Learn English listening to natural real-world news stories
Today's English lesson is all about improving your fluency through listening practice. The lesson covers stories in the news, where we ask: Can UK politicians really “eat their words” over Trump’s election? Why are Big Tech companies forcing employees back to the office? We keep the pace slow so it's easy to follow and we explain any difficult English. So why are you waiting? Start listening and improve your English today!
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More About This Lesson
Do you want to keep up with global news while improving your English? Today's lesson brings you the latest in politics and tech, helping you learn new words and phrases. From British politics to big changes in the tech world, you’ll pick up useful vocabulary to help you understand the headlines—and even discuss them yourself!
In diplomacy, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
⭐ Margaret Thatcher, Former UK Prime Minister
Learning English with real-world news gives you practical language skills. This lesson teaches you words and expressions from British English that are often used in politics and the workplace. You’ll learn how to talk about current events in a way that sounds natural and confident. Each word and phrase is explained with clear examples, so you can understand and start using them in your own conversations.
There are a lot of benefits to this type of language learning lesson:
- Practise listening to natural British English, enhancing fluency in real-world contexts.
- Expand your vocabulary on current topics like politics and technology.
- Learn commonly used words and phrases, perfect for everyday conversations.
- Improve pronunciation by repeating key words and phrases introduced in the lesson.
- Gain cultural insights that help make conversations with native speakers easier.
- Understand complex ideas with simple definitions, like "diplomacy" and "controversial."
- Develop awareness of British expressions, like "bums on seats" and "eat your words."
- Familiarise yourself with British pronunciation and accent variations.
- Reinforce new vocabulary by listening to the podcast multiple times.
- Improve comprehension with topical discussions, helping ideas stick better.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- How can you use current events to improve your English vocabulary? When you listen to news stories like the Trump election coverage and Big Tech workplace changes, you immerse yourself in authentic English usage. Focus on understanding key phrases in context, like 'controversial figure' or 'hybrid working'. Listen repeatedly to internalize the natural rhythm and expressions. I've found that connecting vocabulary to real events helps you remember and use new words more effectively.
- What business English vocabulary can you learn from this lesson? You'll pick up essential workplace terminology used in British corporate settings. Terms like 'remote work', 'hybrid', 'commute', 'productivity', and 'corporate culture' are frequently used in professional environments. Pay attention to how British speakers use these phrases naturally - this is exactly how you'll need to use them in business contexts. The lesson provides authentic examples of how these terms are used in real workplace situations.
- How can you practice political vocabulary from this lesson? You can learn diplomatic language through examples like David Lammy's situation. Notice phrases like 'build a relationship with', 'special relationship', and 'backtracking'. Practice using these expressions when discussing current events. I've discovered that political news provides excellent opportunities to learn formal English and diplomatic language patterns used by native speakers.
- Why should you listen to this lesson multiple times? Multiple listening sessions help you absorb the natural flow of British English. Each time you listen, you'll catch new expressions, understand more context, and become more comfortable with the accent. When I learn languages, I always listen to content several times - first for general understanding, then for specific vocabulary, and finally to perfect pronunciation and intonation.
- How can you use this lesson to improve your conversation skills? You can build confidence in discussing current events by learning common expressions used in news reporting. Practice forming opinions using phrases from the lesson, like 'controversial figure' or 'underhand way'. Try explaining the tech workplace changes to someone using the vocabulary you've learned. Remember, the goal isn't just to understand, but to actively use these phrases in your own conversations about current events and workplace trends.
Most Unusual Words:
- Controversial: causing a lot of disagreement or debate.
- Diplomacy: managing relations with other countries in a peaceful way.
- Backtracking: changing a previous opinion or action.
- Tyrant: a cruel ruler who uses power unfairly.
- Xenophobic: having a dislike or fear of people from other countries.
- Narcissistic: being overly focused on oneself; self-centred.
- Mandate: an official command or order.
- Hybrid: a mix of two things; in work, part office, part remote.
- Redundancies: job losses because a position is no longer needed.
