Thinking in English

You are invited to a party. The invitation says the party starts at 20:00. What time will you arrive?

Your answer to this question has a lot to do with your culture. Some of you will have said 20:00 exactly, because that is when the part stats. Others will have said 19:45, because it is polite to be early. Others will have said 20:30… or 21:00… or later because it is awkward to arrive too early.

Your answer to my question is connected to how your culture understands time: the direction of time; the use time; punctuality; and more.

So today I want to look at the cultural meanings of time, highlight some common cultural misunderstandings that will be relevant for any of you living/studying/or working internationally, and do all of this while introducing new English vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension.

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/05/11/387-why-are-some-people-always-late-the-cultural-meaning-of-time-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the greatest minds in history.

He painted some of the most famous works of art ever: the Mona Lisa, Last Supper, and more. He was also a scientist, an engineer, an anatomist, and an inventor.

He is often described as the perfect example of a “Renaissance man.” A Renaissance man is someone who is skilled in many different areas, especially during the time of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a period of history when art, science, and learning were rapidly developing across Europe.

In today’s episode, we’re going to explore the life of Leonardo da Vinci. Who exactly was he? What were his greatest achievements? Can we really call him a scientist? And does his legacy still matter today, more than 500 years after his death?

And we’ll do this while practicing our English listening comprehension and learning some new vocabulary!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/05/04/386-who-was-leonardo-da-vinci-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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Four years ago, I made an episode titled “Should we boycott the Qatar World Cup?”

As you might remember, the tournament in Qatar was surrounded by criticism. There were concerns about human rights, especially the treatment of migrant workers who helped build the stadiums. There were some calls for fans, players, or countries to refuse to take part.

But despite all of that, the World Cup still went ahead. Millions of people watched, and Argentina beat France in the final.

Now, four years later, I want to ask the same question again… Should we boycott the 2026 World Cup?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted across United States, Canada, and Mexico. It will be the biggest World Cup in history, as there are more teams, more matches, and more fans than ever before.

But once again, there have been some people asking for a boycott. This time the boycott is connected to politics, immigration, and questions about safety and freedom for fans travelling to the United States.

Should we boycott the 2026 World Cup? And maybe even more importantly… do boycotts actually work?

Let’s think about these questions while practicing our English listening comprehension and practicing our vocabulary!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/04/15/384-the-scramble-for-africa-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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In the 1870s, about ten percent of Africa had been colonised by European countries. But over the next few decades, over ninety percent of the continent was taken, occupied, divided, and partitioned by governments far away in places like London, Berlin, and Paris.

We call this period in history the “Scramble for Africa.” In a remarkably short period of time, countries like Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium claimed vast territories for themselves without any input from African people.

By 1914, only a handful of places remained independent, while most of Africa was ruled as colonies.

How did this happen so quickly? And what were the consequences of dividing an entire continent in this way? These are the questions we’ll explore in today’s episode of Thinking in English!

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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/04/27/the-scramble-for-africa-english-vocabulary-lesson/

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“I’m just not good at learning languages.”

I’m sure many of you listening right now have thought this before. And I’m sure you’ve thought the opposite about people you have met in the past: “Wow, she’s so talented at English” or “He has a gift for languages.”

These kinds of comments are incredibly common. Many people believe that success in language learning depends mostly on talent. Some people are just naturally good at learning English, while others aren’t.

But is this true? Is talent real when it comes to learning languages? And if talent does exist, what exactly is it? Is it the same thing as skill? Is it the same thing as advantage? Is it the same thing as ability?

In today’s episode, we’re going to explore these questions. We’ll look at what talent really means, how it is different from ability, advantage, and skill, and what science and neuroscience say about why some people seem to learn languages faster than others.

Then we’ll apply these ideas directly to English learning and hopefully give you all some motivation!

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