Culips Everyday English Podcast

Some people are able to control others. This could happen because one person really likes another person, because they want to make a good impression, or because they have been manipulated by the other person. When one person is under another person’s control, sometimes it doesn’t take much for the controlled person to do justRead More

Some people are able to control others. This could happen because one person really likes another person, because they want to make a good impression, or because they have been manipulated by the other person. When one person is under another person’s control, sometimes it doesn’t take much for the controlled person to do just what the controlling person wants them to. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about these controlling relationships. Harp: When you have someone wrapped around your finger, it means you have control over them. Maura: Right. You can manipulate the person and get them to do things that you want them to do or get them to act in a certain way. Harp: Or get them to buy you what you want. Maura: Oftentimes, when one person has someone wrapped around their finger, they have a relationship and the person who is being in controlled really likes the person who’s controlling them. Harp: Yeah, exactly. It’s one of the reasons why they do things for the person, because they like them. Maura: It makes sense. If you like a person, you wanna help them out, but sometimes if you notice that someone is helping you a lot, you could get them to do more and more things for you and so then you have someone wrapped around your finger. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: A hashtag To be trending To have someone wrapped around your finger To help out To take advantage of someone or something To mother someone To sweet talk someone To come in handy To have someone eating out of the palm of your hand To get something out of it To milk it To make up for something To have someone in your back pocket To play favourites Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©Silje Ekstrom

We were all kids once! But depending on where you live in the world, this can be quite a different experience. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the stuff that Canadian kids have to do, like chores, and the stuff that kids mostly want do, like the activities their parents sign them up for. They also talk about their own Canadian childhoods and reminisce about Saturday morning cartoons and playing hide-and-go-seek on their neighbourhood streets. Maura: There's also a kind of kid that we call latchkey kids. Harp: Yes. A latchkey kid is a kid who gets home earlier than his or her parents and they have to open the door themselves and usually make a snack for themselves and maybe start homework by themselves. Maura: So it's a kid who comes home to an empty house and they have to have their own key because no one is there to let them in. Harp: Yeah, exactly. So that's a latchkey kid. Maura: Were you a latchkey kid? Harp: No. When I was young, my grandparents lived with us, so they were always at home when we came home from school. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: You guys A chore To get on someone’s case To have it easy A silly goose A latchkey kid To not be your thing Brownies and Girl Guides Not a single kid To sign up for something Hide-and-go-seek I spy A distant memory Youth is wasted on the young The grass is always greener on the other side Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Forbes

We were all kids once! But depending on where you live in the world, this can be quite a different experience. In this episode, Harp and Maura talk about the stuff that Canadian kids have to do, like chores, and the stuff that kids mostly want do, like the activities their parents sign them upRead More

Sometimes people accidentally fall, trip, or break things. In fact, there are so many incidents like these that we’ve got a bunch of expressions to talk about them. In some cases, a person might just have a clumsy moment, but other people are clumsy all the time! In this episode, Harp and Maura give examplesRead More

Sometimes people accidentally fall, trip, or break things. In fact, there are so many incidents like these that we’ve got a bunch of expressions to talk about them. In some cases, a person might just have a clumsy moment, but other people are clumsy all the time! In this episode, Harp and Maura give examples of what clumsy people do and explain the expressions we can use to talk about them! Maura: Now, a person who is a klutz is a clumsy person, is the kind of person that we just described, who might often break things or walks into things or falls down. Harp: Exactly. When someone does something like this, you can call them a klutz, or when someone's doing it all the time, they're a klutz. Maura: Right. So you might be starting to think of someone that you know who is a klutz, because we all know people who are really clumsy. Harp: Yup. I'm thinking about someone at my work. He is always running into things and dropping things. I would never give him a nice glass. I'm sure he would break it. He's such a klutz Maura: Yeah. Sometimes there are just people who often have accidents and break things. Sometimes it's funny, but sometimes if they break something or hurt themselves, it's not so funny. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Clumsy A klutz On the other hand A pain in the butt A teacup/mug To be all thumbs Fine motor skills You know what they say To get the hang of something The two pronunciations of vase To have two left feet Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©Mugen

Here’s another episode based on a great episode idea from a Culips listener! Outside of work or school, hopefully you have some free time just for yourself. In this episode, Maura and Harp discuss hobbies, what hobbies are popular in Canada and the US, and their own hobbies, past and present. Does it really soundRead More

Here’s another episode based on a great episode idea from a Culips listener! Outside of work or school, hopefully you have some free time just for yourself. In this episode, Maura and Harp discuss hobbies, what hobbies are popular in Canada and the US, and their own hobbies, past and present. Does it really sound natural to ask someone directly, “What are your hobbies?” We’ll answer that question for you too! Harp: I have to be honest; I didn't actually ever make anything. I just knit long pieces that could maybe be a scarf, but I didn't know how to finish it, so I just threw in the towel and gave up knitting. Maura: Sometimes that happens, too. We start a hobby and then time passes and we realize that we're not interested, or maybe it's too difficult, like in your case, and you just want a change. You don't wanna do it anymore. Harp: Yeah, exactly. What about you? What were some hobbies you did when you were young? Maura: Well, when I was a kid, I took dance lessons. Harp: Oh, that's fun. What kind of dance? Maura: I pretty much took it all. I started in ballet, and I took tap dancing for a year or two, and the rest of the years I was doing jazz dancing. Harp: Oh, that's fun. Maura: It was pretty fun and I liked it, but when I become a teenager, I didn't really wanna do it anymore. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Free time, spare time, a pastime An artist Out there Knitting, scrapbooking, and cross-stitching The metro To go through a phase What do you do in your spare time? To stick with someone To take something up To suck at something To throw in the towel Ballet To have two left feet Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: ©iStock

