Natural English Listening Practice: How to Talk about Sports and Fitness (with Subtitles on Screen)

this is Jack from to fluency in this English lesson you're  

going to get real phrases natural conversational  

English and listening practice all about sports workouts and staying fit 

and this is such an important area of English because people talk about this all the time 

I'm also gonna share some really interesting differences between 

British and American sport culture and listen carefully and to the whole episode 

because by the end you're going to have fantastic  

listening practice and also 

you'll be ready to talk about sports and fitness naturally and confidently 

let's start with sports and physical education as a child so the first term here 

physical education in both  the UK and the US we say PE 

PE for physical education now think back to when you were young 

let's say 8 9 or 10 and you were in school did you enjoy PE? did you enjoy PE? 

because a lot of people's  first experience with sport 

is PE in school and I know this has changed a lot to 

what it used to be like used to be what it used to be like when I was in school 

but what's interesting is  that some people will say 

I have fantastic memories or I used to love playing sports at school 

and everything is positive while others hated it they hated it 

and we're gonna look at some  words and phrases related 

to childhood sports and physical education and I'm also just gonna talk about this 

so you can get some really good practice when I was growing up 

we did all different types of sports so we would do things like rugby 

we would play soccer we would play cricket we would do gymnastics 

and we would do tennis even at times so we had a lot of practice with this 

but then sometimes the one that people didn't look forward to 

the one sport that people really just didn't like and it always seemed to happen in winter 

was cross country cross country running so this is where you run long distances 

usually in the school field Wednesday was the big day for PE 

but I also seem to remember doing it probably twice a week 

and we had to wear these really uncomfortable rugby shirts and then shorts 

so we just wore rugby shirts and they were so uncomfortable 

and if it was raining they would be really heavy now notice when I'm talking about the past 

I'm using would we would do this we would do that 

and this is another way to say we used to do this we used to do that 

one interesting feature of PE was teams and in PE you used to have two captains 

and then they would pick their team and they would take turns 

picking different people to be on their team and you might hear someone say 

I was always picked last I was always picked last because maybe that person wasn't very sporty 

also in addition to PE many people in the UK join sports teams 

so they might join a sports club outside of school but there's also sports teams within the school 

and I used to do a lot personally I was on the swim team 

I was on the football soccer team I'm just gonna call it soccer from now on 

I was on the soccer team and I also was in a soccer club as well 

I was on the cricket team for a little while but then we didn't win many games 

so we stopped playing cricket oh I was also on the basketball team too 

so a lot of the times I would wake up and go early morning swimming 

I would then play basketball at lunch and then have a soccer game in the afternoon 

in the US it's similar there are lots of different sports teams 

for example a lot of people  play soccer growing up here 

but also baseball is a big  sport for boys especially 

and then gymnastics for girls it's very popular for girls 

not everyone enjoys sport in the same way so some kids grow up playing really competitively 

while others just play for  fun in the backyard or park 

and again I would play outside a lot so I would play soccer outside in the road 

in the street in the backyard nearly every night so you might hear people say things like 

I have great memories of playing football with my friends I have great memories 

of playing football with my friends and I loved sports as a kid 

I was always outside running around I was always outside running around 

and if it's a negative  experience of sport in childhood 

then you might say something like I wasn't very athletic 

so I always felt left out in PE class to feel left out this means to feel not included 

like people weren't including you in the team and maybe you were picked last 

something else you might hear is I tried playing baseball but I was terrible at it 

I was terrible at it to be terrible at  

something or to be good at something meaning that you are good playing that sport 

or you are terrible playing that sport so leave a comment 

telling me what it was like  doing PE at your school 

what was it like? what sports did you play? did you enjoy playing sports at school? 

and how often did you do it? now childhood sports can shape us as adults 

because even if you stop playing sport as an adult a lot of the childhood experiences can still 

influence your lifestyle or influence the way you see life 

and a lot of people continue playing as well for example you might say 

I played a lot of tennis as a kid and I still enjoy it now I still enjoy it now 

so I continue to enjoy it now and maybe things change so you could say 

I wasn't very sporty when I was younger but now I love going to the gym 

or now I love playing sports in some schools in some cultures 

sport is very important and a lot of the trainers will train the children 

to take sport very seriously from a young age hoping 

that they're going to become professional athletes so you can think of either  

yourself or a friend who a great term here is to show promise 

this person maybe showed promise which means they had an  

ability that was really good and people said something like 

oh you might become a professional hockey player or you might become a professional baseball player 

so somebody shows promise at an early age then they might go into advance programs 

