THE ARCHIVE OF ALL EPISODES OF THE PODCAST + some extra content
For the archive of all Premium episodes, click here.
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903. Reading from my Japanese hospital diaries 📘 (Sept 2002) – By popular demand I have chosen to publish this episode! In 2002 I ended up stuck in a Japanese hospital feeling very ill and confused. I ended up staying there for about two weeks. During my stay I wrote a diary nearly every day. In this episode I read from my diaries, share my personal experience with you and explain a few bits of vocabulary.
902. “A Year on the Fosse” by Rick Thompson (English History & Wildlife) Dad’s New Book 📕 Out Now – A conversation with my dad about his new book, which is about the history and wildlife of a famous Roman road which passes right through the heart of England. Expect stories from various periods of English history, plus descriptions of typical English bird life. English history and culture on Luke’s English Podcast.
901. Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of The Speckled Band (Learn English with a Short Story) – Learn English with another classic Sherlock Holmes mystery story by Arthur Conan Doyle. In this episode my aim is to help you to understand and enjoy a Sherlock Holmes story. I’ll read the original text of this classic locked-room mystery to you, and will explain and summarise what is happening regularly.
900. Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result (with Amber & Paul) – It’s a catchy title! Episode 900 is here, and what better way to celebrate than by inviting my pals Amber & Paul back onto the podcast? This time we talk about Episode 900 celebrations 🎉 the title of this episode 🔁 Paris Olympics 2024 🏟️ encounters with dead animals in Paris 😢 Paul’s Olympic marathon run 🏃🏅 the dangers of sneezing 🤧 and more…
899. Back on the Mic: September 2024 Ramble & Grammar Tangents – Rambling about being back after the summer break, with regular moments of grammar analysis. Includes a lot of tangents, funny moments and analysis of English tenses and complex sentence structures. PDF with transcript and notes available.
898. How to Learn Vocabulary 📚 (and not just stare at word lists) – In April I did a Zoom workshop about how to learn vocabulary. This is the audio version of the workshop, which I recorded more recently. Learn how to notice, understand, record, remember and use new words. Don’t just stare at word lists with translations. Instead, try to find some more effective ways to expand your vocabulary.
897. Dysfluent (Learn English with an Interactive Story) – “Dysfluent” is a piece of interactive fiction, all about communication. The story shows what it is like to live with dysfluency – a condition which makes it difficult to produce smooth, fluent speech. How does a speech impediment create challenges in someone’s life? Listen to the story, follow my choices and learn new vocabulary along the way.
896. A Rambling Chat with Martin Aaron – Martin Aaron is an old friend of mine from the days when I taught English in London. In this episode we chat about being an English teacher, travelling to different countries, the status of English in other places, how native English speakers (don’t) learn languages, stories of learning French in school, and Martin’s memories of boarding school.
895. Books, Farts & Ghosts (with Anna Brooke) – Talking to author Anna Brooke about her book Monster Stink, the sequel to Monster Bogey (Chicken House publishing). Anna is a travel writer and author of books for children. She is a great storyteller, and in this episode she talks about her fun new book for kids, which involves dangerous gas. This leads to a new topic for the podcast; farting! We teach you the most important vocabulary for this tricky subject, and then Anna tells some chilling stories about real supernatural encounters she has had. Not farts, but similar – ghosts!
894. LEP Live in Paris! Live Podcast Recording (Summer 2024) – A funny rambling episode recorded on-stage in front of a live audience in Paris in July 2024. Join my audience and me, as I share scenes from the screenplay for my new Hollywood blockbuster action movie about an English teacher called “Last Lesson”, and the sequel “Last Lesson 2: Fast & Fluent”.
893. The Mystery of Lord Lucan (with Alastair Budge) – Talking about the story of Lord Lucan, the British aristocrat who disappeared in 1974 after the murder of his nanny and attempted murder of his wife. Lord Lucan is an infamous name in Britain, and the story of his disappearance is a compelling glimpse into a life of privilege, high-stakes gambling, and unresolved mystery. I am joined by Alastair Budge, who covered this story for one of his podcast episodes, and we discuss it in detail.
892. You’re not a LEPster, by any chance, are you? (July 2024 Ramble) – Join me on another rambling episode as I encourage ninjas to come out of the shadows 🥷, touch on some present perfect continuous verb forms 🔁, give some podcast updates, give a report about the stand-up comedy show 😂 & live podcast recording 🎤, teach some polite and diplomatic language with a dramatic bank robbery scenario 🔫, give a summary of the UK’s general election results 🗳️ & more…
891. The Bilingual Journalist (with Charles Pellegrin) – Talking to bilingual journalist Charles Pellegrin (France 24) about how the conventions of broadcast journalism influence the way the English is used in news reports, how Charles started as a journalist, the challenge of making TV news reports, our time at university, the Olympics in Paris, and Charles’ experiences of living and working in China.
890. The Simulation 💻 ✨(Learn English with a Short Story) – Learn English with a short story. This one is about a man called Edward, who lives an ordinary stress-free life in London, until one day he notices something extraordinary while walking to work, and his world is never the same again. Follow the story, and then let me explain some vocabulary to you.
889. Job Interview Swagger (with Natasha V. Broodie) – Natasha V. Broodie returns to the podcast to talk about her new book, which is full of advice for success in job interviews. Natasha has a lot of job interview experience, and she has learned the importance of self-belief and preparation. In this conversation she talks about some experiences that led her to write the book, and gives advice on what you should do before, during and after job interviews.
888. UK General Election / Euro 2024 (The Rick Thompson Report: June 2024) – My dad returns to talk about the current political situation in the UK, namely – the general election which is due to take place on 4 July.
887. Walk & Talk: Health & Diet (Phrasal Verbs) – Join me as I take a walk along the embankment of the river Seine from Louvre to Pont Marie in the centre of Paris. This time the topic is health and diet. Watch out for the phrasal verbs I use during my ramble!
886. Networking in English (with Rob from The Business English Podcast) – Talking with Rob from The Business English Podcast about networking in English. Networking is when you speak to other people, probably in a professional context, in order to build relationships, expand your social circle and make work contacts that can lead to business opportunities in the future.
885. Still Raining, Still Rambling (News, Comments, Questions, Guitars & Music) – Hang out with me while the rain pours down outside and in this episode I’ll talk about the problem of “faffing around” , podcast news & updates , some stand-up comedy dates , comments on recent episodes , some common questions from listeners , a lot of rambling about how I learned to play music , a tour of all the guitars in my podcast room and a song at the end , with lyrics explained .
884. British Music: Madness (with James) – A conversation with my brother about one of the most successful British bands of all time – Madness. We talk about the story of the band, our early memories of their music, the songs, the members, their lyrics, their popularity and why we’ve always been big fans!
883. A Last-minute Rambling Episode – A spontaneous monologue about being taken by surprise by public holidays in May (in France), a podcast recommendation, and seeing a hard-rocking and hilarious band perform live in a big arena last week. Includes a song at the end as a tribute.
882. 47 “Funny” Country Jokes, Explained | Learn English with Humour – Here’s a list of jokes about different countries which I found on the website Bored Panda. I’ll tell you the jokes and then explain them all (dissecting the frog), including any homophones, double meanings or specific cultural references. Can you “get” the jokes? Do you find any of them funny, or are they all just terrible dad jokes? And, what vocabulary can you learn in the process? Includes a vocabulary review at the end of the episode.
881. Reading the news with a foreign accent (with Barbara Serra) – Barbara Serra is an award-winning Italian journalist who has spent much of her career reading the news in the UK on various high-profile well-established English language news networks including the BBC, Channel 5, Al Jazeera English and Sky News. Barbara has quite a specific relationship with the English language. We talk about learning English, challenges in her career, and the relationship between accent and identity.
880. Is Paris ready for the Olympic Games 2024? (Article + Vocabulary) – I read an article about Paris’ preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games 🏊, discuss the issues, summarise the article and explain plenty of vocabulary. Is Paris ready for the games? What are the attitudes, complaints, expectations and fears ahead of this potentially controversial event?
879. Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques for Spontaneous Speaking ️with Matt Abrahams – Top tips for spontaneous speaking 🏆 with communication expert Matt Abrahams, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, California. Matt is a leading expert in his field and his latest book “Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot” gives you clear, academically-researched advice on how to deal with anxiety, focus on making connections, improve your mindset, learn to listen, and find really useful structures to help you become a more spontaneous and successful speaker.
878. From Learning to Teaching and Beyond (with Elena Mutonono) – These days Elena Mutonono is an experienced business coach who helps online English teachers to gain independence and control over their own careers, but Elena’s journey started as a learner of English herself. In this conversation I ask Elena about how she learned English, making the step to becoming an English teacher, then teacher trainer and what challenges online English teachers face when trying to work in a crowded and demanding job market.
877. How to Learn Vocabulary | A Conversation with Clare Whitmell – A conversation about why vocabulary is important, why I love teaching it, common mistakes made by learners, ways of learning vocabulary more effectively, and some tools you can use.
876. Thoughts & comments on recent episodes / A Spring Equinox Ramble 2024 – Listen to me rambling about Daylight Saving Time, weird AI generated images for Luke’s English Podcast, and lots of comments and responses to recent episodes including the Birthday Party story 🎂 , the MBTI Personality Test 🙇 and the Walk & Talk in Paris 📹🚶.
875. Aepyornis Island by HG Wells (Learn English with a Short Story) – Learn English with another short story. I’ll read the entire story to you, and then go through the text again explaining and clarifying the main events and plenty of vocabulary. This is a wonderful adventure story written by HG Wells, a very influential and imaginative English writer from the late 19th century. The story is full of vivid descriptive language, action, adventure and extraordinary moments. I hope it captures your imagination and lets the English come alive in memorable ways.
874. Walk & Talk: PARIS – Here is an episode in which I walk through the streets of Paris, rambling about a particular subject. This time the subject is Paris itself.
873. Luke takes the MBTI Personality Test – The MBTI Personality Test (aka “16 Personalities”) is a very well-known and widely used test which claims to be able to give you a “freakishly accurate” analysis of your personality type. In this episode I take the test, explain the reasons for my answers, explain some vocabulary and give my thoughts on the test results and the test itself. Includes plenty of expressions for describing personality traits, behaviour, ways of thinking and feeling and the subject of psychological testing.
872. The Birthday Party (Learn English with a Short Story) – 🎧 Learn English with a short story. 🗣 Listen & repeat after me if you’d like to practise your pronunciation. 💬 Learn some vocabulary in the second half of the video. This is a story about people-watching and what you can notice about people’s relationships if you are observant enough.
871. Rambling through my episode archive / Listener Comments / Gold YouTube Creator Award 🥇– A very long rambling episode with a big mix of vocabulary, stories about my trip to Rome, comments from listeners, lots of thoughts about episodes I’ve published over the last 12 months, more advice about learning English, and a story about being Jackie Chan’s English teacher.
870. Kate Billington moved to Taiwan – Returning guest Kate Billington suddenly decided to move to the other side of the world, to Taipei in beautiful Taiwan. In this episode we talk about meeting LEPsters in Taipei, her decision to move there, and how everything is going, with the usual conversational tangents along the way.
869. Working at UNESCO | English in International Diplomacy – In international diplomacy, “communication is everything”. This is the main point of this conversation, in which I talk to my friend who works for the UK delegation at UNESCO in Paris. We discuss various communication challenges involved in working together with representatives from countries all around the world. Also includes some communication idioms and guitar playing near the end of the episode.
868. How the USA is changing (with Lindsay McMahon from All Ears English) – Lindsay has been observing social, economic and political trends in her home country and comes on the podcast today to talk about them.
867. Multimodal Communication (with Nik Peachey) – This episode is all about the different modes of communication that we use beyond the 4 linguistic skills of reading, writing, listening speaking. My guest is Nik Peachey who has helped to write a new paper published by OUP called Multimodality in ELT: communication skills for today’s generation. Listen to Nik and me chatting about the importance of multimodal literacy in our social interactions and in the ways we consume and produce media online.
1 Million Subscribers on YouTube 🎉 – Here are my reactions to getting 1 million subscribers on YouTube, and probably 1 million+ on audio platforms too! Listen to me rambling on my own and with my daughter (6 years old now) while the subscriber number gradually goes up, and eventually reaches this big milestone.
866. The Lying Game #9 with Amber & Paul (with Vocabulary Explanations) – The return of the lying game on LEP! Amber, Paul and I play a speaking game which I sometimes use in my English classes. Listen to our stories and try to work out if we are lying or telling the truth. The second half of the episode contains story summaries and vocabulary explanations.
865. Catching Up with Amber & Paul #13 – Amber & Paul return to the podcast for another tangential conversation about various things, including why Paul is angry 😤, how Amber gets crushed in her own bed 🛌, how our British children don’t need to wear coats 🧥, the special gifts Luke has prepared for Amber & Paul 🎁, the highs and lows of Paul’s global comedy tour 🎭, how he’s been telling the Russian joke on stage 😐, Amber’s recent trip to London 🇬🇧, The Beatles’ “Now & Then” 🎶, the next step in Paul’s career ⏩, Amber’s kids saying more funny things 👧👦💬 and more…
864. A Winter Ramble ❄️ Learn English with LEP – Join me as I talk without a script about lovely cold weather ❄️ being too lazy to wash my cups 🍵 feeling exhausted because my son won’t sleep 👶😮💨 New Year’s Eve celebrations 🛋 performing stand up comedy to 4200 people 🎤 a recommended YouTube channel about adventurous missions in the UK countryside 🥾 and recent horror films I’ve seen 🙀.
863. Welcome Back / Your English in 2024 with LEP – A new year episode to welcome you back to my podcast, to encourage you to reflect on your learning of English over the last 12 months, to consider your English learning in 2024 and how this podcast can help you. Includes plenty of ideas for how to improve your English, some reflections on my learning of French, and some ‘help’ from my baby son .
862. WORLD NEWS QUIZ 2023 Part 2 (with Stephen from SEND7 Podcast) – [2/2] Stephen from the Simple English News Daily podcast asks me questions about news events from this year. This is part 2 of a 2-part episode.
861. WORLD NEWS QUIZ 2023 Part 1 (with Stephen from SEND7 Podcast) – [1/2] Stephen from the Simple English News Daily podcast asks me questions about news events from this year. This is part 1 of a 2-part episode.
860. Charles Dickens’ Christmas Ghost Story (Learn English with a Short Story) – Listen to me telling this classic Christmas ghost story – “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. I have read this story on the podcast before (in episode 320) but it’s a good one so let’s do it again, shall we? 👻
859. A Christmas Ramble 2023 (with ChatGPT) – How about some English rambling at Christmas time? ChatGPT (who can speak now) helps me with some questions and ideas, and I ramble about Christmas plans, traditions, post-gift melancholy, upcoming episodes, how to do a King Charles impression, and more…
858. Trivia Quizzing with Sarah and Fred (Part 2) – This is part 2 of this double episode. Please listen to part 1 first! Sarah and Fred are trivia quiz nerds with a new trivia podcast. In this episode they joined me for some trivia quizzing and conversation. In this second part you can listen to my quiz for Sarah and Fred, and then Fred’s quiz for me. Can you answer the questions? Can you follow the whole conversation? Listen carefully!
857. Trivia Quizzes with Sarah and Fred (Part 1) – Sarah and Fred are trivia quiz nerds who have been doing trivia nights in Paris for years and now have a new trivia-themed podcast. In this episode we get together to discuss trivia quizzing, and to quiz each other with our own trivia questions. In this first part we get to know Sarah and Fred again, talk about their new podcast and then Sarah quizzes me with some cleverly-written questions. The quizzing continues in part 2.
856. My brother’s new album is out now / Music Chat with James – Here’s a bonus episode, and it’s for fans of my brother’s music. James’ new album is out now and so we decided to record this episode in order to promote it and also to talk generally about music, including a chat about favourite albums, first albums we ever bought, albums we discovered in our parents’ record collection and more.
855. Discussing Films with Cara Leopold – Talking to Cara about films, movies, her movie club for English learners and a discussion about films and what they mean.
854. The Invitation (Learn English with a Short Story) – Learn English with a short story. Listen & repeat after me if you’d like to practise your pronunciation. Learn some vocabulary in the second half of the video. I found this story in answer to a post on Quora.com asking about true scary stories. I thought I could use it to help you learn English. Can you understand the story, and predict the twist at the end?
853. A Conversation with Rhiannon Carter – Join me as I meet and get to know Rhiannon, an English coach whose mission is to help you feel awesome about your English. I had never met Rhiannon before this interview, so listen as I get to know her and we chat about her English & Welsh roots, moving to Edinburgh, studying theology at university, early experiences as an English teacher, why learners often feel ashamed of their English, and how she can help. We also discuss the wonders of fish & chips and deep fried Mars bars which you can buy on the streets of Edinburgh.
852. How does it feel to be blind? (Article & Vocabulary) – How does it feel to have a visual impairment? How do blind people navigate the world? How do other people treat you, if you are blind? And, how do we talk about blindness and other forms of disability in English? This episode is inspired by a listener called Hafid, who contacted me recently. I talk about the subject of blindness and disability in general, read an article written by a partially sighted person, and explain a list of words and phrases we should use when describing different forms of disability. Also includes various medical vocabulary such as the different parts of the eye and other related topics.
851. Rambling about The Beatles “Now and Then” – A listener left a comment on my website asking for my thoughts on the new Beatles song which was released last week, and I was happy to ramble about it for 45 mins. Listen to hear me give my thoughts and tell several stories related to what is being described as “the last Beatles song”.
850. Any Language You Want with Fabio Cerpelloni – Fabio has written a book about language learning, based on his own personal experiences of learning English. Each chapter ends with the same sentence: “This is how to learn a language”. But each chapter disagrees with the next. There are many ways to learn a language, and none of them is the only right way to do it. In this episode, we talk all about this and Fabio shares some of his stories.
849. STORIES OF INSECTS, BUGS & CREEPY CRAWLIES with Zdenek Lukas – Bed bugs in Paris & London, Mosquito hunting in the middle of the night, a home invasion by fleas and the terrors of cockroaches – listen to some anecdotes about encounters with insects with Zdenek who has recently relocated to Vietnam. Also watch out for various insect idioms which appear during the conversation.
848. The Superpower of Starting English Early with Kids (with Bree Aesie) – Bree Asie is an English teacher with a background in psychology, especially child development, and in this episode she comes onto LEP with advice and encouragement for parents who want to help their children to learn English from an early age.
847. RANDOM TOPIC GENERATOR (A 1-Hour Rambling Episode) – Join me for an unplanned rambling episode about various things including: hump day, bed bugs in Paris , fashion trends I followed when I was younger , CDs vs cassettes vs vinyl , the most relaxing place in the world , Japanese zen gardens , Hunter S Thompson , the most disgusting job I ever had , and more…
846. Topic Tombola with James – “The Glib Brothers” reunite on the podcast to discuss more music, films, books, scary AI and UFO sightings. James is my older brother and he’s probably been on this podcast more than any other guest. Listen for another deep and humorous conversation with lots of cultural reference points.
845. Using ChatGPT as a Language Teaching Tool with JOE DALE, EdTech Guru, ChatGPT Enthusiast – TECH TALK! A conversation with Joe Dale (modern foreign language teaching consultant, EdTech guru) about the use of ChatGPT in English teaching and learning. Lots of recommendations, tips and tricks for saving time and combining ChatGPT with other software including Google Chrome extensions.
844. Improve Your Pronunciation with Luke Nicholson – Accent Coach – A conversation with accent coach Luke Nicholson, including lots of insights, advice and conclusions about improving your pronunciation in English.
843. The Birth of Our Son – Talking to my wife (and daughter) about the birth of our son, who came into the world just a few weeks ago. We describe what happened, and explain how it feels to become parents for the second time.
842. A Pre-Baby Summertime Ramble – Hang out with me for an unscripted and unedited ramble about things like engaging moments while English teaching, how it feels to be about to become a father again, a funny new recording of my daughter speaking English, some recent films I’ve seen, and a recording of me doing stand-up comedy.
841. A Conversation About MONOPOLY with Anna Tyrie – Monopoly is one of the most famous board games of all time. It’s sold in more than 114 countries and has been printed in more than 47 languages. It’s famous for causing arguments and taking forever to finish! But it is a fantastic and fascinating game, so let’s talk about it.
840. Things that make you go “Hmmm” Life, Laughter & Learning English – Here is a list of curious mysteries, jokes and observations about the English language and life in general. I talk about each interesting point, give some funny comments and explain bits of English vocabulary in the process. Comedy meets English teaching.
839. Kate Billington Cycled to Berlin – Kate Billington returns for her 4th appearance on LEP to create some fun English conversation for you to listen to. We talk about lots of things, as usual, including her cycling trip to Berlin and a nasty accident she had on her bicycle in Paris earlier this year.
838. A 3-Hour Mega-Ramble / Reflecting on a Wonderful Spring Day in Paris – This is the longest episode of LEP so far, and it’s a solo ramble. Relax, follow my words, hang out with me for 3 hours, get stranded on a desert island of the imagination, and then get rescued. Includes a haircut, a sleep and a t-shirt change during the episode.
837. Describing a Car Accident in 15+ Styles of English – How would the same car accident be described in over 15 completely different styles of English? What are the differences in vocabulary, grammar and organisational structure? How should I change my voice to read each description? Let’s see how English changes in different situations. Styles presented include: formal and informal English, news reports, an action movie screenplay, an Eminem rap, a romantic novel, a Shakespeare play, a politician making a speech, a stand-up comedian, Liam Neeson in the film Taken, and Luke in an episode of Luke’s English Podcast. PDF transcript available.
836. Life & Life Only with Antony Rotunno [Part 2] David Blaine, Food & Diet, The Shining, Conspiracies, Comedy, Happiness – Since recording part 1 of this conversation, Antony caught COVID-19 and lost a bit of weight, but he managed to talk for about 100 minutes here about more topics he has previously covered in episodes of his podcast “Life & Life Only”.
835. Life & Life Only with Antony Rotunno [Part 1] Cats, Titanic, Travelling, Teaching & Life Coaching – Antony is an English teacher, podcaster, life-coach and writer and he returns to LEP today for a conversation about topics which he has discussed in episodes of his podcast called “Life & Life Only”.
834. The best way to learn a language, according to research (Article) – Reading an article by Gavin Lamb (PhD) about the conclusions of academic studies into language learning, and adding my own reflections and comments. What does research tell us about the best way to learn a language? What are the most important things to consider? What are the best methods? The article boils it all down to three main points.
833. Text Adventure Story: Lemon Simulator (by Daniel Champion) – Join me as I read through a bizarre online game. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a lemon? No? Well, neither had I, until I played this game. Can I escape the kitchen, become human again and avoid being chopped up and turned into a juice! Watch out for some descriptive language and some funny moments along the way!
832. Sherlock Holmes: The Red-headed League (Learn English with a Short Story) – Let me read you a classic Sherlock Holmes detective story, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I’ll read the original text and stop regularly in order to explain what is happening.
831. Learning How to Learn with Hadar Shemesh – A conversation with Hadar Shemesh, a non-native speaker who has improved her English to a very high level, and who now shares her knowledge and experience with the world through her podcast and YouTube channel. Hadar describes her own experiences of learning English and mastering pronunciation. This episode is all about the voyage of discovery that is learning a language.
