All Better at English Podcast Episodes
- 055 – Could you kick a robot puppy?Hello my lovely English learners! Lori here, your teacher from BetterAtEnglish.com. I love technology, so we’re talking about robots today, but not in the way you might expect. A lot of conversations about robots …
- 054 – What in the world is leaf peeping?Episode summary Autumn is in full swing here in the northern hemisphere, so this Real English Conversations episode is full of vocabulary related to the colors, weather, moods and feelings associated with this time …
- 053 – Is seeing believing? Deepfakes and the information apocalypseWhen you watch the news these days, do you trust your eyes and ears? Do you think what you’re seeing is real and happened the way it is being shown? Or is your first …
053 – Is seeing believing? Deepfakes and the information apocalypse Keep reading »
- 052 – The Other F-word: talking about fatTalking about fat and fat bodies is a tricky area to navigate in English because the word FAT is so laden with meaning, associations, emotions, and feelings — and these are different for everyone. …
- Get FREE podcast transcriptions with Otter.ai (it’s super cool, I promise).Did you know that you can get FREE transcriptions of any podcast in English, and that it’s fast and easy to do? That’s right, ANY PODCAST! And did I say FREE? If you are …
Get FREE podcast transcriptions with Otter.ai (it’s super cool, I promise). Keep reading »
- 051 – The good, the bad, and the flat-out liars. Real English ConversationImagine if you will, the following scenario. You’ve volunteered to take part in a psychology study, say, at your university. All you have to do is show up to the lab, sit by yourself …
051 – The good, the bad, and the flat-out liars. Real English Conversation Keep reading »
- 050 – Help! I have a horrible neighbor (fixed)Neighbors can be great friends, but let’s face it: sometimes they can be absolutely horrible. But what do you do when you’re stuck living next to a neighbor who you just can’t get along …
050 – Help! I have a horrible neighbor (fixed) Keep reading »
- 049 No excuses – The best place to get FREE speaking practice right nowThis is NOT a sales episode, I promise! Seriously, I have found and tested the BEST place to find people to practice speaking English with for free. It only takes 5 minutes to set …
049 No excuses – The best place to get FREE speaking practice right now Keep reading »
- 048 – The Robots are Coming – part 2Here comes part 2 of Lori and Will’s discussion about A.I. and automation. If you enjoy these podcasts, please take a moment and rate or review. You can find the full transcript at https://www.betteratenglish.com/transcripts. …
- 047 – The robots are coming. Are you ready?A study predicts that all human tasks could be automated in the next 30 years. And that all human jobs might be replaced within the next 100 years or so. Holy crap! What will …
- The robots are coming – pre-listening taskHi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from better at English dot com. This little update is just to let you know that new Real English Conversations are coming. I know you love the …
- 046 – Five American English slang expressionsHey there English learners, Lori here, your teacher from BetterAtEnglish.com. I’ve got a different type of episode here for you today. I’m gonna go through some American English slang expressions, some really common ones …
046 – Five American English slang expressions Keep reading »
- 045 – Stupid English grammar rules – is it OK to break them?The data is clear: some English grammar rules are stupid. Is it ever OK to make a grammar “mistake” on purpose? Is it ever OK to know a grammar rule and break it anyway, …
045 – Stupid English grammar rules – is it OK to break them? Keep reading »
- 044 – A very embarrassing mistakeHi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Better at English dot com. It’s story time here today, something I don’t think I’ve done here on the podcast before. I’m going to use natural …
- 043 – Real English conversations: Lori scores a year’s supply of toilet paper (archive)A funny thing happened today when Lori was shopping for office supplies, and it involves an industrial-sized package of toilet paper rolls.
