Learning Vocabulary: Fitness & Running

Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rich: My name’s Rich

Rowan: and I’m Rowan

Jack: And welcome to the Premier Skills English podcast ...

Rich: ... where we talk about football and English.

Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Rowan: This lesson is all about running. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at lots of different sports and activities.

Jack: We’re going to do a roleplay. The three of us are going for a run and we’re going to use lots of words and phrases connected to running and fitness.

Rich: In the roleplay, we’ll also tell you about the Premier Skills English fitness challenge that we’re doing.

Rowan: We’re going to give a fitness score and a fun score for each of the sports and activities we look at.

Jack: And in the task we have for you later in the podcast, we want you to give your own fitness and fun scores. We’ll have more about that later.

Rich: If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Rowan: On the Premier Skills English website you’ll find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and a task for you to complete.

Jack: Before we start this week’s roleplay we need to look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Rich: OK, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a language challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the Premier Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments section for this podcast. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Jack: We had lots of correct answers last week but a special congratulations to MoBeckham from Turkey who was the first with the correct answer.

Rich: And a big well done to the following listeners who also got the right answer: Marco Zapien from Mexico, Daniel Baron from Colombia, WSanta from Argentina, Max Alex from Vietnam, HSN from Turkey, Hayato from Japan, Jacek from Poland, Elghoul from Algeria, Emmanuel from France, Ahmed Adam Mamado from Sudan and Alex, Luibomyr and Sabanoleg all from Ukraine.

Jack: The new football phrase is at the end of this podcast but we’re going to give you one more chance to guess last week’s football phrase. Are you ready?

Rowan: The phrase was to **** *** *******. In general, it’s an idiom which means to control events or other people. In football, it’s used to describe an influential player on the pitch - usually a midfielder. We can say Kevin De Bruyne ***** *** ******* for Manchester City.

Rich: We’ll give you the answer and a new football phrase at the end of this podcast.

Rowan: If you remember, last week’s podcast was about football English and words and phrases we use after a match.

Jack: We asked you to tell us about a match you’ve seen and try to use some of those phrases that were new for you.

Rich: Elghoul from Algeria spoke about last weekend’s 5-0 win for Manchester City. I imagine you were very happy with Riyad Mahrez’s hat-trick.

Rowan: HSN from Turkey spoke about a match that his team Besiktas were very fortunate to win. It was good to see you using lots of the phrases we used in the podcast such as: to get away with something, to pull off a good save and to deserve something.

Jack: Vic from Mexico told us about how he feels about his team - Liverpool. And he thinks Liverpool will be hanging on at the end of the season but will win the title again thanks to Allison who will pull off lots of good saves. Again good use of the vocabulary we introduced in the podcast.

Rich: If you haven’t heard this podcast it’s called Football English: After the match and you can find it on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Introduction to roleplay: Fitness Challenge 

Rowan: In the roleplay, I’m going for a run with Jack and Rich. It’s the first part of our Premier Skills English fitness challenge which we mentioned earlier.

Jack: Our fitness challenge is a little competition between the three of us. We are going to try out a few different sports and decide which is the best sport for us.

Rich: We’re going to go running, cycling, swimming, to the gym, to do some sport and we might even play football.

Rowan: We’re going to decide what are the advantages and the disadvantages of each sport, what we like and dislike about each activity, and we’re going to give each activity or sport a Premier Skills English fitness challenge score.

Jack: It’s all a bit of fun but it should help all of us think more about keeping fit and healthy.

Rich: But as always the main focus is the language and in each roleplay, we’ll use lots of vocabulary connected to fitness.

Rowan: We’ll use vocabulary and phrasal verbs about fitness in general and we’ll also look at words and phrases connected to the specific sports we look at.

Jack: In this roleplay, we’re going for a run so you’ll hear lots of words and phrases connected to running so listen out for them.

Rich: While you listen we want you to answer two questions:

Rowan: Question one: Who’s the best runner?

Jack: Question two: What problems does Rich have on the run?

Roleplay - Running 

Rowan: Morning guys. Are you ready?

Rich: Morning Rowan. You’re very perky for half-past seven.

Jack: I wish I was as happy and full of energy as you! How long have you been here?

Rowan: Half an hour or so. Just warming up. I’ve done a couple of laps of the park already.

Rich: Really? Wow.

Rowan: So, I know you prefer cycling to running, Jack and Rich, you’re more a fan of team sports, but I want to show you how good running can be.

Jack: Well, I’m ready. Do you think it’s OK to leave my tracksuit over there?

Rich: Are they new running shoes? I’ve just got my old trainers.

