Category Archives: Life in the United States

Could I Be Related to Ben Franklin?

Posted on Thursday - April 2, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

One of the United States’ most important cities in its early history was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, located in the northeast part of the US.  Philadelphia was the site (location) of the first meetings of the Revolutionary War leaders in the late … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 17 Comments

A Paperboy Looks Back on a Disappearing Job

Posted on Thursday - March 19, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Today I want to look back (think or talk about something from my past, my personal history).   Back in the mid-1970s, at the age of 11 or 12, I worked as a paperboy for the evening newspaper in St. … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 23 Comments

Bestsellers – March, 2009

Posted on Thursday - March 12, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the bestselling books in the United States now to give you an idea of what Americans are reading.  The New York Times has a bestseller (most books … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States, News and Current Events | 13 Comments

The Hokey Pokey

Posted on Tuesday - February 24, 2009 by Dr. Lucy Tse

The Hokey Pokey is a song and a dance that first become popular in the U.S. in the 1950’s as a novelty (for fun; not serious) dance for adults. Since then, it’s become a song and dance that children are … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 9 Comments

Signs of the Times

Posted on Thursday - February 5, 2009 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

There’s an old idea among American economists that the stock market and hemlines are correlated.  The hemline refers to the length of a woman’s skirt (technically, the hemline is at the very bottom of the skirt, were the fabric or … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 14 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

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

Let’s Ring in the New Year!

Posted on Tuesday - December 30, 2008 by Dr. Lucy Tse

The new year is fast approaching (arriving soon). We use the expression to ring in the new year to mean to welcome or to celebrate the new year. We usually use this expression like this: – “We’re ringing in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 22 Comments

Peace on Earth

Posted on Thursday - December 25, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

ESL Podcast wishes you a very happy holiday season from beautiful Los Angeles, California – the “City of Angels.”  In the Christian tradition, the angels greeted (said hello to) the shepherds (those who take care of sheep in the fields) … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 19 Comments