Everyday English with James (Advanced Native English Listening Practice)

In this episode, I set out for Riga on a budget trip east, chasing the thrill of cheap hostels and cut-price flights.But mid-air, the journey takes a sudden turn. Silence falls in the cabin, the tannoy crackles, and a passenger’s life hangs in the balance.This story is about courage in unexpected places, the fragility of travel, and the strange mix of fear, humour, and humanity that fills the space between take-off and landing.✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/138130818🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Movement & Action, Feelings & States, Travel & PlacesGrammar: Concessive Clauses with Inversion to show contrast, Cleft Sentences to split a sentence into two clauses to put focus on a particular word or idea, Multi-word Complex Compound Adjectives to combine several words into one long modifier before a noun.🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, I talk about the storm of a bad day.I talk about the weight we carry when we expect every day to be OK all the time, the quiet damage of beating ourselves up, and the small things that can ease the load a bit.This is a lookback on why it’s alright to feel low sometimes, how to share the struggle, and the simple truth that tomorrow always gives you another chance.✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/its-ok-to-have-137403297🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Emotions & Mood, Thinking & HonestyGrammar: Subjunctive for Hypothetical Advice / Desire to express advice, importance, or desire, often after verbs like 'suggest', 'insist', or adjectives like 'vital', Contrastive Focus with 'do' to give strong emphasis or stressing truth, Bare Conditionals to drop 'if' and invert the subject and auxiliary, often for formal or dramatic effect.🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, a smell hangs in the air that catches you mid-step, cuts through the day, and takes you somewhere you weren’t expecting.I walk through these moments: petrol on a cold service station forecourt, the sea before you see it, the green breath of the ground after rain, and the warm weight of a scent you can’t quite name.This is a slow wander through memory, the way certain smells outlast the years, and the quiet joy of letting them hold you for a while.Linguistically, it features adjectival post-position, nominalised clauses as subjects, and resumptive modifiers - structures that add texture, depth, and rhythm to advanced storytelling.If you’ve ever been pulled somewhere far away by nothing more than the air around you, this one’s for you.✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/my-favourite-17-136764083🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Smells & Senses, Memory & Emotion Triggers, Movement & Smell ActionsGrammar: Adjectival Post-Position to sound more poetic, rhythmic, or descriptive, Nominalised Clauses as Subjects to make an abstract idea the main focus of the sentence, Resumptive Modifiers to repeats a noun (or pronoun) and add extra detail or commentary after it.🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, we’re back home on Sunday in the late afternoon.There’s the smell of roast potatoes in the air, gravy bubbling on the stove, steam on the windows, someone shouting for more Yorkshire puddings from the other room.I talk through these memories of the British Sunday roast: a meal woven into our national story.This episode is a warm plate of tradition, comfort, and class history from medieval feasts to factory families to vegan gravy in a French bar on a rainy day.If you’ve ever missed the taste of a meal from home, this one’s for you!🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Food & Cooking, Home, Comfort & Family Life, Informal & Colloquial Expressions, Sensory LanguageGrammar: Left dislocation for emphasis or clarity by placing the topic at the start of the sentence, followed by a pronoun that refers back to it, Ellipsis in coordinate clauses to avoid repetition and create more natural, flowing speech by omitting repeated words in joined clauses, Negative question tags to seek agreement or confirmation in a conversational, often rhetorical way, Inferred conditionals to suggest a conditional idea without using the word if, creating a more subtle or idiomatic tone.✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/136038150📲 Follow me, Get transcripts, Book a class with me: https://linktr.ee/jamesbradleyenglish🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, we’re in the kitchen.There’s steam on the window. Rain outside. The clink of a spoon against a mug.We follow the journey of tea, from ancient leaves in China to builder’s brews on British scaffolding.It’s a story of empire, class, comfort, and quiet ritual. Of arguments over milk, sugar, and whether a proper cuppa needs a teapot.I walk you through the history, the culture, and the method - not the fancy stuff, but the real stuff.If you’ve ever wondered why Brits care so much about tea… this one’s for you.🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Tea & Food, Home & Everyday Life, British Idioms & Everyday SpeechGrammar: Mixed Conditionals to talk about an unreal past and its effect on the present, Right Dislocation / Displacement to add emphasis or make speech feel more natural and conversational.✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/135320912📲 Follow me, Get transcripts, Book a class with me: https://linktr.ee/jamesbradleyenglish🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, we’re riding home on a wonky second-hand bike - it folds in half, squeaks on corners, and makes you feel slightly ridiculous.This is a story about bad bike rental schemes, stolen wheels, and the quiet pride of holding your own against Lycra-clad cyclists on carbon frames.It’s also about learning to live with things that wobble, fix what’s broken, and find freedom in the awkward.Linguistically, it’s packed with UK slang, casual phrasal verbs, and metaphors born from movement: folding, snapping, setting up, sticking it in the boot.If you’ve ever been proud of your own bicycle, then this one’s for you!🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Everyday Action Phrasal Verbs, Bike & Transport, British Slang & Informal English, Idiomatic ExpressionsGrammar: Compressed noun phrases (to pack multiple ideas into tight, efficient units), Relative clauses with prepositions at the end (to make speech sound more natural and conversational), Ellipsis and substitution for cohesion (to avoid repetition and keep the flow natural).✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/134435865📲 Follow me, Get transcripts, Book a class with me: https://linktr.ee/jamesbradleyenglish🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, we’re getting behind the wheel.First time. Wrong side. Wrong hand on the gearstick?This is a story about learning to trust yourself when everything feels backwards.New roads, new rules, and calming down after fifteen minutes of full-blown panic.I talk through riding scooters, driving vans, motorway freedom, near-misses in Spain, and the then learning to just get on with it.Linguistically, it features participle clauses, fronted adverbials, and conditional reflection; all perfect for learners pushing into natural, advanced English.If you've ever felt out of your depth but carried on anyway, this one's for you.🧠 Today We Learn:Vocabulary: Driving & Vehicles, British Slang & Informal Speech.Grammar: Participle Clauses to show cause, time, or detail more elegantly by condensing full sentences, Fronted Adverbials to shift focus or set the scene by placing time, place, or contrast at the start of a sentence, Mixed and Implied Conditionals to reflect on imagined or uncertain outcomes in a natural, conversational way.✨ Get this episode’s transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/133332785📲 Follow me, Get transcripts, Book a class with me: https://linktr.ee/jamesbradleyenglish🐣 Too difficult? Search:“Beginner English with James” (beginner)“Slow English with James” (intermediate)

