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.
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? Amber & Paul have been regular guests on this podcast for 10 years. We usually have light-hearted and tangential conversations and these episodes are often very popular with long-term listeners. 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…
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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!
A 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”.
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.
Lord Lucan’s disappearance followed the brutal murder of his children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, and the attempted murder of his wife, Lady Lucan, for which he became the prime suspect. The case captivated the public’s imagination, blending elements of scandal, wealth, and the darker side of aristocratic life. Despite numerous alleged sightings and theories over the decades, Lord Lucan’s fate remains one of Britain’s most enduring enigmas. This episode covers the details of his life, the night of the crime, and the subsequent police investigation, offering insights into how a man of such high social standing could vanish so completely.
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…
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.
My guest today is Charles Pellegrin, a bilingual (English & French) journalist working for the TV channel France 24. Charles currently works as the presenter of a morning business program, but used to be based in China, where he lived in Beijing for 3 years. Charles also does stand-up comedy in English, which is how I know him, and we are doing a 2-man show together this Friday, 19 July 2024 (details below).
In this conversation we talk about why reporters speak in a certain way when they read the news, how the conventions of broadcast journalism influence the way the English is used, how Charles started as a journalist, the challenge of making TV news reports, our experiences at university, the Olympics in Paris and whether it will be beneficial for France, and Charles’ experiences of living and working in China.
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