Shows / 6 Minute English
6 Minute English
Learn and practise useful English with clips from programmes around the BBC.
Each week, we talk about an interesting topic and learn helpful words and phrases used in natural spoken English - all in 6 minutes!
Practise your listening and hear natural spoken English.
Find more at https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
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Episodes
- 6 Minute English
Astronauts on strike?
Hear all about the Skylab astronauts’ disagreement with mission control.
- 6 Minute English
Digital help for blind people
Hear about digital technology which helps blind people improve their lives.
- 6 Minute English
What’s the key to happiness?
Hear about what small things you can do to feel happier about life.
- 6 Minute English
Covid: One year on
Over a year on since the first outbreak, what have we learnt? We talk about the pandemic.
- 6 Minute English
Singing in tune
Neil and Georgina discuss singing and teach you related vocabulary along the way.
- 6 Minute English
Working for yourself
Rob and Georgina talk about the advantages and disadvantages of freelancing.
- 6 Minute English
How much heat do you lose from your head?
Rob and Georgina talk about percentages and teach you some English vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
The woman whose cells never die
Rob and Georgina discuss medical research and teach you related vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
What makes a good story?
Hear about storytelling and how it helps us to connect and communicate.
- 6 Minute English
For the love of foreign languages
Is learning languages good for head, heart and soul?
- 6 Minute English
Why can't we resist comfort food?
Neil and Rob talk about comfort food and what actually makes us eat it.
- 6 Minute English
Coronavirus vs other pandemics
Hear about coronavirus and how it isn’t that bad compared to historical pandemics
- 6 Minute English
Are trees intelligent?
We talk about trees and how they can communicate and help each other.
- 6 Minute English
Can jellyfish help us solve our problems?
We discuss how these sea creatures could help us solve the problem of plastic pollution.
- 6 Minute English
Why do we choose to text instead of talk?
Communicating by text has become more and more popular. Neil and Georgina talk about it.
- 6 Minute English
Loneliness
Neil and Rob talk about loneliness and how some people prefer their own company.
- 6 Minute English
Is punctuality important?
We discuss people's attitude to being on time and why some people are always late.
- 6 Minute English
Could you be a victim of online fraud?
We talk about online fraud and teach you some useful vocabulary along the way.
- 6 Minute English
Melting ice sheet: Is it too late?
Many scientists are wondering whether it’s now too late to stop global warming.
- 6 Minute English
Walkman: the music player revolution
Neil and Georgina take a nostalgic look back at the 1980s and the birth of the Walkman.
- 6 Minute English
Could humans live in underwater cities?
Hear about projects to create liveable underwater habitats and learn new vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
Hacking help for US elections
Rob and Sam discuss plans in the US to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks on election day.
- 6 Minute English
Do chimps have the same emotions as us?
Hear Jane Goodall talk about the deep connections between humans and the great apes.
- 6 Minute English
How can we make the web a better place?
Neil and Sam talk about the subject and teach you vocabulary along the way.
- 6 Minute English
Coronavirus: Dealing with mass unemployment post-pandemic
Neil and Sam discuss the post-Covid job landscape and teach you vocabulary along the way.
- 6 Minute English
Grandma therapy in Zimbabwe
Grandmothers are being trained to provide therapy to people in their community.
- 6 Minute English
Is there a future without bees?
The number of bees is declining at an alarming rate, with serious consequences for us.
- 6 Minute English
How to talk about conspiracy theories
We discuss what to do when you are confronted with someone who spreads falsehoods.
- 6 Minute English
What’s the point of blood types?
In this programme, we’ll be finding out all about blood and teaching you some vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
Will Covid-19 change cities?
Rob and Neil discuss the future of our cities and teach you useful vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
Is this the era of distrust?
In an era of fake news, could it be that we are living through a crisis in trust?
- 6 Minute English
No more bosses
Can companies operate better without managers? We talk about it and teach you vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
The medicine of coronavirus
Neil and Georgina talk about Covid-19 and teach you related vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
Food made in space
Find out how growing plants in space might help develop better crops.
- 6 Minute English
Sport against poverty
Neil and Sam discuss how sport is giving hope to young people leading the toughest lives.
- 6 Minute English
Covid-19: The office after lockdown
Companies are rushing to install technology to make offices safer. Neil and Sam discuss.
- 6 Minute English
Should we wear a face mask?
Can wearing masks in public help prevent the spread of coronavirus? Rob and Sam discuss.
- 6 Minute English
Millennials and business
Rob and Sam discuss the new generation's desire to make the world a better place.
- 6 Minute English
Is being thrifty a virtue?
Neil and Sam talk about being a saver in a consumer culture and teach you vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
The food delivery revolution
Takeaway apps are changing food culture. We talk about it and teach you vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
What difference has #MeToo made?
Sam and Georgina talk about the movement and teach you related vocabulary.
- 6 Minute English
Is the recycling system broken?
We talk about the over-reliance on recycling rather than reducing the use of plastics
- 6 Minute English
The soothing power of books
How can books help us relax and feel more alive during troubled times?
- 6 Minute English
Shocking facts about electricity
Neil and Georgina talk about how electrical systems differ from country to country.
- 6 Minute English
Internet - good or bad?
Rob and Neil discuss some of the advantages and drawbacks of going online