Have you ever been to the county fair? Those events have the whole nine yars, including the food. Yeah, that fair food is a total gut-buster, but it sure does taste good! 

Today, I want to give you a little behind-the-scenes tour of what an American fair is like, and at the same time, we’ll learn a few really natural, fun expressions that go along with the fair experience.

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Somebody asked me the other day how many phrasal verbs there are in English. That’s a tough question. So I said, beats me. And then she said, but you’re an English teacher. I dunno. I have no clue. How many phrasal verbs are there? Who knows!

Native English speakers have a lot of ways to say at they don’t know. Today, I want to share some fun and natural ways to say “I don’t know” — the way native speakers really talk.

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I'm so excited to bring you my chat with Lindsay McMahon, the founder and cohost of the All Ears English Podcast. In this podcast English Lesson, you'll hear a natural English conversation between two native English speakers. We're talking about life in Japan, cultural differences and similarities, how things have changed in 25 years and how things have stayed the same. 

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Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome to the very first Happy English Saturday Short.
Every Saturday, I’ll be here with a quick, one-point English lesson to help you build your vocabulary, fix common grammar issues, and to help you sound more natural when you speak. These lessons are short — just a minute or two — but packed with practical English you can start using right away.

So let’s kick things off with a useful phrasal verb:  👉 Turn down. There are a number of meanings for turn down but for today, we use turn down to mean refuse or say no to something. Like, “I had to turn down the job offer because it was too far away.” When Eddie asked Jenny to go to the party, she turned him down.  Last night at the restaurant, they offered me a second slice of chocolate cake, and… yeah, I didn’t turn it down!” 😅 No surprise there, right?

So how about you? What’s something you turned down recently? Leave a comment below, on the blog, or come tell me on Instagram @happyenglishny — and don’t forget to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next week’s Saturday Short. Thanks for listening — and until next time,  keep learning and keep it cool.

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Sentence stress. It’s not the kind of stress, that keeps you up at night. And in fact, it’s not anything bad at all. It’s an essential part of English!

And when I say sentence stress, I’m not talking about being stressed out about learning grammar. I’m talking about how we say certain words louder, longer, or more clearly — and how that changes the feeling, and sometimes even the meaning, of what we’re saying.

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Are you ready to pack a picnic and have some fun in the sun? Before calling it a day, check out today’s English lesson podcast all about beach life, part of our summer series on American Culture. 

We’re gonna talk about beach life, which could be the beach at the ocean or a lake, and to some degree even the neighborhood swimming poll. Along the way, I’ll show you five idioms and phrases that match the sunscreen, beach umbrellas, and beach snacks theme: fun in the sun, catch some rays, pack a picnic, chill out, and call it a day.

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Just because you’re speaking fast, doesn’t mean you’re speaking fluently. Fluency is not about speed. Fluency is about rhythm.  It’s about sounding natural — with the right pauses, the right tone, and the right feeling. 

Today, I want to help you speak more naturally by focusing on something that native speakers do all the time — even if they don’t realize it. And that is: Thought Groups.

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Wow! It’s really heating up out there today. In fact, I was totally burning up when I was walking the dogs. Thankfully I can cool down with the A/C. 

Today, I've got some phrasal verbs for you that we use to talk about hot weather. Phrasal verbs are such an integral part of English. I mean, native speakers not only use them all the time, but prefer to use them in conversation. And you should to. Using this kind of language will make your spoken English sound much more natural. 

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Someone recently asked me if teaching English was a side hustle. Really? I hustle, that's for sure, but this is my only job. And I got my foot in the door in 1994 in Japan. Wow time flies!

Today, we have another episode in our summer series about American culture. It’s Week 7, and today we’re talking about something that’s kind of a rite of passage in the U.S.—summer jobs.

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Just in case you were wondering, this is another podcast English lesson. And in case you like what I’m gonna teach here, I’ll give you some tips to help you remember it. 

Today, I want to help you out with a handful of phrases that all use the words “in” and “case.” In this lesson, we’re going over expressions like “in case,” “in case of,” “just in case,” “in any case,” “in that case,” and  “whatever the case.” These are super common in daily English, and they each have their own little twist when it comes to grammar and meaning.

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