Hey there! This is TOP episode 177. A New Year and New Beginnings – Vocabulary Booster
My name’s Ola I teach English and help you believe you can eliminate your language blockade. The secret word here is consistency. Each episode of TOP comes with a little worksheet, a one-pager to help you digest and test what you’ve practised here. You can speak English more confidently, slay that fear and enjoy easy communication.
Visit my website for full transcripts and worksheets. Visit my shop at teacherola.com and enjoy your journey to fluency! Happy learning!
Hello there! It’s a vocabulary class today thank you for pressing, tapping or clicking play. New Year guys! New beginnings! A chance to start over. Every day is a new beginning but you know, January is such a symbolic moment to look back and start afresh. Today you’re going to practice six idioms associated with the new beginning. Listen, shadow, learn some vocabulary, repeat the sentences in the practical part and download the worksheet.
Before we begin I have to tell you a few things. Firstly, Powiedz Coś, my speaking course is available and you are welcome to join the course, I’m waiting for you, for your recordings. Join the course to start speaking English fearlessly. Go to powiedzcos.pl to learn more. Also! Join the free challenge and make the first step. You’ll find the challenge at powiedzcos.pl
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Visit my shop, buy a Worksheet set, and have your Worksheets in one place. They’re editable. You can complete them on your smartphone. Thank’s for your patience and let’s get back to the episode.
Here we go, let’s learn or refresh and let’s start using idioms associated with a fresh new start. Say them out loud in the practical part, do the shadowing (all about shadowing in episode 25).
One. To start with a clean slate. To start again with a fresh beginning. To ignore the past and start over again. To start with a clean slate. To put your (usually negative) past behind you and start over. This phrase comes from the use of chalk and slates in classrooms in the past. By wiping the slate clean, a student could remove a mistake and start again Sentences:
Start with a clean slate every time you move on to a new project.
What would your life look like if you could start with a clean slate?
Two. To turn over a new leaf. To change your behavior, usually in a positive way. To begin again, fresh; to reform and begin again. To turn over a new leaf. To change your attitude for the better. To improve. To introduce a major change in your life. The origins of this expression reach the 16th century when pages in books were referred to as leaves. So tuning over a new leaf meant that one was turning to a blank page. Examples:
He promised to turn over a new leaf and study harder.
I know I’ve done some bad things in the past, but now I’m turning over a new leaf.
Three. To shake things up. To cause changes to something, especially in order to make improvements. To shake things up. To do something different from your normal routine in order to make things feel new or interesting. Listen to these example sentences:
It’s important to shake up your daily routine, or you may end up in a rut.
I’m tired of getting pizza — let’s shake things up and try that new Indian restaurant.
Four. To go back to square one. To go back to the very first stage of something. To return to an initial starting point. Back to the beginning. To go back to square one. The origins of this phrase aren’t clear. Some say it refers to board games but others argue it comes from hopscotch or from football commentaries. Let’s hear some examples:
And now I’m back to square one.
Unfortunately, if things go wrong we go back to square one.
I guess I’m back to square one yet again!
Five. Winds of change. Or a wind of change. It’s an event or series of events that signal large and important changes. Winds of change. I’m sure you’ve heard the song Wind of Change by Scorpions. Now, listen to these examples:
The winds of change are blowing through the entire organization.
He could not anticipate new problems nor adjust to the winds of change.
Six. To go cold turkey. To quit cold turkey, to stop cold turkey. What it means is to stop doing something abruptly. Quit smoking in a day. Just stop. Not by limiting the number of cigarettes but to stop smoking completely. For instance:
I was addicted to dating apps, so I quit cold turkey.
I quit that shit cold turkey and never did it again.
Time to speak some English. Listen to the sentences and say them out loud. You’ll be able to boost your fluency but you gotta be consistent. If you follow my advice, and say the sentences out loud you’ll see true and lasting results. Let’s do this:
What would your life look like if you could start with a clean slate?
He promised to turn over a new leaf and study harder.
I know I’ve done some bad things in the past, but now I’m turning over a new leaf.
It’s important to shake up your daily routine, or you may end up in a rut.
I’m tired of getting pizza — let’s shake things up and try that new Indian restaurant.
Unfortunately, if things go wrong we go back to square one.
I guess I’m back to square one yet again!
The winds of change are blowing through the entire organization.
He could not anticipate new problems nor adjust to the winds of change.
I was addicted to dating apps, so I quit cold turkey.
Here you have it! 6 idioms for new beginnings! Let’s recap all six expressions once more:
One. To start with a clean slate.
Two. To turn over a new leaf.
Three. To shake things up.
Four. To go back to square one.
Five. Winds of change.
Six. To go cold turkey.
Now go to your inbox and get the worksheet to test yourself. Translate the sentences into English. If you aren’t a member of TOPeople download the worksheet from teacherola.com/177.
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Go to powiedzcos.pl and sign up for a challenge, start speaking English right now. See you on Thursday at 11 live on Instagram, cheers! Till next time! Take care! Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!