Hey there! This is TOP episode 330. Learn English With “Hungry Eyes” by Eric Carmen
You read English. You understand English. You’ve been learning for years, but when it’s time to speak your mind just freezes, and the words don’t come out. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. My name’s Ola, and this is Teacher Ola Podcast. I’m here to help you finally speak out loud. This isn’t about perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary. This is about your voice. Your words. Your real English.
If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, learning new words, understanding more and more English, but you still feel blocked when it’s time to speak, then what I’m about to say is for you.
A lot of learners keep collecting vocabulary, expressions, and grammar. They listen to podcasts, watch videos, read posts. And their understanding grows. But if the language doesn’t come out of you, if it doesn’t flow through speaking, a gap starts to grow.
The gap between what you understand and what you can actually say.
And the longer you wait, the bigger that gap becomes. Your knowledge grows, but your speaking stays behind. And that’s the moment when many people start losing confidence. They think, “I know so much English… so why can’t I speak?”
But here’s the truth. If you’re listening to me right now and you understand this podcast, you are ready. In fact, you’ve probably been ready for a long time.
What you need now is not more passive learning. You need regular speaking and feedback.
That’s why I opened again sign-ups to my Voice Loop program. It’s a five-week spoken English program where you practice speaking consistently and receive individual feedback from me, but at the price of a group course.
We meet five times live, and between those meetings we work with voice messages on WhatsApp. You record short messages, I listen to each one, and I send you personal feedback. This way you finally start using the English that’s already in your head.
If you want to stop that growing gap between knowledge and speaking, this is the moment.
You can find all the details and choose your group at teacherolanda.com/grupy. The groups start from A2 level and go up to B2, so just choose your level and your date.
Now, let’s get into today’s episode.
We’re going to take seven short phrases from “Hungry Eyes” and break them down together. The goal is simple: understand them, see how they work in real life, and learn how to actually use them in everyday English.
You’ll hear expressions like “I’ve been meaning to…”, “I’ve got a feeling…”, “hear me out”, or “take someone by surprise” all very natural phrases that are used all the time. By the end of the episode, you won’t just understand them, you’ll also have a few sentences to practice with so the language really sticks.
Let’s go through these lines together. I picked 7 lines. Let’s go!
One: “I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
This is a very common phrase in everyday English. “I’ve been meaning to…” means that you wanted to do something for some time, but you haven’t done it yet. Maybe you forgot, maybe the moment wasn’t right, maybe you were a little nervous.
So when someone says, “I’ve been meaning to tell you,” they mean: I wanted to tell you earlier, but I didn’t get the chance.
You can use this structure with many verbs. For example:
I’ve been meaning to call you.
I’ve been meaning to ask you something.
I’ve been meaning to clean the garage.
I’ve been meaning to send you that article.
It often sounds a bit informal and friendly. Sometimes people use it when they are about to say something important, or even something slightly uncomfortable.
For example:
I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the project.
I’ve been meaning to tell you that I’m moving to another city.
A similar expression is “I’ve been wanting to…”.
For example:
I’ve been wanting to talk to you.
I’ve been wanting to try that new restaurant.
You could also say:
I’ve been planning to call you.
I’ve been thinking about telling you something.
But “I’ve been meaning to” is very natural and very common in spoken English.
Two: “I’ve got this feeling that won’t subside.”
Let’s start with “I’ve got this feeling” or “I’ve got a feeling.”
This is a very natural way to say that you have a strong impression or intuition about something.
For example:
I’ve got a feeling it’s going to rain.
I’ve got a feeling she’s not telling us everything.
I’ve got a feeling this plan will work.
It often suggests intuition rather than proof.
You can also say:
I have a feeling…
I have this strange feeling…
I have a bad feeling about this.
I have a good feeling about this.
All of these are very common in everyday conversation.
Now the word “subside.”
“To subside” means to become weaker, calmer, or less intense. It’s often used for things like emotions, pain, anger, storms, or noise.
