Luke's ENGLISH Podcast - Learn British English with Luke Thompson

759. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans

759. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans

Join me as I walk around my local streets in Paris, go to the laundrette and ramble about what's going on in LEPland at the moment and why there haven't been any new episodes for a while.

758. Pub Quiz Trivia with Sarah The Paris Quiz Mistress

758. Pub Quiz Trivia with Sarah The Paris Quiz Mistress

Chatting to pub quiz host Sarah Toporoff about her love of trivia, and asking each other quiz questions about history, geography, literature, language & pop culture. Can you answer the questions and follow the conversation?

757. Setting up my new Pod-Room / DIY (Do It Yourself) Vocabulary & Expressions

757. Setting up my new Pod-Room / DIY (Do It Yourself) Vocabulary & Expressions

Describing how I am setting up my new pod-room with a couple of stories and plenty of vocabulary for talking about DIY and doing improvements to your home. Vocabulary list available.

756. Learn English with LEP in 2022 / A New Year Ramble

756. Learn English with LEP in 2022 / A New Year Ramble

In this episode I’m going to wish you a Happy New Year, ramble a little bit about what’s going on in LEPland, restate some of my aims and objectives for this podcast, and give a few comments on how you can use the podcast to improve your English, with reference to some recommended episodes from the archive.

754. Learning & Teaching English in The Metaverse / The Mandalorian (with Andy Johnson)

754. Learning & Teaching English in The Metaverse / The Mandalorian (with Andy Johnson)

Andy Johnson returns to talk about more “M” words - this time it’s The Metaverse and The Mandalorian. The Metaverse is an immersive and interactive 3D online environment. How can it be used for learning and teaching English? Andy’s new job is with a company that offers English learning in the metaverse, so let’s chat about it. Also, we finally talk about The Mandalorian on LEP after waiting nearly a year! This is probably the last episode of LEP in 2021 - so Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you have a Happy New Year!

753. Visiting the Louvre Museum with Amber & Paul

753. Visiting the Louvre Museum with Amber & Paul

Join Amber, Paul and me as we take a tour of the famous Louvre Museum in Paris and describe some of the world's most amazing artwork and artefacts, including stunning Greek sculptures like Venus de Milo, fascinating renaissance paintings by Leonardo da Vinci such as the Mona Lisa and many more incredible pieces. The video version has photos of all the work being described. Photos are also shown on the website page.

752. Creating Award-Winning Books for Children (with Penny Dale)

752. Creating Award-Winning Books for Children (with Penny Dale)

Author and illustrator Penny Dale talks about the process of creating successful books for children, including some of her most popular books such as Ten In The Bed and the Dinosaur series. Video version available. Audio version has 30mins extra rambling.

751. Bath Arts Workshop: Counterculture in the 1970s (with Penny Dale)

751. Bath Arts Workshop: Counterculture in the 1970s (with Penny Dale)

Chatting to English author & illustrator Penny Dale about her involvement in a counterculture arts movement from the 1970s, the Bath Arts Workshop.

750. An Unedited Ramble / How to talk about Being Busy in English

750. An Unedited Ramble / How to talk about Being Busy in English

In this unedited episode I share some of the thoughts that have been running through my head, talk about being busy and look at some vocabulary to describe busy times in your life. Video version available.

749. LEP DESIGN COMPETITION 2021: Discussing the Entries & Choosing the Winners with James

749. LEP DESIGN COMPETITION 2021: Discussing the Entries & Choosing the Winners with James

James and Luke discuss designs sent in by listeners, and choose the winner(s). The prize: to have your design featured in the LEP Merch Store, plus an £80 reward! Listen for plenty of descriptive language, diplomatic language and ways of giving positive and feedback in English. Video version also available (with all the designs on screen) on YouTube.

748. Karl Pilkington's 3-Minute Wonders / Manchester Accent [Part 2]

748. Karl Pilkington's 3-Minute Wonders / Manchester Accent [Part 2]

Understand more of Karl Pilkington's rambling as we learn about the Manchester accent and pick up vocabulary along the way. Video version available on YouTube.

747. Social Awkwardness / Very British Problems (with Michael Lavers from Level Up English)

747. Social Awkwardness / Very British Problems (with Michael Lavers from Level Up English)

Talking to Michael Lavers from the Level Up English Podcast about learning Japanese, embarrassing moments in language learning, social awkwardness and some "very British problems". Are you as socially awkward as a British person? Let's see how you and Michael would respond to some quiz questions that will test your British awkwardness to the max. Video version available.

746. Karl Pilkington's 3-Minute Wonders / Manchester Accent

746. Karl Pilkington's 3-Minute Wonders / Manchester Accent

Understand English as it is spoken by native speakers. Let's listen to Karl Pilkington rambling about life, the universe & everything, and see what we can understand and learn. Karl is from Manchester, so we'll be looking at some features of his accent, picking up plenty of vocabulary and having a bit of a laugh along the way. Video version available on YouTube.

