Learn English Through Football Forum - Recent Topics

Predictions: Atletico Madrid v Manchester United (Champions League)

Learn English through Football — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 19:16:32 +0000

DB: The Spanish side have won their last four league games, including a 2-1 win in the derby: a 2-0 win to the home side.

Damian, what do you think?

DF: Yes, the pressure is building on the Manchester United manager Michael Carrick at the moment. I reckon the Spanish side will win this one easily - perhaps 2-0.

Week 9: Late Goals

Learn English through Football — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 19:06:34 +0000

Vocabulary: Discuss any vocabulary students know about scoring goals, especially goals near the end of the game (equaliser; late winner; last-gasp)
Listening for gist (main idea): Ask the learners to pick out the names of the teams and players mentioned in the short report from Damon on late goals. Maybe they could also listen for some of the language of late goals (especially the ones mentioned in the first part)
Listening for details (1): Pick out one of the sections from the listening and create a gap fill activity - maybe with language of transfers
Listening for details (2): Alternatively you could focus on connected language and blank out combinations of words)

Week 8: Women's Champions League

Learn English through Football — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:14:03 +0000

Pre-listening: Ask students what teams they know that play in the Women’s Champions League: see how many out of the 18 in the league phase they can get.
Listening for gist (main idea): Choose the section where Damian talks about the Nations League and ask the students to write down all the countries that he mentions. Then listen again and ask the students to take notes. From their notes are they able to tell each other what has happened (build their knowledge).
Listening for details: Choose a section and delete some key phrases; ask students first to guess what the words are; then students listen to check their guesses and catch the key terms.

Teaching ideas: Week 7 - Nations League

Learn English through Football — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:32:30 +0000

This week's podcast looks at the Nations League and also the Manchester City case so we look at language of punishment.

Vocabulary: What do students know about the competition 'the Nations League'? How about the phrase 'international break'? Ask them to explain who their team is playing during the international break.
Vocabulary (2): What kind of language do we hear when talking about international matches? (e.g. 'friendlies'; 'caps'; 'call up'; 'squad'.)
Vocabulary (3): We are going to talk about punishments in football - off the field. Prepare the students for this listening by asking them if they know the phrases 'stripped of the title'; 'punishment'; 'docked points')
Listening for gist (main idea): Choose the section from Damon where he speaks about Manchester City's punishment and ask students to take notes. From their notes are they able to tell each other what has happened (build their knowledge).
Listening for details: Choose a section and maybe create a gap fill around some of the key terms.
Write a short text or match report about your country during this international break.
Share with other teachers how you are using these resources (vocabulary, listening, writing, etc.)

Predictions: Week 6 - Nations League (Norway v Portugal)

Learn English through Football — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 12:26:37 +0000

Here's what me and Damon went for in this week's predictions. Let us know what you think will happen below:

Predictions: Norway v Portugal

DF: Well, both these sides had wins in their opening Nations League game - the Norwegians defeated Denmark 3-2, while the Portuguese beat wales 1-0. I think the home side Norway are going to win this one, maybe 2-1.

DB: Haaland vs Ronaldo. Those are the two big names, although Ronaldo is now a fading force. I think this one will play out as a draw - maybe 1-1

What does the word 'brace' mean in football?

Learn English through Football — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 22:16:10 +0000

Do you know the meaning of the word 'brace' in football?
Write a sentence below to practise.
How do you use this in football?
How do you say this in another language you know?

What does the word 'brace' mean in football?

Learn English through Football — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 22:13:56 +0000

Do you know the meaning of the word 'brace' in football?
Write a sentence below to practise.
How do you use this in football?
How do you say this in another language you know?

Teaching Ideas: Week 6 - Derbies

Learn English through Football — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:23:00 +0000

Vocabulary: What do students know about the word 'derby' in football? Do they know any big derbies from around the world? What is their team's biggest derby?
Vocabulary (2): What kind of language do we hear when talking about derbies? (e.g. 'form goes out the window'; 'bragging rights')
Listening for gist (main idea): Choose the section from the discussion on derbies (either the introduction or the section on Millwall v West Ham) and ask them to take notes and re-tell from their notes to their partner.
Write a short text about a derby that you know (your favourite team's derby opponents for example)
Share with other teachers how you are using these resources (vocabulary, listening, writing, etc.) on our teachers' forum page

Predictions: Week 5 - Derbies

Learn English through Football — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:40:17 +0000

This week there are some big derby games across Europe including:

Millwall v West Ham (Championship)
Atlético Madrid v Real Madrid (La Liga)
Marseille v PSG (Ligue 1)
Celtic v Rangers (Scottish Premiership)

What do you think will happen?

Teaching Ideas Week 5: Flagged for offside

Learn English through Football — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:26:15 +0000

Discussion: Show the image (on the post) and ask the students to describe what they see and to predict what the main idea of the listening will be about
Vocabulary focus: Ask the students if they know any words and phrases connected to 'offside' - they can do this in any language they know.
Listening for gist/main idea: Listen to the recording and decide which teams and players are mentioned. What language of offside did they hear?
Listening for detail: Edit a section of the transcript, removing or change key focus words. Students then listen and fill in the key word or identify the difference between the script and the audio.
Discussion: Ask the students to find similar phrases in their own language and explain them to you and their classmates
Writing: Ask students to write a short match report about an offside moment.