The Level Up English Podcast

In Episode 300 of the podcast, Akari from the Nihongo For You podcast joins me today for a chat about teaching languages, moving abroad, and learning English.

In the second half of the episode, we talk about life experiences where I ask Akari questions using the present perfect tense about things she has done before. It's a great opportunity to practice the grammar and see it used in the context of a regular conversation.

Perhaps you could also answer along at home and practice for yourself?

If you're learning or thinking about learning Japanese, don't forget to check out Akari's website and podcast too.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast300

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In my last episode, I spoke about my cycling trip to Taiwan. While there, I had a lot of time alone to think to myself with no distractions. In this episode today, I'm going to share some of the things I was thinking about.

One of these was the idea of Hedonic Adaptation (also known as the Hedonic Treadmill). This is something that we all face as humans and might just be the key to understanding how to be happy and content.

It's a really useful topic when it comes to being happy with what you have and not always feeling bad about what you don't - such as feeling bad for not being good enough at English.

Let's find out more.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast299

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Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

I took 2 weeks off in October to ride a bicycle around the whole of Taiwan. It was over 1000km and took about 2 weeks to complete. Along the way, I had both good and bad experiences and there's a lot I'd love to share!

I also filmed a lot of videos of my cycle, so if you'd like to see, you can watch this episode on YouTube - The Level Up English Podcast.

This is perhaps the longest solo episode I've ever recorded, but throughout the episode, I talk about the good and the bad, what I did day by day, how I prepared for the trip, and my experience talking in Chinese with people there.

Along the way, I also mention a lot of useful vocabulary which will be useful for you as English learners. Hope you enjoy!

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast298

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

The Comparison Trap is when we get stuck comparing our lives to other people and feeling worse as a result.

It's a common problem in language learning, and this is something that I often experience too since I was inspired to make this episode after a moment of comparison made me feel worse.

We often compare ourselves to others in many ways, such as income, appearance, skills, and on social media.

In this episode, I cover all of these topics while sharing some useful comparative grammar structures to improve your spoken English.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast297

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

Curiosity is an important thing to practice to be better English language learners and enjoy your life more.

When we start learning a language, we’re naturally very open and curious to learning new things. It can be an amazing feeling when you’re really into something and you’re looking up every little detail.

However, along the way, we naturally get more complacent and we begin to take things for granted. This curiosity fades into daily habits and routines.

Curiosity makes language learning so much more enjoyable more also helps you progress faster. That’s the idea behind today’s episode.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast296

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

Megan is a teacher from Manchester, UK who has been teaching for 10 years and recently made the move to online classes. Megan specialises in Business English for professionals and improving spoken fluency, so in this episode, we talk all about jobs.

We start out discussing dream jobs and finding the right job for you.

I then quiz Megan on some really useful English business expressions that you can use both in and out of the workplace.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast295

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

Let's look at 3 ways we can use 'used to' in English. We'll look at the different grammar and way we structure these terms while answering fun and interesting questions on these topics.

I encourage you to answer these questions either in your personal studies or by leaving a comment in the shownotes below.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast294

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

This is a really fun episode all about the recent progress of AI (Artificial Intelligence) - specifically in the area of audio and music.

I share a few songs that were made by AI about this podcast that I think will blow your mind. I had a lot of fun with it.

I also share my thoughts on the future changes that AI will bring to the world, some jobs that will be lost and others that will be safe from AI and automation, and much more.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast293

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

I'm exploring a topic I truly love today and looking at the most unusual and strange places on our planet.

I'll be talking about the highest cities, hottest places, coldest places, and much more in today's episode. This is a great opportunity to practice your knowledge of superlatives (using EST to talk about the most of something).

Check the shownotes page below for more information on the words, and join as a member to access bonus learning materials to help you remember the language in today's episode.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast292

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.

In today's episode, we're exploring the topics of optimism, pessimism, and realism. These are different attitudes towards life and the future and can have a massive impact on your happiness and mental health.

I go over the definitions and words, discuss some possible benefits of being pessimistic, and give many tips on how and why you can be more optimistic in life.

A really fun episode filled with English vocabulary, and hopefully quite motivational too.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast291

Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessons

Join Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.school
By becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.