 Football will be in the news for a month during the World Cup 2022.
Are you able to talk “footy”? Do you know the football jargon that we hear around us in the bars? Take the opportunity this month to go to bars and start up a conversation with other people about the football matches, it’s a great way to improve your English!
In this podcast Sue puts Chris on the spot when she asks him to explain frequent football words and expressions. You’ll hear that they’re not big fans of football but they’ll make the effort for language learning 🙂Â
Give yourself a pat on the back when you understand what these words mean;
To kick off  / The coin toss  /Â
A goalie / to save a goal / to mark a player
To score a hattrick
A foul / a tackle / to get booked / to be sent off/ to get a red card
A peno / a penalty shootout
To park the bus
Extra time vs Injury time
…. and the language of TV football commentators
It’s a game of 2 halves
To put the game to bed
What a beauty !
They’re on the back foot
He’s bottled it
It’s an open goal / It’s an own goal
That’s a blatant handball !
“Football’s coming home” 🙂
Then test your memory with this Flash Quiz.
For those of you who want more, try this World Cup Football Quiz full of great vocabulary and amazing facts to entertain even the most football skeptic.
https://english-podcasts.com/the-curious-off-side-football-world-cup-quiz/
Listen to the podcast here.
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Who invented the umbrella?
Why is the Mona Lisa so famous and why was Pol Pot in Cambodia?
Why do people love quizzes?
How many flies does it take to fall off a horse and what does Albert Einstein have in common with Justin Bieber?
These questions and many more are probed as to how they were invented, why they became so popular or why they can be thought provoking.
Why do people love quizzes?
It’s a tough question but one that we’ll take on in this podcast.
If you’ve spent any time in the UK, you’ve no doubt noticed that the Brits are a nation that loves to test themselves.
Say what you want about them, but they love a little competition and as for the rest of you, well…we love to make fun at how terrible you are at organizing your lives (I’m looking at you, Americans!).
Not only do quizzes make a lot of people’s Facebook feeds a little less bland, but these tiny bits of entertainment also serve an essential purpose: Nobody ever finished a Buzzfeed or Snapchat quiz without recalling some old memory from their life just to answer the question at the end.
Test your own memory with this quiz!
Quizzes are commonly categorized as being a fun activity to participate in, but why have they become so popular?
Does this mean that people only take quizzes to test their knowledge and have nothing else to do in the time they use them?
Why aren’t people learning facts in other ways?
Is it purely for entertainment, or is there more beyond the internal appeal of taking a quiz?
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Whatever your view of guns, this podcast will fascinate you.
Sue, as a European, listens in amazement to Cindy as she describes her everyday life living with guns in the USA.Â
Cindy recounts why she needs to own a gun, how she practices and how the constitution allows American citizens to carry an arm (and shoot) for their own protection.
As a language learner, listen out for Cindy’s southern American accent and American English vocabulary such as “purse”, “pants” and “packing”.
Try to answer these questions:
- What do the background checks consist of?
- How many guns does Cindy own?
- Where does she keep her gun?
- Where do many women keep their gun?
- How (and when) does she practice shooting?
- Why does she feel the need to have a gun with her?
- What is “Open” and “Conceal” carry?
- What does Cindy say about bullets?
- What does she say about a recent hold up in her local supermarket?
- What does she say about Shoot Unseen ?
- What does Cindy explain about the American constitution?
In this podcast, the team at english-podcasts has no intention to pass any opinion, bias or judgement on the subject, and we thank Cindy for her personal account of gun use and general attitudes.Â
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You must have noticed it….. Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her 70 year reign this week, yes her Platinum Jubilee!
The celebrations are taking place all over the globe from New Zealand to Canada, from South Africa to India. And don’t forget Australia !
We have a very good quiz with lots of fun facts for you to enjoy which is also designed to help you build great vocabulary, but in this podcast Sue puts Chris on the spot with some more unusual questions.
Before listening, take a look at these questions and prepare your answers ( or maybe your best guesses !!!!). Can you do better than Chris ?
- When was the Queen born?
- What is the building where the Queen was born used for now?
- What does the Queen use as her morning alarm?
- What is her favorite breed of dog?
- What was the name of her first dog (that made us laugh !!)
- Where did the Queen go to school?
- What was the family relationship between the Queen and her late husband?
- How many UK residents have never known another monarch?
- How does the Queen use her handbag to communicate a message to her staff?
You’ll also hear how Chris has meet the Queen on 3 occasions, his impressions, and Sue and Chris” views about Her Majesty.Â
Lots and lots of vocabulary to learn and comprehension to test you.
Here are some photos of the day’s events.
 
  
 
The conversation took place over Zoom, so sometimes the sound is unstable.
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As a langage learner do you try to read books?
Sure you do. They are a very good way to build vocabulary and review sentence structure.Â
But which ones are the best? Â Good question !
Take a listen to this podcast to get some tips.
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What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten ? Snails ? Eels ? Sheep’s brains ?
Listen as we discus the worst things we’ve eaten eaten. Do you agree with our choice? Do you think our choices are cultural or universal tastes? Â
Why do you detest these foods? Is it the texture, the smell, the taste or just the idea?
To get in the mood here are the foods we discuss. Build your vocabulary by associating tastes, and adjectives to each choice.Â
Snails
Frogs legs
Foie gras
Sheep’s brains
Offal
Tongue
Beef cheeks
Haggis
Sheep’s eyes
Pig’s trotters
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