Engaging News Stories For English Listening Practice Ep 635

How To Excel In British English Phrases: Uncover News Stories & Listen!

🌍 Discover the world while improving your English! 🎧

Unlock the full potential of your English skills with our immersive lessons, tailored for new learners like you. Dive into exciting British news stories and expand your vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension all at once!

What's in store for you:

🎯 Engaging news stories from the UK and around the globe
🎯 Native British English speakers for authentic listening experience
🎯 Improve pronunciation, vocabulary, and comprehension
🎯 Practical, real-life language use
🎯 Fun and interactive way to learn English

✔Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/english-phrases-slow-news-vocabulary-apr2023/

Don't miss out on this opportunity to boost your English fluency and stay informed on global events! Start your journey now and see the difference it makes in your language skills. 🚀✨

#LearnEnglishNews #SlowNews #BoostYourEnglish

Boost Your English Skills Today! Improve your English with our Spotify podcast, YouTube video, and adeptenglish.com! Fun lessons for all levels! 🎧📺🌐 #LearnEnglish #LanguageLearning

Are you excited to master the English language? Well, you're in for a treat! Our one-of-a-kind lesson dives into four fascinating news stories that will help you speak English fluently while keeping you hooked. We've designed it to not only build your vocabulary but also to ignite your curiosity.

If you feel we have helped you please consider supporting us https://adeptengli.sh/donate

In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.
⭐ Phil Collins, a famous English musician, in his song Son of Man.

Uncover a world of fresh words and phrases to express yourself effortlessly. Embark on this captivating journey with us and transform your English-speaking skills like never before. Ready to get started? Let's begin!

More About This Lesson

Welcome to an exciting English lesson where you'll explore four news stories while expanding your vocabulary and comprehension skills! This lesson offers a unique opportunity to learn topical words and phrases that will make your English more engaging and relevant. With real-world examples, we'll help you improve your listening skills in a way that keeps you interested and motivated. By the end of the lesson, you'll not only be informed but also empowered with new words and concepts to confidently discuss these stories with others.

As a language learner, immersing yourself in a language that you want to speak fluently has numerous advantages. By listening to diverse and interesting news stories, you'll develop a deeper understanding of English vocabulary, sentence structure, and contextual nuances. The comprehensive content in this lesson not only piques your interest but also encourages active learning, allowing you to retain information effectively.

Why should you spend your precious time listening to real-world English language?

Authentic exposure: It exposes you to natural speech patterns, accents, and colloquialisms that are commonly used by native speakers. This helps students become familiar with the way English is spoken in everyday situations.
Contextual understanding: Real-world listening practice helps you understand language in context, which is crucial for effective communication. It allows them to grasp the meaning behind words and phrases in various situations, making it easier to comprehend and respond appropriately.
Improved listening skills: Regular exposure to authentic English conversations helps you develop their listening skills, enabling them to better understand spoken language, even when faced with unfamiliar accents or rapid speech.
Expanded vocabulary: Listening to real-world conversations introduces you to a wide range of vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions, slang, and technical terms, which might not be covered in traditional language courses.
Confidence building: As you become more comfortable understanding and engaging with real-world English, their confidence in their language abilities grows. This increased confidence can lead to more opportunities for practising and improving their speaking skills.
Cultural awareness: Real-world listening practice exposes you to various cultural references, customs, and social norms. This helps them develop a deeper understanding of the culture associated with the English language, ultimately enhancing their communication skills.

Participating in this lesson will significantly improve your listening comprehension skills. The key benefit lies in exposing you to authentic, real-world language usage, which helps you grasp the nuances of the English language more effectively. By engaging with diverse and current topics, you'll learn topical vocabulary and phrases, enhancing your ability to understand and express yourself in various situations. This lesson is designed to keep you interested and motivated, ultimately leading to increased confidence and fluency in English.

The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.
⭐ B.B. King, a renowned American blues musician.

Many language learners assume that news stories might be filled with complex vocabulary and fast-paced speech, making it difficult to follow and understand. However, with the right approach, such as using a podcast designed specifically for English learners, even beginners can benefit from engaging content and gradually improve their listening comprehension and fluency.

We've designed this lesson to expose you to real-world language usage, ensuring your English skills progress rapidly and naturally. By engaging with this material, you will enhance your listening comprehension, and ultimately, gain the confidence to express yourself eloquently in various situations. Trust in our approach, and you'll soon witness the transformative effects on your language proficiency.

Questions You Might Have...

Join in on a linguistic adventure as you navigate through the maze of global news stories, unlocking hidden chambers of English fluency and listening prowess, one captivating tale at a time.

Can exploring global news stories really improve my British English fluency? Yes! By engaging with intriguing news stories, you'll be exposed to a wide range of vocabulary, accents, and cultural references, which will help you understand and speak British English more fluently.
How does this lesson enhance my listening comprehension skills? The lesson focuses on listening to native British English speakers discussing global news stories. This trains your ears to pick up on the unique pronunciation, vocabulary, and speech patterns of British English, thus improving your listening skills.
Is this lesson suitable for beginners? While the lesson is designed to be accessible to learners of all levels, it may be more challenging for absolute beginners. However, with persistence and practice, beginners can also benefit from the lesson's content and improve their British English skills.
How often should I practice with this lesson to see results? Consistency is key in language learning. To see significant improvement in your British English fluency, we recommend practising with this lesson regularly – at least 3-4 times per week.
Can I use this lesson to learn about British culture too? Absolutely! By exploring global news stories from a British perspective, you'll gain insights into the UK's world-view, values, and cultural nuances, which can further enhance your understanding and appreciation of British English.

Most Unusual Words:

Arbitrary: random or without a clear reason
Inadequate: not enough or not good enough
Amplified: made bigger or louder
Perpetuate: to keep something going, to cause it to continue
Psychedelic: relating to drugs that affect the mind, causing changes in thought and perception
Therapeutic: related to healing or treating a health problem
Prestige: respect and admiration given to someone or something because of their achievements or importance
Postgraduate: related to studying or courses after completing a university degree
Legalise: to make something legal or allowed by law
Submarine: a type of vehicle that travels under water

Most Frequently Used Words:

Word	Count
People	13
Means	12
School	10
English	8
Around	8
Ofsted	8
Which	8
Their	8
Other	8

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: Engaging News Stories For English Listening Practice

Let's do some more 'news in slow English'

Hi there, and welcome to this podcast. I know that most of you love it when we do slow news on the Adept English podcast. I'm gonna cover four news stories from the UK and around the world, and I'll do it in a way that I explain it so that you can understand it. This gives you practice at topical vocabulary and keeps you interested while you do your English listening practice. Interesting, current and relevant topics.

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.

Listen right to the end....

And today, listen right to the end because the last news story I'm going to cover, it's a topic that people find fascinating, so make sure you stick around for that.

The death of a head teacher prompts some rethinking

News story one. So there are interesting discussions happening in the UK around the death of a head teacher. Ruth Perry took her own life. That means she killed herself, she 'committed suicide' in the middle of a school inspection by the UK government organisation known as Ofsted. That's O F S T E D.

Ofsted are the government organisation who are in charge of standards in British schools. They go in and they inspect schools every four years, and they make judgements on how well schools are performing, how well they're functioning and serving the needs of children.

They make judgements on schools from a number of different viewpoints. And Ofsted publish a report on each school, which parents use to guide their choices, which school they choose for their children.

However, this involves a huge amount of stress for teachers and staff at the school. And sometimes the seemingly arbitrary nature of the judgements that Ofsted makes can mean that good schools end up being rated inadequate, not good enough. 'Arbitrary', A R B I T R A R Y ' means 'random', so I say 'seemingly arbitrary'. They're not really arbitrary, but the Ofsted process can mean that a school gets a bad rating over something like its record keeping, but that the care and teaching of the children is excellent. The school would still be rated 'inadequate' in this case.

I had this experience when my daughters were in the junior school locally. The junior school was rated 'inadequate' because of something that seemed a relatively minor issue, not a big problem to parents. I knew the school well and had full confidence in the school. I was very pleased with it. So the Ofsted rating didn't worry me too much.

But what's really tough for head teachers in this circumstance is that if the school is rated 'inadequate', then the leadership team, meaning the head teacher, they're also rated as 'inadequate' as well.

A swell of opinion in support

Most head teachers have worked really hard to get to that position. And they're driven by conscience and conscientiousness, not by the want to earn a high salary. So to have this one word judgment placed publicly on them can seem too much.

In the case of head teacher Ruth Perry's school, the issue that Ofsted found was over record keeping and methods of checking staff at the school. Important, yes, but in the same inspection, the school was praised for the quality of education and the behaviour at the school, so it wasn't a bad school.

I think in the current Ofsted system, the negatives become 'overly amplified'. 'Amplified', A M P L I F I E D means 'made bigger'. The negatives are amplified and the positives can get lost. Perfectly good schools end up with a bad report.

So discussions are currently happening, which may mean some changes to the Ofsted inspection process. School inspections will still happen, but maybe more attention will be paid to staff morale. Maybe more support will be given.

Since the death of Ruth Perry, many other head teachers have come forward to talk about how difficult the experience has been, perhaps unnecessarily so. It's an extreme level of stress just in the paperwork, the administration, so good that it's being reviewed then.

I went through a similar inspection in my very first month of lecturing at a college. And my experience - yes, it was extremely stressful and very demotivating. I felt like giving up before I'd even got started! I didn't by the way, but that was because I had support from other staff at the college.

Engaging News Stories For English Listening Practice Ep 635 Article Image

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Russia and Ukraine conflict news

Story two, today. The Russia and Ukraine conflict. The Russians have admitted that they accidentally dropped a bomb on one of their own cities on Thursday.

The city of Belgorod lies only 25 miles or 40 kilometres from the border with Ukraine and 40 miles from the city of Kharkiv, probably the bomb's intended target. Notice here the pronunciation of the word 'bomb', B O M B. It's got a silent B on the end - 'bomb'.

Fortunately, nobody was killed and only three people were injured, so it could have been a lot worse, but there was quite a bit of damage to property and buildings in the area.

