Digital Literacy: Fake News 1
Digital Literacy: Fake News 1
In this Premier Skills English Podcast, Rich is sharing a football rumour online that is not true. The language focus is on words and phrases connected to believing things too easily Your task is to tell us about a time you believed something that in the end was not true. Don't forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess.
Transcript
Digital Literacy: Fake News 1
Introduction
Jack: Hello my name’s Jack
Rowan: My name’s Rowan
Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.
Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English.
Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.
Rich: This week we are revisiting our series of podcasts connected to digital literacy.
Jack: Digital literacy is the ability to find and evaluate online information and also your ability to collaborate online and create your own online information.
Rowan: A few weeks ago, in our roleplays, we looked at functional skills and how good the three of us were with technology.
Rich: Ah, yes, I remember. Rowan was the expert - a technical whizz and we were the technophobes - hopeless with technology.
Jack: I hope all our listeners know this is not true! We’re all technical whizzes really! Anyway, this week we’re going to look more at how we evaluate the information we watch and read online.
Rowan: It’s important that we think about what we come across online. We need to evaluate what we read because not everything that is online is true.
Rich: You’re talking about fake news.
Jack: Yes, but it’s not just fake news that’s the problem. There’s all sorts of information online that you shouldn’t believe; false information.
Rowan: Fake news is usually connected with politics but false information covers other topics such as health, the environment and even entertainment or sport. It’s information that has the intention to mislead or deceive people that read it.
Jack: False information can be anything from a fun parody website to clickbait to propaganda. We’ll look at this language later on.
Rich: So, it’s important to be able to evaluate what we see online to make sure we’re not misled, deceived or tricked.
Rowan: In this week’s roleplay, Rich is tricked into believing something that is not true.
Jack: This week’s podcast comes in two parts. After each part, we have a task for you to do which will give you a chance to talk about the topic and the language which we will introduce.
Rich: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll be able to find all these podcasts and the transcripts and extra activities that go with them.
Rowan: So if you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, check out our website!
Jack: And don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess!
SOCIAL
Jack: Before we start this week’s roleplay we’d just like to thank everyone for all their comments on the Premier Skills English website. It’s great to know that you’re enjoying the podcasts and all of the free learning materials we have on the site.
Rich: We’d like to give a shout-out to some of our listeners and tell everyone what they’ve been saying.
Rowan: The first person I’d like to say a big hello to is Emanuel Kwarteng from Ghana. Emanuel told us a story last week about his trainers getting stuck in the mud in a huge rainstorm. I have a question for you Emanuel. Did you get your trainers back?
Jack: I’d like to say hi to Vic from Mexico. He told us about the extreme weather he encountered in Germany a few years ago. It was so cold, Vic had to cancel all his plans and stay in the hotel. I’m sure it wasn’t as warm as you are used to in Mexico, Vic.
Rich: Finally I’d like to say thanks to Abdlrhmn in Egypt who was one of many who completed our task last week. His idea is to ban cars and other vehicles for one day every week. He says it would be better for our health and the environment.
Rowan: This was the task about climate change in your country and what can be done about it. You can find this podcast and task in skills and then the listen section on the Premier Skills English website.
Jack: OK, I think it’s time to reveal last week’s football phrase and see who got the right answer.
Last Week’s football Phrase
Rich: Right, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.
Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the podcast page on the Premier Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.
Jack: Thanks for all your answers and guesses last week. The first listener with the correct answer was MoBeckham from Turkey. Well done Mo. We know that you are a big Manchester United fan so we’re not surprised that you were first this week.
Rowan: Congratulations also go to Tiago Delazari from Brazil, Gil_foot and Emmanuel from France, Richard J from Ecuador, Capred and Anvd1110 from Vietnam, Abdlrhmn and Mon from Egypt, Marco Zapien from Mexico, Mayu from Japan, Emmanuel Kwarteng from Ghana, Bagas from Indonesia, HSN from Turkey, and Dallas from the Cape Verde Islands.
Rich: Later on, at the end of the podcast, we’ll have this week’s football phrase for you but for now here’s the answer to last week’s challenge.
Jack: Last week’s football phrase was welcome home. This phrase is not exactly a football phrase but it is one that you will see a lot if you read about Cristiano Ronaldo and his return to Manchester United. This phrase is used as a greeting to tell someone that you are happy that they have returned. I saw lots of fan-made signs saying welcome home Cristiano at their match last weekend.
