General Election 2010

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The UK electorate will head to the polls on May 6th 2010 to cast their votes in a general election. The race to become the next government is extremely close and it seems any party that wins will find it difficult to get an overall majority. This could mean that we will have our second hung parliament since the end the second World War .
The Labour Party has been in power since 1997 and Tony Blair led the party and the country in the role of Prime Minister until 2007. He then passed the role to his sidekick Gordon Brown who was the Chancellor during Tony Blair’s reign as Prime Minister. Many people believe that after thirteen years, it is now time for a change of government, and that the Conservative Party and their leader David Cameron should be elected into power.
What’s interesting about this election however, is that the Liberal Democrat Party have gained a lot of popularity in the opinion polls as a result of the performance of their leader Nick Clegg in the first televised Prime Ministerial Election Debates to be held in the UK. In the debates the leaders of the three main parties discussed the key issues facing the UK today such as crime, education, defence, the environment, parliamentary reform, health, immigration, the economy, Europe, foreign policy and the war in Afghanistan.
Many of the UK voters are still undecided about who to vote for so all the parties are campaigning really hard to attract these floating voters and make sure that they win the majority of seats in the next parliament. Whatever happens, it’s sure to be one of the most exciting elections we have had for a long time and one that will change the future of the country.

Glossary

the electorate - (n) all the people in a country that have the right to vote.
to head to the polls - (col.) to go to give your vote.
to cast their votes - (col.) to give their choice officially.
a general election - (n) an election to choose the Prime Minister.
to get an overall majority - (col.)to get more than 50% of the positions in parliament.
a hung parliament - (n) a parliament in which no party has more than 50% of the votes.
the Prime Minister - (n) the leader of the UK.
a sidekick - (n) a person who often spends time with and helps another person who is more
important or powerful than they are.
the Chancellor - (n) the member of the government who manages the UK's finances.
a reign - (n) a period when some on is in charge of and organisation or country.
to be elected into power - (col.)to be chosen as the government by vote.
the opinion polls - (n) the process of asking a large number of people question to find out
their view of something.
Prime Ministerial Election Debates - (n) discussions between the leaders of the main
parties before the election to be prime minister.
parliamentary reform - (n) changing the system of parliament and voting.
foreign policy -(n) the governments attitude and plans regarding other counties.
to be campaigning - (v) promoting the party and their policies to the public .
floating voters - (n) people who haven't decided .

The Hardest Job I've Ever Had

I was talking to Andy recently about some of the best and worst jobs we’ve had in our lives. It was a pretty interesting conversation, so I thought it might make a good blog post. Also, it’s a good way to introduce a few idioms which can be used to talk about work. So, here’s a description of one of the worst jobs I’ve ever had. You’ll find 8 idioms. Can you guess what they mean? Definitions are provided at the bottom of the blog post.

The Hardest Job I’ve Ever Had
When I was a teenager I got a job in the local pub in my village. It was a busy pub with a large kitchen. I was given the job of kitchen porter, which means I had to do all the dirty jobs which no one else could be bothered to do: cleaning the pots and pans from the kitchen, washing all the dirty dishes from the restaurant, sweeping and mopping the floor and cleaning the ovens and washing machines. I used to work my fingers to the bone in that place, scrubbing, sweating and getting covered in grease and muck from head to toe. There was another kitchen porter who worked with me, but he was too lazy to lift a finger so I always had a lot on my plate. On Saturday evenings the restaurant was always full, so in the kitchen we’d be rushed off our feet, completely up to our eyes in work. I took the job to get money so I could go out and have fun with my friends. They used to be jealous of the extra spending money I had because of my hard work. I used to burn the candle at both ends sometimes, especially at the weekends, and then I’d be exhausted at work. In the end, I decided that I had to leave that place. It was a dead end job to be honest. I knew it wasn’t going anywhere, so I handed in my notice. These days I’m much happier working as a teacher and I don’t miss the kitchen, but sometimes I might have a cheese sandwich and it takes me back to those long evenings when I used to slave away over a hot sink.

