Emma's ESL English
Emma's ESL English is a podcast for intermediate and advanced English learners. Hosted by Emma, a native English speaker and CELTA-qualified ESL teacher with over 10 years of experience, the show provides listening practice, cultural insights, and detailed explanations of grammar and vocabulary. It also identifies common errors and answers listener questions. New episodes are released on Tuesdays.
Episodes
Episode 247 Is this the end...maybe...
Thank you so much for tuning in to Emma's ESL English for three years and 246 episodes! I really appreciate all your time, clicks and the occasional daring comment. Unfortunately I have run out of time. I need to evolve my business, and this just doesn't fit in anymore, literally, not enough hours in the day. I will continue to teach English as part of my business, and you're very welc
Episode 246 The Tale Behind Peter Rabbit: Beatrix Potter’s Life & Legacy
📚 In this special episode of Emma’s ESL English, we’re celebrating the life and legacy of beloved British writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter—whose birthday was just yesterday!Join me in the garden (two garden's! My Grandma's and mine) as we explore:- Who Beatrix Potter was and why she’s one of my favorite British women- How she created The Tale of Peter Rabbit and revolutionized childre
Episode 245 What’s a Thingamajig? Words for When You Forget the Word!
🌼 Welcome back to Emma’s ESL English, still recording in my grandma’s garden—complete with sunshine, thunderbugs, and roses.Today we’re talking about metasyntactic variables—a fancy way of saying “words we use when we forget the word!” These are common in English, used by native speakers every day, and they’re surprisingly useful for language learners too.In this video, you’ll learn:- Popular “fil
Episode 244 10 FREE Tools to Improve Your English Writing Instantly—Without Studying More
✏️ Struggling with writing in English? Whether you’re writing emails, essays, or presentations, I’ve got you covered. In this episode of Emma’s ESL English, filmed in my grandma’s sunny garden 🌹, I’ll show you 10 free tools that will help you write better English today—even if you’re not confident in your grammar or vocabulary yet.These tools include:- Translation apps (like Google Translate and D
Episode 243 Why Is English So Weird? Exploring More Strange Idioms
English is full of bizarre idioms that make little sense—yet we use them all the time! Remember, most British people don't study idioms at school, we just learn them by...osmosis? So we're not thinking about where they come from or how weird they sound, we just use them. Unfortunately for you as an English learner, you might need to remember them and maybe you even want to try and use them
Episode 242 Tom Cruise’s Most Iconic Movie Quotes – From Top Gun to Jerry Maguire
In this episode of Emma’s ESL English, we take a thoughtful look at Tom Cruise’s career and his most memorable movie quotes. From Top Gun’s iconic “I feel the need, the need for speed” to Jerry Maguire’s “Help me help you,” Cruise’s films have shaped modern cinema.We examine his rise to fame, his ability to carry a film, and the impact of his performances—from Risky Business to Mission Impossible.
Episode 241 George Orwell & The Erasure of History—1984’s Warning for Today
Tomorrow is the birth date of famous dystopian British writer George Orwell. In this episode find out more about his interesting and unusual life and his passion for writing, freedom and raising awareness about life in poverty. I'll also be reading a little from the book.George Orwell’s 1984 isn’t just a novel—it’s a warning about historical erasure, surveillance, and authoritarian control. Or
Episode 240 More Weird British Idioms You Should Know (But Probably Won’t Use!)
