mean it looks fine from here.

No, but don’t you don’t need to grab it all, so like have her lean forward.

Yeah, and then you do what?

It’s hard because it’s wet but like,

Like this is too long right?

Down here, yeah. Like down here, there’s under bits that are like, do you see that? Like those.

Yeah, okay.

And then, once you’re done cutting those have her bring her head back up and check out it evens out.

And you’re brave like—

You’re brave child, you are brave.

Well that’s true, I guess I’m the brave one but you also are brave to do it.

I think it’s crushing. Does anyone see anything that they think I should, oh wait, tilt your head forward.

I said ‘I think it’s crushing.’ That means ‘I think it’s going well.’ It’s looking really good.

I think it’s crushing does anyone see anything that they think I should, oh wait, tilt your head forward.

Yeah, there’s some.

Alright, bring your head back.

Now come over here Anna and tell me what you think.

It still needs a little bit of straightening up in the back, right?

This is my niece Anna, Kristina’s daughter who’s my go-to for understanding slang. It’s really, really good because this it’s wet.

Yeah, and this isn’t wet anymore.

I feel like you’re gucc and like, it could be like tomorrow once it’s dry.

Okay, love that.

Alright Christina queen, you are done.

She said you are gucc. Gucc being short for Gucci which means good, great, excellent, fine.

This isn’t wet anymore.

I feel like you’re gucc.

Okay.

You look amazing! Did I just poke you in the eye?

You look amazing?

Whew! I like it Rachel, you did good.

Feel it girl, feel it.

Oh, it’s so fresh.

It’s so fresh, it’s so adorable.

Thank you.

You’re welcome sis.

Yay.

Here, do you want some of my hair oil?

Yeah, put it in.

My niece off camera asks me if I would cut hair again.

Rachel, would you do it again?

I would do Kristina’s again.

Yeah.

Or someone else’s with Kristina right there.

Right.

I would not just do someone else’s just because I thought I had the skill. Unless it was Stony and Sawyer, I would try them because they don’t know.

Oh, that feels good.

Queen.

Okay.

You are done.

Boy, did we have some laughs.

We had some laughs.

Keep your learning going now with this video and don’t forget to subscribe with notifications on, I love being your English teacher. That’s it and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.