Luke's ENGLISH Podcast - Learn British English with Luke Thompson

Improve your English and reduce stress with this unique ASMR-style episode ☁️ 🧘. Join me for a relaxing, meditative journey featuring calm background music, softly spoken English, vocabulary for peace and tranquillity, some grammar practice, and gentle humour. Designed to help you learn English naturally while calming your mind, this episode is ideal for listening in bed, during quiet study, or or on a peaceful walk. Includes ambient music by my brother Jim Thompson. ASMR English, learn English while relaxing, calming English podcast, mindfulness, ESL listening practice with humour. Episode transcript available.

📄 Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/942.-The-ASMR-Zen-School-of-English-TRANSCRIPT.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/06/30/942-the-asmr-zen-school-of-english-learn-english-and-relax/

🎧 "Ambient Anthology" by Jim Thompson 👉 https://jimthompson.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-anthology

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Learn English with a short story on LEP. In this episode I am reading "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" by HG Wells (adapted into modern English). First you can listen to the story, then I summarise it again in my own words, discuss my interpretations of its meaning, explain how you can use stories like this to improve your English, and teach some vocabulary which came up.

📄 Get the PDF with story text, notes and vocabulary list here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/941.-The-Man-Who-Could-Work-Miracles-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-PDF.pdf

🏆 Sign up to LEP Premium to get all vocabulary explanations for this story in premium series P69 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/06/23/941-the-man-who-could-work-miracles-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

📖 Read the original (unadapted) story text here 👉 https://revistaliterariakatharsis.org/manmiracles.pdf

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Here is the second part of this double episode all about great things to see and do while in London 🇬🇧. Listen to my friends and family talking about the city 🏙️, learn some fascinating bits of history 🔥, get inside tips 🗺️ and learn some vocabulary in the process. 

📄 Get the episode PDF with transcript, recommendation summaries & vocabulary list 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/940.-Our-favourite-things-to-do-in-London-Part-2-Transcript.pdf

📺 Watch "Walk & Talk: London 🇬🇧" on YouTube 👉 https://youtu.be/Rd8Auzn-KfI

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/06/09/940-our-favourite-things-to-do-in-london-part-2/

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Here is part 1 of a double episode about London 🇬🇧 and great things you can see and do there 🎡. Listen to my friends and family describing their favourite things to do in the city 🍻, get some travel tips 🏙️, get a mini history lesson 🏛️, and learn some vocabulary in the process. 

📄 Get the episode PDF with transcript, recommendation summaries & vocabulary list 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/939.-Our-favourite-things-to-do-in-London-Part-1-Transcript.pdf

📺 Watch "Walk & Talk: London 🇬🇧" on YouTube 👉 https://youtu.be/Rd8Auzn-KfI

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/06/09/939-our-favourite-things-to-do-in-london-part-1/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A return to Luke's Film Club with a conversation about one of the funniest and most controversial films of all time, also voted one of the UK's favourite films. Antony and I discuss the film's writing, production, story, famous scenes, deeper meanings and acting by the various members of the Monty Python team. Transcript available.

📄 Get the PDF transcript here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/938.-Film-Club_-Monty-Pythons-Life-of-Brian-with-Antony-Rotunno.pdf

🔗 Website page with links to previous Monty Python episodes 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/06/03/938-film-club-monty-pythons-life-of-brian-with-antony-rotunno/

Links for Antony’s Podcasts 👇

Glass Onion: On John Lennon https://pod.link/1473867166 (A deep dive into the life and complex psychology of John Lennon)

Film Gold https://pod.link/1544641271 (Discussions about favourite films)

Life & Life Only https://pod.link/1549021296 (All about the search for inner and outer truth)

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It's my birthday 🥳 so join me for a relaxed and light-hearted ramble, first with some comments about recent episodes and other podcast housekeeping, and then a series of talking points with the Spinning Wheel of Random Questions ☸️ including bits about how being an English teacher affects my social interactions 💬, the infamous ice-cream wars of Ice-Cream Island 🏝️, leading an army of English learners into battle on the back of an Elephant 🐘, the title of my (hypothetical) autobiography 📖, and my age revealed at the end of the episode. Full transcript available 📄.

📄 Get the PDF with transcript and questions 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/937.-A-Birthday-Ramble-_-The-Spinning-Wheel-of-Random-Questions-PDF-.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/27/937-a-birthday-ramble-the-spinning-wheel-of-random-questions

🏆 Sign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://lep.supercast.com

👕 LEP Merch 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/merch

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In this episode, I’m joined by Alastair Budge from Leonardo English to explore how you can use AI tools like ChatGPT to boost your English, especially when combined with podcasts. We go through specific, practical ways to actively engage with podcast content using AI — improving your listening, vocabulary, grammar, writing, and even speaking. Alastair shares a set of very useful prompts and techniques you can try out straight away, and we discuss the pros and cons of using AI for language learning. There's also a bit of fun as I try chatting with an AI version of myself. Download the free PDF in the show notes for all the prompts and ideas we mentioned, plus a full transcript.

📄 Get the PDF with all prompts and transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/936.-How-AI-Can-Boost-Your-English-with-LEP-feat.-Alastair-Budge.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/19/936-how-ai-can-boost-your-english-with-lep-feat-alastair-budge/

🏆 Sign up to LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

🎧 Leonardo English 👉 https://www.leonardoenglish.com/

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This episode is all about the exciting topic of driving, getting stuck in traffic jams, the future of our roads and how self-driving cars might be the solution. What is so annoying about traffic jams? Why do they even happen in the first place? Have you seen your first self-driving car yet? Will they solve our driving problems, or not? The episode is full of anecdotes, analysis, opinions and plenty of vocabulary. PDF available with notes, vocabulary list & vocabulary quiz.

📄 Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/935.-Terrible-Traffic-Jams-Self-Driving-Cars-Topic-Vocabulary.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/12/935-terrible-traffic-jams-self-driving-cars-topic-vocabulary/

🏆 LEP Premium 👉 https//www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Have you ever wondered about sign language, how it works and if it is similar to other languages like English? In this conversation I speak to Siobhan Dodd who is a sign language interpreter between English and BSL (British Sign Language). Siobhan is an enthusiastic and entertaining guest and we have a great chat about the nature of sign language, the challenges & opportunities faced by the deaf community today, and some of Siobhan's memorable interpreting experiences, such as working at the Glastonbury music festival.

📄 PDF Transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/934.-Sign-Language-is-Fascinating-with-Siobhan-Dodd.pdf

🔗 Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/06/934-sign-language-is-fascinating-with-siobhan-dodd

🏆 LEP Premium 👉 https://lep.supercast.com

📸 Siobhan on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/unclesiobhan/

🎧 Siobhan's Podcast (The Following Through Podcast) 👉 https://pod.link/1797539101

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Hello! In this episode I focus on English expressions and idioms that originated in the works of William Shakespeare and are still used in modern everyday language. Notice the expressions in various contexts, fully understand their meanings and use, explore their origins in Shakespeare's work, and gain valuable lessons about how to learn new vocabulary with real world examples. Also, learn about my short-lived career as a goalkeeper for the legendary football team "Chadwick FC".

