Frontliner - The English We Speak

Hello and welcome to The English

We Speak. I'm Feifei.

And I'm Roy! My legs are really aching.

I've been standing all day!

Well, there's an easy fix for that,

Roy. Sit down!

No, sorry - I can't. I want

to be at the front of the

queue when we go to

watch Rob's Biscuit Band tonight.

Firstly, I'm not going with you.

Secondly, I think you've mixed up

front of the queue with 'frontliner' -

which is the word we're talking

about in this programme.

Ahhh... right. A frontliner is

a person who works in an

advanced position. It's been

mentioned quite a lot recently

due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Yes. Doctors and nurses who

have direct contact with patients

are sometimes referred to as frontliners.

Yes, because they work on

the frontline. Right, now

I'm going to sit down - seeing

as we're not queuing to be

at the front of the line.

Yes, you should. Let's listen

to these examples.

Ahmed is a frontliner and

works in the hospital as a

doctor helping patients recover

from diseases.

Wellington's mother is a

frontliner and attends many

accidents as a first-responder.

Roberta always wanted to

be a teacher growing up, and

now she works in a school

as a frontliner.

This is The English We

Speak from BBC Learning

English and we're talking about

the word 'frontliner'. This is a term

that refers to people who work

in an advanced position during

a pandemic, such as doctors

and nurses.

They do amazing jobs.

Sometimes they get referred

to as a 'frontline doctors and

nurses' or 'frontline workers'.

Many people see them as heroes.

Yes, these frontliners have been

risking their lives to save people

from the virus recently.

In the UK, a lot of people

took part every week in

something called 'Clap for Carers'.

It's now become an annual event

where people go outside and clap

to celebrate the difficult and

brave work of frontliners.

And to all the people who

listen to The English We Speak

who are frontliners - a round of applause.

Bye!

Bye!