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Listening Practice Report: Women’s Football

Women's Football A couple of weeks ago, we featured the Women’s Super League on one of our listening reports. This week sees the final games in that competition and we thought it would be a good idea to see how much some male football fans know about the women’s game. I caught up with three English football fans living in Japan and checked what they know and their feelings about the women’s game. There is also explanations of key vocabulary (in bold).

Listening Practice: Women’s Football

James

Damon: OK James, a Man City fan, right.

James: Yes, that’sA  right.

D: Can you tell me who are the Champions of the Premier League at the moment?

J: Of the…?

D: Of the men’s

J: Men’s? Oh, it’ll be Chelsea.

D: And who are the World Cup winners in the men’s game?

J: That’ll be Germany.

D: Now, what about women’s football. Who are the holders of the title in England in women’s football?

J: Oh, now Manchester City went very close, I think last year, but they didn’t win. And I’ve no idea who won. Maybe Chelsea, actually maybe Chelsea.

D: OK. And, what about in the World Cup women’s game? Who are the champions.

J: That’s America, I think.

D: And what do you think aboutA  women’s football at the moment?

J: Well, it’s growing isn’t it! It’s becoming very popular. Especially in England, they’ve got, they’re trying to get their act together. Lots of the teams have their own women’s um… lots of the men’s teams have their own women’s teams, so it’s clearly on the rise.

D. Would you go and watch a women’s game?

J: Uh… Good question, um… maybe, if it was big enough.

Simon

D: OK, Simon, you’re a Chelsea fan, right?

Simon: Yep.

D: OK, and who are the champions of England at the moment?

S: Chelsea are champions of the ladies’ and Chelsea are champion of the men’s… And they will be champions of the ladies’.

D: OK, we’ll get back to that in a minute. Who are the world champions in men’s football?

S: Germany.

D: So, I’m going to ask you some questions about women’s football now. So, Chelsea have a football team, a women’s football team…

S: Ladies team it’s called

D: Yep. it’s called the Ladies. And you said they were champions, in fact they’re not. Do you know who are the champions?

S: Uh… Manchester City?

D: Liverpool.

S: Oh really? I’d forgotten that.

D: But Chelsea may be champions this season. So, who are the world champions in football? Women’s football.

S: USA.

D: OK. And what do you think about women’s football now?

S: Well, in the last, I would say, 10 to 15 years it’s improved dramatically. Um, we’ve gone from it’s a niche type sport to something that’s mainstream. Um, I think, the women’s Nadeshiko team highlightedA  the importance for football for young girls in this country (Japan). And the last World Cup, the English team did very well and they promoted football for women in Britain. So, I think it’s come a long way, particularly in the last 5, 10 years.

D: Would you go to a women’s football game.

S: Any day.

Tim

D: OK Tim. You’re a Liverpool supporter, right?

Tim: I am, yes.

D: I’ve got a few questions. Can you tell me, who are the Premier League champions in the men’s game?

T: That would be Chelsea.

D: OK. And what about in the men’s game, world champions?

T: World champions, as in the club world champions?

D: No, team’s, national

T: Well of course that’s Germany.

D: OK. Now, what about women’s football? Who are the English champions in the women’s game?

T: That’s a good question. I would guess either Chelsea or Arsenal.

D: And what about the wold champions in the women’s game?

T: That would be the USA.

D: All right, thank you very much. And what are your impressions of the women’s football game now?

T: Well, it’s interesting because it’s getting a lot more coverage than it used to. I’ve seen certain media outlets, British ones especially, paying much more attention to women’s sport in general, and so you see reports on the websites about these things. It doesn’t mean I actually go and read them, but I see the headlines, so if I see Liverpool in the headline I’ll just check the result. So, I still have loyalty to Liverpool women’s team. But the interesting thing about women’s football is I first watched a the game following Nadeshiko Japan four years ago, and so my loyalty on the national stage is with the Japanese team rather than the English.

D: Interesting. And would you go and watch a women’s game?

T: It would have to be close, and then I might, yes, but I wouldn’t make a supreme effort to go and watch…

D: So, all knew the World Champions of the women’s game are the USA, none knew who the current title holders in England are, just a reminder, that’s Liverpool, but they did know that their teams had ladies teams. Simon was keen to watch a game, while James and Tim may need more persuading before they go along and watch a women’s football match.

Vocabulary

the holders of the title: Champions

get their act together: Become more organised; do a better job

on the rise: Become more popular

niche: Only for a small group of people; a special interest

Nadeshiko: The nickname for the women’s national team in Japan.

coverage: News reports; mentioned in the media

Links

Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here If you have any suggestions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com

Learn English Through Football Podcast
Learn English Through Football Podcast
Damian Fitzpatrick

Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills

Hosted by
grell

I was born and brought up near Chester in the north west of England. I have always loved playing and talking about sport, especially football!
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