English is full of strange idioms, and today we’re diving into some bizarre British expressions you might hear! Some of these are quite common, especially the 2nd and 3rd, and you might hear them in the office or out and about. The others are less common, and just for you to be aware of, rather than need to try and use. Hopefully they're fun and interesting!💬 Examples:"I don't think I
Episode 239 Mastering L & R Sounds: Essential Pronunciation Tips for ESL Learners
🗣️ Struggling with L & R sounds in English? You're not alone! Many ESL learners, especially those from Asian language backgrounds, find it tricky to pronounce these sounds correctly.🔍 In this lesson, Emma explains:- Why L & R pronunciation is challengingHow to position your tongue correctlyCommon mistakes & how to fix themAnd whether this is even worth you spending your time onToda
Episode 238 Daily English vs. Novel English: A Guide for ESL Learners
🚀 Take your English reading skills to the next level! Don’t let descriptive writing slow you down—learn how to tackle novels with confidence.📚 Learning English through books can be a challenge! In this video, we explore the difference between creative writing and daily spoken English, breaking down how novels use descriptive language that might not be useful for everyday conversation. We dive into
Episode 237 British Idioms That Make No Sense (But We Say Them Anyway)
British idioms can be totally baffling—what on earth does “she’s absolutely cream crackered” mean? 🤯 In this episode, we unpack some of the UK’s weirdest and most illogical idioms, from Cockney rhyming slang to century-old phrases like “a different kettle of fish.” These expressions are commonly used but rarely understood—so let’s figure them out together! Listen in to discover:Why "cream crackere
Episode 236 Real British English: UK Dialect Words You’ve Never Heard Before
Hello and welcome back to Emma’s ESL English! This week, we’re diving into some brilliant and bizarre British dialect words — from sea fog called fret or sea roke, to mountains named bens, fells, and bryns.We’ll also explore how bread rolls have a dozen different names across the UK (seriously — baps, cobs, barms, and more!), plus Scottish weather words like driech and hoolie that perfectly descri
Episode 235 Real British English: Why Strangers Might Call You "Love" or "Pet"
Welcome to Emma's ESL English! This week we’re diving into the quirky regional terms of endearment for strangers you might hear across the UK — from "alright, hen?" in Glasgow to "how you doing, chuck?" in the Midlands. These words like "love," "pet," "duck," and "mate" may seem strange or even inappropriate to outsiders, but they’re
Episode 234 British Accents Explained: Why the UK Doesn’t Sound Like You Expect
Welcome to Emma’s ESL English! This episode kicks off a three-part series on real British English—and today, we’re diving into British accents. Think there's just one “British” accent? Think again! From RP (Received Pronunciation) to Cockney, Geordie, Welsh, Scottish, and Liverpudlian, the UK is full of unique, regional voices that may surprise international learners.Learn how history, geograp
Episode 233 English Listening Practise - The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy - Don't Panic!
Welcome to Emma's ESL English!Today, we're doing something a little different—and a lot of fun! I'm reading an excerpt from the famous British sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.You’ve probably heard me say “Don’t Panic” before—and now you’ll learn where it comes from!📘 In this reading, you’ll:Hear real British English from a classic bookLearn new vocab
Episode 232 We're snowed under with weather idioms
I went to look for weather idioms last month, and discovered none of them were about the weather! So today we're reviewing weather idioms that you can use in Business English. Actually you can use them in any situation, but our sample sentences are focusing on business scenarios today. We'll cover:Snowed under - I wish I could help but I'm absolutely snowed under - very busyA breeze -
Episode 231 Use English Greetings Like a Native Speaker!
Today we're covering a common question from students:It it OK to just answer 'how are you?' with 'I'm fine'. Yes! We'll also cover it's cultural purpose.And we'll cover the nuances of these common phrases and greetings:How was your weekend?How have you been?What have you been getting up to?Did you have a good holiday?And, what do people even mean when they say:L
Episode 230 English Big Day Birthday Idioms and Phrases
Today it's my birthday! So we're covering some common idioms and phrases you might hear people use when talking about birthdays. Today's VocabularyOver the moon - to be very happy about somethingBig day - another way to refer to a birthdayThe icing on the cake - the best thing about this event/day/situationTo have a blast - to have a great timeAge is just a number - said to make people
Episode 229 Come With Me To Scotland! We're off to Helensburgh and Glasgow
Last month I went to Scotland with my Mum. We went first to Helensburgh, the town where I went to high school, then to visit my piano teacher and finally to Glasgow. While I was visiting I took some pictures to show you all. Come along with me and take a look at the architecture and views in Scotland. While in Helensburgh I visited #thehillhouse designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh a famous Scott
Episode 228 English Listening Practise - Reading from Terry Pratchett's Raising Steam
In this episode I will read a short excerpt from Terry Pratchett's Raising Steam. In this section we are in a dwarf meeting. We hear the king and his direct rival having a conversation. Unfortunately this book is set in difficult/exciting times in Discworld, some dwarves have become terrorists and they think they are fighting for all dwarfdom, but in fact most people recognise that the future
Episode 227 Are you getting confused between SO and TOO when you speak English? Let me help.
