Bournemouth

BBC Learning 1 EnglishWeekenderBournemouth
Jackie:  Hello, I'm Jackie Dalton. Welcome toWeekender and what better to do withyour weekend than go to the seaside to get some fresh seaair? England perhaps doesn't have the long, rolling goldenbeaches and palm trees of places such as Mauritius orThailand. But it does have its own kind of seaside andseaside towns are very popular places to go for a breakfrom the chaos 2 of England's big cities. There's one seasidetown in particular that's not only very popular with theEnglish, but also with visitors from all over the world,and that's Bournemouth. We're going to find out more aboutBournemouth today. One of the reasons why a lot offoreigners come to Bournemouth is to learn English. Thereare dozens of language schools, visited by thousands ofstudents and we'll be hearing from some of them later.
　　Susan Coughlan lives in Bournemouth. She's going to tell usa bit about it. What are some of the adjectives 3 she uses todescribe it?
　　Susan  Bournemouth is a very varied 4 place, it’s a veryfun place, vibrant 5 and young and lively, but there's lotsto do in Bournemouth for all ages and all types of people.
　　Jackie:  Susan says it's varied – it has lots ofdifferent things. She also says it's vibrant and lively,which both mean there's a lot going on there and lots ofenergy. It has a buzz 6 to it. Now Susan is going to talkabout some of the other things Bournemouth has to offer –what are they?
　　Susan:  There are lots of young people in Bournemouth,there’s the university here and there are many languageschools, it's also known know as a place for shopping andfor nightclubs and bars, which attracts the younger crowdalso.
　　Jackie:  Did you get those? Susan said there's auniversity, language schools, and Bournemouth is a well-known place for shopping, nightclubs and bars. Now we'regoing to hear from Simon Freeman, talking about theimportance of the English languages schools to theBournemouth economy.
　　Simon:  The contribution made by international students tothe local economy makes it the biggest single contributorto the economy of Bournemouth and Poole.
　　Jackie:  The presence 7 of international students isthe biggest single contributor to Bournemouth's economy. Sointernational students are very important – they probablykeep many people there in their jobs. Why does Simon thinkso many international students come to Bournemouth? Can youidentify three reasons?
　　Simon:  I think it's the natural attractions of the seasidearea itself, which went on to make it a major, holidaydestination for UK citizens, were also very attractive tothe first international students. Schools have been activein the area for many, many years and there are severalschools which have been operating forperiods of thirty to forty to fifty years. The UK isdefinitely seen by students as a safe destination.
　　Jackie:  Well, Simon says the seaside itself is anattraction, which is one reason why Bournemouth is popular.
　　Also, there's been a tradition of language schools there –some have existed for 50 or so years. And thirdly, he says,the UK is seen as a safe destination.
　　Let's hear now from one of those international students .
　　Njeri is a Kenyan graduate of Bournemouth Universit y. Whatdoes she like best about Bournemouth?
　　Njeri:  I came here as a student and I did my Masters ahhm…which was a lovely year, a brilliant year to be at uni.
　　The best thing about being in Bournemouth I suppose is…itsgives you some sense of warmth, in terms of climate becauseit tends to be the warmest part of England so I can sort ofI really wouldn’t mindcoming from Africa, being in a warmer place, in as much asthey are hard to come across in England, so that does giveyou that.
　　Jackie:  Did you get the answer? Njeri, who's comeform sunny Africa, chose Bournemouth because it was in thewarmest part of the country. Bournemouth is on the SouthCoast of England which does mean its climate is quite mild– although I wouldn't say it's quite as hot as Kenya! Butapart from the weather, there's one other thing which hasreally kept Njeri here – what is it?
　　Njeri:  The best part I got married to a guy from here whois a native, born and breed 8 here is quite nice, so I alsohave got a bit of family going on.
　　Jackie:  Well, Njeri met her husband in Bournemouthand now has a family – a pretty good reason to stay there.
　　That's all for this latest edition of Weekender...andwhatever you do, whether you can make it to the seaside ornot, do have a lovely weekend.