english across the pond — Plans

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English across the pond.

Hello, hello everybody and welcome to a brand new episode, a brand new year.

It is 2021.

Wow.

How are you feeling?

We hope you're excited.

For many of us, 2020 was not the easiest or the simplest of years.

Let's hope for better things this year.

This is an English language podcast.

My name is Dan.

I'm an English teacher from England.

Hi.

Hi, everybody.

I am Jennifer.

I am also an English teacher, but if you couldn't tell by my accent, I'm an American English teacher.

I'm from

The United States, the West Coast, California.

I'm even wearing my California t-shirt.

I saw.

I'm very lucky because before we start the audio recording, we chat on video.

And ladies and gentlemen, I've seen the California t-shirt.

And I actually said, it's very nice.

I like it.

Sky blue.

Sky blue.

Tie dye.

Tie dye sky blue.

For the last four and a half years, I think, we've recorded and presented an episode every Friday.

And this year's going to be no different.

We're coming at you every single week.

We hope you'll tune in for the next 52 weeks and beyond.

But Jennifer and I are super, super excited because we have...

So stoked!

Jennifer, honestly, is really excited.

We have big plans for this year.

We're going to be introducing some new things to English Across the Pond today.

We think they're going to really help you to learn English.

We are pouring so much effort and love into our new projects.

We won't say too much about it now.

Not yet.

It's a surprise.

I'm on the edge of my seat!

Jennifer's trying hard not to tell you our secrets, but if you go to englishacrossthepond.com slash community, you can find a few details there about what we've got planned.

Really, if this is the year where you think, you know, I've been trying to learn English, it's not really working...

I'm not making as much progress as I'd like.

I still don't understand idioms.

I'm still afraid to go and talk in English.

I'm still afraid that I can't really do it.

Then we are going to try to help you make this your year.

Oh yeah!

But we also have a topic and because it's January the 1st,

Our topic is plans.

Plans.

Not plants.

Plans.

Plans.

Plans.

Jennifer, are you a planner?

Dan, I know you're asking me that because we're having a conversation and we want our listeners to hear this real natural conversation and

But I think you know the answer to that because we've been business partners for over four years now.

Yeah.

I do know that.

I'm a planner.

You are a planner.

I'm meticulous.

I'm detail-oriented.

I am a...

There's never too much information, as you recently saw from my 16-page Google document I sent to you.

Um...

Well, in that case, what about 2021?

Have you got it all mapped out?

Oh, the pressure to make.

2021 different no i do not because if i learned anything in 2020 is that you can you can map things out you can have a plan you could have dates you could have goals you could have a timeline that is on track and anything can

Derail.

Derail it.

Yeah, derail it.

Anything can happen.

The unexpected can be very powerful.

So I had such different plans for 2020.

I was on track.

I was moving forward at the progress I needed to be.

And whabam, COVID-19.

Dun, dun, dun.

We had to change.

So I think my plan for 2021 is going to be, you know, I'm going to have one.

I'm going to have the intention of what I want it to be.

But I also know that flexibility is key.

yeah very important the word pivot is that your word for what is that do you ever choose like words yeah yeah do you think pivot will be no amongst the word no no tell you what words i've got two

For 2021?

Yeah.

And first of all, I thought that my first word should be honesty for 2021 because I feel that we all do this, but I feel that sometimes I say what I think people want to hear too much and I don't think that helps them or me.

It kind of helps in that moment where you go, you look lovely, you know, or it's a great idea.

But ultimately, maybe it's not a good idea.

And although it makes those first few seconds more difficult, ultimately, it might help them and me.

So I thought one of my words for the year might be honesty.

The second one, I thought pasta.

Eat more pasta?

Yeah, if it's humanly possible.

Because I like pasta.

So I'm going to have, like tattooed on me, honesty pasta.

feel like that's the brand name oh yeah or yeah a new pasta that you create that's cruelty free yeah gluten free and all the bells and whistles yeah gluten free are you gluten free yeah well no you like pasta so you have regular old pasta no i have gluten free pasta

My husband, who listens, shout out to you.

He like loves pasta and he has a very hard time accepting and eating with enjoyments, these gluten-free pastas that are coming out.

So for you, a man that loves pasta and someone who's gluten-free, do you have a favorite brand or like...

Well, I have eaten the gluten-free pasta that I think your lovely husband is referring to, and it tastes like cardboard.

It's rubbish.

It's not very pastory at all.

But do you know, like, spelt?

S-P-E-L-T. Spelt.

Mm-hmm.

