English Podcast with Tommy

Travelling is something a lot of us, me included, enjoy doing a lot. - But when we say travelling, my guest today, Aline, on her return, is someone who takes travelling to the next level! Yes, Aline travelled to 11 countries , where none of them speak her mother tongue Portuguese. So, how did she do it? - Well, for an introvert like Aline, it's not easy to start conversations. But for anyone w...

What does being held back have to do with today's episode? - Well, in actual fact, it is very important! Believe it or not today's episode brings us the feeling we're being held back and not getting any further - In her return to the podcast, Ana talks to us about what she calls this phenomenon as being 'Classroom Syndrome'. But don't worry, it's not a debilitating dise...

It wouldn't be English without having a journey, would it? - In her debut episode on the podcast, Amanda talks to us he first experiences of the English language. - But how can it be possible that this woman, a qualified economist, be possibly interested in languages?? - Well, despite numbers being predictable and likeable, this particular teacher decided she wanted to do something different:...

Motivation is something that ebbs and flows. Sometimes we have a lot of it, other times we struggle to muster up enough motivation to continue. - And that is exactly what I talked to Amy about in her return to the podcast: staying motivated - On the podcast's 250th episode, Amy believes one of the main reasons we don't stay motivated is because we set ourselves the wrong goals. That is not...

South Africa is a country with a rich, vibrant, yet dark history. And yet, despite this, there's a sense that South Africa could be slowly moving forward. - In her debut episode, Jessica talks to us about her perspective of the country she comes from. - Jessica talks to us about how she things were in the past, with a class, which was demographically not varied. Despite this, Jessica tells us...

It's always hard trying to stay the course on something, trying to stay motivated for a longer a time. And that is even more so when you've got something as illogical as English as the task you've got to do. - But don't worry! Because I've brought not one, not two, but 4 teachers to help you with this. - In a first for this podcast, I brought back Cacau, Letícia and Luiza from...

What is the most effective way of learning a language? Is it that you read a book just because you've been told to do it? Is it to watch a TV series / film because you're told to? - Well, according to Jelena, on her return to the podcast, it could work short-time, but may not work all the time. - In this episode, I talk to Jelena about her English journey, and the big decision she made whe...

What does Vietnam and a European citizen have in common? - Well to put simply, I talked to Zdenek, a Czechia citizen, who now lives in Vietnam. - And in his return to the podcast Zdenek talks about his experiences of connecting with people in the English language, whether that be during a trip to the UK as a teenager or on a building site speaking the English language. - Find out more about why co...

What does a Chilean power cut and a new debutant have in common? - Well, unfortunately, there was a power cut right in the middle of Javi's debut episode. Nevertheless, this was not going stop Javi tell us about her story of her English journey. - So what has Javi got to tell us about herself: well, coming from a small town where there are not many opportunities to learn English, Javi broke th...

What do plateaus and learning have in common? - As a matter of fact quite a lot! In her return to the podcast Marija talks to us about the one thing that language learners struggle with: getting off a plateau! - And which plateau is it? I hear you shout. It's the plateau of intermediate level. Now you're probably thinking that being an intermediate student is fine. And it is! But Marija wi...

What do December 2025, a returning guest and 2026 all have in common? Believe it or not, they are all linked together in today's episode! - Yes! This episode was recorded back in December 2025, my returning guest is Laís and we talked back in December about resolutions! - You're probably thinking why we need resolutions almost halfway through the year. Well, we need resolutions all the tim...

What does a chicana (a Mexican American), French blood and a teacher all have in common? Well, believe it or not, they are one person! - And so the next question is what does neurodivergence and this teacher have in common? Everything! Nathaly, on her debut episode, talks to us about neurodivergence and how she can you help get rid of your fear of of failing in English. - So, it's indeed time...

What does a 17-year old and 30 years of experience have in common? - Well, these may be numbers but for Elis these are key numbers, as she has 30 years (!) experience of teaching. Yes, that's a lot of experience! - Nevertheless, at the age of 17, Elis had the dream of being a teacher. I know, personally, that at the age of 17, I had not made my plans for future work. - At the end of high schoo...

