Culips Everyday English Podcast

Do you wish that everything could be easy? In this episode, we talk about expressions to describe something that is easy and simple. You can use these expressions to talk about a test or even just finding your way to a new destination. After listening to this episode, using these expressions to talk about easyRead More

Do you wish that everything could be easy? In this episode, we talk about expressions to describe something that is easy and simple. You can use these expressions to talk about a test or even just finding your way to a new destination. After listening to this episode, using these expressions to talk about easy stuff should be a piece of cake! Andrew: Right. If something is easy to do, it’s very simple. it’s easy as pie. Harp: Yup. You accomplish it; it wasn’t difficult; you didn’t have to think too hard. It was just easy. Andrew: It was very straightforward - easy. Harp: Now if I think about this expression though - easy as pie - I’ve tried to make a pie before and that’s not easy. Andrew: Yeah. I tried to make a pie as well. It didn’t turn out very good. Harp: But when I think actually of this expression, I think they’re talking about eating a pie and how easy that is. Andrew: That’s right. That’s much easier to do. Harp: Exactly. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Easy as pie To get an A To pull over To admit defeat A piece of cake A rip off I guess so A gamer Cakewalk A breeze To blow through something To put work in To try your luck Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

What makes you angry? What does it take to make you to hit the roof? Today we’ve got a bunch of expressions for you to use when talking about a person who gets very angry very quickly. When this happens, it’s like the person loses control and suddenly gets very upset. It’s never funny when something like that happens, but we’ve got lots of creative expressions to describe those situations. Listen in and keep your cool. Maura: Today's expressions mean that a person becomes angry very quickly and suddenly. So this is something that's obviously not a very happy topic. Harp: Nope, but it's very interesting and we have some really cool expressions we're gonna look at. Maura: But, you know, we did have some trouble thinking of examples because Harp and I don't get angry that fast. Harp: Nope, but we found some good examples for you all. Maura: That's right, we did. OK, so let's look at the first expression today. Harp: The first expression is to hit the roof. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Bixi To hit the roof To lose your temper To be suspended To skip class An angel A fuse To blow a fuse To explode Something to do with… To flip your lid To storm out To fly into a rage and other expressions Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

What makes you angry? What does it take to make you to hit the roof? Today we’ve got a bunch of expressions for you to use when talking about a person who gets very angry very quickly. When this happens, it’s like the person loses control and suddenly gets very upset. It’s never funny whenRead More

In this episode, you get to meet Alexandre. That’s a French name. He speaks English and French, and is from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. In today’s episode, we talk about Acadian culture, growing up Anglophone and Francophone, and enjoying delicious Maritime lobster. Alexandre recently moved to Montreal, where he continues to make music,Read More

In this episode, you get to meet Alexandre. That’s a French name. He speaks English and French, and is from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. In today’s episode, we talk about Acadian culture, growing up Anglophone and Francophone, and enjoying delicious Maritime lobster. Alexandre recently moved to Montreal, where he continues to make music, now with his band Year of Glad. Check out this episode to learn more about him, and then check out his music online! Maura: When did you start playing music? And how did you become so interested in it? Alexandre: I've been playing music for a long time, since I was quite young. I started playing violin, kind of like a Celtic-style violin when I was very young, 7 years old, I believe. Played that until I was in my late teens and kind of gave it up for guitar, which is the cooler instrument. Now I'm not sure if I agree, but back then I thought so. I still play a little violin, but guitar’s my main thing. I also played trumpet all throughout my high school years. Maura: Were you in the band in school? Alexandre: Yeah. I really was. I was actually a band geek. I was really into it. We went on many trips and… Yeah, I played trumpet and I was pretty into it. I still do, but guitar has taken the centre stage these days. But I try… I do what I can, you know, to keep up with it. Maura: And what kind of music do you normally play? Alexandre: Um… It's rock and roll, I suppose. It has a little bit of an experimental side, so it's a little strange, maybe, nothing you would hear on the radio, maybe. You know, kind of moving in a weirder direction, I think. So potentially you might be able to hear us on the radio at some point. But yeah, it's rock music. I'm not really sure what that means anymore, but it's interesting. I'll say that. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Maritime lobster Acadian culture A Southern twang To be on the top of my list Pockets Francophonia A draw To be welcomed with open arms To play a little violin A band geek To take centre stage To keep up with something Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace To pick up on something A crossover Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

Here’s an episode all about bad and uncomfortable feelings. Have you ever been around a person who you didn’t trust? Or maybe you entered a building and for some reason you didn’t feel safe. It can be hard to describe what makes something seem sketchy, dodgy, or shady, but we know it when we feel it! Check out this episode, we promise it’s safe and you can trust our explanations. Maura: So, something or a person or a place could be called sketchy. Andrew: Absolutely. And this is something that’s just not clear. This place, or this person, this thing, you just have a sort of strange feeling towards it. You can't trust it completely. Maura: Right. This might be a time when you don't feel safe around a certain person or in a certain place. It's just a bad feeling, kind of like an instinct. Andrew: Yeah. It's almost like, if you're describing a sketchy person, that you think that maybe that person doesn't have a good intention; they're gonna do something bad towards you. Maura: So sketchy can also be used to describe a place. And when I think of a sketchy place, I think of dark streets with buildings that have broken windows and people walking around who maybe look a little bit dangerous. That's how I would describe a sketchy place. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: A paper route On a whim Sketchy To beat someone up To make it home To cancel on someone A knight in shining armour Dodgy Not to have that type of money A second opinion To take someone at their word Shady Underage To break out To trust your gut Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

