Category Archives: Accents

58. Scotland / Scottish Accents (with Leslie)

An interview with a native speaker from Scotland. We talk about Scottish culture and stereotypes, and features of scottish accents.

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Use this episode to develop your cultural understanding of the English language, and to practise identifying and understanding different accents.

Transcript
Here is a full transcript for this entire episode. It was contributed by listeners to the podcast using the transcript collaboration project on teacherluke.co.uk. For those listeners who contributed part of this script – thank you very much indeed! Transcribing requires time and concentration. Your work will be very helpful to other listeners and learners of English.

Luke’s Introduction – Transcript
You are listening to Luke’s English podcast. For more information visit teacherluke.podomatic.com

Hello ladies and gentlemen. You are listening to Luke’s English podcast. My name is Luke. It’s my podcast. That’s why it’s called Luke’s English podcast. The English part of it is because it’s for people who are learning English as a foreign language. That’s right, there’s millions of you all over the world, you’re all desperately needing to improve your English, mainly if you live in countries where it’s very difficult to find native English speakers.
So, what you want is an authentic source of real English. You could listen to movies on DVD but you know there ….all those movies are scripted, it’s not really natural English. Let’s see, you could listen to the news, couldn’t you? on the radio, on the internet but to be honest most people don’t speak like that in real life. On the news they speak in a different way in a slightly unnatural way which is not really the same as the way most people in their everyday life use English. For example on the news for some reason on the news everything sounds like this. So that’s the way people speak on the news – obviously we don’t normally talk like that, do we?
But, so you want….. you are looking for of a great sort of really natural conversational English. Perhaps some British English because most of the English that you probably come in contact with through TV shows and movies and so on is American English and that’s great. I love American English. More people speak American English in the world than British English, but I know that a lot of my listeners really want to hear some British English because of various reasons. Some people prefer British English, some people consider it to be the original form English. I am not sure about that. Obviously the language changes all the time. The English that we speak in Britain is a bit different to the English they speak in America but that doesn’t mean one is better than the other.

Let’s see! So, those of my listeners, I am sure you are one of those people who need a good source of English to practice your listening. You also want to kind of learn more about the culture of the English language, maybe the culture of the UK, that kind of thing. You also would like to hear a variety of different accents so you can get a sense of all the different ways in which we speak English and also I am sure you want to pick up lots of really really useful bits of vocabulary – natural things.
So, you’ve come to the right place. This is where you are going to find all those things. It’s Luke’s English podcast. I do it on my own in my free time. I am an English language teacher who works in London. I’ve been teaching English for about 10 years now. I’ve got loads of experience of English teaching. I teach in a language school in Holland park in London and I teach general English, exam courses, business English, legal English and everything else in between. So you know that you can trust me as a decent source of English language teaching.
So I know if you are thinking this is amazing. Is this all free? Is this free or do I have to pay? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is free. It is completely free but bear in mind I do have to pay for the web space. I have to pay the company that hosts this website. I have to pay them every month and so I do ask people to…..if they listen to the podcast I ask people to make a donation to me just to help me cover the cost of running the website. It would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it, if I did this and actually lost money every month. Well, the fact is that I do often kind of lose money. I spend money on this so that you can get free English lessons online.
If you are a business person you’re probably thinking that’s ridiculous. It defies every sense, every kind of business idea that you have, you know, obviously the idea is to make profit. But I’m not making any profit, that’s for sure so I can’t really call this a business instead it’s a kind of …it’s an experiment, really for me and it’s a kind of hobby and a chance for me to practice….do the things like presenting, maybe using my voice on radio. That kind of thing. It’s a bit of fun, a bit of fun for me, plus I know that there are people in parts of the world like in places like India or parts of Asia, for example, where they really have no access to facilities, no access to native English speakers who teach English and all of the materials that are out there are very expensive. So I like to think that somehow I’m helping the world. People who are in a difficult part of the world, the developing countries, who have an internet connection, they can listen to this and learn English for free, which is a very good thing as far as I am concerned.

So, I know you are thinking: enough of the chat, Luke. Get down to the point, will you please. What is this episode about? Well, this one is about Scotland and the Scottish accent. Now I’m doing a series of podcasts, I’m doing them very slowly because I’ve got various other things going on in my life but I’m doing a series of podcasts about different regional accents in the UK.
So in this episode we are going to be looking at Scotland and the Scottish accent. Now, I interviewed a teacher I know who works in the same school as me. She’s been teaching English for years and years in different countries. She comes from Scotland, originally and but she’s lived in Brazil and lived in England and lived in other countries in the world. She is kind of an international person but originally she comes from Scotland and I’d say she is a pretty good spokesperson for Scotland and, you know, things like the Scottish accent and Scottish culture. So I thought I’d interview her. Her name is Leslie. She is really nice, really lovely and she’s got a lovely voice, very pleasant Scottish accent. So asked Leslie a few questions about differences between English culture and Scottish culture and asked her questions about the Scottish accent and how does the Scottish accent sound and Leslie talked about features of the Scottish accent. Obviously I can’t really say the Scottish accent because that’s a generalisation. There are actually many different types of Scottish accents and Leslie will tell you all about that in the interview. Now, I am just going to post this on the site and I don’t have time to write a transcript for it now, but I am going to post it up and when I find the time I’ll put a transcript on there. Now, I expect some of you don’t really need the transcript and you are happy just to listen. You don’t need to read all the listening you just want to practice your listening skills. Others who are listening to this probably want to read the transcript so that they understand every single word. I understand that. But since this is a free thing, I can’t always do to the hard work and type transcripts.
But let me know if you feel like you can’t really use this episode without a transcript. That’s reasonable but let me know and then I can start writing a transcript for you. So, let’s see, here is the interview with Leslie and it’s a genuine interview with a native speaker from Scotland. Here we go:

INTERVIEW WITH LESLEY – TRANSCRIPT
Conversation between Luke and Leslie:

Luke: Whereabouts are you from?
Leslie: Well, I’m actually from Dundee, which is probably the third biggest city in Scotland.
Luke: Right
Leslie: And it’s on the east coast, it’s just a bit further north than Edinburgh, about an hour really in the train
Luke: Right, okay. And…but you’re living in England at the moment
Leslie: Yes, yes
Luke: How long have you been here?
Leslie: I’ve been in London… well, this is actually my third time here, living here, but more recently this is probably year three of living here.
Luke: Right, okay. So, let’s see, I thought that I’d ask you then it’s considering you’ve been living here for a few years…I think it’s okay, still working
Leslie: Okay
Luke: Yes, it’s still recording.. ‘cause you’ve been living here for a few years now, right? what’s… have you noticed any differences between life in England and life in Scotland?
Leslie: Well, in my case it’s a little complicated because I actually left Scotland when I was about … um, let me think, I finished university there and then I came to London for the first time and I was probably about twenty-one at the time. And I lived here for a couple of years, and then I went to Brazil
Luke: Really?
Leslie: And I stayed there for twenty years
Luke: I didn’t know that
Leslie: Yeah, that’s right
Luke: Really, whereabouts did you stay in Brazil?
Leslie: Eh, most of my time I spent in Brasilia, the capital, but the last couple of years we were in San Paulo before coming back to Britain
Luke: Do you speak Portuguese?
Leslie: Oh yes, I speak Portuguese at home
Luke: Do you really? At home?
Leslie: Yeah
Luke: So your husband is Portuguese?
Leslie: No, it’s even more complicated! I met my husband in Brazil but he’s from Iran
Luke: He’s from Iran? Okay, so you speak Portuguese to each other
Leslie: We speak Portuguese to each other, ‘cause when I met him, he didn’t speak English!
Luke: I see, I see
Leslie: So we both started the relationship both speaking horrific Portuguese
Luke: Right, but now you speak fluent Portuguese
Leslie: Now we both speak fluent Portuguese and our children of course were brought up there, so they’re bilingual really
Luke: Right, wow
Leslie: but Portuguese is the language at home
Luke: Wow, that’s amazing… So, do you speak Portuguese with the Scottish accent?
Leslie: I don’t think so but a Brazilian would probably say that we are definitely foreigners
Luke: Yeah
Leslie: but I don’t speak as bad Portuguese as an English person might speak it
Luke: Yeah, okay… because…
Leslie: Sorry
Luke: That’s alright… because…
Leslie: I think basically because Scottish is a bit harder and it’s much better for Portuguese… the sounds are quite strong and so I think it makes it easier
Luke: Right, I see. Well, so, okay. So you’ve lived in Brazil for most of your time…
Leslie: A lot of my life was spent there… but coming back to Britain, I think… One thing that strikes me is that your Scottish accent never really leaves you, now I don’t know how deliberate that is. I do remember as a young person trying to hide my Scottish accent
Luke: Right. Why? Why would you do that?
Leslie: Exactly, this I can’t really work out, but I think I probably just wanted to fit in with everybody else
Luke: Yeah
Leslie: So I trying to dilute it a bit, and also I was teaching, so I had to be sure that I wasn’t teaching all my Brazilian students “a wee boy” instead of “a little boy”
Luke: Okay. That’s interesting because it kind of raises the idea of what kind of English should we teach
Leslie: Exactly – should it be the standard BBC English or are we allowed to speak the English we know
Luke: Right. I suppose, I mean, it seems that most people, most of us teachers have decided that there’s a kind of standard BBC style, RP, kind of English that we should teach
Leslie: I think you’re right, Luke, I think so
Luke: But nevertheless I think when students, for example, come to England, when they listen to people speaking English, sometimes they’re kind of shocked by the fact that they don’t understand something. And they think “I met this man in the pub and I can understand everything you’re saying Luke, but this guy – I couldn’t understand anything he was saying. I think he was from Scotland”. So they always say is that “Oh, I think he must be from Scotland”
Leslie: The people that they don’t understand, must be Scottish
Luke: Exactly, yeah
Leslie: Well, I know, I know
Luke: So I guess from the point of view of our students we’ve got at least show them all the different other variations of English that they can have come across
Leslie: Exactly, and the more they’re exposed to these differences the better it is for them
Luke: Yeah, they might choose to speak in a kind of BBC English style but they should at least know or be aware of the different styles of English
Leslie: Exactly
Luke: Okay, alright, then I guess that now we’re talking about accents, aren’t we?
Leslie: Yes, that’s what we’re doing
Luke: Is it fair when people say that there’s a Scottish accent? Like people say “Oh, I think he had a Scottish accent” Is that fair to say that?
Leslie: Well, I think it’s probably true, because even I, when I’m listening to people and I know they are obviously Scottish, I don’t necessarily know where they’re from, which part of Scotland they’re from
Luke: But you know that they’re Scottish
Leslie: All the time, and I will always recognize event a slight Scottish lilt, because it’s quite distinctive. I think the biggest difference in Scotland is the difference between East and West, and I think that’s the obvious difference, and I think most people will pick that up if they’re exposed to Scottish English in any way
Luke: Okay, so is Glasgow in the west and Edinburgh in the east end?
Leslie: That’s right
Luke: I see. ??? 13:56
Leslie: But anyone from the west, and it could be anywhere, and I never would automatically get it right, anybody in the west will always say something like ???
Luke: Okay, right.

