This is a short video clip (2 mins) about a new species of rat found in Indonesia called the “hog-nosed rat”. They are much cuter than your average sewer-dwelling black rat! There are two good American speakers. The first is faster and uses more advanced vocabulary than the second but they both speak well.
a) Vocabulary
You will hear the following words in the clip. Check the dictionary if you do not understand the meanings.
accretion
endemic
enigmatic
advent
hog
rostrum
claws
novel
subtly
charismatically
Comprehension questions
What is the name of the continental mass the biologist says the island they are working in is part of?
What is special about the wildlife in that place?
What are the special features of this rat?
What has surprised the research team about their discoveries?
Transcript
So we’re here on Gunandako, and we’re working on Sulawesi because Sulawesi is neither part of the Asian continent nor part of the Australian continent; it’s its own accretion of oceanic land masses between the two, in an area known as “Malaysia”.
And we’re here because it remains an enigmatic place for mammals because every species of rodent here for instance is found only on Sulawesi – it’s endemic to Sulawesi and nowhere else. And how they relate to the species found in Australia, Asia and the Philippines is uncertain.
And that’s in large part because many of them haven’t been seen for many decades since the advent of genetic technology in our field and, as we’re finding, many of them have never been seen by scientific research teams, including this rat – what we’re calling the “hog-nosed rat” because of his long hog nose. It’s like no other rat that’s been seen on Sulawesi.
1.00
We know that this rat is new because it has several features that are not known from any other rats in Sulawesi or, as far as I know, elsewhere in the world. It’s got enormous ears for an animal of this body-size. It’s got a nose like a hog, with the nares forward-facing. It’s also got flat nails on the hands – instead of typically sharp rat claws. It’s got a very relatively long rostrum compared to most rats and that’s what clues us in that this is part of Sulawesi’s endemic radiation of shrew rats.
1.41
So there are many areas of relatively untouched forest left on Sulawesi, where scientific expeditions have been very limited. And there’s a lot of biogeographic complexity in Sulawesi, so going to those different places, we’re not too surprised that we’re finding new things, but our team has been a bit surprised by the degree to which these things are really novel – they’re not just subtly different organisms but really just charismatically different.
These reading / listening comprehension exercises are based on a recent short BBC video news article which reports on the recent re-opening of Birmingham’s main train station, following the completion of a huge renovation project.
Describe in general the project which has just finished.
Compare the atmosphere of the station before and after the project.
What have been the technical challenges for the project team?
What is the final step of the project to get the station ready for use?
c) Transcript
Ever feel like someone’s watching you? It looks like a giant spaceship has just landed slap bang in the centre of Birmingham; but this is a project on a stellar scale, transforming the old station – an ugly concrete rotting box, which had a car park in the way – into this three quarters of a billion pound state-of-the-art station and shopping centre.
Let me show you what they’ve been doing for the past six years : I don’t know if you remember the old station, but where I’m walking now was this horrible dingy claustrophobic concrete corridor you had to walk through to catch the trains. Well now, they’ve given it the “wow factor”. This absolutely show-stopping glass atrium – they’ve made the station five times bigger. So, basically, it can accommodate twice as many passengers as it does today.
“Proud – a really proud day, to transform what was a dark dingy station into what you see here today with – keeping the station running, with about one hundred and seventy thousand people a day travelling through it, all the engineering challenges, to do that without delaying trains, without delaying the public, I’m incredibly proud of everything my teams do.”
Now we’re going to do one of those TV shots where the camera starts tight on the reporter and then the cameraman slowly pulls out, and pulls out, and pulls out to reveal the stunningly beautifully enormous room that the reporter is standing in. But just look at that hive of activity below me, as they try to get ready for the first customers on Sunday morning. And then, look at this roof: it’s so stunning. I think people are going to be very impressed when they first walk in here.
They’ve transformed the whole station, but in some parts, they’ve just effectively put new clothes on an old body, and that includes all of this lovely stainless steel here. But there is a problem when you use such a reflective surface.
“We modelled the position of the sun, every day of the year, every hour of the year, and every platform as we come out of those tunnels, just to make sure that we don’t have debilitating glare that would actually dazzle the train drivers, because obviously they wouldn’t be able to see a signal.”
Overnight, more than five hundred people will take more than 400 tons of hoarding, fencing and concrete blocks away so that the station will be ready for passengers when the sun comes up on Sunday morning.
These exercises are based on a recent (summer 2015) short BBC video clip and accompanying article about a new Jaguar Land Rover factory in the Birmingham area.
Warm-up : Picture of assembly line robot
Look at this picture and describe what you see and what you think is happening.
In the following short article (taken directly from the BBC), I have underlined some words and phrases to discuss, for comprehension purposes.
Inside the high-tech Jaguar Land Rover engine factory
30 October 2014 Last updated at 11:34 GMT
UK car manufacturing in the first nine months of the year hit a six-year high, despite a dip in production last month.
More than 1.13 million cars were produced between January and September, the best comparable figures since 2008, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.
Meanwhile figures released earlier this month showed UK car sales hitting a 10-year high in September with sales rising 5.6% to 425,861 from a year ago.
Steph McGovern reports from the new Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, where robots can construct an engine from its component parts in less than a minute.
Technical words (jargon)
Below are some technical words for parts of a car and / or the car making process. Their precise function would not be known by most native speakers. However, most of us would recognise them as being related to cars. Read the words and imagine how they sound. If you are interested, check the translated meanings, however I will not be asking you technical questions!
piston
(engine) block
crankshaft
platen
conrod
Matching exercise
Match the words and phrases on the left with the definitions on the right.
at full throttle (adverbial phrase) top
in-house (adjective and adverb) streams of water to make something colder
stuffing (participle and adjective) protective container
peak (noun) at maximum speed
cradle (noun and verb) pushing something tightly inside a container
cooling jets (noun) internal
Video
A journalist tells us about how robots are being used to make car engines very quickly. She also speaks to Simon and Lance, workers at Jaguar Land Rover, to ask them about the process.
Comprehension Questions
a) What phrase is used to describe the rough cost of the factory?
b) How quickly is a new engine made?
c) What are the names of the two halls mentioned where the manufacturing takes place?
d) What happens to the “conrod” when it is put into the machine behind the journalist?
e) While the journalist is walking, what good news does she mention about the current success of the UK’s car manufacturing industry?
f) What happens so that the engine block can receive the pistons? (The answer includes a phrasal verb)
g) What are installed “further down the track”?
Video transcript – read only after listening several times!
This is a new multi-million pound engine factory. It’s owned by Jaguar Land-Rover, and when it’s at full throttle, it will be producing an engine – one of these – every 42 seconds.
With me now is Simon, who’s on the team. Simon, tell us a bit about how it works.
“Basically, next to our new machine hall, we’re manufacturing in-house our block, our head and our crankshaft. These are then shipped through into the assembly hall here, where they are started to be put together with external supplied components.
The machine you were just looking at was the conrod and piston assembly machine. This then assembles this component here which follows itself down the track where it’s then – the conrod – is then split in the machine behind you, and then follows on to the piston stuffing machine. ”
Well, let’s go and have a look at that bit. So, over here is the next bit of the process, but let me tell you while we’re walking , that the car manufacture industry is worth about £64 billion to the UK economy every year. It’s certainly growing at the moment, and we’re nearly back where we were when we were at the peak of making cars, which was in the mid-1970s.
So, over here, this is the piston-stuffing part of the business, and let’s have a quick chat with Lance to tell us about how this works.
“Ok. What this does, this lifts the block off the platen into there, to turn the engine over to allow it to receive the pistons. The robot will then take the pistons out of the cradle and put them into the block, which will be positioned here, and the pistons will be pushed down. Two are inserted on this one, it’s then put back, going further down the track, to have the piston cooling jets installed and then the further two pistons and the other two cooling jets.”
And you can get all of this to happen – one engine every 42 seconds: that sounds amazing!
“Yeah, it’s brilliant – it’s a fantastic piece of technology, and it’s great to be a part of it.”
Thank you Lance for your time. So there you go. This is how you can make an engine in 42 seconds.
“What a funny thing to say!”, you might be thinking. Of course, the Queen speaks her own English! (In England, we sometimes ironically describe well-spoken English as “the Queen’s English”.) I ask this question not to cast aspersions on our dear queen (long may she reign), but rather to introduce a crucial issue in English pronunciation which will be the focus of this language training article.
After reading this article, you should be in a better position to understand how native English-speakers from all English-speaking countries really speak. This should help you understand spoken English better and also speak better yourself.
The “schwa” sound
Vowels
English has 5 vowels in its alphabet – a e i o u. However, it is commonly accepted that there are 16 vowel sounds in US English and 20 vowel sounds in British English. You can see their phonetic transcriptions and how they sound in US and British English here:
In all native English accents, the schwa sound (written as “ə” ) is used, and more or less in the same way. You may recognise the sound from hearing the word “the”. The schwa (ə) is the most common vowel sound in English everywhere. Click on this sound and listen to it on the pages linked above.
Word stress
In a word of more than one syllable, one vowel sound carries the main stress. Other vowel sounds are uttered normally or are weakened to a schwa (ə). This means that the schwa sound can be represented in writing as:
-a -e -i -o or -u.
For example, I have underlined the vowel which is sounded as a schwa (ə) in each of these words :
(a) about
(e) listen
(i) devil
(o) connect
(u) furniture
In all of these words, a different vowel to the one I have underlined carries the stress. In “furniture”, there are in fact three vowel sounds : the main stress must be on the first “u” (“furn-“) and the “i” is sounded normally. The second “u” is reduced to a schwa. This is the only way and the correct way to pronounce this vowel sound.
Listen to the word “furniture” on an online dictionary such as Collins which has both British and American audio samples. You should hear that despite other differences in the sound (due to accent), the stressed vowel and the schwa sound is identical in both the US and British forms of English.
The schwa sound can also be represented in writing by two vowels together such as:
-ai, -ou, -io.
For example, I have underlined the vowels which is sounded as a schwa (ə) in these words:
obvious, certain, fashion
If you sound a vowel as it is written when a schwa should be used instead, this will be a mistake. While it is likely that a native speaker would understand you, speaking in this way is not an acceptable, alternative way of speaking, or even a more formal way of speaking: it would simply be wrong. Doing this would not be correct either in the English spoken by the Queen (long may she reign) or by the President of the USA (may he reign wisely until November 2016). Not only would it be wrong, it would also be tiring for native speakers to listen to you for long.
If you speak English only with non-natives as a common second language, then getting the schwa sound right may be less important. However, remember that people will have different challenges when speaking English, according to their native language group, and not everyone will understand non-standard English pronunciation.
Function words
Often words of one syllable have no schwa because there is only one vowel (e.g. “cat”), and usually there is a stressed vowel in every word. However, some words of only one syllable are normally spoken with a schwa sound in place of the vowel stated in the dictionary definition. This is because these words are grammatically important but not important to the meaning of the sentence. We call these “function” words. These are words like:
a an are were was for to and of some
Below, I have inserted a “ə” in place of the weakened vowel to show how they usually sound in speech:
ə ən əre wəre wəs fər tə ənd əf səme
Look at this sentence : “I’ve got some news for you.”
In this sentence, the vowel sounds in “some” and “for” are both weakened to produce “səme” and “fər”. This helps to give prominence to the key word, “news”.
However, in the sentence below, the vowel sound in the word “some” is stressed because it has become an important word to express contrast :
“Only some of the people in the class received the news in time.” [some, not all of them]
In fact, here, “some” has become the most important word in the sentence. If you only heard that word, you would still have a good chance of understanding the meaning of the whole sentence, from the context.
Spotting the schwa in practice
Look at this sentence, which was spoken by Queen Elizabeth (long may she reign):
“…we keep up as many of the traditions as we can, that are sensible to keep, like going in carriages.”
The following version of the same sentence shows where the Queen (long may she reign) used the schwa:
“…we keep up əs many əf thə trəditəns əs we can, thət əre sensible tə keep, like going in carriages.”
We now have definitive proof that the Queen (long may she reign) is an inveterate user of the schwa, just like the rest of us mere mortals. There is no escape from the schwa, even when referring to royal carriages.
I have included my transcript of the entire clip at the end of the article.
In an admirable display of transatlantic unity, President Obama can also be heard shamelessly using the ubiquitous schwa in this clip : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi86E5GgawY Listen to 0:44 to 0:54, which I have transcribed below.
“Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the White House correspondents’ dinner. The night when Washington celebrates itself.”
After inserting schwas, the same extract looks like this :
“Good ev’ning, ev’rybody. Welcəme tə thə White House corrəspondənts’ dinnər. The night when Washingtən celəbrates itself.”
Even though President Obama’s dinner had not yet started, you can see that quite a few vowels were already being swallowed.
Formality
All native English-speakers utter the schwa sound in the situations I have described. Using the schwa is not lazy or heard only on the mean streets of the Bronx or of Kensington, for example. In reality, the schwa is essential to English pronunciation because word stress is used to communicate meaning clearly and smoothly. This applies equally to Queen Elizabeth, a Texas rancher or a farmer in the Australian outback.
When it comes to the schwa, the accent is not important: in words and sentences, native speakers stress particular vowel sounds and weaken some others to a schwa. We do this in more or less the same way, wherever we come from.
Further study
There is a lot more to effective pronunciation but hearing and using the schwa sound well is an essential element to good comprehension and speaking. If you have learnt most of your English vocabulary without thinking about the schwa sound (though most people know about “the”, “wanna” and “gonna”!), then you may need to change some pronunciations habits, and this will take time.
If you want to work on this aspect of pronunciation by yourself, here is an exercise which I recommend :
a) find an authentic English audio or video clip which comes with a transcript
b) make sure you can understand at least 60% of the meaning
c) listen several times and write down what you hear
d) read the transcript, and compare it with what you hearde) rewrite the text you have studied, inserting schwas in place of the vowels which were weakened
f) read your new script to yourself several times. If you feel strange when you do this, then you are probably making progress!
Good luck and thanks for reading.
Michael Chambers LLB CELTA
Transcript : The Queen as hostess
0:33 – 1:01
A lot of the visits nowadays have a very strong political tone to them, and we are really the hosts, basically. I mean, we give the entertainment, initially, and have the people to stay, hoping to give them a nice time to remember. And obviously, we keep up as many of the traditions as we can, that are sensible to keep, like going in carriages.
1:33 – 2:05
I think, in a way, it’s quite an old-fashioned idea that you do put out the red carpet for a guest. I mean, I think that people don’t really realise this that – I do tell the guests that we put on our best clothes, and everybody dresses up, and the best china and glass and the gold plate comes out which otherwise doesn’t see the light of day. So it’s very nice to be able to use it and show it.
3:53 – 4:22
If you do put out the best china and glass, it doesn’t necessarily make it overwhelming, if you don’t accept it as overwhelming – because, if people are kind to you, and make you feel at home, I don’t think that the outward and visible signs are really – it’s what goes on inside that really matters.
But sometimes, it is worth explaining, you know, that we put it on, you know, especially, and that we don’t actually live like this all the time.
To practise listening (to American accents) and become more familiar with the meaning of some words and common idioms.
Suitable for intermediate students (B1/B2).
Instructions to students
This is a short news feature about an “invasion” of tuna crabs on a California beach in summer 2015 .
Read the comprehension questions below and make sure you understand them.
Listen to the video at the link above at least 3 times, without reading the transcript.
Answer the comprehension questions.
Listen to the video again, while reading the transcript.
Finally, try the vocabulary exercise.
The answers to the comprehension questions and the vocabulary exercise are within this document.
Comprehension Questions
What noun did she use to describe how crabs were spread across the beach?
What is the other name for the tuna crab?
Do tuna fish like tuna crabs?
How big are the crabs? She estimated the size by referring to a part of the body.
When tuna crabs are underwater, which other sea creature do they look like?
Which weather phenomenon do some people think is the reason for the “invasion” of red crabs?
In which two years were there similar invasions?
Vocabulary
What do the following words or phrases in bold mean?
They often hang around with tuna
Beachgoers tiptoeing around the crabs
Curious pups don’t know what to make of the crustacean
Spreading their pinchers like an ocean monster
They pinch him on the tongue
The water is a little warmer off our coast
The tuna crabs washed ashore on Pacific beach
CBS 8 featured the crabs’ appearance in 2002
Transcript
A blanket of red crabs across [Dall?] Beach Thursday morning.
“Today there are just thousands of them.”
Thousands of tuna crabs also known as red crabs, washing up along Ocean Beach.
“They often hang around with tuna, and tuna love to eat them.”
0:16
On the beach, the tuna crabs are about the size of your thumb.
“You know, I was pretty shocked that these were gonna be here this morning. I’ve never seen this before.”
0:23
And underwater the red crabs look like lobsters, spreading their pinchers like an ocean monster.
“I saw it right there, I was like…aaah! [incoherent]
Beachgoers tiptoeing around the crabs, curious pups don’t know what to make of the crustacean.
0:36
“My dog, like, eats 35 every time he’s out here. I gotta tell him to stop eating them. They pinch him on the tongue.”
The red crab invasion doesn’t happen often. They live in the warm open waters down in [Baha?] feeding on plankton.
0:50
“We see this occur every few years and right now, the water is a little warmer off our coast.”
Some believe that it’s El Niño that’s bringing in the red crabs. Last month, the tuna crabs washed ashore on Pacific beach, before that, CBS 8 featured the crabs’ appearance in 2002 and then in 1997, preceding the last El Niño.
1.10
“The weather’s definitely been super-weird”, …. and super-exciting for beachgoers.
“Say hello – my little friend.”
Answers to Comprehension Questions
What noun did she use to describe how crabs were spread across the beach?
Blanket
What is the other name for the tuna crab?
Red crabs.
Do tuna fish like tuna crabs?
Yes, they “love” them
How big are the crabs? She estimated the size by referring to a part of the body.
About the size of your thumb
When tuna crabs are underwater, which other sea creature do they look like?
Lobsters
What weather phenomenon do some people think is the reason for the “invasion” of red crabs?
El Niño (hurricane)
In what years were there similar invasions?
2002 and 1997.
Meaning of Vocabulary
What do the following words or phrases in bold mean?
They often hang around with tuna
Spend time or wait casually
Beachgoers tiptoeing around the crabs
Treading carefully, literally on the tips of your toes
Curious pups don’t know what to make of the crustacean
Cannot understand the situation
Spreading their pinchers like an ocean monster
Opening wide
They pinch him on the tongue
A small, sharp bite on the skin made by an animal’s claw or human fingertips.
The water is a little warmer off our coast
In the sea, near the coast.
The tuna crabs washed ashore on Pacific beach
Left on the shore by the movement of the sea (tide)
This is a sample writing task selected at random from the website, IELTS-Exam.net. The task is to compare and contrast population figures in a barchart. The time allowed in the exam for this question would be 20 minutes. Below, you can see my spontaneous effort, which took me 13 minutes.
Below the text, I have listed 11 words and phrases used in the article for discussion and practise with a teacher.
Finally, I have selected one long sentence for consideration of its structure and style, and have written some questions on it.
The overall trend in every continent, without exception, is one of an increase in the urban population. This trend is expected to continue well into the future, according to the 2030 projections shown on the barchart. However, if we examine the information more closely, we can discern a number of variations between the continents.
With only 15% and 17%, the respective percentages of the populations of Africa and Asia living in urban areas in 1950 were almost identical; similarly, both of these figures more than doubled between 1950 and 2007, representing a very significant increase, both in absolute terms, and also in comparison with the much smaller rises which we can observe in the other three continents.
What is perhaps most alarming is that, worldwide, the percentage of people living in cities seems set to rise significantly across the world. By 2030, the chart indicates that only 13% of North Americans will remain in rural areas, presumably leaving huge tracts of land unoccupied and uncultivated.
169 words, 13 minutes
Vocabulary to discuss and practise
overall trend
without exception
is expected to continue
well into the future
discern
With only 15% and 17%, the respective percentages of the populations of Africa and Asia ….
more than doubled
representing a very significant increase
What is perhaps most alarming is…
seems / looks set to rise
… presumablyleaving huge tracts of land unoccupied and uncultivated
Sentence structure
Review this sentence
“…; similarly, both of these figures more than doubled between 1950 and 2007, representing a very significant increase, both in absolute terms, and also in comparison with the much smaller rises which we can observe in the other three continents.”
Long sentences written by non-natives often place a strain on the reader, even if they are 100% accurate. What I have excerpted is a long sentence, by English standards, but is well constructed and so easy to follow.
Read the sentence aloud and decide where to place the pauses in order to help the listener follow. See how closely your pauses correspond with my commas.
Deconstruct the sentence into clauses and then later, see if you can reconstruct it.
This is a very lovely short video in which a dance therapist from Chicago talks about how she works with elderly people, through the medium of dance, to help bring back hidden memories. Enjoy the video and make use of the transcript, as you wish.
Studio
Erica Hornthal is a therapist who uses dance as a form of psychotherapy. She helps patients with various types of memory loss create a connection between body and soul through movements.
That’s right. Let’s find out why she loves her job and how good she is at it.
Erica
[Singing] All right there. You keep it up.
Irene, how we doing?
So, basically, I see movement as a way into the brain.
A lot of the people I do work with have limited language skills. They do have limited mobility and the memory is impaired and so I get to use movement to, what I feel is, break down the barriers within the brain that are keeping the memories hidden.
They’ve lived long lives. They have those memories somewhere. It’s my job to tap into that. And so, by using movement, I basically fire up the brain. I sometimes create new pathways to get those memories out and to get them talking again. So, it’s kind of like being a detective.
So many that I’ve worked with, I think, a lot of individuals, even family members, feel like they’re not capable of something or they can’t do it. And I come in, and I don’t even let that be a factor.
There we are. I am gonna let you put your hand on my waist, here. All right? It’s a good day now!
I was an undergrad actually at the University of Florida as a dance major, and kind of realised that it wasn’t necessarily for me. And so, I was taking some psychology classes and a professor of mine turned me onto dance movement therapy. And I’m sure, like a lot of people, I started thinking “is this made up?”, “is this a real profession?”, and sure enough, it’s been around since about the 1950s.
Now I’m a board-certified dance therapist as well as a licensed clinical professional counsellor in the state of Illinois.
How you doing, Ted? All right, good.
All in all, I’ve been doing this on my own for four and a half years. As a dance therapist, I’ve been working for eight and a half, nine years. And it must be working ‘cos it’s catching on, so!
I love my job. I mean, aside from working for myself and creating my own practice, to see someone smile, or to see the smallest movement when they didn’t think it was possible : it brightens my day. So, it’s something I love to do and there really isn’t a day when I’ve woken up and not wanted to go to work.
Studio
Aah. See, everyone should feel that way, you know. It makes sense, you know, like bringing back something that people loved, and using that as a form of therapy, getting them to dance and like you said, move. [move…..]
I love that, so sweet, so if you want more information about Erica and her therapy sessions, you can go to northshoredancetherapy.com.
The Brooks was started in the 30s by a fellow named Brooks. My dad bought it in 1979 and I came to work for him in 1982. I was working as an aircraft mechanic and was not really liking it. He was getting ready to retire so I came to work for him and took over.
All the parts go on, you know, a little bit oversize and then they’re finished grinding on a machine like this – they’re sized.
We do everything that you can possibly do to a pair of shoes. We mainly just heels and soles, repairing shoes, restoring the appearance of shoes. The average price of what we work on, retail price, is around $500, purchase price. And you go on as high as $1000, $1500 for a pair of boots.
Designer handbags – we do a lot of refurbishing of designer handbags. They’re a couple thousand dollars.
You see how expensive this stuff is when you realise there’s an active secondary market for designer goods.
You know, these shoes, designer shoes are more expensive than ever now so it really pays to make them last.
[And people walk a lot in Chicago]
People do walk a lot and sometimes they walk in shoes that are not so practical for walking i.e. high heels – the ladies love their heels. They can, you know, go through the heels pretty quick.
And this is the beauty part – where we make it all look nice.
We tend to get very busy in the spring and the fall. So we’re doing twice the average volume for 3 or 4 months in the year and it gets hard for us to keep up.
You know, I can get into a situation where I can’t – there’s not any room on the benches to bring the work in the shop.
I love my job. I love my job. I meet new people every day, amaze people with – you know, I have customers come in to pick up their first order, drop off some shoes and maybe they’re a little sceptical, and they come to pick up the order and they go, I’ve heard this many times : “Oh my gosh, all the shoes I threw away.”
At this YouTube link, there is a a 2.5 minute clip of an interview with a hotel doorman from Chicago who loves his job, and tells us why. The language is simple and would be suitable for intermediate English learners.
Transcript
Studio introduction
He is winning hearts and minds and some cold, hard cash at the Hotel Intercontinental on Michigan Avenue.
So, Will White is a doorman and he’s on a mission to brighten the day of each and every guest. So let’s check out why he loves his job.
The doorman
“Good afternoon, welcome to the Hotel Intercontinental”.
“Good afternoon”.
“One car to come down to the garage, please.”
Well my duties include .. er.. greeting guests when they arrive to the hotel, giving them information on the hotel, and getting taxis for guests, and also ..er.. recommending restaurants and things to do throughout the city.
“All right, you guys have a good day.”
Well, I’ve been working this job for 20 years. I was in high school and my sister, she was actually employed at the hotel at the time. And she saw that I was working hard in school, and she said, you know, her job was hiring. And she asked me to come down and I put in an application; and they hired me to be a bellman here at the hotel. And I’ve been here since that time.
“You’re welcome, sir” [Indistinct]
“Will this be for overnight or short-term for you all?”
“And then the next building is the Marriott.”
I love being a doorman, you know, I have good experiences every day with different people from all over the world. The winters are a little tough. But if you dress for it, you know, it’s a pretty great job to have.
“If you go to Ohio, which is the first intersection, and take a left, ….”
“Well, is there luggage for me to send upstairs for you all?”
“Now your husband …”
I’m meeting people all day, you know, and I’m in a good mood. And if I meet someone, if they’re not in a good mood, 9 times out of 10, if I have a good conversation, you know, I can give them a smile. My thing is to try to… each person that I come in contact with, is to try to make them leave from my presence with a smile.
“Thank you very much…”
“You’re welcome to the Intercontinental.”
“Where are you travelling to?”
Well, I love my job because I get to be myself, I get to meet new people every day. And it brings daylight to my own life.
“Welcome to the Intercontinental….Have a great day…See you all later today.”
