Rob: Hello, I'm Rob…
Callum: And I'm Callum.
Rob: And this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Today we're talking
about swimming. Now, Callum, how old were you when you started to swim?
Callum: I suppose, before ten. Before I was ten, I think.
Rob: Quite young.
Callum: Yes.
Rob: Well, swimming is a very popular activity in the UK. According to a recent
survey, one in five adults in the UK cannot swim. What's more, millions of
children in the UK can't swim a length of a pool. I think most people recognise
that swimming is very important for safety and good for fitness. But maybe
some people weren't introduced to the water early enough and they don't have
the confidence to start swimming later in life. In a moment we'll hear from
some people who coach swimming for adults and children, but first I have this
week's question for you, Callum.
Callum: I thought you might.
Rob: In 2007, the Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel broke his own world record for
long-distance swimming. But what distance did he swim?
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Was it:
a) 3, 268 kilometres
b) 4, 268 kilometres
c) 5, 268 kilometres
Callum: 4, 268 kilometres. I say that. But I really don't know.
Rob: OK, well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. First let's hear
from the BBC reporter Sophie van Brugen. She went to a swimming pool to
find out more about swimming classes for adults and children. Let's have a
listen to the clip; how many children does she say have taken swimming
classes in the last year?
Sophie van Brugen, BBC
Not everybody's confident in the water, and many of us learn to swim later on in life. And in
fact experts now say that the best time to learn is when we're babies and children. And in the
last year alone, over 300,000 little ones have gone through classes.
Rob: She says that over 300,000 little ones have taken swimming classes.
Callum: By 'little ones' of course she means children or toddlers. Toddlers are children
who are just learning to walk – usually when they're about 2 years old.
Rob: That's right. And the best time to learn how to swim is when you're a baby.
Callum: That makes sense. I think a lot of babies are natural swimmers, so it's good for
them to be in the water from an early age.
Rob: As long as they've got the proper supervision!
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Callum: Definitely! To supervise means to watch over something. The noun
supervision is when someone watches over someone else, like a parent
watching over, taking care of a child.
Rob: It really is natural for babies to be in the water. As long as they have the proper
supervision, babies as young as three months old can start swimming. We have
a clip from baby swimming teacher Jenni May. She says that if babies spend
time swimming from the earliest opportunity, it becomes second nature for
them to be in the water.
Callum: Second nature. This is when you do something so often that it becomes totally
natural to you. So when a child starts to swim very early on, swimming
becomes second nature to them.
Rob: OK, let's listen to the clip. Listen out for the phrase second nature, and see
how she uses it in context.
Jenni May, swimming teacher
When they're under six months it's just almost a natural thing for them to be under the water.
And then it just becomes second nature to them so as they're older, they don't know any
different then being under the water and being wet.
Rob: So if a baby starts swimming early enough, it becomes second nature to them
and they don't know any different from being under water and being wet.
Callum: But what about people who don't learn to swim when they're young? The one
in five British adults who can't swim – what can they do?
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Rob: Ah, well there are a number of schemes to encourage people to swim,
including the BBC's 'Big Splash' campaign, which celebrates swimming and
wants to get more people into the water, whether they're adults or children.
Callum: The Big Splash campaign. A splash is the sound that's made when something
hits water. You can hear the word making the same sound –Splaasssssh!
Rob: It's a great word. And there are lots of classes for adults to learn how to swim!
Vicki Carter, who teaches swimming to adults, told the BBC about some of the
techniques she uses to encourage people to swim.
She suggests diving down for bricks and going through hoops as two methods
to make swimming more fun.
Callum: To dive here means to go under the surface of the water. And it can also mean
to jump head-first into water. And a hoop is a circular band, usually made of
metal or plastic. So she suggests diving down for bricks or swimming through
hoops as a way to make swimming more interesting.
Rob: Right, it's time to go back to today's question, Callum. The Slovenian swimmer
Martin Strel broke the world record for long-distance swimming in 2007. But
what was his record-breaking distance? Was it:
d) 3, 268 kilometres
e) 4, 268 kilometres
f) 5, 268 kilometres
Callum: Well, I chose 4, 268 kilometres but it's just a guess. They are all extraordinary
long distances.
Rob: Well, he actually swam 5,268 kilometres along the length of the Amazon River
to break his own world record. Incredible! OK, well we're almost at the end of
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the programme, so Callum could you remind us of some of the vocabulary
we've heard in today's programme?
Callum: Of course! We had:
Toddlers
To supervise
Supervision
Second nature
Splash
To dive
Hoops
Rob: Thanks, Callum. If you've enjoyed today's programme, why not write to us
about your favourite places to swim, or ways to make swimming more
interesting, for children and adults. See you next time!
Both: Bye!
