English Outside the Box

Hi there, got a sweet tooth today? We hope this episode doesn’t make your mouth water too much as we talk about all things sweet! What are desserts and sweets (and are there differences in American and British English)? Do we enjoy eating candies, chocolates, sweets and cakes? What’s our least favorite dessert? You’ll find all of this out + a lot of helpful vocabulary in this week’s newest conversation.

Do you work consistently for long term goals? When you get knocked down do you get back up again? If so then you can proudly describe yourself as being … gritty! Grit is a very popular topic of conversation nowadays and you can find out all about it by listening to this podcast from your 2 English teacher podcast hosts. Find out whether Jennifer and Dan consider themselves to be gritty and listen to their advice about how you can get a little bit more grit in your life. Enjoy!

Hello there, wherever you are in the world! Today’s episode might divide us a little, because we’re talking about weather! Depending on where you are in the world, you may celebrate the end of the year holidays in the SUMMER (warm) weather or the WINTER (cold) weather. Because we both celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in the winter, we thought it would be fun to imagine a HOT holiday season. Enjoy!

What are you afraid of? Spiders? Flying? Heights? The dark? As well as talking about these ‘classic’ fears, we’re also chatting about fears associated with learning English. Many students are afraid of making a mistake, speaking English in public or chatting with a native speaker. Are you one of them?! If so, then listen to our conversation to find out how you can become more confident about your ability and so, slowly but surely, feel less afraid. The language focus looks at the differences between the keywords; afraid, scared, frightened, nervous, anxious, etc. Enjoy!

Hi, Would you like to come to our potluck? If you live in an English speaking country or plan to visit one day, there is a great chance you may be invited to a potluck! So what exactly IS a potluck and how should you “prepare” to go to one? Join us in another fun and natural conversation and let us tell you! In this “Living in English” episode, we’ll help you understand what a potluck is, where you might have one, and some helpful expressions and information to help you get through it. We’ll boost your vocabulary, your confidence, and best of all - your fluency!

Soft skills? This week we are chatting about the skills that people have apart from their qualifications and work experience. These include the ability to communicate effectively, to work well in a team, to be decisive, to be able to solve problems, etc. Join your 2 English teacher hosts, Jennifer from the US and Dan from England as they chat about soft skills and discuss ways in which you can improve them. After the conversation, the language focus is all about the use of personality adjectives. Enjoy!

Hello! We “expect” you to love today’s episode :) What are expectations and how do you talk about meeting them… or not meeting them? Are you the type of person that has high or low expectations for yourself and others? Are expectations good to have? Whether they’re high or low, or we like them or not - we all have some sort of expectations in our lives. Dan and Jennifer dive into this topic head first in this week’s episode and you’re invited to join the conversation and improve your English!

Are you a confident person? Do you believe that you can or worry that you can’t? Join your 2 native speaker English teacher hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from America, as they discuss their feelings about confidence. Improve your English skills as you discover if they consider themselves confident people and how they believe you can improve your self-confidence. The language focus is all about the modal verb can. We believe in you! You can do it!

BOO! Did we scare you? It's a spooky time of the year, so it's OK to be on the edge of your seat. In fact, we often sit on the edge of our seats, covering our eyes in anxious suspense as we watch... HORROR movies! Join us this week in a Halloween inspired conversation about popular movies at this time of the year. Are you into gory, slasher films? Perhaps you're more of the paranormal type? Find out about the different types of films and what we think about them, too! Stay tuned to the end of the conversation where we give recommendation of some of the classics. *NOTE: this episode may contain "scary" content or words/information that may not be appropriate for children.

Dan Methven & Jennifer Nascimentio

Close your eyes and imagine lying in a beautiful forest, under a clear, dark sky and gazing at the hundreds and hundreds of glowing stars. Then you see a flashing light fly across the sky and you realize it's a shooting star! What wish do you make? :) If you're wishing for better English, we can help you out with that because it's time for another new English podcast (yay!) Join us as we talk about stargazing as a common activity, especially in the fall months as nights get longer and camping by a warm fire seems perfect. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode all about something people do a lot in English speaking countries - apologising. Join your 2 English teacher hosts, Jennifer and Dan, as they chat about their experiences with this delicate topic. Their natural conversation is fun, great for improving your listening skills and packed full of all the vocabulary and advice you need help you to say sorry with confidence. After the conversation, the language focus is all about how to write a formal letter of apology. Enjoy!

