Episodes

  • Welcome to episode 47 of The English Sessions. The Silent B. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content.

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Are you ready to improve your English? Go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com and click on Schedule a Lesson today. I now offer all of my lessons for free! That’s right! Free! Every lesson is free. (www.englishsessionswithmike.com)

    Listen for these words today:

    Lamb - a young sheep

    Subtle - ‘subtle’ means NOT OBVIOUS, or delicate, or precise. There can be a subtle meaning to something, that is not obvious or clear at first.

    Succumb - to give in, to surrender, to be overwhelmed by something.

    Get rid of - to ‘get rid of’ something means to remove something; to throw out something; to destroy / to eliminate (something). If you don’t want it or need it anymore, you get rid of it.

    Clutter - ‘clutter’ is a verb and a noun. ‘Clutter’ is disorder, a mess. To clutter means ‘to make a mess’ / ‘to be untidy’. His room was cluttered with garbage and dirty clothes.

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  • Welcome to Episode 46 of The English Sessions. MMM-Bye. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessionsAre you ready to improve your English? Go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com and click on Schedule a Lesson today. I now offer all of my lessons for free! That’s right! Free! Every lesson is free. (www.englishsessionswithmike.com)Listen for these words today: Warm - ‘warm’ is a word in English that is used to describe a specific temperature. Maybe you already know this. A warm temperature is not too hot and it’s not too cold. Today, I use ‘warm’ in a different way. In today’s episode, ‘warm’ means showing affection, showing kindness. If you are being ‘warm’ to someone, that means you like them! You want to be friendly, and kind to that person. State of Residence - a ‘state of residence’ is the state in which you live. My country, the United States of America, has 50 different states. In other parts of the world, there are provinces, like in Canada. In some countries, they use the word ‘prefecture’. A place of residence is where you live, or reside. I currently reside in the state of Kansas. What word is used in your country to describe different areas? Write in to the podcast, please. Perspective - someone’s perspective is their attitude or point of view of something. It is the way someone’s sees, or understands, something. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theenglishsessions/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theenglishsessions/support

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  • English Around the World - Belize - Vondra

    - For Advanced Learners and Native English Speakers - 

    Welcome to Episode 2 of a series I’m calling English Around the World. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These episodes within the English Around the World series are going to look a bit different. They are for more advanced English learners, and for any native English speakers who are just curious about other accents around the world. 

    In episode 1 I spoke with Omar in The Gambia. I highly suggest that you go back and listen to that episode first. It gives you an idea of why I wanted to start this podcast series. 

    For today’s episode, I had a conversation with Vondra, from Belize.

    Vondra's website is www.mybelizebox.com
    Use the coupon code belizebox10 to get 10% off your order.

    For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Schedule free lessons with Mike: https://www.englishsessionswithmike.com/p/schedule-lesson.html

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  • Welcome to episode 45 of The English Sessions. The “As” Sandwich. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Are you ready to improve your English? Go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com and click on Schedule a Lesson today. The first lesson, 30 minutes with Mike, is free…. (englishsessionswithmike.com)

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  • How you can help Omar's family: https://gofund.me/22bc874c

    - For Advanced Learners and Native English Speakers -

    Welcome to Episode 1 of a new series I’m calling English Around the World. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These episodes within the English Around the World series are going to look a bit different. They are for more advanced English learners, and for any native English speakers who are just curious about other accents around the world.

    For more, including the video of the Tabaski festival in HD, go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com

    For the full audio transcript, visit patreon.com/theenglishsessions


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  • Welcome to Episode 44 of The English Sessions. Pronunciation of B A S S and B A S E. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Are you ready to improve your English? Go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com and click on Schedule a Lesson today. The first lesson, 30 minutes with Mike, is free…. (englishsessionswithmike.com)

    Listen for these words today: 

    Storm - a storm is intense weather often with strong winds, rain, thunder, lightning or snow!

