Luke's ENGLISH Podcast - Learn British English with Luke Thompson

Small talk is not just a pointless way to fill silence in social situations, it is also an opportunity to make great social connections, build your network and just have an interesting conversation with someone new, but how do we do it successfully? How can you deal with your shyness and awkwardness about small talk moments, particularly in English? How can you develop your confidence, and take the right approach to making good connections with people you meet? That's what this episode is all about, as I am joined again by Ray Addam, who has plenty of good advice and stories to share.

Get the PDF with phrase bank and full transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/A-Big-Talk-about-Small-Talk-with-Ray-Addam-1007.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/10/20/a-big-talk-about-small-talk-🗣️-with-ray-addam-improve-your-speaking-skills-in-english-1007/

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Ray's Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/learnenglishwithray/

Ray's Preply page for 1-to-1 lessons 👉 https://preply.in/RAY6EN200844011?ts=17815602

Ray's online courses 👉 https://www.skool.com/elevate-english-6228/about?ref=77d17e9d6acf4bf1ae51158796ecaa0f

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Listen to a selection of 9 fascinating stories written by listeners, one of which will win the competition which I launched earlier this year. Finally, the wait is over and the creepy story competition episode is here. I had to work very hard to narrow down the entries from 74 to only 9. Anna Brooke and I chose our favourite, as you will hear.

These are extremely mysterious and extraordinary stories sent in by my listeners. They describe very bizarre and spooky experiences, often involving the sad loss of a family member, spirits from the past searching for peace, or just disturbing coincidences that are hard to reconcile.

All 74 stories are available to read on the episode PDF, and there are plenty of very interesting entries there too. Thank you to everyone who sent a story, and congratulations to the winner, who will win a copy of Anna Brooke's "Death by Chocolate".

Get the episode PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/True-Ghost-Stories-Unexplained-Mysteries-from-Listeners-LEPster-Writing-Competition-1006-.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/10/13/9-true-ghost-stories-unexplained-mysteries-from-listeners-lepster-writing-competition-1006/

"Death by Chocolate" by Anna Brooke 👉 https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/books/death-by-chocolate/

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This episode is a celebration of a living-legend of British life & culture - Sir David Attenborough, who is best known for making documentaries on the BBC about the natural world. Listen as I give an overview of his life and career, explain why he is so loved by people, share anecdotes from people who have met him, describe memorable animal moments from his documentaries, and do a few impressions of his distinctive voice.

Get my PDF notes 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sir-David-Attenborough-Britains-1-National-Treasure-1005_compressed.pdf

Get the episode transcript PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sir-David-Attenborough-Britains-1-National-Treasure-1005-Episode-Transcript.pdf

Episode page with video clips & more 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/10/07/sir-david-attenborough-1005-britains-1-national-treasure/

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Retelling the story of your favourite film, or book, can be a great way to practise your speaking skills in English. It can help you focus on narrative tenses, vocabulary recall and spoken fluency, while having fun reliving some great moments from cinema or literature. In this episode I demonstrate this, while giving you an entertaining re-telling of Steven Spielberg's classic dinosaur adventure, Jurassic Park (the original and best in the franchise).

Listen as I tell the story from the point of view of one of the main characters. Notice the phrases and descriptive words I use, and check the PDF transcript later to reinforce your learning through reading. In the second half of the episode to hear my own self-corrections and feedback, focusing on better vocabulary and scientific terms I could have used in the episode.

Improvising this version of the story was both a challenge, and a lot of fun for me! You can try it too. No need to use the original plot - feel free to get creative and just have fun telling your own version of a story you know well.

Get the PDF transcript here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Lukes-Improvised-Storytelling_-Jurassic-Park-1004-Listen-Learn-English-Full-Episode-Transcript.pdf

Episode page with links to more episodes like this 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/09/25/auto-draft/

Sign up to LEP Premium for the really good stuff: vocabulary review, quiz and pronunciation practice based on this episode 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Following a challenge from the comment section, I decided to see if it was possible to make an entire episode with my friends Amber and Paul based on the table of irregular verbs. This is the result. I decided to test the POD-PALS on their grammatical knowledge, and to see what anecdotes and funny comments I could get from them. The result is both a classic Amber & Paul episode, and quite a revealing demonstration of how English native speakers process grammar in their first language.

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/09/22/testing-my-friends-on-english-grammar-irregular-verbs-with-amber-paul-🎯-1003/

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This episode is full of fascinating science-backed insights into how the brain processes language. I read an article, and then explain various conclusions about the best way to learn English, with a lot of practical tips for speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary. What does neuroscience tell us about the best way to learn a language?

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/09/14/neuroscience-learning-english-🧠-11-surprising-facts-1002/

Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Neuroscience-Learning-English-11-Surprising-Facts-1002.pdf

LEP Premium 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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LEP is back after a summer break, and in this episode you can hear messages and questions from listeners, including stories of English learning, and testimonials from LEPsters who have made a significant improvement to their English after listening to this podcast long-term. Also included are some philosophical musings about life & death, an update on the plants in my pod-room, and some research-backed insights into the language learning benefits of listening to my rambling episodes.

Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Real-English-Learning-Stories-from-Around-the-World-Listener-Comments-Questions-1001.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/09/03/real-english-learning-stories-from-around-the-world-🌏-listener-comments-questions-1001/

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Here it is, finally! The long-awaited episode 1000. It has taken me weeks to finish this. If you listen, you will understand why it has taken so long! This is a celebration of this podcast after 17 years and 1000 episodes. It includes a lot of rambling, an interview with my brother, questions from friends and family, and the voices of various guests who have been on this podcast over the last few years. Also, regular interruptions from my daughter and all sorts of other random moments such as the sounds of dogs, woodpeckers, neighbours, and more! Thank you to all the LEPsters around the world and my guests for helping to make this achievement possible! ❤️

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/08/12/episode-1000/

PDF Transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Episode-1000-Transcript-2.pdf

LEP Premium 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

Full LEP Episode Archive 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/episodes

Get James' latest EP "High Score Table" here 👉 https://jimthompson.bandcamp.com/album/high-score-table

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Back by popular demand, here is another Sherlock Holmes mystery for episode 999. How will Watson deal with his mini-mission to an opium den, before joining Holmes on one of his most singular cases so far, attempting to solve the disappearance of a gentleman and the suspicious involvement of the man with the twisted lip? Listen to the story and then keep listening as I break it down paragraph by paragraph. 

Get the story PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Sherlock-Holmes-The-Adventure-of-the-Man-with-the-Twisted-Lip-999.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/07/29/sherlock-holmes-the-adventure-of-the-man-with-the-twisted-lip-🕵/

LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Some podcast housekeeping is necessary in this episode, as I talk about current LEP news, moving into a house in the countryside, sketchy plans for episode 1000, an update on the scary story competition, final thoughts on the World Cup, and more. My daughter joins me with various comments throughout, and at one point a bird even flies into the room. What fun we had. PDF transcript available.

Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Rambling-in-the-Countryside-feat.-my-daughter-998.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/07/21/rambling-in-the-countryside-🏡-feat-my-daughter-998/

LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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