Learning Vocabulary: Captain Blade (part one)

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich

Rowan: And welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich: In this week’s roleplay, we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to act out a cartoon-style story.

Rowan: Rich takes Jack to Sheffield United’s stadium for a tour of the ground but to their surprise, they get involved in a club mascot’s evil plan to get the team relegated to the Championship.

Jack: It’s a fight between good and evil.

Rich: Like we said, it’s something a bit different but we hope you think it’s fun.

Jack: And we want to involve all our listeners in the story, too. The story will be in two parts so at the end of this week’s podcast your task is to tell us what you think will happen next.

Rowan: After you hear the roleplay, we’ll look at some of the language we used. This week we’re going to focus on vocabulary.

Jack: We’re going to look at words to describe different places and parts of a football stadium.

Rich: If you’re 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 also find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and a task for you to complete.

Rich: You’ll also find a community of friendly listeners to interact with, in our comments section.

Jack: And that includes us - we’re always around to answer questions and join in the discussions.

Rowan: But if you listen on Apple Podcasts you can always write answers to our questions or any other comments in the review section.

Rich: Before we do the roleplay let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase

Jack: If you didn’t hear our football phrase last week we’re going to give you one more chance to guess now.

Rowan: Last week’s football phrase was * *** *****. Officially, * *** ***** describes how play is restarted after the ball has gone out of play or the referee has stopped the game. *** ****** can be goal kicks and throw-ins but they are usually used to describe corners and free-kicks. Some teams are very dangerous from *** ****** and score lots of goals from them. Teams try different types of *** ****** and they’re practised a lot on the training ground.

Rich: We’ll give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase.

Jack: The first listener to get it right last week was Max Alex from Vietnam. Well done Max Alex for being the first to get the right answer for the first time.

Rowan: Lots of other listeners got the right answer too. Well done to Alex from Ukraine, MoBeckham from Turkey, Gergo Nagy from Hungary, Hayato from Japan, Lakerwang from China, and Elghoul from Algeria.

Rich: Also well done to Marco Zapien from Mexico, Robert Tavares and Izabela from Brazil, Mohamed Kuna from Sudan, Emmanuel from France and Idzingirai from Zimbabwe.

Jack: It was great to see so many of you having a go at last week’s task. We asked you to write three excuses to different events and use the present perfect in your answers.

Rowan: It was good to see so many of you using the present perfect in your answers and that you seemed to have few problems making excuses in a polite way in English.

Rich: There were lots of good excuses. Vic from Mexico had to go to the dentist, Alex from Ukraine had lots of work commitments but the best excuse was Robert Tavares from Brazil. He had an English class with Rowan.

Rowan: I hope you’ve done your homework, Robert.

Jack: If you haven’t heard last week’s podcast it’s called Understanding Grammar: The Present Perfect and a surprise party. You can find it on the homepage on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Rich: We arrange a surprise party for a friend and we talk about how we use the present perfect to talk about past actions with present results.

Rowan: Don’t forget that we’ll have a new task for you to do and a new football phrase later in the podcast.

Introduction to roleplay

Jack: As we said earlier, this week’s roleplay is going to be a little different. You’re going to listen to a cartoon-style story.

Rowan: Rich takes Jack to Sheffield United’s stadium for a tour of the ground.

Jack: And there are some very strange things happening in the stadium. The club mascot - Captain Blade - wants to see Sheffield United lose and she doesn’t care who gets in her way.

Rowan: Unfortunately, it seems that Jack and Rich are in her way and they are in mortal danger.

Rich: While you are listening we want you to answer two questions:

Jack: Question one: What is Captain Blade’s evil plan?

Rowan: Question two: Why does Captain Blade want the team to lose?

Rich: Here’s this week’s roleplay. It’s a bit silly but we hope you find it fun.

Roleplay

Rich: Here we are. Bramall Lane. The oldest football stadium in the world and home to Sheffield United. The Blades. The ticket office is just over there.

Jack: When you said you had tickets I thought you meant match tickets. These aren’t match-tickets. These are tickets for the Captain Blade tour ...  tickets for a tour of the ground.

Rich: Don’t be silly - you can’t watch the matches in the stadium. They are still being played behind closed doors.

Jack: I did wonder.

Rich: Come on! It’ll be brilliant. They’ve got a replica trophy from the last time we won the league.

Jack: 1898, wasn’t it? Was Queen Victoria a fan?

Rich: We’ll soon win it again, you’ll see.

Rowan: This way for the Captain Blade tour of Bramall Lane.

Jack: The Captain Blade tour?

Rowan: Just the two of you? No children? Never mind, everybody’s more than welcome. Have you got your tickets?

Jack: Rich. Is this a tour for children?

Rowan: It’s for all ages - for the whole family. Here’s your Captain Blade pack.