A wish that the Russia Ukraine conflict would end

I don't want to comment too much further on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as I know we have listeners on both sides, but my fear is that this conflict is far from over. I wish it would be over. I wish people were more open and amenable to sitting around a negotiating table, rather than continuing the war, even though most people in the west see Russia as 'the aggressor'. The word 'aggressor' A G G R E S S O R means 'the one who started the fight'.

But surely whichever side you support, if two people have a disagreement, the solution is rarely to continue punching one another. Talking is better surely, however the disagreement has broken out?

My worry is that other countries around the world, the UK included, have some kind of agenda here, some kind of other investment in the continuation of this war. They seem to make moves that perpetuate it. ' To perpetuate something' that's P E R P E T U A T E. That means 'to keep it going, to cause it to continue'.

It's a frightening situation. I think very much for those involved, but for all of us, actually.

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Thank you very much for doing that. What a wonderful way to repay us!

Fancy voyaging in a home-made submarine?

Story number three. Another news story, which caught my eye, the story about how drug gangs from South America have been caught using submarines to ship their products. So drugs, D R U G S in this context, 'mind altering substances'. And we're not talking here legal ones that your doctor may give to you. We're talking street drugs, illegal drugs.

And 'a submarine', S U B M A R I N E? That's a vessel that travels in the sea, but it goes underneath the water - doesn't travel on top of the sea like a boat or a ship. So a submarine travels underneath, through the water.

Hence 'sub', which means 'under', S U B and 'marine', M A R I N E means 'sea'. And apparently the submarine that was seized, that was caught amazingly was homemade. So it isn't the kind of sophisticated submarine that navies around the world might use. A 'navy', N A V Y means 'a country's fighting force on the seas', which travels by sea. That's opposed to 'the air force' as we call it in the UK. That's the part of the country's army that flies, that travels by plane.

So this drug gang's homemade submarine was made out of fibreglass. And the conditions inside this submarine? Pretty basic and horrible. But for illegal drug traffickers who are bringing cocaine from South America to Europe and to the UK, the risks to life and the discomfort seem worthwhile because of the huge amount of money that can be made this way.

The people on board this submarine were attempting to survive on tins of sardines and energy bars, and they were using plastic bags as their toilet facilities. Ugh. Can you imagine?

Listening Lessons

What motivates drug traffickers to take such huge risks?

But the reason why they might be willing to do this, why they might put up with these conditions, take these risks?

Well, they had on board this homemade submarine, three tons of cocaine. That's C O C A I N E, worth more than 150 million euros, or 121 million pounds, in the European or UK drugs market. That's a horrible drug. It does a lot of damage to people. Fortunately, European and UK drug enforcement agencies, that's the police forces that specialise in drugs and who track drug trafficking were onto these traffickers in their submarine. And the men on board were arrested in Spain. But apparently the problem is much bigger and submarines are necessarily hard to detect, hard to see. The BBC news article, which I read says this - and I quote, so that you can practise slightly more difficult English:-

It's thought that hundreds of homemade submarines have been launched towards Europe, which is the biggest cocaine market after the US and one that's growing rapidly after a Covid pandemic slump. It's even said that in the middle of the Atlantic around the Canary Islands and the Azores, there lies a mass graveyard of cocaine submarines, deliberately sunk after their cargo had been successfully unloaded.
⭐ BBC news article

So the problem is a much bigger one, but at least the drug enforcement agencies are onto this problem.

A positive story about 'illegal drugs'

Story number four. Last piece of news that I'm going to cover today. On the subject of currently illegal drugs, I noticed that Exeter University in the UK has announced that they're running a postgraduate certificate program - a training course and a qualification. 'Postgraduate' means 'for people who already have a degree' - that's what 'postgrad' means. And the certificate is in 'The Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs'.

Download The Podcast Audio & Transcript

' Psychedelic', P S Y C H E D E L I C. That means 'mind altering' and psychedelic drugs are ones like LSD, psilocybin. That's P S I L O C Y B I N. And MDMA. So psilocybin, better known as 'Magic Mushrooms', MDMA, better known as 'Ecstasy'.

So a UK university is planning to run a training course to train people in the use of illegal drugs ' for therapeutic purposes'. Why would they do that? Why would a UK university, with the prestige that Exeter has, run such a course?

Well, it's hoped that the UK will follow in the footsteps of Australia, who in February, legalised psilocybin and MDMA, so that they can be used for treatment of people with mental health problems.

To legalise. That's L E G A L I S E means 'to make legal'.

Hope for the UK and other country's mental health crises

Why legalise what might be seen by many as dangerous street drugs? Well, because they have huge therapeutic potential, huge benefits can come from them if they're used in the right way, if they're used in a controlled environment.

I do truly believe that these drugs can help solve our current mental health crisis. We face that in the UK and in many other countries. That's an interesting topic and it's one I'm happy to come back to if people want to know more about it.

Goodbye

OK. There are four interesting news stories from around the world and from the UK. And this will help you practise your English understanding on relevant and interesting topics with good vocabulary. So listen to this podcast a number of times until you're comfortable you understand all of it.

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