Grammar: Will/ Shall/ Be going to

Read this conversation. Michael and Emily are looking at the menus in a restaurant:

Speaking practice

How can you improve your speaking?

Most of you spend all your time in the same classes with the same people. You often have lunch with friends who speak the same language so you have few opportunities to speak to different people and practise your speaking skills.

Here are some ways you can work on your speaking skills:

Conversation: In the restaurant

Look at this restaurant conversation that takes place in a restaurant in Manchester:

Jane:   Is this a good place to eat?
Ryan:  I think so. I've been here many times.
Jane:   What do you recommend?
Ryan:  Well, there are lots of things to try if you like spicy food. Do you want a starter or just a main course?
Jane:    If we're ordering starters, I will have the chicken satay.
Ryan:   OK. So if you order the chicken satay, I'll have the dumplings.
Jane:    Oh, if you have the dumplings, can I have one?
Ryan:   Yeah, if we order starters, we'll share them.

Waiter: Can I get you something to drink?
Jane:    Do you have any orange juice?
Waiter: Sorry, I'm afraid not. We do have some pineapple juice, though.
Jane:    Fine. I'll have a pineapple juice unless you want to share a bottle of wine?
Ryan:   No, you go for the pineapple juice. I'll have a bottle of Kirin Ichiban beer, please.
Waiter: Of course. One beer and one pineapple juice.

Jane:    Oh dear. There's so much choice. I don't know what to have. It all looks so strange and unusual.
Ryan:   You always say you want to try new things?! If you didn't want to come here, where would you prefer to go?
Jane:    I don't know. They just have so many new things. If they had sweet and sour chicken, I would order that. 
Ryan:  But they don't, so you can't. Why don't you try the Pad Thai? It's a famous and traditional dish from Thailand. If you don't like it, I'll eat it.  Or, you could try a curry? If you ordered the curry, you wouldn't need to order rice because rice is included.
Jane:   I'll try the Pad Thai. But if I don't like it, you will have to eat it.
Ryan:  No problem.

Vocabulary: Making suggestions

Ryan: Aziz! How was your holiday?
Aziz: It was great thanks. I had a wonderful time.
Ryan: You've even brought the sun back to Manchester with you! Good work.
Aziz: Yeah, it's glorious outside, isn't it? Bright and sunny. So, what shall we do today?
Ryan: Well, we could go for a walk along the canal to Old Trafford.
Aziz:  Nah, it's too hot to walk.
Ryan: What about going to the John Rylands Library? It'll be cool in there because it's made of stone.
Aziz:  Errmm... No, I'm not in the mood for that either.
Ryan: How about running through the fountain in Piccadilly Gardens?
Aziz:  Now you're just being silly!
Ryan: Why don't we just buy an ice-cream and sit and watch the world go by?
Aziz:  That's a bit boring, don't you think?
Ryan:  Right, that's it! I give up! You don't want to do anything I've suggested. Why don't you think of something?
Aziz: To be honest, I'm not sure I can be bothered to do anything. It's boiling.
Ryan: Ok, then. Brilliant. Let's do nothing and just wait for the rain.

When Ryan says "Ok, then. Brilliant", do you think he is happy or angry and frustrated? What's his intonation like: is he serious or sarcastic?
What different phrases did Ryan and Aziz use to make suggestions? Answers after the jump:

Travel Agency conversation

Here are some youtube videos of conversations in a travel agency between a customer and a travel agent.

The first uses some American vocabulary and pronunciation.

How polite do you think the travel agent is?
Notice how they talk about dates and times: on Saturday the third of August; at 7 o'clock
Notice how the agent talks about flight times: "it departs at 6 pm, and it arrives in Bangkok at 11.15". She uses a present simple tense to talk about timetables, even though the flight is in the future.

(Teacher says: "62,000 Bahts is £1300!! That's extortionate!!")

Here are two students acting out a travel agent dialogue:

Do you think they are easy to understand? Why (not)?

Do you think you could make a better video? Why not try, and I could put it on the blog!!

Holiday conversation

Can you complete this conversation using phrases common in spoken English:

Ryan: Hi, Aziz. How's it going?
Aziz:  Good, thanks. Guess what/ To be honest ! I've just booked a holiday.
Ryan: Good for you. Where are you going?
Aziz:  I'm going on a backpacking holiday in Australia.
Ryan: Wow/ Tell me about it. That sounds amazing!
Aziz:  Well, I usually end up/ decide  going to the beach, so this year I fancied doing something different.
Ryan: Good for you. Are you going by yourself or in a group?
Aziz:   It's a package. Going by yourself is really difficult to organise.
Ryan:  I know what you mean/ I mean. I travelled across Europe on the train and that was a nightmare!
Aziz:   To be honest/ Tell me about it, I didn't really want to think about the organisation. I just wanted to enjoy the trip.
Ryan:  I don't blame you. Well, I'm sure you'll love it.
Aziz:   I'm sure I will too. In fact/ I mean, I've already started packing. I've just bought some insect repellent.
Ryan:  And how much did that cost, if you don't mind me asking?
Aziz:   Only a fiver.
Ryan:  Five pounds!!! You must be joking!! That's extortionate!!

Answers after the jump: