Zapp! English Listening 3.15 - Love and Marriage
Taught by Katie Wood — Cambridge CELTA · Cambridge DELTA · Cambridge-accredited Teacher Trainer
Recorded and taught by a team of British and North American English teachers, based in Oxford (UK) and Barcelona (Spain).
Tiku won't go speed dating, and it isn't nerves. She's tall, and sitting down opposite a stranger for three minutes tells you nothing about how tall they are: "I don't know how tall they'll be!" That's where this episode starts — Katie asking how people in Britain actually meet each other now. After that, Tom puts the same set of questions to two different men about marriage, divorce and whether love at first sight is anything more than a story.
What you'll hear in this episode
Three conversations, two topics. In the first, Katie talks to Tiku about how meeting partners has shifted away from pubs, clubs and friends towards the internet and speed dating. The conversation goes back to online dating in around 2003, when there was still a "taboo attached to online dating" and the reaction was "you must be scraping the bottom of the barrel". Now, Tiku says, it surprises her how many eighteen- to twenty-six-year-olds are doing it. She explains niche sites built around interests — her sister met her boyfriend through one that matched people on their taste in music and bands — and the choice between contacting people yourself or waiting to be contacted. Her verdict is even-handed: it can be fun, and "you can meet some very odd people too".
Then Tom starts interviewing. Chris answers the opening question with "I am married. To your sister." and follows it with a beautifully honest "I do believe in marriage, yeah...no." They cover playing the field, why divorce rates are rising, whether the church used to hold couples together, and arranged marriages. On love at first sight, Chris says no — "as much as I think my wife would like to hear me say yes" — and settles on "lust at first sight maybe".
Simon gets the same questions. He calls lifelong monogamy "quite a fanciful sort of notion" and love at first sight "one for the storybooks". There's also Tom mixing up his anniversaries — "Golden Jubilee? Golden wedding anniversary, Jubilee is for the Queen." — and Simon's reply when Tom does the maths on his own chances: "You better get a move on!"
Quick facts
| Episode | 3.15 |
| Pack | Listening 3 |
| Level | 3 |
| Duration | 18 minutes 08 seconds |
| Speakers | Katie, Tiku, Tom, Chris and Simon |
| Workbook | Included in the all-in-one pack (€39) |
What you'll learn
Because Tom asks Chris and Simon almost identical questions, you get something unusual: two native speakers answering the same thing in different words. Task 3 asks you to listen for where they agree, which forces you to hold one answer in your head while processing another — a real listening skill, not a gap-fill.
You'll also hear how English speakers avoid committing themselves. Simon doesn't say monogamy is unrealistic; he says "I don't think it's as realistic as people would like to believe", stacking hedges until the opinion is safely wrapped. Chris does the same with religion: not "it's gone", but "I'd say it's less common now". Learning to hear the opinion underneath the padding is most of what listening to real English involves.
There's plenty of natural structure to notice too: Tom's tag question "people are marrying much later as well, aren't they", the way both men restart sentences mid-thought, and the short agreement noises — mmm, yeah, absolutely — that keep a conversation moving without adding content. Tiku's turns are long and self-correcting, so this is good practice at following a speaker who is thinking aloud rather than delivering a prepared answer.
Vocabulary from this episode
- taboo (noun) — not culturally acceptable to talk about / do. Used about how online dating was seen years ago.
- exposed to (verb) — not hidden from, put into contact with. Tiku uses it about hobbies that put you in contact with different types of people.
- passive (adjective) — not active, reacts. The alternative to contacting matches yourself.
- laborious (adjective) — boring and takes a long time. Her honest description of online dating on a bad day.
- odd (adjective) — strange.
- infatuation (noun) — a very strong love, but you don't really know the person.
- fanciful (adjective) — not serious, perhaps imaginary.
- get a move on (phrase) — be quick.
- hobbies (noun) — things you do regularly in your free time.
What's in the workbook
The workbook takes you through the three English conversations in order. Each one has a question to answer while you listen — what Tiku says is good about internet dating, what Tom and Chris think about the age people marry at, and what Chris and Simon agree on — with the answers given so you can check yourself.
After that, the Extra Materials section adds six harder comprehension questions across the three conversations, including why Tiku dislikes speed dating and why some people stay married when they'd rather not. Answers are at the back, and the full transcript is there so you can go and see exactly why you got something wrong.
The vocabulary work is built on guessing meaning from context: five real sentences from the recordings containing scraping the bottom of the barrel, playing the field, settle down, scratch the surface and frowned upon, which you match to definitions. There's also a glossary of nine words and phrases from the conversations.
This workbook is part of the Zapp! English all-in-one pack, €39 for every episode.
Get the complete courseAll workbooks and audio — €39
Common questions
Is the audio scripted?
The conversations are completely unscripted — Tiku, Chris and Simon are answering off the top of their heads, hesitations included. The teaching sections that set up the tasks and give the answers are scripted, so the instructions stay clear.
What level is this episode?
Level 3. The speakers are talking at natural speed with no allowances made, so it suits learners who can already follow connected speech and want practice with opinions and hedging.
Can I use the audio without the workbook?
Yes. The audio is free. The workbook adds the listening questions, the answers, the vocabulary exercises and the full transcript.
Which expressions should I take away first?
Playing the field, settle down, frowned upon and get a move on all appear naturally here and all come up constantly in conversation about relationships.
How do I get the workbook for this episode?
It comes with the all-in-one pack at €39, which covers every Zapp! English episode.
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