Yearly Archives: 2012

112. Vocabulary Review – Episodes 1-11

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Refresh your vocabulary from the first eleven episodes of Luke’s English Podcast.

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Introduction
Everyone knows it’s vital to review vocabulary you have learned. If you don’t review it then you’re likely to forget it! So, in this episode I will help you to remember some of the expressions I taught you in the early days of Luke’s English Podcast.

Of course, we will be doing this in a natrual way by demonstrating the way these expressions can be used in a natural, authentic and unscripted conversation. All you have to do is notice the expressions, remember them and then try and pick them up yourself.

Here’s what’s going to happen in the episode.

First, I will read out a list of 56 expression from episodes 1-11 and give you brief definitions of them. You can see the list of those expressions and their definitions below. Yes, I am a kind, generous and generally wonderful human for doing that!

Second, you should listen to the conversation between Kate and me and try to either notice the expressions as they are used (listen for the grammar of the expression, how it is pronounced etc) or predict which expression is coming next. You can do this while looking at the expression list below, or by simply listening without the list.

Third, you should look at the list again and practise using the expressions yourself. Perhaps you can just say some sentences about yourself or people you know. You should speak them rather than write them. You could record yourself speaking them and listen back to the recordings to give yourself some perspective on your pronunciation.

All of these things are good ways to improve your English with this podcast. Of course, if you prefer you can just sit back and enjoy listening to the podcast. As ever, please add your comments below. You can say whatever you like. Why don’t you write a sentence about yourself using one of the expressions from this episode?

Thanks again for listening to Luke’s English Podcast.

Vocabulary Review
Here is the list of expressions from this episode:
1. “he’s let himself go” = he’s allowed himself to become less attractive
2. “to slur your words” = to pronounce words wrong due to alcohol (or possibly something else such as an illness)
3. “eccentric” = strange, unusual, slightly crazy
4. “I’m a bit sceptical” = I doubt that something is true
5. “it’s a piss take” = it’s a joke
6. “I’m leaning towards…” = I prefer one of two options
7. “I was scared stiff” = I was really scared
8. “It frightened the life out of me” = it really scared me
9. “I jumped / it made me jump” = it scared or suprised me so much that I jumped
10. “I was speechless” = I didn’t know what to say
11. “I was lost for words” = I didn’t know what to say
12. “I was chuffed (to bits)” = I was really pleased
13. “I was gutted” = I was really disappointed
14. “I was really down in the dumps” = I was depressed
15. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” = don’t judge something by appearances alone
16. “There’s more (to something) than meets the eye” = there is more than just what you see
17. “a laughing stock” = something that everyone laughs at (in a bad way)
18. “moral fibre” = inner moral strength
19. “to be as bold as brass” = to be over confident
20. “his bark is worse than his bite” = he’s less dangerous than he seems
21. ” a barrel of laughs” = a lot of fun
22. “to flirt with someone” = to behave like you think someone is attractive and that you want them to fancy you
23. “to fancy someone” = to think someone is attractive
24. “to chat someone up” = to talk to someone in order to make them like you or if you want to ask the person out on a date
25. “to go out with someone’ = to go on a date with someone, or to be in a relationship with someone
26. “to ask someone out” = to ask someone to go on a date with you
27. “to have chemistry” = to have a special feeling between two people (romantic sense)
28. “to fall for someone” = to fall in love with someone
29. “to drift apart” = to slowly change and become different over time
30. “to split up with someone” = to end a relationship with someone
31. “to dump someone” = to end a relationship with someone by rejecting them
32. “I’m into it” = I like it and I’m interested in it
33. “I’m keen on it” = I’m really interested in it
34. “I’m fond of it” = it’s special to me
35. “it appeals to me” = I like the sound of it / I like the idea of it
36. “it goes down well (with someone)” = other people like something you do
37. “it’s to my liking” = I like it (quite formal – like a sir!)
38. “I’m crazy about it” = I really like it a lot
39. “I’m mad about it” = I really like it a lot
40. “I’m attached to it” = I like it and I need it
41. “I’m addicted to it” = I can’t stop doing it
42. “I’ve grown to like it” = I didn’t use to like it but now I do
43. “I’ve got a soft spot for her” = I like her a bit more than I like other people, she’s special to me
44. “I can’t get enough of it” = I’m never bored of it and I want more and more
45. “to get round to doing something” = to finally find the time to do something
46. “to put something off” = to postpone something
47. “to be caught up in something” = to be distracted / to be made busy by something
48. “to give up on something” = to stop trying to do something / or stop believing in something
49. “to run out of something” = to have none left
50. “it takes up my time” = it uses my time
51. “to go off something” = to stop liking something
52. “to hold out for something” = to wait & be patient for something
53. “to hold on” = to wait
54. “to be pissed off” = to be angry or annoyed
55. “to bottle up your feelings” = to not express your feelings and keep them inside
56. “to cheer someone up” = to make someone feel happier

