Luke Thompson is an ESL Teacher, Podcaster, and Stand-up Comedian. He's originally from England and currently lives in Paris. Luke has been helping learners practice their listening skills for over 10 years through his podcast. His webpage and podcast were voted #1 in the Best Blog category for the Macmillan Dictionaries Awards four times in a row. His goals are to engage the learners with authentic conversations that explore all different aspects of everyday life and bits of British culture. Lu...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Do you often find yourself shying away from new experiences or opportunities because you lack confidence? Have you had that feeling of your heart racing, your palms sweating just thinking about the new challenge that faced you such as speaking English? We're here today to help you do better in those moments of self-doubt and we are with you six tips and hacks to boost your confidence, especially when speaking English. Show notes here. .......... We’re super excited to announce that we have publi...
Oct 14, 2021•40 min
Jennifer Kumar is an English conversation and cross-cultural coach. She lived in India for more than 10 years and even studied her masters degree there. Through her business Authentic Journeys, she helps Americans and Indians strengthen their business relationships through the development of mutual understanding of cultural and linguistic aspects. Get ready for a really unique episode of Beyond Borders. You know, learning English is only partly about the actual language. The other huge part is l...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 22 min
If you're like most English learners, you've probably heard the word 'ass' used very frequently in English speaking in songs, movies, and TV series. But did you know that this word has a multitude of uses that mean completely different things? Although you should definitely be very careful with all uses of this word, often the use can in fact, be neutral or even positive. While it's important to emphasize that we do need to be careful with this word, this does not mean we should ignore it. If yo...
Oct 07, 2021•36 min
Ladies and gentlemen. English learners, teachers, and world changers. My next guest is Tiffani. Tiffani, from speakenglishwithtiffani.com, is a teacher and artist from Maryland, US. One day, she left her job as a web designer at NASA to embark on an adventure to South Korea. She lived there for almost 10 years and fell in love with teaching English as a Second Language. Since founding the Speak English with Tiffani Academy, she's dedicated her time and energy to help learners from all around the...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 32 min
All the time our students tell us that their biggest frustration is that they understand English well, but that they don't have any opportunities to speak. That is exactly why we launched the RealLife English app this year to give you an opportunity to practice both your speaking and listening in a fun and meaningful way. If you ever worry about not knowing what to talk about while using the app, listen to this episode because we will give you ideas on which topics to talk about when using the a...
Sep 30, 2021•37 min
For those of you in Brazil, you will be no stranger to today's guest, but if you don't know him, you are in for a treat! Gavin Roy is from Ohio in the USA. He learned Portuguese to go to Brazil for the FIFA Soccer World Cup. On his YouTube channels: SmallAdvantages (with 2.7 million subscribers) and TadyGavin he teaches English through his own journey of learning Portuguese and Czech respectively. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I'm absolutely amazed by Gavin's motivation to accomplish so...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Isn't it awesome that English allows you to discover the world and meet people from different countries and learn about other cultures? That's exactly what we mean when we encourage you to go beyond the classroom and become a global citizen! In fact, our company vision is to create a world beyond borders. So in today's episode, we're excited to join you on your English learning journey, and help you to unleash your English's highest potential. Show notes here. .......... We’re super excited to a...
Sep 23, 2021•34 min
My guest today is Veronika Mark, a language learner and YouTuber from Russia. On her YouTube channel, English with Veronika Mark, she shares the tips she applied on her own journey learning English for the past 6 years. Veronika speaks English and Chinese fluently, and also some French. She approaches a variety of topics, such as how you can keep motivated to learn English, where to find resources to enhance your learning experiences, and what to learn to go from intermediate to advanced. I'm ex...
Sep 20, 2021•1 hr 17 min
There are various types of jokes in English that you may have heard of, such as traditional knock-knock jokes, one-liners and more. Some can be quite difficult to understand because they contain more than one meaning. These are the jokes we'll be looking at today. So we'll be sharing some jokes with you and explaining their meaning and what makes them funny or a little embarrassing. Try using these jokes with your friends to put a smile on their face. Show notes here . .......... We’re super exc...
