Luke's ENGLISH Podcast - Learn British English with Luke Thompson

This episode is mainly about the recent earthquake in Nepal. Please consider donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee at www.dec.org.uk I'm also going to mention a couple of other news stories that are worth talking about, including the UK's general election which is happening at the end of next week, and the fact that Kate Middleton has just given birth to a baby girl. It's all over the internet and on TV now - but how important is it really, considering so many people's lives are in jeopardy in Nepal at the moment? https://teacherluke.co.uk/2015/05/02/267-earthquake-in-nepal-other-news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the third and final episode in this series on jokes. In this one we're going to consider the psychology of puns, hear an old tape recording of my brother and me telling jokes when we were children, and you'll also get lots more gags and their explanations. Click here for a transcript and to download http://wp.me/p4IuUx-3t3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this one we're going to look at some typical joke structures, consider what makes a joke funny, and then I'm going to tell you lots of jokes and explain the vocabulary you need to understand them. Click here to read a transcript and to download the episode http://wp.me/p4IuUx-3rs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything you need to know about when, why and how to tell jokes in English. We'll look at the cultural and linguistic considerations that relate to telling jokes in social settings. Also, you'll hear a few jokes in the process! For a transcript and to download the episode click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-3qZ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LEP is back! You might be wondering where I've been, or what's going on at LEP headquarters. In this episode I'm going to explain my absence, fill you in on what's going on at the moment, and also talk a bit about what's coming up in the future. The language focus is on ways of talking about the past, present and future. Click here for notes, transcriptions and to download the episode: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-3jx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to part 2 of this episode in which we are exploring the subject of Britishness. In this one we are looking at how the Brits define and understand their own national identity. For a transcription and to download click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2SX Image: Gene Bible http://www.genebible.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I'm going to explore the notion of "Britishness", including the stereotypes, the reality and the complexity of defining Britishness, or any other national identity. For a transcription and to download click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2Ey Image: Gene Bible http://www.genebible.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some feedback on poems written by LEPsters in response to episode 258, and then a film review of Kingsman: The Secret Service - a new spy film set in the UK. For more details click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2JX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is devoted to the memory of my Grandfather Dennis, who died at the end of December last year. For more information and a transcript of this episode click here: https://teacherluke.co.uk/2015/02/24/259-eulogy-for-dennis/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a very short podcast episode because I don't have much time, but I just wanted to say a very sincere THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me in the 2014 Macmillan Love English Awards. I've written a poem to express my gratitude. Listen to the episode to hear it. Why not write your own poem in the comment section of my website? Click here to visit the relevant page: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2JN You'll also hear a short extract from an interview with Eminem in this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This improvised and unscripted episode has no specific agenda or language focus, but contains some news, some philosophical conundrums, a few film reviews as well as the usual spoken English and natural phrases. The overall theme which emerged during the recording was that of being positive and making the most of what you've got. Click here to visit the page for this episode: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2DH Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is an episode all about the benefits of reading books and listening to audiobooks in English. It contains lots of advice for using books for improving your English, and several lists of recommended books too. Also, claim your free audiobook from Audible.com - click here for details: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2lr Claim your free audiobook here: http://www.audible.com/t1/30trial_at?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My response to the film Taken 3, plus 12 expressions which use the word 'take'. Click here for vocabulary notes and more: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2tb #Taken3 #film #english #tefl Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this one I’m going to go through all parts of the IELTS test, giving you some tips and general advice. I’m recording this because it is one of the most commonly requested episodes. People are always asking me to do episodes about IELTS and I have never done one until now. So here it is, the eagerly awaited IELTS episode. Loads of people around the world take the IELTS test to get a grade of their English. More and more it is becoming the world’s #1 test of English level. It is a notoriously tough test which challenges many people aroudn the world every day, so what wisdom can I impart to my loyal LEPsters who are hoping to prove themselves in the IELTS challenge? Well, quite a lot I hope. Click here for a transcript, links and more http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2k6 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chatting and rapping with Jason R. Levine aka Fluency MC! Click here for more information including YouTube videos and lyrics of our rapping http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2bD I'm feeling pretty excited today because I've got a bit of a celebrity on the podcast. Jason R. Levine, also known as Fluency MC is something of a legend in the world of online English language