Learning English

Welcome to English at University!

Join us for this new funny and exciting drama series that brings you the English words and phrases you need to help you through your first year at university. Every week you can follow new student Mary, through her first year of study abroad - at The University of Studies – that's the UK's thirty-second best university - where she's been offered a place to study for a degree in Business.

Episode 1 - Leaving Home

Mary's got a place at a British university to study Business but this means leaving home for the first time. It's a great opportunity for her but as you'll see and hear, her mum and dad are sad to see her go.

Language Focus - useful phrases
Learn phrases you might use when people are leaving home:

• I'm proud of you.
• It's the opportunity of a lifetime.
• Don't do anything I wouldn't do!
• Have a good time and don't get into trouble!
• Make the most of it.
• Safe journey!
• Have a good trip.
• Keep in touch!

Here are some other phrases you could use:

• Look after yourself!
• Be lucky!
• You're going to have a great time.

Language Focus - vocabulary
Learn words and phrases for describing someone who gets emotional easily.

• mushy
• a big softy

Here is another word you could say:

• a (big) wuss

Transcript

Narrator
Hello and welcome to English at University - the series that brings you the English words and phrases you need to help you through your first year at university.  

We're going to follow new student Mary, who's about to begin her first year of study abroad -  at The University of Studies – that's the UK's thirty-second best university. She's been offered a place to study for a degree in Business. It's a great opportunity for her but her mum and dad are sad to see her go…

Mum
… and she's flying to London today… London in the UK… yes, she's done very well. I'm so proud of her but… but I'm worried she's not going to eat properly and she might get in with the wrong crowd and…

Dad
Your mother is so emotional. It's the opportunity of a lifetime for you Mary. Make the most of it – forget about us, we'll be fine.

Mary
Forget about who?!

Dad
Ha ha. Now have you packed everything? Clothes, books, toothbrush... 

Mum
Sorry about that. That was your Grandma on the phone – she says good luck and send her a postcard from Paris. I think she meant London. She also said 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do!'

Mary
What? 

Mum
It's a joke. She learnt it from her English friends. It means 'Have a good time and don't get into trouble'. Now have you packed everything? Passport, student visa, your acceptance letter from the university and your new laptop – you can use that to video-time us.

Dad
Good idea – very sensible. Have you got your credit card and cash?

Mary  
Yes Dad!

Mum
Ah, that sounds like your taxi. Well… bye bye darling. Safe journey! Have a good trip and keep in touch.

Mary
I'll call as soon as I land in Paris… I mean London!

Narrator
It can be scary leaving home for the first time, but Mary seems quite cool and calm about it, even though her mum's getting a bit mushy – she's getting quite sad and emotional. While Mary says her final goodbyes, let's go over the words of encouragement you can give to someone who's leaving home for the first time…

I'm proud of you.
It's the opportunity of a lifetime.
Don't do anything I wouldn't do!
Make the most of it.
Safe journey!
Keep in touch!

To practise these phrases – and to learn some more like this, visit us at BBC Learning English dot com. Now, back to Mary, and her dad's looking a bit tearful… He's a big softy really – that means he gets emotional very easily.

Mary
Err Dad, are you ok?

Dad
Bye Mary… I love you!

Mum
Bye Mary. Bye. Oh no, look, she's left her 'good luck' teddy bear behind.

Narrator
Come on Dad, you'll be fine!  So Mary is off to the UK to study. In the coming weeks you can hear how she gets on dealing with university life, studying and eventually taking her exams. And I'll be here with some English words and phrases to help her on her way. So join me again soon for English at University. Bye!

More

Hear some real students talk about their first week at university.

If you are going to study or you are studying at an English-speaking university, you might be wondering how you'll cope with understanding lectures and academic texts and writing essays. Finn and Neil give you some tips in this programme.

Next

In the next episode, Mary lands in London and heads off for the University of Studies – but there's a problem – she doesn't know the way. Who's going to help her?