General Listening Quiz
“Home Cleaning Service”
| Level: | Topic: | Speakers: | Length: |
| difficult | cleaning services | man – woman | 02:16 |
Pre-Listening Exercise
How clean is your house or apartment right now? Are there some areas of your place that get cleaned more often than others?
Speak Up, Take a Stand! Instructions for Getting the Conversation Started
These statements are designed to get everyone thinking, moving, and talking! The goal is to explore ideas, share opinions, and get ready for the next part of the lesson.
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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? Then, pair students with members of the other group and have students explain their reasons. Rotate partners for more practice.
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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. What do others think? Do you agree or disagree with them?
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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. This helps you get ready to speak and join real conversations in English. Consider recording your ideas and self-assess your progress.
- Hiring a cleaning service is worth the money if you are too busy.
- People should clean their own homes instead of paying someone else.
- Home cleaning services are only for rich people.
- It’s easier to trust a cleaning service than an individual cleaner.
- A clean home reduces stress and helps people focus.
- Cleaning services are more popular in cities than in small towns.
- Some people feel embarrassed to hire someone to clean their home.
- It’s important to support local cleaning businesses, not big companies.
- Professional cleaners do a better job than most homeowners.
- Different cultures have different standards of what “clean” means.
Idioms
“clean up your act” = improve your behavior
“Hey. You’d better clean up your act, or Mom will throw you out of the house. You can’t be rude to her like that.”
“start off with a clean slate” = start things new again (children used to write on slates that could be erased)
“You had some problems here at home in the past, but I hope you can start off this year with a clean slate. Everyone needs a new beginning from time to time.”
Listening Exercise
A. Listen to the recording and answer the questions.
Post-Listening Exercise
For each item below, explain who in your house is responsible for cleaning these things and how often this person does it (once a day, two times a week, once a month, every day, almost never, etc.):
- washing the dishes
- cleaning the kitchen floors
- straightening up the bedrooms
- cleaning toilets and the shower
- cleaning the windows
- vacuuming the carpets
- dusting the furniture
- washing and drying the clothes
Online Investigation
Use the Internet to find information about a house cleaning service, if possible, near where you live. Then, answer these questions:
- What is the name of the company?
- How long has the company been in business?
- What cleaning services are included?
- Do they bring their own cleaning supplies and cleaners?
- What are the cleaning costs, and how are they determined?
- What kind of cleaning plan or schedule is offered (e.g., they can come two days a week)?
- What guarantees does the service provide on its work?
- Is the company insured in case one of its workers gets injured on the job?