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  • Hi, I'm Liam.

  • Welcome to Oxford Online English!

  • In this lesson, you can learn to talk about different emotions in English.

  • You'll see how to talk about positive and negative feelings, about strong emotions and

  • low-level emotions in different ways.

  • Before we start, do you want more free English lessons?

  • Visit our website: Oxford Online English dot com.

  • You can also book English classes with our fully-qualified teachers, who can help you

  • with your English speaking, writing, IELTS preparation, or whatever else you need.

  • This lesson has four parts.

  • In each part, you'll learn five to six words related to two different main emotions, like

  • anger, fear or happiness.

  • Ready?

  • Let's start!

  • You look pleased!

  • What's going on?

  • I finally passed my driving test!

  • I'm so happy!

  • Wow!

  • Congratulations!

  • Thanks

  • It was my sixth attempt!

  • Sixth?

  • Yeah.

  • I was really stressed beforehand.

  • I've been feeling nervous for days, and I haven't been sleeping well, but in the

  • end it went well.

  • That sounds stressful.

  • What made you so scared?

  • I mean, it's not the end of the world to fail your driving test.

  • I don't know.

  • I just built it up in my head, and it became this huge thing.

  • I honestly can't remember feeling so worried about anything in my life before.

  • You must be relieved to get it over with.

  • For sure.

  • If I'd failed again, I think I'd have just given up.

  • Well, no need to think about that now!

  • Look at six words to describe feelings which you heard in the dialogue.

  • First, a question: three of these words relate to feeling *fear*.

  • Which three?

  • 'Nervous', 'worried' and 'scared' are all feelings of fear.

  • Do you know how they're different?

  • 'Nervous' and 'worried' are both low-level fear.

  • 'Scared' describes a more intense feeling.

  • To describe extreme levels of fear, for example if you're in a life-threatening situation,

  • you could use adjectives like 'terrified' or 'petrified'.

  • What about the other three adjectives – 'pleased', 'stressed' and 'relieved'?

  • One is different from the other twowhich one?

  • 'Stressed' is different, because it's an unpleasant emotion.

  • 'Pleased' is similar to 'happy', but 'pleased' is a reaction to a situation.

  • What does this mean?

  • In English, there are many pairs of words with a similar meaning, but one is used to

  • describe a general state, while the other is used to describe a reaction to a specific

  • situation.

  • 'Happy' and 'pleased' are an example of this.

  • So, you can be 'happy' generally, or for long periods of time.

  • You could say: 'She was happy throughout her retirement.'

  • However, 'pleased' can't be used like this.

  • You feel pleased at one specific time.

  • For example: 'I was pleased with how my painting turned out.'

  • Here, you could also use 'happy'.

  • 'Happy' can replace 'pleased', but not the other way round.

  • There are other pairs like this; for example: 'sad - upset' or 'angry - cross'.

  • The first word has a general meaning, and the second describes your reaction to something

  • specific.

  • Finally, what about 'relieved'?

  • What does that mean?

  • You feel relieved when you're free from pressure or stress.

  • If you have a problem, and the problem is solved, you might feel relieved.

  • Or, if you have an exam, and you think you might fail, you'll feel relieved when you

  • pass.

  • Let's look at our next section.

  • In this section, we have a challenge for you.

  • You'll hear a dialogue, as usual.

  • There are six words relating to emotions in the dialogue.

  • Listen and try to write them down.

  • How's work going?

  • Urgh

  • Don't ask.

  • Going well, then?

  • Don't even joke about it.

  • I feel miserable.

  • I dread going in every morning, and every day feels like an eternity.

  • Yeah, you seem a bit down.

  • But, a couple of months ago you said things were going OK?

  • They were.

  • Or, I thought they were.

  • That's the problem – I'm so mixed up!

  • Working in the fashion industry was always my dream, and I worked so hard to get an opportunity.

  • But then, reality started to bite.

  • What do you think went wrong?

  • I'm supposed to be an event manager, but they don't actually let me make any decisions.

  • I spend all day doing menial work.

  • We had a team meeting last week, and they asked me to go out and get coffee!

  • I felt so humiliated.

  • So, what are you going to do?

  • You can't stay there, surely

  • I don't know.

  • I'm torn.

  • On the one hand, you're right – I can't stay there.

  • But on the other hand, what am I going to do?

  • I was out of work for three months, and I need the money right now.

  • It's a tricky situation.

  • The worst thing is that it's affecting everything else in my life, too.

  • I don't go out or do anything after work or at weekends.

  • I just feel kind of apathetic; I don't have the energy to go anywhere.

  • Well, I don't know, but it doesn't sound like you can go on like this.

  • Did you get the six words?

  • If you want, you can go back and listen again.

  • Here are the six words you heard.

  • These words relate to feelings of sadness, shame and confusion.

  • Can you put the words into three groups?

  • 'Miserable' and 'down' are both feelings of sadness.

  • 'Miserable' is a strong word, which describes a deep unhappiness.

  • 'Down' is often used when you're going through a difficult time in your life, and

  • you feel unhappy generally.

  • 'Apathetic' is also a feeling of sadness, although it's a little different.

  • If you feel apathetic, you don't care about anything or have any interest in things.

  • Feeling apathetic means you don't have much energy, and it's difficult to motivate yourself

  • to do anything.

  • Be careful not to mix up 'apathetic' and 'pathetic' – they sound similar, but

  • the meanings are not related.

  • Next, 'mixed up' and 'torn' are both feelings of confusion.

  • They both mean that you're caught between different possibilities, and you don't know

  • what to do.

  • To remember the word 'torn', think about the verb 'tear'.

  • If you tear a piece of paper, you rip it into pieces.