What does a cheesy 90s American pop song and a teacher have in common? - Well, let me tell you, this is simple! This is the connection that my latest debutant, Makeli, has with the English language. At a very young age, Makeli fell in love with the cheesy American pop band The Hansons and that particular song by them. IYKYK, :-) - From there, our wonderful debutant said she would use English to fi...

As we all know, our language journeys are unique to all of us. - And Yasmim is no different in any way. This teacher, who has come a long way, is now a doctor in Anthropology. - But where did it all start for her? In the agricultural city of Goiana, where Yasmim has never liked living. After numerous attempts of trying to go abroad, it never worked out. - But since graduating in Anthropology, Yasm...

Language journeys can start anywhere. - And Paola's language journey is no different to any others, or maybe it is. - From the beginnings in the southern city of Sevilla, Spain, Paola talks to us about how she started learning English from 4th grade, aged around 9 years old. - From there, there was no turning back, nor was there any need to turn back, as Paola continued her journey to the pres...

We all know that journeys can also include a literal physical journey from one part of a country to another. - And Larissa, at the beginning of her debut episode, talks to us about how, despite coming from the south of Brazil, she was moved to the harsh northern regions of Brazil, close to the Bolivian border. - And here is where Larissa's English journey starts: in public schools. - Want to f...

Have you heard of that classic rock song 'Don't Stop Believin''? - Well, today's podcast could be based on that song! - In her return to the podcast, Júlia tells us that we need to start believing in ourselves more. - Why? Because a lot of us, when we get stuck with our learning journeys decide that it's time to stop. - So, instead of giving up so easily, please keep contin...

Everyone has heard, hopefully of the genre of music called jazz, right? Ok, that's a good start. - And we know what a chant is: something catchy, snappy and short. Stick with me on this, ;) - In her return to the podcast, Nat talks to us how we can incorporate this specific genre of chanting to improve our vocabulary knowledge. - SPOILER ALERT: have a listen to how well I did in attempting thi...

Motivation is something that we need to help us learn anything! - But many of us struggle to keep motivated while learning. So why?! - In her return to the podcast, Kecia talks to us about the necessity to keep outselves motivated during our learning. - Join us, sit back, and stay motivated while learning something new about motivation. - SPOILER: who is a special guest Kecia had while we recordin...

We've had many English journeys on this podcast, but we've never had a Spanish language journey before. - In her return to the podcast, I talk to Tricia, an American English teacher about something a little different: her Spanish journey. - You're probably wondering why I would talk to someone about their Spanish language journey on an English podcast. But believe it or not, it's r...

Reading takes us into another world, something away from our everyday worries. - And in today's episode, my guest, Rafaela, on her return brings you not just one book, but three ! - Yes, you didn't read that wrong at all, Rafaela decided to bring you a bumper crop of books from a philosophical look at women by feminist Simone de Beauvoir via Swedish criminal novels by Stieg Larsson all the...

We all know that learning can be wonderful. - But learning actively can be even more fun. But how? - In her return to the podcast Glaucia explains to us what active learning is and how wonderful it can be. - So where do we start? By actively listening to this episode to get the full lowdown on what and how actively learning can be! Simple, isn't it?!

We all know that stories are powerful. And we have had plenty of teachers come through the doors of the podcast to tell their own story. - But today it's time for another story to be told, a story about a famous person: Jacinda Ardern, the former New Zealand Prime Minister. - No, unfortunately we couldn't get Ms Ardern onto the podcast but we have someone else, who hasn't been on the p...

It may not be haunting season, and it may not be even close to it either. - But our Queen of morbidity is back on the podcast for her 5th outting! - Yes, Inna has come and decided to share some more hauntingly dangerous content for you to improve your English. - The series, that our Queen of moribid darkness decided to gift us with is none other than: The Haunting of Bly Manor. - This series is no...