Espresso English Podcast

Today I have a special guest - his name is Ben, and he's an expert in IELTS test preparation. He'll share some top strategies for each section of the IELTS exam, so if you're preparing for the IELTS test - or if you've taken it before but you want to increase your score - listen carefully to this episode and put the tips into practice.

Today I'm going to teach you three pairs of confusing words that have the prefix IN-. In many words, IN- means the opposite or "not": independent = NOT dependent incorrect = NOT correct However, there are some exceptions that might be confusing, and you'll learn three of them in this lesson: invaluable, infamous, and inflammable. I hope this lesson has helped clarify the meanings of these confusing words. The English language has a lot of words that seem similar, but are actually different - and many English learners make mistakes with them. That's why I wrote the e-book 600+ Confusing English Words Explained - to help you understand these words clearly, so you can use them confidently! What will you learn in this e-book? Click here to see the full list of confusing words in the book.

Someone asked me if there's a difference between finish and finish up. The answer is no - there's no difference in meaning. Finish up is just more informal. But is this the case for every verb / phrasal verb? No! In today's lesson you'll learn the small differences between show and show off, follow and follow up, and several more verb and phrasal verb pairs. There are certainly a lot of little details to remember when it comes to phrasal verbs. That's why it's so important to learn phrasal verbs in context - when you learn how phrasal verbs are used in real situations, it's much more effective than trying to memorize lists of definitions. You can learn this way inside my Phrasal Verbs in Conversation Course! Not only will you learn more than 500 phrasal verbs through the dialogues in the lessons, but you'll also put them into practice with quizzes and exercises.

I’ve heard a lot of students' speaking samples in my courses, and today I’d like to address a few of the pronunciation mistakes that I’ve been correcting. First of all, don’t feel bad if you make a pronunciation mistake! It’s really easy to do this in English, especially because we have so many similar sounds and so many words that are pronounced differently from the way they’re written. So if you mess up a word – don’t be embarrassed, it’s not the end of the world. I can usually understand what you were trying to say. Let's practice together so that you can improve your English pronunciation! When it comes to pronunciation, practice makes perfect. You need to repeat English words many times in order to learn to say them easily and naturally. It's also important to have someone correct any mistakes, so that you don't form bad pronunciation habits. You can get both practice and evaluation inside my courses - American English Pronunciation and Shadowing with Shayna. These courses have lots of exercises to

If you watch TV and movies in English, you'll probably see a lot of new words and expressions that might not come up in your regular English study. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what certain phrases mean, so students write to me and ask for clarification. In today’s lesson, I’ll explain ten phrases from TV shows and movies that students have asked me about recently. If you ever come across a phrase that you can’t figure out, feel free to e-mail me and ask me what it means, and I’ll do my best to explain it! Informal spoken English – like the kind you hear in movies and native speakers’ conversations – is full of expressions that English textbooks often don’t teach So how can you learn these expressions WITHOUT getting confused and lost? One way is to join my Everyday English Speaking Course - Level 2! This course teaches you informal phrases, idioms, and slang in the context of conversations. It's a great way to improve your comprehension and learn a lot of surprising new expressions. Speaking Level

Today's lesson will teach you 33 collocations and expressions about decisions. Collocations are combinations of words that native English speakers use naturally. Learning these word combinations makes it easier to put together your ideas in English, so that you can express yourself better. You'll also learn some informal expressions, like "a tough call," "in a quandary," and "the lesser of two evils." Click on the lesson to learn! One major difficulty for English learners is often knowing how to put words together. How can you know if you're using the right word or expression? Learning collocations helps give you the "building blocks" for better sentences in English. That's why I wrote the e-book 1000 Collocations in 10 Minutes a Day - to teach you which words go together naturally. Each of the 50 short lessons in the e-book is accompanied by a quiz to help you practice and review. You can learn a lot in just a few minutes every day!

Here's a free sample lesson from my NEW Current Events English Course! Today I'll teach you 20 words and expressions from a recent news article about social entrepreneurs who are changing the world. Original article: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/15/712653034/no-fake-drugs-more-jobs-for-youth-end-child-sexual-abuse-online-a-vision-for-203 After you watch the video, download the vocabulary exercise to review and practice what you learned. If you enjoyed this lesson and want to get 30 more lessons like this, you can join the Current Events English Course to get daily lessons starting May 1. You'll learn more than 500 words and expressions inside this course - and all the lessons are based on topics that are relevant today. Remember, the course starts May 1, and that is also the last day to join. I hope to see you inside!

