Thinking in English

When I think of the USA, I picture New York's skyscrapers, Hollywood movies, and Silicon Valley technology companies. I think of the world’s largest economy, and the most powerful country, with a population of more the 340 million people.

But what was the USA like when it was first founded? This year, the US is celebrating the 250th anniversary since it declared independence from the British Empire.

I thought it would be interesting to spend this episode considering what the US was like two hundred and fifty years ago. Back when it was thirteen separate colonies, that were not united at all, and before there was a concept of being an “American” or being a citizen of the USA.

I’m going to talk about the original colonies, the declaration of independence, the revolutionary war, and how the USA developed. At the same time, we will be practicing our English listening comprehension and learning some new vocabulary!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/07/06/395-what-was-the-usa-like-in-1776-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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What is confidence? What does a confident English speaker look like? And how can you become a confident speaker?

This episode is going to try and answer some of these important questions. You might assume that someone with perfect grammar, a huge vocabulary, and a native-like accent will be a confident speaker. But that is not necessarily the case.

Over the years, I've met English learners with excellent English, but who were afraid to speak. And learners with much weaker English ability, but who seemed completely confident and comfortable communicating. This suggests that [00:01:00] confidence and language ability are not exactly the same thing.

So I want to explore confidence from a slightly more psychological perspective. What is confidence? What is the opposite of confidence? Why is confidence so important for language learners? How about self-efficacy? And how can you become a more confident English speaker?

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/06/29/394-how-to-become-a-confident-english-speaker-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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The World Cup is currently underway in North America, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about football, or soccer depending on where you are from. And specifically, we are going to explore the history of the world’s most popular sport.

Most people probably think football has always looked more or less the same. Two teams with eleven players. Referees and clear rules. Ninety-minute matches.

But that is not true at all. If you travelled back a few hundred years and watched a football match in England, you might not even recognise it as football.

In this episode, we are going to explore the development of football.

I want to talk about medieval folk football, the British schools that helped create modern rules, and cities like Sheffield that played their own versions of the game. We’ll also look at why football and rugby developed separately, where the word “soccer” actually comes from, and how industrialisation transformed football into a global professional sport watched by billions of people.

By the end of this episode, I think you’ll see football very differently. And you will also have learned lots of new English vocabulary!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/06/19/393-history-of-football-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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Today, we’re going to talk about Warsaw. Warsaw is the capital of Poland and one of Europe’s most resilient cities.

If you visit Warsaw today, you’ll find a modern and quickly developing European capital. There are skyscrapers, busy shopping streets, trendy cafés, and a growing economy. But history of city is dramatic and tragic.

In this episode, I am going to explore the fascinating history of Warsaw. We’ll look at its rise as Poland’s capital, periods of foreign occupation and division, the devastation of World War II, communist rebuilding, and the modern city we see today.

And we will learn some new vocabulary and practice our English listening comprehension at the same time!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/06/15/392-history-of-warsaw-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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The United Arab Emirates has announced that it is leaving OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) after almost sixty years as a member. Why does this matter?

Well, oil is still one of the most important resources in the world. The price of oil affects how much we pay for petrol, the cost of transporting food, airline tickets, electricity, and much more. When oil prices rise, the economy is also affected.

OPEC is one of the most powerful organisations influencing oil prices. For decades, this group of oil-producing countries has worked together to control how much oil enters the global market. But now one of its main members is walking away.

In today’s episode, we’re going to think about a few important questions.

What is OPEC? Why is it often called an “oil cartel”? Why has the UAE decided to leave? And what could happen next?

And we’ll do all of this while learning come new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/06/08/391-why-is-the-uae-leaving-opec-and-what-is-opec-anyway-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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