English Across The Pond

Hi there, got a sweet tooth today? We hope this episode doesn’t make your mouth water too much as we talk about all things sweet! What are desserts and sweets (and are there differences in American and British English)? Do we enjoy eating candies, chocolates, sweets and cakes? What’s our least favorite dessert? You’ll find all of this out + a lot of helpful vocabulary in this week’s newest conversation.

Do you work consistently for long term goals? When you get knocked down do you get back up again? If so then you can proudly describe yourself as being … gritty! Grit is a very popular topic of conversation nowadays and you can find out all about it by listening to this podcast from your 2 English teacher podcast hosts. Find out whether Jennifer and Dan consider themselves to be gritty and listen to their advice about how you can get a little bit more grit in your life. Enjoy!

Hello there, wherever you are in the world! Today’s episode might divide us a little, because we’re talking about weather! Depending on where you are in the world, you may celebrate the end of the year holidays in the SUMMER (warm) weather or the WINTER (cold) weather. Because we both celebrate Christmas and New Year’s in the winter, we thought it would be fun to imagine a HOT holiday season. Enjoy!

What are you afraid of? Spiders? Flying? Heights? The dark? As well as talking about these ‘classic’ fears, we’re also chatting about fears associated with learning English. Many students are afraid of making a mistake, speaking English in public or chatting with a native speaker. Are you one of them?! If so, then listen to our conversation to find out how you can become more confident about your ability and so, slowly but surely, feel less afraid. The language focus looks at the differences between the keywords; afraid, scared, frightened, nervous, anxious, etc. Enjoy!

Hi, Would you like to come to our potluck? If you live in an English speaking country or plan to visit one day, there is a great chance you may be invited to a potluck! So what exactly IS a potluck and how should you “prepare” to go to one? Join us in another fun and natural conversation and let us tell you! In this “Living in English” episode, we’ll help you understand what a potluck is, where you might have one, and some helpful expressions and information to help you get through it. We’ll boost your vocabulary, your confidence, and best of all - your fluency!

Soft skills? This week we are chatting about the skills that people have apart from their qualifications and work experience. These include the  ability to communicate effectively, to work well in a team, to be decisive, to be able to solve problems, etc. Join your 2 English teacher hosts, Jennifer from the US and Dan from England as they chat about soft skills and discuss ways in which you can improve them. After the conversation, the language focus is all about the use of personality adjectives. Enjoy!

Hello! We “expect” you to love today’s episode :) What are expectations and how do you talk about meeting them… or not meeting them? Are you the type of person that has high or low expectations for yourself and others? Are expectations good to have? Whether they’re high or low, or we like them or not - we all have some sort of expectations in our lives. Dan and Jennifer dive into this topic head first in this week’s episode and you’re invited to join the conversation and improve your English!

Are you a confident person? Do you believe that you can or worry that you can’t? Join your 2 native speaker English teacher hosts, Dan from the UK and Jennifer from America, as they discuss their feelings about confidence. Improve your English skills as you discover if they consider themselves confident people and how they believe you can improve your self-confidence. The language focus is all about the modal verb can. We believe in you! You can do it!

BOO! Did we scare you? It's a spooky time of the year, so it's OK to be on the edge of your seat. In fact, we often sit on the edge of our seats, covering our eyes in anxious suspense as we watch... HORROR movies! Join us this week in a Halloween inspired conversation about popular movies at this time of the year. Are you into gory, slasher films? Perhaps you're more of the paranormal type? Find out about the different types of films and what we think about them, too! Stay tuned to the end of the conversation where we give recommendation of some of the classics. *NOTE: this episode may contain "scary" content or words/information that may not be appropriate for children.

