English & the UK: Leeds

English & the UK: Leeds

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich 

Rowan: And welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English. 

Rich: In this week’s roleplay, we’re going back to a series of podcasts we did last year that focus on English and the UK.

Rowan: In these podcasts, we learned more about cities in the UK and at the same time learned lots of useful English words and phrases.

Jack: In each podcast, we focused on one Premier League city and we’re going back to this series because one of the biggest cities in the UK has a Premier League team once again.

Rich: Leeds United are back in the Premier League after a gap of 16 years - the longest period of time out of the top division in their history. 

Rowan: So, in this podcast, we’re going to find out more about Leeds United and the city of Leeds which is one of the biggest in England.

Jack: First, we will have a conversation about Leeds. We will talk about some of the things that are special about Leeds. We will then focus on some collocations you can use to speak about what you can do and see when you visit a city.

Rich: After that, you will hear a roleplay. This week Rowan is asking for directions in Leeds city centre.

Rowan: I’d never been to Leeds before so it was a new experience for me and I had a few problems with the accent. 

Jack: After the roleplay, we will focus a little on some of the things that are different about the Yorkshire accent which is where Leeds is. 

Rich: And this week’s task is to tell us some of the things you would recommend to a visitor to your city.

Rowan: If you’re listening to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Jack: On the Premier Skills English website you’ll also find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language and a task for you to complete.

Rich: You’ll also find a community of friendly listeners to interact with, in our comments section.

Rowan: And that includes us - we’re always around to answer questions and join in the discussions.

Jack: But if you listen on Apple Podcasts you can always write answers to our questions or any other comments in the review section.

Rich: Before you learn more about Leeds let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Rowan: If you didn’t hear our football phrase last week we’re going to give you one more chance to guess now. 

Jack: Last week’s football phrase was ******* *****. This is something that has been introduced in the Premier League recently. At the halfway point in each half, the teams stop for a minute to have a drink. It is called a ******* ***** and they are also used when the temperature is very high.

Rich: It was a difficult phrase and not as many of you got it right as usual but as always some of you got it!.

Rowan: A big well done to Hayato from Japan this week who was the first with the right answer. You’ve got the right answer many times but I think this was the first time you were the quickest, Hayato!

Jack: Also well done to these listeners who got the right answer: Wsanta from Argentina, Gergo Nagy from Hungary MoBeckham from Turkey, Emmanuel from France, Max Alex from Vietnam, Robert Tavares from Brazil, Marco Zapien from Mexico and Emmanuel Kwarteng from Ghana.

Rich: I also enjoyed reading about the football clubs you’d like to start in your own communities in last week’s task. My favourite was FJChaves from Brazil who said he’d call his local team Clean Sheet FC and his sponsor would be a local stationery shop.

Rowan: What about the team strip?

Rich: All white, of course!

Jack: Oh and good luck to Elghoul who wants to sign Zinedine Zidane, Emmanuel Kwarteng who wants to sign Micheal Essien and Salomaoh who wants to sign Gilberto Silva.

Rowan: You never know! Players often want to go back to their roots at the end of their careers.

Rich: If you haven’t heard last week’s podcast it’s called Learning Vocabulary: Making Suggestions. You can find it on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Introduction to conversation

Jack: You are now going to listen to us talking about Leeds and interesting things to do and see in the city. 

Rich: While you listen, we want you to answer a question. The question is: 

Rowan: Where can you camp?

Conversation about Leeds

Jack: What can we tell people about Leeds?

Rich: It’s in the North of England. It’s the fifth biggest city in the UK.

Rowan: It’s in Yorkshire. It has one of the most diverse economies in the UK.

Jack: You’re reading Wikipedia, aren’t you, Rowan? What can people see and do if they visit Leeds?

Rich: Well, it’s a huge student city. There are five universities and over 50,000 students in the city. With so many students there’s great nightlife in the city with all kinds of restaurants, pubs, bars and concerts going on all the time.

Rowan: Can we recommend somewhere?

Jack: What about the O2 academy if you like live music? There are live concerts most nights during term time.

Rowan: O2 academies are worth checking out all over the UK if you like live music. There’s an O2 academy in Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leicester, London and loads of other places.

Rich: Or if you’re in Leeds at the end of August there is the Leeds festival.

Rowan: Not this year, of course, because of Covid-19.

Rich: But normally you can camp for the weekend and some of the biggest bands and artists have played there. It’s especially good if you like rock and indie music: bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica, Green Day, The Cure, The White Stripes, Guns and Roses and Arctic Monkeys have all headlined the Leeds festival.

Jack: What if you want something a bit quieter?

Rowan: There’s the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. It has one of the biggest collections of arms and armour in the world.

Jack: All those guns. Doesn’t sound too quiet to me.

Rowan: All right. What about Roundhay Park? It’s one of the biggest city parks in Europe. It’s a lovely place to take the kids for a walk and have a kickaround.

Rich: OK, so Leeds is great for students and is a great place to visit for shopping, nightlife and music, museums and culture and it’s got a brilliant park but what about the football?

Jack: Yes, of course. The place Premier League fans will be heading this season is Elland Road - home to Leeds United football club.

Rich: Leeds United are one of the biggest clubs in English football and it’s amazing they have been out of the Premier League for so long.

Rowan: Leeds United are known as the Whites or sometimes the Peacocks but usually just use Leeds as their name. Their biggest rivalry is with Manchester United but Chelsea are also big rivals and there will be a Yorkshire Derby when Leeds play Sheffield United next season.

Jack: And there is a lot of interest in the Leeds manager, Marcelo Bielsa, isn’t there?

Rich: Yes, many say he’s one of the best coaches in the game and coaches like Pep Guardiola say they learned a lot from him.

Rowan: I’m sure we’ll speak more about Leeds United and Bielsa when the new season kicks off.

Language Focus - Things to do in a city

Rich: Did you get the answer to the question we gave you?

Rowan: We asked you where you can camp and the answer is the Leeds festival. In the summer, music festivals are very popular in the UK and it often involves camping at the venue for the weekend.

Jack: So, we’ve just been speaking about Leeds and the things you can do and see in the city.

Rich: We’re now going to look at some verb-noun collocations that we can use when describing things to do in a city.

Rowan: A little later we’re going to give you a task about your city and we’d like to see you using some of these collocations we’re about to look at.

Jack: We spoke quite a bit about music when we were speaking about Leeds. We said that it’s a great city to go and see live music.

Rowan: To see live music is a useful collocation. You can also see a live band or go to see someone play.

Jack: I went to see Metallica play at the Leeds Festival. They were very loud.

Rich: There are different ways we can describe seeing live music. You can go to a gig. We said that there are lots of gigs at the O2 Academy in Leeds.

Rowan: Is a gig the same as a concert? You can go to a gig or go to a concert. I saw a great gig last night. I saw a great concert last night.

Jack: In some ways, they are the same but when I think of a concert I think of something big with tickets, possibly in a stadium or at least a large concert hall.

Rich: And a gig is something that is more intimate. It’s a more informal word and is used more for rock or indie music although we can also use it to describe stand-up comedy which is really popular in the UK.

Rowan: Yes, classical music would be more likely to be a concert and I think you're more likely to sit down at a concert and have seat numbers. This would not usually happen at a gig.

Jack: What else can you do on a night out?

Rich: I like to go for a pint. There are plenty of pubs and bars where you can go for a pint in Leeds.

Rowan: When we say a pint we mean a pint of beer. A pint is 568ml if you’re not sure. I don’t usually drink pints but I still like to go for a drink on a Saturday night.

Jack: Go for a pint or go for a drink are two useful collocations here. Another useful collocation is to go clubbing.

Rich: I used to go clubbing but I’m too old now. I need to be in bed before 12.

Jack: What else do people like to do when they visit the city centre? 

Rowan: Go shopping. 

Rich: Yes, that’s very common and another useful collocation to go shopping or sometimes to go window shopping.

Jack: Window shopping is when people just look into shop windows and think about what they might like to buy.

Rowan: Eating out is also popular.

Rich: Yes, I like to eat out. In Leeds city centre you’ll find cuisine from all over the world: China, Mexico, Japan, Morocco, Italy.

Jack: And India. Indian food is extremely popular in the UK. I love to go out for a curry.

Rowan: So we can eat out or go for a curry. Another couple of useful collocations.

Rich: We often say things like let’s go for an Indian or an Italian or a Chinese. When we say let’s go for a Chinese we mean let’s go out for a Chinese meal.

Jack: If we want to do something a bit quieter we might visit a museum or visit an art gallery because we want to see a new exhibition.

Rowan: Or we could go to the park and have a picnic if you bring some food with you. 

Rich: And the city park in Leeds is massive so you can also have a kickaround or take the kids for a walk.

Jack: Another couple of useful collocations there - to take the kids for a walk and to have a kickaround. A kickaround is a small informal game of football - usually using bags or jackets as posts.

Rowan: But the best thing to do in Leeds is, of course, to see a live match at Elland Road. You can get tickets at the stadium.

Rich: We can go to the match, see a live match, watch a match on the TV and another useful collocation is to get tickets.

Jack: It might be difficult to get tickets now Leeds are back in the Premier League. I bet they sell out very quickly.

Rowan: OK, so we’ve looked at lots of collocations we can use to talk about visiting a city in this section. We’ve got more examples and activities to help your understanding on the Premier Skills English website. You can find this lesson on the homepage now.

Introduction to Roleplay

Jack: Let’s move on to our roleplay. This week, Rowan is visiting Leeds.

Rich: Rowan’s from the south of England and hasn’t travelled up north - to the north of England very much.

Jack: And there are a few differences when it comes to accents - the way people speak.

Rowan: I thought, how different could it be? But I bumped into a few people in the city centre and I found it quite difficult to understand sometimes.

Jack: You’re going to hear one of the conversations Rowan had when she was out and about in Leeds City centre.

Rich: While you listen we want you to answer two questions. The first question is what is the purpose of the conversation and the second question is was the conversation successful.

Jack: After the conversation, we’ll look at what Rowan found difficult and the language she used to say that she didn’t understand. Rich is speaking very quickly in a Yorkshire accent in this roleplay so don’t worry if you don’t understand everything he says.

Roleplay

Rowan: Sorry, I was wondering if you could help me. I’m trying to get to the corn exchange.

Rich: Corn Exchange? You don’t know where Corn exchange is. You're not from around here, are you?

Rowan: No, I’m visiting Leeds for the first time. I’m planning on doing a bit of shopping.

Rich: Right, well. You're not far off, love. We’re on Briggate now and you want to be doing a left when you get to’ JD.

Rowan: Excuse me. JD,?

Rich: Aye. JD’ sports shop on corner with Kirkgate. Then I reckon it’s second or third right you can’t miss it love it’s a huge domed building some lovely shops there.

Rowan: Sorry, can you run that past me again? Kirkgate?

Rich: Aye it’s a road love. Just down there. Then third right

Rowan: OK, I see.

Rich: Got to dash love. There’s me bus. Third right just down road. You’ll be reight. You can’t miss it.

Rowan: Thanks ever so much for your help.

---

Jack: OK, the purpose of the conversation was to ask for directions; something that you may have to do in a foreign city or something that a visitor to your city may ask you.

Rich: Do you think it was a successful conversation?

Jack: I’m not sure. Did you get to the corn exchange, Rowan?

Rowan: I did and it’s a great little shopping centre with lots of boutiques in a lovely old Victorian building. It wasn’t easy to understand the directions though and I’m not sure if I like being called love.

Jack: You had a bit of trouble with the accent. One thing that is very common in the north of England is to drop the definite article when speaking so Rich said sports shop instead of the sports shop and it’s second right rather than it’s the second right.

Rowan: And love? Isn’t that a bit condescending?

Rich: It’s not meant to be. It’s a term of endearment and doesn’t have anything to do with being in love. In Leeds and Yorkshire, you might also be called flower or lass.

Jack: And there are other terms of endearment in different parts of the country. You might be called pet in Newcastle, Bab in Birmingham or hen in Glasgow. I think these terms are being used less these days.

Rowan: I think that’s probably for the best. 

Rich: Let us know if you understood what I was saying in the roleplay. My Yorkshire accent is much lighter than it used to be although when I go home for a holiday it gets much stronger.  

Task

Jack: This week’s task is to say what things a visitor to your city could do and see.

Rowan: What things could a visitor do at night? Are there gigs or concerts to go to? Are there some nice restaurants that you would recommend?

Rich: What about in the daytime? Are there museums and galleries to visit or a nice park? Are there some good places to go shopping and what would be a good thing to buy?

Jack: And what about football? Where’s the stadium, what’s the club and is it easy to get tickets and a good experience for a visitor to go and see a live match?

Rowan: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website and try to use some of the collocations we used in the language section.

Rich: or write your answers in the review section on Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.

Football Phrase

Jack: Have you got a football phrase for us, Rich?

Rich: I have. This week’s football phrase is **** *****. When a player reaches the end of their contract with a club they become a **** ***** and are allowed to sign for any other club they wish. No transfer fee is involved. David Silva became a **** ***** at the end of the season and has returned to Spain to play for Real Sociedad after ten years with Manchester City. 

Rowan: Let’s see who can get our football phrase right. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was cooling break.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s show. 

Rich: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Rowan: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page or Twitter feed

Jack: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!