- Travelling. This is the most often reason why people start studying English. It usually happens after their first trip abroad: trouble in the airport, difficulties reading a menu and understanding what you will be served for 15 euros, and, God forbid, a sickness — these things make people think that if the could speak English, things would be easier.
- In this article we are going to talk about travelling using a British cartoon series «Peppa Pig» as an example. At the moment there are five seasons (286 episodes, duration is about 5 minutes on average). During this impressive runtime the characters have tried a lot of different activities: going on picnic, preparing to Christmas, and even going to the Moon. Every episode is packed with very useful vocabulary, which is useful for both children and their parents studying English. It is a British series, so the characters speak with British accent, which is thought to be very difficult in terms of listening comprehension (read more about British English in our article). However, the characters speak quite slowly commentating their actions.
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"Flying on Holiday"
- In season 4, episode 36 Peppa and her family are going on holiday to Italy. The trip takes 4 episodes. They start the holiday packing their bags. Peppa and her little brother packed two small travel bags, and Mommy Pig packed a huge bag that made Daddy Pig a little angry. Typical story. We’ll take a look at the vocabulary they use and give some other words that you might need:
- suitcase — a big bag that you can’t take aboard;
- travel bag — a smaller bag that can be carried–on;
- baggage, luggage — synonyms that mean someone’s belongings on a plane, a train.
Peppa asks her grandparents to take care of her fish while she will be away. She really loves her per and asks the grandparents not to forget to feed it:
- to look after somebody — to take care of somebody like: «A babysitter looks after my son when I’m at work».
In the end, just like typical grandparents who are always worried about their grandchildren eating enough, they fed the fish so much, that it could hardly fit in the water tank.
Next stop is the airport:
- to check–in for a flight — they ask you for your name and your ticket;
- boarding pass — you get it after you check–in;
- customs — they check your luggage here;
- immigration, passport control — they check your visa and passport;
- boarding — the time when you need to get on the plane;
- gate — the place where you show your boarding pass right before boarding;
- flight attendant — someone who brings your food and drinks during the flight;
- fasten the seatbelt — this is what holds you in the seat while taking off and landing;
- take off — the plane starts flying;
- landing — the plane returns to the ground;
- baggage claim area — this is where you get the baggage back after the flight.
During the flight Peppa forgot her toy on the plane, that was later returned to her by a noble Italian policeman. But if you forget or lose something and don't meet such a kind policeman, go to «Lost and Found» where you can take the forgotten thing back.
Right after the flight the family went to rent a car:
- car rental service — where you can rent a car;
- insurance — if an accident happens, you won’t have to pay for damage;
- pay a deposit — leave some money as insurance that you will return the car;
- international driving licence — a document that lets you drive in any country;
- a list of rates — prices;
- gas station — where you cat buy some fuel for the cat;
- fill up the tank — put gas into the car;
- sat nav — a device that shows you where to drive.
When Peppa and here family got to the holiday house, they started unpacking. Most of tourists stay in hotels, so here is the most useful hotel vocabulary:
- check in — again, they ask you for your name and other information, but in the hotel now;
- fill out a form — the document that you fill when checking in;
- bellman — a person who helps you with your luggage;
- double, single room — there can be 2 or 1 person in these rooms;
After having a good rest the family goes shopping:
- go sightseeing — enjoy seeing what you came for to Italy: Coliseum and things like that;
- take a photo — make pictures using a camera;
- send a postcard — you say hello to your friends from abroad by sending them a picture with a sight;
- buy a souvenir — a gift from the place where you went (the word souvenir is borrowed from French, and originally means memory;
- take a tour — you take a bus and go around the city.
Our lesson in coming to the end and so is the Peppa’s trip. She says: «Holidays are nice, but coming home is even better», that means «East or West, — home is best».
You can watch this series on YouTube, just type Peppa Pig goes on holiday. We recommend watching the episode and reading our article at the same time. This will help you boost your vocabulary and make your future travel easier.
Good luck in studying English!