Hotel professions

Hey!

Here you have a card game to learn the different ocupations at the hotels and accommodations.

I hope you like it!

Tourism English Roulette game

Do you want to palay a game to check how much Tourism vocabulary you know?

I have made a Roulette game where you have to guess more than twenty different words related with travels and tourism, each one starting with a different letter.

Are you ready?

Give it a shot!

Video lesson#11: Shy

I think is time to start learning some advanced English vocabulary, such as some particular adjectives or phrasal verbs.

For this purpose I have chosen one of my favorite songs, called Shy from the American songwriter Ani Difranco.

As you will see it´s a song about a road trip, a gas station, a motel but mostly is a song about a one-night affair. It includes many words related with hotels and accommodations like housekeeper, motel, pillow, sheet, mattress, etc. It also has a great rhythm and the singer´s voice is clear and easy to understand, so it´s a perfect song to get to the advanced English level.

I have made a huge list of new words below and, as always, I have created a work sheet to fill the lyrics gaps while listening to the song.

I´m sure you know these steps, but once again here they are:

1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to page 1 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).

2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.

3- Check your results going to page 2 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.

4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.

5- Listen again to the song, without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.

Work sheet Shy Work Sheet

Vocabulary

Shy: nervous and uncomfortable with other people.

Heat: the quality of being hot or warm.

Trick: an action that is intended to deceive someone. In this case is an effect caused by the light making something appear different.

Road: a long, hard surface made for vehicles to travel along.

Crack: a very narrow space between the parts of something.

Sink: a bowl that is attached to the wall in a kitchen or bathroom in which you wash dishes or your hands.

Gas station: a place where fuel is sold for road vehicles.

To bake: to cook inside an oven.

Trash: garbage, waste material or things that are no longer needed.

Curb: a raided edge along the side of a street, often forming part of a path for people to walk on.

Doorway: the space in a wall where door opens, or a covered area just outside a door.

Herd: a large group of animals of the same type that live and feed together.

To have a stake in something: to have personal interest in something.

To let off (someone): to fail to punish someone when the person expects to be punished.

To lead (someone) on: to persuade someone to believe something that is untrue.

Phone booth: a partly enclosed area where there is a public phone.

Veiled invitation: an invitation that is not direct or clearly expressed.

Machine: in this song refers to a device linked to the telephone that records the caller´s messages.

To show up: to arrive somewhere, especially late or unexpectedly.

Front door: the main entrance to a building or a house.

To wince: to show pain or embarrassment suddenly and for a short time in the face.

Housekeeper: a person, especially a woman, whose job is to organize another person´s house and deal with cooking, cleaning, etc. In hotels is the person in charge of cleaning the rooms.

To squint: to partly close your eyes in order to see more clearly.

Pillow: a rectangular cloth bag filled with soft materail, such as feathers or artificial materials, used for resting your head on a bed.

Grin: a wide smile.

Sheet: a large piece of thin cloth used on a bed for sleeping on or under.

Twisted: turned in an awkward way.

Damp: slightly wet, especially in a way that is not pleasant or comfortable.

Matress: the part of a bed, made of a strong cloth cover filled with firm material that makes the bed comfortable to lie on.

To sink: to make something go down below the surface of a liquid.

Fever: a medical condition in which the body temperature is higher than usual.

Bend: a curved part of something.

Video lesson#10: Hotel California

It was about time to listen to the most famous Hotel song, don´t you think?

Originally released in 1976 is the most iconic song of The Eagles, that sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone and won a Grammy award in 1978.

It has some enigmatic lyrics that have lead to many theories about the meaning of this song. Is it about dead? Is it a bad trip from LSD or other hallucinogenic drug? Or is it about a small hotel in Pueblo Mágico de Todos los Santos (California) where the author, Don Henley, stayed for some days?

The authors have stated many times that it´s a song about the materialism and excess of the American culture of the 70´s but also “a journey from innocence to experience”.

Anyway,  to learn English with this song follow the usual steps:

1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to page 1 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).

2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.

3- Check your results going to page 2 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.

4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.

5- Listen again to the song, without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.

Work sheet Hotel California Work Sheet

VOCABULARY

Desert: an area often covered with sand or rocks, where there is very little rain and not many plants. It´s different from the word Dessert which means “sweet food eaten at the end of the meal”

Highway: a public road, especially an important road that joins cities or towns together.

Colitas: in an interview the author, Don Felder, said that “is a plant that grows in the dessert that blooms at night, and it has a kind of pungent, almost funky smell”.  Actually, there is no plant by this name so it seems that it could be a cactus or an eucalyptus.

Shimmering light: a gentle light that seems to move slightly.

My head grew heavy: a way to say that someone is falling asleep so, in a figurative way his head is getting heavier.

