Join me for a completely spontaneous "rambling challenge" in which I attempt to talk without stopping for at least 45 minutes. I end up discussing the benefits of talking to yourself for English fluency, the ideas of "practice makes perfect" and "practice makes permanent", the best advice Tom Hiddleston ever got, what it means to "seize the day", how thinking about death is life affirming, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training, and a nostalgia trip about Super Mario Kart on the Nintendo.

• Luke's event at the British Council 👉 https://www.britishcouncil.fr/en/events/talks-english-scary-stories-unexplained-mysteries

• Get the PDF transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Life-Death-Mario-Kart-A-Rambling-Challenge-1008-Episode-Transcript.pdf

• Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/11/04/life-death-mario-kart-1008-a-rambling-challenge-🗣️/

• LEP Premium 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

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Small talk is not just a pointless way to fill silence in social situations, it is also an opportunity to make great social connections, build your network and just have an interesting conversation with someone new, but how do we do it successfully? How can you deal with your shyness and awkwardness about small talk moments, particularly in English? How can you develop your confidence, and take the right approach to making good connections with people you meet? That's what this episode is all about, as I am joined again by Ray Addam, who has plenty of good advice and stories to share.

Get the PDF with phrase bank and full transcript 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/A-Big-Talk-about-Small-Talk-with-Ray-Addam-1007.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/10/20/a-big-talk-about-small-talk-🗣️-with-ray-addam-improve-your-speaking-skills-in-english-1007/

LEP Premium 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

Ray's Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/learnenglishwithray/

Ray's Preply page for 1-to-1 lessons 👉 https://preply.in/RAY6EN200844011?ts=17815602

Ray's online courses 👉 https://www.skool.com/elevate-english-6228/about?ref=77d17e9d6acf4bf1ae51158796ecaa0f

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Listen to a selection of 9 fascinating stories written by listeners, one of which will win the competition which I launched earlier this year. Finally, the wait is over and the creepy story competition episode is here. I had to work very hard to narrow down the entries from 74 to only 9. Anna Brooke and I chose our favourite, as you will hear.

These are extremely mysterious and extraordinary stories sent in by my listeners. They describe very bizarre and spooky experiences, often involving the sad loss of a family member, spirits from the past searching for peace, or just disturbing coincidences that are hard to reconcile.

All 74 stories are available to read on the episode PDF, and there are plenty of very interesting entries there too. Thank you to everyone who sent a story, and congratulations to the winner, who will win a copy of Anna Brooke's "Death by Chocolate".

Get the episode PDF 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/True-Ghost-Stories-Unexplained-Mysteries-from-Listeners-LEPster-Writing-Competition-1006.pdf

Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2026/10/13/9-true-ghost-stories-unexplained-mysteries-from-listeners-lepster-writing-competition-1006/

"Death by Chocolate" by Anna Brooke 👉 https://www.chickenhousebooks.com/books/death-by-chocolate/

Sign up to LEP Premium 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/premium

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.