- 042 – Make the Most of your Motivation part 2 of 2 – Real English ConversationsIntroduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. Last week I shared the first part of a cool conversation I had with Dr. BJ Fogg, all about making the most of your …
042 – Make the Most of your Motivation part 2 of 2 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
- 041 – Make the most of your motivation – a conversation with BJ Fogg (part 1 of 2)What can you do when you’re not feeling motivated? What is the best way to use your motivation when you ARE motivated? Find out in this episode of Real English Conversations from Better at English. Lori talks to Dr. BJ Fogg about how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it’s high or low.
- 040 – Daily Rituals part 5 of 5 – Real English ConversationsIntroduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 5 of my conversation with Kyla. This is the final part of our conversation …
040 – Daily Rituals part 5 of 5 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
- 039 – Daily Rituals part 4 – Real English ConversationsIntroduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 4 of my conversation with Kyla. Up until now we’ve been talking about the …
039 – Daily Rituals part 4 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
- 038 – Daily rituals part 3 – Real English ConversationsIntroduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 3 of my conversation with Kyla. We are talking about the book Daily Rituals …
038 – Daily rituals part 3 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
- 037 – Daily Rituals 2 – Real English ConversationsHi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 2 of my conversation with Kyla. We’re discussing a book that we both really liked. …
037 – Daily Rituals 2 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
- 036 – Daily Rituals 1 – Real English ConversationsINTRODUCTION Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear me talking to Kyla, a fellow musician. We met up to talk about a book …
036 – Daily Rituals 1 – Real English Conversations Keep reading »
- 035 – There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep – Real English ConversationsIn this Real English Conversations podcast, you’ll hear Lori and her mom talking about their bedtime routines and what they do to get good night’s sleep. The conversation includes lots of idioms and phrases related to going to bed, sleeping, waking up, and daily routines, and these interesting language items are listed in the vocabulary notes.
- 034 – Showing up for English learning successLori talks to you about one of her favorite quotes: 80% of success is showing up. You’ll learn what it means and who said it. And if you’re feeling discouraged with your English progress, you’ll learn how resolving to keep “showing up” can get you back on track with your learning.
- 033 – Lori burns her arm – Real English ConversationsLori burns her arm while making a cup of tea, and can’t sleep because it hurts so much. Her mother tries to help her find a way to get through the night. The real English conversation is between Lori and her mother the following morning, discussing what they did to relieve the pain and whether or not it worked.
- 031 – Telling Time in English – Real English ConversationsLori invites her mom onto the podcast to discuss telling time in English, focusing on some of the differences between American and British English usage.
- 032 – Perfectionism and Procrastination 3 – Real English ConversationsLori and her Dutch friend Yvette return to finish their conversation about perfectionism and procrastination. This time they focus on the strategies that have proved useful in their own battles with this debilitating problem.
- 030- Perfectionism and Procrastination 2 – Real English ConversationsLori and her Dutch friend Yvette continue their discussion of perfectionism, focusing on how it can cause problems for foreign language learners.
- 029 – Perfectionism and Procrastination 1 – Real English ConversationsDo you ever procrastinate? Lori sure does! She and her Dutch friend Yvette talk about what procrastination is, why we do it, and what we can do about it.
- 028 – Don’t step in the dog doo (4 of 4) – Real English ConversationsIn today’s conversation, which is part four of four, my British friend Michael and I wrap up our lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. Warning: some of the vocabulary we deal with in this episode is a bit vulgar, so if you are sensitive or easily offended I suggest you stop listening now.
- 027 – Real English Conversations: Don’t step in the Dog Doo (part 3 of 4)Michael and Lori continue their discussion of dogs and cats, focusing on the tendency for humans to get emotionally attached to their pets.
- Real English Conversations: Don’t step on the dog doo (2 of 4)In today’s conversation, which is part 2 of 4, my British friend Michael and I continue discussing dogs and cats, and which we prefer.
- Real English Conversations: Don’t step on the dog doo (part 1 of 4)My British friend Michael and I begin by talking about whether we are dog people or cat people. Then we move on to discuss the social etiquette of dog walking, particularly picking up after them in public places.
- Real English Conversations: Weird foodIn this episode, Michael and Lori talk about weird food combinations — you won’t believe what some Americans like on their hamburgers!
