Emma's ESL English podcast

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 232 We're snowed under with weather idioms 7:10

منذ 4 أيام7:10

7:10

I went to look for weather idioms last month, and discovered none of them were about the weather! So today we're reviewing weather idioms that you can use in Business English. Actually you can use them in any situation, but our sample sentences are focusing on business scenarios today. We'll cover: Snowed under - I wish I could help but I'm absolutely snowed under - very busy A breeze - This project is going to be a breeze - so easy Come rain or shine (also come rain or come shine) - You'd better get that work finished come rain or shine - no matter what Lightning fast - Ask him to do it, he's always lightning fast - very quick To steal your thunder - I would tell my boss my idea, but I don't want him to steal my thunder - 2 meanings, 1 to do what you were planning to do (steal your idea), 2 to steal the praise or attention. It never rains but it pours - What do you mean the printer's broken? It never rains but it pours! - Everything is going wrong at the same time. Throw caution to the wind - Let's throw caution to the wind and invest in this project - Don't worry about the risks or results. Put it on ice - Let's put that idea on ice, it's good but we'll revisit it next week. - to postpone (the same as last week's 'put a pin in it') Out of the blue - What do you mean the CEO is here? In the department? Today? Out of the blue!? - suddenly. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. #emmaseslenglish #english #englishidiomsandphrases #englishidiom #businessenglish…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 231 Use English Greetings Like a Native Speaker! 9:34

منذ 11 يومًا9:34

9:34

Today we're covering a common question from students: It it OK to just answer 'how are you?' with 'I'm fine'. Yes! We'll also cover it's cultural purpose. And we'll cover the nuances of these common phrases and greetings: How was your weekend? How have you been? What have you been getting up to? Did you have a good holiday? And, what do people even mean when they say: Let's grab coffee sometime. We must catch up. Let's do drinks one of these days. We must put something in the diary. And are they different to: I need to take a rain check. Can we catch up next time. I'm in a bit of a hurry. I've got a lot on my plate right now. Let's put a pin in that. Can we push it? I hope you find it useful.#emmaseslenglish #englishlisteningpractice #english #englishconversation #englishconversationpractice #englishgreetings…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 230 English Big Day Birthday Idioms and Phrases 6:28

منذ 18 يومًا6:28

6:28

Today it's my birthday! So we're covering some common idioms and phrases you might hear people use when talking about birthdays. Today's VocabularyOver the moon - to be very happy about somethingBig day - another way to refer to a birthdayThe icing on the cake - the best thing about this event/day/situationTo have a blast - to have a great timeAge is just a number - said to make people feel better about aging, just means age is not important.Full of beans - to have a lot of energy or excitementMake my day - the best part of the dayCrown jewel - the best thing or best bit about somethingPaint the town red - to have a party, usually a wild party with alcohol*It turns out, it wasn't Arnold or Sean who said 'Make my day', it was from a much older movie, in the 1983 film Sudden Impact, Clint Eastwood says, "Go ahead, make my day".Let me know in the comments, what sorts of things would make your big day special?#emmaseslenglish #english #englishspeaking #englishvocabulary #englishlearning #englishidiomsandphrases…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 229 Come With Me To Scotland! We're off to Helensburgh and Glasgow 12:11

منذ 24 يومًا12:11

12:11

Last month I went to Scotland with my Mum. We went first to Helensburgh, the town where I went to high school, then to visit my piano teacher and finally to Glasgow. While I was visiting I took some pictures to show you all. Come along with me and take a look at the architecture and views in Scotland. While in Helensburgh I visited #thehillhouse designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh a famous Scottish designer and architect and his brilliant wife Margaret, who was a great designer and interior decorator. You will definitely recognise their famous rose motif. The only vocabulary was 'spring up' which is a phrasal verb for when things arrive or start suddenly. #emmaseslenglish #english #englishlisteningpractice #glasgow #scotland #helensburgh…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 228 English Listening Practise - Reading from Terry Pratchett's Raising Steam 14:41

