Episode 10

Episode 10

Jamie might have the chance to follow his dream. Adam and Jo look at how Jamie and Carolina use 'will', 'won't' and 'might' to talk about his future.

Transcript

Adam

Hello and welcome to Episode 10 of Series 4 of LearnEnglish Elementary Podcasts. My name is Adam and, as usual, my colleague Jo will be joining me later to talk about some of the language that you're going to hear in the podcast.

Last episode, as I'm sure you remember, Tess and Ravi talked about a great British tradition: the pub. It's a popular place for British people to go to relax and meet their friends – at lunchtime, after work or in the evenings. Jo and I both like pubs, especially friendly pubs where people make you feel welcome. But what about you? Have you ever been to a British-style pub? Where do you go to meet your friends? Let's look at some of your comments.

DannyRo from Romania said that there are all sorts of cafés and pubs – even Irish pubs – in Bucharest where people can meet. But most of you meet in cafés, like Fatima Lucas Ramos from Portugal, who says 'In my country people usually meet in cafés. There aren't any pubs like British ones. In cafés, we can have alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, tea, coffee or milk and eat some sandwiches and cakes.' Cafés in Britain usually have a different atmosphere from that. They almost never have alcoholic drinks.

Reza Saadati from Iran goes to coffee shops with friends. And our old friend Englishlover2015, also called Abdullah from Yemen, explains that there aren't any pubs or bars in his country, and he and his friends usually get together in cafés or clubs. In fact, Abdullah has created a club called 'English Lovers Club' and they meet twice a month to practise their English. That’s a fantastic idea! Meeting to talk English with other learners is really helpful.

Of course, as Tess said, you don't have to drink alcohol in a pub, but a lot of people do, especially pints of beer. LilyD from Russia says 'I don't go to pubs. I hate alcohol! To my mind, it's so nasty. Besides, alcohol is very harmful for my health.' That’s probably true. And Wuri Koes from Indonesia isn't a big fan of beer. Wuri says 'I once took a sip of my friend's beer. I couldn't stand the smell and the taste wasn't very good, either. I prefer strawberry juice.' I wish you get fresh strawberry juice in a pub! I bet lots of people would drink less beer if you could.

And a big thank you to all the other people who left comments. I don't have time to read them all out here, but we do read them and always enjoy them. So please, keep sending them in.

And of course, keep on listening to the podcasts. To make it easier for you to listen on the move, you can download the Elementary Podcasts app. Get it from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or just follow the link from the LearnEnglish website. The app has lots of helpful features to make it easier for you to learn: a moving audioscript that you can read as you listen, and you can slow down the audio speed if you find it difficult to understand. There are also some exercises for you to test your understanding of what you hear. And remember, there’s lots of exercises on the LearnEnglish website too, so don’t miss those.    

Now, it's time to see what's happening with Carolina and her friends. In this episode, Carolina, Jamie and Emily are having a meal in a restaurant – a restaurant that serves a type of food that's very popular in Britain. They're having a good time, but things never stay easy for very long for Carolina, do they? What's the problem going to be this time? Let's listen.

 

Carolina – At the Indian restaurant

Carolina: Mmm, this is delicious.

Emily: Is that the lamb korma?

Carolina: Yes. What's yours?

Emily: Chicken vindaloo. It's very hot. Can I try a bit of yours?

Carolina: Of course.

Jamie: Does anyone want to try my vegetable biryani?

Emily: Mmm. That korma's delicious.

Waiter: Here you are. Two naan breads – one plain, one garlic.

All: Thank you / Thanks.

Waiter: Enjoy your meal.

All: Thank you / We will / It's all delicious.

Emily: Haaah.

Jamie: Vindaloo too hot for you, Emily?

Emily: Not at all. Haaah. I like it hot. Haaaah.

Carolina: Drink some water.

Emily: Haaah.

Waiter: Is everything OK?

Emily: Yes, yes, haaaah. It's delicious.

Waiter: I'll bring some raita – yoghurt. It will help.

Emily: Thank you.

Carolina: He's nice.

Jamie: Yeah.

Carolina: No, I mean he's nice.

Emily: You mean nice for me? Carolina, stop trying to find me a man everywhere we go. I know you mean well but …

Waiter: One raita.

Emily: Thank you very much.