It's a kind of... Is it a grain?

I don't know what spelt is.

It's a kind of grain or something like that.

And spelt...

I've only had the internet at our fingertips.

Yeah, if only there was a thing called...

There's a spelt gluten-free pasta.

It ticks all the boxes.

Hmm...

Is spelt gluten-free?

Spelt in ancient grain is a distinct variety of wheat.

Like all wheat, it contains gluten.

Therefore, you should avoid spelt if you have celiac disease or gluten tolerance.

Yeah, well, there's other... Well, yeah, well.

Maybe not spelt pasta.

But I do have, like, my favourite gluten-free pasta is the one that...

This is the supermarket's own brand.

Oh, yeah.

So this episode is not about pasta.

It's not about diet.

It's not about being gluten free.

But just to wrap up this topic, the U.S., like the grocery stores here, you know, consumerism in America is alive and well.

And there are I can go to the store and have.

Off the top of my head, probably 10 different brands and 10 different types of gluten free pasta.

Yeah, not so many here.

From black beans, from chickpeas, from lentils, from brown rice.

Some of them, I bet, are rubbish.

Quinoa.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, but anyways.

I want to go back.

What they do is bring shame to the word pasta, some of those.

Well, that's what I was saying.

My husband was saying, like, this is not pasta.

I agree.

Yeah.

However, some of them are.

Yeah.

I want to go back to what you said, your word being honesty.

When you were describing about being honest, I saw the word flash in front of me, authenticity.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Could be.

Yeah.

It kind of sounded like you're wanting to be a bit more like authentic and...

Sharing how you really feel.

Yeah.

And representing you yourself authentically.

Yeah.

That's what I was getting.

Do you know myintent.com?

No.

You get a little bracelet with your word of the year on.

And I don't think, I think authenticity is too many letters.

Oh, maybe.

Yeah.

I don't do well with these words.

Oh, they don't sit with you.

It just like, you know, maybe it'll change.

I don't know.

I think it just, I think it constricts me a little bit.

And then if I get too focused on this one word, it doesn't really allow for like maybe the flexibility because I get stuck on like, oh, this word, this word.

And then when it kind of, it's like setting a word just makes me feel like it's very resolution-y.

Like setting a resolution.

Like, oh, my word.

you know is i can't even remember i'm trying to think of what my word was oh like let go you know i made one last year and i referenced it a couple of times but i don't know i was trying to see if i could think of it or find it really so maybe if you had a word like you'd end up eating pasta every single day of the year

Oh, yeah.

If my word was pasta, I would gain 700 pounds.

And then, you know.

But I think it's one of those things where if this kind of idea, and in case you're wondering, A, I thought this was about plants.

Yeah, we're sorry about that.

Plans have to change.

We've pivoted and adapted.

But also if you're thinking, why are they talking about words?

I don't know if we explained this at the beginning.

People choose a word for the year.

It's an idea.

I first heard of it just like a few years ago.

It seems like a very American thing to do to me, a very West Coast thing to do, where people choose one word for the year, like strength maybe, or brave, or what else could you have?

Passed out.

uh authenticity yeah flexibility yeah courage courage stronger believe or you know you choose a word for the year that you feel will help you get through that year but as jennifer was saying it may presence yeah presence yeah it may limit you yes but or i mean i think it depends on the person i think that it could just yeah

Close your eyes to something else.

Like maybe you've set this word thinking it means this.

Sure.

But you've got to interpret it in another way and allow yourself to see it as something else.

I realize that that's very vague.

No, but...

Very, very vague.

If your two words were let go and you found yourself like hanging out of a plane...

hanging on to a plane you've got a different interpretation don't let go you know yeah yeah so don't let go of the the good and the success exactly anyways exactly yeah we digress but i'm we digress i'm gonna turn the question back around yeah on you yeah on ya yeah are you a planner

Not as much as you.

Well, I mean, that's comparing apples and oranges, my friend.

That's comparing freaking sticks and ocean water.

Nice analogy.

I know I made that up um I am actually more than I used to be I think maybe I mean if you take it right the way back to when you're like a little kid one minute it's the one one minute it's the summer and then it's the winter you know you have very little awareness of time as a kid and I think as I've got older I've kind of like understood the system there's a mixture of minutes hours days weeks months I'm trying to you know I'm

kind of understanding how this jigsaw fits together and that yeah more so now things like in the next 12 months or in the next three months so two years ago 2019 I ran quite a few 10k races for example that was because I set out with a plan to do that last year I didn't because they were all cancelled and I just put on like 700 pounds eating pasta so this year

I want to try and get back on that again.

