This is Lesson 9, “Is Freddy There?,” from our book of beginner-level adult ESL lessons, “ESL Pathways: Foundations”. The lesson starts with a short story about a phone call, followed by a phone dialogue, and comprehension questions. Students then fill in a chart about last weekend / this weekend / next weekend, fill in the blanks in a phone conversation, answer discussion questions, and complete a grammar review. This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many other adult ESL lessons like this one in our book ESL Pathways: Foundations.

ADULT ESL LESSONS: Is Freddy There? (Text-Only Version)

John’s telephone is ringing.

“Hi, this is John.  I can’t come to the phone right now.  Please leave your name and number after the beep and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”  

John isn’t at home right now.  Someone is calling him and they are hearing John’s voice on his voicemail.  The person may leave a message after he or she hears a beep.  Some people don’t like to leave messages.  They just hang up when they hear the voicemail message.  However, voicemail is very useful. People can record messages when they are not able to answer the telephone.  Freddy listened to John’s voicemail message, and then he left a message.

“Hi John, this is Freddy.  I really enjoyed playing Mah Jong last weekend.  Can we play again this weekend?  Give me a call when you have time.  My home number is 633-7758.  My cell phone number is 468-2341.  See you later.”  

John got home at 7:30.  He listened to Freddy’s message.  Now, John is calling Freddy back.  

Dialogue:  Freddy and John are talking on the telephone.

Freddy:  Hello.

John:  Is Freddy there?

Freddy:  This is Freddy.

John:  Hi Freddy.  It’s John.

Freddy:  John thanks for calling me back.

John:  No problem. So, you liked playing Mah Jong last weekend?

Freddy:  Yeah, that was a lot of fun. Can you play again this weekend?

John:  Sorry, I can’t. This weekend I have to study for my final exams.

Freddy:  Oh, I understand. Final exams are very important.

John:  How about next weekend? I’ll have a lot of free time after my exams.

Freddy:  That sounds great.

John:  Where do you want to play?

Freddy:  How about my house?

John:  Sure. What’s your address?

Freddy:  I live at 733 Merrill Avenue. Do you know where that is?

John:  I know where that is.

Freddy:  Is 7:00 okay?

John:  Sounds good. You know Freddy sometimes we play Mah Jong for money.

Freddy:  Maybe I’ll gamble after I play a few more times.

John:  Okay, that’s fair.  See you next Saturday.  

Questions:

1. Who is calling John?
2. What does he want?
3. Does Freddy leave his address in the message?
4. What is Freddy’s home phone number?
5. When does Freddy want to play Mah Jong?
6. Does John call Freddy back?
7. What is Freddy’s cell phone number?
8. What did John and Freddy do last weekend?
9. How does Freddy feel about Mah Jong?
10. What does John have to do this weekend?
11. What will they do next weekend?
12. Where will John and Freddy play Mah Jong??
13. What is Freddy’s address?
14. Does John know where Freddy lives?
15. What time will they play Mah Jong next weekend?
16. Will Freddy gamble next weekend?
17. When will Freddy gamble?

Activity: Weekends

Find out what your classmates did last weekend, are doing this weekend, and will do next weekend.

Practice the following telephone dialogue with a classmate.  Fill in the missing information.

A:  Is ___________________ there?

B:  This is ________________.

A:  Hi ____________.  It’s _______________.

B:  Hi ________________.

A:  Can you _______________________________ this weekend?

B:  Sorry, I can’t ______________________ this weekend, I’m busy. How about next weekend?

A:  Sure.  Next weekend is fine.

B:  Great!  See you then.

A:  Okay, bye.

 Discussion Questions:  

1. What year is it this year?  Last year?  Next year?
2. What month is this month?  Last month?  Next month?
3. What did you do last weekend?
4. What are you planning to do next weekend?  Next month?  Next year?

5. What is your home telephone number?
6. What is your address?
7. Do you ever play Mah Jong?
8. Do you ever play cards?
9. Do you ever gamble?

10. Do you have a voicemail message?
11. Do you like to leave messages on voicemail?
12. How often do you talk on the telephone?
13. Who do you talk to?  What do you talk about?
14. Do you have a cell-phone?  What is the number?
15. Do you think cell-phones are useful?  Why?

Grammar Focus

Write the correct word: next, this, or last.

1. __________________ weekend we went to the mountains.

2. __________________ Tuesday we are going to Tokyo.

3. We went to Disneyland _______________ year.

4. Are you going to America _____________ month?

5. I forgot my book ________________week.

6. ______________ week we will have a test.

7. He’s going to work _______________ morning.

8. He will come home _______________ afternoon.

9. Do you have any plans for _________ weekend?

10. Where did you go _________ month?