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BBC Radio · Education

Learning English Conversations

Everyday expressions and real English conversations to help make your English conversations easier. Every week, we teach you a new phrase or word you can use in conversation with The English We Speak. And we bring you special series to improve your English conversation. Try Beating Speaking Anxiety to learn how to fight your fears of speaking English. Find more at bbclearningenglish.com Follow us at bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/followus

Episodes

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The English We Speak: Teething problems

30 Sep 2025
2m
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The podcast, "The English We Speak," features hosts Feifei and Phil explaining the English expression "teething problems." They define it as temporary difficulties encountered when something new is introduced, such as a new system at work, new technology, or a new phone. The hosts emphasize that these problems are usua...

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The English We Speak: No leg to stand on

23 Sep 2025
2m
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This BBC Learning English podcast episode focuses on explaining the idiom "no leg to stand on." Two hosts, Feifei and Georgie, discuss the idiom's meaning, providing examples of its usage in different contexts. The hosts illustrate the idiom's meaning, explain its grammatical usage (with "have" or "have got"), and in...

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The English We Speak: Speak someone's language

16 Sep 2025
2m
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This podcast episode from BBC's English We Speak focuses on the English idiom "speaking someone's language," which means expressing an idea or suggestion that someone else strongly agrees with. The co-hosts, Feifei and Georgie, illustrate the idiom's usage through examples and discuss a similar expression, "being on t...

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The English We Speak: Ate

09 Sep 2025
2m
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This podcast episode of "The English We Speak" features two hosts, Feifei and Beth, who discuss the informal slang term "ate," meaning to do something exceptionally well. They provide examples of its usage in various contexts, such as performances, fashion, and karaoke, and introduce the related phrase "ate and left n...

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The English We Speak: Muddle along

02 Sep 2025
2m
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The podcast begins with several advertisements for Lenovo products, interspersed with segments in German and French. The main segment features two hosts, Feifei and Beth, discussing the English phrasal verb "muddling along," which means coping adequately despite less-than-ideal circumstances. They define the phrase, ...

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The English We Speak: Tough it out

26 Aug 2025
2m
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The podcast begins with advertisements for Lenovo products. The main segment focuses on explaining the English idiom "tough it out," which means persevering through a difficult or painful situation. The hosts, Feifei and Phil, illustrate the phrase's usage with examples, including physical pain and challenging work s...

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The English We Speak: A you problem

19 Aug 2025
2m
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This BBC Learning English podcast episode focuses on the informal English expression "a you problem." Two hosts, Feifei and Phil, discuss the phrase's meaning and usage, explaining that it signifies a problem someone needs to solve themselves, often implying the problem is self-inflicted or unimportant to others. The...

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The English We Speak: Can't put my finger on it

12 Aug 2025
2m
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This BBC Learning English podcast episode focuses on the English idiom "can't put my finger on it." Two hosts, Feifei and Georgie, discuss the phrase's meaning, which encompasses both the inability to identify the cause of something and the inability to recall something. They provide examples of the phrase's usage in...

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The English We Speak: All hands on deck

05 Aug 2025
2m
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This podcast episode of "The English We Speak" focuses on the idiom "all hands on deck," explaining its origin in nautical contexts and its modern usage as a call for everyone to assist in a task. The hosts, Feifei and Georgie, discuss the phrase's meaning and provide examples of its use in different situations. They...

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The English We Speak: The CEO of...

29 Jul 2025
2m
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This podcast episode from "The English We Speak" explains the informal English idiom "CEO of..." Two hosts, Feifei and Beth, discuss the phrase's meaning—a humorous way to describe someone who excels at or excessively engages in a particular activity. They provide examples, such as "CEO of pets" (referring to Beth's ...

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The English We Speak: Up to my eyes in

22 Jul 2025
2m
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The podcast begins with a brief advertisement for the 6 Minute English podcast. The main segment features Feifei and Beth discussing the English idiom "up to your eyes in," which means being extremely busy or overwhelmed with something. They define the phrase, provide examples of its usage in different contexts (hous...

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The English We Speak: Dabble in

15 Jul 2025
2m
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This podcast episode from BBC Learning English focuses on explaining and illustrating the English idiom "dabble in." Hosts Feifei and Phil discuss the phrase's meaning, which generally implies doing something casually or as a hobby, not seriously. They provide examples of its usage in various contexts, including hobb...

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The English We Speak: Rope someone in

08 Jul 2025
3m
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This podcast episode from "The English We Speak" focuses on explaining and illustrating the phrasal verb "rope someone in," meaning to persuade someone to do something they may not want to do. The hosts, Feifei and Georgie, discuss the meaning and usage of the phrase, providing examples from their own experiences and ...

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The English We Speak: Scratch the surface

01 Jul 2025
2m
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This episode of "The English We Speak" explains the idiom "scratch the surface." Two hosts, Feifei and Georgie, discuss the literal and metaphorical meanings of the phrase, illustrating its use through examples of digging a hole and tackling a complex topic or problem. They explain that the phrase implies only dealin...

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The English We Speak: Step into the shoes

24 Jun 2025
2m
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This episode of "The English We Speak" podcast focuses on the idiom "step into someone's shoes." Two hosts, Feifei and Phil, explain the idiom's meaning—to take on someone's role and responsibilities—and provide examples of its usage in different contexts. They also differentiate it from the similar-sounding idiom "p...

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The English We Speak: Drop

17 Jun 2025
2m
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This episode of "English We Speak" explains the informal English phrase "dropped," meaning "released," particularly in the context of new music, fashion, or technology. The hosts, Feifei and Beth, discuss the phrase's usage with examples, including the release of songs, TV series, video games, and even news. They al...

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The English We Speak: All you like

10 Jun 2025
2m
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This podcast episode from "The English We Speak" focuses on explaining the English phrase "all you like." Two hosts, Feifei and Beth, discuss the phrase's meaning and usage, illustrating it with examples from their personal experiences and additional scenarios. The phrase is defined as indicating that someone can do ...

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The English We Speak: Around the clock

03 Jun 2025
1m
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This podcast episode of "The English We Speak" explains the idiom "around the clock," meaning "all day and all night." The two hosts, Feifei and Phil, discuss the meaning and usage of the phrase, providing examples of its application in various contexts, such as cooking for a large dinner party, wedding planning, and ...

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The English We Speak: Have in your locker

27 May 2025
2m
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This English language learning podcast episode focuses on the idiom "have something in your locker," meaning possessing a hidden skill or resource. Two hosts, Feifei and Phil, explain the idiom's meaning and usage through examples and short dialogues illustrating its application in various contexts, such as having hid...

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The English We Speak: Come full circle

20 May 2025
2m
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This podcast episode of "English We Speak" explains the idiom "come full circle." Two hosts, Feifei and Georgie, discuss the phrase's literal and metaphorical meanings, illustrating its use with examples ranging from career progression to returning to childhood places and revisiting friendships. They differentiate be...

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