English Listening Practice: Inflation hits Europe! Are you feeling the pinch?
Would you pay triple for laundry detergent in France compared to Spain? Shocking, isn't it? Having a baby in France? Brace yourself to pay double for nappies compared to the UK! Discover how economics is woven into today's English language learning lesson. Uncover fascinating insights and #LearnEnglish. 📚💼 with us!
Here's what you gain with this lesson:
- 🚀 Boost your English fluency
- 💶 Learn about pricing and economic vocabulary you will hear in everyday English
- 💬 Enhance your English comprehension
✔Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/english-listening-practice-euro-food-costs/
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
⭐ Nelson Mandela
With us, you'll grasp more than just the language - you'll gain insight into how unfair shopping around Europe can be! It's time to dive in, step up your language game, and unlock a world of opportunities waiting for you! Grasp British English through captivating subjects! Level up your skills with #EnglishFluency. 🇬🇧🔝
Jump into our latest lesson where learning English meets understanding Europe's economic climate. We're not just talking grammar and vocabulary; we're connecting you to real-world issues like inflation, cost of living, and economic disparities across countries.
This isn't your average English class; it's a journey into global awareness and cultural literacy. Don't let this unique opportunity slip by. Listen now and discover the true power of language learning!
Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.
⭐ Flora Lewis
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Embark on a linguistic adventure! Understand the complexities of Europe's economy while enhancing your English. #BritishEnglish 🌍💬
More About This Lesson
Hello, language enthusiasts! Ever wondered how mastering English could be more than just learning a language, but a tour through Europe's economic landscape? This isn't your typical language lesson. We're making English come alive through engaging discussions about real-world issues, like inflation and cost of living in different European countries.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
⭐ Albert Einstein
Things you will learn in today's English listening lesson:
- Clear pronunciation and spelling of complex words.
- Practical use of English vocabulary in a real-world context.
- Introduction of economic terminology in an accessible way.
- Detailed explanations of cultural differences in Europe.
- Examples of English phrases and idioms in context.
- Insightful analysis of current global economic issues.
- Highlighting grammatical structures within the conversation.
- Engaging narrative style encourages active listening.
- Usage of humour to keep the content enjoyable.
- Regular repetition of key words to aid memory.
Benefits of our listen & learn approach to learning
As a language learner, you'll gain more than just English fluency. You'll learn about culture, events, and the habits of British people. You'll explore the economic landscape of Europe, learn everyday expressions and complex concepts. This real-world context helps you think in English and makes the language a part of your cognitive process. The world awaits you!
- Fluency Through Understanding: Remember, fluency isn't just about cramming grammar or vocabulary, but understanding and connecting with the language. You'll grasp everyday expressions and complex concepts, helping you think in English.
- Cultural and Contextual Understanding: This lesson is not just English in isolation. You'll immerse yourself in real-world contexts like Europe's economic landscape, helping you understand the language, culture, and events shaping the English-speaking world.
- Engaging Content: We know that engaging content is key to learning. Instead of boring exercises, you'll delve into real-world issues, making learning interesting, relatable, and memorable.
- Overcoming Overwhelm: Learning any language can feel overwhelming. This lesson breaks down complex concepts into digestible chunks, making it easier for you to understand. Every step gets you closer to fluency.
- Retain the Learned Material: You'll learn new vocabulary and grammar in the context of an interesting topic like the cost of living in Europe, making it more memorable and easier to retain.
Learning British English with us is never going to be dry or boring. In fact, it's going to be engaging, enriching, and accessible. By integrating real-world knowledge like Europe's economic landscape into language lessons, you're not just learning the language but also gaining valuable insights into real-world scenarios.
It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.
⭐ Madeleine Albright
Don't let this unique opportunity slip by. Immerse yourself in English learning that goes beyond the classroom. Explore Europe's economic landscape while mastering English, a unique blend of language proficiency and real-world knowledge. Don't just learn, understand. Take this journey with us now! Discover intriguing insights about living costs in Europe. Follow our podcast!
Questions You Might Have...
This English lesson is like a scenic train journey across Europe. As the train sweeps through the landscapes, you'll peer out the window, discovering the varying cost of living in different countries. Our English listening practice lesson offers you valuable insights into the difference in food prices across Europe, like local attractions revealing their unique costs. And with each repeat listen, your English language skills will be enhanced, just as you become more accustomed to the rhythm of the train. It's an adventure, it's enlightening, and it's all at your own pace - this is your ticket to ride.
- What can I learn from this English language lesson? You can enhance your English fluency while getting valuable insights into the varying cost of living across Europe. You'll also gain a deeper understanding of the economic landscapes impacting daily life in different European regions.
- How can exploring the cost of living across Europe help me with English learning? By learning about real-world topics like Europe's cost of living, you can practice and improve your English skills in a context that's practical and engaging, enhancing both your vocabulary and your comprehension.
