Britain is GREAT

Britain is GREAT

Do you want to learn about British life and culture?

In this section, watch our Britain is GREAT videos for learners at B2 English level (upper intermediate) and C1 English level (advanced) and find out about many aspects of British life and culture, including art, history, sport and music.

You will improve your listening comprehension and develop your vocabulary. Each video has a transcript and interactive exercises to help you understand and use the language.

Choose a video

 

Britain's countryside is great, rich with lakes, mountains and monuments. Richard goes to the Lake District first, before crossing the border to Wales.

Richard continues his exploration of Britain's great countryside. He sees the lakes and mountains of Scotland and two of the world's natural wonders: the Giant's Causeway in Ireland and the magnificent Durdle Door in Dorset.

From Wallace and Gromit to Ewan McGregor, Britain's cinema is great. Richard visits the London Film Museum and finds out about the facilities for making film in the UK.

Richard looks back at past masters of British creativity at Tate Britain and then comes right up to date with an introduction to Britain's great computer gaming scene.

The story of English starts more than a thousand years ago. Richard goes to the British Library to hear – and see – how the language has changed over the years.

Richard finds out about all the different kinds of English and talks to some of the hundreds of thousands of students who come to Great Britain to learn English every year.

Richard meets Richard - Branson, that is! - and gets business advice from one of Britain's greatest entrepreneurs.

Richard carries on searching for the secret of entrepreneurial success, visiting two of Britain's youngest - and most fashionable - entrepreneurs, before meeting one of the judges of Britain's very own entrepreneurial reality TV show, Dragons' Den.

You might not think of Britain as a tropical country, but at the Eden Project they have their very own rainforest! Richard learns about the centre's cutting-edge work in research and education, and pretends to be a bat for one of the world's rarest plants.

Richard is blown away by the cutting edge of green technology, and sees how London's Olympic Stadium wins gold in the green Games.

Richard shows us the best way to see London's many sights, travels back in time to the Warwick Castle of 500 years ago... and gets into a sword fight!

Richard goes even further back in time – 4,500 years back! With the help of Susan Greaney, he investigates one of Britain's greatest and most mysterious sites – Stonehenge.

Richard goes behind the scenes at Dyson, home of the space-age vacuum cleaner and much more!

British innovation is not just in the home. Join Richard as he talks about robots, space exploration – and very fast cars.

Richard goes to one of the world's greatest universities: Oxford. He discovers some of its history and hears about its famous students.

Richard visits one of the world's largest science museums and the Wellcome Medical Museum, and finds out how British scientists, engineers and doctors have shaped our understanding of the world.

Shakespeare, Dickens and more... Britain's literary history is world class, and Richard speaks to experts about some of the country's greatest writers.

Modern-day authors cast their own spells, too, and Richard visits a very magical place to find out about contemporary English writers.

Some of the greatest music in the world comes from Britain, and British music is still topping the charts today. Richard visits The Premises recording studio, where many world-famous artists have made music.

Richard's musical journey continues with the opening night of Aida at the Royal Albert Hall. Then it's off to Southampton to find out how great British music is entertaining and helping people from all walks of life.  

London has some of the world’s most famous department stores: Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and many others. Our presenter Richard visits them and also samples a smaller shop for a range of shopping experiences.

Richard leaves the big shopping areas for small, interesting shops and markets. We hear from a man who sells photographs to Outer Mongolia, and some London shoppers tell us what they like.

Whatever your taste, Britain is home to some of the greatest sports – and sporting venues – in the world. Watch the video and go behind the scenes at Silverstone Circuit, home of F1, and Wembley Stadium, temple of football!

Messing about in boats is a British obsession. Richard visits Portland and Weymouth's Olympic harbour and finds out if he's got what it takes to win a medal on the water.