Do you ever use English when you travel – for holidays or business trips? This free English listening lesson from Oxford Online English will introduce some useful words and phrases to use when checking in at the airport. This is a lesson for elementary and pre-intermediate learners.
Listen to the dialogue at normal speed here:
or listen to a slower version here:
Woman: Good morning, sir. Where are you flying today?
Man: Paris, via Dubai.
Woman: Can I take your passport?
Man: Yes, here you are.
Woman: Have you already checked in1 online?
Man: No, I haven’t.
Woman: OK. How many bags will you be checking2 in?
Man: Just one.
Woman: OK, put it on the belt3 for me, please. Hmmm, it’s a little overweight.
Man: Oh, really? I’m sorry…
Woman: No problem, I’ll let you off4 this time.
Man: Oh, thanks very much.
Woman: Do you have any hand luggage5?
Man: No, I don’t.
Woman: Here’s your passport, and your boarding pass6. Gate number 25. You need to be at the gate forty minutes before departure.
Man: Thanks. By the way, do I have to pick up my bag in Dubai?
Woman: No, your baggage is checked through7 to Paris.
Man: Great!
Woman: Have a nice flight!
Some of the answers to exercise 3 are included in these vocabulary notes. You may prefer to try the exercises and return to this section later if you need to.
1. You can check in for a flight, or a hotel.
2. Future continuous is used here to show politeness.
3. Belt = conveyor belt: a machine used to move baggage around
4. Let sb off = not to punish someone, a bit like “let sb go”
5. Hand luggage (or hand baggage) is a small bag you can take on board the plane.
6. You can say boarding pass or boarding card.
7. Checked through = checked in for more than one flight
Checking In at the Airport – exercise 1
Listening skill: following what is happening
Many coursebooks have exercises that ask whether statements are true, false or ‘not stated’ in the recording. To do this sort of exercise, first you need to understand what is happening at every stage of the conversation. Then you can listen again to check what details are mentioned – or not.
The recording has been cut into sections. Listen to each section and decide what is happening.
Checking In at the Airport – exercise 2
Comprehension: true, false or not stated
Now answer five questions about the information in the dialogue. There is one question for each section in the previous exercise.
Choose True if the information is stated, False if the opposite of the information is stated, or Not stated if it cannot be understood from anything in the recording.
Checking In at the Airport – exercise 3
Vocabulary: airport words
The conversation includes words and expressions that you will almost certainly hear or use when you go to an airport.
Complete five facts about flying, using words from the recording.
Checking In at the Airport – exercise 4
Grammar: talking about the future
The conversation refers to some things in the past (e.g. “Have you already checked in online?”) and other things happening at the moment of speaking (e.g. “Here’s your passport”). However, most of the dialogue refers to things in the very near future – the next few hours.
Listen to five sentences and read a note about why the verb is in the form used. Then, complete the gaps with the exact words you hear.