and go to clubs elsewhere whereas a lot of people 

see sports in childhood as a way to learn how to become a better leader 

learn how to become part of a team and also how to have fun and learn to lose 

so let's move on  

to competitive and professional sports now and we have some interesting facts 

and interesting insights about professional sports in the UK and the US 

and you'll also learn a lot of good phrases along the way 

so for many people sports are more than just a fun way to stay active 

or to learn new things  they're also about competition 

skill and passion competition skill and passion 

and some people will train  for years to become elite 

professional athletes now when I was a  

child I always dreamed of becoming dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player 

and even at my age I still  dream about that happening 

although I know it is not going to happen now so there are different levels of competitive sport 

so you can think about local competitions 

things like school teams  recreational teams as well 

so let's say you are 35 or someone is 35 they can still play in a recreational way 

not a competitive way in  local competitions in baseball 

volleyball soccer etc and then 

there is a difference between semi professional and professional because  

semi professional athletes they get paid but that's not their full time job 

so they might have a place  on the local soccer team 

that travels and plays on a Saturday they get paid to play 

but that's not their full time job whereas professional sports 

these are full time athletes that is their job that's what they get paid to do 

and with this comes sometimes a lot of money not all the time because 

a lot of professional athletes don't get paid a lot of money 

but if you do and you play  professionally for somebody 

then you might get paid a lot of money and also you will be famous 

now this is an interesting fact and a big difference between the US and the UK 

because in the US college sports are a huge deal they're a huge deal 

which means they're really big and student athletes can get full scholarships 

for playing at a high level and a lot of the 

American football teams have massive stadiums where 60 70 

80 90,000 people will go watch the college team the university team whereas in the UK 

university sports aren't as big they just aren't as popular 

nowhere near as big but the professional club let's say Arsenal Manchester United 

these are massive and a lot of the children  

join academies at a young age whereas in the US people  

go through the college system before joining the NBA or the NFL 

the professional sports leagues now here are some fun phrases to talk about 

personal experiences in competitive sports you might say for example 

I used to play in a local football league but it was just for fun it was just for fun 

and again we're using this I used to play 

you might know someone who  is a professional athlete 

you might say something like this oh I know this person who plays for Liverpool 

I'm good friends with this person or I used to go to school with this person 

who now plays for Manchester United you might also say something like 

I nearly made it pro but I just wasn't tall  

enough or I wasn't fast enough or I wasn't quite good enough 

so I nearly made it pro which means I nearly became a professional athlete 

that's not true in my case so here's an interesting question for this section 

do you know a famous athlete? or are you a famous athlete? 

if so let me know in the comment section below here is an interesting part of this section 

because we're gonna talk about how sports can bring people together 

and how sometimes it can divide them now I'm thinking of a competition 

let's see if you can guess what it is that brings people from all over  

the world together and it seems like 

everyone in the world is watching this at the same time now you might think the Olympics 

and that's true but I'm thinking of the World Cup and I actually went to a World  

Cup once back in 2006 I didn't make it to a game 

but I loved the atmosphere of being in a city with fans from all over the world 

from different countries and  it was a great atmosphere 

however it's not always like that when it comes to sports 

when I was growing up it was quite scary going to soccer games 

because there would often be trouble at the games which meant fighting fans getting on the pitch 

and just a really bad atmosphere of going to a soccer game 

so a lot of the time it can be quite intense it can be a lot of trouble can happen 

and you'll often get this when it comes to local rivalries 

now we can think about  

some of the biggest rivalries in sport one of the biggest ones is Barcelona  

and Real Madrid Real Madrid in Spain 

we can also think of Celtic  versus Rangers in Scotland 

and I'm sure you can think  of one in your local area 

or in your country so let me know what that one is and this can also be true in terms of division 

or bringing people together in local leagues so you can think about 

if you play sport in your local league sometimes it's great the two teams are chatting 

there's competition but there's this sense of togetherness 

we're both playing here maybe we're not very good but we're having a good time 

whereas other times it can get a little bit tense it can go over the top to go over the top 

and even though it's not very competitive or it doesn't seem very important 

while it's happening two players can fight or they can argue 

and the whole team sometimes can argue and you can also 

sometimes see the referees not enjoying it when things go over the top 

and maybe people are shouting abuse to shout abuse at the referee team 

now something that I have  seen change over a long time 

is the amount of money in sports and how much more of a business it has become 

because it's not just about competition and sport things like football basketball 

boxing they have become multi  billion dollar industries 

multi billion dollar industries so some terms we're gonna learn 

here are sponsorship deals  

to generate millions of dollars and also endorsements 

because we can talk about the top athletes and how they have some of the biggest 

sponsorship deals in history and I'll leave a link to some of these stats 

in the description so you can have a look at just how much 

sports people earn through sponsorship deals the biggest sporting event  

in the US is the Super Bowl which is the final for American football 

and this generates millions of dollars in advertising revenue 

mainly because it has the attention of the whole country 

and everyone is watching it now here's a question for you 

do you think professional  athletes are paid too much? 

do you think professional  athletes are paid too much? 

let me know in the comment section below this next section is all about gym culture 

and staying fit and there are some really interesting parts 

this including different attitudes towards fitness in the UK 

in the US and also talking about some useful phrases that you can use 

because for many people stained fit is a big part of life 

now this could be going to the gym taking a run in the park practicing yoga at home 

for some people they love working out whereas others 

they feel like they have to do it to stay healthy personally 

I really enjoy it and I like  to do things that are fun 

so I'll play basketball soccer and a sport that's become very popular in the US 

pickleball pickleball which is similar to padel in Europe 

now here are some sentences you can use to talk about 

why you want to go to the gym or to get fit 

the first one is because  people want to stay in shape 

to stay in shape so you might hear someone say I go to the gym because I want to stay in shape 

and to stay in shape means to maintain a good physical condition 

you might also go to the gym to build muscle and get stronger to get stronger 

so we're using get here to talk about a change going from weak to strong to get stronger 

you might also be training for a Marathon and Marathon running has become much more popular 

and a lot of people want to do this as part of a challenge 

and you might also hate exercising but you do it to lose weight 

to lose weight now gym culture has changed  

over time because in the past a lot of people mainly went to  

the gym to lift weights or to run on a treadmill 

now I find running on a treadmill quite boring but sometimes I'll do it just 

especially if it's raining or really cold outside however fitness is now a huge industry 

with lots of trendy workout classes trendy workout classes 

so you can think about things like yoga Crossfit and high intensity interval training 

these are very big in terms  of the fitness trends today 

now have you tried Crossfit? or different types of exercise classes? 

I know that a lot of gyms have different types of classes 

for example hip hop dance they'll also have peloton as well 

where people go in their  bikes and do peloton classes 

so what is your favorite type of gym class at the moment? Something I've  

noticed is that in the US a lot of people go to the gym early 

they go late people love going to the gym whereas in the UK the gym is popular 

but it seems to me from my experience that people prefer team sports 

or outdoor activities instead even though the weather is terrible 

so let's now learn some phrases these are gonna be really useful to describe your 

workout routine and also gym goals so you might say something like 

I go to the gym three times a week or I go to the gym every Thursday 

I go to the gym every day to talk about how long you've been doing something 

you might say something like I've been on this new workout routine 

for the past six months to be on something I've been on 

this new workout routine for the past six months and if you're not too committed 

but you want to do your best you might say something like 

well I try to jog twice a week I try to jog twice a week 

you have the intention of doing it but maybe you don't do it every time 

and maybe you have a specific goal so your goal might be to  

lose 10 pounds before summer I know a lot of people want to do that 

my goal is to lose 10 pounds before summer oh my goal is to be able to do 5 pullups 

to be able to do 5 pullups now here's a good fun part 

gym stereotypes and gym etiquette we'll start with the stereotypes 

because there's always that  one guy who grunts loudly 

when lifting weights to grunt loudly this means to make loud noises when working out 

you'll also notice probably in every country in the world now 

people who take too many selfies in the mirror instead of working out 

so they'll take a selfie in the mirror or maybe they'll just be on their phone 

instead of working out there is some gym etiquette that is big in the US 

the first one is always to rerack your weights after using them 

or you can just say put your weights back so let's say you get some weights out 

you start lifting you don't just leave them where they are 

you have to put them back after so to put back means to replace 

a gym I used to go to was always busy and it was difficult to get on certain machines 

so there's an idea that you  shouldn't hog the machines 

hog the machines now to hog something 

means to use something for far too long and not let others use it 

so don't hoig the machines let other people use them too 

and if you make a big mess you should wipe down the  

equipment after sweating on it so if you're sweating a lot 

and you get your sweat all over the machine you should wipe this down afterwards 

now with sports and activities and we're onto the next section 

now it's not just about playing them and we touched on this before 

it's also about watching and  supporting specific teams 

so for many people watching sports is more exciting than playing them 

or for some people they just prefer to watch instead of play 

and where I grew up you support the team your family supports and you never change 