teaching. He's become pretty well known on YouTube in particular for his videos in which he uses hip hop to bring a fresh approach to teaching English. Jason raps his English lessons, and many of those raps have become YouTube sensations - for example "Stick stuck stuck" the past participle rap (over 2.5million views on Youtube), and the present perfect rap which is a full on explanation of the grammar rules for the present perfect tense, delivered in rhyme. But, Jason is not only a teacher who raps - a look at Jason's CV shows that he is involved in a number of very interesting English teaching projects - he leads workshops, has published material and is an English specialist for the US department of State - which makes him sound like a government agent, and he has a very interesting academic and personal background which has led him to take this fresh new approach to language teaching. On the musical side, Jason raps but he also plays the drums like me, and he DJs and produces his own tunes. There's so much to ask him and so much to talk about, and hopefully Jason will do some rapping on Luke's English Podcast too, and who knows - I might even get involved in that as well. You can look forward to all of it in this episode. (In fact, if you listen to the whole episode you will hear both Jason and me rapping on some of my brother's music). #hiphop #rap #rapping #rhyme #english #tefl #learning #teaching Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Luke's English Podcast and this special series, called Marooned With My Music. My castaway today is my brother James Thompson. Click here for a song list and more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2ip Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The podcast has been nominated in the Macmillan Dictionary Award and the voting is now open here http://www.macmillandictionary.com/love-english-awards/voting-blog-2014.html This episode is a chance for me to say "HI" to any new visitors to my website, and to tell you 16 things that you should know about LEP. For more info click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2lh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Luke's English Podcast and this special series, called Marooned With My Music. My castaway today is my Mum, Gill Thompson. Click here for more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2im Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is just a chance for me to talk to you about these things: - Yesterday's violent attack at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office in Paris - New LEP merchandise - Messages from Listeners at [email protected] For more info click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2jF To buy LEP merchandise, visit the LEP shop here: http://www.cafepress.co.uk/teacherluke Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Marooned with my Music" is an interview concept based on a popular and long-running BBC Radio programme called "Desert Island Discs". In that BBC programme, celebrities and noteworthy people are invited onto the show for an interview. They imagine that they have been stranded on a remote desert island and are only allowed to take certain items with them, namely: 8 pieces of music, one book and one luxury item. During the programme, the interviewee is asked about their life and their musical choices. Desert Island Discs remains one of the BBC's most beloved radio programmes and has been broadcast on the radio for many years. In my version, "Marooned with my Music" I have decided to interview members of my family: My Dad, my Mum and my Brother. Click here for more information and song titles: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2ha Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is an attempt to understand The USA in more detail, getting beyond the made-up version that we see in movies and on TV in order to get a proper understanding of the country, its culture and its people. I'm joined by an American friend of mine called Sebastian Marx, and during our conversation we go through most of the main events in the history of the USA and discuss some of the most important principles in the story of the country. The ultimate aim: to understand The United States of America. For more information click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1ZX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to some stand-up comedy and true stories about flying experiences, learn some vocabulary and consider what makes these comedy routines funny. For transcripts and videos, click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2dE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is just a chance to wish you all a Merry Christmas and to give you a bit of news. There is a video for this episode, featuring 15 minutes of extra footage which I filmed before recording the audio part. You can watch it by going to teacherluke.co.uk here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2eA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is all about urban myths. Get your thinking hat on because it's time to evaluate a few stories and beliefs and decide if they are based in reality or if they're just the product of an overactive imagination, or rumours, or just plain old fashioned bullcr*p! I will also teach you some very useful language connected to expressing if you think something is true or not. For vocabulary notes, transcriptions and much more, click here to visit the page for this episode on teacherluke.co.uk - http://wp.me/p4IuUx-28t Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Luke's English Podcast! In this episode I'm going to interview my friend Mike Bruce about his recent teaching experience in Ghana in West Africa. Mike is an old friend and colleague of mine, he's originally from Scotland, although he doesn't have a particularly strong accent, and he has lived and worked in places all over the world. I've known him for about 13 years and he was one of the first people I ever worked with as a language teacher in Japan. Mike has an amazing CV. He's taught in lots of countries around the world. He's very highly qualified, and as well as teaching students of English as a second language he also teaches teachers how to teach. So, he's pretty much a Jedi Master of English teaching in my opinion. Mike recently came back from a teaching mission in Ghana, and judging by the Facebook photos and statuses, it was quite an epic experience for him. I thought it would be interesting to talk to him about it on Luke's English Podcast. My aim for this interview is to