Small travel surprises are some of the best moments to practise real English. A machine gives you the wrong drink, a friend gives you advice before an interview, or someone persuades you to try a singing room. These are exactly the situations where B1 learners need quick, natural phrases — and where a study guide like this one can help you prepare before you travel.

This guide uses Anna's conversations in Tokyo and Seoul as models, not as a script to memorise. You will look at how to open a surprise story, explain what happened instead, follow short advice before a nervous event, and talk about confidence and comfort in a casual chat. The examples below are fresh teaching examples; some are extensions beyond the recording and are labelled as such.

The situation and your learning goal

In Tokyo, Anna tells Yuki that a vending machine gave her hot corn soup instead of the cold water she wanted. The conversation then moves to advice before her job interview. In Seoul, Anna and Minji talk about a night in a norebang singing room, including a points machine, comfort, confidence and time.

Your goal at B1 is not to memorise long dialogues. It is to build a small set of repeatable moves you can use in your own travel conversations:

  • open a surprise story clearly and quickly;
  • say what you wanted and what you got instead;
  • give or receive two or three pieces of practical advice;
  • describe how confident or comfortable you felt.

If you have been searching for travel English conversation practice for B1 learners, or wondering how to say "instead" correctly in everyday English, this guide gives you the patterns and the practice tasks in one place.

Useful English for this situation

You will not believe what happened...

This is a strong, informal opener for surprising news. It tells the listener that a story is coming and invites a reaction such as "Really?" or "What happened?". Use it with friends, colleagues or people you meet casually. It is too dramatic for formal writing or a serious business email.

  • Example: "You will not believe what happened — the machine gave me soup!"
  • Extension example (not from the recording): "You will not believe what happened at the airport. They changed my gate twice."

gave me hot corn soup instead

Here, "instead" means "in place of something else". It usually comes at the end of the clause: "It gave me soup instead." When you name the thing that was replaced, use "instead of": "It gave me soup instead of water." Keep the two patterns separate and the sentence stays clear.

  • Example: "I asked for cold water, but the machine gave me hot corn soup instead."
  • Extension example (not from the recording): "We planned to walk, but we took a taxi instead."

hoping for the best

This phrase means you want a good result but you cannot control what happens. It is gentle and realistic, so it works well as reassurance before an interview, an exam or a first meeting. It is not a promise that everything will be fine.

  • Example: "I have prepared as much as I can, so I am hoping for the best."
  • Extension example (not from the recording): "The weather looks uncertain, but we are hoping for the best."

talk me into

"Talk someone into something" means to persuade them to do it. The pattern is "talk + person + into + noun or -ing form": "She talked me into singing." The opposite is "talk someone out of" something. It is friendly and conversational, and it often suggests you were not sure at first.

  • Example: "Minji talked me into trying the singing room."
  • Extension example (not from the recording): "My brother talked me into joining the cooking class, and I loved it."

I am not a good singer, but I am a happy one.

This modest, cheerful line is a useful model for describing enjoyment without boasting. The structure "I am not a good X, but I am a happy one" is playful and self-deprecating. Use it in relaxed social situations, not in a formal self-introduction.

  • Example: "I am not a good dancer, but I am a happy one."
  • Extension example (not from the recording): "I am not a fast runner, but I am a happy one."

Vocabulary you can reuse

Learn these words as small chunks, not as a list to recite:

  • vending machine — a machine that sells drinks or snacks. Example: "The vending machine only had hot drinks."
  • instead — in place of something else. Example: "I wanted tea, but I had coffee instead."
  • job interview — a meeting to try to get a job. Example: "My job interview is on Monday morning."
  • communicate — to share ideas and information. Example: "Try to communicate clearly and slowly."
  • mention — to say something about a topic. Example: "Mention your experience at the start."
  • confidence — the feeling that you can do something. Example: "Practice gave me more confidence."
  • comfortable — pleasant and easy to be in. Example: "The room was small but comfortable."
  • exist — to be real or present. Example: "I did not know that machine existed."

How to use the language in real conversations

Think of these phrases as tools for different moments, not as one long speech.

  1. Start with the opener. Say "You will not believe what happened..." and pause. Let the other person react before you continue.
  2. Explain the swap. Say what you wanted, then what happened: "I wanted water. It gave me soup instead."
  3. Give short advice. Before a nervous event, keep it practical: "Communicate clearly, mention your experience, and then just hope for the best."
  4. Join the social chat. Use "talk me into" to describe persuasion, and confidence or comfortable words to describe how you felt: "I was nervous at first, but the room was comfortable and I felt more confident."

A useful habit is to prepare one sentence for each move before you travel. Then, when a real surprise happens, you already have the English ready.

Common mistakes and practice

Watch out for these B1 errors:

  • "Instead" in the wrong place. Say "I had soup instead", not "I instead had soup" in simple speech. And remember: "instead of" needs a noun or -ing form after it — "instead of water", "instead of going".
  • "Talk me to do". The correct pattern is "talk me into doing". Example: "She talked me into singing", not "She talked me to sing".
  • "Mention about". "Mention" takes a direct object: "Mention your experience", not "Mention about your experience". Also remember that you "say something", "tell someone something" and "mention something".

Try these short tasks:

  • Surprise-story chain: open with "You will not believe what happened..." and add two B1 details. Your partner asks follow-up questions.
  • Replacement drill: rewrite three short situations using "instead" and "instead of".
  • Advice role-play: describe a nervous upcoming event while your partner gives two or three suggestions using "communicate", "mention" and "hoping for the best".
  • Persuasion mingle: practise "talk me into..." with low-risk invitations, then describe the activity with "confidence", "comfortable" and "happy".

Now listen to the lesson and try one response of your own: tell a partner what a machine or shop gave you instead of what you wanted, using "You will not believe what happened..." to begin.