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Boy with hand up in classroom.

Speaking Skills: Interrupting

Speaking Skills: Interrupting

In this week's Premier Skills English podcast, Rich and Jack help you with the language you need when you want to interrupt someone. This is a speaking skill that can be difficult because you have to wait for the right moment and often need to be polite. Jack and Rich look at some polite (and less polite) phrases that you can use to interrupt people. They also look at some phrases that you can use when someone interrupts you to return to the same topic after the interruption. We also have a new football phrase for you to guess so don't forget to listen to the end of the podcast. Enjoy!

Transcript

If you find the podcast difficult to understand, you can read the transcript and listen at the same time.
Read and listen at the same time.

Speaking Skills - Interrupting

Intro: 

Rich: I love knock knock jokes.

Jack: What?

Rich: Knock, knock jokes. You know ... I say knock, knock you say who’s there and …

Jack: I know knock, knock jokes. Have you got one?

Rich: Yep. Loads. Knock, knock.

Jack: Who’s there?

Rich: Water.

Jack: Water who?

Rich: Water you doing in my house!

Jack: Knock, knock jokes are always awful!

Rich: No, they’re not. Listen. This is my favourite. Knock, knock.

Jack: Who’s there?

Rich: Interrupting cow.

Jack: Interrupting c ...

Rich: Mooooo!

Welcome - Interrupting

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re going to talk about ...

Jack: What are we going to talk about?

Rich: I was just about to say. In this week’s podcast, we’re going to talk about …

Jack: I was just getting a bit of revenge for that silly interrupting cow joke.

Rich: Alright … alright … In this week’s podcast, we’re going to talk about the language we use when we want to interrupt somebody.

Jack: That’s right. We’re going to look at the language of interruption and how we can interrupt somebody politely and not so politely.

Rich: We’ve got lots of language to teach you and we’ve got a game you can play with friends or in the classroom that’s great for practising your English.

Jack: And don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we’ve got a new football phrase for you too.

Topic Focus

Rich: That cow joke is really funny. I love it.

Jack: It’s not that …

Rich: Mooo!

Jack: Stop it. As I was saying, it’s not that funny but it does allow us to introduce something that we often need to do in English. We often need to interrupt someone when they are speaking. We might have something important to say or we might want to respond to what a person has just said. 

Rich: That’s right and when we want to interrupt it’s probably best not just to say moo!

Jack: No, probably not!

Rich: Anyway, before we start I’d like to talk about a match that I saw recently. It was …

Jack: Sorry, which match was it?

Rich: I was just getting to that. It was Tottenham’s match against Real Madrid. I went to watch it in a cafe with a couple of friends and I …

Jack: Sorry for interrupting, but why didn’t you invite me?

Rich: Erm … you’re an Arsenal fan you never show much interest in Tottenham matches. In any case, I think it might be too far to meet up to watch a match.

Jack: You’re right it is and it’s true I didn’t watch the match.

Rich: Where was I? Ah yes, the Spurs match. We got a drink but …

Jack: What did you have?

Rich: I had a coke because I was driving. 

Jack: Really not very good for you.

Rich: What?

Jack: Coke - fizzy drinks. They aren’t very healthy.

Rich: I know, I know ... but it’s not important. Anyway, the cafe was packed and we had to stand to watch the match. 

Jack: Could I ask something?

Rich: What? I mean, sure.

Jack: Which cafe did you go to?

Rich: The one by the square.

Jack: Near the fountain?

Rich: No, at the other end. As I was saying...

Jack: It’s nice there. You could have invited me.

Rich: Yes. That’s why I went. As I was saying, my friends were Real Madrid fans so …

Jack: Excuse me for butting in. Are your friends from Madrid?

Rich: Not far from Madrid, yes. Anyway, as I was saying, they’re Real Madrid fans so they didn’t have a great time. I think it was already 2-0 at half-time.

Jack: Actually, just 1-0.

Rich: OK, just 1-0. But in any case, they weren’t having much fun and we actually left before Ronaldo scored a consolation goal for Madrid.

Jack: It finished 3-1. 

Rich: It did. What did you do yesterday?

Jack: Well, I’m glad that you asked because I went...

Rich: MOOOOO.

Jack: Not you again.

Language Focus

Jack: In the last section, Rich was speaking about a football match he saw. While he was speaking I interrupted him quite a few times. I used different words and phrases to let Rich know that I wanted to say something.

Rich: After the interruption, I wanted to return to the topic I was speaking about - the football match. To return to the topic I used a few different phrases too. 

Jack: Let’s start by looking at the phrases that I used to interrupt. The most common way to interrupt someone is to say sorry or excuse me. If you want to be polite you should use these words all the time even if you are not sorry!

Rich: Jack said sorry for interrupting and excuse me for butting in and then asked his question.

Jack: Butting in, that’s an interesting phrase. It’s more common to use it when you want to join a group conversation and if someone says stop butting in the phrase can mean interrupting a conversation in a rude or impolite way.

Rich: But if you say sorry or excuse me and use the phrase yourself it means the same as sorry for interrupting.

Jack: After my interruptions, Rich wanted to return to the topic of the football match. He used different phrases to do this. One very common phrase that he used was anyway. Other common phrases are Where was I? And as I was saying.

Rich: I actually used both when I said: Anyway, as I was saying, they’re Real Madrid fans so they didn’t have a great time. 

Jack: Have a look at the language activities on the website below this podcast to practise these phrases a little more.

Game

Jack: We’re going to play a speaking game which you can practise at home with a friend or in the classroom.

Rich: We’ve got a list of topics. Jack is going to choose one and try to speak for one minute. I’m going to try to interrupt him as much as possible. 

Jack: Which phrases does Rich use to interrupt me and which phrases do I use to get back to the topic?

Rich: There are the topics Jack. Take one and see what you get.

Jack: A place you’ve visited recently.

Rich: OK, you’ve got one minute to tell me as much as you can. I’ve got my watch. Are you ready? 

Jack: I was born ready!

Rich: Right then, three, two, one, go!

Jack: I’d like to tell you about Cambridge. It’s a city …

Rich: Sorry to interrupt but I don’t want to hear about the city, I’d like to hear about your visit to Cambridge.

Jack: Of course, alright. As I was trying to say, I’ve recently visited Cambridge. It’s a city …

Rich: Do you mind if I interrupt again? When did you visit Cambridge?

Jack: Yes, err, it was about a month ago. Anyway, I visited Cambridge about a month ago. It’s a city that’s about an hour’s drive from London.

Rich: Can I just add something here? It’s north of London, isn’t it?

Jack: Yes, err I think so but I wasn’t driving from London. Can I get back to what I was talking about?

Rich: Please, go on.

Jack: Cambridge is most famous for its university and I went to see …

Rich: Sorry for butting in but I was wondering if you knew if Cambridge University was older than Oxford?

Jack: No it’s not. Oxford was founded in .... nevermind, we’re not talking about Oxford… where was I?

Rich: Talking about your visit to Cambridge.

Jack: Yes, thanks. As I was saying, I visited …

Rich: Moo! That’s one minute! I think I win.

Jack: What do you mean, you win?

Rich: You had one minute to tell me about your visit to Cambridge and you told me absolutely nothing!

Jack: That’s because you were interrupting me all the time!

Rich: That was the point of the game!

Jack: Right! Your turn. Let’s see how well you deal with an interrupting cow!

Task

Rich: Our task for you this week is to challenge someone to the game that we have just played.

Jack: Do you know a friend that is learning English too? Or maybe you can ask your English teacher to play the game in class? 

Rich: Or maybe if you’re listening to this in class you can do this game right now.

Jack: There’s a worksheet for you to download on the side of this page with a list of topics that you can speak about in class. If you haven’t got it, pause the podcast and download it now.

Rich: On the worksheet, there are lots of topics to choose from - favourite football team, family, best holiday, favourite food, the environment and many more.

Jack: Tell the person who is going to speak to choose one topic and tell them they have to speak about it for one minute. Give them 30 seconds to think about what they are going to say first.

Rich: Tell them you or someone else is going to interrupt and ask questions and they have to answer the questions but try to return to their topic as soon as they can.

Jack: Try to use the phrases we have used in this podcast when you are speaking. You can also look at the phrases on the lesson page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: In the comments section, tell us who you played the game with and where.

Jack: And only be an interrupting cow when the time is up! 

Football Phrase

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week? 

Jack: Yes, I have, but first, last week’s football phrase. The phrase was to be over the moon. It’s an idiom which means to be very, very happy and it is something that football managers often say after their team has won. 

Rich: Quite a lot of you got it right this week so well done to Violinka, Sabanoleg and Liubomyr from Ukraine, Lakerwang from China, CaroleAnnMarie from Italy, Ahmed Adam from Sudan and Khaldoun83 from Algeria. What’s this week’s phrase, Jack?

Jack: This week’s phrase is **** *** match or just **** ***. A **** *** is a match between two teams that decides which team progresses to the next round. At the end of the season, there are a series of **** *** matches to decide the third team that is promoted to the Premier League. It can also be a verb. The teams that finish between third and sixth **** *** against each other.

Rich: Ah, yes. I know it. Actually, this weekend there are **** *** matches to decide which countries will qualify for the World Cup this summer.

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.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

Vocabulary

How much did you understand?

Vocabulary

In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. You can see two examples here: 

I was just getting a bit of revenge for that silly cow joke.

We actually left before Ronaldo scored a consolation goal for Madrid.

There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Can you remember all of them? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words in context. This can really help with understanding.

Activity 1

Activity 1: In this activity, try to match the words and phrases to their definitions. All of the words were in this week's podcast.
Can you match the words to their definitions?

Sorry for interrupting but can I have a word about that last offside decision.

Speaking Skills

Interrupting

In this week's podcast, the main focus was on the language we use when we interrupt someone; when we say something to make someone else stop talking or doing something. Interrupting someone can be done in a polite way or an impolite way. The way people interrupt can be different in different cultures and countries. In this podcast, we discussed the language of interrupting but if you want to learn more about cultural differences, take a look at this article from the BBC. If we look just at the language of interrupting there are phrases that are more polite than others. Take a look at these two sentences:

Sorry for interrupting but why didn't you invite me to the match?

Hold on! Why didn't you invite me to the match?

In the sentences above, the first sentence is much more polite than the second which could be a bit rude or impolite. In this activity, take a look at some more phrases we use to interrupt people and decide if they are polite or impolite.

Activity 2

Activity 2: In this activity, put the phrases into two groups - polite phrases and impolite phrases. Remember that depending on your tone of voice that it is possible that some of the polite phrases can sound rude if you interrupt in an inappropriate way.
Decide if the phrases are polite or rude.

Returning to the topic

When someone interrupts you it is often necessary to return to the topic that you were talking about. In the podcast, Rich interrupted Jack a lot when he was talking about Cambridge.

Jack: Excuse me for butting in, but are your friends from Madrid?

Rich: Not far from Madrid, yes. Anyway, as I was saying, they're Real Madrid fans so didn't ...

In the example above, Rich answers Jack's question but tries to return to the topic that he was speaking about as quickly as possible. He uses two different phrases to do this: anyway and as I was saying. These are both polite ways of returning to what you want to say or an earlier topic. Here is a list of other phrases you can use to return to a topic:

Phrases to practise

  • Where was I?
  • Anyway ...
  • As I was saying ...
  • I was just getting to that.
  • In any case ...
  • Can I get back to what I was talking about?
  • Can I return to what I was saying?

Waiters often need to interrupt people's conversations. How do they do this?

Task

Your task is to play the game that Rich and Jack played in the podcast. First, you need to find someone to play the game with. Find a friend who is learning English or ask your English teacher to play the game in class.

The objective of the game is for one person to speak for a minute about one of the topics in the table below. The other person needs to interrupt the speaker with relevant questions using some of the phrases in activity two. The speaker then needs to answer the questions and use the phrases above to return to the topic. Here are some example topics for you to speak about:

Topics to speak about
Favourite Football Team Something in the news Favourite musician or band
Favourite Food Favourite Football Player The last party you went to
A place you've visited recently Someone in your family The best football match you've ever seen

Remember:

  • The speaker has one minute
  • Try to use the phrases we used in this podcast
  • Give the speaker 30 seconds to think about the topic

Tell us in the comments section who you played the game with and where!

Quiz

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Comment

What do you think?

In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about different phrases we use to interrupt people and phrases we use to return to a previous topic.

Do you find it difficult to interrupt people when they are speaking? Do you know anyone who interrupts people a lot? Is it polite?

Were the phrases introduced in this podcast new for you? Is this type of language easy to use? Is it easy to learn these phrases?

Look at the task above and write your answers. Don't forget to reply to other listeners too.

Remember to write your guess for this week's football phrase, too!

If you want us to correct your English, just write 'correct me' at the beginning of your comment.

Leave a comment

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Comentários

hsn's picture
hsn
09/11/2021
TR
5525
points

Comment
Generally persons who talks a lot often interrupt people. Because they don’t know listen to someone patiently. Of course it’s impolite. I’ve already know these phrases. They are easy to learn.


hsn's picture
hsn
09/11/2021 16:51
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5525

Comment
Generally persons who talks a lot often interrupt people. Because they don’t know listen to someone patiently. Of course it’s impolite. I’ve already know these phrases. They are easy to learn.

redinanimas's picture
redinanimas
02/01/2021
ID
61
points

correct me


redinanimas's picture
redinanimas
02/01/2021 15:24
Indonesia
Chelsea
61

correct me

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
20/05/2020
TR
6510
points

This week's football phrase is ( Play-offs )


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
20/05/2020 10:29
Turkey
Manchester United
6510

This week's football phrase is ( Play-offs )

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
20/05/2020
TR
6510
points

Most of the phrases are new for me especially ( sorry for butting in ) as I know that butt is the person's bottom only so there was some useful phrases to practice


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
20/05/2020 10:27
Turkey
Manchester United
6510

Most of the phrases are new for me especially ( sorry for butting in ) as I know that butt is the person's bottom only so there was some useful phrases to practice

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
20/05/2020
TR
6510
points

Sometimes it's embarrassing to interrupt people while speaking so I prefer to wait till they finish.
I know latin Americans like to speak together as I was told by Mr Fisher , my former teacher :)


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
20/05/2020 10:25
Turkey
Manchester United
6510

Sometimes it's embarrassing to interrupt people while speaking so I prefer to wait till they finish.
I know latin Americans like to speak together as I was told by Mr Fisher , my former teacher :)

Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture
Ahmed Adam Mamado
14/11/2017
SD
2903
points

Practise and enjoyment was my aim,,, but couldn't play the game... What a shame!!! Don't know whom to blame??? Hope next game won't be the same...

Thanks for the nice podcast, new stuff as always! Actually, I'm a bit frustrated because I couldn't find anyone to play with. And someone might try to suggest the "speak out loud" method, but no, it definitely won't work here since I can't be the speaker and the interrupter at the same time!

Anyway, here are my answers to the questions:
sometimes I find it a little bit difficult to interrupt people when they're speaking, especially elder people or those whom I don't know well, because not choosing the right time or failing to pick the suitable words and of course, the intonation, it may result in him or her being angry and I might be seen as an impolite person. However, it's not the case with my friends whom I can easily interrupt.

I have a friend, honestly not a close friend, who interrupts people all the time and never seems to stop doing it. On one hand, one has to interrupt others when the situation most demands it, but on the other hand, it can be extremely rude to impolitely and unnecessarily interrupt people every time they speak. It doesn't go without saying that most of the phrases introduced in this podcast were new for me.

I would like to say that this type of language is not only easy to use, but also enjoyable! And despite not finding a partner to practise with, I have already learnt those phrases by heart.

This week's football phrase is ridiculously easy, it's childsplay! .....A "**** ***" without doubt.


Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture
Ahmed Adam Mamado
14/11/2017 02:32
Sudan
Liverpool
2903

Practise and enjoyment was my aim,,, but couldn't play the game... What a shame!!! Don't know whom to blame??? Hope next game won't be the same...

Thanks for the nice podcast, new stuff as always! Actually, I'm a bit frustrated because I couldn't find anyone to play with. And someone might try to suggest the "speak out loud" method, but no, it definitely won't work here since I can't be the speaker and the interrupter at the same time!

Anyway, here are my answers to the questions:
sometimes I find it a little bit difficult to interrupt people when they're speaking, especially elder people or those whom I don't know well, because not choosing the right time or failing to pick the suitable words and of course, the intonation, it may result in him or her being angry and I might be seen as an impolite person. However, it's not the case with my friends whom I can easily interrupt.

I have a friend, honestly not a close friend, who interrupts people all the time and never seems to stop doing it. On one hand, one has to interrupt others when the situation most demands it, but on the other hand, it can be extremely rude to impolitely and unnecessarily interrupt people every time they speak. It doesn't go without saying that most of the phrases introduced in this podcast were new for me.

I would like to say that this type of language is not only easy to use, but also enjoyable! And despite not finding a partner to practise with, I have already learnt those phrases by heart.

This week's football phrase is ridiculously easy, it's childsplay! .....A "**** ***" without doubt.

Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture
Ahmed Adam Mamado
14/11/2017
SD
2903
points

Oops! Correct me, please,


Ahmed Adam Mamado's picture
Ahmed Adam Mamado
14/11/2017 13:13
Sudan
Liverpool
2903

Oops! Correct me, please,

Minh Hoang's picture
Minh Hoang
13/11/2017
VN
276
points

this week's phrase is **** ***


Minh Hoang's picture
Minh Hoang
13/11/2017 14:09
Vietnam
Liverpool
276

this week's phrase is **** ***

milos
13/11/2017
RS
2663
points

This week football phrase is **** *** matches


milos
13/11/2017 06:46
Serbia
Manchester United
2663

This week football phrase is **** *** matches

Khaldoun83's picture
Khaldoun83
12/11/2017
DZ
325
points

I think that this week foot ball phrase is **** ***.


Khaldoun83's picture
Khaldoun83
12/11/2017 20:44
Algeria
Liverpool
325

I think that this week foot ball phrase is **** ***.

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
12/11/2017
GH
4768
points

This week's phrase is **** ***
Unfortunately my country isn't making it to the world cup and i am so disappointed. Our final match this weekend against Egypt has no consequence on the team that has already qualified, Egypt


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
12/11/2017 04:18
Ghana
Manchester United
4768

This week's phrase is **** ***
Unfortunately my country isn't making it to the world cup and i am so disappointed. Our final match this weekend against Egypt has no consequence on the team that has already qualified, Egypt

haruyuki's picture
haruyuki
11/11/2017
JP
38
points

I think this week's phrase is a **** ***.


haruyuki's picture
haruyuki
11/11/2017 13:56
Japan
Liverpool
38

I think this week's phrase is a **** ***.

lakerwang
10/11/2017
CN
337
points

I usuall interrupt people when they take a short break in a conversation.Or it's possible that they will ignore me and go on speaking.That would be embarrassing.

'butt in' is a new phrasal verb for me.It's an interesting phrase,and I like it.

I think this week’s phrase is '**** ***'


lakerwang
10/11/2017 16:16
China
Chelsea
337

I usuall interrupt people when they take a short break in a conversation.Or it's possible that they will ignore me and go on speaking.That would be embarrassing.

'butt in' is a new phrasal verb for me.It's an interesting phrase,and I like it.

I think this week’s phrase is '**** ***'

Rich's picture
Rich
10/11/2017
ES
594
points

It's a great phrase. You can also tell someone to 'butt out' if you think they are 'butting in' too much although it's not very polite!

You're spot on with this week's football phrase. Well done!

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team


Rich's picture
Rich
10/11/2017 21:03
Spain
Liverpool
594

It's a great phrase. You can also tell someone to 'butt out' if you think they are 'butting in' too much although it's not very polite!

You're spot on with this week's football phrase. Well done!

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team

Liubomyr's picture
Liubomyr
10/11/2017
UA
4408
points

The phrase is a ‘****-***’


Liubomyr's picture
Liubomyr
10/11/2017 14:32
Ukraine
Watford
4408

The phrase is a ‘****-***’

admin's picture
admin
10/11/2017
GB
560
points

Well done! Fast as usual!


admin's picture
admin
10/11/2017 14:43
United Kingdom
Arsenal
560

Well done! Fast as usual!

sabanoleg
10/11/2017
UA
2337
points

I deem it's **** *** off matches.


sabanoleg
10/11/2017 12:58
Ukraine
Arsenal
2337

I deem it's **** *** off matches.

admin's picture
admin
10/11/2017
GB
560
points

Spot on. You and Liubomyr are really quick. 


admin's picture
admin
10/11/2017 14:44
United Kingdom
Arsenal
560

Spot on. You and Liubomyr are really quick. 

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1mobeckham6510
2Alex_from_Ukraine6278
3hsn5525
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4768
6Liubomyr4408
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia71478
2Ukraine33300
3Spain28277
4Serbia27289
5Brazil23896
6Albania20578
7Vietnam19941
8Turkey19810
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United141846
2Liverpool110282
3Chelsea88561
4Arsenal85717
5Manchester City56951
6Tottenham Hotspur19169
7Newcastle United10457
8West Ham United7454
9AFC Bournemouth4458
10Crystal Palace4240

Level

4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Goals

Practice: Listening

Speaking Skills: Interrupting

Language: Phrases to interrupt and return to the topic