Leslie: That’s right.
Luke: I see.
Leslie: Yeah…
Luke: Really my knowledge of …
Leslie: But anyone from the West … and it could be anywhere and I would never automatically get it right. Anybody in the West will always say something like “oh, so you’re gonna away for the weekend”.
Luke: Ok.
Leslie: That’s the kind of sound it is. All is ee and ee.
Luke: “So you are gonna away for the weekend”
Leslie: That’s it!
Luke: Ok.
Leslie: Whereas on the East coast I think… I think… I don’t know if I’m being fair here, because I’m an Eastern person, but I think it’s a bit more musical. It’s not so much e ee, but it’s more like… more like singing. So we go up and down a little more. So we kind of bounce along and try to pronounce things in the right way.
Luke: Ok.
Leslie: So it sounds a little more pleasant to the ear.
Luke: You’re saying basically that the East of Scotland is better than the West.
Leslie: Well, obviously, Luke! This is my opportunity to get it out there!
Luke: Ok. Hm… All right. So, you could say then … East, well, East is a bit more singsong or something like that.
Leslie: Yes, it’s a little more musical, I think it’s a little more pleasing to the ear. But, of course, there are … there are people from my home city that I cannot understand …
Luke: Right.
Leslie: Because they just refuse to speak any English that anybody can recognize. And it can be horrible.
Luke: Right. So you get I suppose… There are … I mean just like there are all over the country in Scotland you get dialects which are kind of region-specific…
Leslie: Yes.
Luke: To an … to a certain extent, and when you get those extreme dialects, they can be… they are so far removed from received pronunciation that they can be difficult to understand.
Leslie: That’s right, that’s right.
Luke: And just like in any other part of the country, you get that in Scotland.
Leslie: You do, indeed. I think you would also have to say that there are specific vocabulary words which are different.
Luke: Hm, yeah.
Leslie: Mm… Just as I said before the “wee”…
Luke: Yeah, wee…That I hear… That … That’s something that I recognize in Scottish sort of dialect of whatever.
Leslie: Yes, and it seems to be becoming fashionable. I hear a lot of Americans saying it now.
Luke: Oh, yeah, yeah…
Leslie: “A wee boy”
Luke: Oh, yeah…
Leslie: It does sound a little strange when an American says that…
Luke: I guess, an … a lot of Americans kind of think “Oh, you know, I’m gonna get back to my roots. You know, you know, my great… My great grandfather’s uncle was Scottish, so, you know, I like to use “wee” cause it… It, you know, brings me back to my heritage. I can’t speak a very good at…
Leslie: Yes, but it’s true. People strangely enough love to thing that they have Scottish origins, and I’m not sure why.
Luke: I’d a friend from New Zealand and she used to say “wee” things.
Leslie: Oh, really?
Luke: And she used to use bits of sort of Scottish English.
Leslie: Yes…
Luke: But I think that may be because in New Zealand there’s a lot of… Lot of Scottish people populated New Zealand, so…
Leslie: The Scotts have gone very far all over the world. And I think anybody who has any kind of connection to Scotland will… will really appreciate it much more than I possibly would do. So…
Luke: Right.
Leslie: So it’s quite funny there…
Luke: Ok. So… All right. So… Can you give me any more examples of … accent
Leslie: Yes. I think the Scottish accent is basically… You’ve… The “r” sound when we are talking about my new dress which is bright red.
Luke: Right.
Leslie: I think a Scottish person would quite… quite normally say “bright red”. So we do roll “r”s a little. We don’t do it an awful lot. You know, you hear comedians talking about brrrright. I don’t think anybody actually ever says that, but we do do it once. Bright. We give a bit of a snick if you like.
Luke: A bit of a roll. More…
Leslie: Yeah, that’s right.
Luke: More than me. Cause I would…I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say “bright”, I’d never say “bright”, “bright red”.
Leslie: No, because it’s… it’s lot of tongue work in fact, when you have to roll the “r” to “bright, bright”.
Luke: So, that’s the one feature of Scottish tongue.
Leslie: Yes. I think so. I think another difference might be… there are four words that an English person might say in two different groups. If you look at “bath”: “every day I have a bath”…
Luke: Yeah.
Leslie: “And I like to have a good laugh with my friends.” Now in Scotland we would probably not make the difference between “bath” and “man”, because we say “bath”. “I’m going to have a bath”, “I’d like to have a laugh”,
Luke: Yeah…
Leslie: And “I’ve met a man”, and “it was a trap”. So in fact that “a” sound is all the same in Scotland.
Luke: So, so in… in England we say “bath”, “laugh”, but then we say “man” and “trap”, so…
Leslie: That’s right. So you have two different sounds with “a”.
Luke: Words like… Yeah… So, it’s like in… in many parts of the North of England, as well, they did the same thing.
Leslie: That’s right. You don’t have this…
Luke: So, let’s say “bath”… “I’m gonna have a bath”…
Leslie: That’s it. And then I’m going out to the pub and have a laugh.
Luke: Yeah, I’m gonna have a right laugh with me mates and then I’m gonna go home and have a bath… But they… they wouldn’t say “man” …
Leslie: And then I’m going home and feed a man….
Luke: Yeah.
Leslie: Exactly!
Luke: So… That’s actually something that divides the whole of Britain. It’s not just S… Well, it’s… I mean, it’s somewhere in… somewhere around Birmingham …
Leslie: Noth-South divide I think…
Luke: Divides the South and North of Britain as a whole.
Leslie: That’s right, that’s right, I think that’s true.
Luke: People in the South say “bath” and “laugh”, and in the North they’d say “bath” and “laugh”.
Leslie: That’s right, that’s right.
Luke: All right. Anything else?
Leslie: Ehh… Another thing I was reading about recently. Funnily enough the Scottish accent seems to be becoming a bit more fashionable than it used to be.
Luke: Yeah.
Leslie: And in a recent survey I saw that a Scottish accent is desirable in business…
Luke: Really?
Leslie: Conveying above average honesty in the personality of the owner.
Luke: Right.
Leslie: Now, that’s an interesting one.
Luke: That is interesting… Hm, I…
Leslie: Considering the banking …
Luke: Disaster…
Leslie: Exactly! More recently with big Scottish banks collapsing…
Luke: Royal Bank of Scotland.
Leslie: That’s right.
Luke: But that’s interesting, because… yeah… I heard that too, that the Scottish accent conveys a kind of sense of trustworthiness particularly around money.
Leslie: Exactly! That’s what they say. Yes, for any financial reports or serious money matters they do prefer a Scottish accent, because it seems to promote sobriety, that’s…
Luke: But…
Leslie: And that’s a laugh in itself
Luke: Yeah.
Leslie: Most people think that Scottish people are drunk all the time.
Luke: That’s … that’s a cliché or a stereotype of the Scottish is that they drink a lot
Leslie: That’s right.
Luke: But another cliché is that they er… hold onto their money.
Leslie: Oh, yes! Stinginess.
Luke: Right.
Leslie: Oh, yes. We are renowned for this, and funnily enough, I only ever heard that Scottish people were tightfisted or stingy when I went to Brazil.
Luke: Right.
Leslie: I had never heard this before.
Luke: Well, you only kind of realize it when you step outside, you know, the world you live in.
Leslie: That’s right, that’s right. And in fact, if you… if you think about it historically, I suppose, that is certain amount of truth in it, because Scottish people have always been the impoverished cousin of the English. So I suppose they never had a lot of money.
Luke: Yeah, yeah.
Leslie: So…
Luke: They kept hold of what they have in case the English came and stole it from them.
Leslie: Exactly.
Luke: It’s true, cause my … my bank, Lloyd TSB, right…
Leslie: Yeah?
Luke: They got phone -back service, and whenever I phone them up, it’s always a Scottish person.
Leslie: Is it really?
Luke: And I’m sure they’ve employed Scottish people for that reason, or may be that they might’ve done… But every time I call them they say “Welcome to TSB phone bank. And…”
Leslie: “This is Maggie speaking. How can I help?”
Luke: “How can I help you with your money, Mr. Thompson?” And it does make me think “Oh, I’m in safe hands here”.
Leslie: All right, yes. It is possibly true. And in fact I think it is true. I do… I do… Possibly, because I’m Scottish, but when I do hear a Scottish voice on the phone, I think “Oh, well, mate, just let’s stop talking about whatever we were talking about. Where’re you from? And how do you doing down here?” It is quite interesting.
Luke: Yes.
Leslie: Another … another er… wonder… I always forget until I go home, and I soon as go home I start saying it is the word “Aye”.
Luke: Um-hm. Right.
Leslie: So we use the word “Aye” all the time when we’re agreeing with somebody.
Luke: All right.
Leslie: So obviously it just means yes. So, “aye”. “Are you going to the pub tonight?” “Aye, I think I will”.
Luke: Right.
Leslie: That’s… it’s, it’s a homely word for me. And as soon as I go home I start saying it.
Luke: It’s a sort of thing you’d see in a kind of … Advertises use it, don’t they, to kind of drop an image like in advertisement for some whiskey or something.
Leslie: Oh, yes.
Luke: “Would you like a wee drop of whiskey?” “Aye, I would”
Leslie: “Och aye”. And that’s another interesting part. The … the sound of “och”
Luke: Och.
Leslie: Now English people find that very hard.
Luke: What does “Oh aye” mean?
Leslie: It just means “Oh, yes!”
Luke: Right.
Leslie: So “Och” just means “yes”.
Luke: There is a cliché, isn’t there, that Scottish people say “Oh aye, the noo”? “Och aye, the noo!” But what does that…? Do people say that in Scotland?
Leslie: No! I’ve never said it in my life and I never will! But it’s just one of these little clichés that has appeared.
Luke: So, and “Och aye” just means “Oh yes”?
Leslie: That’s right, that’s right.
Luke: Ok, ok.
Leslie: So I still keep on saying “och” quite frequently, but I’ve dropped the “aye”, but…
Luke: Yeah, so if I said to you, for example “Oh, it’s a lovely day, isn’t it, today?”
Leslie: Yes, it is, Luke, you’re right! I’ve been here too long, obviously, Luke, it’s time to go home, I think.
Luke: Ok, it’s the English way of saying it.
Leslie: Yeah.
Luke: Ok. Right. I think we’re pretty much done here. It’s very interesting to hear from genuine Scottish person, even someone who spent most of their time in Brazil.
Leslie: Exactly. I fled my home as soon as I could. But no, no… It’s funnily enough though, I do often think about going back to Scotland.
Luke: Yeah.
Leslie: Having been away, and it’s only when you go back, that you see how, how beautiful it is!
Luke: Yeah.
Leslie: I mean if you think how many people actually live in Scotland.
Luke: Hm.
Leslie: The population of the UK is about sixty-five million now or more. And how many people live in Scotland?
Luke: Not many. It’s about ten or fifteen per cent.
Leslie: Five, five million.
Luke: Really?
Leslie: And if you think of the geographical size of the country, it’s not that much smaller than England, but most of it just mountains and sheep.
Luke: I mean, it’s… if you want wilderness in the UK, than Scotland is the place to go.
Leslie: Oh, that’s where you should go, that’s where to go, exactly.
Luke: And you have … you have mountains and you’ve got weather, you’ve got like… the sky is incredible in Scotland.
Leslie: Well, the sky is something to see, but the weather is not our most famous advertisement slogan.
Luke: It’s even more extreme or even more changeable than the English weather.
Leslie: Oh yes!
Luke: People come to London and complain about the weather, but that’s nothing compared to…
Leslie: Put them on a train to Scotland, Luke, and they’ll know what weather is.
Luke: Ok. All right.
Leslie: Good.
Luke: Thank you very much, Leslie. It was …
Leslie: You are very welcome, Luke. It was nice to speak to you.

