Have you ever phoned to order a pizza? Listen to a conversation in which a man does this. You will hear the man in the pizza shop answering the phone and the customer speaking at the other end. This free listening lesson from Oxford Online English is for beginners.
Listen to the dialogue at normal speed here:
or listen to a slower version here:
Employee: Good evening, Hot Pizza. This is Liam speaking. How can I help you?
Customer: Hi buddy1, could I get2 two pizzas please?
Employee: Two pizzas? Certainly3. Would you like thin and crispy or deep crust?
Customer: Thin and crispy, please.
Employee: OK, sure3. What size would you like? Regular or family size?
Customer: Um4 … regular, please.
Employee: Right … um … so, what kind of pizzas would you like?
Customer: Right, could I get … um … one pepperoni and pineapple, and one vegetarian with extra mushrooms?
Employee: Sure, sure, absolutely3. Would you like anything else with that? Garlic bread? Anything to drink?
Customer: No, just the pizzas, cheers.
Employee: Uh-huh3, uh-huh … and would you like them to pick up or have them delivered5?
Customer: I’ll come and get them.
Employee: No problem, no problem. Name, please?
Customer: Yeah, it’s Darren.
Employee: Sorry, Aaron?
Customer: No … um … Darren with a D.
Employee: Oh, OK, that’s great. Thanks, Darren.
Customer: Could you tell me roughly when they’ll be ready?6
Employee: Sure. Give us about half an hour.
Customer: OK, that’s great. Cheers7.
The exercises below will help you understand some of the language in the dialogue. Read these notes about some of the phrases that the speakers use.
1. Buddy = a very informal word for ‘friend’. You can use it when you say hello to someone in an informal situation.
2. When we order food, we can say, for example, “I’d like to order two pizzas, please,” or “Could I have two pizzas, please”. This man uses a more informal option: “Could I get two pizzas, please.”
3. ‘Certainly’, ‘sure’, ‘absolutely’, and the noise ‘uh-huh’ are all ways to say ‘yes’.
4. ‘Um’ is a noise you make when you’re thinking.
5. When you order a pizza, you have the option to ‘pick it up’, which means go to the shop and collect it, or ‘have it delivered’, which means that they will bring the pizza to you.
6. If you’re going to pick up a pizza, you probably want to know what time to arrive at the shop. You can ask, “Could you tell me roughly when it will be ready?” ‘Roughly’ means ‘more or less’.
7. Cheers = thank you (also informal)
Phoning for a Pizza – exercise 1
Comprehension: multiple-choice
Can you understand what is happening in the conversation?
Listen and answer the questions. Write a, b, c or d in each answer space.
Phoning for a Pizza – exercise 2
Grammar: word order in questions
In this dialogue, the man in the pizza shop asks a lot of questions.
Listen to four questions from the dialogue. Put the words of the question in the order that you hear.
Phoning for a Pizza – exercise 3
Vocabulary: matching questions and answers
If you phone for a pizza and the employee asks you the questions in the previous exercise, would you know how to answer them?
Look at the questions again and match them with the answers from the dialogue. Then, listen again to check.
Phoning for a Pizza – exercise 4
Listening skills: dictation
Writing the exact words that you hear is an excellent way to practise your listening. It helps your ear recognise the sounds of English.
Listen to four sentences from the dialogue and write one word in each gap.
Phoning for a Pizza – exercise 5
Pronunciation: intonation in questions
In this exercise, you’ll learn about intonation – how the voice goes up and down when we’re speaking, just like when we’re singing!
Listen to the questions from exercise 4 and notice how the voice goes up and down at the end. Read the information about why this happens. Then, listen to four more questions from the dialogue. Decide if the speaker’s voice goes up or down at the end.