Waiter: You're welcome.

Emily: So, Jamie. This is your last year. You graduate in the summer. What are your plans? Have you made any decisions yet?

Jamie: No, not yet. I'm thinking about a lot of things. I've sent off a couple of applications but I don't think …

Carolina: Applications for what?

Jamie: Oh, just a couple of things. You know.

Carolina: What things?

Jamie: Some conservation things – projects. I'm sure I won't get them. They must have thousands of applications. They just looked interesting. So I decided to apply, just to see what happens.

Emily: That's a good idea. You …

Carolina: I can't believe you didn't tell me! What kind of projects? Where?

Jamie: Oh, all sorts of things. All over the place. There's one in Antarctica … and one in Borneo.

Emily: Wow. Cool.

Carolina: Antarctica! Borneo! Jamie!

Jamie: I told you, I won't get them.

Carolina: You might. It's possible. Then what? I'm in Newcastle and you're in Borneo.

Jamie: Well … I … uh.

Emily: What's the project in Borneo?

Jamie: It's with orang-utans.

Emily: Oh – I love orang-utans. Don’t you, Carolina?

Carolina: Yes.

Emily: Oh come on, you two. Jamie might get one of the jobs – and he might not. He might go to Borneo and he might not. Wait and see what happens. You know, 'go with the flow'. Live in the now.

Carolina: Thank you, oh great Zen master Emily.

Emily: You're welcome. Now, who wants to help me finish this vindaloo?

 

Jo and Adam

Adam: Uh oh – I see trouble between Jamie and Carolina! Hi, Jo.

Jo: Hi, everyone. So Jamie's going away.

Adam: Well – maybe. And Carolina isn't very happy.

Jo: Hmm. It's a difficult situation. Do you think Jamie should 'follow his dream'? Or stay with Carolina in Newcastle?

Adam: It’s always hard when you’re at a crossroads in life, and it’s even harder when you have to think about somebody else. Carolina will have to find a job as well, and maybe she will want to work in another city or country.

Jo: Yes, she might. It’s always difficult making big life-changing decisions. Anyway, Emily's right – they have to wait and see if Jamie gets the job first – then they can decide what to do.

Adam: True. I'd like to hear what all of you think about it. What should Jamie do? And Carolina?

Jo: Yes. And what would you do in this situation? Should you always 'follow your dreams'? Write and tell us what you think.

Adam: The address is www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish. And now it's time for us to look at some of the language from the podcast.

Jo: Let's look at the future. We can use 'will' to talk about the future. Listen.

Waiter: I'll bring some raita – yoghurt. It will help.

Emily: Thank you.

Jo: 'It will help'. What's the negative form of will? Listen.

Carolina: Applications for what?

Jamie: Oh, just a couple of things. You know.

Carolina: What things?

Jamie: Some conservation things – projects. I'm sure I won't get them.

Jo: 'I'm sure I won't get them'.

Adam: 'Won't' – the negative form of 'will'.

Jo: My students often say 'will not' instead of 'won't'.

Adam: You can say 'will not' – people will understand you – but it isn't very common.

Jo: Yes. Try to use 'won't' instead. There's another word that my students don't use very much. Listen to Emily.

Emily: Oh, come on, you two. Jamie might get one of the jobs – and he might not. He might go to Borneo and he might not.

Jo: 'Might'. 'Might' means the same as 'may' – when you're not sure about what will happen.

Adam: 'Maybe Jamie will get the job', 'Jamie may get the job' or 'Jamie might get the job' – it's the same meaning.

Jo: Native speakers of English use 'might' and 'might not' a lot. Try to use it yourself sometimes instead of 'maybe' or 'may'. And I think that's all. Adam? Adam?

Adam: I was just thinking about Emily's chicken vindaloo. I love Indian food – the podcast's made me hungry.

Jo: Well, let's go and get something to eat then ...  See you all next time.

Jo/Adam: Bye!

Discussion

Average: 5 (2 votes)
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Submitted by JFK_ on Fri, 19/01/2024 - 14:03

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I think you have to chase your dreams, sometimes the opportunities only are present once in your life if we let our dreams pass us by, what is the meaning of the live?

Jaime need to think carefully about what does he want after receive his graduate and I sure he wants to feel to support of his friends and partner to reach his dreams.

