#321 Can I Use AI Teachers? (Abigail Fulbrook)

Abigail Fulbrook (weareenglishteachers.com) joins me for a fascinating chat about a few different topics, including moving to Japan from the UK, what we miss about the UK, learning using AI teachers, other uses of AI, and much more! Abigail Fulbrook has been teaching English for over 15 years. She-s worked in the UK, Japan and online. As well as teaching she loves crafting and eating chocolate. She lives in Japan at the moment with her husband and two daughters, and far too many crafting supp...

#320 Improve Your Brain with Cognitive Biases (Part 2)

We first spoke about this in Episode 218, and now we-re returning for a part 2. Cognitive Biases are ways our brains can trick us into certain beliefs and behaviours without realising, and in this episode, I-ll cover a few of them such as the IKEA Effect, the Recency Effect, and the Negativity Bias. They-re fascinating to learn, but will also give you some insight to make you a better language learner. Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast320 Sign Up for Free Less...

#319 Speaking Up or Letting Go?

In today-s episode, I share an issue I-ve been thinking about for a while - finding the balance between speaking up and letting things go. In other words, when things annoy us or seem unjust, should we speak up and say something? Or should we prioritise our mental health and let it go? I share some of my own views with this and encourage you to get in touch with yours too. I also share lots of expressions related to this topic. Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcas...

#318 Let's Talk About Trump

This is an episode that I-ve been meaning to make for a while. Let-s talk about -trump- today. In fact, there are many phrases in English that originate from cards and gambling, so this episode looks at some of the common ones and how you can use them in your daily life. As always, I give examples from my own life to help put these phrases in a natural context for you. Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast318 Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/...

#317 British & American Words That Reveal Cultural Differences

There are many differences in vocabulary between British and American English. Some of these are quite well-known and easy to understand (biscuit and cookie, maybe), but others are a bit more complex. In today-s episode, I-m not simply listing these differences. I-m looking at 8 terms that are different in both British and American English, but aren-t quite the same in meaning. Each term reveals something special about the culture of each country. Hopefully, this episode will highlight ...

#316 Curious Minds Learn Faster with Alastair Budge

Alastair Budge from Leonardo English joined me for a casual chat about a variety of different topics. Alastair has his own podcast called -English Learning for Curious Minds-. In it, he covers all sorts of topics from space mining to population decline, while making content that helps English learners improve. I found this concept so interesting, so I picked a few topics at random to chat about in our conversation today. We also talk about the importance of curiosity. Today, you-ll hear about...

#315 Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

We-ve now done quite a few episodes on Phrasal Verbs, but this is an important one. Today, I-ll be looking at the differences between separable and inseparable phrasal verbs. This is a very important part of English if you want to sound natural and fluent. As always, I-m not just listing off words in a boring way. I-ll be sharing examples of both types while talking about my recent trip to Cambodia, and I also encourage you to make your own examples. Show notes page - https://level...

#314 British Driving Culture & Vocabulary

In this episode, I-ll be talking about driving culture in the UK. There are a lot of interesting laws and unwritten rules that are reflective of British culture. So whether you will be driving in the UK or not, I think this will be interesting for you. I share some of the big differences between driving culture in the UK and in Thailand, as well as my own experience taking my driving test when I was a teenager and how it might compare to your country. Of course, I also make sure to share load...

#313 The Grass is Greener on the Other Side

Let-s explore the expression -The Grass is Greener on the Other Side-. In English, this is used when we view other situations as better than our own. In fact, no matter what we have, we tend to value what we don-t have more. I explore the meaning of this expression in some detail, examples from my own life, and also some common ways we all experience this along with some ideas on how to overcome the negative sides of this idea. Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast31...

#312 Moving Across the World with Zdenek

Today I-m doing a rare in-person discussion with Teacher Zdenek. Zdenek has more than 12 years of experience in various settings, primarily teaching English learners of levels B2-C2. He-s taught English in the Czech Republic, UK, Ireland and most recently Vietnam. Zdenek has also moved to Vietnam, and that-s why we were able to meet up nearby in Bangkok for a casual discussion. We speak about moving abroad, learning the local language, habit-building, teaching English, naughty to...