Vocabulary practice · Episode 20

Review the useful expressions from the episode

Study the episode’s central expressions with English definitions, nuance and examples, plus reviewed support-language versions where available.

B1–B2Everyday EnglishAbout 10 min + dynamic ads5 PDF versions available
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A short study session

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  1. Choose one expression. Read its definition, nuance and examples.
  2. Make it yours. Write one true sentence from your own life.
  3. Return to the episode. Listen for the expression in its original context.

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Vocabulary from the episode

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Expression 1

in the present moment

Existing or occurring in the current time.

Being fully aware and engaged with the current experience.

Nuance: This phrase is often used in mindfulness and meditation contexts to emphasize being fully present and attentive to the current experience without distraction.

Okay, but Martin, when I am speaking English, I am not "in the present moment."

You are everywhere except in the actual conversation.

Expression 2

paying attention

Focusing one's mind on something.

Being aware of or noticing something.

Nuance: This phrase emphasizes the act of concentrating or being mindful of the present, often used in contexts of learning or mindfulness.

Mindfulness is just this: paying attention to the present moment, without judging it.

You are here. You notice you are here.

Expression 3

to reconnect with something

to re-establish a relationship, interest, or ability that had faded or been interrupted

Nuance: Reconnect is the warmth word for returning to something you once loved or used. Reconnecting with English after a break is not punishment — it is reunion. This framing matters: learners who approach return with curiosity reconnect faster than those who approach with guilt.

Reconnect with English through something you enjoy — music, a podcast, a film — not through exercises.

She reconnected with her love of English by reading the novels that had inspired her years ago.

Expression 4

to push through

to continue despite difficulty, pain, or resistance; to persist until you complete something hard

Nuance: Push through is physical language for mental determination — you feel the resistance but you keep moving forward anyway. It is the vocabulary of people who do not stop when things get hard.

Push through the difficult days — those are the ones that build the most.

She pushed through three months of feeling stuck and came out the other side truly fluent.

Expression 5

on purpose

Intentionally, as the result of a conscious decision.

Nuance: It contrasts with by accident and commonly follows a verb.

Slow the final words down on purpose.

She paused on purpose before giving the answer.

Expression 6

to slow down

to reduce your speed or pace; to move, think, or speak more deliberately and without rushing

Nuance: Slowing down is harder than speeding up — it requires intention. In English learning, slowing down your listening or speaking reveals details you miss when rushing.

Slow down when you speak — clarity matters more than speed.

The podcast is designed to help you slow down and actually absorb the English around you.

Expression 7

meaningful

having real significance, purpose, or value — not artificial or empty

Nuance: Meaningful practice is the opposite of drilling — instead of repeating sentences out of context, you use the language to express something you actually care about.

Meaningful communication is the fastest route to fluency — say real things to real people.

The most meaningful vocabulary is the vocabulary you use to talk about your own life.

Expression 8

stillness

the quality of being calm, quiet, and motionless — both physically and mentally

Nuance: Stillness is rare in the modern world, and in English it carries a sense of both peace and power. In language learning, moments of stillness — before speaking, after listening — allow the mind to process and retain what it has absorbed.

There is power in stillness — the pause before you speak is what gives your words weight.

She discovered that practising English in the early morning, in complete stillness, was far more effective than studying at night.

Expression 9

presence

the quality of being fully and powerfully there — the sense that a person fills a room with their energy, attention, and confidence

Nuance: Presence is the word for the quality that cannot be taught directly but can be developed. Speakers with presence are not necessarily the loudest or the most eloquent — they are the most fully there. They do not check their phone, they do not rush, they do not apologise for existing in the room.

Presence is developed through practice — the more you speak English in public, the more natural your presence becomes.

She walked into the room with presence and before she had spoken a word, the room was already paying attention.

Expression 10

to settle

To gradually become calm, still or established.

Nuance: A versatile verb used for people, dust, emotions and new places.

Feel your body settle with every cycle.

It took a few minutes for the room to settle.

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