Slang: Wannabe
Mar 7th
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Wannabe is a slang word that comes from putting the words want to be together into one word. Do you know what this word means? It has been used in many pop songs, movies and television shows. If you wanna be a natural English speaker, check out this episode!
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 What is a Member? |
| Maura: | For sure, it’s never a good thing to call someone a wannabe. |
| Jessie: | Right. And of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to be something, if you want to be a doctor and you’re working to be a doctor that’s great. |
| Maura: | Right, in that case, probably no one would call you a wannabe. |
| Jessie: | A wannabe is someone who is just pretending that they’re something they are not. |
| Maura: | Exactly, that’s a very important distinction. So what about the word itself, wannabe, it’s kind of funny? |
| Jessie: | Yeah, I think this slang term is actually pretty new. |
| Maura: | Yeah, it originated sometime in the 1980s, which wasn’t that long ago. |
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Video: YouTube
Tips on studying abroad by Rita D’Amico
Feb 28th
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Rita is back! We previously interviewed Rita at Culips but decided to do it again because it was a popular episode, and because Rita has started her own business helping out international students who are interested in coming to Montreal. In this episode Rita gives lots of advice for people moving to another country to study a language. You can find out more at www.onyourmarkmontreal.com.
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What is a Member? |
Rita: Sure, I’d be happy to do that. First thing is to find the city that you want to live in. In order to do that, well, you need to do some research. There are three major cities in Canada. We have Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. And each of them has their unique personality…
Harp: OK, so it’s important for students to kind of decide their priorities when choosing the city.
Rita: Absolutely, you should definitely do some research about cost of living in each of the cities. You can find all of this information online as well. So look at things like taxes and accommodation, rent, you know how much does the average rent cost, as well. And of course you should always check out safety. How safe is the city you want to live in? And check out the different neighbourhoods as well.
Harp: So Rita, can you give us some advice on choosing a language school?
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Rita D’Amico
Alethe, the Aussie!
Feb 21st
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Have you ever wanted to travel around the world? Well, that is just what Alethe is doing! We met with Alethe while she was in Canada on her trip around the world.
Originally from Australia, Alethe tells us about the places she has visited, her impressions of Canada and where she is headed next. If you are thinking about travelling or just dream of doing it, listen to Alethe’s stories.
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What is a Member? |
Alethe: Yes, I am Australian however my name is French. My mum’s sister was living in Switzerland when I was born so my name is Swiss French.
Maura: Oh, OK. Yeah, that’s an interesting point because our accents are a little bit different. If you listen to this podcast regularly you usually hear Canadian, North American accents but you do not have a Canadian accent.
Alethe: No, I have no Canadian in me. I was born in Australia, and have always lived in Australia. However I like to take little side kicks everywhere I go.
Maura: So you’re from Australia but you are in Canada. So, how did you end up here?
Alethe: Well, I had a mid-life crisis at 25 and decided I wanted to go and travel the world.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Alethe West
Expression: Shrug it off
Feb 14th
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In this episode, Robin and Jessie discuss the expression to shrug something off. Check out the picture here to see an example of someone shrugging. In certain situations a person may want to shrug it off, or have to roll with the punches, and afterwards pick up the pieces. Listen to hear how all these expressions are used differently.
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What is a Member? |
Robin: Forget about it. It’s not a big deal.
Jessie: So, are there any other expressions that we can use to talk about dealing with problems?
Robin: Absolutely. Another expression that we use to deal with problems is to roll with the punches.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Illustration: Asami Takemoto
Slang: To bug someone
Feb 8th
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Many of you have probably heard of the word bug. Most people know it as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb, like to bug a person. Do you think that bugging a person would be good or bad? Do you think someone would like to be bugged? Check out this episode to find out!
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Maura: Yeah it’s a small little insect. Sometimes it has legs and wings and sometimes they fly around like zzzz.
Harp: Exactly. Some examples of bugs are mosquitoes …
Maura: Yup.
Harp: Beetles … or cockroaches …
Maura: Yup, it could also be a fly or a ladybug.
Harp: A ladybug.
Maura: That one even has the word bug in it.
Harp: Yeah, so a ladybug is red with little black dots on it.
