<p>Michael Rosen on the linguistic comfort food of clichés, pragmatics and how we use language to connect us beyond the actual words used. Derek Bousfield explains how words do more than carry meaning: context governs what we say and how it’s understood.
Dr Bousfield is Reader in Pragmatics and Communication and Co-Director of The Manchester Centre for Resea ... Show More
Oct 2
Julia Donaldson: A life in language
Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and many other beloved children's books, tells Michael Rosen about her own writing, reading, speaking and listening. Her childhood experiences were a big influence, as was busking in Paris and writing songs which ended up on Play School and ... Show More
33m 38s
Jul 2024
What role does English play in our multilingual world?
Around the world, 2.3 billion people speak English, and for most of them it is an extra, rather than their first, language.
In many countries, English is also used to teach most academic subjects at schools and universities – even where most of the population do not speak it as a ... Show More
57m 48s
Jul 9
Growing Up as a Millennial in the UK & How to Use Shadowing to Improve English
In this podcast episode, I take you on a nostalgic trip through my British millennial childhood; from private school chaos and MSN romances to setting fire to a field (accidentally). We also explore teen stereotypes, music obsessions, and how social norms have changed in the UK. ... Show More
35m 29s
Nov 2015
What You Are is What You Say (Language and Identity)
Welcome to Episode 28, a fun collection of language learning news. Lindsay and I shared our progress in Japanese and Welsh, read out wonderful listener feedback, and finally moved on to 3 big news items.
What's it like when your language changes to express who you are?
The episod ... Show More
1h 15m
Dec 2024
#418 The English Lesson Nobody Taught You — How I Became a Confident, Natural English Speaker (Without Textbooks)
Listen with FREE Interactive Transcript only on the RealLife App. The traditional school method may have helped you study English, but it didn’t prepare you to truly live it. That’s why communicating in English can still feel like a challenge. In today’s episode, we introduce the ... Show More
28m 13s