Episode 03

Section 1 – "Is that a new shirt?" – Making comments on a friend's clothes

Ravi: Hello, and welcome to LearnEnglish Elementary podcast number three. My name’s Ravi.

Tess: And I’m Tess. I’m from London and Ravi’s from Manchester and we’re your presenters.

Ravi: And there’s one more important person for you to meet – our producer, Gordon. Say hello to everyone Gordon!

Gordon: Hello!

Tess: And how are you today Gordon?

Gordon: Very well Tess. And you?

Tess: I’m fine! Good. We’ll speak to Gordon again later in the show. You’re very smart today Ravi. Is that a new shirt you’re wearing?

Ravi: Yes - lovely isn’t it.

Tess: But you told me you’re trying to save money. You said “no more new clothes”.

Ravi: Well, I know, but, well, you know me Tess. I saw it in the shop and I liked it, so I had a look at it, but they didn’t have my size, so I thought oh well, never mind and then I looked again and they did have my size, so I thought, well I’ll try it on but I won’t buy it, and then I tried it on and of course it looked fantastic, and the shop assistant said it looked really good, and I still thought no, I won’t buy it, and then I looked at the price, and it was quite expensive so I thought, no I can’t buy it, and then the shop assistant said that it was in the sale – last week it was eighty pounds, but this week it was only forty pounds, that’s half price … so I bought it.

Tess: Forty pounds!! For a shirt!!

Ravi: But look at it - it’s a great shirt. We have to dress well now Tess – we’re celebrities.

Tess: This is a podcast Ravi! It isn’t MTV! Nobody can see you.

Ravi: Ah – that’s true, but I feel well-dressed, that’s the important thing.

Section 2 – I’d like to meet

Ravi: Now let’s move on to our ‘I’d like to meet’ section. In this part of the podcast we ask people a simple question – which famous person, dead or alive would you like to meet? And we ask them to explain why. And today on ‘I’d like to meet’ we’ve got Martin with us. Hello Martin. Welcome to the podcast.

Martin: Hello Ravi. Hello Tess.

Tess: Hi Martin. And where are you from?

Martin: I’m from Glasgow – the biggest city in Scotland.

Tess: But Glasgow isn’t the capital city, is it.

Martin: No, Edinburgh’s the capital city, but Glasgow’s a lot bigger. And we call it the shopping capital of Scotland - we’ve got great shops in Glasgow. It’s a great city.

Ravi: I’d like to visit sometime. I’m the king of shopping – ask Tess, she knows.

Tess: It’s true.

Ravi: Now it’s time for the question. So Martin, which famous person, dead or alive would you like to meet?

Martin: I’d like to meet Jonathan Ive.

Ravi: Jonathan Ive? I don’t know who he is.

Martin: Not very many people know his name – he’s English but he works for Apple, the computer company - he joined the company in 1992 – he’s a vice president now I think - and he’s the man who designed the iMac and the iPod.

Ravi: Wow. The man who invented the iPod!

Martin: No, he didn’t invent it – he’s a designer, he designed it. He’s designed other things too, of course, but the iMac and the iPod are my favourites – they’re design classics.

Tess: OK. And why did you choose Jonathan …

Martin: Ive. Jonathan Ive.

Tess: …Jonathan Ive to talk about today?

Martin: Well, I’m a student and I study design – industrial design. And for anyone who studies industrial design, well, Jonathan Ive is the king, you know, he’s a genius, he’s the most important industrial designer in the world. The most important thing for industrial designers is function - you know – what something is used for, what it can do. And with computers speed was the most important thing. Nobody cared what they looked like, people just wanted them to be fast, really fast. But when Jonathan Ive designed the iMac for Apple, he designed something beautiful, and people loved it. It was still a good computer and very easy to use, but they also loved the way it looked – the round shape, the colours – and they all bought it, it was very, very popular. I got my first iMac in 1999 - it was orange, bright orange – it was beautiful - and I think that was the moment when I first decided to be a designer.

Ravi: And what about the iPod?

Martin: Well, the iPod looks fantastic too. It’s another example of perfect design. First, it’s a fantastic idea – it changed the way that millions of people listen to music – even the Queen’s got an iPod. And then, it’s really easy to use, and finally, it’s incredibly beautiful, it’s beautiful to look at - that’s what perfect design is. And that’s why he’s my hero.

Tess: And is there a special question that you’d like to ask Jonathan Ive?

