Working from home; a dream or a nightmare?

Working from home; a dream or a nightmare?

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12, May, 2025

Episode 254: working from home; a dream or a nightmare?

In this podcast,  Sue  speaks to 5 people about their experience of workingh from home; some people love it, others find that it’s not ver efficient. What’s your view?

Help my workplace is stressing me out

Working from home; a dream or a nightmare?

by English Podcasts

Welcome back to English-Podcasts In this episode we talk about working from home. This podcast was recorded during the Covid pandemic, and since then we’ve become more used to working from home. What do you think? What’s your experience?

Notes

Since the Covid pandemic and the lockdown, working from home has now become the new normal. It’s not only office based jobs that have had to adapt to home working but also jobs which are traditionally more “people” based. It seems that almost overnight there has been a major attitude shift as a huge quantity of work tasks have been transferred on-line. But how easy is it to re-organise the working day to these new conditions? Is working from home a dream or a nightmare for you ?

Listen to these 5 people talk about the ups and downs of home/remote working.

Stephen has had to adapt his car showroom to new Covid-19 guidelines. What does he say about the new regulations regarding test driving a prestige car ? 

Anne is a lawyer, who is conducting her legal work on-line. What does she say about assessing the body language of witnesses in a trial?

Philippe as a doctor is doing consultations on the phone. What does he say about his patients’ attitude to remote consultations? 

Victoria as a primary school teacher is having to find creative ways to engage her young students. What does she mean when she says her experience has been a “mixed bag”?

Cyann as a high school student is not a huge fan of on-line lessons. What reasons does she give ?

Recap & Takeaways

Before you listen take a look at some of these points that several business studies have identified as the biggest struggle people have with remote working. What is your experience?

Unplugging after work

Loneliness

Communication with colleagues

Distractions at home

Being in a different timezone to colleagues

Staying motivated

Finding reliable wi-fi

 

 

 

 

 

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Mysteries of Everyday Life: Why do we blow on hot food?

Mysteries of Everyday Life: Why do we blow on hot food?

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12, May, 2025

Episode 239: Why do we blow on hot food and drinks?

In this series The Case of Everyday Mysteries: Why do we do That?, we answer the burning question of why we tend to blow on hot drinks and food. Just what are we trying to achieve? Listen in as you’ll hear the science and psychology beind this habit, and learn great vocabulary along the way.

Writing effective emails

Everyday mysteries: why do we blow on hot food and drinks ?

by English Podcasts

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. In this episode we look at the science behind the simple act of blowing on hot food and drinks. You’ll also pick up a ton of great vocabulary.

Notes

Is blowing on hot food and drink actually effective?

How many degress do we actually cool the beverage down by ?

Are we trying to cheat physics?

Are we just simply trying to take control of a situation when just waiting patiently might be just as production?

Do all cultures don this?

Well, these are just some of the questions that we tackle in this podcast. Do you have any of your own thoughts on this matter ? 

 

Recap & Takeaways

As we get quite philosphical listen out for these words which will help you undertand our conversation:

Age-old ritual

A magical gust of air

Molten lava beverage

To be scolded (by a hot drink)

To be overzealous

70°C

A polite puff of air

To cheat physics

“Displacement activity”.

Bad manners

A good stiring spoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to manage phone calls in English

How to manage phone calls in English

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12, May, 2025

Episode 238: How to manage  phone calls in English

In this podcast, you can pick up tips on the best way to take control phone calls in English by reducing stress and slowing down the conversation to suit you.

Writing effective emails

How to manage phone calls in English

by English Podcasts

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. In this episode we cover hot tips to help you master phone calls in English. We’ll help you take control of the call. Listen in.

Notes

Many learners prefer sending an e-mail to making a phone call for one reason…. it’s easier as it avoids the stress of actually speaking and listening ! However, sometimes a quick phone can can solve a problem in minutes rather than having to wait for the “to and fro” of e-mails.

 

Recap & Takeaways

BEFORE LISTENING, THINK ABOUT YOUR DIFFICULTIES WITH PHONE CALLS.

How do you feel?

Are you concerned more about speaking or understanding ?

HERE ARE OUR TOP TIPS (to be completed later)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Language Learning: How To Stay Motivated

Language Learning: How To Stay Motivated

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12, May, 2025

Episode 219: Language Learning: how to stay motivated

In this podcast, we talk about staying motivated when language learning. Listen in to our 10 tips.