In this episode, we’re on a sofa. Sweating.It’s the middle of the night in the middle of summer. That strange, half-conscious hour where sleep slips through your fingers and the world feels slightly unreal.I talk through these fragments: the taste of cold, the war between heat and comfort, the stillness of city nights, and the slow, heavy rituals of insomnia.This episode is a quiet meditation on restlessness, overheated thoughts, and how seasons shape our state of mind.Linguistically, it features participle clauses, passive voice for poetic effect, and the occasional Old English alliterative pulse for rhythm and weight.If you’ve ever stared at the ceiling at 5AM, half-asleep, half-somewhere else — this one’s for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Phrasal Verbs, Emotional & Mental States, Spatial & Sensory LanguageGrammar: Participle Clauses to add flow, variety, and descriptive power by showing cause, time, or detail within one sentence, Alliterative Rhythm to create a punchy, poetic sound through repeated consonants, echoing the war-drum cadence of Old English storytelling, Cadence and Pacing to control the mood, tension, and emotional rise and fall of the piece through sentence length, punctuation, and strategic silence.✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132125744💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

In this episode, we leave behind the city and step into the salt-stung stillness of the beach - a place that pulls people from miles around to do nothing, and feel everything.We move through the day slowly: the ritual of getting ready, the laughter, the freezing water, the sand you can’t quite get rid of.But also the quiet - the kind that only comes after a swim, when your body is sun-warm and your mind is still.I share memories of British seaside trips from my childhood, and how my relationship with the beach has changed now that I live closer to it.There’s music in the background, jellyfish in the shallows, and even a night-time storm in autumn, where the sky lights up and the sea growls back.This episode is a meditation on rest, stillness, and sensory joy - told through clever modifiers, rich nominalisation, and inversion for emotional weight.If you’ve ever felt the peace of lying on a towel with nothing to do but exist — this one’s for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Nature & Environment, Travel & Experience, Sensory & Emotional Language, Storytelling & Description Tools, British Slang TermsGrammar: Clever Modifiers to intensify feeling, Nominalisation to express feelings, concepts, and actions as compact weighty nouns, Inversion for Emphasis to spotlight key ideas and add dramatic effect.✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/people-on-train-129988843💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