Martin: I’d like to know why he doesn’t want to be famous, why he doesn’t like publicity. Perhaps he’s shy - but he never talks about his personal life, he never goes to social events, you never see his picture in magazines. Everyone in the world knows the iMac and the iPod, but nobody knows the name Jonathan Ive. I suppose I’d like to ask him how he feels about that.

Ravi: Well, I’ve learnt something today.

Tess: So have I. Thank you very much Martin.

Martin: You’re welcome.

Ravi: I’d like to know what the Queen listens to on her iPod! And don’t forget, we’d like to hear from you, our listeners. Tell us which famous person, dead or alive, you’d like to meet – and why. Email us at ‘learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word DOT org, that’s o-r-g

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: OK. Now it’s quiz time. Every week we’ll have a little quiz to make you think. This week it’s another Ten Second Quiz. It’s very easy - we give you a topic and you give as many answers as you can - in ten seconds. For example, if we say ‘things that are blue’ you can write down ‘the sky’ or ‘the sea’ – as many words as you can think of in ten seconds. Our two players today are Marina – hello Marina…

Marina: Hello.

Tess: … and Ricky. Hi Ricky.

Ricky: Hello.

Tess: And could you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Ricky: Erm, I’m Ricky, you know that – and I’m from Croydon, south of London, and I’m erm seventeen.

Marina: And I’m Marina, I’m 16 and a half and I’m from Croydon too. We’re at the same school.

Tess: And now for the game. Do you both understand what to do?

Marina and Ricky: Yeah,

Tess: OK. Let’s start. You’ve got ten seconds to write down things that are yellow. OK? So, for example you could say ‘banana’. OK? A banana is yellow. So ‘things that are yellow’. Go!

Tess: OK. Marina, how many have you got?

Marina: Six.

Tess: And how about you, Ricky?

Ricky: Only five.

Tess: OK, so let’s hear your six words, Marina. Things that are yellow.

Marina: The sun, lemons, cheese … the moon – sometimes, butter - and … my hair.

Tess: Your hair? Can we allow that Ravi?

Ravi: I think so. Her hair’s blonde – I suppose that’s yellow. Do you agree Gordon? Yes? OK, you’re the winner Marina. Well done. Sorry Ricky.

Tess: Actually, ‘yellow things’ is really difficult. Can you think of any more Ravi?

Ravi: Well, when Marina said ‘butter’ I thought of ‘margarine’ – but, yes a very difficult quiz.

Tess: So - well done to both of you, but congratulations to Marina, our winner.

Marina: Thanks Tess. Bye

Ricky: Bye.

Ravi: Thanks Marina and Ricky. And as usual, if any of you listening have a good game we can play in quiz time, write to us and let us know. The address is learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. Don’t forget - we’d love to hear your ideas for games we can play. What’s next, Tess?

Section 4 – Our person in

Tess: The next part of the podcast is called ‘Our person in’. Every week we listen to people in interesting places all over the world tell us something about life in the country they’re in. Today it’s Bob Harrison’s turn. Bob lives in South Africa and he’s going to tell us about a very unusual musical instrument. Bob is ‘Our Man in South Africa’.

Bob: If you’re a football fan you’ll know that the World Cup in 2010 will take place here in South Africa. When the famous names and the big stars walk out into the stadiums in 2010 they will hear a sound they’ve never heard before – the ‘vuvuzela’. The ‘vuvuzela’ is almost a musical instrument – but not quite – and you hear it at every football match in South Africa. It’s about a metre long and it sounds a bit like an angry elephant. When you hear a stadium full of fans blowing their ‘vuvuzelas’ the sound is something you’ll never forget. Football is very popular in South Africa. The stadiums fill up early with fans – especially when the South African national team – called the ‘Bafana Bafana’ by their fans – are playing. The smell of food is everywhere – barbecued chicken or beef are very popular choices for football matches. And everywhere the sound of ‘vuvuzelas’. Not everyone loves this strange music. Some fans say they’ve stopped going to matches because the noise is so awful and so, well, noisy. But as for me, well, I like it. I think it makes football matches in South Africa different from anywhere else in the world. The only thing is – I can’t play the ‘vuvuzela’! When I blow it doesn’t sound like an angry elephant so much as a bored bee. I need to practise before 2010!

Tess: So, it’ll soon be World Cup time again Ravi. Are you looking forward to it? You’re a football fan aren’t you?

Ravi: Am I looking forward to it? I can’t wait! And I’d love to go to South Africa to watch it. Those vuvuzelas sound amazing! And barbecued chicken!

Tess: Hmm. You’d better start saving your money then.

Ravi: What money? I haven’t got any.

Tess: Exactly!

Ravi: But you like my shirt – admit it. Anyway, we’ll hear from another one of our people in the next podcast. Or if you’d like to write in and tell us something interesting about your city or town, we’d love to hear from you. You can send it to us at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org.

Section 5 – Your turn

Tess: Now it’s time for ‘Your turn’. In this part of the show, we go outside to find out what people think. And today we’re going to stay on the subject of football. We’ve just heard about the World Cup in 2010, but how many people know about another World Cup in 2007? - the women’s world cup. Do you watch women’s football? Or maybe play it? Do you like it? Is it better than men’s football? Why don’t more people watch or play women’s football? Why is men’s football so much more popular than women’s football? So here’s the question for today ‘Why don’t more people watch women’s football’?

Ravi: Good question Tess. ‘Why don’t more people watch women’s football’? Let’s listen to the answers.

Voice 1: Well, I don’t watch women’s football because I don’t like football, and that’s that. All the football fans I know are men – so of course they like to watch men play. They’d only want to watch women if they were, you know, attractive - wearing little tight T-shirts and very small shorts – that’s most men’s attitude. I can’t understand why women want to play football anyway, it’s a ridiculous game – don’t they have anything better to do with their time?

Voice 2: I think it’s just traditional in a lot of countries that football is a man’s game. I used to play ‘football’ – we call it soccer - at home in the States actually. It’s really big there - girls and boys play together at school. There are about 7 million women who play regularly in the States. I think it’s because your football is quite new as a sport in the States so we don’t really see it as a man’s game – we don’t have the same tradition. It’s a game for everybody.

Voice 3: I love watching women’s football. I play at school, lots of girls do. My mum says I’m football crazy. I’m in the school team and I want to play professionally one day. Girls play better than boys – they don’t lie down on the ground and cry and pretend they’re hurt and they don’t argue with the referee all the time. And they aren’t violent, they don’t try to hurt each other.

Voice 4: People don’t watch it because they don’t know about it. Lots of girls and women play football nowadays – the problem is getting people to pay to watch it. We need to take women’s football more seriously, we need advertising and companies to sponsor games and teams, we need a proper professional women’s league with good pay and conditions, we need to see more games on television, then people might be more interested.

Voice 5: People don’t watch it because it isn’t very good – it’s as simple as that. I’ve watched some women’s football, and to be honest, they don’t play very well. They’re slower than men - they aren’t as good technically, the games are boring. Men’s football is good to watch, women’s isn’t. Maybe that ‘ll change in the future, but at the moment, well, I certainly don’t want to watch it.

Tess: Interesting. What do you think Ravi?

Ravi: Well, to be honest, I’ve never watched a women’s football game, but now I think I will – just to see what it’s like.

Tess: Me too. I agree. And what about you? Do you have an opinion about this question? We’d love to know what you think. ‘Why don’t more people watch women’s football?’ Or do you have an idea for a different question that we could ask on Your Turn. Send us an email at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org - and we can ask your question. 

Section 6 – Carolina

Ravi: OK. Now, it’s time to meet Carolina again. Carolina is from Venezuela and she’s visiting Britain for the first time. It’s a big adventure for her – she’s going to live, study and, she hopes, have a good time here in the UK – and we’re going with her! In the last podcast we listened to a conversation that Carolina had at Heathrow airport in London. Do you remember what happened Tess?

Tess: Yep - she lost her luggage. She was waiting at the Lost Luggage desk to see if they could find it.

Ravi: That’s right. Let’s listen to what happened next.

Lost luggage clerk: Yes, that’s right, from erm, Caracas, a blue bag.

Carolina: No, no it isn’t blue, it’s black.

Lost luggage clerk: Oh, erm, sorry, black, not blue. … He’s looking for it now. … Yeah … yeah … yeah, yeah that’s the name. Yeah that’s right. OK, thanks Ben.

Carolina: Have you found it? Is it my bag?

Lost luggage clerk: Yes - this is your lucky day. One of the baggage handlers is bringing it up now, so you can identify it.

Carolina: Oh thank you so much. ….. Erm, I have to get to King’s Cross station to get the train to Newcastle at eight o’clock. How long does it take? Have I got enough time?

Lost luggage clerk: By tube or train?

Carolina: Tube? I don’t understand.

Lost luggage clerk: The underground, you know, the metro. We call it the tube here.

Carolina: Yes, on the tube.