My sight grew dim: when your eyes are dim you can´t see very well.

Doorway: the space in a wall where a door opens, or a covered area just outside a door.

Mission: similar to church.

Candle: a stick-shaped piece of wax with a string in the middle of it that produce light as it slowly burns.

Corridor: a long passage in a building or train, especially with rooms on either side.

Welcome: expression used to express that your are pleased that someone arrives to a place

Room: a place inside a building that is separated by walls, floor and ceiling. Also, the amount of space that someone or something needs.

Tiffany-twisted: game of words referred to Tiffany´s jewelry shop. It means that this woman loves luxury and wealth.

Courtyard: an area of flat ground outside that is partly or completely surrounded by the walls of a building

Captain: the leader of a sports team, or the person in charge of a ship or an aircraft. In this song it seems to be used as waiter.

Spirit: a particular way of thinking, feeling or behaving. Also the form of a death person similar to a ghost. And also a strong alcoholic drink. In this song it´s used with the three meanings at the same time.

To live it up: to have an exciting and very enjoyable time with parties, good food and drink, etc.

Alibis: an excuse for a failure, or a proof that someone hasn´t committed a crime.

Ceiling: the inside surface of a room that you can see when you look above you.

Device: an object or machine or a crafty scheme or trick. In this song it refers to how the people that live in this strange hotel they have tricked themselves to live in this prison.

Master´s chambers: a chamber is a room used for a special purpose or the office of someone in a important position. The master is a person who employs a servant or owns a slave. So in this song the master´s chamber is the most important room of the hotel where the master is.

To gather: to come together in a group.

Feast: a special meal with very good food for many people

Passage: a long and narrow part of a building with rooms on one or both sides, or a covered path that connects places

Night man: an overnight guard

To check out: to leave a hotel after paying and returning your room key.

Video lesson #6: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (II)

This is the second lesson about the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), a great movie to learn hotel related vocabulary and expressions.

After watching the clip, take a look at the vocabulary below and then answer some questions to check your understanding.

Have fun!

WORKSHEET Forgetting Sarah Marshall II work sheet

VOCABULARY

Enjoy your stay: polite expression used in hotels and accommodations to wish someone a good stay.

Mess up: something that has been done badly, a mistake.

It´s not a big deal: informal way to say you are welcome as an answer to thank you.

Disaster: an event that results in great harm, damage, serious difficulty or death.

To run away: to leave a place or a person secretly and suddenly.

To whisper: to speak very quietly, using the breath but not the voice, so that only the person close to you can hear you.

To have it off: (UK slang) to have sex.

Awkward: (UK) difficult to use, do, or deal with.

Sucker: a person who believes everything they are told and is therefore easy to deceive.

Have fun!: spoken expression to wish someone to have a good time.

To ruin someone´s day: to cause someone problems so he/she has a bad day.

Video lesson #3: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Have you seen the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Isn´t it hilarious, at the least?

For today´s lesson we are going to watch a short clip from the movie where we are going to learn some vocabulary related with hotels, mainly with the front desk.

So, follow these instructions in order to make the most of this lesson:

1-  Watch the clip with English subtitles.

2-  Take a look to the vocabulary below to learn new English words and expressions.

3-  Watch again the clip, without subtitles to check your understanding.

4-  Answer a few questions about the clip in this worksheet  and then check the answers in the last page of the worksheet.

WORKSHEET    Forgettin Sarah Marshall work sheet

VOCABULARY

Sir: a formal and polite way of speaking to a man, especially one who you are providing a service. Important note: it is never followed by the man´s name (e.g. Sir Smith); in case you know his name you use the word Mr (e.g. Mr Smith)

Yup: informal way to say yes

Fair enough: expression used to say that something is reasonable. 

To button: to fasten something, usually a piece of clothing, using buttons.

To unbutton: to unfasten the buttons on something such as a shirt.

Tough time:  times of trouble, struggle, or unhappiness

L.A.: short form of Los Angeles.

Missus: a spoken form of Mrs, used when speaking to a woman.

Mate: (UK informal): a friend. It is very common in British English but rarely used in American English.

Sin: the offence of breaking a religious or moral law.

To book: to make a reservation.

Suite: a set of connected rooms in a hotel.

Enjoy your trip: expression used to wish someone a good travel. Similar expressions are used to wish a good stay in an accommodation (enjoy your stay), a good flight (enjoy your flight) or a good meal in a restaurant (enjoy your meal).

Have a good trip: other expression used to wish someone a good travel. Both are very used when talking about travels and holidays, and in the Tourism business.

 

Tourism vocabulary crossword

Do you want to improve your Tourism vocabulary?

Try this crossword and have fun!

Share your score in the comments!