Royal English Listening Practice
🎧 Improve Your English with our Exciting Lesson! 🇬🇧
Will support for the British monarchy continue to decrease as younger generations become more influential? Can King Charles maintain the same level of popularity as Queen Elizabeth II, or will his reign signal the end of the monarchy? A juicy English listening and comprehension practice lesson today!
- 🔸 Unveil the secrets of the British Monarchy in 2023
- 🔸 Master listening skills with engaging, real-life topics
- 🔸 Expand your vocabulary with intriguing, uncommon words
- 🔸 Gain insights into British culture and current events
- 🔸 Enjoy our easy-to-follow, conversational style
✔Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/english-listening-british-monarchy-2023/
Improve your English fluency with an engaging lesson on the British monarchy's popularity in 2023. Boost listening skills, learn new words, and uncover royal secrets!
#BritishEnglishLearning #RoyalVocabularyBoost #LearnEnglishWithRoyals
Gain insight into the factors that contribute to the British monarchy's enduring appeal and its adaptability to stay relevant in the 21st century.
Pique your curiosity and learn about important cultural context of conversation in the UK, all the while making your English learning experience more fascinating and enjoyable.
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To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
⭐ Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
✨ Don't miss out on the chance to boost your English fluency while uncovering the fascinating world of the British Royals! Join us now and step up your language skills in a fun and captivating way. 🌟
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More About This Lesson
Are you an English language learner with a passion for British culture? We've got an exciting lesson just for you! This English lesson takes you on a captivating journey to explore the popularity of the British monarchy in 2023. As you delve into the world of kings and queens, you'll practice your listening skills and expand your vocabulary, bringing you closer to your goal of speaking English fluently.
A language fit for kings!
⭐ Attributed to Queen Elizabeth I, a nod to the British monarchy's role in promoting and preserving the English language.
We've crafted this lesson to be both informative and entertaining, making it an enjoyable way to enhance your English abilities. So, are you ready to uncover the secrets behind the royal family while mastering the English language? Let's get started!
- Gain valuable insights into British culture
- Improve your ability to engage in British small talk
- Enhance your listening skills in English
- Learn to discuss current events confidently
- Connect with younger British people through relevant topics
Remember, our teaching philosophy says focusing on formal vocabulary and grammar is not the fastest way to spoken fluency. In reality, understanding and engaging in everyday conversations on various topics, such as the British monarchy, can advance your fluently more, it will significantly improve your listening skills, and vocabulary.
Speak English, rule the world!
⭐ Anonymous, a phrase highlighting the importance of English language in global communication.
Why? Because...
- Listening to natural speech in context helps you to better understand British pronunciation and accents
- Engaging with contemporary topics helps you to stay updated on current events and participate in meaningful conversations
- Deepen your cultural understanding of British English through topics like the British monarchy will enhance your communication skills
Questions You Might Have...
Embark on a linguistic journey, where uncovering how the British feel about the monarchy in 2023 helps you find hidden vocabulary treasures while polishing your English listening skills and vocabulary.
- How will this lesson help me learn British English fluently? This lesson focuses on a culturally relevant topic in the UK, helping you improve listening comprehension, expand your vocabulary, and understand the cultural context of British English.
- What vocabulary will I learn from this lesson? You will learn key vocabulary related to the British monarchy, such as "monarchy," "republic," "Commonwealth," and "eccentric," among others.
- Can this lesson improve my English conversation skills? Yes, discussing the popularity of the British monarchy is a popular topic in British culture, providing you with conversation material when speaking with native English speakers.
- Will listening to this lesson help me understand different British accents? By listening to the podcast, you'll be exposed to various British accents, which will help you become more familiar and comfortable with the nuances of British pronunciation.
- How can I practice what I've learned in this lesson? After listening to the lesson, try discussing the topic with friends or classmates, or join online forums and communities where you can practice your newly acquired vocabulary and knowledge about the British monarchy.
Most Unusual Words:
- Monarchy: A system of government with a king or queen as the leader.
- Eccentric: A person or behavior that is unusual, strange, or different from what is considered normal.
- Approval rating: A measure of how popular or well-liked a person is.
- Relevant: Related to or important for a particular subject or situation.
- Disagreement: A situation where people have different opinions or beliefs about something.
- Tourists: People who visit a place for pleasure, usually on vacation or holiday.
- Quiche: A baked dish made with eggs, cheese, vegetables, and/or meat, usually in a pastry crust.
- Savoury: Food that is salty or spicy, not sweet.
- Jubilee: A special anniversary or celebration, often marking a significant number of years.
