Summer Music Festivals

Hello everyone. The summer time in England is known for a few things: long lazy evenings, eating strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, watching test match cricket on Sunday afternoons, picnics in the park, barbecues, croquet and of course, going to music festivals! I've been to a few music festivals this year so I thought I would write a blog post on the subject.

Music festivals are quite a big part of our culture in the UK, particularly in the summer. There are loads of festivals to go to. Click here to read a Times Online article about the Top 20 UK Festivals 2009. The most famous music festival is Glastonbury. You can see a video clip of the Glastonbury festival here.

But, what are festivals really like? Well, in this post I'd like to tell you about some of the highs and lows of a weekend at a summer music festival in the UK.

Music festivals are large events which happen in the summer. Usually, they last the whole weekend (Friday to Monday) and they take place in the countryside - in an area with a lot of grass fields, like a farm. Lots of famous bands and singers perform at the festivals. Some festivals are huge, and can accommodate over 150,000 people. Everyone sleeps in tents around the festival site. Summer music festivals have been happening for a long time now. The most famous one is Glastonbury. The most famous American music festival is Woodstock.

Here's a description of some of the good and bad things about going to music festivals.

First, the good things:

1. You can enjoy the atmosphere of people together, all camping, all having a good time in the fresh air.
2. There are loads of good bands to see and lots of good music to hear. Sometimes there are big name acts like Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Coldplay and Amy Winehouse.
3. If the weather's good you can get lots of sunshine and fresh air.
4. There are lots of local ales and ciders to drink.
5. You get to escape from London for the weekend.
6. Almost everyone sleeps in tents in massive campsites around the festival. It's a lot of fun to stay in a tent (if it's comfortable) in such a big 'community'.
7. You can meet lots of people, and make friends.
8. As well as music, there is a lot of comedy to see. The comedy industry is very big in the UK.
9. There's lots of delicious food at the festival. You can buy it from food stalls which sell things like Caribbean, Indian, Turkish, French, Italian, Chinese and Japanese food.
10. If you're a musician you can perform at the festival and expand your audience. In fact, the festival scene in the UK is very important for our music industry.

But it's not all good. In fact, here are some of the things that can make a festival into a complete nightmare:

1. If the weather is bad, and it rains a lot, the festival becomes quite a miserable experience. The ground just turns into mud. You get mud everywhere - all over your clothes, in your hair, in your tent. Everything is wet and disgusting!
2. If you are sharing a tent, it can be really uncomfortable and cramped if the tent is too small. You won't get a good night's sleep.
3. If you've had too much to drink in the evening, you might wake up in the morning with a hangover. There's nothing worse than waking up with a hangover in a tent which is in direct sunlight. It's like a sauna.
4. Festivals are expensive. The ticket alone may cost over £100. Then you've got to think of the transport costs, and all the food and drink you're going to buy. Some of the bars and food places are a rip off. They really rip you off.
5. The crowds can be difficult. If you're in front of the stage, the crowd might be very packed and it's difficult to squeeze past everyone to get out.
6. The toilets can be pretty smelly.
7. It can be difficult to get to the festival, and get back - especially with a big heavy bag on your back. Catching the underground at rush hour with all your camping equipment is very tricky.
8. Sometimes you need another 2 days to recover from the festival before you go back to work!
9. Mobile phone reception can be bad. Because there are so many people there, it can be difficult to call your friends, and if you lose your friends it's hard to find them again without any reception.
10. After a few days your whole body aches! Your back aches from sleeping in a tent, and your feet and legs ache from standing up watching music.

Despite the bad points, festivals are really worth going to. It's an important part of the summer calendar here, and every year, hundreds of thousands of people go to music festivals all over the country.

Let us know if there are any good festivals where you're from. We'd like to hear from you, so leave a comment below.

Cheers,

Luke

Glossary:

the fresh air (n) - this is an expression to mean the nice, clean, unpolluted air you get in the countryside. You can also use it when you want to go out of your office for air. "I'm just popping out to get some fresh air"

big name acts (n) - famous performers or bands

ale (n - uncountable) - a traditional English beer

cider (n - uncountable) - a traditional alcoholic drink made from apples

stalls (n) - temporary shops where you can buy things, e.g. food. You find stalls in markets, festivals and fairs

a nightmare (n) - this means 'a bad dream', but we also use it to describe a bad experience. "The job interview was a complete nightmare!

mud (n - uncountable) - this is the brown earth which grass grows in. When it rains the mud goes soft and sticky

cramped (adj) - this means it's uncomfortable because there isn't enough room. E.g. like a tall man sitting in a tiny car

a hangover (n) - when you have drunk too much alcohol the night before, you wake up with a hangover. You feel sick, you have a headache and you can't remember what you did last night. There's a popular movie called The Hangover (see the trailer here)

a rip off (n) - something which is sold for a really high price - the price is too high. E.g. "a can of coke for £10?? What a rip off!"