Rowan: Are you going to watch Ronaldo’s second debut for United this weekend?
Introduction to Roleplay
Rich: As we said earlier, in this week’s roleplay we’re talking about false information and not believing everything you see online.
Jack: You are about to hear this week’s first roleplay. I’m talking to Rowan while we wait for a bus.
Rich: While you listen we want you to answer a question: The question is: Which player do I think is signing for Liverpool?
Roleplay
Rowan: The bus is late … it should have been here a quarter of an hour ago.
Jack: Three will probably arrive at the same time. It’s what always happens.
Rowan: What are you looking at?
Jack: I’m just catching up on the latest transfer news.
Rowan: I never read that - you should just wait until it happens. It’s all rumours - just gossip.
Jack: I know but at least I know it’s just gossip. Have you seen some of the stuff Rich shares? Do you follow him?
Rowan: Unfortunately, yes. It’s a load of rubbish usually and it’s not just football - anti-vaccine stuff, 5G mobile phones - it’ll be aliens next.
Jack: But it’s mainly football and he always falls for everything he reads - he’s so gullible. Did you see what he shared yesterday?
Rowan: I know - sharing that article about Messi signing for Liverpool. He thinks it’s true. He said that he was off to get Messi on the back of his Liverpool shirt.
Jack: I don’t know how he’s tricked into believing these things. Isn’t it really obvious that these articles are all made -up? He’s not that naive normally, is he?
Rowan: To be honest, I think he deceives himself because he wants to believe it. It’s really common, not just in football, people are drawn to articles that they want to believe. It’s confirmation bias - people confirm their own biases.
Jack: Maybe we should speak to him about it. He can’t be taken in so easily. Maybe he hasn’t been - perhaps he’s just joking.
Rowan: Here’s the bus now - Rich should be on it.
Jack: Yeah, he’s there - in his Liverpool shirt ... Oh no!
Rowan: What’s up?
Jack: It says Messi on the back.
Rowan: We’re going to have to talk to him about this.
Language Focus
Jack: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was: Which player does Rich think is signing for Liverpool?
Rich: Well, the answer is Lionel Messi.
Rowan: He’s read it on an obscure website and thinks it’s true. He’s then shared it with the world as he usually does.
Jack: An obscure website - obscure - that’s an adjective worth looking at in more detail.
Rowan: Obscure is used to describe something that is not well-known. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Shakespeare plays like Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet but you may not know some of his more obscure plays such as Cymbeline or Coriolanus.
Rich: When I play the computer game football manager I like to take an obscure fourth division team all the way to the Premier League.
Jack: Let’s look at some of the vocabulary we used in the roleplay. Let’s start with a couple of nouns we use to describe information we hear that may or may not be true.
Rich: Listen to this part of the roleplay again:
Jack: I’m just catching up on the latest transfer news.
Rowan: I never read that - you should just wait until it happens. It’s all rumours - just gossip.
Rich: The nouns in question that we use to describe information that may or may not be true are rumour and gossip.
Jack: A rumour is a countable noun. Someone can start a rumour, people can spread rumours or we might hear a rumour about something or someone.
Rowan: Gossip is usually an uncountable noun. It’s usually used to describe informal talk about other people that may or may not be true. We might say something like Have you heard the latest gossip about this person or that person?
Rich: It’s usually not nice to gossip or to be a gossip because we are talking about things that we don’t know are true and we don’t have all the facts.
Jack: In the roleplay, we were talking about Rich believing this gossip and taking it as fact and then sharing it. We said he believes things too easily.
Rowan: We used a few phrases to describe how easily Rich believes things. Let’s look at those phrases now.
Rich: Jack said I’m tricked into believing things too easily. When you are tricked into something you are made to do something by a trick or trap of some kind.
Jack: Rich looks at a headline and is immediately tricked into believing that the story is true and shares it online.
Rowan: We used some similar words and phrases to trick into in the roleplay such as fall for, taken in and deceived.
Rich: Deceived again means to be made to believe something that is not true.
Jack: Rich is often taken in. He is deceived by things. To be taken in by something is a phrasal verb which means to be deceived by something.
Rowan: And another phrasal verb with a similar meaning is to fall for something. In the roleplay, Rich fell for the story about Messi joining Liverpool. He believed it even though it was not true. He was deceived.
Rich: OK, so we’re going to finish off this language focus with how Jack and Rowan described me in the roleplay. They used two adjectives: naive and gullible.
