Category Archives: Personal

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

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)

925. Walaa’s Experience in Syria / Walaa Mouma Returns (Part 2)

When Walaa was first on this podcast in episode 703 she talked about living in Syria as a student during the civil war (or people’s revolution) but at that time she felt she could not talk in detail about the situation. Now that the Assad regime is no longer in control of Syria, Walaa feels she can talk more candidly about what it was like to live near Damascus during those days. Walaa’s descriptions are both shocking and moving. This is the topic of this episode, which is part 2 of a two-part series.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

Links for English with Walaa

Listen to Part 1 👇 (Walaa talks about her academic studies in Wales)

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

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

Episode Transcript

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 💩

919. Catching Up with AMBER & PAUL #14

Another fun chat with my friends Amber Minogue & Paul Taylor. This one was recorded in early January and we talk about running & fitness 🏃, falling out of bed 🛏️, my phone’s battery issues 🪫, our Christmas meals 🍗, Amber’s family bingo game 😅, Paul’s horrendous Christmas rat story & some rat facts 🐀, insights into the lives of urban pigeons and country cats 🐈, handheld microphone technique 🎤 and Paul’s lovely new jumper (or is it a sweater, or a pullover?)

No homework and no PDF this time. Just enjoy keeping up with this conversation and catching up with Amber & Paul once again.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

Watch Paul’s latest one-man-show “Bisoubye” here (and switch on the English subtitles) 👇

Listen to “Paname Podcast” by Amber Minogue 👇

https://pod.link/1241927554

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 👇

903. Reading from my Japanese hospital diaries (Sept 2002)

By popular demand I have chosen to publish this episode! In 2002 I ended up stuck in a Japanese hospital feeling very ill and confused. I ended up staying there for about two weeks. During my stay I wrote a diary nearly every day. In this episode I read from my diaries, share my personal experience with you and explain a few bits of vocabulary.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrYBDau9Fws&ab_channel=Luke%27sEnglishPodcast



902. “A Year on the Fosse” by Rick Thompson (English History & Wildlife) Dad’s New Book – Out Now

A conversation with my dad about his new book, which is about the history and wildlife of a famous Roman road which passes right through the heart of England. Expect stories from various periods of English history, plus descriptions of typical English bird life. English history and culture on Luke’s English Podcast.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

https://youtu.be/MvO0edpmFvE?si=a-tzy_W8f3I0-xli

👉 GET THE BOOK ON AMAZON HERE 📖

899. Back on the Mic: September 2024 Ramble & Grammar Tangents

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.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

Episode PDF with transcript & notes 👇

897. Dysfluent (Learn English with an Interactive Story)

“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.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]

👉 Play Dysfluent online here