Here’s an episode all about bad and uncomfortable feelings. Have you ever been around a person who you didn’t trust? Or maybe you entered a building and for some reason you didn’t feel safe. It can be hard to describe what makes something seem sketchy, dodgy, or shady, but we know it when we feelRead More

The expressions in this week’s episode are used when people get really focused on things or need to continuously work at something. It’s like these people are doing it all the time, and nothing else! These expressions are often used to exaggerate that a certain activity is all someone is ever doing. If you knowRead More

The expressions in this week’s episode are used when people get really focused on things or need to continuously work at something. It’s like these people are doing it all the time, and nothing else! These expressions are often used to exaggerate that a certain activity is all someone is ever doing. If you know anyone who gets really busy and spends a lot of time doing one particular thing, then you can start using these expressions right away! Maura: To say that something is happening around the clock. Harp: Yes. Around the clock. Maura: And this means that something is happening at all times: during the night, during the day. If you think about a clock, and the hands on the clock moving around, it covers all 24 hours in a day. Harp: Yeah. It just keeps going on. Maura: But you know, sometimes this expression is used as an exaggeration. When someone is really focused on doing something and they're spending a lot of time doing something, they might say they’re doing it around the clock. But it doesn't actually mean they're working on it 24 hours a day. It just means that they are spending a lot of time on it, and maybe staying up late. Harp: Yeah. They could take breaks to eat or do other things, but if they're working on something a lot of the time, they could say that they’re doing it around the clock. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To quit cold turkey To go on and on Around the clock The hands on a clock To take time off To let up To call the police on someone 24/7 24/7 services in Canada Free as a bird Day and night A little one To polish something Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

We have some very, very exciting new at Culips: We’ve added a new co-host to our team! Now, along with Maura and Harp, you’ll hear Andrew’s voice too. He’s got lots of experience and training in teaching languages, and he’s travelled a bunch too! He’s also got experience learning Korean, German, and now French; the perfect recipe for a great language teacher. In this episode, Maura interviews Andrew so you can get to know what he’s all about, and he’ll be back as a co-host in the future! Maura: What was it like growing up in Kelowna? I know I'm from Ontario, which doesn't have mountains and is a little bit more flat, and I'm always jealous of people who are from the West Coast and have beautiful natural scenes around them. Andrew: Yeah, absolutely. Well, the nice thing about Kelowna is the four seasons, I think. We have summer, a beautiful long summer, and the winter. It's fairly grey in the winter but it's not too cold, which is nice. And of course there's skiing, lots of mountains. And I'm a big snowboarder, so, yeah, it was great for that. Maura: Yeah. That's something that I think a lot of people maybe don't know; that there are parts of Canada where the winter isn't that bad. Andrew: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the coldest it would get in Kelowna during the winter is maybe minus 10. So it's not that bad in Kelowna. And then in the summer it's… Yeah, it's really warm. Maura: Yeah. Minus ten. It seems not bad at all, actually. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To join up To add something (or someone) to the mix I’m a big snowboarder Chill An island mentality To win someone over But here I am Your German To take something on To put something on the back burner To keep at something To play a role Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

We have some very, very exciting new at Culips: We’ve added a new co-host to our team! Now, along with Maura and Harp, you’ll hear Andrew’s voice too. He’s got lots of experience and training in teaching languages, and he’s travelled a bunch too! He’s also got experience learning Korean, German, and now French; theRead More

We’re really happy to know Emily, so that we could interview her and bring her stories to you! She’s done a lot of nursing work in other countries, including the United States and Chad. Because of this, she has many interesting stories to share. Listen to this episode to hear about her experiences and insights after living abroad for so much of her adult life. Does this story give you an itch to travel? Maura: I just realized that I’ve never even asked you to tell us which countries that you had gone to to do humanitarian work. Can you just tell us which countries you visited? Emily: The first one after doing the project in university, in Malawi, after that was I went to Uganda for 6 months. And that’s in East Africa. Following that, I worked in Haiti, in the Caribbean. And then in Chad, which is in north-central Africa. And then in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and then I went back to Chad again last year. Maura: Wow. I’m jealous a little bit, I have to say. I love travelling and visiting places, especially places so different from our own countries. It’s really an eye- opening experience.So, now, with all of this amazing travelling, how and why did you decide to stop doing it? Because, as I said at the beginning of this episode, now you are working and living in Montreal. So why did you decide to stop? Emily: Well, I don’t say I’ve stopped, I’m just unpacked for a while. Because I did enjoy the life and the challenges and the excitement, but after a while I was craving no longer living out of a suitcase for a little bit, being able to unpack and having my own space and being able to enjoy my friends and family here in Montreal. So I was also ready at that point of my career to do a little bit more of specialization in public health so that if I did continue with humanitarian work, I would have new skills and more to offer to the job. So that required staying in one place and working and re-specializing. So it’s almost been a year that I’ve been back here in Montreal. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To take off To come about To compare apples and oranges In a nutshell To pique someone’s interest To have something under your belt To get in the way of something On the water A croc The Caribbean Eye-opening To live out of a suitcase Quote unquote An itch The grass is always greener on the other side A home base Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

We’re really happy to know Emily, so that we could interview her and bring her stories to you! She’s done a lot of nursing work in other countries, including the United States and Chad. Because of this, she has many interesting stories to share. Listen to this episode to hear about her experiences and insightsRead More

Some people have a lot of money and some people have only a little bit. This episode focuses on expressions that people use when they are talking about trying not to spend money, often because they don’t have very much. There are people who pinch pennies all the time, and others who only tighten theirRead More