Full video

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Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast,

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we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn.

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I'm Neil.

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And I'm Beth. Remember, you can find a script for this episode

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to read along on our website. BBC Learning English dot com.

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Hello, Beth, how are you?

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I’m very well, Neil. How are you?

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I'm good, thank you.

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Good. What are we talking about in this episode, Neil?

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Well, we are going to be talking about jobs and our careers.

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OK, so can you explain the difference between a job and a 'career'?

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Yes. So our job is what we do for work.

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So I work at BBC Learning English. It's my job.

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But 'career' is a word we use to talk more about our work in the long term.

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So all of the jobs that we've had

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and the jobs that we might want to do in the future.

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OK, and also with career, it's a word we use to talk about the type of work we do.

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So you might have a career in teaching or a career in TV, for example.

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So, Neil, I know you work here at BBC Learning English, of course.

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But have you had any other jobs?

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Oh, yes. I've had lots of other jobs.

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Before I worked at the BBC, I was a teacher, an English teacher.

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And before that, I had lots of jobs when I was a student.

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OK, so how long have you worked at the BBC for?

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20 years. More than 20 years.

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Oh, wow! OK, so when you were a student and you had jobs,

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that was quite a long time ago.

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It was ages ago, Beth! Before the internet was invented.

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OK!

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And what jobs did you do when you were a student?

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So when I was a student, I worked in a hotel.

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I worked in restaurants as a waiter.

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I worked in a fish and chip shop.

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— Did you? — Yeah!

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How long did you work in a fish and chip shop for?

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I worked in a fish and chip shop for a summer.

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And how about you, Beth? When did you start working at the BBC?

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I have worked here for around three years.

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So I've been here since 2021,

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but I've been working in London for six years,

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cos I've been here since 2018.

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So, Beth, you said that you have worked at the BBC since 2021.

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Since, what does it mean when we use since?

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Well, we use 'since' followed by a date or a point in time

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and we use it to talk about when something started.

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But also it's something that is still true.

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So I have been here since 2021 and I still work here now,

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so it's still true.

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Yeah, and that's different to 'for', isn't it?

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When you say I've worked here for 20 years,

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we're talking about the length of time.

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Exactly. And that can be something that is still true.

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For example, you've worked here for 20 years and you still work here now,

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but it also could be something in the past.

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So, for example, you said you worked in a fish and chip shop for a summer.

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And that summer has a length of time, it has a start and an end.

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So what is the funniest thing that's ever happened at work, Beth?

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Er...

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Well, when I was a teenager, I worked at a farm

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and sometimes the goats would escape.

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So I had to run after baby goats

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and I would have to pick them up and put them back.

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But I got a little cuddle with a baby goat.

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So it was funny, but it was also very nice.

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Ah, that's a nice thing to do in your job!

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Right, let's recap the words we've learnt today.

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We had 'career' which means 'the jobs we've had over time'.

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'Since' — which we use to talk about 'the time when something started'.

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'For' — which we can use to talk about 'a length of time'.

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For example, I've worked at the BBC for 20 years.

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That's it for this episode of Real Easy English. If you enjoyed this podcast,

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you can find more activities and courses to help you with

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your English on our website. BBC Learning English dot com.

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Next time, we'll be talking about our habits and daily routines.

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See you then! Goodbye.

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Bye!