Rowan: They look the part. It’s important to have good running shoes. Leave all your stuff over there - it’ll be fine. So, like I was telling you yesterday it’s important not to start off too fast - you’ve got to pace yourself. We’re aiming to do 5k in about 30 minutes - it should be doable.

Rich: Well, let us warm up - a few stretches and we’ll be ready to go.

Rowan: Take big strides like this to stretch the muscles ... OK, let’s get going ...

Rowan: OK, remember to pace yourself.

Rich: On your marks, get set, go!

Jack: Where’s he going? Slow down!

Rowan: He’s not going to be able to keep that up. He’ll burn out in a few minutes.

Rich: Later slow coaches!

Rowan: OK, let’s catch our breath for a minute while we wait for Rich.

Jack: If he hadn’t sped off like that we could have stayed together and he wouldn’t have needed to stop for a break.

Rich: I’m here. I think speed is more my thing rather than stamina. You could have waited instead of just overtaking me like that and speeding up.

Jack: We didn’t speed up, you stopped!

Rowan: It’s only 5k, Rich. Right, we’ve got maybe another kilometre. Let’s stick together - nice and easy.

Rich: Come on - let’s go. I’m OK now.

Rowan: We’re not far from the finishing line. When I give the shout let’s go for a sprint finish.

Rich: Sprint finish? You have to be joking.

Rowan: So how do you feel? I find running so invigorating.

Jack: Yeah, I feel good. It’s put me in a good mood.

Rich: Pff! A good mood? I can hardly walk. I’m exhausted and I think I’ve got a blister on my foot.

Rowan: Well, you’ll have to get a good pair of running shoes instead of those old trainers for our next run.

Rich: Next run?

Jack: OK, remember running was our first activity for our Premier Skills English fitness challenge. We need to give our opinions and scores. Rowan?

Rowan: Well, I love running. It’s something I do more than once a week. What’s good about it is that you can do it anywhere, you get better at it quickly and it keeps you fit, and you don’t need anything apart from a good pair of running shoes.

Jack: And a score?

Rowan: I’m going to give running a fitness score of ten out of ten and a fun score of nine out of ten.

Jack: Rich?

Rich: I’m still out of breath and I think I’ve got a blister on my foot so I’m not going to give it a big fun score. Five out of ten for me. But I have to agree that it’s a good sport for overall fitness. I need to work on my stamina though - maybe I should try a shorter distance next time - 3k rather than 5.

Rowan: So a fun score of five and a fitness score of …?

Rich: Seven. A fitness score of seven out of ten. What about you Jack?

Jack: Well I agree with Rowan more than you Rich. I enjoyed the run although I was a bit slow. I’m sure my speed will increase the more I do it. The 5k run was about right for me - I’m not ready for a marathon yet. I’ve got a bit more endurance than you Rich but not as much as Rowan.

Rowan: And your scores?

Jack: Er … I’ll say a fun score of eight and a fitness score of eight.

Rich: OK, so our final Premier Skills English Fitness challenge score for running is … 47.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Who’s the best runner?

Jack: Well, the answer to that, without a shadow of a doubt is Rowan. She goes running regularly and has been doing it for years. I suppose the more important question is who’s the worst runner.

Rich: Yes, well I think everyone knows the answer to that question - me. I’m very good over short distances like ten metres.

Rowan: OK, so that brings us to the second question we gave you: What problems does Rich have on the run?

Jack: Well, he didn’t have good footwear. He had some old trainers while I had some nice new running shoes.

Rowan: He ran too fast at the beginning and had to stop.

Jack: And at the end, he was complaining that he was injured. He said he had a blister on his foot. Just an excuse or maybe because he didn’t have good footwear.

Rich: OK, running is not my favourite thing but it’s over now. Our next Premier Skills fitness challenge will be an activity I enjoy more.

Rowan: OK, I think it’s time to look at some language connected to fitness and running.

Jack: Rich seemed to have three main problems: equipment, speed and stamina or endurance.

Rowan: Let’s look at these three areas and some of the words and phrases we used in the roleplay.

Rich: OK, equipment. Equipment is what you need to do a specific activity.

Jack: You have equipment to do jobs around your house, you have electrical equipment and you have sports equipment.

Rowan: For some sports like climbing or skiing you need a lot of equipment but for running what do you need - just a good pair of running shoes.

Rich: Jack had a new pair of running shoes while I had an old pair of trainers. Running shoes are specially designed for running and forward movement while trainers are for more general activity.

Jack: Trainers would be fine for running - I think the problem was that your trainers were falling apart, Rich.

Rich: Yes, they are quite old. Well-used. Other equipment runners might have are things like smartwatches or fitness trackers that monitor your heart rate, distance and how many calories you’ve burned.

