Talking About Smartphones in English Spoken English Lesson
Hi, I’m Lori.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn how to talk
about smartphones in English.
You’ll see the process of buying a new smartphone.
You’ll also learn how to describe the features
of a smartphone, say what’s most important
to you, and ask questions about what a smartphone
can do.
Before we start, don’t forget to check out
our website: Oxford Online English dot com.
We have many other free English lessons to
help you improve your spoken English.
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can give you, we also have many professional
teachers who offer online classes through
Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime, or whatever you
use!
But now, let’s see some useful language
for buying a new smartphone.
Hello, can I help you with anything?
Hi, yes, I’m looking for a new phone.
I have some ideas, but maybe you can make
some recommendations?
Of course!
What are you looking for in your new phone?
Well, for me, the number one priority is good
battery life.
I travel a lot for work, and I need a phone
which can last at least a full day without
problems.
I see.
Is anything else important?
I take a lot of pictures, so I want something
with a decent camera.
It doesn’t have to be amazing, but I’d
like a phone which can take good-quality pictures.
It’d be a bonus if it could take good photos
in low light, because a lot of phone cameras
don’t do well in darker conditions, I’ve
found.
That’s true, but camera technology is getting
better all the time.
Even mid-range modern phones can take excellent
photos in a wide range of conditions.
If I may ask, what’s your budget?
I guess I’m aiming for something in the
mid-range.
I don’t need something top-of-the-line,
so maybe around two, three hundred Euros.
That’s fine; I have a few ideas for you.
Follow me, please.
If you were shopping for a new phone, what
would you look for?
What’s your top priority?
Do you always buy the same brand, or do you
look for something different, like good battery
life, or the lowest possible price?
In the dialogue, you heard: ‘The number
one priority is good battery life.’
Of course, you can use this phrase with different
features, as in: ‘The number one priority
is a good front camera for selfies.’
You could say the same thing in a different
way like this: ‘The most important thing
for me is good battery life.’
You also heard: ‘I take a lot of pictures,
so I want something with a decent camera.’
‘Decent’ means ‘quite good’.
If something is decent, it’s above average,
but not the best.
If you say this, you mean that you don’t
need the best, most expensive camera there
is, but you want something that’s good enough.
If something is less important, you can use
the phrase ‘It’d be a bonus if…’
In the dialogue, you heard ‘It’d be a
bonus if it could take good photos in low
light.’
A ‘bonus’ is something which is nice to
have, but not absolutely necessary.
So, you might say: ‘It’d be a bonus if
it had a brighter screen.’
Finally, to set your budget, you could say
something like this: ‘I’m aiming for something
in the mid-range.’
‘I want to spend as little as possible.’
‘I’d like something cheap, but without
compromising on what I need.’
If you put these phrases together, you should
be able to say two to three sentences about
what you need in a smartphone, what you’d
like to have, and how much you’re willing
to spend.
For example: ‘The most important thing for
me is that it’s fast and has good performance.
It’d be a bonus if it had over 100 gigabytes
of storage.
I’m aiming for the upper mid-range, so I’d
like to spend maybe four, five hundred maximum.’
Could you make an answer like this?
Pause the video and make an answer.
If you need, you can review this section to
get the language you need.
Say your answer out loud.
Ready?
Let’s look at our next section.
I think this would be a good choice, based
on what you told me.
It has a 48 megapixel dual camera, and great
camera software which makes it easy to take
good pictures in low light conditions, like
you said.
The battery should last two to three days
with normal usage, and currently it’s discounted
to 250 Euros.
That sounds good!
How much memory does it have?
Do you mean RAM, or internal storage?
Storage, I guess.
You know, for music, photos and so on.
It has 64 gigabytes of internal storage, and
you can also add a micro SD card if you need
more.
Mmm…
Oh yeah, one more thing: does it have a headphone
jack?
I listen to music on my headphones, and I
saw a lot of new phones don’t have the connector
for wired headphones.
Yes, it has a 3.5 millimetre jack for headphones,
or an aux cable, or whatever.
Ah, good!
Last thing, I probably should have mentioned
this earlier: can it take two SIM cards?
Yes, it’s dual-SIM, although the second
SIM card goes in the micro SD slot, so you
have to choose between two SIM cards or extra
storage; you can’t have both.
That’s a little annoying…
Are there any phones which don’t have that?
Yes…
I have one idea.
Let me show you.
In the dialogue, I asked three questions about
the phone’s features.
Can you remember what you heard?
You heard: ‘How much storage does it have?’
Does it have a headphone jack?’
‘Can it take two SIM cards?’
Think about these basic question forms.
Can you think of three more questions you
could ask about a smartphone, using these
question forms?
Pause the video and think about your answers.
If you want extra practice, write them down!
Of course, there are many possibilities.
Here are three suggestions: ‘How much RAM
does it have?’
‘Does it have a fingerprint scanner?’
‘Can it last all day on a single charge?’
What about you; were your questions similar,
or did you get something completely different?
There are many other questions you could ask,
but next, let’s see how to describe other
features of a smartphone in more detail.
So, this one is a little more expensive, but I
think you do get a lot more for your money.
It has dual-SIM capability, 128 gigs of storage,
which can be expanded with a memory card if
you need, and a much better screen.
The screen is very hi-res, so everything looks
sharp, and it also has extremely accurate
colours, which might be of interest if you’re
into photography.
Colour accuracy?
What does that mean?
Just that the colours you see on the screen
are exactly how they look in real life.
Some screens, especially on cheaper phones,
don’t have accurate colour reproduction,
so everything looks too blue, or too orange,
or whatever.
OK, I don’t think that’s so important…
It also has an 8-core CPU and 8 gigabytes
of RAM, so everything runs fast, and you can
multi-task, have several apps open at once…
What’s this thing on the back?
It’s the fingerprint scanner.
This phone also has face recognition, so you
can unlock it just by looking into the camera.
Hmm…
And, how much is it?
It’s 750 Euros, but I could take 50 Euro
off the price, so 700.
That’s too much!
I think I’ll take the first phone you showed
me.
Of course.
Here are some things you heard in the dialogue.
Could you explain what they mean in English?
‘It has dual-SIM capability.’
‘The screen is very hi-res.’
‘It has an 8-core CPU, so you can multi-task.’
Imagine you’re an English teacher, and you
want to explain these words to someone who
doesn’t know them.
How would you do it?
‘Dual-SIM’ means that the phone can use
two SIM cards at the same time, so you can
have two phone numbers on one device.
‘Hi-res’ is short for ‘high resolution’.
This means that the screen has more pixels,
so text and images will look clearer.
An 8-core CPU is a processor which can run
many different calculations at the same time.
So, you can multi-task: you can have several
apps open, and you can use your phone to do
several things at once without it slowing
down.
Do you remember any other smartphone features
which were mentioned in the dialogue?
You heard: ‘The screen has extremely accurate
colours.’
‘It also has face recognition.’
‘It has 8 gigabytes of RAM.’
What about your phone?
At this point in the lesson, you should have
enough language to describe the features of
your phone in detail.
Your job is to make a longer answer talking
about your phone.
Remember that you can review earlier sections
if you need to!
Aim to make at least five sentences.
Pause the video and do it now.
OK, how was that?
Could you make a clear, fluent answer?
Let’s look at one more point.
So, will you be needing any accessories?
Like what?
Well, for sure you should get a screen protector.
It’ll stop the glass from getting scratched
or damaged.
How much is it?
10 Euros, and we can put it on for you right
now.
Can’t I do it myself?
You can, but it’s fiddly.
OK, I’ll take one of those.
Is it worth getting a case to protect it?
Perhaps, although phones are a lot tougher
than they used to be.
Of course, I don’t recommend it, but you
can drop it and it’ll be fine nine times
out of ten.
I think I’ll take a case, too.
I broke my last phone by dropping it, and
I’d be so angry if it happened again.
Sure.
Take a look over here; any of these cases
will fit, and they’ll keep your phone safe.
Hmm…
This one’s nice.
It’s fifteen?
That’s right.
Also, one more thing: if you’re worried
about breaking your phone, you could buy an
extended warranty.
It covers you for three years, and it includes
insurance against accidental damage, so if
you drop your phone, or it falls in water,
or anything like that, you can bring it back
and we’ll repair it at no extra cost.
How much is it?
It costs 65 Euros,
Oh, no, no thanks.
No problem.
Is that everything?
Yes, thanks so much.
Where do I pay?
Come with me and I’ll show you.
When you buy a new phone, you might also buy
some accessories.
‘Accessories’ mean small, extra things
which go with something larger you bought.
Accessories can be cosmetic, like a case,
or functional, like a screen protector.
Can you think of other examples of smartphone
accessories?
You could also buy a spare charger, a Bluetooth
headset, or a mount so that you can see your
phone while you’re driving.
During the dialogue, the salesperson also
offered me an extended warranty.
Do you know what this means?
A ‘warranty’ and a ‘guarantee’ have
the same meaning here.
The manufacturer, or the retailer, are responsible
if anything goes wrong with the product.
Normally, a warranty lasts one year.
Some retailers and manufacturers offer extended
warranties, which are a kind of insurance.
At this point, you should be able to buy a
new smartphone in English, describe exactly
what you need, and buy any accessories which
you want.
Here’s a question: what kind of phone do
you have?
Would you recommend it to others?
Why or why not?
Please share your ideas in the comments, and
practise your English!
Try to use the language which you’ve learned
in this lesson.
Thanks for watching!
See you next time!