I think this is true in a lot of places but once you become a fan of a team 

they're with you for life so 

it's not always your fault  that your team always loses 

so let's go into this topic now and also we've got an interesting 

difference between sports  culture in the UK and the US 

later on now some people  watch sports for the action 

because they love to see the action happen but for most people it's about the excitement 

the thrill of last minute  goals and penalty shootouts 

it's also for the community where you can share this experience with friends 

family and other fans and also for the tradition so supporting a team can be 

passed down through generations like we talked about before 

you support the team your  family supports in most cases 

so this team is passed down  to you through generations 

and going to a live game is very different from watching on TV 

because you can really feel  the energy of the crowd 

you can be part of that moment and also watching the action 

depending on where you're sitting is much better to 

so here are some common  phrases for talking about life 

sports events you might say the atmosphere at the stadium was incredible 

so the atmosphere is the mood and the noise and the feeling of a place 

the atmosphere at the stadium was incredible the crowd went wild when we scored 

the crowd went wild when we scored to go wild means to become very excited 

and we had great seats to have great or good or terrible seats 

we had great seats right behind the goal so we could see everything 

I've been to sports events a lot in the UK and also in the US and there are  

big differences here now in the UK in England 

football fans will often sing throughout and also very focused on the game 

so they watch every kick every movement and the crowd is very involved in the game 

whereas in the US it seems like there's a lot more emphasis on entertainment 

so I went to a big basketball game and there was music playing all the time 

they were constantly throwing  things into the crowd 

constantly entertaining the crowd with different competitions 

and things that were happening and it wasn't so much a focus on the game 

it was more a focus on the extra things that were happening  

around the game so tell me 

what was the last sporting event you went to? and what was it like? 

just leave a comment in the comment section below after a game is often when you'll talk about it 

and give your opinion on the game and you can say things like 

and use past modal verbs like for example ugh he should have scored at the end 

he should have scored at the end he didn't score but he should have scored 

and it would have been a different game if he had been sent off 

so let's imagine a player  should have been sent off 

he did something bad but the referee didn't see it you can say 

we would have won the game if he had been sent off so that is a conditional sentence 

now talking about win you might say ah we smashed them we smashed them four nil 

now to smash a team means to win easily and maybe your team was losing 

but then you won the game you can say that was an amazing comeback 

that was an amazing comeback so a comeback means to win 

after being behind and talking after a loss you might say we got destroyed 

we got destroyed today which  means we lost in a big way 

or you might say we were winning but we threw it away in the second half 

we threw it away in the second half to throw something away 

means to lose after having an advantage let's now talk about some quotes around passion 

and the love of sports 

and I like some of these quite a lot so the first one is this it is 

you have to love what you  do to want to do it everyday 

you have to love what you do  to want to do it every day 

and this is from Serena Williams and this means that success requires passion 

and if you love your sport then you'll do it even when it's hard 

and you can think about how this applies to anything in life 

not just sports so when you enjoy your workouts staying fit becomes a lot easier 

that is why personally I like to do things I enjoy basketball soccer and pickleball 

now Pele the Brazilian football legend the most famous soccer player ever 

probably said the more difficult the victory the greater the happiness in winning 

the more difficult the victory the greater the happiness in winning 

which means that winning feels better when you've worked hard for it 

and overcoming challenges  makes success more rewarding 

now this is one of my favourite new quotes and it's this winning isn't everything 

but wanting to win is winning isn't everything but wanting to win is 

and this is from Vince Lombardi an American football coach 

and it's saying that the desire to succeed is more important than the result 

and even if you lose trying your best is what matters most 

so this is a quote I've never heard before I researched it for this lesson and I love it 

winning isn't everything but wanting to win is now you might hear some cliches  

when it comes to sport and about hard work and effort 

now you'll often hear things like no pain no gain no pain 

no gain which means that you have to work hard and enjoy discomfort to achieve success 

do you agree with this? no pain no gain 

another one is practice makes perfect practice makes perfect  

you'll often hear this a lot and this means the more you practice 

the better you become and when I hear quite a lot is 

leave it all on the field leave it all on the field 

which means you need to give  

your maximum effort during the game and another one which is very 

very common is give 110% give 110% which means to try your hardest 

and even though 110% is impossible people say this for motivation 

have you heard these sport cliches? these motivational statements before? 

if so let me know in the comment section and also give me another one if you know one 

fantastic what to do now is go to the description and get all of these quotes 

and then watch another lesson they are on your screen now 

thank you for watching and I'll speak to you soon bye for now