Author Archives: Dr. Jeff McQuillan

What’s an American Last Name?

Posted on Monday - December 10, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Many students of English choose an “English” name for themselves when they begin to study English. These names are often used in professional settings as well. As far as I know, no one has actually studied how people go about … Continue reading →

Philippe Restaurant in Los Angeles

Posted on Thursday - December 6, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

A couple of weeks ago, I finally went to Philippe restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. I say “finally,” because Philippe is an L.A. institution (long-established and respected business) and I’ve heard about it from many people for many, many years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 9 Comments

A Vanity (Plate) Fair

Posted on Wednesday - December 5, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today’s English Cafe #114 talks about vanity plates, specialized license plates that you can put on your car. One of the interesting things about these plates is that they often try to spell a word using the fewest letters possible, … Continue reading →

Posted in Discussing the Episodes | 7 Comments

Interview about ESL Podcast on Czech Website

Posted on Monday - December 3, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

I was interviewed by a website in the Czech Republic about ESL Podcast. If you are interested in reading the interview from earlier this year, you can read it here. The questions and answers are all in English. I talk … Continue reading →

Posted in About ESL Podcast | 7 Comments

Paying for College (Applications)

Posted on Thursday - November 29, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

An article in yesterday’s New York Times is entitled (has the title of), “A College Application Or a Slick Sales Pitch?” The article is about how difficult it is to get into the best U.S. universities, and how important your … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 7 Comments

How to Learn All of the Phrasal Verbs in English

Posted on Wednesday - November 28, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

One question we get frequently is: Can you please talk about phrasal verbs? A phrasal verb is sometimes called a two-word verbs such as “to put down” or “to get out” or “to kick (someone) out.” English has lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Language & Terms | 28 Comments

Help Promote ESL Podcast with Google, Facebook, and More!

Posted on Tuesday - November 20, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Some of our listeners have emailed us to let us know that they are spreading the word (telling other people) about ESL Podcast. Thank you to our wonderful listeners! Some of the things they have done are: § To tell … Continue reading →

Posted in About ESL Podcast | 8 Comments

Links in Blog Comments

Posted on Friday - November 16, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Thank you to everyone who has been posting comments to our blog. Lucy and I appreciate it! We have received some posts recently with website links (addresses). For security reasons, we prefer not to post any active links in the … Continue reading →

Posted in About ESL Podcast | 3 Comments

What Yo Yo Ma is Up To Now (English Cafe 111)

Posted on Wednesday - November 14, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today’s Cafe 111 talks about the American celloist Yo Yo Ma. Ma is one of the best known classical musicians in the U.S. If you are interested in what he is up to (what he is doing), take a look … Continue reading →

Posted in Discussing the Episodes | 3 Comments

Got a Nokia Phone? Listen to ESL Podcast on it!

Posted on Thursday - November 8, 2007 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

If you own a Nokia cell phone, you can now listen to ESL Podcast right on (directly on) your phone! Nokia has a piece of podcasting software that allows you to listen to various podcasts on your phone. To get … Continue reading →

Posted in About ESL Podcast | 1 Comment