Learning Vocabulary: Walk this way
Introduction
Jack: Hello my name’s Jack
Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast
Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.
Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re talking about verbs connected to movement and more specifically verbs we use to describe different ways of walking.
Jack: We recommend that you listen to this podcast on the Premier Skills English website because that is where we have the transcript, language examples, activities, quizzes and a discussion page to help you understand everything we talk about.
Rich: However, if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, you can leave answers to our questions in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.
Jack: So our main focus this week is on vocabulary and words and phrases we use to describe the ways we walk. In this week’s roleplay, Rich goes out for a walk and bumps into a police officer - that’s me. This roleplay is based on a joke I read yesterday on the discussion forum site Quora. I’m afraid I can’t find the post to credit the author, but if you’re listening - thanks a lot.
Rich: The police officer is a strange individual and gets quite upset about the way I walk. He seems to think there is only one way to walk.
Jack: This is all connected to the situation in the UK at the moment. Most people are only allowed to leave the house to do exercise or go shopping for essentials.
Rich: It’s all very light-hearted though and we hope you find it funny. Your task this week is to tell us how you walk in some different situations.
Jack: Before all that though, we need to look at last week’s football phrase.
Last week’s Football Phrase
Jack: If you didn’t hear our football phrase last week we’re going to give you one more chance to guess now.
Rich: The word was ******. It means to change direction suddenly. When a player hits a powerful shot the ball often ******* in the air which makes it very difficult for the goalkeeper because the ball is moving around all over the place. One free-kick I remember is by Roberto Carlos for Brazil - the ball ******* so much it seemed to defy the laws of physics.
Jack: We’ll give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase.
Rich: The first listener to get it right last week was Liubomyr from Ukraine. Congratulations again Liubomyr! It was quite difficult and many of you guessed similar words such as curl and curve.
Jack: A big well done to Mario and Marco Zapien from Mexico, Matthew from Israel, Lakerwang from China and Rafael Robson from Brazil
Rich: Remember we’ll have a new football phrase for you to guess at the end of the show.
Introduction to Roleplay
Jack: In this section, you’re going to hear a roleplay. Rich is going out to do some exercise and bumps into a policeman - that’s me.
Rich: While you listen, we want you to answer two questions. Question number one is: What kind of walk does the police officer want to see?
Jack: Question two: Does Rich do what the police officer wants?
Roleplay
Rich: Right, one hour they say. Off we go then …
Jack: Good morning!
Rich: OH Good morning.
Jack: Keep your distance, please. Two metres, two metres, please.
Rich: Oh yeah of course sorry.
Jack: Out for a ... stroll are we?
Rich: Well... er ...
Jack: I see ... Where are you wandering off to?
Rich: I’m not actually walking to anywhere.
Jack: So what are you doing out? You need to have a good excuse to be out of your house at the moment. We’re under lockdown, remember.
Rich: Yes, of course. I’m actually out for my daily exercise. That’s allowed, isn’t it?
Jack: Daily exercise? You’re not going to get much exercise going for an afternoon stroll.
Rich: I’m speed walking, officer.
Jack: Speed walking? Looks more like speed waddling to me. You look like a duck. No, that’s not good enough at all.
Rich: So, I should be moving a bit faster.
Jack: I’d like to see at least a brisk walk - I don’t want to have to send you home or fine you. A bit more upright. Like this knees up - left, right, left, right,...
Rich: Yeah, you can't really do that when you speed walk. It’s much more of a waddle.
Jack: They’ll be no waddling here or for that matter strolling, sauntering, swanning or swaggering about. Haven’t you read the government guidelines?
Rich: Er .. I didn’t know there were guidelines on how to walk.
Jack: We’re going to have to have a walk inspection. Over there come on next to the wall - we need to see a brisk walk - this is exercise remember.
Rich: Here we go look. I’m walking - this is how I walk.
Jack: No, no that’s not exercise. Have you got very heavy shoes on? That’s plodding. Slow heavy steps like that are no good at all.
Rich: Well, I don’t know what to do.
Jack: Calm down, you can do this.
Rich: OK. Can I try again?
Jack: Yes - with a straighter back, this time. Good posture is essential. Try again back to the wall. This time I want to see more energy and confidence. Head up, shoulders back and off you go.
Rich: Right, how’s this?
Jack: Better, but still not quite right. What you were doing was more of a strut. It’s not Saturday night at the disco. You looked like a peacock trying to impress a mate.
Rich: A strut? I’m not trying to impress anyone.
Jack: Well you managed that much.
Rich: It was quite tiring though. I think it was good exercise.
Jack: Look let me demonstrate what’s acceptable and not acceptable. Firstly, skipping like this is not acceptable. You’re on the streets for exercise not to take in the joys of spring.
Rich: Anything else?
Jack: Yes. See what I’m doing here, all bent over and quiet. This is sneaking and it’s definitely not allowed. We don’t want to see people bent over and scuttling along the streets. We might mistake you for a robber or a thief.
Rich: Sorry? Sneaking and scuttling?
Jack: Yes, like this ….
Rich: No sneaking and no scuttling. Ah, I think I get this. You want me to march. Is that right?
Jack: Let’s see. Yes, yes. That’s right. Like a soldier on the parade ground. Very good. Come on one more time. Knees up.
Rich: But I’m not even going to break into a sweat doing this. I think I might go for a jog instead.
Jack: Jogging? There are some regulations on that too. Running and sprinting are permitted but … jogging... not really in the spirit.
Rich: Bye ...
Language Focus
Jack: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. Did you manage to answer them?
Rich: The first question was what walk did the police officer want me to do.
Jack: I wanted Rich to march - like a soldier. The second question was does Rich do what the police officer wants?
Rich: Not, really. The police officer wasn’t impressed with my marching and in the end, I ran off!
Jack: OK, let’s look at some of the language we used in the roleplay.
Rich: The words we want to focus on in this podcast are all connected to how we walk or run.
Jack: Let’s start off with the word that the police officer thought was most important - to march.
Rich: This is what soldiers do when they walk together. They march. You walk in quick, regular steps.
Jack: We used a couple of words which mean to walk in a relaxed, slow manner. The first and probably most common is stroll.
Rich: We often use this as a noun. We go for a stroll in the park or we go for an afternoon stroll with the family. It’s slow and relaxed.
Jack: In the roleplay, I asked Rich where he was wandering off to.
Rich: To wander is another way of walking. Like stroll it’s a slow walk but the important thing with wander is that we are not going to a specific place. We’re not going to anywhere.
Jack: It can be aimless with no purpose or direction. Where are you going? Nowhere - I’m just wandering about.
Rich: Another verb we used to describe a slow walk was plod. When we plod we are very tired and we make big heavy, slow steps.
Jack: Animals often plod along - the horses plodded through the rain on the muddy track. We can also use it in a more general way to describe how you’re doing. Hey Rich, How are you doing?
Rich: Oh, you know, plodding on.
Jack: It’s quite negative. It means carrying on with life - slowly.
Rich: Those are some slow walks but I did some different walks in the roleplay. I waddled for example.
Jack: Yes, the best way to describe waddling is to think of a duck. You waddle when you do speed walking. Think of the 50k walk in the Olympics and how the participants walk.
Rich: It’s a weird race. Why don’t they just run?
Jack: It’s against the rules. It’s a brisk walk - not a run.
Rich: We used this phrase in the podcast, too - a brisk walk. Something that is brisk is quick so in the roleplay, Jack wanted me to walk at a brisk pace. He wanted me to walk quickly.
Jack: I think it’s almost always connected to walking. I can’t think of anything else that you do briskly, can you?
Rich: No, a brisk walk and that’s about it.
Jack: In the roleplay, Rich waddled like a duck and he also strutted like a peacock. A peacock is that amazing bird with the tails that stick in the air like a fan.
Rich: The phrase to strut like a peacock means to walk very proudly. You put your head up and stick your chest out. We often think that people who strut think a bit too much of themselves. They think they are very important.
