to be behind on (something)

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 424: Being in Debt.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 424. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in the beautiful City of Los Angeles, in the State of California, in the country of the U.S.A.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. You can download a Learning Guide for this episode which contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes, comprehension questions, sodoku puzzles, and a complete transcript of this program.

This episode is a dialogue between Chang and Ilya about being in debt (owing other people money), which is a common phenomenon (a common situation) nowadays. Let’s get started.

Chang: I don’t mean to be nosey, but all of those bills are red or pink. Are you behind on all of those bills?

Ilya: I am, but it’s no big deal. I can catch up on them next month.

Chang: You know that being late on bills is bad for your credit score, right? You