Native Phrase Lab
Willowbrook
Chapter 1
It started with languages.
I studied German and Spanish at the University of Nottingham. I loved how languages really work: in the mouth, in the ear, in real life.
About me
Hello. I’m James.
I create English-learning apps and help people and teams communicate with confidence. I’m from the West Midlands, in England, and I’ve taught for over a decade. 354,000 people learn with me on YouTube. I’m also still learning languages myself.
- BA German and Spanish, University of Nottingham
- TESOL Cert IV, AICOL Australia
- 50+ countries my students come from
My story
How I got here.
Chapter 2
Then, the people.
I trained as an English teacher and never stopped. Classrooms, companies, one-to-one lessons. I lived in Vietnam for years, in Ho Chi Minh City. It changed how I think about almost everything.
Chapter 3
My students told me to film it.
They kept saying I should put my lessons on YouTube. So I did. Now 354,000 of you learn with me. (Once I filmed a whole hour with the microphone unplugged. I check it nine times now.)
Chapter 4
Now I build things for you.
I made Native Phrase Lab and Willowbrook, so you can practise with me any time. Months of work, thousands of recordings, and I keep adding to them.
How I teach
Conversations, not drills.
🗣️
You speak more than I do.
Lessons are real conversations: about your work, your life, the film you saw. I help you say it better as we go.
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Mistakes are welcome.
Nobody makes you feel silly here. You will try things you have never said out loud, and that is the point.
👂
Sounds first.
If people can’t understand your words, grammar doesn’t help. So we start with how English really sounds.
26 things about me
Do we have things in common?
Press Me too when it’s true for you. Then press the arrow for the next one.
You and I have 0 things in common.
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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 354,000 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.
Now you know me a little.