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.
The Curious Off Side Football World Cup Quiz – Learn English with the Football World Cup 2022
Are you a fan of football ? If you are, you are in for a real football festival, if not, you are in for 4 very tedious weeks !
Whatever your view, it is a world event with billions of viewers for every match.
Some basic facts:
32 national teams which are put into 8 groups of 4 teams.
The 2 top teams of each group will go through to the knockout rounds (quarter finals, semi finals and the final).
 The final will take place with an estimated TV audience of over 3 billion.
Each team is allowed a final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers). However, players in the final squad may be replaced due to serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team’s first match, where the replacement players do not need to be in the preliminary squad.
One of the favorites to win is  Brazil, and indeed Brazil and Italy have won 9 World Cup titles between them and Brazil. has won 47% of the 19 tournaments held.
But of course here at english-podcasts.com we love the off-the-wall facts and this quiz includes the crazy, unusual aspects of such a world event. So you definitely don’t need to be a football expert to get tops marks in this quiz, just use your imagination and common sense !
So are you ready for kick off ? Get your boots on and let’s get started……
You’ll certainly expand your vocabulary and learn some strange facts along the way.Â
You’ll find that these questions are great for a pub quiz evening too !
The Curious Offside Football World Cup Quiz
Try this quiz with a friend, there will be plenty to discuss !
In this podcast you can hear our enthusiasm for bikes !
We look briefly at some milestones in the evolution of bicycles  from the first wooden bike in 1790 and then we focus on the new trend of electric bikes.
Listen out for these expressions and words:
Sue says she is “blown away” by the new technology
Chris and Sue talk about the Penny Farthing, The Bone Shaker bike and the Rover Safety Bike.
Chris talks about the “incline”.
Are electric bikes considered as cheating ? Do they bring back the pleasure of cycling ? Listen to what Chris says about his experience.
This conversation was sparked by this clip on YouTube about iconic bikes, take a look!
Did you watch the Euros 2020? Are you a football fan? What did you think about the backlash against the losing finalists, England, and in particular the 3 players who missed the crucial penalties?
In this podcast Sue caught up with Dave, a West Ham supporter, who gives his opinion about the football and the harsh criticism that the players received, and also Victoria who runs an equality blog on Instagram, Feminists of Reading.
As a langage learner tune your ear to Dave’s London accent. Also listen out for these expressions that he uses:
The boozer
Name and Shame
A bloodbath
The bandwagon
The fans are thick (Sue replies that he has probably “put his finger on it”)
One of the people in the background says “I couldn’t agree more”. What does this mean? Does the person agree or disagree?
If there are other expressions or language points that you need help with, please post your questions in the Comments section and we’ll answer you with a full explanation.
This is a podcast for language learners and although the english-podcast team support anti-racism, Â the views of Dave and Victoria are entirely their own.Â
The podcast was recorded by Zoom so the sound is unstable at times.
The Tour de France is the most important bike race in the world which attracts a massive global audience.
Although the route changes every year, there is always a mixture of flat and mountain stages through the Alps and the Pyrenees, with classic stages which have become part of history.
The time trial stages are exciting as they are the ones which help to sort out the best riders from the others.Â
The finishing line is on the Champs Elysee in Paris after 21 intense stages.
The riders work as a team to ensure that they have one of their riders winning either the yellow, green, white and/or spotted jersey.Â
Since the beginning of this iconic race there has been a mass of folklore and fascinating history emanating from it. The spectators who spend hours waiting on the side of the road are also an important part of the scene, often wearing fancy dress as they cheer on their favorite riders.
This quiz is a mine of information and fun questions about the Tour de France past and present.
Once you have done the quiz, challenge yourself further with this podcast which covers many of the same questions, so see if you can spot the vocabulary when it’s spoken.
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