Luke's ENGLISH Podcast - Learn British English with Luke Thompson

Practise your listening in English with a fascinating conversation with a writer of haiku poetry in English. John Stevenson is one of the world's leading English language haiku poets, and in this episode I had the pleasure of talking to him for an hour. John taught me more about haiku and senryu poetry, revealed how he first became interested in haiku, and then was willing to discuss various haiku poems he has written over the years, giving details of what real events inspired them, what they mean and more about his process of writing haiku in English. I hope this episode is fascinating and inspiring. Keep listening because it becomes more and more revealing as it continues. John was a pleasure to talk to and I think this is the perfect conclusion to the trilogy of episodes I have done on this subject on the podcast recently.
Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/English-Language-Haiku-Master-John-Stevenson-Interview-983-Episode-Transcript.pdf
Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/04/06/english-language-haiku-master-john-stevenson-interview-983/
Sign up to LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
"My Red" by John Stevenson available from Brooks Books 👉 https://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/Stevenson-MyRed.html
The Heron's Nest haiku website 👉 https://www.theheronsnest.com/March2026/index.html
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Haiku poems communicate a lot of ideas, thoughts and feelings into just a few simple words. They can be moving, humourous or meditative, and reading haiku in English allows you to learn vocabulary in a very interesting way. In part 1 I talked about the form and history of haiku, and read out various short poems in English from both Japanese writers and modern English ones. In part 2 here I finish reading my haiku selection, including many written by English-language haiku master John Stevenson. Listen to each one, consider the different meanings and interpretations and also learn specific words and phrases to expand your English vocabulary.
Get the episode PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Haiku-in-English-2-982-1.pdf
Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/03/30/haiku-in-english-2/
LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I discuss optimism and pessimism, what forms our outlook on life, which is healthier, how we talk about optimism and pessimism in English and which perspective helps you learn English more effectively. Expect some discussion, science, vocabulary, advice for learning English and a few jokes thrown in for good measure. PDF available.
Get the episode PDF (free) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Is-the-glass-half-empty-or-half-full_-Vocabulary-Discussion-891.pdf
Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/03/23/is-the-glass-half-empty-or-half-full-vocabulary-discussion-891/
Sign up to LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Practise listening to British English conversation and enjoy some complaining, ranting and funny anecdotes in this episode based on the concept of a popular BBC TV chat show. My guest is Charlie Baxter from The British English Podcast. Charlie has chosen 3 things which he wants to be locked inside the mythical "Room 101" 🚪 an imaginary place where all the things you hate in the world are stored forever. What would Charlie like to remove from the world to be kept inside this room? And what is the shocking info about a certain popular British English YouTuber 👩‍🏫 that could break the internet? 🤔
Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Room-101-with-Charlie-Baxter-980-Episode-Transcript.pdf
Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/03/16/room-101-with-charlie-baxter-980-funny-british-english-listening-practice/
Listen to Luke's Room 101 choices on The British English Podcast this week 👉 https://pod.link/1533216336
Watch Luke on BEP (YouTube version) 👉 https://youtu.be/56jqC8Q88oc?si=Gy2w7udJsRR8yaVh
Sign up to LEP Premium for a vocab review for this episode 👉 https://lep.supercast.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time to learn English with another short story on Luke's English Podcast. Listen to the story and my comments, then learn vocabulary as I break down the text line by line and teach you English in context. This time it is a funny little tale written by Saki - the English author and master of the short story. A mischievous lad is punished by his strict aunt, but who ends up having the last laugh?
Get the episode PDF with story text 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-Lumber-Room-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-979.pdf
Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/03/09/the-lumber-room-learn-english-with-a-short-story-979/
LEP Premium for episodes focusing on vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.