British Council-02-03

Section 1: "Sometimes I think I spend too
much time on the computer."

Tess: Hello Welcome to the second series of
the Learn English Elementary podcast. this is
number three. I’m Tess.
Ravi: And I’m Ravi. It’s a bright sunny morning
here in London but the great thing about a
podcast is that you can listen whenever you
want, so, good morning! Good afternoon!
Good evening!
Tess: That’s true. Why not write and tell us
when and where you listen to our podcasts?
We’ll give you the email address a little later. Do
you listen at your computer or do you download
us and listen on the bus, in the car, at the gym?
Let us know. Do you listen to any podcasts
Ravi?
Ravi: I do, actually, yeah. I listen to a couple of
things. There’s a football podcast I really like
and there’s quite a good comedy one that I
listen to as well. I listen to them when I go out
running.
Tess: You go out running?
Ravi: Well, I listened to one once when I was
running. I usually listen at home. How about
you?
Tess: No, not really. I’m too busy with my social
networking site to have time for podcasts.
Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too much
time on the computer.
Ravi: I know what you mean. It’s easy to spend
hours and hours on the internet just looking at
different things. Surfing the net. Oh, that
reminds me – I wanted to ask you about
something. You know I’m on Facebook, right?
Tess: Right.
Ravi: Well, I know you’re not on Facebook but
you’re on a few other networking sites - you
know how it works, don’t you? People send you
invitations to be their ‘friend’
Tess: Yeah, OK. I know what you mean.
Ravi: Well, yesterday I got a message from
someone inviting me to be ‘friends’ and the
thing is, I just don’t know who she is. I don’t
recognise her name at all.
Tess: So, someone wants to be your friend
online and you don’t know who she is? You’re
just so popular Ravi.
Ravi: Well she knows me – she wrote
something about Manchester but I really can’t
think who she is. I mean, it’s not a really big
problem but what do you think I should do
Tess?
Tess: Well, you could just not reply.
Ravi: But I don’t want to be rude to her.
Tess: Or you could ask her where you met.
Ravi: Hmm. That’s a bit embarrassing.
Tess: Well, why don’t you say, yes, you’ll be her
friend? You don’t have to write to her, do you?
Ravi: That’s true. I’ll just say ‘yes, let’s be
friends’ and then maybe I’ll remember who she
is.
Tess: She’s probably a friend of a friend or
something. Do you often forget people’s names,
then, erm ….. what’s your name again?
Ravi: Very good, Tess. No I’m usually quite
good with names. Like today I can tell you
we’ve got Sameena on I’d Like to talk about,
we’ve got Davis doing the quiz and we’ve got
Carolina and Jamie later. And Tom the teacher
of course.
Tess: Well done. Shall we get on with it, then?

