A funny thing happened today when Lori was shopping for office supplies, and it involves an industrial-sized package of toilet paper rolls. The post 043 – Real English conversations: Lori scores a year’s supply of toilet paper (archive) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Introduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. Last week I shared the first part of a cool conversation I had with Dr. BJ Fogg, all about making the most of your motivation. Today you’ll be hearing part two, the final part of this conversation. If you missed the first part, make sure […] The post 042 – Make ...…

What can you do when you're not feeling motivated? What is the best way to use your motivation when you ARE motivated? Find out in this episode of Real English Conversations from Better at English. Lori talks to Dr. BJ Fogg about how to make the most of the motivation that you have, no matter if it's high or low. The post 041 – Make the most of ...…

Introduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 5 of my conversation with Kyla. This is the final part of our conversation about the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. In the previous episode we talked about dealing with distractions and interru ...…

Introduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 4 of my conversation with Kyla. Up until now we’ve been talking about the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. But in this part of the conversation we digress [go off topic] and talk about […] The po ...…

Introduction Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 3 of my conversation with Kyla. We are talking about the book Daily Rituals by Mason Currey. In this part we talk about the routines and practices that many creative people have in common. Now […] T ...…

Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear part 2 of my conversation with Kyla. We’re discussing a book that we both really liked. It’s called Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. The book describes the daily routines and habits of 161 creative people, people like ...…

INTRODUCTION Hi English learners! Lori here, your teacher from Betteratenglish.com. In this episode of Real English Conversations, you’ll hear me talking to Kyla, a fellow musician. We met up to talk about a book that we both really like. It’s called Daily Rituals, and was written by Mason Currey. But as it turned out, Kyla […] The post 036 – D ...…

In this Real English Conversations podcast, you'll hear Lori and her mom talking about their bedtime routines and what they do to get good night's sleep. The conversation includes lots of idioms and phrases related to going to bed, sleeping, waking up, and daily routines, and these interesting language items are listed in the vocabulary notes. ...…

Lori talks to you about one of her favorite quotes: 80% of success is showing up. You'll learn what it means and who said it. And if you're feeling discouraged with your English progress, you'll learn how resolving to keep "showing up" can get you back on track with your learning. The post 034 – Showing up for English learning success appeared ...…

Lori burns her arm while making a cup of tea, and can't sleep because it hurts so much. Her mother tries to help her find a way to get through the night. The real English conversation is between Lori and her mother the following morning, discussing what they did to relieve the pain and whether or not it worked. The post 033 – Lori burns her arm ...…

Lori invites her mom onto the podcast to discuss telling time in English, focusing on some of the differences between American and British English usage. The post 031 – Telling Time in English – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Lori and her Dutch friend Yvette return to finish their conversation about perfectionism and procrastination. This time they focus on the strategies that have proved useful in their own battles with this debilitating problem. The post 032 – Perfectionism and Procrastination 3 – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2 ...…

Lori and her Dutch friend Yvette continue their discussion of perfectionism, focusing on how it can cause problems for foreign language learners. The post 030- Perfectionism and Procrastination 2 – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Do you ever procrastinate? Lori sure does! She and her Dutch friend Yvette talk about what procrastination is, why we do it, and what we can do about it. The post 029 – Perfectionism and Procrastination 1 – Real English Conversations appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

In today's conversation, which is part four of four, my British friend Michael and I wrap up our lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of dogs, dog ownership, and dog owners. Warning: some of the vocabulary we deal with in this episode is a bit vulgar, so if you are sensitive or easily offended I suggest you stop listening now. The post ...…

Michael and Lori continue their discussion of dogs and cats, focusing on the tendency for humans to get emotionally attached to their pets. The post 027 – Real English Conversations: Don’t step in the Dog Doo (part 3 of 4) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

In today's conversation, which is part 2 of 4, my British friend Michael and I continue discussing dogs and cats, and which we prefer. The post Real English Conversations: Don’t step on the dog doo (2 of 4) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

My British friend Michael and I begin by talking about whether we are dog people or cat people. Then we move on to discuss the social etiquette of dog walking, particularly picking up after them in public places. The post Real English Conversations: Don’t step on the dog doo (part 1 of 4) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth…

In this episode, Michael and Lori talk about weird food combinations -- you won't believe what some Americans like on their hamburgers! The post Real English Conversations: Weird food appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Lori and Michael talk about 20Q, a fun electronic game that Lori got to try while she was on her recent vacation in the USA. The post Real English Conversations: 20 questions game appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Learn about the idiom "to have itchy palms" and more on the topic of superstions. The post Real English Conversations: Itchy palms (superstitions) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Lori wants a pet cat, and not just any cat, but a naked Sphinx cat. Michael thinks they are ugly. A heated discussion ensues... The post Real English Conversations: Lori wants a naked cat appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Everyone wants to be successful, right? But have you ever wondered what it is that leads to success? Lori and Michael discuss their reactions to a presentation about "What leads to success," given by Michael St. John. Richard St. John spent several years interviewing hundreds of successful people, trying to find out the secrets to their success ...…

The third and final part of Michael and Lori's discussion of the English government's ban on commercials for junk food before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching. The post Real English Conversations: junk food (part 3 of 3) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

Part two of Michael and Lori's three-part discussion about the English government's decision to ban junk food ads on television before 9 pm, when children are likely to be watching. The post Real English Conversations: junk food (part 2 of 3) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth…

Lori gives you a quick and easy way to find the meaning of idioms that aren't in your dictionary. The post How to find English idioms that aren’t in the dictionary appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

In the first of this three-part conversation, Lori and Michael talk about junk food and television advertising. In a nutshell, they don't like it. The post Real English Conversation: junk food (part 1 of 3) appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

In this episode, Lori answers a listener's question about the meaning of the idiom "to kick oneself." The post Idioms: to kick oneself appeared first on Better at English. © 2017 Lori Linstruth

How did we ever get along without Google? Lori and Michael about how much they depend on the Internet in their daily lives. In this completely unplanned and spontaneous conversation, they use quite a few phrasal verbs. These phrasal verbs and additional idiomatic expressions are highlighted in the vocabulary notes. As always, you can find the f ...…

In today's episode, Michael and I exchange some opinions about television, particularly with respect to commercials and advertising. In this conversation we discover some differences between British and American English vocabulary, and use some everyday phrasal verbs. The post Real English Conversations: TV adverts, advertisements and commercia ...…