Episode 10

Adam

Hello and welcome to Episode 10 of Series 4 of LearnEnglish Elementary Podcasts. My name is Adam and, as usual, my colleague Jo will be joining me later to talk about some of the language that you're going to hear in the podcast.

Last episode, as I'm sure you remember, Tess and Ravi talked about a great British tradition: the pub. It's a popular place for British people to go to relax and meet their friends – at lunchtime, after work or in the evenings. Jo and I both like pubs, especially friendly pubs where people make you feel welcome. But what about you? Have you ever been to a British-style pub? Where do you go to meet your friends? Let's look at some of your comments.

DannyRo from Romania said that there are all sorts of cafés and pubs – even Irish pubs – in Bucharest where people can meet. But most of you meet in cafés, like Fatima Lucas Ramos from Portugal, who says 'In my country people usually meet in cafés. There aren't any pubs like British ones. In cafés, we can have alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, tea, coffee or milk and eat some sandwiches and cakes.' Cafés in Britain usually have a different atmosphere from that. They almost never have alcoholic drinks.

Reza Saadati from Iran goes to coffee shops with friends. And our old friend Englishlover2015, also called Abdullah from Yemen, explains that there aren't any pubs or bars in his country, and he and his friends usually get together in cafés or clubs. In fact, Abdullah has created a club called 'English Lovers Club' and they meet twice a month to practise their English. That’s a fantastic idea! Meeting to talk English with other learners is really helpful.

Of course, as Tess said, you don't have to drink alcohol in a pub, but a lot of people do, especially pints of beer. LilyD from Russia says 'I don't go to pubs. I hate alcohol! To my mind, it's so nasty. Besides, alcohol is very harmful for my health.' That’s probably true. And Wuri Koes from Indonesia isn't a big fan of beer. Wuri says 'I once took a sip of my friend's beer. I couldn't stand the smell and the taste wasn't very good, either. I prefer strawberry juice.' I wish you get fresh strawberry juice in a pub! I bet lots of people would drink less beer if you could.

And a big thank you to all the other people who left comments. I don't have time to read them all out here, but we do read them and always enjoy them. So please, keep sending them in.

And of course, keep on listening to the podcasts. To make it easier for you to listen on the move, you can download the Elementary Podcasts app. Get it from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or just follow the link from the LearnEnglish website. The app has lots of helpful features to make it easier for you to learn: a moving audioscript that you can read as you listen, and you can slow down the audio speed if you find it difficult to understand. There are also some exercises for you to test your understanding of what you hear. And remember, there’s lots of exercises on the LearnEnglish website too, so don’t miss those.    

Now, it's time to see what's happening with Carolina and her friends. In this episode, Carolina, Jamie and Emily are having a meal in a restaurant – a restaurant that serves a type of food that's very popular in Britain. They're having a good time, but things never stay easy for very long for Carolina, do they? What's the problem going to be this time? Let's listen.

Carolina – At the Indian restaurant

Carolina: Mmm, this is delicious.

Emily: Is that the lamb korma?

Carolina: Yes. What's yours?

Emily: Chicken vindaloo. It's very hot. Can I try a bit of yours?

Carolina: Of course.

Jamie: Does anyone want to try my vegetable biryani?

Emily: Mmm. That korma's delicious.

Waiter: Here you are. Two naan breads – one plain, one garlic.

All: Thank you / Thanks.

Waiter: Enjoy your meal.

All: Thank you / We will / It's all delicious.

Emily: Haaah.

Jamie: Vindaloo too hot for you, Emily?

Emily: Not at all. Haaah. I like it hot. Haaaah.

Carolina: Drink some water.

Emily: Haaah.

Waiter: Is everything OK?

Emily: Yes, yes, haaaah. It's delicious.

Waiter: I'll bring some raita – yoghurt. It will help.

Emily: Thank you.

Carolina: He's nice.

Jamie: Yeah.

Carolina: No, I mean he's nice.

