Hear You Go

Witness the art of conversation in action in today's intermediate English conversation episode of Hear You Go.   The delightful Anastasia Sakarova, who you might know on Instagram as @heart_to_heart_english, joins me to share stories, teaching methods, and some thoughts about what makes a conversation a conversation.    You'll hear her talk about her early love of the English language, how she lea...

Are you a sun worshipper or a seeker of the shade?   Me, I'm often found under a tree or an umbrella, never baking in the sun. I'm confused though because I recently read a news story that suggested I might need to get a bit more sun on my skin. How much to get is the million-dollar question!    In this English listening episode, we're going to try to understand the sometimes confusing messages we...

English Pronunciation. 👏👏👏 I am over the moon excited to bring you my English conversation with pronunciation expert and fluency coach, Yasna Lártiga, who you might know as Pronunciation with Miss Oh. You'll hear about the challenges of teaching and learning English pronunciation: from the importance of individual sounds to the frustrations of connected speech patterns, NOT rules! Yasna shares...

Tulips everywhere, in yellow, red, pink, white, orange, and even purple and black. They line the streets and the canal. They attract hundreds and hundreds of people to admire them and post their beauty on Instagram. Where? Right here, in Ottawa, Canada, every May.   It’s the annual Tulip Festival, and it’s a sight to behold. The Tulip Festival in Ottawa has historical significance, and I’d like to...

Who was Julia Child? Why is she important?   If you like to eat, cook, and enjoy cooking shows, join me on a journey into the world of Julia Child, the iconic figure who revolutionized American food culture.   In this episode, we learn about Julia's exciting life story, from her privileged childhood to her adventurous spirit that led her to fall in love with French cuisine in post-war Europe.   We...

The elegance of English. I'd never thought of English that way, but my guest, Maria Glazunova, explains why English has such an emotional hold her on. It's a beautiful English conversation we have for you today. Maria and I talk about: her history with English: learning and teaching it burnout and how that led her to adopt a dogme approach to teaching English how her book literally saved her life...

In about a week, I'm going to celebrate my 55th birthday. I remember when I once thought that was old. Hahaha!!!In honour of my 55th birthday, I want to share some thoughts on aging, specifically aging as a woman: what it means to get old and look old (smashing the beauty myth!) the very real possibility of losing mental agility research that suggests age is a mindset, not a number I believe to my...

Welcome to Episode 41 of Hear You Go! I'm joined in an intermediate English conversation this week with Urmi Hossain, an inspiring polyglot who shares with us her experiences learning languages, the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and speaking your languages, and how language influences and shapes our identity. What language feels like home to you? What languages can you say "belong...

Will you be surprised to learn that creative activities that occupy our hands are crucial for positive mental health, and that these activities contribute to happiness and fulfillment?    The focus of today’s English Listening episode is on creativity, crafts, and connection. We’ll look at: the Arts and Crafts movement and define arts and crafts – what are they? we’ll explore this new Maker Moveme...

It was -16 degrees Celsius yesterday, but the sun was shining. It's on days like these when it's easy to stay inside, under a blanket, sipping cups and cups of hot tea or hot chocolate.   It's for this very reason that I not only asked Joanna Radomska of Walking Languages to join me in an English conversation, but I also joined her 3-week Doable Walks course to get me outside, walking each day, AN...

With Saint Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought we'd explore chocolate because every supermarket and pharmacy I go to these days has boxes of chocolates on display, front and center. Do you like chocolate? Silly question: who doesn't?   In today's short English listening episode, I'll share: a brief history of chocolate (what it is and its origins), then we'll explore whether it's good for...

Do you journal?  Do you know that journaling can be a written and/or spoken practice? Did you know that journaling in English (or another language you're learning) can be one of the most useful tools in exploring language and transforming your mindset vis-à-vis learning? Journaling is a good way to learn English and to practice your English writing.  Join me in conversation with a very special gue...

Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol that “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”   Lord Byron said of laughter: “Always laugh when you can, it is cheap medicine.” Pablo Neruda shared that: "Laughter is the language of the soul."   And Maya Angelou declared: “I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.” Let's start 2024 with a dose of laughter, or a...

Sleep. It seems so simple, and yet it's something many of us are struggling to get, or to get enough of.   In today’s English Listening episode of Hear You Go, we’re going to dig deeper into sleep and why so many of us seem to suffer from a lack of it. The topic is vast, so we won’t address everything. For today, we’ll explore, as I often do, the science of what sleep is, why it’s important, and h...

Are you a perfectionist? Does your perfectionism get in the way of speaking English? Perfectionism is something a lot of English language learners and teachers suffer from.  But is it always a bad thing? Are there benefits to being a perfectionist? What should we do when being perfect is actually stopping us from making progress in English? In today's conversation with Michelle Daniel of the Heart...

I've been mulling over, pondering over, thinking about three different topics and how I could possibly bring them together in one English listening podcast episode. This is my attempt to do so. Today, you'll hear about the concept of a doppelgänger, a look-alike of sorts, followed by a short exploration of extreme sports and the motivations that drive athletes to do these dangerous sports. To conc...

Are you ready to be inspired in your English learning?  My guest on today's intermediate English conversation is a clleague I greatly admire. Fernanda , a non-native English language teacher based in Brazil, joins me in a conversation where we learn about what drew her to English, and then what propelled her on the path to helping people attain advanced C2 proficiency. It's an amazing story, and y...

We're gonna need a bigger boat. - Jaws. Here's Johnny! - The Shining. Be afraid. Be very afraid. - The Fly.   Do you like watching horror movies?    I don't really like them, but I know that millions of people do, so I thought Halloween would be a good opportunity to look at the genre as you practice your English listening.   In today's episode, you'll learn about: the English vocabulary we use wh...

Autumn in North America is a time when Canada and the USA celebrate Thanksgiving. It's complicated.    On the one hand, it's important to celebrate the harvest, but on the other hand, there's a dark and cruel history to confront.    In today's English Listening episode, you'll hear about: the history of Thanksgiving and how it's a little different between Canada and the US why it's necessary to re...

Jackie Chan once said that "coffee is a language in itself". Hmm... Do you speak coffee? Well, if coffee is a language, what English words would you use to describe coffee? For me, it's easy: hot, black and strong. No milk. No sugar. Unless it's a cappuccino, and then I want whole milk frothed to perfection, with a dash of cinnamon.   Ah coffee, I DO love you.    Every October 1st is International...

What do you notice when you listen to an English podcast or when you read a book in English? Do you actively notice language, and what do you do once you notice something?   In this episode, I talk with my friend and colleague, Bistra of English with Bistra, about the importance of noticing if we want to become an advanced English speaker and writer. We'll define some terms, then explain how peopl...

Hello lovely listeners! In a world where everything seems to happen quickly, we often measure our progress by how many "things" we do. We're busy, busy, busy.   What if we slowed down and measured our progress by how deeply we understood what we read and listened to instead?   In Episode 27 of Hear You Go, I'd like to encourage you to take some time listening to English podcasts, Hear You Go speci...

Why do we swim? I swim to exercise and to practice my French, lol!  Do you practice your English speaking when you do a sport or activity? I know why I swim, but I wanted to learn more about why so many people swim, and I did what I often do: I read a book titled " Why We Swim", by Bonnie Tsui. I learned a lot from this book, and in today's episode, anchored in the middle of August with summer com...

"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is something adults often say to children as a warning to be careful, but in my family, we prefer to say: "It's just all fun and games... but I want to win!"   Do you play games? Do you enjoy playing games? Would you believe that playing games can help us learn English, and become better people?  Human beings have been playing games for thousands...

I'd no idea when I released Episode 1 of Hear You Go that I'd release another 23 episodes! Thank you to each one of you who has practiced your English listening with me.  I'm going to be taking some time off this summer and will release two summer English listening episodes instead of four, so as we come to the end of Season One (OMG!), I thought I'd share some of the lessons I've learned.    You’...