Better at English - Free English conversation lessons podcast: Recent Episodes
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Better at English podcasts are for EFL and ESL learners who want learn conversational English. Listen to our live, unscripted English conversations featuring authentic English vocabulary, slang, idioms, and more. Go to http://betteratenglish.com/transcripts for FREE transcripts and vocabulary notes. Have fun listening and learning English with us!
Lori and her English friend Andy talk about an interesting experience that Lori had while she was shopping for office supplies. Yes, she really does get that excited about toilet paper! You'll hear lots of idioms, phrasal verbs and slang, as well as hearing British and American English all in one conversation.
This is 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. Make sure to download the transcript to get the most benefit from this example of genuine spoken conversational English. The transcript contains the full text of the conversation, plus a bonus vocabulary lesson with definitions and example sentences. You can find it for free at http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts.
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. Make sure to download the transcript to get the most benefit from this episode. http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts. The transcript contains the full conversation, plus a vocabulary breakdown with example sentences.
This episode of Real English Conversations is part 5 of Lori and Kyla's discussion about a book they both liked: Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. This is the FINAL part of this conversation. First they talk about feeling overwhelmed by the never-ending stream of emails that land in their inboxes. Then they discuss what Kyla learned from William James about structuring the mundane parts of your day so you can have time and space to do your really important work. This episode is marked explicit because at the end of the conversation, Lori says a couple of mildly vulgar swear words. Nothing serious, but if you are extremely sensitive to any kind of rude language, you will want to skip this one.
The transcript includes explanations of the vocabulary and key grammar and usage points. It's a great tool for you to test your listening comprehension, or to use as a basis for discussion with your teacher, your language exchange partner, or your other friends who are learning English.
A Real English Conversation podcast from Better at English. Learn informal American English, idioms, phrasal verbs and more.
This episode of Real English Conversations is part 4 of Lori and Kyla's conversation about the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. In this part of the conversation they digress to talk about interruptions and distractions, and how these affect them when they are trying to work. Kyla tells Lori about how she had to stop the internet service at her house in order to finish recording her band's album.
The transcript contains the full text of the conversation, plus a bonus vocabulary lesson and language usage notes.
This episode of Real English Conversations is part 3 of Lori and Kyla's discussion about a book they both liked: Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. They're talking about the routines and practices of creative people throughout the ages.
For the free transcript and bonus vocabulary lesson, go to http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts. The transcript includes explanations of the vocabulary and key grammar and usage points. This episode also gives you 5 discussion questions for speaking practice. The transcripts are great tool for you to test your listening comprehension, or to use as a basis for discussion with your teacher, your language exchange partner, or your other friends who are learning English.
This episode of Real English Conversations is part 2 of Lori and Kyla's discussion about a book they both liked: Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. They talk about things that many creative people seem to have in common, like drinking huge amounts of coffee! For the free transcript and bonus vocabulary lesson, go to http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts. The transcript includes explanations of the vocabulary and key grammar and usage points. It's a great tool for you to test your listening comprehension, or to use as a basis for discussion with your teacher, your language exchange partner, or your other friends who are learning English.
In this episode of Real English Conversations, you'll hear Lori talking to Kyla, who is a musician just like Lori. They met on Skype to talk about a book that they both enjoyed, "Daily Rituals,", by Mason Currey.
It turned out that Kyla and Lori had a lot more to talk about than the book! In fact, they didn’t even start talking about the book until several minutes into the conversation. So you’ll have to wait until part two for that.
In this first part, you’ll hear them breaking the ice by talking about guitars and practicing and other things we have in common. This was a normal thing to do because it was the first time they ever spoke to each other.
You’ll be hearing lot of informal American English, including tons of phrasal verbs. The best way to learn idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs is in context. So make sure to download the free transcript and bonus vocabulary lesson so you can read along while you listen, and study the vocabulary. You'll hear phrases like:
to step up to the plate
to come up with something
to streamline
freaky (adv., adj.)
to get used to something
to pick something up
halfway decent
to circle back (to) something
In this Real English Conversations podcast, you'll hear Lori and her mom talking about their bedtime routines and what they do to get good night's sleep. The conversation includes lots of idioms and phrases related to going to bed, sleeping, waking up, and daily routines. Make sure to go to www.betteratenglish.com/003 to download the PDF for the vocabulary notes. The vocabulary notes focus on multi-word verbs (phrasal verbs) and idioms.
