1

TOPICS

1. University Life - Meeting New Students

2. University Life - Questions and Answers
3. University Life - More Q and As
4. University Life - Interactive Practice
5. University Classes
6. University Classes - Grades
7. University Classes - Professors and Curriculum
8. University Classes - Dropping Out / Withdrawal
9. University Classes - Interactive Practice
10. Examinations

11. Examinations - Finding Information

12. Examinations - General Information
13. Examinations - More Information
14. Examinations - Interactive Practice
15. Roommate - Dormitory
16. Roommate - Sharing things and Questions
17. Roommate - Apartment
18. Roommate - Interactive Practice

NOTE: “Interactive Practices” are the main reviewers of each category or topic.

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 2

University Life - Meeting New Students

As you can see, these portions of our lessons are dedicated to school. There are
many things to learn here, so we are going to spend numerous lessons on
school. But don't worry; only a couple will be geared towards classes. The rest
will be about night life, partying, and having a good time. Before we start
learning about topics such as classes and examinations, let's learn some general
university phrases.

The first type of speaking you will have to do is when you meet new people.
During this time, you can engage in idle small talk. Since you have learned small
talk, feel free to use your new skills. On top of that, let's learn some new phrases
that will help you.

"Where are you from?"

"What high school did you attend?"
"What are you going to major in?"
"What are you majoring in?"
"How many credits are you taking this semester?"
"What classes are you taking?"
"What year are you?"
"What is an easy class to take?"
"Where is the best place to hang out?"
"Are you in the dormitory?"
"Where do you live?"
"Why did you decide to come to this school?"
"What made you choose Berkeley?"

Many of the answer to these questions are general things you should already
know. But it never hurts to review again, so let's go over how we can answer
some of these questions.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Seattle, Washington."
"I'm an exchange student from Seoul, Korea."
"I'm from Dublin, Ohio."
"I'm from Southern California."
 3

University Life - Questions and Answers

"What high school did you attend?"

Before we answer this question, keep in mind that a foreigner will not be asked
this question. Usually they will not ask a foreigner because they think that they
will not know the high school you mention. But it is still good to know how to say
such things.
"I went to Lynnwood High."
"Lynnwood High"
"I went to a high school in San Francisco."
"A high school in Olympia."

"What are you going to major in?"

"I haven't decided, but I'm leaning towards biology."
"I'm thinking about majoring in psychology."

Universities in the States are a little different than others. You don't choose your
major until you are in your 3rd year. Basically, you apply to get into a major your
junior year and if accepted, you have a major. If you get turned down, you
have to find a different major, or spend another semester or year trying to get in.
That's why you see so many people not graduate after 4 years. The problem is
that they do not know what to major in.

"How many credits are you taking?"

"I'm taking eighteen credits this quarter."
"I'm only taking 10 credits this semester."
"I'm taking 20 credits this semester."

"What classes are you taking?"

"I'm taking chemistry 135, math 231, and English 101."
"This quarter I'm taking Intro to Sociology, Basics of Music Composition, and
Spanish 101."

"What year are you?"

"I'm a junior."
"I'm a freshman."
"I'm a fourth year junior."
"I'm a fifth year senior."

If you wonder how you can be a fourth year junior or a fifth year senior, you must
understand that the number of credits you have completed represents what
level you are. So a fourth year junior is someone who has been in school for four
years, but has the same credits as a junior.
 4

University Life - More Q and As

"What is an easy class to take?"

"Fishing 101 is an easy 4.0"
"I thought psychology 101 was an easy class."
"Communication is pretty easy if you're not afraid to make speeches."

"Where is the best place to hang out?"

"The best place to hang out is on the Ave."
"Currently, the bar on 4th and James is the best hangout. Everyone goes there
on the weekends."

"Are you in the dormitory?"

"Yeah. I'm over at Terry Hall."
"Yes. At Buchanan Towers."
"No. I'm commuting from home."
"I have an apartment right next to school."

"Where do you live?"

"You know the McDonalds on the south side? Just 2 blocks from there."
"I live next to the west entrance. There are some apartments behind the
dormitories."
"I live in the dormitory."
"I live in Seattle."