to rip someone off (v) - to charge someone too much for something. E.g. "I can't believe you paid £10 for a can of coke. He really ripped you off!"

to squeeze past (v) - this means to walk past someone who is very close to you. We do it when we want to get a seat on a busy train, or when you have to walk through a crowd, or when you walk past people in a corridor. We always say "Sorry, can I just squeeze past? Thanks..."

smelly (adj) - it smells bad

tricky (adj) - difficult

recover (v) - to get better, to feel ok again

reception (n - uncountable) - a mobile phone signal. You need it to make calls. When you are in a tunnel, you have no reception.

to ache (v) - to have a dull pain in your body. E.g. a headache, or "my back really aches today, I need to lie down" - pronunciation: /eik/

Using Podcasts to Learn English (Part 2)

Hello again. In my last post I talked about how the internet is a great way to improve your English, especially if you use podcasts.

In this blog post I’m going to explain exactly what a podcast is, what kinds of podcast are available, and how you can download them.

So, what exactly is a podcast?

It’s an audio file which you can download from the internet and save on your computer or mp3 player. Podcasts are updated regularly by the people who make them. This means that if you subscribe to a podcast on the internet, your computer will automatically download each new episode when it is ready. It is a bit like a radio show, but you can decide when and where to listen to it.

What is so good about podcasts?

If you have an mp3 player you can listen to them anywhere, and as many times as you like. For example, you can listen to one while you travel to work on the bus, or you can listen while exercising in the gym. You can listen in the park, in your car, in bed, in the bath, on the toilet, in an aeroplane – anywhere you want! There are thousands of podcasts on the internet, on all kinds of topic. So, you are really spoilt for choice! Also, 99% of podcasts on the internet are absolutely free!

What kinds of podcast are available for me to download?

Like I said, you can find podcasts on many different topics. There are ones on topics such as movies, news, business, finance, sport, comedy, food, politics, law, and of course – learning English.

There are lots of learning English podcasts available. I will recommend some of the best ones to you in the next blog post. For now, have a look at my own learning English podcast, called Luke’s English Podcast. I update it regularly, and thousands of people around the world listen to it every week. To look at the podcast webpage, click here.

The BBC also has a lot of podcasts, on many different topics. You can see their podcast homepage by clicking here. I will recommend some specific ones in the next blog post.

How can I listen or download podcasts?

There are 3 main ways to listen to podcasts.

1. Listen to each episode on the podcast webpage. For example, if you visit my podcast page, you will see a button that says ‘play’. Click that and you can listen to the podcast directly on the webpage.

2. Download the podcast onto your computer and then listen. On the podcast webpage you will find a link which says ‘download’. Just click that and the podcast will download onto your computer. You might need to ‘right click’ on the download button, and then choose ‘Save Target As’ in order to download the podcast. Then you can use a media player to listen to the podcast on your computer at any time. You can also transfer it to your mp3 player, iPod or mobile phone. Then you can listen to it anywhere.

3. Use iTunes. This is a software application on your computer which will play and organise your music. You can also use it to connect to the internet and subscribe to podcasts. Use the iTunes store (you need to sign in) to search for podcasts by topic (e.g. learn English). When you find a podcast you want to listen to, you can click ‘subscribe’ and iTunes will then automatically download each new podcast when it is available. When you turn on your computer, open iTunes and connect it to the internet. Any new podcasts you have subscribed to will be downloaded. Then you can connect your iPod or iPhone and add the podcasts to it. Then you can learn and listen to English while you walk around. iTunes is available to download for free. Just click here and follow the instructions on how to download and use it on your computer (if you don't already have it).

I highly recommend that you use podcasts to help your English. No longer are you separated from the English speaking world. There is a world of English listening available for you, at any time, wherever you are. Take advantage of it.

In part 3 I will explain how to use podcasts to improve your English, and I will recommend some good ones you can use.

Goodbye for now,

Luke

Glossary:

You are really spoilt for choice! - This is a fixed expression. It means that you have so many excellent options available that it is difficult to make a decision. E.g. In the cake shop there were so many delicious cakes that I was spoilt for choice! I didn't know which one to eat first!

Click (v) - this means to press your left mouse button when you are using a computer. 'Click' is the sound that the button makes when you press it.

Right click (v) - this means to click with the right button on your mouse. When you do this you get different options depending what you click on. E.g. if you right click on a photo on the internet, you can download it to your computer by choosing Save Photo As.

Subscribe (v) - this means to ask to receive something regularly. E.g. if you subscribe to a magazine, you pay every year and then each magazine is delivered directly to your house every month. If you subscribe to a podcast, each new one will automatically be downloaded by your computer - you don't need to do it yourself each time.

Take advantage of it (v) - 'to take advantage of something' is a fixed expression (a verb phrase) which means to get all the benefits of something by using it. E.g. Take advantage of all the podcasts on the internet by subscribing to them and using them to improve your English.

