Culips Everyday English Podcast

In this Catch Word episode, Jeremy and I teach you two idiomatic English expressions about freedom and by learning them, you’ll be able to make your English sound more natural when speaking and also make English more understandable when listening to movies or TV or even having conversations with English speakers. But before we get to that, I just wanted to thank you for pressing play on this episode. What you’re doing right now is what you need to keep doing to get awesome at English. By spending lots of time listening, reading, and watching content in English, you’ll get closer and closer to reaching your goals with the language. So, congrats for tuning in today and make sure to keep up the good work. I know it’s not always easy, but you’re doing a great job. If one of your goals for 2021 is to improve your English, then I highly recommend becoming a Culips member. Studying English becomes easy when you’re a Culips Member because we give you all the tools you need, and you can find them in one place. Just log onto to your Culips Member dashboard and you’ll be able to get the transcripts, study guides, and quizzes for all our episodes. It’s really awesome and it’s something I wish I had for my own language study, to be honest with you. If you don’t know what Catch Word is, well, let me explain. It is the series where we teach you awesome English vocabulary, like idioms, phrasal verbs, or expressions that will help improve your English listening and speaking. And today, I’m joined by my cohost, Jeremy. OK, let’s get started with the episode now. Enjoy and happy English learning! Fun facts Every country has different traditions for the turning of the new year. In South Korea, many people hike a local mountain in the middle of the night just to have a beautiful and memorable view of the first sunrise of the year. Expressions included in the study guide * Left to your own devices * To fend for [oneself] * No holds barred * To get to the bottom of [something] * To not hold [one’s] breath * Shady Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Happy New Year! At the end of each calendar year, most people take time to think of the past year and look forward to the next. In this Simplified Speech episode, Andrew and Kassy reflect upon 2020 and discuss their goals for 2021.  I just wanted to thank you all for studying English with Culips throughout 2020. There are a lot of ways that you can study English these days, but we’re so happy that you’ve chosen to make Culips a part of your English studies. And we’ve got such an awesome community of people around the world learning English with Culips and the whole Culips team and I are so happy and honoured, really, that we get to be a part of it. So everyone, please keep learning and studying with us during 2021. If your goal is to keep improving your English this year, then of course we’re here to help and support you. We’re going to keep trying our best to bring you educational, motivational, and fun episodes and English lessons that will help you reach your English fluency goals. And here at Culips, we’ve got a lot of big plans and we’re all really excited for what 2021 will bring! And everyone, please keep your messages, emails, comments, episode suggestions, 5-star ratings and nice reviews, coming! Even if we don’t get back to you right away, we read everything that you send our way and all the success stories and nice comments that you share inspire us to keep working hard to make Culips better and better. Fun facts Every country has different traditions for the turning of the new year. In South Korea, many people hike a local mountain in the middle of the night just to have a beautiful and memorable view of the first sunrise of the year. Expressions included in the study guide * To stack up against [something] * To get fired up * To cross [something] off [one’s] list * To feed off [something] * To have a rhythm going * In store Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Homesickness is a familiar feeling for everyone, whether you’re away for a few days or you moved to a totally new country! In this episode, Andrew and Kassy talk about how they deal with homesickness. Fun facts Homesickness isn’t new. It has been around since ancient times. It is mentioned in the Christian bible’s Old Testament, specifically Exodus and Psalms, and in Homer’s Odyssey. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician, believed that bile in the blood caused homesickness. Expressions included in the study guide * To butcher [something] * All the comforts of home * Throw into the mix * Eat like a bird * Sink or swim * Pep talk Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

In this seasonal Culips episode, Andrew and Kassy talk about what they do to prepare for Christmas and the holiday season. Christmas isn’t simply a one-day affair, it’s a month long celebration of winter, family, and good cheer. Fun facts Christmas might be the most widely known December holiday in Western culture, but there are several other religious holidays that occur at the end of the year, such as Hanukkah, Rohatsu, Kwanzaa, and St. Nicholas Day, to name a few. Expressions included in the study guide * Countdown * A grinch * Heirloom * Last minute * Dated * Cheesy Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

There are many ways to say, “It’s OK” and reassure someone. In this episode, Kassy and Andrew cover ways you can calm people down or make them feel better. Fun facts Everyone reacts differently to stress. In general, women tend to think, talk, and reach out to others. Men tend to use distraction, like physical activity. Expressions included in the study guide * Don’t sweat the small stuff * Let [something] slide off you * Big picture * On that note * No biggie * On island time Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Do you get scared when you cross a black cat at night? Do you change your behaviour when you notice the day is Friday the 13th? Join hosts Andrew and Kassy in this Simplified Speech episode as they share their stories and opinions on the topic of superstitions. Fun facts Superstition is the main topic of this episode. Did you know that it is also the title of an amazing Stevie Wonder song? Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 74th on their list of the 500 greatest songs ever. Expressions included in the study guide * To work your butt off * To be predestined * That’s beside the point * To cause a scene * To cringe * To be fitting Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Everyone has to visit the dentist sometime. And everyone can agree that it’s a bit scary! In this episode, Andrew and Kassy share their dental stories and why they’re afraid of the dentist. Fun facts In the United States alone, more than 3 million miles of dental floss are purchased each year. Yet only 30% of Americans report actually flossing each day! Expressions included in the study guide * Every man for themselves * In the back of [one’s] mind * Religiously * Torture * Go for it * In good hands Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

In this episode of Fluency Files, Andrew tells a story about a unique experience he had recently, catching a bouquet at a wedding! Listen, learn, and become a better English speaker. What is the Fluency Files? The Fluency Files is our special series for Culips Members. Each episode features a short audio story and comes with a transcript and study guide. The Fluency Files is perfect for deep studying and intensive English learning. We recommend it to anyone who wants to make big breakthroughs with their English skills. To get access to the entire Fluency Files library, sign up and become a Culips Member on culips.com. Or check out this page to learn more about the Culips Fluency Files. Introduction transcript Andrew: Hello there, everyone. My name is Andrew and you’re listening to the Culips English Podcast. Hey, all! How is it going? How are you doing? I’m, of course, doing really well. Have you ever heard of the Culips Fluency Files series, it’s our bonus series that we make exclusively for Culips members. However, today, we’re going to share an episode of The Fluency Files with everyone. But before we do that, let’s talk quickly about what the Fluency Files series is, and how you can learn English with it. Well, the Fluency Files series features short audio stories that are designed for intensive English learning and it’s fantastic to help you develop your English listening, speaking pronunciation and comprehension skills in a fun, efficient, and effective way. Each episode is short, usually only around three to six minutes, and features a story from my life. I might share my current thoughts and talk about what’s on my mind. Or maybe I share an update on what’s going on in my life right now. Or I might even tell a funny or crazy story from my past. The Fluency Files is kind of like my audio diary that you get to listen into. Now let’s talk about how you can study with the Fluency Files. Of course, these are only suggestions and you can study with the series any way you want. Each learner is different. And one of the awesome things about the Fluency Files series is that you can study with it in the way that works best for you. But to get you started, I’m going to share six tips, six suggestions, six ways that you can study with the Fluency Files. So here we go. Step number one is listen. The first step that you need to do is simply just listen to the Fluency Files episode. If you don’t understand everything, that’s fine. Try just to grab the general meaning and get the gist of the story and what I’m talking about. You might have to listen several times, but hey, that’s totally fine. In fact, the more times you listen, the better. Step two. Okay, now it’s time to grab the study guide. Each Fluency File episode comes with a study guide that includes a transcript, a glossary, definitions and example sentences of two key expressions from the episode and also fill in the blanks listening exercise. So after doing your initial listening to the episode, you are ready to deconstruct the episode by studying with the guide. So, what should you do? Well, you can listen while following along with the transcript. Read the transcript, break it down, and check out the glossary and key expression definitions to help you understand what the difficult vocabulary is. At this point, guys, you really want to use the transcript to your advantage to make sure you can understand as much as possible.

Episode description In today’s episode, I’d like to answer a common question that I get from language learners all over the world. And that question is, am I studying English correctly? How do I know I’m on the right path? Now, another related question I also get is, how do I know I’m on the right path? Key points covered in this episode * If you are asking the question am I on the right path?, then you are most likely doing well. * You can listen to other episodes of Jeremy’s English Tips to help you find some good study methods. * As long as you are making progress, you are on the right path. * In the end, language learning is a lifelong task. * Enjoy the process and don’t worry so much about getting to the destination. Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com.