830. English With Cooke / A Chat with Instagram English Teacher Andy Cooke – In conversation with Andy Cooke, an English teacher from England who is very popular on Instagram. We talk about Andy’s background, becoming an English teacher, getting big on Instagram, ChatGPT and a few other tangents along the way. Includes a few songs on the guitar at the end of the episode.
829. 88 English expressions that will confuse everyone (Part 3) – Finally, here is the third part of this series about English slang words and expressions that most British people know, but which will probably confuse almost everyone else! I started this series in 2019. It’s only taken me nearly 4 years to get round to finishing it. Learn loads of slang and culture, plus a bit of British history too.
828. PARIS STORIES with Amber Minogue – Amber returns to the podcast to tell us some grisly stories about the history of Paris. Amber is a bit of an expert about Paris. She has read pretty much every book about the city and is also a registered tour guide here.
827. An Interview for a Study about Language Learning Podcasts (Carlos Soares, University of Aveiro) – Carlos Soares, from the University of Aveiro in Portugal, is doing a master’s degree dissertation all about language learning podcasts. He contacted me to conduct an interview as part of his research, and he agreed for me to publish it as an episode of my podcast.
826. Yiddish Words used in English (with Sebastian Marx) – Comedian Sebastian Marx returns to the podcast in order to talk about Yiddish words which have found their way into the English language, including common words like bagel, glitch and schmooze and plenty more.
825. Time-Travel Story, English Immersions in Malta & Playing the Bagpipes (with Alastair Budge) – Is that a confusing title? Hopefully not. As you might expect, it’s a little summary of what’s included in the episode. To give you some more details, Alastair Budge is the host of a podcast called “English Learning for Curious Minds” and he has created a new audio drama for English learners.
824. The Coronation of King Charles III (with Mum & Dad) The Rick & Gill Thompson Report – Talking to my parents about the coronation ceremony of King Charles III which happened in Westminster, London on Saturday 6 May. Includes descriptions of the ceremony and discussion of some of the issues related to it, plus a few dodgy jokes along the way
823. ChatGPT & Learning English PART 3 – In this final part of the series I’m going to evaluate ChatGPT’s ability to work as a dictionary with definitions, example sentences, synonyms, phonetic transcriptions, etc. I test its ability to convert texts into British English or other varieties, see if it can help with sentence stress and word stress, and check its ability to create grammar and vocabulary quizzes and other useful exercises.
822. ChatGPT & Learning English PART 2 – In this series I am evaluating ChatGPT as a language-learning tool. In this part I’m experimenting with role-play conversations, job interview practice, creating texts and dialogues and seeing if it can help you prepare for Cambridge exams like IELTS or CAE.
821. ChatGPT & Learning English PART 1 – An episode exploring the various ways that ChatGPT might be able to help you learn English. Can it create study plans? Can it correct your errors and explain the corrections? Can you use it to simulate natural conversations? This is the first of a three-part series in which I test ChatGPT’s usefulness as an AI language learning tool.
820. A Springtime Ramble Learn English with LEP – Rambling on my own about getting stuck in a time-loop , protests and strikes in Paris , the arrival of child 2 , and more.
819. What does it really mean to be “good at English”? – How do we know when someone’s English is good? Is it just about having the right accent, or speaking with no errors? In fact, there is a lot more to it than that.
818. Monster Bogey (A Children’s Book) with Anna Brooke – My friend Anna has written a book for children (7+) which has a full publishing contract and is available in all good bookshops now. The book tells the story of a boy who accidentally creates a monster when his secret collection of nose bogeys gets struck by lightning! This conversation includes lots of talk of snot and bogeys, as well as stories from Anna’s time as a travel writer.
817. Parson’s Pleasure by Roald Dahl (Learn English with a Short Story) – Learn English with another short story. This time it’s Parson’s Pleasure by Roald Dahl, which is an intriguing tale of a dodgy antiques dealer, with a nasty twist at the end. Learn vocabulary while you enjoy a fascinating story.
816. Kate Billington in the Podcastle – Kate Billington returns to LEP for the third time, to drink tea, talk about my pod-room, learning the bassoon, exam results, learning Chinese, responding to listener comments and talking about her videos on TikTok.
Studying In The UK – Realities, Opportunities & Advice (with Lioba Berndt) – An episode all about studying at university in the UK, with loads of advice about student visas, funding your studies with scholarships, extra-curricular social activities and opportunities at the Students’ Union and more. Features a conversation with a German student currently studying a master’s in clinical neuropsychology at UCL in London.
815. A River Avon Year: The Wildlife & History of Shakespeare’s Avon, by Rick Thompson (Dad’s New Book!) – My dad has written a new book and he’s come on the podcast to tell us about it. The book follows the path of the river Avon as it flows through the middle of England, telling stories of key moments in British history, nature and the current condition of Britain’s rivers.
814. The Language of Children & Parenting (with Anna Tyrie / English Like a Native) – A conversation with Anna Tyrie from English Like a Native (YouTube, Podcast) about children, the way we talk to children, and vocabulary relating to children and childcare, and some special news from the Thompson family…!
813. Language Learning is a Voyage of Discovery / Steve Kaufmann Interview – An interview with polyglot Steve Kaufmann who has learned at least 20 languages to varying degrees during his life. Steve talks about his language learning experiences, methods and motivations. We talk about various metaphors and similes for language learning including ocean voyages , cows , skiing and cutting grass and I ask Steve about cross-cultural experiences he has had during his career.
812. Can You Pass A British Citizenship Test? (with Cara Leopold) – To qualify for British citizenship, one of the requirements is to pass the “Life in the UK” test. Questions cover things like British history, British life & culture, British politics, British geography and principles of modern British life. What do you think? Can you pass the test?
811. Turkey & Syria Earthquake Appeal / What is happening in Iran? (Articles & Vocabulary) – An episode about two (unconnected) situations, 1) the very recent earthquake in Turkey & Syria which has left many people in urgent need of help, 2) the humanitarian crisis in Iran. During the episode I read from various articles and explain some vocabulary. Video version available.
810. Discussing Ambient Music (with James) – A conversation with my brother about a specific musical genre “ambient”, with comments about Brian Eno, Eric Satie, Aphex Twin, The Orb and more…
809. Toilets, Titanic & TikTok with AMBER & PAUL – An unedited conversation with Amber & Paul about toilet habits, Titanic (1997), weird videos on TikTok & YouTube and plenty more. Advanced level listening practice with the POD-PALs. Video version available.
808. James Harris returns to talk about his book – Writer/comedian James Harris returns to talk about learning Chinese, being married to a Chinese woman and his semi-autobiographical book, “Midlands” which tells several funny and touching stories about two ex-pats living in Germany. James reads several passages from the book during the episode. Video version available.
807. Dylan, Lennon, Marx & God (with Jon Stewart PhD) – A conversation about two legends of contemporary popular culture – Bob Dylan and John Lennon, with pop-star academic Jon Stewart (guitarist in The Wedding Present and Sleeper). Video version available.
806. PERSEVERANCE, POSITIVITY & PRACTICE with Santiago Ruiz de Velasco from Oxford University Press – Santiago is the Managing Director of English Teaching at Oxford University Press. But English is not his first language. He learned it as an adult when he moved to London in his twenties. This conversation explores the challenges, failures and successes he has had in his English learning, and the things he has learned about learning a language. Video version available.
805. A New Year Ramble 2023 / Learn English with LEP – A rambling episode about making a fresh start in the new year, and some things I just have to tell you about listening to Luke’s English Podcast using a podcast app on your phone + lots of tangents. I hope you enjoy it! Video version available.
804. The Missing Masaccio (Learn English with a Text Adventure Story) by Peter Carlson – The third (and final) adventure in this series of mini-mysteries on LEP. Can I improve my detective skills to work out the disappearance of a priceless painting and a series of gruesome murders? Story by Peter Carlson and available on textadventures.co.uk Video version available.
803. The Wraith (Learn English with a Text Adventure Story) by Peter Carlson – The second in a trilogy of text adventure stories by Peter Carlson. In this one we are chasing a ghostly serial killer with a few tricks up his sleeve. Do I have the detective skills to solve the mystery and avoid certain death? Video version available.
802. The Unopened Safe (Learn English with a Text Adventure Story) by Peter Carlson – Let’s do another text adventure mystery story by Peter Carlson. Listen to me read the story and make choices to solve the mystery. You can read the story with me or do the game yourself later. This is the first in a series of 3 stories from Peter’s “Victorian Detective Interlude” game on textadventures.co.uk Video version available.
801. 2022 WORLD NEWS QUIZ with Stephen from SEND7 – Stephen from the SEND7 Podcast asks Luke 20 quiz questions about international news stories from 2022. Do you know the answers? Can you beat Luke in the quiz? Listen for some serious moments, some funny moments and a re-cap of some key events from the year. Video version available.
800. [PART 3] EPISODE 800 RAMBLE (Final Part) – A quick ramble about why this is the final part of episode 800, why there was a delay between part 2 and part 3, some comments about having flu, and about World Cup 2022. Video version available.
800. [PART 2] EPISODE 800 RAMBLE / LEPSTER Q&A – Celebrating episode 800 by answering a massive list of questions from listeners. This episode covers things like how to improve your speaking when you live in a non-English speaking country, the headphones and microphone I use, my current favourite episode, the afterlife and spirit world, my favourite brands of tea, my favourite video games, being a father and the recent Star Wars series Andor and plenty plenty more. Video version available.
800. [PART 1] EPISODE 800 RAMBLE / LEPSTER Q&A – Celebrating episode 800 and responding to lots of questions sent in on social media. Expect questions about my ill-fated music career, grammar, favourite authors, my daughter, life as an English teaching podcaster and plenty more. Video version available.
799. The True Story of a LEPster’s Waking Nightmare (and how LEP came to the rescue) Email Story – Sharing a disturbing true story sent in by a LEPster by email. This episode contains some slightly scary and graphic descriptions of nightmare scenarios, visions, hallucinations and bad dreams, but there is a happy ending. Video version available.
Ramble Message / Episode 800 Plans / World Cup Episodes? – A bonus mini-ramble about my plans for episode 800 (send me your questions) and why I haven’t done any World Cup episodes yet, but you can listen to me talking about it with Zdenek on his podcast (link available).
798. MYSTERIOUS AL (Street Art & Graffiti) – In conversation with Mysterious Al, a contemporary artist / street artist from London now living in Melbourne, Australia. Video version available.
797. Stephen from SEND7 interviews Luke about LEP – Stephen from SEND7 podcast becomes the host to interview me about how I started LEP, the ins and outs of doing this, plus some advantages and challenges for podcasting to learners of English. Video version available.
796. Language & Local British Identity with MARK STEEL – Special Guest Mark Steel joins me to discuss cultural and linguistic differences between the UK and France, plus accents in the UK and a little tour of some places in the UK that you don’t know about. Also includes a discussion of swearing and rude language in Britain. Video version available.
795. DOPPELGANGER (Learn English with a Short Story) – Learn English with another short story. In fact, this episode contains two stories. Listen until the end for the 2nd one. Repeat after me to practise your pronunciation. Learn some vocabulary & grammar in the second half of the episode, with an explanation of modal verbs of deduction in the past and present. Video version available.
794. The Surprising Power of Reading Aloud (Article) – Reading out loud can have lots of surprising benefits for our memory and our mental health. How can it also help with your English? In this episode I read an article to you, help you understand it and give comments on the importance of reading, both quietly in your head, and out loud. Video version also available.
793. Rambling Through the Streets of Paris at Night on a Bike (with a VERY SPECIAL GUEST?) – Last week a very special guest visited one of our comedy shows in Paris. I was given a ticket to the show, so I decided to record a podcast while riding through the streets on the way to the show, wondering if I might be able to interview this guest on LEP.
792. The Rick Thompson Report: LIZ TRUSS (16 October 2022) – My dad returns to talk more about UK politics, this time describing the disastrous economic policy of Liz Truss and her Chancellor (finance minister) Kwasi Kwarteng. Advanced level English listening practice – this is complicated stuff, but keep listening to develop your English skills and learn about what’s going on in UK politics. Video version available.
791. ADJECTIVE + PREPOSITION with Amber & Paul (A+P with A&P on LEP) – Amber and Paul join me in my pod room again for a rambling discussion about everything! Includes a language point about adjective + preposition collocations. Notice the phrases and try to find examples of them in context. Video version available.
790. Chatting in the Garden with Mum (Listener Q&A) – My mum returns to the podcast to answer some questions from listeners about books, cooking, her relationship with Luke and her granddaughter, the war in Ukraine, the song Imagine by John Lennon, family games, the time she fell off a horse & more…
789. 50 Random British Facts (True or False Quiz) with James [Part 2] – James and Luke discuss some more “facts” about the UK, but can you guess if they are true or false? Learn some interesting trivia about life in Britain, and improve your vocabulary in the process.
788. 50 Random British Facts (True or False Quiz) with James [Part 1] – Can you guess if these “facts” about the UK are true or false? James and Luke read out the facts and then discuss them one by one. Learn some odd things about the UK, pick up some vocabulary about laws and customs, and try not to laugh on the bus.
787. The Rick & Gill Thompson Report: Queen Elizabeth II / King Charles III – Talking to my mum and dad about events in the UK following the death of The Queen on 9 September, including the media coverage, the proclamation of King Charles III, comments about Charles as King and a discussion of the role of the monarch in the UK’s constitution.
786. THE QUEEN – Queen Elizabeth II died today. Here are my thoughts and feelings about the significance and symbolism of her life and death, recorded just an hour after I first saw the news.
785. Crossword Puzzles & Word Origins (with Fred Eyangoh) – Fred Eyangoh returns to the podcast to bring some entertaining and useful word puzzles, quizzes and insights into English etymology & history. Video version available (just the conversation).
784. Pub Chat with Charlie Baxter (Social English and Pub Etiquette) – Join Charlie and me on a trip to a virtual pub for a couple of pints, a packet of crisps and some advice about how to go to the pub in English, with plenty of funny tangents. Video version available.
783. British or American? With Sarah Donnelly – Comparing British and American English vocabulary with a fun online quiz. My guest today is American comedian Sarah Donnelly. Video version (of the conversation) available.
782. Paul McCartney at 80 (with Sam Whiles) – Paul McCartney turned 80 this year, so let’s talk about this legend of British music! In this one, I am joined by Sam Whiles, the host of the Paul or Nothing podcast. Listen to hear an overview of Paul’s career, and some Paul McCartney stories. Video version of the interview available on YouTube.
781. Film Club: Monty Python & The Holy Grail (revisited ) with Antony Rotunno [LEP / Film Gold SwapCast] – Talking to Antony Rotunno about a classic British comedy film which makes fun of the legend of King Arthur (and everything else!) Originally published by Antony on his Film Gold podcast earlier this year.
780. The Customary Pre-Holiday Ramble (August 2022) Train of Thought / My Daughter’s Magic Pet Shop / 4 Songs on Guitar – An unedited ramble in which I talk without a specific plan. Includes a recording of my daughter speaking English, and a few songs on the guitar. Video version available
779. [2/2] Poetry Reading: Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (by Simon Armitage) – Luke reads verses from a modernised version of this medieval poem, considered one of the masterpieces of Middle English literature. Listen to hear the rhyme and rhythm of the poetry, the descriptive vocabulary and details of the story, with vocabulary explanations and comments from Luke. Video version available with on-screen text.
778. [1/2] Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (with Dad) – A conversation with my dad about a great medieval adventure story originally written in middle English and updated and translated into modern English by Simon Armitage. Dad talks about the origin of this story, its connection to the history of the English language, and the poetic devices used in the writing.
777. The Rick Thompson Report: Has Boris Johnson Resigned? – My dad talks about the latest news about Boris Johnson, who on Friday said the UK should now begin the process of finding a new Prime Minister. Why is Johnson going to step down? What scandals has he been involved in during his life? What might happen next? Listen to hear my dad’s comments.
P35 [1/1] StoryTime: Learn English with Stories (free LEP Premium Sample) THE BEAR STORY – This is a free sample of LEP Premium, available for everyone. In this episode I’ll tell you about my technique for learning English with stories and transcripts, with full details about how to improve your English with my stories. Then I’ll tell you a story about a time I had an encounter with a bear and do some pronunciation practice. Video version available with on-screen text.
776. News about changes to LEP & LEP Premium / Visiting the British Ambassador’s Residence – Have you noticed that LEP episodes have disappeared from podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play etc? They will return soon! This is part of an update. I am moving the show to a new podcast host. Everything will return asap, with a few changes to LEP. Good news for the podcast. Plus – a story about going to a summer party at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Paris, and meeting Paddington Bear.
775. A Rambling Chat with James (June 2022) – My brother James comes back onto the podcast for a conversation about the hot weather, tricky WordPress updates, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Rock Music concert movies, Alan Partridge’s live show, Irish/British relations and plenty more.
774. Learn English with a Scary Story (Camp Stabbiwaka by Peter Carlson) – Listen to Luke reading a text adventure story set in a summer camp. You can read the story at the same time as you listen, or just relax and have fun following this action packed horror story, and read do text adventure later. Includes some vocabulary explanations, differences between British & American English and some very dodgy jokes. Video version available with on-screen text.
773. What do British people think about The Queen and The Royal Family? (with James) – Luke and James discuss their feelings about the Royal Family, with some survey results about the popularity of royal family members among British people in general.
772. Rambling in the Podcastle (June 2020) News / Thoughts / Reflections – An unedited monologue about how my virtuous and vicious circles, how English is like a shark, some comments about recent episodes and a visit from a friendly bat at my podcastle.
771. Sick In Japan (Recorded Live at the BC) – My story about how I ended up in a Japanese hospital bed, scared out of my brain. Recorded live in front of an audience at the British Council in Paris.
770. Boats & Murder (but mostly murder) with Moz – An episode with my friend Moz from the Murder Mile True Crime Podcast. Moz returns to tell us some true stories of crimes in the London area. Expect some smalltalk about living on a boat, some murder stories and an interactive detective game in which we have to solve a murder.
769. Film Club: This Is Spinal Tap (with James) – A return to Luke’s Film Club with the classic comedy This Is Spinal Tap, a “mockumentary” about a fictitious rock band from the 1980s. This time I am joined by my brother James and we discuss what was once voted “Funniest comedy film of all time”. Video version includes images from the film.
768. English Teaching Methodologies (with Gabriel Clark) – Gabriel Clark from clarkandmiller.com joins me to discuss a short history of teaching methodology in the world of TEFL. Video version available.
767. Amber & Paul in the Podcastle (Catching Up #12) – Two hours of PodPal action for your enjoyment. This one has a bit of everything. Some audience questions, an idioms game, some dodgy jokes, accents, impressions and more. Video version available.
766. Learning English with The News (with Stephen from SEND7 Podcast) – Talking to Stephen from the Simple English News Daily podcast about learning English with the news and whether BBC reporters actually speak like normal humans. Video clip available.
765. Travelling Stories / Reverse Culture Shock (with Martin Johnston from Rock n’ Roll English) – Martin joins Luke to talk about moving back to the UK, his fundraiser for Ukrainian refugees and some funny stories about travelling experiences. Video version available.
764. 22 Funny Jokes, Explained – Learn English with 22 funny jokes with explanations of vocabulary, homophones, double meanings and pronunciation. Video available.
763. Rambling in the new Pod-Room / Choose The Adverb / Deal or No Deal – This is a chance for me to just let loose and have a ramble while inviting you to this kind of housewarming party (or perhaps just the first part of the party) in my new pod-room. I do some vocabulary pages about adverbs and read a section from a book about a gameshow. Video available.
762. Meditation & Learning English (with Antony Rotunno) – Discussing meditation, meditation techniques, how it can help in our lives and improve us as language learners. Antony Rotunno is my guest and listen out for stories, advice, tangents and maybe one or two revelations.
761. Why we love The Beatles (Recorded Live at The British Council) + Public Speaking Tips – This is a presentation I did at the British Council in Paris recently, in front of a live audience. First I talk about public speaking and my approach to doing presentations and then you can hear the recording of my talk.
760. The Rick Thompson Report: Ukraine – Talking to my dad about the situation in Ukraine on 28 February 2022.
759. Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans – Join me as I walk around my local streets in Paris, go to the laundrette and ramble about what’s going on in LEPland at the moment.
758. Pub Quiz Trivia with Sarah The Paris Quiz Mistress – Chatting to pub quiz host Sarah Toporoff about her love of trivia, and asking each other quiz questions about history, geography, literature, language & pop culture. Can you answer the questions and follow the conversation?
757. Setting up my new Pod-Room / DIY (Do It Yourself) Vocabulary & Expressions – Describing how I am setting up my new pod-room with a couple of stories and plenty of vocabulary for talking about DIY and doing improvements to your home. Vocabulary list available.
756. Learn English with LEP in 2022 / A New Year Ramble – In this episode I’m going to wish you a Happy New Year, ramble a little bit about what’s going on in LEPland, restate some of my aims and objectives for this podcast, and give a few comments on how you can use the podcast to improve your English, with reference to some recommended episodes from the archive.
755. FUNNY RUSSIAN CITIZENSHIP TEST with Amber & Paul – Can Luke, Amber & Paul pass this funny Russian citizenship test which was written and sent in by a Russian LEPster? Join us as we attempt to answer questions which (apparently) every Russian person would know. This could be embarrassing! P.S. I am 99% sure that this really is the final episode of 2021. Video version available on YouTube.
754. Learning & Teaching English in The Metaverse / The Mandalorian (with Andy Johnson) – Andy Johnson returns to talk about more “M” words – this time it’s The Metaverse and The Mandalorian. The Metaverse is an immersive and interactive 3D online environment. How can it be used for learning and teaching English? We also chat about the Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian, for the first time on LEP. Video versions of the interview available.
753. Visiting the Louvre Museum with Amber & Paul – Join Amber, Paul and me as we take a tour of the famous Louvre museum in Paris and describe some of the world’s most amazing artwork and artefacts, including stunning Greek sculptures like Venus de Milo, fascinating renaissance paintings by Leonardo da Vinci such as the Mona Lisa and many more incredible pieces. Video version available wtih photos of all artwork shown.
752. Creating Award-Winning Books for Children (with Penny Dale) – Author and illustrator Penny Dale talks about the process of creating successful books for children, including some of her most popular books such as Ten In The Bed and the Dinosaur series. Video version available. Audio version has 30mins extra rambling.
751. Bath Arts Workshop: Counterculture in the 1970s (with Penny Dale) – Chatting to English author & illustrator Penny Dale about her involvement in a counterculture arts movement from the 1970s, the Bath Arts Workshop. Video version and vocabulary list available. Audio Version (with 30mins extra ramble at the end)
750. An Unedited Ramble / How to talk about Being Busy in English – In this unedited episode I share some of the thoughts that have been running through my head, talk about being busy and look at some vocabulary to describe busy times in your life. Video version available.