Sep 16, 2021•29 min
Idahosa Ness is a polyglot, musician, and founder of The Mimic Method for learning languages. After traveling to Mexico at the age of 17 without knowing a word of Spanish, and struggling to connect with locals, he worked hard to perfect his accent by understanding the sonority of the language. He created The Mimic Method and used this approach to learn five other languages. He is oftentimes mistaken as a native speaker of the languages he has learned. Since then, he has helped lots of students t...
Sep 13, 2021•1 hr 6 min
We are very excited to celebrate our 250th podcast episode with you today! For this reason, we've selected a few questions that you, our listeners, have submitted to answer for you. You'll learn a bit of grammar, a bit of vocabulary and some curiosities, like some 43-letter word that holds the record for the longest English word. That, and more, of course! Show notes here . .......... We’re super excited to announce that we have publicly launched much anticipated RealLife English Podcast and Spe...
Sep 09, 2021•38 min
If you can't focus, you're not alone. Let me share a secret with you. So it has taken me more than five years to learn what I need to do to focus on getting my work done. And I must say, until this day, I sometimes find myself getting distracted and switching between tasks on a busy work day. Does this happen to you? It's so easy to get trapped in distraction when facing a difficult or daunting task. And I'm sure that you have those moments while studying English. So today, we're going to look a...
Sep 06, 2021•13 min
You asked for it and we listened. In today’s podcast we’re bringing you a topic that you have requested us to cover. Many of you are currently studying for or have completed the IELTS exam. So, in this episode of the podcast we’re giving you 10 tips to help you pass the exam or improve your score. Show notes here . .......... We’re super excited to announce that we have publicly launched much anticipated RealLife English Podcast and Speaking App , which will give dedicated learners, just like yo...
Sep 02, 2021•30 min
Justin Murray is the Co-founder and CEO of RealLife English. He's originally from the Seattle area in Washington State in the US but has been living in Brazil for more than 10 years. Justin and his business partners (including yours truly) started RealLife English as a series of face-to-face events to give their students the opportunity to practice speaking English through real-life conversations. The business grew into a global community with two very successful Youtube channels, a podcast, and...
Aug 30, 2021•1 hr 8 min
In this episode of the RealLife English podcast, Ethan and Andrea share some of their most fun and memorable stories traveling around the world. Here’s a little teaser: Ethan tells us about his experience being in ‘house arrest” in Thailand. Can you imagine Andrea, also in Thailand, putting on Muay Thai gloves and getting into a ring? Oh, and there’s also a time when Ethan got completely lost in Poland without being able to speak any Polish! Like us, you’re probably missing being able to travel,...
Aug 26, 2021•34 min
Lindsay, from All Ears English, is an American podcast host and producer, and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience teaching English as a Second language in Japan, Argentina, Guatemala, and the US. She believes in 'connection, not perfection' when it comes to learning English, and has inspired English language learners worldwide through her thriving podcast, All Ears English, which has been downloaded more than 200 million times! This interview was so much fun! We started off talkin...
Aug 23, 2021•55 min
You often ask us questions about how to reach the next level in your English. At the beginning, progress feels so fast, but then it becomes slower and slower, and you get stuck at the same level for a while, and you just don't know how to break through and get to the next one. In this podcast, we investigate why your English may not be improving as fast as you would like it to, and will give you practical advice on what you can do to get to the next level, no matter where you are on your journey...
Aug 19, 2021•32 min
Today we’re bringing you another Beyond Borders podcast special as we prepare our next interview with Lindsay McMahon from All Ears English. This week we’ve taken some of the most powerful fragments from previous shows with Anna from English Fluency Journey, Hadar from Accents Way, Christina Lorimer and Leo Gomez. You’re going to love this special episode where Anna tells us about the immense benefit of having a support network for your learning. Then, Hadar shares her opinion on the often confl...
Aug 16, 2021•24 min
This week you will learn a lot of English vocabulary related to finances and on top of that you'll learn quite a bit from this crash course of sorts on investment and cryptocurrency. We'll teach you some phrasal verbs having to do with investments, then we'll touch on the crypto-craze that's been going on for a while now. This podcast contains no financial advice but a great deal of English. Don't miss out! Show notes here . .......... We’re super excited to announce that we have publicly launch...
