Coffee & Cats (& English): Recent Episodes
Clare
A podcast for anyone learning English. A lighter look at learning English with lots of useful vocabulary, pronunciation tips and plenty of laughter. If you're looking for the chance to feel like you're just listening to a harmless stranger, rabbiting on about things she finds funny, then you're in for a treat. Even if you're not, you might quite like it. You can find the handouts I refer to here at my sleek, sophisticated (not) website: http://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Episode 19 – Why did the chicken cross the road?
To have egg on your face
To egg someone on
A good/bad egg
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Why did the chicken cross the playground?
To get to the other slide.
What do you call a chicken crossing the road?
Poultry in motion
Why did the dinosaur cross the road?
Because chickens hadn’t evolved yet.
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Episode 18 is all about new(ish) words. Have a listen and check that you know what omnishambles, mansplaining and kettling mean.
Do you know how many words that Shakespeare invented are still in common use? You will after episode 18.
learnenglish #podcastseries #humour #esl #listeningskills #diyenglish #podcast #esl #English #listening #learning #humor
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Episode 17 - Meet the Cats
I thought it was about time you met my co-hosts so this episode is all about adjectives to describe the feline members of the household.
Which of the cats is cloying? Who gives the best hugs? Which of the cats' caused us to invent a word to deal with her touchy feely behaviour? Who turns on the lights? Who is the most agile?
As always, head over to the website for the full Takeaway and the links to some hilarious sketches and great music - there's a cat poem by Emily Dickenson too.
I hope you enjoy!
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
**Episode 16 – Travel light
Have you got the travel bug? Itchy feet? This fortnight's episode looks at some language on the topic of travel. Listen to some travel stories and watch the links for extra practice.**
Vocabulary
Live out of a suitcase
Delays – To be delayed
To be held up
Compensation
See someone off – Go to the station/airport to say Goodbye!
Pick someone up – Go to a place to collect someone
ETA: Estimated time of arrival
Hit the road / set off: Start a journey
Hustle and bustle of an airport
Have itchy feet – Get the travel bug
GET ALL THE VOCABULARY, LINKS & POEM ON THE WEBSITE
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Take a break and revise some useful language for telling anecdotes such as...
To dip in and out of a topic
Engage the listener
I’m still a bit croaky / hoarse – To have a frog in one’s throat
You’re never going to believe this but…
A funny thing happened to me the other day. I was walking down the street and I bumped / walked into Tom Hanks!
Did I ever tell you about the time when…
It was quite a while ago now. I was living in Pamplona…
That reminds me of the time …
Head over to the website (link below) for all the vocab and the links to the clips I mention - such as the Sandwich Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct-lOOUqmyY
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Lots of great ways to avoid always using the world 'cold'.
Episode 14 - It's cold out.
Go to: https://www.coffeeandcats.co/ for the full takeaway.
Vocabulary
Glacial
Freezing (brass monkeys)
Frosty
Nippy
Stone cold
Fresh
Chilly
Lukewarm
Cold snap/spell
Chill out / take a chill pill / chillax / chill to something
Cool
Cold comfort
Get cold feet (froze toes)
Give someone the cold shoulder
Makes your blood run cold
Cold-hearted
Cold-blooded – To do something in cold blood
In the cold light of day
Be out cold
Go gold turkey
To cold call
It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
Snowed in
Snowed under
Snow day
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Are you over the hill?
Is your skin losing the battle against gravity?
Episode 12 is all about growing old (dis)gracefully ... mainly because I'm turning 50 next week.
Enjoy!
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Definitely NOT the World Cup.
Jokes, vocabulary and links to some funny clips about sport.
https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
Phrasal verbs....the gift that keeps on giving.
Here's a very limited (3 prepositions) look at combinations with 'BRING'.
I've included a little interactive exercise too to recycle the phrasal verbs I take a look at.
Enjoy!
It's been tipping down here, raining cats and dogs for hours, so there was a sudden change of topic this week.
Lots of ways to talk about rain.
Are you a dab hand at DIY?
Do you know a Jack of all trades?
This week's episode looks at a few interesting expressions around the topic of DIY and home improvement.
Have you ever been done up like a kipper? Told a porky?
Listen to episode 7 and find out!
One word, many uses.
A look at some of the ways we can use the word 'check' in expressions and phrasal verbs.
Be warned - this week's song is a real ear worm.
Pondering pronunciation. This week there's a lot of accents for you to fathom out. I'm useless at 'putting on' accents, so the links have a variety for you.
Recorded after a 'big news' period when the UK got a new PM and King whilst putting up with strikes. News vocabulary and lots of suggestions for more listening.
If you like 'bad' jokes, you're going to love this episode. Some of the finest (terrible) jokes I could find.
There's also some revision of common expressions and phrasal verbs around the general topic of food. I've also included some 'task' ideas to get you thinking in English during the week.
Links and Handouts on my website: https://www.coffeeandcats.co/
In this first episode I talk about the clips I've chosen to talk about (available here along with the Takeaway:https://www.coffeeandcats.co/).
I also read a short, funny poem as well as pull out lots of interesting language to help you on your English learning journey.
ENJOY!
This is an attempt to explain the aim of the podcast (other than being something that I thought would be fun to learn).
Every podcast will look at a different topic in very general, or very specific terms depending on how the mood takes me and the clip or other media I choose to share.
As tasks occur to me, I'll mention them in the hope that you can benefit from things that have helped me on my quest to conquer Spanish. Not really homework, more integrating English into your life.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you get something from it!