Build your vocabulary and finally enjoy listening to English
Start learning–and remembering–more words with our English lessons about current events and trending topics
Does this sound familiar?
If that sounds like you, then you need a better tool for building your English vocabulary.
Lucky for you, we have one!Try this....
Choose your language and hover over the highlighted words as you read the paragraph
Español中文FrançaisPortuguês日本語ItalianoDeutsch
I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.
I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.I'm not commuting . I'm sleeping well. I don't have to run from place to place; no more 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls to go to the airport. My meetings are all online, which I take from the comfort of my own home . There's plenty of good coffee to keep me going. So why am I so tired every afternoon?
It turns out that in-person meetings may be boring , and they may be a waste of time , but they're not nearly as draining as Zoom calls are. In fact, video calls require a lot more of our mental energy than simple phone calls or in-person meetings do. These calls are draining the energy of homebound office workers the world over , in a way that in-person meetings rarely do. Why is that?
For one thing, nonverbal communication is seriously impaired on a video call. In a face-to-face meeting, we give nonverbal cues all the time. Here is just a partial list of nonverbal cues we give one another in face-to-face encounters : we make eye contact ; we take a deep breath before we say something; we cross our arms ; we face toward or slightly away from another person; we lean back in our chairs ; we stare up into space ; we blink ; we gesture ; we fidget with something in our hands. All these nonverbal cues contribute to the conversation in one way or another.Like it? Join now to unlock these translations in all Plain English lessons
Allow me to introduce myself...
I’m Jeff, the founder of Plain English.
When I was first learning Spanish, I picked out a children’s book to read. I decided I’d look up every unfamiliar word in the dictionary. That’s how you learn words right?
I lasted ONE CHAPTER before I gave up!
It’s no fun if you have to keep stopping to look up words and phrases. That’s why Plain English transcripts have highlights to give you the definitions you need to understand each lesson.
The Plain English Starter plan will help you take the next step with translations in the transcripts
It's time to start enjoying English!
What our members are saying about Plain English
Previous
Next
Here are the ways the Plain English Starter plan can help you build your English vocabulary
New lessons 2x/week
Our lessons are about current events, people, places, technology, business, health, the environment, and much more. You’ll always find a lesson that’s interesting to you.
Expression lesson library
Conquer English expressions and phrasal verbs with our library of over 250 audio lessons all about the words and phrases English speakers use every day.
Translations in transcripts
Full transcripts of all lessons include instant translations of difficult words and phrases into seven languages, including Portuguese, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, and French.
Flash cards
Learn five new words with each lesson! Practice the flash cards on our web site or via the Quizlet mobile app.
You have questions; we have answers
This is entirely up to you. We know that everyone has a different schedule and a different life. That’s why we made Plain English as flexible as possible.
For most members, we recommend spending about an hour with each lesson set. We produce two new lesson sets per week.
You always have access to the full history, so you never have to worry about missing lessons.
Every learner is different and every little bit counts. Come join us!
Short answer: Try it! If it’s not right for you, we’ll refund your money within 30 days.
Long answer: A Plain English Starter membership is for English learners who are looking to build their vocabulary via listening and reading.
If you would like to improve your speaking, writing, listening, and reading skills, then Plain English Plus+ may be a better fit.
We understand: we might not be right for everyone.
We want you to get the English resources that work for you. If Plain English is not that resource, then you can cancel any time with no penalty and no requirement to keep paying.
If you discover that Plain English is not right for you within 30 days of signing up, then we will refund your money 100% no questions asked.
You have the opportunity to pay for the full year in advance with our annual plan. If you do that, you save the equivalent of five months of payments. Cool!
If you would like more flexibility, you can choose to pay monthly. If you pay monthly, then you can cancel your membership at any time. You will not be charged again.
Quizlet is a fun flash-card app for learning vocabulary. Each Plain English lesson set includes five flash cards, which you can study via Quizlet.
You can either study on our web site or on the mobile app. If you would like to study on the mobile app, simply tell us your user name and we’ll add you to our private group.
Never!
Our full lesson library of over 250 lessons is included with every membership. As soon as you join, you have hundreds of hours of audio and video content to explore with no limits.
Our instant transations are one of our members’ favorite features! They are available in Spanish, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Italian, and German.
Yes! We started in December 2017 and have produced two lessons per week since the beginning of 2018. That’s a lot of English lessons — and they’re all available to you as a member of Plain English Plus+!
Yes – it’s 100% safe and secure! We use Stripe and PayPal, two of the Internet’s biggest and most secure payment providers and all our pages are encrypted.
We will occasionally release special courses as a bonus to Starter members. If you join today, for example, you’ll get access to a special five-day writing challenge about the coronavirus.
Over the course of a week, you’ll learn to write about your experience with the coronavirus quarantines.
We will periodically add new challenges or courses to the membership as a special bonus.
Join with confidence: 30-day money-back guarantee
This rarely happens, but if Plain English isn't what you expect, simply send us a note within 30 days and you'll get a full refund.
Monthly
30-day guarantee $ 7 Per Month
- Transcripts in English
- Translations in transcripts
- Flash cards
- 2 new lessons / week
- 250+ lesson history
- Slow-speed audio
- Bonus courses
Choose monthly plan
Recurring payment; cancel any time
Annual
30-day gurantee $ 49 Per Year
- Save 35% off regular monthly price
- Transcripts in English
- Translations in transcripts
- Flash cards
- 2 new lessons / week
- 250+ lesson history
- Slow speed audio
- Bonus courses
choose annual plan
Recurring payment; cancel any time
best value!