Section 2: I’d like to talk about…

Ravi: OK then. As usual, listeners, we’ll start

with I’d Like to Talk About. This is the part of our
podcast when we ask someone to tell us about
something that’s important to them. It could be a
person, a hobby – anything. And today we’ve
got Sameena in the studio. And she’s going to
talk about meditation. Hi Sameena.
Sameena: Hi
Tess: Hi Sameena. Before you start, why don’t
you tell us a bit about yourself.
Sameena: Well, my name’s Sameena – as you
know. Um, I’m twenty, and I’m a student at the
London School of Economics.
Ravi: Are you from London?
Sameena: No, Leeds. I go back there in the
holidays.
Ravi: Great place, Leeds. OK. So why did you
decide to talk about meditation Sameena?
Sameena: Well I started doing it about three
years ago. I was very stressed with exams and I
was working too hard. So a friend told me about
meditation – he taught me how to do it actually,
in the beginning – and it worked. It made me a
lot calmer and less stressed out. So I got really
interested in it and started reading about it, and,
well, I just think everyone should try it!
Tess: And how do you do it? Give us an idea of
what you do. I always think of old men with
long, white beards when I think of meditation.
Sameena: Well, it’s very simple really. I sit still,
somewhere quiet. You can sit in any position,
on the floor, or on a hard chair, but you need to
keep your back straight and you must be
comfortable. I sit on a chair, close my eyes, and
then I relax and try to be conscious of now, of
the present moment. And my mind becomes
calm. That’s it really.
Tess: And you stop thinking?
Sameena: No, no. A lot of people think that, but
it isn’t true. It’s more about watching your
thoughts, just sitting and being conscious of
what’s going through your mind. You let the
thoughts come and go, but you don’t follow
them, you just watch them so your mind stays
calm and peaceful.
Tess: But how do you do that – keep your mind
calm and peaceful?
Sameena: Well, I use a mantra – that helps me.
Tess: A mantra?
Sameena: Yes, it just means a phrase that you
concentrate on – you repeat it over and over
again to yourself. But you don’t have to use a
mantra - there are lots of different ways of doing
it. You can concentrate on your breathing –
count your breaths for example, or you can try
to imagine the energy moving around in your
body, you know, try to see it.
Ravi: It’s getting very popular nowadays isn’t it?
Oprah Winfrey was talking about meditation on
TV the other day.
Sameena: Yes, it’s getting more popular in the
west, that’s true. But it started as a Hindu
tradition more than five thousand years ago –
it’s really old. And some form of meditation is
involved in nearly all religions.
Tess: So is it always a religious thing?
Sameena: No, it doesn’t have to have any
religious meaning. A lot of people meditate just
because it’s good for the mind and good for the
body. It’s a really healthy thing to do.
Tess: I can see why it can be good for the mind,
but how does it help the body?
Sameena: Meditation can help your blood
pressure, your heart, your breathing - all sorts of
things. Scientists have done tests – it’s all been
proved. So, as I said at the beginning, I think
everyone should try it!
Tess: Well thanks for that Sameena. That was
really interesting.
Sameena: Not at all. I enjoyed talking about it.
Bye.
Tess: Bye Sameena.
Ravi: Bye Sameena, and thanks again.
Tess: So, are you going to give it a try Ravi?
Might help you deal with some of that stress?
Ravi: It’s not a bad idea you know. My dad

meditates, well he used to anyway – I
remember seeing him when I was a kid. I don’t
know if he still does though. I’ll have to ask him.
I might ask him to give me some lessons next
time I see him! That’ll be a big surprise for him.
Tess: Well yes. A calm, peaceful Ravi would be
a big surprise for all of us.
Ravi: Ommmmm
Tess: OK. What about you listeners? Do any of
you meditate? Or what would you like to tell us
about? Write – or record – what you think and
send it to us at learn English podcast at British
Council dot org, that’s learnenglishpodcast - all
one word – at - britishcouncil – all one word
DOT org, that’s o-r-g. If we like it, we’ll stick it on
the website.
Ravi: We should put some stuff up about
mediation, too. Will you do that?
Tess: Yeah, OK. Remind me to do that later.

Section 3 – Quiz

Tess: Right, then. What’s next? The quiz.
Ravi: Yep. And today we’ve got Davis on the
line. Hello, Davis.
Davis: Hi Ravi.
Tess: Hiya
Davis: Hi Tess.
Ravi: Tell us a bit about yourself Davis. Where
are you calling from?
Davis: I’m in London.
Ravi: Are you from London?
Davis: Yes, that’s right.
Tess: Like me. Which part of London?
Davis: Tottenham
Tess: Ah, OK. I’m from south London.
Wimbledon.
Ravi: Do you support Tottenham then, Davis?
Which football team do you support?
Davis: Nah, man, I support Arsenal.
Ravi: Oh dear. Well, I’ll forgive you. What do
you do Davis?
Davis: I work in a market. Selling kitchen things.
Ravi: No market today then?
Davis: No, not today.
Ravi: Right then. You know how to play Hot
Seat, don’t you?
Davis: Yeah.
Ravi: Tess has got the cards with the words on.
She’ll give them to me and I’ll explain them to
you and we’ll see how many we can get in a
minute , OK?
Davis: OK
Ravi: But I don’t know what the topic is. Tess?
Tess: Right, I’ve got the cards here. I’ll give
them to Ravi and he has to explain the words
without using the words on the card. Are you
both ready?
Ravi: Ready
Davis: OK
Tess: OK then today’s topic is ….. Places in an
airport. Different things and places in an airport.
Here are the cards Ravi. You’ve got one minute
starting from ….NOW
Ravi: Agh! It’s the long road that planes take off
from. The really long straight road. They land on
it as well.
Davis: Runway?
Ravi: Yes. Oh no. Erm. The place you go to just
before you get on the plane … erm …
Davis: Departure lounge
Ravi: No. “Could passengers travelling to Paris
on Flight three seven two please go to hnn
twenty one”
Davis: Gate!
Ravi: Yes. The first place you go to when you
get to the airport.
Davis: The shops?
Ravi: No. You go there to put your bags in and
they check your passport and ticket…

