Happy New Year | ESL Podcast
Background: This ESL podcast is about celebrating on new year’s eve and making resolutions for the new year. Have fun with us while learning English vocabulary and real spoken English. Let us know your resolutions on the discussion forum linked below.
New Year
Phrases and Vocabulary used:
1. New years is a really popular time to party and spend with friends. People often try to plan something fun to do on New year’s eve so a really common question to ask your friends is, “What are you doing for New Year’s?” Or “Any plans for New Year’s”?
2. A lot of alcohol is consumed on New Year’s. Young people go to the bars or to someone’s house party. People act crazier than normal on New Year’s and it is the most common time of the year for an “accidental baby”.
3. If someone is having a party, Brad for example, we often say, “Brad is throwing a New Year’s party” or “Brad is having a New Year’s party”. We don’t usually say, “Brad is hosting a New Year’s party”. If you want to know if someone is going to Brad’s party you just ask, “Are you going to Brad’s party?” Don’t say, “Are you going to take part in Brad’s party?” “Take part in” sounds too formal and like you need to actually do something at the party.
4. New Year’s countdown. If people aren’t too drunk and are paying attention, 10 seconds before New Year’s people often shout outloud together, “10, 9, 8, …. 3, 2, 1 Happy New Year’s!!”
5. An old tradition is that you are supposed to kiss someone at exactly 12 o’clock. If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend you should have no problem. If not, now is a perfect time to find someone.
6. Champagne is a very popular New Year’s drink. Someone will often open a bottle of Champagne right after 12 and give everyone a glass.
7. A nickname for Champagne is “The bubbly”. If you are at a house party and you want to drink some Champagne, you could ask “What’s a guy gotta do around here to get a glass of the bubbly?” A girl could say, “What’s a girl gotta do around here to get a glass of the bubbly?”. You can use this sentence structure in many situations. In a store you could say, “What’s a guy gotta do around here to get some service?” You must make sure that people realize that you are joking. It’s funny and playful as a joke, but very rude if taken seriously. You need to be careful so say it in a joking way with a smile.
8. Making New Year’s resolutions is a big part of New Years. A New Year’s resolution is a goal you have for the new year. Some common resolutions are things like;
- quitting smoking
- exercising more
- waking up early every day – listening to China232.com every day
Source:China232.com
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