Culips Everyday English Podcast show

Culips Everyday English Podcast

Summary: Learning English is tough stuff, but we're here to help every step of the way. This podcast is for English language learners who want to improve their lives by becoming fluent in English. Our high-quality lessons are free, fun and taught by our expert hosts. Listening to Culips is like sitting in on an interesting chat between good friends. Your fluency, listening skills, vocabulary, and pronunciation will improve naturally as you get to know our hosts and learn about interesting topics and trends in Canada and around the world. Get awesome at English, with Culips!

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 Media, advertising, and celebrity gossip | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 24:53

Nowadays, people are constantly in contact with media, and advertising is everywhere! This inspired us to make a Culips episode talking all about it. Do you still read the newspaper? Do commercials bother you as much as they bother Maura and Harp? Celebrity gossip is something that has become quite mainstream in Canada and the US. Are you hoping for your own 15 minutes of fame? Check out this episode, and listen to the newest form of radio—the podcast! Maura: Sometimes we have news sources on the Internet that are not available in hard copy, that you can’t get a hard newspaper version of. You can only read it on a website. Harp: Yeah. A popular one that I’m thinking of is The Huffington Post. Maura: Right. This one was created online, it never existed before, and you can’t buy a copy of it at a convenience store. So if you wanna read from The Huffington Post, you have to go online. Harp: It’s funny though, because it has a very traditional-sounding name, The Huffington Post. When I think of something that has post in it, I think of an actual newspaper, but it’s only ever been online. Maura: That’s a really good point. So maybe it’s trying to bridge the gap between a traditional newspaper and a new source of news online. Harp: Yeah. I think it is. Maura: Now there’s one more kind of media that I thought to mention, and this one is really fading and not popular like it used to be. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Mainstream To cover (a news story) A hard copy To bridge the gap To die out An advertisement/a commercial Catchy Way back when To hound someone Spin Public relations 15 minutes of fame There’s no such thing as bad publicity A medium and media Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast

 Chatterbox #97 – Interviewing Erin | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 19:32

Maura has two sisters. In this episode, you get to meet one of them! Erin recently visited Maura in Montreal, so Maura took the opportunity to interview her about her travels. Erin has visited many countries and lived abroad, and Maura wanted to question her to find out about her favourites. What’s Erin’s favourite countryRead More

 Interviewing Erin | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 19:32

Maura has two sisters. In this episode, you get to meet one of them! Erin recently visited Maura in Montreal, so Maura took the opportunity to interview her about her travels. Erin has visited many countries and lived abroad, and Maura wanted to question her to find out about her favourites. What’s Erin’s favourite country for food? Which country had the friendliest people? Where were the best beaches? Erin has also been learning French, so Maura asks her about that challenge, too. Listen in to travel around the world with them. Maura: So I started off by saying how much you've travelled. Now I want to ask you a tough question. Can you name every country that you've visited? Erin: Let's see. I think I can. Well I've lived in Canada. I've been to the United States. I've visited Belize, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Grenada, Antigua, Ireland, Uganda, Tanzania, Fiji, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Did I say Thailand? Maura: I don't know. Erin: Oh, I just remembered another country. I've been to Costa Rica. Maura: That's a lot. I can see that you kind of went around the world and it was a map in your head. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Or we’d be here all day To second something A warm person Friendliest To come up to someone A key word/phrase To put someone at ease Whatsoever To play it Via To fly standby To make a fool of yourself To be dying to do something Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

 Chatterbox #96 – The Valentine’s Day special | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:41

Valentine’s Day happens every year on February the 14th. And love is in the air! Or is it? In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about Valentine’s Day and all the traditions and debates that go with it. Some people love Valentine’s Day and others dread it. Some people believe in love at first sightRead More

 The Valentine’s Day special | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:41

