The Clark and Miller English Podcast

In this episode I look at how you can use images effectively in the classroom and give your students more of those "a-ha" moments. Through a job posting in a small Russian village, via a polyglot war hero, past split brain experiments and behaviourist studies, into Atkinson's Keyword Method (a vocab-learning approach) and out into the magic formula for "a-ha" moments, we look at what makes a perfe...

Have you ever really thought about how some words you use to describe others are a bit ... rude? Have you ever noticed the words you use to describe groups of people you don't like? Have you ever noticed that the word for Germany in your language is different from the word Germans use? Have you ever seen the Wizard of Oz? And what's up with Chavs? In this episode I explore the world of exonyms and...

In this interview, I talk to Chris Walker, a long-serving teacher at International House and author of English is a Simple Language. Join us on our quest to “get to the bottom of it all,” examining and uncovering the underlying structures of English, following in the footsteps of Michael Lewis. During this engaging conversation, we ask: “Can we get to the heart of the meaning of modal verbs?” “Can...

They lied! They all lied to you! Well, some of them did. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the people who told you that “We use ‘some’ for positive sentences and ‘any’ for negative and question sentences.” Sure. We do. But what about: “Would you like some tea?” and “It’s just some kid.”? Find out how “some” and “any” really work...

Have you ever corrected your student for making a "mistake" that you make yourself? In that case, is it a mistake? Are they mistakes when the same features are used by speakers of English in Kachru's outer and even expanding circles of English? In this episode, I check out a fascinating paper by Elina Ranta on student mistakes, innovations and Angloversals. Whatever they are...

In this episode, I talk to my dad, Peter, about slang. We also play a game where I try to guess the meaning of slang terms from the ’40s (his generation), and he tries to guess the meaning of slang terms from the ’90s (my generation). The game was fun, but we also end up talking about all sorts of other things like the Hindi, Arabic and Turkish origins of some English words, how words changed over...

A very phrasal verby chat with Rob from English with Rob. We talk about: - the best way to learn phrasal verbs; - our favourite bands and whether auto-tune is evil or a really good idea; - the dreaded pandemic and how we adapted to it (and how we're still adapting to it); - reality TV (and why we don't get it); - how "get" and "be" are cousins; - what stability and certainty in 2022; - capitalism...

Free eBook "Learn New Words 5 Times Faster": https://www.clarkandmiller.com/learn-english-fast/ ______ Improve your pronunciation AND your listening skills with these 5 English pronunciation tips. Learn about: 1. Jump to the potato! (stress-timed vs. syllable-timed languages) Is your first language stress-timed or syllable-timed? What does that mean for your English pronunciation? How does it affe...

In this episode, I talk to the super-thoughtful Emma from The Procrastination Podcast and Pronunciation with Emma. And, yes! We talk about swearing in English. Lots of f***ing swearing! Join us in this fascinating conversation and ... - learn some really useful English swearing, - find out which swear words are strong and which ones are weaker, - see how swearing can work as a painkiller, - explor...

Today, I share three of my "hot takes" about English. - Do we ever use "will" with "if" (e.g. “If I will be at the party …”)? When? And when can't we use it? Why? - Why do we use “some” in sentences like “I got some bread”? Do we need it? Can’t we just say “I got bread”? What’s going on with this word? Are there other words like this? Are they really meaningless? And if they are meaningless, why d...

In this episode, I take a dive into 10 common English proverbs. Wait! What’s a proverb? A proverb is basically an idiom you use to give advice or even share some wisdom. Examples? Well, today we’re looking at: Two’s company, three’s a crowd. Too many cooks spoil the broth. When in Rome, do as the Romans. When it rains, it pours. If it ain't broke, don’t fix it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way....

Should we use L1 in the English classroom? Is there a problem with discrimination against non-native English teachers? Is taking the Cambridge DELTA a good idea? Why is Zdenek's cat so weird ... and it's not even his cat? As an ESL teacher, I'm sure you've asked yourself these questions before. (OK, maybe not the cat one.) In this chat with English teacher Zdenek, we discuss all these things and m...

It's always the same: The same mistakes. Again and again. Mistakes like: “We’ve got more five tickets left.” “We work four days in a week in August.” “I want that my kids go to a public school.” “Thank you that you helped me.” “His parents made him to do extra classes at the weekend.” “It’s not so big than my city.” But who can help us stop making these small but common mistakes? Amy Winehouse and...

Have you ever walked away from an English lesson saying, “What?! How?! Why does this language have to be so complicated?!” If you’ve felt like this, you’ve either just walked out of a lesson on reported speech, or you were in the Arabic class by mistake. (Don’t do that again.) But if you're getting frustrated with reported speech and all its stupid rules, there's some good news: It doesn't have to...

Why is the past tense not the past tense? Why are "done," "swum" and "gone" just adjectives dressing up as verbs so they can get into a "verbs only" party? How do you hide yourself in a sentence that isn't about you? And did you know that the future doesn't exist in English, and we have no way of expressing the future? Let's take a look at the world of philosophical grammar and discover imposters,...

If you're anything like me, then you love cooking. Also, if you're anything like me, you have a weird fear of frogs and a passion for experimental music. But let's talk about cooking! How often do you find yourself sharing recipes with friends and talking about your latest success in the kitchen? Cooking, like many subjects, comes with its own little collection of vocabulary. In this podcast episo...

Here's a question for you: Do you need grammar to understand what people are saying? Really? What about this sign I saw in a posh restaurant? "No shirt. No tie. No service." No grammar, right? But we totally understand what's going on here. Interesting, right? Well, there's more. Join me on this deep dive into how we really understand language. (Clue: it's not all about the grammar.) We'll also lo...

A mad, mad story about a live sex show, uncomfortable bars and an elephant walking down the street. In this podcast episode, I talk to Martin from Rock 'n' Roll English about that time he went to Thailand without doing ANY research about the place. Listen to Martin's story and answer the True or False questions. Then listen to us talking about the interesting vocabulary from the story. Vocabulary...

I talk to Luke from Luke’s English Podcast – one of the longest-running ESL podcasts – about one of our favourite topics: comedy. We discuss our favourite British sitcoms and comedians. We also look at how you can improve your communication skills by “keeping things light” and even being weird and surreal. And you also get to hear at least three pirate jokes (and two cheese jokes, too). List of sh...

In this interview, I discuss pragmatics and pragmatic competence with Andreas Grundtvig, author of "English is Context," a new book for teachers and learners about English pragmatics. This is a big one! And we talk about a lot of amazing topics, including: - how gamers now, the gay community in the early twentieth century and London Cockneys evolved their own language ... and why; - why they rap t...

Here's why your English learning journey is just like the Beatles' career. Except without the millions of dollars. Sorry about that! :) In this episode, we look at how the Beatles changed during their ten-year career, how those changes are just like the changes you experience when learning English, and what you need to do to sound mature and wise in English. Mature and wise ... just like "Hey Jude...

An interview with the awesome Krisia Justesen from Lightning English on how you can change your learning mindset. OK, OK ... I know that sounds like abstract advice. But here's the thing: Krisia will talk you through the steps you need to take to start thinking in a way that'll get you learning English more comfortably and more naturally. In this episode, you'll also get the chance to join a free...

Have you ever had problems communicating with people from different cultures? Have you ever felt that your English is good, but you're still not getting your message across? Speaking a language isn't just about getting the words right – especially when you're dealing with people from all over the world. In this episode, I interview the awesome Chia Suan Chong, an expert in international communicat...

We are not free! And that's a good thing! When we speak English, we're not completely free to choose what we say. However, this lack of freedom can actually make it easier to communicate. In this podcast, you'll find out: - why communicating with people can be like going through airport security ... or being in a Borat film; - how to collect language "passcards" to make your communication more eff...

Have you ever seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Remember that part when Charlie and Grandpa drink some magic soda and start floating towards a giant fan? Remember how they got out of that tricky situation? That's just like grammar! Well ... kind of. Today I talk about: - how we don't use grammar so much for marking time but to give our personal perspectives on how we see the world; - how som...