How to drive a car

Cars

Jack: Why were you so late this morning, Rich?

Rich: I broke down.

Jack: Are you upset? What’s the matter?

Rich: No, not me. My car broke down.

Jack: Ahh. OK. What was the problem?

Rich: Err. well at first I thought it might have been a problem with the engine or the electrics, but when the mechanic arrived he said errrr…..

Jack: What did he say?

Rich: Well, it’s a bit embarrassing but I had run out of petrol.

Jack: Oh dear! That IS embarrassing. 

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 show, we’re going to talk about the latest in the Premier League, including; the race for the title, the race for the Champions League and the battle to avoid relegation. 

Jack: And In this week’s language focus we’re going to look at the language of cars. Words that are connected to driving and words that you might need if your car breaks down like Rich’s did this morning.

Jack: But first, let’s look at the Premier League headlines.

Headlines

Rich: Tottenham won’t give up the chase for the Premier League.

Jack: Last weekend, Chelsea won 3-0 away at Everton to extend their lead at the top of the table. But, a few hours later, Spurs won the North London Derby 2-0 against Arsenal to reduce the gap again. The difference is four points with four matches left to play.

Rich: Cantastic win for Liverpool!

Jack: Liverpool’s Emre Can got the winner in a 1-0 win away at Watford. With Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester Utd dropping points Liverpool are looking good for the Champions League. The match will be remembered however for Can’s fantastic goal. It was an amazing overhead kick and possibly the goal of the season!

Rich: It looks like two from three for the drop.

Jack: Last weekend, Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League. Middlesbrough need to win this weekend away at Chelsea to avoid joining their North-East neighbours. It looks like the final relegation place will be filled by either Swansea or Hull but that looks like going down to the final game of the season.

Rich: What about that goal by Emre Can. It has to be the goal of the season!

Jack: It was a spectacular goal. But there have been some other great goals this season. What about Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Manchester Utd with that scorpion kick? My personal favourite was Olivier Giroud’s goal for Arsenal against Crystal Palace. Simply amazing.

Rich: Yes, some amazing goals this season. Which has been your favourite? Let us know in the comments section.

Topic/Language Focus

Jack: Rich. You had problems again with your car this morning. Do you think it’s time to buy a new one?

Rich: No, I don’t think so. My car is usually very reliable. It’s not broken down in years. And anyway, it wasn’t really the car’s fault that I had run out of petrol!

Jack: No, it’s not. You should keep an eye on that petrol gauge so you know when to fill up!

Rich: Yes, thanks Jack. I know it was a bit silly.

Jack: You want a car to be reliable. A car’s reliability is important. It’s important that you can trust a car to start every morning. 

Rich: You could compare this to a footballer. A manager is looking for players who are reliable. Player’s that will play to a high level every match.

Jack: I can think of players like N’Golo Kante at Chelsea or James Milner at Liverpool. These are players a manager can rely on. They get 8 out of 10 every week for their performance.

Rich: But, if I decided to buy a new car maybe I don’t only want reliability. I want a bit of speed, too.

Jack: Maybe you don’t want to drive a mini like N’Golo Kante maybe you want to drive a Lamborghini or a Ferrari like Wayne Rooney or Mesut Ozil.

Rich: I think I would if I could afford one! These types of cars sometimes have problems with their reliability but they have lots of speed.

Jack: This is what a manager has to think about. You can fill your team with lots of reliable players but you also need a bit of speed or pace or a bit of unpredictability.

Rich: Someone like Jesus Navas at Manchester City or Theo Walcott at Arsenal. These are like your Porsches. They can win you a game with their speed but they might not be as reliable as a Peugeot or a Renault.

Jack: Which car would you compare a player to? Or could you compare a car to a football club? Let us know in the comments section.

Rich: OK that’s enough of comparing cars to players. Let’s think about some of the words that are important when talking about cars.

Jack: In this next section, we’re going to talk about driving a car. We want you to listen carefully to the words we use and see if you can learn some new words connected to driving cars.

Rich: Let’s imagine that I’m your driving instructor, Jack. 

Jack: Errr, no. You are the one that forgot to put petrol in your car. Let’s imagine that I’m the driving instructor.

