Learning Vocabulary: Football Kits

Opening

Jack: What’s that you’re wearing, Rich?

Rich: It’s the new Liverpool kit, isn’t it? It’s just out!

Jack: Hmmm. Red like last year, I see.

Rich: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you’re an Arsenal fan, your kit is red, too.

Jack: Yeah, I know. I’m just teasing you. To be honest, I have an Arsenal scarf and I might have a hat and gloves somewhere but I haven’t worn the shirt for years.

Rich: I get one every season. This one's got a nice collar. 

Jack: It looks good. You’re all ready for the new season then?

Rich: Definitely. I think it’s going to be a good one.

Jack: Just a quick question.

Rich: What?

Jack: You’re not going to come to the office in the full Liverpool kit all season, are you?

Welcome:

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 are talking about football kits and going to look at some of the language we use to describe them. 

Jack: We will focus on difficult colours, patterns and accessories. There is actually quite a lot to learn.

Rich: Oh and don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess.

Topic Focus

Jack: So, you’ve got the new Liverpool kit, I see. All red. I’ve got a challenge for you. I’m going to describe a Premier League kit and you’ve got to say what club it is, OK?

Rich: Great, let’s go.

Jack: The shirt has plain black sleeves with black and yellow stripes on the main body.

Rich: Stripes? Southampton play in stripes but they are red and white … Newcastle?

Jack: Newcastle. They play in black and white stripes, don’t they? 

Rich: Alright, then it must be one of the new teams. Is it Wolves?

Jack: No, they play in all gold … they call it old gold. I think it’s a kind of orangey yellow colour.

Rich: Right. Is it a home strip or an away strip?

Jack: It’s a home shirt but it looks a bit different to last season. Do you want a clue?

Rich: Yes, please. 

Jack: The kit looks like their nickname.

Rich: That’s not much of a clue. Liverpool are called the Reds and their kit is red?

Jack: It’s a better clue than that, it’s an animal.

Rich: Have Crystal Palace got Eagles on their shirts? That’d be cool!

Jack: No, it’s not a bird but it does fly.

Rich: Not a bird but it does fly? Let me have a look … I’ve got it ... Watford, the Hornets.

Jack: That’s right. Hornets are like wasps or bees and Watford’s home strip this season is yellow and black stripes.

Language Focus 

Rich: So, in this podcast, we're talking about football kits.

Jack: We’re looking at the language you need when you're describing football kits. Mostly, it’s straightforward, but there are a few phrases that are quite tricky.

Rich: It’s not just Liverpool are in red and Manchester City are in blue. 

Jack: Yes, some of the colours are difficult and there are some fiddly bits of language that we can help you with.

Rich: Let’s start with the colours. Which teams play in red?

Jack: Easy. Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal...

Rich: What about blue?

Jack: Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City ...

Rich: What about Man City?

Jack: Yep, they play in blue, too.

Rich: That’s when we have a change. Manchester City’s blue is much lighter than the others but we don’t call it light blue, we call it sky blue. 

Jack: And, if you take a look at Tottenham and Arsenal’s away shirts this season, you will see that they are both navy blue, which is a very dark blue.

Rich: Arsenal and Spurs in the same shirts. That’s a surprise.

Jack: They are a bit different though because Tottenham’s shirt has light blue sleeves and Arsenal’s has a purple stripe across the front.

Rich: Stripes are quite common on football shirts. Newcastle Utd play in black and white stripes and Southampton play in red and white stripes.

Jack: These are vertical stripes because if the stripes are horizontal on a football shirt we don’t call them stripes, we call them hoops.

Rich:  In the UK, Celtic, in Scotland, are probably the most famous team to play in hoops. 

Jack: Yes, they play in green and white hoops.

Rich: Back to the colours … we’ve mentioned red and blue but there are some more difficult colours too. In the roleplay, we said that Wolves play in gold which is a shade of orange.

Jack: And Burnley and West Ham both play in claret which is a shade of dark red or burgundy.

Rich: This phrase ‘a shade of something’ is useful if you’re not sure about an exact name for a colour.

Jack: The colour on the sleeves is often different to the rest of the shirt.

Rich: The sleeves are the part of the shirt for the arms and yes, you’re right, they often have a different design or colour or maybe a trim on the ends.

Jack: The trim is the end of the sleeve or the edge of the fabric. If you look at Newcastle Utd’s new kit, for example, you will see it has a white trim.

Rich: Collars are the part of the shirt that goes around the neck and you can have different types of collar too. The new Liverpool shirt has a polo shirt collar while Manchester Utd’s has a v-neck collar.

Jack: Some of the language is easy and some of it is more difficult. We’ve got more for you to learn on the website page below this podcast.

Task

Rich: Your task this week is to design a football shirt. 

Jack: We want you to tell us what your perfect football shirt would look like.

Rich: Will it have stripes or hoops,? what colour will it be? will there be different colours on the sleeves?

Jack: What will the collar look like? Will it have buttons or will it be a v-neck?

Rich: Write all your descriptions in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

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 pre-season friendly. The World Cup is over and the Premier League hasn’t started yet but the players are back in training. So, how do they get match practice? They play lots of pre-season friendlies.

Rich: Well done to Nicoresh and Liubomyr from Ukraine, Ahmed Adam from Sudan, Richard J from Ecuador, Kwesimanifest from Ghana, Buchiy from Japan and Zaid from India.

Jack: This week’s football phrase is *** ***** and it’s very much connected to the topic of this week’s podcast. If there is a *** *****, one team has to change the shirts that they are wearing because the colours the teams are wearing are too similar which makes it difficult for the referee and players to recognise each other. This is usually why teams have an away kit or sometimes even a third strip to avoid *** ******* happening on the pitch.

Rich: 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.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.