Practising English

Here are some words that are not B1 and you'll need to understand the story.

Words which are outside the A1 to B1 levels

*Greenhouse - a building with glass sides and roof for growing plants in.

*Skin -…

This lovely story from the the American writer O'Henry, I completely re-wrote for B2 level. 

Here is the vocabulary discussed:

Just around the corner. The means a place further on where we cannot see b…

Here is Part two of my popular story, Tsunami for learners of B1 English

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other Engl…

I am still on holiday during August, so today I bring you a favourite of many listeners - the B1 story of Tsunami! (Part 1). Part 2 next week.

Enjoy it and enjoy your summer!

Mike Bilbrough

At https://w…

While I'm on my summer holiday, here is a repeat of a lovely B1 story - Part 2 of "Dad". I published Part 1 last Wednesday.

The verbs we are studying today are:
realize
drop
call out
weigh
admire
encourage
d…

I'm on holiday so I'm leaving you with a favourite story of mine "Dad" in 2 parts. This is a repeat of a podcast from September 2023. Next Wednesday, I'll publish part 2.

This is part 1 of a B1-level …

Comprehension questions for this B2-level story.

(I'm on holiday at the momento so leave you with a repeat episode.) Enjoy!

1) What reasons did Alberto's mother give Alberto for leaving the Alpujarra?

2…

This is about the trial in Australia that finished just last week and is popularly known as "The Mushroom Murders". Today, I'll ask the famous detective, Hércules Poirot (from Agatha Christie's novel…

This is a B2-level recording and story with vocabulary about animal sounds and movement:

Animal words:

warren - where rabbits live together in the ground

roar - sound like a lion makes

thunder - sound li…

Hello, dear students!

Future continuous for fixed events, which are expected to happen. (This is B1 grammar with interest for B2 students too!)

will + be + verb+ing

I'll be giving a talk at that time, b…

Today, I’m going to talk about the family of ‘there is’! At first, that might seem very basic English grammar. Indeed, the phrase ‘there is’ is A1 level. However, at B1 and even B2 level, I must admi…

B1 Linking Words

Linking words join two sentences together. Here are the ones I mention during the podcast:

A Rainy Adventure

Tom wanted to go hiking. The sky looked grey but he didn’t mind – no problem

…

For health reasons, I'm afraid I cannot share a new podcast with you today. I include instead, one of my favourite stories that I wrote for students studying for B1 English level: The Breath of the M…

Here are the B1 words we're studying today:

acceptable

accurate

amusing

annoyed

convenient

embarrassed

forbidden

grateful

hopeless

miserable

To see the transcript of the story: 

https://www.practisingenglish.com…

In today's B2 FCE story, you'll be listening to this B2 vocabulary:

heading for Paris 
his hands were trembling 
both thrilled and terrified him
doubting every shot
gazing out of the window
an old woman wi…

How to write the FCE story (B2 level) for the Cambridge exam. If you're not taking this exam, this episode will be useful for learning how to express yourself at B2 level in written prose.

You can see…

I apologise for not bringing you a new podcast this week. I leave you with chapter 1 of the Tudor Conspiracy (from an audio book and reader I published a few years ago). Hope to be with you next week…

These are the words I discuss today. They are linking words, essential for your B1 and B2 writing papers in the Cambridge exam.

Moreover
In addition,
Besides
What is more,
Furthermore,
Yet
To begin with,
In …

How to use 'if so' and 'if not' in dialogue.

A conditional clause to refer a previous direct or indirect 'yes-no' question where the answer might be ‘yes’. 

Do you think we could study more grammar? If…

These are the four comprehension questions to read before you listen to the story.

1) What was the first thing Nigel did when he went into the shower?
2) What did Nigel decide not to have for breakfast…