In this week’s Chatterbox episode, Andrew and Kassy discuss an important topic: internet privacy. We now live in a world where so much of our personal information can be found and manipulated with just a few clicks of the mouse. Tune in to hear what Andrew and Kassy have to say about this topic. Fun facts Read the fine print! Anytime you sign up for a new service or buy a new device, there’s usually a Terms and Conditions page that one must read and agree to before using the service or device. However, most people simply scroll to the bottom of the page, click the Agree button, and move on without even glancing at the long lines of tiny print. This is not advisable, however, because you could have unknowingly given your permission for that service or company to sell your data to the highest bidder. Expressions included in the study guide * Spur of the moment * To take off * An influx of [something] * Legalese * To blow the whistle * Flagged Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Gobble gobble! It’s that time of year again. In this Simplified Speech episode, Andrew and Kassy talk about their families’ Thanksgiving traditions and what it’s like to celebrate Thanksgiving while living away from home. Fun facts In the United States, the president pardons a turkey each year, meaning he spares its life. This tradition started in the 1940s, but it wasn’t made a yearly tradition until 1989 under the former President George H.W. Bush. Expressions included in the study guide * Marathon * Friendsgiving * Potluck * To steal [one’s] thunder * Splurge * To make [something] stretch Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

This upcoming Friday, November 27th at 7pm Korean Standard Time, Kassy and I will be doing a YouTube live stream event for all Culips members. Our monthly live streams are a new membership benefit. And they are a way for us to connect with all of the people who support Culips and to spend some time with all of our members.   Transcript  Hey everyone, it’s Andrew here and I have a quick announcement for you. This upcoming Friday, November 27th at 7pm Korean Standard Time, Kassy and I will be doing a YouTube live stream event for all Culips members. Our monthly live streams are a new membership benefit. And they are a way for us to connect with all of the people who support Culips and to spend some time with all of our members. Kassy and I will be online for about an hour hanging out with you all and we’ll be happy to chat with you, answer any questions that you have about learning English, and we’ll also spend some time talking about the theme for this month’s live stream, which is Thanksgiving and the holiday season. To watch the live stream simply log on to your Culips account on our homepage Culips.com and follow the link that is posted to the dashboard. So once again, the live stream will be taking place on Friday, November 27th at 7pm Korean Standard Time. So, this week on Friday. And I hope many Culips members will join us. To find out what time the live stream is happening where you live, just do a Google search for a time zone converter and you can easily see when we’ll be live in your region. In the future, we’ll be doing the streams at a time that’s convenient for our members who live in Europe and the Americas as well. So, please look forward to that in the upcoming months. So guys, that’s it. Have a great week, everyone and I’ll see you this Friday at 7pm for the live stream. Bye!

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the entire world, yet our daily lives must continue! Culips host Suzanne has been taking online classes to become a yoga teacher. Together with regular host Andrew, she discusses her experience of learning to teach yoga through the internet. Fun facts Online yoga is extremely popular. In this episode, our hosts mention a yoga YouTuber named Yoga With Adriene. She has a whopping 8.62 million followers! Expressions included in the study guide * To have [something] under your belt * In that respect * Mantra * To go with the flow * Tailor-made * Streamlined Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Do you do the same things every evening after work? What do you do when you’re getting ready for bed? In this episode, Andrew and Jeremy discuss their nighttime routines and how things change when you have a family. Fun facts Sleep experts say that having a nighttime routine will help you sleep better. A nighttime routine signals to your mind and body that it’s time to go to bed, and also gives you time to relax so you’ll fall asleep faster and sleep better. Expressions included in the study guide * Outsider’s perspective * I would say * Set/rough routine * To make gains * Drive [one] bonkers * To toss and turn Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

In this Catch Word episode, Andrew and Kassy introduce some vocabulary and expressions about receiving moral support. We’re going to look at two expressions that we use when talking about giving and getting moral support. And moral support is when you support somebody, kind of like emotionally. So it’s kind of emotional support when you are listening to someone and agreeing with someone and you’re on that person’s side, you approve of what they’re doing, this is moral support. And it’s a little bit different than other types of support, for example, financial support, where you’re giving somebody money, right? It’s not really that, you’re just more being a good friend to someone and supporting them that way. So we’ll take a look at these expressions you can use when talking about moral support today.