Learning Vocabulary: Game shows

Gameshows - Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich 

Rowan: 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.

Jack: In this week’s roleplays you're going to hear four different gameshows.

Rich: I love gameshows. 

Rowan: Really?

Rich: Yeah, I like to show how clever I am and answer all the questions.

Jack: Nobody likes a showoff, Rich.

Rich: Once I recorded an episode of Mastermind, you know that quiz with the super tough questions. I watched it with my friends at home and they thought it was live. I answered every single question correctly.

Rowan: Mmm … I think that’s called cheating, Rich.

Jack: Anyway, in this week’s podcast, you’re going to listen to four different game shows that are on the TV in the UK now or used to be on British TV in the past.

Rich: And after each quiz, we’ll look at some language. This week we’re focusing on language we use when we are guessing, when we are stalling for time, when we get something wrong and lightbulb moments.

Rowan: What are lightbulb moments?

Rich: You know those moments when you’re thinking of an answer or an idea and it suddenly arrives in your brain - bing - like turning on a light in your brain - a lightbulb moment.

Rowan: Your task this week is to set some quiz questions for the rest of our listeners.

Jack: If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Rowan: On the Premier Skills English website you’ll also find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and the task for you to complete.

Rich: You’ll also find a community of friendly listeners to interact with, in our comments section.

Jack: And that includes us - we’re always around to answer questions and join in the discussions.

Rowan: But if you listen on Apple Podcasts you can always write answers to our questions or any other comments in the review section.

Rich: Before we do the roleplays let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Jack: If you didn’t hear our football phrase last week we’re going to give you one more chance to guess now. 

Rich: If you’re not sure what the football phrase is we’ll give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase. 

Jack: Let’s hear last week’s phrase again:

Rich: Last week’s football phrase was **** ********. This phrase describes a player, usually in a defensive position, who is looking at the ball and not looking at the opponent they are supposed to be marking. The defender was caught **** ******** at a corner which allowed the unmarked striker to head the ball into the net.

Jack: Liubomyr from Ukraine was the first to get it right last  week. Well done Luibomyr and I’m sorry about Watford’s relegation last season. I’m sure they will bounce back.

Rowan: And a big well done to Daniel and Jhon Baron from Colombia and Alex from Ukraine who also got the right answer last week. 

Rich: Last week’s podcast was all about bikes and cycling and we got a lot of interesting answers about where you go cycling. 

Jack: SinyorOzen from Turkey told us that he regularly cycles into Greece from Turkey. He says it’s much easier to cross the border on a bike than in a car.

Rowan: Alex from Ukraine told us that he has seven bikes that he’s collected since childhood and Wsanta from Argentina has fond memories of cycling with his dad and brother when he was younger.

Rich: It was also good to see that many of you cycle to work on bikes.  If you haven’t completed the lesson yet you can find it on the Premier Skills English website in the podcast section. It’s called Learning Vocabulary: Get on your bike.

Jack: Also a big thanks to PauloVictor from Brazil and Alex from Ukraine for your kind words about last week’s podcast. We’re very happy that you find the podcasts useful and enjoyable.

Rowan: Sorry, guys. One more thing about last week’s podcast. We had a question from MoBeckham in Turkey. He asked what the difference is between a bicycle and a bike and riding a bike and cycling.

Rich: Good questions, MoBeckham. I don’t think there is much difference in meaning between bike and bicycle. Bike is the short form of bicycle and is a bit more informal. Also bike can be used informally for motorbike. The word motorcycle is a bit old fashioned.

Jack: Riding a bike or cycling? OK, they can be used in the same way. You can cycle to work or ride a bike to work. When you are using a bike to go from a to b or just for fun we can use either but I’d probably say I went for a bike ride at the weekend for example. Cycling is used to describe the sport of cycling - road cycling or in a velodrome. However, when you are on a mountain bike this sport is called mountain biking.  

Rowan: We hope that helps, MoBeckham.

Introduction to Roleplay

Rowan: As we said earlier, in this week’s roleplay, the topic is game shows.

Jack: You are going to hear four roleplays and four different game shows. Before each roleplay we’re going to explain how the game works and we’ll give you a question to check your understanding of the roleplay.

Rich: After each roleplay we will focus on a little bit of language.

Rowan: Our first game show is based on a programme called the Price is Right and it used to be on TV in the UK a long time ago.

Jack: The general idea of the show is that a number of people are called from the audience and they are shown a product. They have to guess the price and the person who’s closest to the actual price wins the product.

Rich: Here’s your first question: Who wins the exercise bike?

Game show 1

Rowan: Jack Radford! Come on down!

Rowan: Rich Moon! Come on down! 

Rowan: You’re our final contestants this evening.

Rowan: Welcome and good luck to you all. Let’s turn our attention to tonight’s first item. We want you to consider the price of this …..

An exercise bike. Work off those extra inches in the most pleasant way possible. This exercise bike can be set up in your bedroom or living room for fitness without fuss. 

Rowan: There you have it. One delightful exercise bike. I want the price of that bike. You get one bid each and whoever bids nearest without going over wins the bike. If you go over you’re bust, however, this can be yours if the price is right.

Rowan: Now, Jack from Ludlow, what is your bid.

Jack: It is a lovely bike. I reckon it’s over £100. I’m not sure. It could be about £120 maybe a bit more. I’m going to go for £125.

Rowan: Thank you Jack from Ludlow. Now, Rich from Sheffield. What is your bid?

Rich: Well, it could be more or less than what Jack said. I’m really not sure. I could go lower but I’m going to go higher. I think it’s £126.

Rowan: Thanks for all your bids. Now, let’s reveal the true price. The price is £125.99. Jack from Ludlow you’ve won yourself an exercise bike and you’re going through to tonight’s final round.

Jack: Woohoo!

Language Focus 1 - Guessing

Rich: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was:

Rowan: Who wins the exercise bike?

Jack: The answer is me! I won the exercise bike. 

Rich: Well done! You’ll be able to use it as a clothes horse in your bedroom.

Jack: You’re just jealous because you didn’t win.

Rowan: I think it’s time to take a look at a bit of language.

Rich: Yes, you’re right. In the roleplay, we made lots of guesses and we did this in different ways. 

Jack: The most common way and easiest way to make a guess is to say ‘I think’. Rich said I think the exercise bike is £126.

Rowan: But we can use more advanced language than this. Jack said I reckon, ‘I reckon it’s over £100’. We use I reckon in the same way as I think but it’s more informal and we tend to only use it when we are speaking.

Rich: Yes, it’s nice not to use I think all the time when we are speaking here is an example sentence: I reckon Liverpool will win 3-0 on Saturday. What do you reckon?

Jack: When we are guessing we are often not sure of ourselves or the answer so we use more tentative language. I said I’m not sure and Rich said he wasn’t really sure when talking about the price of the bike. 

Rowan: We also use modal verbs to guess when we’re not sure about something. Jack said it could be about £120 or maybe a bit more.

Rich: Yes, it’s common to use modal verbs of possibility and probability which we follow by the infinitive when we are talking in the present. Verb phrases like might be may be, could be, can’t be and must be.

Rowan: And as Jack said earlier we often use tentative language when we are guessing and make approximations. Notice the use of ‘about’ and ‘bit’ when jack was speaking in the roleplay:

Jack:  It could be about £120 maybe a bit more.

Game show 2 

Rowan: Our second game show is based on a programme called Blockbusters.

Jack: The general idea of the show is that two teams answer general knowledge questions. Each team has a colour and they have to complete a path across or down a game board of hexagons.

Rich: Each hexagon has a letter and the answer to each question begins with that letter. 

Rowan: You’re about to listen to part of this game show. While you are listening we want you to answer a question.

Jack: Who wins the game?

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Jack: Welcome back to our viewers at home. Let’s get back underway. You need two more letters to win, Rowan. Rich needs just the one. Rowan, it’s your turn to go next. 

Rowan: I’ll have an O, please Jack.

Jack: You’ll have an O. Right, what ‘O’ is to Manchester United as Anfield is to Liverpool and St’James Park is to Newcastle.

Rowan: Oh, dear. Manchester United. Football. Hold on a sec. Let me think. O O Ohh. It’s on the tip of my tongue.

Jack: I’ll have to hurry you.

Rowan: They’re all football grounds. I’m not sure. Manchester United play at Old Trafford. The answer is Old Trafford, Jack.

Jack: You’re correct. Well done. Choose another letter.

Rowan: I’ll have a G, please, Jack.

Jack: A G. What G is a Premier League nickname?

Rowan: Football again. Oh no!  Football nicknames. G , G are there any Premier League teams that begin with G? This is a difficult one. G?! Gillingham, Grimsby? They’re not in the Premier League.

Jack: I’ll have to hurry you.

Rowan: No, no idea, sorry. Golden Tigers?

Jack: No, sorry. I’m going to hand this one over to Rich. 

Rich: I’ve got it. It’s Gunners. The Gunners.

Jack: That’s Blockbusters and you now have the chance to take part in this week’s gold run.

Language Focus 2 

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was:

Jack: Who wins the game?

Rich: I won thanks to my greater knowledge of Premier League nicknames.

Rowan: You were lucky!

Jack: Let’s look at a bit of language. During the game, Rowan took ages to answer the questions. She was stalling for time.

Rich: To stall for time is an idiom and it means to try to delay things or distract people so you get additional time to do something.

Rowan: And when we stall for time we often do this in certain ways. We often just say er. Er, er, er. 

Jack: But there are some other ways of stalling for time, we often use specific words and phrases and Rowan used some of them in the roleplay.

Rich: One technique that Rowan used was by repeating the question or part of the question. She said oh Manchester United when she was asked for the name of their home ground and she said Premier League teams that begin with G when she was asked a similar question to this.

Rowan: Then there were some specific phrases. I said er and oh to stall for time but I also said things like let me think, hold on a sec and it’s on the tip of my tongue.

Rich: Hold on a sec means wait a second and when something is on the tip of your tongue it means you think you know something and you will remember it soon.

Jack: But all of these phrases are being used to stall for time. Rowan also used phrases like I’m not sure and this is a difficult one to delay answering the question.

Rowan: But all these phrases didn’t work in the end as I got the answer wrong and lost.

Rich: Better luck next time. OK, let’s move onto our third game show.

Game show 3

Rowan: Our third game show is based on a show called Family Fortunes. I think this one is still on TV now.

Jack: The general idea of the show is that two teams or families play against each other. The host asks a question in the following format:

Rich: We asked 100 people to name a pink animal or we asked 100 people something you do in the rain.

Rowan: A member from each family has to guess one of the top five answers that people said. The family to get all five answers wins.

Jack: So, you’re about to listen to part of this game show. While you are listening we want you to answer a question.

Jack: Who gives the silliest answer?

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Rich: So, we have Jack for the Radfords and Rowan for the Smiths? Fingers on buzzers, please.

Rich: We asked 100 people to name a number you might have to memorize.

Rowan: Ah ha! Seven

Rich: Hahaha! Seven? If seven is there I’ll give you the money myself.

Rich: A number you might have to memorise. Is seven one of the answers.

Rich: It passes over to the Radfords. Jack a number you might have to memorise.

Jack: I’ve got it. Eight.

Rich: Eight? Are you serious?

Jack: Deadly serious.

Rich: A number you might have to memorise. Is eight one of the answers.

Rich: No, sorry. Can we see the answers? The top five answers were telephone number, pin number, credit card number, tax number, and postcode.

Rich: Fingers back on the buzzers. We asked 100 people to name something you have to do with a dog.

Rowan: Take it for a walk.

Rich: Eureka! That’s it! You’ve got it. Something you do with a dog. Take it for a walk. Let’s have a look.

Rich: Top answer. 

Language Focus 3 

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was:

Jack: Who gives the silliest answer?

Rich: Seven and eight are numbers you have to memorise! Both of these answers were pretty silly.

Rowan: I thought it was a trick question.

Jack: It was a roleplay. We were joking - pulling your leg.

Rich: OK, let’s have a really quick look at a couple of exclamations we use when we have a light bulb moment.

Rowan: We mentioned lightbulb moments earlier. We described them as those moments when you’re thinking of an answer or an idea and it suddenly arrives in your brain - bing - like turning on a light in your brain - a lightbulb moment.