- Will this lesson help me to speak British English fluently? Absolutely! Each lesson is designed to expose you to a variety of British English accents and vocabulary, aiding you in your journey to fluency.
- Can I understand economic landscapes through this English lesson? Definitely! The lesson not only teaches English but also provides insights into the economic landscapes of Europe, which can be a valuable asset in your academic or professional pursuits.
- Is this lesson suitable for English learners at all levels? Yes, the lessons cater to a range of proficiency levels. If you're a beginner, you'll pick up basic vocabulary about economics, while advanced learners can delve deeper into the nuances of English expressions and economic principles.
Most Unusual Words:
- Inflation: Increase in the prices of goods over time.
- Equivalent: Equal in value, amount, function, or meaning.
- Bizarrely: In a strange or unusual manner.
- Commodities: Basic goods used in commerce that are interchangeable with other goods of the same type.
- Romanticised: To make something seem better or more appealing than it really is.
- Detergent: A cleaning agent used for washing clothes or dishes.
- Trolley: A large container on wheels used for carrying things in a supermarket or at an airport.
- Biodegradable: Able to decompose or break down naturally by the action of living things, such as bacteria.
- Export: To send goods or services to another country for sale.
- Sustainable: Capable of being maintained or continued over the long term.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| Prices | 13 |
| Price | 8 |
| Items | 8 |
| Podcast | 7 |
| About | 7 |
| Would | 7 |
| France | 7 |
| English | 6 |
| Different | 6 |
| Means | 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: Level Up Your English-Price Tag Edition
Real life: what are prices like in different European countries?
Hi there. Today by tuning into this podcast, you're not just improving your English language skills; you're gaining fascinating insights into the different economic landscapes across Europe and understanding how global factors may influence daily life. Don't miss out on this podcast which talks about real-world issues! In Europe we have suffered from inflation - that’s INFLATION and it means higher and higher prices on lots of the things that we buy all the time. But a new report is out which looks at price differences in various European countries. This is interesting if you’re in one of those countries. But even if you’re in a different place in the world, this podcast will give you a sense, an idea, of how much things cost in the UK and in Europe. The ‘cost of living’ is what we call it - and my goodness, ‘living’ is quite expensive at the moment! So as usual, this is a great listening podcast for all you English language learners - with some lovely vocabulary, grammar and sentence construction for your brain to be learning, but all in a podcast which is interesting in its own right, so it’ll keep you listening!
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And don’t forget - if you would like more podcasts, then go to our website at adeptenglish.com and our ‘Courses’ page to find our podcast ‘bundles’. These are collections of podcasts - 100s of them - that you can buy and download for a small fee. You know that this will help your English language learning, so go and have a look today!
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.
Germany is a cheaper country to shop in than France!
OK. Here’s a shocking thing - did you know that the same basket of 23 items, that you might buy from a supermarket, would cost £67.57 in France and yet only £47.25 in Germany? Can you believe such a big difference in prices in neighbouring countries, both big EU countries? Well, this week, the BBC News website gave details of a report by a company called Circana. That’s CIRCANA, if you want to look it up. They are ‘consumer analysts’ - meaning that this company, Circana analyse what we buy and report on it. In Europe, we’re all very aware of how much prices have risen in the last 18 months, but this report shows the differences in price of various items in different European countries. The report compared prices in the UK with those in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany - and found quite big differences.
So biggest news - they put together a ‘basket’ - that’s BASKET and it’s what you use in the supermarket to carry your items if you’re just buying some small things. You use a basket, rather than a trolley - that’s TROLLEY. That’s the big metal thing with wheels on it. Anyway, they put together a basket of items and compared the prices in different countries. So yes, a basket of 23 items came out as the equivalent of £67.57 in France - the most expensive country to shop in. And Germany was the cheapest, the least expensive country to shop in - that same basket of items came out as £47.25 or the equivalent. That’s a big difference!
I’m saying ‘the equivalent of’ - that’s EQUIVALENT, because of course, the countries in Europe that I’m talking about all have the Euro. But the BBC News article put everything into pounds sterling to make the comparison easier.
France does seem to be expensive for certain things
I’m familiar with France being more expensive for certain items - I know that my French niece has commented before, when she’s come to the UK - ‘Oh my goodness, isn’t mascara cheap here!’. A trip to the UK is often a shopping trip for her because certain things are so much cheaper, especially branded clothing! But despite this, prices in British shops are estimated to be 19% higher than they were just a year ago. No wonder we’re all becoming a bit ‘cost-conscious’.
Doing your laundry?
So what are some of the big price differences? Well, one that ‘leapt out at me’ - by that I meant ‘it was obvious - the price of laundry detergent. ‘Laundry’, LAUNDRY is a noun and it means this whole area of ‘washing your clothes’ or ‘doing your laundry’ in other words. And ‘detergent’, DETERGENT just means the stuff, the substance you use to wash with. So Laundry Detergent is what you put in your washing machine when you wash your clothes. In Spain you would pay the equivalent of £2.33 for laundry detergent, the same bottle of laundry detergent in France? You would pay a whacking £7.20 for the same thing! Imagine how much more expensive in a year, it would be to do the laundry for a family in France, than it would be for a family in Spain!
