If you have studied foreign languages and lived in other cultures, you know that native speakers don’t really get how difficult communication is. They speak 100 miles an hour. They use slang and idioms like there’s no tomorrow.* And they include references to culture, history, TV characters, and events that they learned about over a lifetime. You, on the other hand, are a fresh learner of English as a second language.

If you are like many, your language learning includes watching TV with a dictionary at your side. You ask friends to help define new terms for you. Even when you’re at work, your constant second job is learning English.

With this understanding in mind, we’ve created the Whadja Say? segment at Feel Like You Belong. Here we highlight words and phrases we know are hard for ESL learners. These new expressions show up at the bottom of the screen during our guest interviews. We define some of them for you during the show. The rest of them can be found here. Consider this your new online dictionary. For big words (like “euphemistic”). For slang expressions (like “down in the dumps”). And for cultural references (like “gerrymandering” and “Monday morning quarterbacking”).

Check back often. Lots of new expressions to help you feel like you belong in every conversation.