Includes a PDF worksheet and transcript.

📄 Get the PDF here https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/933.-The-Best-English-Expressions-are-from-Shakespeare-_-Learn-English-Vocabulary.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/29/933-the-best-english-expressions-are-from-shakespeare-learn-english-vocabulary/

🏆 LEP PREMIUM https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

☕️ LEP MERCH https://www.redbubble.com/people/lepluke/shop

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In this episode I talk to my parents about the topic of William Shakespeare. We discuss the enduring appeal and significance of William Shakespeare's work, biographical details of his life, the key themes in Shakespeare’s plays, and the impact of his language on modern English. We try to explain the qualities that make Shakespeare great, using examples from plays like Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth. 

We also consider the challenges of understanding Shakespeare and suggest ways for newcomers to engage with his plays, such as watching film adaptations.

Enjoy a conversation about this important figure in English language and culture, with two other important figures - my mum and dad!

PDF available with transcript, vocabulary list and vocabulary quiz. Premium listeners - watch out for a language review of this episode coming soon, in P68 "Learn English with Shakespeare" parts 1 & 2.

📄 Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/932.-What-is-so-great-about-Shakespeare-with-Mum-Dad.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/21/what-is-so-great-about-shakespeare-with-mum-dad/

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This episode features a conversation with Zdenek about fears and anxieties experienced in everyday life. We explore common fears such as driving, flying, culture shock, language learning and public speaking, plus vocabulary we use to talk about the subject. Listen for stories of Luke's fear of Paris cafes, airport anxiety, Luke's dramatic scooter ride in Nha Trang, Zdenek's fears of Vietnamese roads and driving, Luke's recent cycling accident in Paris, Zdenek's encounter with a London police officer, nerves about teaching, and more.

The accompanying PDF worksheet offers a vocabulary list from the conversation, with definitions, examples, and quizzes and a full transcript to help you boost your English with the episode.

📄 Get the PDF here (lucky you - it's very expensive but you can have it completely free) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/931.-Overcoming-Fears-with-Zdenek.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/14/931-overcoming-fears-with-zdenek/

⚽️ The Footglish Podcast (Learn English with Football) 👉 https://pod.link/1751816033

💬 Zdenek's Discord server "The Achiever's Chamber" 👉 https://teacherzdenek.com/?page_id=2816

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This episode is about the bizarre and funny questions that people input into Google. I explore and answer some of these questions, explaining some vocabulary. The result is an engaging and intellectually light-hearted discussion involving the usual mix of rambling, and English teaching. The episode covers a range of topics, from personal health, sex and relationships to broader existential and practical issues, with some diverse and absurd moments. The language style is a mix of informal slang and neutral high-frequency vocabulary related to personal matters and common problems. I hope you enjoy it! PDF available with a full transcript and vocabulary list.

📄 Get the episode PDF (transcript, vocabulary list) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/930.-Can-I-eat-my-cat-other-weird-Google-questions-answered.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/07/930-can-i-eat-my-cat-weird-google-questions-answered-topics-vocabulary/

🏆 LEP PREMIUM 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Sarah Donnelly comes back onto LEP to catch up and to tell us about her stand-up special, now available to watch on YouTube, and to do a British English vs American English pronunciation quiz.

Sarah’s show is called The Only American in Paris and we discuss some of the themes of the show - the real experience of being a US citizen living in Paris, the Netflix show Emily in Paris, cultural differences, learning French, plus a pronunciation quiz to help you compare UK and US English.

📼 Watch Sarah's stand-up show here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_N_CRoRz0&ab_channel=SarahDonnelly  @sarahdcomedy 

📄 Get the episode PDF with quiz questions and full transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/929.-Sarah-Donnelly_-The-Only-American-In-Paris-US-vs-UK-Accent-Quiz.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/31/929-sarah-donnelly-the-only-american-in-paris/

🏆 Sign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Learn English with another short story on Luke's English Podcast. This one is about a learner of English who has an extraordinary experience. Listen to me tell the story, and summarise it, then explain plenty of natural, commonly occurring, up-to-date English vocabulary.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/24/928-the-abduction-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

Get the PDF with transcript and vocabulary notes 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/928.-The-Abduction-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-1-1.pdf

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Finally, it's here - the medieval museum episode with Amber & Paul. Join us as we visit the museum of the middle ages in Paris. Learn about the history of the middle ages, find out about some of the art and artefacts from that period, including some fantastic symbolic tapestries, sculptures and weapons, and have fun with a few jokes along the way.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/17/927-walk-talk-medieval-museum-with-amber-paul-kyle/

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The other day I was thinking about how podcasts must be good for your mental health, and how this could be connected to the tradition of collective oral communication which was the first form of mass media in most human civilisations, and how this has been central to human psychological and cultural development over the years. So, I made this podcast episode about it. Expect discussion of culture, history, psychology and communication, with plenty of vocabulary explained. Detailed PDF available.

Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/926.-Oral-Storytelling-Traditions-and-the-Mental-Health-Benefits-of-Listening-to-Podcasts.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/11/926-oral-storytelling-traditions-and-the-mental-health-benefits-of-listening-to-podcasts/

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When Walaa was first on this podcast in episode 703 she talked about living in Syria as a student during the civil war (or people’s revolution) but at that time she felt she could not talk in detail about the situation. Now that the Assad regime is no longer in control of Syria, Walaa feels she can talk more candidly about what it was like to live near Damascus during those days. Walaa’s descriptions are both shocking and moving. This is the topic of this episode, which is part 2 of a two-part series.

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/06/925-walaas-experience-in-syria-walaa-mouma-returns-part-2/

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Walaa Mouma returns to the podcast after 4 years to give us an update about her academic studies and personal story, including getting married and moving to Wales, details of her PhD doctorate, as well as her other studies and volunteer work helping to teach English to refugees and asylum seekers. Walaa's passion for this work is inspired by her own personal story of learning English, seeking asylum in the UK and studying in the UK's academic system, which she first talked about in episode 703 of this podcast. Part 1 of a 2-part episode.

Episode page with more information and links to Walaa's social media 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/03/924-walaa-mouma-returns-part-1-phd-studies-in-wales-teaching-english-for-refugees/

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A rambling episode full of spontaneous speaking from me to you. Topics include; an exercise for you to practise your spoken fluency 🗣️, the benefits of extensive listening to spontaneous speech 🎧, overcoming mental blocks 🌳, the English of my daughter and raising our kids to be bilingual 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, some reactions to recent episodes 🙉, some thoughts about upcoming content 🔮, some bird-related idioms 🐦, the phrasal verb "to follow through" including its rude meaning 💩 ...and more! PDF transcript available.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/02/23/923-a-rambling-exercise-for-fluency-late-winter-2025/

Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/923.-A-Rambling-Exercise-for-Fluency-_-Late-Winter-2025-Transcript.pdf

LEP Premium info ℹ️ https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

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Amber joins me for a discussion of some words which reflect various cultural movements of the last 12 months or more. Learn some trending words and listen to discussions of topics such as the influence of online content on mental health, the Oasis concert ticket scandal, an exploration of the 'lore' of LEP, romantic fantasy books, the rise of AI and more. Includes a PDF with my episode notes and vocabulary lists.

The Oxford Words of the Year is a shortlist of words chosen by OUP because they saw a significant increase in usage in 2024 and because they represent certain cultural moments of recent times.

📄 Get the episode PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/922.-Words-of-the-Year-with-Amber.pdf

Episode page on my website (with links for previous episodes) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/02/17/922-words-of-the-year-with-amber/

The Oxford Words of the Year (OUP website) 👉 https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/

LEP Premium information ℹ️ https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Sign into your premium account 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/account

Sign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Ian Moore returns to the podcast to talk about his career shift from stand up comedy to writing "cosy" crime novels. After several decades as a professional stand-up comedian, Ian has transitioned to writing murder mysteries. Now he is a bestselling author and his books are being adapted for television. In this episode Ian talks about ending his stand-up comedy career, why he was not suited for life as the host of a guesthouse, writing books on trains, and why his COVID lockdown was actually great.

🔗 Episode page on teacherluke.co.uk 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/02/10/921-from-comedy-to-cosy-crime-with-ian-moore/

📄 Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/921.-From-Comedy-to-Cosy-Crime-with-Ian-Moore.pdf

📚 Ian's books 👉 https://www.ianmoore.info/

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Do you know more animal vocabulary than my 6-year-old daughter? Find out in this episode which covers over 60 items of vocabulary for describing animals, their body parts, habitats and behaviour. I am joined by my daughter for a quiz and chat about different kinds of animals. PDF available with quiz questions, vocabulary review & more.

Episode page with PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/02/03/919-animal-vocabulary-quiz-with-my-daughter/

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Another fun chat with my friends Amber Minogue & Paul Taylor. This one was recorded in early January and we talk about running & fitness 🏃, falling out of bed 🛏️, my phone's battery issues 🪫, our Christmas meals 🍗, Amber's family bingo game 😅, Paul's horrendous Christmas rat story & some rat facts 🐀, insights into the lives of urban pigeons and country cats 🐈, handheld microphone technique 🎤 and Paul's lovely new jumper (or is it a sweater, or a pullover?)

No homework and no PDF this time.

Just enjoy keeping up with this conversation and catching up with Amber & Paul once again.

Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/01/27/919-catching-up-with-amber-paul-14/

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It's time for another classic Sherlock Holmes mystery story by Arthur Conan Doyle on the podcast. This time it is The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - a case of a stolen gemstone! 💎 My aim here is to help you to understand and enjoy the story. I’ll read the original text to you, and will explain and summarise what is happening regularly. Just relax, listen carefully and try to enjoy this classic story. PDF available.

👉 Get the PDF https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/918.-Sherlock-Holmes_-The-Adventure-of-The-Blue-Carbuncle-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story.pdf

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/01/20/918-sherlock-holmes-the-adventure-of-the-blue-carbuncle-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a listener-generated episode, meaning that the content is mostly written by listeners of this podcast. In this one I read out various comments and messages from listeners who have improved their English with the podcast. They describe the progress they've made and how they did it. Expect lots of success stories and plenty of advice for improving your English in 2025.

Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/917.-Listener-Stories-How-LEP-has-helped-my-listeners-with-their-English-Success-Advice.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/01/13/917-listener-stories-how-lep-has-helped-my-listeners-with-their-english-%e2%98%85-success-advice/

LEP Premium info 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

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A lengthy New Year's message about how to improve your English through consistent podcast listening. This episode details how regular listening improves comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency, incorporating listener testimonials and tips, with some specific advice about how to push your English with this podcast.

Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/916.-Learning-English-in-2025-with-Lukes-English-Podcast-.pdf

Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/01/06/916-learning-english-in-2025-with-lukes-english-podcast/

Listen to the audio podcast 👉 https://pod.link/312059190

My phrasal verb podcast 👉 https://pod.link/895725104

LEP Premium info 👉 www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me for a quiz about some curious stories from the news this year (2024). Stephen Devincenzi from the SEND7 Podcast is the quizmaster for the third year running, and has prepared questions that will test my knowledge of some of the slightly less serious global news stories this year. Can you beat me in the quiz? Listen to find out.

🔗 Episode page (with quiz questions) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/12/29/915-the-world-news-quiz-2024-with-stephen-from-send7-podcast/

🎧 Listen to SEND7 Podcast 👉 https://pod.link/1505603790

⛑️ Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Consider donating to help people in need of medical aid this year 👉 https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

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An end-of-year rambling episode with some seasonal good wishes 🎄, comments on recent episodes 🎧, an update about upcoming content 📲, anecdotes about seeing Paul McCartney live in concert 🎸, playing music at the British Ambassador's residence 🇬🇧 and visiting the British Library in London 📚, lots of library jokes (explained) 😂 and a vocabulary review at the end 🙇‍♂️. PDF available.

Send your answers to my questions here luketeacher@hotmail.com (1. How has LEP helped your English? 2. Do you have any tips for improving your English with LEP?)

📄 Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/914.-A-Midwinter-Ramble-❅-Lukes-English-Podcast.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/12/24/914-a-midwinter-ramble-lukes-english-podcast/

💻 Sign into your Acast+ account (LEP Premium) 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/account

⭐️ LEP Premium info 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

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Listen to a short story and learn some useful English vocabulary in the process. This one is called The Snowman - a mysterious winter tale about a creepy snowman which appears outside a cabin in a remote forest. Follow the story, and learn plenty of descriptive vocabulary.

📄 Get the PDF (story text, vocabulary notes, vocabulary list) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/913.-The-Snowman-⛄️-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/12/17/913-the-snowman-learn-english-with-a-short-story

📼 Animated Horror Flicks on YouTube 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@AnimatedHorrorFlicks

🏆 LEP Premium info 👉 www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

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Part three of a series featuring collected bits & bobs for the podcast, with mini-lessons on vocabulary and grammar. Topics include listener comments on listening twice, a joke about double negatives & sarcasm, staying safe while listening to LEP in the car, the phrase "don't be shy, give it a try," fun facts about Paraguay, and a Quentin Tarantino eggcorn. Learn English with LEP!

📄 Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/912.-Bits-Bobs-3-Questions-of-English-Part-3-More-Listener-Comments.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/12/10/912-bits-bobs-3-questions-of-english-part-3-more-listener-comments

🏆 LEP Premium info 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

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(Part 2 of 2) Let's continue where we stopped in the last episode, by going through the rest of my list of funny English signs 🪧 from around the world. These signs are badly-written and have unintentionally funny double meanings. I will read out the signs, then explain what is funny and offer corrections to make the signs clearer. I will also explain vocabulary in the process. PDF available. 

