In this new advanced English language conversation (E72), I talk to English language coach and pronunciation pro Jessica Dias to discuss one of the most underrated language skills: listening.

But not just listening for meaning — listening as a speaking strategy. Jessy shares how tuning your ear to real English conversations helps you sound more natural, confident, and fluent.

We explore why so many learners struggle to speak — and how the problem often starts with what and how they’re listening.

From the importance of decoding fast, messy, connected speech to the power of noticing reductions, contractions, and rhythm, Jessy breaks it all down for us.

We also dig into the difference between listening for pleasure and listening with intention, and how noticing small pronunciation details (like the difference between sheep and ship) can make a huge impact on both your listening and speaking skills.

✨ Highlights:

• Why real conversations are always better than curated audio
• How decoding speech helps you speak more freely and understand more
• The myth of “they speak too fast”
• Listening as a gateway to pronunciation mastery

🎓 Want to go further? Jessy’s Clear Pronunciation Program (CPP) is now open — a self-paced course designed to help learners and teachers fine-tune their pronunciation and listening. Or check out Jessy Academy, her live conversation program for intermediate to advanced learners.

📲 Follow Jessy on Instagram: @MsJessyDays Links to courses and more in her bio.

As always, I’ll note some useful intermediate/advanced language (B1/C1 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

To access the transcript, be sure to sign up for the newsletter.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Episode 71: A Beginner Goes to Italy and Wonders: Why Learn a Language?

In this episode of Hear You Go for intermediate and advanced English language learners, I take you with me as I connect the TED Talk by linguist John McWhorter to my 2½-week language experiment in Italy.

Can I tell you how often I felt like my head was going to explode?!

In this three-part episode, I:

• unpack McWhorter’s four compelling reasons to learn a language
• share my real-world Italian wins and stumbles, and
• reflect on what this experience taught me about learning, teaching, and recommitting to French

Wherever you are on your language journey, this episode might make you pause and ask: Why am I learning a language—and what do I want from it? We probably don’t ask ourselves this question enough, right?

Bonus: travel vicariously through me as I share some remarkable moments from a special trip.

As always, I’ll note some useful intermediate/advanced language (B1/C1 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

To access the transcript, be sure to sign up for the newsletter.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Obasan and the Silence of History (E70)

In this episode of Hear You Go, we honour Asian Heritage Month in Canada by exploring the groundbreaking novel Obasan by Joy Kogawa—a powerful and emotional story that reveals the experiences of Japanese Canadians during and after WWII.

In this two-part episode, we:

• examine the historical context of Japanese immigration to Canada and the discrimination they faced, then
• turn to the novel itself—its emotional resonance, narrative structure, and the legacy it preserves.

Through reflection and storytelling, this episode asks: what happens when a nation forgets? And what power lies in remembering?

With clear explanations and rich vocabulary, this episode builds your listening skills while deepening your understanding of a difficult but important part of history.

As always, we’ll note some useful intermediate/advanced language (B1/C1 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.

🔊 Listen now and test your listening in this advanced English language podcast 🎧

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

To access the transcript, be sure to sign up for the newsletter.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Phrasal verbs: the ultimate headache for English learners—or are they?

In this episode, I talk with Nathaly Rodriguez, an English language teacher and self-proclaimed "language detective," to uncover the secrets behind these tricky verb + particle combinations.

Nathaly shares her personal journey with English, from struggling with phrasal verbs as an instructor to discovering a cognitive linguistics approach that finally made them click. We explore how understanding the core meaning of particles—like down in burn down or off in take off—can make phrasal verbs feel more intuitive and even easier to remember.

Along the way, we discuss how phrasal verbs are incredibly flexible (peopled out?) and why they’re actually shortcuts in conversation rather than obstacles.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by phrasal verbs, this episode is for you. By the end, you might even start to light up when you hear them 😂 !

🎯 Where to find Nathaly:

Follow her on Instagram @nathalyclassroom for daily insights on phrasal verbs and more! Plus, check out her course Light Up: Phrasal Verbs Demystified to master these tricky verbs with confidence.

You can also find her on YouTube.

📌 Don't forget to subscribe, share, and let me know—what's your favorite (or most frustrating) phrasal verb?

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

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📥 Do you get my newsletter? It’s really the best way to hear from me. Transcripts are included in the newsletter.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Graduation is a milestone that marks both an ending and a beginning—not just for our children, but for us as parents too. As my youngest prepares to finish university, I find myself reflecting on the bittersweet reality of watching our kids step into their own lives.

In this episode of Hear You Go, I explore:

• the process of letting go
• the evolving parent-child relationship in adulthood, and
• how to embrace this new chapter as an empty-nester

I share personal reflections, wisdom from essays that have stayed with me, and even some advice from former President Obama on what it means when our kids leave home.