Being the Apprentice

A couple of weeks ago in my Young Business English class we were talking about advertising.

One of the things we looked at was an episode of a very popular BBC TV show called "The Apprentice". If you've never seen this programme, think of it as Big Brother for business people. Every week the contestants (or candidates in this case) are set challenges, ranging from selling trampolines to creating perfume. Every week, one team is declared the winner, and every week one member of the losing team - the one who is judged to be the most responsible for losing the task - is "fired". At the end of the series, the final candidate is offered a job with a six-figure salary.

The programme we watched in class had a simple task: to create a new brand of breakfast cereal and to film a TV advert. As usual, one team did a slightly better job than the other and from the losing team the Project Manager was fired. My class were then set the same challenge. They each had to create a new brand of breakfast cereal and a TV advert, in English of course!

After several hours of brainstorming, discussion, script-writing and rehearsals, two new cereals were born: Cosmo Flakes and Victory Flakes. Each team then had to pitch their new cereal to the rest of the class (and me) and present their advert. We then voted for the best idea and, by the narrowest of margins, Cosmo Flakes won the task! Have a look at the winning advert below.

What do you think? Would you buy this cereal? Let us know by leaving a comment in the box below.

Special thanks to Michele and Eleonora (the kids), Remo and Daniela (Mum and Dad), and Koji the cameraman.

Glossary

apprentice somebody who is learning how to do a particular job by following a course which combines practical experience and actual practice in the job.

a six figure salary a salary which is over 100,000 pounds.

brainstorming an activity where the main aim is to create as many ideas as possible e.g. "this morning's brainstorming meeting was really successful - we had some really useful ideas".

to pitch to present an idea or a new product

by the narrowest of margins by a very small amount e.g. Manchester United won by the narrowest of margins when they beat Chelsea 1-0.

A Message from LSE in South Korea

안녕하세요 (Hello) from LSE in Daegu, South Korea

My name is Kirk, I’m English and I’ve been teaching at LSE Daegu for about 8 months. I’m proud to work for such an established and recognised school. I’ve been living and working in Korea for almost 2 years in total. I’d like to tell you a little bit about life in Korea.

When I first came here I was in a small city called Geoje and I was totally blown away with the seemingly huge differences between England and Korea. Firstly, I felt very foreign – everywhere I went I stood out and children would run up to me and say “Hi, hello, how are you, I’m fine, my name is…”. Korea is a very homogenous country, so a tall, blond haired, blue eyed Westerner like me stands out a mile! Now, I live in a bigger city so I don’t get as many stares, and I actually like the attention sometimes – it makes me feel like a Z-list celebrity!

Another difference was the food. Korea isn’t famous for its food, but it should be! It hosts a wide range of different food for meat lovers and vegetarians alike. My first meal in Korea was 비빔밥which is a mix of rice, vegetables and hot pepper sauce. It was absolutely delicious! Another favourite is 삼겹살which is thin slices of pork cooked at your table… mmmmmm. Korea’s national food is 김치(fermented cabbage), which sounds disgusting but actually tastes great!

Another striking difference is the language – at times it seems a millions miles away from English. Firstly, the Korean language uses Hangul to write its characters, so I had to learn a whole host of new symbols. Secondly, the grammar is very different to English, so instead of saying ‘I ate the pizza’ Korean’s would say ‘I pizza ate’. One saving grace is the fact that a lot English words have entered the Korean language, which makes it a little bit easier. Unfortunately, there also exists the dreaded ‘Konglish’ which is English words but ‘Koreanised’. One of the words for mobile phone for example is ‘handphone’.

Many other differences became apparent as the weeks and months went by, but that’s the interesting thing about this place. Korea has some brilliant innovations which I would love to see in the UK. One of them is the very popular singing rooms. Instead of singing in front of a large pub filled with strangers, these rooms are designed just for you and your friends.

When I eventually leave Korea I will be really sad since it has opened my mind and heart to a whole new world.

안녕for now.

Kirk

Great British Beer Festival

From 4^th-8^th August the Great British Beer Festival will be held at Earls Court in west London. With over 450 beers available it is Britain’s biggest beer festival.

Britain is famous for its unique ‘bitter’, usually a dark beer with virtually no gas that isn’t served cold. It often isn’t popular with visitors to the UK when they first try it as it has a stronger taste than most lagers and is unfamiliarly flat (without gas) and warm. However, after the initial surprise many people love a pint of bitter and enjoy learning about the different breweries and their different ales (beers).

Brewing bitter is an art that is keenly followed in Britain. A lot of bitter doesn’t travel very well so it is common for regions to have their own brewery and therefore their own beer which means there are lots of different sorts to try!

As well as British beers there will be lots of international beers at the festival. If you’re in London why not go down and find out more about an important part of Britain’s famous ‘pub culture’.