English Podcasts |

Is the thrill of the crowd worth the ticket price, or does the TV offer the ultimate front-row seat? In this podcast, we dive into the pros and cons of watching live events versus enjoying the action on TV, in other words; Stadium Buzz vs. Sofa Comfort..

Imagine the Olympics without drug testing — well, that’s the Enhanced Games planned to, take place in May 2026. The aim is to allow performance-enhancing technologies without restriction to see how human physical capacities can be pushed to the limit. What do you think? Which words come to mind ? Dangerous? Unethical? Progress? A glimpse into the future? Listen in to hear more.

Football will be in the news for a month during the World Cup 2022.

Are you able to talk "footy"? Do you know the football jargon that we hear around us in the bars? Take the opportunity this month to go to bars and start up a conversation with other people about the football matches, it's a great way to improve your English!

In this podcast Sue puts Chris on the spot when she asks him to explain frequent football words and expressions. You'll hear that they're not big fans of football but they'll make the effort for language learning :) 

Give yourself a pat on the back when you understand what these words mean;

To kick off  / The coin toss  / 

A goalie / to save a goal / to mark a player

To score a hattrick

A foul / a tackle / to get booked / to be sent off/ to get a red card

A peno / a penalty shootout

To park the bus

Extra time vs Injury time

.... and the language of TV football commentators

It's a game of 2 halves

To put the game to bed

What a beauty !

They're on the back foot

He's bottled it

It's an open goal / It's an own goal

That's a blatant handball !

"Football's coming home" :)

 

Then test your memory with this Flash Quiz.

[h5p id="38"]

For those of you who want more, try this World Cup Football Quiz full of great vocabulary and amazing facts to entertain even the most football skeptic.

https://english-podcasts.com/the-curious-off-side-football-world-cup-quiz/

 

Listen to the podcast here.

https://english-podcasts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Talking-to-a-football-fan-03062021-12.15.m4a

Are electric bikes considered as cheating ? Do they bring back the pleasure of cycling ? Listen to what Chris says about his experience.

Dave, a West Ham supporter, gives his opinion about England's performance in the Euros 2020 and the harsh criticism that the players received, and also Victoria who runs an equality blog, Feminists of Reading.

Numbers in Sport.

Numbers can be a difficult part of learning a new language.

New learners often confuse "hundreds" and "thousands", "fifteen" and "fifty", "half past six" with "six and a half hours" etc etc etc.

The only way to improve your number skills is with practice.

Start by learning important numbers for you: your age, your address, your phone number.

Then practice well known expressions such as "fifty-fifty", "One Hundred and One Dalmatians".

Also try this podcast in which Sue asks Chris 10 questions about numbers in sport.

You will need to listen several times; the first time you listen your main objective should be to focus on the numbers that Chris gives. Are you clear about 100s and 1000s ?  Can you recognize times ? Can you identity money quantities? What about dates ?

For the second time of listening,  focus on the questions and for the third time, just enjoy the conversation !

TRY THIS QUIZ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PODCAST: you will hear the same questions in the podcast as in the quiz. How many numbers can you recognize ? Practice saying all the numbers in the quiz and then listen again to the podcast. Your progress will be AMAZING !

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Numbers in sport

After listening to the podcast try this quiz to consolidate your number

skills. You can check your own answers with Chris' attempts.

Start Quiz

Question

Your answer: Correct answer: Next

Please wait..↺

You got {{SCORE_CORRECT}} out of {{SCORE_TOTAL}} SHARE YOUR RESULTSShareTweetPinEmail

Your Answers

We are nearing the end of the season and it's hotting up between two great teams: Toulouse (our favourite) and La Rochelle.

Listen as you'll hear how both teams made it to the final and how they are also in excellent positions in the French Top 14 league.

Listen out for typical English expressions we use when talking about sport. Give yourself a pat on the back when you hear them !!

How do you account for the zero?  How do you explain the zero ?

To weigh up the opponents. Toulouse often starts slowly because they weigh up the opponents, they try to suss them out, they try to figure them out.

To be over the hill.     Is Max Médard too old?

Cheslin Kolbe is a game changer, he has a huge impact on the game.

However, he did look a bit winded at times, he looked out of breath following a hard tackle.

Who would you put money on ? Who do you think will win?

On paper Toulouse look stronger, in theory they look the better team.

Toulouse have their eye firmly on the European Cup, it is their main objective.

In the final no team will run away with it, it will be a very close match.

Learning tip: practice your number skills by making a note of all the scores Chris mentions, it's pretty fast, just like the game !

So who do you think will win ? Toulouse or La Rochelle. In the comments below let us know and why, we would love to know your opinion.

European Champions Cup Rugby Last 16 qualifiers

No Top14 Rugby this weekend and the 6 Nations has finished, but the Champions Cup rugby continues for the next two weeks - this week the last 16 clubs fight for their places in the 1/4 finals, which will be played on the following weekend.

The matches this weekend feature the following;

Leinster v Toulon

Gloucester v La Rochelle

Wasps v Clermont

Munster v Stade Toulousain

Exeter Chiefs v Lyon

Racing 92 v Edinburgh

Union Bordeaux Bèbles v Bristol Bears

Llanelli Scarlets v Sale Sharks

Some great matches to be played - try and predict the scoresor the winners & losers before listening to the podcast to see how good your general knowledge of rugby is.

6 Nations Round 5 Wash-Up

This is the final week of the regular 6 nations tournament, apart from the very last match which pitches France against Scotland on Friday evening.

In this episode we talk about the games that were played on this Super Saturday - Italy v Scotland (not too many surprises there), Ireland v England (completeing a pretty poor show for England) and France against Wales (nail-biting util the very end.

We also look at the final table results of the women's 6 nations and The U20 Six Nations tournaments.

Our next podcast will be about the France v Scotland game as well as back into the TOP14 podcast to take a look back at the matches played in France next weekend.

Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Day 20

This week we talk about the Top 14 day 20 matches took place, and things are again hotting up at the top and the bottom ends of the table, can Toulouse strengthen their hold at the top, or will La Rochelle get back into the running for the top spot?

We also have a look back at the last game of the 2021 6 Nations where France played Scotland in the Stade de France.

We also look ahead to the European cup matches this weekend where Toulouse face Munster in Ireland and to the next TOP14 matches in two weeks time.