749. LEP DESIGN COMPETITION 2021: Discussing the Entries & Choosing the Winners with James – James and Luke discuss designs sent in by listeners, and choose the winner(s). Listen for plenty of descriptive language, diplomatic language and ways of giving positive and feedback in English. Video version also available (with all the designs on screen).
748. Karl Pilkington’s 3-Minute Wonders / Manchester Accent [Part 2] – Understand more of Karl Pilkington’s rambling as we learn about the Manchester accent and pick up vocabulary along the way. Video version available on YouTube.
747. Social Awkwardness / Very British Problems (with Michael Lavers from Level Up English) – Talking to Michael Lavers from the Level Up English Podcast about learning Japanese, embarrassing moments in language learning, social awkwardness and some “very British problems”. Are you as socially awkward as a British person? Let’s see how you and Michael would respond to some quiz questions that will test your British awkwardness to the max.
746. Karl Pilkington’s 3-Minute Wonders / Manchester Accent – Understand English as it is spoken by native speakers. Let’s listen to Karl Pilkington rambling about life, the universe & everything, and see what we can understand and learn.
745. Mental Factors in Learning English (with Ray Addam) [English with Ray SwapCast] + ramble & song – Talking to English teacher Ray Addam from Glasgow in Scotland about mental factors in learning English, such as anxiety, confidence, stress and motivation. Video version available on YouTube.
744. The Rick Thompson Report: Fuel Crisis / Brexit Rant (Autumn 2021) – Talking to my dad about the latest in the Brexit saga, including the current fuel crisis due to lack of lorry drivers and other problems which were predicted in the run up to the Brexit referendum in 2016. Video version available on YouTube.
743. Give me Tea, Please – Practical Ingredients for Tasteful Language (with Natasha V Broodie) + ramble / song – Talking to author Natasha V Broodie who has written a book which aims to help learners of English understand the subtle codes of polite language when making requests and giving information in professional and personal contexts.
742. NEW LEP T-SHIRTS & MERCH + LEP DESIGN COMPETITION 2021 with James – LEP merch is now available, including t-shirts, mugs and more featuring special LEP designs made by James Thompson. Luke and James discuss the new designs and launch a new design competition to give you the chance to get your design in my merch store and a cash prize of £80.
741. Top Jokes from Edinburgh Fringe 2021, Explained – Learn English from some jokes in this episode as we go through 9 jokes chosen as the best of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe stand up comedy scene this year (2021). Let me tell you the jokes, see if you understand them, and then I will break them down for language learning opportunities. Video version available.
740. Are native English speakers bad communicators? (The Travel Adapter with Matt Halsdorff) – Talking to English teacher Matt Halsdorff about a project to train native English speakers how to communicate better with non-natives. We talk about the reasons why native speakers are often bad at communicating with non-natives, what they should do to fix this and the wider issues relating to this project. Video version available.
739. The Escaped Man by CT Platt (Learn English with Short Stories) – Reading a short story presented on Commaful.com. The Escaped Man is a mystery full of tension and intrigue. Listen closely as I break it all down and explain the vocabulary fully. YouTube video version also available.
738. Do you remember…? with Mum, Dad & James / Family Stories with The Thompsons – Chatting to my family about some old anecdotes and stories from the past. Listen for some enjoyable chat, memories, descriptions and tales from days gone by.
737. A Summer Ramble 2 (Late August 2021) – I’m back in the podcast-zone after my holiday so I thought I would do another rambling episode before getting down to work on other content to be released soon. Video version also available.
736. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 3] Learn English with Stories – The final part of this series in which I am reading from the classic story The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, while explaining and clarifying the English which comes up. Full transcript available and YouTube video version too.
735. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 2] Learn English with Stories – Continuing to read extracts from this fantastic science fiction story from the 19th century. Follow the plot and pick up some English in the process. Full transcript available, and a YouTube version too.
734. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 1] Learn English with Stories – Luke reads extracts from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. This is a classic bit of science fiction writing from the Victorian era, with some thrilling passages and scary descriptions. It’s one of my favourite books of all time and I hope you enjoy it too and learn some English from it. Full transcript and YouTube video versions available.
733. A Summer Ramble – A pre-holiday ramble in which I talk about learning English, moving to a new flat, the podcast over the next few months, football, being on Other People’s Podcasts, a recording of my daughter speaking English and a couple of songs. Video version available.
732. Christian from Canguro English returns – Talking to Christian again about some of the themes and controversial opinions he talks about in his YouTube videos, plus some bits about men wearing thongs on the beach, an obsession with rabbits and if Christian was the Donald Trump of English teaching. Video version available.
731. Beatles Song Lyrics / Idioms & Expressions (with Antony Rotunno) – Learn English with The Beatles as we explore lyrics from Beatles songs and pick out some idioms, descriptive language and other vocabulary for you to learn. Featuring Antony Rotunno from the Glass Onion: On John Lennon podcast.
730. Marie Connolly Returns (+ 2 songs) – Talking to author Marie Connolly about her new books for children, plus a story about how Jerry Seinfeld came to one of our comedy shows, with two songs on guitar at the end.
729. TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test (with Josh MacPherson from TSTPrep.com) – Talking to Josh MacPherson about tips and advice for taking TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test. YouTube version also available.
728. English with Rob / Games, Music & Jingles – Talking to Rob from English with Rob (podcast/YouTube). Rob is an English teacher, musician from England, and my former colleague. This episode includes lots of musical fun, some chatting about how we make our podcasts, fun word games and much more. Video version available.
727. Describing John Lennon / Adjectives of Personality J-Z (with Antony Rotunno) – The second part of my conversation with Antony Rotunno (John Lennon podcaster, English teacher) in which we discuss adjectives of personality, with John Lennon as a case study. Vocabulary list available.
726. Describing John Lennon / Adjectives of Personality A-I (with Antony Rotunno) – Learn useful adjectives for describing personality traits with John Lennon as a case study. Episode 3/5 in my Beatles series, with returning guest Antony Rotunno from the podcast “Glass Onion: On John Lennon”. Vocabulary list available.
BONUS: EURO2020 Swapcast with Martin Johnston (RnR) & Zdenek Lukas (ZEP) Parts 1 & 2 – A fun chat about the UEFA Euro2020 Football Championship, with Luke Thompson (Luke’s English Podcast), Martin Johnston (Rock N’ Roll English) and Zdenek Lukas (Zdenek’s English Podcast), with a special prize giveaway in which you can win prizes from all 3 of us. Non-football fans, feel free to skip this, of course! Video version available.
725. Fun & Games for Learning English with Vickie Kelty – Playing word games with English teacher Vickie Kelty and talking about how to use these games in learning and teaching English.
724. The Mountain (Short Story) + Video – Reading an emotional short story, with vocabulary explanations and differences between British and American English. Video version available.
Unboxing my Shiny YouTube Award for 100,000 Subscribers (Audio and Video Versions) – YouTube sent me an award for reaching a subscriber milestone, so I opened the box live on video, answered some questions from the audience and played a song on the guitar. Audio and video versions available here.
723. Bahar from Iran (WISBOLEP Runner-Up) – This is the final episode in the WISBOLEP competition series, speaking to Bahar from Iran about the 7-step method she used to improve her English and develop a British-sounding accent. Bahar used to be a terrible student who hated English, but then she made a decision to focus on her English in her own way. Listen to her explain how she did it.
722. Discussing John Lennon with Antony Rotunno – The second in a short series about The Beatles, this one focuses on the life of John Lennon, with an overview of his life story, some thoughts about his psychology and some rambling discussion questions about this iconic British musician, with podcaster, English teacher and musician Antony Rotunno.
721. Collins Dictionary Word Quizzes / Confusing Words with Fred Eyangoh – This is the second part of my recent conversation with Fred Eyangoh about learning new vocabulary. This one includes a word quiz with homophones and commonly confused words from the Collins Dictionary website.
720. How Fred Learns Vocabulary with the New York Times Spelling Bee (with Fred Eyangoh) – Fred often plays spelling games on his phone during his lunch break, and he has discovered lots of new words as a result. In this episode I talk to Fred about his process of discovering and understanding new words and I talk about learning vocabulary with online dictionaries.
719. Amber & Paul are on the Podcast (Catching Up #11) – Talking to pod-pals Amber & Paul about diverse topics including organ harvesting (yes), favourite fruits (exciting), accent challenges, guess the punchline, British Citizenship tests, What the “great” in Great Britain really means, and Amber’s son Hugo’s astonishing fluency in English.
718. Michael the Shaman (WISBLOEP Runner-Up) – Talking to competition runner-up Michael from Poland about two top English learning tips, scary hitch-hiking stories and the practice of shamanism using psychoactive substances.
717. Gill’s Book Club: “One Two Three Four – The Beatles In Time” by Craig Brown – Talking to my mum about a book which you could read as part of your English learning routine. The book tells the story of The Beatles and their impact on society. We review the book and then discuss many aspects of The Beatles story, especially the four Beatles themselves.
716. Interview with a Pop Star from the 1960s – Megan Brady from The Applejacks – An interview with Megan Brady, who was the bass player in The Applejacks – a pop band from Birmingham in the 1960s who had a top 5 record, met The Beatles and performed on TV shows and at concerts in the UK.
715. Catching up with Craig Wealand [LEP/AIRC Swapcast] – Exchanging questions with English teacher Craig Wealand from “Apprender Ingles con Resa y Craig” about COVID-19, living in Europe post-Brexit, my daughter’s English, getting proper tea in France and Spain, teaching English on Zoom, the worst jobs we’ve ever had + more, with a song on the guitar at the end.
714. Robin from Hamburg (WISBOLEP Runner-Up) – Talking to another runner-up from last year’s listener competition. Robin from Hamburg had a big setback in his learning of English, but worked hard to overcome it. We talk about his English learning trajectory, and ramble about German language & culture, his podcast for learners of German, podcasting microphones and then Robin teaches me some German words which are difficult to pronounce.
713. Lucky Dip with Paul Taylor – More random questions, talking points, accent challenges and “guess the idiom” with pod-pal Paul Taylor. Includes discussion of accents in English, cancel culture in comedy, some rude Spanish phrases and more. Video version available.
712. A Chat with Charlie Baxter – Chatting with Charlie from The British English Podcast and Real English with Real Teachers on YouTube. We talk about the north/south divide in England, Charlie’s background in psychology & NLP, his decision to become an online English teacher and his travelling experiences in Chile, Germany and Australia. Video version available.
711. William from France (WISBOLEP Runner-UP) – William started learning English at 12 years old and continued at university and beyond, spending a couple of years in England as a teaching assistant and then returning to France to work as a school teacher, in some pretty tough classrooms and less-than-perfect teaching conditions. William talks about how he continues to maintain his English, the importance of finding good language exchange partners, and more.
710. The Umbrella Man by Roald Dahl (Short Story) – In this episode I read out a short story written by Roald Dahl and then comment on the style, language and plot. Enjoy some storytelling and learn some English in the process. Video version available.
709. The Stoicism of Groundhog Day (with Mum) – This is a conversation with my mum about philosophy, how the film Groundhog Day can help us understand the principles of stoicism, and how this can all help us to feel a bit better about the world.
708. Tasha Liu from China (WISBOLEP Runner-Up)🇨🇳 – This conversation with competition runner-up Tasha Liu is a way to get to know Chinese culture in a personal way including the story of how Tasha’s father gave up drinking alcohol, and other interesting details about real life in the world’s most populated country.
707. [2/2] Let’s Play Another Text Adventure Game – “Zombolocaust” by Peter Carlson – Continuing the text adventure game about the zombie apocalypse from episode 706, with text on the screen so you can read with me while you listen. Video version available. Play the game with me – follow the links on the page. Listen to part 1 first!👇
706. [1/2] Let’s Play Another Text Adventure Game – “Zombolocaust” by Peter Carlson – Playing a text adventure game about the zombie apocalypse, with text on the screen so you can read with me while you listen. Video version available. Play the game with me – follow the links on the page.
705. Kate Billington Returns (and she brought cake) – Listen to another natural conversation with Kate Billington about some listener comments, Chinese New Year, English festivals & food in February, sports day traditions, more cake recipes, various bits of vocabulary and more.
704. The Rick Thompson Report: Brexit Update (February 2021) – Talking again to my dad about UK politics and current affairs, focusing on the latest developments in Brexit, plus a bit of weather and sport. Listen to hear my dad explain complex things in plain English. Full transcript and text video available.
703. Walaa from Syria – WISBOLEP Competition Winner – Walaa Mouma from Syria has an amazing and inspiring story for all learners of English around the world, and some specific tips on how to improve your English long-term. Listen to this episode to hear all about it. Transcript and text video available.
702. Emergency Questions (with James) – Listen to Luke and James talking about various topics as we answer questions from the book “Emergency Questions” by comedian Richard Herring. Text video and full transcript available.
701. Legal English with Louise Kulbicki – Discussing some of the most important terms and concepts in legal English, while also learning about key cases through some amusing stories, with legal English trainer Louise Kulbicki. Text video and full transcript available.
700. Marooned With My Music: Luke Thompson – Guest host Oli Thompson interviews Luke using a classic format from BBC Radio. Luke is going to be marooned on a desert island but he is allowed to bring 8 pieces of music, one book and a luxury item. For episode 700 this is a chance to get to know Luke and his musical choices. Text Video and transcript available.
699. Welcome (back) to Luke’s English Podcast / FAQ (January 2021) – Wishing everyone a happy new year and taking stock of the main aims and methods of this podcast, plus some frequently asked questions. Video version available on YouTube.
698. Paul is on the Podcast / Random Questions with Paul Taylor – Paul Taylor joins me for some random questions and challenges, including various little discussion points, accents, citizenship test questions, idioms, jokes and more.
697. 11 Christmas Cracker Jokes for 2020, Explained – Going through 11 topical Christmas jokes for 2020, then a ramble about podcast statistics for 2020 and more… Merry Christmas everyone!
696. WISBOLEP Competition Results + RAMBLE – Join me as I potter around my flat and give the results of the WISBOLEP competition then make a cup of tea and have a ramble about things like listening to non-native English speakers, reducing clutter in your home, renting vs owning a property, what it must be like to have only one hand, Zatoichi the blind swordsman, The Mandalorian TV series, Christmas plans and more. Includes a song on the guitar at the end.
695. Pronunciation, Pragmatics & Procrastination with Emma – Talking to Emma from YouTube channel Pronunciation with Emma about accents, improving your pronunciation, understanding pragmatics in English, and learning English through video games.
694. The Crown / The Royal Family (A Royal Ramble with My Wife) – Talking to my wife about the latest season of the Netflix TV drama The Crown, which follows the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. We talk about Charles & Diana, Margaret Thatcher, The Queen’s accent, Prince Andrew’s BBC interview and more.
693. English With Lucy / A Conversation with Lucy Earl – Chatting to Lucy Earl from the English with Lucy channel on YouTube.
692. WISBOLEP Competition Entries – Listen & Vote! – Listen to recordings sent in by listeners and vote for who you think should be on LEP.
691. Jerome Butler – Dialect Coach – How do professional actors change the way they speak for different acting roles? What can learners of English take from the way actors do this, in order to apply it to their language learning? In this conversation I speak to Jerome Butler who is a very experienced dialect coach working in the TV and film industry in the USA.
690. Urban vs Rural / Living Abroad / Cultural Differences (with Cara Leopold) – A conversation with Cara Leopold about the differences between life in Paris and life in provincial France, plus how it feels to live abroad away from your home country.
689. Baking Cakes, Telling Jokes & Speaking Chinese with Kate Billington – A funny chat with Kate who speaks multiple languages, makes delicious cakes, teaches English and does stand-up comedy. Enjoy!
688. Sean Connery – I recorded an episode about Sean Connery, who died yesterday. I didn’t expect to get emotional, but I did (a bit). Here it is. Hope you like it.
687. WISBOLEP Problem / Polite Requests / An Inspiring Email / Fly Me To the Moon – A rambling episode with some news about a problem I have with the WISBOLEP competition (ooh!), some tips on making polite requests, an inspiring email from a LEPster and a song on guitar at the end. Transcript available.
686. Christian from Canguro English – A conversation with YouTube English teacher Christian Saunders from Canguro English about the realities of learning and teaching English, motivation and goal-setting in language learning, Paul McCartney recording an album in his kitchen and plenty more. Video version also available on YouTube.
685. Raising Bilingual Children [1] Alex and his daughter Alice, in Moscow – An episode exploring the subject of how to raise a child to speak English. I speak to Alex, an English teacher from Moscow about how he has been speaking exclusively in English to his 4-year-old daughter Alice since she was born. Let’s find out how it’s going.
684. Chasing the Tangent Train with Elspeth Graty – A conversation with English-teaching stand-up comedian Elspeth Graty, which covers lots of different topics including Elspeth’s background in England, teaching English, cultural differences, “French-bashing”, old-fashioned telephones and The Tellytubbies. Enjoy!
683. Feelgood Stories of Flirting with Marie Connolly – Marie Connolly is an Australian stand-up comedian and TEFL teacher who has written a book of short stories about times when men (from various countries) have flirted with her. In this episode Marie shares some of those stories, tells us about English men vs French men vs Australian men and much more.
682. Key Features of English Accents, Explained – Exploring the main differences between standard English pronunciation (RP) and non-standard regional or colloquial accents. How do people really speak in different parts of England, and how does this accent differ from the accent you probably hear in English language course books and dictionaries? Notes & videos available.
681. New Competition: Why I Should Be On LEP (WISBOLEP) / Story: The First Time I Said F*ck – Announcing a new LEP competition which everyone is welcome to enter, plus an anecdote about the first time I said a rude word in front of my parents.
680. Park Life – A Year in The Wildlife Of An Urban Park (by Rick Thompson) / Animal Collective Nouns – My dad has written a book and it’s all about the wildlife you can find in an urban English park. He’s on the podcast to tell us all about it, and there are some collective nouns for animals too, plus some bonus stand up comedy at the end.
679. Gill’s Book Club: A Gentleman In Moscow – Talking to my mum again about her latest book recommendation. A Gentleman In Moscow is about a Russian Count who is put under house arrest in 1922 in the beautiful Metropol Hotel in Moscow.
678. The Vintage Furniture Trade in London (with Howard Roach) – Talking to my old teaching colleague Howard Roach about his furniture business in South London.
677. A Post-Holiday Ramble / Holiday Vocab / Stories – I’ve come back from my holiday so it’s time to ramble on about some holiday stories, holiday vocabulary, podcast stats and other bits and pieces including an appearance by my daughter.
676. David Crystal: Let’s Talk – How English Conversation Works – Professor David Crystal returns to talk about his latest books, and more. The first book is all about the art of conversation in English, and the second one is a spy thriller inspired by real events. David Crystal is one of the world’s leading linguists and an expert on the English language.
675. An Unplanned Pre-Holiday Ramble (July 2020) – This episode is unedited and contains all my pauses, mistakes and thoughts while I attempt to talk about what’s coming up on LEP, my recent appearances on other people’s podcasts, comments and emails of the week and a couple of songs on the guitar.
674. 19 Amusing Insurance Claims / Car Crash Vocabulary – Listen to some funny extracts from genuine insurance claims and learn some vocabulary to describe car crashes and driving (badly).
673. Conspiracies / UFOs / Life Hacks (with James) – Talking to my brother about some click-bait topics, with stories, beliefs and a few celebrity impressions. Links, transcripts and videos available.
672. The Rick Thompson Report: COVID / BREXIT / BLM (July 2020) – Talking to my dad about recent developments in the UK relating to coronavirus & Brexit with a cameo appearance by Gill Thompson talking about statues.
671. Aussie English with Pete Smissen – A conversation with genuine Aussie Pete Smissen, about differences and similarities between the UK and Australia, cultural and historical details, language similarities, and more. Check YouTube for the video version.
670. Language Learning with James Harris – Talking to writer and comedian James Harris about life as a writer, going to Oxford Uni, being an international Brit and learning German, French and Chinese as an adult.
669. How to Learn English – Giving you as much advice as possible about learning English across the four skills of reading, listening, writing and speaking. Full transcript available.
668. LEP LIVE! Ask Me Anything / Hang Out With Luke (AUDIO VERSION) – Listen to the audio version of the recent LEP Live Stream on YouTube including an audience Q&A, learning English tips, some crap ‘Dad Jokes’ and 3 songs on the guitar.
667. Four Way Call (with Alex, Moz & Paul) – A lockdown Zoom call with my friends Alex, Paul and Moz which should be a fun but challenging listening exercise. Intro & ending transcripts available.
Announcement: I’m doing a YouTube Live Stream on Wednesday 10 June at 3PM CET – Here are the details of my next YouTube live stream on Weds 10 June 2020 at 3PM CET. Also, listen to the audio from last Wednesday’s unplanned live stream.
666. [Part 3] Favourite Scary Films (with James) – James and Luke talk about some of their favourite scary films, and more. This is the 3rd and final part of episode 666.
666. [Part 2] Frightening Experiences (with James) – James and I share some stories of genuinely scary and disturbing experiences which we’ve had in our lives.
666. [Part 1] The Number of the Beast / Scary Music / Black Sabbath (with James) – Talking to my brother James about the significance of the number 666, and then some scary music including ‘The Devil’s Interval’, Black Sabbath and more…
665. A Chinwag with Sebastian Marx / 18+ British slang phrases that Americans don’t understand – Chatting to Sebastian Marx from New York and testing his knowledge of British English slang phrases. Slang vocabulary list available.
664. Lockdown Ramble with My Wife – Chatting to my wife late one evening last week about what it’s like to be with an English guy, raising our daughter to be bilingual and more…
663. The Lockdown Lying Game with Amber & Paul – Listen to three more stories told by Amber, Paul and Luke – can you guess if they are true or lies?
662. Catching Up with Amber & Paul #10 (Surviving Lockdown with Kids) – Chatting to Amber Minogue & Paul Taylor about dealing with confinement at home with children, the birth of Amber’s baby, tongue twisters, weird children’s TV series and more.
661. An Englishman in Los Angeles (with Oli) – Talking to my cousin Oliver about moving to Los Angeles, working as a TV producer and how his American colleagues react to his British English.
660. Using TV Series & Films to Improve Your English – Lots of practical advice and comments about how you can use films and TV series to work on your English. This episode is a recap of some advice in episode 523 with Cara Leopold. Transcript available.
659. Lockdown Chat with Cara Leopold – Chatting to Cara Leopold about living in self isolation, the global coronavirus lockdown and how you can work on your English at home using TV shows and films.
658. [2/2] Why do Brits sing with American accents? – This is part 2 of a double episode exploring the question of why British people often change their accent when they sing. This episode contains more examples, including some (dodgy) singing from me in order to hear how it sounds when different songs are sung in different accents. Notes, lyrics and transcriptions available.
657. [1/2] Why do Brits sing with American accents? – Have you ever wondered why British people sometimes change their accent when they sing? This episode explores the question of why this happens, with various examples and some (dodgy) singing by me. Notes, videos and transcripts available.
656. British Comedy: Karl Pilkington’s Monkey News / The Ricky Gervais Show – Listen to a funny story told in a Manchester accent, and learn various bits of English in the process including vocabulary and pronunciation. Improve your understanding of regional British accents. Story transcript & vocabulary notes available.
655. Coping with Isolation / Describing Feelings and Emotions – Vocabulary & Experiences – A vocabulary episode with lots of phrases for describing the experience of living in self-isolation. It also includes a bit of a ramble about the situation in the UK, my personal experiences of living in Paris during the lockdown and a song at the end. Vocabulary list & notes available.
654. Computer-based IELTS / Stories about The First Time… (with Jessica Beck from IELTS Energy Podcast) – A chat with Jessica Beck from the IELTS Energy Podcast about the new computer-based IELTS test, plus some funny stories about doing things for the first time, motivation in language learning, dealing with the stress of public speaking and seeing “The Fonz” on a ski slope.
653. Gill’s Book Club – “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold / How to read books to improve your English – Talking to my mum about a good book she read recently; a social history about 5 women who had one thing in common – they were all murdered by Jack The Ripper in 1888. Also includes some advice and comments about reading books to learn English.
652. The Rick Thompson Report: Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Talking to my dad about what’s happening in the UK at the moment, how serious this pandemic is, what the consequences might be and how the UK’s government is responding to it.
651. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vocabulary – Explaining key vocabulary about the coronavirus (COVID-19) to help you talk about this global pandemic in English.
650. British Music: Jungle (with James) – An in-depth episode all about an innovative British form of dance music from the 90s: Jungle (aka Drum & Bass). Includes discussion with James about the origins of the music, how it sounds, its position in UK culture and a few anecdotes too. Notes & music playlists available on the website.
649. An Unedited Ramble (March 2020) Never Explain, Never Apologise? / No Stress / Method To The Madness / 3 Songs on Guitar – Luke talks on his own without stopping, restarting or editing, including responses to comments about recent episodes, thoughts on the methodology behind this podcast, some vocabulary teaching, a few songs on the guitar and more.
648. Ian Moore Returns – Talking again to comedian Ian Moore about favourite films, a trip to New York, British & American audiences, how to iron a shirt, and funny stories about taking the language test to qualify for French citizenship.
647. British Comedy: Alan Partridge (Part 6) – The final part in this little series following Alan Partridge through a day in his life, and breaking it down for language. Alan is not for everyone, but I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and learned some English from it.
646. British Comedy: Alan Partridge (Part 5) – What did Alan do on Valentine’s Day? Listen to find out, as we break down some more clips of this award-winning comedy and use them to learn English.
645. British Comedy: Alan Partridge (Part 4) – Listening to some more classic British comedy and dissecting it for language. This time we’re listening to some more clips of Alan Partridge, a comedy character played by Steve Coogan. This is part 4 of a series I started in 2018.
644. The Rick Thompson Report: Is Brexit Done? – Talking to my dad about the latest in the Brexit saga including the general election result, Brexit day on 31 January 2020 and the latest government shenanigans by PM Boris Johnson and co.
643. The Intercultural Communication Dance with Sherwood Fleming – Talking to Sherwood Fleming, author of “Dance of Opinions” about intercultural communication, including common problems and the solutions to help us learn to communicate more effectively across cultures.
642. The Lying Game Returns (with Amber & Paul) – This should make you laugh out loud on the bus – it’s the return of the Lying Game with Amber & Paul. Listen to our 3 stories. Do you think they are true, or lies?
641. Catching Up with Amber & Paul #9 – The pod-pals are back on the podcast and it’s time for the usual catching up session in which we talk about how very-pregnant Amber has moved to the suburbs of Paris, the difference between a terrace, veranda, porch and conservatory, the difference between a cave and a basement, Paul’s showbiz news, the ongoing joys and more.
640. IELTS Speaking Success with Keith O’Hare – Talking to IELTS speaking coach Keith O’Hare about how to get your best score in the IELTS speaking test, plus some chat about the right approach to learning English.
639. 3 Quintessentially British Books (that you might not know about) with Mum – Talking to my mum about some examples of quintessentially British things, in this case it’s 3 British books that she particularly likes.
638. 3 Quintessentially British Things (that you might not know about) with Dad – Dad picks his 3 British things to talk about in this episode which covers things like ancient history, British northern landscapes and the canal system which built the industrial revolution and changed Britain forever.
637. 5 Quintessentially English Things (that you might not know about) with James – Talking with James about 5 typically English things, including conversation about pop culture, writers, TV shows, British humour and more…
636. James & Luke Discuss Star Wars IX (SPOILERS) Final Star Wars Episode Ever? – James and Luke ramble about Star Wars IX one more time. This episode is full of little jokes, sketches, voices and full spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker.
635. A New Year Ramble for 2020 (Part 2) Motivation / New Year’s Rules / Bilingual Daughter / Neil Innes – Luke rambles some more at the start of 2020 about new year’s resolutions, holiday stories, raising his daughter to be bilingual and a tribute to Neil Innes (with a song or two). Notes available.
634. A New Year Ramble for 2020 (Part 1) – Luke wishes you a Happy New year and rambles about recent podcast statistics, new year in the UK, welcoming new listeners to the podcast, and some stories about travelling to the UK with a toddler by plane. Transcript available.
633. Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker (SPOILER REVIEW) – I’ve seen The Rise of Skywalker – here are my comments and thoughts. Please be aware that this episode is full of SPOILERS!
632. Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker (No Spoilers!) – A new Film Club episode in which Luke rambles about Star Wars IX, including various speculations and theories. NO SPOILERS. Transcript/Notes available.
631. 29 Awful Christmas Jokes, Explained – The annual Christmas episode of LEP is here! Explaining 29 truly awful jokes that you might get in a Christmas cracker this year. Enjoy! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
630. The English Guy with a Sitcom on Japanese TV (with BJ Fox) – A conversation with English comedian BJ Fox, who performs stand-up in Japan and has his own TV show on NHK. Our conversation includes the story of how BJ managed to pitch the show to Japanese producers, how he learnt Japanese to a proficient level, doing stand-up in a different culture and much more.
629. Do you ever … ? (with James) Strange Habits & Funny Observations – A funny conversation about strange habits that we don’t often talk about, with my brother James. Notes & scripts available.
628. OASIS (with James) – A conversation with James about the English rock band Oasis, including details about their story, music, lyrics and the sibling rivalry between Noel and Liam Gallagher. Notes & videos available.
627. Emina’s Long Journey to English Proficiency – My friend Emina Tuzovic has learned English to a proficient level as a non-native speaker of the language. She says it has been “a long journey”. Let’s find out all about that journey of English learning in this conversation, recorded in London just a couple of days ago.
626. The Rick Thompson Report: Boris Johnson’s Brexit Deal / General Election / Football – An update from my dad about Brexit, including details about Boris Johnson’s deal, the shutting down of Parliament, the upcoming general election and more. Includes some chat about Premiership football at the end.
625. 88 English expressions that will confuse everyone (Part 2) – Let’s continue going through this list of words from an article I found in The Independent. Here is another list of 30 items of British English slang. Notes and links available.
624. 88 English expressions that will confuse everyone (Part 1) – An episode about British English slang and culture, featuring expressions that Brits know but everyone else finds confusing. Here are the first 30 expressions in a list of 88 that I found on independent.co.uk. Includes plenty of funny improvised examples to make you laugh out loud on the bus. Word list available.
623. 13 Terrible Jokes, Explained – Actually, it’s 17 jokes, including some simple one-liners and a few longer story-based jokes for you to remember and practise telling yourself. Listen to Luke read out and explain some pretty awful but enjoyable word puns and shaggy dog stories, and learn some English in the process. All jokes listed on the page for the episode.
622. General Ramble (Oct 2019) Learning English / Politics / Recording Setup / Book Recommendation / Beatles / Star Wars / Bill Bailey – Rambling on my own about all sorts of things including Brexit news, describing my recording setup and microphones, a book recommendation for you, comments about the Beatles Abbey Road 50th Anniversary, the latest Star Wars Episode 9 trailer and Bill Bailey dissecting music in a brilliant way.
621. British TV: Dragons’ Den (Part 3) Discord in the Den – One more episode about this TV series involving entrepreneurs getting investment for their business startups. In this one there’s plenty of disagreement and some strong feedback from the Dragons.
620. British TV: Dragons’ Den (Part 2) Negotiation – Listen to a real business negotiation and learn loads of English in the process. Vocabulary, scripts and notes available.
619. British TV: Dragons’ Den (Part 1) Vocabulary – Learn tons of business vocabulary in context in this episode all about a TV show about entrepreneurs negotiating investment for their business startups. Notes & scripts available.
618. The Climate Crisis Explained in 10 Charts (with Cara Leopold) – A conversation with Cara Leopold about the climate crisis including descriptions of key charts, graphs and data. Notes and transcripts available.
617. Sales and Advertising (with Paul Taylor) – A language-focused episode looking at words and phrases that you often see and hear in advertising and sales situations. Also includes discussion of sales techniques, Apple’s sales and marketing strategy and also a classic bit of stand-up by the late great George Carlin. All vocabulary is listed on the page.
616. Can you find the 15 idioms? (with Paul Taylor) – Listen to Luke and Paul play a conversation game and try to spot 15 common idioms. All idioms are demonstrated, explained and listed on the website.
615. Paul Taylor Became a Dad, and you won’t believe what happened next – Find out about Paul Taylor’s life now that he’s the father of a newborn baby.
614. Another Murder Mystery Detective Story (Part 3) – Here’s the conclusion of this online murder mystery text adventure game. Vocabulary is reviewed at the end. Video available for premium subscribers.
613. Another Murder Mystery Detective Story (Part 2) – Join Luke as we continue to work through this mystery story following a serial killer through the streets of Victorian London. Read the story and play the text adventure game as you listen. Video available for premium subscribers.
612. Another Murder Mystery Detective Story (Part 1) – Listen to Luke investigating a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ detective story and read along if you like! Learn English in fun ways with stories on Luke’s English Podcast. Video available for premium subscribers.
611. Top 10 Jokes from Edinburgh Fringe 2019 – Listen to 10 jokes from this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy shows. Understand the jokes and listen to Luke break them down to help you learn more English.
610. British Comedy: James Acaster – Listen to a bit of stand up comedy that will require quite a lot of breaking down in order for you to understand all the jokes like a native speaker, but there’s lots to learn in the way of language and culture in the process.
609. The LEP MeetUp in London / Brexit / Talking to my Daughter – Here’s an end-of-summer ramble, including details of what happened at the LEP meetup in London in July and some recordings of LEPsters who attended the event. There’s also talk of Brexit and some interviews with my daughter who is beginning to speak.
608. The Mass Observation (with Mum) – Listen to my mum talk about a social history project focusing on the lives of everyday people in the UK. Includes discussion of things like protests, plastic, identity, sex education, loneliness, and milk!
607. The Rick Thompson Report: Boris Johnson PM / No Deal Brexit? – Talking to my dad again about Brexit, this time including our thoughts on Boris Johnson as the new Prime Minister and the possibility of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October.
606. The English Seaside (with James) – Explaining and describing the culture of the English seaside experience, with James.
605. Unexpected Road Trip (with James) – James and Luke go on an accidental road trip in the south-west of England and record a rambling podcast, while slowly going a bit mad. Will they make it to their destination before sunset? Listen to find out what happens and to learn some words and culture in the process.
604. London Native Speaker Interviews REVISITED Part 2 – Listening to the audio from another old YouTube video of mine, and then exploring it for new vocabulary and English learning opportunities.
603. Queen / Freddie Mercury / Bohemian Rhapsody – A conversation with Queen fan Alex Love about one of the UK’s most famous and iconic bands. This episode has been requested many times by listeners, so finally – here it is!
602. British Comedy: The Day Today (Part 2) – The Day Today is an award-winning parody of news and current affairs TV programmes. Let’s listen to some more clips, understand the humour and learn some English in the process. Notes & videos available.
601. British Comedy: The Day Today (Part 1) – Let’s investigate a brilliant British comedy TV show and use it to learn English. The Day Today was originally broadcast on the BBC in the mid-90s and is now considered a groundbreaking parody of news programmes and launched the careers of various comedians, including Steve Coogan. Notes & videos available.
Quick Hello / OPP / Living Through Comedy / Somewhere Else Dreamin’ – Just a quick “hello” to let you know about some other things you could listen to this month, including my appearances on some other people’s podcasts.
600. Episode 600 YouTube Livestream – Ask Me Anything – Here is the video and audio from Friday’s YouTube livestream for episode 600 of LEP. Enjoy!
599. Oliver Gee Returns with Stories to Tell – Australian journalist and podcaster Oliver Gee returns to LEP to tell us some stories about the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, meeting famous comedians as a journalist, learning Swedish and French and his honeymoon tour of France on a 50cc Vespa scooter.
598. The Rick Thompson Report: EU Elections / Theresa May / Brexit / Football – Talking to my dad about the EU election results, Theresa May resigning as Prime Minister, Brexit and English football teams in Europe. Notes, transcripts and videos available.
Hello! Here are the details of the Episode 600 YouTube live stream – The Episode 600 YouTube Live Stream will be on 7 June at 3PM Paris time. Links and details available (and a transcript).
597. Growing Up / Getting Older / Becoming a Father (with Paul Taylor) – In this conversation Paul and I get a bit deep & meaningful and talk about where Paul is in his life at this point, including our thoughts about becoming a father, getting older and growing up.
596. SLEEP with Amber & Paul – All about the subject of SLEEP, with Amber & Paul. Listen to hear us comparing our sleeping habits, talking about insomnia, sleepwalking, talking in your sleep, snoring, falling asleep on public transport, snoring cats, Paul learning Arabic in his sleep and more, including some slightly disgusting stories, which is nice!
595. Andy Johnson Returns (Part 2) Eating / TV Series / Football / Music – Asking Andy questions from a speaking task in the English File Intermediate course book and chatting about eating habits, TV series, Liverpool & Tottenham in the European Champions’ League and music we’ve been listening to recently including some stories about Steely Dan and The Beatles. Intro & ending transcripts + videos available.
594. Andy Johnson Returns (Part 1) Moving House / London vs Canterbury / English Teaching –Chatting to friend of the podcast Andy Johnson about moving house, comparisons between London and Canterbury and different approaches to teaching English. Intro & outtro transcripts available.
593. Going through pages in an old diary – Listen to me reading out some pages from a diary which I wrote when I was 16 years old. Join me as I take a trip down memory lane and find out what I was doing, thinking and feeling 25 years ago. Some language is explained along the way. Vocabulary notes, song lyrics and videos available.
592. It always seems impossible until it’s done – An unedited ramble about motivation for language learning, dealing with challenges, getting started on a task, getting work done and my process for making episodes of the podcast. There’s also some news, some OPP and a couple of songs on the guitar at the end. Vocabulary notes, links, videos and song lyrics available.
591. London Native Speaker Interviews REVISITED (Part 1) – Revisiting a video I made for YouTube in 2009 and teaching you some descriptive and idiomatic vocabulary in the process. Transcripts and video available.
590. [2/2] Film Club: Avengers Endgame / Marvel Cinematic Universe (with Fred Eyangoh) – Here’s part 2 of this film club episode, including the rest of my chat with Fred Eyangoh and then a monologue from me. This one contains predictions for Avengers Endgame, the future of Marvel Studios and some other film franchises including Star Wars. No spoilers given! Notes, scripts and videos available.
589. Film Club: Avengers Endgame / Marvel Cinematic Universe (with Fred Eyangoh) – Part 1 of a big ramble about Avengers Endgame, Marvel Studios and comic book movies in general with my friend, comedian Fred Eyangoh. No spoilers! Part 2 coming soon…
588. Punctuation Rules / Book Review (Part 2) Apostrophe, Full Stop, Comma – Part 2 of my episode about punctuation. This one covers punctuation rules for apostrophe, full stop and comma. Also you can hear the rest of my book review of Punctuation..? by User Design. Transcript available.
587. Punctuation Rules / Book Review (Part 1) – This episode is about the importance of punctuation in writing. I’ll teach you the names of various punctuation symbols and review a cool punctuation reference book that someone sent me recently, and yes I do think it is possible to have a cool book about punctuation! Transcript available.
It’s LEP’s 10th Birthday! – 10 years ago to this day I published the first episode of LEP. 10 years later I can now say that I’m making a living from doing what I love. Thank you for listening and making my podcast what it is today!
586. The Importance of Listening – Recently I was reading a book about listening and learning English. This episode is a summary of what I read, including details of how listening fits in with learning English, some considerations of the importance of listening and also some tips for how to improve your English with audio.
585. Alternative British Citizenship Tests with Paul Taylor – Testing Paul Taylor again on his knowledge of Britishness with several alternative British citizenship tests and some very British problems.
584. Posh or not posh? (Part 3) with Amber & Paul – Amber & Paul join me to talk again about poshness, posh accents and posh celebrities. This episode is full of different British accents – posh, RP and regional differences, and lots of laughs!
583. British Comedy: The Dirty Fork / Restaurant Sketch (Monty Python) – Analysing the English in a sketch by Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and considering British communication style relating to apologising, making complaints and minimising language.
582. Posh or not posh? (Part 2) Guess the Posh British Celebrities – Can you identify which UK celebrities are posh and which are not? Let’s listen to some British celebrities speaking, check their Wikipedia pages and work out of these people are truly posh or not. You’ll hear samples of lots of spoken English in this episode and we’ll focus on accent and pronunciation.
581. Posh or not posh? (Part 1) Understanding Posh People and Posh Accents – Everything you always wanted to know about posh people, but were afraid to ask. This episode is all about poshness in people, posh accents and what it really means to be posh.
580. Ramble / Listener Comments / Robots / Vampires / Two Taps in the Bathroom – A rambling episode with responses to listener comments, LEPster meetups, English Robot 3000 & 5000, vampires leaving comments on my website and the continuing mystery of two taps in the bathroom.
579. [2/2] IELTS Q&A with Ben Worthington from IELTS Podcast – More conversation with Ben Worthington from IELTSPodcast.com, talking about English skills and exam skills, considering the whole approach and mindset that you need to succeed in IELTS. Includes questions from listeners.
578. [1/2] IELTS Q&A with Ben Worthington from IELTS Podcast – A conversation with IELTS teacher Ben Worthington about the IELTS test, with advice for getting your best score in speaking, writing, reading and listening. Includes questions from listeners. Part 1 of 2.
577. UK vs US Slang Game (with Jennifer from English Across the Pond) – In this episode I’m joined by Jennifer – a podcaster from the USA, and we test each other on our knowledge of slang from our countries. Listen and learn some informal words from British and American English. Notes & definitions available.
[Website post] I was on the Rock & Roll English Podcast again / New Premium episodes coming throughout February – Dear website visitors and email subscribers, This is not another new episode of the podcast. It’s just a newsy message from me to you, but I do have some audio to share… Click the link to read this post and listen to the audio.
576. Talking about Comedy, Books, Films & Music with James – My brother James is back on the podcast for a 90min+ mega-ramble about things like: taking sick days from work, snowboarding, doing stand-up for the first time, the new film about Laurel & Hardy, Steve Coogan / Alan Partridge, The Beastie Boys and making mix tapes on cassettes in the 1990s.
575. British Comedy: Paul Chowdhry – Understand a stand-up comedy routine by Paul Chowdhry, a British comedian of Indian descent. We’ll break down his comedy bit by bit, understand each line and learn some English in the process.
574. [2/2] The Rick Thompson Report: Brexit Q&A (January 2019) – My dad answers some questions from listeners about Brexit.
573. [1/2] The Rick Thompson Report: Brexit Update (January 2019) – Part 1 of a double episode of the Rick Thompson Report, talking to my dad about the latest developments in the shambolic Brexit story.
572. Worst Stand-up Gig Experiences (with Amber & Paul) – Amber, Paul and Luke tell some stories of their worst ever stand-up comedy gigs. Expect some anecdotes about embarrassing and humiliating experiences on stage, and “dying on your arse”. Intro & outtro transcripts available + bonus audio in the LEP app.
571. Bill Burr’s Hilarious Plane Story – Enjoy Comedy/Storytelling in English – Understand a funny anecdote by comedian Bill Burr. In this episode we’re going to do some intensive listening practice using the true story of a bizarre encounter with a man on a plane. Look out for language for travelling by plane, some American English and A LOT of swearing, particularly the F word.
570. Learning & Teaching English with Zdenek Lukas (Part 2) – Part 2 of my chat with Zdenek from the Czech Republic. In this one we talk about becoming an English teacher, taking the infamous DELTA teaching course, Zdenek’s podcast and board game, and some long-lost (and embarrassing) comedy YouTube videos I made in the pre-podcast days. Intro & outro transcripts available.
569. Learning & Teaching English with Zdenek Lukas (Part 1) – Talking to English teacher & podcaster Zdenek Lukas from the Czech Republic about various things, including how he learned English to a high level by working on a building site in East London with a team of cockneys who couldn’t pronounce his name properly. Intro & outro transcripts available.
568. What is Luke’s English Podcast, and how can it help you with your English? – What are the aims & objectives for this podcast? How can you use it to improve your English? This episode is an introduction for new listeners and a reminder for long-term listeners: This is a podcast all about learning English through listening, while having some fun in the process. Transcript available.
567. Alternative Christmas Stories & Poems / Beatles / Happy New Year from LEP! – This is the last episode of LEP before the end of 2018. It’s Christmas and New Years Eve is approaching, so it’s time for the traditional Christmas episode of LEP! In this one I’m going to read some Christmas stories and a couple of poems which are a bit different to the normal stuff you get at this time of year. Also, keep listening for a funny appearance by The Beatles. Transcript & notes available.
566. The Collins Words of the Year (Part 6) 2018 with Amber Minogue – The final part of this series about trending words and issues in 2018, this time with friend of the podcast Amber Minogue. Join us as we talk about jogging, picking up litter, bird watching, VAR & football, veganism, ethnic diversity in Hollywood and more. Notes available.
565. The Collins Words of the Year (Part 5) 2018 with Amber Minogue – Talking to my friend Amber about some trending vocabulary and hot topics from 2018, like plastic pollution, dance crazes and the Brexit backstop. Includes discussion, language explanations, David Attenborough impressions and more. Notes available.
564. The Collins Words of the Year (Part 4) – More trending vocabulary and issues of the moment, this time focusing on topics like working conditions in the gig economy, the pros and cons of instagram and a true story about a unicorn riding a bike in London. Transcript available.
563. The Collins Words of the Year (Part 3) – More vocabulary explanations & discussion of big issues, including how social media affects our worldview, the pros and cons of fidget spinners and debates about gender identity, including thoughts on the new female Doctor in Doctor Who. Transcript available.
562. The Collins Words of the Year (Part 2) – Vocabulary explanations and discussions of hot topics from the last couple of years. Talking about some controversial political stuff like the rise of fascism and anti-fascism, the relative popularity of UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, and how the winter season changes people’s feelings about romance and relationships. Transcript available.
561. The Collins Words of the Year (Part 1) – The first part of an episode series about trending vocabulary – words which have been used a lot in the last couple of years. Listen to me talk about words chosen by Collins Dictionaries as their “Words of the Year”. This first episode focuses on how publishers use big data and then lots of discussion about the 2017 word of the year, which was fake news. Transcript available.
560. Sarah Donnelly Returns – Writing jokes, public speaking, doing comedy in another language – Talking to comedian Sarah Donnelly about how she writes her material, advice on speaking in front of an audience and how to avoid negative feelings, performing stand-up comedy in another language, and more. Sarah is a comedian and language teacher from the US, now living in France.
559. The Rick Thompson Report: Brexit Chaos (November 2018) – Talking to my dad, Rick Thompson about recent developments in the story of Brexit – Britain’s exit from the European Union. Recorded on 18 November 2018.
558. Rambling in the new Sky-Pod – Another solo episode, recorded in the new sky-pod. Talking about moving to the new flat, some podcast news, meeting Louis CK, WW1 remembrance, rock climbing and more… Some vocabulary is explained during the episode.
A Letter from Luke – 9 Nov. 2018 – No episodes for a little while – I’ve got limited internet access. This is not an audio or video episode – it’s a letter from me to you.
557. I’m a Rambling Guy (Monologue – Autumn 2018) – A rambling monologue about my recent French test, a duck-related error, responses to the Alan Partridge episodes and the Russian comedy club video, moving out of the sky-pod, and life with my wife and daughter. A video version of this episode is available for Premium subscribers in the LEP app and online. www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium Audio available on 1 November.
556. With Jessica Beck from Honestly English – Talking to English teacher Jessica Beck about her new website, “Honestly English” and some typical topics she talks about and teaches, including the #MeToo movement and our favourite female superheroes and comedians. Videos and links available.
555. Raphael Miller’s Summer School Report – Raphael Miller (previously heard in episode 522) is back on the podcast to tell us about his experience of running a summer school for international teenagers in Liverpool.
554. ODD NEWS STORIES (with Mum & Dad) – Discussing some strange and funny news stories with my parents. Thanks to my Mum & Dad for their contribution to this episode. Transcripts, news stories and notes available.
553. Fighting Wildland Fires with Benny the Russian Firefighter – Talking to firefighter Anton Beneslavsky (aka “Benny”) who works as the leader of an international fire fighting project. We talk about becoming a firefighter, the work that he’s doing with Greenpeace around the world and the very serious threat of climate change.
552. Discussing Comedy & Culture (with Amber & Paul) – Amber, Paul and I listen to a comedy video which is often sent to me by listeners to this podcast. The video is about the experience of trying to understand people when they speak English. Let’s see what the pod-pals think of this comedy from another country. The conversation then turns to comedy, culture, language and some more Alan Partridge. I read out some listener comments at the end of the episode. Notes, transcripts and links available.
551. Catching Up with Amber & Paul #8 – Stereotypes – Chatting to the pod-pals Amber & Paul again and this time the conversation turns to the subject of national stereotypes, and why Paul has bleached his hair blond. Notes & transcripts available.
550. British Comedy: Alan Partridge (Part 3) – The final part of a trilogy of British Comedy episodes about Alan Partridge. This time we’re analysing some of the quieter and darker moments in Alan’s life as he rambles about flasks, cars, seat belts, badges and having an air bag explode in your face. Expect analysis of both the comedy and the language. Vocabulary lists and transcript available.
549. British Comedy: Alan Partridge (Part 2) – Building on the previous episode, this time we’re looking at how Alan Partridge interacts with people in his every day life and how this results in some classic moments of British TV comedy. All the material is explained with plenty of vocabulary to learn. Check the page for notes and transcripts.
548. British Comedy: Alan Partridge (Part 1) – Continuing the comedy theme by analysing a character that most British people know but learners of English find difficult to understand. Check the page for transcripts, notes and videos.
547. Best Jokes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – Studying some jokes told by stand-up comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe comedy festival, and dissecting them for vocabulary. Learn English with some jokes and find out about typical joke structures used by stand-up comedians. Transcripts and jokes available.
546. Death by Meteor – This episode is called Death By Meteor and it’s all about asteroids, space, science, maths, astrophysics and the end of the world! Transcript available.
545. The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl (Short Story) – Learn English with this short story by British writer Roald Dahl. Intro transcript and story script available.
544. The Rick Thompson Report: No Deal Brexit – Talking to my dad about the current Brexit situation, including what could actually happen in the UK if we leave the EU with no deal. Expect language relating to politics, economics and the big issues of the day. Intro and outtro transcripts available.
543. Britain’s First Insect Restaurant Opens – Talking about the creepy subject of eating insects, which might be the solution to many of the problems that humans face as a species. This episode includes discussion of eating habits, environmental issues and some insect-related idioms and expressions. Transcripts and vocabulary lists available. Bon appetit!
542. Talking Rubbish & Just Having Fun with The Thompsons – Talking to my dad, mum and brother about all manner of topics, including: Space, climbing mountains, British comedy, fishing, earworms, tattoos, David Beckham, jokes, citizenship tests, baby monkeys, ghosts and celebrity impressions. Intro and outtro transcripts available.
541. What British People Say vs What They Mean – Examining British communication style and debunking a few myths about how British people communicate. This episode is based on a famous infographic called “What British People Say vs What They Really Mean” or “The Anglo-EU Translation Guide”. It contains lots of thoughts about how direct and indirect cultures communicate with each other, and some samples of business English, with a few improvised scenarios too! Transcript available.
540. What’s Up? Post World Cup / News / LEP Meetup London / Super Mario Earworms –Giving some news, summing up the World Cup, England out, France win, and some chat about music that gets stuck in your head. Get some English stuck in your head with this episode. Transcript available!
539. World Cup 2018 [3] Is It Coming Home? In this one I’m in England talking to my Dad and my brother about the world cup including England’s performances, penalties, World Cup songs, diving, VAR and predictions for the semi finals.
538. World Cup 2018 [2] The Second Round / Listener Comments – Talking about the second round of the World Cup in Russia, including comments about the teams, the games, the issues, England’s penalties vs Colombia and the way football commentators speak. Listener comments are read out. Notes available.
537. How Olly Richards Learns a Language (Part 2) Intermediate Plateau / The Magic of Story / Pronunciation & Personality / Classroom vs Self-Guided Learning – The rest of my conversation with polyglot Olly Richards.
536. How Olly Richards Learns a Language (Part 1) Compelling Material / Input-based Learning – Talking to polyglot Olly Richards about the benefits of listening, reading and using stories to learn English. Full of insights and strategies for effective language learning. Transcripts and notes available.
535. World Cup 2018 [1] – Talking about the World Cup 2018 in Russia, including comments about the teams, players, groups, VAR and England’s performances. Notes & transcripts available.
LEP PREMIUM is now live – teacherluke.co.uk/premium – LEP PREMIUM announcement. www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium This is an announcement to let you know that LEP Premium is now ready to go. If you want to superpower your English into the 9th dimension, then you can get started by signing up for LEP Premium at www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
534. Sugar Sammy Interview (Part 2) Language & Comedy – Part 2 of my chat with hilarious Canadian stand-up comedian Sugar Sammy, talking about his 4 languages, TV shows from our childhood, copying Indian accents, language-related controversy in Quebec, Sammy’s crowd-work skills, stories of difficult gigs in the UK, and our thoughts on recent Star Wars films. At the end of the episode you can hear my spoiler-free review of “Solo: A Star Wars Story”.Transcriptions and notes available.
533. Sugar Sammy Interview (Part 1) Multilingual Comedian – Sugar Sammy is a very popular and famous comedian from Canada. He’s often described as Montreal’s #1 stand up comedian. He speaks 4 languages, he has performed comedy in lots of countries. He might be coming to your country soon to make you laugh. Ladies and gentlemen – meet the wonderful Sugar Sammy! Intro transcript available.
532. A History of The World Cup – Here’s my history of The World Cup. It covers all the World Cups we’ve had since 1930, focusing on the key events with a few dodgy jokes along the way. You can read 99% of the transcript on the page for this episode.
531. Crime Vocabulary Quiz (with Moz) – Test yourself and learn various verbs and nouns related to crime. Features some amusing chat and anecdotes with Moz from the Murder Mile True Crime Podcast. Transcripts and vocabulary lists available.
530. More Murder Stories (with Moz) – My friend Moz (Michael J. Buchanan-Dunne) from the Murder Mile True Crime Podcast tells us some more true stories about murders from London’s past. Contains some gruesome details and explicit descriptions, and some fascinating and unbelievable true stories! Intro and outtro transcripts available.
529. The “M” Word (with Andy Johnson) – Friend of the podcast Andy Johnson returns to give us some news and tell some stories all related to things that begin with the letter “M”. Intro & outtro transcripts available.
528. The Royal Wedding (with Mum) – Talking to my mum about the royal wedding between Prince Harry & Meghan Markle. Describing the ceremony, the guests and the dress, and discussing the place of the monarchy in modern British life. Some transcriptions and vocabulary available.
527. Can Paul Taylor Pass The UK Citizenship Test? – Testing Paul Taylor’s knowledge of British life, history and culture and discussing the “Life in the UK” citizenship test. Practise listening to British English natural speech, learn facts about the UK and have a laugh as Paul gets angry about this test for people who want to become UK citizens. Will Paul actually pass the test? Listen to find out what happens. Transcriptions and notes available
526. Being a Tourist (with Paul Taylor) + Video – Catching up with Paul Taylor and talking about his recent trips to Japan & Barcelona, the pros and cons of being a tourist and some recommendations for people visiting London and Paris as tourists. Video available on the website and in the LEP app.
Please VOTE for LEP in the British Podcast Awards 2018 – Voting Ends on Thursday 17 May Help me build my pod-castle! Vote here: http://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote Click the link and search for “luke’s english podcast” Thank you to everyone who’s already voted. Fingers crossed! 🤞🤞🤞 🗳🇬🇧 Vocabulary in this Mini Episode listed on the page.
525. Ninja August / Podcast Corrections / Useful Japanese Cat (Listener Comments & Questions) – Responding to more comments and questions from listeners, including some rambling about public holidays in France, why May is like ‘ninja August’, some corrections to what I said about bats and Stephen Hawking on the podcast and the story of an amazing useful cat from Japan. Notes & transcriptions available.
524. Tricky Pronunciation Debates / “Either” “Neither” / Song + Comedy Sketch – Talking about words which can be pronounced several ways, words which are often pronounced incorrectly by native speakers and the debates, arguments and frustration that arises between native speakers as a result. Includes the “You Say Tomato…” song and the Grammar Nazi sketch, explained. Transcript & notes available.
523. Tips for Learning English with Films & TV Shows (with Cara Leopold) – Talking to a fellow English teacher about advice for using TV shows and films to learn English, both with and without subtitles. Notes & transcriptions available.
522. Learning English at Summer School in the UK (A Rambling Chat with Raphael Miller) –Talking to my ex-colleague Raphael Miller about his new summer school for teenagers as well as many other topics, including British social and communication culture, growing up in Liverpool, studying at Oxford University, the famous Star Wars actor Raphael knows and more… Transcriptions and Links Available.
521. Talking about Pets (with James) – Listen to this conversation to hear my brother and me remembering the pets we had as children and discussing some issues related to keeping animals as pets. Intro & Ending Transcripts available.
520. Idioms Game & Chat Part 2 (with Andy Johnson) + 18 More Idioms & Vocab Items Explained – The second part of my chat with Andy Johnson. Listen out for 18 more idioms which will be explained later. Topics include: Twitter abuse, the other Andy Johnson, training for the London Marathon + more. Transcripts and vocabulary definitions available.
519. Idioms Game & Chat (with Andy Johnson) + 25 Idioms Explained – A conversation with Andy Johnson including loads of idiomatic expressions and their explanations. First you can listen to a rambling chat with Andy and then I’ll explain 25 idioms that came up during the conversation. Part 2 coming soon… Transcriptions, Vocabulary list & Definitions available.
518. Grammar Questions (Part 1) Present Perfect Continuous / Future Continuous / Language of Newspaper Headlines – Answering grammar questions from listeners, with details about verb tenses (including present continuous vs present perfect continuous & future continuous vs going to) and the language of newspaper headlines. Includes references to The Queen, The Legend of Zelda and a lot of pizza. Transcriptions & grammar notes available below.
517. Professor Stephen Hawking (An Obituary) – I woke up this morning to the news that Stephen Hawking had died and I thought – I really must talk about this on the podcast. Vocabulary list available.
516. Paul McCartney’s Spider Story – Learn English from an anecdote told by Sir Paul McCartney. Includes intensive listening, a couple of Beatle stories with vocabulary and pronunciation explained and some funny McCartney impressions. Videos available.
515. Becoming “Maman” with Amber & Sarah – Bringing Up Children The French Way – In this episode I’m talking to friends of the podcast Amber Minogue and Sarah Donnelly about the subject of raising children in a foreign country – in this case, France. So this is an episode all about cross-cultural experiences, specifically relating to parenthood. It’s also about a new podcast and stage show which Amber & Sarah have just started. Transcriptions, notes and links available.
514. What’s on the table? (with Fred & Alex) – In this episode you can hear me chatting to Fred Eyangoh and Alex Quillien and discussing various topics including growing up in different countries, recognising different accents in English, religious backgrounds, movie re-boots, Arnold Shwartzenegger going “nyarrrgh” and more. Fred and Alex are both stand-up comedians living in Paris who perform in English.
513. General Ramble / News / Comments – A general ramble about things like: dishwasher sounds, online clickbait, updates to the LEP app, my recent appearances on some OPP (other people’s podcasts), LEPster meetups and some responses to recent comments on the website. Notes, links & videos available.
[Website-only] I was on the “Becoming Maman” podcast with Amber Minogue & Sarah Donnelly – I was interviewed on Amber & Sarah’s new podcast, called “Becoming Maman” and we talked about becoming a dad and raising bilingual children. You can listen to the interview here. Becoming Maman is a new podcast by Amber Minogue and Sarah Donnelly. It’s all about becoming a mum in France.
512. My Experiences of (not) Learning French [Part 2] Learning Language in a Classroom vs Learning On Your Own – Talking more about my experiences as a student of French, this time reading from notes I took during my French lessons (when I should have been focusing on the class!) and some considerations about learning a language in a classroom and learning on your own. Notes & transcript available.
511. My Experiences of (not) Learning French [Part 1] – Sharing my experiences of learning French (or not learning it). My French and Me – How I learned some French as a child and how I’m failing to learn it properly as an adult. Includes conclusions about language learning, immersion and the importance of motivation, habit and simply applying yourself. Notes & transcriptions available.
510. Philosophy Quiz (with Amber & Paul) – In this episode you can listen to Amber, Paul and me as we take an online quiz and try to find out what school of philosophical thought we belong to. Are we empiricists, epicurianists, existentialists, hedonists, humanists, platonists, skeptics or stoicists? Listen on to find out more and to hear a full-on discussion of life, the universe and everything!
509. What’s it all about? (Philosophy and Language Learning) – This episode is all about philosophy and how this applies to language learning. Listen to me describing 8 different ‘schools’ of philosophical thought while also considering how they relate to our approach to learning languages, and other ideas. Transcript available.
508. Six True Crime Stories from Victorian England, Told by My Dad – Learn English by listening to Rick Thompson tell some true stories of petty crimes committed in an English town in 1851. Notes and transcriptions available.
507. Learning English with UK Comedy TV Shows – Recommendations and descriptions of British comedy TV shows with some comments about how to use comedy TV shows to learn English. Transcript available.
506. One of Britain’s Favourite Poems – Listen to readings of “If—” by Rudyard Kipling, a popular poem from England. Includes analysis of the vocabulary and the themes in the poem and also a chance to enjoy the unique voice of Sir Michael Caine – with some funny impressions too. Transcript, vocabulary and videos available.
505. A Chat with Dad & James about Star Wars: The Last Jedi (with Vocabulary) – Here is the third and final part of this trilogy of episodes about the latest Star Wars film. In this one you’ll hear a conversation between my Dad, my brother and me that I recorded just after we’d seen the film a couple of weeks ago. Vocabulary explained in the episode and available on the page.
504. My Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Part 2) – Continuing to talk about the latest Star Wars film at length(!) – going through the storyline and giving my thoughts on the characters, events and the audience backlash. Transcript available.
503. My Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Part 1) – Talking about the new Star Wars film including the audience reaction, English accents you can hear in Star Wars, and a run-through of the plot with my thoughts about the events and characters. Plot spoilers throughout the episode! Transcript available.
502. The Birth of My Daughter – Talking about the birth of my baby daughter, including accounts of the main events and how it all felt. Listen carefully for descriptive vocabulary for describing emotions and feelings as well as the language of childbirth previously explained in episodes 491 and 492. Intro transcript available.
501. Merry Christmas! / Listener Correspondence – Wishing you a Merry Christmas, giving some news and responding to some messages from listeners about vocabulary lists, pronouncing “can’t” without sounding rude and more…
Observations on the Paris Metro… from Inside the Metro (Listen to my appearance on Oliver Gee’s podcast “The Earful Tower”) – Hello website LEPsters! Here is some more listening you can do while waiting for the next episode of LEP. I was recently invited onto The Earful Tower Podcast by Oliver Gee (remember him from episode 495?) We recorded an episode all about the Paris Metro while riding the Paris Metro. You can listen to it here.
500. EPISODE 500 CELEBRATION! (PARTS 1 & 2) – Celebrating 500 episodes of LEP with a mega-ramble featuring lots of messages from listeners, expressions of gratitude, a cool announcement for all my listeners, some singing, some talk of becoming a dad, the future of the podcast, Star Wars, and loads of fun and good times. Thank you for listening!
499. Prince Harry & Meghan Markle / Royal Family Quiz (with Amber) – Talking to Amber about the UK’s Royal Family, including our thoughts on the upcoming wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, some royal gossip & rumours, and also a Royal Family Quiz with questions about the monarchy today and in history. So, expect to hear our thoughts and some facts about this very traitional British institution. Notes available.
498. The Rick Thompson Report: Brexit Negotiations – Talking to my Dad about the current situation with the UK’s Brexit negotiations with the EU. Listen to hear explanations of what is going on with Brexit, how Northern Ireland is involved, what motivates Brexiters and some comments about other bits of international news – all delivered by my Dad with his clear and coherent English. Notes and transcriptions available.
497. Film Club: Withnail & I (with James and Will) – Talking about a classic British film which not many learners of English know about. Listen for explanations of the film, its appeal, descriptions of the characters and events, the type of people who like the film and a few bits of dialogue too. Notes and videos available.
496. RAMBLECAST – Rambling about life, learning English, Star Wars, screwing up paper into a ball and more…
495. Australian Stereotypes and Cliches (with Oliver Gee) ~didgeridoo sounds~ – Discussing stereotypes and clichés about Australia with podcaster Oliver Gee who comes from a land down under. Learn about Australian English, Aussie accent, Aussie slang and exactly what you should say whenever you meet a true blue Aussie, mate! Vocabulary list available.
494. Who Wants to be Good at English? (The Rematch) with Rick Thompson – Testing my Dad on his knowledge of English, using words that are frequently confused by native English speakers. Will my dad be able to identify the words, spell them and explain the differences? Listen to learn 20 words and phrases which native English speakers often get wrong. You will also hear Dad and me discussing topics such as catching a squirrel, what he would say to Donald Trump and Paul McCartney if he met them, stories of police drug busts at university, how my dad would deal with a zombie apocalypse, and which one is worse – Brexit or Yoko Ono’s ‘singing’? Vocabulary list with definitions and examples available.
493. Catching Up with Amber & Paul #7 (Human Pollution) – Amber and Paul are back on the podcast as we catch up with their recent news and the conversation goes off on many tangents covering subjects such as: pollution and fog in Paris, a possible new word – ‘pog’, other potential new words of the year, Harvey Weinstein, wanking in the office, ‘human pollution in the swimming pool’, Paul’s recent showbiz news, seeing The Rolling Stones on stage and a slightly worrying email from a LEPster. Includes a cameo appearance by young Hugo, saying his first words on the podcast.
492. Becoming a Dad (with Andy & Ben) Part 2 – The second part of this conversation with Andy Johnson and Ben Butler, and we talk about the moment of childbirth and take a quiz about becoming a father. Vocabulary is explained in the second part of the episode. Vocabulary list available.
491. Becoming a Dad (with Andy & Ben) Part 1 – A conversation and vocabulary lesson about childbirth and becoming a father, with Andy Johnson and Ben Butler from The London School of English. Listen to Andy and Ben talking about their experiences of becoming parents, how their babies were born and more. Vocabulary is explained in the second half of the episode. Vocabulary list available.
490. Discussing Friendship – with Martin and Dan The Man from Rock n’ Roll English (Friendship Phrasal Verbs) – In this episode of the podcast I am talking to Martin Johnston and his mate Dan The Man from the Rock n Roll English Podcast and we’re going to teach you some phrasal verbs and other expressions relating to friendship, while also putting their friendship to the test. Martin and Dan are lifelong friends. They know each other very well but they spend a lot of their time bickering and getting at each other. What’s going on in this friendship? Do they really like each other or not? Let’s find out in this episode and you can learn lots of vocabulary while we’re doing it. Vocabulary list and explanations available.
489. A Rambling Conversation with Mum (Part 2) + Vocabulary – Here’s part 2 of this conversation with my Mum in which you can hear us wittering on about the bookshop where Mum works, some of the books she’s read recently, and some of her podcast and film recommendations. Vocabulary is explained at the end, and there’s a vocabulary list with definitions available.
488. A Rambling Conversation with Mum (Part 1) + Vocabulary – A conversation with my (lovely) mum in which we generally witter on about a number of different things including some British history, ways of describing rain, different expressions for talking (like rambling and wittering), my mum’s accent, what she thinks of this podcast and some of her podcast recommendations. Vocabulary is explained after the conversation and there is a vocabulary list available below.
487. Learning Languages and Adapting to New Cultures (with Ethan from RealLife English) – A conversation about travelling and learning languages with Ethan from RealLife English. Ethan is very well-travelled, having lived in at least 6 different countries. He’s also learned a few different languages to a good level as an adult. Let’s talk about his advice for adapting to new cultures and learning languages in adulthood. Vocabulary notes and language test available.
485. & 486. Difficult Words to Pronounce in English (with Paul Taylor) (Parts 1 & 2) + video –This is a double episode with two audio episodes on one page, and it’s all about difficult pronunciation in English. Listen to Paul Taylor and me discussing the tricky relationship between spelling and pronunciation. There are lots of jokes, impressions, funny accents and useful comments about this important area of the English language. Use this episode to avoid some very common mistakes in English pronunciation, and try not to laugh on the bus while you’re listening! Check this episode page for word lists, transcriptions and my video of 40+ difficult words to pronounce in English.
484. Try not to Laugh on the Bus (with Paul Taylor) – A conversation with Paul Taylor involving several cups of tea, recipes for French crepes, our terrible rap skills, a funny old comedy song about English workmen drinking tea, some improvised comedy role plays and a very angry Paul ranting about bad customer service in France! Your challenge is to listen to this episode in public without laughing out loud, especially in the second half of the episode. Good luck, may the force be with you. Vocabulary list, song lyrics, definitions and a quiz available.
I was invited onto The Flat Earth Podcast, and this is what happened… [Website only] – I got into a debate with some ‘flat earthers’ – guys who believe that the earth is flat. It was pretty intense, and you can listen to it all here on this page.