Helen is an old friend to us at Culips, and we’ve finally recorded an interview with her for you. She’s British, but has been living in Canada for some time now, so in this episode, we talk about England and Canada, and get her opinion on both! You’ll find out how she ended up hereRead More

Helen is an old friend to us at Culips, and we’ve finally recorded an interview with her for you. She’s British, but has been living in Canada for some time now, so in this episode, we talk about England and Canada, and get her opinion on both! You’ll find out how she ended up here and why she’s never left. (And if you’d like to hear another type of English accent, this episode’s for you.) Maura: What is your current status? Are you a Canadian citizen yet, or what? Helen: I'm a permanent resident and I just applied for my citizenship. If I get it, it should be in the next couple of months and you have to sing the national anthem in French and pass a little test about the history of Canada, so that's going to be fun. Maura: Is it any easier, being a citizen of England or the Commonwealth, to become a Canadian citizen? Because I hear stories from other people, from other countries, who have to go through a really long process and fill out all this paperwork. Helen: I think, like anywhere else in the world, it depends where you're from. France and England definitely have an advantage: French for Quebec and England for Canada. I have some Mexican friends and Argentinian friends and things like that, who’ve had a hard time integrating so easily. But I think yeah, we're pretty lucky in Europe that we can move here pretty easily. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To keep it up No matter Next door A good 2 weeks The Commonwealth Paperwork A path All year round A boot A lorry A chemist Old-school The imperial system vs. the metric system, and stones You guys Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Culips©

You can’t always get what you want, but you should appreciate what is given to you. This episode is about accepting what people give you and not being critical, even if it is not exactly what you wanted. We have some very old expressions in English to remind people to be grateful, like never lookRead More

You can’t always get what you want, but you should appreciate what is given to you. This episode is about accepting what people give you and not being critical, even if it is not exactly what you wanted. We have some very old expressions in English to remind people to be grateful, like never look a gift horse in the mouth. But nowadays, with gift receipts, do you think this proverbs still holds true? Maura: So at that time, when a person looked their gift horse in the mouth, they were checking it to see if it was a good gift. And that's not really a nice thing to do. You know, imagine you give someone a gift and they're just evaluating it to see if it's a very good gift. That's not really nice. Harp: Yeah. They're trying to see how expensive it is or if there's a price tag on it. Maura: Yeah. Nowadays, it would be like giving someone a shirt and that person would then try to check the name brand to see if it was really expensive or not. Harp: Yeah. It's just not very polite. You should appreciate the gift that you're given. Maura: I agree. So, let's give an example with this proverb, to never look a gift horse in the mouth. Harp: OK. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: Never look a gift horse in the mouth The other day Him or ‘im To be fed up A bonus A gift receipt A delicate balance When in doubt Beggars can’t be choosers To be picky That’s the thing To be set on something It’s better than nothing Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Thomas Solberg Andersen©

From time to time, we all need to take a break and relax. Sitting back and listening to a podcast might even be the way that some of you choose to relax. In this episode, Maura and Harp talk about taking it easy and just chillin. This could mean doing something as simple as veggingRead More

From time to time, we all need to take a break and relax. Sitting back and listening to a podcast might even be the way that some of you choose to relax. In this episode, Maura and Harp talk about taking it easy and just chillin. This could mean doing something as simple as vegging out after a long day at work, or taking a vacation for some serious R&R. Get comfortable, put your feet up, and listen to this one! Maura: Today we are going to talk about... Harp: Relaxing! Maura: Ah. Just saying the word makes me want to sit back in my chair and put my hands behind my head. Harp: Maura, snap out of it. We've got work to do here. Maura: So today we're gonna talk about relaxing and what people do in their free time, when they're not working. Harp: Yep. So we're gonna start with talking about some vocabulary that we use when we're talking about relaxing and when we talk about free time. Maura: And then we're going to also share with you what people do in Canada when they're relaxing, and specifically what Harp and I like to do in our free time. Harp: Exactly. Then we're gonna talk about the ultimate relaxation: when you go on a vacation. Expressions from this episode included in the Learning Materials: To sit back To snap out of it To chill To hang out To take it easy To put your feet up R&R To be a fan of something To veg out To be in the middle of something A spa To feel zoned out To spring up A staycation A nap To trickle down Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast, Image: Dreams Time

Everybody eats! That’s probably why we have so many expressions related to cooking and food. This episode is about filling our bellies with square meals and going back for seconds. Harp and Maura love to eat, but before you can eat, someone has to prepare the food! In this episode, the hosts share their ownRead More