Creative industries play a key role in the UK economy. Listen and find out what it's like to live and work as a young professional in the UK.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Do you find it difficult to understand the difference between the UK and Great Britain?By British Council | LearnEnglish

Ron talks about his pride and joy - his lovely son.By British Council | LearnEnglish

In the UK, having a special Christmas meal with family and friends is a very important custom for many.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Harry sure is good at his job as he doesn’t come cheap!By British Council | LearnEnglish

In this first episode our friends meet up in a caféBy British Council | LearnEnglish

Johnny, Olivia and Fadi all offer jobs to Harry. What should he do?By British Council | LearnEnglish

It's always good to keep in touch with old friends.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Simon talks about how he managed to learn five to six different languages in a fun and easy way.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Ask the right questions to find out where people got their things.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Listen to these UK students and find out their top tips for saving money.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Marcia calls two of the candidates giving them details of the interview process.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Check out Hermia's favourite music band - the one which plays real music!By British Council | LearnEnglish

In the 60s , 70s and 80s it was common for sweets to be sold individually in shops, each sweet costing a penny or two, hence the name penny sweets.By British Council | LearnEnglish

After firing WebWare’s sales director and advertising the new post, Phillip Hart and Marcia Boardman discuss the applications and decide on an interview format.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Some believe that we all have the ability of ESP to some degree but that most of us choose not to develop it.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Computer games have been criticised for quite some time over a whole range of issues. Some people say they are overly violent and encourage violent behaviour particularly in children. Others say that they make children hyperactive, unsociable and are bad for their eyes. Now, however, it seems that computer games have also become a feminist issue.…

One of the causes of the problems in Russia’s sad history in the 20th century was the use of imported words which people didn’t fully understand. “Revolution” (or the Russian word “revolyutsia”) was one of these.By British Council | LearnEnglish

School days are supposed to be the best days of your life and part of that experience usually involves some strenuous physical activity. Here are some recollections of what happened on the sports field…By British Council | LearnEnglish

More than a quarter of the working population of the USA has one. Cairo, Bologna, and Paris have been offering them the longest. And you can now supposedly get them by sitting at home at a computer. What am I talking about? A university education, of course.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Student power: when most people think of strikes, they think of factory workers asking for better pay and conditions, or perhaps refusing to work to support a colleague who has been unfairly sacked.By British Council | LearnEnglish

A good circus can amaze and entertain us. And what could be more amazing than a flea circus? But does such a thing really exist and can fleas really be taught to perform circus tricks?.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Little Wooden Armies. 1500 years ago a king in India named Kaid, who had built a huge empire, was sick at heart. He called his minister, Sassa, to him and said : Day and night I think about my past battles, I dream of conquests and invasions, I cant sleep for thinking about imaginary wars and victories. But I have no more enemies, and it is a sin t…

In 2004 the Olympic Games returned to its home in Greece, where it began around 3000 years ago. The first recorded Olympic festival took place in 776 BC. Similar festivals had been organised for at least two or three centuries prior to this, but 776 BC saw the start of a regular festival which was to take place every Olympiad, or four year period.…

Slavery is the idea that a human is someones property, that he/she can be bought, sold and owned; and forced to work without being paid. This concept has been around for thousands of years and all major civilizations used slaves at some point.By British Council | LearnEnglish

If we only bought things we needed, there would be enough for everybody. What do we need? A coat? A mobile phone? What you need depends on how old you are and your way of life.By British Council | LearnEnglish

"I come from the south of England, in the most densely-populated corner of a small island, which, you might think, is full of people."By British Council | LearnEnglish

Sojourner Truth. The name Sojourner may be familiar to you. It was the name of the wheeled robot that was sent on the expedition to Mars in 1997 to explore the surface of the planet.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Most countries have a piece of music that means something special to its people. For Australians, it’s a song called ‘Waltzing Matilda’, written in 1895 by song-writer and poet ‘Banjo’ Paterson.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Saint Patrick's Day. St. Patricks Day is a very well known Irish national holiday, which is celebrated not only in Ireland but all around the world on the 17th of March.By British Council | LearnEnglish

The Sick Man of Europe? "We Scots get a bad press for our lifestyles, to say the least. Some years ago, Jack McConnell, First Minister of the Scottish Parliament, called us 'one of the most unhealthy countries in Europe,' with a culture of 'lack of exercise, drugs abuse, excessive drinking and over eating.'"…

A world like no other – perhaps this is the best way to describe the world of the rainforest.By British Council | LearnEnglish

In 1999, Tim Smit, an ex-rock musician and record producer, borrowed the name of the biblical garden for a collection of space-age domes in a corner of southwest England - the Eden Project.By British Council | LearnEnglish

listen to some facts about animals that will amaze you. Then try and read between the lines to answer the questions.By British Council | LearnEnglish

"My heart burnt within me with indignation and grief; we could think of nothing else ... Every one is feeling the same. I never knew so universal a feeling." (Elizabeth Gaskell 1865)By British Council | LearnEnglish

It's hardly surprising that weather is a favourite topic for so many people around the world - it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Lasagna (plural lasagne) is a dish made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese, and often ragù (a meat sauce) or tomato sauce.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Did you know that manners are all about a reduction of violence between people? If you don't believe it , have a listen to this.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Philip Hart, CEO of IT peripherals company WebWare, gives Sales Director Brian O'Dell some bad news.By British Council | LearnEnglish

Talking about clothes, Jonathan Ive, 10 Seconds, the vuvuzuela, women's football, travelling on the London Underground, joke, etc.By British Council - LearnEnglish

A weekend away; Shakira; Hot Seat; tango in Buenos Aires; songs in English or in other languages; airport situations, joke, etc.By British Council - LearnEnglish

Introducing your friends; Angelina Jolie; things you can find in a kitchen; Central Park in New York; celebrities working for charity; etc.By British Council - LearnEnglish