This is an All Ears English podcast.
Are you old school?
What this phrase really means.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become Fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection.
With your American hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl.
Coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
To get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglishcom.
Forward slash subscribe.
Have you ever heard native speakers talk about things that are old school?
What does this fun and playful phrase mean, and how can we use it to build relationships with people who are close to us in age?
Find out today.
Have you noticed that some English speakers seem relaxed when they speak?
They don't search for words.
They don't constantly correct themselves.
They simply communicate.
That doesn't happen because they're perfect.
It happens because they've built fluency.
If speaking English still feels like hard work, it may be time to understand exactly where your skills stand today.
Take our free two minute fluency quiz and discover your English level.
Go to allearsenglishcom.
Slash fluency score.
That's allearsenglish.com slash f-l-u-e-n-c-y-s-c-o-r-e.
Hello, Michelle.
Happy 4th of July.
I love this day.
Yes, exactly.
Me too.
Happy 4th, Lindsay.
Yeah, I hope you're doing something fun.
I know.
I know.
The 4th of July is the best holiday because there are no expectations.
There's no gift giving.
There's no big meal.
It's just like sandals, maybe the beach, barbecue.
So simple.
I love how that was the first thing you listed.
Sandals.
Yeah, that's what I think of when I think of the 4th of July.
Well, this year you have a baby and you'll be.
I don't know if you'll be running out to the fireworks, or maybe the baby will be wearing headphones or you'll be avoiding them.
Yes,
Who knows what life is going to be like this summer?
Who even knows?
Guys, if you missed my big announcement, go back to episode 2626 and catch that and also learn how to give your own big announcement.
But we're having fun this summer with some mix-ups, match-ups with our hosting team.
Love it.
Love it.
We're having a good time.
A good summer.
Exactly.
Yes.
All right.
So Michelle, let's flip topics here.
Let's shift gears.
I'm going to ask you a little bit about technology.
So, when it comes to technology, would you say that you're pretty modern, or are you more old school, would you say?
Ooh, good question.
I would say I'm in the middle.
I mean, there are...
I would say I'm more modern.
Um, I don't think that there's anything.
I mean, I'll say like, Oh, yeah, I, I, yeah, I did kind of change it.
Okay.
So I would say like, I mostly text rather than call.
Um, As far as like something like a Kindle versus books, I actually just became a Kindle person and I thought I would not want to, because I do always say oh, I like the feeling of the book.
I do.
But I do love not having to have the light on at night when I read.
Yes.
So I miss holding the book, but it was so annoying with the flashlight.
Well, it's hard to be old school, Michelle.
It's hard to be old school.
It really is.
Right.
Exactly.
It's less convenient.
What about you?
I think I'm still pretty old school.
I actually when it comes to reading, I actually do still want the physical book.
I understand why.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
But I don't know how long I can hold out like that.
I don't know.
But I also just sometimes at the end of the day, I just don't want to touch any kind of technology.
You know, I just want to put it down and just go back to like a simpler day.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, what I've learned.
I mean I just I don't know, I kind of changed my tune on the whole thing because I just I became I don't know.
I definitely appreciate the Kindle and I, but I also then I will say, like yesterday I was in a bookstore and I'm like well, am I just not going to buy actual books, books anymore, because i do love having an actual book and so, but it's like it doesn't really make sense right, interesting.
So there's still some old school tendencies there for you.
You want to walk into a bookstore with a coffee and um yeah, wander around and read the back covers right yeah, i do.
Yeah Yeah, that's a hard one.
And Michelle.
There are so many other conversations that our listeners could have with native speakers around this term old school.
Yeah, it's not just books.
It's so many things.
Yeah.
What is this really about, Michelle?
Yeah, well, it's not about age, but it's about how we act and what we prefer.
So, like, for example, if you prefer cash over credit card...
You're pretty old school, right?
At least right now in the US in 2026, you're pretty old school.
If different countries are still on a cash system, so that means in your country you might not be old school if you're still using cash.
But many countries are now on a credit card.
Or like, I don't know, cryptocurrency or something.
Maybe I'm old school because I don't do cryptocurrency.
I mean even a credit card now can feel kind of old school because so many people just tap from their phone.
Yeah.
So sometimes if you're taking out the physical card and you know you could just tap, like that actually might be becoming old school.
But, you know, it's really old school.
Remember the days when, like you, would go to the grocery store and your mom would pull out her checkbook.
Oh, yeah.
To the cashier.
I think Costco still does checks like as one of their main forms of payment, I think.
But yeah, the checkbook, that's old school.
For sure.
But guys, as you can see, this term is huge for connection.
We already have so much to talk about.
We could have probably gotten on for the whole episode just chatting about different things we're old school about, or not old school?
This says something about our personality.
It shows our values.
