Airline Safety - Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab

Level	Topic	Speakers	Length
Intermediate	Airline Travel	Man – Woman	02:10

A group of people with bags in front of a row of benches.

Pre-Listening Exercise

What items are passengers not allowed to take on board airplanes in your country? What are the reasons for these rules?

Agree or Disagree? Let’s Spark Some Conversation!

These statements are designed to get everyone thinking, exploring ideas, and sharing opinions.

In a face-to-face classroom: Read each statement aloud. If you agree, move to one side of the room; if you disagree, move to the other. Talk with your group—why do you feel that way?
In an online classroom: Use polls, emojis, or the chat box in your online platform to show your opinion. Then, join the conversation as a group or in breakout rooms.
For independent learners: Read each statement and think about your opinion. Then say your answer out loud and explain your reason, as if you’re talking to a classmate.

1. Airports should do more security checks, even if it makes traveling slower.
2. Airplanes are the safest way to travel.
3. Carry-on luggage should be limited to make boarding faster and safer.
4. People feel less safe on airplanes than they actually are.
5. New technology (like face recognition) should replace traditional passport checks.
6. Airport security should focus more on suspicious behavior than on luggage.
7. Delays and cancellations are a bigger problem for travelers than safety concerns.
8. Pilots should have more rest time between flights, even if it makes tickets more expensive.
9. Small regional airports are less safe than big international airports.
10. Safety videos on airplanes don’t really help passengers in an emergency.

Idioms

“be up in the air” = undecided
“Because my dad lost his job, our summer plans are up in the air at the moment.”

“travel with something” = carry something as your travel
“Ashley always travels with extra money in case of an emergency.”

Listening Exercise

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences

Here are some words that appear in the recording:

additional (adjective): more
– Any additional bags will cost you $50 to take on your trip.
peel (verb): remove the skin of fruit or vegetables
– I usually peel the skin off apples because my kids don’t like to eat it.
prohibited (adjective): not permitted or allowed
– Weapons of any kind are prohibited on the plane.
item (noun): thing
– Please place small items under your seat on the airplane.
distracted (adjective): not paying attention
– The woman was distracted by her cell phone and crashed into the car in front of her.
supervisor (noun): a person in charge, manager
– Excuse me. I want to talk to your supervisor about my missing bag.

Vocabulary Practice

Do the vocabulary quizzes with the words from the conversation for more practice:

Mixed-Up Sentence | Gap-fill Exercise | Sentence and Vocabulary Matching

Post-Listening Exercise

With a partner, describe an experience, good or bad, that you have had at an airport or on an airplane. What happened? What did you learn about the experience that will help you the next time you travel?

Online Investigation

Visit the website of one or more airlines. Research five items that passengers are prohibited from putting in their checked luggage and/or in their carry-on bags.

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See Listening Script

Back to Intermediate Quizzes

General Listening Quiz

“Airline Safety”