Culips Everyday English Podcast

Houseplants add colour and life to any room. Andrew and Suzanne talk about their love for houseplants, the plants in their collections, and their best care tips. Find out how to talk about adding a bit of nature to your home in this Simplified Speech episode. Fun facts Houseplants are becoming more and more popular with people who rent apartments and are not allowed to have pets. Having plants can improve mental health and air quality, and they make a space more beautiful. Expressions included in the study guide * To be frank * Hard to gauge * To stoke the fire * Totally nerd out * Back from the brink * Emotional rollercoaster Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Have you ever tried something and it didn’t go the way you’d planned? In this Catch Word episode, Andrew and Jeremy introduce useful expressions for talking about past experiences that didn’t work out the way we might have hoped. Fun facts Albert Einstein has a famous quote that says, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” This quote is especially useful in this episode, where we discuss failures that occurred in the past. However, as Albert says, failure is a part of life; new things cannot be experienced or achieved without a few failures and mistakes thrown in as well. Expressions included in the study guide * I tried doing the whole thing for a bit, but * A solid [something] * To throw oneself into [something] * To give [something] a shot * To stick with [something] * Burnout Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Transcript Hello everyone. This is Jeremy and you’re listening to Jeremy’s English Tips. A series by the Culips English Podcast where I teach you interesting expressions or share language learning tips. OK, let’s get started with another episode of Jeremy’s English Tips. Thank you for listening today. In this episode, we are going to talk about mistakes. I’m sure most of us are a bit afraid of making mistakes especially in front of other people because you know, sometimes it can be embarrassing and most of us don’t like being embarrassed. However, mistakes are actually a very, very important part of the learning process. I would like to start by sharing a story from my Korean learning journey about a mistake that I made. Relatively early on in my Korean learning I decided to go shoe shopping. So, I went to a shoe store and I walked in and asked how much this pair of shoes cost. However, I made a mistake in pronunciation and the woman at the shoe store immediately starting laughing hysterically when I said this sentence. At first I didn’t understand what happened, my face turned red, I was embarrassed and I looked over at my Korean friend and asked him what went wrong? At that moment he explained to me that I missed pronounced the word shoe in Korean, which is shin bal, and instead I say a very, very, very bad word, a curse word. The woman at the shoe store understood that I was still learning Korean and so thankfully she laughed and didn’t take offence, however I was mortified. I left that shoe store that day red faced, tail between my legs, and I vowed to make sure that my pronunciation was perfect before I started speaking again. However, I went on to make many, many, many more mistakes and now I realize that each of those mistakes was a very valuable opportunity to learn. So, as I mentioned in a previous episode, I have a son who is almost 2 years old at this point. I remember when he was learning to walk, he made many, many mistakes in the process of learning to walk. In fact, everyone knows that probably every baby on the planet earth must fall many times before learning to walk. This is common knowledge, we can say and yet, for some reason when we adults try to learn a foreign language, we try to avoid making mistakes from the very beginning. So, my advice to you today in this episode is don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are your friends, each mistake is an opportunity for you to learn something new. If you use the wrong pronoun in a sentence and you confuse someone, all you have to do is recognize your mistake and move on. If you make a pronunciation mistake and other people can’t understand you, once you become aware of it then you can fix it. In order to gain experience speaking English and making friends with English speakers, you must let go of the fear of making mistakes otherwise, you may never gain enough experience speaking English in order to get good at it. So, take your time, try not to be afraid of mistakes and find some good friends who can help you notice your mistakes and help you correct them. In the next episode of Jeremy’s English Tips, we will talk about language exchange and how to find a friend who can help you correct your mistakes and enjoy the learning process even more. Thank you for listening to this episode. If you found it helpful, please let us know. You can email us at contact@culips.com or find us on social media to let us know. That’s it for this episode, until next time, take care. Bye. Take home messages Making mistakes is a natural part of learning English Each mistake you make is a learning opportunity Letting go of the fear of making mistakes will allow you to connect wi...

We’re really happy we receive so many emails for our listeners! So in this Chatterbox episode, our hosts Andrew and Jeremy have decided to answer as many emails as they can in one episode. Maybe we’ve answered your questions! Fun facts At one point in this episode, hosts Andrew and Jeremy talk about their desire to run. Who could blame them? It’s quite the popular activity. An estimated 60 million people in the United States ran or jogged in 2017. That’s a lot of exercise! Expressions included in the study guide * Pristine * Island fever * To butcher [something] * To follow the news * Something in the water * Mad respect Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

In another listener-requested episode, Andrew and Suzanne talk about quitting jobs. Quitting a job is never easy; it requires preparation, courage, and a leap of faith. Andrew and Suzanne talk about why they quit certain jobs in the past and how they felt afterward. Fun facts Have you ever heard of ghosting? Ghosting is a phenomenon in which two people form a connection, get acquainted, and communicate frequently, and then suddenly one of the members of the relationship drops all contact with the other person unexpectedly and with no warning. This phenomenon is most often witnessed in dating, but these days ghosting is becoming common in the workforce as well. Instead of formally quitting, sometimes these days employees simply stop coming to work and block their boss’ phone numbers to avoid the awkward situation of a formal resignation. Expressions included in the study guide * To snag [something] * Fit of rage * Unhinged * Leap of faith * Hot head * To boss [someone] around * Jerk Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Transcript Hello there, this is Jeremy and you’re listening to Jeremy’s English Tips, a series by the Culips English Podcast where I teach you interesting expressions or share language learning tips. So, in this episode, I am going to talk to you about listening, now you are already listening to a podcast in English. So, the first thing I want to say is good job. You have chosen the most valuable language learning method in the world, in my opinion at least. Many people when they try to learn a language, they focus on reading and writing first, but anyone who has children knows that children do not do this. Children focus on listening from the very beginning. In fact, children listen to their mother’s voice in the womb. So, listening practice starts even before birth. Once a baby is born, they spend two, three, or even four years mostly listening to all the people around them. They hear their mother, father and other family members speaking to them and talking about them, pretty much every day. Every time they eat, they hear some of the same words repeated. For example, with my son who is currently almost 2 years old, we often say things to him like “sit down, sit in your chair, don’t climb on the table” things like this. If he hears them many times over and over and over, eventually he will be able to understand them and he will be able to say those things. So, we are all adult language learners. I have been learning Korean for almost 9 years now and I have been teaching English for equally as long. Learning Korean taught me many things about language learning in general. The most important thing it taught me is that listening is king. What I mean by that is listening is the most important part of any language learners study routine. But, not just listening in general, specifically repetitive listening. Repetitive listening has been the most valuable part of my Korean study by far. So, let me explain what I mean by this. Repetitive is the adjective form of the word repeat. So, listening repetitively means listening to the same podcast, maybe a Culips podcast, or the same YouTube video or the same audio from your textbook over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Now, some people think that this is annoying and difficult, but I beg to differ. This expression, I beg to differ means I think differently. My opinion is that repetitive listening is only difficult if you are trying to understand what you are listening to. Children, young children and babies do not try to understand what they hear. They simply hear sounds and over time they become familiar with the sounds that they hear the most. So why don’t you give it a try? Why don’t you listen to this episode or another episode of Culips say, 20 times? You don’t have to listen all at once, all in one day. You can listen twice today, three times tomorrow, four times on Friday and eventually after you’ve listened maybe 20 times, you will probably have memorized a lot of the expressions, sentences, even intonations of the speaker in the podcast. If you’d like to give it a try, you can do so with an episode of Culips and the best part is, we have study guides and transcripts available at our website. If you go to Culips.com you can find out how to download the study guide for this episode and for others and after you’ve listened repetitively to one of the episodes you can even check the transcript to find out if what you heard is correct.  So that’s it for this English tip episode. I’m sure I will share more tips regarding listening and other language learning things in the future. As well as share interesting expressions with you. Hope you liked the episode today and if you found it helpfu...

He got into a fight and now he’s spittin’ chiclets? What on earth does that mean? Well, if you played hockey in Canada, you would certainly know the answer. In fact, the sport of hockey has many interesting expressions. In this Catch Word episode, Andrew tests Jeremy’s knowledge of these unique sayings. Fun facts On November 1st, 1959, hockey goaltender Jacques Plante changed hockey forever. He put on a face mask! At the time, no goalie in the league wore one. He was tired on getting the puck in the face and spittin’ chiclets! Expressions included in the study guide * Spittin’ chiclets * To roughhouse * To chirp * A sniff * -ski * Like it’s nobody’s business Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Hello everyone, this is Jeremy and you’re listening to Jeremy’s English Tips, a series by the Culips English Podcast where I teach you interesting expressions or share language learning tips. Trailer (Episode #1): Introduction to Jeremy’s English Tips Hello there Culips listeners, this is the very first episode of Jeremy’s English Tips. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself for those who don’t know me and to explain a bit about my background as a language teacher. So, as you know, my name is Jeremy and I am from California, which is a state on the west coast of the United States. Jeremy’s English Tips (A New Series!) I grew up in a very diverse area, meaning most of my friends were from other countries and spoke other languages at home. So, I became very interested in foreign languages at an early age. However, I did not begin studying languages seriously until after I graduated from college. The first language I studied intensively was Korean. Little did I know that Korean is one of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn for a variety of reasons. However, I stuck with it and it has been almost ten years now that I have been speaking and learning Korean. Currently, I teach Korean on Youtube and through online courses to English speakers all over the world. I also teach English to Korean people. When I went to Korea almost 10 years ago, I went there to be an English teacher and as I was teaching English to Korean people and studying the Korean language in my free time, I noticed lots of similarities between what I was struggling with and what my students were struggling with. This was fascinating to me and so I decided to continue to teach language and here I am still doing it today. So, going forward with this series, entitled Jeremy’s English Tips. We will be discussing various language learning tips as well as words and phrases that are useful for any English learner to know.  You may also send your questions to contact@culips.com and we may even be able to make an episode about them. Our goal with this series is to help you become the best English learner you can be.  So, thank you for listening to this first episode and we hope you enjoy the rest of them. I’ll see you in the next one, bye! Credit: Music: Miei by Broke for Free, Feel Good (Instrumental) by Broke for free Episode preparation/research: Jeremy Brinkerhoff Audio editor: Andrew Bates Business manager: Tsuyoshi Kaneshima