Davis: Passport control?
Ravi: No, before that. Erm .. … “Did you pack
this bag yourself, sir?”
Davis: Check-in!
Ravi: Yes. Now what you said before. The place
where you wait to get on the plane but before
you go to the gate.
Davis: Departure lounge
Ravi: Yes. It’s a place. Where you go to pick up
your suitcase when you get off the plane.
Davis: Oh, the thing that goes round.
Ravi: Yeah, that, but what’s the room called?
{buzzer sounds}
Davis: I don’t know it.
Ravi: It was baggage reclaim. Oh dear, we
haven’t done very well there, have we? Sorry
Davis. How many was that?
Tess: Runway … gate … check-in … departure
lounge. Four.
Ravi: Eek. Sorry Davis. That was tough, wasn’t
it?
Davis: You just can’t think when the clock’s
ticking.
Ravi: I know. Listen, thanks for playing – we’ll
find some things to send you. Enjoy the rest of
your day.
Davis: And you mate.
Tess: Bye Davis. And well done Ravi. Right.
More to come. We’ll hear what some of you
think about space exploration and we’ll catch up
with Carolina after this.

Section 4: Your turn

Ravi: Right. Your Turn. This is the part of the
podcast when we go out and ask different
people what they think about something. Every
podcast has a different question and this time
it’s about space exploration – sending rockets
and people into space. So, the big question is
Do you think that space exploration is a waste
of time and money?” Or is it a useful thing to
do? Let’s hear what people think.

Voice 1: Er ... yeah, it’s a waste of time and
money. There’s nothing out there ... er ... and
that moon landing in the 60s, that was done in a
studio in Hollywood.

Voice 2: I think that space exploration is a waste
of money when you think about ... um ... poor
people, climate change and disease.

Voice 3: Ah ... sometimes I think it’s a waste of
money when, like, the big countries - America or
Russia - they just compete for dominance of
space, but when it’s used for scientific research
that can improve ... um ... the equality of life on
Earth, then I think it’s not money wasted.

Voice 4: No, I don’t think space exploration is a
w… um ... we’d need to know what’s out there –
we have to advance … there is obviously the
argument though that mon... that money could
be spent on cleaning up our own environment,
and our own world, um ... but as I say we need
to look forward, maybe our world won’t be here
forever and we should be looking towards other
places.

Voice 5: I don’t think space exploration is a
waste of time and money ... um ... possibly in
the future we might need space exploration and
the discoveries they’ve made more now than we
ever realised ... new sources of energy or ... we
don’t know where mankind is going to be in the
future. I think space exploration is very
important.

Ravi: Do you know, when I was a kid, I wanted
to be an astronaut. I’d love to explore space.
Tess: Did you? I wanted to be a train driver.
Ravi: Well, maybe when you’re older.

Tess: Yes. Maybe. And we’d like to know what
you, the listeners think too. Send us your
opinions.