For example:
The pain slowly subsided.
The storm finally subsided during the night.
His anger subsided after a while.
In the song, “this feeling that won’t subside” means a feeling that refuses to go away. It stays strong.
In everyday life, people sometimes use simpler phrases instead of “subside.”
For example:
This feeling won’t go away.
I can’t shake this feeling.
I can’t get rid of this feeling.
“I can’t shake this feeling” is especially natural in spoken English.
Three: “One look at you and I can’t disguise.”
The key word here is “disguise.”
“To disguise something” means to hide it or cover it so people can’t see the truth. In this case, the person cannot hide their feelings.
So the idea is: when I look at you, I can’t hide how I feel.
Synonyms or similar expressions include:
to hide, to conceal, to cover up, to mask
For example:
She tried to disguise her disappointment.
He couldn’t disguise his excitement.
In everyday conversation, people often say “hide” instead of “disguise,” because it’s simpler.
Four: “I feel the magic between you and I.”
Here we have something interesting: “you and I.”
In very careful grammar, “you and I” is used when the phrase is the subject of the sentence.
For example:
You and I need to talk.
You and I work well together.
But when the phrase is the object, many grammar guides would say it should be “you and me.”
For example:
There’s something special between you and me.
This is just between you and me.
In songs and everyday speech, people often mix these, because “you and I” sometimes sounds more poetic. So in the song, “between you and I” is common in music, but in strict grammar it should be “between you and me.”
The meaning of the line is simple: there is chemistry or a special connection between two people.
You could also say:
There’s something special between us.
There’s chemistry between us.
There’s a spark between us.
Five: “So hear me out.”
“Hear someone out” is a phrasal verb.
It means: listen to someone until they finish what they want to say, even if you don’t agree with them yet.
So it’s basically asking for patience.
For example:
Just hear me out before you decide.
Please hear me out. I can explain everything.
Two more examples:
Hear me out. I know this sounds crazy, but it might actually work.
Before you say no, just hear me out.
Similar expressions include:
listen to me
let me explain
give me a chance to explain
just listen for a moment
Six: “Did I take you by surprise?”
“To take someone by surprise” means to do something unexpected so that the other person is shocked or didn’t see it coming.
For example:
Her question took me by surprise.
The news really took us by surprise.
The storm took everyone by surprise.
You can also say:
Did that surprise you?
Did you see that coming?
Was that unexpected?
Another natural expression is:
That caught me off guard.
Seven: “This love was meant to be.”
When we say something “was meant to be,” we mean that it was destined or somehow supposed to happen.
It suggests that events naturally led to this result, almost like fate.
For example:
Maybe it was meant to be.
We met by accident, but maybe it was meant to be.
Everything worked out in the end. It was meant to be.
In everyday life, people often use this phrase when something good happens after many coincidences.
Similar ideas include:
It was destiny.
It was fate.
It was supposed to happen.
For example:
We kept meeting in different cities. In the end we started dating. Maybe it was meant to be.
PRACTICE
I’ve been meaning to call you.
I’ve got a feeling this plan will work.
The pain slowly subsided.
She tried to disguise her disappointment.
You and I need to talk.
This is just between you and me.
Just hear me out before you decide.
Her question took me by surprise.
We met by accident, but maybe it was meant to be.
That’s all from me for now. And remember, phrases like these only become yours when you actually start using them. When you say them out loud, when you try them in real conversations, when you let the language move from understanding to speaking.
And that’s exactly the kind of practice we do inside my Voice Loop groups. You record short voice messages, you experiment with phrases like the ones from today’s episode, and I give you personal feedback so you know what works and how to make it sound even more natural.
If you’d like to practice speaking this way with me for five weeks, go to teacherolanda.com/grupy and choose your level and your group.
And now don’t forget to head to teacherola.com/330 and grab your free worksheet.
Thank you so much for listening. Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud. I love you, I believe in you, I know you are ready to speak English. I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you’ve been listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now.