57. Birmingham Accent / 12 Phrasal Verbs with the letter ‘A’ (with Neil Waters)

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I’m joined by my old college friend Neil Waters in this episode. First we talk about the Birmingham accent, and then we teach you some useful phrasal verbs.

Right-click here to download this episode.
This is not a full transcript for the conversation with Neil, but below you can read some notes about Neil, Birmingham accent, the phrasal verbs and their definitions.

My friend Neil – he’s an old friend. We’ve known each other for 17 years, we went to college and university together, and we’ve played music in several bands. Neil lives in Birmingham, which is an area in the middle of England, about 200 miles north of London. The area around Birmingham is called The Midlands, although some people in London consider it to be in The North of the country!

The Birmingham accent. In the midlands people tend to speak with a certain accent which is specific to that region. There are a few types of Birmingham accent – someone from Wolverhampton sounds a bit different from someone from Solihull, but most of them share the same basic features.

People often say that the Birmingham accent rises and falls a lot. People in Birmingham also pronounce the “a” sound in words like “grass” “bath” and “laugh” using the short /æ/ sound (like in “cat”), which is typical of accents from areas in the north of England. In the south people pronounce “grass” “glass” “half” etc with a longer /a:/ sound (like in “car” “far”).

The best way to understand what the Birmingham accent sounds like is to listen to people from Birmingham speaking. I will do a podcast with real examples of the Birmingham accent for you soon. In the meantime, you can do searches for famous people with Birmingham accents (Ozzy Osbourne – lead singer of Black Sabbath, Jeff Lynne from ELO, comedian Jasper Carrot and comedian Frank Skinner). Listen to them and they way they speak. Can you hear the accent?

12 Phrasal Verbs:

Here are the phrasal verbs Neil and I talked about. They all come from pages 1 and 2 of the Cambridge Phrasal Verbs Dictionary, which is an excellent and very useful book. All the phrasal verbs begin with the letter ‘a’.

1. to aim to do something – “With this podcast we’re aiming to make something really useful for learners of English” = to try to achieve something

2. to aim at something – “We’re aiming at making a really useful podcast” = to try to achieve something (same as 1. above)

3. to act something out – “we’re going to act out some phrasal verbs for you” = to perform the actions of a word, speech or story / to express your thoughts by performing them

4. to amount to – “What is this podcast going to amount to? This podcast really amounts to a great collection of recordings for learners of English” = to become a particular amount / to become something

5. to allow for something – “The whole journey should take 5 hours, and that’s allowing for delays” = to include something when you’re making a judgement

6. to ache for something – “People are aching for a podcast with such fantastic useful vocabulary!” = to want something or someone very much

7. to account for something – “She was unable to account for the missing $5000 dollars. She couldn’t explain where the money was” = to explain the reason or cause for something

8. to add up to something – “what this podcast really adds up to is a fantastic resource for learners of English” = to become a particular amount / to have a particular result or effect

9. to add something up – “If you add up all the podcast, you’ll see there is a lot of useful content there” = to calculate the total of something , (“the facts don’t add up” = the facts don’t make sense, like a maths equation that doesn’t produce the right number)

10. to agree with someone – “I totally agree with you” = to have the same opinion as someone

11. to allude to something – “I’m not going to explain that, I’m just going to allude to it” “She alluded to the problems she’s having at home” = to mention something in an indirect way

12. to act up – “Neil didn’t act up too much” “The kids acted up all evening, it was a nightmare” = to behave badly

That’s all folks!

If you have any questions about that, send me an email. luketeacher@hotmail.com

56. British Accents and Dialects

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First in a series of episodes about accents. Learn differences between accents from the UK. This is information that all learners of English need to know!

Right-click here to download this episode.

Click here to listen to my previous episode about British and American Pronunciation.

Here are the notes which I used to record this podcast episode. It’s not a transcript, but I do read from these notes during the episode.

Accents and Dialects

I’m going to do a series of podcasts about accents. I’ve already done one about British and American accents, but I think accents are fascinating and a lot of fun so I’m going to do more. They are also very important for you, because:
-You need to be aware of different styles of English
-You shouldn’t listen to just ONE style of English because there’s a wide range of ways to say the same thing
-You need to be aware of the different sounds in English and what they mean
-You need to choose the accent you want, and then copy it
-You need to be able to understand different accents when you hear them

One of the most interesting things for me about accents is what and accent can tell you about a person. When I hear someone speak, their accent immediately gives me lots of associations. Just the sound of someone’s voice might tell me; their social class, which part of the country they are from, if they’re from the town or countryside, what their background might be, what their attitudes might be.

