SPEAK FIRST · A1 · 50 min

The Airport

Passport, suitcase, boarding pass, and a delay. Everything you say at check-in.

Speak First · Lesson 6 of 15. ← Lesson 5: The Weekend · Lesson 7: Welcome to London →

Today: check in at an airport: answer the questions, ask for what you need, and deal with a delay. Grammar: polite questions with Can I…?, Would you like…? and Where can I…?
Warm up — five words to remember. They come from Lessons 4 and 5. Do you know it? Say what it means and use it in a sentence. Is it new? Good — learn it now. Click Reveal to check, and follow the link to read the lesson.
a customer — from A Working Day
What does it mean? Do you have customers?
a customer — a person who buys things from a company.
a meeting — from A Working Day
What does it mean? How many meetings do you have in a week?
a meeting — people talk about work together, at a table.
to finish — from A Working Day
What does it mean? What time do you finish work?
to finish — to stop; to come to the end.
a friend — from The Weekend
What does it mean? Say the name of one friend.
a friend — a person you like and know well.
slow — from The Weekend
What does it mean? Say the opposite.
slow — not fast.

Now — the words for today's conversation

These are the new words for The Airport. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.

Words

  1. a passport
  2. a suitcase
  3. hand luggage
  4. a boarding pass
  5. a gate
  6. delayed
  7. a window seat
  8. nervous

Meanings

  • A. the door in the airport where you get on the plane
  • B. a little afraid, not calm
  • C. a seat next to the window on the plane
  • D. the small book that says who you are; you need it to travel
  • E. a small bag you take on the plane with you
  • F. late; not at the normal time
  • G. the paper or phone ticket you show to get on the plane
  • H. a big bag with clothes for a trip

1 = D (a passport) · 2 = H (a suitcase) · 3 = E (hand luggage) · 4 = G (a boarding pass)

5 = A (a gate) · 6 = F (delayed) · 7 = C (a window seat) · 8 = B (nervous)

Now talk — out loud

Before we read:
  • Which words are things you carry? Which word is about time?
  • A man goes to London for a meeting. What can go wrong at the airport? Guess two things.

The conversation, in three parts

Leo at the check-in desk with a small suitcase, giving his passport to the agent.
Look at the picture. Say:
  • Where is Leo?
  • What does he have with him?
  • Who is he talking to? What does she say?

Leo flies to London for a meeting with a new customer. Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and answer the last one about you.

Part 1 — Check-in

Tuesday, six in the morning. Leo is at the airport. He has a meeting in London with a new customer — a big customer. He has a small suitcase and his laptop. He is nervous. His English is not perfect.

Agent: Good morning. Where are you flying to?

Leo: To London.

Agent: Can I see your passport, please?

Leo: Here you are.

Agent: Thank you. Any bags to check in?

Leo: One suitcase. This is my hand luggage.

Agent: Put the suitcase here, please. Twenty kilos — that's fine.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Why is Leo going to London?

2. How many bags does he check in?

1. For a meeting with a new customer — a big one.

2. One suitcase. The other bag is hand luggage.

Talk about it:
  • And you? Do you fly a lot? Where to? Do you check in a suitcase, or only hand luggage?

Part 2 — The seat

Agent: Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat?

Leo: A window seat, please.

Agent: 14A. Here's your boarding pass. Your flight is at 10:40, gate 22.

Leo: Gate 22. What time is boarding?

Agent: At ten.

Leo: Thank you.

Leo goes through security. Belt, watch, shoes. The laptop goes in a box. Then coffee. He needs coffee.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Window or aisle?

2. What time is the flight? What time is boarding?

1. A window seat — 14A.

2. The flight is at 10:40. Boarding is at ten, at gate 22.

Talk about it:
  • And you? Window or aisle? Do you like airports?

Part 3 — Delayed

At 9:50, Leo looks at the screen. Flight 507 to London: DELAYED. New time: 12:10. Two hours. The meeting is at three. Leo calls Anna.

Leo: Anna, the flight is delayed. Two hours.

Anna: Don't worry. Call the customer. Say: "I'm sorry, my flight is delayed. Can we meet at four?"

Leo: In English?

Anna: In English. You can do it.

Leo: OK. OK.

He calls. The customer says: "No problem. See you at four." Leo smiles. Maybe his English is not so bad.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Why does Leo call Anna?

2. What does the customer say?

1. The flight is delayed two hours, and the meeting is at three. He doesn't know what to do.

2. "No problem. See you at four."

Talk about it:
  • And you? Is your flight ever delayed? What do you do? Do you make phone calls in English?

