English speaking lesson · Learning & Leisure
Buying event tickets
You're at a theatre box office buying tickets for a show. You practice it as a real conversation, at whichever of the four levels fits you — the room and the steps stay the same, only the words get harder.
A theatre box office · you talk to the box office assistant
Free plan: this lesson is free to play at every level, with 10 messages a day. No card needed. The Learning Plan makes messages unlimited — $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year, with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
What you have to do
Say what you want to see, pick a date, choose your seats, and pay. You finish the lesson by getting there in conversation — not by answering questions about it. The tutor never stops to correct you; the feedback appears beside your own messages, and the completion screen collects it all.
How it opens
Hello! What can I get you tickets for?
Spoken aloud by the tutor playing the box office assistant.
The 5 steps that finish it
A step clears when you say the thing that clears it. The steps are identical at all four levels — only the example line fades, and at Natural there is none at all.
- 01
Say what you want to see
Say what show you'd like to see.
“Hello! Tickets for the show, please.”
- 02
Pick a date
Say which date you'd like.
“On Saturday, please.”
- 03
Choose your seats
Say how many tickets and where you'd like to sit.
“Two seats together, near the front, please.”
- 04
Check the booking
Check the booking is right, and ask the price.
“Yes, that's everything. How much is it?”
- 05
Pay and collect
Say how you'd like to pay and receive the tickets.
“By card, please — by email too!”
The words, at all four levels
The same room and the same steps, four vocabularies. These are the words the lesson listens for and scores you on — with what each one means and how it sounds when you are talking to the box office assistant.
Starter
A1 – A2Simple, everyday words with a full hint on every step.
- tickets
- passes that let you enter an event
- “Two tickets, please.”
- show
- a performance you watch
- “For the show tonight.”
- Saturday
- the sixth day of the week
- “On Saturday, please.”
- two
- the number 2
- “Two tickets, please.”
- seats
- places to sit
- “Two seats together, please.”
- front
- the part nearest the stage
- “Near the front, please.”
- much
- used to ask the price — 'how much'
- “How much is it?”
- a message sent over the internet
- “By email, please.”
- please
- a polite word when you ask
- “Two tickets, please.”
- card
- a bank card you pay with
- “By card, please.”
Conversational
A2 – B1Common words at a natural pace, with hints to lean on.
- performance
- one showing of a play or concert
- “Which performance is it?”
- available
- free to be booked
- “Is Saturday available?”
- matinee
- an afternoon performance
- “Is there a matinee?”
- stalls
- the seats on the ground floor
- “Are there stalls seats?”
- together
- next to each other
- “Two seats together, please.”
- view
- how well you can see the stage
- “Is the view good there?”
- booking
- a reservation made in advance
- “Is there a booking fee?”
- everything
- all of it — 'is that everything?'
- “That's everything, thanks.”
- total
- the full amount to pay
- “What's the total?”
- cheers
- informal thanks
- “Cheers for that!”
Confident
B1 – B2Richer, more specific words, with only light hints.
- restricted
- with a partly blocked view
- “Are any seats restricted?”
- circle
- the raised seating above the stalls
- “What about the circle?”
- premium
- the best and most expensive seats
- “Are those premium seats?”
- availability
- whether seats are free to book
- “What's the availability like?”
- concession
- a reduced price for certain people
- “Is there a concession rate?”
- interval
- the break in the middle of a show
- “Is there an interval?”
- altogether
- in total — 'how much altogether'
- “How much altogether?”
- collection
- picking tickets up in person
- “Is collection possible?”
- sorted
- arranged and settled
- “That's sorted, thanks.”
- appreciate
- to be grateful for
- “I'd appreciate that.”
Natural
B2 – C1Advanced, idiomatic words — no hints at all.
- sold
- no longer available — 'sold out'
- “Is Saturday sold out?”
- returns
- tickets given back and resold
- “Do you get many returns?”
- restricted
- with a partly blocked view
- “Nothing restricted, ideally.”
- bagged
- secured or obtained (informal)
- “Glad I bagged these.”
- snap
- to buy quickly before others (informal)
- “I'll snap those up.”
- damage
- the cost — 'what's the damage?' (informal)
- “What's the damage?”
- tap
- to pay by touching your card
- “I'll just tap.”
- obliged
- grateful for a favour
- “Much obliged, thank you.”
- sorted
- dealt with and settled
- “Great, we're sorted.”
- cheers
- informal thanks
- “Cheers, appreciated.”
More Learning & Leisure lessons
- At the library
- A museum visit
- Joining a class
- Joining a hobby group
- Joining a sports club
- A language exchange
- A group project