Obviously we shouldn’t judge people by their accents, and these are just pre-conceptions but the point is, I get all these associations but learners of English don’t. They can’t tell if someone is from the north or south or what social class they might come from. Native speakers usually can.

I’m interested in bridging that gap between what a native speaker knows/understands about accents and what a learner knows/understands.

Firstly, what is an accent and what is a dialect. A dialect is the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people. An accent is the way in which a language is pronounced. So, dialect is differences in vocabulary and accent is differences in pronunciation.

Secondly, how many accents can you find in the UK? There are lots! At least 10.

How many accents are there in the world? Again, there are lots. Between different English speaking countries, and also within those countries. There are lots of ways of saying the same sentence in English!

Is it true that there is such thing as a British accent and an American accent? It’s not true that there is just one American or British accent. There are so many in America and so many in Britain but you can group accents as ‘British’ because they share many features and come from Britain. You can do the same for America too. But there is not just 1 British accent or 1 American accent.

There are general differences between British and American accents, and I’ve been into this before in previous podcasts. Click here to listen to my previous episode about British and American Pronunciation. . The differences include the /t/ sound, the /r/ sound, the /ɑ/ sound and the fact that American English often sounds more nasal.

If we focus on the UK we can see lots of different accents that are linked closely with different regions and cultures in the UK.

The standard accent which is used by the BBC World Service, Oxford & Cambridge dictionaries and the commonly used phonemic chart is called RP (received pronunciation) or BBC English. This is a standard form without a specific region. It’s traditionally associated with educated people who speak ‘correctly’. These days we’re more politically correct so any accent is ‘correct’ but RP is considered to be clear and non-region specific. I would say that it is more common in the south. I would also say that I speak with an RP accent with a few traces of accents I have picked up, particularly the Birmingham accent, because I lived there for a few years.

Then there are regional accents. I can’t go into great detail, but I will run through a few. There will be more podcasts in which I play you real samples of these accents. Here’s a list of different accents from the UK: Cornwall, Bristol (South West), London, East Anglia, Midlands (Birmingham), Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Yorkshire, Newcastle, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland.

In the next few episodes I will play you extracts of different accents and highlight their features. Hopefully you’ll get familiar with a range of accents.

An interesting video in which an actor goes around the map of England, doing the different accents:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8k7ajlq0eI&fs=1&hl=en_US]

41. London Video Interviews Pt 3

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[DOWNLOAD AUDIO]
More native speakers describing their home city of London. Transcript and definitions available below. Luke’s English Podcast is for learners of English as a second language. If there was an award for ‘Best Learning English Podcast by Someone Called Luke from West London” this would definitely win!

Parliament Square

(This guy has lived in London his whole life. He has quite a typical London accent. You can hear/see it in the way he pronounces the /th/ sound in words like ‘think’. He says ‘fink’.)
Man: Hello
Luke: So, are you from London?
Man: Yep, I sure am
Luke: How long have you lived here?
Man: Twenty one years
Luke: Right, okay, so what’s the best thing about it?
Man: Best thing? There’s always something to do, places to go. There’s a lot of tourist attractions around here… erm, things… that the main thing, it’s the things to do… you can never be bored in London
Luke: Yeah
Man: …always places and things to see
Luke: Ok, what’s the worst thing?
Man: Worst thing? Where it’s such a big city, it’s easy to get lost, and the amount of people that came here, come here… err, it’s easy to get lost, and people can push you out of the way and you can get lost within the people around London. It’s always busy, always always busy so be prepared to wait (and) get lost, basically…
Luke: Alright, great
Man: Cool
Luke: Thank you very much
Man: Thank you
Luke: Cheers

London Eye
(The first woman sounds quite ‘middle class’ and has a well-spoken southern English accent)
Woman: Hello
Luke: How long have you been in London now?
Woman: All my life, or… all of today as well
Luke: So (laughs)… okay, so you’re a proper Londoner then?
Woman: Yes
Luke: What’s the best thing about living here?
Woman: The people, err, the theatre, the sights, just the general buzz. It’s fun.
Luke: Okay, what about the worst thing?
Woman: Err, the commuting, the transport, but other than that it’s pretty great all round
Luke: Ok, thank you very much
Woman: Ok, thank you, bye
Luke: Cheers, bye

South Bank
(The woman on the left is from somewhere very close to London and has a typical London accent, her friend on the right is originally from somewhere in the north of England, and has – I think – a Lancashire accent, but not very strong)
Friends: Hi, hello
Luke: So, where are you from?
Friend 1: I’m from just outside London
Friend 2: and originally I’m from the north of England and I moved to London about 8 years ago
Luke: Ok, right. But you’ve both been living in London for quite a few years
Friend 1: Twenty odd years, yeah
Luke: Right. So what’s the best thing about it?
Friend 2: I think the best thing about London is, we were talking about it earlier, erm…
Friend 1: Skyline
Friend 2: Yeah, when you step out somewhere, you feel like you’re on a film set. It must be like, I’ve never been to New York, but you feel like every building is recognisable, everything’s like a film set. It’s so busy and buzzy. It’s fantastic.
Friend 1: And there’s always lots to do
Luke: Right, what about the worst thing?
Friend 1: Tubes
Friend 2: Tubes are bad, yeah
Friend 1: Tubes in the summer, with no air conditioning
Friend 2: It’s a bit lonely as well, you don’t know, often you never see the same face again…
Friend 1: You see, I don’t agree with that
Friend 2: Occasionally it can be a bit lonely. And the crime’s not brilliant.
Luke: Right, thank you very much
Friend 2: Right, you’re welcome
Friend 1: Ok, thank you
Luke: Fantastic

City of London (This is the financial heart of London. The view you can see in the video is from Waterloo Bridge)
(This girl has a typical accent that most young people have in London these days)
Luke: What’s the best thing about London?
Girl: By f… (by far) the best thing in London is the nightlife… and… but it’s got loads of restaurants and pubs… but it’s got loads of everything really. You’re spoilt for choice here. Very spoilt for choice.
Luke: Ok, what about the worst thing?
Girl: The worst thing, it’s quite expensive… especially the, especilly the train, the tube is very expensive for example. And there’s always delays on the tube as well. Erm… That’s it really. I can’t think of anything else.
Luke: Ok, great. Thank you.
Girl: That’s it?
Luke: That’s it, thanks very much
Girl: Thank you very much

South Bank Skate Park (This is a small area on the South Bank of the Thames near Waterloo Bridge & The London Eye where there is a skate park for skateboarders and ‘BMXers’ and graffiti artists)

(This guy is a BMXer – someone who rides a BMX bike. He also has the kind of informal London accent that many young people in London speak with these days)
BMXer: Alright
Luke: How’s it going?
BMXer: Good
Luke: Alright, so, do you live in London?
BMXer: Yeah
Luke: How long have you lived here?
BMXer: All my life. 20 years.
Luke: Ok, so you’re a proper Londoner then
BMXer: Yeah
Luke: What’s the best thing about living here
BMXer: Well, actually I think the best thing is the skate parks. Just ‘cos (because) I’m a BMXer, and I like… it’s a good atmosphere everywhere when you get to a skate park, everyone’s all, like, having fun and everything
Luke: Yeah yeah yeah
BMXer: That’s the best part, man
Luke: There’s like, about 4 or 5 isn’t there, over London
BMXer: Yeah, more actually, I think there’s more than that but, I just… I know of a few, like…. I live in Stockwell and there’s one there, and this one here.
Luke: Ok, what’s the worst thing about London?
BMXer: Probably just some areas like Brixton, Peckham, stuff like that… You hear of crime and people getting mugged and… but… well it is late at night, but still… that’s, that’s probably the worst thing anyway, you’ve just got to be careful in places like that.
Luke: Yeah, yeah yeah yeah. Ok, thank you very much.
BMXer: Ok
Luke: Cheers

tourist attractions – things which attract tourists (like the famous buildings, etc)
the sights – tourist attractions, famous things to see (e.g. the famous buildings, the London Eye)
the general buzz – the exciting and lively atmosphere
the commuting – travelling from home to work every day (usually from outside the city into the city)
Twenty odd years – about/approximately twenty years
Skyline – the shape of the city against the sky. E.g. New York has a famous skyline.
a film set – a place where a film is being made
buzzy – lively, atmospheric
You’re spoilt for choice here – you have so many choices that it’s difficult to decide which one to choose
skate parks – places for skateboarders to go skateboarding
getting mugged – being robbed in a public place

20. Beware of Bad Pronunciation

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This is a podcast for learners of English as a second language. Use it to improve your vocabulary, listening, pronunciation, idioms and cultural awareness. This podcast is about how you should be a bit careful of the reliability of some videos on the internet.

Right-click here to download this episode.

Tracy Goodwin’s infamous guide to “How to speak with a British Accent” from ‘Expert’ Village

Transcript to Tracy Goodwin’s video

“Now let’s practise the short ‘o’, and again I’ll give you words and sentences. I’ll say them standard American first, followed up with the British dialect.