- Underwhelming: Not impressive, exciting, or satisfying; disappointing.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| Charles | 21 |
| People | 17 |
| Coronation | 14 |
| Queen | 14 |
| Monarchy | 14 |
| About | 7 |
| That's | 6 |
| Still | 6 |
| Elizabeth | 6 |
| Prince | 6 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
The mp3 audio and pdf transcript for this lesson is now part of the Adept English back catalogue . You can still download and listen to this lesson as part of one of our podcast bundles.Transcript: Is The British Monarchy Still Relevant In 2023
Did you see the Coronation of King Charles III?
Hi there. Did you see anything of the Coronation of King Charles last weekend?
Having a king or queen - that's called 'monarchy', M O N A R C H Y. And the question today - is the British monarchy still popular or not?
King Charles, is it 'Yay!' Or is it 'Mmmmm'.
In this video, I've got some fascinating insights into opinions and statistics about the British monarchy in 2023. What do younger people in the UK think of the monarchy? Are we as supportive of the monarchy as we were in 1953 when Queen Elizabeth had her Coronation or has opinion changed? Let's find out. And while your brain is doing its English language learning, you'll get listening practice on a really good topic for 'making British small talk', English conversation. This is a slice of British culture for you. And I'll give you my opinion on the Coronation Quiche as well.
Hello, I’m Hilary, and you’re listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.
Surprising facts which show the change of attitude to monarchy
First of all, a surprising statistic for you. At the time of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation in 1953 when the UK was much more of a Christian country, 34% of people thought that Elizabeth was 'chosen by God', a Christian God, that is.
Nowadays fewer than half the people in the UK call themselves 'Christian' and only 2% go to church regularly. Most people in the UK would find this idea that 'God has chosen Prince Charles' a bit crazy, a bit delusional or certainly outdated. What a contrast between 1953 and 2023!
Let's have a look at what else has changed opinions on monarchy.
So the UK has monarchy - which other countries do too?
So the UK, as you know, has a system of monarchy. That means we have a king, K I N G, or a queen. The opposite of this is a 'republic', R E P U B L I C, from the Latin 'res publica', meaning that 'the state belongs to the people'. Usually implying some process of democracy is at work.
There are 43 countries in the world that still have monarchies, and some of those like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, do actually have King Charles as their monarch. To me, this seems a little bit bizarre and outdated. But that's what's called 'the Commonwealth'.
But whether to continue with monarchy is under debate in these countries too.
And there are monarchies in Europe as well. Belgium, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Monaco. And the Netherlands. All have monarchs.
And around the world, countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Cambodia have monarchs. And in some countries the name is different. Qatar has an 'Emir', Japan has an 'Emperor', and Oman and Brunei have 'Sultans' as their head of state, but essentially it's still a monarchy.
Listening Lessons
A moment of reflection as the monarch in the UK changes
In the UK, the death of Queen Elizabeth after her 70 year reign and the Coronation of King Charles III - it's bringing a moment of reflection on monarchy for many people. What does monarchy mean in 2023? Do we even want it?
Because Queen Elizabeth was queen for so long, most people have only known the Queen as their monarch. The Queen was held in great affection, even by people who were not monarchists, who weren't supportive of monarchy. We'd grown up with her. And as I've said before, TV series like 'The Crown' brought the story of the monarchy to younger people.
The Queen managed to play her role for 70 years with dignity and largely without offending anybody. Quite a triumph! And the queen did change the style of monarchy quite a bit too.
Why was Queen Elizabeth II so popular?
But now it's King Charles III instead of Queen Elizabeth II, do we like that quite so much? Is the popularity of the monarchy in question? Queen Elizabeth was young when she was crowned. It was just after the Second World War. There was a sense of a new era, a new time, a new beginning.
Our grandparents and great grandparents saw themselves in this young post-war family. In contrast, King Charles is 74 and he spent most of his life waiting to be king. And is seen by many as 'eccentric', E C C E N T R I C. That means a little bit strange, a bit unusual.
And what about King Charles III and Queen Camilla?
Young people today may see King Charles as a rather eccentric and very privileged elderly man. If he was going to reign as long as his mother, he would have to live until he was 144 years old. The Monarch gets good medical care, but not that good!
And we have a long history of knowing Charles and he's offended some people. Some have even been against Charles since his marriage with Diana ended all those years ago.
However Camilla, now firmly 'Queen Camilla', has become more popular in recent years. Most people, but not all have forgiven Charles for his unfaithfulness to Diana.