  • If you feel 'torn', it's as if you're being pulled in two different directions.

  • 'Humiliated' is a strong form of 'embarrassed', meaning a deep feeling of shame.

  • It has a strong meaning, so you wouldn't use it often.

  • Any plans for this weekend?

  • No, not really.

  • I had something, but it didn't work out.

  • 'Something?'

  • Well

  • I'm a little embarrassed to say

  • OK, fine, I had a blind date arranged.

  • Nothing wrong with that!

  • But now it's not happening?

  • No, I cancelled it.

  • I was feeling quite anxious.

  • I've never been on a blind date, and I imagine it would be really awkward, so I called it

  • off.

  • Sure, I guess it could be, but it could be fun, too.

  • I think you should go!

  • It's normal to feel apprehensive before you go on a first date.

  • You shouldn't let it stop you.

  • Hmm

  • Too late now, though.

  • I already cancelled it.

  • Now I'm kind of regretting it.

  • Well, maybe you can still make it happen.

  • Why not make a call?

  • Ehh

  • I can't.

  • I feel guilty for cancelling.

  • You can't win, it seems!

  • You heard five words related to feelings.

  • Can you remember them?

  • Try to complete the words!

  • Pause the video if you want more time.

  • Remember that you can also go back and review the dialogue if you want to.

  • Ready?

  • Let's see the answers.

  • These words relate to shame and nervousness.

  • Can you put them into two groups?

  • 'Anxious' and 'apprehensive' describe fear.

  • Like the words 'nervous' and 'worried', which you saw earlier, they express a low-level

  • fear, like you might feel before a first date or an important exam.

  • 'Awkward', 'embarrassed' and 'guilty' relate to shame, but they don't have the

  • same meaning.

  • Could you explain the difference between them?

  • 'Awkward' means you feel socially uncomfortable.

  • For example, if you're trying to start a conversation with someone, but you don't

  • know what to say, you might feel awkward.

  • 'Embarrassed' is the feeling when you blushyour face turns red.

  • You feel 'guilty' when you think you've done something bad.

  • For example, imagine that your friend asks you for some help, and you say: “Sorry,

  • I can't, I'm too busy.”

  • Later, you learn that your friend really needed help; you might feel guilty for not helping.

  • Let's look at the last section.

  • Whoa, where are you going?

  • I'm going to walk into his office and tell him exactly what I think of him.

  • That's not a good idea.

  • I know you're annoyed

  • Annoyed?

  • I'm seething!

  • I'm fed up with this place.

  • Let him sack me if he wants.

  • Let's just take a minute.

  • Why don't you tell me what happened?

  • What happened?

  • This isn't something new.

  • I've been overwhelmed for weeks.

  • I ask for help, and he doesn't even answer my emails or my messages.

  • He's supposed to be in charge of this department, and he's not even doing his job.

  • Sure, I can understand that you're frustrated, but

  • It's more than that.

  • He still hasn't bought the design software we need.

  • The deadline is next week.

  • I've never seen such incompetence.

  • Look, I would be upset too, in your position, but getting into a shouting match with him

  • is not going to solve anything.

  • How about this: we go and have a cup of tea for ten minutes, and then you decide what

  • to do?

  • If you still want to march into his office and scream at him, I won't stop you, but

  • just take ten minutes with me first.

  • OK, fine.

  • Here, you heard six words related to anger, frustration or sadness.

  • Here's a question: what does 'frustration' mean?

  • Frustration is a kind of anger, but it relates to situations where you can't get what you

  • want.

  • For example, imagine you have to catch a train, and you're late.

  • You're driving to the station, and someone in front of you is driving *really* slowly.

  • You can't overtake, so you're stuck driving behind them.

  • You might feel frustrated in this situation.

  • Apart from 'frustrated', you heard these words in the dialogue.

  • Do you know which emotions these words express?

  • And, could you explain their meanings in detail?

  • Think about it, and pause the video if you need some help!

  • 'Annoyed' and 'seething' both express anger, but at different levels.

  • 'Annoyed' is a low-level anger.

  • For example, if you have some mosquito bites, and they're itchy, you might feel a little

  • annoyed, but you wouldn't – probablybe fully angry.

  • You could also say 'irritated', which has the same meaning.

  • 'Seething' means extremely angry.

  • You could also say 'furious', which is similar.

  • 'Fed up' expresses frustration.

  • If you're fed up with something, a bad situation has gone on for a long time, and you can't

  • take it any more.

  • For example, if your neighbour plays loud music one evening, you might be annoyed, but

  • maybe it wouldn't be a big problem.

  • However, if your neighbour plays loud music *every* evening, you'll feel angry and frustrated,

  • and after a few days you'll probably feel fed up; you've had enough of the situation

  • and you cannot take any more.

  • 'Overwhelmed' is hard to classify.

  • Overwhelmed means something like 'defeated' or 'buried'.

  • If you're overwhelmed, you have so many problems and negative feelings that you can't

  • cope any more.

  • In the dialogue, we were talking about work, but you can be overwhelmed with other emotions

  • and situations, too.

  • For example, you can be overwhelmed with anger, overwhelmed with sadness, overwhelmed with

  • stress, and so on.

  • It can even, sometimes, be positive; for example you can be overwhelmed with happiness.

  • In this case, it means that you're so happy that you don't know what to do with yourself.

  • Finally, 'upset' is a feeling of sadness in response to a specific situation.

  • If something bad happens to you, or someone says something unpleasant to you, you might

  • feel upset.

  • We've mentioned many different words to describe feelings in this video, but there

  • are also many that we didn't talk about.

  • Can you think of any?

  • Share your ideas in the comments!

  • Thanks for watching!

  • See you next time!

Hi, I'm Liam.

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