Hot Hot

Coffee Coffeh!

Fought FOTT!

Not NOT

Bobby Bobbeh

Fond Fawned

Now some sentences:

Ron opted to ignore Dot

Lost coffee is not to be fought over

The dog was lost in the fog

The loft smelled like strong coffee”

OK, that’s Tracy Goodwin’s advice. Unfortunately, most of it is plain wrong. Sorry Tracy.

Here are some of the comments made on her YouTube page

Somewhere in England there’s a bunch of poor Americans walking around talking like complete dicks because of this lady. Never in my life have I heard anyone say coffee like that. Ever. And I’ve live in England all my life.

Never in all my days in Britain have I heared anyone say coffie like that.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

She doesn’t have a clue. English people can understand Americans. We’re not retards that need to be spoken to in our ‘dialect’.

LOL lol lol lol!!!! The way she says coffEH is sooooooooooooooooooooo funny!!! i have a west coast accent but live in the UK, and let me tell you, that is sooooooooooo not how these people talk. Like, not one bit!!! Especially the way she says coffee, it is so not friggin’ “coffEH”! LOL. and that barbie thing she was on about is not bobby!!!! Certainly not!! LOL, what a freak! She ain’t no expert! ;]]]

hahahahahaha

UPDATE (April 2014)
I was thinking about this podcast episode recently, and I was a bit worried that I’d been unfair to Tracy, or that it was a bit cruel to publicly shame her. I was considering removing this episode, because I think it’s not very nice to make fun of other people online. I decided I’d have another look at Expert Village, and Tracy’s videos. I watched some more videos from Expert Village – and it made me realise again – these videos are terrible! I’m sorry, but it’s just not fair to label Tracy as an expert in speaking with a British accent, and in fact many of the other videos on ‘Expert Village’ are absolutely laughable. They’re not experts, much of the advice is wrong and in some cases dangerous. It makes me wonder how this channel operates. Who are the people in the videos? Who is in charge of Expert Village? How do you get a video on this network? In some cases, the so-called ‘experts’ seem to be embarrassed by their videos. Have a look at this video below. It’s a compilation of some of Expert Village’s biggest failures. I started with sympathetic intentions, but now I think Expert Village probably deserves all the criticism it gets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvAAycrwyIA

14. English Mania / British and American Pronunciation

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Listen to extracts from a TED Talk about the phenomenon of “English Mania”, and learn some differences between British and American English.

Right-click here to download this episode.

Introduction

This full length podcast is about international English and pronunciation differences between American and British English. luketeacher@hotmail.com

Hello everyone and thanks for visiting my podcast page. I’ve now got a YouTube video page with a few videos on it. You can visit it here: Luke’s English Podcast on YouTube.

I recently uploaded a video on “16 Ways to Say I LIKE IT” and it’s been very popular. It’s already had nearly 500 views. I will upload more videos soon.

The feature section in this podcast is about English as an international language, or English Mania! Here is the video of Jay Walker talking about English Mania at a recent TED conference:
[ted id=”554″]

Here is the transcript to Jay’s presentation

Let’s talk about manias. Let’s start with Beatle mania. Hysterical teenagers, crying, screaming, pandemonium. Sports mania. Deafening crowds. All for one idea. Get the ball in the net. Okay, religious mania. There’s rapture. There’s weeping. There’s visions. Manias can be good. Manias can be alarming. Or manias can be deadly.

The world has a new mania. A mania for learning English. Listen as Chinese students practice their English by screaming it.

Teacher: … change my life!

Students: I will change my life.

T: I don’t want to let my parents down.

S: I don’t want to let my parents down.

T: I don’t ever want to let my country down.

S: I don’t ever want to let my country down.

T: Most importantly … S: Most importantly …

T: I don’t want to let myself down.

S: I don’t want to let myself down.

Jay Walker: How many people are trying to learn English worldwide? Two billion of them.

Students: A t-shirt. A dress.

JW: In Latin America, in India, in Southeast Asia, and most of all in China. If you are a Chinese student you start learning English in the third grade, by law. That’s why this year China will become the world’s largest English speaking country. (Laughter) Why English? In a single word: Opportunity. Opportunity for a better life, a job, to be able to pay for school, or put better food on the table. Imagine a student taking a giant test for three full days. Her score on this one test literally determines her future. She studies 12 hours a day for three years to prepare. 25 percent of her grade is based on English. It’s called the Gaokao. And 80 million high school Chinese students have already taken this grueling test. The intensity to learn English is almost unimaginable. Unless you witness it.

Teacher: Perfect! Students: Perfect!

T: Perfect! S: Perfect!

T: I want to speak perfect English.

S: I want to speak perfect English.

T: I want to speak — S: I want to speak —

T: perfect English. S: perfect English.

T: I want to change my life!

S: I want to change my life!

JW: So is English mania good or bad? Is English a tsunami, washing away other languages? Not likely. English is the world’s second language. Your native language is your life. But with English you can become part of a wider conversation. A global conversation about global problems. Like climate change or poverty. Or hunger or disease. The world has other universal languages. Mathematics is the language of science. Music is the language of emotions. And now English is becoming the language of problem solving. Not because America is pushing it. But because the world is pulling it. So English mania is a turning point. Like the harnessing of electricity in our cities, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, English represents hope for a better future. A future where the world has a common language to solve its common problems.

Thank you very much. (Applause)

British & American English

Here is a link to a Wikipedia page about differences between American and British pronunciation. It includes the information I gave, plus more information too: British and American Pronunciation Differences.

That’s it!

p.s. if any of you are American, or speak American English and you think my American pronunciation is bad – please let me know. Give me some feedback! You could send me an audio file, or a YouTube video or something.

Nicholas Cage’s bad English accent (he starts doing it at about 0:40)

7. Susan Boyle

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This podcast is about Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who recently became very famous all over the world on YouTube. The language section is about idioms to describe personality.

Right-click here to download.

Transcript available below.

Hello everyone around the world, and thank you very much for downloading the podcast. I’ve had lots of downloads in lots of countries recently.

This podcast is about Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who recently became very famous all over the world on YouTube. The feature section is about her and her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Miserables. Why was it so special? Why have so many people in the world seen it? Why has she become so famous? Why do the Americans love her?

Below this text you can read a transcript of her conversation with the judges on Britain’s Got Talent (TV show), and the lyrics of I Dreamed A Dream. I explain some of the words and expressions from the conversation.

The Language Section is about some common idioms which you can use to describe people’s personality and appearance. You can read the idioms and definitions below.

What do you think of Susan Boyle? Is she famous in your country? What do you think of Luke’s English Podcast? Is it too long? Would you like me to change anything? Email me: luketeacher@hotmail.com

Here’s the transcript of the conversation from the video of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. (The tapescript starts from 0.40 seconds into the video:

SC = Simon Cowell AH = Amanda Holden PM = Piers Morgan SB = Susan Boyle

SC: What’s your name darling? SB: My name is Susan Boyle SC: Ok, err, Susan, err, where are you from? SB: I’m from ??? near Bathgate in West Lothian SC: That’s a big town…? SB: It’s a sort of, a sort of collection of … (she thinks) … villages. I had to think there! SC: And how old are you Susan? SB: I’m 47… and that’s just one side of me!! SC: Ok, and what’s the dream? SB: I’m trying to be a professional singer SC: And why hasn’t it worked out so far Susan? SB: Well, I haven’t been given a chance before, but here’s hoping it’ll change… SC: OK, and who would you like to be as successful as? SB: Elaine Paige… SC: Elaine Paige SB: …something like that PM: What are you gonna sing tonight? SB: I’m going to sing “I Dream The Dream” from Les Miserables

She sings: (A presenter says: You didn’t expect that! Did you?? Did you?? No!)

I dreamed a dream in time gone by When hope was high, And life worth living I dreamed that love would never die I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid When dreams were made and used, And wasted There was no ransom to be paid No song unsung, No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night With their voices soft as thunder As they tear your hopes apart As they turn your dreams to shame.