They can see that, actually for Charles, it was Camilla all along. And it was the rules around being monarch that prevented him from marrying the woman that he loved - that prevented him from marrying Camilla in the first place. And caused him to have to find someone else, 'pure and unmarried', but perhaps also unsuitable. The series, 'The Crown' told this story very well.
Many see Charles as 'a mixed bag'!
Charles has shared his views on architecture, the environment, and many other things. While the Queen largely kept her opinion to herself, kept her thoughts private, we know quite a lot about what King Charles thinks.
Some of it's good, like his interest in the environment. Some of it a bit crazy, like his idea that you should talk to plants! And it was revealed in 2015 that he regularly used his position to ask government for specific things, against the rules of our constitutional monarchy system, where parliament and government are actually in charge of what happens.
So for most people, Charles is what you call 'a mixed bag', both good and bad. But Charles is want to embrace other faiths that's F A I T H S - means 'other religions' - is for most people a plus. And this was visible in the Coronation ceremony.
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Who are the most popular members of our Royal Family?
What about popularity ratings for different members of our Royal Family?
' Popularity ratings' means 'how well liked are people'. King Charles is not in top position. Prince William, Princess Anne and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, are well above Charles in the popularity ratings. Not surprisingly, Prince Andrew is at the bottom. The least said about that, the better.
That William and Kate are so popular perhaps suggests that people may still support the idea of monarchy, beyond the reign of King Charles. But King Charles himself has only a 52% approval rating, meaning only 52% of people approve, are supportive of him. So Charles wouldn't be elected if it was a vote, that's for sure!
We don't actually want a Republic.....but....
Slightly better news for King Charles - it appears that just over half the people in the UK do still broadly support the idea of monarchy, while only 26% would like a republic. But even here, if you look a little more closely, you find that that popularity is more amongst the old, less amongst the young. People in their 20s and 30s just don't see monarchy as relevant, as important.
And many of these will be supportive of Prince Harry and Meghan in that ongoing disagreement between the two brothers. Quite a bit of damage was done to the monarchy when Harry and Meghan went public with their story. And Prince Harry is coming to the Coronation and Meghan is staying home in the US.
But does all of this mean that as time goes on, support for the monarchy will reduce even further?
📷
A photograph of a young man uninterested in British royalty in 2023. Boost your British English with our fun lesson on the 2023 monarchy!
What about the cost of the monarchy?
Also, in our 'Cost of Living Crisis' era, when food and fuel prices are sky high, instead of seeing the Coronation as a respected ceremony, many people will look at it and say, 'Hmm, how much does that cost then?' And it's a fair question. The age old answer has always been 'Yes, but the monarchy, it brings in a lot of tourists to the UK'. They pay for themselves that way.
Whether or not this is true, there's certainly been a 'trimming down' of the Royal Family recently. Since the Queen's death, the falling out between William and Harry and the disgrace of Prince Andrew, when the Royals appear as a family, it's very much Charles and Camilla, William and Kate, and the children.
You don't see that balcony full of a large family anymore, like you did in much of Queen Elizabeth's reign. I think the message is 'There are fewer of us now, so that amongst other things, we cost less'. I think that's wise!
And that Coronation Quiche?
Many people's feelings about the monarchy are reflected in the reaction to the Coronation Quiche. That's 'quiche', Q U I C H E, and it means 'a savoury tart, a pastry'.
It seems to be a tradition that for a coronation, or even the Queen's Jubilee recently, there is a dish named for the day that people make. So ordinary people can join in and make this food to celebrate. Remember the Jubilee Pudding? I put ours on a podcast when I talked about it. And there was the photograph of the actual Jubilee pudding that we made!
Download The Podcast Audio & Transcript
Well, in 1952 the dish was Coronation Chicken. A spicy curried dish with chicken and mayonnaise that was probably quite racy in 1953. In fact, if you go to buy a sandwich in the UK even today, you'll find Coronation Chicken sandwiches. It's still popular!
Charles by contrast, probably reflecting his interest in 'all things green and sustainable' has chosen for the dish for the Coronation, Spinach and Green Bean Quiche.
Hmm. While that might be fine for a Monday evening dinner, perhaps it's a little underwhelming for a celebration. Unlike Coronation Chicken, I'm not sure that people are gonna be enjoying Coronation Quiche in 70 years time!
Goodbye
Let's hope that in his reign, King Charles is more popular than Coronation Quiche!
Let us know what you think.
Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.
Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com
Links
- How much will the Coronation cost?
- List of current monarchies
- The twilight king
- The most popular royals
- Coronation quiche
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