Better at English - Free English conversation lessons podcast

How did we ever get along without Google? Lori and Michael about how much they depend on the Internet in their daily lives. In this completely unplanned and spontaneous conversation, they use quite a few phrasal verbs. These phrasal verbs and additional idiomatic expressions are highlighted in the vocabulary notes. As always, you can find the full transcript and vocabulary notes at www.BetterAtEnglish.com.

In today's episode, Michael and I exchange some opinions about television, particularly with respect to commercials and advertising. In this conversation we discover some differences between British and American English vocabulary, and use some everyday phrasal verbs.

In today's episode, Michael and I exchange some opinions about television, particularly with respect to commercials and advertising. In this conversation we discover some differences between British and American English vocabulary, and use some everyday phrasal verbs.

Have you ever had to deal with unpleasant customers? Lori and her British pal Michael compare working in an office with working at home, and talk about how difficult it can be to put up with rude treatment from nasty customers when you work in a job providing service. As usual, they end up touching upon some of the differences between British and American English vocabulary.

In the previous episode I had wanted to talk to Michael about about a gym in Holland that offers its clients an unusual way to exercise. But we got sidetracked talking about dogs and chick magnets. Luckily, this time we are back on track talking about gyms, a topic that brings up some idioms and slang related to fitness, exercise, and human bodies.

Lori and her English friend Michael talk about the irresistible attraction power of dogs and puppies, and how you can exploit this if you're in the market for a romantic partner.

This is the third and final episode of a three part series in which Michael and Lori discuss some of the potentially embarrassing differences between British and American English dialects.

This is the second in a three part series in which Michael and Lori discuss some of the differences between their British and American English dialects. This edition takes up right where they left off in part one, so if you are a new listener you might want to go back and listen to part one before you listen to part two. In this podcast, they focus on some pronunciation differences between British and American English, as well as one potentially embarrassing difference in vocabulary.

Michael and Lori discuss how native speakers use fillers such as "umm" and "uh" and "mmm hmm" in conversations, and how these fillers are not always the same in different cultures. This is the first part of a series of three: in parts two and three they go on to discuss some rather amusing pronunciation and vocabulary differences between British and American English.

Michael and Lori discuss a disturbing video that Lori saw on Youtube, in which a teenage boy inserts a firework rocket into his rear end and burns himself. Sensitive listeners may find this podcast offensive, so use caution when listening.

Lori asks Michael a rather saucy question: do men prefer real or fake breasts on their women? The answer might surprise you...

Michael and Lori discuss the game (sport?) Rock Paper Scissors, and debate whether it involves skill or luck.

Some grammar mistakes are surprisingly frequent even among educated native speakers of English. When it comes to written English, a lot of these mistakes involve words or phrases that sound the same but are spelled differently...One of the most notorious of these grammatical pet peeves is when people write the wrong form of its/it's. That's what I will try to help you with today. This may be a bit difficult to follow if you are just listening, so I suggest you go to the betteratenglish.com and have a look at the transcript.

Today's conversation is between me and my friend Michael. We discuss my annoying neighbor and his habit of playing a very irritating song at very high volume, usually on Friday and Saturday evenings. I'm pretty sure it's a live version, too, so it's much longer than the original, thus extending my torture. My best guess is that he plays it to get himself in the party mood. Here in Sweden, people usually "party" at home, that is,...

Lori and Michael discuss office pranks.