This week David and I sit down with Butler University professor Brooke Kandel-Cisco to discuss teaching English as a Second Language. We talk about the standards for teaching non-native students in the US and how to dig beneath the surface on the … [Read more...]

This week’s episode is a companion to the vocabulary builder video published on YouTube and the website. We discuss more complicated family relationships as well as lots of idioms that use family relationship words like ‘mother’. Do you know what the … [Read more...]

In Part 2 of the Vowels series, we discuss the remaining vowels in English:  EH [ɛ], UR [ɜ], OO [u], UH [ʊ], another UH [ʌ], and the Schwa [ə].  We discuss one of the main differences between British and American English (the [ɜ] sound), and Rachel's … [Read more...]

David and I discuss five of the 11 vowels of American English, and go over the various ways each sound can be spelled.  This leads to discussions of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and spelling bees (David won his school spelling bee!). … [Read more...]

David and I answer your questions from YouTube.  How is ACTUAL actually pronounced?  Is it okay to use American idioms and slang during the IELTS speaking test?  How do you pronounce 'goal' vs. 'go'?  And, a question even Americans want to know:  How … [Read more...]

David and I cover just some of the MANY idioms that are in use in daily English conversation -- some of those relating to food:  Icing on the cake, have your cake and eat it too, not my cup of tea, and more.  Learn what the idioms mean and the right … [Read more...]

In this episode, I interview stroke survivor Dave Valiulis.  There's a lot to learn about mastering an accent from someone who had to relearn a language as an adult.  Dave gives great tips for retraining the muscle memory and discusses important … [Read more...]

I answer your pressing questions on English pronunciation, how to understand people from all over the world, the Flap T, and more, with the help of my amazing sidekick (and husband!) David. ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Get a free copy of the transcript … [Read more...]

Author and English teacher Vicki Hollett gives grammar tips, talks about British vs. American English, moving to America as an adult, and how to get through a voice-recognition system as a non-native speaker. ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ Get a free copy of … [Read more...]

The letter T is not always what we think of as a T. In fact, MOST of the time it’s not. So then what is it? What are the rules for how to pronounce T? Today you’ll get rules and examples to help you figure out what Americans are really doing when it … [Read more...]

This week’s show answers questions from you, the students. Rachel and David will discuss the difference between COLLAR and COLOR (AH [ɑ] and UH [ʌ]), the word ‘liberty’, the Light and Dark L, and more. Oh, and we’ll both fail a tongue twister … [Read more...]

This episode is LIT!  American slang is used a lot by certain people in the US.  If you don't know the terms, it can be very hard to join in the conversation, even for native speakers.  In today's episode, David and I discuss when to use slang, as … [Read more...]