have a bit of a chat with Mike, just a bit of a chat, introduce him to the LEPsters? LEPans? LEPians?LEPenese? LEPlanders? LEPish? LEPaholics? and then find out about his African teaching experience. Click here to visit the page on teacherluke.co.uk for this episode http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2c2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a slightly rambling and unprepared episode which I made up as I went along, and in the end I talked about a page I found on MatadorNetwork.com called "11 Idioms Only Brits Understand". I don't think that these are exclusively used by Brits, but nevertheless they are some pretty commonly used idioms, so I decided to talk to you about them in this episode. After that I ended up clicking on a few random YouTube videos, playing around with the cockney accent and listening to some music. Enjoy! Click here for the full list and more http://wp.me/p4IuUx-28w Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Luke's Film Club" continues with one of my all-time favourites: Star Wars! In this episode I'm going to ramble on about the Star Wars franchise, including the original trilogy (episodes 4-6), the prequel trilogy (episodes 1-3) and the upcoming new trilogy (episodes 7-9). If you're a Star Wars fan, this one's for you! If you don't like Star Wars, I hope this episode will give you some idea of why people are so crazy about these movies. Click here to visit this page on teacherluke.co.uk http://wp.me/p4IuUx-2ba Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we're going to look at the way politicians deal with tough and challenging questions from TV and radio interviewers. We'll listen to some examples of politicians avoiding questions in interviews and examine some of the ways they get themselves out of tight situations while also promoting their ideas. For a transcript and more details, click here: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-tK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last episode I attempted to explain ways that prepositions are used in English, and I failed because I wasn't prepared. I managed to get across the idea that prepositions are complicated because they're used in combination with other words, and that you have to remember vocabulary in 'chunks' but the idea was also to present you with some useful lists of preposition collocations. This time around I've done some more preparation. I've spent a bit more time on it and so for round 2 I think we should get a proper grip on the subject, while also having some fun noticing prepositions in an improvised story. Click here for a list of the collocations in this episode, and more http://wp.me/p4IuUx-29v Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I decided to teach you about prepositions! Yes! Everyone's favourite words in English! (Sarcasm - most learners find them frustrating and confusing) However, the episode didn't quite go as planned and I didn't manage to deal with the subject as I had intended. Nevertheless, this episode contains some comments and information about prepositions, which works as an introduction to other episodes on the subject. Listen to this one before you listen episode 240, which deals with the subject in more depth. Click the link for all the necessary notes and comments http://wp.me/p4IuUx-29l Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here are more of my favourite podcasts that I love to listen to every day when I am out and about. For all the relevant links and information visit teacherluke.co.uk by clicking here: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-22D Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As well as making podcasts of my own, I love to listen to podcasts made by other people. In fact, I think podcasting is one of the coolest mediums around these days, and there are so many great things to listen to in English. This episode is about other people's podcasts that I enjoy and that I'd like to share with you. For more detailed information click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Yg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's the final part in the series about British colloquial language. Please be aware that this episode contains some rude language and explicit content. Click here for the list of words in this episode http://wp.me/p4IuUx-24z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My brother Jim Thompson has been making music on an Akai MPC2000 for a few years now, and he has finally released an album of tracks on bandcamp (click here to listen or download his music http://jt2000.bandcamp.com/releases). In this episode I spoked to my bro about his influences, his inspiration and the creative process of making music from an idea to a finished track. For more info click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Xi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My conversation with the overall YEP competition winner, Edgar Hernandez, aka "Bono Chimp" :) http://wp.me/p4IuUx-25z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More runners up from the YEP competition. Enjoy! http://wp.me/p4IuUx-25v Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interviews with runners up from the YEP competition. http://teacherluke.co.uk/2014/11/06/231-yep-runners-up-part-1/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is based on a TEDx presentation by Chris Lonsdale, who claims that any normal adult can learn a language within 6 months. Is that really possible? How method of learning does Chris propose? How does this relate to listening to Luke's English Podcast? You can see the video of Chris Lonsdale's talk, with a transcript by clicking here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-22i Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second in a 2-part series all about zombies. In part 1 I talked about the zombie in popular culture, analysis of the zombie as a metaphor and then some rules for surviving the zombie apocalypse. In episode 2 I'm going to take a couple of zombie survival quizzes and then do a language focus on conditionals. Click here for more information and links http://wp.me/p4IuUx-24e Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is all about zombies - the undead, flesh eaters, walkers, biters, the infected. Click here for a transcript and other links http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Su whatever you want to call them, zombies have become an indelible part of our popular culture now. There are zombies in the cinemas, zombies on TV in shows like AMC's The Walking