Welcome to the Leonardo English blog 👋

Meet Aminah, a curious mind from Thailand who moved to the UK last year. Learn about her English goals, and how she is planning to get her IELTS test to get her license to practise dentistry in the UK, all while taking care of her young baby.

Writing is an incredibly powerful skill for English learners that will help you improve your vocabulary, stop making the same mistakes, and become a more confident and eloquent speaker of English. In this guide, English teacher Emile explains why, and how you can make the most of this technique.

Used correctly, podcasts are a fun and effective way for your ESL students to improve listening skills. Your students will thank you for introducing them.

There are hundreds of thousands of English teachers to choose from. Here are our top tips on how to find the perfect one for you.

Looking for a bargain on your next English course? Here are some of the best deals for English learners this Black Friday, including italki, Preply, Mosalingua and Linguix.

Do you feel embarrassed and shy when using English? It doesn’t need to be this way. Here’s how you can become a more confident speaker of English and take your English to the next level.

Did you know that there was a way to use Google to learn a new word in English every day? Google launched this feature at the end of October, and it is available for free to anyone with an Android or iPhone device. Here's how it works (and why you should use it).

Meet Nadia, a curious mind from Russia who is keen to improve her pronunciation in English. Learn about her English-learning routine, and how she uses podcasts to improve her speaking skills.

What are the differences between the big four English tutoring platforms and how can you find out which is best for you? We asked English teacher Emile to review each website and report back with the good, the bad and the ugly.

Cambly is one of the biggest tutoring websites, offering English lessons online since 2012. How it is different to all the other English-tutoring websites, and what are some smart ways to use Cambly to learn English?

Verbling is one of the most popular tutoring websites, offering thousands of tutors for English and other languages. Can you use Verbling to learn English quickly and easily?

Preply claims to offer over 25,000 English tutors and private classes for as low as $2 an hour. How does it work, and is it actually any good? Read on for our detailed review of Preply.

italki is one of the biggest websites for English teachers, with almost 8,000 teachers to choose from. How does it work, and is it actually any good? Read on for our detailed review of italki.

If novels and news articles are too difficult to read, graded readers are a fantastic choice. You can enjoy a story and improve your English at the same time.

Matt Halsdorff and Christian Saunders recently teamed up to work on an amazing project about how native English speakers can adapt their language. Here’s what’s in it, and why it matters.

Tens of millions of people every year take Business English classes in the hope of getting a better job. But what actually is Business English, do you actually need it, and does it really matter?

There are 3 non-native speakers of English to every native English speaker. If you are learning English, what does this mean for you?

Millions of learners enrol at English schools every year. Are they wasting their money, and what are the alternatives?

The doors of The Leonardo English Academy will open on September 27th 2021. Here's everything you need to know about it.

Meet Jenneke, a curious mind from The Netherlands. Discover how she started speaking "International" English, and why she decided to focus on activating her "passive" vocabulary.

We just finished our first “Vocabulary Builder” challenge. Here’s how it went, all the words we covered, and everything we learned.

Can classic language learning methods help me improve my English? Here is how using an old-school method in a new way can help you improve your English.

Recording yourself speaking English is a powerful way to improve your fluency and see your progress over time. Here’s how to do it effectively.

“Chunking” originated in psychology and it changed how we think about memory. Here’s how you can apply it to learn English more effectively.

Meet Cassie, a Master's student in Translation and Interpreting with plans to become an interpreter. Discover why she decided English Learning for Curious Minds was the perfect tool to help her with real-time interpreting, and how she learned to have a fluent conversation in six months.

Saying the wrong word can be really embarrassing, but it’s part of the process. Use these tips and tricks to notice your mistakes and make them less often.

Meet Laura, "The Hungry Learner", and learn about her recipe for successful language learning. She has also been kind enough to provide a 7 day planner for how to maximise your use of podcasts to learn English, and how to build your own daily habit.

Can talking to yourself help you learn English? See what the research says and the most effective ways to do it

Here’s an English teacher’s best advice for finding truly effective English teachers to supplement your other English activities.

How many words did Shakespeare add to the English language? And how do we know if he actually invented them himself?

Learning English can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. And, sometimes, even free resources are costly in another way: on your time.

A 30-day challenge with community accountability to boost your confidence, vocabulary, and writing skills in English.

