Explore the subtleties of English with expert teacher, Helen. Learn on the go or with focused attention and improve your command of the language in an enjoyable and effective way.
A series of conversations between Helen and non-native English speakers on an array of engaging topics. Put yourself in the guests’ shoes and learn from Helen’s guidance on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and notable phrases. Each episode is divided into two parts:
Each episode comes with supplementary materials that delve deeper into the themes covered. You can download the supplementary materials for €3.25 per episode or €18.75 for all episodes (incl. VAT). The supplementary materials are available for Episode 1 free of charge.
Helen and Javier Alfonso Gomez Chavarro talk about the wide variety of British accents.
01:21 What is a Brummie accent?
01:56 Find out why Javier wants a Brummie accent
02:44 Learn vowel sound differences between the north and south of England
06:07 “Been to” versus “gone to”
08:02 Test your knowledge of UK regional nicknames
12:41 “Lilt”
13:03 “Pick up” and other phrasal verbs
18:46 “Be/get used to
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Helen and Ira talk about a shared love of language and culture. This episode was recorded before the war in Ukraine, so that is not discussed.
01:13 Do Russians use small talk?
04:38 Is Russian a beautiful language?
07:02 Literature and Dostoevsky
07:55 Intriguing complexity of Russian names
12:23 “Do” and “did” in positive sentences for emphasis
15:33 “Subtle” and the silent B
17:28 “Broaden your horizons” and other idioms
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Helen and Navin Boeddha talk about the little-known country, Suriname.
01:09 Where is Suriname?
02:06 Where do people guess it is: Africa, Asia or South America?
03:49 Suriname’s ethnic mix
05:31 Navin’s family history from India to Suriname to the Netherlands
09:49 A funny stereotype
10:51 Suriname’s dancing culture
12:54 Indirect questions/statements
15:46 Past perfect
17:11 Idiom: “melting pot”
18:35 Structure with “recommend”
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Helen and Adriana Renedo talk about the magic of engineering.
01:03 Why engineering?
06:42 What Adriana built for the Chillida Leku Museum and how she created the magic
11:42 Pronunciation: “choose – chose – chosen” and “choice”
12:30 Indirect questions/statements
15:46 Phrasal verb: “throw away”
16:28 Pronunciation: words ending -age
18:06 Useful phrasal verbs: “get by” and “give up”
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Helen and Julie Vanhaeren talk about a new adventure into nursing.
01:14 Why Julie decided to become a nurse
04:04 COVID and nursing homes
06:58 Was nursing what you expected?
07:33 Real life emergencies
08:52 Most challenging and best things
10:45 Past perfect & past perfect continuous
16:33 “Furlough”
17:29 Suffix: “-wise”
18:17 “Did’ for emphasis
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Helen and Danilo Ramirez talk about the world of fitness.
01:07/09:19 “The” or no “the”? That is the question!
01:52 Body image and self-esteem
04:48 Pronunciation: “guidance”
06:38 Injuries
11:42 Phrasal verb: “get rid of”
13:51 Nouns as adjectives
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Helen and Fernando Louge talk about the dynamic sport of squash.
01:02 What is squash?
03:14/16:40 “Do sport” versus “practise sport”
03:35 Squash in Argentina
04:44 Egyptian players
05:10 Fernando’s injury
07:55 Squash as a spectator sport
10:46 Second conditional and “If you were to…”
14:57 “Ricochet” and silent T
18:02 Past modal verbs: “could have…”, “would have…”, “should have…”
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Helen and Tímea Pintye talk about the lifestyle of a digital nomad.
00:50 What is a digital nomad?
01:58 Argentina’s similarities to Europe
04:08 How to become a digital nomad
06:35 Highlights of Tímea’s travels
11:48 Present perfect
13:00 Future tenses: “going to” versus “present continuous”
15:36 Be/get used to
16:30 Phrasal verbs: “set up” and “switch off”
18:41 Third conditional
19:19 Inverted third conditional
If you’d like to follow Tímea and her travels, you can find her on Instagram at: timea_pintye
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I am a native British qualified English teacher with over fifteen years’ experience of inspiring students from around the world to perfect their English.
This podcast is my desire to share my knowledge and expertise with English learners who aspire to communicate more effectively in the world’s shared language.
English with Helen is aimed at learners from pre-intermediate to advanced. You will hone your instincts to accurately self-correct and learn to think like a native English speaker.
I am learning Russian and Spanish so understand being in the position of the language learner. This helps me to create the most effective ways to communicate the English language.
If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.
Email: helen@helenenglish.com
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