Upper intermediate Archives - articles from Better at English: Recent Episodes
Lori Linstruth
When you watch the news these days, do you trust your eyes and ears? Do you think what you’re seeing is real and happened the way it is being shown? Or is your first reaction to think: Hmm, I wonder if this video is fake? That’s what today’s episode is about, so stay tuned. TRANSCRIPT …
053 – Is seeing believing? Deepfakes and the information apocalypse Keep reading »
The post 053 – Is seeing believing? Deepfakes and the information apocalypse appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Download PDF Introduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from betteratenglish.com. When you watch the news these days, do you trust your eyes and ears? Do you think what you’re seeing is real and happened the way it is being shown? Or is your first reaction to think: Hmm, I wonder if this video …
053 – Is seeing believing? Deepfakes and the information apocalypse – TRANSCRIPT Keep reading »
The post 053 – Is seeing believing? Deepfakes and the information apocalypse – TRANSCRIPT appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Imagine if you will, the following scenario. You’ve volunteered to take part in a psychology study, say, at your university. All you have to do is show up to the lab, sit by yourself in a little booth and play a very simple game of chance, something like flipping a coin, where there’s no skill …
051 – The good, the bad, and the flat-out liars. Real English Conversation Keep reading »
The post 051 – The good, the bad, and the flat-out liars. Real English Conversation appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Mistakes in subject-verb agreement are very noticeable in written English. People tend to overlook mistakes in spoken, conversational English. But in writing, subject-verb agreement errors really jump out at the reader. So it’s a good idea to check important pieces of writing for subject-verb agreement errors. The good news is that subject-verb agreement is based …
Common English Learner Mistakes – subject verb agreement Keep reading »
The post Common English Learner Mistakes – subject verb agreement appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Telling stories is a huge part of conversational English, so being comfortable with narrative tenses is important for English fluency. Most English lessons about narrative tenses in English focus on the following 4 tenses: Past simple Past perfect Past continuous Past perfect continuous But did you know that you can use present tenses in English …
Narrative tenses in conversational English – past, present, and future Keep reading »
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A funny thing happened today when Lori was shopping for office supplies, and it involves an industrial-sized package of toilet paper rolls.
The post 043 – Real English conversations: Lori scores a year’s supply of toilet paper (archive) appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
This is the transcript and bonus vocabulary lesson for part 2 of Lori’s conversation with Dr. BJ Fogg, an expert in the field of persuasion and motivation. You’ll learn about how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it’s high or low. This conversation is an example of informal …
042 – Make the Most of your Motivation part 2 of 2 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
The post 042 – Make the Most of your Motivation part 2 of 2 – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
What can you do when you're not feeling motivated? What is the best way to use your motivation when you ARE motivated? Find out in this episode of Real English Conversations from Better at English. Lori talks to Dr. BJ Fogg about how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it's high or low.
The post 041 – Make the most of your motivation – a conversation with BJ Fogg (part 1 of 2) appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Introduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 5 of my conversation with Kyla. This is the final part of our conversation about the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. In the previous episode we talked about dealing with distractions and interruptions when …
040 – Daily Rituals part 5 of 5 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
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Lori and her Dutch friend Yvette continue their discussion of perfectionism, focusing on how it can cause problems for foreign language learners.
The post 030- Perfectionism and Procrastination 2 – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Do you ever procrastinate? Lori sure does! She and her Dutch friend Yvette talk about what procrastination is, why we do it, and what we can do about it.
The post 029 – Perfectionism and Procrastination 1 – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
In this videocast, Lori explains how EFL and ESL learners can easily check their spelling (in multiple languages) when writing emails and other online forms of communication. There is simply no excuse for bad spelling anymore!
The post Online spelling checkers for learners of English appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Lori wants a pet cat, and not just any cat, but a naked Sphinx cat. Michael thinks they are ugly. A heated discussion ensues...
The post Real English Conversations: Lori wants a naked cat appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Everyone wants to be successful, right? But have you ever wondered what it is that leads to success? Lori and Michael discuss their reactions to a presentation about "What leads to success," given by Michael St. John. Richard St. John spent several years interviewing hundreds of successful people, trying to find out the secrets to their success.
The post Real English Conversations: What leads to success? appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
The third and final part of Michael and Lori's discussion of the English government's ban on commercials for junk food before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching.
The post Real English Conversations: junk food (part 3 of 3) appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Part two of Michael and Lori's three-part discussion about the English government's decision to ban junk food ads on television before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching.
The post Real English Conversations: junk food (part 2 of 3) appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
In the first of this three-part conversation, Lori and Michael talk about junk food and television advertising. In a nutshell, they don't like it.
The post Real English Conversation: junk food (part 1 of 3) appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
In this episode, Lori answers a listener's question about the meaning of the idiom "to kick oneself."
The post Idioms: to kick oneself appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Lori asks Michael a rather saucy question: do men prefer real or fake breasts on their women? The answer might surprise you...
The post Real English conversations: Do men prefer real or fake? appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Michael and Lori discuss the game (sport?) Rock Paper Scissors, and debate whether it involves skill or luck.
The post 003 – Skill or Luck? Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
A short vocabulary episode, focusing on the meaning of the phrase BUBBLE SITTER. It's a fairly new "slang" word in real estate and economy.
The post Business English vocabulary: bubble sitter appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
There's one annoying jerk in every workplace, isn't there! Lori and Michael talk about their experiences with annoying coworkers.
The post Real English Conversations: annoying coworkers appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
To wing it is an idiom that means to improvise, to do something without proper preparation or time to rehearse. People often talk about winging it when they have to do something difficult that they didn't have time to prepare -- like a make speech or give a presentation. They might say something like "Sorry if I seem a bit disorganized, I'm totally winging it." You tell people that you're winging it, that you're improvising, so that they won't expect too much from you, or so that they will be more forgiving if you make a mistake.
The post English idioms: to wing it (to improvise) appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Lori explains the meaning of the word "perk," meaning advantage or benefit.
The post Business English vocabulary: perk appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth
Lori gives you a collection of good audio and video resources for learning English.
The post Video and audio resources for learning English – and how to use them appeared first on Better at English. © 2020 Lori Linstruth