English Outside the Box

Hello and before we get into anything we must say… Thank You for tuning in this week! This week is all about gratitude and we’ll talk a little bit about the science of it, what it is, how we express it, the benefits and more. We chose this topic because Thanksgiving is right around the corner in the US, and it’s a day about giving thanks. Without further ado, let’s begin!

Hey guys, Love it or hate it, cleaning is something we all have to … at least occasionally! So how clean are you, dear listener? Do you scrub your kitchen floor until you can see your face in it or are the unwashed clothes piling up in your bedroom?! Whether you’re a clean or messy Ponder, we hope you enjoy this week’s episode and improving your English with us.

Hello there! We’re checking off our “to-do” list this week, and how about you? Do you use lists to stay organized? ... to keep track of things you need to do? ... for shopping? Listen in this week as we share why we make lists and the apps we use to handle them! Hopefully it’ll not only teach you some helpful English but will motivate you to stay on top of your game. Enjoy!

Hey! We hope you’ll CHOOSE to listen to our latest podcast all about ... choices! Do you find it hard to make choices? Can you decide what to order in a restaurant? Or what direction your future will head in? Whatever your answer, you're making a great decision by improving your English with us here at English Across The Pond.

“Highlo” ... I mean “Huhlo” ... errr … HELLO! :) Pronunciation makes a big difference when it comes to speaking English (or any language) and being understood! This is why we’re focusing on pronunciation in this episode and making sure you’re not making some of the same mistakes that even native speakers make. We’re all human, and yes, mistakes happen, but let’s make sure you are prepared with the strongest pronunciation skills possible as you set off to speak English in the real world. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome to hotel English Across The Pond! Your 2 English teacher hosts, Jennifer and Dan, will be taking care of you for the duration of your stay. Yes, dear Ponders, it’s time to check in to another episode and this week we’re all about hotels. Do you love staying in hotels? Ever stayed in a motel? Do you ever order room service? These questions and so much more will be discussed in this week’s podcast. Enjoy your stay :)

Hello, Hello! It’s time to talk about Happy Hour! What is happy hour in terms of definition and cultural norms in the US and UK? What do you need to know if you’re in one of these countries and get asked to happy hour. What can you expect? Join us this week as we talk about what many workers do in a typical week and have some fun while you learn!

Hello dear Ponder, Whether you’re watching a blockbuster movie, reading a thrilling book or just chatting with friends, everyone loves a story. And your 2 hosts are no different! Join us as we chat about stories from our childhood and how they are still important to us as adults. After the chat, the language focus is about 2 verbs that many language learners us incorrectly. Enjoy!

Hi there! It’s time for another episode about preferences, but this time, Dan is in the hot seat! Jennifer will be going over all kinds of preferences and choices for Dan to talk about it. This is a great way to get to know one of your hosts. You’ll also dive deeper into the 2nd conditional, as we show you how to use it more naturally in this week’s language focus.

All the single ladies! And all the single gentlemen! Are you out there loving being young free and single? Or happily married? Whatever your relationship status we’re sure you’ll love our podcast all about the single life. Two native speakers chatting naturally and giving you all the up to date words, phrases and expressions you need to take your English to the next level. What could be better, right? If that wasn’t enough, the language focus follows the conversation and this week it’s all about the difference between 2 very common verbs. Enjoy!

Hello! Pack your bags and bring your tents, we’re going … CAMPING! Today we’re talking about one of our favorite things to do. Have you ever gone camping? Have you ever slept in a tent outside? Find out where Jennifer and Dan have camped AND dive deeper into using the structure “GO + GERUND” to talk about activities in our language focus.

Hello there! Texting has become a big part of our day-to-day, at least for a lot of us anyway! How about you? What are your texting habits? Let’s talk about it in this episode. Join your 2 English language teacher hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from the US, for natural conversation, up to date vocabulary, all topped off with a language focus. Enjoy!

Would you consider yourself a kind person? Did you know that showing kindness not only benefits the person you’re being kind to, but helps YOU be happier and healthier (as well as though people seeing the kindness)!? It really is like a ripple effect! If you think that’s interesting stuff, then just wait for what you’re about to hear in this week’s episode :) Enjoy!

As you’re no doubt aware, us humans have five basic senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. Have you got a favourite? A favourite food (taste?) Or a favourite smell, maybe? Use your sense of hearing (!!) and improve your English by joining us this week to chat about our thoughts and feelings about the 5 senses. At the end of our conversation, the language focus concentrates on the very many different verbs we can use to talk about the senses. Enjoy!

