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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / On your bike

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / On your bike

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Why do we love the bicycle? Cycling began its life as a leisure pursuit for middle-aged and wealthy men. Sophie and Neil discuss the bike's mass appeal, from helping to widen the human gene pool to blazing a trail for the women's movement.

This week's question

Who invented the first pneumatic - or air-filled - cycle tyre in 1888? Was it ...

a) John Boyd Dunlop?

b) Charles Goodyear?

c) Harvey Samuel Firestone?

You'll hear the answer at the end of the programme.

Vocabulary

pneumatic
air-filled

voluminous
large

petticoat
a piece of clothing worn under a dress or skirt

rational
logical

cinched
gathered in

outrage
shock and anger

emancipation
freedom

shore up
support

gene pool
the collection of genes in a particular population

fad
an enthusiasm for something that doesn't last very long

faddish
(adjective) something that is fashionable but not for long

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Sophie
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Sophie...

Neil
And I'm Neil. Did you watch the Tour de France cycle race this summer, Sophie?

Sophie
No, I didn't. I'm not a cycling enthusiast, Neil - unlike you!

Neil
It was pretty exciting stuff - in fact just thinking about it, makes me want to jump on my bike and ride off right now!

Don't go just yet, because today's show is all about bicycles and I've got a question for you. Who invented the first pneumatic - or air-filled - cycle tyre in 1888? Was it ...
a) John Boyd Dunlop?
b) Charles Goodyear?
Or c) Harvey Samuel Firestone?

Neil
Well, I'm going to go for a) John Boyd Dunlop. Can I go now?

Sophie
No, you can't. We'll find out later on in the show if you got the tyre question right or not. But first, I'd like you to tell us a bit about the history of the bike.

Neil
If you insist. Well, before the modern bike was invented in 1885, people rode boneshakers, high wheelers, and even tricycles.

Sophie
A tricycle is a three-wheeler bike that young children ride before they learn to balance on a two-wheeler. But what's a 'boneshaker', Neil?

Neil
It was the first bike with pedals, called a 'velocipede' by its manufacturers. Others called it a 'boneshaker' because its tyres were made of iron so it was very uncomfortable to ride - especially over cobblestone streets.

Sophie
It sounds awful! Now, moving on, the bicycle started out as an expensive toy for the middle classes - but when manufacturing costs dropped, they became a vehicle for social change.

Neil
By the late nineteenth century, bikes had become affordable for a large proportion of the population - and the technology had moved on so they weren't so dangerous - or so uncomfortable to ride.

Sophie
And for the first time in history, people had the freedom to travel where they wanted when they wanted - including women! Let's hear more about women and cycling from Robert Penn, UK author, and lifelong cyclist.

Robert Penn, author, and lifelong cyclist
In very practical terms, it had a very significant effect on what women wore in public. And when they first rode bicycles they were expected to ride in long ankle length skirts and voluminous petticoats and of course that was entirely impractical so they adopted what was called rational dress. And rational dress was a better fitting jacket and pantaloon trousers which were cinched below the knee, which meant that nothing got caught in the chain. And at first there was massive public outrage. There were court cases about whether or not women were allowed to be served in pubs wearing this sort of dress.

So women in the nineteenth century typically wore long skirts and voluminous - or large - petticoats. A petticoat is a piece of clothing worn under a dress or skirt. But what does 'rational dress' mean exactly, Sophie?

Rational here means logical. It wasn't logical to wear ankle length skirts with voluminous petticoats on a bike, so women started wearing pantaloon trousers.

Pantaloon trousers were baggy - though they were cinched - or gathered in - below the knee so they wouldn't catch in the bicycle chain.

But pantaloons for women still caused outrage - or shock and anger - because although they were baggy, they were still trousers and they didn't go down to the ankle. So bikes played a part in women's struggle for emancipation - or freedom. But let's listen now to Robert Penn, who claims that it also played a role in our evolutionary history.

Robert Penn, author, and lifelong cyclist
It definitely shored up the gene pool in countries like Britain because it meant that people could go further than they ever had before in order to find a partner for life and to mate. And so what started as a really faddish leisure pursuit, within a decade of 1885, the bicycle became the most popular form of transport on the planet, and it has been ever since.

It means support. And gene pool here refers to the collection of genes in a particular population. So, when people travelled further to marry and have children, they were making the gene pool bigger and healthier.

And Robert Penn uses the word 'faddish' he says cycling started as a faddish thing. A fad - or faddish activity - means an enthusiasm for something that doesn't last very long.

Sophie
But your enthusiasm for cycling is not a fad.

Neil
No, it isn't. Do you think lycra wearing is a fad and we'll all go back to wearing pantaloons in the future, Sophie? No? Not a good look? OK, maybe it's time for the answer to today's quiz question.

Sophie
I asked: Who invented the first cycle tyre in 1888? Was it ... a) John Boyd Dunlop, b) Charles Goodyear or c) Harvey Samuel Firestone?

Neil
And I said John Boyd Dunlop. Tell me I'm right!

Sophie
You are... right! Well done, Neil. Scottish inventor and veterinary surgeon John Boyd Dunlop developed the pneumatic rubber tyre. Although it was invented as an improvement on the bicycle, the pneumatic tyre arrived on the scene just in time to contribute to the success of the car.

Now, here are the words we heard today. They are:
pneumatic
voluminous
petticoat
rational
pantaloon
cinched
outrage
emancipation
shore up
gene pool
fad or faddish

Sophie
Well, that's the end of today's 6 Minute English. Please join us again soon!

Neil
And we are on social media too. Make sure to visit our profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Sophie
You can get on your bike, now, Neil!

Both
Bye!

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / On your bike

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Why do we love the bicycle? Cycling began its life as a leisure pursuit for middle-aged and wealthy men. Sophie and Neil discuss the bike's mass appeal, from helping to widen the human gene pool to blazing a trail for the women's movement. Who invented the first pneumatic - or air-filled - cycle tyre in 1888?

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Polo Didattico, Piazza Oderico da Pordenone, 3 (see map)
The Privilege of the Non-native Speaker

English in Multicultural Education

The Value of Evaluation
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For a description of the convention themes read

Exhibitors and Sponsors

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November 18th-19th 2016 in Rome Polo Didattico, Piazza Oderico da Pordenone, 3 (see map) * THEMES The Privilege of the Non-native Speaker English in Multicultural Education The Value of Evaluation * Some Speakers' Material * View the Timetable. Read the Session Abstracts. * Read the CONVENTION FLYER! ...

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A blog with plenty of  teaching pron. IDEAS

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A blog with plenty of  teaching pron. IDEAS

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FluentU (there's free content and paid content)

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You load a wrong way to get here?

...come again?

Ahh, you rode a long way to get here. Gotcha.
Having a hard time understanding your students?
If you, the teacher, can't understand their ESL pronunciation, you can assume that many others won't be able to, either.

How do you remedy this problem? With tongue twisters!

These fun phrases can trip up even the most fluent speakers with alliteration and confusing combinations of words. Students of all ages love learning with these phrases, and they can add a whole new level of learning to your class.

The first step to pronunciation mastery? Identify the issues!

Common Troubles with ESL Pronunciation

The first language a student speaks is the one that will set the tone for their English pronunciation. So you'll want to watch for languages that don't have all the same sounds as in English. For example, in Spanish, "b" and "v" sound the same, though both letters technically exist. Likewise, Koreans and Chinese tend to have difficulty with "l" and "r." Understanding your students' native language will help you select the areas they need to work on. The trick is to identify the problems caused by the first language, and then you can choose the best tongue twisters to work with.

Some of the more common issues for English students include:

Aspiration: In English, we use a small expulsion of air to enunciate some letters. Try saying "P" or "Ch" or "K" to test this. You'll notice a puff of air leaves your lips.

Mouth Shape and Tongue Position: Many foreign languages require very different mouth shapes for words. This results in difficulties for those learning English. Make sure your students know where their tongue needs to be and how to shape their mouth.

Throat Vibrations: In English, certain sounds make the throat vibrate. Try saying "g" to feel this for yourself. Now try saying "k." While your mouth is exactly the same for each of these, they sound different. This can be difficult for students to differentiate.

Introducing Tongue Twisters to Your Class

Are you ready for the good fun of everyone tangling their tongues up in knots? These activities can result in rambunctious laughter, so be prepared! They'll have a blast and so will you. But first...how are you going to set them up?

Listening or Reading?

Whether you're working on listening skills or reading ability, you can always find tongue twisters to match the weaknesses of your students. However, keep in mind that a combination of both listening and reading practice is necessary for beginners to keep their level balanced. Their understanding of pronunciation will benefit greatly from being able to read the words as they hear them, particularly when there are words that they may not recognize. You might try this by writing a phrase on the board and then asking your students to let you know what they think it says.

While there's no real reason not to work on the meaning of each word, keep in mind that a lot of these twisters are just for fun and most don't make a lot of sense. They're just good practice!