"Why did you decide to come to this school?"

"It was the most convenient."
"It was either this school or the University next to my home. I wanted to get away
from home, so I came here."
"I researched a bit, and found that this school offers exactly what I am looking
for."
"This is the best school that I could afford."

"Do you know where the music building is?"

"The music building is 2 buildings away from the library."
"Over by the fountain. It's the building with the round looking doors."
"I'm not sure. There are maps in the Student Union Building though."
"I think it's over in that direction, but not exactly sure."

"Where is the student union building?"

"Ah, that's what I'm looking for too."
"I was told it was right next to the east parking lot."
"It's the brick building behind the large oak tree."

Remember that when you are talking to somebody, an answer to a question is

another potential topic to talk about. I'll show you an example of a
conversation. Please take note that I ask questions about the answer. Look for it
in the practice session.
 5

University Life - Interactive Practice

Person A | Person B

A: "Hi. My name is Mark."

B: "Mark? I'm Bill. Glad to meet you."
A: "Yeah. So where are you from?"
B: "I'm from Houston Texas."
A: "Oh... I'm from Southern California."
B: "There must be a lot of cute girls over there huh?"
A: "Hell yeah. But most of them are hoochies."
B: "That sucks. So, what year are you?"
A: "I'm a freshman."
B: "This is my first year too."
A: "So what made you decide to come to California for school? I hear Austin is a
good school."
B: "It's aright, but I think Berkeley is better."
A: "So is this where you wanted to come?"
B: "To tell you the truth, I wanted to go to Stanford. I made it on the waiting list,
but ninety nine percent of the people accepted to Stanford go there. Like, who
wouldn't right?"
A: "Very true. But this is still a good school."
B: "I'm not complaining. I just know that I wanted to come to California. Texas is
cool and all, but I wanted to experience different things."
A: "That's good. Do you know what you plan on majoring in?"
B: "I was thinking about political science, but now I'm leaning towards English
literature. How about you?"
A: "I plan on majoring in double E."
B: "Do you know where the Smith building is? I have to pick up the syllabus for my
psychology class. I missed the first day."
A: "That's a great start. It's over there by the library."
B: "It was nice meeting you."
A: "Yeah. We should hang out later."
B: "Cool. I'll see you tomorrow in class then."
A: "Aright. Later."

Person A | Person B

A: "Hi. What's your name?"

B: "My name is Jung Min. What's your name?"
A: "My name is Jessica. It's nice to meet you."
B: "Yes. It's nice to meet you too. Are you a new student too?"
A: "No. I'm a sophomore. I take it you are a new student?"
B: "Yeah. It's pretty exciting to be here."
A: "Have fun while it lasts. The excitement wears off real quick. Especially after
you see how much homework you get. Where are you from?"
B: "I'm from Korea. My parents wanted me to go to an American university, so I
 6

came here."
A: "I have never been to Korea. I've been to Japan before, but never Korea."
B: "Why were you in Japan?"
A: "My father thought it would be a good experience to take a vacation to a
different country. He's so into learning about different cultures."
B: "That's pretty cool."
A: "I thought it would have been more fun if I went without my parents."
B: "Well, if you ever want to visit Korea, I would be happy to show you around."
A: "Thanks for the offer. I'll keep that in mind. Oh, the professor is coming. We'll
talk more after class."
B: "Ok."
 7

University Classes

In this lesson, we are going to learn about the terminologies you need to know
when you talk about classes with your peers.

There are several sections I will break this up into:

Registering for classes
Grades in class
Professors and different curriculum
Dropping out/Withdrawal

First, let's talk about registering for classes.

Questions

"Did you register yet?"

"When do you register for classes?"
"When does registration start for next semester?"
"How do you register for classes?"
"Where is the registration office?"

"What classes are you registering for?"

"What classes are you going to take?"
"What classes do you want to take?"

Ways to answer these questions

"I haven't registered yet."

"I register next Tuesday."
"Registration starts 4 weeks before the next semester."
"You register on-line. Go to the website, and click on register."
"The registration office is in Schmidt Hall. That's right across the street from the
statue."

