This Week: Premier League Restart
This Week: Premier League Restart
Welcome to This Week from Premier Skills English, a weekly review of football action for learners of English from across the globe. In This Week, Laura, Rich and Jack talk about the latest action from the Premier League and have lots of football English for you to learn. Following the suspension of the Premier League, Rich, Jack and Laura take a look at some stories which are making the news this week.
Transcript
Introduction
Laura: Hello my name’s Laura and welcome to our weekly round-up section called ‘This Week’ on Premier Skills English.
Rich: Hi there. I’m Rich. We’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.
Jack: And I’m Jack and we hope you are all staying well whether you are staying home or still going to work.
Laura: We’ve looked high and low for three news stories that we want to share with you.
Rich: This week, we talk about the return of Premier League football, the best-ever Premier League match and a Premier Skills English success story.
Jack: We have chosen these stories because they are topical or fun and also so we can focus on some interesting bits of vocabulary that we think are useful to learn.
Laura: And we want you to use and practise these words and phrases by interacting with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.
Rich: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, you can leave your comments in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.
Jack: You can find all our latest content on the Premier Skills English homepage or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page.
Laura: Don’t forget that we also have our weekly Premier Skills English podcast that is released every Friday. Every week we help you with some different vocabulary or an aspect of grammar.
Rich: Our latest podcast is called Learning Vocabulary: Starting a business.
Jack: In the roleplay, Rich is planning a business. He wants to open a cafe. A Liverpool FC themed cafe. I don’t think he has the best business plan in the world.
Laura: We look at lots of language connected to business and finance. You can find the lesson on the homepage on the Premier Skills English website.
Rich: You’re now going to hear our three headlines. After each headline, we’ll have a little discussion and look at some vocabulary. The words and phrases we are looking at this week are: fixtures, a game in hand, to put a team in front, to come from behind, to hit top spot and to be riding high.
Jack: After the headlines, we’ll have another fitness challenge and a language challenge for you to have a go at.
Headline 1
Rich: New kick-off dates announced.
Jack: The Premier League will provisionally re-start on the 17th of June. The first fixtures to be played will be Manchester City against Arsenal and Aston Villa against Sheffield United as these clubs all have games in hand to be played. This will be followed by a full round of Premier League fixtures on the weekend beginning the 19th of June.
Laura: Less than three weeks to go. I can’t wait for the football to kick off again even if it will be played behind closed doors.
Rich: Yes, and from what I’ve seen of the fixtures there are going to be matches played nearly every day for a month. Wall-to-wall football!
Jack: Wall-to-wall football. That’s an interesting expression. We say something is wall-to-wall when something is continuous - when you can see something all the time.
Laura: We usually use it for things that are on television. Wall-to-wall news coverage or wall-to-wall sports. Let’s look at a couple of useful football phrases from the headline.
Rich: The first is fixtures. We said the first fixture to be played will be Manchester City against Arsenal.
Jack: A fixture is an officially arranged event and is often used for sports events and football matches.
Laura: When we talk about the matches in a whole season we talk about the fixture list and we can all talk about the weekend fixtures and midweek fixtures.
Rich: The other football phrase we want to take a look at from the headline is a game in hand. We spoke about four teams that have a game in hand so they will play these fixtures first.
Jack: A game in hand is a phrase we use to describe a team that has played one match fewer than its rivals. When these four teams have played their games in hand everyone will have played 29 fixtures. Let’s move on to our next headline.
Headline 2
Laura: Liverpool beat Newcastle in Premier League thriller.
Rich: An amazing match at Anfield saw the Reds come from behind to beat Premier League leaders, Newcastle. Robbie Fowler gave Liverpool an early lead but Les Ferdinand soon equalised for the Magpies and David Ginola put them in front. Fowler’s second made it two each but Faustino Asprilla put Newcastle ahead again. Stan Collymore then became the Liverpool hero with a third equaliser and a dramatic injury-time winner.
Jack: You might wonder why we are talking about a match from 1996 … well it’s because this game has been voted the best-ever Premier League match on the BBC.
Laura: Rich why don’t you tell us a bit more about it for those of us who are too young to remember like me!