Whether your children are still little, about to launch, or already making their way in the world, this episode is for every parent navigating the ever-changing journey of love, pride, and, yes, a few tears. Grab a tissue, and let’s talk about what comes next.

As always, we’ll note some useful intermediate/advanced language (B1 to C2 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.

🔊 Listen now and test your listening in this advanced English language podcast.

🎧 Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

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📥 Do you get my newsletter? It’s really the best way to hear from me. Transcripts are included in the newsletter.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Please share the podcast and spread the knowledge!

In this episode of Hear You Go (E67), I sit down with the exceptional Brazilian English teacher Bruna Passos for a conversation that started with a book and led us to so many interesting places.

We talk about the power of fiction—not just for enjoyment but for expanding our perspectives, building empathy, and even challenging the status quo. Bruna shares how literature has transported her to different times and places, expanding her understanding of language and our world.

We also dive into the question of reading in a second language—why do so many people lean toward "practical" texts instead of fiction? We chat about how to balance reading for pleasure with language learning. Along the way, we geek out over Jhumpa Lahiri, book clubs, and why reading reviews can be just as eye-opening as the books themselves.

If you love reading, teaching, or simply the magic of language, this conversation is for you.

We wrap up the convo with Bruna letting us in on what she’s reading now and sharing where you can find her online (pro tip: if you DM her, bring book recommendations!).

All book titles and links to Bruna’s work are in the show notes below.

🎧 Tune in for an unscripted, heartfelt discussion on learning, exploring, and the books that shape us.

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

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Links to go further:

Bruna’s details:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brunapassoselt/

Website: https://www.brunapassos.net/

Books and authors we discussed:

1. Pedro Bandeira: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Bandeira

2. The Joys of Motherhood, by Buchi Emecheta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joys_of_Motherhood

3. Jhumpa Lahiri: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhumpa_Lahiri

Her books:

• The Interpreter of Maladies (1999)

• The Namesake (2003)

• Unaccustomed Earth (2008)

• The Lowlands (2013)

• Dove mi trovo (2018)

• Roman Stories (2023)

4. Isabel Allende, author of countless novels worth reading: https://www.isabelallende.com/en

• House of Spirits (1995)

5. Forbidden Notebook, Alba de Céspedes

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📥 Do you get my newsletter? It’s really the best way to hear from me. Transcripts are included in the newsletter.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Please share the podcast and spread the knowledge!

For your advanced English listening practice, we're blasting off to where everyone had a translator thingamajig on their t-shirt and could talk to any alien out there in the galaxy 🤣.

As a child, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut, exploring the final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise. While my math grades grounded that dream, my fascination with space never waned. In this episode of Hear You Go, I dive into Orbital, the 2024 Booker Prize-winning novel by Samantha Harvey, a breathtaking story set aboard the International Space Station.

We’ll also shine some starlight on: 👩‍🚀 The legacy of Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut, a subject to honor this month's International Women’s Day 🌏 And ponder the question: can we ever achieve the utopian future envisioned in Star Trek?

From the Challenger disaster to the wonders of spaceflight, this English listening practice episode reflects on human ambition, scientific progress, and our responsibility to protect Earth. Join me on this journey beyond the stars! 🌠

As always, we’ll note some useful advanced English (B2/C1 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.

🔊 Listen now and test your listening in this advanced English language podcast 🎧

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

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Do you get my newsletter? It’s really the best way to hear from me and access the transcript.

You can also follow me on Instagram.

🎶 Amos the Transparent provides my theme song. They're an awesome group of talented musicians. Give them some love and check out their music.

Please share the podcast and spread the knowledge!

In this English language listening practice episode (E65), I talk to English language teacher Eidiane Rufino , who shares her experiences as a teacher from Brazil, now living in Canada.

Eidiane opens up about how she went from hating English to seeing it as a key to opening up a whole new world. She knew from a young age that she wanted to be a teacher, and today, she can clearly see her strengths as a non-native teacher, and what she and others like her can offer learners. She explains the pluses of having firsthand experience learning the language, including the capacity to break down complex language structures, a skill that strengthens her ability to relate to students and be an essential bridge for learners.

Our intermediate/advanced English conversation then shifts to Eidiane's move to Canada, the challenges she faced, and the advice she has for others considering a similar move. She emphasizes the importance of managing expectations and planning ahead. She also discusses the cultural and social differences between Canada and Brazil. Despite some difficulties, she expresses no regrets about her decision and encourages others to remain patient and adaptable as they navigate life in a new country.

As always, you’ll note some useful advanced English (B2/C1 Intermediate & Advanced English) along the way.

🔊 Listen now and enjoy!

Hear You Go English language listening podcasts aim to give you, the intermediate English language learner and advanced English language learner, a space to practice your English listening so that you can think, learn, and connect in English.

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Thanks as always to Amos the Transparent for the theme music.