📄 Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/911.-FUNNY-ENGLISH-SIGNS-Explained-Part-2.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/12/03/911-funny-english-signs-explained-part-2

🏆 LEP Premium info 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's look at some funny examples of badly-worded signs from around the world (including UK & USA), which show the ambiguity and unintended consequences of unclear English. I analyse lots of signs, explaining the errors and offering improved versions, using them as teaching moments to illustrate grammatical and vocabulary points. The episode also features vocabulary explanations and corrections for the poorly written signs.

📄 Get the PDF with notes and detailed vocabulary list 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/910.-FUNNY-ENGLISH-SIGNS-Explained-Part-1-Lukes-English-Podcast-teacherluke.co_.uk_.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/11/26/910-funny-english-signs-explained-part-1/

🇻🇳 LEP Meetup in Vietnam, details 👇

Friday Nov 29th 7-10pm local time.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Little Du Mien cafe restaurant

119D Pho Quang street, ward 9, Phu Nhuan district (it's near the airport)

Email Zdenek at teacherzdenek@gmail.com to confirm your participation!

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This episode explores the important topic of AI and human civilisation, and teaches plenty of vocabulary on the subject. I analyse an interview with an AI expert and explore many words and phrases for talking about this subject. This includes discussion of the potential pros and cons of AI, how it will impact the job market, global security and economics, and what could happen if (and when) AI exceeds human intelligence. Check the episode PDF for a transcript and detailed vocabulary list.

📄 Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/909.-The-Existential-Threat-of-AI-to-Human-Civilisation.pdf

💻 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/11/19/909-the-existential-threat-of-ai-to-human-civilisation-topic-vocabulary/

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Responding to comments from listeners on various episodes in the LEP archives, including how to get a TEFL certificate, linking /r/ sounds, being a fly on the wall, singular "they", antique vs vintage, and when the verb "see" doesn't mean "see". PDF available.

👉 Get the PDF https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/908.-Bits-Bobs-_-Questions-of-English-Part-2-Listener-Comments-Episode-PDF-teacherluke.co_.uk_.pdf

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/12/11/908-bits-amp-bobs-2-questions-of-english-part-2-listener-comments/

👉 LEP Premium info https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free sample of LEP Premium. The episode contains clips from my recent premium series: P64, in which I told a couple of anecdotes about catching a cold and travelling to England with my two young children. You will also hear me teaching a lot of the words, phrases and expressions that I used in my stories. The entire premium series will be available for premium subscribers this week, but here is a free sample for subscribers of the free version of my podcast. Links below for more information about my premium podcast series.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/11/05/907-catching-a-cold-travelling-with-children-lep-premium-sample-episode-p64/

Get more information about LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Sign into your Acast+ account 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/account

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In this episode for Halloween I read out a classic work of gothic horror fiction by Edgar Allan Poe, then go through each line and explain vocabulary and discuss the themes and meanings of the story.

📄 Get the story PDF https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/906.-The-Tell-Tale-Heart-by-Edgar-Allan-Poe-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story.pdf

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/10/29/906-the-tell-tale-heart-by-edgar-allan-poe-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

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Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You can learn from it, but the frog dies in the process.

Let me tell you 49 jokes (of varying quality). How many do you understand? I will explain all the jokes. How much vocabulary can you learn in the process?

Episode page with vocabulary list etc 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/10/22/905-49-random-jokes-explained-dissecting-the-frog/

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This is the first part of a series in which I share various little things which I have collected over the years for this podcast, including questions about English, some interesting talking points and some general motivation and inspiration for your English learning journey.

👉 Episode page 📃 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/10/15/904-bits-amp-bobs-questions-of-english-part-1

👉 Get the PDF 📄 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/904.-Bits-Bobs-_-Questions-of-English-Part-1.pdf

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By popular demand I have chosen to publish this episode! In 2002 I ended up stuck in a Japanese hospital feeling very ill and confused. I ended up staying there for about two weeks. During my stay I wrote a diary nearly every day. In this episode I read from my diaries, share my personal experience with you and explain a few bits of vocabulary.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/10/08/903-reading-from-my-japanese-hospital-diaries-sept-2002/

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A conversation with my dad about his new book, which is about the history and wildlife of a famous Roman road which passes right through the heart of England. Expect stories from various periods of English history, plus descriptions of typical English bird life. English history and culture on Luke's English Podcast.

📕 Get the book here 👉 https://a.co/d/6qpPBIA

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/10/01/902-a-year-on-the-fosse-by-rick-thompson-english-history-amp-wildlife-dads-new-book-out-now/

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Learn English with another classic Sherlock Holmes mystery story by Arthur Conan Doyle. In this episode my aim is to help you to understand and enjoy a Sherlock Holmes story. I'll read the original text of this classic locked-room mystery to you, and will explain and summarise what is happening regularly. Just relax, listen carefully and try to enjoy this classic story. PDF available. 

Download the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/901.-Sherlock-Holmes_-The-Adventure-of-The-Speckled-Band-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/09/24/901-sherlock-holmes-the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a catchy title! Episode 900 is here, and what better way to celebrate than by inviting my pals Amber & Paul back onto the podcast? Amber & Paul have been regular guests on this podcast for 10 years. We usually have light-hearted and tangential conversations and these episodes are often very popular with long-term listeners. This time we talk about Episode 900 celebrations 🎉 the title of this episode 🔁 Paris Olympics 2024 🏟️ encounters with dead animals in Paris 😢 Paul's Olympic marathon run 🏃 the dangers of sneezing 🤧 and more...

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/09/18/900-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again-and-expecting-a-different-result-with-amber-paul/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rambling about being back after the summer break, with regular moments of grammar analysis. Includes a lot of tangents, funny moments and analysis of English tenses and complex sentence structures. PDF with transcript and notes available.

👉 Get the PDF https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/899.-Back-to-the-Mic_-September-2024-Ramble-Grammar-Tangents.pdf

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/09/09/889-back-on-the-mic-september-2024-ramble-amp-grammar-tangents/

👉 LEP Premium information https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In April I did a Zoom workshop about how to learn vocabulary. This is the audio version of the workshop, which I recorded more recently. Learn how to notice, understand, record, remember and use new words. Don’t just stare at word lists with translations. Instead, try to find some more effective ways to expand your vocabulary.

👉 Episode page with presentation slides https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/09/02/898-how-to-learn-vocabulary-and-not-just-stare-at-word-lists-workshop/

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"Dysfluent" is a piece of interactive fiction, all about communication. The story shows what it is like to live with dysfluency - a condition which makes it difficult to make smooth, fluent speech. How does a speech impediment create challenges in someone's life? Listen to the story, follow my choices and learn new vocabulary along the way.

