American English Podcast

In today’s lesson you’re going to hear the story of the creator of Jingle Bells, his questionable character and we’ll  go through the lyrics of the song so if you want to sing it in English, you can. This is Part 2. In Part 1, we spoke about  the common English expression Bells and Whistles.*****In December of 1965, a spacecraft called Gemini 6 was flying in outer space, looking back down at earth. The crew members on board were on call with Mission Control when they announced the following alarming message: “We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, up in a polar orbit. He’s in a very low trajectory traveling from north to south and has a very high climbing ratio. It looks like it might even be a … Very low….” After a few more details, sleigh bells started to jingle and the familiar tune Jingle Bells  passed from Gemini 6 to Mission Control. With a harmonica and sleigh bells, Wally Shirra (Walter M. Shirra Jr.) and Tom Stafford, played the first live song from space: Jingle Bells. You heard me. The popular Christmas song, Jingle Bells was the first song ever played live from space.And yes, the astronauts were playing a joke on Mission Control;  they were in fact pretending to see Santa. *****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150. Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The holiday season is here and I bet some of you are skimming the internet for new gadgets. Do you like gadgets with a bunch of bells and whistles (fancy features) or do you prefer simplicity? In this episode, you'll learn how to use the common expression bells and whistles, you'll hear a joke and you'll practice your pronunciation! This is Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we'll talk about the popular Christmas song Jingle Bells.*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150 Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know Starbucks, right? The coffee company? Born in Seattle, Washington and brewed around the world? I bet you do; they have over 33 thousand stores in over 80 countries. In today's episode, we're going to talk about those guys, the beans and more! Why is it called Starbucks? Who's that woman on their cups?There are a lot of Starbucks haters and a lot of lovers out there, but all of you will find this episode fascinating because 1. it’s an absurdly successful business, how did they do it?! 2. it’s about coffee (who doesn’t love coffee!?) and 3. you’ll learn a bucketload of new vocabulary as we go. Thanks again to my amazing supporters who have contributed to this podcast either by purchasing Premium Contentor buying me coffee! Thank you to Paulo and the few other anonymous contributors from this month :) SO exciting! *****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150 Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The expression To Blow Off Steam is a common one in the United States. In today's episode, you'll learn how to use it in everyday contexts, you'll hear a joke and also practice your pronunciation! :) Thanks again to my amazing supporters who have contributed to this podcast either by purchasing Premium Contentor buying me coffee!Thank you to Paulo, Picante, Stefan, Ortiz and the other anonymous contributors from this month. SO exciting! *****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150 Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is PART 2 of episode 133. In today’s lesson, Liz and I will be going through 15 common similes that you’ll hear in everyday conversation. Some are literal, so they’ll sound normal, others are quite random so you may want to write these down in your notebook. If you would the full list of words, with examples and a quiz to make sure you’ve understood them, be sure to sign up to Premium Content at americanenglishpodcast.com. See link below. A simile, according to Oxford Languages is “a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.” A similes comparison that the words like or as to compare things. For example, you may hear someone say that you look like a deer in the headlights if you look confused. This is a common simile and it’s a vivid visual, it evokes the image of a deer standing in front of the headlights of a car. While in a coffee shop in Italy, I had no idea how to order a coffee, I just looked at the barista like a deer in the headlights. In addition to the word like, you’ll recognize a simile in speech when you hear a comparison made with as, as used twice. In today’s audio, for example, you’ll hear Liz say she feels as old as dirt. Dirt is the brown stuff you use in your garden, you dig a hole in dirt to plant seeds. When something is described as being as old as dirt it means it is very old. Liz feels as old as dirt.*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.  Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today’s lesson, Liz and I will be going through 15 common similes that you’ll hear in everyday conversation. Some are literal, so they’ll sound normal, others are quite random so you may want to write these down in your notebook. If you would the full list of words, with examples and a quiz to make sure you’ve understood them, be sure to sign up to Premium Content at americanenglishpodcast.com. A simile, according to Oxford Languages is “a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.” A similes comparison that the words like or as to compare things.For example, you may hear someone say that you look like a deer in the headlights if you look confused. This is a common simile and it’s a vivid visual, it evokes the image of a deer standing in front of the headlights of a car. While in a coffee shop in Italy, I had no idea how to order a coffee, I just looked at the barista like a deer in the headlights. In addition to the word like, you’ll recognize a simile in speech when you hear a comparison made with as, as used twice. In today’s audio, for example, you’ll hear Liz say she feels as old as dirt. Dirt is the brown stuff you use in your garden, you dig a hole in dirt to plant seeds. When something is described as being as old as dirt it means it is very old. Liz feels as old as dirt.*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.  Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's episode, Lindsay, host of the All Ears English Podcast, will take us on a journey to Colorado, one of the most stunning mountainous states in the western United States.On our 3-day trip to Colorado, via audio, we'll not only get a taste of what it's like to be a tourist there, but hear from a local's standpoint what culture, beauty and adventures awaits us.Be sure to check out the episode webpage for links to the places we talked about in this episode! :)*****Buy Me a Coffee*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.  Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We live in a day and age that is driven by science and technology, yet people are still superstitious. According to a study I read by YouGov, 9% of Americans claim to be superstitious, while another 35% admit to not being very superstitious, but somewhat. That makes over 40% of individuals in the United States somewhat superstitious.So what does it mean to be superstitious? According to Cambridge Dictionary, it is to have beliefs that are not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but are connected with old ideas about magic. Many times, superstitious people believe in irrational, unproven signs of good and bad luck.In today’s episode, we’re going to go through 13 common superstitions in the United States and their origins. By the end of this audio lesson, you’ll walk away with more knowledge about American culture and some new vocabulary and phrases. I’ll teach those as we go along.Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck! *****Buy Me a Coffee*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.   Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1-3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.  Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  *****Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Sunday Toasted" is a song that was recently released by a new artist named Zinn, and it's jam-packed with American slang and vocabulary which we'll go through in this episode. This song is also full of cultural references about working and partying :). All in all, I can't think of a more fitting song to be the first "music" episode on this podcast. By the end, you'll have a beautiful picture in your mind of a typical summer's day in the South and understand why lake culture is so big there! "You just don't know what you're missing!" This song was written by Zinn, my husband (Lucas) and Stefan."Sunday Toasted" - by ZinnClocked out, now I’m en routeIt’s about summertimeBeen waitin' all damn week There’s one thing on my mindYeah I'm thinking about tan lines And moonshine, it goes down easilyNight rides, in the moonlightA cozy on my kneeCold beer in the YetiBeckies on deckIn the dirty waterWe'll be speedingFalling off jetsNo sir, no blue collarOut of touch, ain't no serviceSoak it up Sunday ToastedLake house, party down SouthYou just don't know what you're missingChorus*Pull out from the dock, three deep, three boats heading out your wayLight it up, let the speakers bleedGot the girls choosing what to playYeah we bumpin' Nelly, Aldean, Country, R & BWaiting all week, to kick back and release Chorus*Meet me on the table, cuz I’m heating upWe can run it back, wanna test your luckShoot behind the back it’s a double cupOne more shot I’m on fireRerack that I’m a gentlemanWho’s going next you can send them inBetter get ready cuz I’m running it Let’s get f***Listen to the song on SpotifyFor those of you who have been following our story in Los Angeles, you may know that my husband Lucas is a Brazilian songwriter and music producer trying to get a song on the radio in English in the U.S..  A few of you have asked to listen to his songs in the past and I'm happy to announce that this is his first release in English - many more are coming out this year (from artists in Japan, Spain and Britain).*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1-3  (including transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.  Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Monster Study (aka Tudor Study) is an unethical psychology experiment that was conducted in 1939 on 22 orphans in Davenport, Iowa.  The goal was to a test the theory that by deeply worrying about starting to stutter, one may develop the speech disorder. Mary Tudor, a graduate student, attempted to induce stuttering - to create the behavior - in fluent speakers with the assistance of her advisor Wendell Johnson.The study was dubbed "The Monster Study" for the cruelty and misconduct of it. Learn more about the creators, the experiment and what can be deduced from its results. This study was kept OFF THE RECORD for many years; now the official documentation can be found online for anyone to view.*****I'm not a speech pathologist, but I do know one thing. Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you are not worth being heard. What you say has value, and it doesn't matter how fast you speak or how perfectly you speak, what you say matters. Try to be patient with others as well.*****Premium ContentThis episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation. Follow along with the Season 3 audio (episodes 101-150) as episodes are released. Season 3..Other Links! Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1-3  (including transcripts + mp3s) Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.  Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words  Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices