The Level Up English Podcast (Natural British English)
Episodes
#369 Do This to Stop Phone Addiction
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Do you struggle with phone use? Maybe you'd like to cut back a little and enjoy your life more. In this episode, we cover lots of tips and advice for ...
#368 The Secret to Telling Great Stories - Rayhan Abbasi
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Rayhan from Learn English with Ray makes his 3rd appearance on the Level Up English podcast, and this time we talk about the power of stories.We cover...
#367 I Have a Big Confession to Make
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We'll be looking at the popular subreddit r/Confessions and for each story, I'll be sharing my own views on what this person should have done and givi...
#366 How to Learn English with Podcasts
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Many of you may be wondering how you can best make use of all these podcast episodes to improve your English. Today, I'll be covering that topic and s...
#365 I Got A Hair Transplant...
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
I've been keeping a secret for a while... About 6 months ago, I got a hair transplant!In this episode, I talk openly about why I did this and the proc...
Native Speaker vs Learner - English Challenge with Molly
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're joined by Molly - an English learner and Chinese teacher. We go through a few different words and ideas to describe them, and y...
#363 The Hidden Differences in How We Think
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
I recently learnt that not everyone thinks the same way I do. In fact, there are some areas in which our brains differ greatly. For me, this is a fasc...
#362 This Made Me Cringe So Much…
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The main focus of today's episode is the word 'cringe'. It's a useful word to describe a strong feeling of embarrassment or awkwardness, especially at...
#361 Reddit’s Most Insane Unpopular Opinions
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
I react to a list of various unpopular opinions (taken from the popular subreddit) looking at some strong views, unusual takes, and some deeper, more ...
#360 What Actors Know About Learning Languages (That You Don't) - Ivan Doan
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Ivan Doan is a multilingual actor, speaking 6+ languages, of Ukrainian Vietnamese descent working around the world.Ivan joins the Level Up Englis...
#359 What is the Best Way to Learn English?
14 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The question I get asked most often these days is "How can I learn English?" and "What's the best way to learn?"It's clearly a topic that people want ...
#358 How to Make Your Trip a Disaster
07 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
I'm talking to you from the beaches of Okinawa, Japan, and bringing you an outside episode today. Click the link below if you'd like to watc...
#357 How to Reinvent Yourself in 2026
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is the episode I've been excited about for months! In the final episode of the year, I'll be going in detail about what you can do to s...
#356 I Tracked My Language Learning for 2 Years
24 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a continuation of a annual series where I track my language learning progress and draw lessons from the data. The first time was Episode 248, ...
#355 What Would You Do? (Self Reflecting...)
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I go through a list of 2nd Conditional questions that encourage me to self reflect and think about how I could improve my life and ha...
#354 I’m Devastated… (Ways to say 'sad' in English)
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Level Up English Podcast, we dive into the world of sadness - an emotion we all experience, yet often struggle to express clear...
#353 Improve Your English Listening & Pass IELTS
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you're planning on taking the IELTS exam, this episode is a must listen for you. In it, I cover an overview of the exam, and some tips on how ...
#352 What Can We Learn from Cats?
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you like cats or not, this is the purrfect episode to learn a lot of useful cat-related expressions that you can use to improve your spoken En...
#351 British vs American Phrasal Verbs with Jesús Flórez
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jesús returns for another episode, but this time we challenge each other with some phrasal verbs from America and Britain. We each have a secret list...
#350 British English Expressions Chat with Lewis
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this cross-post episode, Lewis and Michael go through some fun conversation questions that involve a lot of British English idioms and slang.While ...
#349 Cycling the Shimanami Kaido (Casual English Chat)
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I just came back from a trip to Japan where I cycled the 80km Shimanami Kaido trail that connects two of the main islands by a group of small islands ...
#348 Sharing My Shower Thoughts
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Shower thoughts are basically deep thoughts that tend to come to us when we're in the shower, or at other times in the day free from distractions...
#347 The Reality of Running a Podcast for 16+ Years (Luke's English Podcast)
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a top English learning podcast? In this episode, I chat with Luke from Luke's English Podcast ab...
#346 Learn English with Proverbs
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"The more you know, the more you realise you don't know"This is an example of a well-known proverb (that is so true for language learni...
#345 How to Make Your English Sentences Longer
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sentences that are too short and simple is an issue that all language learners face. We can say what we want, but we don't sound natural because ...
#344 How to Actually Set & Achieve Goals
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's great to have goals, but what's the point of having them if we never actually achieve them?Or maybe you do eventually get there, but wo...
#343 When 'Terrific' Meant 'Terrifying'
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is an episode I'm excited for because we'll be looking at a group of words that have gone through a similar history; namely, they have ...
#342 Small Talk & Spirituality with Ray
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rayhan is back for his second appearance on the podcast since Episode 144, about 4 years ago, to talk about a range of topics from getting better at s...
#341 Are You Being Rude in English?
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As you may know, politeness in English - especially in British English - is a very important thing. Learners often struggle to keep up with the confus...
#340 Why Is Everyone Leaving the UK?
03 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I mix a serious topic with some fun where I talk about my reverse culture shock returning to the UK after one year while trying to an...
#339 How NOT To Learn a Language
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by a viral video of a Chinese boy doing his English homework, I thought I'd make an episode where I list 10 common mistakes that languag...
#338 Overcoming Shyness (Anna, Confident Business English)
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today we have a conversation between Anna Connelly and me on the topic of overcoming shyness. This was originally an episode we record on Anna's...
#337 11 Things I Learnt Teaching English
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I've been teaching English online for almost 10 years now, and over that time I've picked up quite a lot of patterns and similarities betwee...
#336 Moving from UK to Thailand: The Good & The Bad
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered what it's like to cycle through Bangkok?That's exactly what I'm doing in today's episode. I'm taking t...
#335 I Got Ghosted...
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we'll be talking about relationship slang. In the modern day of internet and social media, slang is used all the time when it co...
#334 From Employee to Entrepreneur: Business English with Rob
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rob from the Business English Podcast joins me for a fun discussion about jobs, work, business, and entrepreneurship.We share some cultural experience...
#333 How Adverts Use English to Catch Your Attention
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a fun episode where we look at some famous advertising slogans from different companies and analyse why they work so well, but also take from ...
#332 I Hate Mondays...
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you feel about Mondays? If you're like most people, it's probably your least favourite day of the week.Many of us hate waking up and ...
#331 How to Make Better Decisions
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we'll be talking about making decisions and the idea of being an indecisive person. I'm sure, like me, this is something th...
#330 How to Prioritise Your Life
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I feel passionate about the topic of priorities because understanding how they work can have a big and positive impact on your life. Once you decide ...
#329 Training Your English Accent with Jesús Flórez
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jesús Flórez is originally from Colombia but now resides in the USA, and despite not being a native English speaker, has built up his English to an ...
#328 The Fascinating Origins of 8 English Words
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is an episode I've been planning for a long time and I'm quite excited to share. We'll be looking at the origins of 8 different En...
#327 Fewer or Less? (Confusing English Quantifiers!)
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'll be going through pairs of confusing quantifiers (and similar pairs), such as So or Such, Many or Much, Fewer or Less? Some...
#326 Is Your Screen Time Too High?
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I recently reailsed that my own screen time is too high and may be causing a lot of health issues and other problems in my life. With that realisation...
#325 The Secrets Behind English Word Origins (Gideon - LetThemTalkTV)
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gideon from the popular YouTube channel LetThemTalkTV joins us this week for a casual chat about various topics covered on his channel.Gideon is an En...
#324 How to Learn 2 Languages at the Same Time
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With my experience of learning multiple languages at the same time, I revisit my thoughts and advice on this popular question.What are the best ways t...
#323 Rose-Tinted Glasses
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you look at the past through rose-tinted glasses? Do you feel a sense of nostalgia when looking into the past?In this episode, I explore the meanin...
#322 How to Get Better at Small Talk
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Small Talk is something many of us struggle with, and it's a really important part of socialising and using language.In this episode, I share som...
#321 Can I Use AI Teachers? (Abigail Fulbrook)
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Abigail Fulbrook (weareenglishteachers.com) joins me for a fascinating chat about a few different topics, including moving to Japan from the UK, what ...
