English Outside the Box

Hairlo everyone (ha ha!) This week we’re talking about the stuff that grows on the top of your head - hair! How do you have yours? Long, short, curly, straight, permed, dyed? And as an English language learner, do you know the difference between bangs and a fringe? Join your 2 hosts as they chat about everything related to hairdos. And keep listening because after the conversation awe explore some of the key vocabulary from this week’s episode. Enjoy!

Boo! Are you feeling scared yet with Halloween, right around the corner? What do you think of when you think of “classic horror movies” Are they dark and spooky? Are there witches or vampires? Find out about some of the classics, from your hosts point of view and then learn about some helpful vocabulary you can use in any situation of your English life. We even used one of them in this episode description. Listen, if you dare!

Be ready to get zany (crazy) as we talk about preferences on today's episode. Instead of choosing random topics from off the top of our heads, we got a little help from some silly cards that Jennifer owns. And the cards are silly indeed! Listen as your hosts give their preferences on some really weird situations, and hear why we'd choose what we did. Listen to our vocabulary language focus to review a helpful expression and phrasal verb. Enjoy!

Hello there, who is ready to learn some English? You get to learn new words every week here, on English Across the Pond, but this week is extra special. This week we’re talking about new words in English, some very common ones that you’ve most likely heard on the internet, and on social media. What are these new words? How do you use them? Stick around and we’ll tell you about it! Stay tuned for the language focus, where we’ll explain 2 more from the podcast’s conversation. Enjoy!

Beep Beep! We're driving through this episode talking about cars today. Which host has a boot, and who's got a trunk? Are these the same thing? Find out a cool feature one of us has on their cars and learn more about what we drive, too! Stick around for 2 common expressions in the language focus. Vroom!

Hey everyone and welcome to another week of English language learning! On this episode we’re chatting about parks - large public gardens or areas of land used for fun and relaxing. Do you have parks in your town or city? Do you visit them? What do you like to do there? Sit back, relax and improve your English as your 2 language teaching hosts chat all about parks where they live. After the conversation stay tuned for the language focus as we learn a little more about some of this week’s most important vocabulary. Enjoy!

Let's join together and celebrate a great holiday coming up, International Day of Non-Violence and talk about... non-violence! What inspired this day? How can we "celebrate" and what are different forms of non-violent actions? Tune in and find out while also learning more about useful vocabulary from this week's conversation. Enjoy!

Hey there dear Ponders! Are you physically strong? Is having big muscles important to you? And are you tough mentally? This week your British and American hosts are talking about external and internal strength and what it means to be strong. The language focus takes a closer look at some of the vocabulary from today’s chat. Enjoy!

Does your home have wheels? Some do! And we're talking about these homes on wheels, or home with motors, better known as... MOTORHOMES on today's episode. What are they? What are the different types? And what do you hosts think about them? Find out this week, and learn more about 2 expressions in our language focus. Enjoy!

This week Jennifer and Dan are talking about all things connected to … zoos. Your 2 co-hosts discuss their early experiences of visiting zoos, how these establishments have changed over the decades and whether or not they would be happy to visit one nowadays. The language focus after the chat takes a closer look at some of the key vocab from this week’s episode. Enjoy!

Both of your hosts live by one, and in summertime, you can find one of your hosts there very often. What are we talking about? The beach! Learn a bit more about our local beaches, what we like to do there and find out how you can talk about the beach in English, too! Remember our new language focuses dives deeper into vocabulary so learn more about a common phrasal verb and expression and common confusions. Enjoy!

R - E - S - P - E - C - T - respect! What is it? Is it important? Who do you respect? And who respects you? All these questions and much more are the focus of this week’s chat from your 2 favourite English language teachers. Stay tuned for exciting news about the language focus which is going to be a little different from this episode going forward. We hope you like the changes and … much respect going out to you, our dear listener!

Remember when we talked about delicious ... yummy ... breakfast? And we asked you to write in and tell us about your morning dishes? Well, you did and now we're talking about breakfast around the world! Tune in this week to hear from a couple of our listeners and Gold members share their countries' dishes. Then we'll share a bit more about confusing words and phrasal verbs related to grow and bring. Enjoy!

With the way things are during this crazy pandemic, so many people are affected outside of their personal lives, homes, and health; many people have been affected professionally as well. Forced closures and new guidelines have had a huge effect on our local business, so what can we do to help them? Tune in and find out, plus learn about a pronunciation and grammar rule in our language focus, related to the linking of "going to" Enjoy!

Hello there, while our episode title may seem like we're talking about a popular tv show - we're actually chatting about a common workplace this week, yes... an office! Tune in to hear our experiences with offices, a bit about the TV show of course, and how we'd design the perfect workplace. Stick around to hear about a common word that one of us uses a lot in our language focus. Enjoy!

24/7 - twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week = all the time! Are you living a 24/7 life? Are you always busy, busy, busy? And is it healthy to be this way? Join your hosts as they consider the pace of their lives and how we can find a little breathing space amongst the 21st century madness. After the chat you can learn some advanced language all connected to the world of numbers. Enjoy!