Valentine’s Day happens every year on February the 14th. And love is in the air! Or is it? In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about Valentine’s Day and all the traditions and debates that go with it. Some people love Valentine’s Day and others dread it. Some people believe in love at first sight and others are more practical. Are you seeing someone exclusively or are you playing the field? No matter how you feel about the day of love, you’ll enjoy listening to this episode! Maura: Often, the world of dating is referred to as the game because some people treat it like a game. How many people can they date, or if they can find the right person, or playing hard to get, or chasing someone. There is a lot of strategy involved when you’re dating someone. Harp: Yeah. That makes me think of the expression hate the game not the player. Maura: Right. It’s not the player’s fault that they are lying to people and being dishonest; it is the game of dating that makes them that way. I don’t know if I believe it. Harp: Me neither. Maura: But anyways, you can see the connection between the game and the player. The person who is the player is just playing the game of dating. Or so they believe. Harp: Yeah. And like I said, it’s a really negative term. It’s not something you want to be called. Maura: This term is usually used to talk about guys, maybe sometimes I’ve heard it refer to females, but most of the time when you’re talking about a player, you’re talking about a male. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To drop someone a line Meant to be To not give a hoot Hallmark Old and crotchety To play the field A player A man-eater A serial monogamist Diehard The stars align To buy something Love at first sight A whole whack of something Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

 Catch Word #130 – Sleep on it! | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:42

Making decisions can be hard, especially making big, important decisions. In most cases, it’s best to take some time to think about a big decision. This episode focuses on expressions that talk about taking time to think about something. It could be anything from whether to buy a new car to how to solve aRead More

 Sleep on it! | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:42

Making decisions can be hard, especially making big, important decisions. In most cases, it’s best to take some time to think about a big decision. This episode focuses on expressions that talk about taking time to think about something. It could be anything from whether to buy a new car to how to solve a problem at work. Whatever you do, make sure you take the time to mull it over a little bit. But there’s no need to think over whether you want to listen to this episode. That’s easy—do it! Harp: Oftentimes it's really good to sleep on it, to take that extra time to calm down, to think rationally, to think about the decision you want to make. Maura: Right. Especially if it's a big decision, you don't want to be too hasty. You want to take the time to think about it. And sometimes if you've had some sleep, you wake up the next morning and you do have a different perspective. The morning after something happens, you can have a different perspective on a situation. Harp: Yeah. Giving yourself some time and some room to think about it. Maura: You know, some people also believe that while you're sleeping, your mind is still working and you're still thinking about it. You're working it out in your dreams or your subconscious is figuring it out. And then in the morning, you feel better about what you're going to do. Harp: Yeah. I think that's true. Maura: I like to sleep on it if I have a big thing to worry about. Harp: Me too. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To sleep on it So, you know… (at the end of a sentence) To go through with something To mull something over To be a matter of time To learn the ropes To mess up To think it over A cat person I’m telling you The way to go Off and on To conk out Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

 Chatterbox #95 – Interviewing Pamela | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:28

Recently our friend Pam visited us at Culips, so we took the opportunity to interview her. Pam grew up mostly in Montreal, with a short stay in Saudi Arabia as a child. She speaks English, French, and German, and is currently doing her master’s degree. In this interview, Maura asks Pam about all these experiencesRead More

 Interviewing Pamela | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:28

Recently our friend Pam visited us at Culips, so we took the opportunity to interview her. Pam grew up mostly in Montreal, with a short stay in Saudi Arabia as a child. She speaks English, French, and German, and is currently doing her master’s degree. In this interview, Maura asks Pam about all these experiences and more! Listen in if you’re interested in learning languages and travelling. We know you are! Maura: And what do you remember from that time? I know it was a long time ago now, but what are some of the things that you remember as being different or foreign to you, even at a really young age? Can you remember anything? Pam: Well, to think back, some memories that I have from Saudi Arabia, keeping in mind that they are childhood memories… I was there from six to ten, so maybe the things I am still fond of in my mind now would probably be different if I went back. But one of the things I remember being very different was the flora—the trees and plants—because it's a desert region, so there certainly isn't the same kind of vegetation that we have here in Canada. But one thing that was very prevalent around the compound that we were living in was date trees, which are very, very tall trees, very abundant trees, where you could just go every day and pick dates up off the ground. Maura: Wow! That does sound really cool. I don't think I have ever seen a date tree. They musta been really good directly from the tree. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: My dear friend A master’s (degree) Winter biking A compound Flora Squash That does sound really cool Musta To leave an impression on someone A tease Concordia University and the Simone de Beauvoir Institute Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

 Catch Word #129 – She knows it like the back of her hand | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:19

Sometimes we know just a little bit about something, and other times we know something so well that we have it memorized. This episode is all about expressions we can use to talk about having a very deep knowledge of something. We also have a popular expression for when you’ve got something completely memorized. YouRead More