Our first 30 for 30 Challenge saw curious minds from 13 different countries commit to using English for 30 minutes every day for 30 days. Here’s how it went, what they learned, and why this format is so powerful for independent learners.

Will listening to Adele or Beyonce really teach me English? Here’s everything you need to know about learning English from music.

Meet the new cover art for English Learning for Curious Minds.

Speaking English is hard because we often don’t say words like we should. Here’s how to understand connected speech and how to speak naturally yourself.

Meet Dawid, a software developer from Poland, and a new member of Leonardo English. Learn about his view on the Polish education system, and why he is such a big fan of Shadowing.

You can now listen to all of our bonus, member-only episodes on your favourite podcast app as well as on the website. Listen and learn wherever you want.

It’s normal to understand English better than you can speak it, but it’s still frustrating. Here’s why that happens and how you can fix it.

Yes, English accents and dialects can be confusing. Sorry. Here’s how to navigate American vs. British vs. Australian English and decide which one you should learn.

Last week, Leonardo English passed three exciting milestones. Here’s what they were and what they mean for our mission of building a more interesting way of improving your English.

After a successful 'test run' in February, we had our second set of Icebreaker sessions. They were a great success, and it's fantastic to see so many curious minds coming together to practise their English.

Don’t be held back by the lies your English teacher might have told you. Here is the truth behind 6 lies you might have been told in English class.

The way we learn languages is shifting, and it looks promising. Here’s what could change… and what probably won’t.

Meet Steven, a Chinese native and a recent member of Leonardo English. Discover why pronunciation is particularly difficult for Chinese speakers, and why he doesn't believe in traditional English learning methods.

You have unlimited options for English learning resources, but that can make it harder to find what works. Here’s how to find the gems and not get overwhelmed with choice.

To learn English you have to use it… but what if you’re shy? Don’t worry: introverts can master English, too—here’s how.

Meet Olga, a curious minds originally from Latvia, but now living in St Petersburg, Russia. Discover her English learning journey, and why she decided to become a member of Leonardo English.

What happens when you put curious minds from 10 different countries together for an "Icebreaker" session? A lot of fun, it turns out.

Meet Sidi, a new addition to the Leonardo English family. Discover how his English journey started, how it has changed over time, and how he overcame various difficulties to become a successful independent English learner.

Now, 1% of all Leonardo English memberships go towards carbon removal projects. It's a small step, but an important one.

You don’t need to take classes to master English, but there are challenges to learning English independently. Here are some strategies to overcome them and learn English successfully on your own.

Does using subtitles when you watch a movie in English help you learn more effectively? Or is it cheating? It depends. Here’s when you should use subtitles to help your learning, and when you shouldn’t.

Can you learn English entirely by reading? Or just by chatting with native speakers? Neither—you need a mix of input and output activities. Here’s why.

It’s a 2,500-year-old book about military strategy written by a Chinese general. Is there anything that English learners can take from it?

Paying attention might sound simple, but few English learners do it properly. Here’s why it matters, and how you can teach yourself to pay more attention and be a better English learner.

In our first members-only session of the year, curious minds from 9 different countries gathered to share strategies on how to learn English independently. There were some brilliant ideas, and it was a great chance to discuss tactics and help each other.

Learning English goes quickly at the beginning, and then all of a sudden it can feel like you’re not making any progress. Here’s how to continue to make progress when you’re stuck on the intermediate plateau.

Meet Francisco, a member of English and a curious mind with a fantastic sense of humour. Join him in his home in the south-east of Spain, and learn about his English learning journey.

Do you sometimes feel like a fraud when you speak English? Here’s how you can get rid of those feelings of inadequacy.

Feel like you don’t have enough time to learn English? Here are some strategies to fit English into your schedule without giving too much up.

Making language resolutions does help, even if it feels like you can’t keep them. But here’s how you can make sure you do stick to them.

Just 9 days before Christmas, an intimate group of curious minds gathered to discuss Brexit, The European Union, and what happens next.

At what point can you say that you’re fluent in English? In this article, we consider various ways of thinking about fluency and how that can help inform a language learning programme.

On December 5th 2019, the first episode of the English Learning for Curious Minds podcast was released. Here’s how the first year has gone, and some fun facts about who was listening, from where, and to what.

Many English learners express a preference for native-speaking English teachers—but are they actually better? No, and here’s why.

