Culips Everyday English Podcast

If you walked onto a university campus and saw hundreds of rabbits, you might think you were dreaming, but this was the reality at the University of Victoria for more than 20 years! Still can’t believe it? Join Andrew and Morag in this episode as they talk all about the UVic bunnies and their mysteriousRead More

Understanding idiomatic expressions can be difficult, but Culips is here to help! In today’s Catch Word episode, Andrew and Morag explain two useful expressions to describe honest people: to be an open book and to be a straight shooter. Fun facts Did you know that physical book sales rose in 2016 for the first timeRead More

Are you ready for a good laugh? If so, then this episode is for you. Join Andrew and Suzanne for this fun-filled Chatterbox episode as they share some of their former and unfortunate nicknames! Fun facts A pet name, or a hypocorism, means a nickname of affection. It is an informal name that a personRead More

In today’s episode, Andrew interviews Henry, an English teacher who has developed a new English learning tool—Spoken. Join us to discover this exciting new way to learn and practise English for real-life professional and business settings. Expressions you’ll learn in this episode To plug into [something] To stick to [something] To get the most outRead More

Being able to talk naturally and idiomatically about money is a useful skill. In today’s Catch Word episode, we explain a couple useful terms for talking about small amounts of money: peanuts and chump change. Fun facts Did you know that peanuts aren’t actually nuts? Despite having the word “nut” in their name, a peanutRead More

Have you ever gotten on a bus, a train, or an airplane and someone else was sitting in your seat? In today’s episode, Andrew and Morag walk you through the vocabulary and phrases you need to handle this awkward situation in a polite and easy manner. Fun facts Did you know that assigned seating hasRead More

When you have a problem that needs solving, sometimes you have to toss a few ideas around in order to get the ball rolling and figure out how to solve it. In today’s Catch Word episode, Andrew and Morag explain two expressions that will help you talkabout generating and evaluating ideas: to spitball and toRead More

In English, sometimes yes can mean no and no can mean yes. In this episode, Andrew and Morag tackle an example of such a tricky situation. Come join them as they explain all about the useful, but potentially difficult construction of do you mind if [something]? Expressions you’ll learn in this episode Do you mindRead More

When you have a problem that needs solving, sometimes you have to toss a few ideas around in order to get the ball rolling and figure out how to solve it. In today’s Catch Word episode, Andrew and Morag explain two expressions that will help you talkabout generating and evaluating ideas: to spitball and toRead More

Do you sometimes put off working on your English skills? It’s normal to avoid difficult tasks, but don’t procrastinate any longer! Come join Andrew and Suzanne for this Simplified Speech episode about the troubles everyone faces when trying to get work done. Fun facts Procrastination affects some groups of people more than others. While mostRead More

For many people, New Year’s Day is a time for self-improvement, new beginnings, and resolutions. Come join Andrew, Suzanne, and Morag for this special episode, and learn all about their New Year’s resolutions! Fun facts The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions started around 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians. Every New Year, theyRead More

2016 is almost over, and 2017 is fast approaching. What are you going to remember most about 2016? In this special Chatterbox episode, all three of the Culips hosts discuss the most interesting and memorable personal and global events that happened this year. Come join Andrew, Suzanne, and Morag as they share their highlights ofRead More

2016 is almost over, and 2017 is fast approaching. What are you going to remember most about 2016? In this special Chatterbox episode, all three of the Culips hosts discuss the most interesting and memorable personal and global events that happened this year. Come join Andrew, Suzanne, and Morag as they share their highlights of 2016! Fun fact 2016’s calendar is exactly the same as 1994’s calendar, in terms of days, dates, and festivals! Expressions included in the learning materials * Big time * A highlight * A downer * To blow [someone] away * To steal [someone’s] thunder For a complete transcript, click:    Sample transcript Andrew:           Today we have a very special episode for everyone. Not only are all three Culips hosts here together at the same time, but it is our last episode of 2016! So, today we’re going to take a look back at the year. This episode will be a Chatterbox episode and, in a Chatterbox episode, we just chat. We pick a specific topic and discuss it. And today’s topic is 2016, a year in review. So, guys, 2016. Big year, right? Morag:              Oh yeah! Suzanne:        Yeah. It’s been a year of big ups and big downs, I would say. Morag:              I would definitely agree. It was a pretty big year for the news. Andrew:           Yeah, so without going into the details, some of the big news stories that stand out to me this year, first of all, is Brexit. Suzanne:        Ugh, Brexit. Andrew:           Brexit! Do you remember Brexit? And of course Brexit, for all our listeners out there, is the event where the UK decided to separate from the European Union. So this is a blended word: Britain, the UK, Britain and exit. Together: Brexit. So we had Brexit. We had the American election, that was a huge, huge news story. Suzanne:        And all of the things that led up to that election, too. There were a lot of news stories throughout that whole period, right? Even leading up to that. Andrew:           Big time. Morag:              It was a long 8 months of constant news, yes. We also had things like the Olympics. Suzanne:        Yes, that was fun. Andrew:           I love the Olympics. And this year was especially good, Canada won a couple of really nice track and field medals, so I was happy this year with the Olympic results. Suzanne:        Yeah, and also my favourite event is the gymnastics. Morag:              Me too! Suzanne:        And I got to really enjoy some of the US gymnastic girls. Simone Biles, she was pretty rock and roll, that was cool to watch. Andrew:           She’s really good, isn’t she? Suzanne:        Yeah, yeah, she was quite phenomenal, yeah. Morag:              It’s my favourite set of events as well, because I just don’t understand how you can do that with your body. It’s just kind of amazing, so. Suzanne:        Right? It defies gravity and rules of physics. Morag:              Yeah, how do you do that? Andrew:           All right, so looking back, evaluating 2016, is there a special moment or special thing that you’ll always remember? And maybe I’ll ask this question to Suzanne first. What do you think, Suzanne? Suzanne:        Yeah, I … I think that for me, a really big event that happened that I will always remember is where the Cubs won the World Series this year, this past early November. And they hadn’t won the World Series in 108 years! So this was a really big deal, that they finally broke the baseball curse and won the World Series.

Shopping can be a lot of fun, especially when you’re on vacation. However, sometimes you make a purchase that doesn’t work out. Getting a refund can be a tricky process, especially in your second language. In today’s episode, Andrew and Morag explain all the essential expressions and phrases you need to successfully return an itemRead More

Everyone has secrets. When someone tells you a secret, are you good at keeping it to yourself? In this episode, Andrew and Morag explain in detail two expressions related to keeping information to yourself: in the vault and to hold your tongue. If you’re a member, you can also go over this episode with aRead More