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PODCAST

Happy English Podcast

Michael DiGiacomo Happy English

This is an American English Podcast with your host Michael DiGiacomo from Happy English in New York City. You will learn real American English speaking and pronunciation with Michael, who has been teaching English since 1994. This is an English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) podcast that brings you fun, practical, and useful English lessons which are ideal for intermediate and advanced level English learners everywhere. This podcast is perfect for university

education language courses

All Episodes

9:07

968 - Talking About Obligation in English - Have To,...

Happy English Podcast ·

2026/01/13

Do you ever feel like English has too many ways to say the same thing? Maybe you’ve wondered why English has have to, must, need to, and be supposed to, when they all seem to mean something like “I should do this.” Like, “I have to work late.” “I must finish this.” “I need to call her.” “I’m supposed to send the email.”Today, we’ll look at four very common ways to talk about obligation, rules, and expectations - and you’ll hear how each one sounds a little different, even though they’re all

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1:16

967 - OR Sounds like ER - Speak Naturally in a Minute

Happy English Podcast ·

2026/01/12

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every week with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.One of the biggest pronunciation secrets in American English is how we reduce the sound “or.”In everyday conversation, “or” often becomes a quick, relaxed “er.”Do you want tea er coffeeShould we meet today

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1:45

966 - When It Comes To - English Tips in a Minute |...

Happy English Podcast ·

2026/01/10

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Today, let’s look at a very useful conversational phrase - “when it comes to…”We use when it comes to followed by a sentence, to mean regarding or about. When it comes tois a great way to introduce a topic or give

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8:01

964 - Talking About Habits in English - Always, Tend...

Happy English Podcast ·

2026/01/05

Do you have this problem? When you talk about habits in English, you might use the same grammar again and again? Things like, “I eat breakfast at 7,” or “I go to bed late,” or “I work on Saturdays.” Those sentences are correct - no problem there. But if you always talk about habits that way, your English can start to sound a little flat or mechanical. The good news is, native speakers actually use several different expressions to talk about habits, depending on how strong the habit is, how they

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1:58

961 - Kick Off - Phrasal Verbs in a Minute | Happy...

Happy English Podcast ·

2026/01/02

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Today’s phrasal verb is perfect for the new year - kick off. When you kick off something, it means you start it in an energetic or official way. We use kick of for

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7:59

956 - “So That,” “So as to” “In Order To,” and “To” -...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/25

Thanks for tuning in! So… why are you listening to this podcast? Maybe it’s so that you can improve your English? Or in order to sound more natural? Or just to have fun learning something today? Well, whether you said so that, in order to, or to, you were talking about the purpose of doing something.And that’s what these expressions are all about - showing the reason or goal behind an action.Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube:

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2:02

954 - The Tiny W - Speak Naturally in a Minute |...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/21

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Now, in everyday spoken American English, we often connect vowel sounds with a very small, quick W sound. I call this the tiny W. The tiny W happens when when one word ends with an “oo” sound and the next

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1:40

953 - The Next Thing I Knew - English Tips in a...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/20

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Today, let’s look at a really useful expression for telling stories - “the next thing I knew.” We use the next thing I knew when something happens quickly or unexpectedly, especially in a story. It’s another way to

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6:36

951 - Does "I hear you" mean "I can hear you?"

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/15

Have you ever been in this situation? You’re venting to a friend about having a long and tough day, and your friend’s response is something like, Yeah, I hear you.” That little phrase - "I hear you"- has nothing to do with your friend's ears. So - let’s talk about those moments when someone is telling you about a bad day, a tough situation, or something that’s just not going well. You want to respond in a way that shows you care, right? That you’re listening. That you understand. There are

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2:20

950 - Stress Shift With Do and Did - Speak Naturally...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/14

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Sometimes, in everyday spoken American English, we use stress, to show meaning. That means saying certain words louder or stronger to give emphasis in a sentence. A great example of this is when we use

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1:52

949 - Sure Enough - English Tips in a Minute | Happy...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/13

