A beautiful flower arrangement can help to change the whole look of a room. But how do you order flowers at a flower shop in English? Don’t worry! In this Real Talk episode, hosts Andrew and Kassy walk you through the expressions and vocabulary you will need when buying flowers to decorate your home or give to a loved one. Real Talk is the Culips series for beginner and intermediate English learners, which teaches you practical English expressions for real-world situations. Fun facts If you like big flower arrangements, you might like one at the Dubai Miracle Garden. At roughly 72,000 square meters, and shaped like an Airbus A380, it holds the record for biggest flower arrangement in the world. Expressions included in the study guide * Florist * Bouquet/arrangement * I’d like to buy * I can help you with that * Did you have anything particular in mind? * What are you thinking for the budget? * [Something] would be fine * To ring [someone] up Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar Image: Waldemar Brandt and Uljana Borodina (Unsplash.com)
A quick trip south Episode description In this week’s bonus episode, Andrew talks about a short road trip he took to a small city at the southern tip of South Korea called Tongyeong. Plus in the vocabulary lesson, he teaches you how to use a common idiomatic expression: to bad-mouth [someone]. Visit Culips.com to get the 100% free transcript for this episode.
Everyone owns special and precious things, things they think of as valuable and unique. In this episode, Kassy and Andrew get together to talk about the things that they value the most and, in fact, can’t imagine their lives without. Listen in to learn about what things both Andrew and Kassy consider to be their most prized possessions. Simplified Speech episodes feature two native English speakers having clear, natural, and easy to understand English conversations about interesting topics. By listening to Kassy and Andrew talk about their most prized possessions, you’ll improve your English listening skills and increase your vocabulary. Fun facts How much would you pay to buy a feather? The most expensive feather in the world was found in New Zealand and belongs to an extinct bird called the huia. It was sold at an auction for almost $10,000 US. Expressions included in the study guide * TMI * Sentimental value * Safety blanket * Think back on * Using time as countable/non-countab...
Movie marathon Episode description In this week’s bonus episode, Andrew shares some stories about what he did last week. Plus, he teaches you a useful and common idiomatic expression that native speakers use all the time: to be at the top of your game. Visit Culips.com to get the 100% free transcript for this episode.
Making decisions isn’t always easy, especially these days, when there are so many options for us to pick from. If you’ve ever felt stuck when faced with choices, you’re not alone! This sensation is called decision paralysis and many people face it, including Culips hosts Andrew and Anna. Listen in as they talk about this sensation and how they work through it. Culips’ Chatterbox series is designed for intermediate and advanced English learners. All Chatterbox episodes feature natural conversations between two native English speakers. Listening to these audio lessons helps to improve your grammar, vocabulary, and listening skills so that you can build your fluency. You’ll be able to speak English naturally with Culips, and you might even learn something interesting along the way. Fun facts Studies show that decision paralysis, also known as choice paralysis or analysis paralysis, often leads to procrastination. Those who experience this become so overwhelmed with the options ava...
The search for the lost ring Episode description In this week’s bonus episode, Andrew tells a story about losing his wedding ring. Plus, he teaches you an idiomatic expression that native speakers use all the time: on and off. Visit Culips.com to get the 100% free transcript for this episode.
There are things that we like, and then there are things we really obsess over! But watch out: you don’t want your obsession to turn into an addiction. In this Simplified Speech episode, hosts Andrew and Kassy explore expressions dealing with our obsessions. Simplified Speech is a series featuring easy and natural English conversations. Both beginner and intermediate language learners can benefit from this series. So be sure to go through our full catalogue online! Fun facts As our hosts mention in this episode, Obsession is also the name of a famous perfume from Calvin Klein. It became extremely popular in the ’80s and ’90s, largely due to its iconic marketing campaign. Expressions included in the study guide * Flippantly * Well put * To the detriment of [something] * [One’s] thing * To trigger * Thought experiment Copyright: Culips.com For more information about this episode, visit culips.com. Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free, Step On by Jahzzar Image: Clay Ban...
Here comes the rain Episode description In this week’s update episode, Andrew shares some stories about the monsoon season and dog sitting a poodle! Plus, he teaches you about an extremely useful phrasal verb: to stick with [something]. Visit Culips.com to get the 100% free transcript for this episode.
At some point, we’ve all found ourselves scrolling through the news or social media for hours on end. Sometimes the things we discover make us feel good (cute puppy videos!), and other times we find things that makes us feel bad (most news article about the world nowadays!). In this episode, Andrew and Kassy teach you two idiomatic expressions that you can use to talk about spending time on the Internet. The Culips Catch Word series teaches you idioms, phrasal verbs, and expressions used in everyday life. Listening to this Catch Word audio lesson will help you improve your English listening and speaking skills, while also giving you interesting new ways to talk about the internet and social media. If you’d like to watch the video Andrew mentions in this video, you can find it here. Fun facts While people have used doomscrolling to describe their internet usage since early 2018, it only became popular and entered everyday usage in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expressions incl...
Spontaneous photo shoot Episode description In this week’s update episode, Andrew shares a story about getting his picture taken in a photo booth. Plus, in the vocabulary lesson, he teaches you a useful expression: unbeknownst to [someone]. Visit Culips.com to get the 100% free transcript for this episode.