Hello there are you ready for the wide world of possibilities? Join us as we start with a quick visualization (not if you’re moving, of course!) about your ideal place and let’s talk about the possibilities of what’s to come. We can’t talk about possibilities without modal verbs, so stick around for this week’s language focus. Enjoy!

Hello language learners & welcome to another week of natural conversation, useful expressions and ... fun! Today we’re chatting about forgiveness and discussing questions like, Is it easy to forgive someone? Is it always the right thing to do? And today’s language focus answers a question that even native speakers find confusing. Enjoy!

Prepare to drool this whole episode and get hungry, because we're talking about breakfast ... yum, yum, yum! Your two hosts have quite a different idea about the perfect breakfast, and we share some information about cultural differences with the first meal of the day, too. We also want to hear from YOU, our listeners. Send us an email, telling us about breakfast in your country and we'll give you a shout out when we do our "breakfast around the world" episode :) Stick around to learn about some additional uses of the verb HAVE in our language focus. Enjoy!

Anniversary - a date which is remembered or celebrated because a special event happened on that date in a previous year. Have you got any special anniversaries that you celebrate every year? Weddings? Graduations? Moving home? Join your 2 English teacher hosts for a fun chat about the special days in their lives and how they celebrate them. The language focus covers some differences between British & American English. Enjoy!

Mmmmm, do you ever feel like eating something really sweet? Or do you typically desire something salty or savory? This week we talk a little bit about cravings, when our bodies (or minds) desire a particular kind of food. What do cravings mean? What are they telling our bodies they need? When and what do we, your hosts, usually crave? Find out in this episode. Stick around for a language focus talking about verbs with multiple meanings and when they can be action and stative verbs. Enjoy!

It’s 2020 and it feels like everyone is talking about zero waste. What is it? Is it important? What does it involve? And should we be doing it? Luckily for you, Jennifer is a bit of an expert in this area so sit back, relax and spend the next 30 minutes getting to know all about ... zero waste. Dan certainly learnt a lot and we’re sure that you will too. Enjoy!

This week we celebrate one of our host’s favorite things, socks! Who loves socks? and why? Tune in this week while we have some fun and laugh about a common garment that everyone uses, at least from time to time. The language focus will help you understand some common differences in American and British English spelling, vocabulary, and grammar. Enjoy!

How are you feeling today? Feeling good? On top of the world? Or are you a bit down in the dumps? Whatever your mood, we’re sure that 30 minutes in our company will lift your spirits and leave you with a smile on your face. After our chat the language focus this week is about qualitative adjectives (don’t worry, it's not as complicated as it sounds!) Enjoy!

How much is music a part of your life? Do you play any musical instruments? Did you use to play any when you were younger? Have fun in this musical episode (we even play some!) and learn more about the instruments we play and played in the past, what we think about them, our favorites, and more! Do you know how to talk about past and present habits and habitual actions? We share that in the language focus. Enjoy!

They keep us safe, and we’ve been hearing them most of our lives, even if we didn’t want to. What are we talking about? Warnings! What good are they? What kind of warnings are around us in our day-to-day and what do we think. Find out in this episode and stick around to learn a bit about infinitives after a verb in our language focus. Enjoy!

Mother Earth, we need her and she definitely needs us! Join us this week as we talk about our planet, ways to help the environment and things Jennifer and Dan do to contribute to a greener world. Stick around because we're talking about punctuation (commas and semi-colons) at the end of the episode in our language focus. Enjoy!

Do you have any siblings? An older brother? Younger sister? Maybe you’re an only child. Whatever your situation, this week you can find out all about your hosts Jen and Dan’s family and improve your English skills at the same time. After the chit chat, the language focus covers three-part phrasal verbs. Enjoy!

Do you enjoy a good walk? A potter around a town or a hike in the countryside? Dan definitely does! Join your 2 native speaker English teaching hosts as they chat all about perambulation - walking! The language focus is after the chat and this week it’s the simple past versus the past continuous. Have fun!

Episode 200! We can’t quite believe we’ve come this far and want to thank each and every person who has ever listened to and supported us. But we’re not stopping here and so join us for a chat packed with fun, laughter and the English you need to reach your language goals. We’ve also got super exciting news about how you can study for free along with us in the coming days. Let’s celebrate!

Hey there Ponder! Do you feel like you’re making good progress? Life moving along nicely? Or are you stuck in a bit of a rut, not getting much traction? This week we’re chatting about progress, what it is and how we can make it more effectively in life and in particular, of course, in English. The language focus after the chat looks at past tense verbs.

We love challenges around here at EATP - English Across the Pond, but what does that mean exactly? We talk about 2 meanings of this word in today’s episode, tell you why we love them (challenges) and give some exciting news about what’s coming up in April with our podcast. It’s exciting, it’s educational, and as always - it’s fun! Stick around for the language focus where we talk about using “DO” as an emphasis verb.