Section 5: Carolina

Tess: Time now to see what’s happening with
Carolina. You remember that Carolina is a
student from Venezuela who’s studying in
Newcastle in the north of England.
Ravi: It’s not just study though – we’ve heard
about Carolina going shopping, cooking and
enjoying university life with her new boyfriend,
Jamie. Let’s find out what she’s doing this
time…

Outside the house
Jamie: Well here we are then – My home. The
family mansion.
Carolina: Oh, is this the house? I’m a bit
nervous Jamie.
Jamie: Don’t be silly.
{doorbell – door opens}
Mary: Hellooo! {hugs and kisses Jamie}
Jamie: This is Carolina, mum …
Mary: Hello Carolina. It’s lovely to meet you.
Carolina: Hello. Um... it’s nice to meet you too.
Mary: Did you have a good journey?
Carolina: Oh yes, thank you. The train was a bit
late, but it was fine. We got a bus from the
station. It was easy.
Mary: Doug! They’re here! Come on in before
we die of cold. Doug! They’re here!
{dog barking}
Jamie: Hello Ernie! Hello, who’s a good boy
then?
Doug: Hello, hello, hello. You’re here then. All
right Jamie?
Jamie: Dad.
Doug: And this must be Carolina.
Carolina: Yes, hello, pleased to …… oh, …..
Mary: Get down Ernie! Ernie! I hope you like
dogs Carolina.
Carolina: Well, I, um ….. . I don’t know really…
Mary: He won’t hurt you. He just wants to give
you a kiss. Get down Ernie! Doug, put him in
the kitchen.
Doug: Righty ho. Come on Ernie.
Mary: Now let me take your bags upstairs.
Carolina: Oh no, no. I can take mine. It isn’t
heavy.
Jamie: I’ll take them. Go on mum. You lead the
way. Carolina’s in the spare room I suppose?
…
Mary: And you’re in this room Carolina.
Carolina: How nice. I love the colour. And what
pretty curtains too.
Mary: I’m glad you like it. We don’t use this
room very often.
Carolina: I think it’s lovely.
Mary: Now, I’ve put some towels out for you –
here they are on the bed. And we turned the
radiator on in here this morning so it should be
nice and warm for you.
Carolina: Oh thank you. That’s very kind of you.
I’m sure I’ll be very comfortable. Thank you very
much for inviting me.
Mary: Not at all. It’s lovely to have you here.
Now you unpack your bag and I’ll go down and
put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea. The
bathroom’s next door if you want to wash your
hands…
…
{knock at door}
Jamie: Can I come in?
Carolina: Yes
Jamie: OK?
Carolina: Oh yes, I’m OK. Your mother’s really
nice.
Jamie: Ready to go downstairs?

Carolina: Yes.
Jamie: Come on then. Mum’s making a cup of
tea. My family drinks tea all the time.
Carolina: OK. So … let’s go then.
…
Mary: Here you are Carolina. A nice cup of tea.
Carolina: Thank you Mrs Lawrence.
Mary: Oh no. Call me Mary. Mary and Doug.
We’re not formal in this house are we Jamie?
Jamie: Mum, Carolina drinks tea without milk.
Carolina: No, no, it’s OK Jamie. I can drink it
with milk.
Doug: No, let’s get you another.
Carolina: Well OK, if it isn’t too much trouble.
Thank you.
Mary: Don’t be silly. It’s no trouble at all. I’ll just
go and get another cup.
Carolina: Aargh!
Doug: Get down Ernie! You let the dog in Mary!
Ernie! Down! Leave her alone! He’s just being
friendly.
Jamie: I’ll put him back in the kitchen.
Carolina: It’s OK. I don’t mind.
Jamie: Come on Ernie. Kitchen.
Doug: So Carolina. What do you think of this
country of ours? A bit cold for you is it?
Carolina: I like it. It’s very different from
Venezuela, but I like it here. And the people are
very friendly.
Doug: Well that’s good.
Mary: Here you are Carolina.
Carolina: Thank you very much. … You’ve got a
lovely house.
Mary: Well thank you. It’s nothing grand but we
like it.
Carolina: How long have you lived here?
Mary: Since we got married, that’ll be what,
twenty-five years nearly is it Doug?
Doug: Aye. Twenty-five years in April.
Carolina: So Jamie was born here?
Mary: That’s right. He’s lived here all his life,
haven’t you love?
Jamie: Yep.
Mary: He’s still got some of his old toys in his
room, hasn’t he Doug?
Carolina: Really?
Doug: Oh aye. Won’t let us throw them out. All
his old toy cars. And Mr Potter the panda’s still
there.
Mary: That’s right. Mr Potter the panda. But
Jamie couldn’t say Mr Potter – he could only
say Po Po – so it was Po Po panda. Do you
remember Jamie?
Carolina: Mr Po Po panda?
Jamie: Oh god! Stop it all of you. Let’s change
the subject. How’s work going dad? Been busy
recently?
…
Ravi: Ah. What a nightmare. Poor Jamie. But,
you know, it must be getting serious now.
Carolina met Jamie’s parents.
Tess: Yes. Isn’t it nice? Ahhhh.

