English, please

A word students don’t like to hear, a national election, and a schedule made for farmers in 1845. What are the midterm elections, and why is Election Day on a Tuesday? In this episode, you’ll find out what people in the United States are voting for, why they still vote on a workday, and which everyday English words mean something different in election news. Practice speaking English with me : your...

Same rule, same mistake, every time you speak. Why do I keep making the same mistakes in English? In this episode, you’ll learn three common mistakes in English that intermediate learners make very often, why they’re so hard to change, and four simple ways to stop making mistakes when you speak English, including a better way to learn new words. You’ll practice fixing real sentences out loud. You’...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 81: Why Are All Dollar Bills the Same Size and Color? One dollar or one hundred dollars: every US bill is the same size, and most of them are the same green. So why are all dollar bills the same s...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 80: How to Understand Long Sentences in English You understand every word, but you still miss what happened: long sentences are one of the hardest parts of listening to English. In this episode, y...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 79: 6 Animal Idioms Native English Speakers Actually Use Horses, cats, elephants, and chickens: English is full of animal idioms that make no sense word by word. In this episode, you'll learn six...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 78: The Price Tag Is Lying to You This episode looks at something almost every visitor to the United States runs into: a price tag that almost never matches what you actually pay at the register....

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 77: The Intermediate Plateau This episode is a bit more personal than usual. It looks at a common experience for language learners: working hard, making real progress, and then feeling stuck, even...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 76: Texas—The Price of Doing It Your Own Way This episode looks at the real history behind a flag you'll see on t-shirts and hats far outside the United States. Texas was its own independent count...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 75: New England, and a Color Scientists Can't Fully Explain This episode takes you to a region where three weeks in October can decide whether an entire year was good or bad: New England, during f...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 74: Las Vegas: A City That Doesn't Feel Like the United States Today's episode takes you to one of the strangest cities in the country: Las Vegas, built from scratch in the middle of the desert. Y...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 73: How to Read in English Without Stopping to Translate This episode tackles something almost every learner does without thinking about it: stopping to translate every unfamiliar word while readi...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 72: How to Understand Podcasts and Audiobooks Without a Transcript This episode tackles something almost every learner runs into: understanding podcasts and audiobooks without any help from a tran...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 71: Guess Before You Know: The Trickiest Word Pairs in English This episode is a little different. You'll work through word pairs that trip up English learners constantly: since/for, say/tell, bor...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 70: The Strange Contradictions of Los Angeles Palm trees and sunshine are only part of the story. In this episode, we look at three things that exist in Los Angeles at the same time: a beautiful c...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 69: Why It's Harder to Speak Than to Understand You understand more English than you can say out loud, and that gap is confusing. In this episode, you'll learn why listening and speaking are two d...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 68: How to Disagree in English Without Sounding Rude In this episode, you'll learn five phrases that native English speakers use to disagree politely and naturally. Knowing the phrases is only the...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 67: How to Use Idioms Like a Native English Speaker In this episode, you'll learn five idioms that native English speakers use every day, and more importantly, when and how to use them. Knowing wh...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 66: Chicago In this episode, you'll learn about one of the most fascinating cities in the United States: Chicago. We'll explore the city's remarkable architecture, from the skyscrapers that change...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 65: Connected Speech and Why English Sounds So Fast In this episode, we explore one of the biggest reasons English sounds so fast and difficult to understand: connected speech. We'll look at three...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 64: Movies for Intermediate English Learners In this episode, I share six movies that are genuinely good for intermediate English learners. They're not all easy, and they're not all from the same...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 63: Why Idioms in English Are So Hard to Understand In this episode, I explain why idioms are one of the most frustrating parts of learning English. The words are familiar, but the meaning is some...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 62: Why Native English Speakers Don't Sound Like Your Textbook In this episode, I explain why fluent English isn't about knowing more grammar. It's about knowing the right phrases, understanding h...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 61: Listener Questions In this episode, I answer three questions from listeners around the world. Why do Americans smile at strangers on the street? Why is it so hard to understand native speakers...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 60: Why Americans Talk to Strangers Have you ever been in line at a coffee shop when a stranger suddenly started talking to you? In many countries, this would feel unusual. In the United States, i...

English, please is a podcast designed to help improve your English by listening to clear, intermediate English about many different topics like history, culture, art, music, travel, and language. Episode 59: Why Americans Avoid Saying No Have you ever made plans with an American and then waited for a response that never came? Or heard "let's catch up soon" and never heard anything again? In this e...