Hey there! This is TOP episode 122. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. With Special Guests!
My name’s Ola and I am an online English teacher, I teach through one to one classes and I want you to know I believe you can eliminate your language blockade. It is 100% guaranteed. I’m not saying it’ll be given to you on a silver patter yet I know you can get there. I’ve overcome a massive blockade myself and I know how to do it. The secret word here is consistency. That is why I record this podcast’s episodes, and each comes with a little worksheet, a one-pager to help you digest and test what you’ve practised here. You can speak English with more confidence, slay that fear and enjoy new freedoms. Each episode helps you practice speaking, the practical part is always there, at the end of each episode. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar, and improve your pronunciation. Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. <They’re free> Happy learning!
Hello and welcome to today’s very very special episode. I think we can already call it a tradition, our Christmas tradition to have special guests in the show talking about their favourite Christmas tunes. Last year we could hear some stories from Lucy from Anglojęzycznie, Kasia from Lingually and Beata from Trener angielskiego. You can easily find this episode wherever you listen to this podcast, it’s episode 71. Episode 71.
This year I have two amazing English teachers and amazing women I met on Instagram. It’s Ola from Angielski do Kawy and Ola from The Teacherdess. Yes, you have three Olas today! Wow. If you don’t follow those two Instagram accounts you gotta find them now! You’ll get all the links in the shownotes and below this podcast wherever you are. If you’re a member of TOPeople I’ve sent the links in todays e-mail. Today I mean Wednesday, the 8th of December 2021.
Ola, and Ola, thank you for accepting my invitation. It’s a pleasure and my honour to have you here today. I follow you, I observe how you develop and how you teach.
Girls, you work so hard, it’s impressive how much you do! Online products, lessons, Instagram, Ola from Angielski do Kawy has her own podcast which you have to check, Ola from The Teacherdess has two jobs, she’s also a flight attendant. I’m so grateful you found time to record your words for us. Thank you!
My dear listeners. Stay with me till the end, because we’re going to go through the lyrics of ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. I picked this song because both guests mentioned them and I love it too. And now I give the floor or the microphone to my guests. Enjoy.
Ola Angielski Do Kawy:
Hi there! This is Aleksandra from Angielski do kawy. I teach English and create English materials on my website and on Instagram thanks to which you become more and more confident in your English skills! I’m also developing my own podcast Angielski do kawy.
So Ola asked me to share with you today my favourite Christmas tunes. To be honest, I couldn’t decide which ones are my go-to songs around the Christmas time because I like so many, but my all-time favourites are “All I want for Xmas is you” by Mariah Carey, “Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt, “Baby it’s cold outside” by Idina Menzel and Michael Buble, and of course all the popular Xmas songs performed by Michael Buble, e.g. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” or “Santa Claus is coming to town”. I absolutely love his entire Christmas album. I often listen to it when I do some cooking and baking before Christmas. Somehow Michael Buble’s voice goes really well with the scent of oranges and gingerbread biscuits, if you know what I mean. All these tunes make me feel really toasty and while listening to them, I like to imagine that I live in a winter wonderland in a cosy house with a fireplace and a huge Christmas tree.
So basically these are the tunes I listen to when I want to get myself into the Christmas spirit, but there’s one more music group I have to mention because they add a sort of modern vibe to my Christmas, so to speak. It’s an American group called Pentatonix and they sing a cappella. They’re brilliant – their voices sound like real instruments! So make sure you check them out. Have a joyful Christmas!
Ola TheTeacherdess:
There is one Christmas song that always makes me cry when I listen to and I will tell you why….LONG STORY SHORT… I used to be a person absolutely not involved in any Christmas activities…like decorating a Christmas tree and I still remember how daunting and weird singing carols out loud was to me. A lot has changed! Since I started working as a flight attendant I’ve stopped taking Christmas with my family for granted. We usually operate flights at Christmas and it is perfectly normal to spend maybe not every but every second Christmas Eve with your family when you are a cabin crew member. I remember my first Christmas away from home. Oh my… We were operating a flight to Dusseldorf with a 2-hour layover there before our return flight. One of our crew members started singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…everywhere you go…” and we all started laughing because at that moment we were sitting together on board, waiting for our passengers to come, it was 8 PM and our families were together and we were together as well but far away from them. Nothing looked like Christmas 😀 BUT! I was lucky to see the REAL first star from the flight deck so it was not that bad! Now, when I hear that song by Meredith Willson, which was a hit for Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters in the early 50s, I become emotional and I appreciate every single Christmas moment at home! That song describes everything that can get you in the mood for Christmas, toys everywhere, the holly on your own front door, the tree, the bells…everything! This year I’m operating a night flight on Christmas Eve as well so I have already started decorating the flat and singing Christmas songs!