Have you got a wild and vivid imagination? Or do you find it difficult to come up with new and original ideas? Whatever side of the fence you’re on, join us for an episode full of all things imagined! And just imagine how bad your English will be if you don’t listen :) After our chat the language focus is about verbs followed by an infinitive or a gerund. Enjoy!

We have a proposal for you this week, and no we’re not talking about getting married! :) We want you to listen to the episode this week and set a goal for yourself and your English. What can you do, this week, to accomplish your goals? That’s a good proposal right? Learn the few meanings of this word in this episode and stick around for the language focus which will help you with count and noncount nouns.

Blame - to feel or say that someone is responsible for something that is wrong. Do you ever blame someone for things they haven’t done? Your partner maybe? Or have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? Been wrongly accused? Join us, Dan and Jennifer for another week of English language fun and laughter. The language focus is all about expressions with for. Enjoy!

This week it is all about YOU, ladies! Happy week of International Women’s day, today we want to celebrate women around the world for their incredible strength and everything they (you) have accomplished. This episode really could have gone on forever, but enjoy this week’s conversation about what your hosts think about women, society and this day. Women is an irregular noun, and inspired our language focus this week.

zzzzzzzzzz, sleep! How much do you need? What’s the best time to go to bed? Do you track your sleep? What’s the best position to sleep in? And what’s a sleeper pillow?! All these questions answered by your co-hosts and so much more in this week’s British and American English language podcast. Enjoy!

Do you consider yourself a humble person? What does it mean to be humble? What do Jennifer and Dan think of themselves regarding this topic? This episode covers all of that information in our conversation, so have fun! Our language focus will help you better understand different parts of speech, looking at the title “humble” as an example.

Welcome to … relationships - the way in which two or more people feel and behave towards each other. They can be good, they can be bad, you can be in them and they can end! Join your 2 native speaker English teaching hosts for a natural conversation packed full of 21st century vocabulary and expressions. Enjoy!

Hellooooo! In this 21st century high-tech world, have we forgotten about things like sending real letters and cards? Or has everything turned to the internet and email? We’ll share some of our opinions about this and discuss a bit about informal and formal differences. Our language focus goes into details about formality when writing letters/emails to someone with different greetings and sign offs. Enjoy!

Hellooooo! This week we’re talking about a topic that we don’t normally recommend for “small talk” situations, but it’s important nonetheless. Politics! We all have to deal with it in some way, we have opinions about it, and so you can learn a bit more what your hosts think about this topic. Our language focus will help you change the subject when you don’t want to talk about something (like politics) or any other situation you find yourself in. Enjoy!

Helloooooo! Tomorrow is 'opposite day', and that’s what inspired this episode. We’ll talk a bit about what 'opposite day' is and the many different types of opposites in our natural conversation, like positivity and negativity, high-tech vs low-tech and more. We’ll also share some information about antonyms in our language focus. Enjoy!

Hurray for popcorn, everybody's favourite movie treat! Even better, enter this week’s competition and you could win three months of free membership - wow! That’s 12 weeks of free study materials in your inbox, every week. Tune in for all the details :)

Today we talk about houseplants and on this episode, you’ll find out who is a crazy plant person and who prefers fake plants in their home :) We will share some of our thoughts on plants, benefits, personal opinions and talk about … compound nouns. Enjoy!

Happy New Year everyone! Our first topic for 2020 is … topics! - the things we like to talk about as well as some other subjects that we’re not so keen on discussing. We also have a favour to ask you - is there any topic you would like us to cover in our podcast chats? Let us know :) The language focus this week is an old classic - the past simple and the present perfect. Enjoy!

OMG it's the last episode of 2019! Time flies, right? As we look forward to a new year (a new decade!) we're chatting all about hope. What are you hoping for in the year to come? Tune in and find out we're we're dreaming of for the coming 12 months and beyond. Enjoy

Hello to you and hello to winter in this part of the world! Well, we’ll officially welcome winter in a couple of days, on the 21st, but do you think we’re excited for cold weather and bundling up by the fire? Tune in to this episode to hear about which of your teachers enjoys the cold weather and what we we like doing in the cold winter time! So, let’s talk winter!

Yoohoo, hey there dear Ponders and welcome aboard :) Gadget - a small mechanical or electronic device or tool. Do you own any gadgets? Do you love them? Hate them? Whatever your feelings, join your 2 native speaker English teachers for all things gadgety. After the chat, the language focus will help you to cope when you can’t remember or don’t know the word for something. Welcome to this week’s whatjamacallit! Enjoy!

Why, hello there dear Ponder. Are you the type of person who would be munching on a carrot during this episode or some celery? Do you like a lot of leafy greens, like spinach, kale, chard? What veggies are your favorite to grill? We’ll talk about this and even more in this episode dedicated to everyone’s favorite food … vegetables! :)

Hey fruity friends! We hope you’re having a great week and welcome to podcast 180 which is all about F R U I T. Are you getting enough fruit in your diet? Do you love it? Eat it every day? Join your native speaking English teachers Jennifer and Dan for this episode and get all the English and fruit you need to be happy, healthy and wise. Enjoy!