This week we're looking at a little known grammar point called 'intensifiers'. These words are used to intensify adjectives and adverbs. I have covered this subject before in a little more detail in Episode 90, so feel free to head back to that episode for more. In this episode we're focusing on just two intensifiers: So and Too.These two words are very common in English, and I thi
Episode 226 Stop Saying 'I'm Stressful' – How to Talk About Stress in English Like a Native
Welcome to Emma's ESL English! 🌟Today, we're diving into a very common English mistake: "I'm stressful about English." 😬If you've ever said this—or felt it!—this episode is for you.We'll explore:Why "I'm stressful about English" is incorrectThe difference between stressed, stressful, and stressed outUseful alternatives like “tense,” “under pressure,” “an
Episode 225 English Reading - Dr Martin Luther King Jr's Letter From Birmingham Jail
This week I'm reading a short excerpt from Dr Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail. Written on April 16th 1963 and addressed to 'My Dear Fellow Clergymen'.I do get quite political in this episode, certainly less neutral than I generally aim to be on this podcast. I also talk about current situations in America and the UK that are gravely concerning. I hope you don
Episode 224 The Greatest Chinese Adventure Story You've Never Heard - Part 2
This week we're continuing our story about China's great expedition to discover the world.As I mentioned last week, everything comes from Gavin Menzies 2003 book: 1421 The Year China Discovered The World. In addition you can find more evidence and what's still happening by checking the two websites here:https://www.gavinmenzies.net/china/book-1421/https://www.1421foundation.org/I ha
Episode 223 The Greatest Chinese Adventure Story You've Never Heard - Part 1
This week we're heading to China for an adventure story. I read this book last year and it was so good, but I couldn't figure out how to share it with you.Recently I started using the Chinese App Red Note (XiaoHongShu) and doing short form videos there, I decided to tell this story. Once I had the base of the story I decided to see if I could adjust it for you too.These two episodes are really Eng
Episode 222 How Language Shapes Culture (And Changes How You See the World)
Have you ever wondered how language shapes the way we see the world? In this episode of Emma’s ESL English, we explore an eye-opening story about the Zulu language—which has 39 words for “green”—and what that reveals about the deep connection between language and culture.🌍 Discover how learning Chinese changed my perception of reality🧠 Understand how different languages reflect different worldview
Episode 221 Story time - Careers Advice from Chat GPT
Welcome back! I hope you all had a great holiday period, Happy New Year! 🥳
This week I wanted to give you a little life update, so I guess it's mostly listening practise for you. Sorry, I'm a little out of practise so I did go a bit too fast in places I think. Hopefully the subtitles can help you. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.
The Google search tip I mentioned is that y
Episode 220 Time To Plan For 2025
In Episode 218 we covered how to review your year, this is an important step, don't miss it. I know it can feel frustrating or even cringy to review the year, but we need to understand what worked and what didn't so we can improve next year.
So here we are, 2025, or almost. Happy New Year! 🥳🥂
Take some time over the next couple of weeks to figure out what worked well last year and how you want to
Episode 219 Special Christmas Video - Take A Trip To An English Country House
This week I have something a little different for you. Last year my family and I went to Castle Howard. This is an English country home in Yorkshire that puts on a special Christmas display every year. They take a story and decorate the house with that theme. Last year the story was JM Barrie's Peter Pan.
I'll show you the dramatic road in to Castle Howard using Google Maps, and then some of the
Episode 218 Time To Review
Wow! Here we are again, at the end of the year!
For those of you who have been with me for a while, you will know what's coming, review and plan.
In this episode I'll give you some tips and thoughts on how to review your year in English.
This is an important step. So many language learners feel like they're not making any progress. It's important to take a little time to recognise how much work
Episode 217 Analysis of Terry Pratchett's The Last Hero
This week we're analysing last week's reading. I'll talk you through some of the references and vocabulary. I'll also put the vocabulary list below.
In the first video I referred to the illustrator as Paul Kirby, which is actually not just confusion because the names sound similar. Terry's original artist who did about half of the covers of the original books was called Josh Kirby. When he passed
Episode 216 Christmas Reading: Terry Pratchett's The Last Hero
This week we have the inevitable Pratchett Christmas reading. I hope you enjoy. This is taken from The Last Hero, a book about Cohen The Barbarian (that'll be the hero!). In this excerpt I'm reading a conversation between him and his old friends as they make their way up a giant mountain in the centre of Discworld with the goal of returning fire to the Gods 'with interest'.
