Hey there! This is TOP 350. Learn English With “Self Aware” by Temper City
**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.
Hey there, and thank you so much for being here with me today. I’ve got another little piece of real English for you, and this time we’re taking it from a song. But let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: we’re not going to sit here and analyse the lyrics line by line. You can put the lyrics into a translator and get a general idea of what they mean in about three seconds. That’s not really what I’m interested in. What I want to do with you is something much more useful: take the English from the song and turn it into English that you can actually use. English you can hear in everyday conversations, English you can put into your own sentences, English that can move from your passive vocabulary into your active vocabulary. Because knowing what a phrase means is one thing. Being able to use it naturally when you’re actually talking to someone is a completely different skill. So stay with me, listen carefully, and, as always, don’t just listen. Wait for the practical part and repeat the sentences after me plus download the Worksheet and practice even more. Go to teacherola.com/350.
And if you’re thinking, “OK, but I really need more opportunities to actually speak English, not just listen to podcasts about it,” this is exactly what we do in my Voice Loop group conversations on WhatsApp. You speak, you react, you make mistakes, you try again, and you gradually become more comfortable using English in real time. To find the right group and level for you, just take my test at teacherola.com/test.
And now, let’s get into today’s phrases.
One. NO SMOKE WITH NO FIRE
Let’s start with a small correction. The line in the song is “no smoke with no fire”, but the established English expression is usually “there’s no smoke without fire”. You may also hear “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”. Cambridge lists “there’s no smoke without fire” as the British version and “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” as the American version.
The basic idea is very simple: if there are rumours, accusations or signs that something is wrong, there is probably at least some truth behind them.
In Polish, it is basically “nie ma dymu bez ognia”.
For example, imagine that someone at work is suddenly being accused of taking money from the company. You don’t know whether it’s true, but several people are talking about it.
A: Do you really think he stole the money?
B: I don’t know, but there’s no smoke without fire.
Notice that this expression does not mean “it is definitely true”. That is important. You are saying that there is probably some reason why people are saying these things.
You could also use it when you hear a rumour about a celebrity:
A: Apparently, they’re having problems in their relationship.
B: Maybe. There’s no smoke without fire.
Or when something seems suspicious:
A: Why is everyone saying that the company is going bankrupt?
B: I have no idea, but there’s no smoke without fire.
Two. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER
This is a really useful phrase because it allows you to say “tak czy inaczej”, “w taki czy inny sposób” or “jakoś”, without explaining exactly how something is going to happen.
The first common use is when you don’t know exactly how something will happen, but you are sure that it will happen.
For example:
One way or another, we’ll find a solution.
You can use it when you are determined to do something:
A: Are you going to finish the project by Friday?
B: Yes. One way or another, I’ll get it done.
It can also mean “w taki czy inny sposób” when you are talking about different possible methods:
We have to get there one way or another.
Maybe we’ll take the bus. Maybe we’ll get a lift. Maybe we’ll walk. You don’t know yet. The important thing is that somehow you are going to get there.
Three. I WISH THAT I COULD LIE
Now we have something slightly different because this is a grammar pattern as well as a useful phrase.
“I wish I could…” is one of the most useful structures when you want to talk about something you would like to be able to do, but you can’t.
“I wish I could lie” means something like:
“Chciałbym móc kłamać.”
But in the context of the song, the interesting part is the grammar. After “wish”, we often use a past form to talk about a present situation that we would like to be different. With “could”, we are talking about an ability or possibility.
For example:
I wish I could speak Spanish.
You can’t speak Spanish, or at least you can’t speak it as well as you’d like. You are talking about a situation in the present that you wish were different.
I wish I could stay longer.
But you can’t stay longer.
I wish I could help you.
But you can’t help, perhaps because there is nothing you can do.
And:
I wish I could lie.
The speaker is basically saying: “I wish I were capable of lying, but I’m not.”
This pattern is incredibly useful in everyday English:
I wish I could sleep for another two hours.
I wish I could stop worrying about everything.
I wish I could remember people’s names.
I wish I could just switch my brain off sometimes.
I wish I could tell you what really happened.