His girlfriend is an important part of him, she have to understand that Jaime's dreams is important for him she might to manage the situation as Emily said, live in the now, Jaime might get the project and he might not.

Submitted by Khalid waleed on Tue, 16/11/2021 - 23:51

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He should follow his dream because he has a plan for his future and in this step he should think about getting a job to build his future. If he stay in Newcastle with Carolina might lose many chance of jobs and that may effect on his carrier path. Caroline must be help him and she can continue with him by social media apps and also if there love each other nothing will stop them to be close with each others. I believe in the same of these cases, you should think out of your hart and you should looking for the future especially if you are fresh graduate and any wrong decision, it might impact in your life. AL in all, following your dream is one of the good thing that it might help you to have a goal that you weak up everyday to achieve it.

Submitted by jmajo on Sat, 27/02/2021 - 20:23

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I think both of them are young yet and they should follow their dreams despite they might separate for a while, they have plenty of time to enjoy their relationship. Maybe Carolina should cheer up Jamie for the applications and get happy if he get one of the jobs, If she really love him she should support his dream, also she should finish her career and in the future they might cross their paths again and plan something together in the long term. Like Adam said in the podcast It's always difficult to decide what should we do in situations when we decide our future in a crossroad, but we can't live a good present without think in the future so, If I were Jamie I'll take the job and follow my dream, and If I were Carolina I'll support Jamie and I'll also finish my career because that's the mean reason she is in Newcastle isn't it? Each situation is different for everybody and people take options and make decisions all the time about the future, it depends on the personal interests to match the decisions we make with the dreams we have, although I'll love to always follow my dreams, sometimes those decisions affect the life of the members of my family, so it's a matter of balance to choose which dreams to follow and which others let them go. Thanks for the episode. Great site!!

Submitted by February on Wed, 03/02/2021 - 05:12

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If we should always follow our dreams or not depends on how serious the relation is and how old you are. If I were in Carolina's situation, I would definitely tell Jamie to follow his dream because I wouldn't know what happens in the future. Carolina and Jamie might find another partner respectively. They might not, of course. But at the age of early 20s, it's not wise to make decisions taking one' boyfriend or girlfriend into consideration. At the older age, or if you are married, you have to talk with your partner before making decisions.
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Submitted by danisep on Tue, 20/10/2020 - 18:42

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We must follow our dreams, if carolina loves jamie she is gonna let him follow his dreams and if jamie loves carolina he is going to keep her love close. they must find a solution to keep together. I think it is not easy to build healthy and lovely relations where both share interest and friends like they do.

Submitted by Marey Saad on Wed, 07/10/2020 - 21:34

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In my point of view, if Jamie got the job, they have to have a decent discussion and everyone should respect the other's opinion. Anyway, If I were Jamie and I got the job I dream about, I would follow my dream. And perhaps Carolina catch up with Jamie after she finishes her study at Neuckasel university. A good idea, isn't it ?? Thanks

Submitted by SamerTJ on Fri, 12/06/2020 - 07:55

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I think he should have told her about his decision before, and because of that, I can assume that he is not in a serious relationship so he will break with her if he got the job. I think we shouldn't fall in love before being able to retain our lovers. It is very terrible to break someone's heart so don't do it. love is a very amazing thing so we should save our love to someone who deserves it and we shouldn't lose the best feeling we ever have, with the wrong person.
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Submitted by Sergey Sh on Tue, 15/10/2019 - 05:26

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I’m pretty sure he’d better follow his dream. I’d definitely do if I were him. Carolina is a really good person and they would get in touch by online or come together as the best decision. In my opinion our life must be bright and interesting and you should grow as a professional especially if you’ve managed to find occupation you like. Carolina has environmental field of activity as Jamie so as I have my own answer, she would join him later after graduation the university.

Submitted by parisaach on Mon, 03/06/2019 - 06:18

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It is difficult to say what is right and what is wrong. People always judge others by their own point of view and don't even think maybe they are in the wrong. I think It's up to jammy, He must think what is more important for him. Mybe he should search more , maybe he can find a good job in Newcastle. He must decide and think which one is more important to him the Job, or Carolina. because if he gets the job he probabley lose Carolina. By the way he must told about that to Carolina. It is not fair to not to tell her until he want to left.