What do you put on your burger?
Rather bizarrely, in the UK we pay much more for our ketchup than they do in France. ‘Ketchup’, KETCHUP is that kind of tomato sauce that often comes with your burger. And I say ‘bizarrely’ because ketchup is something you imagine being much more a part of the British diet than the French one. Though I think perhaps we romanticise, we have romanticised ideas about what French people actually eat, imagining ‘French onion soup’ being more popular than burgers! So ketchup in the UK - the same bottle will cost you £1.92 here, but only £1.37 in France. Surprising.
📷
A photograph of a a huge variety of French cheeses. Enhance your vocabulary! Don't just learn English, live it. Subscribe for English fluency.
The price of nappies!
Are you a parent to a baby or small child in nappies? That’s NAPPY in the singular - ‘nappy’ and ‘nappies’, NAPPIES, in the plural. ‘Nappies’ or in US English ‘diapers’, DIAPERS are what you put on a baby’s bottom. Well, if you are a parent to a small child, it’s going to cost you a lot more for nappies if you live in France - £12.43, while the same pack of nappies will cost you just £5.57 in the UK. A huge difference - and something that you don’t have that much choice about buying. Imagine the yearly impact on your family's budget if you have a baby! Or even if you have two little ones in nappies. Yikes. You could use reusable or washable nappies of course, if you have a strong stomach! What used to make me very pleased when my children were little and in nappies - in the UK you can get biodegradable nappies - best of both worlds!
Sardines on toast, anyone?
What else? Well, if you’re buying ‘canned fish’ - that means something like tuna or sardines or mackerel in a can, then you are much better off buying this in Germany than you are in Italy. ‘Tuna’, TUNA, ‘sardines’, SARDINES or ‘mackerel’, MACKEREL. All of them, lovely fish - I like them on toast! So the same can of fish - it doesn’t specify which - but it costs £1.46 in Germany and £3.15 in Italy. Why does a can of fish cost so much more in Italy than it does in Germany? It seems a bit illogical - Italy has a lot more coastline than Germany. I’m sure there must be other ‘economic factors’ at work here!
Are we being conned?
Prices of ‘commodities’ have started to reduce now or started to come down now. ‘Commodities’, COMMODITIES that means ‘goods in their original state’ - so it might be the price of coffee or the price of wheat. So prices of the basic commodities have come down. But supermarkets in the UK have been accused of keeping those prices high - the ones that customers pay - what you and I pay, in other words. So the supermarkets are accused of not passing on cost savings to their customers - they’re choosing to make more profit instead. Is this another example of big businesses behaving badly? Perhaps. But the main UK supermarkets have said that they’re not making extra profit from high prices. And many of them point to price cuts on items like bread and butter. That may be true, but there’s less difference in price on these items between the different countries anyway. Another report from Oxford Economics found that UK food costs were 7% below the average in EU countries. So overall the UK is a little bit cheaper, perhaps.
Listening Lessons
And could there be a positive in some high prices?
At first glance then, it looks as though you are much worse off, doing your supermarket shopping in France. For example, for 4 pints of milk in the UK - that’s 2.27 litres - it costs £1.55, whereas in France that would cost £2.48 or whatever that is in Euros. But there are other considerations, other things to think about here. I did a podcast a while ago - number 457 - about a TV programme, a British TV programme made by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson. The programme was called ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ - and the series documented Jeremy Clarkson’s attempts to run his own farm in Oxfordshire in the UK.
Download The Podcast Audio & Transcript
Funny, if you like Jeremy Clarkson that is, but he also did a great deal to raise awareness of a crisis in British farming and food production. The economic conditions and the legal requirements and restrictions that most British farmers face - these make it incredibly difficult for anyone to make any money out of farming. And why do I mention this? Well, the BBC article suggests that those higher prices for milk in France may be because there is more protection for dairy farmers in France, more protection for those that actually produce the food and for the dairy industry. 4 pints of milk in the UK, 2.27 litres - £1.55 and France, £2.48. Maybe that’s worth paying if it actually protects the French dairy farmers? The French are after all, the world’s largest consumers of butter and cheese and their dairy industry produces over 1,200 different sorts of cheese, much of it of course for export, EXPORT. That means ‘they sell it to other countries’ - because we like to eat cheese too! No wonder dairy is important in France. So yes, France has higher prices for milk, perhaps there’s a good reason for that,. Perhaps the French dairy industry is more sustainable as a result?
Goodbye
Have food prices risen in your country? Do the European prices shock you or impress you with how cheap and inexpensive they are? Either way, 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 UK prices compare
- UK farmgate milk prices
- Facts about the French dairy
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