English for Life in the UK

How schools are organised in England. 3 people discuss their own experiences of teaching and of the school system.

What is a co-operative? The history of co-ops in the U.K. Interviews with 2 co-operatives - Suma Wholefoods and Valley Organics. Including how they operate and the principles on which they are based.

We interview Kate about her work as a visual artist, how she goes about creating a painting, her influences and why art is important.

We interview a dairy farmer and cheese maker about the history and process of milk and cheese making. We discuss the idea of organic farming and the use of the word ‘culture’ in cheese making.

A discussion with a doctor (general practitioner) and a community pharmacist about how individuals can access primary healthcare services in England

We interview 2 teenage girls about playing football and an older man about playing and watching the game. In the language support section we talk about the modern everyday use of the word ‘like’.

We talk to the housing manager for Calderdale, discuss owning or renting property, the problem of finding affordable housing, housing issues for refugees and the issue of homelessness.

We interview the owner of a family bakery called Lottie Shaw’s. We hear about making ‘Parkin’, a traditional northern gingerbread, and the challenges of running a sustainable business.

Interview with Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax

We interview Councillor Jane Scullion who is the deputy leader of Calderdale Council about how the Council works, her role and why local government is important. We also highlight some interesting phrases including ‘taking for granted’.

We preview the new season, explain the idea behind this season of the podcast, introduce 2 new members of the team and outline some of the topics we will cover.

We discuss our personal experiences of what works in learning a language, some of the research on language acquisition, how many people listen to the podcast and where they live and interviews with 2 of our students.

We interview the Artistic Director of a national touring theatre company about what they do and how they work. We also talk about theatre in the West End and elsewhere.

We discuss and illustrate a number of the regional variations in how English is spoken in different parts of the U.K. including Yorkshire, Lancashire, Liverpool, Birmingham, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. We hear the story of Wilfred Pickles who was used in World War 2 to confuse the Nazis.

A soap opera is a tv or radio drama. We interview one of the writers and ask her to explain what is a ‘soap’, talk about some of the most popular soaps, give examples of story-lines and discuss whether soaps reflect our society.

The G7 is meeting in the U.K. this week. This episode explains the G7 and talks briefly about other international organisations including the United Nations, the Commonwealth and NATO. In Language Support we talk about abbreviations and acronyms.

The history and work of our independent charity which specialises in support for asylum seekers and refugees. We hear the voices of some of our asylum seekers and refugees.

The right to asylum. How the process I supposed to work. Some of the challenges. The voices of experience from asylum seekers and refugees.

In May 2021 there were local and mayoral elections in England, national elections in Scotland and Wales. We interview one of the local candidates to find out what it was like.

We discuss the recent proposals for a European Super League. The history of some of England’s big clubs including Manchester City and Manchester United. Football related phrases and idioms.