 She knows it like the back of her hand | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:19

Sometimes we know just a little bit about something, and other times we know something so well that we have it memorized. This episode is all about expressions we can use to talk about having a very deep knowledge of something. We also have a popular expression for when you’ve got something completely memorized. You may have to listen to this episode a few times before you know these expressions like the back of your hand! Harp: The first expression is to know it like the back of your hand. Maura: Right. To know something, or to know it, like the back of your hand. Now, have a look down at the back of your hand right now. Looks familiar? I’m sure that you know if very well. You probably see it every day. This expression is used to talk about something that you know very well, just as well as you know the back of your hand. Harp: Yeah. When you know something very well, you can say that you know it like the back of your hand. Maura: You know, Harp, I’m kind of a freckly person, and I even have little freckles on my hand. And you'd think that I wouldn't really be able to notice if I got a new one, but I can. A few times in my life, I’ve looked down and I think, “Oh, I've never seen that little brown freckle before. I guess I got a new one!” Harp: That's interesting! Maura: So, anyways, all that to say I know the back of my hands very well. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To know something like the back of your hand A freckle All that to say To get spit out A sense of direction Stage fright Break a leg To know something inside out A little birdie told me Excel To know something by heart Hardcore The tibia Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo allisons daily drama

 Chatterbox #94 -Party time | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 22:57

Parties can be thrown at any time of the year in North America, but they are especially common over the holidays. At this time of the year, there are all kinds of gatherings with family, friends, and colleagues. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the different kinds of parties you might be invitedRead More

 Party time | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 22:57

Parties can be thrown at any time of the year in North America, but they are especially common over the holidays. At this time of the year, there are all kinds of gatherings with family, friends, and colleagues. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the different kinds of parties you might be invited to. Harp also talks about planning parties and about all the details you may need to consider. The girls also talk about a bunch of expressions with the word party in them. People love to party, so there are many expression about it! Maura: My family always gets together around Christmas and most of my family gets together for other holidays too, like Thanksgiving and Easter. Harp: Yeah. Same thing for my family We have a lot of parties during the holidays. Maura: Oh, really. Usually, my mom and my dad's families, they just have one big party with everyone who’s invited. Harp: Yeah. I see a lot of people doing that. Maura: Yeah. It makes sense because everyone is together. Everyone gets to see each other at the same time. Harp: The holiday season, it's a nice time. It's a nice excuse to see each other when you're so busy the rest of the year with your own lives and work and all of that. Maura: A lot of the time, I actually don't see much of my extended family except for the holidays. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: A holiday party Extended family A potluck A Secret Santa A housewarming party Finger food To take the pressure off Decorations and décor A tasting To throw a party To crash a party To be the life of the party To break the ice To party hard A party pooper Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo Cherry Pop Studio

 Chatterbox #93 – An interview with Maura | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 19:00

You’ve already heard our interview with Harp, now here’s the interview with Maura! How much do you know about Maura already? Do you know which countries she visited when she travelled around Europe? Do you know in which country she taught English? Set the record straight and check out this episode to get to knowRead More

 An interview with Maura | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 19:00

You’ve already heard our interview with Harp, now here’s the interview with Maura! How much do you know about Maura already? Do you know which countries she visited when she travelled around Europe? Do you know in which country she taught English? Set the record straight and check out this episode to get to know more about your other Culips host. Harp: After this time in Europe, did you speak French well? Maura: The saddest part is, Harp, when I was looking for places to WWOOF, that was my objective. I wanted to go and have a French immersion. But the only place that accepted me was a place, a farm, where the guy was from England. Harp: Oh no! Maura: Yeah. So I was in France but I was staying with English people, speaking English all the time. So I didn't learn much French at all, unfortunately. Harp: But you're very fluent in French now. Did you learn that mainly in Montreal? Maura: Yup. After I came back from my travels in Europe, I lived in Quebec City, which is even more French than Montreal, and I started learning French there. I took a class at the university there and when I came to Montreal, I took more classes and I did language exchanges, which I have to say helped me so much with my French. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Oktoberfest A Mennonite A stint To end up somewhere WWOOF A safe bet To not be far off To get into something To push someone To look into something To kill two birds with one stone To use one’s time wisely To stick (or put) your foot in your mouth Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Photo ©Culips

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