Grammar: polite questions

At an airport, a hotel or a restaurant, people ask you questions, and you ask for things. These four forms do most of the work.

Can I…? = you want something, politely: "Can I see your passport?" "Can I have a coffee, please?" Answer: "Here you are." / "Of course."
Would you like…? = the other person offers you something: "Would you like a window seat?" — "A window seat, please." / "Yes, please." / "No, thank you."
Where can I…? / What time is…? "Where can I get a coffee?" "What time is boarding?" Start with Excuse me to stop a person: "Excuse me, is this gate 22?"
Here you are / Here's your… = you give something: "Here you are." (your passport) · "Here's your boarding pass."

1. Which word?

Complete each question with Can, Would, Where or What.

1. I see your passport, please?

2. you like a window seat?

3. can I get a taxi?

4. time is boarding?

1. Can

2. Would

3. Where

4. What

2. Make the sentence

Put the words in order. Then say the question out loud — politely.

1. see / I / Can / your ticket?

2. you / a coffee / Would / like?

3. is / What time / the flight?

4. I / get / Where / can / a taxi?

1. Can I see your ticket?

2. Would you like a coffee?

3. What time is the flight?

4. Where can I get a taxi?

3. Complete the conversation

Fill each gap with one word. Read the conversation out loud when you finish.

"Good afternoon. Where are you to?" — "To Rome." — " I see your passport, please?" — " you are." — "Any to check in?" — "No, only hand ." — "OK. your boarding pass. Gate 8."

flying · Can · Here · bags · luggage · Here's

You give something → Here you are. They give you something → Here's your…

Role Play

You are at the airport, at the check-in desk.

Round 1 — you are the passenger. Read your partner's line, then say your own line from the cue in italics. Use your real answers. Then click to compare with a model.

Agent: Good morning. Where are you flying to?
You: your city

Agent: Can I see your passport, please?
You: give it

Agent: Thank you. Any bags to check in?
You: how many · hand luggage

Agent: Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat?
You: your choice · please

Agent: Here's your boarding pass. Gate 15.
You: ask: what time is boarding?

Agent: At half past nine.
You: ask: where can I get a coffee?

Agent: There's a café next to gate 12.
You: thank

Agent: Good morning. Where are you flying to?
You: To Berlin.

Agent: Can I see your passport, please?
You: Here you are.

Agent: Thank you. Any bags to check in?
You: One suitcase. And this is my hand luggage.

Agent: Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat?
You: An aisle seat, please.

Agent: Here's your boarding pass. Gate 15.
You: Thank you. What time is boarding?

Agent: At half past nine.
You: And where can I get a coffee?

Agent: There's a café next to gate 12.
You: Thank you very much.

Round 2 — change roles. Now you are Agent. Ask the questions, and listen to the answers. Then say one thing you remember.

Quick-fire questions

Answer fast, in full sentences. No time to think. Then check a model answer for the ones that were hard.

1. Where are you flying to?

2. Can I see your passport?

3. Do you have any bags to check in?

4. Window or aisle?

5. What time is your flight?

6. Which gate?

7. Is your flight delayed?

8. Excuse me, where can I get a coffee?

9. Do you have hand luggage?

10. Would you like a coffee?

1. To London.

2. Here you are.

3. Yes, one suitcase.

4. A window seat, please.

5. At 10:40.

6. Gate 22.

7. Yes, two hours.

8. There's a café next to gate 20.

9. Yes, one small bag.

10. Yes, please. / No, thank you.

Speak

Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.

Useful language: "To London, please." · "Here you are." · "One suitcase and hand luggage." · "A window seat, please." · "What time is boarding?" · "Excuse me, where can I…?" · "I'm sorry, my flight is delayed."
Time remaining: 1:00
Task A · Tell the story

Tell Leo's morning at the airport in your own words. Steps: six o'clock, nervous → check-in: passport, one suitcase → a window seat, gate 22 → security, coffee → DELAYED, two hours → the call to Anna → the call to the customer → "See you at four."

Task B · My last trip (2 minutes)

Tell me about a trip: where, when, plane or train, a suitcase or hand luggage, window or aisle, and one problem. Start the timer and keep talking.

Task C · The phone call

Your flight is delayed and you have a meeting. Call me. Say who you are, say the problem, and ask for a new time. Then we change: I call you.

To finish

  1. Leo is nervous about his English. What do you do when you are nervous?
  2. What is the worst thing at an airport for you: the queue, the security, or the delay?
  3. From memory: say one question with Can I…? and one with Would you like…?