Airplane Announcements

Adapted from Donna Tatsuki's lesson on Airplane Announcements in The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 3, March 1998

Today we're going to listen to some airplane announcements from a couple of videos. Announcements often follow a format:

 

The Introduction: The Body: Conclusion

r    The Greeting

    • Passengers of flight 111.
    • Ladies and Gentlemen.
    • Good morning.

r    Speaker identification

    • This is First Officer Dulaney.
    • This is the Captain speaking.

r    Description of flight event

    • We are expecting a little turbulence.
    • We are just passing by Mount Fuji.
    • We have reached altitude.

r    Description of technical event

    • I have just switched on/off the seat belt sign.
    • The sound that you just heard is the lowering of the flaps.

r    Weather

    • Tokyo is a hot, humid 30 degrees with a slight chance of rain.
    • Fog is closing in Kansai International.

r    Time

    • It is now 2:34 Mountain Standard Time.
    • The time at our destination is 6:34.

r    Itinerary

    • We will arrive on schedule at 8:00 AM local time.
    • Our flight will be delayed by 10 minutes.
    • The flight will take an estimated 3 hours and 15 minutes.

r    Instructions

    • Please have your customs documents ready for collection.
    • Ensure that all items are safely stowed in the overhead bins.

r    Closing

    • Thank you for flying with Southwest Airlines.
    • It has been our pleasure to serve you.
    • We hope you will enjoy your flight.
    • Please fly again with us.





Listening Task:

Listen for the following elements in the video. Write what you hear the announcer say.

French Kiss with Meg Ryan
 The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman


r    Greeting

 

r    Speaker identification

r    Weather
 

r    Time


r    Description of flight event

 

r    Instructions

 

r    Itinerary

 

r    Description of technical event

r    Closing

 

Make your own announcement:

 

Introduction:

 

Conclusion:


Closing:


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