English As A Second Language (esl) Podcast - Learn English Online

Learn how to talk about your paycheck and the money taken out of it. Bill opens his first paycheck and Carol explains the deductions. Dialogue/Story Bill: It's about time! I've been waiting for my first paycheck and now it's finally here. I'm ready to party this weekend! Whoa! Carol: What's the matter? Bill: What happened to all my money? The amount of this check is a lot less than I expected it to be. Carol: Yeah, my first paycheck was an eye-opener for me, too. Look at the pay stub and you'll see all of the deductions. After federal income taxes, state income taxes, and FICA, you're not left with a lot of money. Bill: You're right, but what's FICA? Carol: Those are taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Did you sign up for a retirement plan? If you did, those retirement contributions are deducted, too. Bill: Thank God, I didn't. But you know what? That still doesn't account for all of the deductions. Carol: Let me take a look. Oh, it looks like your wages are being garnished. Bill: They're garnis

Learn how to talk about watching a soccer game in English. Shandy and Giuseppe watch from the stands as Shandy's boyfriend Fabio scores a goal and then gets hurt. Dialogue/Story Shandy: Oh, that player just hit my boyfriend! Did you see that? That was definitely a penalty. Giuseppe: No, I didn't. I was watching the goalie. The referee isn't doing anything. Shandy: I can't believe it. Why isn't the coach talking to that referee? I'm sure the other player deliberately kicked Fabio with his cleats. Giuseppe: Hey, look! Fabio has the ball and he's taking it all the way down the field. He shoots, he scores! That's his second goal of the game. He's going to win the game for the team. Shandy: What's he doing now? Why is he on the ground? Is he hurt? Giuseppe: I don't know. The trainer is helping him off the field. It doesn't look serious. Shandy: That's good, but he hates sitting on the bench. He won't want to watch the rest of the match from the sidelines. Giuseppe: Look at the stands over there! Shandy:

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In this free lesson, you will learn how to talk about seeing old friends again. Lucy tells a short story about a busy month of meeting people from her past. You will learn natural English expressions for making plans and staying in touch, like "swing by," "make time," "keep in touch," and "catch up." Dialogue/Story This has been a month for seeing old friends. I got an email a couple of weeks ago from an old friend from college. She and her family are visiting L.A. for a week. They plan to see family and to visit old friends. Since she moved away, I hadn't seen her in ages. I'm looking forward to meeting her new kids and seeing her again. Another old friend called this week. She and I were buddies when we were young. She plans to swing by L.A. on her way to San Francisco. We've made plans to have lunch. She works in Washington D.C. and is normally very busy. I'm glad she could make time for us to get together. When we say good-bye to our friends, we always hope to keep in touch. But, what with this and th

Topics: American Presidents – Barack Obama; Famous Songs – “Anchors Aweigh”; diffidence versus timidity versus shyness; receipt versus reception; no problem versus not at all versus no big deal Words: community organizer healthcare candidate rising star biracial campaign slogan grassroots polarized affordable anchor ashore foam diffidence timidity shyness receipt reception no problem not at all no big deal

Let’s not talk about the topic of today’s episode right now. So, how’s your day going? Slow dialog: 1:25 Explanations: 4:00 Fast dialog: 18:29 Lila: Why aren’t you dating? I have so many friends who would love to go out with you. George: Let’s change the subject. Talking about my love life isn’t very interesting. Lila: But really, you’re not getting any younger and… George: Moving on! Have you seen any good movies lately? Lila: Listen, all of your friends are settling down and you don’t want to go through life alone and lonely… George: That reminds me, didn’t you say that you were going to get another dog so that Rover isn’t lonely when you’re not home? Lila: Forget about my dog. You remember Rachel, don’t you? She just broke up with her boyfriend and she’d be perfect for you. George: Speaking of Rachel, how is her mother? Wasn’t she in the hospital? Lila: If Rachel isn’t your type, how about Amina? She has great legs and I know you’re a leg man. George: And now for something comp

Topics: Movies – Die Hard; American Authors – Emma Lazarus; in front of versus ahead of versus before; as if versus as though versus as for; to take stock Words: to be separated to give (something) another try to freshen up hostage safe cowboy to be descend from to be well received to dedicate to persecute to huddle to yearn in front of ahead of before as if as though as for to take stock

Topics: Famous Americans – Muhammad Ali; The Golden Gate Bridge; valuable versus invaluable; north/south versus northern/southern; common ground and universal experience Words: to take up professionally agile to reign nationalist social activist to be drafted to indict bridge strait fog precaution dizziness valuable invaluable north / south northern / southern common ground universal

If you can’t read this, then put on your glasses and listen to this episode on having bad eyes. Slow dialogue: 1:07 Explanations: 2:45 Fast dialogue: 15:19 Sue: This medication I’m taking is messing with my vision. Everything is blurry. Hamed: That’s a good reason for you to stay home from work today. Sue: I can’t. I have to give a presentation this afternoon and I can’t flake out on my coworkers. Hamed: What good are you to them if you’re blind as a bat? Sue: Everybody else will have crystal clear vision, so all I have to do is to put in an appearance. Things may not be as sharp as I’d like them to be, but I can still make out people and objects – as long as they’re really big. Hamed: I don’t think your coworkers are going to want you to blindside them today with your strange behavior. You’re going to do more harm than good. Sue: I can see well enough. I only see double if I move my head like this. Whoa… Hamed: At this point, I don’t care if you have X-ray vision. That medicatio

Learn how to take and leave phone messages in this podcast. Slow dialog: 0:57 Explanations: 3:42 Fast dialog: 21:10 I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home. As soon as I walked in the door, though, the phone rang. Paolo: Hello. Evelyn: Hi, could I speak to Tony? Paolo: He’s not here right now. Can I take a message? Evelyn: Do you know when he’ll be back? Paolo: No, I don’t. Evelyn: Okay. I’ll call back later. Thanks. …… Ten minutes later, the phone rang again. Paolo: Hello. Pam: Hi, is Tony there? Paolo: No, he’s out. Pam: Could I leave a message? Paolo: Sure. Give me a second to get something to write with…Okay, I’m ready. Pam: Could you tell him that Pam called and ask him to call me back as soon as he can. Paolo: Does he have your number? Pam: He should, but I’d better give it to you. It’s 279-555-6347. Paolo: Okay, I’ll tell him. Pam: Thanks. ….. As soon as I put down the receiver, the phone rang again. I couldn’t believe it. Paolo: Hello. Susa

Learn how to ask for clarification in English in this podcast. Slow dialog: 0:54 Explanations: 2:29 Fast dialog: 12:46 I was negotiating a contract with a new business partner, and we had a meeting to clarify the terms. Bill: If I understand the terms correctly, the length of the contract would be one year with a one-year option. Is that correct? Ms. Samuels: Do you mean the contract for equipment rental or the one for training? Bill: I was under the impression that both contracts had the same terms. Ms. Samuels: Yes and no. Let me see if I can clarify that. The terms are the same except that the contract for training has a clause that allows for the cancellation after the first six months. Bill: Could you elaborate on that? Ms. Samuels: Sure. What I mean is that either side could cancel the training contract after the six months as long as it’s in writing. Bill: Let me see if I have that right. This contract is for six months of training, but if it isn’t cancelled, continues for anoth