Section 6: The Joke

Tess: Well, I think that’s about all we’ve got time
for on this podcast ..
Ravi: No, hang on a minute. I’ve got another
joke for you.
Tess: I hoped you’d forget.
Ravi: I think you’ll like this one, Tess.
Tess: OK. Let’s hear it.
Ravi: OK. A man …..
Tess: A man? Oh? Not a dog? A duck? A frog?
Ravi: Definitely a man – I told you – not all of
my jokes are animal jokes. Right. A man goes
up to the ticket desk at the airport.The ticket
clerk says ‘Good morning, sir. Can I help you?’
and the man says ‘Good morning. I’d like a

ticket to Tokyo, please. And I’d like you to send
my luggage to New York”. Well, the ticket clerk
looks surprised and says “You want us to put
you on a plane to Tokyo and send your luggage
on a plane to New York?”. “Yes, that’s right”
says the man. “I’m very sorry sir but we can’t do
that – it’s impossible.” The man says “Well, I
don’t understand why it’s so difficult. That’s
exactly what you did last time”.
Tess: I lost my bag at an airport once you know.
Ravi: You’ll have to save that story for another
time Tess. That’s all we’ve got time for today.
Remember, the address for anything that you
want to send us is
learnenglishpodcast@britishcouncil.org. But
don’t go away, listeners. Tom the teacher will be
here in a moment to talk about learning English
and some of the language you heard on the
podcast – {pause} – and we’ll be back next
time. Bye!
Tess: Bye!
----------------------------------------------------------------

Tom the teacher

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom. I’m here at the end of every
podcast to talk about some of the language you
heard in the programme, and to talk about ways
to help you learn English. Today I want to talk
about the word ‘too’. Listen to Carolina meeting
Jamie’s mother, Mary. See how Carolina uses
‘too’.

Mary: Hello Carolina. It’s lovely to meet you.
Carolina: Hello. Um… it’s nice to meet you too.

Tom: We can use ‘too’ to mean ‘as well’. I’m
sure you know this already. If someone says “I
really like chocolate”, you can say “Me too!” –
you have the same opinion. This use of ‘too’ is
easy. But some learners have problems with a
different way to use ‘too’. Listen to Tess talking
about why she doesn’t listen to podcasts. How
does she use ‘too’?

Tess: No, not really. I’m too busy with my social
networking site to have time for podcasts.
Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too much
time on the computer.

Tom: She says “I’m too busy to have time for
podcasts” and then she says “I think I spend too
much time on the computer”. ‘Too’ here means
more than you want – more than is good. If you
say that you spend too much time on the
computer, you mean that you think it’s a bad
thing. You think that you should spend less time
on the computer. Listen to another example.
Sameena is talking about why she started doing
meditation. Listen for ‘too’.

Sameena: Well I started doing it about three
years ago. I was very stressed with exams and I
was working too hard. So a friend told me about
meditation.

Tom: Yes, she says “I was working too hard”.
She means she was working hard, more than
was good for her.

Tom: Now let’s look at the difference between
‘too’ and ‘very’. Some learners find this difficult.
Listen to Carolina talking to Jamie’s father about
life in Britain. Listen to ‘very’.

Doug: So Carolina. What do you think of this
country of ours? A bit cold for you is it?
Carolina: I like it. It’s very different from
Venezuela, but I like it here.

