Hello, this is Jack. Want to improve your English and understand native speakers better?
This episode and this podcast is exactly what you need.
Today, you're going to learn how to describe your free time in English. whether this is hobbies, weekends, or just relaxing.
You're going to get real English phrases, listening practice, and insight, knowledge into how native speakers talk about free time in the UK and the United States of America.
So listen carefully. And by the end, you'll be able to talk about your own free time naturally and confidently.
Let's get started. During the work week, people often struggle to find free time.
Think about your work week right now. Do you often have free time in the evenings for hobbies to relax and to do the things you want to do.
If so, this is the case for most people.
Now, in the UK, many people finish work around five o'clock sometimes six o'clock and they have to get up for work the next day So the evenings are very precious.
They're really important to people. This is their free time during the week.
Now later, we're going to talk about holidays and how they differ in the UK and the USA.
But for now, we're focusing on the work week.
In the US, work hours can be a little longer.
Some people work a little longer in the US.
But on average, I'd say they're very similar.
People finish around five or six. typical everyday office job, let's say.
So, people in their free time after work usually do one of two things.
It falls into two different categories. They either relax or they do something active.
For example, you might hear someone say, I try to wind down in the evening by reading a book.
I try to wind down in the evening. So to wind down is a phrasal verb.
And I'll leave a playlist to all of our phrasal verb lessons.
But to wind down means to relax after a busy day. some people like to hit the gym straight after work hit the gym And to hit the gym means to go to the gym.
And this is a very specific phrase that we use when going to the gym.
And the gym is often busy or it's busiest around 5.30 or 6 when people go to the gym on the way back from work.
Personally, my day is all over the place which means I don't usually have a set schedule. due to family and different types of work commitments.
However, what I like to do is this. I like to put on a podcast or catch up on a podcast, which means to listen to something I've missed and cook dinner.
So I love doing this, put on music, put on a podcast and cook dinner.
Now let's use a phrase with wish. because you'll hear people say, I wish I had more time in the evening.
I wish I had more time in the evening. They don't have time, but they wish they had more time in the evening.
But a lot of people usually have to do certain chores, certain activities, those types of things.
In the UK going to the pub after work is common.
Not everyone, not every day, but a lot of people go to the pub after work.
And you might hear someone ask you, in the UK, do you want to head to the pub after work?
Do you want to head to the pub after work?
So head to the pub means go to the pub. Also note, I'm gonna have all the phrases in the description for you.
In the US, many people do after work activities after work activities as part of a club.
And this is common in the UK as well, but from my experience, more common in the US.
So for example, a lot of people join running clubs or attend evening classes to stay social.
With children, a lot of people in the US take their children to after school clubs and activities.
Sometimes the bus will pick up the children from school, take them to the after school activity and then the parents pick them up later. which gives the parents a little bit more free time.
But let me know below, what is a typical evening like for you?
When you get home from work or when you get home from school, what do you do?
What's a common thing that you do a typical day after work?
The next section is about the weekend. And if you've taken any English class you'll know your teacher always asks, What are you doing for the weekend?
Or what did you do last weekend? And people like to talk about their free time, especially weekends, in all different types of settings.
So these phrases and this section is going to be really useful.
So let's start with weekend plans. Now to talk about weekend plans You can ask the question, what are you doing this weekend?
What are you doing this weekend? Now, this is in the present continuous because a lot of the time we like to use the present continuous to talk about future plans, especially when we have arrangements and also when we're asking questions. what are you doing this weekend?
What are you doing this weekend? Another common way to ask this question is, do you have any plans for the weekend? do you have any plans for the weekend and if there is something you are excited about you can say Yes, I'm looking forward to the weekend because I'm doing this or I'm doing that.
Some people like to have an action packed weekend where they're always doing lots of things.
They might be going for a hike, meeting friends, doing different types of activities, going to parties, etc.
Other people like to take it easy. To take it easy, which means to relax and not do much.
For example, I often take it easy on Sunday mornings.
I often have a very relaxing Sunday morning and I take it easy.
A lot of people do things like chores and housework as well during the weekend because they don't have time during the week.
So I like to wake up on Saturday morning and clean the house.
That's what I love doing. I say love doing, I would prefer to do something else.
But I enjoy doing it and I enjoy having a tidy house by Saturday morning.
If you're a social person, you'll love to hang out with friends, to hang out with friends.
Now to hang out with friends just means to spend time with friends.
So you might say to a friend, let's hang out this weekend.
Let's hang out this weekend. Or do you want to hang out this weekend?
And if you are somebody who works hard during the week and you need to take it easy on the weekend, You might also need to catch up on sleep as well in your free time.
Now to catch up on sleep means to sleep a lot in one day because you haven't been sleeping a lot in the previous days.
So I like to have a lie-in, a lie-in. In America, you'll hear sleeping.
I like to sleep in on Sundays. Now, speaking of Sundays, there's a bit of a difference here between the UK and American culture when it comes to food. at the weekend because in the uk sunday roast dinners are a tradition they are a tradition And this is where you have some type of meat, roasted potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings, gravy.
And on Sundays, many families get together for a Sunday dinner, a Sunday roast.
You'll also hear a Sunday roast. Whereas in the US, Sunday mornings are known for brunch.
Brunch. People love going out for brunch in the US.
And this is the combination between breakfast and lunch.
People get up a little bit later on Sunday and then they go to their favorite brunch spot This is usually some type of breakfast meal.
Think eggs and bacon, not the traditional British one.
People like to have pancakes and biscuits and have lots of coffee.
The next section is all about holidays and vacations.
So there's a difference already. to say go on holiday or go on vacation.
The first one is from the UK, the second one is from the US.
So this is when people have more time off.
They have more free time to travel, explore new places or simply unplug from work.
Unplug from work. which means just to forget about work for some time.
When talking about vacation or holidays, you might say or you might hear someone say, I'm taking a few days off next month to relax.
I'm taking a few days off next month to go on a trip So to take a few days off means you're not working for a few days.
In the past, you might hear, I took a few days off last month.
Or you might hear someone say, I need to take a day or two off.
I'm so tired. I need to take a day or two off.
And oftentimes you need to take some days off.
You might need a holiday because you've been working non-stop.
To be working non-stop. which means to be really busy and working without a break.
I'm sure you can think of a time Maybe it's right now where you have been working non-stop.
Let me know in the comment section. The last time you took a few days off and what you did.
It's great writing practice. Now what's interesting about time off in the UK and the US is that this is a big difference between the two cultures because In the United Kingdom, workers are entitled to which means they need to have 28 days of paid leave per year.
28 days of paid leave per year. Some companies include public holidays, bank holidays to this total, meaning fewer flexible days.
Whereas in the US, there is no law that guarantees paid vacation.
And from my experience, most companies offer 10 days of paid leave per year.
And from my experience as well, there's a strong work to live mentality in the United Kingdom, meaning that holidays are seen as essential, that people need a holiday every year.
And oftentimes people will take two weeks off maybe even three weeks in the summer.
Whereas in the United States, taking these long holidays is less common. and many people take a few days off at a time.
Now, there are a similar number of public holidays, but in the US, not all of these are guaranteed to be time off.
So the bank holidays in the United Kingdom, public holidays, people will get these off work in most situations.
Another difference is that in the UK, a lot of people take short trips on the plane to different types of countries.
Whereas in the US, a lot of people will take road trips, road trips and this is where they'll get in the car, pack the car up, and go to a different town, maybe the beach, maybe the mountains, and very commonly, the lake.
A lot of people like to go to the lake in the US, especially around big holidays.
A question you'll often hear when it comes to holidays and free time is, have you ever been to...
For example, have you ever been to Japan?
Have you ever been to England? Have you ever been to the mountains? meaning have you in your life visited those places?
Have you ever been to? Have you ever been to?
It's a great one to know. Let's now talk about hobbies and interests because this is what we do in our free time if we're not busy doing housework. chores, different types of admin or looking after children.
So hobbies and interests play such a big role in our lives because they help us relax, we can learn new skills and also connect with others.
Now what's interesting is some people will stick with hobbies they've had since childhood.
Now to stick with a hobby means to continue doing this hobby while others pick up new hobbies throughout their lives.
Now, if somebody asks you, what do you do in your free time?
Or what are your hobbies? don't freeze.
Instead, start talking about the things you love.
Now before I give you the phrases and talk about this more, I made a video recently where I talked about how important it is to create sentences that you're going to use often.
So if you rock climb in your spare time, rock climbing, then think about creating sentences based around this, okay?
Now, with that in mind, To talk about things that you love doing, you can say things like I love...
Simple phrases. I love playing the guitar.
I love playing soccer. I play a lot of soccer.
I play a lot of soccer. So those are the types of things that you do quite often.
Now, if you have just started a hobby, You can say things like I'm getting into or I'm just getting into. or I'm just starting.
So for example, you might say, I'm getting into yoga at the moment, or I'm just getting into yoga at the moment.
Now here's a question for you. Do you know what the most popular hobby is?
What is the most popular hobby in the world?
I'm gonna tell you in a second. And this is gardening, gardening.
So to garden means to work on your garden, plant, dig, weed, etc.
So this is the most popular hobby in the world.
Personally, I love playing soccer. I try to read a lot.
I try. It's not always easy. But when I do have free time and the space to do it, I like to read.
I'm big on exercise, so I exercise a lot.
And also, I love socializing. I love hanging out with friends and going to different types of events.
In the UK and the US, things like pub quizzes are quite common.
I'm very interested actually, in your country, Do you have pub quizzes?
And this is where you go to a pub or a bar, sometimes a restaurant, never a restaurant actually.
And there is somebody who is the quiz master.
And you get a sheet of paper and they ask questions and you have to answer them.
And you can't cheat. You can't look at your phone.
That's cheating. Now, some hobbies and interests are a little bit different and not as common. and I did some research and I found some really cool ones.
The first one is extreme ironing, ironing.
So this is where people take ironing boards to remote locations and iron their clothes.
I don't know how they do this without a plug.
Maybe there is a battery powered iron. Another one is train spotting.
Train spotting. This is quite popular in the UK and it's where people will go to train stations or anywhere near trains and watch the trains and record the numbers.
And I guess there are different types of trains and people really get into this.
Do you have an unusual hobby or a hobby that most people don't do?
If so, let me know in the comment section below.
And let's just give you some phrases here.
So you might hear someone say, I'm thinking about signing up for a pottery class.
I'm thinking about signing up for a pottery class.
Would you like to join? So to sign up for means to register for that class or activity.
Another one is you might hear someone say, I've always wanted to learn how to paint, learn how to draw. play the guitar i've always wanted to do this and when people say that it means they want to do this but they just haven't found the time to do it yet, or they haven't found that energy to start something new.
And if someone asks you, would you like to come surfing with me?
Have you ever done it? Would you like to come surfing with me?
You might say, okay, I'll give it a go. I'll give it a go.
Now, to give it to go means to try it out, to try something out.
So to give surfing a go means to try surfing, to see how you do with this.
Now here is a new section I want to introduce to these episodes and it is interesting quotes.
So I'm going to give you some quotes that I like and then talk about them a little bit and they might be quite inspiring for you too.
I really like the ones today because the first one is this.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
And that is from Bertrand Russell. And what this means is that some people feel guilty about spending time in an unproductive way.
But it's not wasted because oftentimes it can be a good way to recharge, to get energy back.
So time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
The next one is a man should never neglect his leisure.
This is Confucius. I'll leave all of these in the description for you.
A man should never neglect his leisure. And this is saying that life isn't just about work.
We need time to rest, play and enjoy hobbies.
In some cultures, for example Japan, People are known for working long hours, also in parts of the US as well, depending on the job you have.
While in other countries, work-life balance is more of a priority.
And then the next one is, almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes including you.
This is Anne Lamott. And this means that sometimes we all just need a break.
Because in modern society, people are busy, they're connected.
They're distracted. But what this is saying is taking time to relax is essential and it's going to help you do better in life, and it's going to help you recharge.
That is the podcast episode for today. Do these two things now.
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All right, speak to you soon. Bye for now.
