A Brit Difficult

A Brit Difficult - Episode 32 - uses of 'may' and other ways to use formal English

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 17:40:02 GMT

Hi all, it's been a while since the last episode - sorry! Please enjoy this guide to using 'may' and a few other forma phrases in English.

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

rule of thumb: a rule or piece of advice that is right most of the time
day-to-day: everyday
to do with: something related to something else
picky: being very particular about something
period drama: a film or tv show set in a particular period of history e.g. Downton Abbey
the long and short of it: a summary

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 31 - introducing regions of the UK #6 South West England

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 21:53:04 GMT

Let's learn about another region in the UK! Today, we'll briefly look at the South West of England!

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

pull up something: can mean to literally pull something upwards, but here means to open
pointy: has a sharp point shape
census: a big survey held regularly to find out basic information about a population
Cornish: an ethnic group and language in Cornwall
pick something out: can mean to choose but here I'm using it to mean to recognise
digression: talking about something that is part of.a completely different topic before returning to the main topic
stunning: beautiful
dome: a circular roof structure
book worm: somebody who really likes reading
savoury: an adjective to describe food that is not sweet

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 30 - the future perfect and future perfect continuous

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 21:21:29 GMT

Welcome to episode 30 and thank you if you have been regularly following along!

Today, we'll talk about one of the most difficult parts of English grammar - the future perfect.

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

ill / sick / not feeling well - to be unwell
construction - building; creating something
regardless of - even if x is true
shift: move
hint: information that makes a problem or question easier to understand
assumption: a guess based on information you have

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 29 - improving your English accent (if you want to!)

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 21:28:47 GMT

Let's talk about some of the ways you can practice to improve your accent! In my opinion, having an accent is completely fine and I love hearing everyone's different accents :) how to get a better English accent is a common question from learners though, so I thought I would share some advice / tips.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 28 - types of transport in the UK

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 20:00:00 GMT

Hello, it's me again!

If you'd like to connect and stay up to date, you can now follow the podcast on Instagram @abritdifficultpodcast !

Words and phrases that might be new:

bicycle lane: sometimes just called a cycle lane. A part of the road reserved for cyclists
remote: far away, not well connected

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 27 - using the passive voice

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 21:00:00 GMT

Hello! I'm back after a short break :) let's learn about the passive voice.

Words and phrases that might be new :

spam: unwanted mail or emails from people or businesses
subject: the actor or focus of a sentence
object: a person or thing which is receives the action of the verb
present progressive: sometimes called the '-ing form'. Describes an ongoing action in the present
context: a situation or information that makes it clear what people mean
to attend: to go to an event
brownie points to you: a phrase used to mean 'well done'

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 26 - conversation with an English learner #6

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 20:00:00 GMT

I chat with Ammar about his experience learning English as an Urdu/Punjabi speaker. We get some wise final words at the end of the episode!

Words and phrases that might be new:

South Asian - people from the region of Asia that contains the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. There is a large amount of people with South Asian heritage in the UK :)
come again - a phrase used in the UK that means 'please repeat that'
to make sense - to have meaning, to understand the meaning of something
chunks - pieces
manoeuvre - when talking about driving, this refers to technical movements made with the car e.g. reverse parking
spoiler - telling somebody the plot of a story before they have seen / read / heard it

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 25 - politics in the UK : a basic overview

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 21:00:00 GMT

Let's have a look at how politics work in the UK! Remember to listen until the end for some comprehension questions :) Sorry for the edits in this episode!

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

to get something out of the way: to do first; to give priority to something
monarchy: royal family; queens, kings, etc.
a great deal: a lot
broad: general, not specific
petition: a written document with signatures from people asking for something to change, be done, etc.
mayor: a local leader (the word for a female leader is a mayoress)
to inherit: to get something from somebody when they die. This could be money, objects, or even a title (such as with the House of Lords)
coalition: sharing power by joining two parties
referendum: a public vote to make a decision

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 24 - useful time expressions

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 21:00:00 GMT

Let's look at how to tell the time in the UK as well as a few common time-related idioms!

Transcript coming soon!

