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Let's imagine: There are two people, a young gentleman and an elderly woman, standing in front of a revolving door. The gentleman steps back slightly and sweeps his arm toward the door, indicating that the old lady should go first.

The gesture speaks well for itself. But not everybody can behave as elegantly as this gentleman when giving way to someone. So, you may want to learn some oral expressions that can be used in this kind of situation. You can say "you go first" or "go ahead", but my recommendation is "after you". I think it sounds more polite and perhaps more sophisticated, too.

You can use this phrase in shops and restaurants as well. For example, at checkout aisles or food service counters, someone may say to you, "Oh, I'm sorry, were you waiting to be served?" Then you can kindly say, "No, no after you".

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

After you.

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Today, I'm going to talk about the idiom “to take the plunge" which has the opposite meaning to the one we discussed last week “to get cold feet".

Now, the word “plunge" may remind you of a polar bear plunge. A polar bear plunge is when people jump into cold water for charity.

And the word “plunge" certainly reminds me of the Japanese saying “to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu". Actually, “to take the plunge" means exactly that. If you take the plunge, you decide to do something you really want to do even though it's risky or possibly dangerous.

Let's compare the two idioms: Someone asks you, “Do you still want to do this bungee jumping?" If your answer is YES, you're taking the plunge. You'll do it knowing that it may involve danger. If your answer is NO, you've got cold feet. You get frightened and changed your mind.

Now, would you like to try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that best completes the sentence. Ready?

I've decided to take the plunge and

1.to keep my current job.

2.to start up my own business.

3.to test the water.

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Are you familiar with the saying "cold hands, warm heart"?

It's generally understood that people whose hands are usually cold are kind and loving. Cambridge Dictionary says "it's said to someone with cold hands in order to stop them from being embarrassed."

Actually, today's topic is not about cold hands, but about cold feet. When someone says they have cold feet, they don't literally mean that their feet are cold. Instead, it's used as a way of saying that you suddenly feel nervous or frightened about doing something that you have planned or agreed to do.

Interestingly, cold feet examples given in dictionaries are very often associated either with marriage or with bungee jumping. For example, Sally got cold feet at the last minute and called off the wedding. For the Cambridge example, I was going to try bungee jumping, but I got cold feet.

Now, would you like to practice together? I'll read an example sentence, so please repeat after me. Ready?

I've got cold feet at the last minute.

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Just about a week ago, the whole nation was jubilant over Naomi Osaka's victory at the Australian Open. That's her second consecutive Grand Slam title and she is now ranked number one in the world.

I'm sure she got a lot of congratulations from friends and family and fans around the globe.

So, let's take this opportunity and note that the word "congratulation" is used in the plural, or "congratulations", when telling someone that you're pleased about their success, good luck or happiness, such as someone getting married or engaged, passing an exam, or winning the lottery.

For example, your friend says, "Hey, I passed my driving test!" You can say, "Great! Congratulations!" "I got the job!" "Oh you did? Congratulations!" "I'm getting married!" "How wonderful! Congratulations!".

So, when you congratulate someone, don't be stingy. Give them many congratulations.

Now, it's just one word, but let's practice together. Please repeat after me:

Congratulations!

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I've got a little sore throat. I think I'm coming down with a cold. I don't think it's the flu, though. I hope not.

Anyhow, when you think you have a cold, what will you do? Will you go to the hospital? Probably not. When you have a heart attack or stroke, or when you're badly injured in a car accident, then you'll go to the hospital, or rather, you'll be taken to the hospital.

In English, you don't say, "I need to go to the hospital because I have a cold." When you have cold symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, headache or runny nose, you'll go see a doctor. If you know which doctor you're visiting, you go see the doctor.

I need to go see a doctor. You should go see a doctor. I'm going to see a doctor this morning. I went to see a doctor yesterday.

Now, would you like to practice together? I'll read an example sentence, so please repeat after me. Ready?

You should go see a doctor.

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This past weekend, a daughter of a friend of mine sat for the so-called Center Test for university admissions. I know the girl well and on the day before the exam, I had lined her a message saying: Best of luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Now, are you familiar with the expression "to keep one's fingers crossed"? You "cross your fingers" or "keep your fingers crossed" to hope that things will happen in the way that you want them to. For example, we're having a barbeque party tomorrow. So let's keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't rain.

You also keep your fingers crossed for someone to wish them good luck or success. For example, your friend is taking the bar exam. You're keeping your fingers crossed for him. Likewise, you can ask someone to keep their fingers crossed for you. For instance, my job interview is tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

Now, would you like to practice together? I'll read an example sentence, so please repeat after me. Ready?

I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Happy new year everyone! And welcome back to Time for English. Kaori and I are truly happy to have you with us again.

Now. Let's start off the new year by talking about New Year's resolutions as we always do.

A New Year's resolution is a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year. Remember, it's a goal, not a wish. It has to be something you would strive for.

Popular goals include resolutions to eat better, drink less, quit smoking; save money, learn something new: spend more time with family, or these days, spend less time on social media.

If you haven't made any new year's resolutions yet, you may want to make one in English. I'll give you some more ideas about new year's resolutions on our website. So, make sure to come visit us on Thursday.

Thank you again for coming back to us. We're always here to help you learn, improve and enjoy English. So, stay with us. See you next time.

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The Kanji sai, meaning "disaster" or "misfortune", was selected as the character that best symbolizes the nation's social mood in 2018.

It's unfortunate what many of us remember most at the end of the year are disasters and misfortunes, such as earthquakes, typhoons, heavy rainfalls and flooding, or record-breaking summer heat.

But let's not be discouraged. Instead, let's wish and strive for something better and brighter in the year to come so that we'll be able to choose a Kanji character having a more positive connotation when the year ends.

In the meantime, Kaori and I would like to thank you all for staying with us and supporting us throughout the year. We wish you a happy, healthy, brand new year!

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Every year BBC names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world. And this year two Japanese women made it onto the list. One of them is a 90-year old English learner, whose goal is to work as a volunteer interpreter in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Now, let's see if you know the difference between speaking English and speaking in English. Is there any difference to begin with? Yes, there is.

If you speak English, you are able to use English.

To speak in English means to use English rather than other languages to express yourself. In other words, when you say you speak in English, there's often a choice involved.

For example, I speak Japanese and English. So does Mary. We generally prefer to speak in Japanese. But when Mary's boyfriend joins us, we speak in English because he doesn't speak Japanese.

Now, would you like to practice together? I'll read an example sentence, so please repeat after me. Ready?

Would you prefer it if we spoke in English?

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Christmas is just a week away. And a couple of days ago, I had a conversation with a friend of mine regarding when to say "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".

The U.S. today is much more diverse than it was 200 years ago. And there are many holidays during the period from late November until early January, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's. While "Merry Christmas" is for Christians, "Happy Holidays" is broader and more inclusive and can be used by different people who worship different gods, or none at all.

So, regarding when to say "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", as a general rule of thumb, if you're not sure what holiday someone celebrates, then you might probably want to use "Happy holidays". If you know your friend is a Christian, then you can say "Merry Christmas".

Now, instead of quiz or practice, let's make sure that you know how to return a greeting like "Happy holidays". If someone says to you "Happy holidays", you can say "Happy holidays to you, too", or more simply "Same to you". Likewise, "Merry Christmas" "Merry Christmas to you, too" or "Same to you".