Before you start listening, it's a good idea to warm up and prepare your brain for vocabulary related to the topic. You can do this by thinking about the following questions:
How many verbs (action words) can you think of related to sleep?
How would you describe your daily routines for going to bed and getting up?
How well do you sleep?
What helps you sleep well, or makes you sleep worse?
Do you use electronic devices (phones, tablets, computers, TV's) right before bed, or maybe even IN bed? How do you think this affects your sleep quality?
What advice would you give a friend who wanted to sleep better?
Now you are ready to listen. As you listen, try to notice new or interesting language items. Noticing new language is super important for you learning progress. It makes sense — before you can learn and use new language, you have to notice it! As you read and/or listen, look for words, phrases or grammatical patterns that interest you. Make a note of them. Test yourself later to see how much you can remember. Making flashcards or using a spaced repetition program like Anki can help you learn new items faster.
The next step is to try to use the new language items. Good luck!
In this extended audio blog, Lori talks to you about one of her favorite quotes: 80% of success is showing up. You'll learn what it means and who said it. And if you're feeling discouraged with your English progress, you'll learn how resolving to keep "showing up" can get you back on track with your learning.
Visit http://www.betteratenglish.com/002 for the full transcript of this episode
Get in touch with Lori at http://www.betteratenglish.com/contact
Sign up for email updates at: http://www.betteratenglish.com/signup
Lori burns her arm while making a cup of tea, and can't sleep because it hurts so much. Her mother tries to help her find a way to get through the night. The real English conversation is between Lori and her mother the following morning, discussing what they did to relieve the pain and whether or not it worked.
Get the full transcript and vocabulary notes here:
http://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts
Find this episode on the website:
http://www.betteratenglish.com/001
Get in touch with Lori here:
http://www.betteratenglish.com/contact
SUMMARY
Hi, Lori here with a fresh episode of Real English Conversations for you.
You're going to hear me and my mom. And we are at my sister's house in Santa Barbara, California. It's early in the morning. In fact, I think we were meeting in the kitchen to get our first cup of coffee and we were still in our pajamas!
The night before, I had burned my arm really bad when I was trying to make a cup of tea. And it wasn't a serious burn; I didn't have to go to the doctor, but it was super painful. So in the conversation, you're going to hear how my mom tried to help me and whether or not she was successful.
Vocabulary highlights
Freaking
Any port in a storm
Losing it
I'm not going to lie
Deal with
tender
sold on
supposedly
Can you imagine?
a long night
Lori invites her mom onto the podcast to discuss telling time in English, focusing on some of the differences between American and British English usage.
Lori and her Dutch friend Yvette return to finish their conversation about perfectionism and procrastination. This time they focus on the strategies that have proved useful in their own battles with this debilitating problem.
Lori and her Dutch friend Yvette continue their discussion of perfectionism, focusing on how it can cause problems for foreign language learners.
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.
In today's conversation, which is part four of four, my British friend Michael and I wrap up our lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. Warning: some of the vocabulary we deal with in this episode is a bit vulgar, so if you are sensitive or easily offended I suggest you stop listening now.
Michael and Lori continue their discussion of dogs and cats, focusing on the tendency for humans to get emotionally attached to their pets.
In today's conversation, which is part 2 of 4, my British friend Michael and I continue discussing dogs and cats, and which we prefer.
My British friend Michael and I begin by talking about whether we are dog people or cat people. Then we move on to discuss the social etiquette of dog walking, particularly picking up after them in public places.
In this episode, Michael and Lori talk about weird food combinations -- you won't believe what some Americans like on their hamburgers!
Lori and Michael talk about 20Q, a fun electronic game that Lori got to try while she was on her recent vacation in the USA.
Lori wants a pet cat, and not just any cat, but a naked Sphinx cat. Michael thinks they are ugly. A heated discussion ensues...
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 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.
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.
Lori gives you a quick and easy way to find the meaning of idioms that aren't in your dictionary.
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.
In this episode, Lori answers a listener's question about the meaning of the idiom "to kick oneself."
How did we ever get along without Google? Lori and Michael about how much they depend on the Internet in their daily lives. In this completely unplanned and spontaneous conversation, they use quite a few phrasal verbs. These phrasal verbs and additional idiomatic expressions are highlighted in the vocabulary notes. As always, you can find the full transcript and vocabulary notes at www.BetterAtEnglish.com.
In today's episode, Michael and I exchange some opinions about television, particularly with respect to commercials and advertising. In this conversation we discover some differences between British and American English vocabulary, and use some everyday phrasal verbs.