"I'm not worried about getting into psychology 101, but I think the physics class
will be full by the time I register."
"If all things go well, I plan on registering for English composition, chemistry, and
calculus."
"I really want to take computer programming, but I'll have to see if it is full or not."

Regular comments about registering

"I hate registering for classes. All the classes I want to take are always full."
"Being a sophomore sucks because we register last."
"Seniors have the first pick so registering is easy for them."
"If I get all the classes I want to take, I'll be so happy."
"Registration was great this time. I got all the classes I wanted."
"Registering for classes is such a big headache."
 8

University Classes - Grades

Grades in Classes

Talking about grades is all dependent on if you open up about these things or
not. I know some people are very secretive about their grades, and others like
me freely talk about grades. So make sure you are close friends with the person
you are talking to about grades.

Grades are different depending on school. Some schools give letter grades that
translates into number grade. Other schools strictly give number grades only. The
difference is in letter grades, you cannot get a 3.5. You either get a B+, which is
a 3.3, or an A- which is a 3.7. However, in number grades, the instructor can give
a 3.4, 3.5, or 3.6.

"What did you get in English?" If you are talking about the subject, you do not
need to say grade. But if not, you can ask, "What grade did you get in English?"
"I can't believe I got a 3.1 in biology. What did you get?"
"How was your GPA this semester?" GPA stands for Grade Point Average.
"How were your grades this quarter?"
"Did you do well this semester?"
"Did you screw up your grades this semester?"
"What was the lowest grade you ever got?"
"What is your overall GPA?"
"How are your grades?"
"What's your accum?" This is short for accumulated. This is asking what your
overall GPA is.

I'll give examples for both specific and general answers.

"In English, I got a B+."

"I got a 2.9 in English."
"I did similar to you."
"I got a 3.4 this semester."
"If I didn't get the C+ in Biology, my GPA would have been awesome this
semester."
"My grades were ok."
"I did average this quarter."
"My accum is 3.6 right now. I really want to get over 3.75."
"My overall GPA is 2.94. I need to get a 3.4 next semester to bring my GPA
above 3.0."
"My GPA sucks."
"I did pretty good this semester." Although grammatically this is incorrect, spoken
English allows such errors. If you want to be grammatically perfect, you will need
to say, "I did pretty well this semester."

University Classes - Professors and Curriculum

"How is Professor Johnson?"

"Is Professor Smith an easy grader?"
"What is Professor Lee like?"
 9

"Would you take another class from Professor Jackson again?"

"How many exams did you have to take in Sociology 121?"

"What's the curriculum for Chemistry 101?"
"Do you have to give any presentations in journalism class?"
"What do you do in poetry class?"

If somebody asks you these types of questions, you can answer like the
following:

"Professor Johnson is so uptight. He's always lecturing and never allows students
to ask any questions."
"Professor Johnson is a brilliant professor. I learned so much from him."

"No way. He is such a hard grader. I was expecting a 3.7, but it turns out that I
got a 3.1. Can you believe that?"
"His grading system is messed up. He grades according to how much he likes
you."

"He's a difficult grader."

"He's an easy grader."

"So far, I have taken 2 classes from Professor Jackson. I'm going to take every
class he offers."
"I wouldn't recommend Professor Jackson. His classes are so boring."
"He's an idiot. He doesn't know anything."

"There were just two exams... the midterm and the final."
"There is an exam ever other week. It was hard, but at least it prevented me
from cramming."

"The curriculum is pretty basic. We have two days of lecture, two days of lab,
and one day of discussions. Every now and then we have a quiz, but it's pretty
routine."

"In journalism, we have to give a presentation 3 times during the course. I didn't
mind it, but a lot of other students were complaining."
"We had two presentations, but they were pretty easy. It was the writing that
was hard."
 10

University Classes - Dropping Out / Withdrawal

There are two ways to leave a class. You either drop out, or you withdrawal.
Dropping out usually means you are going to get a failing grade and you don't
care about it. But primarily, dropping out refers to leaving college life altogether.
So if you intend to say that you dropped out of a class, you should use
withdrawal. There are several time periods for withdrawal. The first week, there is
no penalty. The second week up to the first month, a W will show up on your
transcript. And finally, withdrawal after the half way point will give you a failing
grade. But this is dependent on each school policy. So learn the withdrawal
format of your school. I was using the dates mentioned above only as an
example. Let's learn some sentences to say these kinds of things.

"I dropped out of my chemistry class."

"I withdrew from my biology class."
"I had too many classes as it is, so I dropped out of my statistics class."
"I couldn't keep up with the schedule, so I dropped out of that class."
"I couldn't understand the material, so I withdrew."
"I hated the professor, so I just withdrew."

If you need to ask questions about withdrawal, these may help:

"When is the last day to withdrawal?"

"If I withdrawal now, will it show up on my transcript?"
"Does a withdrawal look bad on the transcript?"
"How do I drop out of a class that I don't want to take anymore?"
"What is the procedure to withdrawal from class?"
"How do I withdrawal from a certain class?"

Other things you might want to say when discussing this topic...

"Are you sure you want to drop out of that class. You only have 4 more weeks. At
least you can get the credit."
"If I stay in that class, I'm going to screw up my GPA."
"The best I can do is a C in this class. I don't want a C on my transcript. I'm going
to withdrawal from the class."
"If you get a bad grade, can't you just re-take the course?"
"Even if I retake the course, both grades are used. This school has a different
system where re-taking the course doesn't really help."
 11

University Classes - Interactive Practice

Person A | Person B

A: "Hey John, did you register for classes yet?"

B: "I register this Friday."
A: "What classes do you plan on taking?"
B: "I really want to take the communication class, but I don't know if it will be
available."
A: "Is that class really that popular?"
B: "Yeah. I tried to get in last semester, but it was full by the time I registered."
A: "What other classes are you going to take?"
B: "I still need to take English 201, but I really don't like writing."
A: "I took that class already. There is a lot of writing, but it's not that bad."
B: "Oh really? Who was the instructor? There are like 4 different instructors to
choose from."
A: "I had Professor Mahoney."
B: "Is he an easy grader?"
A: "I'm not sure if he is or not, but I thought he was definitely fair."
B: "Do you mind if I ask you what you got?"
A: "Not at all. I got a 3.8."
B: "Well, what did you get in English 101 last year?"
A: "I got a 4.0 in that class."
B: "Well, I can't compare to you. I got a 3.1 in English 101. That means if you got a
lower grade in English 201, it must be harder."
A: "It's not what it appears. I actually tried harder in the 101 class. If I put as much
effort into the 201 class, I would have received the same grade."
B: "Oh. That helps. Thanks."

Person A | Person B

A: "Hey Mike. I forgot about registration. I'm a day late, so all the classes are
mostly full. What do you think I should do?"
B: "You're screwed. You can't do anything about that. You have to hope that
you get some classes that will be useful."
A: "Do you think going to the registration building will help at all."
B: "No. They will tell you the same thing in a worse way."
A: "Did you register yet?"
B: "Of course. Registering for classes is not something you want to miss."
A: "What classes do you think are still open?"
B: "Well, I know psychology 101 is a big class, so there will always be seats in that
class. You can also get into Sociology."
A: "That's helpful. Thanks. But what do you think about philosophy. I wanted to
take that class this semester."
B: "I took that class last year. The professor is really cool, so if you go to his office,
you can have him sign a card that will let you in even if the class is full."
A: "He does that?"
 12

B: "I guess that's because so many people drop out of that class."
A: "That makes sense. I think I'll do that. Thanks for all the help."
B: "No problem man."

Person A | Person B

A: "Did you get your grades yet?"