Jack: Captain Blade?

Rich: He’s our mascot. The finest pirate in Sheffield. Come on through the turnstile.

Jack: Why is your mascot a pirate? We’re miles from the sea.

Rich: Ah. It’s because Sheffield is famous for steel. In the past, most of the knives and forks in the country were made in Sheffield.

Jack: That doesn’t really explain why you have a pirate for a mascot.

Rich: Well, we’ve been called the blades for over 100 years.

Jack: Yes ...

Rich: On the badge, there are crossed swords which have blades.

Jack: Yes ...

Rich: And pirates use swords. You see! It’s obvious. I can’t believe you couldn’t work that out.

Jack: Yes - that was very slow of me. Hang on, in this Captain Blade pack there’s a colouring book, some crayons and a whistle? What’s the whistle for?

Rowan: Right everybody. Don’t forget the Captain Blade chant. One, two, three Ooo argh! Captain Blade show us where you are? Everybody this time:

Jack: Really? If I must. One, two, three Ooo argh! Captain Blade show us where you are?

Rich: Look! There he is in his pirate costume - in the commentary box waving.

Jack: Will we get to see the commentary box? I really wanted to be a commentator when I was a kid.

Rowan: If anyone gets lost on the tour just shout out the chant and blow the whistle. Captain Blade will come to your rescue.

Jack: Please tell me I don’t have to do this.

Rich: Come on! It will be fun.

Rowan: As I was saying the most successful period of the club’s history was at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century ...

Rich: I told you it would be interesting. League Champions 1898. FA Cup winners 1902.

Rowan: The first-ever match with floodlights took place here in 1878. England against Scotland.

Jack: Oh, look! You are the only ever team to lose an FA Cup Final to a non-league team. 1901 to Tottenham.

Rich: We’re going down to the pitch now and to the dressing rooms. Let’s see if we can see the player’s shirts.

Jack: Why?

Rich: Why not? Later we might be able to sit on the bench.

Jack: Wowee!

Jack: Rich, there’s someone in there. Hold on. Isn’t that Captain Blade? What’s she doing?

Rich: She’s probably just getting ready. The players will start arriving for the match soon.

Jack: No, look. sHe’s definitely doing something weird. What’s that powder? She’s putting it in the player’s boots.

Captain Blade: Stop right there. Don’t move a muscle.

Captain Blade: Just be cool both of you. If either of you move, I’ll have to use this pirate cutlass of mine and we don’t want to make a mess of the dressing room do we?

Jack: What can you do to us with an inflatable cutlass?

Captain Blade: This? This is just a toy. This is my cutlass.

Rich: Oh, jeez. You’re not the real Captain Blade. The real Captain Blade would never do this.

Captain Blade: I could have been Captain Blade if the club had given me the job but they said no. They said I wasn’t friendly enough, not good enough with kids, they thought that I wielded my cutlass in an aggressive manner towards opposition fans.

Jack: Yes, it would be better if you put it down.

Captain Blade: This cutlass could end you here and now but maybe ... you two will be useful ... as hostages.

Rich: Hostages?

Captain Blade: Both of you... through the door. I’m taking you to my secret hideout.

Captain Blade: Get in there and sit down.

Rich: Is this your secret hideout? This is an executive box.

Captain Blade: That’s right. My secret hideout is in this executive box.

Rich: What do you plan to do?

Captain Blade: Ha ha. My evil master plan. I will reveal it now. You’ve seen the powder. It’s super strong itching powder.

Jack: Itching powder? The players are going to scratch themselves to death?

Captain Blade: Nobody is going to die. Unless of course, you two try to escape. But this powder will ensure certain defeat for the team and my revenge for not getting the job as Captain Blade.

Jack: And what are you going to do with us?

Captain Blade: You two are going to watch the match with me. You don’t think I would miss what is going to happen. There are no fans in the stadium because of COVID 19 so we’re going to watch the match from here. Haha ha - we’re near the away end because that’s where all the action will be.

Rich: But ... If we’re defeated today, we’ll be relegated.

Captain Blade: Revenge will be sweet and revenge will be mine. A spoonful of this in each of the player’s boots and when kick-off time arrives the players won’t be able to concentrate on the ball. They will be too busy scratching their feet and before they know it they will be 4-0 down.

Rich: You’re insane. It will never work.

Captain Blade: Of course it will work. Now, I’m going to lock you in here to finish my evil plan. I was almost finished when you saw me, but I still need to put my extra strong itching powder in the goalkeeper’s boots. Haha.

Jack: We have to tell the team. We have to tell the real Captain Blade.

Captain Blade: Haha. The real Captain Blade? The fool who got the job? He can do nothing now.

Jack: You’ll never get away with this evil Captain Blade.

Captain Blade: But I already have. Haha!

Will Evil Captain Blade get away with her plan?

