# Improve Your English Just by Listening | 40 Minutes of Real English (B1, B2) Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-english-academy-7784342/improve-your-english-just-by-listening-40-minutes-of-real-english-b1-b2 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-english-academy-7784342/improve-your-english-just-by-listening-40-minutes-of-real-english-b1-b2.md Podcast: [Everyday English Academy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-english-academy-7784342) Published: 2026-08-10T09:15:00+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everyday-english-academy/episodes/Improve-Your-English-Just-by-Listening--40-Minutes-of-Real-English-B1--B2-e3n5t6j Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO2287357893.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/everyday-english-academy-7784342/episodes/improve-your-english-just-by-listening-40-minutes-of-real-english-b1-b2 Duration seconds: 2625 ## Resource Improve Your English Just by Listening | 40 Minutes of Real English (B1, B2) | Everyday English Academy Borrowing a step stool, returning a book you have had for months, asking a neighbour for a small favour: these are the little conversations that feel surprisingly hard in English. Sarah and Mike talk slowly about wobbly kitchen chairs, overdue library books, parcels left with the people next door, and the things we all keep putting off. It is a calm daily English conversation you can follow while you cook, walk, or fold the laundry, and it helps you speak up the next time you need to knock on someone's door. Have you ever waited so long to ask for something that asking became embarrassing? In this relaxed English podcast you will practise borrowing and returning things politely, making a soft request with "any chance I could swing by Tuesday?", explaining why something slipped your mind, using everyday words like overdue, handy, postpone and upfront, and saying thank you to a neighbour in a way that sounds natural rather than stiff. This episode is perfect for B1 English learners who want to sound polite and relaxed when asking neighbours, friends or family for small favours, and who want everyday vocabulary for the tasks they keep postponing. 💡 Tip: Rehearse tonight's polite ask out loud: "Any chance I could swing by Tuesday? ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 Introduction 0:45 Talk About Borrowing and Lending in English 3:13 Using Borrow and Lend Correctly 6:41 Asking for Something Back Politely 14:11 Talking About Things You Keep Delaying 22:18 Asking for and Refusing Favours 28:58 Speaking Practice 37:30 Vocabulary Review & Next Episode 📚 Vocabulary in this episode • overdue: later than it should be • owe: have to give back or pay • handy: useful and easy to use… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/everyday-english-academy-7784342/episodes/improve-your-english-just-by-listening-40-minutes-of-real-english-b1-b2/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/everyday-english-academy-7784342/improve-your-english-just-by-listening-40-minutes-of-real-english-b1-b2.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.