Services, Travel & Talking About the Past
General Objective
In this part, you stop speaking only about personal life and begin to:
- interact in public places
- manage real-life services
- understand and use past tense
- communicate while travelling
This corresponds exactly to the situations used in TEF A2 listening, reading, speaking and writing tasks.
By the end of this module, you can function independently in restaurants, hotels, transport, banks, and public services, and can talk about past events.
Communication Skills
1. Ordering a Meal in a Restaurant
You practice:
- asking for a table
- ordering food and drinks politely
- asking for the bill
- understanding menus
Key language
Je voudrais…
Pour moi…
L’addition, s’il vous plaît.
TEF relevance: very common role-play situation.
2. Booking a Hotel Room (face to face)
You can :
- ask for a room
- say for how many nights
- ask the price
- give personal information
Key language
Je voudrais réserver une chambre.
Pour deux nuits.
Combien ça coûte ?
3. Asking for Services (bank, post office)
You can:
- ask for help
- ask for information
- describe a simple problem
Key language
J’ai besoin de…
Je cherche…
Où est… ?
4. Asking for & Giving Directions
You learn to:
- understand street directions
- give simple directions
Key language
Tournez à droite.
Continuez tout droit.
C’est à côté de…
5. Using Public Transport / Buying Tickets
You practice:
- asking for tickets
- understanding prices and schedules
- saying destination
Key language
Un billet pour…
À quelle heure part le train ?
Le bus va à… ?
Grammar Focus
This is the major grammar jump in A2.
1. Passé Composé (Past events)
You can now:
- say what you did yesterday
- talk about completed actions
J’ai mangé au restaurant.
Nous avons pris le bus.
2. Past Participles (Introduction to agreement)
Only basic idea:
- with être, agreement begins
Elle est arrivée.
Ils sont partis.
(No deep theory yet — TEF level only)
3. Passé Récent — venir de
To talk about something that just happened.
Je viens de finir.
Nous venons d’arriver.
Very common in TEF listening.
4. Présent Progressif — être en train de
To describe an action happening now.
Je suis en train de manger.
Il est en train de travailler.
5. Imperative — Positive & Negative
Used for:
- directions
- instructions
- public notices
Tournez à gauche.
Ne fumez pas.
Extremely common in signs and announcements.
Vocabulary Themes
You build vocabulary in:
Restaurant / Café / Shops
menu, serveur, addition, plat, boisson
Transport
bus, métro, train, taxi, billet, gare
Money & Payments
prix, payer, carte, espèces, monnaie
Places in Town
banque, poste, hôtel, rue, carrefour
Vocabulary always practiced:
1. in dialogues
2. in listening
3. in role-plays
Learning Outcome
By the end of PART 2, you can:
- order food and drinks confidently
- book a hotel room
- ask for services and information
- ask for and give directions
- use transport and buy tickets
- talk about past events using passé composé
- understand instructions and notices
Outcome
Handle services, travel situations, and basic narration in the past — exactly what TEF A2 requires.