111. Thanks for your comments

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This note was written in September 2012, and the audio was recorded in October 2014.

Hi everyone,

Thanks very much for your comments here, and the emails I have been sent.

I have read your all your comments and I have taken them on board. I might not be able to make all the changes that everyone has suggested (you can’t please all the people all the time, etc etc) but I will continue to work on the podcast when I can, and keep it useful and enjoyable.

I have a few episodes to upload soon so you’ll be able to keep listening. In the meantime, thanks again for taking the time to give me some feedback.

Oh, and by the way “to stream something” means to listen or watch video or audio online rather than downloading it. For example, when you watch a YouTube video you are streaming it directly from the internet. When you use iTunes to listen to a podcast you’re (usually) not streaming it but downloading it and then listening to it later.

All the best,

Luke

110. A Letter from Luke

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This letter was written in September 2012. The audio was recorded in October 2014.

How’s it going? I hope you’re all very well and having an absolutely lovely day / night / morning / evening / afternoon / lunch / drive / jog / bath / sleep / gym session! This is just a letter from me to you so I can say hello, give you an update and ask you a couple of questions. There is no audio attached to this episode. I have a couple of episodes of the podcast coming so you will be able to enjoy them soon.

So what’s been going on? As you know I’m in the process of moving to France at the moment. It’s all very exciting and pretty chaotic too. My flat is still full of boxes and bags. I’ve put a lot of things into storage and I’m packing things to take to Paris with me. I’m going through all the personal possessions bit by bit which is pretty amazing because it’s like going on a journey though my life over the last 10 years or more. If you’ve ever moved house then you’ll know exactly what I mean. I keep finding things that remind me of time I spent in Japan, or old friends I’ve lost touch with. It’s quite emotional sometimes. I’d recommend going through your possessions and clearing out your old stuff. It’s quite a refreshing process. It feels like detoxing or losing weight or something.

The kitchen is finally finished and I’m glad to say it looks great. I’m sure I’ll have no problem finding tenants for the flat. How could anyone resist such a lovely place?! I’ve got loads of other (boring) things to do before I go. Now I can’t wait to be installed in Paris. I’ll make podcasts about my experiences there, and lots more useful language and expressions as well.

Now, since it is a time of change for me, and I’m re-evaluating a lot of things, I would like to ask you some questions about the podcast. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to spare a couple of minutes to let me know your thoughts. I want to make the podcast/website as useful and entertaining for you as possible. Obviously, I do this in my free time, which is very limited these days, so I have to be economical with my time. I can’t fix every problem or do everything you suggest but I will try.

I would like to know your opinions on how I can improve Luke’s English Podcast. So please, if you have time just give me your answers to the following questions. You can write me an email at luketeacher@hotmail.com or just add your comments below this message. You don’t have to answer every question. Thank you in advance!

Questions:
1. How did you find Luke’s English Podcast?
2. What is the best thing about Luke’s English Podcast?
3. Is there anything I could improve about the podcast?
4. Is the website easy to use? Is the podcast easy to listen to?
5. How do you listen? On your phone/ipod? At home on a computer? Do you download the episodes or stream them? (Just ask if you don’t know what these words mean)

Thank you very much! Your comments will really help me to continue making useful podcasts for you.

Have a fantastic day/night/evening/morning/afternoon/breakfast/lunch/dinner/drive/bath/shave/sleep or whatever you happen to be doing!

All the best,

Luke

109. Friday Night Banter (The Drunk Episode) with Alex, Paul & Moz

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I’m joined by Alex, Paul and Moz as we have a few drinks, do some comedy improv games and talk general nonsense. Enjoy!

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In this episode you’ll hear:
-An introduction (10-12 mins) in which I give you a general update and explain what you’ll hear in the rest of the episode.