👉 Episode page with game link https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/26/02/897-dysfluent-learn-english-with-an-interactive-story/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin Aaron is an old friend of mine from the days when I taught English in London. In this episode we chat about being an English teacher, travelling to different countries, the status of English in other places, how native English speakers (don't) learn languages, stories of learning French in school, and Martin's memories of boarding school.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/08/19/896-a-rambling-chat-with-martin-aaron/

👉 Podcast links for Martin's podcast https://pod.link/1742336735

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking to author Anna Brooke about her book Monster Stink, the sequel to Monster Bogey (Chicken House publishing). Anna is a travel writer and author of books for children. She is a great storyteller, and in this episode she talks about her fun new book for kids, which involves dangerous gas. This leads to a new topic for the podcast; farting! We teach you the most important vocabulary for this tricky subject, and then Anna tells some chilling stories about real supernatural encounters she has had. Not farts, but similar - ghosts!

👉 Episode page with fart vocabulary 💨 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/08/12/895-books-farts-amp-ghosts-with-anna-brooke/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A rambling episode recorded on-stage in front of a live audience in Paris in July 2024. Join my audience and me, as I share scenes from the screenplay for my new Hollywood blockbuster action movie about an English teacher called "Last Lesson", and the sequel "Last Lesson 2: Fast & Fluent".

👉 Episode page with screenplay script https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/08/05/894-lep-live-in-paris-live-podcast-recording-summer-2024/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking about the story of Lord Lucan, the British aristocrat who disappeared in 1974 after the murder of his nanny and attempted murder of his wife. Lord Lucan is an infamous name in Britain, and the story of his disappearance is a compelling glimpse into a life of privilege, high-stakes gambling, and unresolved mystery. I am joined by Alastair Budge, who covered this story for one of his podcast episodes, and we discuss it in detail.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/07/30/893-the-mystery-of-lord-lucan-with-alastair-budge/

👉 English Learning for Curious Minds https://pod.link/1489301603

👉 Alastair's The Lord Lucan episode of ELfCM https://pod.link/1489301603/episode/16779ace14a51eb475ab4084551c52f4

👉 Pioneers of the Continuum - A Time-Travelling Story for English Learners https://pod.link/1685968014

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Join me on another rambling episode as I encourage ninjas to come out of the shadows 🥷, touch on some present perfect continuous verb forms 🔁, give some podcast updates, give a report about the stand-up comedy show 😂 & live podcast recording 🎤, teach some polite and diplomatic language with a dramatic bank robbery scenario 🔫, give a summary of the UK's general election results 🗳️ & more...

📄 Download the PDF transcript/notes https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/892.-Youre-not-a-LEPster-by-any-chance-are-you_-July-2024-Ramble.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/07/23/892-youre-not-a-lepster-by-any-chance-are-you-july-2024-ramble/

🎧 My podcast episode archive https://teacherluke.co.uk/episodes

🎧 Listen to LEP in a podcast app https://pod.link/312059190

🏆 LEP Premium info and FAQ https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking to bilingual journalist Charles Pellegrin (France 24) about how the conventions of broadcast journalism influence the way the English is used in news reports, how Charles started as a journalist, the challenge of making TV news reports, our time at university, the Olympics in Paris, and Charles' experiences of living and working in China.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/07/16/891-the-bilingual-journalist-with-charles-pellegrin/

🎤 Luke & Charles' stand-up comedy show in Paris on 19 July (few tickets left) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/french-fried-comedy-night-tickets-603182383747

📲 Charles on Instagram & X

👉 https://www.instagram.com/chpilgrim/

👉 https://www.x.com/chpilgrim/

👉 https://www.instagram.com/charles_pellegrinf24/

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Learn English with a short story.

Listen & repeat after me if you'd like to practise your pronunciation.

Learn some vocabulary in the second half of the video 👍

📄 Read the story here https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/07/09/890-the-simulation-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

🎤 Reserve seats (free) for Luke's stand-up comedy on 19 July 2024 👉 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/french-fried-comedy-night-tickets-603182383747

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Natasha V. Broodie returns to the podcast to talk about her new book, which is full of advice for success in job interviews. Natasha has a lot of job interview experience, and she has learned the importance of self-belief and preparation. In this conversation she talks about some experiences that led her to write the book, and gives advice on what you should do before, during and after job interviews.

📖 Click here to get Natasha's book "Swaggart" on Amazon 👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM5WCVPR

✨ More information about Natasha's book, on her website here 👉 https://www.lifewiththebige.com/swaggart

🤣 Luke's comedy show in Paris. Click here and choose 19 July 👉 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/french-fried-comedy-night-tickets-603182383747

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My dad returns to talk about the current political situation in the UK. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a general election to take place on 4 July. Why did Sunak call an election at this moment? What do people think of the Consvervative Party, who have been in power for 14 years? Will we have a new government and a new Prime Minister in the UK in a couple of weeks? Also, what about England's performances in the Euro 2024 football championship?

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/06/24/888-uk-general-election-euro-2024-the-rick-thompson-report-june-2024

Luke's stand-up comedy show, details 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/comedy

LEP Premium info 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me as I take a walk along the embankment of the river Seine from Louvre to Pont Marie in the centre of Paris. This time the topic is health and diet. Watch out for the phrasal verbs I use during my ramble!

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/06/17/887-walk-talk-health-diet-phrasal-verbs/

Come and see me performing stand-up comedy in Paris on 19 July - details here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/comedy

The next series of LEP Premium will deal with the phrasal verbs (+ other vocabulary) from this episode. Sign up below👇

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In this episode I am joined by Rob from The Business English Podcast, and we are talking about networking in English. 🗣️ Networking is when you speak to other people, probably in a professional context, in order to build relationships, expand your social circle and make work contacts that can lead to business opportunities in the future.

Networking is all about socialising, speaking spontaneously, active listening and being aware of cultural factors which can affect everything. Listen to the episode to hear plenty of comments, anecdotes, advice and language tips relating to networking in English in a professional context.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/06/10/886-networking-in-english-with-rob-from-the-business-english-podcast/

👉 Listen to Part 2 on Rob's podcast https://pod.link/1643413701/episode/fbd1f3cc76ebb5e41b7d2fa2948f175b

👉 Listen to Part 2 on Rob's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLx_vg0fxk0&ab_channel=TheBusinessEnglishPodcast

👉 Rob's website https://www.thebusinessenglishpodcast.com

👉 Stand-up comedy shows https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/comedy

👉 My other YouTube channel where I play bass, guitar & ukulele https://www.youtube.com/@lukulele30

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hang out with me while the rain pours down outside 🌧️ and in this episode I'll talk about the problem of "faffing around" 😵‍💫 , podcast news & updates 📲, some stand-up comedy dates 🎤, comments on recent episodes 💬, some common questions from listeners 🙋, a lot of rambling about how I learned to play music 🎵, a tour of all the guitars in my podcast room 🎸 and a song at the end 🎶, with lyrics explained 👨‍🏫. 