Rich: It was a brilliant match. Kevin Keegan’s brilliant attacking team were chasing the title. They had David Ginola who was wonderful and the brilliant Colombian - Faustino Asprilla - they just wanted to attack. The problem was that they couldn’t defend that well.
Jack: Yeah, they never did win the title but they were one of the best-ever attacking teams even if they lost this game, too!
Laura: Let’s look at a couple of football phrases from the headline. We said the Reds came from behind to beat Newcastle.
Rich: To come from behind means to turn a losing position into a winning position.
Jack: Liverpool were losing 3-2 but they won 4-3. They came from behind to win.
Laura: The other phrase is to put a team in front. David Ginola put Newcastle in front. We also said Robbie Fowler gave Liverpool the lead.
Rich: Both these phrases, to put a team in front and to give a team the lead mean the same. They mean a team has gone into a winning position.
Jack: We often use the name of the goalscorer to say who put a team in front or gave a team the lead. Let’s look at our third and final headline.
Headline 3
Rich: Premier Skills English goes global - thank you all for listening.
Laura: The Learn English with the British Council and Premier League podcast has recently hit top spot in the podcast charts in Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Philippines and is riding high in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia and Chile. We just wanted to say a big thank you to all our listeners. Thanks for listening.
Jack: Yes, yes, yes - thank you to all of you wherever you are listening to us. We know that our podcasts are listened to all over the world in many different ways. We are very happy that you find them fun and they are helping you with your English studies.
Rich: Two more phrases from that headline to help everyone are to hit top spot and to ride high.
Laura: We said that our podcast has hit top spot in the podcast charts. This means it has reached first place. We could say that Liverpool hit top spot early in the season and they are still there now.
Jack: We said the podcast is riding high in lots of charts in lots of countries. To be riding high or to be flying high both mean to be successful.
Rich: You could say that Leicester City and Sheffield United are riding high in the Premier League table this season.
Laura: OK. We’ve looked at three stories and six bits of vocabulary in our headlines. The words and phrases we’ve looked at are: fixtures, a game in hand, to put a team in front, to come from behind, to hit top spot and to be riding high.
Jack: Have a listen to the headlines again and see if you understand the vocabulary we’ve looked at.
TASK - Fitness Challenge
Rich: Each week we’re trying to set you a fitness challenge and this week’s challenge comes from Andreas Kormnayer.
Laura: Andreas is head of fitness and conditioning at Liverpool football club.
Jack: For this challenge, the only thin you need is a towel or a tea towel which is what Andreas uses in the video.
Rich: The exercises focus on your upper body and he speaks nice and slowly so it’s good practice for your English skills as well as your physical fitness!
Laura: The link to the video is on the lesson page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website. Let us know if you do the exercises in the comments section.
Language Challenge
Jack: To finish up the show we’ve got a quick language challenge connected to this week’s vocabulary.
Rich: It’s often difficult to know what preposition to use in English and it’s important to practise so that’s what we want to do now.
Laura: Here are three phrases from this week’s vocabulary. What is the preposition in each sentence?
Jack: Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ____ front in the second half.
Rich: United came ______ behind to win 2-1.
Laura: Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ____ hand.
Jack: We want you to write the correct answers on the Premier Skills English website where we have some more questions and activities connected to this week’s show for you.
Rich: Or write your answer on Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us. Just write the answers in the review section and say hi.
Laura: Before we finish we just wanted to say that we hope you found this lesson useful and we hope that all of you stay fit and healthy and we’ll be back watching Premier League football very soon.
Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.
Headlines
New kick-off dates announced
The Premier League will provisionally re-start on the 17th of June. The first fixtures to be played will be Manchester City against Arsenal and Aston Villa against Sheffield United as these clubs all have games in hand to be played. This will be followed by a full round of Premier League fixtures on the weekend beginning the 19th of June.
Headlines
Liverpool beat Newcastle in Premier League thriller
An amazing match at Anfield saw the Reds come from behind to beat Premier League leaders, Newcastle. Robbie Fowler gave Liverpool an early lead but Les Ferdinand soon equalised for the Magpies and David Ginola put them in front. Fowler’s second made it two each but Faustino Asprilla put Newcastle ahead again. Stan Collymore then became the Liverpool hero with a third equaliser and a dramatic injury-time winner.
Headlines
Premier Skills English goes global - thank you all for listening
The Learn English with the British Council and Premier League podcast has recently hit top spot in the podcast charts in Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Philippines and is riding high in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia and Chile. We just wanted to say a big thank you to all our listeners. Thanks for listening.
Vocabulary Alert
Language in the headlines
We looked at six words and phrases in our headlines that you can learn to improve your English. Take a look at the phrases in bold. Do you understand what they mean?
The first fixtures to be played will be Manchester City against Arsenal and Aston Villa against Sheffield United.
These clubs all have games in hand to be played. Following these fixtures, all clubs will have played 29 games.
The Reds came from behind to beat Premier League leaders, Newcastle.
Newcastle's David Ginola put them in front.
The Learn English with the British Council and Premier League podcast has recently hit top spot.
The podcast is also riding high in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia and Chile.
Fun
The Fitness Challenge
This week’s challenge comes from Andreas Kormnayer. Andreas is head of fitness and conditioning at Liverpool football club. For this challenge, the only thing you need is a tea towel. The exercises focus on your upper body and he speaks nice and slowly so it’s good practice for your English skills as well as your physical fitness!
Can you do the fitness challenge? Let us know in the comments section if you felt energised or exhausted after the session and if you managed to get anyone else to join in with you.
Andreas Kornmayer: Head of fitness and conditioning at Liverpool FC
Vocabulary
Language Challenge
Jack, Rich and Laura set you a language challenge. Some of our phrases this week included prepositions. Can you complete the sentences using the correct preposition?
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ____ front in the second half.
United came ______ behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ____ hand.
Write the correct answer in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Discuss
Talk about the headlines
Jack, Laura and Rich looked at three stories in the news and some vocabulary that might be new to you. Now it's your turn! Have a look at the questions and write your answers in the comments section below.
- Are you looking forward to the Premier League restart on the 17th of June?
- Which Premier League match is your all-time favourite?
- Where, when and how do you listen to our podcasts?
- Can you do our fitness challenge?
- Can you do our language challenge?
Write your comments and answers in the section below.
Leave a comment
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Comments
10/12/2021
points
Discuss
1. Expired question-:)
2. Generally the matches among top five teams very spectacular.
3.I listen them in the home, at night, on the desktop computer.
4. Fitness challenge --Except last exercise I can do all of them. For doing sit ups I need some weight on my foot.
5. Language challenge--
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal in front in the second half.
United came from behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game in hand.
Phrases
• There are some TV channels broadcasting wall to wall news coverage.
• I think, having game in hand provides benefit to the teams that trying to hit top spot.
Joke
• Unsuccessful team are flying high at the bottom of the point table-:)
10/12/2021 17:33
Tottenham Hotspur
5560
Discuss
1. Expired question-:)
2. Generally the matches among top five teams very spectacular.
3.I listen them in the home, at night, on the desktop computer.
4. Fitness challenge --Except last exercise I can do all of them. For doing sit ups I need some weight on my foot.
5. Language challenge--
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal in front in the second half.
United came from behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game in hand.
Phrases
• There are some TV channels broadcasting wall to wall news coverage.
• I think, having game in hand provides benefit to the teams that trying to hit top spot.
Joke
• Unsuccessful team are flying high at the bottom of the point table-:)
05/06/2020
points
Are you looking forward to the Premier League restart on the 17th of June?
I hope so, seriously I can´t wait more for see Liverpool champios agains, came on Liverpool!!!
Which Premier League match is your all-time favourite?
Well, is Arsenal vs Liverpool at the season 2013-2014, in second game, Liverpool defeat Arsenal for 5-4, at game played side by side.
Where, when and how do you listen to our podcasts?
Where in my computer, when every friday, tank you so much for this opportunitie, for imprve my english.
05/06/2020 16:25
Liverpool
817
Are you looking forward to the Premier League restart on the 17th of June?
I hope so, seriously I can´t wait more for see Liverpool champios agains, came on Liverpool!!!