Lost luggage clerk: You’ve got plenty of time. The tube takes about an hour – probably less at this time of the evening. Don’t worry - it’s very easy to find the station - just follow the signs.

Baggage handler: Here you are love - one black bag from Caracas.

Carolina: Yes, that’s mine. Thank you.

Lost luggage clerk: Could you sign your name here ……

Carolina: Excuse me. Could you tell me which train goes to King’s Cross station please?

Tube worker: Piccadilly line miss - the dark blue one on the map. Just follow the signs to the platform. You want an eastbound train – you’re going east.

Carolina: And do I need to change trains?

Tube worker: No, Heathrow and Kings Cross are both on the Piccadilly line. You don’t need to change.

Carolina: Thank you

Tube worker: Miss! You need to buy a ticket first! You can’t go into the station without a ticket.

Carolina: Oh, OK.

Tube worker: The ticket machines are over there.

Carolina: Oh, thank you – but I haven’t got any English money yet – I didn’t have time to change any in the airport.

Tube worker: The machines take Visa or MasterCard.

Carolina: Oh good. I’ve got a Visa card. Thank you.

Tube worker: Then you just put your ticket into the slot to go through the turnstile over there. Put your ticket in and you’ll see a green light – then you can go through. And look after your ticket – don’t lose it – you’ll need to put it into the slot again when you leave the tube station at King’s Cross.

Carolina: OK. Thank you for your help.

Ravi: So Carolina found her luggage in the end. Lucky girl. I lost a suitcase once and I had to wait ten days to get it back.

Tess: You? No clothes for ten days? How did you live?

Ravi: I had to buy some new ones of course.

Tess: Ha ha! So it wasn’t a completely terrible experience then?

Ravi: No, not really.

Section 7 – The Joke

Gordon: Are you ready for me?

Tess: OK Gordon! Right, it’s time for ‘Gordon’s joke’. What have you got for us today Gordon?

Gordon: A good one, as usual. Ha ha. Are you ready?

Ravi: Go ahead Gordon

Gordon: A man went into a pet shop one day. “I’d like a parrot that talks”, he said. The shop assistant said “I’m sorry sir, but you have to teach your parrot to speak.” So the man bought a parrot and took it home with him. A week later he went back to the pet shop. “My parrot still doesn’t speak”, he said. “Oh, really? Well, perhaps he’s bored. You should buy this little swimming pool. He can have a swim and then he might talk”, explained the shop assistant. So, he bought the swimming pool and went home. The next week the man came back again. “He’s still not talking” he said. “Oh dear. Buy this mirror. He’ll swim in the pool, get out and look at himself, then talk.” So the man bought the mirror and went away. A week later he came back a final time. “My parrot is dead”, he said. “Oh, dear! I’m very sorry about that, sir – but tell me, before he died, did he say anything?” “Yes he did. But only one thing.” “Really? What was that?” “Give me food!” 

Tess: Gordon! That’s horrible! He didn’t give it any food! Oh, poor parrot!

Ravi: And that’s the end of this part of the show. We’re going now, but please don’t go away. After this little break you’re going to hear Tom, our English teacher on the podcast. After every show, Tom talks about the language you heard and gives you ideas to help you learn. So, stay with us, but I’ll say goodbye now. See you next time.

Tess: Bye! And don’t forget to send us your emails! Here’s that address one more time. It’s learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, my name’s Tom – you’ll hear from me at the end of every podcast. I’m going to talk about some of the language that you heard in the podcast, and talk about ways to help you learn English. In the last podcast, we talked about using ‘can you?’ for a request – to ask someone to do something. Listen.

Carolina: Excuse me. Can you tell me where the Lost Luggage Office is please?

Today we listened to Carolina at the underground station asking someone to help her. Listen to what she said.

Carolina: Excuse me. Could you tell me which train goes to King’s Cross station please?

Tube worker: Piccadilly line miss.

Tom: Carolina says ‘could you?’. We use ‘can you?’ or ‘could you?’ when we’re talking to friends or people that we know well. But we often use ‘could you?’ with people that we don’t know very well, when we want to be very polite. Here’s another example at the airport.

Baggage handler: Here you are love. One black bag from Caracas.

Carolina: Yes, that’s mine. Thank you.

