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Everyday expressions and real English conversations to help make your English conversations easier. Every week, we teach you a new phrase or expression.

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

Updated: weekly
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Cat got your tongue?

    Tue 25 Oct 2016

    A phrase about not saying much

  • It takes two to tango

    Tue 18 Oct 2016

    Learn an expression which means two people need to accept the blame for a bad situation

  • Knee-jerk reaction

    Tue 11 Oct 2016

    An expression connected to the knee

  • To have an axe to grind

    Tue 4 Oct 2016

    An expression for when someone's got a strong opinion

  • Close, but no cigar

    Tue 27 Sep 2016

    A phrase about almost succeeding

  • Get somebody's goat

    Tue 20 Sep 2016

    A phrase about something annoying

  • Bust a gut

    Tue 13 Sep 2016

    An expression that means 'to make a great effort'

  • Old-school

    Tue 6 Sep 2016

    A phrase that describes old things

  • Shedloads

    Tue 30 Aug 2016

    Learn another way to say 'lots'

  • Hangry

    Tue 23 Aug 2016

    A phrase for people who get angry when they don't eat

  • To pull something out of the hat

    Tue 16 Aug 2016

    What surprising things come out of a hat?

  • Off the hook

    Thu 4 Aug 2016

    Here's a phrase for when you free someone from an obligation

  • Barefaced

    Tue 26 Jul 2016

    A phrase about being bold and shameless

  • To make a mountain out of a molehill

    Tue 19 Jul 2016

    Don't overreact - use this phrase!

  • The last straw/final straw

    Tue 12 Jul 2016

    Something tiny can cause a lot of problems

  • The university of life

    Tue 5 Jul 2016

    Where's the best place to learn about life?

  • White collar worker / blue-collar worker

    Tue 28 Jun 2016

    What colour is your job?

  • Drama queen

    Tue 21 Jun 2016

    Here's a phrase to describe someone who overreacts easily

  • It's on the cards

    Tue 14 Jun 2016

    Learn a different way of saying that something is likely to happen

  • Until you're blue in the face

    Tue 7 Jun 2016

    Is nobody listening to you? Learn a colourful phrase to explain the situation

  • Clean up your act

    Tue 31 May 2016

    Someone behaving badly? Here's a phrase that tells them what to do

  • You're pulling my leg!

    Tue 24 May 2016

    Want to trick someone? Here is a phrase that involves pulling a part of your body!

  • One good turn deserves another

    Tue 17 May 2016

    A helpful phrase for doing something good

  • To fall at the first hurdle

    Tue 10 May 2016

    Got an idea that's never going to work? Here is a phrase to describe the situation

  • Pain in the neck

    Tue 3 May 2016

    When someone or something is annoying you, this expression can describe your feelings

  • Burn a hole in your pocket

    Tue 26 Apr 2016

    Learn a vivid expression to describe someone who cannot save any money

  • To turn something upside down

    Tue 19 Apr 2016

    Learn a phrase about doing a thorough search

  • Going forward

    Tue 12 Apr 2016

    Office speak for 'in the future'

  • A recipe for disaster

    Tue 5 Apr 2016

    A phrase that means you're heading for disaster

  • Crash course

    Tue 29 Mar 2016

    A really fast way to learn something!

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