Dead, zombies in computer games, zombies online, even zombie walks in which people get together in large groups in order to dress up like zombies and walk around going "uhhhhh". We're pretty obsessed by zombies, and I am too. I love zombies and zombie films. Maybe that makes me some kind of sick and twisted individual, but I'm not alone. In fact, I think that zombies are perhaps as popular and present in our culture as vampires and ghosts. But, what is some of the history behind the zombie phenomenon? Where do they come from? What do they want? Why are we obsessed by zombies? How can you survive if zombies really attack? And, how do we talk about zombies in English? That's the focus of this extra-special and extra-creepy episode of Luke's English Podcast. In the first part we're going to examine the zombie as a popular cultural phenomenon, then in the second part I'm going to test my survival skills by taking a zombie survival quiz. You can join me as I make various decisions that will affect my chances of surviving the zombie apocalypse. In the next episode we're going to consider some conditional structures. That's 0, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and mixed conditionals. #zombies #learning #english #podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is one of those episodes in which I set myself a 30 minute challenge. Can I talk for 30 minutes without pausing or repeating myself, and with absolutely nothing prepared in advance? Listen to the episode to find out. Click here for more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-22X #sausages #applewatch #barcodes #cheese #pizza #religion #humour #english #listening #natural #nativespeaker #ramble Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka "The Boat that Rocked" or "The Drunk Episode 2". In this episode I spent the evening on a narrowboat on a canal in a part of North London known as Little Venice, with my friends Alex, Paul, Moz and Dave. Join us as we talk about life on the canal boat, the first jobs we ever had, answers to a few questions sent in by a long-term listener called Hiroshi, and explanations of various rude expressions and jokes which came up spontaneously during the conversation. Please be aware that this episode contains strong language, rude & explicit content and plenty of bad 'jokes'. Click here for more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Te Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is all about the film "Taken" starring Liam Neeson as an ex-CIA agent who uses his 'particular set of skills' to save his daughter who is kidnapped while on a trip to Paris. I'm slightly obsessed by this film - I find it gripping and exciting, but also quite ridiculous. In this episode I'd like to play you a classic moment from this film, and then talk about how I feel about the movie as a whole. For more information, click here http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Wh "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode focuses on how sentences are pronounced quickly by native speakers. This is invaluable knowledge which will help you to take your listening and your pronunciation to the next level! Click here for example sentences and more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-211 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

YEP Competition Results, news and some rambling about mosquitoes and TV documentaries about ghosts. For all the details click here: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-20o Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take a musical trip through Luke's hard-drive, in the middle of the night. Late one night recently, I decided to record a podcast while randomly picking some pieces of music from my hard-drive and talking to you at the same time. This is the result. Click here for lyrics and more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1YW Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's part 2 of my conversation with "The Son of the Dragon Tamer" in which we talk about these things: - The difference “pleasshure” and “pleasure”, “bio” and “B.O.” - The importance of ‘passion’ in France - Jamie Oliver’s (fake?) cockney accent - British & American English - Corneliu’s experiences in America, his acting and his accent - Corneliu’s learning experiences with a great teacher when he was a child - The interesting course-book which Corneliu used in his English lessons - The myth of ‘the English gentleman’ - Depictions of Englishness in films - Stereotypes of Romania - Romania & Bulgaria’s entry into the EU and the media panic related to migrant workers - Vampires, Dracula and Romania Click here for more information http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Z0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

aka "The Son of the Dragon Tamer!" or "The guy with the longest name ever on LEP". *The conversation starts at 11.39 - so please skip my introduction if you like* Let me tell you a bit about Corneliu. He is a film maker and comedian originally from Romania. He lives in France now where he writes, directs, produces and acts in films and television projects. Corneliu is a polyglot (he speaks Romanian, French and English), he's a movie-buff and an he's an all-round great conversationalist and therefore is the perfect guest for another episode of LEP. Click here for more information: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1Yj Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 18th September the people of Scotland will vote in a referendum to decide if Scotland should remain a part of the UK or become independent. If they vote "yes" and Scotland does become independent from the UK it would cause massive changes to the way the UK is organised. It would be the biggest change in UK history for hundreds of years. It could change everything - not only the lives of the Scottish people, but also the lives of the English, the Welsh and the people of Northern Ireland. In short - this is a massive story for the UK. Let's look at the background, the arguments for & against, and the possible outcomes of independence. Click here for notes and transcriptions: http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1XK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final episode of "Your English Podcast" - Please vote for your favourite competition entry by visiting teacherluke.co.uk . Voting closes on September 30th 2014 at 12 midnight, Paris time. Click here to cast your vote for this episode http://wp.me/p4IuUx-1WP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.