Easy English: Learn English with everyday conversations Easy Languages

This week, Mitch and Isi discuss Brits' perception of Germans. They discuss typical stereotypes, true or false. The difference between Bavaria and the rest of Germany. Germany's current culture and history. Their obsession with coastal England and of course, Germany's current representative in the UK; Jürgen Klopp.


Interactive Transcript

Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership


Transcript

Intro


Isi:
[0:23] Good morning.


Mitch:
[0:24] Good morning from... (Morning.) ...overcast Germany.


Isi:
[0:30] It's actually sunny at the moment.


Mitch:
[0:31] Is it?


Isi:
[0:32] Yes. I get neck problems again if I always turn around to you like this now.


Mitch:
[0:37] Just face...


Isi:
[0:37] I will not face...


Mitch:
[0:38] Just don't look at me.


Isi:
[0:39] I will not look at you.


Mitch:
[0:40] I can't take the pressure.


Isi:
[0:42] It's sunny right now. We had a really sunny weekend. I mean, we only arrived Saturday. But we had a really sunny weekend in Germany.Very much summer feeling. And now it's going back to winter. You hear my voice my voice is still bad.


Mitch:
[0:56] I can't tell if you're speaking to the listeners or me now. Because you're just facing the wall .


Isi:
[1:01] Do you see my eye always trying to get over to you.


Mitch:
[1:04] you look like Nola when she thinks we're talking about her.


Isi:
[1:08] And she's naughty. so yeah we are in Germany. How fitting because I have a little topic for you for today Mitch .


Mitch:
[1:15] Is it our topic of the week?


Isi:
[1:17] It is the topic of the week.So what i would like to know, well I have my own experiences with this topic but I would like to know from you growing up in the UK how do British people perceive Germans and German culture and the the German language?


Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership

This week's episode is a flu-based survival guide, Mitch and Isi cover lemon & ginger tea, spicy soups, fruit salads, vapour inhalation, reality TV, fishing shows, bed rest and tissue-plugs. Mitch also reviews the British, metaphorical horror/thriller movie 'Men' in his new section 'Mitch's Movie Club'.


Interactive Transcript

Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership


Transcript

Intro


Mitch:
[0:24] Hiya, welcome to episode 38 of the Easy English Podcast. Isi, how are you?


Isi:
[0:30] I'm okay. I am a bit congested, still.


Mitch:
[0:33] Well, that's good. Not good, but good for the podcast because...


Isi:
[0:38] Good for the podcast?


Mitch:
[0:39] Yeah, because I wanted to do an episode about getting over illnesses. Tips and tricks from Mitch and Isi. (What a great episode.) Let's go.


Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership

After a question last time round from listener Georgia, Mitch and Isi discuss the influence of modern day influencers; the Royal Family. From backing British made products, influencing the EU referendum and championing mental health and environmental awareness. They also discuss the controversial topics surrounding the armed forces and the love/hate relationship they have with tabloid media.


Interactive Transcript

Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership


Transcript

Intro
Mitch:
[0:23] Hello, welcome to episode... what is it? Oh God.


Isi:
[0:27] 30...


Mitch:
[0:29] 30, what would you think? 31? No, don't be silly.


Isi:
[0:34] Oh God.


Mitch:
[0:36] Episode 37. (Wow!) Of the Easy English Podcast.


Isi:
[0:41] Hello.


Mitch:
[0:41] I planned for us to do an episode about Georgia's question from the last episode, asking; how much the royal family affects our day-to-day life, in the UK.


Isi:
[0:52] Didn't we talk about the royals before? We did a video episode about the queen's jubilee with Cari from Easy German who's a big 'Crown' 'The Crown' fan and Netflix series.


Mitch:
[1:04] Yeah I mean that is already one way in which the royal family affects, their part of (The world.) Yeah, they're like... they're back they're back again into common culture. There was a period I think between Diana and now, where they're kind of had a bit of a dip. But now they're kind of like, influencers. They live a life of influencers, in a way, don't they?


Isi:
[1:26] I guess they're representatives of the monarchy. But in a way, I think they see themselves also as representatives of Britain, of the Commonwealth.


Mitch:
[1:37] They have some power, in the sense of they don't have any...


Isi:
[1:41] They're influential.


Mitch:
[1:42] Yeah, exactly.


Isi:
[1:42] To a lot of people still.


Mitch:
[1:44] If they mention a brand or something, then they can have... or talk badly about a brand.


Isi:
[1:49] But they don't do that, on purpose, they don't they don't want to be political and they are actually they shouldn't be, right? From the legal stand.


Mitch:
[1:59] They shouldn't be, but obviously like, if you think of Harry and Meghan they had a Spotify and did Kate and William also have a Spotify. (No, I don't think so.) Harry and Meghan had a Spotify podcast right, exclusive.


Isi:
[2:09] Do they still have that.


Mitch:
[2:10] No. (I've never listened to it.) It got dropped. (Okay.) Because they're so boring. (Are they?) But Spotify obviously has like...


Isi:
[2:18] I actually like their Netflix series. I found it quite entertaining.


Mitch:
[2:22] That was good. (Yeah.) But if you think they have these brands... that they promote, they put their stamp on things that they agree with, principally, things that are British-made.


Isi:
[2:33] Ah, true, yeah. Like very old, traditional products, like brown sauce.


Mitch:
[2:39] Twining's tea?