📄 Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/885.-Still-Raining-Still-Rambling-News-Comments-Questions-Guitars-Music-1.pdf

🔗 Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/06/03/885-still-raining-still-rambling-news-comments-questions-guitars-amp-music/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation with my brother about one of the most successful British bands of all time - Madness. We talk about the story of the band, our early memories of their music, the songs, the members, their lyrics, their popularity and why we've always been big fans!

Episode page with links, music videos and more 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/05/27/884-british-music-madness-with-james/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A spontaneous monologue about being taken by surprise by public holidays in May (in France), a podcast recommendation, and seeing a hard-rocking and hilarious band perform live in a big arena last week. Includes a song at the end as a tribute.

Episode page with links etc 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/05/21/883-a-last-minute-rambling-episode/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's a list of jokes about different countries which I found on the website Bored Panda. I'll tell you the jokes and then explain them all (dissecting the frog), including any homophones, double meanings or specific cultural references. Can you "get" the jokes? Do you find any of them funny, or are they all just terrible dad jokes? And, what vocabulary can you learn in the process? Includes a vocabulary review at the end of the episode.

Episode page with notes, jokes and vocabulary list 👉

https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/05/14/882-47-funny-country-jokes-explained-learn-english-with-humour/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barbara Serra is an award-winning Italian journalist who has spent much of her career reading the news in the UK on various high-profile well-established English language news networks including the BBC, Channel 5, Al Jazeera English and Sky News.

Barbara has quite a specific relationship with English. It’s her dominant language but not her native language. She has a certain accent, which does place her outside the UK somehow.

So how has this affected her career as a news reader and reporter? What is the story of her English? What kind of challenges has she faced while reading the news in the UK? And what does this all tell us about learning English, what it means to improve your accent, the relationship between accent and identity, the definition of “native” and “non-native speaker”, the status of different English accents in the English speaking world?

🔗 Barbara's email newsletter "News with a foreign accent" 👉 https://barbaraserra.substack.com/

🔗 Barbara's website with course info 👉 https://www.barbaraserra.info/

📺 Luke talks to Alastair Budge about Paris 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jveYc5vFh7A&ab_channel=LeonardoEnglish on  @LeonardoEnglishCom 

🎧 Luke on Elena’s mtunonon's podcast "Online Bound" 👉 https://www.elenamutonono.com/2024/04/25/1-mln-subscribers/

📋 Take the Acast listener survey 👉 https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/ugLVUK15

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I read an article about Paris' preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games, discuss the issues, summarise the article and explain plenty of vocabulary. Is Paris ready for the games? What are the attitudes, complaints, expectations and fears ahead of this potentially controversial event.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/04/29/880-is-paris-ready-for-the-olympic-games-2024-article-vocabulary/

👉 Article https://theweek.com/sports/olympics-2024-is-paris-ready-to-party

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Top tips for spontaneous speaking 🏆 with communication expert Matt Abrahams, a professor at the Stamford Graduate School of Business, California. Matt is a leading expert in his field and his new book "Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot" gives you clear, academically-researched advice on how to deal with anxiety, focus on making connections, improve your mindset, learn to listen, and find really useful structures to help you become a more spontaneous and successful speaker.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/04/22/879-think-fast-talk-smart-communication-techniques-for-spontaneous-speaking-with-matt-abrahams/

Matt's website (book, podcast & more) 👉 https://mattabrahams.com/

Matt's presentation about communication techniques (34 million views) 👉 https://youtu.be/HAnw168huqA?si=jyE7BpzaIt4el_dl

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These days Elena Mutonono is an experienced business coach who helps online English teachers to gain independence and control over their own careers, but Elena's journey started as a learner of English herself. In this conversation I ask Elena about how she learned English, making the step to becoming an English teacher, then teacher trainer and what challenges online English teachers face when trying to work in a crowded and demanding job market.

👉 Elena's website https://www.elenamutonono.com/

👉 Elena's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elenamutonono/

👉 Elena's podcast https://www.elenamutonono.com/podcast/

- - - - -

👉 Join Luke's Zoom Workshop on 18 April 2024 (10AM UK time) https://english-at-home.com/summit/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This conversation is a preview of my Zoom workshop on Thurs 18 April 2024 at 10AM (UK time), as part of the Advanced English Summit. In my workshop I will be talking about how to really learn vocabulary, and not just stare at word lists.

This is a conversation about the subject of the workshop, and summit organiser Clare Whitmell asks me questions about why vocabulary is important, why I love teaching it, common mistakes made by learners, ways of learning vocabulary more effectively, and some tools you can use.

👉 Sign up for the Advanced English Summit here https://english-at-home.com/summit/

- - - - -

👉 Episode page on teacherluke.co.uk https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/04/11/877-how-to-learn-vocabuary-a-conversation-with-clare-whitmell/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to me rambling about Daylight Saving Time, weird AI generated images for Luke's English Podcast, and lots of comments and responses to recent episodes including the Birthday Party story 🎂 , the MBTI Personality Test 🙇 and the Walk & Talk in Paris 📹🚶.

🔗 Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/04/08/876-thoughts-comments-on-recent-episodes-a-spring-equinox-ramble-2024/

📄 Get the PDF (no email needed) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/876.-Thoughts-comments-on-recent-episodes-_-A-Spring-Equinox-Ramble.pdf

📺 The Advanced English Summit - book your place for Luke's Zoom talk (free) 👉 https://english-at-home.com/summit/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn English with another short story. I'll read the entire story to you, and then go through the text again explaining and clarifying the main events and plenty of vocabulary. This is a wonderful adventure story written by HG Wells, a very influential and imaginative English writer from the late 19th century. The story is full of vivid descriptive language, action, adventure and extraordinary moments. I hope it captures your imagination and lets the English come alive in memorable ways.

The story starts after about 12 minutes.

📄 Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/875.-Aepyornis-Island-by-HG-Wells-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-Lukes-English-Podcast.pdf

🔗 Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/04/01/875-aepyornis-island-by-hg-wells-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

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Here is an episode in which I walk through the streets of Paris, rambling about a particular subject. This time the subject is Paris itself. This summer Paris is hosting the Olympic Games. The city will be filled with visitors. I am very curious to see how the city will handle this moment. Will it be a huge success? What will visitors think of the city? Will anyone suffer from the mysterious "Paris Syndrome"? Join me on my walk, follow my words, look out for vocab and consider using my questions for your own speaking practice.

Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/03/25/874-walk-talk-paris/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The MBTI Personality Test (aka "16 Personalities") is a very well-known and widely used test which claims to be able to give you a "freakishly accurate" analysis of your personality type. In this episode I take the test, explain the reasons for my answers, explain some vocabulary and give my thoughts on the test results and the test itself. Includes plenty of expressions for describing personality traits, behaviour, ways of thinking and feeling and the subject of psychological testing.

👉 Episode page with notes, transcripts and links https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/03/18/873-luke-takes-the-mbti-personality-test

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Learn English with another short story. This time it's a 300-word story by Katherine Brush often used in literature classes, full of vivid imagery and with an emotional twist. I read the story to you, and then go through each line, explaining vocabulary and grammar.