-The results of a Friday night recording in my flat with Alex, Paul and Moz. We had a few drinks while recording this episode so you might hear us slurring our words and generally getting a little bit pissed* so I hope you don’t mind that! In fact, according to all your comments on the last episode, you’d love to hear a slightly drunk conversation between 4 Londoners. However, if you’re expecting to hear 4 completely smashed football hooligans chanting the national anthem, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed as we are all quite civilised drinkers these days.
*rude word! (as you may already know, it means ‘drunk’)

So that’s it for now. Please leave your comments, thoughts, jokes and suggestions below.

Have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night and if you listen to the podcast while driving or operating heavy machinery please take care!

Luke

London Olympics 2012

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More interviews with speakers of English. This time I went to the Olympic Park in East London and spoke to some people about the Olympic Games.

TRANSCRIPT:

London Olympics 2012

What do you think?

Girl 1: Hello

Girl 2: Hello

Luke: Hello, where are you from?

Girl 1: Australia

Luke: Really?

Girl 2: And the UK

Luke: Right, okay, fantastic. So, you are living in England are you?

Girl 1: I am living in England, at the moment yeah.

Luke: Okay, so which event are you going to see today?

Girl 1: Women’s basketball

Luke: Okay right, I see. So how was the Olympic ceremony in your opinion?

Girl 2: It was pretty amazing, yeah it was really good.

Luke: Okay, what do you think of the orbit over there?

Girl 1: I want to go up there

Luke: Yeah?

Girl 1: Can you go up there?

Luke: I don’t know actually

Girl 1: I think you can and I want to go up there, it looks cool

Luke: What do you think about the way it looks?

Girl 2: Yeah it looks really good everything’s done really nice and it’s, yeah really well done.

Luke: Okay, cool and so in general is the Olympics good for London or bad for London?

Girl 1: Good I think

Luke: Why’s that?

Girl 1: I don’t know, it brings more people here. I don’t know! I’m not even from London! To her…

Luke: What do you think? Do you think it’s improving London or is it just annoying or…?

Girl 2: A little bit annoying, but

Luke: How is it annoying a little bit?

Girl 2: It’s just I guess costs quite a lot and the traffic and everything’s quite a hassle but generally I think it’s pretty good event for us to have

Girl 1: The spirit!

Girl 2: Yeah, it brings everyone together. But it’s annoying when you have to try and get to work

Luke: Yeah the traffic is a bit of a problem

Girl 2: Yeah the traffic but no  it’s good it’s good for us to have  .

Luke: Well have a great time

Girl 1: Thank you

Girl 2: Thank you cheers bye!

Luke: Thank you, bye

 

Luke: Hi, how are you doing?

Man: Very well thank you

Luke: Where are you from?

Man: We’re from Devon

Luke: Devon, okay. So, hello

Daughter: Hello

Luke: Hi, what’s your name?

Daughter: Ellie

Luke: How’s the Olympics for you so far?

Daughter: It’s cool

Luke: Yeah, what do you like about it the best?

Daughter: I’m not really sure

Luke: You’re not really sure?

Daughter: No, it’s all good

Luke: Which event are you going to see?

Daughter: Erm, the swimming.

Luke: Swimming, okay, alright brilliant. So what did you think of the opening ceremony?

Man: I thought it was pretty awesome actually, I thought it was a good err, it was good for Britain, showed off Britain, a bit quirky, a bit funny, errrm, yeah not trying to be anything that we’re not.

Luke: Okay. And erm what do you think of the Orbit over there?

Daughter: I think it’s really cool.

Luke: You like it?

Daughter: Unusual yeah

Luke: Unusual you think yeah? And what do you think about that?

Man: I haven’t really thought about it to be honest but it’s an interesting structure

Luke:T is isn’t it yeah. Do you think that the Olympics is good for London or bad for London in general?

Man: Brilliant, absolutely amazing

Luke: Why?

Man: Err, it just puts Britain on the map, puts London right in the centre where it should be. I think it’s great for Britain.

Luke: So who are you going to cheer for today?

Daughter: Erm…

Luke: Britain I would say. Team GB right? Okay right well have a fantastic day

Man: Thank you very much

Luke: and err, bye

Man & Daughter: Bye!

 

Luke: Hi mate

American: How’s it going?

Luke: Fine thanks. So where are you from?

American: I’m from America

Luke: What a surprise! And which event are you going to see today?