منذ 5 weeks14:41

14:41

In this episode I will read a short excerpt from Terry Pratchett's Raising Steam. In this section we are in a dwarf meeting. We hear the king and his direct rival having a conversation. Unfortunately this book is set in difficult/exciting times in Discworld, some dwarves have become terrorists and they think they are fighting for all dwarfdom, but in fact most people recognise that the future has come, and are happy about it. Perhaps this sounds a bit familiar. There is a section where the rival discusses the importance of discussion and compromise, even when we directly disagree with each other. I wish we could hear modern leaders calling for this. I will include the vocabulary below, but in the video I take the time to explain each section. Let me know in the comments if this works, if it helps you to understand or if you'd rather I just give you the vocabulary in the description. Vocabulary Unreconstructed elements - I had to look this one up because it didn't quite make sense to me. In fact the meaning is quite different to what I expected. Taking it's part it should mean 'things that haven't been made again' - which doesn't quite make sense, how can we have something that hasn't been made again🤔. But actually this whole word, with these specific prefixes has another meaning: not reconciled to political, economic, or social change ; and holding stubbornly to a particular belief, view, place, or style. So, 'unreconstructed elements of dwarfdom' means dwarves who disagree with the change and refuse to change their beliefs. 'keep the grags auditing all that's dwarfish' - the grags are the dwarf priests. So this means that the priests are allowed to decide what is dwarfish. 'inculcated their flocks' - 'flock' is a common term used for people who follow a religion and sit in a church listening to sermons. 'inculcate' means to instill an idea. blasphemy - speaking badly against a god or religion diminished - reduced grump - to be angry and frustrated and make everyone else feel uncomfortable because you're unhappy sapient creatures - act wisely 'the floor is yours' a common phrase used to introduce or recognise another speaker in a debate courteously - politely headstrong - willful, determined orchestrating attacks - if we 'orchestrate' something then we are organising it. Clacks - this is a Discworld term and is a kind of technology, similar to the telegraph, for sending messages long distance Nugganites - again, this is a Discworld term and refers to a Discworld religion whose god is Nuggan. This religion is dying and has gone bad. You can find out more in the book Monstrous Regiment. In the end everything Nuggan asked his followers to do was quite insane. Benison - a blessing - I had to look up this word! Even though it's short I had never heard it before! (Terry likes to introduce rare or unusual vocabulary in his books) 'makes me ashamed to call myself a dwarf' - this is a common construction in English whenever someone finds the people they relate to are doing something they strongly disagree with. Discourse - the process of discussion Compromise - finding a way to meet in the middle, we each give up something so we can both gain something cornerstone - The cornerstone of a building is one of the most important parts of it's foundation. This word has come to mean 'the foundation' of whatever we're discussing unequivocal - without question or challenge murrain - I think this is perhaps a play on words from Terry. There are two homonyms in English 'moraine' is a mass of rocks moved by a glacier and 'murrain' is a plague or epidemic. In the dwarf world rocks are very important. Either way, the meaning is 'I curse them! I wish something terrible for them!' #emmaseslenglish #englishreading #englishlistening…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 227 Are you getting confused between SO and TOO when you speak English? Let me help. 7:04

منذ 6 weeks7:04

7:04

This week we're looking at a little known grammar point called 'intensifiers'. These words are used to intensify adjectives and adverbs. I have covered this subject before in a little more detail in Episode 90, so feel free to head back to that episode for more. In this episode we're focusing on just two intensifiers: So and Too.These two words are very common in English, and I think more so now because we are often emphasising things, and this is what these words are for...its all in the name😉So, what's the problem? The most common problem I hear my students make is using Too, when they should be using So. This might seem simple, but since they are often used close together, it's not always clear what the difference is. So, what's the difference? So is used to notice something, it is neutral. Too is often used to complain about something, it tends to be negative.Examples from our episode:I saw too many electric cars - complainingI saw so many electric cars - noticingShakespeare is too hard, it's so old. - complaint about difficulty, commenting on the reasonShakespeare is so hard it's too old. - commenting on the difficulty, complaining about the ageRemember we can (and often do) emphasise both of these words! So that's not the thing to help you decide which to use. Try to notice when you're using them first. After doing this for a while it will be easier to notice when you make a mistake and start fixing it. #emmaseslenglish #english #englishgrammar #englishspeaking #englishlearning…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 226 Are you saying this common English sentence correctly? Stressed? Stressful? Stressed out? 6:29

