American English Podcast

Shana Thompson

The American English Podcast teaches the language and culture of the United States. Through common expressions, pronunciation tips and interesting cultural snippets or stories, I hope to keep this fun, useful and interesting! All bonus material can be accessed at http://americanenglishpodcast.com/ read less

141 - Chats with Shana: Parties and Poopers
21-03-2023
141 - Chats with Shana: Parties and Poopers
In this 3-part episode, you'll hear a casual discussion about one of life's most mundane topics: peeing and pooping. It's taboo to talk about, which is strange given how it's one of the most common things in the world. In part 1, you’ll hear about potty training,  you’ll hear a joke and learn some fun things. If you're interested, here's the Potty Training book I was talking about! (The E-book is FREE.)In part 2, you’ll learn peeing and pooping vocabulary, which is very taboo to talk about, yet it’s useful for a multitude of reasons, which I’ll mention. In part 3 you’ll hear two crazy stories about people —no names— who literally pooped on the party. I hope you’ll find them funny and they’ll help you recall some crazy stories you’ve heard. Just wanted to let you know what to expect! Hope you enjoy this. I think I’m going to go hide now. This lesson, like other Chats with Shana episodes, are LESS structured. If you prefer more formal lessons, check out any of the other ones. How to Get Premium Content for this episode: Season 3: By purchasing Season 3, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  You'll also get the full 5-Minute English Course - Part 2, which contains 12 in-depth lessons to boost your vocabulary! This lesson is part of that course.Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s, quizzes + more.Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words Support the show
138 - 5-Minute English: How to Order a Cocktail in English
23-01-2023
138 - 5-Minute English: How to Order a Cocktail in English
You walk into a restaurant and head towards the bar. Behind it, a lighted mosaic of colorful liquors spread from the ceiling to the floor. It's fancy on another level. Some people may describe it as resplendent; it feels like you're looking into a Queen's jewelry box.A long counter separates you from the skilled bartender behind it, who shakes, stirs and strains with ease. As you approach, you consider how you'll place your order in English and suddenly you feel out of your element. In other words, you don't feel comfortable. You feel out of your element.How do you order a drink at a cocktail bar like a native? Well, in today's lesson, you'll learn just that.*****THIS IS AN ADVANCED ENGLISH EPISODE! Don't stress out of you don't understand everything. If you want to understand everything be sure to sign up to Premium Content!How to Get Premium Content for this episode: Season 3: By purchasing Season 3, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  You'll also get the full 5-Minute English Course - Part 2, which contains 12 in-depth lessons to boost your vocabulary! This lesson is part of that course.Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s, quizzes + more)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
137 - 10 Words a Day: French Words in English
09-01-2023
137 - 10 Words a Day: French Words in English
It's story time! Welcome to a French coffee shop and fancy restaurant where you'll be introduced to a number of common French loanwords in English. A loanword is a words borrowed from a foreign language.American English is packed with French words; how do we pronounce them?  Well, I know a lot of you are saying we butcher them, that's okay (I don't disagree with you!) In general, the pronunciation of a words depends on how popular / common a word is. If a French word is common in American English, naturally, there's an expected way to pronounce it, even if it's not how it is pronounced normally in French. The goal of this episode is to teach you how we pronounce the common ones and what to do when you come across uncommon loanwords. Here is a sample of some of the words in today's episode. PatisserieCroissantsBaguettesEclairsCreme bruléeSouffléCrepesFacade (less commonly spelled façade in English)ChicFaux pasMaitre d’ (or also spelled maître d')SommelierConnoisseurHors d'oeuvres (we say this word often and I guarantee most people can't spell it!)Champagne VinaigretteOmelet (or also spelled omelette)FauxCliché (less commonly spelled cliche in English)RisquéChauffeurEntrepreneurRendezvous À la mode (also spelled a la mode)À la carte (also spelled a la carte)C'est la vieDéjà vu (also spelled deja vu)*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
136 - Discover Michigan with Camille Hanson
27-12-2022
136 - Discover Michigan with Camille Hanson
