Opening a Bank Account

Hello English learners! Welcome back to another great lesson with EnglishPod! My name is Marco.

And I‟m Erica.

And today we‟re bringing you another great lesson about being at the bank.

That‟s right! We‟ve got an Intermediate lesson for you today, um, with lots of great language to help you open a bank account.

Okay, so, let‟s look at our “vocabulary preview” today. Voice: Vocabulary preview.

Two words today. The first one is checking account. [NOTE: Canadian spelling - chequing account]

A checking account.

Checking account.

So, what is a checking account?

Well, it‟s a type of bank account that lets you do your day-to-day or daily banking.

So, it‟s the normal bank account that you use to go shopping, that you…

Yep.

That you use to pay your bills.

Yeah, exactly.

The opposite, and our second word, is…

Savings account.

Savings account.

Savings account.

So, a savings account is to…

It‟s a bank account where you save your money.

To save money, right?

Aha.

So, usually, you don‟t touch the money at this account.

Yeah, usually, it stays in there.

Right, so, usually, banks will have these two types of accounts.

Yes.

Checking and savings.

Aha.

Okay, great! Let‟s listen to our dialogue a first time now.

Alright, well, today we‟re at a bank and we‟re going to listen as a man is opening a bank account.

The dialogue is gonna be spoken at a normal speed, so it might be a little bit fast.

Yeah.

But don‟t worry about it, because we‟ll come back and explain everything.

Yes.

Alright, one billion dollars.

That‟s a lot of money!

That‟s a weird laugh.

Hehe.

Hehe. Okay, let‟s look at “language takeaway” today. Voice: Language takeaway.

Today we‟ve got four words for you in language takeaway all about money and banking.

Money and banking.

Aha.

The first one that we have today is transaction.

Transaction.

Transaction.

A transaction.

So, we have some great examples that will help you understand what a transaction is, so, let‟s listen. Voice: Example one.

I need a record of my most recent paying transactions. Voice: Example two.

There’s no fee for bank transactions done online. Voice: Example three.

Okay, we’ve deposited your money. Would you like to make another transaction today?

So, basically, I can understand that a transaction is moving money around in your bank accounts.

Right, it‟s taking your money from… right, it‟s taking money from your bank account and putting it in other account or just taking in it to spend… whatever.

Yes.

That‟s a transaction.

Or even putting money in to your bank account…

That‟s also a transaction.

Aha.

Great! Our second word – balance.

Balance.

Balance.

Balance.

Your account balance…

Aha.

Is how much money you have.

Exactly.

Right?

An account balance.

My account balance is two dollars right now, I think.

That‟s a bit of a problem.

Yes.

Good thing payday is three days away.

Yeah! Oh, my God! Okay, our third word – overdraft.

Overdraft.

Overdraft.

Overdraft.

So, this really comes in handy, right?

Uhu.

To overdraft… can you tell us a little bit about it?

Let‟s say in my bank account I have five hundred dollars.

Uhu.

But I spend six hundred dollars.

Right.

So, I have an overdraft in my account, meaning I owe the bank a hundred dollars.

Right, it‟s also commonly refer to… as a negative balance.

That‟s right!

Right? Negative balance.

Uhu.

Like me. Very soon I will have a negative balance.

Okay, I think this one is a little bit tricky to understand, so let‟s listen to a couple of examples of how we use this word. Voice: Example one.

The maximum overdraft of my account is only five thousand dollars. Voice: Example two.

I’m sorry, sir, but you’ve exceeded your maximum overdraft limit. I cannot give you any more money. Voice: Example three.

Oh, no! I have to pay fifteen hundred dollars in overdraft fees.

Okay, great examples! Now, we can take a look at our last word – debit card.

Debit card.

Debit card.

D-E-B-I-T card, debit card.

So, debit card is issued by the bank.

Yes.

And used to…

Take money out of a… ATM.

From an ATM-machine, right?

Uhu.

Right, a debit card. Not to be confuse with a credit card.

Not the same thing.

Alright. Okay, great! So, now we could listen to our dialogue a second time at a slower speed, so, now we can…

We can hear all of the great language we just talked about. DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME (slow)

We heard some interesting phrases of how to tell somebody to do something in a polite way.

Yes.

So, let‟s start with “fluency builder” and explain these words. Voice: Fluency builder.

The bank teller asked this man to do a number of things in order to open his bank account and she used some great expressions.

Right, let‟s listen to how she asked the man to do some things in a polite way.

Yes. Phrase 1: I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork. I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork. Phrase 2: I’ll need your social insurance number. I’ll need your social insurance number. Phrase 3: If you could just sign here. If you could just sign here.

So, the first thing she said is “I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork”.

I‟ll get you to.

Right? Right, I‟ll get you to.

Uhu.

So, it‟s just a way of saying “can you please fill this out?

Yeah, do this.

Do this.

Yeah.

But in a different way, right?

Aha, more polite.

It‟s pretty polite.

Uhu.

Then she also said “I’ll need your social insurance number”.

I‟ll need your.

I‟ll need your. Again, a polite way of saying…

Give me…

Give me.

Your social insurance number.

Hehe. Give me your social insurance…

Yeah.

And the last thing she said, and this is really polite, “if you could just sign here”.

Yes.

If you could just sign here.

If you could just…

If you could just wait a moment…

Uhu.

I‟ll be with you.

If you could just send an e-mail with your bank account number.

Right.

Uhu.

Very polite way of asking for something.

Yep. Well, some great language in today‟s „cast…

Yeah.

Let‟s listen to the dialogue one last time and we‟ll catch all of this wonderful language.

Okay, so, an interesting thing here: not many countries use checks.

That‟s right.

Right? The checkbook or a check.

Yeah, it tends to be more of an American thing. Don‟t you think?

It is, it is, I think, it is. For those of you who aren‟t sure what a check is, it‟s basically a piece of paper that you just sing your name and…

Yeah, you write the amount of money and then you sing your name, right?

Right, and then you give that to the person that… that person can take it to the bank and get money in exchange for it.

Yes.

It‟s not very common in other countries.

No, but from what I know, every single American has a checkbook and uses it…

Right…

Pretty regularly.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

For example, you‟d pay your, uh, phone bill…

Yeah.

Or your electric bill use… put a check in the mailbox and… it‟s paid.

And it‟s done.

It‟s an interesting thing. Also sometimes in other countries people salaries are paid through checks.

Yes.

Paycheck.

Oh, yes!

Hehe.

I see where that word comes from.

Paycheck.

Aha.

But, for example, here in China it‟s not very common, right?

U-u.

I‟ve never seen a check here.

Me neither.

What about in your countries? We‟d like to know how the banking system works.

Yes, come to our website at englishpod.com and tell us all about it.

Yes, and you can also leave your questions and comments on our website and we‟ll be there to answer it.

Yeah, Marco and I love answering your questions, so, please visit us.

Right, but until then it‟s…

Good bye!

Bye!