Hi! I'll take an almond milk latte for me and a cold brew with a splash of simple syrup for my husband, thanks! Can you guess where you might hear or use this phrase in an English speaking country? If you guessed a coffee shop, then you are correct! Join us this week in another 'Living in English' episode as we help you experience a cafe with more ease and confidence. You'll not only hear about Jen and Dan's usual coffee orders, but you'll learn how to order your own cup of joe, too. Enjoy!

Nothing beats a day at the beach - sunny skies, white sand and the sound of the ocean waves - aaahhhhhh! :) This week your 2 podcast hosts, Dan from England and Jennifer from the US, are chatting about the fun times they have spent at the beach so sit back and relax as you improve your language skills by listening to this natural conversation from 2 English teachers. Find out about the things they like to do when spending a day at the seaside and after the chat the language focus is all about the definite article ‘the’ and when to use it with places. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to ... Jennifer! It's another birthday celebration here at English Across the Pond and this year, in this week's episode, we'll talk all about birthday traditions from childhood into adult life! Learn more about how Jennifer and Dan have celebrated birthdays over the years and what common ages are celebrated in their countries. Can you find some differences in American and British English? Enjoy!

Whether you eat your meals with chopsticks, a spoon and fork or simply your bare hands, table manners are something that affect us all. Join 2 English language teachers, Jennifer from the US & Dan from the UK, as they have a natural conversation about their experiences regarding table manners as well as some advice for you, dear listener, about what to expect when eating in an English speaking country. Find out some of the things you should do as well as things to avoid. The language focus this week is all about the modal verbs must, should and have to. Bon Appetit!

Do you do what you do with intention? Have you ever thought about why you do the things you do? What is the meaning of life to you? Although these are pretty deep questions, we talk all about our meanings for life in this week's episode! Our episode will go into a common confusion between TO and FOR in our language focus, and members, you’ll be able to identify the meaning in your own life by the end of this week AND talk/write about it in English. Master the way to explain why you do what you do using relevant vocabulary and the prepositions “to” and “for” accurately. Ready to dive into life's greatest question?

We’re sure you have at least one of them and that you use it most days - yes, this week we’re talking all about ... bags. And! It turns out that one half of the team, Jennifer, knows a thing or two about the topic and so Dan, the other half, learns a lot :) We’re sure you’ll learn a lot too - not just about bags but also English vocabulary and everyday expressions. The language focus is all about adjective order and why we say ‘a beautiful, big, leather bag’ and NOT ‘a leather, beautiful, big bag’. Enjoy!

As August comes to an end, many families are getting their kids ready to go back to school! Are you one of these families? This week, Jennifer and Dan talk a bit about school traditions and even mention some US and UK differences. We used a lot of verb + preposition + gerund combinations in our natural conversation, and this is why we wanted to highlight this grammar point in our language focus. As members, your goal this week is to better understand this grammar point and build your speaking and writing confidence by completing the tasks using “back to school” related vocabulary. You also get 5 extra verb + preposition combinations to review. :)

Welcome to English Across The Pond. This is a weekly podcast made with much love and care just for you, an English language learner. It's brought to you by your 2 English language teacher hosts, Jennifer (from there US) and Dan (from the UK). Batman? Superman? Wonder Woman? This week we’re talking all about superheroes. And while we do chat about comic and movie superiors a bit, most of the conversation is focused around heroes from real life. Who's your hero? The language focus is all about a subject that can even confuse native speakers - the plurals of nouns that end in the letter o. Enjoy the episode!

If you like to celebrate special occasions with alcohol, then pop the bottle of champagne because it's a brand new week to learn English with us! :) Whether you drink alcohol or not, you hear about it on TV, in the news, or in movies. Perhaps your friends or family like to enjoy some drinks now and then, so you're surrounded by it? Either way, it's an important topic for everyday English fluency and now you get the chance to practice.

Mindfulness is one of the hot topics of 2018 - it seems like everybody is taking about it. But what is mindfulness and why has it become so popular so quickly? Join your English language teacher hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from the US, as they explain everything you need to know about this latest trend. As you listen, you'll be getting all the natural conversation, vocabulary, expressions, idioms, etc. you need to improve your English language skills. After the chat, the language focus this week is based around the present continuous tense. Enjoy!

This podcast is all about helping you improve your English use, confidence, and success and that is especially the goal for this week's episode about the dentist. Today's conversation will help you live in English a little easier, and help you visit a dentist office in an English speaking country. Dan and Jennifer talk about some of their own experiences at the dentist, what to expect in the US and UK (pretty big differences!), and share some very helpful vocabulary naturally in conversation. Our language focus will go into more specifics, explaining the difference between I've got and I have in English as well as common questions and answers needed at the dentist.

Motivation is the reason we do what we do: if your health is important to you then you’ll be motivated to eat a balanced diet and if you want to be fit then you will be motivated to go running, join the gym or stop smoking. And, of course, if you want to pass an exam, travel the world or get a better job, you’ll be motivated to learn English! Listen to your podcast hosts Jennifer and Dan talk about what motivates them and the advice they offer to you about studying more effectively, dear listener and English student. After the chat, the language focus is all about two words that even native speakers get confused. Enjoy!

Happy belated "birthday", America! A couple of days ago was July 4th, and this is the day that many Americans celebrate Independence day. While we've already talked about the 4th on past English Across the Pond episodes, today we're going into specifics of the celebration. No 4th of July is complete without some fireworks, and this episode will talk all about Jennifer and Dan's thoughts and experiences with fireworks. Speaking of experience, our language focus goes into details about how to use the present perfect to talk about experiences in English, so stick around and review this incredibly common grammar point after today's conversation.

Are you the kind of person that likes to plan every moment of your life? Or do you prefer to just take each day as it comes? Join your 2 English teacher hosts, Dan from England and Jennifer from America as they chat all about planning. Find out which one is a bit of a control freak, how they plan their lives as well as how you can plan more effectively when it comes to learning English. After the chat the language focus this week is all about using the present simple tense to talk about the future. Enjoy!

Join us this week as we talk about Jennifer's favorite season, summer! Summer time is here (on this side of the world) and Jennifer and Dan are celebrating with a fun, vocabulary-filled conversation all about their summer experiences, what they enjoy doing, and upcoming plans. As we talk about our summer plans, we'll show you a natural, in-context way of how to use future time clauses in English. Our grammar focus will tell you more, and members will get the complete lesson with additional examples and information. We hope you love this episode as much as Jennifer loves the sunshine on a hot summer's day!

Happy Birthday to ... us, Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday dear English Across the Pond ... Happy Birthday to US! THANK YOU for making 2 years possible our dear listeners, members, and Pond community. This week we're celebrating 2 years of podcasting and helping you and other learners around the world improve English fluency. To say thank you and in honor of this exciting celebration, we're talking about opportunities and gifts we're sharing with you and members of our community this month. Listen to this week's episode to find out more and get the details and links needed below.

Welcome aboard Flight 104 with EATP, we're happy to have you travelling on your English journey with us today and hope you enjoy the flight :) English Across The Pond is a weekly language podcast brought to you by 2 teachers Jennifer (from the US) and Dan (from the UK). This week we're chatting about another Living in English topic and your goal is to familiarize yourself with the different stages of the air travel process and study key vocabulary related to the topic. This will increase your English skills and confidence when you are flying internationally. Bon voyage!

Hello and welcome to another episode of English Across The Pond, a podcast made with love just for you, an English language learner by us, 2 English language teachers. As animal lovers, we're excited for this week's episode as we talk about PETS: the benefits of them, the challenges, and our experiences in the present and growing up with different kinds of animals. Did you know Jennifer had a zebra in her neighborhood!? Even more exciting is the opportunity to improve your ability to recognize and use prepositions in English, and learn phrasal verbs in our language focus.

