English Speaking Exercises for B1 – Guided conversation

1. Listen to a teenage boy enquiring about a job. Complete the information.

img

Job: A or B? ________

Responsibilities:

1) _____

2) _____

Salary: ______________

Hours: ______________

Accommodation included? _________

Show answers

Job   A (fruit picking)  

1 pick apples   2

 put them in boxes

Salary   £8 p/h  

Hours 7 a.m.–4 p.m.  

Accommodation No

Transcript

See exercise 3.

2. Complete the Speaking Strategy with the words below.

ask      question      reminds      something      speaking      thing

Speaking Strategy

Make sure that you refer to all four points in the task. You may need to move the conversation on in order to cover all four topics. Use phrases like:

Moving on to the 1) _______ of ___

Another 2) _______ I wanted to ask / know is ___

3 __________ else I’d like to talk about is …

Could I possibly 4) _______ you about ___ ?

5 __________ of X (if X has been mentioned)

That 6) _______ me, ___ (if there is a link with something you want to say or ask)

Show answers

1) question   2) thing   3) Something   4) ask

5) Speaking   6) reminds

3. Listen again. Tick the phrases in the Speaking Strategy that the interviewee uses.

Show answers

Moving on to the question of ___ ,

Another thing I wanted to ask / know is ___

Could I possibly ask you about ___ ?,

Speaking of ___

Transcript

Boy I’m ringing to enquire about the job of fruit-picker, which I saw advertised on your website. Could I possibly ask you some questions about it?

Manager Certainly. What would you like to know?

b Well, first of all, may I ask what the responsibilities are?

m That’s an easy question to answer. You have to pick apples. And then you put them into boxes.

b I see. Another thing I wanted to know is, how much do you pay?

m We pay quite well. It’s £8 an hour. Your total salary depends on how many hours you work, of course.

b Speaking of hours, what time would I start work? And what time would I finish?

m We start early, at seven in the morning and finish at four in the afternoon.

b Moving on to the question of accommodation, do you provide your workers with anywhere to stay, or do we have to find out own accommodation?

m No we don’t provide accommodation, I’m afraid, but there is a large hostel near the farm.

b OK, thanks very much for your help. I’ll have a think about it and get back to you.

m You’re welcome. Bye now.

b Goodbye.

4. Match 1-5 with a-e to make the start of indirect questions.

1) Could you

2) I’d be

3) I’d like

4) May

5) I was


a I ask ___

b tell me ___

c interested to know ___

d wondering ___

e to know ___

Show answers

1) b   2) c   3) e   4) a   5) d

5. Listen to a teenage girl enquiring about a job. Complete the information.

Job: 1) _____________

Responsibilities:

2) _____.

3) _____.

4) _____.

Salary: 5) _____.

Travel expenses included? 6) _____

Show answers

1) hotel receptionist   2) checking guests in

3) checking guests out   4) answering the phone

5) £250 for a 35-hour week 6) No

Transcript

See exercise 5.

6. Listen again. Complete the indirect questions with phrases from exercise 4.

1) _____________ if I could ask you some questions.

2) _____________ what the job involves?

3) _____________ what experience is required.

4) _____________ what the salary is.

Show answers

1) I was wondering   2) May I ask

3) I’d be interested to know   4) I’d like to know

Transcript

Receptionist Hello. King Edward Hotel. Can I help you?

Girl Yes, I’m ringing about the job of hotel receptionist.

r I’ll put you through to the manager. Hold the line, please.

Manager Hello, can I help you?

g Yes, I’m calling about the post of hotel receptionist and I was wondering if I could ask you some questions.

m Sure. What would you like to know?

g Well, first of all, may I ask what the job involves?

m The main responsibilities are checking guests in, checking guests out, and answering the phone.

g OK. I’d be interested to know what experience is required.

m Yes, ideally we want someone who has experience of working in a hotel, and has dealt with guests.

g Well, I worked in a hotel in hometown for three months last summer.

m That sounds ideal. And knowledge of French or Spanish would be an advantage.

g I speak a bit of French.

m That’s good. You also need to be polite and hard-working, and very patient when dealing with the guests.

g Yes, I’m sure I can do that. Moving on to the question of pay, I’d like to know what the salary is.

m The salary is £250 for a 35-hour week.

g And are travel expenses included?

m No, they aren’t.

g I see. Thank you.

m Well, we’re interviewing next week. If you are still interested, please fill in the application online, and we’ll contact you.

7. Read the task. Prepare questions about the information below. Think of follow-up questions to find out more details.

You have applied for a part-time holiday job as a sales assistant in a supermarket. You are going for an interview with the store manager. Prepare questions for the interview about these four points.

–  responsibilities

–  personal qualities and experience required

–  hours of work and salary

–  travel expenses.

1) Responsibilities?

________.

________.

2) Personal qualities?

________.

________.

3) Experience required?

________.

________.

4) Hours of work?

________.

________.

5) Salary?

     ________.

     ________.

6) Travel expenses?

     ________.

     ________.

Show answers

your own answers

8. Now do the speaking task above. Use your notes from exercise 7

Show answers

your own answers

Extra exercises

Strategy

Start by describing the photos in general. Contrast the photos by describing who the people are, what they are doing and where they are. Then describe some details in the photo. Finish with a personal comment or some speculation about the photos.

1. Read the Strategy. Put sentences A-D in the correct order (1-4).

a I think the first photo might be a farm in Argentina. It’s very beautiful. The second photo looks like France, or maybe it’s Italy.

b In this photo, the people are working with horses.

c Both photos show people working on a farm.

d In the second photo, the people are picking fruit rather than working with animals.

Show answers

a 4   b 2   c 1   d 3

2. Photos (A and B) show young people doing part-time work in their holidays. Compare and contrast them. Include the following:

–  typical jobs that young people do part-time.

–  why young people do part-time work

–  what skills people can learn by doing holiday work

img

3. In pairs, ask and answer the questions. If possible, use evidence from the photos in your discussion.

1) What kinds of skills and personality do people who work with young children need?

2) Which of the two part-time jobs shown in photos A and B would you rather do? Why?

Show answers

your own answers

Advanced English Vocabulary - One Minute Videos on YouTube

Proceed to the list of Advanced English Vocabulary.