Elllo Podcast

In this episode, Spencer talks with Curtis about her dream house. Students can listen and see what she would do with her kitchen, bathroom, livingroom, outside of the house and yard.  Go to elllo.org for the full episode with script. audio, media and quiz.

Today on the elllo podcast, Win from Vietnam, Michael from Norway and Goron from Italy talk about Hollywood movies and films made in 3D. This is lesson 1351 on elllo.org. Go to the website for the complete lessons with downloadable audio and printable worksheets. Below is the transcript to the interview. Michael: Hello, my name is Michael. Next to me I have Goron from Italy and Win from Vietnam, and today we are going to discuss movies and specifically we are going to discuss about Hollywood movies. Do we like Hollywood movies? What is typical in our own countries, and so on. So, were going to start with you Goron, please? Goron: Oh, I would say that generally, I like Hollywood movies. If I want to be, without thinking anything, I just like to lie down on my couch and just eat something and drink and watch a movie, I would choose a Hollywood movie. They are pretty fun. They are well done. They have a huge budget for those kind of movies, like the last superhero movies about Ironman, Spiderman, Avengers. all t

This week on elllo.org, Abidemi and Jeremy talk about teachers that had a big impact on their lives. See the transcript below.  Remember that you can go to the website to see the video, learn now words, download the audio and take a quiz. Transcript of conversation: Jeremy: Abidemi, so looking back at your life as a student, can you tell me a little bit about your experience with the best teacher that you had, and maybe a little bit about your worst teacher? Abidemi: Sure. I think I’ve had many, many great teachers. I’ve been really blessed in that way. Thinking back now, I remember my teacher when I was in primary 6 in Nigeria, actually. His name was Mr. Oleaer. And this teacher was a math and science teacher. And I think the best thing about him was he really took a personal interest in all of us. We could tell that he really cared. Although, he was very much a teacher, he took that authority role but at the same time, he was like our friend. Like during the break time, we would approach him, we would talk

This lesson on elllo.org we hear from Dan from Tropical MBA Podcast as he shares basic living costs for working in Southeast Asia. You can see the full lesson here! Transcript of Conversation Todd: So I'm here with Dan, and he lives in Bali, Indonesia. And he’s talking about slow travel, which is the concept of living in a foreign country for a long time to experience the culture and the lifestyle. Dan, can you talk a little bit about the cost, like if somebody wants to really do this, how much money do they need for housing, transportation, food, things like that? Dan: Well, when I quit my job four years ago, I had a mantra in my head. And I always said, all I need to be happy in life is a thousand bucks and a backpack. And I thought, if I could really simplify my life and take away all the overhead cost of car payment or a mortgage on a house or student load debts, credit cards, things like that, all I would need is a thousand dollars of income a month in order to own my time and to spend my time going

This week on elllo.org we hear from Dan, an Americna businessman working abroad, and he talks about why he likes to live in Bali and why it is a good place to set roots. The full episode online comes with a video, quiz, audio vocabulary and a speaking/listening challenge. You can get it here or at the link below: http://elllo.org/english/1301/T1323-Dan-SEA.htm Transcript of the Conversation   Todd: So now Dan you live in Bali, Indonesia, which is a very beautiful place and you do a lot of business in Southeast Asia. Why do you think Southeast Asia is a good place to do business? Dan: Well, one of the primary reasons is the lifestyle. If you are generating a reasonable income on western standards, you can—what we do is, you know, perform some global arbitrage. You can take that western level salary and move it to a developing area of the world like here in Southeast Asia, and your purchasing power is much greater. So if you’re selling products in a higher valued economy like Germany and you’re living in Vietna

This week Paul from England and Aimee from Scotland discuss where they would like to live. Go to elllo.org for the full lessons with audio, video, vocabulary, and more.  See transcript of interview below: Paul: So, we were talking about climates, Amy. Uhm, you know are there any sort of climates that you’d like to live in? Aimee: I would like to live in Iceland or Scandinavia. Paul: Interesting. Why would you like to live in that sort of climate? Aimee: Uhm, The snow is just so beautiful and my image of those countries is that their infrastructure is sufficient enough to keep you warm when you’re inside. You know? But I’d say it's just so beautiful. The snow is amazing, It quietens everything. I think it’s glorious. I just really like it. I used to ski when I was younger. So I always ... I like skiing and I like the hills, and yeah, and the snow on hills is just beautiful for me. How about you? Paul: Well I, I love snow too, but I don’t like it when it gets so slushy and sloppy you know, and your feet are

This week Sorie and Mark talk about the future and money and saving for retirement. Go to elllo.org for the full lesson online on the web or mobile phone. http://elllo.org/english/1301/T1307-sorie-retirement.htm Transcript Mark: Hi, Sorie. Talking about money, do you worry about money?   Sorie: Yes, I do. I especially worry about the future, about my retirement plan. And I’m not saving any money at the moment. And I have friends around me that are already saving up for their retirement. I’m 27 years old right now and I’m not sure if I should be concerned or not. Are you concerned? Mark: Well, what kind of options are there? How would you want to save up? Sorie: Well, first of all, right now, I don’t have the option to save for retirement. Mark: Because you don’t have any money? Sorie: Yeah, the present is plenty to think of. I haven’t got my head around the future yet. Do you have any recommendations at how I could do it? Mark: Well, national pension plan or kind of put a little bit aside every week or forget

This interview is great for Business students. It is advanced but if you spend a little time working with the transcript and repeating phrases and words you don't know, you'll really improve your English and sound smart!  Go online to elllo.org and look for #1284 to read the transcript and take the quiz. 

