Espresso English Podcast

Do you know the difference between "making trouble" and "taking the trouble"? What about "having fun" and "making fun"? Today I'm going to clarify  20 confusing collocations  with the words do, have, make, and take. The meaning often changes depending on which verb is used. If you want to remember these collocations better, I'd encourage you to try writing your own example sentences using each one...

Welcome to the final lesson in our pronunciation power-up mini-course! So far we've practiced 200 English words for jobs, food/drink, countries, and brand names – and I've saved the best for last. The theme of today's lesson is  difficult words to pronounce , so I've selected 50 of the words that English learners often find hard to say. If you're serious about improving your pronunciation and you...

Hi! It's day 4 of our Pronunciation Power-Up Mini-Course, and today's theme is brand names. Nowadays a lot of brands and companies are really big and well-known – so we're going to practice pronouncing  50 of the biggest and most famous brand names. Remember, in your native language, you might pronounce these exact same names differently – because of the different pronunciation rules of your langu...

Welcome to day 3 of our pronunciation power-up mini-course! Today we're going to practice  pronouncing  the names of  50  countries  in the world. Some of these might be similar to how they're said in your native language, but others will NOT be the same, so pay close attention to any small pronunciation differences from what you might be used to. I really wish I could do ALL the  countries  in th...

Hi everyone! It's day 2 of our pronunciation power-up mini-course, and today we'll be practicing  50 words for food and drink. Remember - in order to get the most benefit out of these lessons, you need to actually SAY the words yourself. Don't just watch... speak! Actually, if you want to challenge yourself even more, try listening and repeating with your eyes closed. Why? Because sometimes it's a...

Hello and welcome to our Pronunciation Power-Up Mini-Course!   We're going to practice pronouncing 50 words a day for 5 days - a total of 250 words. This will give you a quick boost in your pronunciation.   The #1 most important thing is for you to PARTICIPATE in these lessons by listening and repeating the words aloud. There's space in the video for you to say each word immediately after I do. Tr...

Next week I'm giving a   FREE mini-course  called "Pronunciation Power-Up!" In video games, a "power-up" is something that increases your skills quickly - and that's what we're going to do with your pronunciation  :-) This 5-day mini-course will help you practice 250 words so you can pronounce them correctly and confidently. The mini-course will run from March 1-5. To get the lessons, just registe...

When should you use the word drank and when should you use the word drunk? They are pronounced differently AND used differently! Today you'll learn  how to use drank & drunk correctly. To learn more about confusing English words - how to understand them clearly and use them correctly - get my e-book called  600+ Confusing English Words Explained. It covers TONS of words that are often mixed up by...

Learn 16  American English slang words and expressions  about food and drink!  Read the slang words and example sentences, listen to the pronunciation and repeat the words and sentences out loud to improve your English speaking. At the end of the lesson, try the quiz to test your understanding of these American slang words. Learn slang & informal English easily with our e-book.

Some English phrasal verbs are easy to understand, like "give away" or "wake up." But others are hard to figure out - like beef up, fawn over, and wipe out! What do these phrasal verbs mean??? Let's have fun today by learning 10 interesting phrasal verbs! The problem with English textbooks is that they often teach you only the "basic" phrasal verbs like  wake up, turn off,  and  get out  - but the...

Do you feel like you keep forgetting what you learn in English? Maybe you study words and phrases and grammar… but then it doesn't stick in your mind, and you can't seem to remember things when you need to use them. So what can you do about this problem? How can you actually remember what you learn, so that it becomes part of your English and you can use it confidently? I do have some tips to help...

Today we're going to talk about the differences between the words  review and revise. They're used slightly differently in American English vs. British English. But by the end of the lesson you'll understand clearly when to use each one. There are so many confusing words like this in the English language, and that's why I wrote a book about them – it's called  600+ Confusing English Words Explaine...

