Hi everyone!

I’m Georgiana; founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In this episode:


 I’d like to talk about how speaking a different language can change your personality.

 Later, a cool mini-story to practice your English speaking.

Let’s get started!

So, did you know that speaking a different language can change your personality?

Yes, you heard me well! Studies show that depending on the language you speak; your personality can be affected.

Studies show that speaking two or more languages can lead to a split personality.

They say that many speakers have completely unique identities in each of the languages they speak.

Apparently, the way you speak impacts the way you think, and it influences everything from how you make decisions to how you perceive color.

Therefore, language is much more than just communication. Since the way you speak clearly affects the way you think.

I can speak several languages, besides English. When I speak in German, for example, I pay attention to the way I interact with people, the way I organize my ideas and my thoughts, my emotions. All of these become profoundly influenced by the language I’m speaking.

For example, whenever I speak in German, I become more rational.

On the other hand, if I have a conversation in Spanish, I can observe myself behaving differently. It’s like being a different person. In this case, I feel more relaxed, more easy-going.

To acquire a new self, you’ll need to immerse yourself in the culture. You can achieve that by taking a trip abroad, watching movies, interact with a native speaker or, listening to the Speak English Now podcast. 

Another key factor is how well you know the language. Of course, it’s not the same if your level’s low. The more you dominate the language, the more it influences your personality.

My advice is that when you’re learning English, try to adopt a specific personality of the language. This way it’ll get easier and easier, and finally, you’ll speak English fluently and confidently.

When you learn a new language, you’re not simply memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules – you also have the opportunity to adopt new elements of your identity

Speak English Now Podcast

#019 Is English Changing You? ESL

Hi everyone!

I’m Georgiana; founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In this episode:

I’d like to help you to understand how to use words like Gonna, Wanna, Gotta, and similar.
After that, a point of view story to practice your English and consolidate the information that I’ll be teaching you in the first part.
Ok, let’s get started!

Are you confused about how and when to use the words GONNA, WANNA, and GOTTA?

Let me start by saying that these three words are contractions.
What’s a contraction?
A contraction is created when two words in a row come together and become one.
For example:
I am=I’m
It is = It’s
Do not = Don’t
Will not= Won’t

These are some of the contractions which are accepted as grammatically correct and are taught in all English courses.

However, in this lesson, I’ll focus on informal contractions. These are not taught in grammar books because their use is mostly colloquial.

If you say going to really fast, you can shorten it to GONNA by dropping the final sound. If you say want to really fast, it shortens to WANNA. These are informal contractions.

#020 Speak English like an American

I’m Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU to speak English fluently.

Today I will talk about fluency and how it is related to the possible mistakes that occur when we speak. Yes. Sometimes we can make mistakes!

Next, we will practice grammar with a funny point of view story. You just have to listen and observe how the different grammar points change.

Very good! I have decided to talk about a topic that I think is very significant for the language student.

First of all, let’s see what fluency means.

When a person can speak fluently, they can speak more or less without hesitation, without pausing and thinking about how to say something. Occasionally we can take a short pause to think, but this is not usual.

We experience near-perfect fluency when we speak our mother tongue. If you pay attention to when you speak, you will see that you do not think about which words to use. You just have an idea of what you are going to say, and you say it.

When you are learning a language, fluency develops gradually. A good symptom is when you find yourself without almost translating mentally. At first, it is normal to do so, but little by little, part of your speech becomes automatic, and the words are simply there. That’s when you start enjoying more and more conversations with Native speakers. It is amazing to see yourself in a conversation with a Native speaker in the language you are learning.

Somehow, it all becomes real.

Traditional or more academic methods insist on mastering more formal aspects such as grammar rules, word position, or conjugations. According to their theories, learning all this will help you express yourself better and avoid making so many mistakes when speaking.

Ask yourself this question: How often do you think about grammar rules when you speak in your native language? 

I believe that the most important thing for a language student is to develop fluency first. This has to be your main goal. When we are in the middle of a conversation, things go very fast. You can’t pause for 30 seconds to think about how to structure a sentence. You need to speak at that moment. You need to be fluent.

And how does this relate to mistakes? It’s common sense. If you can express yourself more or less effortlessly, mentally, you don’t have to look up or translate words. They just come to your mind. This way, you can spend more time focusing on other aspects, such as making fewer mistakes or improving your pronunciation.

As I always say, the way to improve your fluency is mostly by listening. The more you listen, the more you acquire the patterns of the language. When I talk about patterns, I mean word patterns that are very commonly used. So, you no longer think word by word but by groups of words. A very positive effect from listening to content made by a native speaker is that you hear the language without mistakes, so little by little, you will end up using the same structures that are error-free.

#023 English Fluency and Mistakes when you speak

Hi everyone!

I’m Georgiana; founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In today’s episode:

I’ll be talking about one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States: Halloween.
After that, you’ll practice your speaking with a new mini-story while enjoying my new Question & Answer story.
Very well. Let’s get started!

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the last day of October. I would say it’s very popular because everybody’s excited about it, especially children.

The word Halloween comes from an old English expression, “All Hallows’ Eve,” and it means the day before All Saints’ Day.

Children of all ages really love Halloween because they can dress up in funny costumes and knock on their neighborhood doors, shouting “Trick or Treat!”. The neighbors usually give them candies.

The meaning of the phrase “Trick or Treat” is interesting. In this context, “treat” means getting the candies, and “trick” means the consequence of not getting the sweets. It’s like an innocent threat children make. Of course, kids get really excited when they knock on stranger’s doors in their neighborhood.

Since Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits, the most common symbols are witches flying on broomsticks, ghosts, skeletons, black cats, etc. The black color is one of the traditional Halloween colors.

Of course, pumpkins are also a Halloween symbol. I’m sure you’ve seen them in movies. People empty pumpkin and put a candle inside to make a lamp. How do you make a Halloween pumpkin?

The first step is hollowing out the pumpkin.
After we use a keyhole, we saw to cut the hole.
When using a candle for illumination, you can cut the hole in the pumpkin’s top.
For electric lights, make the hole in the bottom or side so you can hide the cord.
The Halloween pumpkin is called Jack-O’-Lantern. It’s common to see jack-o’-lanterns on doorsteps decorations before and on Halloween.

The name comes from an Irish legend about a man named Jack. He was so ungenerous that when he died, he couldn’t enter Heaven, but he couldn’t go to Hell either because he had told jokes about the Devil. As a result, Jack had to walk and walk with a lantern until the Day of Judgment.

Here’s what a typical family does at Halloween:

They decorate their home. Americans spend about 5 billion dollars every year.
They buy costumes. A costume is not cheap. It can cost $30 or more.
They buy plenty of candy, and of course, they eat it.
Kids go “trick or treating.” In most towns, it’s only allowed from 3 pm until5 pm because it gets dark quickly.
Very well, now you know a bit more about this beautiful holiday. Maybe next time you’ll carve your own Halloween pumpkin and celebrate Halloween just like an American!

Amr Abdelsayed

Popular tracks