483. A Rambling Chat with Moz – The second part of my conversation with my friend Moz, this time covering subjects such as podcasting vs YouTube, bathing naked in a Japanese spa, sharing personal information online (like a story of bathing naked in a Japanese spa), the role of artificial intelligence & social media, murdering mosquitoes and meeting a crack addict on the streets of London. Vocabulary list and memory quiz available.
482. The Murder Mile True Crime Podcast (with Moz) More Creepy Stories of Murders in London – My friend Moz, who runs a murder-themed tour company in London, is back on the podcast to talk about some more creepy stories of crimes from London’s history and his new podcast. Vocabulary list available.
[Website content] Luke on the RealLife English Podcast – I was on the RealLife English Podcast and we talked about why I became an English teacher, doing James Bond impressions and also comedy & how to use humour in learning English. You can listen to it here and get more details about Real Life English from their website. Enjoy!
481. Holiday Diary (Final Part) “Endeavour to Persevere” – The final part of the holiday diary series. This one is about visiting the Navajo Nation, meeting some Navajo people, seeing more natural wonders at Monument Valley and The Grand Canyon, a couple of film recommendations our experience of the solar eclipse and a few more anecdotes about the rest of our road trip. Notes and transcript on the page.
480. Holiday Diary (Part 7) BIG ROCKS! – In this episode I’m going to continue telling you stories of my recent holiday and there will be descriptions of impressive rocky landscapes, a sort of geology lesson and a brief history of planet earth. Expect plenty of solid descriptive chunks of vocabulary as this holiday diary continues. Notes & script available.
479. Holiday Diary (Part 6) The Madness of Las Vegas / 11 Gambling Idioms – This episode includes anecdotes and descriptions of our short visit to Las Vegas, including stories of more rental car issues, Las Vegas craziness, winning and losing $$$ and 11 English idioms that come from gambling. Vocabulary list and definitions available.
478. Holiday Diary (Part 5) An Encounter with The Church of Scientology – More thoughts and comments inspired by things that happened during my recent holiday. In this one I’m discussing stories about the Church of Scientology and the claims that it is a cult. Listen to find out what happened in this part of my trip. Check the episode page for the vocabulary.
477. Holiday Diary (Part 4) The Fresh Prince of Bel Air – The holiday diary continues and in this chapter we visited Bel Air in L.A. and so here is an analysis of the lyrics to Will Smith’s rap from “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, a famous TV show (and a very serious piece of work, haha) from the 90s. Vocabulary, lyrics and definitions available on the page.
476. Holiday Diary (Part 3) Astronomy, Astrology & Flat Earth Conspiracy Theory – In this episode I talk about visiting the fantastic Griffith Observatory and then ‘go off on one’ about Astronomy vs Astrology and ludicrous flat earth conspiracy theories. Includes various bits of vocabulary throughout the episode. Check the page for notes and transcripts.
475. Holiday Diary (Part 2) Modern Art: Is it amazing, or is it rubbish? – Talking about some modern art which I saw while visiting several galleries in Los Angeles. Includes descriptions of different movements in modern art, details about some famous artists and their work, some thoughts about whether modern art is really amazing, or maybe just a load of pretentious rubbish! (Spoiler alert: it depends) Vocabulary available.
474. Holiday Diary (Part 1) New Arrival, New Destinations – I’m back from my holiday so here’s a new episode of the podcast. In this one you’ll hear me talking about some recent news (including quite a big announcement) and then an account of what we did on holiday including some descriptions, opinions and stories. Notes and vocabulary available on the page.
[Website only] A History of British Pop – A Musical Tour through James’ Vinyl Collection –This is a LONG musical mix using James’ vinyl record collection, with added comments by James and me. Think of it as a musical journey through a history of British pop, all on original vinyl records.
473. Explaining the Rules of Cricket (with Dad) – Everything you need to know about the world’s 2nd most popular spectator sport, cricket. I’m joined by my Dad, Rick Thompson and we describe the rules, the appeal of the game and also some expressions in English that come from cricket. Notes and vocabulary available on the page.
[Website Only] Star Wars DVD Commentary (with James) ***Contains swearing – Not suitable for Children*** – Here is a Star Wars DVD commentary by James and me. If you’re not a Star Wars fan, this might not be for you. This audio track is full of rambling, comedy sketches, impressions and descriptions of what happens in this classic film from 1977. Watch Star Wars on your TV or computer, and listen to our commentary at the same time. May the force be with you.
Why does the UK have so many accents? (Recorded February 2017) – This episode was originally recorded in February 2017 and is being uploaded in August 2017. In this episode I answer several questions from listeners about accents, including how regional accents occur in the UK and why there are so many accents there. Video available.
[Website content] Luke’s Criminal Past (ZEP Episode 185) – Learn some crime-related idioms and find out some things about Luke’s back-story that may or may not be true. This is an episode of Zdenek’s English Podcast, originally posted by Zdenek on 4 August.
472. Andy’s Survival Story / Why Andy Runs Marathons (with Andy Johnson) –Talking to Andy about why he runs marathons, including vocabulary relating to doing exercise, health, fitness, technique, injuries and medical care. This one contains a moving true story about recovering from a serious illness.
471. Stepping on Lego, Self-directed Learning, Accents (with Andy Johnson) Talking to Andy about stepping on Lego, Andy’s job, Andy’s new conference presentation about self-directed language learning, Andy’s accent and British/American English.
I’m going on holiday – back in a few weeks! A quick episode with a few announcements about the podcast.
470. Understanding the Liverpool Accent Helping you to understand and appreciate the Liverpool accent and Scouse English, featuring clips of comedy, a short history of Liverpool and interviews with famous footballers, actors and musicians.
469. British Comedy: John Bishop Helping you to understand a comedian with a Liverpool accent – learn vocabulary, culture and accents in English.
468. Punk – Music & Culture (with James) Learn about punk music and culture from the UK, with James.
467. A Boiling-Hot Evening Ramble – Comments & Questions In my boiling-hot flat, talking about the benefits of playing football, giving encouragement to a shy new listener, some prepositions with transport, comparing formal and informal styles and commenting on the risks of using humour in emails.
466. Get this word into your life Learn lots of phrases and uses of the word GET that you heard in episodes 464 and 465.
465. How I make episodes of the podcast (Part 2) Talking about the technical side of making a podcast, with a few funny anecdotes too.
464. How I make episodes of the podcast (Part 1) Talking about the creative side of making podcast episodes, including some thoughts on how to come up with ideas and how to speak in front of an audience.
463. News, Comments & Questions Giving some news, responding to comments & questions, rambling about new shoes and getting lost in the jungle.
462. British Comedy: Bill Bailey In this episode I talk to you about one of my favourite stand up comedians from the UK. We’re going to hear some of his comedy and use it to learn English.
461. 25 Deceptively Difficult Questions (with Amber, Paul & Sarah) An episode about the tricky little questions that we use when socialising. What are the appropriate answers? What are the subtle differences? How do native speakers use these questions? Can you take the test and get all the right responses?
460. Catching Up With Amber & Paul #6 (feat. Sarah Donnelly) Conversation and language analysis with the podpals and guest Sarah. Talking about being married to a foreign person, bringing up bilingual kids, and slang from Australia and Northern Ireland. Vocabulary is explained at the end.
459. Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon Rambling on about so-called “facts” I found on the internet, while sitting in direct sunshine wishing I had beer.
[Website content] I was on The Rock n’ Roll English Podcast and The Earful Tower Podcast this week Listen to my appearances on several other podcasts.
458. The Rick Thompson Report: Post-Election 2017 Talking to my Dad about the results of the 8 June general election in the UK.
457. Conclusions about Language Learning from the David Crystal Interview (Part 2) Considering the points made by Prof. David Crystal in episodes 455 and 456 and how they relate to learning English.
456. Conclusions about Language Learning from the David Crystal Interview (Part 1)
455. David Crystal Interview (Part 2) Questions from Listeners Talking to the world’s top writer and lecturer on the English language, Professor David Crystal. In this episode, David answers questions from listeners.
A Message from Amber Amber’s history podcast is now available on itunes and at panamepodcast.com
454. David Crystal Interview (Part 1) Professor of Linguistics Talking about language with one of the world’s top experts on linguistics, Professor David Crystal.
453. The 36 Questions that Lead to Love (with Amber & Paul) Listen to Amber, Paul and me answering questions designed by psychologists to help couples or friends become closer and more intimate.
[Website content] I was invited onto the “English Across The Pond” Podcast and we talked about humour – check it out here.
452. A Conversation About Language (with Amber & Paul) Discussing language with Amber & Paul, including issues such as errors made by native speakers, language change, whether language standards are declining, the effects of technology on language and how to cut an avocado without injuring yourself.
451. Film Club: Alien Covenant Rambling about the Alien franchise and a review of the new film “Alien: Covenant”.
450. Comments & Questions Going through questions from the comment section with some grammar, some vocab, some reactions to recent episodes and some bits relating to how you can continue to push your English with this podcast.
449. Film Club: Touching the Void (Part 2) Learning a Language is Like Climbing a Mountain Part 2 of this Film Club episode looking at the award-winning documentary “Touching the Void” which tells the story of a mountain climbing expedition which goes wrong. Listen to this episode and then watch the film on Netflix or DVD for that extra bit of English input. Includes comments about motivation and attitude for dealing with any challenge, including learning a language to fluency.
448. Film Club: Touching The Void (Part 1) Learning a Language is Like Climbing a Mountain A film club episode about the award-winning documentary film “Touching the Void” about a mountain climbing expedition which goes wrong. It’s an amazing true story and there are lots of things to learn from it, including lessons about motivation and attitude towards any challenge.
447. What is this, British Humour? (with Amber Minogue) Talking to Amber about the subject of my recent British Council Teacher Talk. What is British humour? What does it tell us about British culture and communication style? What are the typical forms of humour in the UK?
446. British TV: Top Gear Talking about Top Gear, one of the UK’s most popular television programmes. This episode features lots of vocabulary related to cars, but a lot more too including your guide to how to speak like Jeremy Clarkson.
445. British Podcast Award / Hello to New Listeners / 17 Vocabulary Expressions LEP won the bronze medal in the Listeners’ Choice category at The British Podcast Awards. Thanks for voting!
444. The Rick Thompson Report: Snap General Election 2017 Politics is back on LEP as I talk to my Dad about recent developments in the UK, specifically the General Election which is due to take place on 8 June.
443. The Trip to Japan (Part 2) Describing my recent trip to Japan and exploring the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun.
442. The Trip to Japan (Part 1) Describing my recent trip to Japan and exploring the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun.
441. Andy Johnson at the IATEFL Conference Talking to Andy about the world’s biggest conference for English teaching, plus more conversation about millennials, advice on giving presentations and some fun anecdotes.
440. This Pile of Books on my Desk Talking about a pile of 16 (mostly) unread books which has been sitting on my desk for months.
439. Reading Books to Learn English Recommending some self-study books for improving your grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary, talking about the value of reading for your English and some ways you can use books to improve your English in general.
438. Hi Luke, I have a question! Another episode done in a similar style to the last one, with some news, some rambling and some questions and comments from the website. Topics in this episode will include: My live comedy show in Tokyo on 13 April, LEPster meetups, humour, grammar, understanding TV and Movies, Breaking Bad, Logan and more…
437. Ramble News – 31 March 2017 A rambly episode with some news from the UK, some comments, some questions, some updates about LEPster meetups in Moscow, Tokyo and London and so on.
436. The Return of The Lying Game (with Amber & Paul) [Video] Amber, Paul and I play another round of The Lying Game, in which we each tell a story and the others have to guess if it’s true or a lie. Listen for story telling, questions and general fun, plus some jokes at the end of the episode. Video available.
I was interviewed on “My Fluent Podcast” by Daniel Goodson I talked to Daniel about learning French, doing LEP and plans for the future.
435. Catching Up With Amber & Paul #5 [Video] Amber & Paul are back on the podcast in this episode as we respond to some questions and comments from the website and social media. Video available.
434. Interview with Paul Taylor – “WTF France?” [Video] Interviewing Paul Taylor about his comedy projects, including “What the F*ck France” on Canal+ / Youtube and his stand-up shows #Franglais and The Paul Taylor Comedy Night. Video available.
433. British TV: Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (Part 2) [Video] Learn more authentic English directly from the mouths of these native speakers in an episode of the popular British TV show “Kitchen Nightmares” with famous chef Gordon Ramsay. Videos and vocabulary lists available below.
432. British TV: Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (Part 1) [Video] An introduction to one of the UK’s most famous chefs and a chance to learn some authentic English from a popular British TV show featuring Gordon Ramsay. Video available. Includes swearing.
LEP on ZEP – My recent interview on Zdenek’s English Podcast I was interviewed again by Zdenek Lukas on his podcast. We talked about teaching and podcasting, including some behind-the-scenes stories of LEP. Zdenek uses his particular set of skills to analyse 50 bits of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation from the interview.
431. Restaurants & Hotels / Really Strange TripAdvisor Reviews (with Amber) Talking to Amber about experiences in restaurants & hotels and some truly bizarre TripAdvisor reviews.
430. Discussing Language Learning & Life with Fred Eyangoh Talking to Fred about history, geography, comedy, learning English and cutlery.
429. RAMBLENEWS! An episode with some rambling about recent news, LEPster meetups, transcript project team, listener comments & questions, teaching phrasal verbs with ‘in on’ and some music. Video available.
428. British Comedy: Limmy’s Show (Part 2) Analysis of another sketch from Limmy’s Show. Listen to informal English spoken in a Glasgow accent, and understand it.
427. British Comedy: Limmy’s Show An episode analysing some British comedy, this time focusing on a couple of sketches from Limmy’s Show, an award-winning TV comedy produced by BBC Scotland.
426. Thompson, Taylor & Minogue: Victorian Detectives (Part 2) with Amber & Paul Listen to the conclusion of this mystery story in which Amber, Paul and I attempt to solve a series of kidnappings in Victorian London.
425. Thompson, Taylor & Minogue: Victorian Detectives (Part 1) with Amber & Paul Listen to Amber, Paul and me as we attempt to solve a series of mysterious kidnappings in Victorian London.
424. With Andy & Ben from The London School of English (Part 2) Talking to Andy Johnson and Ben Butler about teaching English to millennials, cross-cultural experiences we’ve had as English teachers and some funny stories about Andy.
423. With Andy & Ben from The London School of English (Part 1) Talking to Andy Johnson and Ben Butler from The London School of English about many things including teaching English for specific purposes, and a couple of funny anecdotes.
422. Learning British Dialects with Korean Billy Talking to Billy from Korea about his videos on British dialects and accents.
421. Skateboarding – A New Olympic Sport (with James) A conversation with my brother about this new Olympic sport including the history, the different types, the vocabulary and some personal stories and memories about skateboarding from childhood into adulthood.
420. Anyone fancy a brew? Let’s have a nice cup of tea! Everything you need to know about the culture of tea-drinking in the UK, including a full guide to how to make a nice cup of tea, English style.
419. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – SPOILER RAMBLE with James Talking to my brother about the latest Star Wars film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. SPOILER ALERT!
418. The Rick Thompson Report: Technology and The Future (January 2017) Talking to my Dad about developments in technology in the future.
417. New Year’s Resolutions and Language Learning in 2017 Talking about typical new year’s resolutions in the UK, my resolutions about learning French, and ideas in which you can improve your English this year.
416. What was the most popular episode of LEP in 2016? + more podcast statistics An overview of how 2016 was for Luke’s English Podcast including some details about the top 5 episodes, the top 20 countries, and more statistics for the last 12 months.
415. With the Family (Part 3) More Encounters with Famous People My mum, dad and brother tell us a few more anecdotes about their encounters with some well-known people.
414. With the Family (Part 2) My Uncle Met a Rock Star Listen to my uncle Nic telling some stories about British rock stars he has met over the years, including an encounter with one of the most famous musicians in the world!
413. With The Family (Part 1) Mum’s Cooking + Vocabulary (with Uncle Nic) A conversation with my family about how to cook a delicious Turkey dinner and some vocabulary teaching.
412. British Festivals and Holidays (Part 2) An episode all about special days and celebrations in the British calendar. Cultural information and some pronunciation work.
411. British Festivals and Holidays (Part 1)
A Quick Message About Donations – Please consider donating to “Doctors Without Borders” to help people in need
410. Teaching 12 Idioms in the Street / On the Set of Paul’s TV Show (with Amber) Amber & I teach you 12 idiomatic English phrases while attending the filming of an episode of Paul Taylor’s TV show on the street in Paris.
409. A CHRISTMAS MEGA-RAMBLE with AMBER MINOGUE A rambling conversation with Amber about Christmas and more!
408. Catching Up With Amber & Paul #4 (+ videos) Amber & Paul are back on the podcast and we do the usual catching-up session and go off on a few tangents about Amber’s play, Paul’s showbiz life, marshmallows, microphones, tea & coffee, accents and more. There are videos for the intro and outro of this episode.
407. Reflections on Language Learning & Working as a Translator: Interview with Kristina from Russia, Winner of the LEP Anecdote Competition 2016 In conversation with Kristina from Russia, the winner of the LEP anecdote competition 2016. Talking about working as a translator and interpreter, and her experiences of learning English and other languages.
406. Grammar (Past Continuous Tense) / UK Media Bias / Brazil Football Tragedy A review of the differences between past continuous tense and past simple tense, comments on the UK media including the BBC and an overview of the newspapers, and some comments about the recent plane crash involving members of the Chapecoense football team from Brazil.
405. British Accents in The Lord of the Rings (Part 2) A closer look at the different British accents you can hear in the Lord of the Rings movies.
404. British Accents in The Lord of the Rings (Part 1) Explaining the different accents you can hear in the Lord of the Rings movies.
403. Competition Results / War Story / Grammar & Punctuation / My Dad’s Accent The final results of the LEP Anecdote Competition and some comments & emails from listeners including a war story, some grammar & punctuation (noun phrases, possessives & apostrophes) and a question about my Dad’s accent.
402. The Rick Thompson Report: What’s Going On? Nov. 2016 (Post-Truth Politics, Cricket and Tetris) Talking to my Dad about recent news, including a Brexit update, comments about post-truth politics and more.
401. ‘Switch off your editor’ to improve your fluency in English Advice about how you can use this creativity boosting technique to push your fluency in English.
400. The Pink Gorilla Story 2 Having fun in the 400th episode with another improvised comedy story.
399. The Return of Molly Martinez (with Dane Nightingale) Talking with two American friends (including Molly from episodes 198 & 199) about TV journalism, how the Internet works, the US presidential election results, California’s new marijuana laws and puffins.
398. US Election Result Ramble + Message + Song First impressions of the US Presidential Election, plus a message for my listeners and a song or two.
397. An 80-Minute Ramble Talking spontaneously about winter and some Netflix recommendations.
396. The LEP Anecdote Competition – ROUND 2 Listen to the 10 anecdotes that got through to round 2 of the competition and vote for your favourites.
395. “Have you ever…?” with Paul Taylor and Robert Hoehn Talking about life experiences and telling stories with a couple of friends.
394. OPP: Other People’s Podcasts (Part 4) Recommending some more of my favourite podcasts. You might like them too.
393. OPP: Other People’s Podcasts (Part 3)
392. What are the most essential skills of a good foreign language learner? Exploring responses to this question on quora.com – including plenty of advice and insights into some good ways to improve your English learning. Also, a quick chat with English Robot 3000, who has been in a box for about 3 years.
391. Discussing Language, Culture & Comedy with Alexander van Walsum A light-hearted chat with a comedian friend of mine who originally comes from The Netherlands but has also lived all over the world. We talk about cultural and linguistic differences in different countries, doing stand-up comedy and getting Darth Vader’s signature.
390. The Rick Thompson Report: Hard Brexit / U.S. Election A conversation with my dad about recent news events.
389. US Presidential Election 2016 – Trump vs Clinton (with Sarah & Sebastian) Part 2 A conversation with two American friends about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
388. US Presidential Election 2016 – Trump vs Clinton (with Sarah & Sebastian) Part 1
387. LEP Anecdote Competition Entries – Please listen & vote News about the latest competition, results of the recent podcast survey and the top countries for LEP downloads.
386. Breaking the Intermediate Plateau (Part 2) Is your learning slowing down? Finding it hard to make progress beyond an intermediate level? Listen to this episode to get lots of advice on breaking the intermediate plateau.
385. Breaking the Intermediate Plateau (Part 1)
384. Teaching Grammar & Social English A review of some of language points I have been teaching recently including some grammar, some social English and quite a lot of silly improvisation and musical interludes.
383. More Ian Moore The second part of my chat with British writer and comedian Ian Moore.
Please take my survey / Anecdote Competition / ‘Russian Joke’ Video A quick message asking listeners to take a survey about LEP, some comments about the anecdote competition and a video explaining the ‘Russian joke’.
382. Mod Culture with Ian Moore Conversation with author and comedian Ian Moore about the British ‘mod’ subculture.
381. Discussing Cultural Differences with Amber & Paul Comparing behaviour and communication styles in different cultures around the world.
380. Catching Up with Amber and Paul #3 More spontaneous conversation with podcast friends Amber Minogue and Paul Taylor.
379. The LEP Anecdote Competition Details of a new interactive competition for listeners.
378. Holiday in Thailand (Part 2) Part 2 of this description of my recent holiday in Thailand. You’ll hear more stories and descriptions including learning how to cook Thai curry, a conversation with a monk, doing yoga every day, a couple of messages from listeners and some reflections on gratitude, forgiveness and guidance.
377. Holiday in Thailand (Part 1) Stories and descriptions of my recent holiday in Thailand. You’ll hear some facts about Thailand, some descriptions of Bangkok and a few stories about funny experiences that happened while we were there.
I’m going on holiday – no podcasts for a while Just to let you know that there won’t be any podcasts for a while, and some more details including a little story.
376. A Game of Mini Golf and a Pint (with James) Conversation with my brother on a sunny afternoon in an English park. We talk about playing mini golf, life in a town vs life in London, the London riots of 2011 and more.
375. The LEP Pub Quiz (with Alex Love) Listen to Alex and me testing each other on our general knowledge, including a few language-related questions.
374. Alex’s Edinburgh Fringe Report I talk to Alex about his successful Edinburgh show and we talk about aspects of culture including hen and stag parties, male strippers and The Smurfs.
373. Who Wants to Be Good at English? Listen to an evil game show, created by my evil father, for evil purposes! Just kidding – this is a tricky word-quiz designed by my Dad to help his students of journalism realise how words are often used in the wrong way. It creates some discussion about the way the meanings of words evolve over time. Can you answer the questions correctly?
372. The Importance of Anecdotes in English / Narrative Tenses / Four Anecdotes This episode has a bit of everything: useful tips for telling anecdotes, a review of narrative verb tenses, some authentic spoken anecdotes by members of my family and some vocabulary explanations.
371. In Conversation with Rob Ager from Liverpool (PART 2: Film Analysis / Hidden Meanings / Stanley Kubrick / Conspiracy Theory) Rob Ager has built his own career as a film critic on YouTube. Now he sells his own documentaries about films on his website. This conversation explores the subjects of his film analysis, hidden messages in films, the work of Stanley Kubrick and a conspiracy theory about the moon landing.