Words and phrases that might be new to you:

straightforward: easy
quarter to: 15 minutes before an hour
quarter past: 15 minutes past an hour
half past: 30 minutes past an hour
twenty to: 20 minutes to an hour
twenty past: 20 minutes past an hour
five to: 5 minutes to an hour
five past: 5 minutes past an hour
ten past: 10 minutes past an hour
ten to: 10 minutes before an hour
the other day: any point of time in recent history
fortnight: a period of two weeks
what on earth: what / what the hell

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 23 - what's dating like in the UK?

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 14:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we take a whirlwind adventure through what it's like to date in the UK! We will only touch briefly on the general trends and in this episode only focus on heterosexual couples, but I'd be happy to talk about other kinds of dating if you're all interested!

Transcript coming soon!

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

heatwave: sudden, hot weather
heterosexual: attracted to the opposite sex
hookup; casual sex
minefield: a situation where there are likely to be difficulties
tendency: a trend
flirting: talking and acting in a way that shows you are romantically interested in someone
a top: a word sometimes used to refer to a t shirt or shirt
sogetting: a Korean practice of setting up blind dates for a friend where the friend also attends
terms of endearment: pet or cute names used with family, friends or partners

Some common pet names for your boyfriend/girlfriend: https://www.thortful.com/blog/lovers-pet-names/

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 22 - introducing regions of the UK #5 West Midlands

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 20:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I will introduce you to the region of the West Midlands!

Words and phrases that might be new:

kick something off : to start
social deprivation: lacking resources to various things such as jobs, education, higher incomes, etc.
play out: to become; to unfold; to turn out
breweries: factories where beer is made
specific: clear; exact
basin: a special term used to describe where water empties into from canals, rivers or even the sea
balti: a type of curry

Transcript coming soon.

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 21 - must know phrases when texting / chatting

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 21:00:00 GMT

Let's look at some common phrases and abbreviations used when talking to someone on an app or via social media :)

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new:

sidenote: additional piece of information
affiliated with: to have some kind of connection to something / someone
now and again: sometimes
colloquial: not formal
btw: by the way
omw: on my way
dw: don't worry
bc: because
eta: estimated time of arrival
fr: for real
idc: I don't care
idk: I don't know
imo: in my opinion
jk: joking
np: no problem
thnx, ty: thanks
Wuu2: what are you up to?
come across as: to seem

Not sponsored by the following, just some sites/apps you can check out!

https://www.tandem.net/
https://www.hellotalk.com/

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 20 - conversation with an English learner #5

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 20:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I speak with Farhana, an Urdu native speaker living in the UK. We talk about the importance of support when learning a language and being brave and having fun as you learn!

Transcript coming soon!

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

colony - a country that has been invaded by another country and is controlled from that country
theoretical - knowing how to do something but not practicing the actual skills itself
tricky - difficult
rote learning - memorising content to be used or recreated in an exam
incident - an event, usually negative
A Level - a type of exam taken in the UK around the age of 18
smug - feeling confident in a way that makes you act like you're better than other people
put a dampener on something - to discourage somebody or ruin their fun
jist - the general feeling or meaning of something

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 19 - what is Cockney rhyming slang and do people use it?

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 20:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I'll explain what cockney rhyming slang is and provide a few examples of phrases that many people understand, even outside of London, where this coded language was created.

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new

Cockney - refers to people / way of speaking in East London
soap - short for soap opera, dramatic, long-running tv shows
to rhyme - to make the same sound e.g. bone and phone
to pinch - to steal
you better not - don't
butcher - person who works cutting and selling meat
piss - a swearword meaning urine / pee

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 18 - conversation with an English learner #4

Sat, 28 May 2022 13:00:00 GMT

It's time for another conversation episode!

In this episode, I have a chat with Judit, a native Hungarian speaker who has lived in the UK for a number of years, experiencing both Scotland and England.

Transcript available soon.

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

bless her / him: an expression often used to express that someone did something nice OR that they are going through something hard and you are expressing empathy
to be conscious of something: to be very aware of something
every so often: sometimes
put it together: to figure something out; to understand what something means
to cringe: to feel very embarrassed, usually for someone else's actions
wee: in Scotland, this is another word for 'small' whereas in most of England it refers to urine - hence the confusion Judit described :)

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 17 - introducing regions of the UK #4 East of England

Sun, 22 May 2022 20:00:00 GMT

A brief overview of the East of England! We'll look briefly at how the accent differs here, some history fun facts, and what you can do if you visit. Sorry if you can hear the football fans shouting in the background in this episode!!

Transcript coming soon.

