Get our FREE IELTS VIDEO TRAINING NOW What makes you come alive? To “come alive” means to become energized and excited about something. Here is the question: “Each day wake up and ask yourself, what will make you feel most alive that day.” What makes you feel happier? What makes you feel smaller or less alive? We all owe it to ourselves to think about this every day. Come back to our website for more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our FREE IELTS VIDEO TRAINING NOW Are you living in the US? Have you avoided setting up your voicemail in English because you aren’t sure what to say? Today we’ll show you exactly how to set it up and what to say. If you don’t have your voicemail set up and you get a business call, most likely the person will not try to call back again so you will miss an opportunity. Come back to our website to get a summary of the steps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our FREE IELTS VIDEO TRAINING When someone has a bad idea and you don’t agree or you don’t want to accept the invitation, how can you say it in English without offending the person? Today you will find out exactly how to do it. Here are some nice ways to reject someone’s idea without being rude (how to validate someone’s idea): * “That’s a great idea but what do you think about….(another suggestion)” * “Hmm good thought. I think… (another suggestion)” Come back to our site to get 2 more ways to validate someone's idea in English. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our FREE IELTS VIDEO TRAINING Do you struggle when it comes to dating in English? It can be quite a challenge to try to find the “love of your life”! In today’s episode, our dating consultant, Jessica Coyle will show you how to deal with it when you become discouraged or disappointed. Come back to our site to read more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taking the IELTS exam? Get our free IELTS video training course Do you have a 5-year plan? Do you think it’s important to have one? Today we’ll talk about why sometimes it’s good to let your plans go and relax into life a bit. Today we talked about a great quote: “It is always wise to look ahead but difficult to look further than you can see.” -Winston Churchill You can make as many plans as you want in life but you never know what’s going to happen. Here is another great quote: “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” -John Lennon What do you think? Should you have a 5-year plan? Do you plan for the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our FREE IELTS VIDEO TRAINING English acronyms are fun and easy when it comes text messaging and emailing but you need to know what impression you give the person when you use them! Today we’ll show you some common English acronyms and what impression they create. We’ll also give you some alternatives. Here are some common acronyms in English when we send text messages: * LOL (“Laughing out loud”)- A lot of people get annoyed by this one. This could be used in a text message. A good alternative is “haha” * TTYL (“Talk to you later”)- This one also sounds really young. A more mature alternative is “talk soon” or “talk to you soon” or actually writing out “talk to you later” * SMH (“Shaking My Head”)- This is a newer acronym. You can use this when you disapprove of something that someone has done. * OMG: (“Oh my gosh”)- This can also be annoying. Other options are: “Oh wow” or “I can’t believe it.” Which acronyms have you used? Let us know in the comments below. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our FREE IELTS VIDEO TRAINING Spring is finally here! It was long, cold, and tough winter and now we want to talk about spring! Do you know how to talk about spring in English? This is a great way to start English conversations these days. In today’s episode you’ll get a bunch of ways to talk about it with a native speaker. Here are some expressions from today’s episode: * To spring into action: To get going, to move into action, to act quickly, to get started quickly * To have a spring in your step: To have energy, to move easily and quickly, to be light on your feet * Spring cleaning: To clean out your home or space after the winter, to get rid of things that you don’t need anymore * To spring up: To come up, to arise spontaneously * To spring ahead: To advance * To spring something on someone: To surprise someone about something, to put someone under pressure with a surprise * To spring for something: To buy something that is slightly out of your budget Do you love springtime? What do you like to do in the spring? Let us know in the comments! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our IELTS Free Video Training Do you know what to say to someone after a good or a bad date in English? Today you will find out from our favorite dating consultant, Jessica Coyle. You’ll also get some new English dating vocabulary and terms that you can use in the real world! What should we do if we have just had a good date: (1) Send a text message that evening and say: * “I had a really nice time.” * “Had a great time tonight. (I) Would like to see you again.” * “It was really nice meeting you, let’s hit up (go to) the MOMA.” * “Thanks so much for a great time.” * “I enjoyed meeting you.” (2) Jessica likes to research the person online after a good first date to find out more about the person. If you had a bad date you can say: * “I didn’t feel any chemistry but best of luck.” * “I got more of a friend vibe.” Key vocab from today: * To ghost someone: To disappear and stop communicating after you have been on a date * To do the fade-away: Similar to ghosting (see above) * A vibe: A general feeling or impression * To go Dutch: To split the bill Jessica’s Bio: Jessica Coyle has been teaching English since 2007. She received her Master’s in TESOL in 2013, finishing with a professional project researching the use of improvisational comedy teaching techniques to teach English as a second language. She has studied and performed improv comedy all over Korea, China, Canada and the United States. She writes a dating blog called Hopeful Disasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Come back to http://www.allearsenglish.com/305 and tell us what change you are going to make after today's episode Get our FREE IELTS CHEAT SHEET: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation Today you’ll find out why staying in the