American English Podcast
The American English Podcast teaches the language and culture of the United States. Through common expressions, pronunciation tips and interesting cultural snippets or stories, I hope to keep this fun, useful and interesting! All bonus material can be accessed at http://americanenglishpodcast.com/
Episodes
July 23, 2024 • 19 mins
Hi everyone. Welcome back! I am curious, have you ever heard a story about a magician making a rabbit disappear? Have you ever seen it? Maybe you've read a novel, perhaps a mystery, where a character disappears and nobody knows what happened to them. These scenarios perfectly illustrate our expression of the day, which is to vanish into thin air.
To vanish into thin air conjures images of something or someone disappearing suddenly...
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July 8, 2024 • 27 mins
Imagine you are on a ferry slowly approaching Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The sky is a brilliant blue with just a few clouds drifting overhead. There's a cool breeze; it's hitting your face, and the smell of salt from the ocean water is around you. To your right is the New York City skyline. Lower Manhattan is magical with all of its high rises, but nothing compares to the Statue of Liberty ahead of you. She's massive! In fa...
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July 2, 2024 • 15 mins
Welcome back to this week's episode! It'll begin with a joke. Then, we move into the expression of the day, "to spread one's wings," breaking down its meaning and providing vivid examples to help you understand how to use it in everyday life. Finally, we'll practice pronouncing this phrase and its various conjugations, ensuring you're ready to use it confidently.
Stay tuned for the upcoming cultural episode (part 2) about the Stat...
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June 20, 2024 • 28 mins
The whole world has bad drivers. No country or city in the world is immune. What’s funny is that most of us don’t consider ourselves bad drivers! We tend to judge others.
In this 5-Minute English lesson, I’m going to tell a fictional story about the worst driver in the world. You’ll hear:
Vocabulary related to bad driving
Actions that people take against bad driving
How bad drivers are punished
This lesson will be intense in...
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June 6, 2024 • 29 mins
Welcome back to the second part of episode 166. In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about Irregular Verbs and McDonald’s. You guys know McDonald’s, right.? Big Macs, Filet-o-Fish, Happy Meals?
In this lesson, you'll hear a short story about the founding and expansion of the world-famous fast food restaurant. In it, you'll hear 10 Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense. Here they are:
1. To begin (began)
2. To make (made)
3....
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May 29, 2024 • 26 mins
In today's episode, we'll begin by going through the commentary you guys made on Culture Shock in the United States. Afterwards, I'll tell you a joke, we'll go over the expression "to take it with a grain of salt," and we'll do a pronunciation exercise.
Premium Content for this episode is available with both of these:
Season 4 (Episodes 150 - 200) = Each episode includes a quiz, the PDF transcript (the text of the audio) with def...
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May 18, 2024 • 31 mins
In this Chats with Shana episode, I'm going to reflect on various aspects of US culture. Although I talk about culture all the time on here, it's not often we talk about some basic things, like everyday life things that can cause culture shock. The truth is, I don't often think about the topics I'm going to discuss today; they're pretty random! We'll cover eggs, air conditioning, driving, beauty, flags, portion sizes and the one th...
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May 2, 2024 • 27 mins
One of the most popular films of 1997 was by far “ Titanic.” It won 11 Academy Awards! If you saw the film, or even just previews of it, you know the plot. There’s a love story between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) that develops while aboard a huge ship called Titanic. The Titanic was a real ship that set off on its first transatlantic trip from England to the United States in 1912. I know you know what happens; ...
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April 25, 2024 • 21 mins
Life can't possibly get worse! You've lost your job, you have no money, and then to top it off, your dog dies. You've hit rock bottom; you've reached the lowest possible point in your life.
To hit rock bottom is a common expression in American English, and in today's lesson you'll learn exactly how to use it. In addition to learning how to use this idiom, you'll hear a joke, we'll hear comments from the audience, and we'll go thro...
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April 13, 2024 • 30 mins
My grandma permanently moved to the United States from Spain in the 1950s and the only way she could afford to keep in contact with friends and family was through writing letters; flying and international calls back then were not in her family’s budget. Email didn’t exist yet. She sent postcards and letters, pictures of her kids and eventually her grandkids. In her lifetime, the United States Postal Service (USPS) was her lifeline...
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March 30, 2024 • 47 mins
Illinois is situated in the heart of the American Midwest, and it's known as the "Prairie State" because over 60% of it is covered in farmland. Despite the number of natural wonders found in Illinois, what attracts most visitors is the vibrant city of Chicago ("The Windy City").Situated on the scenic shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago is a hot spot for music lovers and art enthusiasts. It's not only home to world-class museums and ico...
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March 17, 2024 • 26 mins
I know, I know, 99% of you are saying what in the world is that? What in the world is a reduplication? Well I just told you one: Handy-dandy. Handy by itself means useful or practical, in American English you can add dandy for emphasis, intensification and to give it a playful and poetic effect. Handy-dandy is a reduplication. In English, you’ll hear reduplications in songs and casual conversation! Many times it just involves repea...
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March 3, 2024 • 31 mins
You've seen it, right? The long cereal aisles in a U.S. supermarket? Crammed from top to bottom with colorful boxes? I bet you have. Cereal arouses a sense of nostalgia in a lot of the Americans that I know; it brings about memories of childhood, simpler times, family breakfasts. It's a wonderful topic of conversation that you can have with native speakers. Ask them: What was your favorite cereal when you were a child? You'll see t...
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February 22, 2024 • 18 mins
You're sitting on the couch and your significant other is too far from you. Want them to cuddle up next to you? Say: "Gimme some sugar!" "Gimme some sugar" is a common American English expression used to express desire for physical affection, whether that be some cuddles, a hug, a kiss or even a fist pump! It's a playful idiom, and today, you'll learn its origin and hear a number of examples so that you can hear how native speakers...
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February 8, 2024 • 26 mins
Last month, my family and I moved into a new home. In English, it's what we'd call a fixer upper; it's a home that needs updates, it needs renovation, it needs to be remodeled in various ways. We are in the process of fixing our house up, and today you'll hear a true story about the process. In this 5-minute English episode, you'll learn how to talk about home renovations and repairs in English. This is a topic-specific lesson, so ...
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January 25, 2024 • 32 mins
Moving across the United States is a significant event that brings with it a mix of excitement and challenges. Just last month, Lucas made the cross-country road trip from California to North Carolina, and today he's here to talk about the experience. This is a casual and fun conversation with lots to take away, even if you're not relocating! We talk about the change of scenery from the West to East Coast, the vast and diverse lan...
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January 12, 2024 • 31 mins
Every January, as the clock strikes midnight and the New Year unfolds, millions of people around the globe start a familiar ritual: they start their New Year’s Resolution. A resolution is a firm decision or commitment to oneself to achieve some sort of goal. Usually one is made with hope for self-improvement.
In today’s lesson, we’ll talk about a few different studies and surveys about the top New Year’s resolutions in the United ...
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January 3, 2024 • 14 mins
This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "to get the ball rolling" you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.
In part two (which will be posted shortly), you'll learn about New Year's Resolution Statistics for the United States! What are our priorities in 2024? How convinced are we that we'll succeed at keeping our resolutions?
Premium Content:
Season 4 (Episodes 150 ...
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December 20, 2023 • 28 mins
Today you’ll learn 10-Must Know Oxymorons to avoid confusion in conversation and the canvas for introducing these words will be a story about my Christmas Memories. An oxymoron is a literary device that has two contradicting terms, such as "pretty ugly," or "awfully good." This lesson will have two parts: First you will hear the story which contains all of the oxymorons in context. As a challenge, I want you to listen closely and f...
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December 5, 2023 • 34 mins
Earlier this year, I asked some friends and family members if they could write a short story about their favorite decade. A decade is a ten-year time frame. For example, 1970-1979 is a decade. 1980 -1989 is another decade. I asked some friends and family members if they could write a short story about their favorite decade.My thought was that it would be interesting to step out of the 2020s and relive a decade in the life of someon...
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