#320 Improve Your Brain with Cognitive Biases (Part 2)
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We first spoke about this in Episode 281, and now we're returning for a part 2. Cognitive Biases are ways our brains can trick us into certain b...
#319 Speaking Up or Letting Go?
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I share an issue I've been thinking about for a while - finding the balance between speaking up and letting things go.In...
#318 Let's Talk About Trump
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is an episode that I've been meaning to make for a while. Let's talk about 'trump' today.In fact, there are many phrases in E...
#317 British & American Words That Reveal Cultural Differences
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are many differences in vocabulary between British and American English. Some of these are quite well-known and easy to understand (biscuit and ...
#316 Curious Minds Learn Faster with Alastair Budge
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Alastair Budge from Leonardo English joined me for a casual chat about a variety of different topics.Alastair has his own podcast called "English...
#315 Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've now done quite a few episodes on Phrasal Verbs, but this is an important one. Today, I'll be looking at the differences between separ...
#314 British Driving Culture & Vocabulary
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'll be talking about driving culture in the UK. There are a lot of interesting laws and unwritten rules that are reflective of ...
#313 The Grass is Greener on the Other Side
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let's explore the expression "The Grass is Greener on the Other Side".In English, this is used when we view other situations as better ...
#312 Moving Across the World with Zdenek
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'm doing a rare in-person discussion with Teacher Zdenek. Zdenek has more than 12 years of experience in various settings, primarily teac...
#311 Habit Building Masterclass
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a big habit masterclass episode! We'll be diving into the basics of creating habits, how to keep them going without giving up on your goa...
#310 The British Attitude Towards Healthcare
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The goal of this episode is to share as many useful healthcare vocabulary as I can think of.I first begin by comparing my medical experiences in the U...
#309 Emphasising with Cleft Sentences
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cleft Sentences are an area of English grammar that is used in daily conversation, but isn't often taught. I don't know many things, but wha...
#308 Pass the Cambridge English Exams with Ben Gill
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Gill from To The Point English joins us today for a great, detailed overview of the Cambridge English exams. Ben covers all sorts of topics and qu...
#307 Avoid These Common English Mistakes
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the past 6 months, I've been noting down the most common mistakes I see English learners make in preparation for this episode.I go through th...
#306 How to Improve by Tracking Your English Studies
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I've been tracking my own language learning for over a year and it's amazing to see my progress and time invested over that period. In this ...
#305 How to Plan for Success in the New Year
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As an annual tradition here on the podcast, let's talk about New Year Resolutions! I'll be talking about how 2024 went for me - looking at w...
#304 Five Christmas Traditions from Around the World
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we'll be going around the world to 5 different countries and looking at their different Christmas traditions. While doing this, ...
#303 English Expressions for Teamwork with Emma
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'm joined by Emma (Adventure into English) for a conversation about group vs solo activities. Emma has been helping with the group classes...
#302 18 Ways to Improve Your Mental Health
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mental Health is something we should all take seriously and I believe there's a lot of crossover between language learning and having a healthy m...
#301 Saying 'Sorry' Like a British Person
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You may know that British people are famous for using the word 'sorry' all the time.In this episode, I talk about this habit and how much tr...
#300 Life Experiences and Present Perfect Tense with Akari (Nihongo For You)
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 300 of the podcast, Akari from the Nihongo For You podcast joins me today for a chat about teaching languages, moving abroad, and learning ...
#299 Why We Always Want More (Hedonic Adaptation)
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In my last episode, I spoke about my cycling trip to Taiwan. While there, I had a lot of time alone to think to myself with no distractions. In this e...
#298 I Cycled 1000km Around Taiwan
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I took 2 weeks off in October to ride a bicycle around the whole of Taiwan. It was over 1000km and took about 2 weeks to complete. Along the way, I ha...
#297 Don't Fall for the Comparison Trap
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Comparison Trap is when we get stuck comparing our lives to other people and feeling worse as a result.It's a common problem in language lear...
#296 Be More Curious
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Curiosity is an important thing to practice to be better English language learners and enjoy your life more. When we start learning a language, we’r...
#295 Finding Your Dream Job with Megan Nicholls
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Megan is a teacher from Manchester, UK who has been teaching for 10 years and recently made the move to online classes. Megan specialises in Business ...