And still I dream he’ll come to me And we will live our lives together But there are dreams that cannot be And there are storms We cannot weather…

I had a dream my life would be So different from this hell I’m living So different now from what it seems Now life has killed The dream I dreamed

She starts walking off the stage when she is finished…

PM: Come back here!! SC: All right, and thank you very much, err, Susan. Piers? PM: Without a doubt that was the biggest surprise I have had in 3 years of this show. When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said “I want to be like Elaine Page”, everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now! That was stunning! An incredible performance. Amazing! I’m reeling from the shock. I dunno about you two, but… AH: I am so thrilled because I know everybody was against you. I honestly think we were all being very cynical and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever, and I just want to way that it was a complete privilege, listening to that. SC: I knew the minute you walked out… SB: Oh Simon! SC: …on that stage that we were gonna hear something extraordinary and I was right. Susan, you are a little tiger, aren’t you. SB: Oh, I don’t know about that. SC: You are. OK, the moment of truth. Piers – yes or no? PM: The biggest yes I have ever given anybody. SC: Amanda? AH: Yes. Definitely. Brilliant. SB: Amanda?! You too?!! SC: Susan Boyle. You can go back to the village with your head held high, because it’s three yesses! Presenter: Well! I think you enjoyed that just a little bit! PM: What a voice. AH: Incredible. Presenter: Congratulations! SB: Oh my God! Oh my God! Presenter: How do you feel? SB: …bloody fantastic! Presenter: Piers says that’s the biggest yes he’s ever given on the show… in 3 series. SB: Oh my God! PM: The most extraordinary shock we’ve ever had. SB: So emotional… Unbelievable and emotional and fantastic…

Here are some of the words and definitions: SB: “That’s just one side of me” = That’s just one part of who I am SC: “Why hasn’t it ‘worked out’ for you?” = why hasn’t it been a success for you? PM: “…with that cheeky grin on your face” = cheeky means a little bit rude, but joking too. A grin is a big smile. A cheeky grin is like a fun, rude smile! PM: “I’m reeling from the shock” – ‘reeling’ means that you’re struggling to recover from the shock AH: “Everyone was against you” = No one was supporting you AH: “We were being very cynical” – Cynical means when you expect bad things to happen because you believe the world is not a good place, you don’t believe people are good, honest, truthful, etc. AH: “It was a complete privelage” = a privilege is like a special opportunity that only a few people have. SC: “Go back to the village with your head held high” – Go back feeling very proud.

Language Section: Idioms to describe character & appearance

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” – You shouldn’t judge people by appearances only. You need to get to know them first before you judge them. “There’s more than meets the eye” – There is more to a person/situation than just how it looks. “A class act” – if someone is a class act, they are excellent at what they do. “A laughing stock” – Someone is a laughing stock if they’ve done something stupid in public, and then everyone is laughing at them and thinks they are stupid. “Moral fibre” – Moral fibre is the inner strength to do what you believe to be right in difficult situations Example: He lacked the moral fibre to be leader . “To have the courage of your convictions” – If you have the courage of your convictions, you are brave enough to do what you feel is right, despite any pressure for you to do something different. “To be bold as brass” – Someone who is as bold as brass is very confident and not worried about how other people will respond. “His bark is worse than his bite” – Someone who’s bark is worse than their bite may well get angry and shout, but doesn’t take action. “A barrel of laughs” – if someone’s a barrel of laughs, they are always joking and you find them funny.

Transcript for this Episode

Episode 7 – Susan Boyle

You are listening to Luke’s English podcast. For more information visit teacherLuke.podamatic.com.

Hello, welcome to Luke’s English podcast. You are listening to episode six. This is Luke of course. Hello, how are you? I hope you are well. I am fine thanks; I am just sitting here in my living room again. It’s a Thursday evening. I always seem to do these podcasts on a Thursday, for some reason. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I usually do nothing on a Thursday. But anyway, it’s Thursday evening. I am relaxing, having a nice evening and I have had a few emails recently and I had one email from Miho in Japan again – a regular e-mailer.

Hello, hello Miho, how are you and she emailed me saying: Have you heard about Susan Boyle, right? She is asking me about someone called Susan Boyle and have I heard about her because she is very famous at the moment in Japan and well, it’s funny she’s asked that because I have heard about Susan Boyle, of course, because everybody now knows about Susan Boyle. It seems that she is famous all over the world now, which is incredible. It’s a sort of big incredible story that everybody is talking about. It’s quite interesting for lots of reasons. One of the main ones being that she’s become famous overnight. She is suddenly very, very famous.

Now, if you don’t know who she is, I am going to tell you about her in the feature section of the podcast. So I am going to talk about Susan Boyle. Who is she? Why is she famous? Also I am going to interview a few people – some of my friends – just to see what their opinion of Susan Boyle is. I am going to be teaching you some bits of language that you are going to hear people using in those interviews, and then the language section at the end of the podcast is going to be some idioms – some useful common idioms that people use to describe personality, character and appearance, okay?

It’s section 2 coming up now. The feature section Susan Boyle– here we go….

Right then, Susan Boyle – who is she? Well, I am going to explain it for you now.

Susan Boyle is a Scottish singer who recently appeared on the TV show ‘Britain’s got talent’.

Now ‘Britain’s got talent’ is a very popular show here. It’s broadcast on Saturday night on ITV – that’s one of the TV channels here. It’s very popular and in Britain’s got talent what happens is – you get singers – musicians from all over the country. They may want to become famous. So they are just normal ordinary people – members of the public who want to become famous. And they can go on Britain’s got talent as a chance of becoming famous, okay? So they go on the show and they have to sing a song in front of three judges, okay. So the judges are a man called Simon Cowell who is a kind of music industry executive who has started the careers of lots of British pop stars. So he is a kind of British pop star manager. That’s Simon Cowell.

ITV:Independent Television

The second one is a woman called Amanda Holden. And she is an actress – a very famous actress in Britain and the third judge is called Piers Morgan. And Piers Morgan is a journalist who used to be the editor of the Daily Mirror. That’s one of the biggest newspapers in the UK.

Okay? So those are the three judges and the members of the public come on the show – they sing a song in front of the judges and the judges have to decide if that person is going to go through to the next round, okay? So the judges say yes or no. If they get the right number of yes-votes, these people go through to the next round until eventually you get one person at the end who wins and I think they get a record contract. But the person who wins usually becomes very rich and famous. Now Susan Boyle recently appeared on Britain’s got talent and she sang a song from the musical ‘Les Miserables’ and it was actually a very special moment in the show because…basically when she came onto the stage all of the audience and the judges immediately made judgements about her appearance because she – she’s actually 47 years old. She is very ordinary looking. I mean …It’s not rude, really to say …it might be a bit rude to say it, but she is not pretty. She is not really good-looking.

I mean, she, you know, she is not exactly beautiful, right? So, she is very ordinary looking. She doesn’t look glamorous. She looks a bit like your next door neighbour or something, you know. Very ordinary looking. And she does look a bit strange, as well, actually, to be honest.

So, when she came on stage nobody expected her to be talented at all. In fact, because on the show normally, they get lots of people who are very strange – they get always weird, strange people who think that they are very talented and they sing and they are absolutely terrible and everyone laughs at them and the judges criticise them and they don’t win, right.

So, that’s what happens a lot. So, when Susan Boyle came onto the stage, everyone expected her to be awful and have a terrible voice. But, she didn’t. She had…she actually has a fantastic voice and it was a very touching and a very moving performance. The way she sings and you could see it in the audience and you could see it in the judges faces – everyone was very emotionally touched by her performance and something about the fact that she looks normal, she looks ordinary, but she has got a beautiful singing voice has made Susan Boyle into a massive, international star. She is very, very, very famous in America now. She is famous all over the UK, and she is famous all over the world. Even Miho in Japan knows all about her. You’ve probably heard about her yourself.

The clip of her performance is available to watch on you tube. So if you go to you tube and type in Susan Boyle, you can see it. And more than 100 million people have seen her performance on you tube. More than 100 million people. And I think that is the most watched clip on you tube, ever.

So, it’s amazing. It’s absolutely amazing how famous she is. And this has happened in really just a couple of weeks. So it’s really, really incredible.

Just a bit more information about Susan Boyle.

She is….let’s see …She left school when she was 16 years old and she doesn’t really have many qualifications. She has been unemployed for most of her life. She isn’t married. In fact, she says that she is never been kissed, even.

So she hasn’t really had much of an exciting life, actually. She is very normal, very ordinary. She has never really sung or performed on stage before. She sings karaoke in her village sometimes. But for some reason she has got an incredible voice.

Now, I am actually going to play you a clip from the performance. A clip from Britain’s got talent.

So, what you are going to hear is Susan Boyle coming onto the stage. You are going to hear some people talking. You hear the audience sort of laughing at her. Susan Boyle answers a few questions and then she starts to sing and you can hear the audience’s reaction. They are really amazed and you can hear how beautiful her voice is. I don’t usually like this kind of music. I don’t usually listen to music like this, but even I think that it is a beautiful voice and there is something special about her performance.

So, I am going to play it for you now. There may be some things that you don’t understand in this clip. Don’t worry, because I will teach you or I will explain some of the things that they said after the clip.

Now, if you listen to the song and you can’t understand the words, don’t worry you can read the lyrics, you can read the words to the song on the web page at teacherluke.podomatic.com. You can actually read the words there and I hope you enjoy it. It should give you an idea of why this is so special.

I will also post a link to the video on you tube. So you can actually watch the video on you tube as well.

Okay, here is the clip. I hope you like it.

SC = Simon Cowell AH = Amanda Holden PM = Piers Morgan SB = Susan Boyle

SC: What’s your name darling? SB: My name is Susan Boyle SC: Ok, err, Susan, err, where are you from? SB: I’m from Blackburn, near Bathgate in West Lothian SC: That’s a big town…? SB: It’s a sort of, a sort of collection of … (she thinks) … villages. I had to think there! SC: And how old are you Susan? SB: I’m 47… and that’s just one side of me!! SC: Ok, and what’s the dream? SB: I’m trying to be a professional singer SC: And why hasn’t it worked out so far Susan? SB: Well, I haven’t been given a chance before, but here’s hoping it’ll change… SC: OK, and who would you like to be as successful as? SB: Elaine Paige… SC: Elaine Paige SB: …something like that PM: What are you gonna sing tonight? SB: I’m going to sing “I Dream The Dream” from Les Miserables

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hopes apart
As they turn your dreams to shame

And still I dreamed he’d come to me
That we would live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed

PM: Come back here!!