The Suffolk Accent (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q5IzLBwWaQ

Words and phrases that might be new:

to be familiar with something - to have knowledge of or to know something
chunk - a large piece of something
sticks out - to protrude or extend outside of something
garrison - a military or army base
personnel - staff or employees
punting - a river-based activity where you use a pole/stick to drive yourself down the river
river bed - the bottom of a river
give it a go - try to do something
in a nutshell - in summary

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 16 - are stereotypes about British people true?

Sun, 15 May 2022 11:00:00 GMT

Let's talk about some stereotypes! Do all British people love tea and the Queen?? p.s. sorry about the geese in the background haha

Transcript coming soon!

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

confrontational - being ready for an argument or fight with people
be serious about - care a lot about; committed to something or someone
diplomatic - fair and avoiding taking sides in a situation
refrain from - to not do something
oral hygiene - the health of the teeth
Cockney accent - an accent found in certain parts of London, often heard in films and other media
orphan - a child without parents
Oliver - a famous play about an orphan in England. The accents in this play / film might be considered Cockney
wrap up - to finish

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 15 - 10 examples of idioms / phrases

Sat, 07 May 2022 13:00:00 GMT

Let's look at some idioms and phrases! These can be really hard to understand as a non-native speaker.

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new:

Bank Holiday - a public holiday where people tend not to work
tl'dr - too long didn't read - an acronym used often on the internet to give a summary

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 14 - tips for pronunciation - diphthongs in English

Sun, 24 Apr 2022 15:00:00 GMT

What is a diphthong? Simply defined, a diphthong is a combination of vowels that together create a particular sound. They usually combine the sounds of two or more vowels. As you probably already know, English has some weird spellings and it can be hard to guess how to pronounce words. In this episode, I'll introduce you to the 7 main diphthongs in English with examples to try and help you make a better guess at how to pronounce a new word!

Transcript coming soon!

Manchester Voices project: https://www.manchestervoices.org/talking-about-voices/

Words and phrases that might be new

- vowels: the letters a, e , i, o and u
- so on and so forth: etc.

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 13 - introducing regions of the UK #3 North East England

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 18:00:00 GMT

Today I will introduce you briefly to the North East of England, home to cities like Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland. Remember, you can always visit these places yourselves or read about them to learn more. These is just some basic information :)

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new:

comprised of - made up of
Labour - one of the main political parties in the UK
Celts - a group of people that can be found around the UK and Ireland
hen do - a party for a bride before she gets married
stag do - a party for a groom before he gets married
Geordie - a term sometimes used to describe people from Newcastle and surrounding areas

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 12 - how to invite people to do something and British indirectness

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 17:00:00 GMT

Today we will talk about how you can invite someone to do something and about how a behaviour of some British people can lead to confusion and disappointment.

Transcript coming soon.

Some words and phrases that may be new

make up for - to compensate for; to do something because you didn't do something else
to be in the mood to / for - to want to do something
grab dinner - to have dinner
munch / scran - snacks
crisps - a potato snack, known in other places as potato chips

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 11 - introducing regions of the UK #2 Yorkshire

Sat, 02 Apr 2022 15:00:00 GMT

Today, I'll introduce you to the region of Yorkshire and the Humber. Have you ever visited a town or city in the area?

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new to you:

establish - to create or begin something
abbey - a type of church
mining - taking materials like coal out of the ground
affluent - rich
rivalry - a long conflict or competition between two sides
secondary school - high school

Celebrities and media mentioned to hear some Yorkshire accents: Sean Bean, Happy Valley, Emmerdale, Educating Yorkshire

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - episode 10 - politeness in the UK

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 22:00:00 GMT

Do British people apologize too much? Yes, we do - sorry :D

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

- to struggle with something: to find it difficult
- to be keen on: to be enthusiastic about something
- to cut somebody off: to interrupt somebody when they are speaking
- brief: short
- unusual: strange

Example of ordering at a cafe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijpeOyhax9w

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 9 - introducing regions of the UK #1 North West England

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 22:00:00 GMT

Today, I'll introduce you to the North West of England. Have you ever visited a town or city in the area?

Transcript coming soon.

Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
- region: an area of a country
- to consist of: to be made of; to include
- it just came to me: I just remembered
- to depict: to show
- to pass away: to die

Celebrities mentioned to hear some North West accents: Paddy McGuinness, Cilla Black, Aitch, The 1975, Craig Charles, Marcus Rashford

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 8 - what is the gerund and how to use it

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 22:00:00 GMT

This time I talk about the gerund form of verbs and how to use this form.

Transcript coming soon.

Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:

- continuous / present progressive: a verb form to describe an ongoing action
- gerund: a noun form of a verb that ends in -ing e.g. I like reading
- preposition / postposition: a small word that explains the relationship between words, the location, etc. A preposition comes before a verb whereas a postposition comes after a verb.
- vase: a container used for decoration or to hold flowers
- tune in: to listen to something or watch something

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 7 - conversation with an English learner #3

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 21:00:00 GMT

This time I chat with Sonjide, a Bengali speaker raised in Sweden who now lives in London. We talk about how to learn English with music and TV, weird phrases in English and
the power of curiosity. P.S. please sponsor me, Gramamrly :D

Transcript coming soon.

Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:

to be thrown into something - to suddenly be in a situation you are not prepared for

Liverpuddlian - somebody from Liverpool

Mancunian - somebody from Manchester

idiom - a phrase that makes no sense literally but has a set meaning

the best of both worlds - to enjoy the benefits of two different situations

learning curve - the time and difficulty of learning a new skill (usually used as 'big learning curve' to mean something that is difficult to learn)

gist - the loose meaning of something

nuance - the feeling or small difference in a situation

init - slang for 'isn't it'; used mostly by younger people to seek confirmation

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 6 - conversation with a native speaker #1

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 22:00:00 GMT

I chat with Tori, who is from the United States, to discuss what it's like to interact with people who speak the same language but use different words and have a different accent. We discuss hot topics like how the UK does not stock enough different types of peanut butter, The Great Jaffa Cake debate, why British people need x's on their text messages, and ponder the question: why do you sit IN a car, but ride ON a bus or train??

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

Jaffa Cake: a biscuit with chocolate on top and an orange filling
to consume: can mean to eat, can also mean to enjoy media, whether that's watching or reading
halls: dormitories/dorms - a place where students stay whilst at university
to go blank: to suddenly not know what to say in a situation
to be on you: to be your fault
variation: difference
colleague: work mate

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 5 - using the conditional in English

Sat, 19 Feb 2022 18:00:00 GMT

We look at three ways to use the conditional in English and how each way can tell us how likely the condition is to come true.

Transcript coming soon.

Words and phrases that might be new for you:

condition: describes a situation that needs to come true for another action or situation to happen
modal verb: verbs like could, should and would
drop (in the case of prices dropping): this mean the prices are getting lower

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 4 - conversation with an English learner #2

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 21:00:00 GMT

This time I chat with Dmitry, a native Russian speaker who has spent time in Ireland and England. We talk about small talk in English, how memes can help with your language learning, gaming in your second language, and how different English is in the classroom versus real life.

Transcript coming soon.

Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:

diction: the way that a person speaks, including their accent, pronunciation, and many other things
Geordie: a word used to describe people and the accent from the city of Newcastle
conjugation: the way a verb is changed to match tense
tricky: difficult
dialogue: a conversation
to observe: to watch carefully
to encounter difficulty: to experience difficulty
response: answer
to engage: to take part in something; to get someone's attention in a conversation
quid: pound (covered in the last episode)
irony: saying the opposite of what you mean, often to be funny

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 3 - examples of British slang

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 19:00:00 GMT

We look at a few interesting words and phrases from British slang. Got a question, suggestion or request for an episode theme? Email us at abritdifficult@gmail.com!

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Transcript coming soon.

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 2 - conversation with an English learner #1

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 18:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I talk with my friend, Irina, a native Romanian speaker who has learned English as a second language. We talk about how she learned English, some tips for English learners and the importance of media and music in language learning.

Transcript coming soon.

Some vocabulary that might be new for you in this episode:
- plateau: a period when you stop improving at doing something
- context: another way to say situation
- euphemism: usually a more polite way of saying a controversial or rude thing
- extract - a small piece of a text
- have cause to - have a reason to do something
- to operate - to act

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Brit Difficult - Episode 1 - should vs must

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 20:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we look at the difference between should and must and when to use each of them. We also explore the phrase 'get on with' and its meanings.

Transcript will be available soon.

Intro music is 'Just Relax' by Lesfm via Pixabay.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.