#294 Are You Using 'Used To' Wrong?
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Let's look at 3 ways we can use 'used to' in English. We'll look at the different grammar and way we structure these terms while a...
#293 Will I Be Replaced By AI?
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a really fun episode all about the recent progress of AI (Artificial Intelligence) - specifically in the area of audio and music.I share a few...
#292 The MOST Unusual Places in the World
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I'm exploring a topic I truly love today and looking at the most unusual and strange places on our planet.I'll be talking about the highest ...
#291 Optimistic or Pessimistic?
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we're exploring the topics of optimism, pessimism, and realism. These are different attitudes towards life and the futur...
#290 Top 4 Business English Expressions with Paola (Talaera Talks)
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Paola from the Talaera Talks podcast and I are doing a cross-post episode today. You can also find this episode and many more over on their podcast. T...
#289 How to Improve Your Work-Life Balance
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the listeners suggested I talk about the topic of work-life balance. This is something I've been working on in my own life for many years,...
#288 Reverse Culture Shock in the UK
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I recently went back to my home country - the UK - for the first time in a quite a while and was fascinated by how the UK appeared to me after being a...
#287 I Took a Train from London to Romania
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I just came back from a trip in Europe and I thought I'd get on the microphone today and review some of the good and bad experiences I had there....
#286 A 1200km Pilgrimage (Fran from Step Up Japanese)
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fran from Step Up Japanese and I discuss a few different topics in today's episode, including:The Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage (walking around the Japan...
#285 Ask Me Anything 5
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is the fifth episode in the AMA series (Ask Me Anything) where the listeners of the podcast ask me questions about English learning, British cult...
#284 8 Phrasal Verbs with 'Out'
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We've done a few episodes on phrasal verbs now, including the verbs Turn and Set, and this is a continuation of that series, except today we&apos...
#283 Mind-blowing Facts About Body Language
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I've always been interested in body language, and today I'd like to share that interest with you all.I'm going to be reviewing and reac...
#282 Learn English from the News - Stephen from SEND7
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stephen from the SEND7 podcast joins me today for a talk about the news. We cover a wide range of topics, such as learning English with the news, avoi...
#281 Outsmart Your Brain with Cognitive Biases
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I'm so excited for this topic, because today we're looking at Cognitive Biases.This is how our brains can trick us into certain beliefs and ...
#280 6 English Animal Expressions You Need to Know
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I first covered this topic back in Episode 215, but it's such a huge one, I think it's time for a Part 2.Today, I'm sharing 6 idioms re...
#279 How to Talk About Generations in English
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Each generation has its own name in English, as well as distinct characteristics, differences, good points and bad points.In this episode, I review ea...
#278 What Your Dreams Really Mean
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a fun episode where I cover the topic of dreaming in English. I start by sharing some strange and unbelievable facts about dreams, and then sh...
#277 Job Interview Success with Natasha Broodie
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Natasha Broodie (lifewiththebige.com) first joined us on Episode 135. Today, Natasha is back to discuss her new book: "Swaggart: The Art of Profe...
#276 Hack Your Life with the 80/20 Rule
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 80/20 Rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, suggests that 20% of actions cause 80% of the outcomes. There are so many ways in which this sho...
#275 Moving 10,000km from Home
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a very special episode because we're doing something a little bit different. Today I'm bringing you to the centre of Bangkok for an ...
#274 Too Old to Learn English?
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you too old to learn English? Maybe you should have started when you were a child, or still in school?Well, in this episode I'm responding to...
#273 Developing Your Curiosity with Lisa (Your English Self)
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa is an English teacher and Neurolanguage Coach from the UK but now living on the Spain-Portugal border. She joined me today for a talk all about l...
#272 Phrasal Verbs with 'Set'
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I'm back with another episode in the series on phrasal verbs. Today, we're looking at around 9 phrasal verbs that include the verb 'set...
#271 A Terrifying Flying Experience
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I talk all about transportation. I know - it sounds a bit boring! But there's a lot to talk about.We'll be discussing my te...
#270 What Will the Future Look Like?
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I go over some near and distant future predictions (as provided by Chat GPT) and share my views on how likely I think they are to happen. I'm a b...