In August 2016, I moved to a small town on the Japanese island of Shikoku. I had almost no Japanese ability and I didn't have an expectation that I'd stay very long in Japan. Maybe I'd stay in Japan for one year.
10 years later, though, I'm still in Japan. I'm now married. I have a daughter. I run a business from Japan. And I can live my entire life in Japanese if I need to.
Looking back, there are things that I'm incredibly proud of in my Japanese learning journey and a few things that I wish I had done differently.
So in today's episode of Thinking in English, I thought it would be interesting to discuss my past 10 years of language learning experiences: how I went from zero knowledge of Japanese to being able to live in Japanese daily if I [00:01:00] need to. Hopefully by listening to this episode, you guys will receive some motivation and some advice about your own language learning journeys.
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TRANSCRIPT - https://thinkinginenglish.blog/2026/07/13/396-10-years-language-learning-lessons-id-give-my-younger-self-english-vocabulary-lesson/
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Jul 13
27 min
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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Jul 6
28 min
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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Jun 29
29 min
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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Jun 22
32 min
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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Jun 15
27 min
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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Jun 8
21 min
Thousands of years ago, Ancient Greek travellers created a list of the most extraordinary sights they encountered: the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
These included places like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Colossus of Rhodes. Today though, only one still survives: the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.
So, in the early 2000s, a huge international campaign called the “New Seven Wonders of the World” aimed to create a modern list of wonders.
Some governments launched campaigns encouraging citizens to vote for their country’s monument. Critics argued that countries with larger populations had an unfair advantage. And UNESCO, the United Nations organisation responsible for protecting world heritage sites, was not involved in the project.
So today, I want to explore the story behind the New Seven Wonders of the World. What are they? Why were they chosen? And do they really deserve the title of “wonder”?
And we will do all of this while learning some new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension.
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Jun 1
31 min
Humans have been speaking languages for tens of thousands of years. We told stories around fires, passed down myths from parents to children, and memorised important information about survival and history. But for a very long time, nobody could write anything down.
Then, at some point, humans invented writing.
Writing allowed people to record laws, preserve stories, collect knowledge, and communicate across generations. Eventually, writing gave us books.
Today, I want to explore the history of books, from ancient clay tablets in Mesopotamia to modern audiobooks and e-books on smartphones. We’ll look at the origins of writing, the oldest surviving texts, the first true “books,” the world’s first novels, the printing revolution, the bestselling books in history, and finally… the future of reading itself.
And we will do all of this while learning some new vocabulary and practicing your English listening comprehension.
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May 25
28 min
If you work hard, can you build yourself a better life?
For a long time, millions of people believed the answer in the USA was yes. The “American Dream” is the idea that anyone, no matter where they start in life, can achieve success through hard work and determination. You could own a home, have a stable job, raise a family, and earn more than your parents.
But today, many people in the US are questioning whether that dream still exists. Housing prices are rising. Student debt is growing. Many young people feel locked out of the middle class.
Some people argue the American Dream is dead. Hard work no longer guarantees success. Others disagree. They believe America still offers more opportunity than almost anywhere else in the world.
So, what exactly is the American Dream? Where did the idea come from? Why are people losing faith in it? And is it dead or changing?
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May 18
26 min
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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May 11
24 min
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