In this episode, we’re slowing down to look into the quiet theatre of daily life: the commute.What begins as a simple ride to work becomes a moment of inward-looking and introspection as we lay out the odd, silent intimacy of sharing space with strangers.From fluorescent-lit train carriages to the grey underground tunnels lines, we talk about how the mundane can sometimes hide unexpected beauty — in glances, habits, and the imagined lives of those around us.I share the thoughts that run through my mind on my own ride — the characters I’ve come up with, the quiet empathy I feel, and the thought that behind every unread book or tired gaze is a life as full as my own.If you've ever found yourself people-watching on the bus, wondering what someone’s going home to, or feeling oddly connected to someone you’ve never spoken to… this episode is for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Travel & Transport, Describing Boredom & Repetition, Observing Human Behaviour, Work & Daily Life, Speculation & ImaginationGrammar: Participle Clauses (to reduce sentence length and add a flowing, lyrical rhythm), Advanced Use of Past Modals (to add emotional nuance, uncertainty, and reflective speculation for poetic storytelling)✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/people-on-train-129988843💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

In today’s episode, we’re looking into one of the more complex feelings we can feel as human beings - bittersweetness.I’ll show you how this feeling mixes joy and sadness, using the metaphor of taste to help make sense of it all, just as the word itself does.We’ll look at moments of personal change and the emotional weight that comes with saying goodbye to people and places we love, even when we’re excited for what’s next.From leaving my hometown to watching close friends go their own way, I’ll share how these experiences shaped me, and why they’re both painful and beautiful at the same time.If you’ve ever found yourself looking back on a memory that stings and warms your heart at once, this episode is for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Everyday spoken expressions / idioms, Emotions & feelings, Thinking & decisions, Travel & lifestyle change, People & relationshipsGrammar: Inversion for Emphasis (“Only then did I realise that…” instead of “I only realised then that..”), Using Past Perfect for Narratives to describe events that happened before another past event (“I had already seen my friends leave when I made my decision to leave myself.”)✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/126735578💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a true British classic—fish and chips.I’ll share my thoughts on why this humble dish holds such a special place in British culture, not as a delicacy, but as pure comfort food.We’ll explore its working-class roots, the best ways to eat it, and how my own relationship with it has changed over the years.From childhood memories at the seaside to rainy-day chip shop visits, this episode is all about nostalgia, tradition, and the simple joys of food.If you’ve ever wondered what makes fish and chips so special to us Brits, this episode is for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Speaking & Expressing Opinions, Food & Eating, Texture & Sensory Experience, Pricing & Value, People & CultureGrammar: Relative clauses – adding natural detail and explanation (e.g. "Fish and chips, which is a staple in the UK, is often eaten with salt and vinegar."), Past habits with 'would' and 'used to' (e.g. "We used to get fish and chips after football."), Causative form ('have/get something done', ‘make something happen’)✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124977724💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

In today’s episode, we’re diving into moments of reflection and the strange way the past can collide with the present.I’ll share a story about reconnecting with students I taught five years ago and how that encounter made me stop and think about how much has changed—and how much has stayed the same.We’ll explore themes of growth, nostalgia, and the idea of meeting your past self.If you’ve ever found yourself wondering about the person you used to be and how they’d see the life you’re living now, this episode is for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Phrasal verbs, Feelings, Senses, & Perceptions, Memory & Time, Personality & BehaviourGrammar: Fronting (moving key info to the start), Cleft sentences for emphasis, Narrative tenses: past perfect (describing what happened before another past event)✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/123384985💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

Today’s episode is all about happiness - what it truly means, where we find it, and whether it’s something we can ever fully hold onto.We’ll get into the topic of money versus experiences, the balance between personal achievements and shared moments, and whether chasing happiness as a final goal is a mistake.I’ll also share my own thoughts on what brings me happiness, from purpose and self-care to life’s little joys - like a warm cup of tea on a stormy day or the smell of fresh bread from a bakery.If you’ve ever wondered what happiness really is, or if you’ve questioned whether it’s something we should chase at all, this episode is for you..🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Abstract Concepts & Feelings, Money & Success, Wealth, Financial stability, and Personal Achievement, Time & Change, Social & Human ConnectionGrammar: Relative Clauses, Passive Voice, Comparatives and Superlatives, Conditionals✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/121952900💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