    Move on - “MOVE ON” is a phrasal verb that means “continue” or “progress”. It can also mean to leave a place; change to a different subject or activity; change ideas, attitudes, behaviour etc. “Let’s move on to our next topic of conversation”. Let’s move on to the next word in our vocabulary for today. 

    Racket - RACKET has a few different definitions. I want to keep this simple, so I will say that for today’s episode, RACKET means NOISE! Unwanted noise. Nobody likes a ‘racket’. Hey! Turn off that racket! I don’t like that kind of music. It’s just noise to me!

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  • Welcome a bonus episode of The English Sessions. An episode on Jakarta, Indonesia. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Are you ready to improve your English? Go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com and click on Schedule a Lesson today. The first lesson, 30 minutes with Mike, is free…. (englishsessionswithmike.com)

    Listen for these words today: 

    Dense - ‘dense’ is another word for ‘closely packed’ or ‘crowded’

    Archipelago - a group of islands

    Commander - a commander is the leader of an army. The boss, or chief, of an army. 

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  • Welcome to episode 43 of The English Sessions. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Are you ready to improve your English? Go to www.englishsessionswithmike.com and click on Schedule a Lesson today. The first lesson, 30 minutes with Mike, is free…. (englishsessionswithmike.com)

    Listen for these words today: 

    Second-hand store: A second-hand store is a store that sells items that are not new. A second-hand store sells used items. Sometimes a second-hand store is called a ‘thrift’ store. A very common secondhand store, or thrift store, in my country is called Goodwill. 

    Thief - a thief is a person who steals from other people. They take items that do not belong to them. A thief can steal from a person. A thief can steal from a store… or a museum! 

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  • Welcome to episode 42 of The English Sessions. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Listen for these words today: 

    “Speaking of” - We say “speaking of” before a topic that we have already been talking about. It is a way to introduce a statement or question about a topic that you already talked about. Listen carefully. I will use ‘speaking of’ today in this episode. It is a way to get BACK to a topic that you want to talk more about. 

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  • This is how you can help The English Sessions. Also, go to www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions for bonus content, including ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and videos with students and other educators. Thank you all for your support. 

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  • Welcome to episode 41 of The English Sessions. Hear and Overhear. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Listen for this word today: 

    Jackhammer - A handheld machine for drilling rock and breaking up pavement, typically operated by compressed air. It is a very big, very loud, device that breaks up rock, or pavement, like a chisel. There will be a picture of a jackhammer on the website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com

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  • -- For Advanced Learners --

    Welcome to a bonus episode of The English Sessions. Gerund vs. Gerundio with Andrea from Spanishland School. 

    I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    Listen for this word today: 

    Phenomenal - synonyms for phenomenal are ‘exceptional, extraordinary, remarkable, outstanding, amazing’

    More at The English Sessions website.

    The video of this session is at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

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  • Welcome to episode 40 of The English Sessions. Time or Times? I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/posts/english-sessions-59396037

    --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theenglishsessions/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theenglishsessions/support
  • The ‘GH’ in English (Pronunciation: Taught; thought; tough; though)

    Welcome to episode 39 of The English Sessions. The pronunciation of ‘GH’ in English. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode. For the full audio transcript, go to https://www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    Listen for these words today: 

    Brain freeze - A brain freeze is another way to say ‘mental confusion’. Confusion, in your mind; a brain freeze! A brain freeze also happens when you drink something very cold very quickly. OW! Have you ever had a brain freeze?

    Thaw - to ‘thaw’ is to warm something frozen. Ice is frozen water. Water freezes into ice. So, you can thaw ice in order to have water.

    Go to the website for more of the audio transcript: https://www.englishsessionswithmike.com/2021/10/the-english-sessions-podcast-episode-gh.html

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  • Teacher, I have a doubt… or do I have a question?

    — A big THANK YOU to the latest Patreon supporters, Chris and Anna —

    Hello everyone. Today’s podcast is a special episode. It is a conversation with a young man in Brazil who is a native Portuguese speaker and is also an English teacher in Brazil. His name is Miguel.

