Wales - Podcast 58

Welcome / Competition

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: Hi everyone. I’m Jack and every week we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich: This week we’re going to talk about Wales.

Jack: We’re talking about fish?

Rich: Not whales with an 'h'... Wales - one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom.

Jack: I know, I’m just teasing. And, I also know that whales aren’t fish before you say anything.

Rich: Wales have had an amazing Euro 2016. They’ve reached the semi-finals. When you listen to this podcast they may be on their way home or they may be on their way to the final but whatever the result they have had the best tournament in their history.

Jack: So, to celebrate Wales’ success, in this week’s podcast we’re going to tell you our five fascinating facts about Wales, about the team, the country and the Welsh influence on the Premier League.

Rich: But before all that, let’s speak about what’s been happening on the website this week.

Social

Jack: We’ve got a new player article. It’s all about Belgium’s Eden Hazard.

Rich: He had a great game against Hungary but didn’t play so well against Wales. In the comments section on that article, we’re discussing the best goals of Euro 2016.

Jack: Aragorn1986 from Montenegro and Kwesimanifest from Ghana have chosen Stoke City’s Xherdan Shaquiri who scored a great overhead kick for Switzerland but Elghoul from Algeria has gone for West Ham’s Dimitri Payet and his free-kick for France against Romania.

Rich: I liked Cristiano Ronaldo’s backheel against Hungary. Go to the Eden Hazard article on the homepage and let us know your favourite.

Jack: As always, three clubs have been promoted to the Premier League. The new clubs are Middlesbrough, Hull City and Burnley. We have new articles on all three clubs. Just find each club badge on the home page and learn more about them.

Rich: I’ve made a prediction for each team about where I think they will finish in next season’s Premier League. Let us know if you think I’m right or what your predictions are.

Language Focus / Latest News

Jack: As we said earlier, we’re talking about Wales this week. It’s great for Wales and it’s great for the UK that the team are doing well at Euro 2016.

Rich: It’s great for the Premier League, too, because twenty players in the Welsh squad have Premier League experience. That’s more than any squad at Euro 2016 apart from England’s.

Jack: Right, we’re going to take a look at five interesting facts about Wales and Welsh  football that you might not know.

Rich: So we’re doing a top 5?

Jack: That’s right, Rich. So here we go with number one. Our first fascinating Welsh fact. Is about Geography. Wales is a country, but it’s also part of the United Kingdom or UK. The UK is made up of four different countries; Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, and Wales. We sometimes hear the UK called Britain or Great Britain. What’s the difference rich?

Rich: Great Britain is the island which consists of England, Scotland and Wales. Britain is used more informally. It can be confusing and many people talk about Britain and the UK in the same way.

Jack: So, Wales is part of the UK and Britain. Is London the capital?

Rich: London is the capital of the UK and England but it’s not the capital of Wales. Cardiff is the capital of Wales.

Jack: Cardiff is the biggest city in Wales and is the home of the Welsh assembly which is like the Welsh parliament and makes political decisions that affect Wales and Welsh people.

Rich: And many people speak Welsh.

Jack: Many Welsh people, especially in the north, are bilingual. About 20% of the population speak Welsh and it’s very different from English. It’s a celtic language.

Rich: Right, that’s enough about geography - time for fact number 2: Wales has the best flag in the world. It’s green and white with a big red dragon on it. Yes - a dragon! It’s very different from most flags. Why is there a dragon on the flag, Jack?

Jack: Well, one story that could be true or not is that it comes from the time of Merlin and King Arthur in the fifth century - that’s 1500 years ago when people in Britain were Celts. Merlin was a famous wizard and he told a story about a fight between two dragons; a red one and a white one. At that time, the Romans had left Britain and the Angles and Saxons were invading. In Merlin’s story, the red dragon represented the Britons and the white dragon represented the invading Saxons.

Rich: The Saxons successfully invaded England, but they didn’t invade Wales so the red dragon remains on the Welsh flag for this reason.

Jack: I think it’s a great flag. Let’s move on. Time for fact number 3. You might know that Wales has a population of about 3 million people.

Rich: Yes, I thought it was about that.

Jack: But, what you probably didn’t know is that Wales is the home to about 11 million sheep. That’s four sheep for every person.

Rich; That’s a lot of woolly jumpers and an interesting fact. Let’s get back to the football. Fact number four is the secret of Welsh football.

Jack: You’re not going to say Gareth Bale, are you?

Rich: I think the secret of their success has been harmony. You see, the Welsh are famous for singing and all that singing together helps them work together as a team. The players, the manager and the fans.

Jack: I’m not sure this counts as a fact, Rich, but let’s carry on.

Rich: Of course they have Bale, who is a superstar, but he’s just one player. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey and Liverpool’s Joe Allen have also been fantastic. The goals against Belgium were scored by three different players. The manager, Chris Coleman, has also been brilliant and that’s a fact. He has guided Wales to their first major tournament since 1958!

Jack: That is a major achievement. Did you know that he played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace and Blackburn Rovers? The Welsh fans have enjoyed Euro 2016, too.

Rich: Yes. You know they love singing... well, there were thousands of fans cheering and singing in the stadium for Wales’s famous win against Belgium and there were hundreds of thousands more partying on the streets of Cardiff, Swansea and in other Welsh towns and cities.

Jack: Yes, it does not matter if they win or lose now. This Welsh team will return home as the most successful Welsh team in their history.

Rich: Let’s move on to the final fact. Fact five: Wales have had a huge influence on the Premier League.

Jack: That’s true. Some of the best Premier League players have been from Wales. Mark Hughes, Gareth Bale, and Gary Speed are all Premier League legends but the biggest Premier League legend of them all is also Welsh.

Rich: That’s Ryan Giggs. He left Manchester Utd last week after 29 years at the club as a player and coach. He played 619 times in the Premier League and won more trophies than any other player. But it’s not only Welsh players that have made their mark on the Premier League.

Jack: The clubs too. In August, Swansea City will start their sixth consecutive Premier League season.

Rich: And the captain of the Welsh team is Swansea City’s captain,too  - Ashley Williams. He scored the first goal against Belgium.

Jack: So, if you know anything else about Wales or Welsh football or footballers,  let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Football Phrase

Jack: Right, last week’s football phrase was penalty shootout. A penalty shootout happens at the end of a cup match if the scores are still level. You may have seen the penalty shootout between Germany and Italy. There were some awful penalties in that match.

Rich: Well done to Haydi from Tunisia, Kwesi Manifest from Ghana, Hassan Raja from Pakistan, Alex from Ukraine and Aragorn1986 from Montenegro. All of you got the correct answer. What’s this week’s phrase Jack?

Jack: This week’s phrase is ****** ****The ****** **** is the award given to the top scorer in a football competition. Last season, Tottenham’s Harry Kane won the ****** **** in the Premier League after scoring 25 goals. I’m not sure who will win the ****** **** at Euro 2016 but I have a feeling it might be a French player after they scored five against Iceland.

Rich: Yes, Dimitri Payet and Olivier Giroud both have a good chance of winning it.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for today!

Rich: Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and the football phrase in the comments below.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!