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.
800. [PART 3] EPISODE 800 RAMBLE (Final Part)
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Category Archives: Hello
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.
A note from Luke (not in the episode)
I recorded parts 1 & 2 on Thursday 8 December. Since then England got knocked out of the World Cup by France (ouch!) and also I got ill with a horrible case of flu which put me in bed for 4 days. I’m still ill, but definitely starting to feel better. I’m going to record the rest of these episodes when I am well again, but time is running out fast before Christmas arrives. I am not sure I will have time to do a World Cup episode, but who cares now that England are out? 😂 (I’m joking – I’d love to talk about the football, but I don’t know if there will be time. We’ll see.) Anyway, enjoy the part 2 of this episode 800 mega-ramble! 🎆🎆🎆
QUESTIONS (Listen or watch the video to hear/see me correcting some errors)
АфтандилAftandil
Hello Luke,
How are you?
I kicked off listening to your podcact because of your Mom. In one of your first episodes, you were talking about the Beatles. I so much liked her wise answers to your questions, her voice, accent, and most of all her straightforward way of speaking . She’s great!
My question Mr Thomson.
What are High Hopes in your mind ? I’m now referring to Pink Floyd’s song.
Thank you very much,
Best of luck.
Lobzhanidze Aftandil.
Sirus Asgarov (and Garov is very serious)
Hi,Luke.Please add some special videos for IELTS listening multiple questions.There are different sounds and also so fast for this reason it is hard to define.
Thanks in Advance
David Alexander
Hi Luke ️I have a suggestion for creating a discord server in order to connect LEPsters around the world therefore they would be able to talk and have a chat with each other, what’s your take on this Luke? (anyway you can easily notify LEPsters through discord about contents too and it’s utterly free, that’s awesome isn’t it?) and thanks a lot for your awesome contents, have a blessed day
Tutor Asim
Hello Luke . Can you make a video about how to be confident on camera? Maybe you could interview some of your YouTuber friends or maybe Paul and Amber , they haven’t been on the podcast for a while have they ?
宁 魏Ning Wei
Hi Luke～How do we improve our speaking skills if we are not living abroad～I mean English language speaking country～ Do you have any practical suggestions? I feel like my listening is much better than speaking~Your podcast is awesome ~thanks~
4 ways of speaking to yourself
- Repeat after me, shadowing
- Just chatting to yourself “I’m going to do this, and that’s a bottle of shampoo with soap all over it’ etc
- Giving an opinion in response to something
- Describing past events to practise storytelling
Mosbah Tayeb • 1 day ago
How are you
Lv Bri • 10 hours ago
Hi luke, why your headset look so ugly? I don’t mean to be rude, but they seems to be fixed with a plastic bag.
Lv Bri • 10 hours ago
I was joking haha. A more real question: I am curious about if the podcast is your main job or do you teach in a real school? You are a great teacher and I wish you all the best with the podcast.
Natasha Katina
Hi Luke, thank you for your brilliant podcast. is your daughter friends with Amber’s and Paul‘s children?
Денис Пирог Denis Pirog
Hello, Luke! Which episode do you like the most and why?
marianavie2012
Hi Luke, what do you like the most about being a podcaster?
Maria K.
Could you perhaps read short stories to repeat more often. I think this is the best way to practice pronunciation. That would be great.
Cristiano Ronaldo
I have a suggestion for you to make your podcast greater. You should make more episodes about vocabulary, like topic vocabulary, everyday expressions and some difficult grammatical structures, for example:
I ate anything but an apple
which means I only ate an apple.
I ate nothing but an apple
[Luke: actually this isn’t correct – listen to the episode to hear my comments]
Berdiyev Azamat from Uzbekistan
Norridin Abdulkarim
Hey teacher Luke’ How are you? My question is how many Languages do you speak? Second question Which club do you support in the premier league? Thanks an advance!!!
Rome Gracheve
Hello, Luke! My question is, what is the best gift you have ever received?
Mak Rakhimova
Do you have any movie lists to recommend ?
Last question : I know you travelled to lots of countries . Haven’t you thought of starting a travelling blog ?
Angela M
I hope you will end episode 800 with a song!
Mak Rakhimova
Hello, Luke. Do you believe in the concept of the After Life ?
