Category Archives: language

931. Overcoming Fears (with Zdenek)

This episode features a conversation with Zdenek about fears and anxieties experienced in everyday life. We explore common fears such as driving, flying, culture shock, language learning and public speaking. Listen for stories of Luke’s fear of Paris cafes ☕️, airport anxiety ✈️, Luke’s dramatic scooter ride in Nha Trang 🛵, Zdenek’s fears of Vietnamese roads and driving 🛣️, Luke’s recent cycling accident in Paris 💥, Zdenek’s encounter with a London police officer 👮‍♂️, nerves about teaching 😳, and more.

The PDF worksheet offers a vocabulary list from the conversation, with definitions, examples, and quizzes and a full transcript to help you boost your English with the episode.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/_0yTntyjeA4?si=S0A_8s7agzO3Z69N

📄 Get the PDF here (lucky you – it’s very expensive but you can have it completely free) 👇

  • Detailed vocabulary list
  • Vocabulary quiz
  • Full episode transcript

Other links 👇

⚽️ The Footglish Podcast (Learn English with Football)

💬 Zdenek’s Discord server “The Achiever’s Chamber”

🏆 LEP Premium 👉 www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

930. Can I eat my cat? Weird Google Questions, Answered (Topics + Vocabulary)

😿 This episode is about the bizarre and funny questions that people input into Google. I explore and answer some of these questions, explaining some vocabulary. The result is an engaging and intellectually light-hearted discussion involving the usual mix of rambling, and English teaching.

The episode covers a range of topics, from personal health, sex and relationships to broader existential and practical issues, with some diverse and absurd moments. The language style is a mix of informal slang and neutral high-frequency vocabulary related to personal matters and common problems. I hope you enjoy it! PDF available with a full transcript and big vocabulary list.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/pf-zTmM8-H4

Get the episode PDF with full transcript, big vocabulary list & more 👇

Express yourself in English! Don’t be a ninja 🥷Leave a comment below 👇

929. Sarah Donnelly: The Only American In Paris + UK vs US Accent Quiz

Sarah Donnelly comes back onto LEP to catch up and to tell us about her stand-up special, now available to watch on YouTube, and to do a British English vs American English pronunciation quiz.

Sarah’s show is called The Only American in Paris and we discuss some of the themes of the show – the real experience of being a US citizen living in Paris, the Netflix show Emily in Paris, cultural differences, learning French, plus a pronunciation quiz to help you compare UK and US English.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/2iLkgCv5984?si=3TB9SqiCQZymt1Ob

Get the episode PDF👇 (pronunciation quiz and full transcript)

928. The Abduction (Learn English with a Short Story)

Learn English with another short story on Luke’s English Podcast. This one is about a learner of English who has an extraordinary experience. Listen to me tell the story, and summarise it, then explain plenty of natural, commonly occurring, up-to-date English vocabulary.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/u5rIOmG3dqc?si=UM_Mlx3DcJnAUQvh

📄 Get the PDF with story script and vocabulary notes 👇

924. Walaa Mouma Returns (Part 1) PhD Studies in Wales & Teaching English for Refugees

Walaa Mouma returns to the podcast after 4 years to give us an update about her academic studies and personal story, including getting married and moving to Wales, details of her PhD doctorate, as well as her other studies and volunteer work helping to teach English to refugees and asylum seekers. Walaa’s passion for this work is inspired by her own personal story of learning English, seeking asylum in the UK and studying in the UK’s academic system, which she first talked about in episode 703 of this podcast. Part 1 of a 2-part episode.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/G8S29ICPKVM

Links for English with Walaa

Walaa’s previous appearance on LEP (episode 703) 👇

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ythdvbKKM&t=1s&ab_channel=Luke%27sEnglishPodcast

923. A Rambling Exercise for Fluency / Late-Winter 2025

A rambling episode full of spontaneous speaking. Topics include an exercise for spoken fluency 🗣️, the benefits of listening to spontaneous speech 🎧, overcoming mental blocks 🌳, raising our kids to be bilingual 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, reactions to recent episodes 🙉, thoughts about upcoming content 🔮, bird-related idioms 🐦, the phrasal verb “to follow through” including its rude meaning 💩 …and more! PDF transcript available.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/DitClfcmHsA?si=FidE8Exk97XaWap2

PDF Transcript 👇 (you’re welcome 😎)

Luke on The Following Through Podcast 👇 Warning: strong language! 💩

Click here to listen to The Following Through Podcast on Apple Podcasts and other players 👉 https://pod.link/1797539101

A video clip from my appearance on The Following Through Podcast (with subtitles) 👇 yes, this is my “following through” story 💩

922. Words of the Year (with Amber)

Amber joins me for a discussion of some words which reflect various cultural movements of the last 12 months or more. Learn some trending words and listen to discussions of topics such as the influence of online content on mental health, the Oasis concert ticket scandal, an exploration of the ‘lore’ of LEP, romantic fantasy books, the rise of AI and more. Includes a PDF with my episode notes and vocabulary lists.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/z2VRyVsQG44?si=cfLnFAexW9NBgFDj

Get the PDF with notes and word lists 👇

Links

Previous episodes of “Words of the Year”

An example of NotebookLM’s AI-generated audio podcast “deep dive” 👇

Nick (from the comment section crew) used NotebookLM (a generative AI language model available from Google) to create this AI-generated podcast about episode 922 Words of the Year. He inputted the PDF for this episode into NotebookLM, and it generated this. It is 100% AI generated, including the voices of the hosts. This is what AI can do today, in February 2025.

917. Listener Stories: How LEP has helped my listeners with their English ★ Success & Advice

This is a listener-generated episode, meaning that the content is mostly written by listeners of this podcast. In this one I read out various comments and messages from listeners who have improved their English with the podcast. They describe the progress they’ve made and how they did it. Expect lots of success stories and plenty of advice for improving your English in 2025.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlH-bFyVcv0&ab_channel=Luke%27sEnglishPodcast

👇Get the PDF with transcript, vocabulary list, study guide and essays 👇

916. Learning English in 2025 with Luke’s English Podcast 

A lengthy New Year’s message about how to improve your English through consistent podcast listening. This episode details how regular listening improves comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency, incorporating listener testimonials and tips, with some specific advice about how to push your English with this podcast.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e6013IJtXU&ab_channel=Luke%27sEnglishPodcast

Get the PDF with transcript, vocabulary list, vocabulary quiz and more 👇

Links

914. A Midwinter Ramble ❅ Luke’s English Podcast

An end-of-year rambling episode with some seasonal good wishes 🎄, comments on recent episodes 🎧, an update about upcoming content 📲, anecdotes about seeing Paul McCartney live in concert 🎸, playing music at the British Ambassador’s residence 🇬🇧 and visiting the British Library in London 📚, lots of library jokes (explained) 😂 and a vocabulary review at the end 🙇‍♂️. PDF available.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

Get the PDF with vocabulary quiz 👇