We’ve just launched gift memberships. Give the gift of a Leonardo English membership to a loved one, or leave a subtle hint that you’d be very happy to receive a gift membership in your stocking this year.

Meet Andra, a new member of Leonardo English from Romania. Learn about how she uses English in her professional life, and how she uses the podcasts to learn new words and phrases.

Be inspired by an amazing story of a grandmother from Turin, Italian by birth but Spanish by 'adoption'. Learn about how she listens to the podcasts, what she is planning on doing on January 1st, and the two things she still does in Italian.

In our 7th Members-only session, we covered a veritable 'hot potato' of a topic: The US Election. Here's what happened, what we discussed, and why we needed a lot more than 60 minutes.

You can now see the definitions of harder words directly in the podcast transcript, making it easier than ever to learn new words and phrases as you listen.

It can feel overwhelming to learn English on your own. But creating a language learning system can help. Here’s how to do it and the tools you can use to make it work.

Immersive travel or work experiences can be a great way to learn English, but they’re not accessible to everyone. And you don’t need them. Here’s how you can take the advantages of immersion and apply them to your own language learning, without ever getting on a plane.

How do we learn language? Theorists have spent a lot of time trying to figure that out. Here are the three most popular perspectives and what they mean for people learning English.

Don’t let your fear of speaking English keep you from becoming fluent. Use these tips to overcome the discomfort and learn to speak confidently.

Google Translate is one of the most powerful learning tools out there. Here are 9 impressive features you should be using if you’re not already.

Stephen Krashen’s input hypothesis is one of the most influential theories of second language acquisition. He argues that Comprehensible Input is the most important factor in learning another language. Here’s why it matters.

You might think that compounding just applies to investing. Here’s how you can apply some of its magic to your approach to learning English.

We just had our 6th ever members-only session, where we debated whether learning a second language should be required at school. Here’s what happened, and which side was declared the winner.

Reading is one of the best activities you can do every day to improve your English. Here’s why it works, and how to build it into your English learning routine.

I just released the 100th episode of English Learning for Curious Minds. Here's the 'behind the scenes' story of everything it has taken to get this far.

Some grammar rules are really important... but others aren’t. Here are 6 English grammar rules that English native speakers don’t even follow—feel free to break them.

Looking for someone to practise speaking English with? Here’s where to look for a conversation partner and my top tips for how to make the most of your experience.

Unless you have a photographic memory, you need to be exposed to new words multiple times to remember them. In this guide, we’ll look at how to use Spaced Repetition to learn vocabulary in the most effective way.

Listening to podcasts to learn English is great, but when combined with transcripts and subtitles your learning goes to a new level. Here are 11 reasons why you should try it today.

Discover what happened when we got together for our fifth members-only session to debate the future of The British Monarchy.

Being able to understand English is the key to speaking it. So prioritise your listening skills. Here’s everything you need to know about learning to understand spoken English, and 9 activities you can start doing today.

Larissa's language learning journey takes her from Brazil to the United States, then from Germany to Sweden. Discover the lessons she has learned about learning languages, and what it's like growing up as a half-Italian, half-Japanese girl in Brazil.

Learning English happens slowly. Here are some 9 actionable strategies for tracking your progress to see how far you’ve come, and one thing you shouldn’t do.

You don’t need English lessons to learn English… but if you’re getting them, make sure that they will suit your needs. Here’s what you should consider.

You’d love to take English lessons with a professional teacher, but they can be expensive. Here’s when it’s worth it.

Bloom found that one-on-one tutoring leads to significantly better learning than traditional teaching methods. Here’s what that means for learning English.

Are you a current high school or university student? You can get 50% off your Leonardo English membership.

Curious about what goes on at our members-only sessions? Here's a roundup of what happened at the last one.

Wondering if Leonardo English is the right choice for you? It might not be. It’s not for everyone, and there might be something that suits you better.

Learn six simple rules from one of the most famous writers in English that will help you improve your writing and communicate more effectively.

Writing is hard, especially in English. These 8 fantastic free tools will help you improve your writing and unlock your inner Shakespeare.

Many people think they have to be young in order to learn a new language. Well, they’re wrong. In fact, in some ways older learners are better learners. Here are the reasons why you can start learning English at any age.

What do the most successful language learners have in common? Discover the common traits of top English learners and how you can develop them.