English is full of strange idioms, and today we’re diving into some bizarre British expressions you might hear! Some of these are quite common, especially the 2nd and 3rd, and you might hear them in the office or out and about. The others are less common, and just for you to be aware of, rather than need to try and use. Hopefully they're fun and interesting!

💬 Examples:

• "I don't think I had the brass neck to bunk off." → Brass neck = extreme confidence (or foolishness). Bunk off = skipping school!
• "You'll get it in the neck!" → Means you’re going to be in trouble!
• "We've got other fish to fry." → We have more important things to do!
• "You’ll be smiling on the other side of your face." → Not good news! You’ll regret something soon.

📌 You won’t need to use these—just understand them if you hear them!
💬 Have you heard any weird idioms before? Drop them in the comments!

#EnglishIdioms #LearnEnglish #BritishEnglish #WeirdIdioms #ESL #LanguageLearning #EnglishTips #SpeakingEnglish #EnglishExpressions

🗣️ Struggling with L & R sounds in English? You're not alone! Many ESL learners, especially those from Asian language backgrounds, find it tricky to pronounce these sounds correctly.

🔍 In this lesson, Emma explains:- Why L & R pronunciation is challenging

• How to position your tongue correctly
• Common mistakes & how to fix them
• And whether this is even worth you spending your time on

Today's Practice Words:*Alive - Arrive*Light - Right*Calendar*Curly*Relax*April *Religious*Little*Rule*Rollercoaster

• For the 'F' Sound Episode 213: https://youtu.be/N2BZg718a-8
• For all the common sounds Episode 87: https://youtu.be/7kKfQzcWEQg

💡 Improving your pronunciation makes speaking clearer & easier! Let’s break it down step by step.

🔔 Subscribe for more English pronunciation tips!

#LearnEnglish #ESL #EnglishPronunciation #SpeakingEnglish #ImproveEnglish #LanguageLearning #EnglishTips #PronunciationPractice #FluentEnglish #StudyEnglish #AccentTraining

🚀 Take your English reading skills to the next level! Don’t let descriptive writing slow you down—learn how to tackle novels with confidence.📚 Learning English through books can be a challenge! In this video, we explore the difference between creative writing and daily spoken English, breaking down how novels use descriptive language that might not be useful for everyday conversation. We dive into four books, including Rogue Herries (Hugh Walpole), The Island of Missing Trees (Elif Shafak), Gorillas in the Mist (Dian Fossey), and Not Another Happy Ending (David Solomons), analyzing how their writing styles differ from spoken English.🌍 Topics covered:- Why reading in English sometimes feels harder than speaking- How descriptive writing can paint vivid pictures in your mind- Tips for choosing the right books to read - How local idioms and unique phrases can appear in novelsHead over to Episode 120 to hear a reading from Elif Shafak's Island of Missing Trees: https://youtu.be/OZEtmTp5hCs For more English listening practice, check out the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6eu7BlE1AJSZA5GgMrFMmskXWE099AWL 👉 Want to improve your English reading skills? Watch now!🔔 Subscribe for more English learning tips#emmaseslenglish #EnglishLearning #LearnEnglish #ESL #DailyEnglish #CreativeWriting #ReadingEnglish #EnglishBooks #LanguageLearning #ImproveEnglish #StudyEnglish #EnglishTips #ESLStudents #ReadingSkills #SpeakEnglish

British idioms can be totally baffling—what on earth does “she’s absolutely cream crackered” mean? 🤯 In this episode, we unpack some of the UK’s weirdest and most illogical idioms, from Cockney rhyming slang to century-old phrases like “a different kettle of fish.”

These expressions are commonly used but rarely understood—so let’s figure them out together!

Listen in to discover:

• Why "cream crackered" means "tired"

• What kettles and fish have to do with trouble

• How idioms evolve and spread (even when no one knows their origin)

No need to memorize these—just know them when you hear them!

#BritishIdioms #UKSlang #LearnEnglish #ESL #BritishEnglish #EnglishIdioms #CockneySlang #RealEnglish #WeirdEnglish #EnglishVocabulary #emmaseslenglish

Hello and welcome back to Emma’s ESL English! This week, we’re diving into some brilliant and bizarre British dialect words — from sea fog called fret or sea roke, to mountains named bens, fells, and bryns.

We’ll also explore how bread rolls have a dozen different names across the UK (seriously — baps, cobs, barms, and more!), plus Scottish weather words like driech and hoolie that perfectly describe grey, rainy days.

British English is full of regional quirks, and understanding them can really help if you're moving here or just trying to follow what people are saying.

I’ve also included tips on how to get used to different global English accents, like Australian and South African — remember, it's totally okay to ask someone to slow down!

Hit follow and leave a comment if you enjoy learning real-life English — and feel free to share any weird words you’ve heard in the UK below!