How to stay motivated learning English

Langauge Learning: how to stay motivated

by English Podcasts

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. In this episode we discuss the ups and downs of language learning. Sometimes we need to be reminded of our “why” to get us back on track. This podcast will provide some useful tips to keep going.

Notes

When we start learning something new, it can be a novel experience at the start and we want to put a lot of effort into our learning, but as time goes on, we can start to flag and at times we just cannot get the motivation to continue learning.

Lack of motivation is a common problem faced by many language learners, so if you’re struggling to get motivated to learn, you aren’t alone! For those of us who have taken up the task of independently learning a language, low motivation can be even more difficult without peers around you for encouragement.

To kick-start your motivation you may need to reveiw these points:

Why do I need this language ? Is it for work, for travel, for intectual stimulation, to learn a song, to watch a film ?

Recap & Takeaways

BEFORE LISTENING, THINK ABOUT YOUR ORIGINAL GOAL

You  should always have clear goals in sight, review and change your goals regularly.

Have some form of testing in place to find out whether they have successfully achieved your aim. This could be a traditional test on-line or just a conversation in a language club….. but do expect progress to be in small baby steps.

Language is essentially about communication, so join a club (on-line) or a class, or a group. Having a support group is fun too.

Listen up to our 10 tips and let us know if you find them useful…. we would love to hear from you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tips for Writing E-mails

Tips for Writing E-mails

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12, May, 2025

Episode 237: Tips for Writing E-mails

In this podcast, you can pick up tips on the best way to start and finish your mails without causing any cultural misunderstandings!

Writing effective emails

Tips for Writing E-mails

by English Podcasts

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. In this episode we discuss the cultural minefield of modern communication. How are e-mails different to letters and phone calls? No need to worry anymore, we have the answers.

Notes

Email has become the top method of communication in the workforce. Reasons for emails vary from business correspondences to personal messages.

They can be as short as one word and as long as a novella, but that does not mean that these are all appropriate or even effective.

It’s important  to learn how to effectively use email at work.

Worldwide email use continues to grow at a healthy pace. In 2015, the number of worldwide email users will be nearly 2.6 billion. By the end of 2023, the number of worldwide email users will increase to over 4 billion.

E-mail communication has taken over other forms of communication; how often do you write a letter ? It’s even taking over phone calls. All the more reason to have the correct forms of introduction and closing….. listen up to our tips.

Recap & Takeaways

BEFORE LISTENING, THINK ABOUT YOUR E-MAILS

Who do you write to?

How does your relationship change over time with your correspondants? Are you friendly, but not friends? Are you in a position of authority or not?

What kind of information are you asking for in your e-mails? Should the tone be friendly or firm?

THESE CULTURAL ASPECTS SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT

How long are your e-mails? Would a phone call have been quicker?

As language learners, an e-mail may seem an easier option than picking up the phone. Take a listen to our upcoming podcast on phone calls to great some useful tips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Effective Presentation Skills Episode 1

Effective Presentation Skills Episode 1

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12, May, 2025

Episode 229: Effective Presentation Skills Episode 1

In this podcast, we talk about the best way to overcome the fear of speaking in public and then building on that how to make your presentations effective.

Effective Presentation skills Episode 1

by English Podcasts

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. Effective Presentation Skills Episode 1 is part of a series of podcasts aimed at helping people to be more effective when presenting in front of an audience.Listen in as we talk about some of the pitfalls in presentations, including managing stress, information overload and why people deliver presentations.

Notes

Presenting information clearly and effectively is one of the key soft skills, if not the most important soft skill for life, and especially in business.

Getting your message or opinion across is essential, and, today, presentation skills are required in almost every field of professional life.

If you are a manager, a technician, an engineer, a student, business owner or whatever, you may very well be asked to make a presentation at some point.

This can be something that not all of us relish.

This series of podcasts are meant to help you avoid some of the common mistakes that some presenters make, so that you can get your message across effectively and engage with your audience..

Everything that we talk about is about common sense skills that can be applied by anyone in a presentation, there are no miracle answers, just pragmatic tips that actually work.

After all, there is no point being the best student, manager, technician or engineer in your organisation if you cannot effectively communicate what you know and convince others.

Preparation is the most important part of a successful presentation and is a part that is often neglected by speakers.

This is the crucial foundation and there are no short-cuts to excellence.

Recap & Takeaways

In this podcast you’ll be motovated and boosted by the tips and advice we give about presenting efectively. We cover:

Preparation

Breathing and stress

Effective slides

How to present data

The best hook (opening remarks)

The Take Home Message

Accent

Speaking in English

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