SC: All right, and thank you very much, err, Susan. Piers?

PM: Without a doubt that was the biggest surprise I have had in 3 years of this show. When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said “I want to be like Elaine Page”, everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now! That was stunning! An incredible performance. Amazing! I’m reeling from shock. I dunno about you two, but…

AH: I am so thrilled because I know everybody was against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever, and I just want to say that it was a complete privilege, listening to that.

SC: I knew the minute you walked out…

SB: Oh Simon!

SC: …on that stage that we were gonna hear something extraordinary and I was right. Susan, you are a little tiger, aren’t you.

SB: Oh, I don’t know about that.

SC: You are. OK, the moment of truth. Piers – yes or no?

PM: The biggest yes I have ever given anybody.

SC: Amanda?

AH: Yes. Definitely. Brilliant.

SB: Amanda?! You too?!!

SC: Susan Boyle. You can go back to the village with your head held high, because it’s three yesses!

Presenter: Well! I think you enjoyed that just a little bit!

PM: What a voice.

AH: Incredible. Presenter: Congratulations!

SB: Oh my God! Oh my God!

Presenter: How do you feel?

SB: …bloody fantastic!

Presenter: Piers says that’s the biggest yes he’s ever given on the show… in 3 series.

SB: Oh my God!

PM: The most extraordinary shock we’ve ever had.

SB: So emotional… Unbelievable and emotional and fantastic…

Oh my god, oh that’s just so emotional. Och, I am not really crying. But, well quite emotional. Everyone sort of amazed about it. Extraordinary! The most amazing experience in my whole life, right. So, you can see how passionate she was and see how impressed the judges were. Let’s see then. Maybe some language that you heard there, that you didn’t understand. It might have been a bit difficult to understand everything they said. So, go to the web page. You’ll see a script of the conversations and a script of the song, the lyrics so you can read them and understand everything. But I am also going to teach you a few things or explain a few things that they said as well.

So, let’s do that now. First of all Susan Boyle is from Scotland, so she has got a Scottish accent. Sometimes for learners of English that’s a little bit difficult to understand. So she has got a bit of a Scottish accent which makes it hard to understand.

She said….let’s see….Simon Cowell said: .How old are you Susan, and she said I am 47. And that’s just one side of me. When she is saying that’s just one side of me, it means that is just one part of my personality.

So what she is saying is: I am 47. I am a normal, ordinary middle-aged woman but there is another side of me which is exciting and passionate and talented.

So, Simon Cowell said: What’s the dream? She says: I am trying to be a professional singer and Simon Cowell says: Why hasn’t it worked out so far, Susan?

So it is a phrasal verb there. To work out. If something works out it means, it is a success. It is successful. So he said, why hasn’t it worked out so far and he means why haven’t you had any success, yet being a singer.

Okay, so after Susan sang her song, Piers Morgan said: Without a doubt that was the biggest surprise I have had in three years of this show. When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said I want to be like like Elaine Page everyone was laughing at you No one is laughing now.

A cheeky grin, a cheeky grin. Well, a grin is like a smile on your face, yeah? And a cheeky grin is one that …let’s see, it’s difficult to explain. Cheeky means that you are a little bit rude, but you are joking, as well. Like for example, if you have a child in a school. A child who maybe asks a slightly rude question to the teacher, that’s a cheeky child and it’s a collocation. We say cheeky grin. So, it is like a sort of slightly rude little grin on your face, a rude little smile. A cheeky grin. Okay?

Let’s see! Piers Morgan also said: That was stunning, an incredible performance. Well, you know stunning means like shocking, amazing. So amazing that I didn’t know what to do. So amazing that I couldn’t move. It was stunning.

And he said: I am reeling from shock. I am reeling from shock. So, if you are reeling it means you are struggling to recover, okay? You can’t quite recover. So, perhaps you can’t think straight or you can’t control yourself. So, I am reeling from shock.

Amanda Holden said: I am so thrilled because I know everybody was against you. So, to be against something means to disagree with it or to not support it. So, everyone was against Susan Boyle because of her appearance. So she says: I am so thrilled because everybody was against you. I honestly think we were all being very cynical. Now, cynical means, when you expect only bad things. So, for example you expect people to be selfish. We expect people to …not be talented. So, for example when everyone saw Susan Boyle and her appearance, everyone just expected her to be crazy or expected her to be….to have a very bad voice. So, cynical. So being cynical means that you expect only the bad things. So, that’s cynical.

Amanda Holden also said, she said: I just want to say that it was a complete privilege listening to that. So a privilege is like….when you have a very special opportunity to do something. So, a special opportunity that most people don’t have. So for example, Amanda and the audience were very privileged to see Susan Boyle singing because most people didn’t have the opportunity to do it. So she was, you know….. She had a very special opportunity. She was privileged. Okay?

We often say that rich people in society are privileged, because they have more opportunities than everyone else, because they are rich.

Okay, so when Simon says yes, he said: Susan Boyle, you can go back to the village with your head held high because it’s three yesses.

So, to do something with your head held high means that you can do something with a feeling of pride. So you can feel very proud that you’ve done something very well. So, hold your head up high. It’s the opposite of letting your head go down. So, if your head is down, it means you are ashamed or very disappointed, but if you hold your head high, it means you are very proud, very pleased that you have done something.

Right! So those are basically the things that they said in that clip. What I would like to just talk about now is why…why is Susan Boyle such a famous person. What is it that has made her so special? And I’ve done a bit of research. I’ve been kind of reading some different articles about her and so on and it seems that basically this is about appearances and the fact that we judge people by appearances.

So actually, Susan Boyle did an interview with the Washington Post, an American newspaper, and she said it very clearly. She said: Modern society is quick to judge people on their appearances. There is not much you can do about it. It’s the way they think and it’s the way they are. But maybe, this could teach them a lesson or set an example.

So, what she is saying is that these days in society people just judge you by the way you look. But, hopefully this situation could help people to realize that it is not just the appearances that it’s what inside that counts, okay?

Other newspaper articles on the internet said that this situation, this story is really about ….it’s really a victory for talent and artistry. So it is a victory for talent and artists.

In a culture which is obsessed with physical attractiveness and physical presentation, yeah…so

Amanda Holden again said that everyone was cynical when she came out. But listening to her sing was a wake-up call. A wake up call. A wake up call is something that wakes you up. Something that sort of makes you realize something. A wake-up call.

Maybe you get a wake-up-call in a hotel in the morning. That means that the front desk, the …what are they called? The receptionist, the customer services will call your room. So wake you up in the morning. That’s a wake-up-call. But it is also used to mean something that makes you realize something. Something that opens your eyes. So it is the greatest wake-up-call ever.

Other newspapers are saying that this story is interesting because it’s about the contrast between Susan Boyle’s appearance and her singing. So, the fact that, you know, she looks so ordinary, a little bit ugly, but actually her singing was so good. It was a big surprise and it makes it very interesting. It just makes it a kind of exciting experience to watch.

Other people are saying that this is an under-dog story.

Now, an underdog is the person or the team …if it is a football game…the person who you expect to lose, okay. So, that’s the underdog. The person that you expect…or the team that you expect to lose. So for example in a football game ….let’s see…..if it is Manchester United against maybe like a small local Japanese team. So it could be like Manchester United against Shonan Bellmare., who are a kind of low quality Japanese football team. From Chigasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture . So it is Manchester United versus Shonan Bellmare, then obviously Shonan Bellmare is the underdog. Nobody expects them to win. But, people like to support the underdog. And if the underdog wins, it’s fantastic and everyone is very excited and pleased about it. So, really Susan Boyle’s story is an underdog story. It has a very powerful effect on the audience.

Other people are saying that this is really a victory for middle class …sorry…middle-aged women. Not middle class women. Middle aged women. Because usually in our culture, you know, pop-stars and …on TV the media is obsessed with younger women, you know. Like sexy younger women. And that’s all you see in music videos on MTV. But this is really a victory for older women, middle-aged women.

Susan Boyle is an every-woman. She is an every woman. That means that everyone can relate to her. Everyone feels the same as her. Everyone feels like they are similar to her. Everybody knows somebody like Susan Boyle. She could be your next-door-neighbour.

She could be, you know, your math teacher at school or something. So, she is just like everybody else. She is an every-woman. And that means that people can relate to her story.

Also, the Americans love Susan Boyle. And there is something very American about her story. But she is not American. She is Scottish. But the Americans love an underdog and they obviously believe in the American Dream which means that anybody can get to the top. So, even the most normal ordinary person can go straight to the top. And this is a good example of the American dream. Susan Boyle came from nowhere went on this show, sang beautifully and now she is famous all over the world.

So, that’s the story.