Emily: You mean nice for me? Carolina, stop trying to find me a man everywhere we go. I know you mean well but …

Waiter: One raita.

Emily: Thank you very much.

Waiter: You're welcome.

Emily: So, Jamie. This is your last year. You graduate in the summer. What are your plans? Have you made any decisions yet?

Jamie: No, not yet. I'm thinking about a lot of things. I've sent off a couple of applications but I don't think …

Carolina: Applications for what?

Jamie: Oh, just a couple of things. You know.

Carolina: What things?

Jamie: Some conservation things – projects. I'm sure I won't get them. They must have thousands of applications. They just looked interesting. So I decided to apply, just to see what happens.

Emily: That's a good idea. You …

Carolina: I can't believe you didn't tell me! What kind of projects? Where?

Jamie: Oh, all sorts of things. All over the place. There's one in Antarctica … and one in Borneo.

Emily: Wow. Cool.

Carolina: Antarctica! Borneo! Jamie!

Jamie: I told you, I won't get them.

Carolina: You might. It's possible. Then what? I'm in Newcastle and you're in Borneo.

Jamie: Well … I … uh.

Emily: What's the project in Borneo?

Jamie: It's with orang-utans.

Emily: Oh – I love orang-utans. Don’t you, Carolina?

Carolina: Yes.

Emily: Oh come on, you two. Jamie might get one of the jobs – and he might not. He might go to Borneo and he might not. Wait and see what happens. You know, 'go with the flow'. Live in the now.

Carolina: Thank you, oh great Zen master Emily.

Emily: You're welcome. Now, who wants to help me finish this vindaloo?

Jo and Adam

Adam: Uh oh – I see trouble between Jamie and Carolina! Hi, Jo.

Jo: Hi, everyone. So Jamie's going away.

Adam: Well – maybe. And Carolina isn't very happy.

Jo: Hmm. It's a difficult situation. Do you think Jamie should 'follow his dream'? Or stay with Carolina in Newcastle?

Adam: It’s always hard when you’re at a crossroads in life, and it’s even harder when you have to think about somebody else. Carolina will have to find a job as well, and maybe she will want to work in another city or country.

Jo: Yes, she might. It’s always difficult making big life-changing decisions. Anyway, Emily's right – they have to wait and see if Jamie gets the job first – then they can decide what to do.

Adam: True. I'd like to hear what all of you think about it. What should Jamie do? And Carolina?

Jo: Yes. And what would you do in this situation? Should you always 'follow your dreams'? Write and tell us what you think.

Adam: The address is www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish. And now it's time for us to look at some of the language from the podcast.

Jo: Let's look at the future. We can use 'will' to talk about the future. Listen.

Waiter: I'll bring some raita – yoghurt. It will help.

Emily: Thank you.

Jo: 'It will help'. What's the negative form of will? Listen.

Carolina: Applications for what?

Jamie: Oh, just a couple of things. You know.

Carolina: What things?

Jamie: Some conservation things – projects. I'm sure I won't get them.

Jo: 'I'm sure I won't get them'.

Adam: 'Won't' – the negative form of 'will'.

Jo: My students often say 'will not' instead of 'won't'.

Adam: You can say 'will not' – people will understand you – but it isn't very common.

Jo: Yes. Try to use 'won't' instead. There's another word that my students don't use very much. Listen to Emily.

Emily: Oh, come on, you two. Jamie might get one of the jobs – and he might not. He might go to Borneo and he might not.

Jo: 'Might'. 'Might' means the same as 'may' – when you're not sure about what will happen.

Adam: 'Maybe Jamie will get the job', 'Jamie may get the job' or 'Jamie might get the job' – it's the same meaning.

Jo: Native speakers of English use 'might' and 'might not' a lot. Try to use it yourself sometimes instead of 'maybe' or 'may'. And I think that's all. Adam? Adam?

Adam: I was just thinking about Emily's chicken vindaloo. I love Indian food – the podcast's made me hungry.

Jo: Well, let's go and get something to eat then ...  See you all next time.

Jo/Adam: Bye!