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. And by the way, if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Today, let’s look at a really natural conversational expression - “sure enough.” Sure enough means, “as expected.” We use sure enough to talk about something that happened exactly the way we thought it

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7:55

946 - Phrases With “It’s Time” In English

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/08

So, the other day, I was on the phone with my friend Ed. We had plans to meet at 1pm, and it was already 1:15. I said, "It’s time to go." And he goes, "It’s about time!" Ha! You ever hear that phrase? "It’s about time"? What does that even mean? Well, today, we’re going to talk about how to use a bunch of conversational phrases with “It’s time” in English. Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube:

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1:52

943 - Weigh In (On) - Phrasal Verbs in a Minute |...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/05

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak.By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.Today’s phrasal verb is weigh in on. When you weigh in on something, it means you offer your opinion in a discussion — especially when people want your thoughts or

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11:05

942 - Come vs. Go in English - How to Use Them Correctly

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/12/04

So I got invited to another one of Jack’s parties. If I go by myself, there’s a good chance I won’t know anyone, which is ok, unless a lot of people come. But if Jenny comes with me, then there’s a better chance of having fun. I wonder if she’ll go... or come with me. Come and go. That’s the magic - and the confusion - of the verbs come and go in English. They seem simple… but they can be really tricky. Today we’re going to clear up one of the biggest confusions that even intermediate and advanced

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9:00

936 - Get Outta Here! Casual English Phrases That...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/11/24

Let me ask you something… have you ever been surprised - like, really surprised - and you just didn’t know what to say in English? Imagine, you’re talking to a friend, and they say something totally unexpected. Like, “Hey, did you hear? Lisa is moving to Australia!” And you want to respond like a native speaker - with something more natural than just “Wow” OR “Really?”That’s what we’re going to look at today - casual, real-life phrases that native English speakers use to show surprise. And hey -

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2:26

930 - I’m Tryin’ To → Ahm Tryin’ Uh - Speak Naturally...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/11/16

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Michael on YouTube.In fact, the idea for today’s lesson came from a listener’s question on YouTube. It’s all about reductions. In language learning, reduction means shortening or softening sounds when we speak quickly - it’s

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2:04

929 - Does That Make Sense? - English Tips in a...

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/11/15

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently.And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Michael on YouTube.Today, let’s look at a really common phrase you’ll hear in everyday English - “Does that make sense?”We use does that make sense? to check if the other person understands what we just explained. It’s a more natural

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1:37

923 - Phrasal Verb Friday - Whip Up

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/11/07

Today’s phrasal verb is whip up. When you whip something up, it means you make or create something quickly - usually food, but it can also be ideas, energy, or excitement.Like, yesterday morning I was in a rush, so I whipped up some scrambled eggs before heading out the door.And the other day, my neighbor whipped up a batch of cookies and brought them over. Best surprise ever!Or my friend Amy is so creative - she can whip up a great PowerPoint presentation in no time.So how about you? What’s

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11:12

922 - Office Speak- What Do These Phrases Really Mean?

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/11/05

Let’s table this. That’s what the boss said. And then someone else said, we need to pivot. So then I suggested we take it off line, but the boss said, Let’s not reinvent the wheel. Ah, the language of business.have you ever been in a meeting or on a Zoom call and someone says something like, “Let’s circle back on that” or “We need to pivot”… and you’re just sitting there thinking, “Wait, what did that mean?” Today, let’s take a closer look at what these buzzwords really mean in plain English - and

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10:41

921 - Business English Idioms for Everyday Work Life

Happy English Podcast ·

2025/11/03

I know that I promised to keep you in the loop, so I’m touching base with you in this podcast English lesson to let you know I’ve been thinking outside the box and everything you need to improve your English is here in the pipeline. Today, we're going to look at six of the most common idioms you’ll hear in American offices, and help you sound more natural and confident at work - or at least understand what your coworkers are saying.Visit my website for over 3,000 free English lessons:

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