Practical Expressions and Dialogue Skills for Employment and Job Services in Real-Life English Unit 2

Learning English isn't just about mastering grammar and vocabulary, it's also about using it naturally in real-life situations. However, sentences in textbooks are often too formal and quite different from how we actually speak. To speak authentic, natural English, you need to engage with dialogues in real contexts. In this section, we've selected everyday expressions that are commonly used in social, work, and travel situations to help you move away from 'textbook English' and learn phrases that native speakers actually use. Below is the content of 'Real-Life English Unit 2: Employment and Job Services.' Keep practicing, and make your English more life-oriented! Unit 2: Employment and Job Services Part One: Expressions 1. I work full-time at the University hospital. 2. I had a part-time job waiting tables when I was in college. 3. Is the job full-time or part-time? 4. How many hours a week does the job require? 5. I’m doing some temporary work to make money until I find a more permanent job. 6. Do you know of a good temp-agency? 7. This agency had lots of work for me. 8. I work there one night a week for the extra income. 9. I volunteer for this organization two weekends a month. 10. I’d like to do some volunteering in my free time. Part Two: Dialogues 1. Full-time and Part-time Jobs A: Did you have a part-time job when you were still in school? B: No, I was way too busy studying all the time. How about you? A: Yeah, I worked about twenty hours a week in a pizza restaurant. B: What was that like? A: It was always very busy there. B: What did you do? A: I stood behind the register and took pizza orders. B: Did you get any perks on the job? A: Yeah, I got to eat as much pizza as I could for free. 2. Temporary and Casual Work A: Have you found a new job yet? B: No, not yet. I’m still looking. I’ve been doing some work through a temp-agency though. A: What kind of work? B: I’m temping at a pharmaceutical company. A: What do you do there? B: Mostly office work - filing and so on. A: How long is the assignment? B: Till the end of the month. 3. Voluntary Work A: Want to meet for lunch this Saturday? B: Sorry, I can’t. I’m busy. A: What are you doing? B: I always do volunteer work on the first Saturday of every month. A: What kind of volunteer work? B: I help out at the children’s hospital. I help plan activities. A: Oh, yeah? B: Yeah. It’s exciting. This month we’re doing crossword puzzles. Part Three: Substitution Drills 1. A: Can I help you? B: Yes, do you have any (full-time/ part-time/ temporary) work available? 2. A: What do you do? B: I work full-time at the (hospital/ library/ supermarket). 3. A: How many hours a week are you hoping to work? B: I work about (forty/ twenty-five/ forty-five) hours a week. 4. A: Do you know anything about this temp-agency? B: I’ve heard they’re very (helpful/ reputable/ well-connected). 5. A: How many (hours/ reports/ meetings) a week does the job entail? B: Usually about twelve. 6. A: I’ve been there for about (four months/ six days/ three years). B: That’s nice. 7. A: I’ve been thinking about doing some temp work. B: This agency had lots of (work/ assignments/ information) for me. 8. A: How busy is your schedule? B: I work (six days/ five days/ sixty hours) a week. 9. A: Ted volunteers for the children’s hospital once a month. B: Gee, what a nice/ kind/ warm-hearted guy! 10. A: What do you do there? B: I (file paperwork/ enter data into the computer/ take orders from customers). Part Four: Monologue 'When I was a student I was broke, so I took a part-time job to help support myself. I needed something that wouldn’t interfere with my class schedule. I found a job at the local supermarket working twenty hours a week in the evenings. Mostly I took inventory and stocked the shelves. The work itself wasn’t so interesting and it was hard for me to find the time to study. It was good for me though; I got some practical working experience and I learned a lot about how to manage my time. And plus, money. I mean, hey, who can complain about that?' --Cristoph Burleson Part Five: Vocabulary and Phrases -- full-time -- part-time -- temporary -- permanent -- agency -- volunteer -- register -- inventory -- entail -- experience -- temp (abbreviation for temporary) -- way too (slang, same as 'much too') -- broke (slang, have no money)