In today's episode, we're talking to Camille Hanson, an ESL teacher and social media influencer who grew up in the U.P. - the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Buckle up! You're about to be immersed in an adventure; one that includes snow, lake life, deer flies, girls hunting with bows and arrows and so much more. Learn from a local how you can take advantage of "The Mitten State."*****Michigan is the 10th largest state in the US by population, and there’s quite a bit you should know about it. Michigan is located up in the Midwest, near Canada, and it has two main parts: The Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula. Most people recognize the shape of the Lower Peninsula; it looks like a mitten. That’s why Michigan is sometimes referred to as "The Mitten State." College life in Michigan is a big thing. And like most states in the Midwest and South, they’re crazy about American football. The state is also home to the automobile industry with General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler headquartered there. Some famous names from Michigan include: Madonna (the singer), Francis Ford Coppola (the director and screenwriter of "The Godfather"), and William Boeing, a pioneer in aviation and creator of the Boeing Company. Yep, they’re all Michiganders.If you like fishing, hiking and greenery, Michigan is where it’s at. 50% of the state is covered in forest, so it’s lush and green. It’s also home to over 10,000 lakes and 40,000 miles of rivers. Did I mention it touches all five of the Great Lakes? That’s a lot of water, a lot of shore and a lot of trees. As a tourist, you might want to try the world-famous cherries from there, try a pasty – not a pastie – and a beer from one of the many local breweries. Your senses will be overwhelmed! *****Find Camille! You can check out Camille's work by visiting her website at Learn English With Camille. - Yooper English (mentioned in audio)Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
135.2 - The Story of "Jingle Bells"
15-12-2022
135.2 - The Story of "Jingle Bells"
In today’s lesson you’re going to hear the story of the creator of Jingle Bells, his questionable character and we’ll  go through the lyrics of the song so if you want to sing it in English, you can. This is Part 2. In Part 1, we spoke about  the common English expression Bells and Whistles.*****In December of 1965, a spacecraft called Gemini 6 was flying in outer space, looking back down at earth. The crew members on board were on call with Mission Control when they announced the following alarming message: “We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, up in a polar orbit. He’s in a very low trajectory traveling from north to south and has a very high climbing ratio. It looks like it might even be a … Very low….” After a few more details, sleigh bells started to jingle and the familiar tune Jingle Bells  passed from Gemini 6 to Mission Control. With a harmonica and sleigh bells, Wally Shirra (Walter M. Shirra Jr.) and Tom Stafford, played the first live song from space: Jingle Bells. You heard me. The popular Christmas song, Jingle Bells was the first song ever played live from space.And yes, the astronauts were playing a joke on Mission Control;  they were in fact pretending to see Santa. *****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150.Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
133.2 - Common Similes with Liz (16 - 30)
19-11-2022
133.2 - Common Similes with Liz (16 - 30)
This is PART 2 of episode 133. In today’s lesson, Liz and I will be going through 15 common similes that you’ll hear in everyday conversation. Some are literal, so they’ll sound normal, others are quite random so you may want to write these down in your notebook. If you would the full list of words, with examples and a quiz to make sure you’ve understood them, be sure to sign up to Premium Content at americanenglishpodcast.com. See link below. A simile, according to Oxford Languages is “a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.” A similes comparison that the words like or as to compare things. For example, you may hear someone say that you look like a deer in the headlights if you look confused. This is a common simile and it’s a vivid visual, it evokes the image of a deer standing in front of the headlights of a car. While in a coffee shop in Italy, I had no idea how to order a coffee, I just looked at the barista like a deer in the headlights. In addition to the word like, you’ll recognize a simile in speech when you hear a comparison made with as, as used twice. In today’s audio, for example, you’ll hear Liz say she feels as old as dirt. Dirt is the brown stuff you use in your garden, you dig a hole in dirt to plant seeds. When something is described as being as old as dirt it means it is very old. Liz feels as old as dirt.*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150. Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
133 - Common Similes with Liz (1-15)
18-11-2022
133 - Common Similes with Liz (1-15)
In today’s lesson, Liz and I will be going through 15 common similes that you’ll hear in everyday conversation. Some are literal, so they’ll sound normal, others are quite random so you may want to write these down in your notebook. If you would the full list of words, with examples and a quiz to make sure you’ve understood them, be sure to sign up to Premium Content at americanenglishpodcast.com. A simile, according to Oxford Languages is “a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.” A similes comparison that the words like or as to compare things.For example, you may hear someone say that you look like a deer in the headlights if you look confused. This is a common simile and it’s a vivid visual, it evokes the image of a deer standing in front of the headlights of a car. While in a coffee shop in Italy, I had no idea how to order a coffee, I just looked at the barista like a deer in the headlights. In addition to the word like, you’ll recognize a simile in speech when you hear a comparison made with as, as used twice. In today’s audio, for example, you’ll hear Liz say she feels as old as dirt. Dirt is the brown stuff you use in your garden, you dig a hole in dirt to plant seeds. When something is described as being as old as dirt it means it is very old. Liz feels as old as dirt.*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1 - 3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150. Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