I'll read today and th
Episode 215 English idioms are bad enough, but we're doing what now?😣🙀
A few weeks ago one of my students brought me some phrases. She couldn't really work out what they meant, and the context wasn't helping. I was very quickly able to work out that the writer she was reading was using only half an idiom. Helpful!
So today let's take a look at a couple of these examples so you can see what might happen when a native speaker isn't thinking about all the hard working
Episode 214 How to use Engoo to practise thinking in English
This week we're reading another Engoo Article: Level up your language skills by thinking in English.
I'll give you some ideas about how you can use the https://engoo.com/app/daily-news website regularly to practise your English both by yourself and with a tutor.
I'm also going to read the article and talk a little bit about what it means and how you can use it.
If you'd like to read along you
Episode 213 English Pronunciation - Avoid falling foul of the English 'F' sound
This week we have a bit of a silly episode focused on the pronunciation of the 'f' sound.
Episode 87 covers more pronunciation.
You can find the YouTube video here:
https://youtu.be/N2BZg718a-8
Note: I filmed this video before the American election so...sorry, hopeful moment included😨😭
I'll explain it in the video but the words we're covering this week are:
Fond, Find, Fund, Fend, Fanned
And
Episode 212 I'm not holding my horses for someone who goes at a snails pace!
This week we're looking at animal idioms. Surprisingly there's not as many of these as you might imagine (there's far more of the body part ones from last week!)
This weeks idioms are:
A frog in your throat: Have you got a cold? It sounds like you've got a frog in your throat.
As mad as a box of frogs: Watch out for that one, he's as mad as a box of frogs.
At a snails pace: Come on! Let's go! You
Episode 211 I've got a list of English idioms as long as my arm!
This week we're learning some English idioms that use body parts! There are SO many of these so do Google for more if you'd like.
I mentioned Rob Words, here's his YouTube video trying to trace English back through time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeAx3QZ7eRs
Episodes 179 and 180 of this podcast both talk about the different influences on English and why it's so complicated. There is an En
Episode 210 A Day Trip to Buttermere in The Lake District National Park
This week we're going on a little road trip. We're going into the Lake District National Park in the North West of England. We're specifically going for a walk around a lake called Buttermere.
I show you a picture of the road we're on in the video, this was taken from Google Maps. So if you'd like you can head to Google Maps and use the man to drive down this road exactly and see where we were. Y
Episode 209 Scam Alert! Story time
Several months ago I got scammed. It took hours out of my time, both in the original phone call and in cleaning up the mess. And a lot of stress. This is the story of that experience.
I hope that in telling you this story you will remember some things that will help you avoid a similar experience. Please do not underestimate how crafty these people are and how much they want your hard earned cash
Episode 208 I'm back! Let's catch up about my decorating!
I'm back doing episodes this week and we're starting this month with a series of stories. The first is just a little update on my decorating, since that's what's taken up SO much of my time this summer.
A big thank you to my Uncle, who created my bedroom window seat and my Mum (who is very clever!) and made 3 cushion covers very very carefully out of not really enough material. It is delightful
Episode 207 The most annoying thing about learning English is also it's best point!
Do you get frustrated with the need to learn three different words to describe the same thing in English? Do we really need all of these varieties? What actually is the point, the benefit, of having 10 ways to describe rain? Or 100 ways to describe how you feel?
In this episode I'll read a short excerpt from George Orwell's 1984. This book is a dystopia novel, so darkness is kind of the p
Episode 206 Speaking English in Stressful Environments or Situations
Welcome back to the channel!
In this episode I answer a learner question: how do I speak English well at a conference?
In this episode we'll dive into why speaking English in stressful environments or situations is so challenging. Why is your English so impossible to use right when you need it? Is there anything to be done about it? If you can't practise your English in these situations,
And I'm back! ...sort of
Just a quick update for everyone, I know it's been a while. I haven't disappeared, but I have been busy.
There will be new episodes uploaded here, but they will be rather random.
If you'd like me to cover anything you're always welcome to let me know via email: emmaseslenglish@gmail.com
I'm also opening up all the previous episodes on YouTube so you can access those whene
Episode 149 UK Queer History, Be An LGBTQIA Ally AND Improve Your English!
In this week's celebration of Pride we have an episode about the history of LGBTQ history in the UK. Unfortunately we do seem to be going backwards in the UK and America at the moment, especially regarding Trans rights, but as we will find out, Trans people have been with us all through time.
I mentioned yesterday several Influencers you can follow to increase your understanding on this and
Episode 159 Everything You Need To Know About The English Word 'Overwhelmed'
Today we're studying a confusing English word: 'overwhelm'. This is a very over-used word, so the most important thing to understand is that as long as you're using it to describe something that's 'too much', you're probably using it correctly.
First of all, the website I suggested was called YouGlish. It's really handy for seeing how words are used naturally.
Episode 160 How To Use TED.Ed Effectively To Learn English
In today's episode we're looking at the website TED.com. ...well, I'm talking about it, you can go look at it! 😉
I'll teach you:
1. How to navigate the website to get to the most useful part for your English
2. How to use what we learned in Ep 152 (Learning Plans) together with the TED.Ed class to make the most of their videos
3. How to make the most of each of the sections you'
Episode 205 English Phrases, Proverbs and Idioms To Talk About The Future
A while ago I was talking to a Taiwanese student and he said 'I'll leave it for my future self to handle'. We talked for a while about this, I loved the idea but couldn't think about how to say this in English.
In the end I've had to accept that we just don't have anything like this in English. Instead, today I'll share with you lots of different common phrases we do us
Episode 204 It Can Be Quite Hard To Use 'Quite' Correctly
'Quite' is such a common word in English. As you'll see from my closing statement, it's even possible to put it in almost every sentence! So what do all these 'quite's mean? Don't worry, I've got your back.
Today we're learning all the different ways you can use 'quite' correctly in a sentence. I'll give you some examples and show you some mistakes.
Episode 203 Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men - Analysis
Yesterday I read from Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men, today let's take a look at the vocabulary.
Luckily the vocabulary in this episode is much much easier than last week's Jane Eyre! But we do have some little blue men, who speak in a Glaswegian accent and are very hard to understand and we do have some tricky phrasal verbs.
In this episode I also mentioned the podcast Terry's d
Episode 202 Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men - A Tiffany Aching Story
This week on the podcast we have another reading episode. This is one of my favourite books and the very first Discworld novel I ever read. It is The Wee Free Men and is the first appearance of young witch Tiffany Aching.
I chose this excerpt especially because of a delightful collection of phrasal verbs towards the end.
There are some unusual creatures in the story, but don't worry, I will
Time For An Announcement
Thank you so much to all my podcast listeners, I didn't mention you much in the video, but this is where it all started. I know you have been listening long before I started understanding how to work YouTube!
I watched my stats on here go up and was amazed that people found my videos useful. Sadly the platforms don't really give us much opportunity to connect but I can see the numbers beh
Episode 201 An Analysis of The Confession Scene in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
Yesterday I read a famous scene from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Today let's review the vocabulary and meaning of some of the conversation.
I'm particularly interested in the part about 'You think I am an automaton, a machine without feelings.' Let me give you a little historical timeline:
British Industrial revolution 1760-1830
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was released
Episode 200 Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, The Confession.
This week, the day before Valentine's day, I'm reading from the grand romantic story, Jane Eyre.
This little bit is from the moment Mr Rochester proposes to Jane. She doesn't believe him at first. Not surprising, he's been flirting with another woman openly in front of Jane for months! But eventually he convinces her that he is telling the truth. He does want to marry her.
This st
Episode 199 How The Beatles Broke America
This week we are talking about the Beatles very first trip to America. This tour was short but soon followed by one of the most famous and groundbreaking tours of the time in music. At this point the Beatles were new to America, only known for a matter of months, and yet already they had a number one hit.
In this episode we'll learn about how they got so famous so fast and what technological
Episode 198 Prepare For The Cultural Differences In English Interviews
This week we are finally completing our series on Interview English. You can find all of these episodes in the Business English Playlist.
This time we're talking about the etiquette and cultural expectations at interview. The most important thing I want you to understand is that having English as a second language is a strength and something you should be proud of.
