خرافات

Superstitions

Hello everyone! I am Georgiana, founder of speakenglishpodcast.com. I want to help you speak English fluently. Speaking English is easier than it seems! You just have to use the right material and techniques.

Today I’ll talk about superstitions, and you’ll practice your speaking with a mini-story.

By the way, thank you so much for listening wherever you are. If you can, please write a comment on iTunes. That’s how you help me reach more people.

Ok! Let’s start!

Bad luck, good luck…Superstition is something that people think can give good or bad luck. And all over the world, there are superstitious people.

However, not everyone is superstitious, and some think it’s silly. So they don’t believe in anything. I’m gonna comment on some of the most common superstitions I know:

-1) Finger crossing: If you cross your fingers, in theory, you avoid bad luck. For example: “I’m going to cross my fingers to win the lottery.” - 2) Touching or knocking on wood: This is also quite common. The expression “to touch wood” means that you don’t want something bad to happen. For example.

“My friend Laura can’t find a job.”

“Well, touch wood. I need to find a job soon.” - 3) Cast the evil eye: This expression means that someone wishes you bad luck, something bad. When you’re unlucky for a while, you could say, “It looks like someone has cast the evil eye on me.” - 4) Friday the 13th is a date that a lot of people think is bad luck. So people try to avoid this number.

• 5) The groom can’t see the bride before the wedding: This is also very common. Certainly, there are people who believe a lot in this superstition.

• 6) Throwing rice to newlyweds: This is very often done. Guests throw rice at newlyweds. They say it’s good luck.

• 7) Open the umbrella inside the house: Also a classic. Don’t open the umbrella if you don’t want to be unlucky and hit someone in the eye :) - 8) Black Cats: Bad Luck

While most cat lovers don’t agree with this superstition, in the Middle Ages some people believed that witches kept black cats as companions.

Some even believed that these kittens could become witches or demons after 7 years.

• 9) Finding a horseshoe is believed to bring good luck. And in many cultures, a horseshoe is the luckiest symbol of all. If you find one of these good luck charms, make a wish and throw it over your left shoulder and leave it where it lands.

• 10) Breaking a Mirror brings bad luck

Many superstitious people say that breaking a mirror gives you 7 years of bad luck. To end the chain of bad luck, take out the broken mirror and bury it in the moonlight.

The list can be continued indefinitely. :)

Before I continue with the mini-story I wanted to explain the meaning of the word jinx. A jinx person is someone who brings bad luck to others or himself.

And what do you think? Are you superstitious? How are superstitions in your country?

Mini-Story

(improve your speaking)

Fantastic. Now, the mini-story.

Remember: I’m going to say a phrase. Then I’m gonna ask questions. After each question, you can answer it out loud. Then I’ll say the answer so that you can practice like in a conversation!

Stella was very superstitious.

Was Stella a jinx?

No, she wasn’t a jinx. She was superstitious.

What was Stella?

Superstitious. Stella was very superstitious.

Was Stella little or very superstitious?

Very superstitious. She was very superstitious.

Who was superstitious?

Stella. Stella was superstitious.

What did Stella believe in?

In superstition. She was superstitious.

She always crossed her fingers just in case.

Did she cross her legs?

No. She didn’t cross her legs. She crossed her fingers.

Did she cross her arms?

No, not at all. She didn’t cross her arms. She crossed her fingers.

What did she cross?

The fingers. She crossed her fingers.

Did she cross her fingers just in case?

Yes, she crossed her fingers just in case.

Why did she cross them?

Just in case. She crossed them just in case.

Stella was afraid that someone would cast the evil eye on her.

Was Stella afraid of anything?

Yes, she was afraid of something. She was afraid that someone would cast the evil eye on her.

What was Stella afraid of?

That someone would cast the evil eye on her. She was afraid of that.

Who was afraid?

Stella. Stella was afraid.

Was Stella afraid of winning the lottery?

No. Stella wasn’t afraid of that. She was afraid of something else: the evil eye.

One day Stella stopped being superstitious because she was tired of it.

Did Stella stop being superstitious?

Yes. Stella stopped being superstitious.

Who stopped being superstitious?

Stella. Our friend Stella stopped being superstitious.

Did Stella stop being superstitious because she was tired of it?

Yes. She stopped being superstitious because she was tired of it.

What was she tired of?

Of being superstitious. She was tired of it.

Why did Stella stop being superstitious?

Because she was tired of it. She stopped being superstitious because she was tired of it.

The next day, Stella won $5 million in the lottery. It was Friday the 13th.

Did Stella win anything?

Yes! she won the lottery. She won $5 million!

How much money did she win in the lottery?

Five million! Five million dollars! She won that money in the lottery.

When did she win that money? The next day?

Yes, the next day. She won that money the next day. It was Friday the 13th.

What day was it when she won the lottery?

Friday the 13th. She won the lottery on Friday the 13th.

Was it Monday when she won the lottery?

No, it wasn’t Monday. It was Friday.

Perfect. We reached the end of this short story.

I recommend that you listen to it many times to automate your speech.

Unfortunately, because of time limitations, I don’t develop this story even further, but you can see how effective it is.

I use this technique in my courses. Here you have only listened a few minutes, but in my programs, you can listen to stories that last for hours. One of the most popular courses is the Fluency Course, which you can find at:

fluency.SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

KINDLE TO LEARN English

Well, let’s continue!

Today I would like to comment briefly on the importance of an e-book reader, such as Kindle, in learning English.

If you have a certain level of English, you can try reading books. I recommend books for children or teenagers first, because they are easier.

Non fiction books are also easier.

An e-book reader allows you to search for a word you don’t instantly understand. That way, you don’t need to stop reading, look at the dictionary, and read again. That’s too much time. Imagine you start reading and find a word you don’t know the meaning. You just put your finger on top of the word, and you have the meaning.

Words you don’t understand are repeated throughout the book. Finally, you’ll remember the meaning of the word, and that’s how you learn it.

I use Kindle to read books in different languages, and I’ve learned a lot of words! It’s easier, and it’s not boring. I just read and concentrate on the story of the book.

All right, this episode of this podcast ends here. As always, you can get the transcript at: SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

See you soon!