Isi:
[2:40] I love Twining's tea.


Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership

Mitch and Isi discuss a topic recommended by Easy English Member, Marketa; childhood. Isi explains how her street was a construction area for skate parks, igloos and prison cells. Whilst Mitch tells of crossbows, conker fights and... offensive language. Did any of it happen, or are these just tall tales, recollected from hear-say and distant memories? They also answer Georgia's question about the Royals, in their regular section of Unhelpful Advice.


Interactive Transcript

Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership


Show Notes


Opinions on the Royal Family: What Do English People Think of the Royal Family? (Easy English 98)

Reacting to the Queens Jubilee: The Queen's Platinum Jubilee (Easy English 123)



Transcript

Intro


Mitch:
[0:23] Welcome to the Easy English Podcast. Today, we are doing, we're sort of catching up with some requests of things that you've sent us in. We wanted to cover a topic, which one of our members of Easy English; Marketa, one of our longest standing, dearest members, requested us to do a topic, comparing our childhoods from the perspective of growing up in the UK to growing up in Germany.


Isi:
[0:51] That's a good topic.


Mitch:
[0:51] Which is interesting. And they mentioned school and birthday parties, specifically.


Isi:
[0:58] Perfect. I mean, obviously, the kindergarten school system is different. I think that should not be part of it, though. That could be an own topic. What is the difference? I would say in general, the upbringing in both our countries are similar. There's definitely countries where we would find bigger differences.


Mitch:
[1:18] It's hard to compare a little bit, because you grew up in a a 300,000 city and I grew up in a 30,000 town.


Isi:
[1:24] Yeah you're the village boy


Mitch:
[1:27] I'm the cauliflower-eared, village boy.


Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership

This week, Mitch and Isi bring you the podcast from the Easy English-mobile. Mitch is drving whilst Isi navigates the infamous Antwerp bottle-neck into the JFK tunnel. And what better situation than to discuss driving in the UK. The duo discuss, roundabouts, service station, exploding tyres, car fridges, speed limits and drunk French drivers.


Interactive Transcript

Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership


Transcript

Intro


Mitch & Isi:
[0:27] So, welcome to the Easy English Podcast from the streets, just entering Belgium. From the A67 in Belgium. Today is a special episode. - It's a special episode. - Is this even legal, what we're doing? - Why? - Are you allowed to podcast while driving? -


We're not watching anything or listening to anything, we're just talking. - I know, but multitasking is hard. - We normally talk in the car. As we were talking about public transport, this is not public transport, I mean for Nola it is, kind of, but it is transport.


And we thought, as we, so many times go back and forth between Germany, and England and France also, sometimes, around Europe, that we will do an episode from the car.


Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership

Today, the duo talk about the strange cultural rhetorical greeting "y'alright?" How to be the giver... and receiver of it, before going into the Topic of the Week, discussing typical British etiquette around queuing for buses, cashier desks and buying rounds of drinks. Long-time member James also asks us a question about teaching English in our regular segment of Unhelpful Advice. If you would also like to ask us a question, go to easyenglish.fm.


Interactive Transcript

Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership


Show Notes


British Etiquette video: WHAT is Considered RUDE In the UK? (Easy English 172)


Transcript

Intro


Mitch:
[0:22] Good evening.


Isi:
[0:23] Good evening Mitch, how are you doing?


Mitch:
[0:27] Very well, thank you. Yeah, how would it be done... I'm thinking of 1930s/40s Britain. Hello welcome to the Easy English Podcast.


Isi:
[0:35] Alright. (Alright?) Alright (Are you alright?) Are you alright?


Mitch:
[0:40] And always the answer; yeah you? But never really meaning it.


Isi:
[0:43] Yeah me to, thanks, thanks, bye. Such a stupid conversation, really.


Mitch:
[0:52] Yeah you? Welcome to the Easy English Podcast... I said that already.


Isi:
[0:55] By the way, I always walk on when people ask me that, I always say like; yeah... and then I just go and I make the 'yeah' so long that I don't have to ask 'and you', because then I think in my German manners, that I have to wait for the answer that nobody wants to give me anyway, so always I'm like; oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you, yeah. And then I just make a chewing gum and I'm already around the corner. (Oh really?) I did it yesterday, in the hallway, with one of the builders.


Mitch:
[1:22] Oh yeah, he said; "hey, yeah, you alright?"


Isi:
[1:24] Yeah, and I was just like; oh yeah, thank you. Yeah, yeah. And I just went on.


Mitch:
[1:29] You don't even need to respond.


Isi:
[1:31] Yeah, you should say; yeah, how are you? But then nothing comes back. And that is for me, a weird end of a conversation, right?


Mitch:
[1:39] Yeah, I find it weird. It happened also to me we were in the park and two school girls got jumped on by Nola, in a loving way.


Isi:
[1:46] Well, they provoked her to jump on her. They were running at her like... While running at her they were like; is she friendly? And we were like; yeah. So basically, they jumped on her.


Mitch:
[1:57] And then I said... because I was actually asking; are they all right? I was like; are you all right? And she went; "yeah you?" And then I realised; oh she thinks I'm asking like; are you alright? Like, how are you?


Isi:
[2:12] That is really... we had another podcast I think in the very beginning where we talked about this and it's still a big topic for me. I find it weird, because it's also about the intonation.


Support Easy English and get interactive transcripts and bonus content for all our episodes: easyenglish.fm/membership