منذ 7 weeks6:29

6:29

This week I want to review a phrase I hear a lot and look at the various options we have to improve it. We're looking at grammar and vocabulary for: I'm stressful about English . I will give you some different ways to improve the sentence, some involve changing the grammar, others involve changing the vocabulary. Options: English is stressful. I find English stressful. I find speaking English stressful. I'm stressed out about English. English is stressing me out. British English: I'm stressed about English. Alternative Vocabulary for stress: anxious frazzled nervous tense disquieted exasperated upset exhausted troubled run down under pressure I hope this helps clarify, let me know in the comments if you have any questions. #English #Englishgrammar #englishvocabulary #stressedout…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 225 English Reading - Dr Martin Luther King Jr's Letter From Birmingham Jail 17:36

منذ 8 weeks17:36

17:36

This week I'm reading a short excerpt from Dr Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail. Written on April 16th 1963 and addressed to 'My Dear Fellow Clergymen'. I do get quite political in this episode, certainly less neutral than I generally aim to be on this podcast. I also talk about current situations in America and the UK that are gravely concerning. I hope you don't mind me taking the time to talk about this. I hope you share my perspective, but understand that the world is a complicated place and we can't all agree on everything. I wanted to read this letter because it points out the problem when normal every day people don't want to deal with change. The acceptance of the status quo, even as it worsens life for everyday people, can be the most dangerous thing, for everyone. I think there's a lot we can learn from leaders like Dr King so it's always worth spending time with their words. Note: I'm not suggesting this applies to any of you, especially since I know many of my listeners are living in countries like the UK and America. But I do think it's important to discuss and for all of us to consider what is important to us, and what are the values we most aspire to live, in these difficult times. There was a lot of difficult vocabulary in this excerpt. I hope I managed to explain it enough so you could get the gist, but I've included the vocabulary below as well, I hope it helps. Vocabulary irony - something that seems deliberately opposite to what we expect, and as such can be found funny status quo - the 'normal' situation condescending - to look down on someone polarized - to be at opposite extremes of an argument aided - helped suppressed - pushed down, avoided, prevented from being seen advocate - support and encourage gravely - seriously 'great stumbling block' - stumbling block is an idiom and this means something in our way, preventing progress 'absence of tension' - lack of trouble paternalistically - like a father, but condescending 'mythical concept of time' - not realistic or true 'lukewarm acceptance' - not enthusiastic bewildering - confusing 'outright rejection' - a complete, obvious 'no' 'dangerously structured dams' - a stumbling block plight - situation (usually difficult or negative) boil - a large ugly, often infected, spot on the body…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 224 The Greatest Chinese Adventure Story You've Never Heard - Part 2 18:33