But there are things like I always say, right?

Riddle me this one, Jennifer, right?

I always say I should walk more in the countryside.

And every time I do go for a walk, I think I should do this more.

And yet I don't ever really seem to do it more.

What's that about?

Do you have your why clearly defined?

I don't know.

I don't know.

Maybe not.

You know?

Yeah.

Why do you want to walk more in the countryside?

Yeah.

Good.

I think, you know, I could pick some ideas out of the air, but I haven't got a concrete answer.

Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Why do you want to walk more in the countryside?

And then that's going to help motivate you to do it.

Because if you're just like, oh, I want to walk more in the countryside, but you don't really know why, when you wake up in the day and you're like, huh, what do I want to do today?

Oh, I think maybe I'll just go to the shops with my daughter.

Yeah.

You know?

Because you don't, what are you going to do?

You don't really have any rhyme or reason for going or not going.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Good.

I kind of almost end up going kind of by accident.

Do you know what I mean?

Because it's not actually part of my plan.

Like spontaneous, you mean?

Yeah, so when I do go, it's like I love it and I'm glad that I'm out there, but I go on the spur of the moment.

And I know that planning helps me to get more done and I could factor it in.

I could actually get a three-month calendar.

But I don't do that.

Maybe it's self-sabotage or something.

I'm not sure.

I don't know.

Oh, God.

I feel like it could be anything.

Or it could be a lot.

Yeah.

Lack of motivation.

Lack of self-discipline.

All right.

No, like, busyness.

Forgetfulness.

Yeah, yeah.

A lack of desire.

Like...

Again, like, what's your why or whatever?

Like, maybe you want to be in the countryside because you like the fresh air, but you don't like the walking bit.

Or you don't like how long it takes to, you don't like the driving to the trail, but once you're there, you like it.

So, like, what's your mind focusing on that's stopping you from doing it?

You know what I mean?

Thanks to my family.

I mean, I am a positive psychology practitioner.

So I like when I get to utilize these skills for well-being.

So do you like, if say this year you wanted to say like swim more, let's for example, let's say you wanted to swim like once a month in 2021.

Would you write that down anywhere?

I mean, and if you did, would you write it in like,

onto your phone into a google calendar or would you just write down swim more or you know what's going on manifestation say it out loud speak it out loud write it out loud dream it create it just swimming manifest it yeah i don't want to swim so that's your example no yeah yeah sure but

I am and have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want and just like saying it out loud a lot to myself.

So, like, I'll use an example of my foot.

Yeah.

I have had this chronic pain for, like, frick word, you know?

Yeah.

I had to really stop myself from saying the F word because it's so unbelievably overwhelmingly hard to deal with this foot pain for, like, over 15 years.

Ouch.

And I'm on this kick of, like, I'm done.

I'm over it.

I need to figure it out.

Like, there is a reason why...

I have it and it's still there and why I can't fix it.

I don't know what that is, but I'm working on it.

And I sent this message to you in WhatsApp the other day of like, I, I, I've shifted the focus on like, I'm not, Oh God, it hurts.

It hurts.

It hurts.

Like this is bad.

I can't do this.

It's like, it is changing every day.

You know, the therapist that I'm working with, she is able to like,

massage it a little harder and deeper, you know, than before.

It still hurts.

I'm still almost in tears, but it's different.

It's changing.

Is it

Gone?

No.

But so I'm like, my foot is changing every day.

I am getting better every day.

I am one step to walking.

I will not end 2021 with this pain.

So I will not end 2021 with this pain, right?

It's not going to be the same.

I know it's not going to be.

I don't necessarily know what it's going to be.

But I'm just saying out loud what I want.

It's not going to be the same.

So with your swimming example, I could say, like, I will be swimming.

What do I want?

I will be swimming more in a couple months.

Like, I am a swimmer.

I like swimming.

I enjoy swimming.

Swimming helps me feel good.

Swimming...

makes my body lean.

Swimming helps my health, you know?

I don't know.

I'm making things up as I go along with this swimming example, but I would just kind of like say to myself out loud.

So that's kind of what I'm doing, which kind of makes me sound like a crazy person, like I'm just talking to myself aloud a lot.

But I can do that almost anytime, anywhere, versus I'm not always gonna have my journal

in time to like write and sit down in my journal.

But I also don't want to not communicate these things that I want with myself, with others and with the universe.

So that's why kind of saying it out loud or saying it to myself, kind of like putting it out there intentionally will support me.

