937. A Birthday Ramble / The Spinning Wheel of Random Questions

A return to Luke's Film Club with a conversation about one of the funniest and most controversial films of all time, also voted one of the UK's favourite films. Antony and I discuss the film's writing, production, story, famous scenes, deeper meanings and acting by the various members of the Monty Python team. Transcript available.📄 Get the PDF transcript here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/938.-Film-Club_-Monty-Pythons-Life-of-Brian-with-Antony-Rotunno.pdf🔗 Website page with links to previous Monty Python episodes 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/06/03/938-film-club-monty-pythons-life-of-brian-with-antony-rotunno/Links for Antony’s Podcasts 👇Glass Onion: On John Lennon https://pod.link/1473867166 (A deep dive into the life and complex psychology of John Lennon)Film Gold https://pod.link/1544641271 (Discussions about favourite films)Life & Life Only https://pod.link/1549021296 (All about the search for inner and outer truth)

It's my birthday 🥳 so join me for a relaxed and light-hearted ramble, first with some comments about recent episodes and other podcast housekeeping, and then a series of talking points with the Spinning Wheel of Random Questions ☸️ including bits about how being an English teacher affects my social interactions 💬, the infamous ice-cream wars of Ice-Cream Island 🏝️, leading an army of English learners into battle on the back of an Elephant 🐘, the title of my (hypothetical) autobiography 📖, and my age revealed at the end of the episode. Full transcript available 📄.📄 Get the PDF with transcript and questions 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/937.-A-Birthday-Ramble-_-The-Spinning-Wheel-of-Random-Questions-PDF-.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/27/937-a-birthday-ramble-the-spinning-wheel-of-random-questions🏆 Sign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://lep.supercast.com 👕 LEP Merch 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/merch

In this episode, I’m joined by Alastair Budge from Leonardo English to explore how you can use AI tools like ChatGPT to boost your English, especially when combined with podcasts. We go through specific, practical ways to actively engage with podcast content using AI — improving your listening, vocabulary, grammar, writing, and even speaking. Alastair shares a set of very useful prompts and techniques you can try out straight away, and we discuss the pros and cons of using AI for language learning. There's also a bit of fun as I try chatting with an AI version of myself. Download the free PDF in the show notes for all the prompts and ideas we mentioned, plus a full transcript.📄 Get the PDF with all prompts and transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/936.-How-AI-Can-Boost-Your-English-with-LEP-feat.-Alastair-Budge.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/19/936-how-ai-can-boost-your-english-with-lep-feat-alastair-budge/🏆 Sign up to LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium🎧 Leonardo English 👉 https://www.leonardoenglish.com/

This episode is all about the exciting topic of driving, getting stuck in traffic jams, the future of our roads and how self-driving cars might be the solution. What is so annoying about traffic jams? Why do they even happen in the first place? Have you seen your first self-driving car yet? Will they solve our driving problems, or not? The episode is full of anecdotes, analysis, opinions and plenty of vocabulary. PDF available with notes, vocabulary list & vocabulary quiz.📄 Get the PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/935.-Terrible-Traffic-Jams-Self-Driving-Cars-Topic-Vocabulary.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/12/935-terrible-traffic-jams-self-driving-cars-topic-vocabulary/🏆 LEP Premium 👉 https//www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium

Have you ever wondered about sign language, how it works and if it is similar to other languages like English? In this conversation I speak to Siobhan Dodd who is a sign language interpreter between English and BSL (British Sign Language). Siobhan is an enthusiastic and entertaining guest and we have a great chat about the nature of sign language, the challenges & opportunities faced by the deaf community today, and some of Siobhan's memorable interpreting experiences, such as working at the Glastonbury music festival.📄 PDF Transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/934.-Sign-Language-is-Fascinating-with-Siobhan-Dodd.pdf🔗 Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/05/06/934-sign-language-is-fascinating-with-siobhan-dodd🏆 LEP Premium 👉 https://lep.supercast.com📸 Siobhan on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/unclesiobhan/🎧 Siobhan's Podcast (The Following Through Podcast) 👉 https://pod.link/1797539101

Hello! In this episode I focus on English expressions and idioms that originated in the works of William Shakespeare and are still used in modern everyday language. Notice the expressions in various contexts, fully understand their meanings and use, explore their origins in Shakespeare's work, and gain valuable lessons about how to learn new vocabulary with real world examples. Also, learn about my short-lived career as a goalkeeper for the legendary football team "Chadwick FC". Includes a PDF worksheet and transcript.📄 Get the PDF here https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/933.-The-Best-English-Expressions-are-from-Shakespeare-_-Learn-English-Vocabulary.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/29/933-the-best-english-expressions-are-from-shakespeare-learn-english-vocabulary/🏆 LEP PREMIUM https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium☕️ LEP MERCH https://www.redbubble.com/people/lepluke/shop

In this episode I talk to my parents about the topic of William Shakespeare. We discuss the enduring appeal and significance of William Shakespeare's work, biographical details of his life, the key themes in Shakespeare’s plays, and the impact of his language on modern English. We try to explain the qualities that make Shakespeare great, using examples from plays like Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth. We also consider the challenges of understanding Shakespeare and suggest ways for newcomers to engage with his plays, such as watching film adaptations.Enjoy a conversation about this important figure in English language and culture, with two other important figures - my mum and dad!PDF available with transcript, vocabulary list and vocabulary quiz. Premium listeners - watch out for a language review of this episode coming soon, in P68 "Learn English with Shakespeare" parts 1 & 2.📄 Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/932.-What-is-so-great-about-Shakespeare-with-Mum-Dad.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/21/what-is-so-great-about-shakespeare-with-mum-dad/

This episode features a conversation with Zdenek about fears and anxieties experienced in everyday life. We explore common fears such as driving, flying, culture shock, language learning and public speaking, plus vocabulary we use to talk about the subject. Listen for stories of Luke's fear of Paris cafes, airport anxiety, Luke's dramatic scooter ride in Nha Trang, Zdenek's fears of Vietnamese roads and driving, Luke's recent cycling accident in Paris, Zdenek's encounter with a London police officer, nerves about teaching, and more.The accompanying PDF worksheet offers a vocabulary list from the conversation, with definitions, examples, and quizzes and a full transcript to help you boost your English with the episode.📄 Get the PDF here (lucky you - it's very expensive but you can have it completely free) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/931.-Overcoming-Fears-with-Zdenek.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/14/931-overcoming-fears-with-zdenek/⚽️ The Footglish Podcast (Learn English with Football) 👉 https://pod.link/1751816033💬 Zdenek's Discord server "The Achiever's Chamber" 👉 https://teacherzdenek.com/?page_id=2816

This episode is about the bizarre and funny questions that people input into Google. I explore and answer some of these questions, explaining some vocabulary. The result is an engaging and intellectually light-hearted discussion involving the usual mix of rambling, and English teaching. The episode covers a range of topics, from personal health, sex and relationships to broader existential and practical issues, with some diverse and absurd moments. The language style is a mix of informal slang and neutral high-frequency vocabulary related to personal matters and common problems. I hope you enjoy it! PDF available with a full transcript and vocabulary list.📄 Get the episode PDF (transcript, vocabulary list) 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/930.-Can-I-eat-my-cat-other-weird-Google-questions-answered.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/04/07/930-can-i-eat-my-cat-weird-google-questions-answered-topics-vocabulary/🏆 LEP PREMIUM 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

Sarah Donnelly comes back onto LEP to catch up and to tell us about her stand-up special, now available to watch on YouTube, and to do a British English vs American English pronunciation quiz.Sarah’s show is called The Only American in Paris and we discuss some of the themes of the show - the real experience of being a US citizen living in Paris, the Netflix show Emily in Paris, cultural differences, learning French, plus a pronunciation quiz to help you compare UK and US English.📼 Watch Sarah's stand-up show here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_N_CRoRz0&ab_channel=SarahDonnelly  @sarahdcomedy 📄 Get the episode PDF with quiz questions and full transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/929.-Sarah-Donnelly_-The-Only-American-In-Paris-US-vs-UK-Accent-Quiz.pdf🔗 Episode page on my website 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2025/03/31/929-sarah-donnelly-the-only-american-in-paris/🏆 Sign up for LEP Premium 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium