Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Georgina.
This is the programme
where we hope to add
some colour to your life
by talking about an
interesting subject and
teaching you some
useful vocabulary.
And colour is what we're
talking about today.
What's your favourite
colour, Neil?
Oh, I like green - a fresh,
bold colour, that reminds
me of nature - it can have
a calming effect. And you?
It's got to be blue - it
reminds me of the sea,
the sky - and holidays,
of course!
Colour - no matter which
one we prefer - affects
how we feel. And we'll be
talking about that soon.
But not before I challenge
you to answer my quiz
question, Georgina - and
it's a science question.
Do you know what the
splitting of white light
into its different colours
is called? Is it...
a) dispersion,
b) reflection, or
c) refraction?
Hmmm, well I'm not a
scientist, so I'll have a
guess as c) refraction.
OK, I'll reveal the right
answer later on. But now,
let's talk more about
colour. Colour can
represent many
different things,
depending on where
you come from. You
can be 'green with envy' -
wishing you had what
someone else had.
And someone can
feel blue - so feel depressed.
We choose colours to
express ourselves in
what we wear or how
we decorate our home.
The BBC Radio 4
programme, You and
Yours, has been talking
about colour and whether
it affects everyone's mood.
Karen Haller is a colour
psychologist and a
colour designer and
consultant - she explained
how colour affects us.
It's the way that we
take in the wavelengths
of light because
colour is wavelengths
of light, and it's how
that comes in through
our eye, and then it
goes into the part of
our brain called the
hypothalamus, which
governs our sleeping
patterns, our hormones,
our behaviours, our
appetite - it governs -
everything and so
different colours and
different frequencies or
different wavelengths
of light, we have different
responses and different
reactions to them.
So, colour is
wavelengths of light -
a wavelength is the
distance between two
waves of sound or
light that are next to
each other. As these
wavelengths change,
so does the
colour we see.
Thanks for the science
lesson! Karen also
explained that there's a
part of our brain that
controls - she used the
word govern - how we
feel and how we behave.
And this can change
depending on what
colour we see.
Interesting stuff - of course,
colour can affect us
differently. Seeing red
can make one person
angry but someone else
may just feel energised.
Homeware and furnishing
manufacturers offer a
whole spectrum - or range -
of colours to choose to
suit everyone s taste,
and mood. But during
the recent coronavirus
pandemic, there was a
rise in demand for intense,
bright shades and patterns.
This was referred to as 'happy
design' - design that was
meant to help lift our mood.
Yes, and Karen Haller
spoke a bit more about
this on the You and
Yours programme.
In the time when everyone
was out and we were all
working, and we lived
very busy lives, quite
often what people wanted -
they wanted a quiet
sanctuary to come back
to, so they had very pale
colours or very low
chromatic colours in their
house - low saturation -
because that helped
them unwind and helped
them relax and to feel
very soothed. But what
I have found since
the first lockdown is a
lot of people, because
they re not getting that
outside stimulation, they're
actually putting a lot of
brighter colours in their
home because they're
trying to bring in that
feeling that they would
have got when they were
out - that excitement
and that buzz.
It seems that in our
normal busy working lives,
our homes were peaceful
places and somewhere
to relax - they were a
sanctuary. To create this
relaxing space, we use
pale colours - ones that
lack intensity, like sky blue.
But during the recent
lockdowns, when we
weren't outside much,
we tried to get that
stimulation - that
excitement or experience -
by decorating our homes
with brighter colour.
Such as yellow!
Hmmm, perhaps a little
too bright for me! It is
all about personal taste
and the connections we
make with the colours
we see but it makes
sense that brighter
colours can certainly
lift our mood.
Now, earlier I asked you,
Georgina, do you know
what the splitting of
white light into its
different colours
is called? Is it...
a) dispersion,
b) reflection, or
c) refraction?
And I said it
was refraction.
Sorry Georgina, that's
wrong. It is actually
called dispersion. Back
to school for you - but
not before we recap
some of today's vocabulary.
OK. Firstly we can
describe someone who
wishes they had what
someone else has,
as being green with envy.
We also talked about
a wavelength - the
distance between two
waves of sound or
light that are next
to each other.
To govern means to
control or influence.
A sanctuary can be a
peaceful or relaxing place -
in some cases it can be a
safe place for
someone in danger.
Stimulation describes the
feeling of being excited,
interested or enthused
by something. And pale
describes a colour that
lacks intensity, it's not
very bright - and for me,
they're much better
than a bold bright yellow!
Well, Georgina, thanks for
showing your true colours!
That's all for now, but we'll
be picking another topic
to discuss out of the
blue, next time.
Don't forget you can
hear other 6 Minute
English programmes
and much more on
our website at
bbclearningenglish.com -
and we're always
posting stuff on our
social media platforms.
Bye for now.
Goodbye.