Aug 12, 2021•39 min
As we prepare for the next Beyond Borders interview, featuring a guest you are going to be very excited to learn with, we’ve put together this lesson with bits from some of our previous guests. Have you ever asked, I want to speak English with natives, where do I find them? Have you avoided speaking with other learners because you believe it will make your English worse? You'll be surprised to hear about Vanessa, Hadar, Emma and Shannon's experiences learning with other non-native learners. Show...
Aug 09, 2021•14 min
When people ask us “How are you?”, we often get lazy and we use the same old replies such as “I'm good,” “I'm great,” AND especially “I’m fine.” But there are so many more great ways to describe how you're feeling if you want to be more specific about your emotions. In this podcast we'll help you expand your vocabulary and learn a range of words to describe your emotions, thinking about them on a scale from low intensity to high intensity. Show notes here . .......... We’re super excited to anno...
Aug 05, 2021•38 min
Emma, from mmmEnglish, is a YouTube Teacher, English Confidence Coach, and Entrepreneur based in Perth, Australia. She started her channel to help her former Vietnamese students get out of the classroom and develop real-world fluency and has now grown it to a community of over 4M subscribers. Emma is passionate about helping English learners build their confidence to use their English in the real world. She is also the co-founder of Hey Lady!, an online community for women from around the world ...
Aug 02, 2021•1 hr 11 min
We spend one third of our lives sleeping and it's no wonder that there are so many great words we use instead of sleep in English. By learning them, you can be more specific about the way that you describe your sleep. We also use heaps of expressions related to sleep that can be confusing if you don't know them. Show notes here . .......... We’re super excited to announce that we have publicly launched much anticipated RealLife English Podcast and Speaking App , which will give dedicated learner...
Jul 29, 2021•36 min
Leo Gomez, founder of Learn your English (.net), is an ESL teacher, trainer and entrepreneur. He has more than 20 years of teaching experience and has taught English in six different countries. Leo believes that individuals develop through reflection, experimentation and learning from their mistakes. Amazingly, he hasn't used the course book to teach in more than seven years. Leo emigrated from Brazil to Canada, where he started his business called Learn Your English. Through courses, masterclas...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 25 min
In today's podcast episode, we are talking about differences in schooling in the USA, UK and Australia. It's actually pretty shocking how different they are in these three English speaking countries. We will explain what the journey looks like through the schooling system in each country and important terms and vocabulary that you need to know related to this. You might find this especially helpful if you plan on studying abroad or applying to a university in an English-speaking country. Show no...
Jul 22, 2021•37 min
Shannon Kennedy, from eurolinguiste.com , is an American entrepreneur, content creator, language learner and musician based in California. She's a language expert and writer on various language learning platforms, such as Fluent in 3 Months and Drops, where she shares tips and challenges to help learners apply the concepts of minimalism to maximize their efficiency. Shannon is also a professional jazz musician and started studying European languages, such as Spanish, Italian and German while tak...
Jul 19, 2021•1 hr 12 min
“I don't have time for English.” “I have so many things to do.” “Work is busy.” “I have lots of university assignments.” “In my free time, I want to relax, not be thinking about English.” Do you ever say these things to yourself? Do you not have time to learn English? We understand how you feel. We’ve felt the same way too learning other languages and we’ve combated that with a few tricks to never let a day pass without learning and practicing the languages we learn. In this podcast lesson, we a...
Jul 14, 2021•30 min
Christina Lorimer, christinalorimer.com, is an English instructor, materials writer, academic consultant, and entrepreneur. She is a specialist in English as a second language and has worked with NGOs and immigrant refugees for many years. She dedicates her work to support language learners in overcoming internal and systemic barriers to become confident English speakers. We talked about her experience helping immigrants in California to learn English and overcome strong emotional barriers, and ...
Jul 11, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Today we have a very special podcast where we take a trip down memory lane (remember the past) and talk about expressions that we used to say as kids. These are funny playground expressions, some of which you've probably heard in kid shows or in family movies. As you’ll see the vocabulary and the language can be quite interesting, even philosophical, in some of these. Don’t miss out! Show notes here . .......... We’re super excited to announce that we have publicly launched much anticipated Real...
Jul 07, 2021•36 min