منذ 9 weeks18:33

18:33

This week we're continuing our story about China's great expedition to discover the world. As I mentioned last week, everything comes from Gavin Menzies 2003 book: 1421 The Year China Discovered The World. In addition you can find more evidence and what's still happening by checking the two websites here: ⁠https://www.gavinmenzies.net/china/book-1421/ ⁠⁠https://www.1421foundation.org/ I have to apologise to my Chinese listeners for the pronunciation, unfortunately the book is only in English and I couldn't find the Chinese pronunciation for most of the characters. In addition, I wanted to note that at the end of this episode I have an emphatic little speech, remember, I am saying this from the perspective of a British national, a citizen of the British Empire. If you don't come from a colonizing country, feel free to skip it. For those of us who do come from colonizing countries I do think that this is an important moment for introspection. Vocabulary JingDe Zhen - this is the name of a Chinese city, famous for centuries (and still now) for it's porcelain Uruapan - a city in Mexico Michoacan - a Mexican state and ancient people Reinvigorated - Suddenly got more energy Limped up - usually 'limp' is used when we can't walk normally, but we can also use it when transport is struggling to get somewhere Shunned - to not be accepted, to be turned away and avoided Venetian - Niccolo De Conti was the man who brought the maps to Venice, Portugal and Spain. He was from Venice originally and turned to Islam when he married his wife. He was a merchant. Venetian is the word used to describe people from Venice. Colossus - describing something very large Bogus - something that is false, a lie or fake False pretenses - a common co-location meaning someone did something but they lied about what they were doing or why they were doing it Posterity - for remembering in the future, for recorded history Circulatory - related to the circulation of something, in this case the way air and water move around the planet Xenophobia - prejudice or fear of people from other countries Zealot - someone who is fanatical, obsessed in pursuit of their ideals, could be religious, political or other. Barbaric - in English we think of a barbarian as a really violent terrible person, so this describes behaviour we think of as violent and terrible. Cinders - when something is burned so much we can only see the black ash Folly - a lack of good sense, foolishness Latitude - measuring the planet from north to south Longitude - identifying where we are on the planet east to west #emmaseslenglish #1421 #chinesehistory #englishlisteningpractise…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 223 The Greatest Chinese Adventure Story You've Never Heard - Part 1 13:16

منذ 10 weeks13:16

13:16

This week we're heading to China for an adventure story. I read this book last year and it was so good, but I couldn't figure out how to share it with you. Recently I started using the Chinese App Red Note (XiaoHongShu) and doing short form videos there, I decided to tell this story. Once I had the base of the story I decided to see if I could adjust it for you too. These two episodes are really English Listening episodes. I hope you will find the story interesting, it's possible you've never heard it before (if you have heard it or read the book, please drop me a comment to let me know). The book is called 1421: The Year China Discovered The World and it was written by a British submarine captain called Gavin Menzies in 2003. In today's episode I'll tell you about the writer, some main characters and the first part of the story. Next week we'll finish the trip and find out why this story isn't well known. For more information about the evidence from the book and what Gavin did next you can check out the following two websites: https://www.gavinmenzies.net/china/book-1421/ https://www.1421foundation.org/ There is some tricky vocabulary in this episode. Eunuch - a man who has been castrated (formed an important and powerful group in China during this period) Concubine - a woman who is kept but not married, in this case it also refers to the women who were kept on the boats, we don't know really anything about them though so whether this was by choice or not, we don't know. Hustle and bustle - a common English term used to describe a busy place Thriving hub - a successful centre of action Accolade - some kind of award or privilege Outskirts - the edge of a town or city Rudder - the part at the back of the boat that helps direct the boat in the right direction Scurvy - a common illness on board long ship journeys in the old days. Comes from a lack of Vitamin C. Cartographer - Someone who's job is to draw maps #emmaseslenglish #english #learnenglish #englishlistening #1421…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 222 Does the language you speak impact the way you view and describe the world? 9:22

منذ 11 weeks9:22

9:22

This week I'm reading a short excerpt from one of the culture books I'm currently reading. I thought this section was interesting and very relevant to us since it focuses on how your language can change your focus and perspective of the world. How do you feel your language impacts your culture? Do you find that you can express yourself better in English or your native language? Which is more descriptive? How does your language impact the way you see the world? I'd love to know your experience, let me know in the comments. For anyone learning a language, the new way of thinking and experiencing the world a new language can provide, is often a side effect we never imagined. The book was written by Richard D Lewis, a leading scholar in the Intercultural sector, he started off as an English teacher travelling and living around the world. He also speaks 12 languages! The book is 'When cultures collide, leading across cultures.' Vocabulary Philology - the study of the structure, historical development, and relationships of a language or languages Savannah - a large, usually flat, grass area with minimal trees Our tongue is seen as poverty stricken - meaning our language is seen as being without very much variety or choice - poverty stricken is a common phrase used to describe people or countries who are struggling with poverty. Finely wrought - carefully made or forged Causation - the cause of things Familiarizing - the process of becoming familiar with something Taboo - subjects or ideas that are not culturally acceptable to discuss Straightjacket - a commonly used piece of equipment to limit movement. In this case being used to describe the limitations of language Stereoscopic - stereo means with two or more sources. We have stereo sound and mono sound, the first has two or more speakers, the second only one. In this case stereoscopic refers to our vision being from two eyes. #emmaseslenglish #englishlisteningpractice #englishreading #culture…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 221 Story time - Careers Advice from Chat GPT 13:29