Do you like shopping? If so, what kind of stores do you like to shop at? … Places to get shiny new stuff, or perhaps a secondhand shop? Learn more about what shopping secondhand AKA at thrift stores and what your hosts think about it. What are the benefits of it? What kind of things can you find? :) Stick around to the end, this week’s language focus is all about LOVING in the -ING form. Enjoy!

Love it or hate it, it’s something we’ve all spent hours of our lives completing - maybe you’re even about to do it now … … homework! Join us as we chat about this evergreen topic. Which host do you think always did their homework? And who changed their homework because they thought they’d got it all wrong? Listen and find out!

Hello there! Are you NUTS about English Across the Pond? Have you ever gone nuts about something? Have you ever misunderstood the word “nuts” because it does, in fact, have a few different meanings? Well after today’s episode, you shouldn’t get confused with this word and we’ll talk about a couple of different words with multiple meanings. We’ll talk about confusing situations we’ve had in other languages, too. So it’ll be a fun episode. Sit back and let’s get into it!

Tea or coffee? Summer or winter? Pizza or pasta? This week’s chat is all about preferences and Dan (your UK English teacher) host is asking Jennifer (your American co-host) the questions. Find out what Jen likes and refresh your English skills at the same time - perfect! After the conversation the language focus explains how to talk about preferences more formally. So, would you like to listen to the episode or not? Listen, of course :)

Hey there Ponder! How do you express yourself without words? Do you think your body can express what you think and how you feel? Well the answer is… yes! Join your 2 native speaker English teacher hosts for a fun chat about facial expressions packed full of up to date vocabulary and expressions. After the conversation the language focus this week is all about interjections. Enjoy the episode!

Hey there Ponders! Are you an older person living with younger people? Or are you a younger person living with older people? If you answered yes then you should be very familiar with this week’s topic - generation gaps. Generation gaps are the contrasting attitudes between people of different age groups which can sometimes lead to a lack of understanding. It’s something that affects all of us at one time or another in our lives so sit back, listen, relax and improve your English with us as we discuss this evergreen topic! After the chat the language focus is literally all about one word. Literally!

Hey there ponders! Are you the kind of person who works from dawn until dusk? If so, you might just be (at least a bit of) a workaholic. And, this is the perfect episode for you! Actually, even if you’re more of a couch potato (someone who sits on the sofa and watches a lot of TV) we’re sure you’ll love this week’s show as it’s full of all the English vocabulary, grammar and expressions you need to boost your language skills. After the chat the grammar focus this week is all about suffixes, so stay tuned. OK, it’s time to get to work, enjoy the episode :)

Have you ever experienced culture shock - the sense of confusion felt when someone visits a country or place that they do not know? Whether you’re a seasoned traveller or have never been past your front door, there’s lots to learn in this week’s podcast from your 2 native speaker teacher hosts. Find out where Jennifer and Dan have experienced culture shock and how they coped. The language focus is all about one three letter suffix / word - you’ll have to listen to find out what it is :) Enjoy!

HELLO! As you can see, we are yelling (yelling = all CAPITAL letters) because we are excited that it is…. S U M M E R T I M E! Summertime is here, which means warm weather, sunshine, and beach days (for 1 of us). What do each of us, your hosts, like to do during summer time? Do we have favorite activities? Listen and find out!

Hello dear Ponders! Did you have a favourite toy when you were a kid? A special teddy bear? A beloved bike? This week we are turning back time and chatting all about our treasured childhood possessions. How sweet! Keep listening because after the conversation the language focus explores the topic of gender neutral language. Enjoy!

Good morning, afternoon or evening to YOU! Is it too soon to call you our member bestie? :) We’re talking all about friendships this week. How we make them, our experiences and so much more! Listen to our conversations to learn a little bit about the besties in our lives … After the chat the language focus this week is all about noun clauses. Enjoy!