#BritishEnglish #UKSlang #EnglishDialect #LearnEnglish #ESL #EnglishLanguage #RealEnglish #BritishCulture #ScottishWords #EnglishTips #ESLLesson #EnglishVocabulary #emmaseslenglish

Welcome to Emma's ESL English! This week we’re diving into the quirky regional terms of endearment for strangers you might hear across the UK — from "alright, hen?" in Glasgow to "how you doing, chuck?" in the Midlands.

These words like "love," "pet," "duck," and "mate" may seem strange or even inappropriate to outsiders, but they’re part of the UK’s rich linguistic culture. Whether you're traveling to the UK, learning English, or just curious about real British English, this episode will give you insight into the warm — and sometimes weird — ways Brits speak to strangers.

💬 Have you ever been called duck or love in the UK? Comment below and share your experience!

I mentioned a video by Sir Ian McKellen, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebb272kjmWQ

🔔 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more real-world English tips!

#BritishAccents #LearnEnglish #ESL #UKEnglish #BritishCulture #emmaseslenglish

Welcome to Emma’s ESL English! This episode kicks off a three-part series on real British English—and today, we’re diving into British accents. Think there's just one “British” accent? Think again! From RP (Received Pronunciation) to Cockney, Geordie, Welsh, Scottish, and Liverpudlian, the UK is full of unique, regional voices that may surprise international learners.Learn how history, geography, and class shape how we speak—and why the RP accent you hear on the BBC or in The Crown isn’t what most Brits actually sound like. Whether you're traveling to the UK, planning to live here, or just fascinated by accents, this episode will help you decode the real sounds of Britain.👉 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for the next episode, where we’ll explore weird ways Brits might talk to you!#BritishAccents #LearnEnglish #ESL #UKEnglish #BritishCulture #RPAccent #Cockney #ScottishAccent #WelshAccent

Welcome to Emma's ESL English!

Today, we're doing something a little different—and a lot of fun! I'm reading an excerpt from the famous British sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

You’ve probably heard me say “Don’t Panic” before—and now you’ll learn where it comes from!

📘 In this reading, you’ll:

• Hear real British English from a classic book
• Learn new vocabulary and adjectives in context
• Explore British humor and science fiction
• Discover what a Babel Fish is and why you might want one in your ear!

🪐 Whether you're a fan of sci-fi or just love learning English through stories, this episode is packed with useful language, idioms, and laughs.

This book was originally made as a BBC radio show. It might be worth checking it out just for the sound effects, which were the most expensive in the BBC at the time! You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOdAqe8beU

Our section starts at 12:31, it's not exactly the same as the book though. Mostly just listen for the sounds effects. There are a lot of less used adjectives today, as well as some words related to aliens, so I'll write those here:

• Squalid - very dirty and disgusting
• Grubby - not very clean
• Cramped - small and uncomfortable
• Rummaged - to dig around in a bag to find something
• Snatched - to grab quickly
• 'was still holding it as if it was a two-week-dead lark' - lark is a British bird, so he's holding the book away from himself and touching it as little as possible, like he's holding a dead bird
• Bureaucratic - love paperwork, or requires a lot of paperwork
• Officious - does everything in a bossy, official kind of way
• Callous - unkind and mean
• Loophole - a gap in an otherwise tightly planned contract or plan that gives you a way around or forward.
• Impoverished Hitchhiker - someone trying to get a free ride, who has no money
• Unsuspecting soul - someone who is just minding their own business, not expecting anything strange to happen
• Antenna - the things on the top of the heads of snails...and aliens
• Demolished - destroyed
• Cornflakes - common British breakfast cereal
• Gargle - the noise you make when you swill your mouth with mouthwash
• Tannoy - loudspeaker
• Lightning movement - very fast
• Slithering - the way a snake moves...but wet!
• Scrabbled - when you're moving your hands trying to catch something
• Goggle- eyed - making your eyes big, usually in surprise or amazement
• Semblance - appearance

Alien language (you'll never need to know again!)

• Dentrassi - a species of alien that is known to be a good chef and drinks mixer
• Vogon - a species of alien that is very mean, rude and obnoxious and won't help anyone - very bad poets
• Sqornshellous Zeta - a planet that has swamps where the mattresses are grown
• Vogon Constructor Fleet - the ships that demolished Earth, they build and destroy planets.
• Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal - a space monster
• Altairian Dollar - international common currency
• Teaser - rich kid who plays tricks on planets that haven't travelled to space yet (only works for this book...well all this vocabulary only works for this book!)
• Betelgeuse - the planet where Ford Prefect is from (Ford Prefect is the name he took when he came to Earth because he thought it was the most common name...he didn't realise cars weren't the sentient creatures on the planet.)
• Babel Fish - the fish Ford puts in Arthur's ear is a Babel Fish. This fish is able to allow the user to understand any language in the universe.

#emmaseslenglish #booktok #englishlisteningpractice #englishreading #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #douglasadams #dontpanic