The English We Speak: A fresh start
Learning English Conversations
BBC
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 December 2025
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A new year is the perfect time for a fresh start.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Hello and welcome to the English We Speak, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Fay-Fey and I'm Phil. Happy New Year. Yes, it is very nearly a new year. Have you thought of any |
| 0:25.0 | resolutions, Phil? Well, I always struggle to get the homework done for my language classes, but |
| 0:31.2 | I'm going to change that in the new year. I'm going to make a fresh start. Yes, good. And that is the phrase we're going to learn in this programme. |
| 0:40.0 | A fresh start. |
| 0:41.8 | You can see the word fresh in there. |
| 0:43.9 | It gives the idea of something new |
| 0:46.3 | and nothing bad has happened to it yet. |
| 0:49.3 | Yes, so when we talk about a fresh start, |
| 0:52.1 | we mean we can do something new |
| 0:53.9 | that isn't affected too much by the past. |
| 0:56.8 | The start of a new year can offer people a fresh start, but we also use it to talk about starting a new job or moving into a new place. |
| 1:06.5 | Let's hear some examples of people talking about a fresh start. |
| 1:18.2 | My brother and I have been arguing for weeks, |
| 1:23.2 | but we've decided to have a fresh start and just get on with each other. |
| 1:27.0 | So I've got a new job and I'm sad to be leaving, |
| 1:30.0 | but I am looking forward to making a fresh start. |
| 1:37.9 | Oh gosh, I've just put chili in the cookie doll. Let's just get some more doll and make a fresh start. |
| 1:47.8 | We've been learning the expression of fresh start to talk about the opportunity to start again. |
| 1:53.3 | It's good to notice that we often use the verb make with the phrase a fresh start. |
| 1:58.8 | Yes, so for example, I could talk about making a fresh start in the new year. |
| 2:01.1 | That's it for this program. I just want to say that if you feel that you want to make a fresh start in the new year. That's it for this programme. |
... |
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