B: "Yeah. My whole GPA is screwed up now."
A: "Why? What happened?"
B: "Well, I bombed my econ final and ended up with a 1.7."
A: "Ouch. You must be very disappointed."
B: "Well, it's my fault because I didn't study as much as I should have."
A: "Why don't you re-take the class next year?"
B: "That's what I plan on doing unless I keep screwing up. How did you do this
semester?"
A: "I didn't do that well either. I ended up with a 3.2 this semester. That drops my
total GPA to 3.45."
B: "My GPA is pretty similar to yours. I have a 3.1 now because of the stupid econ
class."
A: "What was your GPA before this semester?"
B: "I was sitting happy with a 3.4."
A: "Why did it go down so much?"
B: "Let's just say I screwed up more than my econ class."
A: "What happened to you?"
B: "I started playing StarCraft and ended up wasting a lot of time."
A: "You better stop slacking off."
B: "You're right. I'm not going to play games during school anymore."

Person A | Person B

A: "Did you ever take History 231?"

B: "Yeah. Last semester."
A: "Who was the professor?"
B: "It was Professor Johnson."
A: "I have him this semester. What do you think about him?"
B: "He's a terrible instructor and demands a lot, but fortunately, he's an easy
grader."
A: "What did you end up getting?"
B: "I got an A-. Sounds good, but none of my test scores were that high, so I don't
know how I got a decent grade."
A: "That's probably because he grades on a curve."
B: "Are you enjoying the class so far?"
A: "I hate it and I was about to withdrawal. But after hearing your experience, I
think I will tough it out."
B: "Yes. Definitely stay in the class. You will get a better grade than your test
scores. He does that deliberately to make all the students study a lot."
A: "Thanks for letting me know. I feel relieved now."
 13

Person A | Person B

A: "Hi Mark."
B: "Oh, hi Stacy."
A: "How was your summer vacation?"
B: "I worked over the summer at a restaurant. Have to make tuition money right?
What did you do?"
A: "I took summer school. I withdrew from two of my classes last year so I wanted
to make them up."
B: "So are you officially a junior now?"
A: "Yeah. And I have 5 credits to spare. I only needed to take 10 credits over the
summer, but I took 15 because the price was the same."
B: "That makes sense. So where is Nicole?"
A: "She dropped out of school completely."
B: "Really? Why?"
A: "She worked at a startup company as an intern and since the business did
well, they asked her if she wanted to work full time."
B: "Wow. She's so lucky. She doesn't have a degree and she already has a job."
A: "It sounds good now, but I'm traditional. I want the degree, so I wouldn't have
accepted the offer."
B: "Do you know how much they are paying her?"
A: "I don't know. But I bet it must have been a good offer, or she wouldn't have
accepted it."
 14

Examinations

What is a school without examinations? They all have it. So, we will have to
spend a session talking about exams.

There are many types of tests and different terminologies. You can be taking an
in-class test, or it could be a take-home final. It could be a multiple choice exam
or an essay type format. In either case, we will cover it here. First, let's learn the
different terminologies associated with testing.

Examination
Mid-term
Finals
Test
Quiz
Pop-quiz
Exam
Take-home final
Research paper
Final paper
Report
Essay
Presentation
Open-book test/final

Common questions you can ask about exam format:

"How many tests did you have to take in your Math class?"
"What was the mid-term like?"
"How much percentage is the mid-term towards the final grade?"
"Do you have to write any papers in that class?"
"How many pages did you have to write for your essays?"
"Was the open-book exam hard?"
"How difficult was the take-home final?"
"Was the final exam short answer questions, or was it multiple choice?"
"Did you have any pop-quizzes in your geology class?"
"How much time did you get to write your research paper?"
"How often did you have a quiz?"
"What day did you take your final?"
"When did you take your final?"
"Are you done with your mid-terms?"
"When is finals week?"
"The syllabus for the econ class says you have six exams. What were they like?"
"How difficult is the mid-term for psychology 101?"
 15

Examinations - Finding Information

Having a lot of information about tests can help prepare for exams. The next
several questions are geared towards finding specific information.

"Does Professor Giles use old exam questions for his tests?"
"Can I borrow your old exams for Intermediate Accounting? I want to use the
questions to test myself before the real exam."
"Do you know anybody who took Physics 340? I want to know the types of
questions that were asked on the final."
"Do you think I need to study chapter 6 for the mid-term? It's so boring, and I
can't seem to apply it anywhere."
"What topics did the professor cover the most in the final exam?"
"What were the long essay questions on?"
"Do you remember the long essay questions you had on the final?"
"I was thinking about buying the study supplement for the engineering class. Do
you think it will help?"

