APIEVocabulary: Phone Calls and Messages
Phone calls and leaving messages
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
Phone calls and leaving messages 📞
Learn 10 useful telephone words, practice with 16 exercises, and improve your speaking with 12 shadowing recordings.
💡 How to use this lesson
👨🏫 For the teacher
- • Guide learners through the word table first and discuss the memory tips.
- • Spend 10 minutes on practice items and 5 minutes on shadowing exercises.
🎓 For the learner
- • Read the words, example sentences, and memory tricks carefully.
- • Complete the 16 practice questions, then record your voice in the shadowing section.
Word table
10 Key Words💡 Pattern example: "Hold on, please, I will get my mother."
| Word | Meaning | Common collocations | Example sentence | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ringtone | a sound your phone makes when someone calls | change ringtone, loud ringtone | Her new ringtone is a pop song. | Ring + tone = sound of a ring |
| beep | a short high sound | leave a message after the beep, loud beep | Wait for the beep to start speaking. | Sounds like the quick noise it makes! |
| voicemail | a system that saves spoken messages | check voicemail, leave a voicemail | Please leave a voicemail after the tone. | Voice + mail = mail with your voice |
| handset | the part of a phone you hold near your ear and mouth | pick up the handset, hold the handset | She picked up the handset to answer. | Hand + set = set it in your hand |
| Word | Meaning | Common collocations | Example sentence | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| operator | a person who helps connect phone calls | call the operator, speak to an operator | Press zero to speak to an operator. | Person who operates the line |
| receptionist | a person who answers calls at an office or hotel | hotel receptionist, ask the receptionist | The receptionist answered my call quickly. | Reception = welcomes people |
| caller | the person who is making a phone call | unknown caller, help the caller | The caller left a short message. | Call + er = person who calls |
| Word | Meaning | Common collocations | Example sentence | Memory tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| redial | to call a phone number again | redial the number, press redial | I missed the call so I pressed redial. | Re + dial = dial again |
| unplug | to remove a phone or cord from the power wall | unplug the phone, unplug the charger | Unplug the phone before you clean it. | Un + plug = take out the plug |
| speakerphone | a phone feature that lets you talk without holding it | put on speakerphone, use speakerphone | Put the call on speakerphone so we all hear. | Speaker + phone = phone acts like a speaker |
Practice
16 QuestionsPart 1: Collocations
Match the words that go together
Part 2: Complete the sentences
Use a word from the Word Bank
A: Hello, I need to connect to room 204.
B: Please hold, the ____ will help you.
Leave your message right after the loud ____.
The ____ did not leave his name.
Do not forget to ____ the device at night.
Part 3: Choose the best word
Select the word that completes the sentence best
Put the call on ___ so we can all listen.
He picked up the ___ to speak to his friend.
She works as a ___ at a big hotel desk.
I could not hear my ___ because the room was noisy.
Part 4: Sentence building
Rewrite the words in the correct order
Shadowing
12 Recording Items🎙️ Instructions: Click the 🔊 Listen button to hear the phrase, repeat it out loud, and click the microphone to record your voice.
"check voicemail"
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"loud ringtone"
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"hotel receptionist"
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"press redial"
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"Please leave a message after the beep."
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"The receptionist answered my call quickly."
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"Put the call on speakerphone please."
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"Unplug the phone before you go out."
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"An unknown caller called me this morning."
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"The operator connected my call to room four."
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"handset"
[Bài tập luyện nói]
____"ringtone"
[Bài tập luyện nói]
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