Welcome to pie plus, our magazine with extra learning worksheets - updated weekly
Competition time why not try and win free membership?
Take a text 30 activities for teachers to use with reading texts
Information sheets to help you make the most of our site
How to find a specific podcast
September news and
Competition to win free pie membership
To be honest we are rather happy that August is over. It was so very hot and like many other European countries we had loads of forest fires. In fact this summer Portugal had the largest fire since records here began. Now there has been a bit of welcome rain and we look forward to the rest of the year.
However, September means Back to school for many! Did we enjoy our schooldays? Listen to this level 1 podcast and find out.
Another reason to be happy about September is that the football season has returned. Richard is very happy! We have a number of football podcasts to celebrate this: Back of the net is full of football jargon, there is some great vocabulary for footie fans! United or city? also for level 2, talks about football clubs and their names. Plus, coinciding with Colour Blindness Awareness Day, September 6, we have Red or green? This level 3 podcast looks at the link between colour blindness and football. It's very interesting.
All of the above podcasts can be found in the sidebar of the level pages. There are lots more there! Plus, for London Fashion Week, there are loads of podcasts and videos on the theme of fashion and clothes. Have a look!
Did you also see that our last level 3 podcast was about Reasons to be cheerful. Listen to some stories that will make you feel better rather than gloomy.
September also means La Vuelta a España which we love watching. But just who are the companies that sponsor the cycling teams? So who is Visma? is a level 2 podcast.
Remember that while most podcasts are free, podcasts 1 - 99 are for members only. Each podcast has essential transcripts, worksheets and extra materials for teachers and learners and with over 2000 to choose from, Join pie now!
If you are not already a member, one lucky winner in our monthly competition gets free pie membership! Ali from Turkey was the lucky winner of last month's competition. He correctly said that the answer was: b) cherry ice cream
For this month's quiz just answer this question: How many countries wore all red for the World Cup? Is it a) 3, b) 4, or c) 5? The answer is in this beginners level video: C'mon the reds!
Write your answer on our Contact us page. Remember to tell us your name and where you are from. One winner gets free pie membership for 3 months. Good luck! Answers by the end of the month.
Good luck learning or teaching English in 2025.
Richard and Jackie
The pie team
We have our own facebook page. Please like us and meet us there - and why not write some suggestions for podcasts, we'd love to hear from you!
Take a text
Take a text is a collection of 30 activities that you can do with your course book readings. There are 23 pre-reading activities, and 7 post-reading activities.
Each activity has information on what it practises, its uses, preparation before the class and clear instructions on what to do in class. There are also example texts used from a variety of course books so the activities are super clear.
Who is the book for?
■ It's ideal for new teachers. We remember not knowing what a 'jigsaw' reading was, or a 'dictation race'. We also remember thinking that we could do a lot more with a text in a course book, but not knowing what exactly. Over the years we have collected loads of exciting ideas, and these are what we want to share.
■ It's great for more experienced teachers too. Having so many ideas collected together means that it's a practical, easy reference book and one that should remind teachers of tasks they may have forgotten about. We're sure there are some new ideas included too!
Is it free?
Almost! It's just 9 Euros.
Students' information worksheets
To help you make the most of the site. There are more information worksheets for teachers on the teachers' page.
► Using PayPal (pdf 60KB) How to find your pie log in details and how to cancel your subscription. For everyone.
► Listening to the podcasts (pdf 23KB)Ten top listening tips to help you to listen to and understand real conversations. For members.
► Watching the videos (pdf 23KB)Eight great ideas on how you can watch the videos and understand the podcasts better. For members.
► Using the webquests (pdf 205KB)An explanation of the words and phrases we use on our webquests. For members.
► Natural spoken English 1 (pdf 55KB)Tasks to help you recognise the key features of natural spoken English. For members.
► Natural spoken English 2 (pdf 35KB)This worksheet helps you recognise fillers - and encourages you to use them yourself. For members.
Find a podcast
Over 700 podcasts! There are now three ways to find a podcast. One, go to the extras page where they are listed under topics. Two, type a topic into the search box (top, right). Three, by browsing the new lists of podcasts which we have compiled for each level:
►Level 1 list
►Level 2 list
►Level 3 list
And we have podcasts linked to special days throughout the year: ►Special days list
If you have a school subscription why not copy the lists and put them on the notice board for all your teachers to read.
PS Fill in the blanks as new podcasts come out until we renew the lists. (Lists last updated January 2025)
