Send us a text Giving employee feedback is becoming tricky with Gen Z's joining the workforce. Find out why, discover new ideas about performance reviews, and learn many expressions related to evaluating work and collocations with "feedback". Link to The Times article on the topic For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@poloopangielski.pl And join us on social media: Instagram and Facebook Would you like me to help you master your English? You can find out more a...

Send us a text Could there be a better way of teaching English tenses? Here is Jacek's ongoing journey and experimentation to answer this question, drawing on research on brain hemispheres, the lexical approach, the relationship between speech and movement, and insights from first language acquisition. If you are interested in taking part in Jacek's summer course "All Tenses in Four Weeks," you can find more details here. For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@pol...

Send us a text This episode highlights the cultural differences between non-native speakers and native speakers, particularly the British, when it comes to disagreeing. While non-native speakers tend to be more direct, native speakers prefer a more tentative and polite approach to disagreements. Listen and learn phrases and techniques that can be used to express disagreement in a respectful and nuanced manner. From softening statements with expressions like "I'm afraid" to indicating parti...

Send us a text Drawing inspiration from an article published by The Economist, titled "As it spreads across the world, who owns English," this episode challenges the notion that languages exclusively belong to their country of origin. Link to The Economist article: As it spreads across the world, who owns English? Link to episode transcript. For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@poloopangielski.pl And join us on social media: Instagram and Facebook Would you ...

Send us a text Do you often feel exhausted? Are you trying to fit as many things into your busy schedule, desperately hoping to be left with some time for yourself? Are you worried that your life slips through your fingers? This episode discusses the recent report entitled "Burnt Out Britain" by British think-tank Onward, which challenges common myths about the reasons for our busyness and exhaustion and highlights how our time is consumed by family life and technology, leaving less time for ...

Send us a text Speaking a language is more of a skill than a knowledge-based activity. In this respect, it is similar to dancing or doing sport. In this episode, we'll be developing fluency and confidence in using third-conditional sentences. You'll be guided through a series of exercises that break down the structure into smaller components and gradually put it all together. Link to the transcript. For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@poloopangielski.pl And join us o...

Send us a text In this episode, we are looking at two studies on the psychology of playing chess. Can we use their findings about the thinking processes of chess masters to help us acquire a foreign language? Link to episode transcript. For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@poloopangielski.pl And join us on social media: Instagram and Facebook Would you like me to help you master your English? You can find out more about my courses here.

Send us a text In this episode, Jacek explores the topic of dining alone and its associated stigma. He begins by sharing statistics that reveal how dining alone has become more popular in the UK. Then he retells an anecdote about British comedian Jack Whitehall, who experienced an embarrassing situation while eating on his own in America. Then you will hear the explanation of how the phrase "as such" could indicate a consequence or logical conclusion of something that has been mentioned earl...

Send us a text In today's episode, you will learn about toadies a.k.a. suck-ups, brown-nosers, and apple polishers. Toadies are not the slimy creatures that hang out in ponds or feature on a fancy French menu. Toadies are the people who are always kissing up to their bosses. We'll be digging into some fun and colourful terms to describe those suckers and even share a study that claims having a toady in your team can actually be beneficial! So sit back, relax, and get ready to learn some new v...

Send us a text This time Jacek talks about his "relevant today" posts on Instagram, in which he presents expressions related to current news stories. He explains what makes these posts useful and shares some examples of his recent posts. Link to PoLoop Angielski Instagram Profile Link to episode transcript For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@poloopangielski.pl And join us on social media: Instagram and Facebook Would you like me to help you master your English? Yo...

Send us a text This episode of the Poloop Angielski Podcast is about banning some words and phrases because they are seen as discriminatory, offensive, or inappropriate. Jacek presents a list of expressions, such as "ballsy," "crazy," "freshman," or "manpower", which to some could be exclusionary or derogative. Does banning words make us more inclusive and respectful or less effective in communication? Link to episode transcript For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@po...

Send us a text In this episode of PoLoop Angielski Podcast, Jacek discusses an article from The Economist titled "The Pitfalls of Loving Your Job a Little Too Much". The podcast explores the positive and negative effects of having a passion for work and shares findings from a study by Harvard Business School which reveals that the importance of passion in the workplace has increased in recent years. However, having an all-consuming passion for what you do can have adverse effects too. O...

Send us a text This episode of the Poloop Angielski Podcast focuses on the topic of blaming people for their mistakes. Jacek discusses a recent article from the Economist titled "Faulty Reasoning" about the adverse effects of blaming people in a work environment. The discussion provides a good source of business vocabulary and expressions related to blaming people, including phrasal verbs such as "follow up on sth" and "own up to sth". Link to episode transcript. For more, visit: PoLoop Ang...

Send us a text What trap do polyglots and teachers of foreign languages fall into when advising learners? Should you listen to the advice of those who've mastered a foreign language? What is the right approach when choosing suitable methods of learning? In this episode, I tackle these questions using some insights from Rory Sutherland's book "Alchemy". You can download the complete transcript of this episode here. For more, visit: PoLoop Angielski Blog Drop me a line: jacek@poloopangielski....

Send us a text This episode is the continuation of the topic of stress in Phrasal Verbs, so it might be a good idea to listen to Episode 23 first. You can download the complete transcript of this episode here. Phrasal Verbs used in this recording: put sth on: start wearing somethingburn down: get destroyed by firetake after sb: look or behave like an older member of the familycome down with sth: become ill with a disease, usually not seriouscheat sb out of sth: prevent someone from ha...

Send us a text In this episode you will learn about three kinds of two-part Phrasal Verbs (transitive, separable PVs, transitive, inseparable PVs, and intransitive PVs), and how the type influences the position of stress in the phrase. You will also hear examples of many Phrasal Verbs connected with business meetings. You can download the complete transcript of this episode here. Transitive, separable Phrasal Verbs used in the examples: set sth up: organise and plan somethingbring s...

Send us a text In this episode you'll find out how chatting with the big guys in the tech industry will soon make me a proud owner of a brand new Tesla! You might also discover a great way to practise English. You can download the complete transcript of this episode here. Some words and phrases used in the recording (in alphabetical order): awkward: making you feel embarrassedbot: a computer programto catch up on sth: to spend time doing things you haven't done earliercuriosity: a str...

Send us a text When it comes to learning a language, are you a lumper or a splitter? Which approach is better for learners of a foreign language? You can download the complete transcript of this episode here. Key terms used in the recording: to lump: to put things together in the same group and consider them as the same even though there are differences between themto split: to put similar things in different categories; to focus on differences between things rather than similaritiesO...

Send us a text Let's kick off the new year with a few pieces of advice about the New Year's resolutions. You can download the complete transcript of this episode here. Words and phrases connected to the topic of New Year's resolutions: A FIRM RESOLUTION : a resolution that is not likely to change TO MAKE A RESOLUTION : to decide to try very hard to do something TO KEEP A RESOLUTION / TO STICK TO A RESOLUTION : to continue trying very hard to do something TO FAIL ON A RESOLUTION : to...

Send us a text Verbs sometimes want to act like adjectives or nouns. In order to take on their new role they need the -ing ending. In this episode I expose their clever trick :-) You can download the transcript of this episode here. Phrasal Verbs used in the recording: FEEL UP TO sth/doing sth : When you don't feel up to something, you don't have enough strength or energy to do it or deal with it. GIVE something UP : If you give up something, you stop doing it or having it. CO...