But also I'm saying that it sounds like you're a crazy woman.

I think science supports all of this.

I don't, you know, this is what, I think there was a time maybe in like the 80s or the 90s where it's kind of like top athletes, you know, like the US Olympic relay team who've just broken the world record, spend an hour a day thinking about their success, visualising it in their minds and repeating that they are going to win.

I don't think, I think that,

At the moment, we're still in a crossover stage where it's still a bit woo-woo to talk about, like, I'm in the shower screaming.

And we have this cliche as well of the businessman in the shower going,

you're going to earn a million pounds, you're a tiger, you can crush all the opposition.

But I think there is actually truth and it really does work, this kind of idea of like you say to yourself, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this.

And I think the funny thing is, I think what it is, is if you tell your brain something, your brain doesn't know if you're lying or not.

Don't even get me started on the brain talk.

You know, I love the brain wiring and neurology and all of that stuff.

Your brain does not know if something is real or just imagined.

So you can trick yourself.

Yes.

I feel like... And by tricking yourself, you can rewire it so it does become true and your reality.

Neuroplasticity, baby.

Oh, gosh, I love that topic.

I'm fired up.

Right.

Well, we've kind of talked about plans.

Yeah, we've definitely talked about plans.

I think the most important thing is we've shared how...

Like what we how we view ourselves.

Like, are we a planner?

Like, what do what are our plans for the year?

This is a great way for you, our listeners, to think about those questions with yourself.

These are questions that you can ask yourself.

You can respond out loud, talk to yourself out loud.

Are you a planner?

Do you like to plan?

What are your plans for the new year?

You know, you can utilize the questions that we ask each other, Dan and I ask each other in this episode, to kind of create your own conversations, to create your own English practice, and to utilize this episode to improve your fluency.

We also shared our plans that are coming...

But perhaps the most important thing we've shown today is that conversations never go, natural conversations never go exactly how you expect them to.

And even when Jennifer and I have a plan in a Google document about our topic, we've still got off topic.

And this brings us back to our super, super exciting

plans for you and for English Across the Pond in 2021 so as we said at the start stay tuned and we're gonna stick around we're gonna have a great year together our job is to have fun our job is to let you hear natural conversation but we are teachers and we really really want this to be the year where you improve your language like never before we're gonna help you do that stick around

Stick around.

Until the next time.

Yep.

Thank you for listening.

Cheers.

Bye.

Bye.

Hello and welcome back.

This is The Language Focus podcast.

where we chat a little less and one of us, either Jennifer or myself, take a moment to highlight some of the vocabulary from this week's episode.

I've just looked at the member's study plan and noticed there's three pieces of vocab that are kind of connected to the body.

So, we're going to look at those.

Are you ready?

To be on the edge of your seat.

Jennifer said, I'm on the edge of my seat.

And you can probably guess the meaning of this.

It's a really nice expression.

If you can use this, everybody will be impressed.

But you have to use it at the right time.

You can't just say, hello, I'm on the edge of my seat.

That doesn't work.

Doesn't work like that.

So, if you're excited or nervous...

Filled with suspense.

You can't wait to find out what's happening next.

You say, I was, I am on the edge of my seat.

Or, of course, she was on the edge of her seat or something like that.

The next expression is at your fingertips.

At one's fingertips.

At one's fingertips.

If something is at your fingertips, then it's right there.

We usually use this for information, and that's why Jennifer said, if only we had the internet at our fingertips, if only we could access that information quickly.

She was joking, of course, because we record on computers.

So she did have...

The internet at her fingertips.

She was trying to be funny.

She was being funny.

You can also have things to hand as well.

If someone calls you, you can say, I haven't got a pen to hand at the moment.

That's T-O, the preposition.

And that means like, you know, near me or with me.

Yeah, to hand.

And the last of the three expressions that are connected to the body.

Off the top of your head.

I think Jennifer says this pretty much every week.

She always says, off the top of my head.

That's because I ask her questions that she's not ready for, that she hasn't prepared for.

So she just gives the first answer that comes to her mind.

So you say, off the top of my head.

And it's used when you haven't had time to think about something.

So you're kind of guessing or giving your first answer and it might not be your best answer.

That's because you haven't had time to think about it.

Okay, that's three beautiful expressions on the edge of your seat, at your fingertips, and also to hand, and off the top of your head.

I'm going to go and make some more exciting changes to our new adventure for 2021.

Remember, englishacrossthepond.com slash...

community until the next time my beautiful friends bye

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