http://languagecaster.com Thu, 24 May 2012 21:13:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Welcome to all English language learners and teachers to languagecaster.com and its free football podcast. Every week a new soccer show complete with language support for students who wish to improve their English language skills. languagecaster.com no languagecaster.com admin@languagecaster.com admin@languagecaster.com (languagecaster.com) Copyright © by languagecaster 2006-2012 Free football podcast for learners of English brought to you by Damian and Damon. Interviews, match reviews, predictions all with full language support for soccer fans around the world who wish to improve their English language skills. football, soccer, free football podcast, English language, football language, soccer vocabulary, learn English, Learning English football language http://www.languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/site_images/languagecasteritunes.jpg http://languagecaster.com/category/teaching-ideas/audiowork/ http://languagecaster.com/listening-worksheet-history-of-the-copa-america/ http://languagecaster.com/listening-worksheet-history-of-the-copa-america/#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:42:13 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=15739 http://languagecaster.com/listening-worksheet-history-of-the-copa-america/feed/ 0 http://languagecaster.com/video-worksheet-folk-football/ http://languagecaster.com/video-worksheet-folk-football/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:37:06 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=6437 http://languagecaster.com/video-worksheet-folk-football/feed/ 0 folk football,Video,worksheet In this video worksheet post we use a clip from the excellent The History Of Football [2002] [DVD]on the topic of Folk Football. There is also a worksheet, transcript and answer sheet below. The report lasts for 2 minutes 10 seconds. In this video worksheet post we use a clip from the excellent The History Of Football [2002] [DVD] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0001XLWBW?ie=UTF8&tag=languagcomlea-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B0001XLWBW)(http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=languagcomlea-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B0001XLWBW)on the topic of Folk Football. There is also a worksheet, transcript and answer sheet below. The report lasts for 2 minutes 10 seconds. Folk Football Worksheet (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Folk-Football-Worksheet.pdf) | Transcript (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Folk-football-transcript.pdf) (for audio only, click here (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/FolkFootball.Video.aduioclip.m4a)) Transcript The legend, whether true or not, is still enacted year in, year out by the people of Kirkwall, Scotland, making it one of the last strongholds of the game, which for hundreds of years dominated Britain. The game itself is remarkably similar to other long-abandoned folk matches played on the island. The pitch is the entire town; the players number in their hundreds; the goals are local landmarks a mile apart. One goal was generally all it took to win the game, although that could take a whole day. In Kirkwall, two sides compete: the ‘up-the-gates’ and the ‘down-the-gates’. Their struggle for the ball, or ‘baa’, is deeply symbolic. The tradition was for a long time that if the ‘down-the-gates’ managed to get the ‘baa’, which was a fertilising influence of the sun - it was the sun and its fertilising influence - and they threw it into the waters of the harbour then that would bring good fishing. And if the ‘up-the-gates’ got the ‘baa’ to their goal, and they were mostly farmers, that would bring good crops, particularly good potatoes. And there was a small town in Norway that until recently phoned every New Year’s Day to see which way the ‘baa’ had gone so that they could assess whether or not there was going to be good fishing in the months ahead. In terms of roughness, there are no rules, it’s hard, a hard physical contest. Perhaps sometimes old scores are settled but generally speaking there is little gratuitous violence. // languagecaster.com no http://languagecaster.com/latest-football-cliches-2/ http://languagecaster.com/latest-football-cliches-2/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:51:47 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=5629 http://languagecaster.com/latest-football-cliches-2/feed/ 0 cliche,Football Cliches This post gives explanations of two more footballing clichés. You can find many more examples by going to our football cliché page here. - To run your socks off | Listen to the cliché here This cliché is used when a team or an individual player i... This post gives explanations of two more footballing clichés (http://languagecaster.com/football-language-resources/football-cliches/). You can find many more examples by going to our football cliché page here (http://languagecaster.com/football-language-resources/football-cliches/). To run your socks off | Listen to the cliché here This cliché is used when a team or an individual player is seen to work very hard during a game. The expression is often used with the verb 'work' as in he worked his socks off throughout the game. Indeed, this phrase is synonymous with certain types of battling midfield players such as Steven Gerrard or formerly Roy Keane who often run their socks off to get their teams back into a game. If a team works their socks off it means that they battled hard and did not give up. To work your socks off. A great advert (for the game) | Listen to the cliché here A great advert for the game is a cliché used by commentators and fans to describe an exciting match that usually represents the best of something or somewhere. Sometimes a match can be described as being a great advert for the Premier League, that is, it represents all that is good from the English league, such as battling skills, bravery, attacking play and so on. When it is used to describe a game from the lower leagues it is praising the standards of the two teams involved - thus, West Brom versus Newcastle was a great advert for the Championship - it was of a Premier League standard despite being played in a lower division. languagecaster.com no http://languagecaster.com/main-report-week-5-champions-league-preview/ http://languagecaster.com/main-report-week-5-champions-league-preview/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:34:13 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=5218 http://languagecaster.com/main-report-week-5-champions-league-preview/feed/ 0 http://languagecaster.com/latest-football-cliches/ http://languagecaster.com/latest-football-cliches/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:10:04 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=5045 http://languagecaster.com/latest-football-cliches/feed/ 0 cliche,Football Cliches This post gives explanations of two more footballing clichés. You can find many more examples by going to our football cliché page here. - Can’t win the title in August but you can certainly lose it | Listen here This post gives explanations of two more footballing clichés (http://languagecaster.com/football-language-resources/football-cliches/). You can find many more examples by going to our football cliché page here (http://languagecaster.com/football-language-resources/football-cliches/). Can’t win the title in August but you can certainly lose it | Listen here This cliché is a classic example of stating the complete obvious to make a point. As most European leagues start in August and finish in May it is mathematically impossible for a team to win the title so early in the season. So no matter how well a team begins the season it is far too early to predict that they will become champions. However, if a team that is tipped to do well has a bad start to the season then it might be difficult for them to recover and go on to win the title, meaning that a winning start is vital. To gatecrash the top 4 | Listen here To gatecrash a party is to attend a party that you have not been invited to. Many football fans in England feel that Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, known as the top 4 in the Premier League, have become so big and powerful that it seems as if they have their own mini league, or private party. Thus, any team that attempts to finish in the top four, that wishes to make a breakthrough, is seen as a gatecrasher – an unwanted guest in an elite or powerful group. This year, Manchester City have been tipped to gatecrash the top four thanks to their incredible wealth. To gatecrash the top four. languagecaster.com no http://languagecaster.com/week-3-main-report-la-liga-or-the-premier-league/ http://languagecaster.com/week-3-main-report-la-liga-or-the-premier-league/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:38:30 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=5100 http://languagecaster.com/week-3-main-report-la-liga-or-the-premier-league/feed/ 0 | Listen to the report here La Liga kicks off this weekend and on this week's main report we ask whether the Spanish League is now better than the Premier League. Explanations of key terms are explained in bold at the end of the transcript below. - (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/_45833540_barca1.jpg) | Listen to the report here (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/file0085.mp3) La Liga kicks off this weekend and on this week's main report we ask whether... languagecaster.com no http://languagecaster.com/i-just-dont-like-football-part-1/ http://languagecaster.com/i-just-dont-like-football-part-1/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:42:52 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=4687 http://languagecaster.com/i-just-dont-like-football-part-1/feed/ 1 Celtic,Fans,Free printable worksheets,Hate football,listening,Vocabulary | Teaching Ideas Though it's hard to believe not everyone is a fan of football. In the first of our series of interviews with people who just don't like the game, Alan from Scotland tells us why a 5-4 'thriller' left him completely bored. (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/images3.jpg) | (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/feed-icon-28x281.png) Teaching Ideas Though it's hard to believe not everyone is a fan of football. In the first of our series of interviews with people who just don't like the game, Alan from Scotland tells us why a 5-4 'thriller' left him completely bored. Listen here (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/alan1.m4a) to the interview. To help you understand there are some comprehension questions, as well as a vocabulary list containing the words in bold at the foot of this post. * Listen to the interview here (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/alan1.m4a) DF: So continuing in our series of people who just don't like football we have Alan. How are you doing Alan? Alan: Very well thank you. DF: Alan, can you tell us where you are from? Alan: From Scotland. DF: And tell us why don't you like football? Alan: It's a completely pointless game. What is the point of seeing 22 grown men running around a field kicking a ball into a net and being happy about it? I really don't get that, now that's a superficial reason. There's a deeper reason to it as well, it's like, you... you have these teams that represent cities and they're all saying 'my city's better than your city or my area is better than your area'. It's kind of like the old ancient argument of 'our women are more beautiful than your women'. It's just stupid, pointless, boyish, rubbish. DF: So Alan, have you ever seen a game live? Have you ever been to a stadium to watch a game? Alan: Once. DF: Can you remember who was playing? Alan: I petitioned my father, he didn't want to take me because he knew that I didn't like the game but I wanted to go with my dad and see a football match just for the hell of it when I was a young kid, I was probably less than 10 years old I think, about 9, 8 or 9. He took me to Aberdeen versus Celtic. Now, at the time Aberdeen was a very big team in Scotland and Celtic still is. The score was 5-4. I was pleading to go home at half-time because I thought it was incredibly boring and I really didn't understand what the big fuss was about and this thing called 'scoring goals', which as far as I could see was some little man on a pitch hitting a ball into a net at some point and I really didn't find that that was very interesting. DF: So do you think in the future there's any chance of you returning to watch another game of football? Alan: Absolutely none. __________________________________________________________________ Comprehension Questions Listen here to the interview (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/alan1.m4a) 1. Where is Alan from? 2. Alan uses 4 adjectives to describe football. What are they? 3. What age was he when he went to see his first game? 4. Which two teams were involved and what was the final score? 5. Aberdeen are no longer a big team in Scotland. True or False 6. What was Alan doing at half-time in the game? 7. Why? 8. Will Alan ever go and watch another game again? Answers below Vocabulary Pointless: Having no reason to it, no point, can't understand why I really don't get that: I just don't understand it Superficial: Not deep Represent: To play or perform for a particular area (He represented England on 25 occasions) Ancient: Extremely old, from very earlier times Live: To be physically at the game, watch the game in the stadium Petitioned: Asked (suggestions here that he asked quite a lot) Just for the hell of it: No real reason just decided to go or do something Pleading: Begging, really asking to do something Didn't understand what the big fuss was about: He didn't know why everyone was talking about the game (why people were excited with football) __________________________________________________________________ Answers 1. Where is Alan from? languagecaster.com no http://languagecaster.com/teaching-ideas-listening-being-a-fan-manchester-city/ http://languagecaster.com/teaching-ideas-listening-being-a-fan-manchester-city/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:56:34 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=4645 http://languagecaster.com/teaching-ideas-listening-being-a-fan-manchester-city/feed/ 0 | Teaching Ideas In this teaching ideas post we listen to Manchester City fan Dave explain why he supports the Blues and not the Reds from his hometown of Manchester. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post - | (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/feed-icon-28x281.png) Teaching Ideas (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/images2.jpg) In this teaching ideas post we listen to Manchester City fan Dave explain why he supports the Blues and not the Reds from his hometown of Manchester. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post * Download the worksheet here * Listen to the interview here Why Manchester City? That’s a very good question. I know that in Japan and in many other countries most people know or have heard about Manchester United of course – a very famous team. However, you may be interested to know that there is another team in Manchester and the team is called Manchester City. The main difference between United and City - apart from the fact that United are far more famous and successful - is that City wear sky blue, sky blue shirts and white shorts. I mention that because when I was a kid, when I was about maybe 10 or 11 years old that’s the main reason why I chose to support Man City, as opposed to Man Utd. Or at least one of them. And the other main reason was not so much the team but the supporters of the club. For a lot of football fans in England it’s not only the actual team and the players who are on the pitch that you support but you also become involved in the atmosphere of a club and it used to be when the stands were all standing - that means no sitting, you could go there and have a really, really good time, not so much watching the game but having a laugh, listening to some of the other fans and the comments that they made. The main difference between United and City was that at United all the fans just completely adored the team at the time, which as I remember was Bobby Charlton, George Best, Denis Law. On the other hand, City, which had a very good team at that time, whenever they lost the crowd used to really criticise them and attack them and so on. For me as a young boy of 10 or 11, I just found that rather more interesting to be critical of the team rather than just showing adulation all the time. And I think even now there is ... that is a big difference maybe between the fans of City and United and that’s why that it’s very difficult for a City fan to switch over to supporting United. That may be similar in ... with other cities which have two teams, like Liverpool and Everton maybe, or even in ...with the London teams, Arsenal – Spurs, Chelsea – Fulham, and so on. But really that is the main reason why, even though I do agree that United have a great team at the moment and play great football, I still hate them. It’s mostly because of the fans. __________________________________________________________________ Vocabulary Here are explanations of some of the words and phrases from the reading. Download the worksheet here atmosphere: The feeling surrounding the club the stands: Where fans go to sit or stand and watch the game having a laugh: To have some fun, to be relaxed adored: To really love someone or something to switch over to: To change the team you support languagecaster.com no http://languagecaster.com/listening-being-a-fan-arsenal/ http://languagecaster.com/listening-being-a-fan-arsenal/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:22:44 +0000 damianf http://languagecaster.com/?p=4628 http://languagecaster.com/listening-being-a-fan-arsenal/feed/ 0 Arsenal,listening,listening ideas,printables,worksheet | Teaching Ideas - In this teaching ideas post we have an interview with Arsenal fan Andy who tells us about some of his memories while supporting the Gunners. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post Download the worksheet here | (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/feed-icon-28x281.png) Teaching Ideas (http://languagecaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/images1.jpg) In this teaching ideas post we have an interview with Arsenal fan Andy (http://www.recessioncafe.co.uk/) who tells us about some of his memories while supporting the Gunners. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post * Download the worksheet here * Listen to the interview here Damian: Right, today we have got an Arsenal season ticket holder giving us his views on all things Gunners. Hello, how are you doing? Could you please introduce yourself. Andy: Hi yes, my name is Andy Robertson, I have been an Arsenal fan for life and I started supporting Arsenal when I was very young, mainly because my mother came from north London. Damian: Can you remember your first game? Andy: I can remember my first couple of games, there were a few at Highbury and some of the Champions League games in the late '90s when we played at Wembley against clubs like RC Lens. They weren't great experiences because they were all draws. Damian: So, when you were younger, who were your heroes at Arsenal? Andy: The guys who really stick out for me were, particularly, like Ian Wright (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY__dxYVH9c) in the mid-90s and as we went towards the end of the '90s the sort of 'golden era' for me was the amazing back four of Bould, Winterburn, Seaman ... Parlour on the wing and when we had players like Bergkamp and Viera ... Overmars who came in, it was just an amazing time. Damian: Now, tell us a little about your best and your worst memory. Let's start with the worst memory. Andy: Worst memory was probably Champions League final in Paris (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nALx3M16Mhk), I have to say. (Ed: Lost 1-2 to Barcelona in 2006) Damian: How about the best memory as an Arsenal fan? Andy: Er, couple of good memories was winning the double in the '98 season (http://www.arseweb.com/history/faq/faq98.html) and probably Robin Van Persie's goal against Charlton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbTSkIJQvwg). Damian: Thank you very much __________________________________________________________________ Vocabulary * Download theworksheet here * Listen to the interview here season ticket holder: a fan that holds a ticket for all the home matches for the season Gunners: The nickname of Arsenal north London: Arsenal are from this part of the country (as are rivals Tottenham) Highbury: The name of the previous Arsenal stadium Wembley: The national stadium of England draws: When neither team wins a game, e.g. 1-1; 2-2 stick out: To be easily remembered, to stand out back four: The collective name for the four defenders in a team the double: When a team wins both the domestic league and cup languagecaster.com no