Author and English teacher Vicki Hollett gives grammar tips, talks about British vs. American English, moving to America as an adult, and how to get through a voice-recognition system as a non-native speaker.

The letter T is not always what we think of as a T. In fact, MOST of the time it’s not. So then what is it? What are the rules for how to pronounce T? Today you’ll get rules and examples to help you figure out what Americans are really doing when it comes to T and TT. See the show notes for more information on the rules.

This week’s show answers questions from you, the students. Rachel and David will discuss the difference between COLLAR and COLOR (AH [ɑ] and UH [ʌ]), the word ‘liberty’, the Light and Dark L, and more. Oh, and we’ll both fail a tongue twister test.

American slang is used a lot by young people in the US.  If you don't know the terms, it can be very hard to join in the conversation, even for native speakers.  In today's episode, Rachel and David discuss when to use slang, as well as the terms:  slay, crush, kill, destroy, salty, coming in clutch, fly, low-key, sick, extra, done, fam/family, lit, dope, woke, shade/ to throw shade.  Bonus:  we discuss how to order your Philly cheesesteak!  :)

Learn more about how Rachel's English was started, and how I got the skills I need to help my students understand and speak natural American English.  My husband David leads the interview, and asks questions like "What is one thing that made you passionate about Rachel's English this week?"