Holiday English
The Easter Holidays (or “Spring Break” in American English) are soon approaching, and if you’re lucky enough to be going somewhere nice for your holidays this year, you will be counting the days until work finishes, and you can enjoy a relaxing few days away from your daily routine.
Before they go on holiday, many students often ask us to help them with their English, especially if they are travelling to the UK or USA. We have therefore decided to give you a list of words and expressions that will hep you survive in English, in whichever English-speaking country you decide to visit.
We are going to break it down into four steps:
1. At the airport
2. At the hotel
3. In the restaurant
4. Useful questions
Take off and land in English
We’ve all been there. You arrive at the airport in a foreign country, and feel completely lost as you don’t understand any of the useful signs that tell you where to go! Hopefully this list will help:
| At the Airport | En el aeropuerto |
| Baggage claim | Recogida de equipaje |
| Check in | Facturación |
| Security | Control de seguridad |
| Gate | Puerta |
| Boarding card | Tarjeta de embarque |
| Boarding time | Hora de embarque |
| Departures | Salidas |
| Arrivals | Llegadas |
| Hand luggage | Equipaje de mano |
| Sharp objects | Objetos afilados |
| Liquids | Líquidos |
What time is check out?
Usually, by the time you arrive at the hotel, you just want to throw your bags on the floor and lie on the bed. But before you do that, you first have to check in and listen to the rules from the friendly receptionist. This short list should help you with the fundamentals of this:
| At the hotel | En el hotel |
| Check in | Hora de entrada |
| Check out | Hora de salida |
| Breakfast included | Desayuno incluido |
| Double bed | Cama de matrimonio |
| Twin bed | Camas gemelas |
| Room with a view | Habitación con vistas |
| First / second floor | Primer / segundo piso |
| Lift (British English) | Ascensor |
| Elevator (American English) | Ascensor |
Can I have fries with that?
You can then sit down and enjoy the delicacies of the country you are visiting. Here are the basics for your survival in the restaurant:
| In the restaurant | En el restaurante |
| Menu | Carta |
| Set menu | Menú del día |
| Starters | Primer plato |
| Main course | Plato principal |
| Dessert | Postre |
| Side orders | Acompañamiento |
| Bill (British English) | Cuenta |
| Check (American English) | Cuenta |
| Tip | Propina |
| Breakfast | Desayuno |
| Lunch | Comida |
| Dinner / Tea / Supper | Cena |
And as a bonus, here are some questions that you might need to ask on your English holiday!
| Useful questions | Preguntas útiles |
| How do you get to X from here? | ¿Cómo se llega a X desde aquí? |
| How far is X from here? | ¿Cómo de lejos está X de aquí? |
| How much does X cost? | ¿Cuánto cuesta X? |
| What time does X leave / start? | ¿A qué hora sale / empieza X? |
| Can we leave our bags here until we leave? | ¿Podemos dejar las maletas hasta que nos vayamos? |
Speaking practice:
To practise your spoken English before you go on holiday, book your English conversation classes with one of our native English-speaking teachers via Skype.
Book a class
Only by doing this will you improve the most important communication skill in English: speaking!
Not an OLA student yet? Sign up for your FREE trial class now!
See our other vocabulary entries to increase your vocabulary on a variety of topics.
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