Full video

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Hello. This is Real Easy English, the podcast

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where we have conversations in easy English to help you learn. I’m Beth.

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And I'm Neil. Remember, you can find all the

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vocabulary for this episode and a text version on our website:

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BBC Learning English dot com.

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How are you today, Neil?

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I'm very well, thank you, Beth. How are you?

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I'm good, thank you.

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What is the topic of our conversation today?

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Well, today, Beth, we're talking about schools.

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We'll talk about our favourite subjects and what qualifications we have.

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OK, Neil. First, can you explain the word qualifications?

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Yes, a 'qualification'

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is 'an official record that you have successfully done an exam

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'or training for something'.

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So, for example, you can receive a qualification in speaking English,

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if you pass a certain exam.

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OK, great. So, Neil, what qualifications did you do at school?

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Well, I took all of the normal exams we do in the UK, GCSEs and then A-levels.

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These are school exams.

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And then university degrees. How about you?

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Yeah, I am the same.

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I went to school in the UK and did all the same exams probably that you did.

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Did you like school?

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Yes, I did like school.

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I think I just liked being with my friends,

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and I thought most subjects were quite interesting.

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Yeah, I think I'm the same.

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What were your favourite subjects, Beth?

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I really liked English,

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which sounds quite predictable, because now English is part of my job.

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But I also quite liked textiles,

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which was a subject all about how to make clothes,

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and I made a hat. So it was quite a practical subject, and I enjoyed that.

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Do you still wear the hat?

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I do not. It was not a good hat.

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What was your favourite subject?

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I also liked English, but I think my favourite subject was history.

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Hm, OK. What about your least favourite subject?

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That's easy! Maths. I hate maths.

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— You still hate maths? — I still hate maths!

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So, in this conversation about school,

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we used words like 'quite', 'very' and 'really'.

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'Quite good' means 'a little bit good'.

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'Very good' and 'really good' mean 'a lot'.

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So, for example, Neil, I quite like history, but you really like history.

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You liked it a lot at school, whereas I liked it a bit.

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So, did you not like maths because you weren't very good at it?

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Erm, yes, I think. I was really bad at maths,

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and I didn't like it because I found it very hard.

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How about you?

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Erm, I quite liked maths.

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I don't think there was a subject that I didn't really like.

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So, Beth, it sounds like you were good at everything at school and worked hard.

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So, do you think you were a nerd?

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Well, a 'nerd' is 'an informal word for somebody who is very good at school'.

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So, was I a nerd? Well, I did enjoy school, and I worked hard.

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And one time my friend and I asked our teacher

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why we hadn't been given full marks for a presentation

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and then she said, "Oh, I'll just give you full marks".

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I think that was probably quite a nerdy thing to do, so maybe!

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Mm, that's very nerdy, Beth!

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Let's look at the vocabulary we learned during the conversation.

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We had 'qualification', 'a record that you have completed an exam or a course'.

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We had 'quite'. This usually means 'a little'.

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'Very' and 'really' are both used to mean 'a lot'.

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So, for example, I'm very good at maths.

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And 'nerd', which is an informal word for 'someone who is good at school'.

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— Like you, Beth. — Thanks!

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Why not try some of our dramas and stories? Visit BBC Learning English dot com.

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Bye for now.

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Goodbye.