English from all angles! Swimming pools, office pools and carpools.Before we begin, quick question. What are the two most important factors required for learning English? Concentration and willpower. Listen and find out why. And now, pools: relax by one (swimming pool), pool your money in one (office pool) and commute in one (carpool). In this episode, you’ll discover a few common uses of the word “pool.” You may know the noun “pool,” but what about the verb “pool?” When you combine money or resources you are pooling them; in other words, you are putting them together for better use. Energy-conscious commuters save fuel by pooling passengers (carpooling) and avid football fans hope to hit the jackpot by pooling money (offices pools).

English from all angles! When you learn a new word, find out if it’s also a verb. If it is, is it regular or irregular? This episode looks primarily at two concepts: popular music lists -known as the charts (yes, “chart” is a verb) - and billboards. Listen and find out which song has recently climbed the charts to set a record. Billboards are large signs typically found along highways near large cities. They’re ugly and they spoil the landscape. This is known as an eyesore. Billboard, the company, tracks and ranks popular music based on sales and downloads. This episode reveals which song holds the number one record by a long shot.

English from all angles! Forget about conjugating verbs and use this simple rule. We really don’t “conjugate” verbs in English. At least not the way verbs are conjugated in many languages where each subject pronoun has its own verb form. And that’s a good thing for you, because “conjugating” regular verbs in English is a cinch. Therefore, the real challenge lies in mastering the irregular verbs. The fact that it’s so easy to “conjugate” regular verbs in English means that there’s no excuse when you make a mistake. However, after years of studying, many English language learners still can’t do it. My advice: stand out from the crowd and fix this silly mistake once and for all.

English from all angles! This old-school learning technique works wonders. Embrace the power of dictation. Sure, it’s not flashy; it’s not cutting-edge technology, but it’s a tried and true method that covers the key components of English: listening, spelling, writing, vocabulary, speaking and even grammar. When used properly, dictation is arguably the best all-around exercise for learning a foreign language. In the U.S., teachers use what are called spelling bees -a quiz where instructors dictate words to their students- in order to improve spelling skills. The focus is on spelling and that’s it. English language learners, however, can take dictation much further by leveraging it to strengthen many more skills.

English from all angles! In Episode 21, you’ll learn the regular verb “to lag” and how it’s related to the phrasal verb “hold back.” Students who are lagging tend to hold classes back. Also, Drew tells you when (and why) you should visit his hometown, Chicago. Drew reminds you to always to count the syllables of new words you learn in order to improve your pronunciation – such as “humidity” (four syllables). And don’t forget to repeat what he says: you’ll quickly improve!

English from all angles! What’s the secret to properly pronouncing a word? First, determining how many syllables it has and then stressing the right one. It works all the time. Break the word into syllables; place the accent on the proper syllable and voilà! You’ll never mispronounce the word again. Words that are both nouns and verbs are pronounced differently. Generally, the first syllable is stressed for nouns, and the second for verbs. Give it shot: permit, rebel, suspect, insult, conflict, reject, and conduct (among others)!

English from all angles! “Loose” is an adjective and “lose” is a verb. The words have entirely different meanings, yet many native English speakers confuse the two. Listen and discover how to avoid the same careless mistake. Also in this episode: tips for pronouncing “of” and “off.” Mixing up the words “loose” and “lose” is becoming more and more commonplace – particularly (surprise!) in the written media. Whether it’s due to a lack of attention to detail, carelessness or haste, there’s no excuse for it.

English from all angles! Transition words are bridges: they take us from one idea to the next. Episode 18 looks at the differences between the transition words “however” and “nevertheless.” “However” is used to transition from a positive idea to a negative one, while “nevertheless” is used to transition from a negative idea to a positive one. In addition to explaining the differences between “however” and “nevertheless,” Drew discusses a common mistake that English learners make when they want to learn business English. Tune in to find out.

English from all angles! These are words for untidy, shabby and sleazy bars and establishments. The three words pit, dump, and dive describe bars, restaurants or other establishments that are in bad condition: they’re dirty, dark, shabby, run-down, sleazy… And these words are also used in other expressions that Drew discusses in this episode. What are some other meanings of pit, dump and dive? To pit, to make a pit stop, a cherry pit, a peach pit, an olive pit, to dump somebody, to dump data, to take a dive…Listen and see how many you know

English from all angles! The zero, first, second and third conditionals. Learning the zero, first, second and third conditionals is a pretty simple exercise. Memorize the structures and plug in the vocabulary: If I eat too much, I get fat; If I eat too much, I’ll get fat; If I ate too much, I’d get fat; If had eaten too much, I would’ve gotten fat. That’s all folks!

Episode 16 note: Like everything in life, practice makes perfect. Memorize the simple structures of the four conditionals in English and be done with it. Then, use them often and perfect them. Go for it!