It's Not Your English. It's That You Translate It First. | 38-Minute English Podcast (B2-C1)

Ethan spent a year working at the port of Genoa, and every Sunday he had lunch with his flatmate's family, eleven people around one pot of soup. His Italian was good. He had passed an exam and did his whole job in it. But when Nonna Pina asked if he liked the minestrone, he built a lovely answer in English about his own grandmother, translated it word by word, and said it proudly in the middle of a shouting match about the Genoa derby. The table went quiet, and her twelve-year-old grandson said he was like the news on television, with the satellite delay. The name stuck all winter. This episode is about why the problem is not your English but where your sentences are born, and the fifteen lines that start in the room instead of in your head, in four families: reacting before you answer, borrowing the other person's words, saying the small version first, and catching up when you are late. THE 15 LINES IN THIS EPISODE - "No way, really?" - "Oh, I love that." - "Wait, seriously?" - "I had no idea." - "Now that you mention it." - "Funny you should say that." - "That reminds me of something." - "That makes two of us." - "Short answer, yes." - "Pretty much, yes." - "Honestly? Not much." - "It's good. Really good." - "Sorry, I'm still on the last thing." - ...and 2 more, all said out loud in the episode. Every one is said slowly, repeated more than once, and then used in a real situation, so you can say it out loud with us instead of only recognizing it. The Fluency Plateau is for people who already understand English but freeze when it is time to speak. Each episode takes one exact moment where you get stuck and hands you the lines that get you past it. SPEAKING CHALLENGE Where is your satellite delay longest, at work, on the phone, or at dinner? Say your answer out loud before you write it. #EnglishPodcast #EnglishConversation #SpeakEnglish #EnglishFluency