Maybe we're more traditional or prefer a simple way of doing things.
But Maybe we are outdated.
It really kind of depends.
Yeah, exactly.
Guys, we're going to get into this because it's such a modern phrase and we want you to know it so you can have these interesting conversations right.
You will hear it come up.
Native speakers will use it.
But first, before we get deeper into it, go ahead and hit the follow button on your podcast player so you don't miss a single episode of the show.
Or you could also be over in YouTube right now watching us, right?
And in that case, you want to hit the subscribe button on YouTube.
All right.
Good.
All right.
So what does old school mean?
Well, it's an adjective, first of all.
Let's see what kind of form of speech it is.
It describes something or someone that's more traditional, more classic or maybe even a little retro.
What is the difference between traditional and retro, Michelle?
We're going to talk about retro a little later, but you know.
But we're going to talk about those two words.
So stay tuned because we'll leave you hanging a little bit.
Okay.
I'm ready.
Cliffhanger.
Yeah.
But yeah, it's about. the older or original way of doing things.
So it could even be nostalgic.
I mean, gosh, I mean, as 90s kids, you know, it's always like seeing all these things of old school.
Oh, I love how we used to...
Sorry, go ahead.
Go ahead.
No, no, no, no, no.
No, I didn't mean to interrupt you.
I'm just resonating with you, like what you're saying.
Because now the 90s are coming back, right?
Yeah, it's crazy.
It's so funny.
Yeah.
So I think I don't know.
I don't.
I don't know if it's just, if it's every generation where this happens, or like every decade, but it feels like 90s is going to be one of those very famous decades.
I don't know why.
Maybe I'm wrong.
Man, it was a pretty cool decade.
But some crazy stuff.
I'll see like my 20 something year old stepsister wearing something that I wore back in the 90s.
And it'll just be like, it'll be a funny moment.
Right?
Yeah.
And they think it's new, right?
Yeah.
Or they do it ironically, like they're, you know, it's ironic.
So they're actually making fun of us then.
Right.
Right.
But yeah, it could also be about habits, style, values, mindset.
And it, is used in casual conversations.
So let's talk a little bit more about this, but I really like this term.
So how would we use it?
Who would we describe?
You could describe people, first of all, right?
So you could say he still sends written, handwritten letters.
He's so old school.
That's really nice though now because-
Now most people are just texting or, I don't know, sending emails.
So to receive a handwritten letter is a big deal now.
It stands out more than before.
My brother sends us postcards as a joke.
We just got one the other day.
Or he'll like send it like with a celebrity picture and like write it from the point of view of that celebrity.
Or like yeah like, just out of nowhere, we'll get a postcard from him.
Sounds like such a character, your brother yeah, he is.
And you're just like what are you doing?
So funny um so yeah, um.
Or you could say i prefer face-to-face meetings over zoom.
I'm old school, like that, yes.
And then you could also describe things michelle, what would that look like?
For example Yeah, you could say the music here is so old school, right.
So maybe they're playing a lot of 90s music or 80s music.
Oh, yeah.
And I feel like I'm hearing more of like the music that we went to high school dances and dance to now on the radio.
It's like coming back to just like the style.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or you can say I love that old school diner vibe.
And I love that too.
Over the weekend, I went to a steakhouse.
We took our, we took our in-laws out to a steakhouse for dinner to say thank you for letting us stay at their condo, and we went to one of these old school steakhouses where they still serve the bond, the dinner rolls with the bread with the butter.
You know yeah yeah, it's so hard to find that now, at least out here.
It's just rare that anyone will serve bread for free with your meal.
Yeah, and i was like yay, i knew they did it.
I was so excited for it.
That is exciting.
Well, in New Jersey, there are still so many diners.
Oh, yes.
New Jersey is kind of famous for diners.
Oh, my gosh.
And yeah, they don't exist everywhere, I don't think.
Like, are there a lot of diners where you...
There are some, but New Jersey is the place for diners.
And I can't believe we haven't talked about that more on the show.
We really need to go into that one day, maybe a series about diners, because they are the ultimate old school experience that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy.
Yeah, it's true.
Or here's another one to describe something.
Is that a telephone booth?
How old school?
Yeah, it's funny.
I mean these things can bring a sense of comfort to us because it reminds us of when we were growing up, you know.
That's why this phrase will really resonate in conversation and connection, guys.
So let's talk about how we package this phrase, Michelle.
How do we package it?
Yeah, well, some common phrases that you might hear are, okay, you might hear so old school.
So my uncle still uses paper maps.
He's so old school.
Yeah, that is pretty old school, right?
Especially when now we have Google Maps and we just program it in so easy.
Or you can say that's pretty or that's kind of old school, right?
Say I'm kind of old school.
I like calling instead of texting.
Uh huh.