Lost luggage clerk: Could you sign your name here …

Tom: The man at the lost luggage desk uses ‘could you?’ to Carolina because he is being polite. Listen to the pronunciation – ‘could’ … ‘could’. You spell it C-O-U-L-D, but the letter L is silent. ‘Could’. Now listen to the words together. ‘Could you’ . The individual words are ‘could’ and ‘you’ but when we say them together we say ‘could you’. We do this a lot in English. Here’s another example. When we ask a question in the past we can use ‘did you?’ The individual words are ‘did’ and ‘you’ but together we say ‘did you’. A good learner’s dictionary will tell you how to pronounce individual words like ‘could’ – it uses special symbols. But it doesn’t tell you how words sound when we put them together. It’s a good idea to make a note of the pronunciation of common phrases like ‘could you?’ or ‘did you?’. You can use words and sounds from your own language. This will help you to remember how to say them.

There’s another thing I noticed in the same dialogue. Listen to it again, and notice what the man says when he gives Carolina her bag.

Baggage handler: Here you are love. One black bag from Caracas.

Carolina: Yes, that’s mine. Thank you.

Lost luggage clerk: Could you sign your name here …

Tom: He called her ‘love’. Do you remember the old lady at the airport who called Carolina ‘dear’? ‘Love’ is very similar. Older people might call you ‘love’ sometimes, even if they don’t know you. They’re just being friendly, so don’t think it’s strange.

Now, let’s talk about something different – the verb ‘look’. Listen to Ravi and Tess.

Tess: Forty pounds!! For a shirt!!

Ravi: But look at it - it’s a great shirt.

Tom: Ravi is using ‘look’ in the usual way. He wants Tess to look at his shirt carefully to see how nice it is. Now listen to ‘look’ in this section about Carolina’s lost bag.

Lost luggage clerk: Oh, erm, sorry, black, not blue. … He’s looking for it now.

Tom: The man used ‘look for’. He isn’t looking at Carolina’s bag – he doesn’t know where it is – he’s trying to find it. That’s what ‘look for’ means – to try to find something. The meaning of ‘look’ changes because of ‘for’. Now listen to another section – about Carolina’s ticket. How is ‘look’ used here?

Tube worker: And look after your ticket – don’t lose it – you’ll need to put it into the slot again when you leave the tube station at King’s Cross. 

Tom: The man tells Carolina to ‘look after’ her ticket. He means ‘take care of it’, ‘don’t lose it’. The meaning of ‘look’ changes because of ‘after’. So, ‘look at’, ‘look for’ and ‘look after’, all have different meanings. There are lots and lots of verbs like this in English - verbs that change their meanings. ‘Look’ is just one example. Some people call them ‘phrasal verbs’ and some people call them ‘multi-word verbs’. In the first podcast I talked about keeping a vocabulary notebook. Use your notebook to make a note of any multi-word verbs that you notice. You can usually understand their meaning in a sentence, or you can use a learner’s dictionary. For example, you can keep a page of your vocabulary book just for ‘look’ and make new pages for other verbs when you come across them. There you are! Another example! ‘Come across’ means ‘to find something accidentally’ - when you aren’t trying to find it. So now you can start another page for ‘come’.

Now for something different. Do you remember the name of the strange musical instrument that they play at football matches in South Africa? Listen.

Bob: When the famous names and the big stars walk out into the stadiums in 2010 they will hear a sound they’ve never heard before – the ‘vuvuzela’. The ‘vuvuzela’ is almost a musical instrument – but not quite – and you hear it at every football match in South Africa.

Tom: Yes, it’s the vuvuzela. But I’m not really interested in the name. I want you to notice that he says ‘the vuvuzela’. In English we use ‘the’ with the names of musical instruments. So we say ‘I can play the ‘piano’ or ‘can you play the guitar’? This may be different in your language, so try to remember it.

That’s nearly the end. Just one more thing before I go. Here’s a phrase that I’d like you to try and use this week. It’s another multi-word verb with ‘look’, so you can add it to your ‘look’ page in your vocabulary notebook. Listen to Ravi and Tess talking about the 2010 World Cup.

Tess: So, it’ll soon be World Cup time again Ravi. Are you looking forward to it? You’re a football fan aren’t you?

Ravi: Am I looking forward to it? I can’t wait!

Tom: Ravi is looking forward to the World Cup. He’s excited about it. He loves football and he’s going to really enjoy watching it. Can you translate ‘look forward to’ into your language? Try to use it this week. If someone says to you ‘Are you coming to the party on Saturday’ you can say ‘Yes, I’m really looking forward to it’.

OK. That’s all from me. I’ll talk to you all again next time – I’m looking forward to it. Remember you can send your questions to me at learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. I’ll be happy to answer your questions! In a moment you’ll hear the address for the website where you can read everything you’ve heard in this podcast. So bye for now! See you next time.