English & the UK: Brighton

Welcome - English & the UK - Brighton (at the beach)

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: 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.

Jack: However, if you’re listening on Spotify or 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. 

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re continuing our series of podcasts that focus on English and the UK. In these podcasts, you will learn more about cities in the UK and at the same time lots of useful English words and phrases.

Jack: In each podcast, we focus on one UK city. In our last podcast, we spoke about Manchester, football and the rivalry between City and United.

Rich: And we looked at 10 informal phrases we use to talk about a match. Phrases like ‘we shaded the first half’, ‘we took you apart’ and to be ‘absolutely gutted’. 

Jack: We also looked at a bit of pronunciation and how we say ‘should have’ ‘could have’ and ‘might have’ when we’re speaking.

Rich: If you want to go back and do this lesson you can find it on the Premier Skills English website by clicking skills >  listen > podcasts. If you are on Spotify or Apple Podcasts you’ll find it in the playlist, it’s called ‘English & the UK: Manchester’. 

Jack: In this episode, we are going to talk about a city that gets lots of tourists because it’s at the seaside. The city we’re talking about this week is Brighton. 

Rich: First, Jack and I will have a conversation about Brighton. We will talk about what visitors can see and do in the city and things that are special about Brighton.

Jack: After that, you will hear a roleplay where we are getting ready for a day at the beach in Brighton.

Rich: After the roleplay, we will focus on words and phrases connected to the beach and the seaside. 

Jack: All the cities we focus on in this series are home to Premier League teams so listen out for the football connections in the podcast.

Rich: One of those connections is our football phrase section so don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because that’s when we ask you to guess our weekly football phrase.

Football Phrase 1 

Jack: But, before we look at all that, let’s look at last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week we’ll give you one more chance to guess and give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase.

Rich: It wasn’t supposed to be that difficult because it was one of Jack’s phrases but it wasn’t that easy.

Jack: Maybe you should choose an easier one this week.

Rich: We’ll see, anyway, well done to Elghoul from Algeria who was the first listener to get the right answer and write it on the Premier Skills English website

Jack: OK, let’s give everyone one more chance to guess last week’s football phrase and we’ll give you the answer at the end of the show. 

Rich: OK, here we go. Right, the football phrase was **** ** **** *********. This is a phrase that is used to describe two consecutive wins or two wins in a row. The phrase includes a part of the body.

Jack: We’ll tell you the answer to this football phrase at the end of the show and we’ll also have a new football phrase for you to guess.

Rich: And if you can guess my football phrase and write it in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website, we will announce your name in next week’s show.

Introduction to conversation

Jack: You are now going to listen to us talking about some of the things to do and see in Brighton. 

Rich: While you listen, we want you to answer a question. The question is: 

Jack: What is a pier?

Conversation

Jack: I’ve been to Brighton a few times. What about you?

Rich: Yes, a couple of times. I used to work on summer camps for international students. They would learn English in the mornings and do activities or go on trips in the afternoons and at the weekend.

Jack: Yeah... and Brighton is a really popular trip. It’s really popular with people who live in London too. It’s less than an hour on the train.

Rich: Brighton’s really popular because it’s at the seaside. People love going to the beach and in many ways, Brighton is a really traditional UK seaside town.

Jack: It’s got the beach, the sea and lots of attractions and it’s got a pier of course.

Rich: A pier. I think we should tell everyone what piers are because you find them in lots of traditional UK seaside towns.

Jack: A pier is a long and narrow low-level metal and wooden structure that is built above the sea. The legs are in the water and you can walk on a pier above the waves and over the sea.

Rich: In the UK, many piers were built for entertainment in victorian times over a hundred years ago.

Jack: They have things like theatres, cafes, children’s rides and attractions and amusement arcades on them.

Rich: And there is a big one in Brighton. It gets over 4 million visitors every year. Some of these piers can be over two kilometres long.

Jack: Another traditional thing to do is to walk along the promenade.

Rich: Ah yes, most seaside towns in the UK have a promenade. The promenade is a wide path next to the beach or sea that you can walk on.

Jack: It’s nice to take a stroll along the promenade! A stroll is a relaxing walk. There are lots of other things to do in Brighton too. Rich … I’m going to give you thirty seconds to describe what else a visitor in Brighton can see and do.

Rich: OK, well you can visit the Royal Pavilion that is a Royal Palace that was built for the King in the eighteenth century. It’s got a fantasy oriental style and is like a mini Taj Mahal. Brighton is great for shopping. The Lanes are an area of narrow streets where you will find lots and lots of independent shops and cafes. What else? Brilliant nightlife for everyone, you can take a ride on the British Airways i360 which is a capsule viewing pod where you can see all of Brighton, the sea and the surrounding countryside. You’ll also be able to see the AMEX Stadium where you can catch Brighton & Hove Albion in Premier League action.

Jack: Bit over 30 seconds that, Rich.

Introduction to Roleplay 

Jack: Did you get the answer to the question: What is a pier?

Rich: Well, we described it in the conversation as a long thin wooden and metal structure that goes out to sea. You often find them at the seaside in the UK and they have things for entertainment on them.

Jack: If you’re still not sure, you can see a photo of the pier at Brighton on the learning page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: Right, you are now going to listen to a roleplay.

Jack: Brighton is at the seaside so in this roleplay you are going to hear Rich and me, preparing for a trip to the beach.

Rich: After the roleplay, we’ll focus on some of the language we use.

Jack: While you listen we want you to answer a question:

Rich: Why does Jack need factor 50?

