Talking about your year

Introduction Neil and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about the highlights of 2025. Learn to talk about what you are proud of, and what you regret, this year. Vocabulary highlight the best, most important or most interesting part of something proud of feel good about something you've done or that someone else has done regret feel sad about, and wish you had done something differently Transcript Neil Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Neil. Georgie And I'm Georgie. You can watch this podcast with subtitles on our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you can also find a free worksheet. Neil Hi, Georgie. Georgie Hello, Neil. Neil It's getting towards the end of the year. Georgie It is. Neil How are you feeling about that? Georgie Um, well, there's a few things that I wanted to achieve that I haven't, so I don't feel good about that, but I'm feeling quite festive and ready for those celebrations. What about you? Neil Yeah. Time, time flies, as we say. It's the end of the year again. And that is what we're talking about today in this episode of Real Easy English. Shall we start? Georgie Yes. Neil Have you had a good year, Georgie? Georgie Yes, Neil. I've had a great year. Um, I've been very busy. I've had a few trips and I've also turned 30, so I've had a big birthday. What about you? How has your year been? Neil Yeah, it's been pretty good. I went to your 30th birthday party. Georgie You did. Neil That was definitely one of my highlights. Georgie Was it? Neil Talking of highlights, now highlights are the most important or interesting thing. What have your highlights been this year? Georgie Well, my 30th birthday was probably one of my highlights because I had friends and family from all over. I basically invited everyone I knew, which is why you got the invite. Um, and yeah, that was something that I was quite proud of because I am not a very organised person. And with this I was very organised. What's been the highlight of your year, Neil? Neil Oh, well, that's a tricky question, but I did go on a fantastic holiday with my family. We went to Sicily. Georgie Wow. Neil And it's so beautiful. And the food was amazing. Georgie And is there anything you're proud of this year? Neil Proud of? Yeah, I'm always proud of my kids. Georgie Aww. Neil They make me feel proud. Um, yes, they they had a good, they had a good year. And, um, yeah, they both they both did well in their own way at school. Georgie Oh. That's nice. Neil And how about you? Georgie Well, I talked about being proud of my 30th birthday party, but I also, um, performed at the Royal Albert Hall, which is a big, famous, um, music hall in the UK, in London. Um, I didn't sing as a soloist. I sang with my choir, um, at the BBC Proms, which is a big music festival. Neil Wow. How did it feel to sing in front of all those people in that incredible setting? Georgie It felt incredible. And I had lots of people I knew in the audience. Actually, some of our colleagues came. Neil Yeah. Georgie Um, it was, the atmosphere was incredible, and I'll never forget it. Neil Wow. So, Georgie, is there anything that you didn't do this year that you wanted to do? Georgie Yes. Lots. Um, I had lots of plans at the beginning of the year. Um, lots of New Year's resolutions. Like, uh, running. I wanted to run more. I have not been running very much. Um, so I regret not doing more running. And also my sugar intake. We all know that I eat too much sugar, and I wanted to reduce my sugar intake, but I find it too difficult, so I regret not, um, reducing my sugar intake. Neil Well, you stopped having sugar in your coffee at least. Georgie That's true. What about you, Neil? Neil Well, a bit like you, um, I wanted to do lots of running. Actually, I wanted to get really fit this year, and I haven't because I hurt my ankle and I can't run. And running is my main way of keeping fit, so I need to find something else to do. Georgie Yeah. Neil Time now to recap some of the vocabulary we've heard in this episode, starting with highlight. And a highlight is the best bit of something. So the highlight of my year, Georgie, was my trip to Sicily. Or was it your 30th birthday? Georgie If you are proud of something, it means you feel good about something you've done. You can also be proud of someone else. For example, Neil is proud of his kids. Neil And if you regret something, you feel sad about it and wish that you had done it differently. For example, I regret not running more. I'm not very fit. Georgie That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. Try the worksheet to test what you've learnt at bbclearningenglish.com. Neil We'll be back in the new year for more real conversations in easy English to help you learn. Have a really great end to 2025. Georgie Happy New Year!   Now try this... Watch The London Letter Challenge. Download a free worksheet. Discover more programmes for your level.  Find all our latest programmes.