Or well, that makes me think of so one way that I might be old school.
So I still okay, when you go to the grocery store, do you prefer self checkout?
Or do you want to go have somebody do it for you?
I think we've talked about this.
Yeah, it really depends on the lines, where the lines look worse.
Usually I'll try to go to self-checkout, but when I have a huge cart full of stuff I'll just go to a person, because I just don't want to take all that out and put it back into bags.
It's a lot of work.
Yeah, I think that I still, I just, I don't know, maybe I'm lazy, but I don't want to do it.
Yeah, it's also nice.
It's nice to have an exchange with someone, right?
Right, exactly.
You have a little talk or maybe like, especially if you have like, maybe a lot of produce, and then you have to like put it in and like weigh it, and you know it's in that scenario where it's like ugh, then I'm going to have to do that.
And sometimes, you can tell I'm very passionate about this.
You can, like, you can...
You know, be at the self-checkout and then every two seconds you have to have somebody come on over to help you because something goes wrong.
You ring it up twice.
You double pay.
I know.
It's almost like we should get a discount for having to ring up our own grocery store.
Yeah, but I think there was an article somewhere I saw about how, like now, self-checkout is so popular that it's like the thing that you have to wait online for more.
Really?
That's interesting.
I wouldn't think that.
Yeah, I have to see if I can find that, but that was interesting.
So I do like that.
Okay, so it's pretty old school of you, but I get it.
Pretty old school of me.
I get it.
And then you also just – one more is how old school?
You brought a handwritten invitation.
How old school?
Why school?
Why not like college or –
Yeah, I don't know.
It is interesting.
Yeah, I don't actually know where the phrase comes from, to be honest.
Guys, look it up.
Get into a little bit of etymology there.
We don't know, but we can tell you it is very common and trendy.
It's been trendy for a long time.
So go for it, right?
Yes.
So how does it sound, Michelle?
We know it's trendy.
How does it sound to you?
I think it really depends.
I mean, I would say generally it can be kind of positive or neutral sounding, but it can be negative in some situations.
Like if you're describing something that's outdated.
So, for example, the company's marketing is kind of old school.
Yeah.
I mean, if you are like a consultant and they've hired you, you wouldn't say directly to them hey, the way you're doing this is kind of old school.
You would be careful with those words a little bit.
Yes.
Yes.
Right.
Or the website is very old school.
It just doesn't look good.
You wouldn't say that directly to the company.
You might say that to your coworker who wouldn't then repeat it.
Yes, exactly.
So, yeah, really interesting.
And Lindsay, what are some similar words?
Yeah, similar words, but it is fun to say old school because it's so trendy.
But similar words, old fashioned.
This one's more straightforward, more neutral.
Traditional in a way that may feel outdated, can be neutral, or it could be negative.
He's very old fashioned when it comes to relationships.
Right.
Yeah.
Or that rule is a bit old fashioned.
And old fashioned can convey stiff or limiting or not forward thinking, things like that.
Yeah, a lot of times it's like in a movie, like the parents in the movie, or old-fashioned, or like footloose, where they're not allowed to dance.
Right, things like that.
Whereas old school has a bit more of a fun connotation to it, I think.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
But then there's the word retro, which we were talking about earlier.
So let's get into that.
So retro is a style from the past, maybe intentionally so.
And it's usually positive, right?
I would say retro is a positive word.
So I love that retro jacket.
Yeah, this is even more fun, right?
Or that cafe has a retro design.
You might see this with like, if you're, maybe if you were born in the 80s and your mom had a jacket from the 60s or the 70s, you might want to wear it for retro night or something right.
Because that's cool.
That's retro.
It makes me think of like the 60s and the 70s.
Okay, so it does for me too, but then I actually looked it up.
And hold on, I'm just looking it up again.
It just says, okay, here's the definition I'm quoting.
A style, fashion or item that consciously revives or imitates trends from the past, typically spanning 1920s to the 1980s.
Yeah, sure.
So it's not just the 60s.
For some reason, we think of the 60s and 70s.
Maybe because those are the clothing that we had access to.
Maybe.
I don't know.
Our parents.
Well, that's what I think of too.
But I actually just recently went to a retro kind of party.
And I wore like a poodle skirt like because I was thinking we're like 50s.
Okay.
And but a lot of people were dressed like, you know, like the hippie style.
Okay.
So it's so it's interesting.
So that word actually just came up in my life.
And I was like, wait a second.
What is retro?
A retro party.
A lot of big wigs, you know, from the 60s.
Is that what you mean?
Yep.
People were wearing wigs.
Yep.
That's fun.
Sounds like a fun party.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, yeah.
That's great.
And then the last one is traditional, which we also were talking about, like the difference between retro and traditional.
So traditional is more something that follows older customs, beliefs.