Tom: She says Britain is very different from
Venezuela – but she likes it. Now imagine she
says “Britain is too different from Venezuela”.
‘Too’ gives the idea that she doesn’t like Britain
– that she’s unhappy, because it’s ‘too different’

– the difference isn’t a good thing. And that isn’t
what she wanted to say. Let me give you
another example. I can say “My house is very
small”. OK, my house is small, but maybe I like
small houses! ‘Very’ can be good or bad. But if I
say “My house is too small” then you know that
I’m not happy with my house – that I’d like to
have a bigger one. Listen to one more example.
Jamie’s mother is going to get Carolina another
cup of tea. Listen to what Carolina says.

Carolina: Well OK, if it isn’t too much trouble.
Thank you.

Tom: We use ‘If it isn’t too much trouble’ a lot –
when we want to be polite. You can use it when
someone offers to help you.
Now I want to talk about something to help you
learn and remember vocabulary. Do you
remember the quiz? All of the words were
places in an airport. Listen.

Ravi: Erm. The place you go to just before you
get on the plane … erm …
Davis: Departure lounge
Ravi: No. “Could passengers travelling to Paris
on Flight three seven two please go to hnn
twenty one”
Davis: Gate!
Ravi: Yes.

Tom: You can do this too. When you’re in a
place, maybe an airport, or a train station, or a
cinema, or a supermarket – try to name
everything that you see in English. Or imagine
that you’re in a place – and imagine what you
can see around you. Make a note of the things
that you don’t know and then try to find out how
to say them in English. Ask your teacher, or a
friend, or find the word in a bilingual dictionary.
A bilingual dictionary is useful when you want to
know the names of things. You can use the
internet for finding translations of words too. Or
you can buy very good picture dictionaries
nowadays. See what you can find. And if you’re
in a place with a friend you can play a game
together. At the airport you can say “I can see
something beginning with ‘R’ – and your friend
can say ‘runway!’. Try it – it’s good for your
vocabulary.
Now for something different. This isn’t really
about language, but it’s important if you go to
Britain. It’s about what we do when we meet
people for the first time. What people do in
Britain may be different from what you do in
your country. Listen to Carolina when she
meets Jamie's mother for the first time.

{doorbell – door opens}
Mary: Hellooo! {hugs and kisses Jamie}
Jamie: This is Carolina, mum …
Mary: Hello Carolina. It’s lovely to meet you.
Carolina: Hello. Um… it’s nice to meet you too.

Tom: Mary kisses Jamie, but she doesn’t kiss
Carolina. In some countries, people kiss when
they meet people for the first time. But we don’t
usually do this in Britain. When you meet
someone it’s polite to say “Hello” or “Nice to
meet you”. In more formal situations, you can
shake hands too. But most British people don’t
kiss. Some British people kiss people that they
know well – their friends and family – when they
say “hello” or “goodbye”. But not all British
people. So it’s probably better not to kiss until
someone offers to kiss you!
And now for a phrase that you can use this
week. Listen again to Tess talking about
spending too much time on her computer.
Listen to Ravi’s answer.

Tess: Honestly, sometimes I think I spend too
much time on the computer.
Ravi: I know what you mean. It’s easy to spend
hours and hours on the internet just looking at
different things.

Tom: Ravi says “I know what you mean”. He
sometimes does the same thing himself so he
understands what she’s saying. He agrees with
her. If someone says “I didn’t enjoy the English
class today”, you can say “I know what you
mean. It was a bit boring wasn’t it?“ But of
course, I hope you don’t think your English
classes are boring! Anyway, try to use “I know
what you mean” this week.
OK. I’m going to stop there. I’ll talk to you all
again next time. Remember you can write to me
about any language that you noticed in this
podcast. The address is
learnenglishpodcastATbritishcouncilDOT org. In
a moment you’ll hear the address for the
website where you can read everything you’ve
heard in this podcast. You can also find some
practice exercises to do online and a support
pack that you can print. Right. That’s all for this
time. Bye for now! See you next time.