BBC Learning English
The English We Speak
4 September 2012
Finding your feet
Helen: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. Rosie and I are doing a salsa
class tonight. It's my favourite Latin American dance and I love the music!
Rosie: Yes, and it's not easy& One, two, three! Oh, I'm not very good yet  I'm
still finding my feet.
Helen: You're still finding your feet? No wonder you're so bad. How can you dance
if you don't know where your feet are?
Rosie: I do know where my feet are, Helen. When you say you're finding your feet
in English, it means you're becoming confident at something.
Helen: So if I say I'm still finding my feet, it means I'm still getting used to a new
situation& which might not have anything to do with feet?
Rosie: That's right. And when you say you've found your feet, it means you've
become familiar with a situation.
Helen: Let's have a look at some examples then:
Examples
Lauren has only been at her new job for four days, so she's still finding her feet.
My daughter started secondary school two weeks ago, but she's already found her feet.
She's made loads of new friends and really likes her teachers.
 I've been living in Egypt for a year but I still can't speak Arabic very well.  I'm sure
you'll find your feet soon.
Helen: So finding your feet has nothing to do with your actual feet  you can use
it when you start a new job or when you're doing something new.
Rosie: That's right& And I feel like I'm getting quite good at salsa now.
Helen: Really? It looks like you're still finding your feet&
Rosie: I might ask someone to dance with me, Helen. That guy over there is
pretty good. Hi, would you like to dance?
Man: Oh, OK.
Rosie: Oooooh this is fun. One, two, three& Oops sorry! Did I step on your foot?
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Man: Ouch!
Helen: It looks like Rosie's doing more than finding her feet - she's finding other
people's feet and stepping on them too!
The English We Speak © British Broadcasting Corporation 2012
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