Yes.
Or ways of doing things.
So it sounds more neutral, more formal.
I would say this is more, like I would say retro and old school kind of go together as like more fun words, like we're old fashioned and traditional, or perhaps a little more stiff.
Yes, and I would also – what word would come to mind would be conservative when I think about traditional.
Probably conservative, right?
That's kind of what conservative means is traditional.
Like you're not moving forward.
You're kind of like thinking back a little bit.
Yeah.
Like keeping things the way they were before.
So for example, my grandparents are very traditional when it comes to holidays.
Right.
Or he has a very traditional approach to dating.
All right, cool.
Michelle, time for a role play.
Let's do it.
Let's talk old school here.
We're friends and we're talking about dating and communication styles.
These are things that have really changed over the years, right?
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
All right, here we go.
All right.
So how was your date?
It went really well.
He took me to this little retro bistro.
I loved it.
Oh, nice.
And did he text you after the date?
No, he actually called me.
Called you?
Wow, that's kind of old school.
I know, but I liked it.
It was nice for a change of pace.
Yeah, some old fashioned habits can feel more polite.
Exactly.
And honestly, I'm pretty traditional when it comes to dating.
Same.
Nice.
Yeah.
There are things that get the other word that comes to mind is quaint, right?
A little bit quaint.
Yeah.
Yeah.
In a good old fashioned, but in a good way.
Right.
So that resonated with you.
Maybe not everyone, you know, would would want that call right nowadays, but but you liked it.
So that's what matters.
Right.
Some people might be like, why didn't he just text me?
Right.
Are you calling me?
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly.
I think it depends if you want to talk to that person.
If you really.
Yeah.
I think if you really liked someone a date on a date and then they call you I don't think there's, I don't think you would be like I would have put into text.
I would think.
Unless you're nervous.
Unless you're just like, oh, I was too nervous.
I'd rather text.
Right.
I guess it's a little bit of pressure when you get on the phone.
You have to come up with a topic to talk about.
There's a little pressure, a little more pressure.
But that's just, yes.
So let's go through this role play, Michelle.
So you said, I asked you how your date was.
You said it went really well.
He took me to this little retro bistro.
So we don't know exactly which time period that was linked to, but we know that it's older.
It feels older.
20, 30 years ago, something like that or more.
Yeah.
And then you said I said he actually called me and you said called you.
Wow.
That's kind of old school.
So you're just saying, oh, that's not like typical for nowadays.
Exactly.
And then you said it was a nice change of pace.
And I said, yes, some old fashioned habits can feel more polite.
And I totally agree with that.
I mean it feels more polite, like the old fashioned habit of well, I don't know, holding doors is still kind of something I do, even though it's old.
Maybe it's a little old fashioned, but I think it's common courtesy, even in 2026, to hold the door for who's coming in behind you.
Yeah.
But, like another old fashioned or traditional thing, would be like you know the date, picking their, someone picking their date up at the door and introducing themselves to the parents before they go out.
Yeah, that's old fashioned for sure.
But it's polite.
It feels polite.
And it feels mature, right.
Yeah um, and then i said honestly, i'm pretty traditional when it comes to dating.
So maybe i like that feel, maybe you know, i mean there's also i mean we could get in a whole conversation about who pays and things like this.
Like yeah, how dating traditional versus untraditional, you know, or more of the new way of doing things.
So If I say I'm pretty traditional when it comes to dating, you think I want someone to pay for me.
Paying is a big part of dating tradition, so maybe yes.
That's what I would say.
It's like, oh, I would probably expect that.
I mean, if that's How you do it, that's fine too.
So it's just completely interesting.
Yeah, really interesting.
Guys go check out 2576 Lindsay's Language Adventure on the Spanish Steps about my trip to Italy and something that happened in Rome.
Go check that out.
Michelle, what is the final takeaway for today about connections?
I mean, this is so much fun.
Yeah, this is really cool.
You can talk about your preferences, how you see the world.
You can describe places.
I mean, there's endless ways to talk about this.
I mean, I could have talked to you more about the grocery store, about dating.
There's just so many different topics that you can really go further with with these words.
Yeah, and it really builds connection because it helps you mark the passage of time.
It helps you identify with certain people that might be your age or may not be your age, right?
I mean, if we get excited about going to an old school diner, we might be like kids that grew up in the 80s going to diners that were old school.
Then right,
Yeah.
Yeah, they were from the 50s and the 60s.
So it can help you find commonalities, which is the basis of connection.
I think that's the point here, right?
Absolutely.
All right.
Well, I'm glad we talked about this today.
And Lindsay, I will talk to you next time.
All right.
Bye, Michelle.
Take care.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to all ears English.
Would you like to know your English level?
Take our two minute quiz.
Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score.
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything.
See you next time.