Many native English speake
Episode 197 Freya Stark, Explorer and Travel Writer
This week we are learning about the famous explorer and travel writer Freya Stark. She wrote many travel books and focused her books on the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. She travelled all over this part of the world, talking to the people, learning their languages and describing their culture and landscapes to readers back in the UK.
An essential part of Freya's process was that she
Episode 196 Presentations When English Isn't Your First Language
This week we're continuing our series on Interview English and we're focusing on Presentations. There are videos about this in the Business English and Dream Job playlists on YouTube so instead I'm focusing here on the challenges as an international speaker of English when giving presentations in English.
From the blog:
As I mentioned on the podcast, in the context of presentations d
Episode 195 Britain's Great Wall Builder
This week we have a short listening episode to celebrate Emperor Hadrian's birthday. This Roman emperor is probably one of the most famous in the UK. Many British children first learn about the Romans through Hadrian's wall.
This wall, built in 122CE is one of the few pieces of Roman architecture still standing today. You can visit the wall, the museum and even some remains of forts. You
Episode 194 Tips To Ace Your International Interview
Continuing our Interview series, today I want to talk about how, in an interview situation, certain aspects of vocabulary, etiquette, and tone of voice often differ from everyday interactions because of the formal setting.
These can also be heavily influenced by culture, not only the culture of a profession (which might be different from finance to law, for example) but also the culture of a coun
Episode 193 Common English Terms Related To Interviews
Today we are talking about some English terms that are related to interviews, you might read them during the application process, hear them during an interview or need to use them if you're offered the job (Yay!🥳). These terms are not common elsewhere in English so don't worry if you haven't heard them before.
From the blog:
Behavioral Interview Questions are a specific kind of inter
Episode 192 Ride Shotgun With Me While We Read a Romance Novel
Today we're reading a short excerpt from Jill Shalvis's novel 'Almost Just Friends'. This is an American romance novel. Jill has written 50 romance books so far! So she's very well known in America. Romance novels and 'Chick lit' generally is quite a relaxed genre of books. There's a lot of conversation in these books and a lot of colloquial language so I think they
Episode 191 Introducing Yourself In an English Interview
This week is the beginning of a new series about Interviews in English, I hope you will find it useful if you're planning for applying for a new job where you need to speak English.
In this episode we're discussing introducing yourself, the handshake and what to say.
Vocabulary
interviewer - this is the person who is conducting the interview, who works at the company
interviewee - this i
Episode 190 Couch Potato or Sofa Potato? Is there a right answer?
This week's episode comes from a question from a student who heard this phrase from a colleague and wondered what was wrong. They asked me what was the difference between a 'sofa potato' and a 'couch potato'. It's a good question, so I thought we'd look more deeply at these tricky idiomatic expressions.
We'll talk a bit about what an idiomatic expression is, what i
Episode 189 Let Last Year Go! Take What You Need And Move On!
In this peppy episode we're talking about letting go. It's really easy to take all of the analysis we have done over the last few weeks and spend time making ourselves feel bad about all the things we didn't improve, didn't succeed at or downright sucked at! This is not helpful!
So in this episode I will talk a little about how you should take the learnings from last year to apply
Episode 188 Happy New Year and Reading and Understanding Auld Lang Syne
Happy New Year! Every year, right at midnight, at parties around the world people hold hands and sing a song. In the English speaking world there is only one song that can be sung at this moment: Auld Lang Syne.
This song was created by famous Scottish poet Robert Burns, initially as a poem and then turned into a song using an old Scottish tune.
The problem is, everyone understands the chorus,
Episode 187 Build Yourself A Ladder To Succeed
This week we're thinking about the past and thinking about what we want to achieve in the future. We're looking at what has worked before in your learning journey, and what hasn't.
Don't think of this as 'failure' and 'success' but rather useful information to help you improve how you learn in the future. As I say in the video, the most important thing you can lear
Episode 186 Christmas Reading from Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
Christmas Day may be over but our Christmas readings are not! This year I'm reading an excerpt from Terry Pratchett's Hogfather.