Rowan: Listen to this part of the roleplay again and think about what gullible and naive mean:
Jack: But it’s mainly football and he falls for it all - he’s so gullible. Did you see what he shared yesterday?
Rowan: I know - sharing the article about Messi signing for Liverpool. He thinks it’s true. He said that he was off to get Messi on the back of his Liverpool shirt.
Jack: I don’t know how he’s tricked into believing these things. Isn’t it really obvious that these articles are all made-up? He’s not that naive normally, is he?
Rich: Yes, you can probably guess. Both naive and gullible are adjectives to describe people that believe things too easily. Both of these adjectives are used in a negative way.
Rowan: OK, I think that is enough language for now. You can look at this vocabulary in more detail on the Premier Skills English website. You’ll also find free activities, the transcript and a quiz to help you understand.
TASK
Jack: Right, it’s time for your task. In the roleplay you just heard, Rich believed something that wasn’t true. Your task is to tell us about a time when you believed something to be true when it wasn’t.
Rich: What did you believe to be true that wasn’t?
Rowan: Who did you tell? Did you share the story online?
Jack: How did you discover that it wasn’t true? What did you do and how did you feel?
Rich: Do you consider yourself to be gullible or naive sometimes?
Rowan: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.
Football Phrase
Jack: OK, it’s time for our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.
Rich: You will hear this football phrase in every podcast we release this week.
Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the podcast page on the Premier Skills English website or the review section on Apple Podcasts and write the word or phrase in the comments. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.
Jack: So what is this week’s football phrase, Rich?
Rich: This week’s football phrase is *** **** ** * ****. This phrase is a very common cliche and is often used in interviews by managers after winning a match. The journalist asks if the team are going to do well this season, or win the league or cup and the manager says something like ‘we can’t look that far ahead … we just need to take *** **** ** * **** and see where that takes us. The cliche is used by managers because they don’t want the team to get too confident and lose concentration in matches that, in theory, should be easy.
Rowan: A more difficult phrase this week. If you have a football phrase that you would like us to use in the podcast, just get in touch and let us know.
Jack: Before we finish we just wanted to say that we hope you found this lesson useful and we hope all of you stay fit and healthy.
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.
Vocabulary
Believing things too easily
In the roleplay, Rich believed some gossip and then shared it. Rowan and Jack said he believes things too easily. There were a few phrases to describe believing things too easily and people who believe things too easily. Look at these sentences from the roleplay. Do you understand the words in bold?
Jack: But it’s mainly football and he falls for it all - he’s so gullible. Did you see what he shared yesterday?
Rowan: I know - sharing the article about Messi signing for Liverpool. He thinks it’s true. He said that he was off to get Messi on the back of his Liverpool shirt.
Jack: I don’t know how he’s tricked into believing these things. Isn’t it really obvious that these articles are all made-up? He’s not that naive normally, is he?
Rowan: I think he deceives himself because he wants to believe it.
Jack: Maybe we should speak to him about it. He can’t be taken in so easily. Maybe he hasn’t been - perhaps he’s just joking.
Activity
Quiz
Please login to take this quiz.
Task
Believing what you read: Have you ever been taken in?
In this podcast, Rich shared a football rumour online that was not true. Your task is to tell us about a time when you believed something to be true when it wasn’t. Try to answer these questions:
- What did you believe to be true that wasn’t?
- Who did you tell? Did you share the story online?
- How did you discover that it wasn’t true? What did you do and how did you feel?
- Do you consider yourself to be gullible or naive sometimes?
Write all your answers in the comments section and make a guess at this week's football phrase!.
Leave a comment
Log in to leave a comment
Comments
18/10/2021
points
I'm honestly the opposite of a naive or gullible person most of the time. And I think that's actually bad because I feel like I'm afraid to make embarrassing mistakes. I'd much rather be silent than speak partially true statements. It's something I've been working on, and I hope it gets better in the future.
What did you believe to be true that wasn’t?
At the beginning of the pandemic, I fell for the news that everything was going to be okay after a few weeks. I remember someone said this is not going to end in 2020, and I laughed at that statement. My guess was July of 2020 everything was going to return to normal.
Who did you tell? Did you share the story online?
Fortunately, I didn't tell anyone about my guess.
How did you discover that it wasn’t true? What did you do and how did you feel?
Well, I persisted in that belief. Only time made me change my mind. When I realized this was going to be with us for a long time, I felt a bit foolish. Obviously, it is hard to admit that we were wrong, but it's easy when we have to admit it to ourselves.