- Underhand: dishonest or secretive in a way that’s not fair.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| People | 13 |
| Trump | 12 |
| Means | 11 |
| Employees | 11 |
| Companies | 10 |
| English | 9 |
| About | 9 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
Transcript: Improve English Fluency With Slow British News
Two News Stories to improve your ‘Water Cooler Conversation’ in English
Hi there and welcome to this podcast from Adept English. Today, a little news round-up to help you practise your English. Interesting news items. So today, how can I ignore Donald Trump and his election victory? And I'll also cover some interesting happenings in Big Tech, the technology sector. So use this podcast to learn the everyday English vocabulary that you need. It's very topical, lots of good phrases about politics and about the world of work. Useful to you, particularly if you work in technology or you would like to work in the tech sector. Don't forget to listen to this podcast several times so that new words and phrases will stick in your mind.
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.
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Donald Trump - a ‘controversial’ figure
So if I'm doing a news round-up today, how can I ignore the US election? It's been difficult here in the UK to get any other kind of news. And Donald Trump remains a very controversial figure. Often people outside of the US struggle to understand why Donald Trump is so popular. If someone or something is 'controversial', that's C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-I-A-L. It means that 'people disagree on it or them'. So Donald Trump is a 'controversial' figure. So for that reason, I'm not going to say too much on Trump himself. But something which amused me this week was how people in the new government of the UK suddenly started to make positive comments about Trump and wanted to try to make some connection with the new president-elect. When previously, well, let's just say they'd been rather negative.
Social media doesn’t forget!
I'm sure this uncomfortable difficulty is being echoed in governments around Europe. Lots of politicians thinking, "Oh, dear, what was it I said on social media about Donald Trump?" The new British Foreign Secretary is a man called David Lammy. And the job of Foreign Secretary is very important. The Foreign Secretary is the person who deals with Britain's relationship with other countries around the world. It needs diplomacy. That's D-I-P-L-O-M-A-C-Y. And the UK likes to think it has a 'special relationship' with the US. Now, even more so after Brexit.
So this week, David Lammy had some backtracking to do in what must have been a very uncomfortable interview with Chris Mason of the BBC. In it, David Lammy said that president-elect Donald Trump was "someone we can build a relationship with". Well, no choice now, it seems! The problem is that social media doesn't forget what people said previously. And Chris Mason was reminding David Lammy of this. His previous comments about Trump? Well, in 2018, David Lammy described Donald Trump as 'a tyrant'. That's T-Y-R-A-N-T. And as 'a woman-hating neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath'. That's a bit of a tongue twister - see if you can practise saying that one a few times! Then in 2019, ahead of Trump's state visit to the UK, David Lammy was at it again. He posted that the then president was "deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic, and no friend of Britain".
📷
A split-screen image contrasting working from home and working in an office. Practice listening to British English and sound natural in conversations
The British Foreign Secretary ‘in a fix’
In the interview, David Lammy dismissed these comments as "old news" and insisted that the president-elect was not only "someone we can build a relationship with in our national interest", but Lammy also praised Trump's election campaigns as "very well run", adding that he "felt in his bones" that there could be a second Trump presidency. David Lammy also called the incoming president "a very gracious host, who offered him a second portion of chicken during their dinner together". He described Trump as "warm about the UK, especially towards the Royal Family", and he noted that Trump "loves Scotland". I'm sure Trump doesn't love David Lamy, but I guess this is the job of a politician! We have a phrase in English 'to eat your words', which means 'to say now that something you said previously was wrong'. Quite a lot of words for the British Foreign Secretary to eat this week then!
Big Tech wants you back in the office!
Now some general news out this week, and this one probably isn't going to be a surprise to you if you work in the technology sector. An article in the magazine Wired this week proclaimed, "Big Tech wants you back in the office." For many tech workers, their roles have been either 'remote' or what's called 'hybrid' for the last few years. 'Hybrid' means half and half. Or in the case of 'work from home', perhaps two days in the office, three days working from home. People like 'work from home' or 'remote' or 'hybrid' working. If you have a long commute, that's C-O-M-M-U-T-E, and it means 'your journey to work', then clearly it's much less stress doing that twice a week rather than five times a week. But now tech companies are starting to demand that workers return to the office.