- Real English Conversations: 20 questions gameLori and Michael talk about 20Q, a fun electronic game that Lori got to try while she was on her recent vacation in the USA.
- Real English Conversations: Itchy palms (superstitions)Learn about the idiom “to have itchy palms” and more on the topic of superstions.
- Real English Conversations: Lori wants a naked catLori wants a pet cat, and not just any cat, but a naked Sphinx cat. Michael thinks they are ugly. A heated discussion ensues…
- Real English Conversations: What leads to success?Everyone wants to be successful, right? But have you ever wondered what it is that leads to success? Lori and Michael discuss their reactions to a presentation about “What leads to success,” given by Michael St. John. Richard St. John spent several years interviewing hundreds of successful people, trying to find out the secrets to their success.
- Real English Conversations: junk food (part 3 of 3)The third and final part of Michael and Lori’s discussion of the English government’s ban on commercials for junk food before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching.
- Real English Conversations: junk food (part 2 of 3)Part two of Michael and Lori’s three-part discussion about the English government’s decision to ban junk food ads on television before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching.
- Real English Conversation: junk food (part 1 of 3)In the first of this three-part conversation, Lori and Michael talk about junk food and television advertising. In a nutshell, they don’t like it.
- Real English Conversations: The pre-Google Dark AgesHow did we ever get along without Google? Lori and Michael about how much they depend on the Internet in their daily lives. In this completely unplanned and spontaneous conversation, they use quite a few phrasal verbs. These phrasal verbs and additional idiomatic expressions are highlighted in the vocabulary notes. As always, you can find the full transcript and vocabulary notes at www.BetterAtEnglish.com.
- Real English Conversations: TV adverts, advertisements and commercialsIn today’s episode, Michael and I exchange some opinions about television, particularly with respect to commercials and advertising. In this conversation we discover some differences between British and American English vocabulary, and use some everyday phrasal verbs.
- Real English Conversations: The customer is always right, right?Have you ever had to deal with unpleasant customers? Lori and her British pal Michael compare working in an office with working at home, and talk about how difficult it can be to put up with rude treatment from nasty customers when you work in a job providing service. As usual, they end up touching upon some of the differences between British and American English vocabulary.
- Real English conversations: pumping up in the buffIn the previous episode I had wanted to talk to Michael about about a gym in Holland that offers its clients an unusual way to exercise. But we got sidetracked talking about dogs and chick magnets. Luckily, this time we are back on track talking about gyms, a topic that brings up some idioms and slang related to fitness, exercise, and human bodies.
- 009 – Chick Magnet – Real English ConversationsLori and her English friend Michael talk about the irresistible attraction power of dogs and puppies, and how you can exploit this if you’re in the market for a romantic partner.
- Real English Conversations: Cultural Differences (part 3 of 3)This is the third and final episode of a three part series in which Michael and Lori discuss some of the potentially embarrassing differences between British and American English dialects.
- Real English Conversations: Cultural differences (part 2 of 3)This is the second in a three part series in which Michael and Lori discuss some of the differences between their British and American English dialects. This edition takes up right where they left off in part one, so if you are a new listener you might want to go back and listen to part one before you listen to part two. In this podcast, they focus on some pronunciation differences between British and American English, as well as one potentially embarrassing difference in vocabulary.
- Real English Conversations: Cultural differences (part 1 of 3)Michael and Lori discuss how native speakers use fillers such as “umm” and “uh” and “mmm hmm” in conversations, and how these fillers are not always the same in different cultures. This is the first part of a series of three: in parts two and three they go on to discuss some rather amusing pronunciation and vocabulary differences between British and American English.
- Real English Conversations: What was he thinking?Michael and Lori discuss a disturbing video that Lori saw on Youtube, in which a teenage boy inserts a firework rocket into his rear end and burns himself. Sensitive listeners may find this podcast offensive, so use caution when listening.