Learning Vocabulary: Flat Hunting Part 1

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Learning Vocabulary - Flat hunting - Part 1

Learning goals

Skills: Listening

Vocabulary: Words and phrases to describe rooms, flats and houses

Task: Describe where you live to a potential flatmate

Learning Vocabulary: Flat Hunting Part 1

In this Premier Skills English Podcast, Rowan is looking around a flat that she would like to rent but the landlord (Jack) is not so sure. The language focus is on words and phrases we can use to describe rooms, flats and houses. Your task is to describe where you live to a potential flatmate. Don't forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess.

If the listening was a bit difficult, you can listen again and read the transcript at the same time.

Read and listen at the same time.

Learning Vocabulary: Flat Hunting 1

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: We have changed our weekly podcast. You will hear our weekly podcast in three parts.

Jack: Yes. We asked you for your opinions on the ideal podcast length and the majority of our listeners say that they want more podcasts but shorter podcasts.

Rowan: We are splitting the podcast into three shorter parts which will make things easier to understand.

Jack: Not too much will change. We will always have a roleplay for you, a language focus, a task for you to complete and a weekly football phrase for you to guess.

Rich: Please let us know if you are happy with the changes either in the comments section or on Apple Podcasts.

Rowan: This week’s podcast is connected to flat hunting. Jack is looking for someone to share his flat - he’s looking for a new flatmate.

Rich: That’s right. And lots of people have called Jack about his flat - there has been a lot of interest.

Rowan: So, Jack needs to interview some of these people to see who he would like as his new flatmate.

Rich: In our first roleplay, you will hear an interview between Jack and one of his potential new flatmates.

Jack: After the roleplay, we’ll look at some words and phrases we use when describing rooms, flats or houses.

Rowan: Your task is to describe where you live to a potential flatmate.

Rich: If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Jack: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and a task for you to complete with other listeners.

Introduction to roleplay 1

Jack: As we said earlier, this podcast is in three parts - there will be three short podcasts in total.

Rich: Jack needs a new flatmate and he is interviewing people who are interested in sharing his flat. You are going to listen to an interview with one potential flatmate.

Rowan: While you listen, we want you to answer two questions:

Rich: The first question is: Why should Jack choose this flatmate?

Rowan: And the second question is: Why shouldn’t Jack choose this flatmate?

Roleplay 1

Rowan: Hello. Are you Jack? I’m here about the flat.

Jack: You must be Rowan. Please, come in.

Rowan: This looks really nice. It’s very light and roomy - much more spacious than I expected.

Jack: Let’s talk as I show you round. So, did you have to travel far to get here?

Rowan: No, not really - my mum lives just around the corner but she’s going to kick me out. She says that 35 is old enough to stand on your own two feet and this place would be really handy as the zoo is only a five-minute walk away.

Jack: This would be your room here. A double bed, built-in wardrobes and an en-suite bathroom.

Rowan: And a balcony. I could keep my mountain bike there. I go mountain biking every weekend come rain or shine.

Jack: There’s a garage that you could use - it might be better there. So, you work at the animal park?

Rowan: Yeah, I work with penguins. I’m sure I could get you some free tickets. I love it. We do a lot of conservation work with reintroduction programmes and education with school groups.

Jack: That sounds like an interesting job.

Rowan: It is although it’s dirty work. I often stink of fish when I get home so this en-suite bathroom will be useful to get the smell off. It is a bit anti-social.

Jack: Fish? I’m not a big fan of fish to be honest. So, apart from mountain biking, what do you like to do in your free time?

Rowan: I’m a bit of a metalhead.

Jack: Sorry?

Rowan: Metal. I love heavy metal. I go to gigs most weekends and I’ve got a huge music collection. I’ll be able to play a few classics on my old music system. Maybe I could set it up in the living room here? You don’t seem to have any speakers set up.

Jack: I’m more into Elton John but yeah … I could listen to a bit of heavy metal now and again.

Rowan: Well, this place looks fantastic. The room looks great and I love the kitchen. I’ll be able to rustle up a quality curry in no time at all in there.

Jack: OK, well I do have a couple of other people coming round but I’ll be in touch by the end of the week if there is any news.

Rowan: Well, lovely to meet you Jack. I hope to hear from you soon.

Language Focus 1

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Why should Jack choose this flatmate?

Jack: Well, there didn’t seem to be too many positive reasons but she seemed nice and she liked the flat.

Rich: And she has a job which is good. This means that she’ll be able to pay the rent. Her job is near the flat too so she’ll be happy and less likely to leave.

Jack: And she said she could get me free tickets to the animal park and it sounds like she’s a good cook and I love curry!

Rich: So, actually quite a few good reasons.

Rowan: The second question was: Why shouldn’t Jack choose this flatmate?

Jack: Well, I didn’t like it when she said that she’d push her dirty mountain bike through my flat and I’m a bit worried that my flat might become one big heavy metal concert. I’d have to say no to those speakers.

Rich: I’d be a bit worried about her mum living so close that could be a problem but maybe not.

Rowan: OK, let’s move onto some language. We’re going to talk about words and phrases we use when describing accommodation.

Rich: Accommodation is a general word we can use to talk about where we live or where we stay when we go on holiday.

Jack: When we are looking for new accommodation it’s important to think about its location - where it is.

Rich: Listen to this part of the roleplay again and listen out for words and phrases Rowan uses to describe location.

Jack: Rowan talks about her mum living just around the corner. When we say just around the corner it often generally means nearby.

Rich: Rowan also said that the flat was really handy - really useful because she works just a five-minute walk away.

Rowan: We often say an amount of time and use the word away to describe location. The train station is a two-minute walk away, the beach is a five-minute walk away.

Jack: Other useful words and phrases to talk about location include down the road from, around the corner from, around here, and local or nearby.

Rich: Check out the website for some activities connected to this language.

Rowan: When we are choosing accommodation the size of the house or room is very important. I described the flat as roomy and spacious in the roleplay.

Jack: Roomy and spacious are usually used in a positive way to describe spaces that are big. Roomy is a lot more informal than spacious though.

Rich: Room and space can mean the same. I like to have a lot of room when I do my morning yoga routine. I need a lot of space nowhere too poky!

Jack: Poky is a negative adjective to describe a place that is small. It’s quite an informal word. If you describe a space as a bit poky you think it’s too small and you’re probably not happy with it.

Rich: A more positive synonym is cosy. If a space is cosy it’s small but feels nice and warm.

Rowan: We also spoke about the facilities a flat or room might have. In the roleplay, we spoke about built-in wardrobes and en-suite bathrooms.

Jack: If something is built-in it is part of something or included within it. Built-in wardrobes are part of the room so you don’t need extra stand-alone wardrobes. Built-in wardrobes make a place more spacious.

Rich: An en-suite bathroom is a bathroom that is attached to a bedroom - it’s a private bathroom for the people in that room. I’d love an en-suite bathroom - there's always a queue for my bathroom every morning.

Rowan: There are lots of other words and phrases to describe facilities such as garage, balcony, whether a flat has WIFI and broadband or central heating and air-conditioning.

Jack: We’ll look at this vocabulary on the website.

TASK 1

Rich: In this task, we want you to describe where you live to a potential flatmate.

Rowan: Imagine that you’d like to rent one of the rooms in your house or flat. How would you describe your house or flat in an advertisement?

Jack: Where is the flat or the house? Is it in a quiet area or the city centre? Is it easy to access by public transport? Are there shops nearby?

Rich: Is there a balcony or a garden or a garage the person could use? Does the room have an en-suite bathroom?

Rowan: How would you describe the room, flat or house? Is it roomy with natural light?

Jack: What facilities would your potential flatmate have access to? Is there WIFI? A fully-fitted kitchen?

Rich: Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.

Football Phrase

Rich: It’s time for this week’s football phrase. Remember that you will hear this football phrase in all three parts of this podcast and we’ll have the answer for you in part one of our next podcast as well as in This Week which you can also watch on YouTube.

Rowan: The answer to last week’s football phrase was reduced capacity. Well done if you got it right and if you did I hope you heard our shout out to you in This Week on YouTube!

Jack: Have you got this week’s football phrase, Rich?

Rich: I have. This week’s football phrase is ******** ******. At the moment there is a lot of ******** ****** in the newspapers and online. This phrase is used to describe rumours about which players are signing for which clubs and things like that.

Rowan: Lots of players will be moving clubs this summer and looking for new houses and flats. Maybe they could move in with you Jack!

Jack: If you have a football phrase that you would like us to use in the podcast, just get in touch and let us know.

Rich: Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast and live on YouTube.

Jack: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Rowan: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Rich: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

Here is some of the vocabulary you might have heard in the roleplay. Do you know the words in bold?

Let’s talk as I show you round. So, did you have to travel far to get here?

My mum lives just around the corner but she’s going to kick me out.

She says that 35 is old enough to stand on your own two feet.

This place would be really handy as the zoo is only a five-minute walk away.

I go to gigs most weekends and I’ve got a huge music collection.

I’ll be able to rustle up a quality curry in no time at all in there.

Activity 1: In this activity, take a look at some of the words that were used in the roleplay and match them to their definitions.

Have you ever rented a flat or house?

Location, Location, Location!

In the roleplay, Rowan and Jack spoke about where the flat is: the flat's location. This is a very important point when moving into a new place. Is it near to where you work or study? Are there shops nearby? Is it handy for public transport? Look at this sentence from the roleplay and the phrases in bold that help describe the location of the flat.

Rowan: No, not really - my mum lives just around the corner but she’s going to kick me out. She says that 35 is old enough to stand on your own two feet and this place would be really handy as the zoo is only a five-minute walk away.

Rowan says that she works with penguins in the roleplay. Is this a problem for the landlord?

Activity 2: In this activity think about some of the words we used in the roleplay to talk about where a place is.

Rowan says that she's a big heavy metal fan in the roleplay. Is this a problem for the landlord?

Further resources connected to looking for a flat:

Describe your home

How would you describe your home to a potential flatmate?

In this task, we want you to describe where you live to a potential flatmate. We'd like you to imagine that you want to rent one of the rooms in your house or flat.

How would you describe your house or flat in an advertisement?
Where is the flat or the house? Is it in a quiet area or the city centre? Is it easy to access by public transport? Are there shops nearby?
Is there a balcony or a garden or a garage the person could use? Does the room have an en-suite bathroom?
How would you describe the room, flat or house? Is it roomy with natural light?
What facilities would your potential flatmate have access to? Is there WIFI? A fully-fitted kitchen?

Write your answers below and don't forget to make a guess at this week's football phrase!