to work my fingers to the bone = to work extremely hard
too lazy to lift a finger = too lazy to do any work
to have a lot on your plate = to have a lot of work to do
to be rushed off your feet = to be very busy and in a rush
to be up to your eyes in work = to have too much work to do
to burn the candle at both ends = to get tired because you are working hard during the day but also socialising and going to be late at night
a dead end job = a job with no future or career prospects
to slave away = to work hard on a tough job

Other vocabulary from this post:
can’t be bothered to do it = to be too lazy to make the effort to do it
sweeping = cleaning loose dirt from the floor with a broom
mopping = washing the floor with soap and hot water and a mop
scrubbing = cleaning something which is difficult to clean, using lots of speed and pressure
grease = fat or oil
muck = general dirt (quite an informal word)
to hand in your notice = to tell your boss you are going to leave your job
takes me back to = reminds me of

Money & The Financial Crisis - 12 Phrasal Verbs

This blog post is about money and the economic crisis. It is full of useful financial vocabulary and expressions. Also, there are 12 phrasal verbs connected to money in the text. Can you find the 12 phrasal verbs? Definitions are provided below.

These days, many of us are living in tough times. The economic crisis is making life difficult for lots of people in this country. We're all having to economise and cut back on our spending. There is less credit available in the money markets at the moment and this is having a knock-on effect in our lives.

Unemployment is going up and house prices have gone down over the last few years. The Bank of England recently used tax payers' money to bail out many of the banks which were facing insolvency due to their poor investments in so-called 'toxic assets' (many of them originating in the American sub-prime real estate markets). The government lowered interest rates to help people pay off their bank loans and mortgages. VAT was lowered to 15% in order to encourage us to splash out in shops up and down the country, and inject more money into the economy.

Some people are not being affected so seriously; particularly the wise individuals who have saved up their money in secure savings accounts. When they need to, they can just dip into their savings in order to pay for an unexpected household repair or a much needed holiday. But for many of us, we just have to get by every month on our monthly salaries. It's not easy though, particularly in London when everything is so expensive. We try to pay off our loans and mortgages while trying to avoid taking too much cash out of the many cash machines which are available to us all over the city.

The energy companies in particular seem to be ripping everyone off with the price of oil and electricity. It's almost as though they're using global warming as an excuse for charging us extortionate amounts for our energy, even though wholesale market prices have dropped in recent months.

Big companies and banks seem to get protection from the state, while the average tax payer has to pick up the pieces by working harder, cutting back on our spending, moving into more modest accommodation, or accepting badly paid work because we have no choice. Perhaps it has to be that way - the big companies have to be protected in order to support the economy. It just seems a little unfair that's all, and I'm sure there are some CEOs and directors who are still doing very well while the rest of us struggle to get by.

Still, it's not all bad. The lower interest rates on bank loans and mortgages mean we don't have to pay back so much money each month, and there is now so much freely available entertainment on the internet that it's quite easy to have a good time without reaching too deep into our pockets. So, take advantage of free internet content like this, and use it to help you improve your English wherever you are in the world.

Did you find the phrasal verbs? Here they are:

1. to cut back on spending - this means to spend less than before. To try and reduce your spending. E.g. "I'm going to have to cut back on my spending in order to save up some money"
2. to go up - this means to increase
3. to go down - this means to decrease
4. to bail someone out - this means to save someone by giving them money. It's usually used when the government gives money to a company or bank in order to save them from insolvency. E.g. "The government bailed out the banks by giving them £5billion of tax payers' money"
5. to splash out - this means to spend quite a lot of money in a care-free way when you go shopping. E.g. "I was feeling a bit depressed, so I went to the shopping centre and just splashed out on some new clothes"
6. to save up - this means to save money. E.g. "I'm saving up for a holiday in Italy next year"
7. to dip into savings - this means to go into your savings account, and take a bit of money out. E.g. "I can't afford to pay my electricity and telephone bills this month. I'm going to have to dip into my savings"
8. to get by - this means to survive, usually on a small amount of money. E.g. "Students in London find it difficult to get by on money they earn from part-time work"
9. to pay something off - this means to completely pay a loan or debt. E.g. "YEAH!!! I've finally paid off my student loan!"
10. to take some cash out - this means to withdraw money from a bank or cash machine
11. to rip someone off - to charge too much money for something. To give a bad price. E.g. "You always get completely ripped off in Harrods. You can by the same stuff in other shops for much less money. The prices are just high because it's Harrods."
12. to pay something back - to give money back. When you have borrowed money, you have to pay it back each month

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Using Podcasts to Learn English (Part 3)

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of this post.