Rowan: That kind of equipment or tech is not really essential though but I think a water bottle is - it’s important to stay hydrated on a run.

Jack: What about kit? The clothes you wear. I suppose it’s not that important - shorts and a t-shirt.

Rich: You had a tracksuit on our run in the roleplay.

Rowan: A tracksuit is a sports jacket and trousers. It can be very useful to wear this after your run - especially on a cold day.

Jack: In the roleplay, one of Rich’s many problems while running was connected to speed - which is how fast you move.

Rowan: At the beginning, he ran too fast and then he ran too slowly - well actually he had to stop. Let’s look at some phrases connected to speed we used in the roleplay.

Rich: Before we started our run, Rowan said we should pace ourselves - something which I didn’t do.

Jack: The word pace is very useful when we talk about running. Pace is the speed at which you run or walk or move more generally. Different people will run at different paces.

Rowan: When I said we should pace ourselves I was saying that we should run at a speed that is good for us so we can continue running without wanting to stop.

Rich: I didn’t pace myself on the run. I just sped off.

Jack: To speed off is a phrasal verb and it means to leave very quickly. We often use it to talk about driving and cars. The criminals sped off in the stolen car when they heard the police sirens.

Rowan: Rich had to stop running because he was tired and we overtook him and then he said we sped up.

Rich: To overtake means to go past someone because you are travelling faster than them.

Jack: To speed up is another phrasal verb and it means to go faster than you were before.

Rowan: One more useful phrase connected to speed is a sprint finish. I said near the end of the run that we should try a sprint finish.

Rich: To sprint means to run very fast or as fast as you can. Usain Bolt is a sprinter - he runs the 100 metres in less than ten seconds.

Jack: A sprint finish is something you do in a longer race. When you see the finishing line you run as fast as you can to reach it.

Rowan: So, Rich had problems with equipment and speed and he also had problems with stamina.

Jack: Stamina is the strength that you have to do something for a long time.

Rich: I didn’t have much stamina probably because I ran too fast at the beginning. I burned out.

Rowan: In the roleplay, Jack told Rich to slow down because he would burn out.

Jack: To burn out is another phrasal verb and when we are running it means to get really tired because you’ve used too much energy.

Rich: I burned out after about a kilometre.

Rowan: I think it was less than that. You were out of breath after around 200 metres.

Jack: Out of breath means having problems breathing because of doing too much exercise.

Rowan: In the roleplay, we had to wait for Rich so I said to Jack let’s just catch our breath.

Rich: To catch your breath is a phrase which means to have a little break to get our breathing back to normal.

Jack: Rich needed quite a long time to get his breath back when he finally finished.

Rowan: Get your breath back and catch your breath are very similar but catch your breath is usually used for shorter breaks.

Rich: I’ve got no endurance - the problem is I just stop when I’m tired or bored.

Jack: Endurance is the ability to continue doing something even if it’s difficult and not giving up and stopping. Rowan has good endurance - Rich - well not so much.

Rowan: Maybe it’s just that I have built up my stamina and endurance levels by running a lot. That’s why I find a run invigorating and Rich just feels exhausted.

Jack: Invigorating is an adjective and it means to make you feel healthy and full of energy.

Rich: And exhausted means very, very, very tired.

TASK

Rowan: Our task for you is to give us a Premier Skills English Fitness Challenge score for running. Tell us about the running you do and how you feel about it.

Jack: Are you an expert runner like Rowan or more like Rich who well what shall we say - he’s not an expert runner let’s put it like that.

Rich: Tell us a run that you have been on. Where was it? When was it? Who did you run with?

Rowan: How far did you run? How long did it take you? Were you thinking of speed, stamina or just general fitness?

Jack: How did you feel during and after the run? Did you find it exhausting or invigorating?

Rich: Tell us about your experiences of running and then give us a Premier Skills English Fitness Challenge score for this activity.

Rowan: Give us a score out of ten for fitness and a score out of ten for fun - just like we did in the roleplay.

Jack: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website and try to use some of the words and phrases we introduced in this podcast.

FOOTBALL PHRASE 

Rich: It’s Jack’s turn with the football phrase this week.

Jack: This week’s football phrase is to **** ** **** *****. It’s an idiom which means to retire from playing football. You don’t need what you wear on your feet to play football anymore so you can put them away forever. It’s a strange phrase because I would never **** ** ** ***** I would put them on the floor in a wardrobe or something.

Rowan: Yes, it is strange - it’s more what you would normally do with a coat when you get home.

Rich: Good luck with the phrase. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was to pull the strings.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s show.

Rich: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Rowan: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Jack: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!