Have you ever been interested in the spirit world ?
Andrii Abtseshko
Hello Luke. What kind of dance you will do online on your YouTube channel if England win the Qatar championship ?
Bashiir Ahmed
Teacher luke, good morning, greetings from a small country in the horn of Africa called SOMALIA. my question is, can you connect me to an online English Teacher or School where I can study English. Thank you so much.
KamMouflage
what is your fav British tea brand?
Yang Si
What is the best random conversation you overhead?
TECH STUDIO
Can you describe you as a luckiest person
Steelpiercer
What is your favorite video game?
Stas Miroshnikov
Hi, what was your childhood dream? Do you have any dreams now?
ghada suqr
Please read about YouTube algorithms to reach more audience.
AGnieszk rachula
Have you ever been to Poland ?
KamMouflage
why do you wear a headset while recording?
Farhan Ibnu salih
Hello are you fine
Maria Osipova • 21 hours ago (edited)
Hi Luke, what is the best thing about being a father?
Hóa học Phương trình • 6 hours ago
Why i can hear u,but i can’t hear american speak ?
みき • 5 hours ago
And Can I ask what is the name of the microphone? Your voice is really clear and nice.^^@
Stas Miroshnikov • 40 minutes ago
Hi again, have you watched new TV Star Wars series Andor? If yes, did you like it and why?
• 1 day ago
Hello, Luke! I’m a new listener of your podcast, but I already like it a LOT! I love your sense of humor! Have you seen the movie Hot Fuzz? What do you think about it? Maybe you can recommend some interesting movies with great British humor? Good luck to you and thank you very much for your excellent job!
Elena Buzalskaia • 1 day ago
Hello, Luke! Could detective stories and poetry be more frequent or somehow regular in your podcast? Do you think they are like boosters for vocabulary, or they can make listeners feel a little bit passive? Do you have a special formulae for the balance between different types of lessons?
Alessandro Clavenna • 1 day ago
Hi Luke. Have you ever been to Italy.
Aurora Contreras • 1 day ago
Hi, I’m new a subscriber! Great Podcasts! I’d like you to dedicate an episode to the MBTI personality test, which is very popular nowadays.Kind Regards! 🇨🇱🇬🇧
Jerry Han • 1 day ago
Could you please make a new episode about British English? like the tips of sounding more british and the things we have to mind if we wanna master British English. Thank you so much!
Maria Osipova • 1 day ago
Hi Luke, what is your best life-changing non-fiction book?
Agnieszka Stodulska • 16 hours ago
Hi Luke, Have you ever been to Poland?
HI Luke, Have you got any pets? Dogs or cats?
Hi Luke, What is your favourite dish? Do you prefer french or english cuisne?
Hi Luke, I like the podcasts with yout brother. Do you plan to organise the meeting with him on you tube? He has a very interesting voice. I’d like to see him :)
Hi Luke, Can you imagine that I need to have contact with your podcast every day? It is like an addiction:) Have you got some patent to be so good?
Hi Luke, What is in the picture on the left in your podroom?. I see a red geometric figure but what does it mean?
PART 3 coming as soon as possible!
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.
Intro Script & Questions for Part 1
Hello listeners, welcome to episode 800.
Fireworks! BOOM! 🎆🎆🎆
Welcome to episode 800.
Here we are. It’s episode 800. It’s a big occasion but the emphasis is on chill in this episode. We’re just going to chill together and celebrate episode 800. So let’s sit back, relax and enjoy podcasting together.
This episode might take absolutely ages – I don’t know how long this is going to be, but we’re not going to worry about that, or anything else in this episode. No concerns, no worries.
For this one I thought I would answer some questions from listeners on social media, YouTube and my website. I recently asked for questions and I got loads. Billions. I got billions of questions.
I’m going to try and answer them almost all of them in this episode.
That might be seriously over ambitious and this could end up being the longest episode ever, we’ll see. If I have to divide it into parts, so be it. We’ve had episode 300 part 1 and 2, as well as several episode 666s, we can have episode 800 in a few parts. But in fact that does prove that I’ve already done more than 800 episodes. In fact I reckon it’s over 1000 if you include premium ones, bonus ones, app-only ones, phrasal verb ones.