Jack: Let’s start with the exclamation Eureka! Which comes from Ancient Greece. We use it to celebrate a discovery or an invention or even an answer to a quiz question. It is thought that Archimedes was the first person to use this word.

Rich: There are simpler more informal exclamations we can use. In the roleplay we used the exclamations got it!, aha! and that’s it!

Rowan: Let’s move onto our final game show.

Game show - Getting it wrong

Rowan: The last game show you are going to listen to is based on a programme called Pointless. This game show is a little like Family Fortunes but the reverse.

Jack: The general idea of the show is that two contestants have to find a correct answer that wasn’t given by 100 people

Rich: For example, we asked 100 people for a team that has won the top division in English football.

Rowan: If you say Manchester United or Liverpool you will certainly lose because this is what the majority of people will have answered.

Jack: But if you say Preston North End or Ipswich Town you have got a very good chance of winning because not many people will say this answer even though it is correct. Preston have actually won it twice.

Rowan: The host asks questions and contestants get points depending on how many people out of a hundred said that answer.

Rich: The first player to reach a 100 points loses and you lose if you give a wrong answer. 
 
Jack: So, you’re about to listen to part of this game show. While you are listening we want you to answer a question.

Rowan: Which country would have been the best answer?

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Jack: OK, here’s your next pointless question. Name a country that has qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

Rowan: Germany. No, I’m only kidding. Err, OK a country that has qualified but not many people will say. OK, I’m going for Costa Rica.

Jack: Costa Rica. Let’s have a look (sound effect) Is Costa Rica a pointless answer.

Jack: It’s looking good. Fourteen people answered Costa Rica.

Rowan: You’re pulling my leg. I can’t believe fourteen people would have said Costa Rica. 

Jack: They’ve actually qualified more often than you’d have thought. 1990, 2002, 2006, 2014 & 2018. They reached the quarter-finals in 2014.

Jack: It’s your turn, Rich. You need to get under fourteen. Name a country that has qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

Rich: OK, I can’t go for an obvious choice like Brazil or France something more obscure like Hungary no they’ve qualified they nearly won it once. Err more obscure like Angola or Qatar. I’ll go with Qatar.

Jack: Qatar is your final answer. Let’s have a look. Hungary would have got 16 points. Angola would have been a pointless answer but Qatar. No! 

Rich: You’re having me on! I can’t believe it.

Jack: Qatar will play in 2022 because they are hosting the World Cup but they have never qualified for the event. Rowan, you are this week’s winner.

Rowan: Get in!

Language Focus 4 - Getting it wrong

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you a question. The question was:

Jack: Which country would have been the best answer?

Rich: The best answer would have been Angola because it was a pointless answer. Angola have qualified for the World Cup but nobody out of the 100 people gave it as an answer.

Rowan: Let’s look at a final bit of language. This time we’re going to look at phrases we use when we get an answer wrong.

Jack: Rich expresses astonishment that he was wrong. He showed this by using phrases such as I can’t believe it. We can also say things like I should’ve known that and I can’t believe I didn’t get that.

Rowan: He also expressed his astonishment through saying that Jack wasn’t telling the truth or joking with him. He said you’re having me on.  This means you’re joking.

Jack: Other similar phrases to this are: you have to be kidding or joking and you’re pulling my leg.

Rich: If you want to check your understanding of all the vocabulary we have looked at in this podcast we’ve got more activities for you on the lesson page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website.

TASK

Rich: In this week’s task, we want you to ask two quiz questions in the comments section.

Rowan: Choose one question about football and one general knowledge question.

Jack: We want you to write the questions in the comments section and then  look at other questions from other listeners and answer them.

Rowan: Try to use some of the language we’ve looked at in this podcast in your replies.

Rich: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website or Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.

Football Phrase

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us, Jack?

Jack: I have. It’s a strange one. The phrase is to shepherd the ball. It means to protect the ball and let the ball go out of play without touching it. Defenders often shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick when an attacker is moving towards them. 

Rowan: Here’s a clue. You need to think about the person who looks after sheep to get this phrase right. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was ball watching.

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. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s show. 

Jack: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Rowan: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page or Twitter feed

Rich: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!