Jack: We also mentioned running at the end of the roleplay. Jog - run - sprint in that order. Jogging is running slowly and sprinting is running very quickly over a short distance.
Rich: There were a few other words and phrases connected to walking and running in the podcast and we’ll look at these in more detail on the Premier Skills English website.
Jack: Yes, to find the lesson for this podcast you need to click on skills > listen > podcasts > Learning vocabulary: walk this way. There you will find the transcript, further examples, activities, a task for you to complete and a discussion to take part in.
TASK
Rich: Your task this week is to tell us how you walk or run in three situations.
Jack: We want you to try to use some of the words we introduced in the roleplay.
Rich: Or discover some new words connected to walking. A good way to do this is to type walk into an online thesaurus such as thesaurus.com - they are very useful.
Jack: Here’s situation one: You have two very heavy bags of shopping, it’s raining and you are late for dinner. How do you walk?
Rich: Situation two: You are playing football as a striker. The ball is ten metres in front of you, the goalkeeper is seven metres away from the ball.
Jack: Situation three: You are in the park on a Sunday afternoon with your grandparents.
Rich: Try to experiment with some different words to describe the way people walk. We will tell you if you are using them correctly or not.
Jack: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.
Football Phrase
Rich: It’s your turn with this week’s football phrase, Jack
Jack: This week’s football phrase is just a word. The word is *********. The word is connected to this week’s podcast because the word means running but with a ball at your feet. Wingers are usually the best players at *********. To give you a bit of extra help - this is something that babies do a lot.
Rich: Let’s see who can get it right. Before we leave you we also need to tell you last week’s football phrase. The answer was swerve.
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 any questions or comments or suggestions for the podcast or anything football or English related, you can leave them on the website in the comments section, on social media, on apple podcasts or you can email us at
premierskills@britishcouncil.org.
Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!
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Comentários
09/11/2020
points
1-I prefer speed walking.
2- Definitely sprint.
3- That is a stroll so briskly but slow walk is acceptable because of grandparents. Shoulders back, upright posture and eyes look at a straight horizantal line.
P.S.
Every morning I always run (not a sprint it's like jogging) for 45 minutes. After this activity cardiovascular workout for 20 minutes. I break in to sweat so much.
Unfortunately in these Covid-19 days there is no lockdown but according to legal regulation we have to put on mask . It’s not easy to breathe with mask and dangerous so I’ve been walking since June.
During my military service obligation if there is a parades, we would have to march without bending knees. It’s called “Goose step” or “Parade step” It was funny and so hard for me . I never did it right.
09/11/2020 18:07
Tottenham Hotspur
5527
1-I prefer speed walking.
2- Definitely sprint.
3- That is a stroll so briskly but slow walk is acceptable because of grandparents. Shoulders back, upright posture and eyes look at a straight horizantal line.
P.S.
Every morning I always run (not a sprint it's like jogging) for 45 minutes. After this activity cardiovascular workout for 20 minutes. I break in to sweat so much.
Unfortunately in these Covid-19 days there is no lockdown but according to legal regulation we have to put on mask . It’s not easy to breathe with mask and dangerous so I’ve been walking since June.
During my military service obligation if there is a parades, we would have to march without bending knees. It’s called “Goose step” or “Parade step” It was funny and so hard for me . I never did it right.
14/06/2020
points
I think this week's football word is ( crawling )
14/06/2020 17:03
Manchester United
6510
I think this week's football word is ( crawling )
14/06/2020
points
1. If it’s raining and I'm late for dinner plus carrying two heavy bags of shopping , I'll definitely WADDLE down the street.
2. I will SPRINT to kick the ball into the back of the net before the goalie reaches to it.
3. The best way is to STROLL in the park on Sunday afternoon with my grandparents.
14/06/2020 16:49
Manchester United
6510
1. If it’s raining and I'm late for dinner plus carrying two heavy bags of shopping , I'll definitely WADDLE down the street.