How many people do you know who have founded a few international, multimillion-dollar companies? Well, today we’re talking about one. He wants to go to Mars! He wants to send people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 36 minutes! Today, our hosts Andrew and Jeremy talk about one of the most interesting people in the world, Elon Musk. Fun facts Elon Musk is a fascinating man. He was born in South Africa but went around the world creating companies all over. In fact, he has three different citizenships: South African, Canadian, and American! Expressions included in the study guide * Visionary * To program * If stuff goes down * To alleviate * Fetch * To remove (something) from the equation 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 have any furry friends at home? In this Simplified Speech episode, Andrew and Suzanne talk all about pets. Enjoy this episode requested by one of our very own Culips listeners. Fun facts Did you know that cats can jump up to seven times their own height? Also, the most popular breed of pet dog is the Labrador. Expressions included in the study guide * Time flies * Right off the bat * Up-and-coming * Off-leash * Fetch * Dyed Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

We have another special guest for you today! Steve Kaufmann is a successful polyglot, entrepreneur, and YouTuber. He runs a company called LingQ, which is a language studying platform. Join regular Chatterbox host Andrew and Steve for this fascinating conversation on language and learning. Fun facts In this episode, special guest Steve Kaufmann mentions that he will soon be married for 50 years! According to a recent census report in the United States, only 6% of couples make it to 50 years. So here’s a big congratulations Mr and Mrs Kaufmann! For more information about Steve and what he does, check out his blog, the Linguist! Expressions included in the study guide * Neck of the woods * Up to snuff * To recognize (a country) * To imbibe * To plateau * All in one word Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Have you been cooped up inside all day? Why don’t you go out and enjoy the sunshine while listening to a brand-new Culips episode? In this Catch Word episode, Andrew and Jeremy introduce two useful expressions that one can use when experiencing boredom and restlessness. Fun facts There are various types of boredom in our lives; some are useful for our growth and imagination, while others are detrimental to our health and well-being. “Searching boredom” is useful, because it makes one feel restless, giving them a desire to discover new things, meet new people, and look for healthy challenges. However, “reactant boredom” and “apathetic boredom” are prevailing problems in today’s society. These two types of boredoms cause anger, grumpiness, loss of feeling, and listlessness. Expressions included in the study guide * Sidekick * Cooped up * Stir-crazy * To hit the nail on the head * All-nighter * Cabin fever * Hustle and bustle Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

Culips really appreciates the feedback we get from our listeners. One such member, Iván from Spain, impressed Andrew with his story so much that we just had to have him on the podcast! Iván is a good example of a success story for learning English. Give this episode a good listen! Fun facts Special guest Iván talks to us today from Valencia, Spain. Can you imagine: Valencia was founded as a Roman colony all the way back in 138 BCE! That’s a lot of history. Expressions included in the study guide * It’s a pleasure * You name it * To mimic * Ah-ha moment * Day in, day out * Fake it until you make it 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 week’s Simplified Speech episode, Andrew and Kassy discuss one of Kassy’s favourite sports, ultimate Frisbee. Have you ever heard of it? If not, be sure to tune in and find out about this exciting sport. Fun facts Ultimate has been a sport since the early 1970s. The rules were created at Columbia High. There are no referees in ultimate. Instead, players believe in the spirit of the game in which every member is responsible for playing fairly, calling his or her own fouls, and solving conflicts on the field as a team. Expressions included in the study guide * To get into [something] * To party hard * Defense/offense * To choke * To be in shape * To give [something] a shot Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar

What’s the topic today? It totally slipped my mind. Oh, that’s right! Today’s topic is forgetfulness. In this Catch Word episode, Andrew and Suzanne provide useful phrases to express forgetfulness when our mind goes blank and we can’t remember what we wanted to say. Enjoy! Fun facts Did you know there’s a world record for memory? When he was 10 years old, Nischal Narayanam won a Guinness World Record for memorizing 225 random objects in 12 minutes. Several people can even boast the ability to memorize the order of an entire deck of 52 cards, including the correct number and suit. How brilliant is that? Expressions included in the study guide * Handy * Fuzzy * To slip [one’s] mind * To pick up [something] * To go blank * To make fun of [someone] Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit this page or culips.com. Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar