Ropecast

Last time we dealt with culturally specific concepts that do not easily translate, because they are missing their counterparts in other languages. This time our two hosts find a bunch of peculiar things in the American school system, that don\'t exist in Germany and - to some extent - are also foreign to Brits.

When Peter arrives late for the recording of this episode he has a very good excuse: He was looking for a word. A word that doesn\'t exist. You wonder how that\'s possible and why Peter still made it for the recording? Well, Roger saves him some of the trouble. Listen in now...

We are back with David Erent and English as a lingua franca. David and Peter are going to look at how the use of English outside of its native territories affects other languages and speaker communities such as the French, the Finns, and the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.

French? - Finnish? - Swedish? - Arabic? - Hungarian? - Croatian? - I thought we were here to learn English? We are indeed! And today\'s guest, David Erent from Helsinki, is going to explain to Peter and to you how English comes into play to resolve the truly Babylonian confusion in his life.

As promised last time, Neil Charlton is back to explain what happened in this year\'s general elections in Britain. Peter wants to know what factors played the biggest role for the surprising results they had.

Does that title ring a bell? Yes, we are referring back to our special episode number ten that we recorded on -the day after- Britain voted to leave the EU. Today Neil Charlton is back, almost exactly a year after those events, and he is telling us about BrExit reality today. Peter wants to know if people have realised what this decision really meant and how it affects life in Britain at this point.

While our last two episodes dealt with the specific vocabulary for bakery products in Britain and the United States, Roger and Peter are looking into a figurative use of these words in proverbs, idioms and other fixed expressions this time. Would you believe us if we told you this episode is really the icing on the cake of the current mini-series? Or do you think it\'s rather a cherry?

Roger and Peter are looking into bakery products again, while focussing on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean this time. Peter explains to Roger how Americans tackle the bread and butter issue. Cereals This web page offers additional information on the topic of grains and cereals. Read this to prepare for some serious shopping and baking.

Peter is hungry. So he takes the liberty to eat away at a croissant while recording. This gets our two hosts involved in a conversation about the peculiarities of British bakery products, and Peter learns a lot about scones and cream tea, buttered crumpets, buns and pasties. Do you know what all of these are? Just listen to this episode.

Roger received some feedback by other native speakers concerning his usage of the word soccer: They sad he wasn\'t using proper English (as in British) English there. But Roger being the experienced linguist did some thorough research on the topic and is now sharing the insights he gained...

This episode\'s title refers to a remark that Roger made in episode 100. Today our two hosts are elaborating on why using dictionaries can be problematic and what exactly Roger had in mind. Of course, they will also let you know how to avoid the worst trouble. 13. More than words This is the first episode in an earlier mini-series, where we recommended a range of learners\' dictionaries. Look back here for some recommendations on what to buy. LDOCE online The free online version of a well-known British learners\' dictionary. Merriam-Webster An American mono-lingual dictionary with a lot of additional information.

No, we have not switched to binary language, and April the 1st is only tomorrow. This is really all about the meaning of the number 101. Our 101st episode is all dealing with its rather peculiar ordinal. And it can mean quite different things, depending on its cultural background. 1984 Read up on the novel mentioned and learn about its even wider influence on language and media.

This is a very special episode for three reasons: ▸ First of all, it\'s our 100th. ▸ Then its the first that we have video-taped in front of a live audience. ▸ And lastly, it\'s special because we received an award. What award that is and how to translate the respective terminology into English is our topic for this RoPeCast. We also want to thank our listeners new and old for subscribing to us and following our show in the last years! And of course, stay tuned for more ...

Again, Roger and Peter are looking into metaphors for time. Peter noticed that time is not always money in the English language and together they try to put things into frame for you. And more questions arise out of this ... Is time linear? No, this is not about physics - it\'s culture, really, and economy!

Do you know what a metaphor is? And if you do, do you know how important a role metaphors play in everyday language? They are really worth investing some time into: If you know the central metaphors of a culture and language, a lot of words and phrases revolving around those central concepts can be logically explained and then memorised a lot more easily! Listen as Roger and Peter share some insights about metaphors in language. Metaphor This Wikipedia article explains the metaphor in detail. Summary This site gives you a very brief overview about \"Metaphors we live by\", the book that inspired this episode.

No, this is not about Karl Marx! Instead we are thinking about how teaching and learning can be more effective and more fun for both the teacher and the student. Based on what we read in \"The gardener and the carpenter\" we conclude this double episode with thoughts on how things need to change for and between teachers and learners.

One of Roger\'s book recommendations \"The Gardener and the Carpenter\" was picked up by Peter recently and so the two start thinking about a language teacher\'s gardening and woodworking - figuratively speaking. And so Roger recounts some experiences with English teachers he visited at school and tells us what he thinks made a great language class.

Roger and Peter are glad to welcome you to a new year of RoPeCast and English learning opportunities. To start off with, they make another new year\'s resolution concerning tips for teachers. Peter then starts with a tip for people into training their own or their students\' presentation skills: When it comes to rhetoric, watch and learn from president Obama! Obama\'s farewell address A prime example of his brilliance as an orator. An annotated transcript of the speech If you want more detailed information.

Time for a very short summary of the past twelve months and some new year\'s resolutions. It\'s just a few days before New Year\'s Eve. Your RoPeCast team wishes you and your loved ones all the best for 2017. Stay tuned!

This episode concludes our pre-Christmas series of book recommendations with comics respectively graphic novels. Peter has brought a selection of his favourites: Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons: Watchmen A group of somewhat different superheroes has to deal with a murder case at the brink of World War III. David Small: Stitches The son of an X-ray doctor looses a vocal chord and his voice to cancer. Allison Bechtel: Fun home An autobiographical story of a homosexual coming-out. Joyce Farmer: Special exits The last four years of an elderly couple and how their daughter copes with her aging parents\' peculiarities. Craig Thompson: Blankets The coming of age story of a boy, his first love and the ensuing problems with his devout Christian parents. G. B. Trudeau: The Doonesbury Chronicles The first collection of a famous American newspaper comic strip G. B. Trudeau: Planet Doonesbury An edition of later comics from the same series, with a very special advertisement on its front cover, that Peter reads out in