Some days, my days might not be bright, but I’ll come here and I’ll meet someone and they’ll make my day. You know, that’s the great thing about a job like this, because you’re dealing with regular people; so you never know what kind of conversation you’re gonna have. Every day is different.
Discussion in studio
And all I can think of : the people-watching that he must have in his little perch right there (oh, the stories) must be awesome!
The stories that he could probably tell of things that he’s seen late at night outside that hotel. That’s cool. Then, he loves to make everyone else’s day.
Now, if you love your job, we wanna hear from you. Send us an email. Let us know why you love your job and we could be featuring you, right here, on our show.
I have been to Italy several times and the level of English among waiters and waitresses is good. In fact, many of them won’t let me practise speaking Italian! However, restaurant staff could provide an even better service to English-speaking customers if they learnt some natural expressions which we English-speakers use and hear when going to restaurants in our own countries.
Despite my main careers as lawyer and teacher, I also worked in the very different environment of an English hotel for 1 year. In this first article in a series, I will give you a “flavour” of the kind of language that could help your restaurant look more professional to tourists. Enjoy!
C = Customer W = Waiter
W: Welcome!
C: We’d like a table for 2,3,4 please.
W: Certainly, please come this way / I’ll take you to your table.
W: We’re a little busy at the moment. A table will be free in about 15 minutes – would you mind waiting?
C: Can we sit anywhere?
W: Of course, please choose any table.
C: Can we have a table a) in the corner / b) away from the door / c) away from the kitchen?
W: Of course – I suggest this table here / that table there.
W: We’re very busy at the moment and the only available table is this one / the one over there. Would that be OK with you?
W: Can I take your coats?
C: Can we smoke?
W: Unfortunately, it’s illegal to smoke in restaurants now, but you are welcome to smoke outside.
W: Of course. There is a smoking area at the back / in the corner / over there. Shall I take you there?
W: Here are some menus. You’ll see that today’s specials are [list the special dishes of the day].
W: Unfortunately there is no [beef / fish etc] left. It’s very popular at the moment.
C: Where are the toilets / gents / ladies / loos? (UK)
C: Where is the bathroom? (US)
W: It’s / they’re at the back / on the right / down that corridor / over there.
W: What would you like to drink?
C: I’ll have a [coke / glass of wine / sparkling water/ still water etc]. My wife / husband / friend will have a [beer etc]
C: What wines / beers do you have?
W: We have [list them] Here is our wine list.
W: Can I take your order, sir / madam (formal)?
W: What are you guys having (informal)?
C: For starters / for the main course / for mains, I’d like / I’ll have [customer chooses from menu]
W: Does anyone have any food allergies?
C: I can’t take / have gluten / Do you have anything which is gluten-free?
C: I am celiac.
C: I am a vegetarian.
C: I don’t eat red meat.
C: I am intolerant to nuts / lactose.
W: If you can’t eat [name the food], you should not have these items on the menu [point to the menu]
W: I can check with the chef. I’ll be right back.
C: Does that come with vegetables / salad?
W: Yes, they’re / it’s included in the dish.
W: No, you have to order vegetables / salad separately.
W: How do you like your steak?
C: Rare / medium-rare / medium / well-done
Phrase of the week
Would you mind + -ing?
It is always polite to use this phrase. It is useful for polite requests.
Here are some examples:
– Would you mind waiting 10 minutes for a table to come free?
– Would you mind having the trout instead of the salmon?
– Would you mind moving to another table?
Next week….
I will continue the series with phrases you may hear and need to say between the time when the customer has ordered their food and when they say goodbye and leave.
About me
I teach English to many Italian people online. I previously worked as a lawyer in England for 12 years and in a hotel for 1 year.
I can help you and your staff to speak better English and say phrases which sound natural to Americans, British people and all native English speakers.
I can also help you to produce correspondence, website content and other professional and academic documents in English. Please feel free to get in touch with me for a chat.
Michael Chambers
Chambers English : The Language of Professional Success!
Articles about the UK 