The English We Speak: Turn over a new leaf
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Learn more at apu.apus.edu slash military. Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too.

I'm Feifei and I'm with Phil. Hi. Any plans for 2025, Feifei? It's a new year, so I think it's time to turn over a new leaf. Turn over a new leaf. I'm not sure it's the right time of year to be doing gardening, Feifei. It's not that kind of leaf. And it's just an expression. It means to make a change and make a new start. You stop doing something negative.

Turn over a new leaf is the expression we're learning in this programme. So it's a bit like making a New Year's resolution. Yes, the leaf in this expression is a leaf of paper, like a sheet of paper. So to turn over a new leaf means to turn the page and start a new chapter of your story. You're trying to move on from something negative. For example, I've been feeling very inactive…

I've never managed to get into going to the gym, but in 2025, I'm going to turn over a new leaf and get fit. Phil, what about you? Do you think you should turn over a new leaf?

Turn over a new leaf for 2025. Maybe I should start eating more healthily. I love cooking, but nothing I cook is that healthy. And I love to give myself huge portions. That's probably something negative that I should change. Yes, that's how I'm going to turn over a new leaf. Now, let's hear how some of our colleagues are going to turn over a new leaf.

I've got this terrible habit of biting my nails, but I've decided I need to turn over a new leaf. So in the new year, I'm stopping that. That's my New Year's resolution. I was a bit naughty in primary school sometimes, but my teacher told me to turn over a new leaf and I did. I was very well behaved from then on.

So these days I always look at my phone instead of trying to remember things that I probably know. And so I'm going to turn over a new leaf in the new year and use my brain instead and try to remember things.

Of course, it's not just about New Year's resolutions. Anytime you want to put something negative behind you and make a change, you can try to turn over a new leaf. A similar expression that people use is turn the page. We can use it metaphorically to talk about starting a new chapter in our lives. Yes, people often see starting a new job as a way of turning the page on their careers.

We'll finish here, but if you feel like you don't know enough expressions and idioms in English and you want to turn over a new leaf, come back for the next episode. See you then. Bye. Thanks for listening to Learning English Conversations. Have you tried our Learning English Stories podcast? In each episode we tell a different classic story in English you can understand.

The story I'm going to tell you is one of broken promises and revenge. Be frightened by Frankenstein. Go into the woods with Hansel and Gretel and learn the story of the Pied Piper. Amazingly, the cottage is made out of sweets and cakes. But his biggest idea is to bring a dead body to life. Search for Learning English Stories in your podcast app to listen.

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