Rich: Err thanks for reminding me. Ok, you’re the driving instructor. You have to tell me some things a driver needs to do. 

Jack: OK, and I will tell you if you pass your driving test at the end. Right, you get in the car. What do you need to do first? 

Rich: Turn on the car.

Jack: Yes, OK. But we usually say ‘start the car’ not ‘turn on the car’.Right, you’ve got three pedals where your feet are. What are they and what are they for?

Rich: OK, they are the accelerator, the brake and the clutch. The accelerator is closest to me and is used to accelerate or go faster. The brake is in the middle and is used to brake or slow down and stop. And, the clutch is used when you need to change gears.

Jack: Very good. What gear should you be in when you start the car?

Rich: Well there are five gears. You should start the car in first gear.

Jack: No, the car will jump forward. You need to start the car in neutral. The gearstick needs to be in the middle. You then press down the clutch and have your other foot on the brake.

Rich: Ahh, yes. I should know that.

Jack: What do you do if it is raining?

Rich: I know this one. I turn on the windscreen wipers so I can see through the windscreen.

Jack: Anything else?

Rich: No, I don’t think so.

Jack: You should also turn on the headlights. It often gets darker when it rains and it’s difficult to see. And slow down, too.

Rich: Of course, yes.

Jack: Right. When you park, what should you do?

Rich: Turn off the car.

Jack: A bit more than that. You need to indicate, those are the lights in your car to show that you are turning left or right. And don’t forget to put on the handbrake when you stop - especially if you are on a hill. You don’t want the car to roll away!

Rich: Got it!

Jack: Final question. What do you do if you break down?

Rich: Call a mechanic?

Jack: Good, but maybe you’ve run out of petrol so you’ll need to push your car to the petrol station to fill up your tank!

Rich: Very funny. So did I pass?

Jack: How long have you been driving, Rich?

Rich: About 10 years.

Jack: Mmmmmm. Maybe you need to revise the rules a little. I’m no expert but maybe you can read some of the basic rules of driving on this website. 

Rich: Right, we used lots of car vocabulary in that section. Were any of the words new for you? We’ve got a couple of vocabulary activities for you to check your understanding on the page under this podcast.

Player of the Week

Rich: There were lots of great performances in the Premier League  last week. I would have chosen Liverpool’s Emre Can the Player of the Week but the article was published before he scored that goal against Watford.

Jack: But there were some other great performances, too. Eldin Jakupovic saved a last minute penalty for Hull and Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a great free kick for Swansea against Manchester Utd. 

Rich: Those two teams are fighting for their Premier League lives. We could also have chosen so many Chelsea players after their 3-0 win at Everton. But we chose Tottenham’s Dele Alli for his man of the match display in the final North London Derby to be played at White Hart Lane.

Jack: You can find out more about the PFA’s Young Player of the Year in the Player of the Week article. There is a link on the side of this page.

Can you work out this week’s 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 promotion or to be promoted. Newcastle have won promotion and Brighton were promoted to the Premier League for the first ever time. We will see both teams in the Premier League next season.

Rich: Well done to Mon from Egypt, Elghoul from Algeria, Kwesimanifest from Ghana and Ahmed Adam Mamado from Sudan. You all got the right answer!

Rich: What’s this week’s phrase?

Jack: This week’s phrase is ******* ****. Liverpool’s Emre Can scored a great overhead kick last week. An overhead kick can also be called a ******* ****. I’ll give you another clue; the phrase uses a type of transport - not a car!

Rich: It was a great goal. I think I’ve watched it fifty times this week!

Jack: Before, we go we want to tell you about this week’s fan of the week! It’s Philemon who is a Manchester Utd fan from Ghana.

Rich: Philemon or Kwesimanifest on the website is one of our super visitors on the site. He’s been up near the top of our leaderboard for about a year now. He always has interesting things to say about football and life in general.

Jack: It’s great to have you on the website , Philemon and to learn more about your life in Ghana. If you want to know more about Philemon - head over to the new section - fan of the week - in the fans section - there is a link on the side of the page.

Rich: And if you want to be a Fan of the Week, just send us an email or a comment and we will help you put an article together in English.

Rich: We would love to get a Premier League fan from every country in the world!

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week. 

Rich: 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!