745. Mental Factors in Learning English (with Ray Addam) [English with Ray SwapCast]

745. Mental Factors in Learning English (with Ray Addam) [English with Ray SwapCast]

Talking to English teacher Ray Addam from Glasgow in Scotland about mental factors in learning English, such as anxiety, confidence, stress and motivation. Video version available on YouTube.

744. The Rick Thompson Report: Fuel Crisis / Brexit Rant (Autumn 2021)

744. The Rick Thompson Report: Fuel Crisis / Brexit Rant (Autumn 2021)

Talking to my dad about the latest in the Brexit saga, including the current fuel crisis due to lack of lorry drivers and other problems which were predicted in the run up to the Brexit referendum in 2016. Video version available on YouTube.

743. Give me Tea, Please - Practical Ingredients for Tasteful Language (with Natasha V Broodie) + ramble / song

743. Give me Tea, Please - Practical Ingredients for Tasteful Language (with Natasha V Broodie) + ramble / song

Talking to author Natasha V Broodie who has written a book which aims to help learners of English understand the subtle codes of polite language when making requests and giving information in professional and personal contexts. In the conversation we explore the topic and consider some tips for making your language more culturally appropriate.

742. NEW LEP T-SHIRTS & MERCH + LEP DESIGN COMPETITION 2021 with James

742. NEW LEP T-SHIRTS & MERCH + LEP DESIGN COMPETITION 2021 with James

741. Top Jokes from Edinburgh Fringe 2021, Explained

741. Top Jokes from Edinburgh Fringe 2021, Explained

Learn English from some jokes in this episode as we go through 9 jokes chosen as the best of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe stand up comedy scene this year (2021). Let me tell you the jokes, see if you understand them, and then I will break them down for language learning opportunities. Video version available.

740. Are native English speakers bad communicators? (The Travel Adapter with Matt Halsdorff)

740. Are native English speakers bad communicators? (The Travel Adapter with Matt Halsdorff)

Talking to English teacher Matt Halsdorff about a project to train native English speakers how to communicate better with non-natives. We talk about the reasons why native speakers are often bad at communicating with non-natives, what they should do to fix this and the wider issues relating to this topic. Video version available.

739. The Escaped Man by CT Platt (Learn English with Short Stories)

739. The Escaped Man by CT Platt (Learn English with Short Stories)

Reading a short story presented on Commaful.com. The Escaped Man is a mystery full of tension and intrigue. Listen closely as I break it all down and explain the vocabulary fully. YouTube video version also available.

738. Do you remember...? with Mum, Dad & James / Family Stories with The Thompsons

Chatting to my family about some old anecdotes and stories from the past. Listen for some enjoyable chat, memories, descriptions and tales from days gone by.

737. A Summer Ramble 2 (Late August 2021)

737. A Summer Ramble 2 (Late August 2021)

I'm back in the podcast-zone after my holiday so I thought I would do another rambling episode before getting down to work on other content to be released soon. Video version also available.

736. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 3] Learn English with Stories

736. The War of the Worlds [Part 3] Learn English with Stories

The final part of this series in which I am reading from the classic story The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, while explaining and clarifying the English which comes up. Full transcript available and YouTube video version too.

735. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 2] Learn English with Stories

735. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 2] Learn English with Stories

Continuing to read extracts from this fantastic science fiction story from the 19th century. Follow the plot and pick up some English in the process. Full transcript available, and a YouTube version too.

734. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 1] Learn English with Stories

734. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells [Part 1] Learn English with Stories

Luke reads extracts from The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.

This is a classic bit of science fiction writing from the Victorian era, with some thrilling passages and scary descriptions. It's one of my favourite books of all time and I hope you enjoy it too and learn some English from it. Full transcript available and YouTube version too.

733. A Summer Ramble (Early August 2021)

733. A Summer Ramble (Early August 2021)

A pre-holiday ramble in which I talk about learning English, moving to a new flat, the podcast over the next few months, football, being on Other People's Podcasts, a recording of my daughter speaking English and a couple of songs. Video version also available.

732. Christian from Canguro English returns

732. Christian from Canguro English returns

Talking to Christian again about some of the themes and controversial opinions he talks about in his YouTube videos, plus some bits about men wearing thongs on the beach, an obsession with rabbits and if Christian was the Donald Trump of English teaching. Video version available.

731. Beatles Song Lyrics / Idioms & Expressions (with Antony Rotunno)

731. Beatles Song Lyrics / Idioms & Expressions (with Antony Rotunno)

Learn English with The Beatles as we explore lyrics from Beatles songs and pick out some idioms, descriptive language and other vocabulary for you to learn. Featuring Antony Rotunno from the Glass Onion: On John Lennon podcast.

730. Marie Connolly Returns (+ 2 songs)

730. Marie Connolly Returns (+ 2 songs)

Talking to author Marie Connolly about her new books for children, plus a story about how Jerry Seinfeld came to one of our comedy shows, with two songs on guitar at the end.

729. TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test (with Josh MacPherson from TSTPrep.com)

729. TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test (with Josh MacPherson from TSTPrep.com)

Talking to Josh MacPherson about tips and advice for taking TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test. YouTube version also available.