Speak English Now through mini-stories with teacher Georgiana

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

 - We're going to be a bit scared. Well, not really. We're going to listen to some super short scary stories. Each story is one sentence, more or less.

- In the second part, we're going to listen to a point of view story to learn grammar in context without memorising any boring rules.

You can get the transcript for this episode on my website: SpeakEnglishpodcast.com

How was your day? A lot is going on today: some good, some okay, and some bad. 

Today I'd like to talk about fear. Well, I'm not going to get serious about it because we already have plenty of real scary stories in the news.

I will actually talk about some scary stories that can be told in a few words. Here’s an example: "We have to talk."

Indeed, the expression "we have to talk" can trigger all kinds of emotions, including fear, especially if your couple says it. But that's another story.

Let's look at the first one:

"There's a party tonight, and the whole family is going to be here." 

Well, here's a typical case of family-induced panic! While it's usually a good thing to get together with family, it can be terrifying for some. And if you don't believe me, we've all heard stories about families at Christmas.

Ok! Let’s continue with another super short scary story:

"We know who you are and where you live."

Hmmm... Well... Yes, it can be scary. Imagine you get a phone call from a hidden number; they tell you this and hang up. Or maybe you receive a note with just that phrase. How would you react if you received this kind of message?

Well, let's look at another super short scary story.

"Know where we came from and where we're going." 

Well, this one can be terrifying. Especially if you're on the wrong bus, and you're going to the wrong place :) Although I understand that this phrase has a more transcendent dimension, the truth is that it gives food for thought. To give somebody food for thought means to make them think seriously about something.

Ok! Let’s see the next one:

"I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse."

I must confess that I’ve heard this phrase before.And whenever I listen to someone say this, it makes me panic! Because usually this so-called offer hides a lot of things they don't want you to know. It is the typical phrase you can hear when someone wants to sell you something over the phone. And many times they are too pushy.  They insist too much.

Ok! Another super short scary story!

"Open your mouth, please!", 

Well... I don't know what to say. I guess the context is when you're at the dentist. 

Certainly, for many people going to the dentist is something they don't look forward to at all. Almost terrifying. 

Come on, another one:

"It's Sunday and someone is calling you from the office,"

Yes, this one is scary too. Imagine you're resting on a Sunday after a hard week at the office, and your cell phone rings. You look to see who's calling, and it's from the office - weird, right? I wouldn't want to pick up the phone. Would you?

Well, we've heard some of these super short scary stories, which actually, are even funny. I hope you liked them.

By the way, if you want to know how to speak English using the right techniques, visit SpeakEnglishPodcast.com and subscribe to my mailing list. I will send you my 5 golden rules to speak English fluently.

Do you know how you can help me?

You can share the podcast with your friends and family.

Tell them to go to SpeakEnglishPodcast.com and get my free mini-course. 

Let's move on to the next section. 

Get the transcript at: SpeakEnglishpodcast.com/podcast