Espresso English Podcast

Many of us have hopes and plans for what we would like to accomplish in the new year! Today I'll teach you  50 common collocations  with these words. Collocations are combinations of words that are frequently used together. Studying common collocations is a great way to help you form better sentences that sound more natural in English. Wow, that was a lot of collocations! Do you want to keep learn...

This is one of my FAVORITE lessons of the year  :-) Did you know that the dictionary is updated all the time? The publishers add words that have come to be used frequently in the media and in everyday life.  Let's learn some of the new English words added in 2018. There were 12 words in this lesson... but the English language has more than 170,000 words in total. How are you supposed to learn so m...

It's December 31st - we're at the  tail   end  of the year! (= the very last part) In today's lesson, you'll learn  8 English idioms with the word end. Remember, don't try to translate these idioms literally word by word - if you do, they might not make sense. Instead, learn each one as a whole expression. We're about to start a new year... wouldn't you like to learn some new expressions in Englis...

Phrasal verbs are very common in everyday spoken English - and many students ask me about the definitions of phrasal verbs they've heard in conversations, TV shows, or movies. Today I'm going to explain five phrasal verbs that you might not know yet:  square away, step up, space out, blow over, and swear off. If you come across (encounter) a phrasal verb that you can't understand, please e-mail me...

I've noticed a pronunciation mistake that many students make when they say words like "succeed" and "successful." There are actually  3 different ways to pronounce CC  in English! Today we're going to practice saying 26 words with CC. Listen and try to repeat after me. Listening and repeating - like you did in today's lesson - is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation! With time and pr...

Today you can  test your knowledge of 10 common business English terms . This quiz only taught you 10 words and expressions... but you can learn hundreds more words and phrases inside my  Business English Course! The course will teach you practical English for work. You'll learn day-to-day vocabulary for interacting with clients and co-workers, as well as specific words in the areas of management,...

We recently had the holiday of Thanksgiving in the United States. Most people celebrate it with their families, but there's a growing tradition of also celebrating "Friendsgiving" - and that's the topic of this week's lesson. Click here to learn 15 vocabulary words/expressions from the article! I hope you've enjoyed my series of English in the news videos in November! If you want to learn more fro...

Today's article is about social media and mental health.  This one is written in a more casual style, so it has some informal expressions we can learn. I'm going to teach you 15 words and expressions from this news article. I know many of you enjoy listening to my voice as I teach you English - and that's great! But do you have difficulty understanding other English speakers, who may speak faster...

You might have seen a video on social media about a bear  cub  (that's a baby bear) trying very hard to  scale  (climb) a snow-covered mountain and eventually succeeding. A lot of people liked that video... but today's article talks about a potential problem with it. In this lesson I'm going to teach you  24 vocabulary words  that are important in understanding the text. Do you want more practice...

This month, I'm bringing you a very special series of videos in which you can  learn English from the news . Every week, I'll choose a current news topic and teach you key vocabulary and phrases in the context of the article. This week's lesson is based on an article about employees of Google protesting their company's policies about sexual harassment. You can read the original news  here , and th...

The English language has a lot of regional variations and different accents - and there are some words with two different (but correct) ways to pronounce them! The English language has a lot of regional variations and different accents - and there are some words with two different (but correct) ways to pronounce them! Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/10-english-words-with-alternative-...

Do you know the difference between wait and await, sleep and asleep, and wake and awake? These words seem simple, but there are some small grammatical differences in the way we use them in sentences. Take today's lesson to find out how to use them all correctly. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/wait-and-await-sleep-and-asleep-wake-and-awake/ Small mistakes like saying "await for" ofte...

Today you're going to learn the difference between break in, break out, break down, break up, and break through. Some of these phrasal verbs have multiple meanings. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/5-phrasal-verbs-with-break/ It can be very hard to remember the meanings of phrasal verbs if you just study lists and definitions. That's why in my lessons, I always try to give you real ex...

Today I want to clear up some confusion around the words  sometime, sometimes, and some time.  Are they all the same? No! These words have different meanings and uses. Take today's lesson to find out how to use each one of them correctly. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/sometimes-sometime-or-some-time/   Can you make your own example sentences with all three? It's important to put wh...

Some informal and idiomatic expressions in English just don't seem to make sense. In today's lesson, I'll explain  four phrases that my students have asked me about: nothing to sneeze at there'll be hell to pay to each his own a far cry from Don't try to translate or understand these phrases literally – that's a common mistake among language learners. If you try to understand it word by word, it w...

There are many English words that have similar spellings and pronunciations, and it's common for English learners to use the wrong one. Today I'm going to teach you  three examples  of how small differences can change the meaning of the word completely. We're going to practice these: college / collage / colleague message / massage course / curse Pay close attention to make sure you're saying and w...

I've just gotten back from a road trip with my family, and I'm going to use this opportunity to teach you some  vocabulary for driving and traveling by car. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-vocabulary-for-a-road-trip/   To learn more vocabulary that's organized by topic, you can join my  Vocabulary Builder Courses , which will teach you hundreds of useful words. Level 1  of th...

In today's lesson I'm going to show you  six mistakes  that real students of mine have made – and you might be making, too! The purpose of this lesson is not to make you feel bad about those mistakes, but instead to learn from them. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/six-english-grammar-mistakes-you-might-be-making/ One problem with language learning is that if you make a fairly minor m...

William Shakespeare was a poet and playwright who lived in the 16th century. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the history of the English language. You might know him as the author of the famous "Romeo and Juliet." Many of the English idioms we use to this day were invented or popularized by Shakespeare – you'll learn eight of them in this lesson! Lesson text:  https://www.espressoe...

Today I want to teach you the correct way to say four words that I often hear students mispronouncing or confusing:  recipe, receipt, debt, and debit. Listen and repeat to practice your pronunciation, so that you can be confident you're pronouncing these words correctly and not mixing them up! Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/how-to-pronounce-recipe-receipt-debt-debit/ A lot of Englis...

Today we're going to take a closer look at the word TEST – specifically the  collocations (common combinations of words) that are often used with "test." Learning collocations like these can make it easier for you to put together phrases and sentences in English. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-collocations-with-the-word-test/ You can learn a lot more inside my e-book, which...

Have you noticed that when you listen to informal English conversations, you hear some expressions that you can't understand? Today I'm going to teach you  three casual conversational expressions , what they mean, and how to use them: quite a bit might as well just my luck! Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/informal-english-quite-a-bit-might-as-well-just-my-luck/ To continue learning l...

In today's lesson I want to clarify the difference between the confusing words  careless  and  carefree.  It's easy to mix them up, but they have quite different meanings and connotations. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/careless-or-carefree/ I hope this lesson has helped you understand the difference! For more explanations of confusing words, check out my e-book,  600+ Confusing Eng...

Today I want to teach you  how to use the word " lack " correctly. I've noticed some of my students making a little mistake with this word, so this lesson will help you learn which one to use – " lack " or " lack of ." It's a very small detail, but it's important to learn so that your English grammar is correct. Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-grammar-lack-or-lack-of/ These l...

OUGH is pronounced at least 5 different ways in English! In today's lesson, I'm going to teach you  how to pronounce OUGH  in some common words and example sentences. Remember to practice your pronunciation by repeating after me – because the best way to improve your pronunciation is to practice it actively! Lesson text:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/how-to-pronounce-ough-in-english/ How can yo...