Join the course: https://www.espressoenglish.net/current-events-english-course One common suggestion given to English learners is to read or watch the news in English. This is a good idea, because you can learn how to talk about current events and relevant topics. But there’s one BIG problem – If you’re reading or watching the news and there are words or expressions you don’t know, this can make it hard or even impossible to understand everything else. You might miss the main points and lose track of the story, all because of the vocabulary you’re lacking. That’s really frustrating. Wouldn’t it be great to have a teacher or friend who can help guide you through an article and explain any words / expressions that are new to you? Then you could expand your vocabulary and understand the news more confidently. I’m here to help you! In May I'm creating the Current Events English Course, 2019 edition. In this course, I’ll teach you English from real news articles on current topics. I’ll explain the new vocabu

I received a great question from a student: Is it possible to use ‘to’ followed by the ‘ing’ form? For example, “I'm looking forward to seeing you.” Normally we use to + the base form (ex. "I want to order pizza.") However, there are some specific words in English after which we use to + ING, and I'm going to tell you about them in today's lesson! English grammar can be quite difficult with all the rules and exceptions! You can learn, study, and practice inside my Advanced English Grammar Course. I'll explain the grammar clearly and help you put it into practice with quizzes. There's also an option to get corrections and feedback on your writing.

April 1 is an informal holiday known as April Fools' Day! People celebrate by playing jokes and trying to trick people in funny and harmless ways. You might be wondering about this word "fool" - how is it used in English? I'll teach you all about it in today's lesson. Don't be fooled by confusing English words! There are a lot of them, and they can be very tricky to understand and use correctly. You can get clear explanations and examples inside my e-book, 600+ Confusing English Words Explained. It will help you understand the differences between similar words like farther and further, interfere and intervene, sensible and sensitive, and many more words with which English learners often make mistakes.

Do you know what to say in English in case of an emergency? In the moment, you might panic and not be able to think of the words – so it’s good to learn and practice them beforehand. In today's lesson you'll learn how to talk about various medical emergencies, accidents, and other dangers. If you want to expand your vocabulary even more, join my Vocabulary Builder Courses to learn more than 1000 useful English words with pictures and examples. There's a discount when you buy Level 1 and Level 2 of the course together!

Today I want to teach you about a tricky little grammar mistake that I see a lot of students making when using the verbs see, watch, and hear. You'll also learn how the sentence changes when we add the word "that." This was just one small grammar point... but there's a lot more grammar to learn! If you're looking for a detailed course to help you master English grammar, check out my Advanced English Grammar Course. It has 45 lessons with quizzes to help you review and practice - as well as the option to get correction and feedback on your writing.

Do you have a hard time finding the right phrase to use in your business letters and e-mails? Today you'll learn 30 phrases for business correspondence. If you want to speak English more confidently at work, join my Business English Course! You'll learn phrases for everyday professional situations, as well as lots of vocabulary for marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, and more. There are even several lessons on idioms that are often used in the business world.

Are you wondering about the differences between clean, wash, clean up, and wash up? I'll teach you how to use them in today's lesson... along with a few slang meanings you might not know yet. The English language has a ton of words that appear to be similar, but are actually different in meaning and use. I wrote an e-book explaining the differences between lots of words that my students often confuse. After you read my 600+ Confusing English Words Explained E-Book, you'll have a clear understanding of how to use these words correctly!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of “phrase of the day” videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of “phrase of the day” videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of “phrase of the day” videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of “phrase of the day” videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases! 

Sometimes you might get discouraged when studying English. Becoming fluent takes a really long time and lots of effort and practice, so it's easy to lose your motivation.  Today I want to share some motivational quotes with you and show you how these sayings relate to your English learning. I hope this lesson will help you feel more optimistic about your English studies! My goal here at Espresso English is to help you build up your English skills, one lesson at a time! One of the best ways to learn from me is to join my Complete Program – it contains ALL my e-books and courses, a total of more than 400 lessons.  If you took 400 lessons at an English school or with a private teacher, it would cost thousands of dollars – but you can get my Complete Program for a discounted price. Click here for more information and registration.

We have a saying in English that "the devil is in the details" - this means that you need to be careful, because the small parts of a situation/task can cause major problems or difficulties. Sometimes this is the case for learning pronunciation - a tiny difference in a sound can change the word completely. In today's lesson, I'm going to help you practice 10 words that students often mispronounce, resulting in a totally different word. When it comes to pronunciation, the only way to improve is to practice a lot! Don't just read about pronunciation rules... you need to practice SAYING words and sentences repeatedly in order to develop good pronunciation habits. My courses on Pronunciation and Shadowing have great pronunciation practice exercises to help you avoid mistakes like the ones in this lesson. At the end of each course, you can send me a recording of your speaking, and I'll give you an evaluation of your pronunciation.