6 Minute English: Living abroad
Elena: Hello I'm Elena Newton and with me today for 6 Minute English is Callum Robertson – hello Callum.
Elena: Now, as you know Callum, today is a sad day – it's my last day here at BBC Learning English. I'm leaving to go travelling and to experience living in other countries. So, today, in keeping with the theme, we'll have a look at some language associated with this topic. Now the word ‘emigrate’ and the phrase ‘living abroad’ – what can you tell us about these Callum?
Callum: Well they're very similar. They're connected. The verb ‘to emigrate’ first. That means to move to another country and to make that country your home. Now that is a kind of a permanent position but some people just like to live abroad. Maybe they keep their house or their flat in this country and they go travelling. So ‘to emigrate’ and ‘to live abroad’.
Elena: Ok, well I've done a bit of research into the statistics or numbers of people who emigrate from the UK. The latest figures available are for the year July 2005 to July 2006. So, in this year, how many people emigrated from the UK?
A: 385,000
B: 485,000
C: 580,000
Callum: I have to say that any answer I give is only going to be a guess. So I'm going to guess at 485,000.
Elena: Well I'll tell you, the answer at the end of the programme. Now the Learning English department is a very interesting place to work and this is because many of the people here have spent years living abroad, mainly teaching English. Now Callum, you're one of them. Can you tell us where you've lived?
Callum: Yes, well apart from Britain I've lived in Japan and I've also lived in Denmark.
Elena: Ok well now I'm going to play a short clip from a programme called Woman's Hour, and it's of a lady called Michelle who emigrated to Australia from the UK. She's talking about fitting into Australian culture. She uses the words, ‘britpack’ and the expression, 'like minded people'. Callum, can you explain what they mean?
Callum: Well ‘britpack’, it'snot a real word. You won't find it in the dictionary but in this context ‘britpack’ is a pack or a group of ‘brits’ – British people. And ‘like-minded people’ is an expression for people who share the same interests as you. Maybe they have the same culture, they come from the same background. ‘Britpack’ and ‘like-minded people’.
Elena: Now listen out for those words as we listen to Michelle.
Well, to fit into Australian culture is actually quite difficult. But you very quickly find people similar to yourself. So we immediately found that we met up with this britpack from abroad, and found that we were friends with lots of British people and … you sort of link up with these like minded people.
Elena: So Callum, what advice, if any, would you have for people thinking about moving abroad?
Callum: I think research very very carefully. It is very difficult to live in another country. You have to be aware that the culture, even if the language is the same, the culture can still be very very different. So do lots of research and visit the country before you make the decision to emigrate there.
Elena: That's good advice. Let's listen to another clip. This time from a lady who emigrated to Canada. See if you can hear what her top tips are for choosing a country to emigrate to.
There are differences and I think that's one of the key things when you're emigrating is that you match a country with the type of personality and the type of person that you are. Here it's very laid back and we've found it very easy to fit in but I think that's because our characters match the local culture that is around us.
Callum: It was interesting there that she thought you should match the country you choose to live in with your personality. And I think that's, that's very sensible. I think that sort of goes along with what I was saying.
Elena: So Callum, bearing this in mind, what country would you choose to emigrate to?
Callum: Australia or New Zealand. I've spent some time in both those countries and I really enjoy the lifestyle there. And how about you? You're off travelling around many countries. Do you plan to emigrate one day to one of those, perhaps?
Elena: At this moment I have no plans to emigrate. But I think based on my experiences so far I would have to choose Barbados.
Callum: Mm, Barbados! Why's that?
Elena: This is because I went there a few years a go and I loved the laid-back attitude of the people I met. Now, as you know I'm always running late and what I loved about Barbados was when I arrived somebody said to me “Put that watch away and relax. You're on Barbados time now.” And I thought that was a fantastic thing to say and I just love to be on Barbados time, the whole time!
Elena: Well speaking of time that's just about all we've got. But before we go, let's go back to our question. Between in year July 2005 to July 2006 how many people emigrated from the UK? The correct answer was 385,000 people.
Callum: 385,000! That's still a lot of people.
Elena: It is still a lot of people. So that's all from this edition of 6 Minute English – Goodbye.
Callum: Goodbye Elena, and have a safe trip. We're going to miss you.