Transcript
Section 1: Student Accommodation Inquiry
Context/Task: You will hear a student from overseas phoning the Student Accommodation Office of a college in the UK for some information.
Staff (Darren): College Accommodation Bureau, Darren speaking, how may I help you?
Student: Oh, good morning. I’m starting at the college in September and I need to find some accommodation.
Darren: Right. Well, there are various options. The first one is to stay in college accommodation.
Student: That’d be a single room. How much would that cost?
Darren: Well, it depends. For a standard room, you’re looking at £3,276 for the year. That’s just for a room with wash basin, or £3,834 if you want a non-sweet. That’s with your own small bathroom.
Student: I see. That’s more than I expected.
Darren: It does include heating. That’s quite a saving because energy costs can be high, especially in winter.
Student: Does it include meals as well?
Darren: No. All our rooms are self-catering now. There’s a shared kitchen on each corridor where you can cook if you want to, or there are plenty of places to eat out on campus.
Student: Okay, and you said that’s the price for the whole year?
Darren: Well, you pay annually, but actually it’s for 36 weeks. It doesn’t include holidays. You have to vacate the room then.
Student: Oh, um… I’d need somewhere to stay in the holidays. I can’t afford to go home. The flights are too expensive.
Darren: Well, there is another option. Several families who either work at the college or have children studying here offer visiting students a room in their homes. We call this arrangement Home Welcome and we’ve still got a few places left at the moment. You pay £150 per week and that includes breakfast, a packed lunch and dinner, as well as heating.
Student: Is there a contract? Do you have to stay for the whole year?
Darren: No, it’s flexible.
Student: It sounds really good, but I’m not sure. I really want to be a little more independent.
Darren: What about finding somewhere to live off-campus?
Student: Yes, you can rent a property in town privately. You might want to rent a room in a shared house. You’d have a room of your own and share the kitchen and bathroom with other students.
Student: What about if I don’t want to share?
Darren: You can get what we call a studio. They’re often quite small but they’ll have everything you need.
Student: Right. How much would those two options cost?
Darren: Well, prices vary depending on which part of town the property is in. Generally speaking, the cheapest is around £275 a month for each student.
Student: Oh, uh, that’s not too bad.
Darren: Yes, but it can also be as high as £490 and then you’ll have to pay all your other bills.
Student: What sort of amount would I be looking at for those?
Darren: Well, last year students were paying on average about £43 per month each for gas and electricity. This year it’ll probably be somewhere in the region of £48.
Student: That’s a lot.
Darren: Yes, they’ve gone up quite a bit and on top of that you have to pay for water and that’ll probably be around nine pounds.
Student: That didn’t occur to me, and I guess I’d have to pay for transportation, too.
Darren: That’s right. Most of these properties are quite a long way from the College.
Student: Oh, it just gets worse and worse. What’s the minimum contract on this type of accommodation?
Darren: Six months and you have to pay a deposit, but of course you can stay there over the holidays. That’s true and you’d have to provide references—they want two from someone in this country.
Student: I see. That’s not a problem.
Darren: If you do choose this option, we can’t find the property for you. You’d have to go through the estate agent which manages the property for the owner.
Student: Right. Thanks. Well, I think I’d like to see what’s available privately. Could you give me the estate agent details? |
