Real ESL

I wanted to bring you to one of my favorite areas in LA - the second Little Tokyo - not in downtown, but close to UCLA. I went to the Nijiya Market there today and bought some delicious salmon sashimi (raw fish), which I ate for dinner.

At this Japanese grocery store, they were fast and courteous (polite). But this is not always the case (not always true) at many grocery stores in America. Often, the clerks/cashiers are unbelievably slow. Many of my students have commented on this (talked about).

Another problem for students is that the cashiers talk to you. What should you say? Watch the video and let me know what you think!

Also, look at the partial transcript below if you have trouble understanding.

Partial Transcript (Sorry for the wind - this one’s harder to understand!)

Today I’m in one of LA’s small Japanese areas – my favorite.
It’s near UCLA. It’s on Sawtelle between Olympic and Santa Monica boulevard.
If you’re from here and you’re Japanese, you probably already know it.
If you’re not Japanese and you’d kind of like Japanese food, I highly recommend it. Especially if you want noodles – mmm, there’s a great place here.
That’s not exactly what I wanted to talk to you about – it’s about grocery stores.
In a few minutes I’m going to be going to the Nijiya Market, which is a Japanese market here.

There are all kinds of grocery stores, but what I want to talk to you about is, uh, the normal grocery stores.

A lot of my students encounter something that is very strange.

The first thing is that they are slow. Have you ever noticed that? Slow, slow, slow.

If you’ve traveled to other countries, if you’ve been anywhere, if you’re American, and you’re listening to this, it’s shocking how slow people are here, in the service industry, especially in the grocery store.
For my foreign students, people who are learning to speak English as a second language, bring your vocabulary (lists).
If you have nothing, grab a magazine and start reading. If you are going to be very brave, talk to the person behind you.
You say, “Oh it’s so slow.” And they say, “Yes it is.”
You look in their grocery cart and talk (about what’s in there).

Some people might look at you like you’re strange, but what do you care? (why do you care? It’s not important.) You’ll never see them again. And it’s a little English conversation practice.

When you finally get to the teller, the person is pretty chatty. That means the person talks a lot.

“Hey, how are you today?” “Did you find everything you need?”

You may think, yes, I got everything I needed, and that’s why I’m here.

Or – “How are you today?”

You think, “I don’t know you. Why do you care?”

Well that’s just America. They’re trained to talk to you.
Usually Americans say, oh I’m fine, how are you.

They put your groceries through. (to put s.t. through - to complete a transaction)

Sometimes they’ll ask you at the end, “What’s your name?”
That’s just strange, but make up a name and it could be fun.
Okay, they’ll say, “Mr. Balugawuga, have a nice day.”
They just ask you name so they can use it when they say, “Have a nice day.”
Just make up a name. (lie about s.t.) It could be fun.
That’s the grocery store near my home. I always find it weird myself. But whatever.
You can even talk to them. Say, “Hey, so are you having a nice day.”
You know, turn it around. Ask them questions.
They have to answer you.
That’s the greatest thing about a store in America. They have to be nice.

Ask them questions. Don’t be too personal.

Go to my site if you need a transcript.