    We talk about the differences between the word ‘doubt’ and the word ‘question’ in English. Many Brazilian learners mistranslate the word ‘dúvida’. However, it is not as simple as saying: ‘Dúvida’ in Portuguese is the same as ‘question’ in English. It’s more complicated than that. 

    Listen to my conversation with Miguel to learn more. 

    Also, this is not just a problem for native Brazilian Portuguese speakers. Perhaps you are from a different county, but it is still not clear to you what the differences between the words ‘doubt’ and ‘question’ are. This conversation with Miguel may help you as well.

    For the entire conversation including the video of our conversation and images to help you learn and remember the material, go to www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions. For only $1USD per month you will have access to this and much more, including the full audio transcripts of new episodes of The English Sessions and Get the Word! Go to patreon.com/theenglishsessions

    I hope you enjoy my conversation with Miguel. 

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  • As a bonus to all of my loyal listeners to The English Sessions I am offering the latest episode of Get the Word! before it's officially released on the Get the Word! with Mike Butler podcast. I also have an announcement. The English Sessions Patreon page is back! You can become a member for only $1(USD). It's simple to sign up, and you can cancel anytime. Starting today, the full audio transcripts of The English Sessions and Get the Word! are only available if you sign up to be a member of the English Sessions Patreon ( www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions ). However, all of the audio transcripts of previous episodes will still be free on the website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com

    Bonjour fellow word nerds. It’s Mike. I apologize already to any of my French listeners. Bonjour and Bon Voyage will be pretty much the only French words I speak today. I also apologize for starting right off the bat with the most stereotypical French music I could find. In all reality, I love French culture, French films and I love the influence that French has had on the English language. 

    In English we see many words that have derived from French throughout the centuries, of course, but we also sometimes use words and expressions when speaking English that are taken directly from French. Déjà vu comes to my mind right away. This term appears in English dictionaries, and is taken directly from French meaning ‘already seen’. Déjà vu comes to my mind right away. This term appears in English dictionaries, and is taken directly from French meaning ‘already seen’.

    For more of the audio transcript, go to www.patreon.com/theenglishsessions


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  • Welcome to episode 38 of The English Sessions. For or During? I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode.

    Listen for these words today: 

    Blizzard - a ‘blizzard’ is a severe snowstorm. The northern part of my country, the USA, gets many blizzards in wintertime. 

    Trick - ‘trick’ has a few definitions. Today, I use ‘trick’ because I am talking about a way to help remember something. It is a technique. A trick is a method, or process. For example, I know the trick to making the perfect pizza. I know the trick. I know a good technique for making pizza. I know a good process. A good method. I know a trick. 

    Petsitting - ‘Petsitting’ means you are taking care of someone else’s pets temporarily. It’s like babysitting, but for pets instead of humans! 

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  • Welcome to episode 37 of The English Sessions. The verbs: MAKE / DO. I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit my website, www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode.

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  • Hello loyal listeners. I have exciting news! Get the Word is now its own official podcast. Here is the latest episode (FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS AND NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS). Make sure to find 'Get the Word! with Mike Butler' on your podcast player and follow/subscribe so you don't miss any episodes.

    Is the audio hard to understand? The transcript is on the English Sessions website. Here is a link: https://www.englishsessionswithmike.com/2021/06/get-word-podcast-episode-opening-up.html

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  • Welcome to episode 36 of The English Sessions. ED Endings, Part 2 (Adjectives). I am your host and English teacher, Mike Butler. These podcasts can help you improve your English! Together, we will talk about grammar… pronunciation… structure... and have some fun too. Remember to visit  www.englishsessionswithmike.com to contact me for private lessons, and for more content. 

    You can also read the transcript of this audio on the website as you listen to this episode.

    Listen for this word today: 

    Pace - ‘to pace’ means to walk back and forth and back and forth. Someone may pace if they are feeling anxious, or annoyed.

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