370. In Conversation with Rob Ager from Liverpool (PART 1: Life in Liverpool / Interest in Film Analysis) Rob Ager has built his own career as a film critic on YouTube. Now he sells his own documentaries about films on his website. This conversation explores the subjects of his home town of Liverpool and how he became interested in films.
369. Pokémon GO – It’s just a game, OR IS IT? Talking about this global phenomenon, including a description of the game, the pros and cons, the issues of safety, personal data and what the future could look like with augmented reality.
368. The LEP Annual General Meeting 2016 / QUESTIONS Dealing with a number of points, including a language point about time expressions such as ‘annual’ and ‘biannual’, LEP meet-ups, the transcript collaboration and a comment from a vampire.
367. Talking about Nothing with Alex Love (Invaded by Robot Aliens) PART 2 The second half of my conversation with comedian Alex Love, including references to his Edinburgh Festival show, Dogma film-making and English teaching, and my chicken dinner.
366. Talking about Nothing with Alex Love (Invaded by Robot Aliens) I talk to comedian Alex Love about his show at the Edinburgh Festival, and the Skype call gets invaded by robot aliens while we talk about portmanteau words and getting hungry and angry at the same time.
Quick Hello / Notting Hill Carnival Audio Just a quick episode to let you know that I’m still here and to play you the audio track to a video I made at the Notting Hill Carnival.
365. BREXIT: 3 Weeks Later (A conversation with my Dad) An update on the situation in the UK since the EU referendum three weeks ago. Listen to my Dad give his comments and analysis. Some vocabulary is highlighted and written on the page. This is probably the last episode about politics for a while.
364. TEN TOP TIPS for Learning English Some more motivation and advice for learning English effectively.
363. Muhammad Ali & The Rumble in the Jungle A biography of Muhammad Ali and the story of one of the most dramatic and memorable fights of his career. Listen for specific descriptions of boxing techniques and comments about the historical significance of this extraordinary person.
362. Getting things off my chest! (Part 2) Brexit / Football A two-hour rant about the Brexit situation and the Euro 2016 competition.
361. Getting things off my chest! (Part 1) Brexit / Football A two-hour rant about the Brexit situation and the Euro 2016 competition.
360. THE DAY AFTER BREXIT (Thoughts and feelings) Last night the UK voted to leave the EU. Here are my thoughts and feelings.
359. BREXIT JOKES / EU REFERENDUM NIGHT The EU referendum is happening tonight, so I wanted to record some of my stand-up material that I’ve written about Brexit and make some predictions.
358. Fête de la Musique / World Music Festival in Paris Join my wife and me as we walk around our local area in Paris during the annual music summer solstice music festival. You’ll hear commentary, interviews, live music and Luke singing Luther Vandross!
357. Learning Languages with Olly Richards Another conversation with Olly, who is a polyglot from England. Olly speaks 8 languages and has lots of good advice for learning languages. In this conversation we talk about accents, pronunciation and other considerations in learning English.
356. News / Football / Brexit / Events in the UK / Jo Cox Some more news and views about the EURO 2016 football, the EU referendum and recent tragic events involving Labour MP Jo Cox who was murdered in England this week.
355. EURO 2016 Football: Hooliganism & Violence in Marseille / England vs Russia Discussing the European Football Championship which is happening in France, including some descriptions of the violence between English and Russian football hooligans and the match between England and Russia.
354. Would You Rather…? (with Amber, Paul & James Simpson) I am joined by podcast friends Amber, Paul and James Simpson. You’ll hear the results of the interactive lying game from episode 343, then we play a speaking game which involves asking each other some ridiculous hypothetical questions, just for fun.
353. Award Ceremony / Paris Weather / Crazy Idea Some news and general rambling about the ELTon awards, floods and lightning in Paris and a crazy idea about doing live podcast recordings in different locations around the world.
352. BREXIT: Key Vocabulary and Concepts I explain and clarify some important vocabulary relating to the Brexit debate.
351. BREXIT: Should the UK leave the EU? (A Conversation with my Dad) I talk to my Dad about the UK’s referendum on EU membership. We discuss some of the main issues and arguments and give our personal opinions.
350. Film Club: X-Men Apocalypse (Review) An episode of Luke’s Film Club. This time I’m making fun of the new X-Men film. Listen for a film review, some comedy and some improvised comments about the X-Men.
349. Who’s the best superhero? (with Paul Langton) My mate Paul used to collect comic books so he knows all about superheroes. I asked him to describe the main characters from the Marvel universe and then decide which one is the strongest. Watch out for descriptive vocabulary to describe personal qualities, abilities and weaknesses.
348. Film Club: Marvel / Captain America Civil War (Part 2) Talking about Marvel comic book movies, superheroes and a review of a new Captain America film.
347. Film Club: Marvel / Captain America Civil War (Part 1) Talking about Marvel comic book movies, superheroes and a review of a new Captain America film.
346. Rambling on a Friday Afternoon Watch out for some more phrasal verbs and idioms as I share a few more anecdotes about New York, talk a bit about politics (US elections, Trump, Mayor of London, Brexit), mention Leicester City FC and rant about Google Adverts (deja vu?)
345. ELTon Award Nomination / Phrasal Verbs & Idioms / Brooklyn / The Revenant / Museum of Natural History & More News about an award nomination for LEP, a movie review of The Revenant with Leonardo DiCaprio, a trip to Brooklyn, an adventure in the American Museum of Natural History and some phrasal verbs and idioms to look out for.
344. A Totally Terrific Talk on the Terrace with The Tangential Trio (feat. Tom Morton) with Amber & Paul Another free-flowing conversation on the terrace with Amber & Paul. This time we’re joined by actor and voice-over artist Tom Morton. Topics of conversation include: The Queen’s birthday, the death of Princess Diana, what British people think of the monarchy, and more…
343. The Interactive Lying Game (with Amber & Paul) / Descriptive Adjectives with T / Three is a Magic Number Amber, Paul and I play the lying game based on questions from listeners. I go through some descriptive adjectives beginning with T to help you come up with a superhero team name for the three of us, and there’s a song about the magic number 3.
342. Paul’s “La Bise” Video Success / Audition Story (with Amber & Paul) Amber & Paul and I talk about Paul’s hit youtube video about French kissing habits, his newfound success as a stand-up (he’s the hottest kid in town), some online abuse he’s had and then an anecdote about an audition that we attended recently, which involved a surprising misunderstanding about accents. There’s also a brief language focus on using relative clauses with ‘which’ to extend your sentences when speaking. Enjoy!
341. Catching Up With Amber & Paul, Again Listen to a natural conversation between native speakers of English. This episode features the return of podcast friends Amber & Paul as we sit on the terrace in the sunshine, catch up on news and respond to comments from listeners to the podcast.
340. LEP Photo Competition Results & Winners / It’s LEP’s 7th Birthday Who won the photo competition from episodes 313 and 327? Also, let’s celebrate the 7th birthday of the podcast and create some nicknames for my listeners. :)
339. A Murder Mystery Detective Story (Part 2 of 2) Here’s the conclusion of this two-part mystery story in English. Listen to the murder mystery story, analyse the evidence, solve the crime and learn English while doing it!
338. A Murder Mystery Detective Story (Part 1 of 2) Join me as I play a text adventure game about a murder mystery. Listen as we discover the story together, make some choices based on evidence and try to piece together the solution to a murder. Test your listening skills and your deductive reasoning. (Link provided so you can play the text adventure too)
I was interviewed by Olly Richards on his podcast, called “I Will Teach You a Language” and we talked about language learning If you enjoyed episode 332 of LEP you should listen to this one too. It’s available on Olly’s website (links provided in this post). Olly asked me about what I’ve learned after teaching English for 15 years and podcasting for 7 years. Together we reflect on how attitude, time, practice and material are crucial in learning a language effectively.
337. MURDER MILE WALKS: Stories of London’s Most Infamous & Shocking Murders [Some Explicit Content + Swearing] with Moz Conversation about swearing on TV, followed by some gruesome true stories about crimes from London’s history. Not for the faint-hearted!
[VIDEO] I was invited onto Craig Wealand’s weekly Blab, and we talked about comedy This is a video of the conversation I had with Craig Wealand and some of his listeners on Blab recently. We talk about comedy and humour.
336. Drinking Scottish Whisky at a German Business Meeting While Wearing a Kilt and Playing a Flute… and other stories (with Carrick Cameron) A conversation with a friend about Scottish and English accents, kilts, scotch whisky and some funny stories about drinking experiences in different countries.
335. VOCABULARY REVIEW: Phrases & Expressions from Episode 334. A chance to fully understand words and phrases you heard in episode 334. I clarify and explain lots of vocabulary, and have some fun with the examples.
334. Interview with Craig Wealand (from InglesPodcast) A relaxed conversation with a fellow English teacher and podcaster who lives in Spain.
My interview with school kids from IES School in San Fernando, Spain I was invited onto a school radio show in Spain and was interviewed by a group of children. Listen to their questions and my answers. I think it’s quite sweet!
333. More Misheard Lyrics ♬ Have fun listening to some more songs with ambiguous sounding lyrics. What are the singers of these songs really saying?
332. Olly Richards: English Polyglot – Top Advice and Strategies for Language Learning An interview with a professional polyglot. Listen to hear some top tips for learning another language as an adult. Tons of motivation and inspiration for pushing your English even further.
331. How’s your English? (and why speaking is so important) Instructions on how you can push your English to new levels with LEP, and some details about my new sponsor – italki, which is a really great service that you can use to arrange conversations with native English speakers online from the comfort of your own home, and why as a listener to this podcast, you should check it out. Full transcript available.
330. Let’s Play… Grand Theft Auto 5 (and learn some English while doing it) A multitasking episode in which I play GTA5 and describe what’s happening, and talk about the history of Grand Theft Auto.
329. A Rambling Chat with James (News, Stories, Jokes) My brother visited me in Paris and while he was here we recorded this conversation in which we talk about differences between London and Paris, doing stand up comedy for the first time, the EU referendum, the US presidential elections, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, eagles vs drones, mosquitos and why women yawn more than men. Also, Jim tells his talking dog joke.
328. Cooking with Luke – Verbs and Expressions in the Kitchen I teach you verbs and expressions for cooking while preparing a delicious chicken dinner in the kitchen – recipe available. :)
327. The LEP Photo Competition – Please check out the photos and vote Learn some key vocabulary and grammar for describing photographs, and check out photos of people around the world listening to LEP in different situations.
326. Catching up with Oli (Part 2) Future Predictions A chat with my cousin Oli about the future and the arrival of his new baby daughter. What will the world be like for her in the next 10-20 years? What kind of father will Oliver be?
325. Catching Up with Oli (Part 1) Past Challenges A conversation with my cousin Oli. We talk about some difficult experiences he’s had over the past few years, and then look to the future.
324. David Bowie (Part 2) Everything you need to know about British musician David Bowie.
323. David Bowie (Part 1) Who was David Bowie and why was he such a significant artist? What did he mean to me personally, and how did I feel when he died this week?
322. With The Thompsons Listen to to some warm conversation with my Mum, Dad and brother at Christmas time.
321. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens – SPOILER REVIEW I’m joined by my brother and we have a very geeky conversation about the new Star Wars film, with all our fan theories and favourite moments. Warning: Spoilers!
320. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Listen to me read a version of this classic Christmas story.
319. Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens – Reaction (No spoilers!) Join me as I walk to the cinema to see the new Star Wars film and then listen to my friends and I giving our reactions afterwards. No spoilers.
318. The Rematch (Part 2) with Amber & Paul Listen to your favourite podcast guests play another speaking game and try to guess if we’re lying or telling the truth.
317. The Rematch (Part 1) With Amber & Paul Will Paul finally win a game on this podcast? Listen to find out.
316. British Comedy: Tim Vine (Part 2) More jokes from comedian Tim Vine, explained.
315. Do me a favour – Take my Business English Survey!
314. Luke’s Guided Sleep Meditation Follow every word I say and I will help you to fall into a deep and relaxing sleep, if you can stop laughing.
313. British Comedy: Tim Vine Understand a comedy routine by celebrated British comedian Tim Vine. Can you understand all his jokes? Let me help you.
312. The Words of the Year (Part 3) with Amber & Paul Amber, Paul and I talk about some new words which were added to the Collins dictionary this year.
311. The Words of the Year (Part 2) with Amber & Paul Learn some new language, and listen to some discussions and anecdotes related to these words.
310. The Words of the Year (Part 1) with Amber & Paul In all 3 of these episodes I explain and clarify a lot of what we say in these funny conversations so that you can learn, laugh and understand everything.
Attacks in Paris (with Paul Taylor) Paul Taylor was just a few meters away from one of the shootings that took place in Paris this week. He tells me all that he saw and what happened.
309. The Lying Game (Part 2) With Amber & Paul Here’s part 2 of this speaking game with Amber and Paul. Listen until the end to hear me explain how I use this game in my English classes (hello teachers).
308. The Lying Game (Part 1) With Amber & Paul Amber, Paul and I play another speaking game. Can you guess if we’re lying or telling the truth? Listen carefully.
307. The Mystery of Corporate Jargon & Management Speak (Part 2) with Paul Taylor I’m joined by Paul Taylor as we discuss specific words and phrases used in the world of business.
306. The Mystery of Corporate Jargon & Management Speak (Part 1) with Paul Taylor Why do people use these phrases, and why do so many people hate language like this? And, what is bullsh*t bingo?
305. Back To The Future (Part 2) Talking about time travel and the complex paradoxes of the story of Back to the Future.
304. Back To The Future (Part 1) It’s Back to the Future day, so this episode is all about one of my favourite films of all time. Let’s review the plot of this classic film.
303. The Battle of Britain What happened over the skies of England during World War 2, and how were Polish fighter pilots involved in Britain’s survival against the nazis?
302. Bad Dentist / Star Wars / Adam Buxton / Headphone Jams / Jarvis Cocker More news, stories and fun stuff for you to listen to. Another rambling episode.
301. David Cameron & The Pig / Bad Gig Story / Who is Ronnie Pickering? Some news about the UK, some anecdotes and funny nonsense. A rambling episode.
300. EPISODE 300 (PART 2) Listen to messages from previous guests on LEP, some fun impressions of famous characters and more.
300. EPISODE 300 (PART 1) I can’t believe I’ve done over 300 hours of Luke’s English Podcast!
299. The Bank Robbery (Part 2) (with Amber, Paul and Sebastian) Listen to native speakers planning a bank robbery in this fun simulation.
298. The Bank Robbery (Part 1) (with Amber, Paul & Sebastian) A speaking exercise with native speakers. How will Amber, Paul and Sebastian plan the perfect bank robbery?
297. Using Humour in the IELTS Speaking Test (With Jessica from All Ears English) Some very useful advice for the IELTS speaking test with Jessica from AEE podcast. Give your speaking some personality and humour.
296. Learning Comedy is like Learning a Language (with Paul Taylor) A conversation with Paul Taylor about his experiences at the Edinburgh fringe festival, and how learning to do comedy is similar to learning to speak a foreign language.
295. California Road Trip (Final Part) Customer Service / Highway 101 / UK vs US English
294. California Road Trip (Part 7) Earthquakes & Hippies
293. California Road Trip (Part 6) San Francisco / AJ Hoge Interview featuring an interview with AJ Hoge from Effortless English.
292. California Road Trip (Part 5) Scientology / Meeting a Bear in Yosemite / The Trek Gone Wrong!
291. California Road Trip (Part 4) Stars on Hollywood Blvd / Songs & Movies / UK & US English
290. California Road Trip (Part 3) Venice Beach / UK vs US English – Cars & Driving
289. California Road Trip (Part 2) History of California / Life in L.A. / UK & US English
288. California Road Trip (Part 1) A journey through California, with history, stories, American & British English, analysis of song lyrics, book recommendations and more!
287. VOCAB BATTLE!!! WITH AMBER & PAUL (exciting title) Fun and games with Amber, Paul and some natural English expressions.
286. The Wedding Episode My listeners wanted me to talk about it, so I have – this episode is a description of my wedding day. <3
285. Ten More Fixed Expressions (with Paul Taylor) A funny episode in which I test Paul Taylor on his knowledge of vocabulary, and we teach you some more expressions.
An Experimental Live Video Podcast on Periscope Have a look at this video of me on Periscope.
284. Questions from Tea4er.ru (Part 2) Some more questions from Russian teachers and students.
283. Ten Fixed Expressions (with Paul Taylor) A fun game in which I test Paul Taylor’s vocabulary and we teach 10 natural expressions.
282. Questions from Tea4er.ru Some questions from Russia on a variety of topics.
281. Misheard Lyrics A funny episode in which we listen to some song lyrics and try to understand exactly what the singers really mean.
280. The UK’s Favourite Superstitions An episode about the most common superstitions for people in the UK.
279. Marcus Keeley / Northern Ireland / Accent (Part 3) An interview with comedian Marcus Keeley about accents that you can hear in Northern Ireland – learn what a Belfast accent sounds like.
278. Marcus Keeley / Northern Ireland (Part 2) Talking about life in Northern Ireland, the part of the UK that foreign people don’t often visit.
277. A Chat with Marcus Keeley from Northern Ireland (Part 1) A conversation with comedian Marcus, who comes from Northern Ireland.
Survey: What kind of episodes of LEP do you prefer?
276. Q&A Session #5 More questions about English from LEPsters, answered by Luke.
275. The Phrasal Verb Chronicles #2 Another improvised story, featuring another 50 phrasal verbs that I’ve taught in episodes of A Phrasal Verb a Day (my other podcast)
274. Q&A Session #4 I answer more questions from LEPsters.
273. The Bad Haircut Situation Part 2: More Role Plays & Improvisations (with Amber & Paul) Amber, Paul and I do some improvised comedy and demonstrate ways of dealing with awkward situations in English.
272. The Bad Haircut Situation (with Amber & Paul) How should you give compliments, accept compliments and give bad news politely in English? Listen to this funny discussion to hear what Amber, Paul and I think.
271. Catching Up with Amber & Paul A really funny and friendly conversation with my friends Amber and Paul on a very hot and sunny day in April.
270. UK General Election RESULTS What happened? Who won? What does the results mean?
269. UK General Election 2015 (Part 2) Who is going to win the next election, and how will that affect the UK?
268. UK General Election 2015 (Part 1) Everything you need to know about UK politics and this big moment for the UK.
267. Earthquake in Nepal + other news Please consider helping the victims of the earthquake.
Luke’s TV Appearance on France24 I was on TV talking about the UK’s general election. It was a bit awkward.
266. Telling Jokes in English (Part 3) Understand the psychology of jokes, and listen to some more jokes and their explanations.
265. Telling Jokes in English (Part 2) What are some typical joke structures? What makes a joke funny? Listen to lots of jokes, and understand their meanings.
264. Telling Jokes in English (Part 1) What are jokes? How do we tell jokes in English? How do you respond to jokes?
263. Past, Present & Future A chance to really understand the verb tenses in English, with lots of context.
Luke’s Interview on InglesPodcast I was invited by Craig onto his podcast – you can listen to it here :)
A Message from Luke Just a little letter from me to you.
262. What is Britishness? (Part 2) Exploring notions of British identity – how do British people define their own identity?
261. What is Britishness? (Part 1) Exploring notions of British identity – how do people view the UK from the outside?
260. Kingsman: The Secret Service This is a review of an action movie set in the UK.
259. Eulogy for Dennis My grandfather Dennis died, and this is my tribute to him and his life.
258. Award Win / Thank You / Poem I won another competition (thanks to your votes) and so I wrote a poem to express my gratitude.
257. Be Positive A rambling episode about why it’s important to think that the cup is half full.
256. Reading Books in English (and listening to them too) How reading books, or listening to audiobooks can really help your English.
255. Taken 3 / Expressions with ‘Take’ I saw the latest Taken film, and this is what I thought! Also, learn some vocabulary with the word ‘take’.
254. IELTS Tips & Tricks Lots of advice for people who are taking the IELTS test.
253. Rapping with Fluency MC! An interview with Jason Levine – the English teacher who uses hip-hop to teach English. I ask Jason about his teaching methods Jason does some rapping, live on the podcast. And you’ll hear me rapping on the podcast too. WORD.
252. Marooned With My Music: James Thompson An interview with my brother about his life and his favourite music.
251. Welcome to LEP / 16 Things You Should Know about LEP An introduction for new listeners to this podcast.
250. Marooned With My Music: Gill Thompson An interview with my Mum about her life and her favourite music.
249. News / LEP Merchandise / Messages Some news about LEP, and how you can buy merchandise with the LEP logo.
248. Marooned With My Music: Rick Thompson An interview with my Dad about his life and his favourite music.
247. Understanding The USA (with Sebastian Marx) An in-depth and humourous discussion about the USA with Sebastian Marx. The aim of the episode: understand American values in more depth.
246. Funny Flight Stories Let’s listen to some funny stories about travelling by plane, and understand why the stories are funny.
*Video – One of Luke’s Stand-up Comedy Gigs A video of me performing stand up comedy.
245. Merry Christmas! (+more) + Video A rambling episode with video about Christmas and other things :)
244. Urban Myths What are some common urban myths and strange beliefs, and are they true or false?
243. A Life-Changing Teaching Experience in Ghana An interview with my friend Mike Bruce who recently was part of an amazing training mission in a remote part of Ghana.
242. 11 Idioms Only Brits Understand (really?) What does this article about British English really say about British people? (And do we really say these things?)
241. Star Wars Everything about the films I have loved since I was a child.
240. Politicians Avoiding Questions Let’s listen to the way politicians avoid difficult questions in interviews.
239. Prepositions: Verb Collocations More detailed information about prepositions in English, focusing on collocations with verbs, and then an improvised story featuring lots of ‘verb + preposition’ collocations.
238. Prepositions (Part 1) An introduction to prepositions in English.
237. OPP: Other People’s Podcasts (Part 2)
236. OPP: Other People’s Podcasts (Part 1) I recommend some of my favourite podcasts.
*My Appearance on the Talk2Learn Chatcast I took part in a discussion on the chatcast.
235. British Slang (N to Z) Learn some slang, rude words and aspects of British culture.
234. Making “Choons” with My Brother Talking to my brother about how he makes music.
233. YEP! Winner A conversation with Edgar from Mexico, who won my recent podcast competition.
232. YEP! Runners Up (Part 2)
231. YEP! Runners Up (Part 1) Some chat by Skype with podcast listeners from around the world.
230. Can You Learn a Language in 6 Months? We analyse and discuss a TEDx talk by Chris Lonsdale and evaluate the question – is it really possible to learn a language in just 6 months?
229. Zombies! (Part 2) Listen to me take a zombie survival test, with a language focus on conditional sentences.
228. Zombies! (Part 1) A halloween special about zombies in popular culture. Why are there so many zombie movies and TV shows? What is the significance of zombies in our culture?
227. Sausages, Barcodes & Apple Watches (A late-night rambling episode) A ramble challenge – can I keep talking, with no preparation, for 30 minutes without pausing or repeating myself?
*My Video Interview with Gabby Wallace from “Go Natural English” Gabby interviewed me for her YouTube project.
