Survival English for Adult Beginners: 10 Situations

Survival English is the language adult learners need to get through daily life: ordering food, asking for directions, seeing a doctor, dealing with a problem at the bank. For a new arrival in an English-speaking country, a traveller, or a learner who has studied grammar for years but freezes in a shop, this is the English that builds confidence fastest.

This guide lists the ten situations to teach first, the key phrases for each, and a lesson pattern that works for A2 to B1 adults. It follows the approach of our Everyday Confidence course.

Why situations beat grammar for beginners

Adult beginners often know more English than they can use. The problem is not vocabulary; it is having the right chunk ready under pressure. Teaching by situation gives learners complete phrases ("Can I get a...?", "Could you say that again?") that they can use immediately, before they could explain the grammar behind them.

A simple lesson pattern

Use the same five steps for every situation:

1. Picture the scene. Show a photo and ask what people say there.

2. Model dialogue. A short, realistic exchange of six to eight lines.

3. Chunks. Pull out five to eight phrases and drill them.

4. Role play. Pairs perform the dialogue, then a version with one change.

5. Problem round. Add something that goes wrong, such as a wrong order or a cancelled train.

The problem round is the most important. Real life rarely follows the textbook dialogue, and learners gain the most confidence from recovering when it does not.

1. Ordering food and drinks

- "Can I get a..., please?"

- "Could I have the bill/check, please?"

- "Is this vegetarian?"

- "Sorry, I ordered the..., not the..."

2. Shopping and returns

- "Do you have this in a smaller size?"

- "Where can I find...?"

- "I'd like to return this. It doesn't fit."

- "Can I pay by card?"

3. Getting around

- "Excuse me, how do I get to...?"

- "Does this bus go to...?"

- "Which stop is it for...?"

- "Is it far from here?"

4. At the hotel or accommodation

- "I have a reservation under the name..."

- "The wifi isn't working in my room."

- "Could I have a late checkout?"

- "Who do I contact if there's a problem?"

5. At the airport

- "Where is the check-in for...?"

- "My flight has been cancelled. What are my options?"

- "Is there a later flight?"

- "My bag didn't arrive."

6. At the doctor's

- "I've had a headache for three days."

- "It hurts here."

- "Do I need to take this with food?"

- "Could you write that down for me, please?"

Teach body parts and a handful of symptoms first. Learners often have high stakes and high anxiety in this situation, so extra practice pays off.

7. At the bank

- "I'd like to open an account."

- "There's a payment I don't recognise."

- "My card isn't working."

- "What documents do I need?"

8. Phone calls and appointments

- "I'd like to make an appointment for..."

- "Do you have anything on Tuesday?"

- "Could you spell that, please?"

- "Sorry, the line is bad. Could you repeat that?"

9. Customer service problems

- "I'm calling about an order I placed last week."

- "It still hasn't arrived."

- "What can you do to fix this?"

- "Could I speak to a manager, please?"

Teach a polite-but-firm tone. Learners often sound either too apologetic or too blunt when complaining.

10. Meeting new people

- "Hi, I'm... Nice to meet you."

- "Where are you from?"

- "How long have you lived here?"

- "What do you do?"

For keeping a conversation going, see our guide to teaching small talk.

11. Housing and repairs (bonus for new residents)

- "The heating isn't working."

- "When can someone come to fix it?"

- "Is the deposit refundable?"

- "Are bills included in the rent?"

For learners who have just moved, this situation can matter as much as the doctor or the bank, and the language of contracts and repairs is rarely in beginner textbooks.

How to sequence the situations

Do not teach all eleven in order. Start with the two or three your learners face this month, then rotate. A useful pattern for a ten-week course is one new situation per week, with the last fifteen minutes of each lesson spent revisiting an earlier one with a new problem. By week ten, learners have practised every situation at least twice, once in its simple form and once when something goes wrong.

The two phrases every beginner needs

Before any situation, teach learners how to manage not understanding:

- "Sorry, could you say that again, more slowly?"

- "What does... mean?"

These two phrases turn a frightening moment into a normal one. Learners who use them confidently get much more out of real conversations.

Building confidence, not only accuracy

Correct gently and later. Note errors during role play and review a few afterwards.

Praise communication. If the learner got the train ticket, the task succeeded.

Recycle. Return to earlier situations with new problems.

Use the learner's real life. Ask which situation they faced this week and rehearse it.

Stop the translation habit. Our guide on helping students stop translating has exercises.

Many learners know the language but lack the confidence to use it. For that side, see building student confidence in English.

A sample 60-minute lesson: at the doctor's

1. Warm-up (5 min): Mime a symptom (a headache, a sore back). Learners guess and say it in English.

2. Vocabulary (10 min): Body parts and ten common symptoms with pictures. Drill "I've got a...", "My... hurts", "I've had... for... days".

3. Model dialogue (10 min):

Receptionist: "Good morning. How can I help?"

Patient: "I'd like to see a doctor, please. I've had a bad cough for a week."

Receptionist: "Do you have an appointment?"

Patient: "No, sorry. Is there anything today?"

Receptionist: "We have 3:30 this afternoon."

Patient: "That's great, thank you."

4. Chunk practice (10 min): Learners practise the patient's lines with different symptoms and times.

5. Role play (15 min): Pairs act out the reception and the consultation. Give the doctor a card with two questions to ask ("When did it start?", "Are you taking any medicine?").

6. Problem round (10 min): The pharmacy does not have the medicine, or the doctor uses a word the patient does not know. Learners must ask for clarification.

Teaching survival English online

Situation-based teaching works well on video. Use screen-shared photos to set scenes, put the dialogue in the chat so learners can read and repeat, and use your own voice as the "other side" in role plays. Real-world realia helps: show a real menu, a train timetable or a pharmacy label from a website and build the role play around it.

Adapting for different learners

Newly arrived residents need the bank, doctor, phone and housing situations first.

Travellers need transport, hotel, airport and restaurant first.

Learners preparing for work can move on to workplace English once these feel easy.

Go further

Our Everyday Confidence course covers 24 real-world situations at A2 to B1 level, each with a target dialogue, vocabulary chunks and a role-play prompt. The first lessons are free to preview.