Cleft Sentences are an area of English grammar that is used in daily conversation, but isn't often taught.

I don't know many things, but what I am knowledgable about is English! (There's an example!)

In this episode, I first explain two of these grammar patterns that you can follow, and then I go through some questions about travel, life experience, and work while answering using this grammar. And of course, I encourage you to do the same.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast309

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Ben Gill from To The Point English joins us today for a great, detailed overview of the Cambridge English exams.

Ben covers all sorts of topics and questions related to these exams on his YouTube channel (particularly B2, C1, and C2 levels). 

The exams are huge and we could talk about them for days, so in today's episode,
I try to ask Ben a couple of common questions for each paper of the exam.

We talk about tips for the listening exam, what accents to prepare for in the speaking exam, how much advanced grammar to use in your writing, and strategies for making the reading sections easier.

Exam Format:

• B2 First
• C1 Advanced
• C2 Proficiency

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast308

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For the past 6 months, I've been noting down the most common mistakes I see English learners make in preparation for this episode.

I go through them one by one and give examples from my own life to give you some context for each one and show you how they're used.

Some of these are simple mistakes, and others look at the subtle differences between two similar phrases.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast307

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I've been tracking my own language learning for over a year and it's amazing to see my progress and time invested over that period.

In this episode, I share with you the lessons from tracking all this data every day for one year, the benefits of doing so, and why doing something similar might be beneficial to you.

Don't forget to join the discussion by leaving a comment in the shownotes or wherever you listen to this podcast.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast306

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As an annual tradition here on the podcast, let's talk about New Year Resolutions! I'll be talking about how 2024 went for me - looking at work goals, personal goals, and bucket list goals.

I then move onto looking ahead to 2025 and plan for the year ahead. A lot can change, but I'm discussing some goals I have for the upcoming year with the goal of enjoying the year and learning more.

Head to the comments below and join in with the conversation by sharing your own reviews and goals.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast305

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In this episode, we'll be going around the world to 5 different countries and looking at their different Christmas traditions. While doing this, I'll be sharing one expression with each one that you can use in daily conversations at any time of the year.

I also talk a little bit about the differences in my experience between Christmas in Thailand and the UK.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast304

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Today I'm joined by Emma (Adventure into English) for a conversation about group vs solo activities. Emma has been helping with the group classes at Level Up English for some time now, so it's an appropriate topic for today.

We start by discussing some Would You Rather questions for activities that can be done as a group or on your own.

We then move onto some English expressions around the topic of groups and working together. These are expressions you can use in your daily life, and I quiz Emma on using these in her replies. See if you can join in the game too!

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast303

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Mental Health is something we should all take seriously and I believe there's a lot of crossover between language learning and having a healthy mindset.

This was a request from a listener to cover this topic. Although I am of course, not a professional, I do love the topic, so I share 18 different methods that I used to improve my own mental health and bring happiness into my life. I hope you find some of them useful too.

Of course, as always, I mention loads of fantastic English words and phrases related to this topic that you can use in your daily life too.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast302

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You may know that British people are famous for using the word 'sorry' all the time.

In this episode, I talk about this habit and how much truth is behind it, but I also share the different situations in which we would say 'sorry' in the UK - and maybe more generally in the English-speaking world too.

Sorry is so much more than a word used when you make a mistake and it can have many different meanings.

There are also many different ways to apologise and say you're sorry depending on how serious the situation is, so in the second half of this episode, I cover these different phrases.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast301

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In Episode 300 of the podcast, Akari from the Nihongo For You podcast joins me today for a chat about teaching languages, moving abroad, and learning English.

In the second half of the episode, we talk about life experiences where I ask Akari questions using the present perfect tense about things she has done before. It's a great opportunity to practice the grammar and see it used in the context of a regular conversation.

Perhaps you could also answer along at home and practice for yourself?

If you're learning or thinking about learning Japanese, don't forget to check out Akari's website and podcast too.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast300

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In my last episode, I spoke about my cycling trip to Taiwan. While there, I had a lot of time alone to think to myself with no distractions. In this episode today, I'm going to share some of the things I was thinking about.

One of these was the idea of Hedonic Adaptation (also known as the Hedonic Treadmill). This is something that we all face as humans and might just be the key to understanding how to be happy and content.

It's a really useful topic when it comes to being happy with what you have and not always feeling bad about what you don't - such as feeling bad for not being good enough at English.

Let's find out more.

Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast299

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