2. I will SPRINT to kick the ball into the back of the net before the goalie reaches to it.
3. The best way is to STROLL in the park on Sunday afternoon with my grandparents.
08/04/2020
points
I think you have to... 1) plod 2) sprint 3) stroll.
The phrase is "*********".
08/04/2020 14:46
Tottenham Hotspur
615
I think you have to... 1) plod 2) sprint 3) stroll.
The phrase is "*********".
07/04/2020
points
In the first sentence i think i'm waddling because i'm in hurry;
in the second i have to sprinting to catch the ball and in the third sentence i look like i stoll in the city.
Stay well.
Thanks for all
07/04/2020 20:27
Manchester United
146
In the first sentence i think i'm waddling because i'm in hurry;
in the second i have to sprinting to catch the ball and in the third sentence i look like i stoll in the city.
Stay well.
Thanks for all
07/04/2020
points
1.I would take a brisk walk since having two heavy bags in my hands.
2.I would sprint for the ball.
3.I might be strolling with my grandparents.
The football phrase is "*********".
07/04/2020 17:26
Chelsea
337
1.I would take a brisk walk since having two heavy bags in my hands.
2.I would sprint for the ball.
3.I might be strolling with my grandparents.
The football phrase is "*********".
05/04/2020
points
1.- If I am having two very heavy bags and at this moment star to rain, I would walking to fast, almost break into sweat.
2.- Too close the ball, and with the opportunity to make a goal, I would run to fast as I can.
3.- This situation I want in my country, however for lockdown,only can imagine in the park, so If I can do that, We woluld stroll and or course keeping the distance, in my case I am wandering.
05/04/2020 23:45
Liverpool
817
1.- If I am having two very heavy bags and at this moment star to rain, I would walking to fast, almost break into sweat.
2.- Too close the ball, and with the opportunity to make a goal, I would run to fast as I can.
3.- This situation I want in my country, however for lockdown,only can imagine in the park, so If I can do that, We woluld stroll and or course keeping the distance, in my case I am wandering.
05/04/2020
points
1. I would be plodding through the rain with heavy bags on my hands.
2. I will sprint off to get the ball before the keeper touchs it.
3. With my grandparents we will get a stroll in the park this afternoon.
05/04/2020 16:00
Manchester City
3988
1. I would be plodding through the rain with heavy bags on my hands.
2. I will sprint off to get the ball before the keeper touchs it.
3. With my grandparents we will get a stroll in the park this afternoon.
08/04/2020
points
Yes, a slow plod in the rain with heavy bags definitely sounds what a lot of people would do! Sprinting for the ball is the best answer and stroll is a good way to describe going for a walk with grandparents although we 'take a stroll' or 'go for a stroll' rather than 'get a stroll'.
As always, thanks for your answers Elghoul!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
08/04/2020 08:57
Liverpool
594
Yes, a slow plod in the rain with heavy bags definitely sounds what a lot of people would do! Sprinting for the ball is the best answer and stroll is a good way to describe going for a walk with grandparents although we 'take a stroll' or 'go for a stroll' rather than 'get a stroll'.
As always, thanks for your answers Elghoul!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
05/04/2020
points
The word is '*********'
05/04/2020 15:54
Manchester City
3988
The word is '*********'
04/04/2020
points
The phrase for this week is *********
04/04/2020 13:17
Everton
442
The phrase for this week is *********
04/04/2020
points
Well done for getting the right phrase again, Hayato!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
04/04/2020 20:54
Liverpool
594
Well done for getting the right phrase again, Hayato!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
03/04/2020
points
I think the phrase is"*********".
03/04/2020 16:51
Arsenal
2337
I think the phrase is"*********".
04/04/2020
points
Well done, Sabanoleg but you have to be very quick to get the phrase before your compatriot!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
04/04/2020 20:53
Liverpool
594
Well done, Sabanoleg but you have to be very quick to get the phrase before your compatriot!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
03/04/2020
points
I suggest a football word is '*********'
03/04/2020 16:25
Watford
4408
I suggest a football word is '*********'