131 - 13 Common Superstitions in the U.S. and their Origins
14-10-2022
131 - 13 Common Superstitions in the U.S. and their Origins
We live in a day and age that is driven by science and technology, yet people are still superstitious. According to a study I read by YouGov, 9% of Americans claim to be superstitious, while another 35% admit to not being very superstitious, but somewhat. That makes over 40% of individuals in the United States somewhat superstitious.So what does it mean to be superstitious? According to Cambridge Dictionary, it is to have beliefs that are not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, but are connected with old ideas about magic. Many times, superstitious people believe in irrational, unproven signs of good and bad luck.In today’s episode, we’re going to go through 13 common superstitions in the United States and their origins. By the end of this audio lesson, you’ll walk away with more knowledge about American culture and some new vocabulary and phrases. I’ll teach those as we go along.Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck! *****Buy Me a Coffee*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation.  Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1-3  (with 5 in-depth courses to improve your English,  includes all transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150. Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words *****Support the show
130 - Music: "Sunday Toasted" by Zinn
28-09-2022
130 - Music: "Sunday Toasted" by Zinn
"Sunday Toasted" is a song that was recently released by a new artist named Zinn, and it's jam-packed with American slang and vocabulary which we'll go through in this episode. This song is also full of cultural references about working and partying :). All in all, I can't think of a more fitting song to be the first "music" episode on this podcast. By the end, you'll have a beautiful picture in your mind of a typical summer's day in the South and understand why lake culture is so big there! "You just don't know what you're missing!" This song was written by Zinn, my husband (Lucas) and Stefan."Sunday Toasted" - by ZinnClocked out, now I’m en routeIt’s about summertimeBeen waitin' all damn week There’s one thing on my mindYeah I'm thinking about tan lines And moonshine, it goes down easilyNight rides, in the moonlightA cozy on my kneeCold beer in the YetiBeckies on deckIn the dirty waterWe'll be speedingFalling off jetsNo sir, no blue collarOut of touch, ain't no serviceSoak it up Sunday ToastedLake house, party down SouthYou just don't know what you're missingChorus*Pull out from the dock, three deep, three boats heading out your wayLight it up, let the speakers bleedGot the girls choosing what to playYeah we bumpin' Nelly, Aldean, Country, R & BWaiting all week, to kick back and release Chorus*Meet me on the table, cuz I’m heating upWe can run it back, wanna test your luckShoot behind the back it’s a double cupOne more shot I’m on fireRerack that I’m a gentlemanWho’s going next you can send them inBetter get ready cuz I’m running it Let’s get f***Listen to the song on SpotifyFor those of you who have been following our story in Los Angeles, you may know that my husband Lucas is a Brazilian songwriter and music producer trying to get a song on the radio in English in the U.S..  A few of you have asked to listen to his songs in the past and I'm happy to announce that this is his first release in English - many more are coming out this year (from artists in Japan, Spain and Britain).*****Premium Content: This episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation. Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1-3  (including transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150. Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words Support the show
129.2 - The Monster Study
15-09-2022
129.2 - The Monster Study
The Monster Study (aka Tudor Study) is an unethical psychology experiment that was conducted in 1939 on 22 orphans in Davenport, Iowa.  The goal was to a test the theory that by deeply worrying about starting to stutter, one may develop the speech disorder. Mary Tudor, a graduate student, attempted to induce stuttering - to create the behavior - in fluent speakers with the assistance of her advisor Wendell Johnson.The study was dubbed "The Monster Study" for the cruelty and misconduct of it. Learn more about the creators, the experiment and what can be deduced from its results. This study was kept OFF THE RECORD for many years; now the official documentation can be found online for anyone to view.*****I'm not a speech pathologist, but I do know one thing. Don't let anyone ever make you feel like you are not worth being heard. What you say has value, and it doesn't matter how fast you speak or how perfectly you speak, what you say matters. Try to be patient with others as well.*****Premium ContentThis episode is part of Season 3. By purchasing Season 3 transcripts, you'll be able to access the full episodes, the full PDF transcripts for episodes 101 - 150, an Mp3 download  and the premium podcast player to work on your pronunciation. Follow along with the Season 3 audio (episodes 101-150) as episodes are released. Season 3..Other Links!Get ALL PREMIUM CONTENT FOR SEASONS 1-3  (including transcripts + mp3s)Get ONLY the Transcripts for Episodes 001 - 150. Get the Free E-Book: 101 American English Slang Words Support the show