Recently she has been in papers here in the UK. There are pictures of her that have been taken. She has had a make-over. So now, you can see her in the newspapers, wearing a leather jacket and a burberri scarf. You know, she looks cool and everything now, but really I think the people will remember her as being the ordinary middle class – sorry – middle-aged Scottish woman who made everyone feel very emotional, and surprised everyone with her fantastic voice.

Now, I expect that Susan Boyle won’t stay famous for very long. She will probably be famous for, you know, a few months or so but after that, I think, people will just forget about her.

The artist, the modern artist Andy Warhol said a famous quote, once. I think in the ninety sixties. He said: In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. And I think this could be proof that Andy Warhol is right and I think that Susan Boyle probably won’t be famous for very long. She will be famous for 15 minutes. Well, not literally 15 minutes, but it means she will have a short period of fame.

I think she is going to release a CD which Simon Carol is going to publish. So you might be able to listen to her singing on CD. She’ll probably become very, very rich, but I expect that she won’t be famous for very, very long. That’s my prediction.

I might be wrong. I might be wrong. She might become, you know, the next big, big thing who is famous for a long, long time. But I think it’s really just that one moment when she appeared on Britain’s got talent that will be remembered.

Okay, so that’s that.

Don’t forget, if you have got questions about that or if you have comments, please let me know. I would like to hear what you think of Susan Boyle. Is she famous in your country? What do you think of her? And do you think that she will be famous forever? Or will she just be famous for a few months.

Okay, now what I am going to do tomorrow is record some of my friends. I am going to interview a few people and ask them what they think of Susan Boyle.

So, I will post those interviews in another podcast. So, I am going to post this podcast on the internet tonight and I will do some interviews tomorrow and I will post those interviews in another extra podcast that you will be able to download. Probably over the weekend, okay?

So, next you are going to hear the language section where I am going to teach you some idioms.

Okay, so, idioms! I thought it would be interesting to teach you some idioms about appearance and about people’s character and personality. I feel like it’s relates to the Susan Boyle situation quite well. Just a little bit of information about idioms.

What is an idiom? Well, an idiom is a fixed expression that people often say as part of their normal conversation. It’s a fixed expression which is very difficult for learners of English to understand. And that’s because you can’t understand it just by looking at the individual words. So if I give you an idiom and you just look up the words in the dictionary, you might not be able to understand what it means.

So, the words together have another meaning. Everyone has idioms. You have…you will have idioms in your languages that would be difficult to explain to someone who is learning the language and we certainly have a lot of idioms in English. And they are rather difficult for learners to learn but they are also difficult to understand when you hear them being used in conversation. Native speakers use idioms all the time when they are talking, when they are writing to each other and so on.

So, I am going to teach you some useful idioms that you can use to describe personality and character.

Okay, so the first idiom is: Don’t judge a book by its cover. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Now, you could say that that’s not an idiom. You can probably understand what it means, actually. But don’t judge a book by its cover means, you shouldn’t judge somebody just by the way they look. You need to get to know them first before you can make judgements about them.

So just like you wouldn’t judge a book by looking at the cover, by looking at the picture on the cover. You have to judge a book by opening it and reading it.

It is the same about a person. So for example if you look at Susan Boyle you’ll think she is just a boring, middle-aged woman, right? But don’t judge a book by its cover. Actually she is very interesting. She’s got beautiful voice, she is very talented, yeah.

Now, the next one is very similar in meaning and it’s: There is more than meets the eye’. There is more than meets the eye, okay. So there is more than meets the eye means the same thing as don’t judge a book by its cover., really. It means the way someone looks or the way something looks doesn’t show you what is inside. Or doesn’t show you what it really is.

So, again, again, Susan Boyle you look at her and think: Oh, she is just sort of ordinary person. But no, there is more than that. There is more than meets the eye. Actually she is very talented and interesting. Okay, there is more than meets the eye.

The next one is: She is a class act. She is a class act. So a class act is somebody who is excellent of what they do. Somebody who is very, very good what they do. So, Susan Boyle is a class act because she has got a great voice.

Okay, the next one is: He is a laughing stock. He is a laughing stock.

So, a laughing stock is someone who has done something very stupid in public and now everybody is laughing at them. Nobody takes them seriously anymore. And everybody thinks that they are stupid.

So, for example, if Susan Boyle hadn’t sung very well, she had had a very bad voice or she had done something very stupid, then she would be a laughing stock.

She isn’t a laughing stock at all. She is actually great. I think she is fantastic. But a laughing stock is somebody who has done something really stupid and everyone is now laughing at them.

Let’s see, you could say perhaps that George Bush is a bit of a laughing stock because of his bad English, right? He often made bad English mistakes when he spoke and so he is a laughing stock. Particularly in America. I mean, the Americans love to laugh at George Bush now. Some of them don’t, but a lot of them do. Yeah, he is a laughing stock, I think.

The next one is: to have moral fibre. To have moral fibre. So, moral fibre is the inner strength. So, the strength that you have in your personality which helps you to do what you believe is right in a difficult situation. So, for example you could say: He didn’t have the moral fibre to be a leader, right? He didn’t have the moral fibre to be a leader. So, in order to be a leader, you need to have like strength of personality and we describe that as moral fibre.

So, for example you need to have a lot of moral fibre to be a good president.

So, probably Barack Obama seems to have a lot of moral fibre, alright?

Okay, a similar expression is to have the courage of your convictions. To have the courage of your convictions. Now if you have the courage of your convictions, it means you are brave enough to do what you feel is right, even if other people disagree with you.

So, for example, okay let’s take the example of Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was the man who came up with a theory of evolution. Now he came up with the idea that nobody else believed in evolution.

He was the only one and everyone else disagreed with him, but he had the courage of his convictions. He wrote books about it and now we now, that he was right. That evolution is true.

You know, I believe in evolution. So Darwin had the courage of his convictions and now we know that he was right, actually.

Another expression is: To be bold as brass. To be bold as brass.

Now, if you are bold as brass, it means that you are very confident. You are sort of….you are so confident that you are not worried about how other people will think about you.

So, for example, Susan Boyle walked onto the stage and she was bold as brass. She wasn’t worried about what people thought of her. Bold as brass. Okay.

Another nice expression is: His bark is worse than his bite. His bark is worse than his bite.

This means, if someone’s bark is worse than their bite, it means that they might get angry, they might shout. They might seem to be very frightening and scary but actually, they are not really scary. They won’t do anything dangerous.

A bark and a bite we associate with a dog. So we can use it to talk about a dog who makes a lot of noise bark bark bark bark bark, like that, barking, but the bark is worse than the dog’s bite.

So it barks a lot but it doesn’t bite. It’s bark is worse than his bite.

But we can also use that expression to talk about people. So, if there is someone you know, who is perhaps very angry. They shout, they get angry very easily, but actually they are not very dangerous as a person. Actually, they are quite friendly, you can say: His bark is worse than his bite.

So, maybe someone like Simon Cowell one of the judges on the show, he seems to be a very angry guy and he is critical. But actually when you get to know him, he is probably quite a nice person, I think. He has got a big heart. So his bark is worse than his bite.

And the last idiom I am going to teach you is: She is a barrel of laughs. She is a barrel of laughs.

A barrel of laughs means someone who is really, really good fun. Someone who is very, very funny. Someone who laughs a lot and someone who makes you laugh a lot.

So, for example, if you know someone who is really funny, when you spend time with him, you laugh a lot and you have a really good time, you can say: She is just a barrel of laughs.

Now a barrel is a kind of container, like a wooden container that you can use to keep beer in. You might put beer in it, yeah? So, if you have a barrel full of laughs, right. I think you can imagine what that is: a barrel of laughs. A barrel full of laughs. So we use it to describe someone. He is an absolute barrel of laughs. You have a great time with him.

Okay, so that is the end of the language section.

Don’t forget, look at the web page, teacherLuke.podomatic.com.

You can see all the idioms that I have just introduced to you there on the page with definitions. You can also see a picture of Susan Boyle and you will see a link to the you tube video and you can also read the scripts of the conversation between Susan and the judges and you can read the lyrics of her song.

That’s it! Don’t forget to email me. Luketeacher@hotmail.com.

Let me know what you think of Susan Boyle. Let me know what you think of the podcast. This is the longest podcast I have done, yet. Each podcast is getting longer and longer every time. I hope you don’t mind. This is about 45 minutes long.

So please let me know what you think of the podcast. Give me some feedback, give me some comments. If it’s too long, let me know. I will make them shorter.

That’s the end of the podcast.

Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye

Thanks for downloading Luke’s English podcast.

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Luke’s ENGLISH Podcast

Learn British English with Luke Thompson

Category Archives: Accents

58. Scotland / Scottish Accents (with Leslie)

57. Birmingham Accent / 12 Phrasal Verbs with the letter ‘A’ (with Neil Waters)

56. British Accents and Dialects

41. London Video Interviews Pt 3

20. Beware of Bad Pronunciation

14. English Mania / British and American Pronunciation

Introduction

Here is the transcript to Jay’s presentation

British & American English

7. Susan Boyle

Introduction

Here is the transcript to Jay’s presentation

British & American English

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