In any case, I’m going to go through the questions and try to answer as many as possible. This is bound to take bloody ages. I mean, hours.
I’ve chosen nearly all the questions which came to me, except for world cup ones because I’ll talk about that in another episode.
They’re presented here in no particular order, from various social media platforms.
And I’m going to correct errors if and when I find them.
So this will be a sort of error correction episode too, I expect.
We will start in a minute, but first I just want to take this moment to celebrate getting to 800 episodes!
What does this really mean to me?
A long term professional project which has been a success and continues to be. No mean feat!
It’s a nice big number
800 is a large amount of anything – name a thing and imagine 800 of it. It’s always a lot!
Satisfying to reach a milestone, but I have my sights on 1000 now.
No need to dwell on it too long…
Thank you for continuing to listen to this podcast, allowing me to keep doing this all these years.
Recently the podcast hit 100,000,000 downloads since it started.
I love doing this podcast and I hope you love listening to it too.
I love the fact that I can do this – spend most of my working time on making content for learners of English, doing it my own way, being my own boss. It’s all thanks to the podcast, which means it’s all thanks to you, and the way it works is that those people who can afford it can become premium subscribers, which keeps the show completely free for those people who can’t afford it, and I get to keep making the episodes.
Let’s get on with the listener questions.
By the way, I’ve removed all World Cup questions because I think I’m going to talk about that in a separate episode.
QUESTIONS
FROM LEPSTERS
YouTube
Cyril Alexander
Hello! Thank you for this lux podcast!
I saw you like playing guitar and maybe you have your own compositions and maybe you have some thoughts about your own rock band.
Luke, did you ever dream of being a rock star?
Would you be able to carry the rock star burden?
Played drums in lots of bands
Made music on computer (real instruments)
Made music on synths (Korg)
Play guitar (other people’s songs) and piano (not any more)
Play bass on other people’s songs
Bands
The bold ones were the serious ones
- Grandpa Knuckles
- Skellington
- Flat Badger
- Hypersound
- Orson
- Yoot Club https://soundcloud.com/yootclub
- The Jake Bullit Band https://soundcloud.com/jakebullit
- Kilimanjaro / Lure https://soundcloud.com/luke-thompson-20/sets/lure-bizarre-happiness-2003
- Luke / Yusuke Project https://soundcloud.com/luke-thompson-20/sets/luke-yusuke-nemoto-demos
- Radicals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZORC-CbV19A&t=107s&ab_channel=Lukulele
- Salvo https://soundcloud.com/salvoanthology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HCrRJIzxFQ&t=5s&ab_channel=Lukulele
- The School Band
- Sick Rock
Engshan (English with Zeeshan)
Hey Luke my name is M Zeeshan i am from Pakistan i’m your big fan so could you explain the difference between these sentences ?
“We had to stay until we had finished our podcast.”,
“We had to stay until we finished our podcast.”
Which one is correct?
Sera Bende • 2 hours ago (edited)
Hi Luke, thanks for this mini episode :) Congratulations on the 800 episodes. My question is if you are considering doing more rambling episodes because they are fun and I think it is an excellent way to learn how to speak naturally and talk about daily life. Looking forward to seeing more rambling episodes.
Mariagrazia Fornarotto
Hi Luke! It’s Mary from Italy writing..I was just wondering…who is your favourite contemporary English novelist and why? Thanks in advance for your reply…
Maria
Hello, Luke! Thank you for your podcast Tell us, please, what stories do you tell your daughter? What are they about? Which ones are her favourite?
Oishi
800 is a long way, congratulations Tr Luke. I would like to suggest that it would be great if you could upload one story telling episode per week (is it too much?) because as a lazy learner, your story telling can carry me to the end of the episode.
Janya Markevich
Hey Luuuke! I really like what you do and I’m a fan of your sense humor. I was wondering as a kid at school were you this type of guy who bravely says a joke loudly so that the whole class hears and giggles afterwards?
And do you feel that via humor you make the atmosphere (any place: job, school, family pre Christmas hassle, etc.) more amicable and lighthearted?
Thank you in advance!))
Maria C
Hey Luke! Congratulations on the 800 episodes
My question is if Jerry Seinfeld is one of your favorite comedians and if it was him or another one who inspired you.
