Do you look at the past through rose-tinted glasses? Do you feel a sense of nostalgia when looking into the past?

In this episode, I explore the meaning and use behind this common expression with examples from my own life and a little bit at the end on the deeper meaning behind this phrase.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast323

Second Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@EnglishWithMichael

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Small Talk is something many of us struggle with, and it's a really important part of socialising and using language.

In this episode, I share some of my own awkward experiences with small talk, and then go through time tips on how we can all get better at it to improve our conversations and relationships.

I then share a few phrases that English learners can use to sound more natural when making Small Talk.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast322

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Abigail Fulbrook (weareenglishteachers.com) joins me for a fascinating chat about a few different topics, including moving to Japan from the UK, what we miss about the UK, learning using AI teachers, other uses of AI, and much more!

Abigail Fulbrook has been teaching English for over 15 years. She's worked in the UK, Japan and online. As well as teaching she loves crafting and eating chocolate. She lives in Japan at the moment with her husband and two daughters, and far too many crafting supplies.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast321

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We first spoke about this in Episode 281, and now we're returning for a part 2. 

Cognitive Biases are ways our brains can trick us into certain beliefs and behaviours without realising, and in this episode, I'll cover a few of them such as the IKEA Effect, the Recency Effect, and the Negativity Bias.

They're fascinating to learn, but will also give you some insight to make you a better language learner.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast320

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In today's episode, I share an issue I've been thinking about for a while - finding the balance between speaking up and letting things go.

In other words, when things annoy us or seem unjust, should we speak up and say something? Or should we prioritise our mental health and let it go? 

I share some of my own views with this and encourage you to get in touch with yours too. I also share lots of expressions related to this topic.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast319

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This is an episode that I've been meaning to make for a while. Let's talk about 'trump' today.

In fact, there are many phrases in English that originate from cards and gambling, so this episode looks at some of the common ones and how you can use them in your daily life.

As always, I give examples from my own life to help put these phrases in a natural context for you.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast318

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There are many differences in vocabulary between British and American English. Some of these are quite well-known and easy to understand (biscuit and cookie, maybe), but others are a bit more complex.

In today's episode, I'm not simply listing these differences. I'm looking at 8 terms that are different in both British and American English, but aren't quite the same in meaning. 

Each term reveals something special about the culture of each country.

Hopefully, this episode will highlight some of the subtle cultural differences in each country, while teaching you new words and ideas.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast317

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Alastair Budge from Leonardo English joined me for a casual chat about a variety of different topics.

Alastair has his own podcast called "English Learning for Curious Minds". In it, he covers all sorts of topics from space mining to population decline, while making content that helps English learners improve.

I found this concept so interesting, so I picked a few topics at random to chat about in our conversation today. We also talk about the importance of curiosity.

Today, you'll hear about fascinating inventors, admirable people, population decline, Ozempic, the shadow side, and much more.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast316

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We've now done quite a few episodes on Phrasal Verbs, but this is an important one. 

Today, I'll be looking at the differences between separable and inseparable phrasal verbs. This is a very important part of English if you want to sound natural and fluent.

As always, I'm not just listing off words in a boring way. I'll be sharing examples of both types while talking about my recent trip to Cambodia, and I also encourage you to make your own examples.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast315

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In this episode, I'll be talking about driving culture in the UK. There are a lot of interesting laws and unwritten rules that are reflective of British culture. So whether you will be driving in the UK or not, I think this will be interesting for you.

I share some of the big differences between driving culture in the UK and in Thailand, as well as my own experience taking my driving test when I was a teenager and how it might compare to your country.

Of course, I also make sure to share loads of new vocabulary related to driving, so don't miss it!

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast314

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Let's explore the expression "The Grass is Greener on the Other Side".

In English, this is used when we view other situations as better than our own. In fact, no matter what we have, we tend to value what we don't have more.

I explore the meaning of this expression in some detail, examples from my own life, and also some common ways we all experience this along with some ideas on how to overcome the negative sides of this idea.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast313

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Today I'm doing a rare in-person discussion with Teacher Zdenek. 

Zdenek has more than 12 years of experience in various settings, primarily teaching English learners of levels B2-C2. He's taught English in the Czech Republic, UK, Ireland and most recently Vietnam.  

Zdenek has also moved to Vietnam, and that's why we were able to meet up nearby in Bangkok for a casual discussion. We speak about moving abroad, learning the local language, habit-building, teaching English, naughty tourists, and much more!

I hope you enjoy this one.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast312

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This is a big habit masterclass episode! We'll be diving into the basics of creating habits, how to keep them going without giving up on your goals, and also how to kick some bad habits that are holding you back.

I also give examples of successes and failures based on a lot of my own habit-building experiences.   

As you can tell by the length of this episode, this is a topic I'm truly passionate about and something I've been focusing on for my whole adult life.

I really do believe that creating good habits can be one of the key things you can do to start seeing big, positive changes in life and reach your greatest goals. You can use these tips to help achieve your English learning goals,  or something else like career goals or financial goals.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast311

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The goal of this episode is to share as many useful healthcare vocabulary as I can think of.

I first begin by comparing my medical experiences in the UK and in Thailand, and then go through some of my specific medical problems and injuries in each country where I go through my symptoms and share my views.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast310

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Cleft Sentences are an area of English grammar that is used in daily conversation, but isn't often taught.

I don't know many things, but what I am knowledgable about is English! (There's an example!)

In this episode, I first explain two of these grammar patterns that you can follow, and then I go through some questions about travel, life experience, and work while answering using this grammar. And of course, I encourage you to do the same.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast309

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Ben Gill from To The Point English joins us today for a great, detailed overview of the Cambridge English exams.

Ben covers all sorts of topics and questions related to these exams on his YouTube channel (particularly B2, C1, and C2 levels). 

The exams are huge and we could talk about them for days, so in today's episode,
I try to ask Ben a couple of common questions for each paper of the exam.

We talk about tips for the listening exam, what accents to prepare for in the speaking exam, how much advanced grammar to use in your writing, and strategies for making the reading sections easier.

Exam Format:

• B2 First
• C1 Advanced
• C2 Proficiency

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast308

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For the past 6 months, I've been noting down the most common mistakes I see English learners make in preparation for this episode.

I go through them one by one and give examples from my own life to give you some context for each one and show you how they're used.

Some of these are simple mistakes, and others look at the subtle differences between two similar phrases.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast307

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I've been tracking my own language learning for over a year and it's amazing to see my progress and time invested over that period.

In this episode, I share with you the lessons from tracking all this data every day for one year, the benefits of doing so, and why doing something similar might be beneficial to you.

Don't forget to join the discussion by leaving a comment in the shownotes or wherever you listen to this podcast.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast306

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As an annual tradition here on the podcast, let's talk about New Year Resolutions! I'll be talking about how 2024 went for me - looking at work goals, personal goals, and bucket list goals.

I then move onto looking ahead to 2025 and plan for the year ahead. A lot can change, but I'm discussing some goals I have for the upcoming year with the goal of enjoying the year and learning more.

Head to the comments below and join in with the conversation by sharing your own reviews and goals.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast305

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In this episode, we'll be going around the world to 5 different countries and looking at their different Christmas traditions. While doing this, I'll be sharing one expression with each one that you can use in daily conversations at any time of the year.

I also talk a little bit about the differences in my experience between Christmas in Thailand and the UK.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast304

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Today I'm joined by Emma (Adventure into English) for a conversation about group vs solo activities. Emma has been helping with the group classes at Level Up English for some time now, so it's an appropriate topic for today.

We start by discussing some Would You Rather questions for activities that can be done as a group or on your own.

We then move onto some English expressions around the topic of groups and working together. These are expressions you can use in your daily life, and I quiz Emma on using these in her replies. See if you can join in the game too!

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast303

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Mental Health is something we should all take seriously and I believe there's a lot of crossover between language learning and having a healthy mindset.

This was a request from a listener to cover this topic. Although I am of course, not a professional, I do love the topic, so I share 18 different methods that I used to improve my own mental health and bring happiness into my life. I hope you find some of them useful too.

Of course, as always, I mention loads of fantastic English words and phrases related to this topic that you can use in your daily life too.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast302

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You may know that British people are famous for using the word 'sorry' all the time.

In this episode, I talk about this habit and how much truth is behind it, but I also share the different situations in which we would say 'sorry' in the UK - and maybe more generally in the English-speaking world too.

Sorry is so much more than a word used when you make a mistake and it can have many different meanings.

There are also many different ways to apologise and say you're sorry depending on how serious the situation is, so in the second half of this episode, I cover these different phrases.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast301

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In Episode 300 of the podcast, Akari from the Nihongo For You podcast joins me today for a chat about teaching languages, moving abroad, and learning English.

In the second half of the episode, we talk about life experiences where I ask Akari questions using the present perfect tense about things she has done before. It's a great opportunity to practice the grammar and see it used in the context of a regular conversation.

Perhaps you could also answer along at home and practice for yourself?

If you're learning or thinking about learning Japanese, don't forget to check out Akari's website and podcast too.

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In my last episode, I spoke about my cycling trip to Taiwan. While there, I had a lot of time alone to think to myself with no distractions. In this episode today, I'm going to share some of the things I was thinking about.

One of these was the idea of Hedonic Adaptation (also known as the Hedonic Treadmill). This is something that we all face as humans and might just be the key to understanding how to be happy and content.

It's a really useful topic when it comes to being happy with what you have and not always feeling bad about what you don't - such as feeling bad for not being good enough at English.

Let's find out more.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast299

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