American: We’re actually going to watch Phelps swim. We’re going to support him.

Luke: You’re going to see what?

American: Phelps, Michael Phelps

Luke: Oh yes

American: in the 400 IM

Luke: Okay brilliant. And so how’s the Olympics for you so far?

American: Oh well it’s our first day here so we’re excited about it. Hopefully we can get back out here and see some more events.

Luke: Have you been in London long now?

American: I’ve been in London for two weeks actually. Doing summer school here.

Luke: What do you think of the place?

American: I love it. It’s a lot of fun.

Luke: What exactly about it do you like?

American: What do I… pardon me?

Luke: What is it exactly that you like about London?

American: Oh it’s, I don’t know it’s different from everywhere else, you can’t, like, can’t find most things you find all in one place like you can in London.

Luke: How is it different to the States?

American: There’s a lot of different things. The culture, the language are slightly different. It just, I don’t know it’s the European melting pot I guess, from over here.

Luke: What do you think of The Orbit?

American: Erm, I don’t know. I guess it’s err, London’s attempt at the Eiffel Tower.

Luke: You think so?

American: I guess

Luke: What is it?

American: Err, it’s an observatory tower I believe. Maybe I’ll make my way up there.

Luke: Yeah, okay well have a fantastic evening

American: Thank you nice to meet you

Luke: And a great time in London

American: Bye

Luke: Bye

108. In Bed with Luke

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Reporting directly from my own bed, raqmbling about various topics and bits of personal news.

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Hello! In this episode I give you some latest news and talk about these things:
The London Olympics
My holiday in Barcelona
The BESIG Presentation award (See the video below)
A recent comedy gig I did (You’ll hear a recording of the show at the end of this episode)
My kitchen
Learning French
The new Batman movie
Should I upload a recent episode which I recorded with my friends while we were quite drunk? Leave a comment below to let me know.

I hope you’re well and enjoying life.

Here’s a video of the award winning presentation I did with Andy Johnson at the IATEFL BESIG Summer Symposium in Paris.

107. Messing Around with Accents and Voices (with Kate Fisher)

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Improve your understanding of different accents in English, and have fun listening to Kate and me just playing around with different voices.

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Introduction
Have you ever wanted to know how to talk like an American cowboy? (Well of course) Do you know the difference between someone from the north or south of England? Can you recognise accents from Scotland, Belfast and Dublin? What about accents from Australia or New Zealand? Listen to this episode to find out more.

In this episode I am joined by my friend Kate Fisher, who is also an English teacher. Kate and I both love talking in different accents and having fun with voices and characters. So in this episode you can listen to Kate and me doing just that. The main idea is for Kate and me to explore the way different accents sound. We don’t claim to be perfect at all these different accents, it is just fun to try messing around with them, and talking about how the different accents sound to us. Some of these voices we do are not really ‘accents’ as such, but rather types of character that we might have heard in movies or TV shows (e.g. the way cowboys in western movies speak). Listening to this episode is a great way for you to get used to hearing and noticing different accents from around the world.

This episode is another fast one. Kate and I speak completely naturally in lots of different voices. It might be difficult to understand, but don’t forget that I am a fully qualified and well experienced teacher of English and I know what I’m doing! The episode may be quite chaotic when you listen for the first time but listen to the episode several times and you will understand and enjoy it more and more. It’s listening to music. You might not get it the first time, but the more you listen the more you get to know it, and the more you understand and appreciate it. I strongly suggest you try to copy different accents too. This will really raise your awareness of the sounds of different accents in English, and it can be really great fun.

Accents, Voices & Characters
In this episode we talk about (and copy) these accents: (No offence is intended in this episode at all)
-‘Cowboy’
-Standard American
-Yorkshire and Lancashire (North of England)
-Lincolnshire (North/Midlands)
-North and South of England
-South West of England (Bath)
-The voice a buffalo might have (if it could speak English)
-The voice an oak tree might have (again, if it could speak English)
-Some Scottish accents
-Northern Ireland
-Republic of Ireland (Dublin I think)
-Cockney
-Australian
-New Zealand (Kiwi)
I have many more accents and voices which we didn’t talk about in this episode, so there may be more episodes like this in the future.