Will Jack and Rich escape the clutches of Evil Captain Blade?

Will the real Captain Blade come to the rescue?

Find out in the next episode of

Language Focus

Rowan: Before we look at some of the language we used in the roleplay let’s think about the answers to the questions we gave you.

Rich: The first question was: What is Captain Blade’s evil plan?

Jack: Well her plan is to put itching powder in all of the Sheffield United players’ boots. This will stop them from playing well and will mean they lose and are relegated.

Rowan: What an evil plan. Haha!

Jack: The second question was: Why does Captain Blade want the team to lose?

Rich: Well, she’s not really Captain Blade. She’s Evil Captain Blade. She wanted to be Captain Blade but she didn’t get the job as the mascot. She’s angry about this and wants revenge.

Rowan: I will get my revenge. Haha!

Jack: That’s enough of that - we’re out of character now. Let’s look at some vocabulary we used in the roleplay.

Rich: We said we were going to look at vocabulary to describe different places and parts of a football stadium. We spoke about a lot of different places in a stadium in the roleplay.

Rowan: Let’s start with three words that are sometimes a little confusing: stadium, ground and pitch.

Jack: Football stadium and football ground are often used as synonyms - they are the same thing - the place you watch the match from. Football teams play at football grounds or football stadiums.

Rich: Traditionally, football ground is used more in British English and football stadium more in American English. In British English we use it to talk in general terms - you might ask someone how many football grounds you have visited.

Rowan: More specifically, a football ground is the area of land that the club owns and the stadium describes the structure that has been built.

Jack: It’s more common to see the word stadium in the name of the venue. Arsenal play at the Emirates Stadium, Manchester City play at the Etihad Stadium and West Ham play at the London Stadium.

Rich: The word pitch describes the area of land that the players actually play on. Football grounds or stadiums usually have one pitch but clubs have many pitches at their training grounds.

Rowan: Most clubs have training grounds not training stadiums as a stadium isn’t usually built where the teams train.

Jack: When you arrive for a match you often have to buy or collect your tickets from the ticket office.

Rich: You also find ticket offices in cinemas and theatres.

Rowan: Once you have your ticket you need to go through a turnstile.

Jack: This is a strange word: a turnstile. Football grounds have lots of turnstiles all around the stadium. These are the places where you show your ticket and enter the stadium.

Rich: Traditionally, these are very narrow entrances and usually have lots of little metal poles that you can push round so you can go through the entrance.

Rowan: We spoke about a few other places in a stadium during the roleplay. We said Sheffield United’s stadium was the first to use floodlights.

Jack: Floodlights are the large lights that are usually in each corner of a stadium.

Rich: They are called floodlights because they flood the pitch with light. To flood something usually involves water but the verb can be used more generally to mean to fill something in large amounts.

Rowan: Floodlights fill a pitch with light.

Jack: Evil Captain Blade had an executive box near the away end.

Rich: An executive box is a separate area away from the rest of the fans where you can watch the match. These boxes usually have glass in front of them and to hire them costs a lot of money.

Rowan: Captain Blade said her executive box was near the away end. When fans talk about football stadiums they often talk about ends. These are the areas of the stadium behind the goals.

Jack: The home end is where supporters of the home team sit and the away end is where supporters of the away team sit.

Rowan: Another type of box that you find in football stadiums is the commentary box. This is where the commentators talk about the match for television as it happens.

Jack: The commentary box is usually high up in the centre of the stadium so the commentators have a good view.

Rich: We used a few other words to describe areas of a football stadium and there are a few other useful words to know such as dressing rooms, the bench, stands, and terraces. We’ve got a few activities on the website to help you understand all of these words.

Task

Jack: This week’s task is to answer the three questions you heard at the end of the roleplay.

Rich: We want you to predict the rest of the story. We want you to tell us what will happen. Write a short summary of how you think the story will end.

Rowan: Here are the questions again:

Jack: Will evil Captain Blade get away with her plan?

Rich: Will Jack and Rich escape the clutches of Evil Captain Blade?

Rowan: Will the real Captain Blade come to the rescue?

Jack: Write your summaries in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website and try to use some of the language we presented in your answers where appropriate.

Rich: or write your summaries in the review section on Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.

Football Phrase

Rowan: It’s your turn with the football phrase this week, Jack.

Jack: OK, this week’s football phrase is ******. If you’ve listened to this week’s roleplay this should be really easy. A ****** is something that represents a sports team. It can be a person, an animal or something that they believe brings them good luck. In sports, a ****** is usually linked to the team’s nickname. Sheffield United’s ****** is Captain Blade. You usually see it at the side of the pitch cheering on the team and interacting with younger fans.

Rich: We should get lots of answers this week. This one is dead easy. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was a set-piece.

Rowan: 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.

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

Rich: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page or Twitter feed

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

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!