Why are the tech companies that helps us work from home, demanding everyone is back in the office?
"Why?", people are asking. Well, household names like Amazon are leading the way on this. They've issued a directive that "All workers must return to the office". Contrary to what many people think, Amazon is much more than a website where you can buy books and cosmetics and stationery. Many Amazon employees are there to support big technology platforms that are used by companies and governments all around the world. But this mandate, this command to return to the office, is problematic for many employees who now live in places nowhere near the Amazon office. And Apple, Meta, Google, Zoom, the online meeting company and Slack - they're all doing the same. And famously, Elon Musk made all his X employees come back into the office. No choice in it. So it's 'bums on seats', as we say in the UK. A slight irony there that many of the companies that are doing this are the ones that helped us work from home in the first place! They supplied the technology that enabled us to do work from home. But as one Amazon manager said, "There are other companies you can work for." Ouch!
There's also a bit of a downturn in the tech jobs market. Fewer jobs around at the moment. So it means companies like these are in a much more powerful position. So for many workers, it means no more being able to put your laundry on during the working day, go for a run at lunchtime, or pick your children up from school.
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Reasons why ‘work from home’ works
You'd think that the big technology companies whose work is largely suited to work from home would see many advantages in it. For one thing, it means less office space to rent. And employees pay their own utility bills, their gas, their electricity, their internet connection. And there is no need for coffee machines and fresh fruit in the office. Employees tend also to buy their own technology equipment, saving employers even more money. And if it's about productivity, that's P-R-O-D-U-C-T-I-V-I-T-Y, that means 'how productive someone is, how much work they do'. If it's about that, then a study from Stanford University said that employees working from home or doing hybrid working are just as productive, if not more, than people working in the office. And there are other studies which back this up. Employees like to be trusted as adults, that they will produce their 'deliverables', even when trusted to work from home. Employees really like that. Also, not having to have everyone in one physical location means that Big Tech companies can find people with the skills they need. It doesn't matter where in the world they are.
These are all quite compelling reasons for remote working, don't you think? So why is it 'bums on seats'? Why are people being told they must come back to the office?
About ‘corporate culture’ or ‘layoffs by the back door’? You decide!
Well, the reason that the employers give, it's very hard to set up what's known as 'corporate culture', when your workforce and your employees are remote. By this, company managers mean it's harder to persuade your employees to adopt the goals and values of your company, to hold these as though they were as important as personal goals and values. It's hard to set up that culture where people work from home. It also tends to mean that relationships between colleagues at work are less important. If you sit next to someone in an office for a year, you get to know them. You perhaps build a friendship with them. If you're remote working, that just doesn't happen, or not in the same way. Also, that famous phrase, 'the water cooler conversation', just doesn't happen either, of course.
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This may be true, but actually, there's a much bigger effect of this mandate, this directive to return to work. Lots of people have to look for another job, because returning to the office is impossible, undesirable, or simply too expensive. It simply costs too much. The cost of the commute may mean that the job just isn't worth it anymore. So actually, what's happening? This is a bit of an underhand way for tech companies to do 'layoffs', or 'redundancies', as they're called in the UK. That means where your job doesn't exist anymore. So the Big Tech companies aren't doing layoffs or redundancies, they're mandating 'return to work' instead. The word 'underhand', U-N-D-E-R, 'under', and 'hand', H-A-N-D, means 'not quite honest'. You have a different motivation from the one that you're saying you have. That's 'underhand'.
Pandemic bloating!
And why do they need to do layoffs or redundancies? Well, many companies took on a lot of employees during the pandemic, now they need fewer. So if you want to reduce your workforce without formally doing layoffs and redundancies, and being subject to all the regulations and rules which govern that, just tell people they have to come into the office instead, and see how many people leave! It's not exactly honest, is it?
So that's my little bit of comment on two news items which were around this week. It gives you some really good vocabulary and some insight on two very current topics. Are you all ready for that 'water cooler conversation' when you return to work? Now you can do it in English too.
Goodbye
As ever, let us know what you think.
Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.
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