Hey there! This is TOP episode 244. Learn English with ‘Shut Up And Dance’
Are you tired of lacking confidence when speaking English? Does it block you from achieving your true goals? This podcast is the place for you. This is Teacher Ola Podcast. My name’s Ola Mierniczak and I empower English learners to become confident speakers. The key to fluency is in your pocket. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar and improve your pronunciation. Enjoy your journey to fluency!
Hello and welcome! Thank you for choosing this episode, you won’t regret! Today we’re going to learn some English with music! My favourite type of learning English. That’s how I became passionate abote this language, it was a massive motivation for me, to be able to finally fully understand the meaning behind the lyrics. Before we begin, let me one more time remind you, there’s a fresh new series of three webinars coming very very soon! I don’t want you to miss it, you cannot miss it, you wanna be there live. 19, 20, 21 may we’ll be learning how to get unstuck, unblocked, and start your English journey anew. Please sign up now, go to teacherola.com/webinar. It’s all free. It’s not the first, but fourth series of webinars I’m hosting for you. I can’t wait, I love the atmosphere, the energy, your comments, the fact you love them, oh! It’s what every teacher lives for. Happy students who make notes, take the knowledge and put it into practice. This time we’ll be answering three burning questions you have:
One: How to memorize words?
Two: How to stop making mistakes speaking English?
Three: How to understand more while listening to people speaking English. I’m pumped, and you can hear it! Once again: it’s teacherola.com/webinar. And one more thing! It’s at 8 pm. 19, 20, 21 May at 8 pm. And now today’s episode.
So let’s go through most interesting phrases from the song ‘Shut Up and Dance’
Oh, don’t you dare look back – “Don’t you dare” is a strong phrase used to express a warning or a threat. When someone tells you “don’t you dare,” they are telling you not to do something, and it often implies that there will be consequences if you do it. Instead of saying: ‘don’t you dare look back’ you can also say:
You better not look back.
or
I forbid you to look back.
But, none of these examples sounds as natural as ‘don’t you dare’. Now listen to these two example sentences:
Don’t you dare eat my last piece of cake!
Don’t you dare leave without saying goodbye!
Just keep your eyes on me. – ‘Keep your eyes on me’ basically means ‘look at me’ or ‘pay attention to me.’ So, if someone tells you to keep your eyes on them, they want you to focus on what they’re saying or doing, kind of like giving them your full attention. It’s similar to:
Stay focused on me.
Make sure you’re looking at me.
And now you’ll hear two example sentences with this phrase:
Keep your eyes on me while I show you how to do this.
While driving, it’s important to keep your eyes on the road at all times for safety.
Next phrase:
I said, “You’re holding back.” – When someone says ‘you’re holding back,’ they mean that you’re not giving your full effort or not expressing yourself fully. It’s like saying you’re not showing everything you could, whether it’s in your actions or your emotions. You’re not fully participating. You’re being reserved.
Why are you holding back your true feelings?
It seemed like you were holding back your opinions.
She said, “Shut up and dance with me!” When someone says ‘shut up,’ it’s a very direct and rude way of telling someone to stop talking. It’s not polite at all and can be considered quite harsh. What’s a better way of saying it?
Be quiet.
Stop talking.
Could you lower your voice, please?
I’ve got two more phrasal verbs with ‘shut’ for you, so pay attention:
One: Shut down – to close something like a computer or a business. For instance:
Due to financial difficulties, the company had to shut down.
And:
Two: Shut out – to exclude someone or something, usually from a group or a situation. For example:
She felt shut out of the conversation when nobody listened to her.
This woman is my destiny. – ‘Destiny’ means the things that are meant to happen in your life, like what you’ll do or who you’ll become. It’s like the idea that there’s a plan for your life already set out. Your destiny is your fate, your future. Example sentences:
Destiny drew us together.
It was a destiny.
We were bound to get together – it means that it was very likely or inevitable, certain that the people we talk about would end up in a relationship or come together in some way. To be bound to do something, to be very likely, or certain to to do it. It was inevitable that we would come together. It was destiny.
You’re bound to be nervous the first time.
Mistakes are bound to happen.
I don’t know how it happened – I know you know the meaning, but please pay attention to this indirect question, here, ok? Direct question would sound like this:
How did it happen? But it’s an indirect question, with an introduction, so it has to be:
I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know how it happened.
That’s it! I picked some phrases from the song ‘Shut Up And Dance’ by Walk the Moon. But! Don’t you dare leave now. Stay for the practical part of the episode where you speak English out loud. Listen and repeat:
Don’t you dare leave without saying goodbye!
Keep your eyes on me while I show you how to do this.
Why are you holding back your true feelings?
Due to financial difficulties, the company had to shut down.
She felt shut out of the conversation when nobody listened to her.
Destiny drew us together.
It was destiny.
Mistakes are bound to happen.
How did it happen?
I don’t know how it happened.
Now tune in to the song. Find on on Youtube or Spotify, or whereve you listen to music. The band’s name is: Walk the Moon, and th song is titled: ‘Shut up and dance’. I know you’ve learned a lot today! Phrasal verbs for instance, I hope you liked the class. If you love my work I’ve been doing for the last 5 years for you please help me get my message across to other people whoo need English. You can give me 5 stars in Spotife, write a review in iTunes, commend on YouTube, leave thumbs up. For you it’s little effort for me – oh! I jump for joy for every single sign that you’re there. That I don’t talk to myself. I love you, I believe in you, I know you can be fluent in English if you really want it.
And hey! Sign up for my free training! Go to teacherola.com/webinar and save your spot. I’ll teach you how to speak English with ease. The link is in the description.
Don’t forget to download the Worksheet. If you’re a member of TOPeople you already get my newsletter with the pdfs. If not, go and grab it at teacherola.com/244.
I’ll be back next week. Stay fearless, say it out loud and take care! I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you were listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now.