This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "to get the ball rolling" you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), you'll learn about New Year's Resolution Statistics for the United States! What are our priorities in 2024? How convinced are we that we'll succeed at keeping our resolutions?

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Today you’ll learn 10-Must Know Oxymorons to avoid confusion in conversation and the canvas for introducing these words will be a story about my Christmas Memories.

An oxymoron is a literary device that has two contradicting terms, such as "pretty ugly," or "awfully good."

This lesson will have two parts: First you will hear the story which contains all of the oxymorons in context. As a challenge, I want you to listen closely and find 10 of the 15 oxymorons mentioned.

At the end, I'll tell you all of the oxymorons and provide further explanation on how to use them!

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Earlier this year, I asked some friends and family members if they could write a short story about their favorite decade. A decade is a ten-year time frame. For example, 1970-1979 is a decade. 1980 -1989 is another decade. I asked some friends and family members if they could write a short story about their favorite decade.
My thought was that it would be interesting to step out of the 2020s and relive a decade in the life of someone else.
What would their world look like? Culturally? Politically? What were they doing? What is it that made that decade so memorable?
Today, my uncle Alex will paint his 1980s world for you in his own words. Get ready for college, fun on the beach, Silicon Valley in its infancy and a big earthquake. Oh! And of course a lot of decade-specific vocab! Do you know what a walkman is? By the end of this episode you will.

Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠⁠Visit the website⁠⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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Boston is situated in present-day Massachusetts, right on the northern Atlantic coastline.  It’s picturesque, it’s lively and it’s steeped in stories of how the United States gained its independence from Britain. Today you’ll hear those tales of organization, patriotism and madness: This is the  Boston Tea Party. 

Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠⁠Visit the website⁠⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "my cup of tea" you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), you'll learn about one of the most iconic events in U.S. history, the Boston Tea Party. It's one of the major events that fueled our fight for independence from Britain, and the story is just nuts. It's not your average tea party!

If you're interested in learning about the beginning of the U.S., or you're taking the U.S. Citizenship test soon, listen to this episode!
I've also put together a page to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship test. 

Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠⁠Visit the website⁠⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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Every year, more and more people buy clothes online, but today, you are heading to the mall with your stylish friend, Katrina. Your mission is to buy a new wardrobe (a whole new set of clothes). 
Listen and learn the vocabulary, phrases and collocations we use when talking about clothing in English! You'll learn adjectives to describe the good, the bad and the ugly, expressions to comment on style and so much more. If you ever intend to buy clothes in the United States, you can't miss this episode. 

Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠⁠Visit the website⁠⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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Sleepy Hollow is a quaint village nestled in the Hudson Valley, in New York. There, many many years ago a peculiar schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane gets wrapped up in the spooky legend of the Headless Horseman.
Today you’ll hear “the Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and  learn about the heart-pounding events that took place on one fateful Halloween night. It’s a story of love, rivalry, and the supernatural and I’ve simplified it for intermediate and advanced English learners. Get ready for some excitement and some suspense, you're about to hear a story that has been passed down from generation to generation for over 200 years.
Cheat Sheet
eerie = unsettling; haunting
vengeful = eager to take revenge
peculiar = strange
stout = plump; robust
jovial = happy
lanky = skinny
smitten = infatuated
brawny = muscular
spine-chilling = frightening
For the full list, quiz and other bonus content, be sure to sign up to the Academy to access Season 4.
Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode.

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Moose are majestic creatures and an iconic symbol of wilderness in North America. They inhabit many northern states in the U.S.; the state with the biggest population is Alaska. 

In this episode, you'll learn many English words related to nature and animals, but it's much more than a National Geographic style lesson. You're about to step into the funny, wild and sometimes tragic tales that emerge as humans and moose try to live harmoniously.

In this lesson, we'll answer questions like: 

Take time to appreciate moose! :) (yes, moose is the plural form)
Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).

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This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "to steer clear," you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), we'll be talking about moose in the US. You know what a moose is, right? It's a large mammal in the deer family. It has big antlers — these sort of long, pokey branch-like things that stick out of their heads — and they live in many northern states in the United States. Often these massive creatures and humans interact with each other, which can be funny, scary and very real. So I want to share some of those stories with you, as well as a lot of information about these incredible creatures! Be sure to stay tuned for part two in order to hear that.

This lesson has a FREE PDF with the transcript and a listening comprehension quiz. 
Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).

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Two years ago, I started Season 3 (Episodes 101 - 150) and it's been a journey. In this episode, you'll hear about the many cultural topics we covered in the past 50 episodes. You'll hear which episodes were the most popular among listeners, which stories left me speechless and which ones I found incredibly useful.
Get your notebook! Be ready to write down the episode number for the stories that interest you most.
THANK YOU to all of the supporters who bought me coffee, those who left reviews on your podcast app (very few people take the time to do this, but I really appreciate it!), purchased Premium Content and sent me nice messages over Instagram. You make me want to keep going. Please know that I appreciate you!! :)

Want to take your learning further? 

⭐ ⁠Visit the website⁠ for more learning materials. You’ll also find the Academy there, where you can access bonus content for this episode (formerly “The Classroom”).

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