In this story Death is having to pretend to be the Hogfather (just like our Santa Claus). Here he is trying to enter a house to leave presents with his servant, sidekick Albert. Death has already visited some very rich houses so in this part he really can't
Episode 185 Time To Plan Some Achievable Goals For Next Year
This week your task is to set yourself some actionable goals for next year. Keeping in mind what you thought about last week regarding what was successful this year, what wasn't and what you've already achieved this year and what you want to achieve next year.
Vocabulary
Focus tunes - songs or music that you listen to that helps you focus.
actionable goals - goals that are measurable and
Episode 184 Christmas Reading - The Elves And The Shoemaker
This week we are reading the most Christmassy Brother's Grimm story (only because it actually mentions Christmas and involves presents!).
Note: Please forgive my side notes...there are quite a lot of them!
This story is written in Old English. I think you should understand most of it, some of the words and certainly the grammar and use is quite out of date. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/ep
Episode 183 Learning Goals Check In/Appreciation
This week we're analysing, along with your test results, where you are now in your learning journey. We want to know whether things are going well. We also want to understand what's working and what's not working. This is a really good time to look at everything you have accomplished this year and really recognise how hard you've worked and how much time you've spent learning.
Episode 182 Can You Recognise English Metaphors And Similes From Discworld?
Today on the podcast we're learning about similes and metaphors. I find these two very confusing and so look for the core differences between them to identify which is which.
According to Google, a simile is:
'a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid'
And a metaphor is:
'a fig
Episode 181 Test Your English Skills Today!🧐
This week we're getting ready for the new year. This is the first in a series of episodes, going out on Wednesdays that will walk you through the process of finishing this year and getting ready for next year.
First we want to establish where you are in your English journey. Once we know where you are, then you can decide where you want to go. It also helps you understand how long it can take
Episode 180 International Influences On The English Language 4
Today we're looking at some of the other influences on English, including the Vikings and Indian and African languages. English really is an international language and it is still evolving today, especially with the development of the internet and technology.
If you're interested in some of the vocabulary I mentioned you can find lists of vocabulary from those countries in the links on th
Episode 179 Why Is English Spelling So Hard?😱
Today we're looking at some of English's weirdly spelled words and we're following them back through their roots to find out where they came from, what their journey was and how they ended up so weird!
I did some research for this class, you can read some of the articles linked below (just click the words) if you're interested in this topic and want to find out more.
Ghost
Why Y
Episode 178 Score With Some Great English Idioms
In this episode we're back to normal and studying some idioms. Some of my regular students will recognise their stories in this episode, I hope they don't mind me using them for dramatic effect!
I gave you lots of examples of how you might use these idioms and sentence structures for them.
Today's idioms were:
Move the goal posts - to keep moving the end goal or parameters of success
Episode 177 Don't Forget The English Of Government
In this episode we have a brief overview of bureaucracy or the English of government. This is the English that you'll find in diplomatic and government offices, it's the English of infrastructure and systems and you'll likely need to read it if you have to do anything related to government offices, support systems or people.
If you work in a field that is regularly using Government Eng
Episode 176 What's The Point of Technical English?
Today on the podcast we have a short episode introducing Technical English. In general this is a branch of English that you don't need to worry about.
It's a simplified English to help people understand instructions. In most cases you will be reading Technical English rather than creating it.
In this episode I also suggested using ChatGPT at work. Scrolling through Instagram I follow a lo
Episode 175 Why You Should Speak English Abroad
Today on the podcast we have the second episode about Travel English. This time we're talking about speaking English in foreign countries where English is NOT the common language and might not even be taught in schools at all.
This is no excuse not to try using and practise your English. I recently met a Chinese student who's just moved to Thailand so his kids can go to an International sc
Episode 174 Speak English While Holidaying In English Speaking Countries
This week we have two episodes about Travel English. This first episode is specifically about traveling to predominantly English speaking nations.
I'll go into a little bit of detail about why you might struggle to speak English in these countries and give you lots of tips to help you get ready to travel. Don't be afraid to support yourself with an English phrasebook, TripAdvisor and Goog
Episode 173 Is Financial English Useful To Learn?
Today on the episode we were talking about Financial English. This is a branch of English that serves the finance and accountancy sector.
For most of us, the basic Financial English will suffice. We might need to know how to talk to our bank and access our account and that's it. But if you're interested in investing, or you work in the Finance sector, then learning Financial English must b
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