Do you consider yourself to be gullible or naive sometimes?
At first, I'm gullible, but I have to ponder almost everything for a long time before saying my thoughts out loud.
I think we shouldn't be so harsh on people who make this kind of mistake, especially when it isn't dangerous. However, there are certain exceptions when a belief can actually put in danger a lot of lives. But when things aren't at stake it would be better to be easy on them.
I'd like to share a quote from Richard Feynman that mentions that it is not about others. Sometimes, we tricked ourselves into believing fake information.
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool".
18/10/2021 19:18
Manchester United
293
I'm honestly the opposite of a naive or gullible person most of the time. And I think that's actually bad because I feel like I'm afraid to make embarrassing mistakes. I'd much rather be silent than speak partially true statements. It's something I've been working on, and I hope it gets better in the future.
What did you believe to be true that wasn’t?
At the beginning of the pandemic, I fell for the news that everything was going to be okay after a few weeks. I remember someone said this is not going to end in 2020, and I laughed at that statement. My guess was July of 2020 everything was going to return to normal.
Who did you tell? Did you share the story online?
Fortunately, I didn't tell anyone about my guess.
How did you discover that it wasn’t true? What did you do and how did you feel?
Well, I persisted in that belief. Only time made me change my mind. When I realized this was going to be with us for a long time, I felt a bit foolish. Obviously, it is hard to admit that we were wrong, but it's easy when we have to admit it to ourselves.
Do you consider yourself to be gullible or naive sometimes?
At first, I'm gullible, but I have to ponder almost everything for a long time before saying my thoughts out loud.
I think we shouldn't be so harsh on people who make this kind of mistake, especially when it isn't dangerous. However, there are certain exceptions when a belief can actually put in danger a lot of lives. But when things aren't at stake it would be better to be easy on them.
I'd like to share a quote from Richard Feynman that mentions that it is not about others. Sometimes, we tricked ourselves into believing fake information.
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool".
17/09/2021
points
This week's phrase would be "*** **** ** * ****".
17/09/2021 18:22
Chelsea
357
This week's phrase would be "*** **** ** * ****".
17/09/2021
points
Task.
1. My friend Roda came to me and said "I'm getting married on the coming saturday". I became happy with news and congratulated her.
2. I spread the good news to all of our classmates, but I didn't share it online.
3. Three days later she invited me and most surprisingly she told that it was a prank. I shocked and regret.
4. yeah, sometimes I get deceived.
17/09/2021 18:18
Chelsea
357
Task.
1. My friend Roda came to me and said "I'm getting married on the coming saturday". I became happy with news and congratulated her.
2. I spread the good news to all of our classmates, but I didn't share it online.
3. Three days later she invited me and most surprisingly she told that it was a prank. I shocked and regret.
4. yeah, sometimes I get deceived.
17/09/2021
points
1. I believed that Messi was going to join Man. City and reunite again with his inspiring coach , Pep Guardiola.
2. I told my brother and friends and we even bet on it just by words :)
3. I discovered it isn't true when City signed Grealish by 100 million pounds so I felt relieved and I was delighted that they couldn't manage to sign him
4. I don't think I'm gullible or naive because mainly I check information from various and trustful resources :)
17/09/2021 18:08
Manchester United
6539
1. I believed that Messi was going to join Man. City and reunite again with his inspiring coach , Pep Guardiola.
2. I told my brother and friends and we even bet on it just by words :)
3. I discovered it isn't true when City signed Grealish by 100 million pounds so I felt relieved and I was delighted that they couldn't manage to sign him
4. I don't think I'm gullible or naive because mainly I check information from various and trustful resources :)
15/09/2021
points
I think this week's football phrase is *** **** ** * ****
15/09/2021 13:37
Manchester United
6539
I think this week's football phrase is *** **** ** * ****
14/09/2021
points
Hi guys,
Excellent series of podcasts! I guess this week's football phrase is: *** **** ** * ****.
Greetings.
14/09/2021 17:33
Chelsea
9
Hi guys,
Excellent series of podcasts! I guess this week's football phrase is: *** **** ** * ****.
Greetings.
14/09/2021
points
Additional Task:
Question -Rowan and Jack are waiting at a bus stop in the roleplay. Can you see them?