Which Premier League match is your all-time favourite?
Well, is Arsenal vs Liverpool at the season 2013-2014, in second game, Liverpool defeat Arsenal for 5-4, at game played side by side.
Where, when and how do you listen to our podcasts?
Where in my computer, when every friday, tank you so much for this opportunitie, for imprve my english.
05/06/2020
points
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal them front in the second half.
United came to behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game in hand.
05/06/2020 16:20
Liverpool
817
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal them front in the second half.
United came to behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game in hand.
10/06/2020
points
You got the third one, Vic but the first two need different prepositions:
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal in front
United came from behind
Hope that helps
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
10/06/2020 09:56
Liverpool
594
You got the third one, Vic but the first two need different prepositions:
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal in front
United came from behind
Hope that helps
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
04/06/2020
points
Language challenge
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ***** front in the second half.
United came ***** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game *****hand.
I am looking forward PL come back after Bundesliga and Spanish Liga. Very sorry for La Ligue 1 in France. I would greatly affected if Algerian Ligues do not complete this season.
The more the PL match is old the more it suits me. Perhaps watching at a the first PL match, in 1992 if I am not mistaking, would be great.
3. Currently I listen to the podcasts at home using my tablet.
4. The fitness challenge is original. I'll try it outdoor with the tea towell.
04/06/2020 13:22
Manchester City
3988
Language challenge
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ***** front in the second half.
United came ***** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game *****hand.
I am looking forward PL come back after Bundesliga and Spanish Liga. Very sorry for La Ligue 1 in France. I would greatly affected if Algerian Ligues do not complete this season.
The more the PL match is old the more it suits me. Perhaps watching at a the first PL match, in 1992 if I am not mistaking, would be great.
3. Currently I listen to the podcasts at home using my tablet.
4. The fitness challenge is original. I'll try it outdoor with the tea towell.
10/06/2020
points
Good work on the language challenge, Elghoul. All correct as usual.
10/06/2020 09:54
Liverpool
594
Good work on the language challenge, Elghoul. All correct as usual.
04/06/2020
points
Language challenge
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal *****front in the second half.
United came ****** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ****** hand.
04/06/2020 01:13
Manchester United
6539
Language challenge
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal *****front in the second half.
United came ****** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ****** hand.
10/06/2020
points
All correct :)
10/06/2020 09:53
Liverpool
594
All correct :)
13/06/2020
points
Thanks a lot :)
13/06/2020 01:24
Manchester United
6539
Thanks a lot :)
04/06/2020
points
I am over the moon when heard about the return of the PL
My all-time favourite match was back in September 2001 when my United beat Spurs 5-3 despite losing 0-3 in the first half
( first game for Beckham as United captain btw )
I am a new member of the Premier Skills English family and I am so proud to be here with everyone
I listen to the podcasts on my laptop during lockdown as I took advantage of the time at home and started catching up with you guys and I sometimes listen on apple podcasts when I'm out shopping
I will definitely try the fitness challenge as we have a football match next Tuesday with my local team in Izmir
I will do my best in the language challenge
Cheers to Jack , Rich and Laura from Turkey
Very pleased to listen to you :)
04/06/2020 00:56
Manchester United
6539
I am over the moon when heard about the return of the PL
My all-time favourite match was back in September 2001 when my United beat Spurs 5-3 despite losing 0-3 in the first half
( first game for Beckham as United captain btw )
I am a new member of the Premier Skills English family and I am so proud to be here with everyone
I listen to the podcasts on my laptop during lockdown as I took advantage of the time at home and started catching up with you guys and I sometimes listen on apple podcasts when I'm out shopping
I will definitely try the fitness challenge as we have a football match next Tuesday with my local team in Izmir
I will do my best in the language challenge
Cheers to Jack , Rich and Laura from Turkey
Very pleased to listen to you :)
10/06/2020
points
Hi Mobeckham
What a comeback that was!
We're very happy to have you with us and great work on getting so many points in so little time!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
10/06/2020 09:53
Liverpool
594
Hi Mobeckham
What a comeback that was!
We're very happy to have you with us and great work on getting so many points in so little time!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
13/06/2020
points
That's very nice of you Rich.
Well , I invested my lockdown time on this valuable website.
I gain loads of useful vocabulary and helpful phrases every single day.
This website is like a treasure for me and the efforts that have been made here is priceless.
13/06/2020 01:30
Manchester United
6539
That's very nice of you Rich.
Well , I invested my lockdown time on this valuable website.
I gain loads of useful vocabulary and helpful phrases every single day.
This website is like a treasure for me and the efforts that have been made here is priceless.
04/06/2020
points
Hellos!
Thank you very much to help us with our English.
Here you can find my answer to the week challenge..
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ****** front in the second half.
United came ****** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ***** hand.
Please let me know I take the right answer.
04/06/2020 00:42
Manchester United
32
Hellos!
Thank you very much to help us with our English.
Here you can find my answer to the week challenge..
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ****** front in the second half.
United came ****** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ***** hand.
Please let me know I take the right answer.
05/06/2020
points
Hi Oscar,
Your answers are correct. Well done! We replace the answers with asterisks (*) so other listeners can guess, too :)
We're very happy that the website is helping you with your English.
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
05/06/2020 08:49
Liverpool
594
Hi Oscar,
Your answers are correct. Well done! We replace the answers with asterisks (*) so other listeners can guess, too :)
We're very happy that the website is helping you with your English.
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
03/06/2020
points
I'm looking forward to Liverpool's getting crowned at last.
ManCity 2 : 1 Arsenal
Aston Villa 1 : 0 Sheffield United
03/06/2020 22:24
Liverpool
6578
I'm looking forward to Liverpool's getting crowned at last.
ManCity 2 : 1 Arsenal
Aston Villa 1 : 0 Sheffield United
10/06/2020
points
Yes, we're all looking forward to that! Well, Liverpool fans anyway :)
Not sure about your second prediction. I think I'll go for an away win there.
10/06/2020 09:51
Liverpool
594
Yes, we're all looking forward to that! Well, Liverpool fans anyway :)
Not sure about your second prediction. I think I'll go for an away win there.
02/06/2020
points
Hi:)
I am as Arsenal's fan, looking forward to watching their game against Manchester city. Even though the game will be played without fans in attendance.
As for me, favourite Premier League match is Newcastle vs. Arsenal in 2011. I do not remember exactly match, but I do not forget that feeling when the score was 4:0 in 26 minutes. However, Magpies do not give up and their spirits were lifted.
Usually, I listen to your podcasts on Apple podcasts App at home, while doing the washing-up.
I have done your several fitness challange, after watching this week's challenge, I can do it now at work) Because I have free time now and a towel:)
And of course, language challange:
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ****** front in the second half.
United came ****** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ***** hand.
02/06/2020 10:53
Arsenal
63
Hi:)
I am as Arsenal's fan, looking forward to watching their game against Manchester city. Even though the game will be played without fans in attendance.
As for me, favourite Premier League match is Newcastle vs. Arsenal in 2011. I do not remember exactly match, but I do not forget that feeling when the score was 4:0 in 26 minutes. However, Magpies do not give up and their spirits were lifted.
Usually, I listen to your podcasts on Apple podcasts App at home, while doing the washing-up.
I have done your several fitness challange, after watching this week's challenge, I can do it now at work) Because I have free time now and a towel:)
And of course, language challange:
Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ****** front in the second half.
United came ****** behind to win 2-1.
Liverpool could win the Premier League title if City don’t win their game ***** hand.
10/06/2020
points
Hi Gulmira,
Great to have you on our website! I remember that Newcastle - Arsenal game. It was totally crazy! I'm not sure if it was Newcastle who played much better or if Arsenal took their foot off the gas. Probably a bit of both.
Good to know where you listen to our podcast and that you do our challenges. Good work on the language challenge - everything is correct!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
10/06/2020 09:50
Liverpool
594
Hi Gulmira,
Great to have you on our website! I remember that Newcastle - Arsenal game. It was totally crazy! I'm not sure if it was Newcastle who played much better or if Arsenal took their foot off the gas. Probably a bit of both.
Good to know where you listen to our podcast and that you do our challenges. Good work on the language challenge - everything is correct!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team