👉 Episode page with story text and vocabulary notes https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/03/11/872-the-birthday-party-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

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A very long rambling episode with a big mix of vocabulary, stories about my trip to Rome, comments from listeners, lots of thoughts about episodes I've published over the last 12 months, more advice about learning English, and a story about being Jackie Chan's English teacher.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/03/04/871-rambling-through-my-episode-archive-listener-comments-gold-youtube-creator-award/

👉 Download the PDF https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/871.-Rambling-through-my-episode-archive-_-Listener-Comments-_-Gold-YouTube-Creator-Award.pdf

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Returning guest Kate Billington suddenly decided to move to the other side of the world, to Taipei in beautiful Taiwan. In this episode we talk about meeting LEPsters in Taipei, her decision to move there, and how everything is going, with the usual conversational tangents along the way. 

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/02/26/870-kate-billington-moved-to-taiwan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In international diplomacy, "communication is everything". This is the main point of this conversation, in which I talk to my friend who works for the UK delegation at UNESCO in Paris. We discuss the work that UNESCO does, and the various communication challenges involved in working together with representatives from countries all around the world, including the collaborative writing of official documents where the use of a single comma can be debated for hours, and the meetings and conversations in which cultural sensitivity and good-will are essential elements for success.

Also includes some communication idioms and guitar playing near the end of the episode.

👉 Episode page with introduction transcript https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/02/19/869-working-at-unesco-english-in-international-diplomacy/

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Talking to Lindsay from All Ears English about social, economic and political changes happening in the USA (and the UK) at the moment.

Includes some rambling and a song at the end of the episode.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/02/12/868-how-the-usa-is-changing-with-lindsay-mcmahon-from-all-ears-english/

👉 Listen to Luke on All Ears English talking about American & British English https://pod.link/751574016/episode/d4b5eabd02763c0770be33d021098248

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This episode is all about the different modes of communication that we use beyond the 4 linguistic skills of reading, writing, listening speaking. My guest is Nik Peachey who has helped to write a new paper published by OUP called "Multimodality in ELT: Communication Skills for Today’s Generation". Listen to Nik and me chatting about the importance of multimodal literacy in our social interactions and in the ways we consume and produce media online.

🔗 Episode page with intro notes 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/02/06/867-multimodal-communication-with-nik-peachey/

📄 Read the OUP paper "Multimodality in ELT: Communication Skills for Today’s Generation" 👉 https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/expert/multimodality?itm_source=oup-elt-site&itm_medium=hero-banner&itm_campaign=ww-multimodality&cc=ca&selLanguage=sk

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Here are my reactions to getting 1 million subscribers on YouTube, and probably 1 million+ on audio platforms too!

Listen to me rambling on my own and with my daughter (6 years old now) while the subscriber number gradually goes up, and eventually reaches this big milestone.

Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/02/02/1-million-subscribers-on-youtube-x1f389/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The return of the lying game on LEP! Amber, Paul and I play a speaking game which I sometimes use in my English classes. Listen to our stories and try to work out if we are lying or telling the truth. The second half of the episode contains story summaries and vocabulary explanations. 

👉 Episode page with vocabulary list, etc https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/01/29/866-the-lying-game-9-with-amber-paul-with-vocabulary-explanations/

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Amber & Paul return to the podcast for another tangential conversation about various things, including:

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/01/22/865-catching-up-with-amber-paul-13/

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Join me as I talk without a script about lovely cold weather ❄️ being too lazy to wash my cups 🍵 feeling exhausted because my son won't sleep 👶😮‍💨 New Year's Eve celebrations 🛋 performing stand up comedy to 4200 people 🎤 a recommended YouTube channel about adventurous missions in the UK countryside 🥾 and recent horror films I've seen 🙀.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/01/15/864-a-winter-ramble-x2744xfe0f-learn-english-with-lep/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new year episode to welcome you back to my podcast, to encourage you to reflect on your learning of English over the last 12 months, to consider your English learning in 2024 and how this podcast can help you. Includes plenty of ideas for how to improve your English, some reflections on my learning of French, and some 'help' from my baby son 👶.

📄 Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/863.-Your-English-in-2024-with-LEP-PDF-Transcript-reduced-size.pdf

🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/01/08/863-welcome-back-your-english-in-2024-with-lep-x1f4c8/

🏆 LEP Premium information 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

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[2/2] Stephen from the Simple English News Daily podcast asks me questions about news events from this year. This is part 2 of a 2-part episode.

🔗 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/27/862-world-news-quiz-2023-part-2-with-stephen-from-send7-podcast/

*Edits - On reflection, I decided to remove questions 11 and 12 because they were about the war in Ukraine and I think the tone of our conversation was not appropriate considering the solemnity of the situation. I regret not expressing my sincere condolences for the victims of the war.

Question 11 was about Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and question 12 was about the % of land in Ukraine occupied by Russian forces at the end of 2023 (20%).

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[1/2] Stephen from the Simple English News Daily podcast asks me questions about news events from this year. This is part 1 of a 2-part episode.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/27/861-world-news-quiz-2023-part-1-with-stephen-from-send7-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to me telling this classic Christmas ghost story - "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. I have read this story on the podcast before (in episode 320) but it's a good one so let's do it again, shall we?

📄 Download the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/860.-Charles-Dickens-Christmas-Ghost-Story-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-PDF.pdf

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/22/860-charles-dickens-christmas-ghost-story-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How about some English rambling at Christmas time? ChatGPT (who can speak now) helps me with some questions and ideas, and I ramble about Christmas plans, traditions, post-gift melancholy, upcoming episodes, how to do a King Charles impression, and more...

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/20/859-a-christmas-ramble-2023-with-chatgpt

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is part 2 of this double episode. Please listen to part 1 first! Sarah and Fred are trivia quiz nerds with a new trivia podcast. In this episode they joined me for some trivia quizzing and conversation. In this second part you can listen to my quiz for Sarah and Fred, and then Fred's quiz for me. Can you answer the questions? Can you follow the whole conversation? Listen carefully!

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/15/858-trivia-quizzing-with-sarah-and-fred-part-2/

👉 Listen to Luke's first episode on Sarah & Fred's podcast "Not An Alias Podcast" https://pod.link/1503202147/episode/f33a8fcf069e1a69d06335e4a472f372

👉 Fred on Instagram @FredMeUp https://www.instagram.com/fredmeup/?hl=en

👉 Sarah on Instagram @ParisQuizMistress  https://www.instagram.com/parisquizmistress/

👉 Not An Alias Podcast on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ParisQuizMistress/

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Sarah and Fred are trivia quiz nerds who have been doing trivia nights in Paris for years and now have a new trivia-themed podcast. In this episode we get together to discuss trivia quizzing, and to quiz each other with our own trivia questions. In this first part we get to know Sarah and Fred again, talk about their new podcast and then Sarah quizzes me with some cleverly-written questions. Can you understand and answer the questions? The quizzing continues in part 2.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/13/857-trivia-quizzes-with-sarah-and-fred-part-1/

👉 Listen to Luke's first episode on Sarah & Fred's podcast "Not An Alias Podcast" https://pod.link/1503202147/episode/f33a8fcf069e1a69d06335e4a472f372

👉 Fred on Instagram @FredMeUp https://www.instagram.com/fredmeup/?hl=en

👉 Sarah on Instagram @ParisQuizMistress  https://www.instagram.com/parisquizmistress/

👉 Not An Alias Podcast on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ParisQuizMistress/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking to my brother about his new album "Glytek Audio - Mood Selector" (available now on Touched Revolutions records) and then discussing music including the first album we ever bought, and favourite albums in different genres.

🎧 Click here to get James' new album https://touchedrevolutions.bandcamp.com/album/mood-selector

👉 Page for this episode on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/07/856-my-brothers-new-album-is-out-now-music-chat-with-james/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking to Cara about films, movies, her movie club for English learners and a discussion about films and what they mean.

Episode page with all the links you could ever need! 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/12/06/855-discussing-films-with-cara-leopold/

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🎧 Learn English with a short story.

🗣 Listen & repeat after me if you'd like to practise your pronunciation.

💬Learn some vocabulary in the second half of the video.

📄 I found this story in answer to a post on Quora.com asking about true scary stories.

I thought I could use it to help you learn English. Can you understand the story, and predict the twist at the end?

📄 Read the original by Lance Stephenson here https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-short-scary-stories

🔗 Page for this episode on my website with a word-for word copy of the story https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/11/28/854-the-invitation-learn-english-with-a-short-story/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me as I meet and get to know Rhiannon, an English coach whose mission is to help you feel awesome about your English. I had never met Rhiannon before this interview, so listen as I get to know her and we chat about her English & Welsh roots, moving to Edinburgh, studying theology at university, early experiences as an English teacher, why learners often feel ashamed of their English, and how she can help. We also discuss the wonders of fish & chips and deep fried Mars bars which you can buy on the streets of Edinburgh.

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/11/22/853-a-conversation-with-rhiannon-carter/

👉 Rhiannon's website https://www.rhiannonelt.com/

👉 Rhiannon's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rhiannonelt.coaching/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does it feel to have a visual impairment? How do blind people navigate the world? How do other people treat you, if you are blind? And, how do we talk about blindness and other forms of disability in English? This episode is inspired by a listener called Hafid, who contacted me recently. I talk about the subject of blindness and disability in general, read an article written by a partially sighted person, and explain a list of words and phrases we should use when describing different forms of disability. Also includes various medical vocabulary such as the different parts of the eye and other related topics.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/11/15/852-how-does-it-feel-to-be-blind/

👉 Get the PDF 📄 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/How-does-it-feel-to-be-blind-Lukes-English-Podcast-.pdf

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A listener left a comment on my website asking for my thoughts on the new Beatles song which was released last week, and I was happy to ramble about it for 45 mins. Listen to hear me give my thoughts and tell several stories related to what is being described as the last Beatles song.

I talk for about 10 minutes about burning down my apartment, and my thoughts on the content I make for this podcast and then start talking about The Beatles until the end of the episode. To skip straight to the Beatles bit, go forward to about 12 minutes.

Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/11/08/851-rambling-about-the-beatles-now-and-then-%f0%9f%8e%b8/

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Fabio has written a book about language learning, based on his own personal experiences of learning English. Each chapter ends with the same sentence: “This is how to learn a language”. But each chapter disagrees with the next. There are many ways to learn a language, and none of them is the only right way to do it.

In this episode, we talk all about this and Fabio shares some of his stories.

Fabio is the host of "Stolariod Stories" a self-development podcast which includes lots of lessons about learning English, and learning about life in general.

👉 Page for this episode on Luke's website 🔗 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/11/01/850-any-language-you-want-with-fabio-cerpelloni/

👉 Get Fabio's book 📖 https://fabiocerpelloni.com/any-language-you-want/

👉 Listen to Fabio interview Luke about stand-up comedy on Stolaroid Stories here 🎤 https://pod.link/1588409467/episode/5a1f614be55bdffa8513091565ef4985

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bed bugs in Paris & London, Mosquito hunting in the middle of the night, a home invasion by fleas and the terrors of cockroaches - listen to some anecdotes about encounters with insects with Zdenek who has recently relocated to Vietnam. Watch out for various insect idioms which appear during the conversation.

👉 Episode page on Luke's website (with list of insect idioms 🦟 & more)https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/10/25/849-stories-of-insects-bugs-creepy-crawlies-with-zdenek-lukas/

👉 Zdenek's Website with courses, and Discord server for learning Englishhttps://teacherzdenek.com/

🏆 P53 Technology in the Modern World - parts 1, 2 & 3 available now on LEP Premium. For more information about LEP Premium clickhere https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo

Luke on Other People's Podcasts recently 👇

🎧 Listen to "Mission in Paris" on Into The Story with Bree Aesiehttps://pod.link/1522715603/episode/71b6f95ea88babe5f978960f07a9e73c

🎧 Listen to "The Art of Making People Laugh" on Stolariod Stories with Fabio Cerpellonihttps://pod.link/1588409467/episode/5a1f614be55bdffa8513091565ef4985

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bree Aesie is an English teacher with a background in psychology, especially child development, and in this episode she comes onto LEP with advice and encouragement for parents who want to help their children to learn English from an early age.

👉 Episode page https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/10/18/848-the-superpower-of-starting-english-early-with-kids-with-bree-aesie/

👉 Listen to Luke's funny & dramatic story on Bree's podcast https://pod.link/1522715603/episode/71b6f95ea88babe5f978960f07a9e73c

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join me for an unplanned rambling episode about various things including: hump day, bed bugs in Paris 🐞, fashion trends I followed when I was younger 👟👖, CDs 💿 vs cassettes 📼 vs vinyl 🎵, the most relaxing place in the world 🛏, Japanese zen gardens ⛩, Hunter S Thompson 🚬, the most disgusting job I ever had 🤮, and more...

👉 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/10/11/847-random-topic-generator/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"The Glib Brothers" reunite on the podcast to discuss more music, films, books, scary AI and UFO sightings. James is my older brother and he's probably been on this podcast more than any other guest. Listen for another deep and humorous conversation with lots of cultural reference points.

Episode page https://www.https://teacherluke.co.uk/2023/10/03/846-topic-tombola-with-james/

Glytek Audio on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/1trBdNNHMafKfWxaXDdUBf?si=2L2beuujSkWU0mAeHYcTNw

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TECH TALK! A conversation with Joe Dale (modern foreign language teaching consultant, EdTech guru) about the use of ChatGPT in English teaching and learning. Lots of recommendations, tips and tricks for saving time and combining ChatGPT with other software including Google Chrome extensions.

💻 For a list of all the Google Chrome extensions and other software, click here (episode page on my website) 👉

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.