Stay ConnectedOn the Espresso English podcast, you’ll learn English grammar, vocabulary, phrases, idioms, and more. Espresso English lessons are clear and practical, making it easy to learn the language quickly and effectively.
Visit http://www.espressoenglish.net to get English courses and e-books that will help you learn faster!
Copyright: © Copyright Shayna Oliveira 2015
Today I have a special guest - his name is Ben, and he's an expert in IELTS test preparation. He'll share some top strategies for each section of the IELTS exam, so if you're preparing for the IELTS test - or if you've taken it before but you want to increase your score - listen carefully to this episode and put the tips into practice.
Today I'm going to teach you three pairs of confusing words that have the prefix IN-. In many words, IN- means the opposite or "not":
However, there are some exceptions that might be confusing, and you'll learn three of them in this lesson: invaluable, infamous, and inflammable.
I hope this lesson has helped clarify the meanings of these confusing words. The English language has a lot of words that seem similar, but are actually different - and many English learners make mistakes with them. That's why I wrote the e-book 600+ Confusing English Words Explained - to help you understand these words clearly, so you can use them confidently! What will you learn in this e-book? Click here to see the full list of confusing words in the book.
Someone asked me if there's a difference between finish and finish up. The answer is no - there's no difference in meaning. Finish up is just more informal. But is this the case for every verb / phrasal verb? No! In today's lesson you'll learn the small differences between show and show off, follow and follow up, and several more verb and phrasal verb pairs.
There are certainly a lot of little details to remember when it comes to phrasal verbs. That's why it's so important to learn phrasal verbs in context - when you learn how phrasal verbs are used in real situations, it's much more effective than trying to memorize lists of definitions. You can learn this way inside my Phrasal Verbs in Conversation Course! Not only will you learn more than 500 phrasal verbs through the dialogues in the lessons, but you'll also put them into practice with quizzes and exercises.
I've heard a lot of students' speaking samples in my courses, and today I'd like to address a few of the pronunciation mistakes that I've been correcting. First of all, don't feel bad if you make a pronunciation mistake! It's really easy to do this in English, especially because we have so many similar sounds and so many words that are pronounced differently from the way they're written. So if you mess up a word – don't be embarrassed, it's not the end of the world. I can usually understand what you were trying to say. Let's practice together so that you can improve your English pronunciation!
When it comes to pronunciation, practice makes perfect. You need to repeat English words many times in order to learn to say them easily and naturally. It's also important to have someone correct any mistakes, so that you don't form bad pronunciation habits. You can get both practice and evaluation inside my courses - American English Pronunciation and Shadowing with Shayna. These courses have lots of exercises to help you repeat after me and pronounce words and sentences the right way. At the end of each course, I'll listen to a recording of your pronunciation and give you feedback.
If you watch TV and movies in English, you'll probably see a lot of new words and expressions that might not come up in your regular English study. Sometimes it's hard to understand what certain phrases mean, so students write to me and ask for clarification. In today's lesson, I'll explain ten phrases from TV shows and movies that students have asked me about recently.
If you ever come across a phrase that you can't figure out, feel free to e-mail me and ask me what it means, and I'll do my best to explain it! Informal spoken English – like the kind you hear in movies and native speakers' conversations – is full of expressions that English textbooks often don't teach So how can you learn these expressions WITHOUT getting confused and lost? One way is to join my Everyday English Speaking Course - Level 2! This course teaches you informal phrases, idioms, and slang in the context of conversations. It's a great way to improve your comprehension and learn a lot of surprising new expressions. Speaking Level 2 is geared towards upper-intermediate and advanced students, so I suggest you take the free sample lesson before joining, to see if it will be a good fit for your English level.
Today's lesson will teach you 33 collocations and expressions about decisions. Collocations are combinations of words that native English speakers use naturally. Learning these word combinations makes it easier to put together your ideas in English, so that you can express yourself better. You'll also learn some informal expressions, like "a tough call," "in a quandary," and "the lesser of two evils." Click on the lesson to learn!
One major difficulty for English learners is often knowing how to put words together. How can you know if you're using the right word or expression? Learning collocations helps give you the "building blocks" for better sentences in English. That's why I wrote the e-book 1000 Collocations in 10 Minutes a Day - to teach you which words go together naturally. Each of the 50 short lessons in the e-book is accompanied by a quiz to help you practice and review. You can learn a lot in just a few minutes every day!
Here's a free sample lesson from my NEW Current Events English Course! Today I'll teach you 20 words and expressions from a recent news article about social entrepreneurs who are changing the world.
Original article: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/15/712653034/no-fake-drugs-more-jobs-for-youth-end-child-sexual-abuse-online-a-vision-for-203 After you watch the video, download the vocabulary exercise to review and practice what you learned.
If you enjoyed this lesson and want to get 30 more lessons like this, you can join the Current Events English Course to get daily lessons starting May 1.
You'll learn more than 500 words and expressions inside this course - and all the lessons are based on topics that are relevant today. Remember, the course starts May 1, and that is also the last day to join. I hope to see you inside!
Join the course: https://www.espressoenglish.net/current-events-english-course
One common suggestion given to English learners is to read or watch the news in English. This is a good idea, because you can learn how to talk about current events and relevant topics. But there's one BIG problem – If you're reading or watching the news and there are words or expressions you don't know, this can make it hard or even impossible to understand everything else. You might miss the main points and lose track of the story, all because of the vocabulary you're lacking. That's really frustrating. Wouldn't it be great to have a teacher or friend who can help guide you through an article and explain any words / expressions that are new to you? Then you could expand your vocabulary and understand the news more confidently. I'm here to help you! In May I'm creating the Current Events English Course, 2019 edition.
In this course, I'll teach you English from real news articles on current topics. I'll explain the new vocabulary and phrases in context, so that you can understand clearly. If you've enjoyed my English in the News lessons in the past, then you'll love the Current Events English Course. Current Events English Course Details:
The Current Events English Course is best for intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced English learners, because we will be working with real news articles that are written at a native-speaker level. How to join the Current Events English Course? You can sign up now by clicking one of the links below.
$60 - 30-Lesson Course + Teacher Feedback on Your Writing
Registration is open right now! If you want to join, don't delay, because May 1 is the first day of the course AND also the last day to sign up. If you miss this edition of the course, then you'll have to wait for next year's version. Are you ready to improve your English vocabulary by learning about current events? Come join me inside this all-new course!
I received a great question from a student:
Is it possible to use 'to' followed by the 'ing' form?
For example, "I'm looking forward to seeing you."
Normally we use to + the base form (ex. "I want to order pizza.") However, there are some specific words in English after which we use to + ING, and I'm going to tell you about them in today's lesson!
English grammar can be quite difficult with all the rules and exceptions! You can learn, study, and practice inside my Advanced English Grammar Course. I'll explain the grammar clearly and help you put it into practice with quizzes. There's also an option to get corrections and feedback on your writing.
April 1 is an informal holiday known as April Fools' Day! People celebrate by playing jokes and trying to trick people in funny and harmless ways. You might be wondering about this word "fool" - how is it used in English? I'll teach you all about it in today's lesson.
Don't be fooled by confusing English words! There are a lot of them, and they can be very tricky to understand and use correctly. You can get clear explanations and examples inside my e-book, 600+ Confusing English Words Explained. It will help you understand the differences between similar words like farther and further, interfere and intervene, sensible and sensitive, and many more words with which English learners often make mistakes.
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