Culips Everyday English Podcast

This episode we’re doing things a bit differently – We’re looking at expressions with the word one. You’ll hear explanations for one-horse race, one-track mind¬, and one-two punch. If you’re curious about what all these expressions mean, then this is the episode for you. Do you have a one-track mind for learning English? Listen hereRead More

Canada is a big, big country! Most people who come from other places to visit us aren’t able to visit the whole country because it is just that big. In this episode, Andrew and Harp talk about travelling around Canada, the best places to visit and how to do it. Do you know what the western part of Canada is known for? What does Montreal have to offer? Listen to this episode if you’ve ever planned on visiting or just daydreamed about visiting Canada. There’s tons to see! Andrew: If you go really up north. I would love to do that, but unfortunately I've never gone that far north to see some polar bears. But, yeah, Harp's right. If you go fairly north, maybe ten hours or so away from the American boarder, you can often see the northern lights at night and that is something to see for sure. Harp: Yeah. The northern lights are spectacular. Andrew: Totally. And one of Canada's most favourite tourist attractions is Niagara Falls. Harp: Yup. That's true. It's very popular and a lot of tourists go there. Andrew: Yeah. And Harp and I have both been there and, to tell you the truth, we weren't too impressed. Harp: Nope. I think there are much more beautiful things and more interesting things that I would recommend that you go see. Andrew: Yeah. That waterfall itself is, of course, amazing. It is huge, but the actual city of Niagara Falls is a little bit cheesy. Harp: Yup. I would recommend going out to Atlantic Canada or seeing something cooler instead of just Niagara Falls. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To be close to our hearts To finish off Seat sales The downside Stuffy At all costs It will cost you To be up and about Hitchhiking To be just asking for trouble Car shares or ride shares To be on a budget Airbnb To get ripped off Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Canada is a big, big country! Most people who come from other places to visit us aren’t able to visit the whole country because it is just that big. In this episode, Andrew and Harp talk about travelling around Canada, the best places to visit and how to do it. Do you know what theRead More

Lights, camera, action! They’re aren’t very many popular Canadian films, so what does Canada have to do with the movies? First of all, there are lots of American movies made up here in Canada, and we even have our own Canadian film industry. We also have tons of film festivals, including TIFF that happens every September. If you love the movies, listen to this episode to hear what Canada has to offer. Andrew: Yeah. Recently there’s just been a huge explosion of films that are made here, and it’s actually giving us the nickname of Hollywood of the North. Harp: Yup. And so a lot of American companies are coming to Canada to make movies here because it’s cheaper. Andrew: Yeah. That’s right. The difference between the Canadian dollar and the American dollar has really made it an affordable option for American film companies to come up north and film in Canada. So that’s been a really popular thing that American film companies have done recently. Harp: Yeah. And the government really encourages it; because, it’s so good for the economy, so they’re giving tax breaks to the movie industry, just trying to get them to come to Canada. And it seems to be working. Andrew: Yeah. And us as Canadians, we love this ‘cause get the big name American actors coming into our cities. It’s also great for jobs. Lots of people have jobs now that are focused around the film industry, whether they are actors or cameramen. So it’s good for everybody up here. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Team building An explosion Hollywood of the North Big name stars Hot spot To get around to doing A saga The lower mainland To go nuts Generation gap The back of your mind An extra (in a movie) Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Lights, camera, action! They’re aren’t very many popular Canadian films, so what does Canada have to do with the movies? First of all, there are lots of American movies made up here in Canada, and we even have our own Canadian film industry. We also have tons of film festivals, including TIFF that happens everyRead More

Ring, ring … Hello? A lot has changed about cell phones since they became popular. There are tons of features and functions, and more and more people have smart phones. In this episode, Harp and Andrew talk about cell phone etiquette. What is acceptable behaviour for cell phone use? Do you think cell phones have made communication better or worse? Listen to this episode to hear what they have to say about this! Harp: I remember people talking about how they could use their cell phone in a car or when they were walking somewhere. It's a pretty big idea for people who are used to having their phones at home. Andrew: Totally. It would have been a really exciting new invention. Harp: I remember I would go to call my friends, but usually I would have to talk to their parents or siblings. And it was always just more awkward. Andrew: Right. I guess that's something that kids these days don't have to deal with at all. They can just talk directly to their friends on their cell phones. But back when we were kids, when you wanted to talk to your friends, you'd have to call their home and then talk to their parents, and then ask if they were allowed to speak on the phone. Harp: And then usually I would get yelled at by my parents for being on the phone too long. Andrew: Right. I come from a kind of a big family and there's only one phone for everybody, so there'd be a lot of anger over the telephone. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: A wake up call Call waiting A landline Off the grid To get worked up To be weirded out Instagram The text-no-talk thing Or did To get things out of the way To be plugged in Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Ring, ring … Hello? A lot has changed about cell phones since they became popular. There are tons of features and functions, and more and more people have smart phones. In this episode, Harp and Andrew talk about cell phone etiquette. What is acceptable behaviour for cell phone use? Do you think cell phones haveRead More

If you ask a friend to name a famous Canadian, you might not be able to think of any. Here’s an episode about famous Canadians throughout history who have invented something that is now used all over the world. In this episode, we’re talking about epilepsy, the telephone, and radio waves. Do you think weRead More

If you ask a friend to name a famous Canadian, you might not be able to think of any. Here’s an episode about famous Canadians throughout history who have invented something that is now used all over the world. In this episode, we’re talking about epilepsy, the telephone, and radio waves. Do you think we can actually count Marconi’san Italian citizen’s inventions as Canadian? Check it out and tell us your opinion. Andrew: Yeah, many people don’t know but, actually basketball was created by a Canadian. Harp: Yes. By a Canadian in the US, but still he was Canadian. Andrew: Right. His name was James Naismith, and he was a teacher, and when he was teaching in Massachusetts in the United States, he created this new game, this new sport of basketball. Harp: Yeah. So in the little 60 second clip, you see him teaching some of the boys in his class about the game. And they don’t seem very happy, but kind of by the end of the commercial they seem into it. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Super To be geared toward James Naismith Alexander Graham Bell To the best of our knowledge Marconi Morse code To pave the way Dr. Wilder Penfield To showcase something To be ahead of his/her time Radical Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo dw2

As a person who loves languages, you probably love to travel too. Where else can you use the new languages you’ve learned? Harp was super lucky this summer and got to take a trip to some pretty interesting places – England, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. In this episode, Andrew interviews her to find outRead More

As a person who loves languages, you probably love to travel too. Where else can you use the new languages you’ve learned? Harp was super lucky this summer and got to take a trip to some pretty interesting places – England, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. In this episode, Andrew interviews her to find out what she got up to and how much fun she had. Listen in if you’re interested in visiting any of those places or, if you’re from there, see what Harp thought of your country. Andrew: Yeah. No doubt. And what place did you like the best out of all the cities you visited? Harp: I would have to say that Hong Kong was my favourite. Andrew: Wow. And what made it your favourite? Was it the food? The scenery? Harp: It was everything. Hong Kong is an awesome, awesome place. I suggest everyone goes to visit it. I don't know. The lifestyle there is great. I went to go visit my best friend and she lives in the central area of downtown Hong Kong. And there are all of these cafes and restaurants, and people just seem to really love life. But there's also a cool business scene, and we went and saw some music. It's just so lively. And the food is amazing. Andrew: Yeah. I really want to visit Hong Kong. I've only ever been to the Hong Kong airport. I've never actually been outside the airport. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Jet lag Zero planning Posh The Singapore Sling Not to be worth all the fuss The Merlion A foodie Hawker stands and meaning of to hawk To have went To hit up Dim sum To clear up Might as well You gotta do what you gotta do Stories (in a building) A plus To make your way somewhere There you go Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

When one person beats another to the punch this means they did something first. One person has an advantage in this situation. In today’s competitive world, there are lots of chances to use this expression! Also, listen in to hear to be one step ahead and to have a head start. If you’ve already listenedRead More

When one person beats another to the punch this means they did something first. One person has an advantage in this situation. In today’s competitive world, there are lots of chances to use this expression! Also, listen in to hear to be one step ahead and to have a head start. If you’ve already listened to this episode, then you’re one step ahead of the others! Andrew: When you beat someone to the punch, you have an advantage over them. Maura: Right. And this expression could possibly be connected to boxing, and when I think of the word punch, I think about boxing. Andrew: They’re very connected, yeah. And when you’re boxing and manage to get the first punch out and hit your opponent, well you obviously have an advantage in that situation. Maura: Right. The person who gets punched first, maybe the weaker boxer or at least they don’t look like they’re very strong or their chances of winning seem to go down a bit. Andrew: Right. If you’re getting punched you’re not a very good boxer, I think. You wanna do the punching right. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To be around To beat someone to the punch Garage sale Second hand First come, first serve Man To ask someone out To be after someone To be one step ahead of someone To be cutthroat Dog eat dog To have a head start The odds are in your favour To pave the way Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Culips

Saving the planet seems to be a topic that we hear about more and more. Environmental policies are often a political topic, and they especially are in Canada. In this episode, Andrew and Maura talk about our impact on the environment and what people can do to help out. Because this is such a hot topic now, there are also tons of new terms, which we share with you here. Listen up! Andrew: We’ll talk about what we do to do our part in saving the planet. Maura: All right. So first we’re going to talk about some new terms that are used to talk about the environment and the first one is a word you already know. It’s a colour. It’s the word green. Andrew: Green. And what green really means in an environmental sense is to be good for the planet to be good for the environment. Maura: Right. So we can use the word green to talk about a specific company that’s trying to do good things for the environment. Or we could talk about a product and say that it’s green because it was made in a way that was trying have a low impact on the environment. Or maybe they recycled or they reused something in their product. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Hot Green Ecological More green Logging Carbon footprint Greenhouse gasses Canada’s oil sands Pilot projects Who knows To put on the curb That goes to show To keep my eye out Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Empty Vessel Project

Saving the planet seems to be a topic that we hear about more and more. Environmental policies are often a political topic, and they especially are in Canada. In this episode, Andrew and Maura talk about our impact on the environment and what people can do to help out. Because this is such a hotRead More