Steve Martin
Jerry Seinfeld
Bill Hicks
Eddie Izzard
Bill Bailey
Serg Boorow
Hey Luke, what’s cracking!?Thanks for your fantastic podcast, IMHO for the time being it’s one of the most fascinating podcasts in terms of immersing in British English/humor (or at least I would like to think like that) that I’ve come across. My question is, do you consider moving to somewhere from Paris in particular and from France in general? Cheers.
Living Italian style with Nina
Hi Luke, thank you for your amazing job on your podcast. My question is: when will you release another episode of the Rick Thompsom Report?
Antin Kuntin
Hi Luke.
First of all: you are doing a really great job!
My question is: are you talking normally like in your daily life or slower and clearer than usual so that we can understand?
Thanks in advance for your answer
Vafa Guliyeva
Hi, Luke! I got 3 questions for you .
In your opinion, approximately how many words do you need to have in your vocabulary to be able to speak like you do in your ramble episodes? and is there an efficient method for determining the amount of vocabulary for a non-native speaker?
How does it work? Read the text on the website.
Native speakers know 20,000 – 30,000 words.
I got about 25,000.
Learners of English who get 10,000 can be near-native.
Aster L.H.
Bravo Luke! Looking forward to your next podcast talking about The FIFA World Cup.
A question to Luke. How many Asian countries have you been to?
Jakub
Hello Luke. I really enjoyed your podcasts about comedy TV series, like Alan Partridge. However, I asked you (very politely) quite a long time ago about the possibility of doing an episode (likely more then one) about Peep show. I believe that we could all learn from Peep show loads of useful British expressions/phrases which never occur in textbooks for students. Is there any chance that some comedy episodes are in the pipeline? Respect and best wishes from Poland 🇵🇱️
Teacher Zdenek
My questions for you: “What’s the hardest thing about doing the podcast?”
Shaping an idea into the finished product.
Дмитрий Обухов Dmitry Obukhov
Hi, Luke! I’m really into your podcasts and watch every single episode no matter what length it is. My favorite videos are about detective and horror quizzes/stories. Are you planning to make a podcast on this topic? If so, I’m looking forward to seeing new episodes soon.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Hi Luke, how is it going? First of all, thank you for teaching us. My question is : is it possible to speak like you, if I only listen to your podcast, I mean your intonation and your pronunciation. You speak very clearly. I like your speech that is why I usually listen to your podcast
My name is Berdiyev Azamat from Khiva in Uzbekistan
德高望重respected
Hi Luke, I wonder what makes you an English teacher? I am a new listener since maybe 3 months ago, and I enjoy your style a lot. Thanks anyway.
Cecília de Melo
Hi, Luke! Thank you for teaching us. My question is: I don’t have problems to understand you but why is so difficult for me to understand an American talking?
- Familiarity
- Are you watching TV/Films?
- Maybe British English is just better
vvaskey
Hi Luke:)
My first question is what is the best moment in your childhood?)
My second question is a bit personal, but anyway how old is your daughter? How is she doing?)
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).
LEAVE ME YOUR QUESTIONS FOR EPISODE 800 BELOW!! :)
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.
Video Version (automatic subtitles)
Send 7 Podcast – www.send7.org
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.
Video Version (check for automatic subtitles)
Songs & Lyrics
Talking Heads – Heaven https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/talking-heads/heaven-chords-1761334
The Beatles – The Fool on the Hill https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the-beatles/the-fool-on-the-hill-chords-169399
Beck – Sing It Again https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/beck/sing-it-again-chords-1212027
The Police – De Do Do Do De Da Da Da https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the-police/de-do-do-do-de-da-da-da-chords-640646
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense (full movie)
The Beatles – The Fool on the Hill (from Magical Mystery Tour)
Have a nice August!
Leave your comments (if you have any) in the comment section below.
I hope you enjoy the episodes which will arrive every week in August.
Sign up to LEP Premium on Acast+ here https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
772. Rambling in the Podcastle (June 2022) News / Thoughts / Reflections
This is an unedited monologue in which I talk about some things which are on my mind at the moment, including how my hair is stopping me from learning French (and vice versa), virtuous and vicious circles, how English is like a shark (or a river – or maybe a shark in a river), some comments about recent episodes and a visit from a friendly bat at my podcastle.