same place will never get you to where you want to go and how to make an effective change quickly and easily. Here it today’s quote: “To get something you never had you have to do something you never did.” -Unknown “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” -Tony Robbins It’s so easy to get into a habit but we have to step back and ask ourselves if our habits are creating the results that we want. Time goes by fast. We often realize that we have been doing the same thing for years and we haven’t achieved our goals. Here are some examples of our goals: * Michelle’s new goal: She wants to build upper body strength. How is she working towards the goal? She is using resistance bands at her home a few times every week. * Lindsay’s new goal: She wants to deepen her meditation practice. She has started going to her meditation center every morning. What about you? What are you going to change after listening to today’s episode? What change do you want to create in your life? Tell us in the comments below Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Come back and tell us what your dating deal breakers are! http://www.allearsenglish.com/303 Get our FREE IELTS CHEAT SHEET: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation Today we have our dating consultant, Jessica Coyle, back on the show! Today Jessica is back to talk about the concept of chemistry in dating in urban US culture. Jessica is going to tell us how to know if we actually have chemistry with someone. Chemistry: A magnetic pull between two people where you seem to understand the other person and something is different about that person to you. Two different types of chemistry: * Slow burn chemistry: You start out as friends and then chemistry and attraction gradually builds over time. Features of the other person that seemed strange or unattractive initially start to become endearing and attractive. * Quick chemistry/limerance: This is more of an infatuation. Jessica thinks that online dating and set ups reward this type of attraction. These connections can be really intense at first and then can fizzle out and not end well. At the same time, sometimes these attractions can work in the long run. What about in your culture? What are your deal breakers when it comes to dating? In your culture, how much influence do your parents and family have when it comes to your choice of a partner? Here are some dating vocabulary words that we talked about today: * Limerance * Lukewarm feelings * Slow burn chemistry * Quirks (personality and physical) * Deal breakers * Red Flag Jessica Coyle has been teaching English since 2007. She received her Master’s in TESOL in 2013, finishing with a professional project researching the use of improvisational comedy teaching techniques to teach English as a second language. She has studied and performed improv comedy all over Korea, China, Canada and the United States. How to find Jessica Online: Her dating blog: https://hopefuldisasters.wordpress.com/ Let us know your thoughts on this topic. What are your deal breakers? How important is chemistry when it comes to dating in your home culture? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get our FREE IELTS CHEAT SHEET: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation Come back to this episode and write a sample sentence- we'll tell you if you're correct: http:/www.allearsenglish.com/303 Are you STILL making this English mistake? We hear a lot of intermediate learners still getting confused between “I would like” and “I like” in English. Today you’ll get two examples of how to solve this mistake. 1) “Do you like coffee?” This means do you enjoy coffee? 2) “Would you like a coffee?” This means that someone is inviting you to have a coffee or is offering you a coffee. Listen to the role plays in the episode to hear how Lindsay and Michelle use “Do you like” versus “Would you like.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Come back and let us know your thoughts on this: http://www.allearsenglish.com/302 Get our FREE IELTS Cheat Sheet: http://www.allearsenglish.com/evaluation Today we have a special guest on the show! Our guest will challenge your assumption that SPEAKING is the most important part of learning English. Julian sees learning languages as a simple, two-step process: Step 1: Learn the language that we need for our specific situation Step 1: Apply the language and use it Julian’s 3 Tips- How to Keep it Practical: * Try to do many different kinds of things in the language: English is a process. Spend time with it. You can’t HAVE it. You can’t GET it. You need to constantly maintain it. Julian says that there is no difference between “experiencing” the language and “learning” the language, as far as your brain is concerned. By experiencing the language in many different ways, we can acquire chunks of English which will help us to sound more native-like. You should try to encounter the language through reading, speaking, listening, writing, etc. Get a more well-rounded experience of the language instead of just focusing on speaking. * Try to get a balance between intensive activity and relaxed exposure: Some of your work should be deliberate, focused, practical, intensive study. At the same time, some of your work should be a more relaxed encounter with the language. You need to take it in in a way that is enjoyable and easy. You could try listening to music in the language or watching TV. The key is getting a balance between the two forms of learning. * Focus on things which are useful to YOU: Exclude things that aren’t useful to you. Don’t bother to learn things that you won’t need to use. According to Julian, we don’t become fluent in English. We become fluent in specific topics such as cooking, law, politics, art, etc. Choose your focus and pursue English in that area. Drop the idea of becoming “fluent” in English in general. Julian’s Bio: Our guest today is an English teacher from England, living in Japan. He is the father of three bilingual children, is halfway through a PhD program in Psycholinguistics and used his insight about language learning to go from speaking poor Japanese in 2008 to being a translator in 2010. Our guest today is Julian from DoingEnglish.com What do you think? Have you focused down on one specific area of English learning? What area are you focusing on? Let us know in the comments! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices