American English Podcast

In this cozy winter episode, Shana is snowed in with her daughters on the East Coast after a big snowstorm. While it looks like a magical winter wonderland outside, things feel a little chaotic inside the house. Then Julia, who's seven, decides she wants to be a guest on the podcast.

Julia chooses a fun and unexpected topic: hair and hairstyles. Together, they talk about different types of hair, popular hairstyles, and even facial hair vocabulary — all in a relaxed, natural conversation.

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Useful Vocabulary

To be snowed in – when so much snow falls that you can’t leave your homeStraight hair – hair with no curl or waveCurly hair – hair that forms curlsWavy hair – hair that forms loose wavesSilky smooth – very soft and smoothBangs – short hair cut to fall over the foreheadFringe – the British English word for bangsPonytail – hair tied back in one sectionPigtails – two ponytails, one on each sideBraid – three sections of hair crossed over each otherFrench braid – a braid that begins at the top of the head and continues downwardBun – hair twisted and tied into a round shapeMohawk – short on the sides, long in the middleMullet – short in the front, long in the backAfro – a full, rounded hairstyle worn with natural curly or coily hairHair down – wearing your hair looseLice – tiny insects that live in hair and cause itchingHair tie / elastic band – used to hold hair backSalon – a place where people get their hair cut or styledHighlights – lighter streaks added to hairLowlights – darker streaks added to hairDye – to change the color of your hairPeach fuzz – very soft, light facial hairMustache – hair above the upper lipBeard – hair on the chin and jawGoatee – hair on the chin onlyCowlick – a section of hair that grows in a different direction
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In this episode, Shana is joined by her husband Lucas for another fun Preposition Party. Together, they play a guessing game with common English prepositions while sharing personal stories about food, fears, parenting, moving, and unexpected passions.

You’ll hear natural, real-life examples of expressions like look forward to, get used to, care about, to fall in love with and more. It’s a relaxed, conversational episode designed to help you build confidence and sound more natural in American English.

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What if you woke up one day and couldn’t see or hear the world around you?

In this episode of the American English Podcast, you’ll discover the incredible true story of Helen Keller — one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century — and the teacher who changed her life, Anne Sullivan.

As you follow Helen’s journey from silence to self-expression, you’ll learn 10 essential irregular verbs in the simple past tense, hear them used naturally in a powerful story, and reinforce them with clear examples. Along the way, we’ll explore how Helen learned to communicate, speak, read, and eventually address audiences around the world.

🎧 Listen closely — and see how many irregular verbs you can catch!

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Cheat sheet:

hear - heard - heard

sit - sat - sat

bend - bent - bent

send - sent - sent

have - had - had

read - read - read

write - wrote - written

go - went - gone

speak - spoke - spoken

say - said - said

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In this episode of the American English Podcast, we explore the meaning and usage of the common English expression to see eye to eye. Along the way, you’ll learn vocabulary related to sight, wordplay, disagreement, and perspective—plus hear a classic (and slightly corny) dad joke.



A quick heads up about the next episode on Helen Keller



A dad joke featuring eyeballs, puns, and eye-rolling



Common actions eyes can do: blink, wink, stare, roll



A clear breakdown of the expression to see eye to eye



How to use this expression correctly in positive and negative sentences



Cultural examples from U.S. history, pop culture, politics, and music



Pronunciation practice and sentence stress tips

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You know Starbucks, right? The coffee company? Born in Seattle, Washington and brewed around the world? I bet you do; they have over 40 thousand stores in over 80 countries. 

In today's episode, we're going to talk about how it came to be.

Why is it called Starbucks?

Who's that woman on their cups?

What's the story?

There are a lot of Starbucks haters and a lot of lovers out there, but all of you will find this episode fascinating because 1. it’s an absurdly successful business—how did they do it?! 2. it’s about coffee (who doesn’t love coffee!?) and 3. you’ll learn a bucketload of new vocabulary as we go. 

Thanks again to my amazing supporters who have contributed to this podcast either by purchasing Premium Content or ⁠buying me coffee⁠!


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