Dan Methven & Jennifer Nascimentio

Close your eyes and imagine lying in a beautiful forest, under a clear, dark sky and gazing at the hundreds and hundreds of glowing stars. Then you see a flashing light fly across the sky and you realize it's a shooting star! What wish do you make? :) If you're wishing for better English, we can help you out with that because it's time for another new English podcast (yay!) Join us as we talk about stargazing as a common activity, especially in the fall months as nights get longer and camping by a warm fire seems perfect. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode all about something people do a lot in English speaking countries - apologising. Join your 2 English teacher hosts, Jennifer and Dan, as they chat about their experiences with this delicate topic. Their natural conversation is fun, great for improving your listening skills and packed full of all the vocabulary and advice you need help you to say sorry with confidence. After the conversation, the language focus is all about how to write a formal letter of apology. Enjoy!

Hi! I'll take an almond milk latte for me and a cold brew with a splash of simple syrup for my husband, thanks! Can you guess where you might hear or use this phrase in an English speaking country? If you guessed a coffee shop, then you are correct! Join us this week in another 'Living in English' episode as we help you experience a cafe with more ease and confidence. You'll not only hear about Jen and Dan's usual coffee orders, but you'll learn how to order your own cup of joe, too. Enjoy!

Nothing beats a day at the beach - sunny skies, white sand and the sound of the ocean waves - aaahhhhhh! :)  This week your 2 podcast hosts, Dan from England and Jennifer from the US, are chatting about the fun times they have spent at the beach so sit back and relax as you improve your language skills by listening to this natural conversation from 2 English teachers.  Find out about the things they like to do when spending a day at the seaside and after the chat the language focus is all about the definite article ‘the’ and when to use it with places. Enjoy!    

Happy Birthday to ... Jennifer! It's another birthday celebration here at English Across the Pond and this year, in this week's episode, we'll talk all about birthday traditions from childhood into adult life!  Learn more about how Jennifer and Dan have celebrated birthdays over the years and what common ages are celebrated in their countries. Can you find some differences in American and British English? Enjoy!  

Whether you eat your meals with chopsticks, a spoon and fork or simply your bare hands, table manners are something that affect us all. Join 2 English language teachers, Jennifer from the US & Dan from the UK, as they have a natural conversation about their experiences regarding table manners as well as some advice for you, dear listener, about what to expect when eating in an English speaking country. Find out some of the things you should do as well as things to avoid. The language focus this week is all about the modal verbs must, should and have to. Bon Appetit!  

Do you do what you do with intention? Have you ever thought about why you do the things you do? What is the meaning of life to you? Although these are pretty deep questions, we talk all about our meanings for life in this week's episode! Our episode will go into a common confusion between TO and FOR in our language focus, and members, you’ll be able to identify the meaning in your own life by the end of this week AND talk/write about it in English. Master the way to explain why you do what you do using relevant vocabulary and the prepositions “to” and “for” accurately. Ready to dive into life's greatest question?

We’re sure you have at least one of them and that you use it most days - yes, this week we’re talking all about ... bags. And! It turns out that one half of the team, Jennifer, knows a thing or two about the topic and so Dan, the other half, learns a lot :) We’re sure you’ll learn a lot too - not just about bags but also English vocabulary and everyday expressions. The language focus is all about adjective order and why we say ‘a beautiful, big, leather bag’ and NOT ‘a leather, beautiful, big bag’. Enjoy!

As August comes to an end, many families are getting their kids ready to go back to school! Are you one of these families? This week, Jennifer and Dan talk a bit about school traditions and even mention some US and UK differences. We used a lot of verb + preposition + gerund combinations in our natural conversation, and this is why we wanted to highlight this grammar point in our language focus. As members, your goal this week is to better understand this grammar point and build your speaking and writing confidence by completing the tasks using “back to school” related vocabulary.  You also get 5 extra verb + preposition combinations to review. :)

Welcome to English Across The Pond. This is a weekly podcast made with much love and care just for you, an English language learner. It's brought to you by your 2 English language teacher hosts, Jennifer (from there US) and Dan (from the UK).  Batman? Superman? Wonder Woman? This week we’re talking all about superheroes. And while we do chat about comic and movie superiors a bit, most of the conversation is focused around heroes from real life. Who's your hero? The language focus is all about a subject that can even confuse native speakers - the plurals of nouns that end in the letter o. Enjoy the episode!