It’s always there and we can’t change it. Sometimes it goes so fast we can’t believe it and other times it’s so slow it feels like tomorrow will never come. What are we talking about? Time, of course! This week we’re chatting about all things time related - time management (being late!), Fitbits and the things that eat up all of our precious minutes during the day. We hope you’ll give us a little extra few moments of your time because after the chat the language focus is all about how to say dates and years correctly. It’s time to listen to the podcast :)

Hello there dear listener, Um … Could you help us find something? We're looking for … What are we looking for in this episode? Well, listen and find out! It’s almost National Scavenger Hunt Day and we want you to get out there and start finding some things :)

Do you believe that you never get a second chance to make a first impression? Welcome to another week of English Across The Pond full of chat, fun and all the language you need to improve your English skills. Join your 2 native speaker hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from the US, as they chat about how to make a good first impression and some do’s and don’ts. After the conversation stay tuned because the language focus this week is all about numbers. Enjoy!

Hello our dear Ponders! It’s bonus episode time and we are delighted to introduce our good friend Dana from Can Learn English. Dana is Canadian and so we have 3 native speakers from 3 different countries chatting with you today - big wow! We talk about some of the differences between our 3 different types of English and Jennifer and Dan learn some Canadian vocabulary. It's a great episode, ey? (Canadian English) It’s a great episode, innit. (British English) It’s a great episode, right? (American English) === Exciting news! Dana is offering a fantastic bonus just for you, our dear English Across The Pond listeners. So if you'd like a free month (yes, a FREE MONTH!) of membership to her Canadian English Academy then head over to our show notes at www.englishacrossthepond.com/episodes/danabonus for all the details. ===

Hello ... clean/messy Ponder! :) Some of us are clean individuals, while some of us may be a bit messy and not mind a less than clean area. Which one are you? Join us this week as we talk about chores, habits, and whether or not we’re clean or messy in our own homes. Is Jennifer cleaner than Dan, or is Dan a cleaner person than Jennifer? Find out as you hear a natural conversation, lots of vocabulary, and get some more practice with adjective clauses. Enjoy!

Hey Ponders! Have you ever cheated on a test? Have you ever cheated on a partner?! We doubt it but whether you have or not our topic for this week focuses around the evergreen topic of … cheating! Join your 2 English language teacher hosts for real conversation packed full of fun and all the language you need to boost your vocabulary and improve your listening skills. After the chat, the language focus is all about the different prepositions that collocate with the verb to cheat. Enjoy and make sure you listen to the whole episode - no cheating!

Hello! We’re happy to have you with us “at work” today :) In fact, we get to spend every week with you here at English Across the Pond. Join us as we talk about this annual day (Take Your Kids to Work Day) where people around the US bring their children to work. Why does this happen? Has Jennifer (or Dan) ever gone to work with their parents? And, what IS the difference between TAKE and BRING anyway? You’ll find all of that out this week. Enjoy!

Hey there Ponders! Red and yellow and pink and green. Purple and orange and blue … this week your 2 English teacher hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from the US, are chatting all about colour! They discuss their favourite colours, why colour is so important, colours they like to wear, car colours and … toothbrushes :) After the chat, the language focus is all about idioms related to colour - enjoy!

Hello, hello dear Pond listener! We’re back with another episode about food, but this time - we’re talking about childhood memories and food! Are there things we used to eat but no longer do? What are some common things we would eat as a family (when we were the kids)!? Find out some of our past favorite meals, fun memories we look back on and a lot more natural English conversation. Enjoy!

Hi there dear language learning friends and welcome to another episode of our weekly podcast. In case we haven’t already met, we are two native English language teachers with over 30 years’ teaching experience between us, Jennifer from the US and Dan from England. Nice to meet you :) This week we are talking all about individuality and chatting about things like - what does it mean to be an individual? And is it always better to stand out? Listen along to our natural conversation and hear all all the up to date phrases, expressions and vocabulary you need to improve your English skills. After the chat the language focus explains the words I, me, my, mine and myself. Enjoy!

Hello dear friends. Today's episode is extra special for Jennifer because she gets to talk about something she's passionate about (and also certified to teach), which is YOGA. Dan learns a lot from his expert co-host! Have you ever done yoga? If yes, do you practice often? If no, would you like to try? Notice the 2 verbs we used there? We'll dive more into that in our language focus! Enjoy the episode :)

Hello dear friends! Do you remember your first date? Or are you maybe going on your first date soon?! Whether you’re a little younger or older, first dates are a huge moment in all of our lives. Join English teachers Dan (England) and Jennifer (the US) as they discuss their first dating adventures - one of us kissed on their first date, can you guess who?! After the chat the language focus is all about the past perfect tense - how it is formed, examples and when to use it. Enjoy!

