House Issues: Describing Home Problems in English

Learn simple English for talking about your home and reporting household problems. This free A1 lesson for adult beginners introduces house types, room names, and words such as broken, cracked, and clogged. Its 13 interactive slides include vocabulary audio, videos, sentence-order practice, a tenant and landlord conversation, and a repair request email activity.

What you will learn

• Identify different types of houses and buildings.
• Name rooms and describe what you do in them.
• Describe a household problem using The ... is ...
• Take part in a short conversation with a landlord.
• Write a simple email asking for repairs.

Types of houses in English

Watch the house types video, then use the picture cards and audio to practice the names. Useful words include:

• Detached house: a house that is not joined to another house.
• Semi-detached house: one of two houses joined together.
• Terraced houses: houses joined in a row.
• Cottage: a small house, often in the countryside.
• Block of flats or apartment building: a building containing several homes.
• Camper van: a vehicle with space for sleeping and living.

The video and cards also introduce villa, lighthouse, and skyscraper. Look at each picture and repeat the word. Then practice saying what kind of home you live in: I live in a flat. or I live in a detached house.

Rooms and activities inside a home

Use the house picture and room names video to review the bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. The video also includes a study room, playroom, home theatre, and restroom.

Connect room names with everyday activities:

• I sleep in my bedroom.
• I cook in the kitchen.
• I watch TV in the living room.
• I eat in the dining room.
• I brush my teeth in the bathroom.

Complete the sentence-order activity, then read each sentence aloud. Describe the rooms in your own home using the same patterns.

English vocabulary for household problems

Listen to the problem sentences and study the pictures. These adjectives help you explain what is wrong.

Use the pattern The + item + is + adjective to report one problem. For example: The window is broken. In the picture activity, answer What is the problem? with a complete sentence.

Talking to a landlord in English

A tenant rents a home. A landlord rents a property to a tenant. A plumber works on pipes, sinks, and other plumbing. Learn these words before listening to the lesson conversation about a bathroom sink.

Begin with There is something wrong with ... Then name the item, say where it is, and describe the problem: There is something wrong with the bathroom sink. The drain is clogged.

The audio conversation shows the landlord asking which sink has a problem and saying they will call a plumber. Listen to each line, repeat it, and practice the conversation with a partner.

A short tenant and landlord role-play

Tenant: There is something wrong with the sink.
Landlord: Which sink?
Tenant: The bathroom sink. The drain is clogged.
Landlord: I will call a plumber.
Tenant: Thank you.

Take turns as tenant and landlord. Change the item and problem to practice another example, such as a broken window or a loud air conditioner.

Writing practice: an email asking for repairs

The writing task asks you to write an email to a landlord about repairs. Start with a greeting, explain why you are writing, list the problems, and ask to arrange a time. Here is a model you can adapt:

Subject: Repair request
Dear Mr Brown,
I am writing to ask for repairs at my apartment. The bedroom window is broken, and the bathroom sink drain is clogged. Please contact me to arrange a time for the repairs.
Thank you.
Yours,
Anna

Replace the example details with the ones you want to practice. Check that each sentence names an item and describes the problem clearly.

Practice with the interactive lesson

1. Review shop names in the opening revision activity.
2. Watch the house types video and repeat the vocabulary audio.
3. Describe the house picture and review room names.
4. Put room and activity sentences in order.
5. Listen to the tenant and landlord conversation.
6. Practice problem adjectives and answer the picture questions.
7. Write your repair request email and read it aloud.

Teachers can use the problem pictures to model a sentence before learners practice a role-play. For self-study, repeat the audio and describe three household problems using complete sentences.

Review shopping and appliance vocabulary in Lesson 10, or explore more free A1 English teaching materials.