Today’s episode is all about a winter adventure I went on last January in Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.I’ll take you through some surprises we faced, like roaming costs, a kind stranger who saved the day, and a nerve-wracking gondola ride through gale-force winds.I’ll also share my first attempt at snowboarding there, with plenty of falls, bruises, and laughs.If you’ve ever had an adventure that didn’t quite go to plan but still turned out amazing, you’ll definitely relate to this one.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Travel, transportation, winter, skiing, mountain activitiesPhrasal verbs and idioms✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/everyday-english-120557421Buy on Gumroad for €1: https://jamesbradleyenglish.gumroad.com/l/everyday-english-with-james-5-snowboarding-andorra💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:Beginner’s English with JamesThe intermediate version on Slow English with James.

Today I talk about music.Music has been a constant in my life, from my early days of flipping through record shop stacks to my current 3,000-song Spotify library.In this episode, we take a nostalgic trip through the growth of listening habits.From vinyl records and cassettes to CDs, MP3 players, and the world of streaming.We discover how the experience of finding, buying, and enjoying music has changed, and why albums, mixtapes, and playlists all have their place.I'll share my own music journey, the pros and cons of today’s streaming era, and why I think being more mindful with music can help us reconnect with the art.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Shopping, Music✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/118779334Buy on Gumroad for €1: https://jamesbradleyenglish.gumroad.com/l/everyday-english-with-james-4-listening-to-music💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram, TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:Beginner’s English with JamesSlow English with James

In today’s episode, I talk about a fear that’s been with me for as long as I can remember: flying.Living in Spain means I have to fly to visit my family in the UK, but every time I step onto a plane, the nerves creep back in.I share how this fear developed, how it affects me even now, and the ways I’ve learned to cope over the years.From looking up how planes work to finding little comforts (like an occasional “liquid courage” before takeoff).I also talk about the moments of beauty and calm I’ve found along the way, like breathtaking views above the clouds and the kindness of strangers that helped ease my fear.Whether you’re a nervous flyer or just curious about pushing through fears, this one’s for you.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Travel and transportation, feelings and emotions, mostly fear, actions and reactions, comparisons, phrasal verbsGrammar: Conditionals, Future Hypothetical, Modal Verbs✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/117719636Buy on Gumroad for €1: https://jamesbradleyenglish.gumroad.com/l/everyday-english-with-james-3-fear-of-flying💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram, TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:Beginner’s English with JamesSlow English with James

Today, we dive into one of my favorite hobbies: photography, with a twist - urban exploration, or "urbex."I take you on a journey through abandoned buildings, forgotten factories, and eerie, derelict places that hold stories of the past.We talk about the thrill of finding and capturing hidden spots, the history behind these locations, and the unique art of urbex photography.Along the way, I share personal stories from my own adventures, tips for staying safe, and why these places are so fascinating.Have you ever explored an abandoned place?🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Talking about places and objects, describing actions and movement, feelings and reactions to environments, hobbies, photography, urban exploration✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116742053Buy on Gumroad for €1: https://jamesbradleyenglish.gumroad.com/l/everyday-english-with-james-2-a-hobby-of-mine💡 Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok, YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯 Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:Beginner’s English with JamesSlow English with James

In this episode, we talk about seasons and how they shape our lives, from what we wear to how we spend our days.I take you through all four seasons - winter, spring, summer, and autumn - and share some unique British traditions and phrases tied to each one.We chat about layering up in the freezing cold, enjoying barbecues in the summer sun, and watching the world transform during spring and autumn.Whether you’re dealing with “brass monkeys” in winter or “cracking t’flags” in summer, there’s something magical about every season.🧠 What You’ll Learn:Vocabulary: Kinds of weather, adjectives to describe weather, feelings at certain temperatures✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:Join my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116742053Buy on Gumroad for €1: https://jamesbradleyenglish.gumroad.com/l/everyday-english-with-james-1-seasons💡Do you love my English lessons? Want to support my work? 😊Buy me a cup of tea ☕ https://ko-fi.com/jamesbradleyenglishJoin my Patreon for €3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/JamesBradleyEnglish📲Instagram,TikTok,YouTube: @jamesbradleyenglish🤯Too difficult?Don’t worry. Listen to:Beginner’s English with JamesSlow English with James