Useful Language


Airport English
Here are some useful English phrases that help you deal with the affairs happened at the airport.
1) Buying a ticket
  •   I'd like to reserve two seats to New York.
  •   Will that be one way or round trip?
  •   How much is a round trip ticket?
  •   It's $819. Will you pay by check or by credit card?
  •   Here's my Visa Card. Can we get an aisle seat please?
  •   You can choose your seat when you check in.
2) Checking in
  •   Can I see your ticket and passport, please?
  •   Here they are. Can we get one seat near the aisle?
  •   Yes, that's no problem. You're in seats 27B and 27C.
  •   Thanks. Where do we go next?
  •   Go to Gate A8, straight ahead then turn left.
3) On the airplane
  •   Would you like something to drink?
  •   Could I have Coke with no ice?
  •   Here you are. Please fill out this form before the plane lands.
  •   What is this form for?
  •   It's a Customs and Immigration form. You will use that in the airport before you can enter the country.
4) The Arrival
  •   Thank you for flying East West Airlines!
  •   I had a good trip. Thanks for your help.
  •   It was our pleasure and we hope to see you again.
5) Getting through Customs
  •   Do you have anything to declare?
  •   I just have one bottle of wine. It's a gift for my friend.
  •   How much wine is in the bottle?
  •   It contains 750ml.
  •   That's fine. Have a nice stay.
6) Getting your luggage
  •   At which carrousel will our luggage be?
  •   At number 5, over there.
  •   Great! I'll get a cart right away.
  •   Be sure you have your luggage ticket.
  •   Yes, it's right here attached to my plane ticket.
7) Get out!
  •  Excuse me, where can I get a taxi?
  •  Go down to the end of the hall and the taxis are waiting just outside.
Take a taxi  
  • Welcome to the city. Where to?
  • To the Do Re Mi Hotel.
  • Right away. Where brings you to the city?
  • I'm here on business, but I hope to have some time for sightseeing, too.
  • You should be sure to see the big festival on Monroe Street this week.
  • Okay, thanks for the tip. Are there any other things I should do while I'm here?
  • Don't miss the new art exhibit at the Central Museum. I've heard it's very good.
  • Thanks, that's a big help.
  • Here we are, the Do Re Mi Hotel. The fare is $17.50.
  • Here's $20. Keep the change.
  • Thanks! I hope you have an enjoyable stay here.
Hotel English
Here is a video which shows you how to check in to a hotel in English and after watching it you can learn some useful words and phrases while checking in.
1) Checking In
  • Welcome to Do Re Mi! How may I help you?
  • We have a reservation for a double room for one week.
  • Can I have your name, please?
  • My name is Josephson. That's J-O-S-E-P-H-S-O-N.
  • Could you sign your name here, Mr. Josephson? This is your keycard. You will be in Room 1313.
2) Your Room
  • Hey, this room is really nice! And big, too.
  • Come over to the window and look at the view.
  • Wow! Look at the waves. I can't wait to go for a walk along the beach.
  • Let's go out and enjoy the sun and sea now. We can unpack our suitcases later.
  • That's a great idea. Grab a towel and some sunscreen and let's go!
3) Checking Out
  • Will you be checking out now?
  • Unfortunately, yes. We've had a great stay, but now it's time to go home and get back to work.
  • Well, we hope you'll have the chance to come back and stay with us again in the future.
  • We hope so too!
Aussie Terms for Food and Drink
l         Cuppa: As in the phrase "Fancy a Cuppa?" Traditionally, a cuppa was a cup of tea, but now can sometimes mean a coffee.
l         Snags: Raw sausages, often offered from the barbie.
l         Barbie: Very common term for barbecue.
l         Sanger: A sandwich – which usually means 2 slices of buttered bread with filling. Buns are often called rolls, as in a salad roll. Other introduced terms terms for specific bread types are increasingly common – eg. panini, a wrap (with rolled flat bread) foccaccia.
l         Chips: A difficult term that relies on the context. It most often refers to hot potato slices, otherwise known as French Fries. However, the packets of dry sliced potato usually referred to as Crisps in other countries are also refered to in Australia as "a packet of chips" or "bag of chips."
l         Bickies: This is the affectionate term for biscuits, which are not bread, but sweet cookies.
l         Lollies: Lollies are sweets or candy.
l         Tinnie: While this can be a small aluminium fishing boat, it is most likely a can of beer, aluminium cans having almost totally replaced glass beer bottles, except for stubbies.
l         Stubbies: A stubby is a small bottle of beer holding 330-375 ml. A Darwin Stubbie (available in the Northern Territory) is a joke expression, as the Darwin Stubbie is a huge 2 litre beer bottle.
l         Chook: This is a popular term for a hen (chicken). In the 1940s, many households, even in the cities, had chooks in the backyard. The term can occasionally be used for cooked chicken: "Want a piece of chook?", but the US influence has most Australians asking for chicken.
Terms on the Australian Beach
  • Cossie: Cossie is short for (swimming ) costume, and can refer to a one-piece or a brief bikini. Swimmer is an alternative term. Men's swimmers are occasionally called togs. Boardies (board shorts) are long swimmers for men.
  • Sunnies: Sunglasses – an essential against the glare of golden sand.
  • Sunscreen: The usual term for protective UV cream.
  • Dumper: A bad wave form that drops on the swimmer and rolls them in the sand.
  • Rip: A rip is a fast, strong current that travels along some beaches and out to the open sea. Most drowning deaths on Australian beaches are of overseas tourists, unfamiliar with this nasty phenomenon. Hence, the need to obey the demand to "swim between the Flags."
  • The Flags: This should be a familiar concept to overseas visitors as it is used in many beach resorts around the world. Lifesavers establish a safe swimming area and erect flags to mark the spot. Many swimmers resent the tight herding of swimmers when there are kilometres of beach. Nevertheless, doing so puts the swimmer at greater risk.
  • Bluebottles: Bluebottles are small jellyfish with a long string-like stinger. They have a kidney-shaped blue float. The stinging tentacle can wrap around the leg or torso and feels much like an electric shock. If weather conditions leave lots of bluebottles cast up on the beach (easily seen) or id some are sighted in the surf, it is best to stay out of the water.
  • Thongs: The visitor will see thongs on the beach. The term has been introduced to Australia to refer to the ultra-brief bikinis. However, the term thongs has also been used for generations to refer to rubber footwear, often called flipflops in other countries.
Exercises
Now, it's your time to practice your  English. Please click the following links  and do some  exercise to check how much you have learned through our blog.  
At the airport 1 (At the check-in desk)
At the airport 2 (Speaking with flight attendants/passengers)
At the hotel (Check-in)
   (By Susan)
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