Roleplay

Jack: Hey Rich. What are you doing? 

Rich: We’re going to the beach tomorrow remember. I’m packing. Stuff for me and the kids.

Jack: Oh, yeah of course. We’re going to pack later. You seem to have quite a lot.

Rich: You can never be unprepared. It’s going to be hot but it could always rain and the kids will want to swim in the sea.

Jack: Have you packed your speedos? 

Rich: Haha! I don’t think I own any trunks. I’ve packed my Bermudas they’re good for messing about on the beach and in the sea.

Jack: What’s all this stuff?

Rich: Buckets and spades to make sandcastles, a few inflatables for the sea, a couple of deckchairs, a windbreak and a parasol over there.

Jack: Wow! I was thinking a towel and that’d be about it. Will you fit it all in the boot?

Rich: Easy.

Jack: I need to get some sun cream on my way home. Do you need any?

Rich: I’ve got some factor 50 for the kids. That should block out the sun and stop them from getting burnt. I want to get a tan though. Can you get some factor 30?

Jack: Sure. I think I’ll use your factor 50. If I don’t, I go as red as a lobster! I usually stay out of the sun!

Rich: Great. I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll see you there at about 11, yeah?

Language Focus

Jack: Did you get the answer to the question? Why do I need factor 50?

Rich: Well, the factor is the level of protection in sunscreen and factor 50 is one of the highest levels of protection. Jack needs this because he gets sunburnt easily.

Jack: Yes, I do. We are already looking at some of the useful language from the roleplay in that answer.

Rich: Sun Cream has a factor - a level of protection. Kids usually have factor 50 so they don’t get sunburnt.

Jack: To get sunburnt literally means to be burned from the sun; usually, your skin goes red because you have spent too much time in the sun.

Rich: Jack said he goes as red as a lobster.

Jack: Haha! Yes, I do. A lobster is a sea creature with two large claws. When they are cooked they go bright red.

Rich: This phrase ‘as red as a lobster’ is an example of a simile. A simile is when we make a direct comparison between two things. In this case, we’re making a comparison between a cooked lobster and Jack’s sunburnt skin.

Jack: Similies that use this structure as plus adjective plus as are quite common in English. You might hear similies like ‘as brave as a lion’, ‘as free as a bird’ or ‘as white as snow’.

Rich: My favourite is ‘as clear as mud’. This simile is using sarcasm because the last thing mud is is clear. Mud is wet dirt.

Jack: One that is very common in football is ‘as sick as a parrot’. It’s a cliche that football managers often say to mean they are very disappointed. It’s not really a simile though - I don’t think parrots are sicker than other animals usually! 

Rich: Let’s get back to Jack’s sunburn. So, you can get sunburnt which is not nice or you can get a suntan which is nice.

Jack: A suntan is when your skin goes slightly darker from staying in the sun. A suntan is a noun so we say things like ‘you’ve got a nice suntan, have you been on holiday’ or like in the roleplay, we can just use ‘tan’. Rich said ‘I want to get a tan’.

Rich: So you get sunburnt but you get a suntan.

Jack: In the roleplay, we were packing our bags. This is a useful phrase. It means putting our clothes in our suitcase and getting things ready before a trip or holiday.

Rich: You can say things like ‘I’m packing my bags’ or ‘I’m going to pack later’.

Jack: So, what types of things do we pack for a trip to the beach. Well, Rich said he packs Bermudas rather than speedos for the beach. Speedos are swimming trunks that are small and Bermudas are swimming shorts that are long.

Rich: Women may pack a bikini or a swimming costume.

Jack: We packed a few other things in the roleplay; especially Rich who packed loads and we’ll look at this vocabulary a bit more on the website on the learning page for this podcast.

...

Jack: One other bit of language I’d like to look at are prepositions which can often be difficult for learners.

Rich: In the roleplay, we were going to the beach. I also said I have my Bermudas for playing on the beach and in the sea.

Jack: So we say on the beach to mean we are on the sand; (the sand is between our toes) and we say in the sea for when we are swimming in the water.

Rich: But we may also use at the beach or at the seaside. This is more general and means being close to the sea. This describes the sea, the beach and the facilities or town next to the beach.

Jack: Where were you last weekend?

Rich: I was at the seaside.

Jack: How funny! I was at the beach too last weekend!

Task

Rich: This week we want you to tell us about a trip to the seaside.

Jack: Tell us about a time you went to the beach or saw the sea.

Rich: Where was it? Was the beach sandy or rocky? What did you do on the beach? Did you go in the sea? What did you pack for your trip?

Jack: Would you recommend this beach to other people? Does your country have beaches?

Rich: Write your comments on the Premier Skills English website.

This week’s football phrase:

Rich: OK, it’s time for this week’s football phrase. I wonder who will be first to get the answer and write it on the Premier Skills English website this week.

Jack: It'll be nobody if you make it too difficult!

Rich: It won’t be too difficult. Right, this week’s football phrase is ***-****** ******. It’s the beginning of July so all the players have had their holidays and they have returned to their clubs for ***-****** ******. Most of the players will do this for a couple of weeks, then there will be some friendly matches before the new season starts.

Jack: Not bad. I think a few people should get that. Let’s see who can get it right. Write your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website and we’ll announce your name on next week’s show.

Rich: OK, and before we finish here’s the answer to last week’s football phrase. It was difficult so well done if you got it right.  The answer was back to back victories. 

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week. Bye for now and enjoy your football!