Sometimes students write to me and say "I need to  learn English FAST ." Maybe they have a deadline, like "I'm starting a new job or taking a test two months from now, so I need to be fluent by then" or maybe they just don't want to waste time; they want to reach their goal of fluency as quickly as possible. Is it possible to reach fluency fast? And how can you do it? I'm going to explain my opini...

What's the difference between  homework  and  housework ? These two words seem practically identical, but they actually have separate meanings and uses. I'll explain in today's lesson, so that you can be sure to use the right word. And at the end I'll also tell you about a common mistake that English learners often make with homework and housework. Now you know the difference between homework and...

If you want to make your English sound more natural, more like a native speaker, then pay close attention to today's lesson. I'm going to teach you five phrases that English  learners  often use, but that  native English speakers  would never say  – either because they're incorrect or because these phrases just don't sound natural. Remember – I don't want you feel BAD about these mistakes; I want...

There are two phrases I hear many students say: "My English is terrible." "Sorry for my BAD English." Have you ever said these things? Be careful, because these two phrases are  dangerous  to your English learning! Listen to today's lesson  to find out why you SHOULDN'T say these phrases... and what you SHOULD say instead.   I want to see you both succeed in learning English AND enjoy the process...

Today you'll learn some common English words that are often misused because they are so similar. The only difference between them is a space, or one letter. The context of the sentences will help you understand how to know whether to use  one word or two. Already vs. all ready Sometime vs. some time Anyway vs. any way Everyday vs. every day Everyone vs. every one Apart vs. a part Altogether vs. Al...

During this month of December, we have some holidays… and during holidays, many people give gifts to each other. So I thought it would be a good time to  learn 25 collocations with GIVE! We're going to start with some simpler ones and then learn some more that might not be so obvious, or might not mean what you think. Studying collocations is wonderful for learning how to put words together natura...

Native English speakers use a lot of informal expressions in day-to-day life! Lately, I've been paying attention to my own conversations – and today I'll teach you 10 English expressions I've used in recent situations. It's much easier to learn and remember phrases when you can see them in context. But if you don't live in an English-speaking country, where can you find conversations to learn from...

Today I'm going to give you some  tips for pronouncing "world"  - a lot of students find this very difficult. We'll also practice work and word, since these are two more that English learners have a hard time pronouncing clearly and correctly. Remember, you CAN master these difficult words with practice! If you want to be fluent in English, your pronunciation doesn't have to be "perfect" (there's...

This week is the holiday of Thanksgiving in the United States... so in today's lesson, you'll learn useful expressions with the word  THANK or THANKS   :-) I'll also teach you about a couple common mistake - make sure to watch the whole video so you can avoid the errors. If you want to improve your spoken English by learning more REAL phrases that native English speakers use - then join my  Everyd...

A student asked about the following four phrasal verbs: flip out freak out piss off tick off She asked, "Are they all the same? Are they all appropriate to use?" Good questions – I'm going to explain them in today's lesson! Piss off, tick off, flip out, freak out Can you see how it's essential to learn phrasal verbs like these in context, with examples? And it's also very important to put them int...

The English language has a number of words that sound nice and are fun to say! Today I'll teach you 10 words that many people find beautiful - you can learn what they mean and practice pronouncing them in order to expand your vocabulary. If you're working on getting your vocabulary up to a more advanced level, there are 1,000 more words waiting for you inside our Vocabulary Builder Course - Level...

Do you ever use the wrong word in English? It's a very common problem - and it affects students at all levels, from beginner to intermediate to advanced. These mistakes are especially common when the two words appear very similar - like "interfere" and "intervene" or "relation" and "relationship" - or when they seem to have the same meaning, like "problem" and "trouble" or "staff" and "employees."...

This month we've been doing a series on different ways to say things in English, in order to help expand your vocabulary and know what to say in lots of situations. Today we'll cover  20 ways to say "thank you"  – phrases for expressing gratitude and appreciation. We'll start out with some basic ones you probably already know, but keep watching so that you learn some new ones! Thank you so much fo...