Native Phrase Lab · app
Understand the phrases people really use. Then say them yourself.
1,000 everyday phrases, each with a real situation and my voice. Works on your phone, tablet or computer.
It’s time you were
.
Keep practising English with me. Explore a village, learn useful phrases and hear how I say them. Try my self-study tools free, then choose what suits you.
JamesEnglish teacher · 12 years350,000 subscribers · risingStudents in 50+ countries
Practise on your own. Two tools I made for you. Try both free.
Willowbrook · 3D game
Explore an English village. Learn the words as you walk around.
Click on what you see, chat with me and the neighbours, and follow little stories. No sign-up to try.
Want both? All Access has both tools, plus 33 premium lessons and 5 premium games. $49 once →
Forty-four sounds. I’ll show you every one.
See all 44 sounds →/θ/
think
Tongue between the teeth. Air through the gap. No voice.
/æ/
cat
Push your tongue forward, drop your jaw, and smile.
/uː/
moon
Lips rounded and pushed forward. Hold it. It’s long.
/ɜː/
bird
The middle of the mouth. Nothing moves. Long and lazy.
/əʊ/
go
Start in the middle, then round the lips as you go back.
Nobody talks like a textbook. So I teach the English people actually say.
What are you doing?
What you up to?
/wɒt jʊ ˈʌp tuː/
I am going to get a coffee.
Gonna grab a coffee.
/ˈɡənə ɡræb ə ˈkɒfi/
I do not know yet.
Dunno yet.
/dəˈnəʊ jet/
Thank you very much.
Cheers!
/tʃɪəz/
The textbook version is correct. Nobody says it.
What students say. In their own words.
“Mình thực sự rất thích cách James dạy. Mình cảm thấy tự tin hơn rất nhiều khi giao tiếp bằng tiếng Anh.”“I love the way James teaches. I feel far more confident speaking English.”
“Honestly one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. Lessons feel like real conversation, not grammar drills.”
«Зовсім не схожі на звичайні уроки англійської. Я не боюся робити помилки.»“Nothing like ordinary lessons. I’m never afraid of making mistakes.”
“James hears the small mistakes other teachers miss, and I’m never afraid to try.”
“James के lessons मुझे सबसे ज्यादा useful लगे। अब मुझे कहीं ज्यादा confidence महसूस होता है।”“James’s lessons are the most useful I’ve had. I speak with far more confidence now.”
“He pushes you to say complicated things, without ever making it stressful.”
“بدأت أشعر أن لغتي الإنجليزية أصبحت أكثر طبيعية.”“My English simply became more natural.”
“Professional, but genuinely funny. He explains why something sounds natural.”
“Now speaking is automatic, because we learn how people actually use the words.”
“James always finds me a better, more natural way to say it.”
“Textbook English isn’t real English. My speaking is the proof.”
Eleven students, seven countries. Four wrote in their own language rather than mine. Be the twelfth →
Lights off · Meet James
MEET JAMES.
An English teacher from the West Midlands, UK. Twelve years in, with 350,000 of you on YouTube and rising.
The English I teach isn’t the textbook English you learned at school. It’s the real English people actually use, every day, all over the world.
“If you know 2,000 words but pronounce 1,000 of them wrongly, people still won’t understand you.”
Did you know. Six things about me, and twenty more where they came from.
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Why did you start the channel?
My students told me to
They kept saying I should film the lessons. I ran out of reasons not to, and now there are 350,000 of you. It was never my idea.
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Worst filming disaster?
An hour with the microphone unplugged
Sixty minutes of me talking, nicely lit, completely silent. I had to film every second of it again. I now check that microphone about nine times before I start.
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Odd habit?
I eat cereal without milk
Not because I’ve run out. On purpose, with a glass of milk next to it. I love both, and I won’t ruin either one by mixing them.
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Cats or dogs?
Cats. Always cats.
Dogs are lovely and I like all animals. But cats are the best, and I’m not going to change my mind about it.
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Hidden talent?
I can do a backflip
Brown belt in Ju Jitsu, then a year of Shaolin Kung Fu. If I’m honest, I mostly wanted the backflip. I got the backflip.
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Favourite food?
Quesadillas
If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, that’s the one. Sorry to the roast dinner and the full English, which I also love.
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Tea or coffee?
Tea. Obviously.
I’m English. There was never any doubt about this one.
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Football team?
Newcastle United
They have taught me patience, hope, and how to handle disappointment. All of which turn out to be useful when you’re learning a language.
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Best game ever made?
Ocarina of Time
Not up for debate, sorry. I still catch myself humming Saria’s Song at my desk, twenty-odd years later.
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Loud or quiet in real life?
Much quieter than you’d think
I love people and I love a quiet room, and those two things argue with each other constantly.
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Are you learning a language too?
Spanish, every single day
My German has gone rusty and my French is worse. Next I start a language with tones, which I already know will humble me: I teach pronunciation for a living and I still can’t hear them properly. Whatever you’re finding hard, I’m finding something hard too.
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How do you get to sleep?
A podcast I’ve already heard
It only works if I know it, because then it’s boring enough to send me off. To any podcaster reading this: I mean it as a compliment.
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Favourite weather?
A proper thunderstorm
Watching a big storm come in from a balcony, with a cup of tea, is one of my favourite things in the world. The louder the better.
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Favourite film?
The Lord of the Rings
I’ve watched it more than anything else. Extended editions, obviously. I would start them again tonight if anybody suggested it.
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Biggest pet hate?
Wifi that keeps cutting out
That, rude people, and anybody who doesn’t like animals. It’s a short list. I’m otherwise very relaxed.
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Favourite word?
“Diabolical”
No idea why. It’s always sounded brilliant to me. Say it out loud once and you’ll hear what I mean.
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Playing anything right now?
Morrowind and Majora’s Mask
Two of the strangest games ever made, both at the same time. There’s a game of Civilization running as well, which has never once ended at one more turn.
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What got you into martial arts?
Jackie Chan
At fifteen I wanted to do stunts like him and fight like Jet Li. That’s genuinely why I ended up in a Kung Fu class.
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A sport you actually play?
Pool, and snooker when I can
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the best there has ever been at anything, and I will happily lose a whole evening arguing about it.
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Where do you most want to go?
Japan, then New Zealand, then Egypt
In that order. Japan first, if anybody’s offering.
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Where have you lived?
Vietnam, for years
Ho Chi Minh City, and I travelled as much of the region as I could while I was there. It changed how I think about almost everything.
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What do you listen to while you work?
Film and game soundtracks
Stargate, Elder Scrolls, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. Music with words in it is a distraction when you’re trying to write.
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Do you play an instrument?
Saxophone, until I was fourteen
I haven’t touched one since. I’m having a go at the piano now and I’m not going to pretend I’m any good.
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Favourite comedians?
George Carlin and Bill Hicks
Those two, plus whatever daft thing the internet made this week. Life’s funniest when it’s going badly, and you may as well laugh.
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How do you switch off?
A long walk, or a game and some snacks
Either my head gets cleared on foot, or I’m curled up with Civilization and something I probably shouldn’t be eating.
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A strange talent?
I can usually tell what you’re thinking
Very handy in a lesson, because I normally know which word you’re avoiding before you avoid it. Much less popular at home.
Fancy a cuppa?= would you like a cup of tea?
James. Teacher. Not actually in space.
PICK YOUR SEAT.
Practise on your own, or learn live with me.
Season pass · self-studyPremium All AccessPhrase Lab, Willowbrook, 33 lessons and 5 games.$49Try free, then choose →
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All prices in USD. All lessons in English. Obviously.
You will be
UNDERSTOOD.
Private one-to-one lessons: sixty minutes, just you and me, on Google Meet. Pick a time that suits you.
See times and book →FIN.BEGIN.