منذ 12 weeks13:29

13:29

Welcome back! I hope you all had a great holiday period, Happy New Year! 🥳 This week I wanted to give you a little life update, so I guess it's mostly listening practise for you. Sorry, I'm a little out of practise so I did go a bit too fast in places I think. Hopefully the subtitles can help you. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments. The Google search tip I mentioned is that you just add '-ai' to any search you do and it automatically doesn't run the AI search. I think most of the vocabulary was quite ordinary, some of you may have not heard one term though: 'each to their own'. This is a sort of proverb that we use to mean that every person has a right to do what they think is best. It suggests that we shouldn't judge other's ideas and should give them freedom to choose. It is sometimes used in a negative way, when we we don't understand why someone thinks a certain way we can use this phrase to mean 'there's no point talking any more, you do your way I'll do mine', it's similar to 'we'll agree to disagree' in this way. I hope you find this useful. Let me know if you've had any careers challenges. See you next week.…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 220 Time To Plan For 2025 14:15

منذ 17 weeks14:15

14:15

In Episode 218 we covered how to review your year, this is an important step, don't miss it. I know it can feel frustrating or even cringy to review the year, but we need to understand what worked and what didn't so we can improve next year. So here we are, 2025, or almost. Happy New Year! 🥳🥂 Take some time over the next couple of weeks to figure out what worked well last year and how you want to move forward with your English in 2025. Are you going to change your textbook? Find some new reading material? Or perhaps get a teacher? Check out episodes 152, 164, 181 and 183 for more tips on tests, goal setting and planning. Work out some priorities and some achievable goals and get them down on paper. I'm taking January off so I'll be back in February to see how you get on. Any questions, just put them in the comments. Good luck! #emmaseslenglish…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 219 Special Christmas Video - Take A Trip To An English Country House 12:14

منذ 18 weeks12:14

12:14

This week I have something a little different for you. Last year my family and I went to Castle Howard. This is an English country home in Yorkshire that puts on a special Christmas display every year. They take a story and decorate the house with that theme. Last year the story was JM Barrie's Peter Pan. I'll show you the dramatic road in to Castle Howard using Google Maps, and then some of the pictures and footage I got last year. Castle Howard was built between 1701 and 1811 by the Carlisle branch of the Howard family. The gardens were designed by George London in 1699. While you can't see a lot of the normal house behind the decorations, this will definitely give you an idea of the size and luxury of these big English houses. I visited with my family and my niece, who didn't know anything about Peter Pan. Luckily we were able to go at a quieter time, usually there would be many more people at this place because families come from all over the country for this experience. As far as I understand Castle Howard still belongs to and is lived in by the Howard family. #emmaseslenglish #englishlisteningpractice #englishchristmas…

Emma's ESL English

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Episode 218 Time To Review 8:20

منذ 19 weeks8:20

8:20

Wow! Here we are again, at the end of the year! For those of you who have been with me for a while, you will know what's coming, review and plan. In this episode I'll give you some tips and thoughts on how to review your year in English. This is an important step. So many language learners feel like they're not making any progress. It's important to take a little time to recognise how much work you've put in and any progress you've made. Honestly, even if you feel like you haven't made any progress, take time to recognise all the hard work you've put in (and yes, I'm counting watching TV shows and movies with subtitles as hard work 😉). Let me know how you get on in the comments.…

المدونة الصوتية تستحق الاستماع

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Black Mirror Season 7 28:30