Please leave your comments and thoughts below, and again thanks for listening to Luke’s English Podcast. If you are American, Irish, Scottish, Kiwi, Aussie, a cowboy, a buffalo or an oak tree, I hope you don’t get offended by this episode at all, and that you realise that Kate and I are just having fun and that we love all your accents very much. As they say, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” and I believe it is true.

Best wishes,
Luke

106. Brighton Fringe Festival #3 (with Alex, Paul & Moz)

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Part 3 of the Brighton Trilogy. In this episode I ask Paul, Alex and Moz some very stupid questions, with some revealing results. Listen to the previous two episodes to find out more about The Brighton Fringe and my comedy counterparts.

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In this episode I ask Paul, Alex and Moz some very stupid questions, with some revealing results.

Listen to the previous two episodes to find out more about The Brighton Fringe and my comedy counterparts.

Please leave your comments and questions below. I am always glad to hear from you.

All the best, have a good weekend and speak to you again soon.

Luke

105. Brighton Fringe Festival #2 (with Alex, Paul & Moz)

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Part 2 of the Brighton Trilogy.

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Hi everyone, how are you? (I’m fine thanks Luke.) Oh, you’re fine? Glad to hear that. I’m fine too thanks. In fact, I’m in a pretty good mood today. (Why Luke?) Well this weekend I won an award at a business English conference. (Wow, that’s cool. What’s the award?) It’s an award for ‘best presentation for a first time speaker’. I won it with a colleague of mine called Andy Johnson. (Is he related to Luke Johnson?) No, he isn’t! It’s just a coincidence! Actually, you already know Andy because he was in an episode of Luke’s English Podcast once. It was called Luke and Andy’s Crime Stories, remember that? Anyway, I’ll tell you more about that award later.

Let me tell you about this episode of the podcast that you’re about to listen to. This one is the second of 3 episodes I recorded at The Brighton Fringe Festival last month. It might be quite difficult to follow this episode because you will hear a conversation between 4 people and it’s quite fast. Do keep listening though because it is very good practice for you to follow natural and authentic conversation like this.

So, in this episode I talk to Alex, Paul, Moz (and Luke Johnson) again about various subjects including:
-The art of flyering
-How Alex would describe Paul to an alien
-Luke’s lion-like hair (it’s like a lion’s mane)
-Paul’s approach to comedy (shouting, funny faces, not many punchlines)
-Luke’s approach to comedy (surprisingly similar to Paul’s)
-Alex’s approach to comedy (it’s cerebral)
-Why Moz is like a pink dolphin in the Amazon (you’ll have to listen to find out why!)
-Moz’s weird relationship with the truth
-Moz’s comedy (it revolves around bodily functions, and gibberish)
-Paul, Alex and Moz’s relationship with the English language
-Why the English don’t speak foreign languages
-Are the English fundamentally lazy people?
-Learning French at school using a book called Tricolore, which was set in La Rochelle in France
-Experiences of going to another country and living in another culture
-Beeping out swear words (In the end I decided not to ‘beep out’ the swear word here)
-Paul’s cultural experiences in the USA
-Differences between London and the countryside
Alex’s blog: www.alexlove.co.uk

Thanks for listening and remember that your donations help to make this podcast possible.
Luke

104. Brighton Fringe Festival #1 (with Alex, Paul & Moz)

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Part 1 of a trilogy of podcasts from the Brighton Fringe Festival. Join me and my friends in Brighton as we discuss various topics.

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Hello Listeners! This is the first of three podcast episodes recorded with comedians Alex Love, Paul Langton and Moz at the Brighton Fringe Festival last month. In this episode I introduce Alex, Paul and Moz and we discuss a number of topics including: British accents, experiences in foreign countries, comedy shows and a mysterious character called Luke Johnson. Listen to the episode to find out more, and please feel free to leave comments and questions below.

Every evening Alex, Paul and I performed a comedy show called Snigger Happy in a hot room above a friendly pub called The Temple. We had a great time performing the shows and enjoying ourselves in Brighton, which is a lovely town near the sea on the south coast of England. Also with us was another comedian called Moz, who was performing a solo show called Balloon. We performed 4 shows, with each of us doing 15-20 minutes of stand-up. I also managed to record three episodes with Alex, Paul and Moz. This is the first of those episodes.

Click here to visit Alex Love’s blog: www.alexlove.co.uk It’s all about his experiences performing comedy in venues all over London and the UK in general. Alex is a really good writer, and has written as a journalist for The Guardian newspaper.