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Don’t forget to download the worksheet. It’s waiting for you at teacherola.com/122. If you have little time and prefer to go all-in buy the Worksheet Set. I’ve prepared a set of the first 31 worksheets. The Worksheet Set (1) includes a Speaking English Planner, a great tool for monitoring your progress in speaking.
Now the time has come, and let’s just get right into the lyrics. Listen and repeat:
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
Take a look at the five and ten,
t’s glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes that glow.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – everywhere I go I see Christmas decorations. Everything I associate with Christmas now surrounds me. The atmosphere is pervasive and I love it.
Take a look at the five and ten it’s glistening once again – take a look at the five and ten. What’s five and ten? It’s also called a five-and-ten-cent store or a five-and-dime, dime store, ten-cent store. It’s a store offering a wide assortment of inexpensive items, formerly costing five or ten cents, for personal and household use. Look at these kinds of shops. We have our five-and-ten shops, look at them.
They are glistening. The /t/ sound in this verb is silent. To glisten means to shine. Remember that all that glistens is not gold. Or, all that glitters is not gold. Take a look at the five and ten, this shop, it’s glistening once again. It’s beautifully decorated.
With candy canes and silver lanes that glow – candy canes are cane-shaped stick candies. They’re traditionally white with red stripes and flavoured with peppermint, but they also come in a variety of other flavours and colours. The history behind candy canes is quite interesting, and if you’d like to learn more go to episode 72: 7 Christmas Words. Pronunciation Tip. It’s at teacherola.com/72.
Silver lanes. What are they? Silver lanes are streets or small roads. In reference to Christmas, we can all imagine a beautiful picture of a lit-up street at night in the middle of winter. Beautifully decorated streets. Cliche, but lovely.
Let’s see the next verse:
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door
The prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door – Sight is the thing that you can see. The prettiest sight is the holly. What is holly? It’s spelt with double ‘l’, and it means a bush or small tree with hard shiny leaves with sharp points and bright red berries in winter, often used as a decoration at Christmas. It’s seen on the door because it’s often used for Christmas wreaths.
Let’s move on:
A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that’ll talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again
A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again – Here we have a section about kids who have certain expectations when it comes to presents. Barney and Ben wish to receive Hopalong boots, stay with me to find out what are they. There’s also Janice and Jen who would really like to get dolls that will talk and walk. Those kids parents’ wishes slightly differ, they would love school to start again. They have enough of all this noise. All parents understand. So! Hopalong boots. These were children’s boots to match radio, television and film cowboy Hopalong Cassidy. This cowboy fictional character was famous in the 30s so today we can only imagine that every child wanted them.
Next verse:
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well
It’s the sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow
There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well – it’s believed that Willson wrote the song while staying in Yarmouth’s Grand Hotel. Yarmouth County is located on the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The original hotel doesn’t exist anymore but I’ve managed to find the old pictures of the building. Really impressive. If you’re a member of TOPeople I’ve sent the link with those pictures. You can travel in time with them. The park is Frost Park, directly across the road from the Grand Hotel. There’s another hypothesis though. Maybe Willson was inspired by a different hotel, situated in his hometown in Iowa, The Park Inn Hotel. The Park Inn Hotel is the last remaining hotel in the world designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. That hotel is also overlooking a park. I guess we’ll never know. Still, the five and ten I’ve mentioned before operated in Yarmouth so I think it must be about Yarmouth in Canada.
Final verse:
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that’ll make ’em ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart
Soon the bells will start – Christmas bells will start ringing soon, and you will make them ring. How? By singing carols right within your heart. A carol is a Christian religious song sung at Christmas. How lovely!
Ok! This is it! Time for your practice. Listen and repeat the sentences out loud. Here we call it the practical part. It’s when you speak English but only out loud. Listen and repeat.
The atmosphere is pervasive and I love it.
Remember that all that glistens is not gold.
The history behind candy canes is quite interesting.
Beautifully decorated streets.
The prettiest sight is the holly.
Those kids’ parents’ wishes slightly differ, they would love school to start again.
The original hotel doesn’t exist anymore but I’ve managed to find the old pictures of the building.
There’s another hypothesis though.
I guess we’ll never know.
A carol is a Christian religious song sung at Christmas.
That’s all we have for today! Great job! Don’t forget to go to your inbox and grab the worksheet in order to test yourself. Complete gapped song lyrics. If you’re not a member of TOPeople download the worksheet at teacherola.com/122 and become one. It’s free.
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Thank you so much for listening and I’ll see you next Wednesday! We’ll be talking about vocabulary. Till then, take care! Happy learning. Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!