Hello dear Ponder! Imagine we had an entire episode of magical raindrops in the background of our conversation...do you think it would change your listening experience What if we had a car alarm sounding off during the episode, do you think THAT would change your experience? Sounds (and noise) are all around us, whether we like them or not, and today Dan and Jennifer talk a bit about the good, the bad, and the ugly. We dive into the top lists, our preferences, and we hope we'll help you learn how to express your opinion talking about them, too. Our language focus gives you extra practice with the commonly confused words - sound and noise. Enjoy!

Hey super shopper! Have you ever had trouble navigating the supermarket/grocery store in an English speaking country? We hope you haven't, but if you have had trouble, we’re sure today's episode will help fix that. Join your English language teacher hosts Dan from the UK and Jennifer from the US as they chat about their own supermarket experiences and give you the practical advice you need to approach your food shopping with greater confidence. Enjoy!

Are you excited? Because we are! It's episode 100! Join your hosts Dan from The UK and Jennifer from the US for this special landmark episode. This week we take some time to say thank you to you, our dear listeners, and we even try to say hello in your language (I don't think we do a very good job of it, but we tried!). After he chat, the language focus is all about numbers and Jennifer also explains how English Across The Pond is changing as we continue to grow and move forward. Enjoy episode 100!

Hello hello and welcome to this May bonus episode all about … accents! We are really excited to introduce our very special guest to you, Cara from Leo Listening. Cara is the perfect addition to the team this month as she is an English teacher who was born in Scotland, moved to England and now lives in France. Your hosts Dan and Jennifer find out all about Cara’s real life experience of accents as well as her insightful advice for you, our English language learners. Enjoy the bonus!

Hi everyone and welcome to episode 99. This is an English language podcast brought to you by two native speaker teachers, Dan from America and Jennifer from the USA. Every week we choose a topic, chat about it and then finish with a language focus and this week we’re talking (and laughing!) all about something we’ve all experienced at one time or another - embarrassing situations. Find out all about the times your hosts have found themselves in embarrassing situations and then discover the difference between the often confused feelings of embarrassment and shame. Enjoy!

Have you got an accent? Are you from a particular part of your country where people pronounce your language differently? If so, then this episode is just for you! This week your 2 English teacher hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from the US, are chatting all about accents. Listen along to their natural native speaker conversation to improve your listening and vocabulary while finding out what they think about this fascinating subject. After the chat the language focus is all about phrasal verbs. Enjoy!

This week your English teacher hosts Jennifer from the US and Dan from England are chatting all about community - groups of people who have the same interests and do things together. Is community important where you live? Do you belong to a community? Improve your English as you listen to this natural, fun conversation and stay tuned because after the chat the language focus is all about one of the most important sounds in English - the schwa. Enjoy!

This week we are chatting all about clichés - expressions that have become used so much that they don’t mean very much or anything any more. It’s important to be aware of these clichés as people say them all the time so the more English you listen to and study, the more you’ll come across them. So sit back and relax as we walk you though some of the most common examples. As the word cliché is from French, the language focus is all about other French expression that we use in English. Enjoy!

This week your English teacher hosts Jennifer from the US and Dan from England are chatting all about public transport; buses, trains, trams and the metro / subway / underground. What’s the public transport system like in your country? Do you ever use it? Chances are that when you’re in an English speaking country you’ll be taking a ride on public transport at some point and so this week’s language focus, by focusing on relevant words and phrases, will help you navigate the process successfully. We hope you enjoy the journey!

Is there time to relax in this busy world? And how do we do it? Today your hosts Dan and Jennifer are joined by a fabulous guest, Vanessa from Speak English With Vanessa, and she has some really interesting and wise words about when and how to relax (she has a great idea about using mobile phones too much that you HAVE to hear! It might just change your life!!). So sit back, relax and let your troubles float away as you listen to this bonus episode filled with natural language and useful expressions. Enjoy!!

This week we are talking about something we do just about every day of our lives: learning. Your hosts, native speaker English teachers Dan and Jennifer, talk about their own experiences of learning as well as offering advice about the best ways to learn something new. The language focus is all about idioms related to the topic. Enjoy the episode, we hope you learn something!

This week your hosts Dan (from England) and Jennifer (from the US) are talking about charity; giving time or money to people or things that really need it. Find out which charities they support and at the same time improve your English as you listen to this natural native speaker conversation. After the chat the language focus is all about the second conditional. Enjoy!

Hello! No, we’re not talking about animals that we hate this week :) A pet hate is something that most people don’t mind but you find really annoying; for example, people eating loudly, tapping their fingers on the table or maybe speaking loudly on their phones. Your hosts Jennifer and Dan chat about their pet hates (they have lots!) as well as things they do that drive their partners crazy. The language focus this week is all about phrases you can use when you find yourself in these difficult situations and are not sure what to say. Enjoy!

Sit back, close your eyes and let your troubles float away. This week your 2 English teacher hosts, Jennifer from the US and Dan from England, are chatting about relaxation. Are you stressed? What kinds of things can cause you to get stressed? And what do you do to relax? Is it easy to switch off and forget your troubles? Have you ever tried meditating or yoga? Your hosts talk about these questions and lots more besides - all the English you need to improve quickly and effectively. After the discussion the language focus this week is all about adjectives. Enjoy!

What happens when you become stuck and feel that you’re not getting better at English? Or you become isolated and have nobody to learn and make progress with? Your hosts Jennifer (from the US) and Dan (from the UK) introduce their second guest of the year, Paulino, originally from Argentina and now living and working in the USA and he’s answering these questions for you today. Paulino is both an English language learner and teacher so he has words of wisdom for all of you. Enjoy!

Hey there beautiful! This week your hosts Dan (from the UK) and Jennifer (from the US) are chatting all about beauty. What makes someone beautiful? Do you think life would be easier if you were incredibly beautiful (or handsome) and would you ever consider plastic surgery? Listen to this natural English conversation covering all things beautiful from 2 native speaker teachers and improve your English ability. After the chat, Dan is talking about idioms related to the topic of beauty in the language focus. Enjoy!

Today we’re talking about restaurants and more specifically, restaurant culture. Have you been to a restaurant in the US or the UK? Was it a very different experience from being in a restaurant in your country? Did you have any cultural problems? Listen to our natural native speaker chat as we discuss challenges we have faced while eating out abroad as well as offering lots of hints and tips to help you make sure your restaurant experience is less stressful and more fun filled. After the chat, the language focus goes into more detail about the best ways to make requests, order and communicate with the waiter or waitress in English. Enjoy!

How do you start your day? Do you leap out of bed enthusiastically or snooze, snooze, snooze? Do you usually have breakfast? Make a plan for the day? Your hosts Dan (England) & Jennifer (the US) are discussing their morning routines this week - native speaker conversation to take your English to the next level. After the chat the language focus is all about phrasal verbs with up (get up, wake up, etc.) We hope you enjoy the episode!

This week's topic is something we've all done at some point in our lives - telling lies! Do you think that there are times when it's ok to lie? Or are lies always bad? And what does it take to be a good liar? Do you think you're a good liar? Your hosts Jennifer and Dan discuss these questions and more during their natural native speaker chat so listen now & improve your English skills. After the chat, the language focus this week is grammar based and all about verbs and adjectives that are always followed by prepositions. Enjoy the episode! (We honestly mean that!)

Are you considering living and working in an English speaking country? Is it a dream of yours? If so, what questions do you think people will ask you? This week we are delighted to publish our first bonus episode and introduce you to our very special guest - Ethan from RealLife English! As all three of us (your hosts Jen & Dan, & Ethan) have all lived and worked in different countries around the world and so we're chatting about questions that people ask/asked us regularly and how we would reply. Perfect, right?! We hope you enjoy the show.