Hello again. In my last couple of posts I told you about podcasts and how you can listen to them. In this post I’m going to recommend some good podcasts which you can use every day.

First, I would like to say something about how you can use podcasts to improve your English. As a learner of English, you need to expose yourself to English as much as possible. One way to do this is to live in an English speaking country for a while, so you can be around people who are using the language, hear it in the streets, on the bus, in the pub, on TV, on the radio, from friends, teachers and classmates. Being surrounded by English is really important for developing your instinct for the language. If you don’t have the time or money to come to the UK, you can still surround yourself with English. The internet is a great way to do this.

• Download podcasts, put them on your iPod and then listen to them regularly.
• You should listen to them more than once so that the English really goes into your head!
• You don’t have to understand everything – just listening to the rhythm, vocabulary and sentence structure regularly will help you become familiar with the language, and to speak English well it has to be familiar to you!

Anyway, here are some good podcasts which I recommend. Click on the links provided to find each podcast. I’ve divided them into two groups: Ones for learners of English, and ones for native speakers of English.

Podcasts for learners of English:

The BBC

In my opinion, the BBC do everything well, and this includes their learning English podcasts.

Talk about English (Learn English). This is a 20 minute chat show which includes features and interviews to help you develop your English. They talk about useful expressions, grammar and other advice. You can listen to native speakers talking, then the presenter explains what they said. Level: intermediate and above. It is updated weekly.

6 Minute English. As the name suggests, this is a 6 minute show which focuses on the use of English in different common situations. Level: Intermediate and above. Updated weekly.

Grammar Challenge. Each week, the BBC challenges a learner of English to do a grammar task. You can use this podcast to help you understand grammar. It’s also about 6 minutes long and is updated weekly. Level: Intermediate and above.

The British Council have lots of podcasts available. Click here to visit their podcast page. There are lots of different podcasts available there, on different topics. Each podcast has a script, and they are clear and easy to understand. Some of the conversations are scripted though, and can sound a little unnatural.

If American English is your cup of tea, then check out the English as a Second Language Podcast. It’s a very popular one. Click here to visit their page, where you can find podcasts on lots of different topics. I think their business English podcasts are useful, but they sound a little bit slow and patronising sometimes. They should be easy to understand though.

Of course the freshest, funniest and most useful podcast on the internet must be my one! That’s it – it’s Luke’s English Podcast! You probably know about it by now because I’ve been plugging it in each of my blog posts! I do it myself, at home on my computer. You can use it to pick up lots of natural expressions, learn about vocabulary, grammar and culture. Get some good advice on speaking and improving your English, and practise your pronunciation. Hopefully, you’ll have a good laugh when listening to it too! Click here to find it - do it now!

Podcasts for native speakers of English:

Of course, the BBC is a great source of podcasts on a massive range of topics. Click here to visit their podcast homepage. There are podcasts on many different topics, so just find something you’re interested in and check it out. Try searching for podcast by genre. I recommend that you listen to a podcast on a subject that you are personally interested in. This will make it more than just a learning English experience.

If you’re interested in business English – listen to BBC Business Daily. It is updated every day, and it focuses on global business issues. This is a great way to keep your business English fresh, but also to be up-to-date on what is going on in the business world.

The Today Programme (BBC) is what millions of British people listen to every morning while eating breakfast. It is an entertaining show with interviews and news. The interviews with politicians are particularly interesting, especially when they have to answer difficult questions!

My favourite BBC radio programme is The Adam & Joe Show. You can find their podcast, which is updated once a week, here. It’s a funny, entertaining and ironic show. Listen to it regularly and you’ll become a very special person!

If you’re interested in movies, and you’re interested in listening to fast speech, check out Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews (BBC). It’s entertaining, funny and a great way to find out about all the latest film releases.

So, to sum up – podcasts are a great way to bring English into your life. Find one that you enjoy listening to, and then listen to it all the time! Play it while you are walking around, doing the housework, going to sleep, driving your car or when you are sitting at your desk ready to study something!

Have fun,

Luke.