Talking about work

神州侠客

Neil: Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, in this podcast we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Neil.

Beth: And I'm Beth. Remember you can find script for this episode to read along on our website BBClearningenglish.com.

Neil: Hello, Beth. how are you?

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

Neil: I'm good, thank you.

Beth: Good! What are we talking about in this episode, Neil?

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

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

Neil: Yes, so our job is what we do for work, so I work at BBC Learning English, it's my job. But career is a word we use to talk more about our work in the long term. So all of the jobs that we've had and the jobs that we might want to do in the future.

Beth: OK, and also with career, it's a word we use to talk about the type of work we do. So you might have a career in teaching or a career in TV, for example, so, Neil, I know you work here at BBC Learning English, of course, but have you had any other jobs?

Neil: Oh, yes, I've had lots of other jobs, before I worked at the BBC I was a teacher, an English teacher, and before that I had lots of jobs when I was a student.

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

Neil: 20 years, more than 20 years.

Beth: Oh, wow. OK, so when you were a student and you had jobs, that was quite a long time ago.

Neil: It was ages ago, Beth, before the internet was invented.

Beth: OK, And what jobs did you do when you were a student?

Neil: So, when I was a student I worked in a hotel, I worked in restaurants as a waiter. I worked in a fish and chip shop.

Beth: Did you?

Neil: Yeah.

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

Neil: I worked in a fish and chip shop for a summer. And how about you, Beth? When did you start working at the BBC?

Beth: I have worked here for around three years, so I've been here since 2021. But I've been working in London for six years because I've been here since 2018.

Neil: So, Beth, you said that you have worked at the BBC since 2021, since…what does it mean when we use since?

Beth: Well, we use since followed by a date or a point in time, and we use it to talk about when something started. But also it's something that is still true. So, I have been here since 2021 and I still work here now, so it's still true.

Neil: Yeah, and that's different to for, isn't it? when you say I've worked here for 20 years, we're talking about the length of time.

Beth: Exactly. And that can be something that is still true, for example, you've worked here for 20 years and you still work here now, but it also could be something in the past, so, for example, you said you worked in a fish and chip shop for a summer, and that summer has a length for time, it has a start and an end.

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

Beth: Ah… well, when I was a teenager, I worked at a farm and sometimes the goats would escape, so I had to run after baby goats and I would have to pick them up and put them back. But I got a little cuddle with a baby goat. So it was funny, but it was also very nice.

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

Neil: Right, let's recap the words we've learned today, we had career, which means the jobs we've had over time.

Beth: Since, which we use to talk about the time when sometimes started.

Neil: For, which we can use to talk about a length of time. For example, I've worked at the BBC for 20 years. That's it for this episode of Real Easy English, if you enjoyed this podcast, you can find more activities and courses to help you with your English on our website BBClearningenglish.com.

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

Neil: See you then. Goodbye.

Beth: Bye.