Author Archives: Luke Thompson

About Luke Thompson

I've been teaching English for over 20 years in London, Japan and France. I also do an award-winning podcast for learners of English called "Luke's English Podcast". In my free time I'm a stand-up comedian who regularly performs shows in English in Paris and sometimes London.

Episode 1000! 🎉

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Here it is, finally! The long-awaited episode 1000. It has taken me weeks to finish this. If you listen, you will understand why it has taken so long! This is a celebration of this podcast after 17 years and 1000 episodes. It includes a lot of rambling, an interview with my brother, questions from friends and family, and the voices of various guests who have been on this podcast over the last few years. Also, regular interruptions from my daughter and all sorts of other random moments such as the sounds of dogs, woodpeckers, neighbours, and more! Thank you to all the LEPsters around the world and my guests for helping to make this achievement possible! ❤️

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Get the PDF transcript here 👇

Episode 1000 (Transcript) (1)Download


Sherlock Holmes & The Adventure of the Man with the Twisted Lip 🕵 [999]

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Back by popular demand, here is another Sherlock Holmes mystery for episode 999. How will Watson deal with his mini-mission to an opium den, before joining Holmes on one of his most singular cases so far, attempting to solve the disappearance of a gentleman and the suspicious involvement of the man with the twisted lip? Listen to the story and then keep listening as I break it down paragraph by paragraph.

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https://youtu.be/NeaeHcwl1rQ

Get the story text in PDF form 👇

Sherlock Holmes & The Adventure of the Man with the Twisted Lip [999]Download


Rambling in the Countryside 🏡 (feat. my daughter) [998]

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Some podcast housekeeping is necessary in this episode, as I talk about current LEP news, moving into a house in the countryside, sketchy plans for episode 1000, an update on the scary story competition, final thoughts on the World Cup, and more. My daughter joins me with various comments throughout, and at one point a bird even flies into the room. What fun we had. PDF transcript available.

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https://youtu.be/bD0E_8XhGPU

Get the PDF transcript here 👇

Rambling in the Countryside (feat. my daughter) [998]Download


WORLD CUP RAMBLE #4 ⚽️ FIFA 2026 England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs Argentina 🇦🇷 and more… (with Zdenek) [BONUS]

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Recorded the day after Argentina beat England in the semi-final 😭 here is World Cup Ramble #4. Zdenek joins me again as we discuss as many talking points as possible, including what on earth happened yesterday, the intense rivalry between Argentina & England, the historical background to that rivalry, Spain eliminating France, predictions for the final and so many other things, including a passionate conversation about cultural differences and communication style, plus the real heroes and villains of this epic World Cup competition. Normal podcasting will continue next week.

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Want more? Listen to Luke & Zdenek on The Footglish Podcast, recorded earlier the same day.

Subscribe to The Footglish Podcast wherever you get your podcasts ⚽️ 👉 https://pod.link/1751816033

Funny Childhood Memories & Stories (with Martin) [997]

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Martin returns with a set of questions about childhood, sparking a funny conversation full of stories from school, family holidays, getting into trouble, and formative years of Luke growing up both in urban West London and rural West Midlands. Expect a premium episode dealing with vocabulary in this conversation.

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https://youtu.be/5mVHR3qW-yo?si=xCWOUf9Vp-KXYjjA

Get the PDF transcript here 👇

Funny Childhood Memories & Stories (with Martin) Episode TranscriptDownload


WORLD CUP RAMBLE 3 – FIFA 2026 with Fred [BONUS]

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Here is the third World Cup ramble, covering the events of the last 16, predicting the outcomes of the quarter finals and beyond, and discussing the various issues, talking points and controversies. Is the World Cup rigged? Are the referees biased? What about the scandal involving FIFA and Trump? Who is going to win this massive competition? I’m joined by football fan and returning guest Fred Eyangoh. Leave your comments below and join the discussion!

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Debating Skills in English (with Ray Addam) [996]

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Win any argument in English with these incredible debating skills. Ray Addam joins me for a discussion about the art of debating, including various strategies you can use to help you win arguments, disagreements and debates. With plenty of examples given and techniques explained, this is surely a useful episode for developing your speaking skills in English.

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Get the PDF transcript 👇

Debating Skills in English (with Ray Addam) [996]Download

Links for Ray

Ray’s Preply profile, where students can book one-to-one English tuition with him 👇

Ray’s school website, where students can access his courses and join live group sessions to practise English together, as well as develop soft skills such as debating and public speaking 👇


WORLD CUP RAMBLE 2 – FIFA 2026 with Zdenek [BONUS]

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Here is the next bonus football rambling episode on LEP. The group stage of FIFA World Cup 2026 is over and teams are now being eliminated in the round of 32. In this episode, which is roughly the same length as the average game at WC2026, I am joined by Zdenek from The Footglish Podcast. Expect discussion of styles of play in modern football, the changes introduced this year and their effects on the game – including VAR updates, time wasting measures, plus an overview of England today (30 June) and Czechia, who is the true GOAT – Messi? Who will get to 1000 first? Luke or Christiano Ronaldo? Plus various meme-worthy moments of weirdness and hilarity.

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👉 Listen to The Footglish Podcast here

👉 Contact Zdenek through his website here

How to talk about HEATWAVES like a (sweaty) British man [995]

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There has been an awful heatwave in Europe recently, with really high temperatures and a humid, sticky atmosphere. In this episode I ramble about the conditions, explore vocabulary with the words “hot” and “heat” and show the typical things British people say when the weather is boiling. Expect various funny tangents, anecdotes and improvisations, including a David Attenborough BBC nature documentary about Luke trying to buy lunch on a red-hot Paris boulevard, and plenty more. PDF notes available.

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https://youtu.be/cJniaswOsRs

Get the episode PDF with notes and full transcript 👇

How to talk about HEATWAVES like a (sweaty) British man [995] PDF & TranscriptDownload


London Accents & Study Tips with Patricio Languages 🗣️🇬🇧 [994]

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What are the different English accents you can hear if you visit London? In this episode I am talking to Patricio from the YouTube channel Patricio Languages, who makes videos about diverse English accents from around the world. We talk about 4 specific accents that are native to his home town of London, namely Received Pronunciation, Cockney, Estuary English and Multicultural London English. We also chat about Patricio’s study routines for learning Spanish and Portuguese. So, plenty of insights about British English pronunciation, how to understand native English speakers, and some tips for language learning. Perfect topics for another episode of LEP, right? Full transcript available, and listen all the way to the end to hear me turn into a proper cockney geezer.

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Get the episode PDF 👇

London Accents & Study Tips with Patricio Languages [994]TRANSCRIPTDownload

Check out Patricio’s channel on YouTube 📺

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MHhqByqYiw

And why not go for a trip up north to Manchester?

And this is an interesting look at how Patricio studies Brazilian Portuguese 👇

Some more episodes about accents that I have done

67. Cockney / London Accent

This one isn’t about accents specifically, but Paul does some funny cockney impressions – “It is baking Dave” etc

575. British Comedy: Paul Chowdhry
682. Key Features of English Accents, Explained