124 - 3 Must-Know Expressions for IELTS Speaking and Daily Life with Aubrey Carter

You've seen it, right? The long cereal aisles in a U.S. supermarket? Crammed from top to bottom with colorful boxes? I bet you have.

Cereal arouses a sense of nostalgia in a lot of the Americans that I know; it brings about memories of childhood, simpler times, family breakfasts. It's a wonderful topic of conversation that you can have with native speakers. Ask them: What was your favorite cereal when you were a child? You'll see their eyes light up. Then maybe you can share something that you learned in today's lesson!

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• My Favorite Recipe: Coming Soon! :) 

You're sitting on the couch and your significant other is too far from you. Want them to cuddle up next to you? Say: "Gimme some sugar!"

"Gimme some sugar" is a common American English expression used to express desire for physical affection, whether that be some cuddles, a hug, a kiss or even a fist pump! It's a playful idiom, and today, you'll learn its origin and hear a number of examples so that you can hear how native speakers would use it in various contexts.

The second part of this lesson will answer the questions: "How cereal became a popular breakfast food in the U.S." Stay tuned, the story is short, sweet and relevant!

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Last month, my family and I moved into a new home. In English, it's what we'd call a fixer upper; it's a home that needs updates, it needs renovation, it needs to be remodeled in various ways. We are in the process of fixing our house up, and today you'll hear a true story about the process. 

In this 5-minute English episode, you'll learn how to talk about home renovations and repairs in English. This is a topic-specific lesson, so it's jam-packed with vocabulary you will need if this topic arises in conversation.

If you sign up to premium content, or just the 5-minute English courses, you will receive an image sheet with pictures of all of the key vocabulary discussed, you'll see a video with those images and shadowing exercises to work on your pronunciation, as well as many exercises and quizzes to help you retain the words you hear. You also have an annotated transcript! Believe me, as a language learner myself, this is incredibly helpful for understanding a text.

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Mentioned in Episode 

• Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines (this book is fantastic if you want to give someone a gift!)

Moving across the United States is a significant event that brings with it a mix of excitement and challenges. Just last month, Lucas made the cross-country road trip from California to North Carolina, and today he's here to talk about the experience.

This is a casual and fun conversation with lots to take away, even if you're not relocating!  We talk about the change of scenery from the West to East Coast, the vast and diverse landscape of the U.S., and how the culture differs as you travel. Learn how to make the most of a cross-country roadtrip from the careful planning to the unique cuisine. Hopefully at some point you also get the chance to take a roadtrip! :)

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Every January, as the clock strikes midnight and the New Year unfolds, millions of people around the globe start a familiar ritual: they start their New Year’s Resolution. A resolution is a firm decision or commitment to oneself to achieve some sort of goal. Usually one is made with hope for self-improvement. 

In today’s lesson, we’ll talk about a few different studies and surveys about the top New Year’s resolutions in the United States! My hope is to uncover cultural insights - not only about our aspirations and priorities for 2024, but how we can be more successful at achieving our goals.

Because this is an English lesson, we’ll cover more than just culture. I’ll explain new vocabulary and phrases as we progress through this lesson, specifically words related to statistics in English.

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Mentioned in the Audio 

• "Stutz" (the documentary)
• CDC Study + Analysis by Lancet
• English Resources
• How to Track Your Progress: Downloadable Log to Monitor Your Language Progress

This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "to get the ball rolling" you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), you'll learn about New Year's Resolution Statistics for the United States! What are our priorities in 2024? How convinced are we that we'll succeed at keeping our resolutions?

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Today you’ll learn 10-Must Know Oxymorons to avoid confusion in conversation and the canvas for introducing these words will be a story about my Christmas Memories.

An oxymoron is a literary device that has two contradicting terms, such as "pretty ugly," or "awfully good."

This lesson will have two parts: First you will hear the story which contains all of the oxymorons in context. As a challenge, I want you to listen closely and find 10 of the 15 oxymorons mentioned.

At the end, I'll tell you all of the oxymorons and provide further explanation on how to use them!

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Earlier this year, I asked some friends and family members if they could write a short story about their favorite decade. A decade is a ten-year time frame. For example, 1970-1979 is a decade. 1980 -1989 is another decade. I asked some friends and family members if they could write a short story about their favorite decade.

My thought was that it would be interesting to step out of the 2020s and relive a decade in the life of someone else.

What would their world look like? Culturally? Politically? What were they doing? What is it that made that decade so memorable?

Today, my uncle Alex will paint his 1980s world for you in his own words. Get ready for college, fun on the beach, Silicon Valley in its infancy and a big earthquake. Oh! And of course a lot of decade-specific vocab! Do you know what a Walkman is? By the end of this episode you will.

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Boston is situated in present-day Massachusetts, right on the northern Atlantic coastline.  It’s picturesque, it’s lively and it’s steeped in stories of how the United States gained its independence from Britain. Today you’ll hear those tales of organization, patriotism and madness: This is the  Boston Tea Party. 

I've also put together a page to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship test. 

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This lesson has two parts. In part one, you'll learn the common English expression "my cup of tea" you'll hear a joke and you'll do some pronunciation exercises.

In part two (which will be posted shortly), you'll learn about one of the most iconic events in U.S. history, the Boston Tea Party. It's one of the major events that fueled our fight for independence from Britain, and the story is just nuts. It's not your average tea party! If you're interested in learning about the beginning of the U.S., or you're taking the U.S. Citizenship test soon, listen to this episode!

I've also put together a page to Prepare for the U.S. Citizenship test. 

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• All Premium Content for Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (Episodes 001 - 150)