Answer-I can't see properly from far distance and nobody reminded me getting close to the screen-:) If I'm not mistaken, the handsome gentleman on the left side of the picture is my dear teacher Jack and the beautiful lady on the right side is my dear teacher Rowan-:)
14/09/2021 10:06
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
Additional Task:
Question -Rowan and Jack are waiting at a bus stop in the roleplay. Can you see them?
Answer-I can't see properly from far distance and nobody reminded me getting close to the screen-:) If I'm not mistaken, the handsome gentleman on the left side of the picture is my dear teacher Jack and the beautiful lady on the right side is my dear teacher Rowan-:)
14/09/2021
points
1. I believed that CR7 was signing with Manchester City, but it was true.
2. I saw it in a timeline of a digital newspaper. I didn't share this story, because I found out it isn't true before.
3. When I saw some people telling about that he's going to United and those people are trust.
4. No, I'm not consider myself a gullible ou naive.
14/09/2021 01:41
Manchester United
28
1. I believed that CR7 was signing with Manchester City, but it was true.
2. I saw it in a timeline of a digital newspaper. I didn't share this story, because I found out it isn't true before.
3. When I saw some people telling about that he's going to United and those people are trust.
4. No, I'm not consider myself a gullible ou naive.
13/09/2021
points
Hi,
The phrase might be *** **** ** * ****.
Thanks again and again for the podcast
13/09/2021 19:54
Manchester City
91
Hi,
The phrase might be *** **** ** * ****.
Thanks again and again for the podcast
13/09/2021
points
The phrase is "*** **** ** * ****."
13/09/2021 15:58
Chelsea
1
The phrase is "*** **** ** * ****."
13/09/2021
points
Task
1- One of my colleague called me to congratulate about I'm to be appointed abroad branch.In fact it was an in-company rumour.
2- I didn't tell anybody or shared it online. This kind of things should be confirmed by official announcement. It could have been a bubble-:)
3-Another person was appointed for this position. I felt miserable-:)
4- I'm gullible from birth and I'll be forever like that-:)
Football Phrase-- *** **** ** * ****
Phrases
• Fraudsters usually use clickbait link to direct internet surfers. By pressing this link, trap starts operate. It's possible to be tricked into giving bank login details.
• High prize with low efforts in a short notice means potential risk to be deceived on the internet. It generally happens at the obscure websites.
• Being a gullible person who easily can be taken in by a swindler-:) That is endless paradox of digital age.
Notes
• In my language we use French word "Naive" as "Naif" with the same meaning in English.
• I've looked up the dictionary. The phrase "Fell for" have two meaning. "To feel love" and "To be tricked" No difference between them-:)
• A fake happiness better than a real sadness. We should always smile .
13/09/2021 13:06
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
Task
1- One of my colleague called me to congratulate about I'm to be appointed abroad branch.In fact it was an in-company rumour.
2- I didn't tell anybody or shared it online. This kind of things should be confirmed by official announcement. It could have been a bubble-:)
3-Another person was appointed for this position. I felt miserable-:)
4- I'm gullible from birth and I'll be forever like that-:)
Football Phrase-- *** **** ** * ****
Phrases
• Fraudsters usually use clickbait link to direct internet surfers. By pressing this link, trap starts operate. It's possible to be tricked into giving bank login details.
• High prize with low efforts in a short notice means potential risk to be deceived on the internet. It generally happens at the obscure websites.
• Being a gullible person who easily can be taken in by a swindler-:) That is endless paradox of digital age.
Notes
• In my language we use French word "Naive" as "Naif" with the same meaning in English.
• I've looked up the dictionary. The phrase "Fell for" have two meaning. "To feel love" and "To be tricked" No difference between them-:)
• A fake happiness better than a real sadness. We should always smile .
12/09/2021
points
1. We were the much better side
2…. our trainings seriously and keep working hard..
12/09/2021 20:44
Chelsea
6
1. We were the much better side
2…. our trainings seriously and keep working hard..
12/09/2021
points
My guess: *** step ** * ****
12/09/2021 17:41
Southampton
151
My guess: *** step ** * ****
13/09/2021
points
so: *** **** ** * ****
13/09/2021 13:54
Southampton
151
so: *** **** ** * ****
12/09/2021
points
When I read important news I searching again this if I found a lot of people talking about it then I know it's true
12/09/2021 17:18
Manchester City
219
When I read important news I searching again this if I found a lot of people talking about it then I know it's true
12/09/2021
points
The phrase is "*** **** ** * ****"
12/09/2021 17:03
Manchester City
219
The phrase is "*** **** ** * ****"