Tip: It's good idea to practice any tongue twisters yourself before presenting them to the class so you won't stumble over them. Embarrassing!

Implementing Your Tongue Twisters

Whether you decide to simply say the tongue twister or write it out, there are a ton of great methods for making use of all the the fun.

Try using a tongue twister in a game of Telephone, where each student whispers the phrase to the next. It will become delightfully tangled and you may end up with a whole new twister to use in class.

Create your own worksheets so students can dissect the phrases and figure out what they mean. This is great practice for learning that sometimes, words are just for fun.

Another good idea is to take some time to examine the letter sounds in the twists you use. Have students repeat the difficult sounds (v or b, l or r, etc.) a few times before attempting the whole thing.

Why not hold competitions to see who can fire off a twisted sentence without tripping up? The student with the fewest mistakes wins!

Tips for Pronunciation Success

The majority of the twists shown here are for specific sound types. You'll want to make sure your students understand how to pronounce each sound, so take a minute before you start to go over the letter sounds you think they'll find difficult.

For letters that require aspiration, try having students hold something light like a tissue or streamer in front of their face. When they say the letter properly, the item should move as they let out the burst of air.

A mirror can also be very helpful in allowing students to shape their mouths correctly and to see that their tongue is in the correct position. You may also want to draw the correct positions on the board and make sure you form your letter sounds very precisely so students can copy you effectively.

If a twister is less than five words, it's usually a good idea to have students repeat it three times. This will tend to trip your students up. Start slowly, by pronouncing each word carefully and having them say it after you, then speed things up as they get the hang of it.

While tongue twisters in general are excellent for pronunciation, you can use specific ones to work on specific weaknesses. If your students tend to have problems with consonant blends, for example, you'll want to use twists that encourage the correct pronunciation of those.
I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen A big black bug snoozed on a big black rug
Get your quiet students talking with a few of these beauties!

Consonant Blends
Red lorry, yellow lorry Truly rural I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream Rolling red wagons Red blood, bad blood
Two consonants that form a blended sound can be hard for new English speakers. Build up their confidence with these:

L vs. R
Blue blurry vines blind Betty loves the velvet vest best Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee Burnt base, vicious vase Vivacious Val vacuumed Violet's very vivid vehicle
Some of your students may have difficulty saying L and R. Asian language speakers often confuse the two letter sounds, so these tongue twisters are perfect practice.

B vs. V

Spanish speakers frequently pronounce these two letters the same way, making it very hard to hear the difference. These rhymes will get your students speaking clearer.

Vowels
Printed papers under pressure make pens prickle The poor boar pours batter over his putter Six sticky skeletons Thunder sunders thick sticks
The correct pronunciation of vowels is essential if your students are going to be fluent in their new language. These tongue twisters will give them plenty of practice with enunciating their vowels.

Bonus Twists

These ones can be a good way to fill a little extra time between classes or simply to break the tension in a classroom. Better yet, ask your students to share tongue twisters in their native language, too. Nothing is more entertaining than seeing the teacher attempt a funny twist in another language!

If you find success with this pronunciation practice, make sure you always keep an eye out for more twisters to help your class speak as accurately and accessibly as possible.

Everyone loves a good jumble...you can even make your own!

Oh, and One More Thing...

If you're excited to teach with these tongue twisters, you'll love FluentU! FluentU takes real-world videos-like music videos, cartoons, documentaries and more-and turns them into personalized language learning lessons for you and your students.

It's got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch on the regular.

There are tons of great choices there when you're looking for songs for in-class activities. You'll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids' singalongs, commercial jingles and much, much more.

On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students. Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.

For example, if a student taps on the word "brought," they'll see this:
Bring English immersion to your classroom!
Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like "fill in the blank."

It's perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to mention, it's guaranteed to get your students excited about English!

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos.

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28 Tongue Twisters that Will Improve Your Students' ESL Pronunciation

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You load a wrong way to get here?...come again?Ahh, you rode a long way to get here. Gotcha.Having a hard time understanding your students?If you, the teacher, can't understand their ESL pronunciation, you can assume that many others won't be able to, either.How do you remedy thi

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Do you like practising your English pronunciation? Have fun saying tongue twisters in English. Saying tongue twisters can be difficult at first, so don't worry if you can't do it very well to begin with. Just keep practising and have fun!

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Microsoft Word - Why Reading Outloud is Vital.doc

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Microsoft Word - Why Reading Outloud is Vital.doc