Monthly Archives: January 2009

Woman Gives Birth to Octuplets

Posted on Thursday - January 29, 2009 by Dr. Lucy Tse

It’s unusual enough when a woman gives birth to twins (two babies) or triplets (three babies).  This week, a woman living near Los Angeles gave birth to octuplets–that’s 8 babies! The hospital has not released (told the public) the name … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 18 Comments

President Obama’s Inauguration Speech Explained

Posted on Thursday - January 22, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday.  All presidents deliver (give, say) a speech after they are sworn in (take an official oath or promise).  These speeches are often difficult to understand for non-native speakers, … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 27 Comments

The Oath

Posted on Tuesday - January 20, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today Barack Obama becomes the first African American president of the United States.  Standing before the U.S. Capitol building – which was built by black slaves – he will swear an oath (make a promise) that is given in the … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 15 Comments

Professional Sports Team Names II

Posted on Thursday - January 15, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Last week, I talked about the meaning of some popular professional basketball teams in the US.  This is part 2 of that explanation.  Here are a few more team names and their meaning: San Antonio Spurs: A spur is something … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms, Life in the United States | 7 Comments

NEW COURSE: “Introduction to the United States”

Posted on Wednesday - January 14, 2009 by Dr. Lucy Tse

We are very happy to announce a new course available in the ESL Podcast Store: “Introduction to the United States.” This course is for anyone interested in learning more about the U.S., while improving their English. We’ve taken the 100 … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements | 8 Comments

American English and British English

Posted on Tuesday - January 13, 2009 by Dr. Lucy Tse

We often get emails from listeners asking us to talk about British English or to tell them the British English equivalent (the same thing in another language/dialect) in our podcasts. We would like to be able to do this, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms | 16 Comments

Professional Sports Team Names I

Posted on Thursday - January 8, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

If you have listened to many of our episodes, you know that I am a big baseball fan (see English Café #50, for example).  However, I know there are some of you who are fans of other popular American sports, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 10 Comments

New Year, New Hope

Posted on Thursday - January 1, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

As the economy worsens (gets worse), many Americans are having to change their spending habits (the way that they spend their money). According to one recent survey, many Americans are making changes in their behavior because of financial difficulties. Here … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States, News and Current Events | 16 Comments