Espresso English Podcast

Do you know what it means to have a "free spirit" or "free rein"? Is being a "freeloader" a good thing or a bad thing? Today you'll learn the answers to these questions and much more - I'll teach you 10 interesting expressions with the word "free." Expressions like "get off scot-free" and "give someone free rein" are examples of idioms - short phrases that can't be explained or translated literally. What's the best way to learn idioms, if you can't translate them literally? The best way is to learn them in context - by seeing real examples of when native English speakers would use each expression. I made a course that will teach you 300+ idioms in 30 days! Each lesson has 4 steps: You'll try to GUESS the meaning of each idiom from an example sentence You'll LEARN the correct meaning of each expression from my teaching You'll REVIEW the idioms by taking a quiz You'll PRACTICE using the idioms by answering questions You can take lesson 1 for free... ...and join the course to get all 30 lessons.

In soccer, we don't say "make a goal," we say "score a goal." Outside of sports, we don't say "follow a goal," but we do say "pursue a goal" or "work towards a goal." Learn 20 collocations with the word "goal"!   "Collocations" are the common combinations of words that are frequently used by native speakers. These typical combinations of words can be hard to learn because often there are no rules that can help you know which words to use together - these expressions simply exist because people commonly use them in that way! However, you can learn collocations quickly and with the audio e-book 1000 English Collocations in 10 Minutes a Day. Each lesson presents common collocations on a specific topic, and includes a practice exercise.

A lot of students ask me about phrases and idioms they've heard in conversations and TV shows. In today's lesson, I'm going to share the answers with you, explaining each expression with a few examples. Quick answers to your questions about idioms There are a lot of idioms in English... and sometimes even native English speakers come across expressions we don't know! So how do we figure them out? We interpret them from the context. Based on the situation in which the idiom is said, we make our best guess as to what the expression means. My 300+ English Idioms Course helps you do this, too! Instead of just telling you what the idioms mean, I have you use your head... each lesson starts with a quiz where you try to interpret the idioms in context. Then I explain them to clear up any doubts. Try it yourself with this free sample lesson   :-)

When you're worried, it's even harder to express yourself in English - but this lesson will help: 10 Practical English Phrases for Talking about Worries & Relief. These can help expand your vocabulary by going beyond the basic "I'm worried" and "I'm relieved." To learn more, join my Everyday English Speaking Course: https://www.espressoenglish.net/everyday-english-speaking-course 

Did you know that these words all have DIFFERENT ways to pronounce the "u" in the beginning? ultimate union urgent urine In today's lesson, you'll practice pronouncing English words starting with U. Listen and repeat to improve your pronunciation! Just like when you do exercise in the gym to improve your physical condition, doing pronunciation exercises improves your ability to speak English correctly! That's why my American English Pronunciation Course is full of practice. Whatever sounds you find difficult in English, this course will help you improve. By listening and repeating the words and sentences aloud, you'll train your mouth to say them clearly. If you're not able to join the Pronunciation Course, you can always use my YouTube videos to practice listening and repeating what I say.

Prepositions like in, of, at, from, and to are used very frequently in English. However, there are some cases in which you SHOULDN'T use one – and in today's lesson, you'll learn 5 times you should not use a preposition.   This is one of my top grammar lessons on Espresso English. I hope you enjoy it!   English grammar can certainly be complicated... but I'll make it clear to you when you join my Advanced Grammar Course! The 45 lessons in this course will teach you all the verb tenses as well as adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, sentence structure, and other more complex topics. You also have the option to practice your writing, and send your texts for feedback and correction by a teacher on the Espresso English team. What if you're not yet advanced enough for that course? Then I'd recommend joining 200 Common Errors in English. You'll learn how to avoid the most common mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and learning strategy.

These two words are pronounced the same, but they are spelled differently and have different meanings! Lesson text: https://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-compliment-and-complement/ This is a free sample from the e-book 600+ Confusing English Words Explained. It will help clear up your doubts about how to use English words correctly, so that you can speak and write more confidently. Click here for more information.

Today I'm sending you a special class all about compound words! Compound words are when two or more words are put together to form a new word with a new meaning - like notebook, mother-in-law, and post office. Sometimes compound words are easy to understand: a bookstore is a store that sells books; a dishwasher is a machine that washes dishes. But others might not be so obvious, for example: brainstorm – an intense process where you think of many different ideas scapegoat – someone who bears the blame for others In this lesson, you'll learn the meanings of 36 compound words in English. If you’d like to continue improving your vocabulary, you’ll really enjoy the Vocabulary Builder Courses at Espresso English. Level 1 of the course focuses on essential everyday words for things in daily life, work, study, travel, describing people, describing the world, etc.   Level 2 of the course goes deeper into these subjects and also has lessons on more advanced topics like binomials, metaphors, word roots, and pref

My recent videos were all about staying motivated when learning English... ...but what's MY secret to staying motivated when teaching English? There are some days when I feel sad, lazy, and discouraged. Sometimes I don't have the energy to prepare new lessons, and I don't want to turn on my video camera. Yes... even your English teacher lacks motivation sometimes! But here's how I get motivated again: I visit a page on the Espresso English website that you might not know about... it's called "Student Stories." Read student stories - and add yours - by clicking here! - https://www.espressoenglish.net/student-stories/ It has SO MANY wonderful comments from students like you - all talking about how my lessons have helped them and changed their lives. When I read these student stories, it always makes me happy - and then I feel motivated and EXCITED to create more lessons and help more students! What's amazing about these stories is that there are students from lots of different countries... students of all

I’m sharing my tenth and final tip for how to stay motivated to learn English. This one is really interesting and fun, and it can really help you keep up your motivation and desire to make more progress in your English. Tip #10 is Challenge Yourself, Then Reward Yourself When You Reach Goals Sometimes when you’re studying English by yourself, it can be discouraging because there’s nobody to say “Nice work!” or celebrate your successes. But if you give yourself challenges and rewards, it can give you the motivation to keep going and not quit.

Today’s tip for staying motivated is Find A Partner Or Join A Community Scientists have discovered that one of the most effective motivators is “peer pressure” – that’s encouragement or expectation from people who are similar to you.

today’s tip for how to stay motivated to learn English is very important. It’s so simple, but it will make a big difference in your English learning experience. Make Learning Enjoyable You don’t have to study the exact same way every time! Try to have some variation, to keep things interesting. Here’s another tip for making English more fun – find material in areas of your interest. Finally, learn from a teacher who you like!

Hi there! Today I’ll share my seventh tip for how to stay motivated to learn English, and that is: Plan For Breaks, But Also Plan To Come Back If you have a very busy day, it’s OK to skip your studying – just make sure to come back to it the next day. If you’re going on vacation for a week, it’s OK not to look at English. Relax and enjoy your vacation, then resume your studies afterwards. The key is always to come back to English – don’t let yourself get so busy that you forget to study for weeks and months.

Hello students! I’m back with another tip for how to stay motivated to learn English. This tip is for you on those days when you really have low motivation and you feel lazy, and you just aren’t very interested in studying English. When You Feel Lazy, Just Take A Baby Step A “baby step” is a very small action.

Today I’m giving you tip #5 on how to stay motivated when you’re learning English. This is something very practical and if you do it, you will find it very helpful and encouraging. Keep A Record Of Your Progress (Success Journal) It’s very motivating to keep a record of what you’ve accomplished. Get a notebook, and after every study session write down the date and a summary of “what I learned today.” This results in three benefits.

Hi students! Are you ready to learn tip #4 for how to stay motivated to learn English? This one is something you can put into practice every time you sit down to study. Visualize The End Goal, And Know That Every Bit Of Time You Invest Is Bringing You Closer! Do you know WHY you want to learn English? Whatever your reason is, try this simple exercise: when you sit down to study English, spend a couple minutes visualizing (imagining) reaching your goal.  Then, tell yourself that EVERY study session (including this one) is bringing you closer to that situation. This makes your studying more enjoyable and more meaningful, because you know that what you are doing is useful and that you are making real progress.

Hi there! I’m back with tip #3 on how to stay motivated when learning English, and this is a big one – it is: Don’t Take Mistakes So Seriously/Personally MISTAKES – they have the power to make you afraid to use your English… they can also make you feel humiliated when someone corrects you… they represent your failure to know the rules of English… right? WRONG! Mistakes only have all that power if you allow them to have such power. Remember that making mistakes does NOT mean you are stupid. Choose to view mistakes as an opportunity to learn, not a disaster!

Hi students! It’s Shayna from EspressoEnglish.net and I’m excited to share with you my second tip for how to stay motivated to learn English. Tip #1, which we learned last time, is to be encouraged because your English is probably better than you imagine. Now let’s consider tip #2, which is: Never Compare Your English Skills To Others’

Do you ever feel sad and discouraged about your English-learning progress? Do you sometimes find it hard to stay motivated, because learning English takes such a long time? Are there days when you just don't feel like studying? If you've ever experienced these emotions, then you will really enjoy the lessons I have for you this month. I’m going to teach you 10 practical ways to stay motivated in your English learning. Click here for tip #1! This is a special series of lessons that isn’t specifically about grammar or vocabulary, but instead about how you can stay motivated and keep learning English, even when it feels hard. I’m making these videos for you because I want to see you succeed in your English learning, and these will be my top tips to help you keep going!

Today I'm going to teach you an exercise for practicing the pronunciation of long, difficult multi-syllable words. Our example words for this exercise will be particularly and individualistic. But you can use this exercise with ANY English word! I hope you’ll remember the tips in this lesson next time you see a long, complicated English word! When it comes to pronunciation, practice makes perfect. The only way to get better at English pronunciation is by doing it, by saying the words, and by training your mouth to make the right sounds. I have two courses that can help you train and improve your pronunciation – the American English Pronunciation Course and Shadowing with Shayna. These courses have lots of exercises that will give you the practice you need to speak more clearly, confidently and correctly.