Hi Rob,
Many thanks for your nice return.
In fact, I tried the next few podcasts (Nr 3, 4 and 5) and I must say they seemed to me much more accessible than I feared, based on my unfortunate experience of the second one.
Indeed I found them interesting and this encourages me to go further.
Great and useful work you did there !
Thanks a lot.
Regards.
Gerard.

Hi Gerard,
Many thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear that you find the second podcast too difficult. You could try some of the later podcasts, as there are some topics which are less complex and therefore easier to understand. If a topic is of particular interest to you, you will also it easier to work with. If, however, you find that Slow English podcasts are generally too difficult for your current level, then it would be best to seek out other English podcast materials.
Good luck with your English studies.
Regards,
Rob.

Hi Zahra,
Many thanks for your comment and your kind words about my podcast.
Have a great day.
Rob.

Best regards,
Zahra

Hi Alireza,
Many thanks for your email. I am glad that you have found my podcast and that you find it useful. Good luck with your English study. You did well in writing your comment in English. I understood it easily. Well done.
All the best for the future.
Rob.

Hi Hailey. Many thanks for your comment. I am glad that my podcast will be useful to you. You have an exciting time ahead and I know you will have a great time here in Australia.
I look forward to any further comments you might make.
Best regards,
Rob.

I’ve struggled to find the podcast that I want to listen to,
and finally, I found yours!

Your voice and pace makes me calm and focused.
Thanks for your Podcast.

I will study hard and leave a reply again.
Have a wonderful day!

Hi Dani. Many thanks for your comment.
Have a great day.
Best regards,
Rob.

I have discovered your podcast and I love it!
Thanks for this tour around Australia.

I’m Dani from Basque country (Spain).

Hi Mosi,
Many thanks for your comment. I am glad that you like my podcast. Hopefully it will give you an insight into what life is like in Australia.
Have a great day.
Cheers,
Rob

Hi Anh,
I hope your son also finds my podcasts useful.
Have fun learning English.
Regards,
Rob

Take care

Hi Bhagi,
Many thanks for your comment.
Have fun learning English!
Best regards,
Rob

Hi Adriana,
Many thanks for your comment. It is very pleasing to hear that you find my podcast useful. Good luck with your English studies.
Have a great day.
Rob

Hi Irina,
Many thanks for your comment and for your kind words about my podcast.
Have a great day in Mytyischy.
Rob

Many-many thanks for your excellent job! Wish you all the best!

Greetings from city Mytyischy, Moscow Region, Russia

Hi Hella,

Many thanks for your comment. I am glad you liked that part. Michael Long was a great player and it was a real privilege to see him play. What a joy it must be for him today at age 49 to look back and think about those times when the crowd would cheer him as he raced down the field bouncing the football. I’ll bet it makes him smile.
Cheers from Melbourne.
Have a great day.
Rob

Thanks for your posdcast 2!
I really loved the part describing your favorite memory about Michael Long!

Hella, from Marseille, France

Hi Hyunji,

Many thanks for your comment and your kind words. Yes, there are some differences between Australia and South Korea in their sports. Of course, we also love soccer here in Australia. We have a strong soccer competition (A League – see podcast see http://slowenglish.info/?p=1719) and Australians love to follow our team when we play in the World Cup. But our most traditional and popular team game in winter in most parts of Australia is certainly Australian Rules Football.

It is true that Rugby and Australian Rules Football are similar in some respects. They both use an oval shaped ball and they both kick the ball during a game. However Australian Rules Football has a stronger focus on kicking than rugby. It has a different way of passing the ball by hand. You hold the ball with one hand and then punch it with the other. However these are only a few of the differences. I think the best way to see the differences is to watch some video clips of the two games. You can see that each game has its own attraction. There are many great examples on youtube.com.

Have a great day.
Rob

First of all, I really appreciate your effort that you were putting on the podcast to help other people, especially people whose want to learn English as their second language. I just started to listening to your podcast and it’s really helpful to learn English and the culture of Australia. :))

This is the first time that I’ve listened and learnt about AFL from huge footy fan. 🙂 Personally, I’m not a big fan of sports, but at least I can tell Australian Football means a lot to people in Australia. I come from South Korea and lots of Korean love to play and watch a soccer(also known as football). So, I think there’s the difference in favourite sports between Korean and Australian but also a similarity(Both sports play with a ball on the ground!).

I have a question about footy and rugby. Every time I watched a footy game on TV, it seemed pretty similar to rugby(my apology to fans). Could you explain what is the difference between these two sports?

Thanks in advance
Hyunji

Hi George,

Thanks for your comment. Great question! ‘Up the mighty Bombers’ means that you support the Bombers. It means you think they are great. Actually, I don’t know where that expression comes from. It could mean that you want them to ‘rise up’ above the other teams. It’s obvious when you hear someone in the crowd shout this expression, that they love the Bombers and support them. I also heard this expression once at a rock concert by Iron Maiden. Fans shouted ‘Up the Iron’. Again, it was obvious to everyone that these fans loved Iron Maiden.

Thanks for your question. I can only repeat – Up the mighty Bombers! But alas, they were beaten today by Melbourne Football Club in their match. Oh well, there is always next week.
Cheers from Melbourne.
Rob

Thank you for your excellent podcasts.

Can you explain “Up the mighty Bombers!” for me?

Hi Luiz,

Many thanks for your feedback – much appreciated.

Have a great day.
Rob

Hi Elaine,
Many thanks for your kind words about my podcast. You must have learnt a lot of English if you have already been in Australia for 2 months. My only suggestion about overcoming your nervousness is to keep on speaking English. It sounds hard, but the only way to improve is to keep talking English whenever you can.

The more you speak, the more you improve and the less nervous you will be.

Have fun with your English!

Rob

Hi Luciano,
Thanks for your question. It’s a good one. In English, when someone catches a ball, we can say (in the present tense) ‘He catches the ball’, or we can also say ‘He takes a catch’.
The word ‘catch’ is a noun and it means the act of putting up your hands and grabbing the ball and holding it.
When you use the word ‘catch’ as a noun, you also use the verb ‘to take’. In the past tense (in the podcast), we say, ‘He has taken a catch’. Or, ‘The catch was taken’. In Aussie rules football, a ‘catch’ is called a ‘mark’. So we say, ‘He has taken a mark’. Or, “The mark was taken’. I know it seems strange to use the verb ‘to take’ when talking about a ‘catch’ or a ‘mark’, but that’s how it is in English.
I hope that helps. Keep asking the good questions Luciano. You are doing well. Podcast 2 is quite difficult.
Cheers and have a great day.
Rob

Could you answer me?

would what be “taken” or “high mark taken”

thanks!

Hi Alessandra,
Thanks for your comment. Perhaps I should have mentioned soccer in my podcast, as it is also very popular in Melbourne. I haven’t been to a game of soccer yet, but perhaps I will one day. I know how popular soccer is in Brazil. I watched the World Cup on television. My wife’s cousin lives in Brazil and he loves soccer. I am glad that you learned some new English words. When you come to Australia, perhaps you will go to an Australian Rules Football game, just for fun.
Thanks again for your message.
Have a great day.
Rob

Hi Ronald,
Thanks for your message. Yes, Aussie Rules Football is a rough sport. Players do get injured and concussion is quite common. However it is an exciting sport to watch and also to play. You mention in your message that you did shotokan karate for 15 years. What grading did you achieve? I also did shotokan karate for about 2 years when I was at university. Later on (when I was 49), I took up Taekwondo with my children. It is interesting that my children dropped out but I kept doing Taekwondo for around 10 years. I enjoyed it a lot but I eventually had to give it up, as my knees and feet just were not able to take the punishment. Nonetheless, it’s a great sport.
Einen schönen Tag noch!
Rob

Hi Nedned,
Thanks for your comment. Australian Rules football is something you can always talk about when you meet people in Australia. Almost everybody has a favourite team. I hope it gave you some useful vocabulary.
Cheers,
Rob