Emma's ESL English

Today we're talking about lying. There are lots of ways that we use lies in different societies. In the UK we often use lies as a way to be more polite. Today we'll look at idioms that describe lies or liars. There is a whole playlist on the YouTube channel full of Idioms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsPIPxMZYqs&list=PL6eu7BlE1AJTNrEu-AXgB9fl1mVyz_z79 See you tomorrow! Today's...

Today we're focusing on telling secrets. Some of these phrases can be used to ask someone not to tell a secret, or to describe someone who can't keep a secret. We'll also cover some business vocabulary we hear in relation to telling secrets. This is the last episode for this week but I'll be back in Episode 77 talking about idioms about lying. Today's Idioms Spill the beans - a...

This week we're starting a 4-part series on related idioms. Today, keeping secrets. Tomorrow, telling secrets! 🙊 Then next week: lies and trustworthiness. See you tomorrow! Today's Idioms Mum's the word - Can be used as a phrase after telling a secret to let someone know this is a secret and they shouldn't tell anyone. My lips are sealed - Same as above. Can be used as a phrase to...

The word 'temper' is used in a lot of phrases but what actually is it? 'Temper' usually describes someone's anger level. For some people who are described as having a 'short temper' they tend to get angry easily and quickly. There are a lot of different ways we use the word 'temper'. Let's talk about some of them today. Have a great weekend! Head to the Camb...

Today we are talking about phrasal verbs that start with 'look'. There are a lot of them! So we're not covering all of them today. Hopefully you have heard of many of these before and we're just reviewing or you're hopefully going to feel a bit more confident about using or understanding them. There are so many of these phrasal verbs out there! So I want to give you a couple of...

We have covered words for looking before. In Episode 28 we covered watch, see and look. However this time we're looking at more nuanced words that you might hear or come across when you're reading such as Glance, Gaze, Glare and Glower. These words often have an implied meaning about an emotion or a way that we have looked. See you tomorrow when we'll be looking at phrasal verbs using...

Today we're reviewing something that is commonly confusing for lots of students. Questions I WILL answer for you today: When using comparative and superlative adjectives, when do you add the 'er'? (bigger) When do you use 'more'? (more beautiful) And do you ever use both? See you next week! Comparative Adjectives - when we are comparing two things, often uses a 'than' i...

This week my student said 'there wasn't many variety', and just like yesterday's podcast, I had that feeling of 🤔 why is that weird? The problem is that 'variety' is countable and uncountable, so it depends on the situation as to whether we would use 'much' or 'many! Today we'll look at this problem and several possible solutions for it. Tomorrow we'll...

Today's episode came from a sentence that I knew didn't sound right but I wasn't sure why. I hope I can clear it up, but you know, English has a tendency to be more confusing than it needs to be! We're looking at when we should use 'a few', when we can use 'few' and when we can use 'quite a few' and what the difference is between them. This kind of nuanced g...

Today we're talking about some different idioms, words and phrases that we use in the UK. These are all related to the sunshine, but some of them are descriptions rather than idioms. Some of these are very British and I also talk a little bit about the sarcasm used in British humour. Have a great weekend! See you next week! It's boiling! This is a phrase we often use when we feel too hot....

In this episode I will review a few of the changes that will be happening in the UK due to our change of monarch. I will talk about the changes to flags, stamps and money, also official titles and a bit about what will or might happen next. Additional Vocabulary Royal brand - this is the coat of arms for the Queen or King and can be found on certain foods and products that the monarch has approved...

With the Queen's funeral yesterday I decided this might be the best time for us to talk about death. It's a depressing subject but something that touches us all and I don't want you to be stranded with no vocabulary or confused about what people are talking about. In English we have a lot of euphemisms for death. We don't like using the actual word and we don't like talking abo...

Today, after reading from so many different books, I decided to do a little sales pitch on WHY YOU should read English books. Actually any kind of reading is fine, it doesn't have to be books. I hope this gives you some tips, confidence and ideas to get you started. Don't be scared, don't get frustrated, just take your time and keep it fun. Reasons Why You Should Read English 1. Readin...

Today I'm reading from Simon Sinek's first book ' ⁠Start With Why⁠ ', I'm just reading one page from the book so you understand his Golden Circle Principle. Then we're going to look at how we can apply this principle to your English Learning Goals and Strategies to build and maintain your motivation. You can also check out the TED Talk which tells you the main parts of this...

Today we're talking about a skill that hopefully you have learned from speaking in a foreign language, that you might not necessarily be applying to your daily life, but perhaps might benefit from. When you speak another language (i.e. not your mother tongue) you often go into the conversation with the INTENTION to listen and TRY to understand the other person. This often results in...more und...

This episode is shot on location in Workington. It is great listening practise for you and after the reading I'll go into detail about some of the vocabulary. The main connecting feature of the readings from Episodes 60, 61 and 62 is the weather. British people LOVE talking about the weather. Here we have three British writers each describing stormy, windy, rainy weather in different ways and...

This episode is shot on location in Workington. It is great listening practise for you and after the reading I'll go into detail about some of the vocabulary. The main connecting feature of the readings from Episodes 60, 61 and 62 is the weather. Three British writers, with totally different styles and situations describe the sea and the weather for us. This second reading is from a non-fictio...

This week the videos were recorded on the beach at Workington. It was very bright and when I got home I realised I hadn't looked at the camera once! Anyway! This week we have three readings about the sea and the weather. The first is from Harry Potter, The Philosopher's Stone. When Uncle Vernon, trying to escape the letters, he takes the family out to the shack in the middle of the sea. (J...

Today we're talking about various different idioms that I said or heard this week. These are very commonly used in the UK, so important to know. Hopefully they will be useful for you. You can find today's episode on ⁠the YouTube channel⁠ with the subtitles if you need. Have a great weekend! This week I noticed several times when I was watching TV and reading my books that I came across idi...

This week we're looking at lots of different idioms. These are idioms that are commonly used to describe illness, both in others and in ourselves. Often we don't know what is wrong with someone, but we can describe something about their behaviour or how we look, so you might hear these idioms being used in that way. This is the first week that I filmed all of the podcast episodes. If your...

This was my first ever full video episode! I had no idea how to edit videos, I was really nervous to be on camera and I wasn't sure where to look! 😬 If your provider doesn't allow you to watch the video episodes you can head over to ⁠⁠⁠the YouTube page ⁠⁠⁠ to watch the episodes with subtitles if you'd rather.  This series of episodes looked at lots of different idioms: This episode to...

We're continuing the speech analysis from yesterday. Today we're focusing on using stories and tone of voice to deliver your point effectively and help people emotionally engage with what you're saying. The speech we're listening to is Simon Sinek's Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmyZMtPVodo&t=523s You can find it on YouTube at the abov...

We're continuing the speech analysis from yesterday. Today we're focusing on the repetition that the speaker uses to reinforce his points and ensure that we remember his key ideas. The speech we're listening to is Simon Sinek's Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmyZMtPVodo&t=523s You can find it on YouTube at the above link with English subtit...

This week we're doing something a little different. We're going to analyse a speech. We're looking at what the speaker does to make the speech more interesting and engaging and to help the listener really understand and take on board his ideas.  The speech we're listening to is Simon Sinek's Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmyZMtPVodo&t=...

This week I'm talking a little more about my Grandpa's garden. I'll put a video together on YouTube so you can see some of the pictures and things from the garden.  I talk about some of my experiences as a child in the garden and the history behind how the garden came about, it's a pretty young garden, by British standards, but it's definitely the best garden I know...but maybe...