And of course, you may be required to answer these types of questions, so let's
get into answering:

"How many tests did you have to take in your Math class?"
"We had a total of 4 tests in that math class." Or more simply, '4 tests.'

Answering can be real easy. The reason I put full sentences is for your practice.
But remember when you really answer, you are not required to put them in full
sentences. I'll try to mix it up so you get a familiar feel answering both long and
short ways.

"What was the mid-term like?"

"The mid-term was hard. If you read all the material, you will still have a hard
time because the professor wrote up all the questions in a difficult way."
 16

Examinations - General Information

The hardest types of questions to answer are the, 'What was it like' types, and the
'how was' types. The reason it is hard is because you have to explain in your own
words the answer. It's not as simple as a number or a 'yes' or 'no.'

"How much percentage is the mid-term towards the final grade?"

"The instructor said it was twenty percent of our final grade."

"Do you have to write any papers in that class?"

"No. We only had one mid-term and one final."
"Yes. We had to write 2 essays for that class."

"How many pages did you have to write for your essays?"
"We had to write 5 pages for both essays."

"Was the open-book exam hard?"

"Most of the time, open-book exams are harder, but this one was really easy. All
the questions were in the glossary so I found the answers quickly."

"How difficult was the take-home final?"

"It is easy that we have the material to look through, but it is very time
consuming. I had to do an all-nighter just to finish."

All-nighter means to stay up all night.

 17

Examinations - More Information

"Was the final exam short answer questions, or was it multiple choice?"
"It was multiple choice."
"Neither. The exam had 2 long essay questions."

"Did you have any pop-quizzes in your geology class?"

"We had 3 pop-quizzes in that class. Luckily, only five percent counts toward the
final grade."
"Fortunately we didn't have any."

"How much time did you get to write your research paper?"
"We had two months to write the research paper."

"How often did you have a quiz?"

"Once a week."

"What day did you take your final?"

"I took the final last Monday."
"I didn't take it yet. I take the final tomorrow."

"The syllabus for the econ class says you have six exams. What were they like?"
"It was pretty easy because they only covered 2 chapters. If you keep up, then
you shouldn't have a hard time."

"Does Professor Giles use old exam questions for his tests?"
"He always creates new test questions so old ones will not help you."

"Can I borrow your old exams for Intermediate Accounting? I want to use the
questions to test myself before the real exam."
"Sure, I have it in my dormitory. I'll bring them tomorrow."
"He didn't return the exams, so I don't have them."

"What were the long essay questions on?"

"Both questions were on supply and demand. Make sure you know that stuff
inside and out."

"I was thinking about buying the study supplement for the engineering class. Do
you think it will help?"
"I highly recommend it. I didn't have it for the first exam, and I got a B-. But after I
studied with the supplement, I aced the next test."
 18

Examinations - Interactive Practice

1

Person A | Person B

A: "Did you already take the history exam?"

B: "Yeah. It was hard. When do you take it?"
A: "I take it tomorrow morning. There is so much material, that I don't know what
to emphasize on. What types of questions did you get?"
B: "Mostly on the civil war. You should also study the impact Martin Luther King Jr.
had on American society."
A: "How about Abraham Lincoln? Did you get any questions about him?"
B: "I only had 1 question about him. But you might get more. I don't know if he
will have the same exam or not."
A: "Hopefully he will use the same exam, cause I'm going to spend most of my
time studying the civil war. It is a huge section and that is what he lectured the
most on in class."
B: "If you can't study everything, then that is probably the best way to go."
A: "Aright. Thanks for the info. I gotta go to the library now."
B: "Good luck."
A: "Thanks. See ya."

Person A | Person B

A: "Hey Jack. You look tired. What's going on?"

B: "It's finals week and I have been up all night studying."
A: "How many exams do you have left?"
B: "Three more to go?"
A: "Have you been keeping up, or are you cramming everything?"
B: "If I was keeping up, I wouldn't need to stay up all night."
A: "Ha ha ha. Looks like you are in for a tough week."
B: "Tell me about it. How about you? What have you been up to?"
A: "I finished my last final this morning."
B: "So you're completely done?"
A: "No. I have one more report that is due this Friday. I haven't started it yet, but
it shouldn't be too tough."
B: "How many pages do you have to write?"
A: "It's a 10 page paper on habitual behavior for psychology 211."
B: "You wanna take one of my exams for me?"
A: "I would if I could, but you know that's not possible."
B: "Yeah, I know."
A: "If you need help with your chemistry class, I can help you over the weekend."
B: "That would be great."
A: "Let's get together Saturday around lunch time."
B: "You don't know how much this means to me. Thanks."
A: "Don't mention it. I'll see you on Saturday."
 19

Roommate - Dormitory

While in school it is common to have a roommate when you are in the

dormitory. In the States, it's also common to share an apartment with a
roommate. This lesson will cover the English you will need to talk to your
roommate. Of course you can talk about many tings, but I will specifically target
this lesson towards roommate stuff.

Dormitory Roommate

When you first go into a dormitory, you will either be greeted by the person
already there, or you will have to greet someone that is coming later than you.
Most dormitories have one room for two people. After the dormitory section, I
will cover living in an apartment with a roommate.

When you arrive to the dormitory, you can usually engage in small talk first. Most
of the time, you have to get to know one another. Talk is initiated by both
parties simultaneously. You can ask questions like where they came from, what
year they are in, or what they like to do. But besides that, you have to find out
the living habits of each other. After you engage in small talk, you can ask these
questions:

It's important to know the sleeping habits of your roommate, so ask if they are a
night person or a morning person.

"So, are you a night owl or a morning bird?"

A night person is referred to as an owl. That is because owls are more active at
night. Birds on the other hand wake up early. So they associate morning people
to birds.

If you don't want to use this expression, you can ask,

"Are you a night person or a morning person?"

"What time do you usually go to sleep?"
"What time do you usually wake up?"
"If you didn't have anything to do the next day, what time would you sleep till?"

It's common courtesy to respect each other. If you are asleep, the roommate
should be quiet. This goes for you too.

When you get sleepy, you can either go to sleep, or tell your roommate that you
are going to sleep.

"I'm a little tired. I'm going to sleep now. Have a good night."
"I'm sleepy. Time to go to bed. See you in the morning."

If you like listening to music, you can ask your roommate,

"Does the music bother you?"

"Let me know if you want me to turn the music off."
 20

"Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"

But when you ask questions about music or TV, you should make sure that
person is not studying. If they are, then it's pointless to ask because it should be
quiet. This is only good for times when you are both doing nothing.
 21

Roommate - Sharing things and Questions

Sometimes a roommate will bring a mini refrigerator, or it might turn out that you
will. It's polite to let your roommate use the refrigerator too.

"Feel free to use the refrigerator."

"Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"
"Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"

If you connect with the person and you become friends, then you will not even
need to ask. For example, after you get to know the person your comments will
be different. Say I become a friend of my roommate. And then after a month or
so, he brings a refrigerator. I wouldn't ask to use it, I would rather comment on
how useful it will be. It's assumed that a friend can use the refrigerator, so no
need to sound weird by asking politely. Instead you can say,

"Cool, you brought a fridge. I can go buy milk now."

This comment is saying that you appreciate the refrigerator by saying, 'cool',
then you indicate that you are going to use it by saying you will buy milk. If your
friend doesn't object to your comment, then it is the same thing as getting
permission to use the refrigerator.

Responding to questions

"Are you a night person or a morning person?"

"I'm a night owl. I usually sleep pretty late."

"What time do you usually go to sleep?"

"It varies. Usually between midnight and one in the morning."

"What time do you usually wake up?"

"I don't wake up until I have to."
"I usually wake up at nine in the morning."

"Does the music bother you?"

"No not at all. I like it."

"Do you mind if I turn the stereo on?"

"Oh, feel free."
"Can I put my drinks in your fridge?"
"Sure. Don't worry about it."

"Do you mind if I use your refrigerator?"

"No problem at all."
 22

Roommate - Apartment

When people live in an apartment, it is usually among friends. So there's no need

to worry about being too polite. As long as you have common courtesy, you will
have no problem. On the other hand, if you are looking for a roommate, then
there are some things you should learn how to say. The list of questions below
are examples of questions you should ask when looking to join existing people in
an apartment.

Questions

"What is the rent here?"

"How many people live in the apartment?"
"How many bedrooms does the apartment have?"
"How much is utilities?"
"Does the rent cover the utility bills?"
"Do you have any rules for living here?"
"Does it get loud in here?"
"What time do people usually go to sleep?"
"Do you hold any parties here?"
"How many people share the bathroom?"
"Do you have cable?"
"Do you have high speed Internet?"

Common answers

"The rent is $1200, so you would only pay $400."

"This is a three bedroom unit, so you would be the third person."
"On average, utilities are about $125."
"The rent does not cover utilities. You would be responsible for 1/3 of the utilities."
"We are pretty quiet during the week days, but on the weekends, it can get a
little loud."
"
 23

Roommate - Interactive Practice

1

Person A | Person B

A: "Hi. My name is Jack."

B: "Hey Jack. I'm Seth."
A: "It's nice to meet you."
B: "Looks like we're going to be roommates."
A: "Yeah."
B: "So where are you from?"
A: "I'm from Tacoma. How about you?"
B: "I'm from Ontario."
A: "In Canada?"
B: "No. It's in California. It's a smaller city in southern California."
A: "So what made you come here?"
B: "I wanted to go to a different state."
A: "I see. Hey, if you don't mind, I took this side of the room."
B: "No problem. They look the same to me."
A: "Are you a morning person or a night person."
B: "I'm a night person."
A: "That's great. So am I. I like to sleep in the morning."
B: "That should work out well then."

Person A | Person B

A: "Hi. I'm Sara."

B: "My name is Jessica. It's nice to meet you."
A: "Yes. It's nice to meet you as well."
B: "Have you been here long?"
A: "I got here about an hour ago. Do you want me to show you around?"
B: "Yeah. That would be great. The most important is the bathroom right?"
A: "Definitely. But we have to share the bathroom with the whole floor. The break
room is over there. The bathroom is right across from the break room, and finally,
the RA (resident advisor) is in room 315."
B: "I'm glad there is a TV in the break room. I like to watch TV."
A: "Me too. So I brought one. I haven't unpacked it yet, but it's a little TV that
works."
B: "Cool. I brought a refrigerator. I like to store some snacks in there. Feel free to
use it."
A: "That would be perfect. I think we're going to have a great time."
B: "Do you sleep pretty late, or are you a morning person."
A: "I have never been either. I'm very flexible with sleeping times. Anyways, I'm a
deep sleeper so a little noise never bothers me."
B: "That's good to know. I'm usually a night person, but I'm very quiet if my
roommate is sleeping."
A: "As long as you don't blast the music while I'm sleeping, I should be fine. Did
you eat lunch yet?"
B: "No. Is there a cafeteria in the building?"
 24

A: "Yeah. I'll show you."

Person A | Person B

A: "I'm calling about the available room. Is it still available?"

B: "Yes it is. Do you know where we're located?"
A: "Yeah. I drove by this morning and I liked the location. What's the rent?"
B: "It's $850 a month. So you would pay $425 a month plus half of the bills."
A: "How big is the place?"
B: "It's a two bedroom, one bath and roughly about 800 square feet."
A: "Is the complex pretty quiet? Can you hear a lot of noise or anything like
that?"
B: "They have a strict policy in the apartment complex concerning noise level. So
it stays very quiet after 10 PM."
A: "Are you the only person who lives there now?"
B: "Yeah. I'm only looking for one roommate."
A: "Everything sounds good. Can we schedule a time to meet so I can look at
the place?"
B: "I'm available anytime today or tomorrow."
A: "How about if I come over now?"
B: "That works with me. But what is your name?"
A: "Oh, my name is Brad."
B: "Ok. I'm Randy. So I'll see you in a bit?"
A: "Should only take about 15 minutes to get there."
B: "Sounds good."