Four. BUT MY MIND GETS IN THE WAY
“Get in the way” is another extremely useful expression. It means that something creates an obstacle or makes something more difficult. Cambridge defines “get in the way of something” as making it difficult for something to happen, continue or be appreciated properly.
And the thing getting in your way doesn’t have to be a physical object.
For example:
My fear gets in the way.
My anxiety gets in the way.
My phone gets in the way of studying.
My thoughts get in the way of me enjoying the moment.
So when the song says:
“But my mind gets in the way”
the idea is that the speaker wants to do something, perhaps behave in a certain way or simply stop thinking so much, but their own thoughts prevent them from doing it.
And this is a very natural expression for talking about problems that come between you and what you want to do.
For example:
A: Why don’t you just talk to him?
B: I want to, but my fear gets in the way.
Or:
I really want to enjoy myself, but I keep thinking about what everyone thinks of me. My own thoughts get in the way.
Five. ALWAYS WAY TOO SELF-AWARE
There are two things worth noticing here.
First, “way too” is informal English and simply makes “too” stronger. “Way too” means “far too” or “much too”. Like in: “way too much money” and “way past your bedtime”.
So:
It’s too expensive.
means:
“To jest za drogie.”
But:
It’s way too expensive.
means:
“To jest zdecydowanie za drogie.”
The same thing happens in:
You’re way too young.
That’s way too difficult.
You’re way too hard on yourself.
But now let’s focus on the really interesting word: “self-aware”.
If you are self-aware, you understand yourself well. You are conscious of your own feelings, thoughts, behaviour and the way you affect other people. Cambridge defines it as knowing and understanding yourself very well.
Being self-aware can be a very positive thing.
For example:
She’s very self-aware and knows exactly what her strengths and weaknesses are.
He’s self-aware enough to realize that he needs to change.
I’ve become much more self-aware over the last few years.
But being “too self-aware” can have a slightly different feeling.
Imagine that you are at a party. Instead of simply talking to people and enjoying yourself, you are constantly thinking:
“Do I look stupid?”
“Was that a weird thing to say?”
“Does everyone think I’m boring?”
“Why did I say that?”
You are so aware of yourself and your behaviour that you can’t simply relax.
That is the idea behind:
“I’m way too self-aware.”
It can be close to saying:
“I’m constantly aware of myself, what I’m doing and how other people might see me.”
For example:
I’d love to dance at parties, but I’m way too self-aware.
I can never fully relax in front of a camera. I’m way too self-aware.
Sometimes I wish I could just say whatever I’m thinking, but I’m way too self-aware.
And this connects really nicely with the previous line:
“But my mind gets in the way,
Always way too self-aware.”
The speaker is saying: “I think too much about myself and my behaviour, and that stops me from doing what I actually want to do.”
Practice
There’s no smoke without fire.
One way or another, we’ll find a solution.
We have to get there one way or another.
I wish I could stay longer.
I wish I could stop worrying about everything.
My fear gets in the way.
My anxiety gets in the way.
It’s way too expensive.
I’d love to dance at parties, but I’m way too self-aware.
I wish I could just say whatever I’m thinking, but I’m way too self-aware.
And before you go, don’t forget to grab your free worksheet for this episode at teacherola.com/350.
And that’s it for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed this one and, more importantly, I hope you’ve found a few expressions that you can actually start using in your own English. Because that’s always the point here. I don’t want you to just understand English. I want you to feel comfortable using it.
And if you’ve been listening to me for a while, you know that I say this all the time: you don’t become a confident speaker by waiting until you feel confident enough to speak. You become a confident speaker by speaking.
So, if you feel like you understand a lot of English but still sometimes get stuck when you actually have to say something, maybe it’s time to give yourself more opportunities to speak.
That’s what we do in my Voice Loop group conversations on WhatsApp. They’re small group sessions where you can actually use English, talk to other people, make mistakes, laugh, think on your feet and just get more comfortable speaking.
And if you’d like to join us, go to teacherola.com/test and take the test. It’ll help us find the right group and level for you.
Thank you so much for listening. Please rate and comment, subscribe if you haven’t yet and above all: stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud. I love you, I believe in you, and 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.