Spencer talks about how her accent has changes over the years and Joel gives students some advice: be proud of your accent!  For a full transcript, interactive quizzes, and vocabulary go to elllo.org and look for #1282. 

Carlo and Vesna talk about the food and wine in Croatia.  Go online at elllo.org and look up 1279 to read the entire transcript, watch the slide show, and take the interactive quiz. 

Sarah and Peter talk about the difference between people in Southern US and the rest of the country.  After you have mastered all the vocabulary and phrases in this episode, try to explain the differences people have in different regions where you live.  For the full transcript, go to elllo.org and look for episode 1276. 

Peter and Sarah talk about North Carolina, a state in the US.  Go to elllo.org and look for episode 1275 for the full transcript. 

Ade talks about some of the popular dishes in Spain. She goes into detail about paella, one of the most famous dishes, but also one of the dishes with the most different variations.  For a full transcript of the audio and to practice vocabulary, go to elllo.org and look for #1273. 

Abiedemi and Todd talk about how people prefer to watch movies in her country. Go to elllo.org for the full transcript, vocabulary, and activities that go with this lesson. 

Abedimi and Todd discuss one of the biggest industries in Nigeria. Only India produces more of this product worldwide. Can you guess what it is? To check out the full transcript of the audio, go to elllo.org and search for interview 1271. 

Vesna talks about Pula Croatia. Go to elllo.org for the full transcript and lesson with vocabulary.

Daniel talks to Hana about how much they sleep. They talk about taking naps as well. You can go to the elllo.org for the full lesson.

In the spirit of Halloween, we talk about scary movies. Listen to Akane tell Ruth how she feels about horror films. Go to elllo.org for the full lesson.  Ruth: So Akane, is there anything that you’re frightened of? Akane: Well… I’m, I’m really scared of horror movies. I never watch them, cuz they really really frighten me. Ruth: Horror movies wow. Have your ever seen a horror movie? Akane: Well, um, when I was little I used to watch them with my friends, because, back in the 80’s, horror movies used to be really popular. Like ah “Jason”, and “Freddy Cruger”. (Oh yeah) and things like that yeah. But ah, they used to keep me up at night and I couldn’t sleep. Ruth: Yeah, my friend actually had a “Freddy Cruger” poster. It used to frighten me. Akane: Did she? Ruth: Yeah, it wasn’t my favorite. So, ah, what don’t you like about horror movies? Akane: Well, um, I think, I think uh, I don’t know, I think it’s the psychological aspect of it. They just really make me feel scared. Ruth: Ah, heh.. What was the last horro

Happy Halloween. This week we listen to an older recording of Mike and Adrienne talking about Halloween. Go to elllo.org for the complete lesson. Transcript of the Conversation: Todd: OK, guys we're going to talk about Halloween. So, what do you think about Halloween? Adrienne: I actually like it. It's a fun holiday for kids especially because you get to dress up in costumes and you get lots of candy if you go trick-or-treating. I have a lot of good memories. of Halloween growing up. Todd: OK, what is trick-or-treating? Why do you trick-or-treat? Adrienne: Trick-or-treat is when you go, you dress up in your costume on Halloween and you go door-to-door ringing doorbells, knocking on doors. One person comes to the door, you say, "Trick-or-treat" and usually these days they give you a treat which is candy or apples or something like that but in the older days, you could, if they didn't give you a treat, then you could play a trick on them or they could play a trick on you, instead of giving y

Today in the podcast, Abidemi talks about the music scene in Nigeria. Go to elllo.org for the full lesson. Transcript of the audio: Todd: So Abidemi, you're from Nigeria. Can you talk a little bit about the music scene in your country? Abidemi: Yes. Nigeria is just amazing now in terms of music and even in the past we’ve had and we still do have great music, great musicians. We love to party just as much as we love to eat, there's nothing that Nigerians loves more than parties. We love to have a good time. So of course, music plays an important role in that. One of the music that we have now is like fusion. A mix of old traditional Nigerian music and instruments with more Western Hip Hop, R&B kind of sound and even reggae and Jamaican music and some Spanish too mixing with it. Todd: Oh wow, that sounds like a nice mix. Abidemi: It is actually and because we love to dance as well, it's something that you can move your body to, you can dance to, and also some ballads as well, that makes people