Maura: Yeah most people … they don’t mind ladybugs.
Harp: A ladybug is the only bug I like.
Maura: Yeah, sometimes bugs can be annoying.
Harp: Exactly, which brings us to the slang definition of bug.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Movie: This Hour has 22 Minutes Cough Etiquette
Slang: Chicken!
Jan 31st
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Are you a chicken? In this episode we look at a familiar word but show you how it can be used in another way. Most of you probably know that a chicken is a kind of bird. And you can also probably imagine a chicken dinner. There is another funny way that we use chicken in English. Check it out here…or are you a chicken?
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Harp: Yes, our Catchword today is chicken.
Maura: Which for many of you listening out there…I’m sure you are thinking, “I already know the word chicken. It’s an animal.” But we do use it in another way.
Harp: Exactly, there is slang use for chicken.
Maura: Exactly. So you already know the original meaning of the word, which is the animal, but in English sometimes we use chicken to describe a person who is very afraid of something.
Harp: Yeah, someone who is scared of things.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Stephen Woods
Slang: Dude!
Jan 24th
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| Dude! This word is very popular nowadays, especially with young people. You can often hear this word in movies and television shows, or with your Native English speaker friends. It has been around for awhile but young people are using the word dude, more and more. So…dude, what does it mean? |
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Harp: Yeah, so dude is an old word.
Maura: Yeah, and it has had a lot of different meanings that generally refer to a man.
Harp: Yeah exactly. And dude became popular in the 60s and the 70s in surfer culture and then it made its way into mainstream.
Maura: Yeah, so dude was really first used in a popular way by surfers, I guess maybe in California, somewhere where they surf in the USA.
Harp: Exactly, but we’ll talk about dude in the surfer culture in the Lipservice.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Video: Dude – Bud Light
Canadian Food, Comfort Food and Potlucks
Jan 17th
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Everyone eats, but we all have different habits and favorite foods. The food you eat is often cultural. In this episode Harp and Maura try to explain what Canadian food is. They also talk about comfort food and what typical North American comfort food is. Potlucks are also a popular way to have a meal in a group. Harp and Maura love potlucks so they share their experiences with you. Are you feeling hungry yet?
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Maura: Yeah, so potlucks and comfort food, but first we’re going to talk about Canadian food.
Harp: Exactly, but that’s kind of weird because what kind of food is Canadian food?
Maura: Yeah, it’s a really hard topic actually. I remember I was in France, maybe five years ago, and someone there asked me “what is a typical Canadian dish?” And honestly Harp, I couldn’t think of anything.
Harp: Yeah, I’ve been in the exact same situation. The answer that I would give would be poutine…
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: meddygarnet / Morgan
Pet Peeves
Jan 10th
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Everyone has personal pet peeves that bother you. Someone’s pet peeves are usually cultural. Pet peeves are usually small, day-to-day things. Are you curious about what pet peeves are now? Listen to this episode to find out what they are. All of the Culips members share their personal pet peeves too!
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Maura: Well, a friend of mine really hates when people chew and eat with their mouth open.
Robin: OK.
Maura: …when they are eating but their mouth is open and you can hear what is going on in there and maybe they are talking at the same time.
Robin: That’s definitely one of my pet peeves too.
Maura: Yeah, so some pet peeves are really common and they bother or annoy a lot of people but pet peeves are kind of individual, like some thing that is my pet peeve that really bothers me, maybe is something that doesn’t bother you Robin, right?
Robin: Absolutely, it all depends on the person.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Rennett Stowe
Expression: Corny
Nov 29th
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Sometimes movies are corny, or music is corny. It is a fun adjective that can describe just about anything. A synonym for corny is cheesy, and it has nothing to do with cheese! Check out this episode to hear our corny examples.
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Jessie: I like it.
Harp: I like it as well.
Jessie: So, does that mean having to do with corn?
Harp: Um, no, not at all.
Jessie: What does it mean?
Harp: Something that is corny is something that is cliché, unoriginal; it’s oldfashioned.
Jessie: OK, so corny is an adjective describing something that’s not very sophisticated, maybe kind of sentimental.
Harp: Yeah, exactly.
Jessie: Not original.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: flydime
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