[DOWNLOAD]
Video Version (try activating the automatic subtitles)
Some vocabulary extracts
I have been deliberating about which microphone to choose
Geeky microphone chat
I have a plethora of microphones
People who have just stumbled across this and are wondering what this is all about
Perhaps you’re in transit somewhere, maybe you’re doing some housework, maybe you’re listening to this in a classroom while your teacher takes a well-earned break, or maybe you are lying in a floatation tank or in zero gravity in the international space station
Stick with me, and enjoy being a LEPster
Here’s a run-down of some of the things I’d like to talk about.
- How my hair is stopping me from learning French, and vice versa – how my French is stopping me from getting a hair cut (virtious and vicious circles)
- How my summer is looking, what my plans are and what that might mean for the podcast (busy – difficult to record podcasts in July and August – what’s new?)
- Thoughts on recent episodes like Sick in Japan and Spinal Tap
- Some metaphors and similes for language learning and teaching
- That’s probably plenty!
I’ve been just sweeping it (my hair) back over my head
Maybe I’m being a bit precious about this but I can’t help feeling self-conscious
Taking initiative is very important but it can be hard.
It can just be taking the initiative to speak, to make an effort to communicate with someone, to risk looking a bit stupid, going out of your comfort zone.
But if you take that tiny little risk, it can pay off in various ways.
You need to keep the English moving through you like a river or the water of your English will become stagnant. We all know this.
But without that little impetus to speak, you won’t do it.
If you don’t take initiative, you don’t put yourself into situations in which your confidence can develop.
Starting a virtuous circle is a matter of taking small steps in the right direction.
Micro-decisions or micro-steps.
Now I have to go out of my way to walk to the hairdresser.
Some people commented that the crowd were quiet. Well-behaved maybe.
I should have:
Hyped the crowd up more
Done more stand up at the start
Warmed them up by getting them to make noise.
“French people make some noise!” Etc
I should have done more crowd work.
Spinal Tap – maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but at the end of the day I am the one who decides what happens in these episodes.
I find that with my learners it’s not just listening skills or vocabulary, but just “being on the same wavelength” and that includes things like little references to culture, or just having a certain sense of humour.
It’s also important that I do stuff that I am personally invested in, or this whole thing just won’t happen. So there.
I love teaching but sometimes I get a bit frustrated because it can be a bit like banging your head against a wall.
You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
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. In this one I am going to welcome you into the new room and do a ramble challenge in which I am restricted to only talking about things inside the room, plus reading from some random books on my shelves. Grammar rules, adverbial collocations and a game show story.
[DOWNLOAD]
Episode Notes
Private Lessons with British Council English Score Tutors https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/english Episode page
LEP Premium https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo
LEP T-Shirts & Merch https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/merch
Rules of the Ramble
- Welcome everyone to the pod-room.
- Give a tour.
- I’m restricted to only talking about things inside the room.
- Maybe describe some of the items on the walls and pictures.
- Include some descriptive language.
- Pick up a book and do a random exercise from it.
- Keep talking without pausing or saying “errr”.
Contents
- 00:00:00 Hello
- 00:00:52 Promo
- 00:02:30 Introduction
- 00:03:44 Ramble Rules
- 00:05:26 Welcome to the new pod-room
- 00:05:42 The Electricity & Internet Situation
- 00:10:37 Sound Recording Setup
- 00:17:01 Let me show you around the room
- 00:22:32 The desk
- 00:24:30 A Book from the `Bookshelf
- 00:25:17 English Grammar in Use by Ramond Murphy
- 00:25:38 Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous
- 00:27:04 Build Your Vocabulary 3
- 00:27:31 Choose The Adverb
- 00:47:23 Lighting
- 00:49:25 Random Book: Jon Ronson – Lost At Sea
- 00:51:01 Deal or No Deal story
- 01:00:48 Ending
759. Life is what happens while 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.
[DOWNLOAD]
Other podcast recommendations
Some other things you could listen to while waiting for new episodes of LEP.
Film Gold: Monty Python & The Holy Grail
I was invited by Antony Rotunno onto one of his podcasts last week to discuss this British comedy classic.
My appearances on ZEP and RNR English at the end of last year
Episode 759 – Notes
I thought I would quickly record an episode to let you know that I’m still alive, LEP still exists, and I just want to give you a bit of an update on what’s going on and have a bit of a ramble.
I have other episodes in the pipeline and I was hoping to upload one of them this week, but for one reason or another, that’s not going to be possible so I’ve decided to record this one quickly and upload it quickly.
Again, I’m just recording this on my handheld recorder but I’m not at home because I can’t record at home, so I’m just in the street, reading some notes from my phone.
Why aren’t you recording this at home Luke?
There are guys working on the flat above ours now.
We are now experiencing what our downstairs neighbours experienced when we did work on our place.
Our flat and the flat upstairs were sold at the same time.
etc…
You can just imaging you are hanging out with me (in the streets of Paris) while I’m recording this. I’m just going walk around the neighbourhood while recording, trying to avoid noise, and trying to avoid the weird stares I might get from people in the street.
It’s been more than 3 weeks since I uploaded an episode and this is only the 4th episode in about 2 months I think.
I told you that the podcast would be delayed and disrupted, right? So it shouldn’t be a surprise.
Why haven’t there been any episodes for almost a month?
Time flies!
Time races by.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” (John Lennon)
I always wondered what John Lennon meant by that.
I guess he is expressing a kind of paradox that many of us live with.
While making plans for the future, real life just happens in the meantime, day by day, moment by moment.
We aim for the future, we set our sights on things we would like to achieve, and make plans for those things.
But the fact is, life is really lived in the present, and while we are making plans, life just continues to happen to us in the present moment.
I guess he is saying that we mustn’t forget to live in the moment and enjoy the moment.
I suppose for me at the moment, I mean that while making plans for this podcast, mainly the space in which I’m going to record it, real life has just been happening day by day.
In fact, real life and the day to day tasks and challenges of it have been dominating my time recently, preventing me from being able to actually get to do the things I have been planning.
I’ve had a goal in mind for ages – sitting in my new podcast room which is more or less ready, with all my stuff arranged in a fairly tidy way (things on shelves, in drawers, guitars on walls, pictures or posters on the walls, a working internet connection, a decent desk, a comfy chair (which I might spend most of my life sitting on) the right kind of lights, a kettle, a backdrop for videos that looks pleasing to the eye, a computer which actually works and which allows me to record and edit audio and video properly, and so on and so forth, a kettle and cups of tea, another chair or two for guests… you know) but that goal or vision just keeps getting put back and put back.
Why? I can’t really even explain it – just general stuff has been getting in the way. I think a lot of people manage to move house and get back to their normal lives quite quickly, but this just seems to be taking ages and it’s because of lots of little things.
Here are some reasons why things are taking so long.
My daughter got sick with covid and I had to stay at home to look after her. My wife was also sick at the same time (not covid, mysteriously) and so I was off work looking after them. That was a week.
Teaching at the BC three mornings a week.
Wednesday afternoons with my daughter.
Not a massive amount of time. Normally it’s enough – in normal conditions, but these aren’t normal conditions.
I got sick – a couple of times actually. The first was a virus (not covid-19 – maybe covid-18 or one of the other covids). The second was a really bad back which caused loads of discomfort and a migraine. I couldn’t move, basically! Probably because of general stress but also the fact that I hadn’t sat on a comfortable chair for weeks. No sofa.
Washing machine delivered, but then broken – laundrette
Meeting with guy to fit radiators
Meeting with guy to get quotes for lots of other stuff at home, like making fitted shelves (beyond my skills) and other bits of carpentry
Meeting a guy for a quote for electricity at my office
Meeting guy who came to connect internet
Many other deliveries and things
The list goes on!
Now it’s the school holidays and we’re travelling tomorrow to the UK.
I might be able to record an RT Report or a Gill’s Book Club or something with my brother, but equally, I might not. Maybe we’ll just want to relax and have a holiday. I don’t know. I will see.
Oh, and there are guys working on the flat upstairs, and guys working on the building opposite us. It’s like the entire city is under construction at the moment.
This is just what is going on in my small corner of the universe.
I am not complaining at all. I have a nice life and I’m very happy. But I’m feeling quite impatient and a bit frustrated at not being able to do the things I would like to do, and the fact that my goal keeps slipping further away from me. I will get there eventually! It’s like being in a car and using GPS, and the arrival time keeps changing and getting later and later as the GPS recalculates your route with delays and traffic and so on.
So, basically:
Bear with me
Hold on
If you’re impatient – hang in there
It’s a bit interminable – all this waiting around
But good things come to those who wait.
The podcast will be back again, properly, and I will be recording, producing and publishing audio & video episodes and premium episodes at the usual rhythm soon.
Maybe this is a good chance to catch up on episodes, or listen to episodes from the archive…
Speak to you on the podcast soon!
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.
[DOWNLOAD]
Episode Notes & Links
Happy New Year everyone! (new listeners, long-term listeners, mid-term listeners and anyone else who happens to be listening)
All the best for 2022. Try to keep up your motivation for learning English throughout the year. I hope I can help. That is my aim.
How was your Christmas/New Year? Did you have a holiday? What did you do?
What’s the situation Luke, as you record this? (summarise the last couple of weeks, and what’s going on around you)
I might not be able to upload episodes regularly for the next few weeks. If LEP goes quiet – I am still here and still working, but not able to record or upload because of all the different disruptions. My life is like a puzzle at the moment and I am putting all the pieces back together.
LUKE’S ENGLISH PODCAST – AIMS
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To provide a resource of authentic speech for learners of English.
Episode suggestions
All of them! Especially ones which are unscripted.
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To inform my audience about methods and strategies for improving their English.
Episode suggestions
174. How to learn English with Luke’s English Podcast
251. Welcome to LEP / 16 Things You Should Know About LEP
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To educate my listeners about the English language by explaining or providing examples of grammar.
Episode suggestions
Premium episodes www.teacherluke.co.uk/premiuminfo (articles, sentence structure, present perfect tense, narrative tenses, modal verbs about the past, quantifiers and more) but also a lot of episodes in the archive deal with grammar. Here’s a selection.
29. Mystery Story / Narrative Tenses
53. Discussing Grammar with My Brother
69. Common Errors / Typical Mistakes
176. Grammar: Verb Tense Review (should be premium really!)
263. Past, Present & Future A chance to really understand the tenses in English, with lots of context.
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.
406. Grammar (Past Continuous Tense) / UK Media Bias / Brazil Football Tragedy A review of the differences between past continuous tense and past simple tense
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.
518b is in the LEP app – [App-only Episode] 518b Grammar Questions (Part 2) Hope vs Wish / Relative Clauses (an overview) / Prepositions
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To enrich the vocabulary of my listeners by presenting and teaching natural English usage in context.
Suggested episodes
Check the archive here https://teacherluke.co.uk/archive-of-episodes-1-149/ and try doing a command+F search for vocabulary, or search for the word vocabulary in the app.
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To entertain my audience by producing fun and interesting content specifically targeted at learners of English as a second language.
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To highlight particular aspects of English (language) culture including themes about Britishness, accounts of key moments in history, politics and the arts, with a particular focus on comedy and film.
Suggested episodes
Search the archive for the words British and comedy. The Rick Thompson Report, Film Club, British Comedy, Luke’s D-Day Diary, and more…
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To raise awareness of many features of British English pronunciation and provide practice of repeating certain phrases or constructions.
Suggested episodes
All premium episode series have dedicated pronunciation episodes. Also, these ones:
224. Pronunciation: Verb Tenses & Connected Speech Learn how native speakers really pronounce sentences in different tenses.
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.
682. Key Features of English Accents, Explained – Exploring the main differences between standard English pronunciation (RP) and non-standard regional or colloquial accents.
And various episodes about accents…
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To keep my audience engaged in the listening process long term, by providing a resource to help them laugh while they learn.
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To make people laugh out loud on public transport while listening to the podcast!
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To dominate the world with an army of LEP ninjas equipped with biscuits and good English. …Ok, one of my listeners asked me to add this as an aim for my podcast, ha ha! (Thanks Chriss Benitez)
Those episodes can be found in the LEP app or via the episode archive. Most good podcasting apps will have the entire archive, but I think iTunes or Apple Podcasts doesn’t show all episodes. YouTube doesn’t show all episodes either. Only some of my episodes are on YT. I’d like them all to be there (just the audio) eventually.