Hi there!Springtime is in the air, if you’re on this half of the world - can you feel it? Most people get excited with this season shift because flowers bloom and it’s the season of new beginnings for some. Learn more about what we think of this season, our favorite activities, and common things many people do. Stick around to the end, this week’s language focus is all about quantifiers which will definitely help you communicate more effectively in English.

Hello and welcome to another episode of English Across The Pond! This week we’re chatting about risk - are you a risk taker? Do you live life on the edge? Are you risk-averse and prefer life in the slow lane? However you feel about this week’s topic, join us for a fun chat full of all the words and expressions you need to improve your English skills. At the end of the conversation this week’s language focus is the best because ... it’s all about superlatives. Enjoy!

Hello, you bookworm, you! Do you like to get lost in the pages of a book or do you prefer audio that you can listen to? Whatever your book preference is, let's talk about it today! Join us this week where we share our favorite books and even some tips for English learners and reading. The language focus this week is all about adjective clauses - enjoy!

Hello dear Ponders, Are you empathetic? Do people come to you for advice? Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of other people, so if you are, the answer is probably, “yes people do often come to me for advice” This week, we’re discussing this exciting topic, providing you with real native speaker conversation. After the chat, in our language focus, Dan talks about one of the major differences between British and American spelling, gives some examples and offers practical advice.

Love is in the air, can you feel it? Some of us are celebrating Valentine’s day, and yes, while it may be a “Hallmark” Holiday - it’s still a time that is filled with love and P A S S I O N. So, let’s talk about it! What is passion and what are you passionate about? Listen to this week’s episode to find out about our passions and let’s try and find some things in common. We hope you are as passionate about learning as we are about teaching and this podcast supports you on your journey to fluency.

Are you married? Or do you hope to be one day? Even if getting hitched is not your thing, join us this week as we talk about marriage in general, share some of our own details and talk a bit about marriage in different cultures. Our language focus will help you understand some common difficulties with words relating to weddings and marriage, so stick around and learn with us! :)

Have you ever done something that you know was a bad idea? Have you ever NOT done something that deep down, you know was a good idea? If the answer is “yes” to either of those, then, you have experienced a feeling of regret. While no one wants to experience this feeling, we’re human - so we will have feelings of regret from time to time. What is regret? And more importantly for you, how do we talk about it in English? Luckily, we’ll support you with that this week in our newest conversation and podcast episode! Learn about regrets and how to express them in English while having some fun with us. Enjoy!

Are you the kind of person who is always asking others about what you should do next? Or are you often busy helping friends with their present and future problems and plans? Everyone is either looking for or giving advice at some point or other and this week your 2 hosts reveal everything about their experiences with this fascinating subject. After the chat, the language focus is all about some different ways you can give advice to family and friends. Take our advice - listen to this episode carefully and improve your English :) Enjoy!

Hello and Happy Friday! In this week’s episode, you’ll learn about the creation of EATP - why we, your hosts created it, and why it’s such a labor of love for us! You may even learn more about how to use our membership study plan materials! :) We hope you enjoy learning a bit more about English Across the Pond, the podcast we create each and every week with so much love and intention, Cheers! Jennifer & Dan

This week’s all about the British half of English Across The Pond - say hi to Dan! Find out where he’s lived around the world, his family, his Instagram account, where he’s just been on holiday, what he does in his free time AND rumours about his death :-D As you listen you’ll be improving your English and learning lots of natural and up to date expressions - nice! The grammar focus after the conversation sounds complicated - reciprocal pronouns - but is actually fairly simple. Enjoy!

A good friend of English Across The Pond, Sa’eed from Saudi Arabia, joins us for a special bonus episode. Sa’eed tells us how he was able to become so amazing at communicating in English and what he thinks the best thing is about being an English teacher. The wi-fi signal wasn’t always the best and so it can be a little difficult to hear the conversation in places but we hope you enjoy this bonus episode :)

Happy new year dear Ponders! This week (and next week) is exciting because we get to introduce or re-introduce ourselves to you, our listeners, and invite you to learn a little more about us! Whether you’re a long time listener, or a new friend - we know you’ll probably learn something new about your hosts. Notice the use of the reflexive pronoun “ourselves” above? Our language focus will go into more detail on that as we kick off the new year with a common and helpful grammar point.

The end of another year already! Time flies, right? Join us for our final podcast of 2018 as we take a fond look back over the past 12 months and look ahead to 2019. What are your goals for the coming year? Have you made any new year’s resolutions? Listen in, improve your English and get some fantastic advice about how to make next year your best ever. Let’s do this!