226. On a Boat (with Alex, Paul & Moz) Listen to a funny conversation with my comedian friends Alex, Moz and Paul while drinking beer on a longboat in North London. Learn some swear words and euphemisms! (Some rude content)
225. Film Club: “Taken” What do I think of the film Taken, starring Liam Neeson (clue: I can’t take it seriously)
224. Pronunciation: Verb Tenses & Connected Speech Learn how native speakers really pronounce sentences in different tenses.
*Please Consider Donating to Lepra.org.uk A recommended charity.
223. YEP! Competition Winners Who won the YEP competition?
222. Luke’s Late Night Podcast Join me as I do a live DJ set while talking about the music I’m playing. A musical rambling episode.
*Video: Playing Around with Accents in English A video of me copying various accents in English.
221. A Cup of Tea with Corneliu Dragomirescu (Part 2)
220. A Cup of Tea with Corneliu Dragomirescu (Part 1) An interview with film-maker Corneliu about learning English, growing up in Romania and his love of movies.
219. Scottish Independence Everything you need to know about the Scottish independence movement, some Scottish accents and arguments for & against Scotland leaving the UK.
218. YEP! Competition Entries #8
217. YEP! Competition Entries #7
216. YEP! Competition Entries #6
215. YEP! Competition Entries #5
214. YEP! Competition Entries #4
213. YEP! Competition Entries #3
212. YEP! Competition Entries #2
211. YEP! Competition Entries #1 Listen to listeners of the podcast and vote for your favourite message! (voting now closed)
210. A Cup of Tea with Noman Hosni An interview with the very funny Swiss/Iraqi comedian Noman Hosni who shares his hilarious experiences of learning English and travelling to London to perform comedy.
209. Travelling in Indonesia (Part 2)
208. Travelling in Indonesia (Part 1) A full account of my adventure in Indonesia with my girlfriend.
207. Competition Inspiration Some ideas for my listeners.
206. Summer in London (Part 2) Walk & Talk Let’s visit some of my favourite areas in central London, and discover some funny little details that you might not notice if you’re a tourist.
205. Summer in London (Part 1) Walk & Talk Join me as I walk around the streets of central London on a hot summer day in August.
204. Quick Hello: Competition Update & More News
203. The Flatmate from Japan An interview with my old flatmate from Japan, Peter from Manchester. What’s it like for a British ex-Pat living in Japan?
202. British Comedy: Monty Python & The Holy Grail One of the UK’s favourite comedy films, explained. Learn about politics, British mythology, monarchy and anarchy all at the same time!
*My Interview on Zdeněk’s English Podcast I was interviewed by superfan and podcaster Zdenek on his podcast.
201. Nikolay Kulikov: A Russian Comedian in London An interview with a Russian stand up comedian who travelled to the UK and Ireland to perform stand up comedy. What does he have to say about learning English, Russian stereotypes and real life in the UK?
200. New Competition: “Your English Podcast” Announcing a new competition for listeners to this podcast.
199. The UK/USA Quiz Molly and I test each other on our general knowledge of the USA and the UK – do you know the answers to our questions?
198. A Cup of Tea with Molly Martinez A fun conversation with comedian and writer Molly Martinez from the USA.
197. World Cup 2014 (Part 6: Final Comments)
196. Cycling from Coast to Coast Another interview with Ben Fisher from Lincolnshire, who this time has cycled the whole length of France. What happened during his adventure? Listen to find out.
195. British Comedy: Monty Python’s Flying Circus A more detailed introduction to Britain’s favourite comedy group, and an explanation of the classic Dead Parrot Sketch.
194. World Cup 2014 (Part 5: More Forum Comments) Comments from listeners about the world cup.
193. Culture Shock: Life in London (Pt.2) Dealing with common problems experienced by foreigners visiting London.
192. Culture Shock: Life in London (Pt.1) Explaining some strange aspects of life in London.
191. Culture Shock: The 4 Stages How does it feel to have culture shock? How can you deal with the experiences of living in another country?
190. World Cup 2014 (Part 4: Dad’s Memories of 1966)
189. World Cup 2014 (Part 3: Your Comments)
188. World Cup 2014 (Part 2: England & The Dark Side of the World Cup)
187. World Cup 2014 (Part 1: The Basic Guide) A special series about the World Cup.
186. Understanding Culture Shock with Lindsay & Gabby I’m joined by Lindsay and Gabby from All Ears English and we talk about culture shock experiences.
185. The Trip to New York A full account of my short holiday in the Big Apple.
*Welcome to the New Website – teacherluke.co.uk I’ve got a new website :)
184. Luke’s D-Day Diary (Part 2)
183. Luke’s D-Day Diary (Part 1) Join me as I travel to Normandy in northern France to take part in the D-Day commemoration and meet Eddie Izzard.
182. Learning English with Yacine Belhousse A chat with the hilarious French comedian Yacine Belhousse about learning English and performing stand up comedy in another language.
*My Interview on the All Ears English Podcast – Talking about humour, comedy and how to tell jokes in English I was featured on the All Ears English podcast with Gabby and Lindsay, talking about telling jokes and being funny. You can listen to it here.
181. Vocabulary & Expressions from Episode 180 Lots of vocabulary and other explanations of language you heard in episode 180.
180. How my Brother Dislocated his Shoulder (with James) A conversation with my brother James about how he dislocated his shoulder in a skateboarding accident.
179. The Ramblings of an Exhausted Teacher I’m exhausted after a sleepless night and countless hours of exam marking – what has happened to my mind? Another rambling episode.
178. I’m Still Here A rambling episode in which I give you some recent news and talk about various things.
*A Letter to My Listeners
177. What Londoners Say vs What They Mean Here are some of the typical things that Londoners say, and explanations of what they really mean.
176. Grammar: Verb Tense Review A complete review of all the main verb tenses (past, present and future) in English.
175. The Phrasal Verb Chronicles #1 An improvised story featuring 50 phrasal verbs that I’ve taught in my other podcast “A Phrasal Verb a Day”.
174. How to Learn English with Luke’s English Podcast Some top tips for using this podcast to improve your English, and a tour of my apartment.
173. The Curse of The Lambton Worm A fantasy story from English folklore, improvised on the podcast.
172. British Comedy: Peter Cook & Dudley Moore An introduction to British comedy legends Pete & Dud.
171. A Cup of Tea with Daniel Burt (Part 2) More conversation with Daniel about Australia, Australian accents and typical Australian English.
170. Basking in My Moment of Glory / Vocabulary of Success & Failure LEP won another competition! I ramble about success and failure, then explain some vocabulary.
169. A Cup of Tea with Daniel Burt (Part 1) An interview with a comedy writer from Australia.
168. Please Vote! (and stuff like that) Asking you to vote for me in another competition.
167. Memory, Mnemonics & Learning English Techniques for improving your memory for effective language learning.
166. The Prawn Story A funny improvised story about a prawn who gets lost in the ocean.
165. English Premier League Football (with James Simpson) A chat with my mate James Simpson about English football.
164. Transcript Collaboration How writing transcripts for L.E.P. is good for everyone!
163. Skype Chat with My Brother I talk to James over Skype about some of his favourite British films.
162. Having Babies: Vocabulary / A Male Perspective Vocabulary for talking about babies and childbirth, and some comments from the male point of view.
161. She’s Having a Baby (with Amber Minogue) An interview with Amber Minogue, pregnant with her first child, about pregnancy and childbirth.
160. The A to Z of Christmas I’m joined by Raphael from Liverpool as we chat about everything you need to know about Christmas in the UK.
158 & 159. A Cup of Tea with… Paul Taylor The first time Paul Taylor has been on the podcast. Paul’s a comedian who works for Apple. We get to know Paul and talk about typical Christmas in the UK. Paul and I copy different accents in English.
157. A Cup of Coffee with… Sarah Donnelly (Part 2) Sarah answers listeners’ questions from Facebook.
156. British Comedy: Ali G An introduction to the hilarious British comedy character Ali G.
155. A Cup of Coffee with… Sarah Donnelly (Part 1) An interview with American comedian and language teacher Sarah Donnelly.
154. British Slang (H to M) Learn some more British slang phrases, and find out more about the real UK.
153. The Talking Dog Story Another funny improvised story, this time about a talking dog.
*Doctor Who Episode – Language Analysis A guest blog post with language analysis of an old episode of LEP. All done by top English teacher Richard Gallen.
152. I’m leaving Podomatic… and moving to Audioboo.fm The podcast now has a new audio host. How can you find it? And how will this affect the podcast? (It should make it better)
151. Google Questions I try to answer some of strange questions that people have typed into the Google search engine.
150. British Slang (D to G) Learn some British slang phrases, and learn more about the real UK.
149. Backing Up Into The Cloud A rambling episode about everything and nothing, and using hot-air balloons to save your data in the sky (or not)
148. British Slang (A to C) Learn some British slang phrases, and learn more about the real UK.
147. Idioms and Expressions from Episodes 145 & 146 Lots of idiomatic language and other vocabulary from the previous two episodes, explained and clarified.
146. Nightmare Teaching Experiences (Part 2)
145. Nightmare Teaching Experiences (Part 1) Some stories about difficult teaching experiences, and what I learned from them.
144. The Chaos of English Pronunciation The poem which almost nobody can read because it contains all the most difficult-to-pronounce words in the English language. I (try to) read it.
143. A Cup of Tea with… Robert Hoehn A (slightly controversial) conversation with my American friend Robert from Minnesota!
142. The Annual General Meeting (Part 2)
141. The Annual General Meeting (Part 1) A (simulated) meeting with stakeholders in LEP. Discussion and funny rambling on different topics.
140. Ghost Stories Some strange, scary and mysterious personal accounts of ghosts and the unexplained.
139. Hard Driving Vocabulary about cars and driving, all taught while driving a Mini through Paris.
138. Discussing Movies (Part 2)
137. Discussing Movies (Part 1) Discussion about movies with a film studies student called Henry, with vocabulary for discussing films.
136. Cycling from London to Paris An interview with Ben Fisher – a cyclist and his story of cycling through England and France.
135. Raining Animals “It’s raining cats and dogs” – Do Brits usually say this? Vocabulary for talking about heavy rain, and discussion on the phenomenon of animals falling from the sky.
134. The Story of Salvo An interview with some friends about the rise and fall of our punk rock band.
*Old Comments Box Archive Read comments from listeners from my old website on Podomatic
133. Hip-Hop Lyric Analysis Talking about hip-hop music and discussing the lyrics to the track “My Mind’s Playing Tricks On Me” by Geto Boys.
132. Pronouncing ~ed Endings (with Added Romance and Horror) How to pronounce -ed Endings in English, and a funny romantic story (with a bit of horror too).
131. Rickipedia My Dad, Rick, answers questions from listeners on Facebook.
130. A Cup of Tea with… Sebastian Marx An interview with American comedian Sebastian Marx, about learning French and what it’s like to be an American in Europe.
129. A Cup of Tea with… Pierre Gaspard An interview with a French friend about how he learned English so well.
128. Luke’s Stand-Up Comedy Show Listen to me doing 25 minutes of stand up comedy on stage in Paris.
*Mini Podcast – Feeling Nervous Just some vocabulary about feeling nervous.
127. Computer Games My personal history of computer games, from the earliest games like Pong and Space Invaders, to modern classics like Zelda and GTA5.
126. Your Emails, Comments and Questions I answer more questions from listeners about English and other things.
125. The Pink Gorilla Story A funny story about a pink gorilla, completely improvised!
*Another Award-Winning Year! I won another award for Luke’s English Podcast!
124. James Bond Discussing the cultural phenomenon of OO7, with some vocabulary.
*Thanks for Voting / Downloading Problems
123. What’s Been Going On? Some descriptions of recent news events.
*Competition Time Again!
122. The End of the World? Debunking some of the conspiracy theories about the end of the world.
121: Americanisms (Part 2)
120. Americanisms Why do Brits have a problem with the way Americans use English?
119. First Impressions of Life in Paris Some descriptions of what life is like for an Englishman in Paris (that’s me)
118. Sick in Japan The true story of how I ended up sick in a hospital bed in Japan.
117. Psychics / Cold Reading / Barnum Statements Some sceptical discussion of mind reading and psychics, with some interviews.
116. Could it be you…? Does the profile I’m reading in this episode sound like your personality?
115. A Chat About Music James and I drink some beer and interview each other about our musical memories.
114. Twelve Natural Expressions Some fun conversation and vocabulary teaching.
113. Setting The World To Rights A deep discussion in a pub with my colleague Eamon.
112. Vocabulary Review – Episodes 1-11 A chance to review some of the vocabulary from the first 11 episodes of this podcast.
*111. Thanks for your comments And another one :)
*110. A Letter from Luke Another note from me to you.
109. Friday Night Banter (aka The Slightly Drunk Episode) Slightly drunken nonsense and fun with my comedy mates Alex, Paul and Moz.
*London Olympics 2012 (Video) Interviews with Londoners at the 2012 Olympic Games.
108. In Bed with Luke Just a news update about what’s been going on recently with my kitchen and my move to France, recorded ‘on’ a bed (not ‘in’ one, actually)
107. Messing Around with Accents and Voices Kate and I have fun copying lots of different accents and discussing accents and voices in general.
106. Brighton Fringe Festival #3
105. Brighton Fringe Festival #2
104. Brighton Fringe Festival #1 A funny series of episodes with comedians Alex Love, Paul Langton and Moz, recorded at the Brighton Fringe Festival.
103. The Queen and The Royal Family I answer lots of common questions about The Queen and the recent diamond jubilee.
102. Competition Winners Who won the LEP competition?
*101. A Note from Luke A letter from me, with some recent news.
100. Going To The Pub Everything you need to know about going to the pub in the UK! With James.
99. The Rotary Sushi Bar of English Another rambling episode! This one features lots of thoughts about food from around the world.
98. Luke vs Oliver (Part 2)
97. Luke vs Oliver (Part 1) Comparing, contrasting and discussing many different things, with Oliver.
94 – 96. Competition Entries Listen to competition entries from some listeners around the world.
93. Weird… or just different? A discussion with James and Aaron about cultural differences around the world.
92. UK Royal Family Opinions – Video (Part 2) [TRANSCRIPT]
*Competition Update
91. The A to Z of Random Thoughts A funny rambling episode about many different things with topics from A to Z.
90. Competition + Phrasal Verbs A, B + C Details of a competition and some phrasal verbs.
89. A Day In The Life A description of my typical daily routine, in immense detail.
88. How To Play The Drums Learn the rudiments of playing the drums like a rock star, in English.
87. 6 Idioms and 6 Phrasal Verbs Oli and I teach you some vocabulary.
86. Criminal Law A discussion with my cousin Oli about a complex and mysterious criminal case.
85. A Stand-up Comedy Gig Listen to me talk about how it feels to perform stand up comedy.
84. Luke’s English Braincast A discussion with my brother about recent news stories.
83. How to Swear in British English – VERY RUDE CONTENT The complete guide to all the rudest words in British English!
82. Voting / Elections / Politics / Government Vocabulary and information about the political system in the UK, and a comedy sketch.
81. What Makes a Great Teacher? A guest-post and audio episode about good teachers.
80. Essential Social English Some of the most important things you need to know in every day situations in English.
79. Family Arguments and Debates Listen to my family playing speaking games and discussing various topics.
78. Christmas – It’s all about Family A funny conversation with my brother about Christmas and lots of other things.
77. Bear vs Shark Some speculation about an imaginary fight between two evenly matched opponents, and a stand up routine.
*VOTE FOR LUKE’S ENGLISH PODCAST
76. Mind The Gap – How to use the London Underground The real Londoner’s guide to everything you need to know about using the tube.
75. Not a Distraction! A rambling episode about various things, including the benefits of listening to LEP.
74. UK Royal Family Opinions – English Interviews in London Interviews with native speakers in London about the royal family.
73. Steve Jobs All about Steve Jobs, recorded the day after he died. Why was Steve Jobs such a success?
72. The Cheese Episode Another rambling challenge for fun!
71. The Ice Cream Episode A ‘ramble challenge’ in which I have to keep talking (rambling) for as long as possible without any preparation. The first rambling episode on LEP.
70. Language and Music An interview with Francis – guitarist and language teacher – about the connections between learning music and learning a language.
69. Common Errors / Typical Mistakes Some of the most common errors I’ve ever heard as a language teacher, and their corrections.
68. Childhood / Growing Up / School Days – Phrasal Verbs and Expressions Talking about childhood experiences, with a language focus on phrasal verbs and other vocabulary.
67. Cockney / London Accent Listen to an interview with a cockney actor and learn about his accent.
66. Top Advice for Learning English / Idioms with ‘say’ / Culture Shock Some advice for learning English, some more idiomatic expressions and some comments about culture shock.
65. London Video Interviews Pt 5
64. London Video Interviews Part 5 (Video)
63. German and British Cultural Identity – Paco Erhard interview part 2 More conversation with Paco about Germany and Britain, and cultural stereotypes.
62. Learning English – Advice from a German comedian living in London An interview with Paco Erhard a German stand up comedian who speaks really good English.
61. 127 Hours / ‘Hand’ Idioms All about the movie directed by Danny Boyle, the true story of the film and idioms with the word ‘hand’.
60. The King’s Speech / ‘Mouth’ Idioms All about the Oscar winning movie with Colin Firth about King George VI, an interview with a stammerer, and some idioms related to the word ‘mouth’.
59. Billy Connolly Interview / More Scottish Accent Listen to an interview with Glaswegian comedian Billy Connolly and consider his accent.
58. Scotland / Scottish Accent An interview with Leslie about Scotland and the way Scottish people speak English.
57. Birmingham Accent / 12 Phrasal Verbs with the letter ‘A’ An interview with my friend Neil, comments about the Birmingham accent and some phrasal verbs.
56. British Accents and Dialects Lots of information about the different accents you can hear in the UK. Listen to me copy accents from around the country.
55. Mini Podcasts Collection 1 A selection of short recordings about budget cuts, a haircut, Banksy and how to make a good cup of tea in the UK.
54. Halloween / Guy Fawkes Night Cultural information about 31 October and 5 November in the UK.
53. Discussing Grammar with My Brother How much does my brother know about grammar? The answer – not as much as you do.
52. London Video Interviews Part 4
51. Luke Answers Your Emails and Questions Answers on a range of different topics and language areas.
50. Good Things Come To Those Who Wait Vocabulary and expressions related to being patient.
49. Stand Up Comedy An introduction to stand up comedy.
48. Useful Expressions for Travelling How to talk about your travelling experiences when you’re on holiday.
47. Travelling in Vietnam Descriptions of my holiday in Vietnam.
46. I’m on Holiday! I’ll be back in a couple of weeks
45. Luke & Andy’s Crime Stories A funny conversation with my friend Andy in which we share some anecdotes about low-level crime.
44. Telling Anecdotes How to tell anecdotes and personal stories in English. Listen to authentic English and learn some key language.
43. Notting Hill Carnival Video Frustration (Out-takes) Just some funny outtakes from the Notting Hill Carnival video.
42. London Video Interviews Pt 3 (Audio)
41. London Video Interviews Part 3 (Video)
40. Health / Feeling ill – Phrasal Verbs & Expressions A funny episode featuring lots of vocabulary about feeling unwell.
39. Subtitles in Videos (Video) A video with some comments and advice on watching videos without subtitles.
38. London Video Interviews Part 2 (Audio)
37. London Video Interviews Part 2 (Video)
36. London Video Interviews – Part 1 (Audio)
35. London Video Interviews – Part 1 (Video) A video featuring native speakers in London. This video has over 1 million views on YouTube.
34. Promo Video: Coming Soon – Native English Speaker Interviews (no longer available)
33. Money Money Money – 12 Phrasal Verbs & more… Vocabulary and chat about money matters.
32. Doctor Who Everything you need to know about one of the UK’s favourite TV shows.
31. Hello! / Argument Sketch Another quick message and a comedy sketch.
30. The Mystery Continues… Listen to me tell the rest of the mystery story from episode 29.
29. Mystery Story / Narrative Tenses A very popular episode – learn narrative tenses and listen to a short mystery story (especially for the Doctor Who and Sherlock fans out there).
28. Interview with a Native Speaker – The Weather A funny conversation about the weather with a teenager from London called Chris.
27. British Weather (Lots of exciting vocabulary!!!) All the vocabulary you need to talk about the weather in the UK!
26. Are you a good learner of English? Important advice for how to be an effective learner of English.
25. Notting Hill Carnival – 40 Phrasal Verbs A video diary about the Notting Hill Carnival, with 40 phrasal verbs.
24. Music Idioms Learn some idioms related to music in this funny episode.
23. Summer Music Festivals Everything you need to know about the culture of music festivals in the UK, and some vocabulary.
22. Full Interview with Vicky from China The rest of the interview with Vicky.
21. Learning English with Podcasts – Advice from a Chinese student at Oxford University An interview with a Chinese student studying at Oxford – talking about how to use podcasts to help your English.
20. Beware of Bad Pronunciation Making fun of a viral video featuring someone doing a bad British accent.
19. Passive Verb Forms A news story about Michael Jackson and then some essential grammar about passive verb forms.
18. 10 More Phrasal Verbs Listen to a business meeting with Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Sean Connery and learn 12 phrasal verbs.
17. Hello To My Listeners Around The World I respond to questions and comments from listeners around the world, including various questions about learning English.
16. Michael Jackson Interviews with my friends about the king of pop.
15. Extra Podcast – 12 Phrasal Verbs Learn 12 really useful phrasal verbs.
14. English Mania / British & American Pronunciation Listening to a talk about international English, then a language focus on differences between British and American pronunciation.
13. Video Podcast – I LIKE IT! A vocabulary lesson on 16 alternative ways to say “I like it”.
12. Extra Podcast – Quick Hello 3 Another quick message and a comedy sketch with transcript.
11. Men vs Women (with Nick, Howard, Shirley & Michelle) Interviews with my friends Nick, Howard, Shirley and Michelle about differences between men and women, and the book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”. The language focus is on vocabulary used during the interviews.
10. Extra Podcast – Quick Hello 2 [TA] A quick message from me, some information about Monty Python’s Flying Circus and a comedy sketch.
9. Travelling in India [TBP] A conversation with my friend Ben about travelling experiences in India, with a language focus on expressions used during the conversation.
8. Dating and Relationships [TA] Vocabulary for talking about dating and relationships, and a comedy sketch.
7. Susan Boyle [TA] Talking about the reality TV pop star Susan Boyle, and a language focus on idioms to describe personality.
6. Vampires! [TA] A lecture on the myth of the vampire in modern popular culture, with a language focus on vocabulary to describe emotions.
5. Joaquin Phoenix [TA] A conversation with my friend Howard about the actor Joaquin Phoenix, and a language focus on using modal verbs for speculation.
4. Extra Podcast – Quick Hello [TA] A quick message from me and a comedy sketch.
3. Music/The Beatles [TA] An interview with my Mum about The Beatles
2. Easter / Interview with my Dad / Language Focus: Adverbials [TA] An interview with my Dad about Easter and his childhood, with a language focus on using adverbials like “hopefully” and “apparently”
1. Introduction [TA] Who is Luke? What is Luke’s English Podcast? How can it improve your English?