American English Podcast

Latest Episodes:

154.2 - The Boston Tea Party + U.S. Independence from Britain Nov 21, 2023

Show notes

Boston is situated in present-day Massachusetts, right on the northern Atlantic coastline. It’s picturesque, it’s lively and it’s steeped in stories of how the United States gained its independence from Britain. Today you’ll hear those tales of organization, patriotism and madness: This is the Boston Tea Party.

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154 - Expression: My Cup of Tea Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "my cup of tea" you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), you'll learn about one of the most iconic events in U.S. history, the Boston Tea Party. It's one of the major events that fueled our fight for independence from Britain, and the story is just nuts. It's not your average tea party!

If you're interested in learning about the beginning of the U.S., or you're taking the U.S. Citizenship test soon, listen to this episode!
I've also put together a page to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship test.

Want to take your learning further?

⭐ ⁠⁠Visit the website⁠⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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153 - 5-Minute English: Shopping for Clothes Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Every year, more and more people buy clothes online, but today, you are heading to the mall with your stylish friend, Katrina. Your mission is to buy a new wardrobe (a whole new set of clothes).
Listen and learn the vocabulary, phrases and collocations we use when talking about clothing in English! You'll learn adjectives to describe the good, the bad and the ugly, expressions to comment on style and so much more. If you ever intend to buy clothes in the United States, you can't miss this episode.

Want to take your learning further?

⭐ ⁠⁠Visit the website⁠⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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152 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Halloween Special) Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

Sleepy Hollow is a quaint village nestled in the Hudson Valley, in New York. There, many many years ago a peculiar schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane gets wrapped up in the spooky legend of the Headless Horseman.
Today you’ll hear “the Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and learn about the heart-pounding events that took place on one fateful Halloween night. It’s a story of love, rivalry, and the supernatural and I’ve simplified it for intermediate and advanced English learners. Get ready for some excitement and some suspense, you're about to hear a story that has been passed down from generation to generation for over 200 years.
Cheat Sheet
eerie = unsettling; haunting
vengeful = eager to take revenge
peculiar = strange
stout = plump; robust
jovial = happy
lanky = skinny
smitten = infatuated
brawny = muscular
spine-chilling = frightening
For the full list, quiz and other bonus content, be sure to sign up to the Academy to access Season 4.
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⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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151.2 - Moose in the U.S. (Do we live in harmony with our moose?) Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

Moose are majestic creatures and an iconic symbol of wilderness in North America. They inhabit many northern states in the U.S.; the state with the biggest population is Alaska.
In this episode, you'll learn many English words related to nature and animals, but it's much more than a National Geographic style lesson. You're about to step into the funny, wild and sometimes tragic tales that emerge as humans and moose try to live harmoniously.
In this lesson, we'll answer questions like:

What is it like to live near moose?
Will I be attacked by a moose in the Northeast?
Do Americans hunt moose? Do they eat moose?

Take time to appreciate moose! :) (yes, moose is the plural form)
Want to take your learning further?

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).

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151 - Expression: To Steer Clear Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "to steer clear," you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), we'll be talking about moose in the US. You know what a moose is, right? It's a large mammal in the deer family. It has big antlers — these sort of long, pokey branch-like things that stick out of their heads — and they live in many northern states in the United States. Often these massive creatures and humans interact with each other, which can be funny, scary and very real. So I want to share some of those stories with you, as well as a lot of information about these incredible creatures! Be sure to stay tuned for part two in order to hear that.

This lesson has a FREE PDF with the transcript and a listening comprehension quiz.
Want to take your learning further?

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).

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150 - Review: Season 3 Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

Two years ago, I started Season 3 (Episodes 101 - 150) and it's been a journey. In this episode, you'll hear about the many cultural topics we covered in the past 50 episodes. You'll hear which episodes were the most popular among listeners, which stories left me speechless and which ones I found incredibly useful.
Get your notebook! Be ready to write down the episode number for the stories that interest you most.
THANK YOU to all of the supporters who bought me coffee, those who left reviews on your podcast app (very few people take the time to do this, but I really appreciate it!), purchased Premium Content and sent me nice messages over Instagram. You make me want to keep going. Please know that I appreciate you!! :)

Want to take your learning further?

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).

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149 - 5-Minute English: Injuries and Getting Hurt Jul 31, 2023

Show notes

Today you'll hear a short story our recent trip to Brazil, during which I ended up going to the hospital and getting stitches. Throughout this story you'll hear 20+ words related to injuries and getting hurt. Although I hope you don't get hurt anytime soon, I hope this lesson prepares you to talk about the times when you did in English.
We all have a getting hurt story, whether it's our own or someone else's. Give this a listen and see if you can use what you learned to tell your story!
You will hear the audio twice.
*****
THIS IS AN ADVANCED ENGLISH EPISODE! Don't stress out of you don't understand everything. If you want to understand everything be sure to sign up to Premium Content!

How to Get Premium Content for this episode:

Season 3: By purchasing Season 3, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation. You'll also get the full 5-Minute English Course - Part 2, which contains 12 in-depth lessons to boost your vocabulary! This lesson is part of that course.
Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3 (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English, includes all transcripts + mp3s, quizzes + more)
Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150
Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words

*****

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148 - Language Learning with Ben Whately (Co-founder of Memrise) Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

Today we have a special guest named Ben Whatley. Maybe you know him! He's the Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Memrise, one of the most celebrated language apps there is.
Ben received his master's in experimental psychology from Oxford University and has since been working with language acquisition. In fact, he's a pioneer in the field; Ben helped create the first AI language partner using GPT3 technology.

I had the pleasure of tapping into his knowledge with the goal of finding out how we can learn better. In our chat, Ben and I talk about common misconceptions in language, learning, the genius of mnemonic devices and how to acquire new vocabulary effectively.

Want to take your learning further?

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).
Steven Krashen: Explorations in Language Acquisition and Use

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147.2 - 10 Words a Day: German Words in English (11-20) Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

This is part two of a very special story about my dear friend, Nina, who is from Germany. In the story of our friendship, which I'll wrap up in the this episode, you'll learn 10+ German loanwords in English. A loanword is a words borrowed from a foreign language.
American English has many German words; how do we pronounce them? Well, I know a lot of you are saying we butcher them, that's okay (I don't disagree with you!) In general, the pronunciation of a words depends on how popular / common a word is. If a German word is common in American English, naturally, there's an expected way to pronounce it, even if it's not how it is pronounced normally in German.
The goal of this episode is to teach you how we pronounce the common ones and what to do when you come across uncommon loanwords. Here is a sample of some of the words in today's episode.

kitschy
beer garden
schnitzel
bratwurst
sauerkraut
strudel
rucksack
schmear
lox
delicatessen
schlep

Other words mentioned: Bauhaus architecture, hefeweizen, liverwurst, wiener and some Yiddish terms such as schmuck and schmooze.

Note: German loanwords in English follow English rules! While nouns are capitalized in German, in English, they are lowercase UNLESS they are proper nouns like Volkswagen OR if they derive from a proper noun, such as Rottweiler. Diacritical marks, such as the umlaut, are optional!

*****
Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.

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