Setting Family Boundaries After Going Remote
- CEFR level:
- B1
- Sentences:
- 12
- Duration:
- 1 min
- Speakers:
- Emma & Tom
"Setting Family Boundaries After Going Remote" is a B1-level English conversation about life updates and changes, 12 lines long (about 1 minute) between Emma & Tom. Read the full script below with the translation next to each line, then try speaking one of the roles out loud.
Dialogue script
Each entry shows the English sentence first, with the translation on the line below it. To practise speaking, cover the translation and repeat after the audio.
- Line 1Emma 0:00
Working from home sounded easy, but my family keeps knocking during calls.
- Line 2Tom 0:05
Did you set clear hours, or are they guessing when you're available?
- Line 3Emma 0:09
At first I said "anytime," because I wanted to seem flexible.
- Line 4Tom 0:13
That kindness backfired, since nobody could see your meeting pressure.
- Line 5Emma 0:18
Yesterday my aunt thought I was free while I was presenting.
- Line 6Tom 0:22
Ah, she misunderstood "home" as "off duty"; that happens often.
- Line 7Emma 0:26
My first idea is a door sign with call times and break times.
- Line 8Tom 0:31
Another approach is a shared calendar so everyone sees blocked slots.
- Line 9Emma 0:36
Let's combine both, and I'll explain it calmly at dinner tonight.
- Line 10Tom 0:40
Good, and assign one urgent channel for real emergencies only.
- Line 11Emma 0:44
If someone needs help, they can text "urgent" before entering.
- Line 12Tom 0:49
That sounds practical. Next week, check whether the interruptions have actually decreased.
Native audio, line-by-line recording and pronunciation scoring for this dialogue are in the EngTalk app.
Key vocabulary
Content words from this dialogue, ranked by the CEFR level at which they appear across the whole 500-dialogue library. Function words and proper nouns are excluded.
- sounded /ˈsaʊndɪd/ past verb
seemed or made a sound
- guessing /ˈɡɛsɪŋ/ verb
giving an answer without being certain
- seem /sim/ verb
to appear to be
- kindness /ˈkaɪndnəs/ noun
the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate
- pressure /ˈprɛʃər/ noun
force, stress, or strong influence
- happens /ˈhæpənz/ verb
takes place or occurs
- shared /ʃɛrd/ adjective
used or owned by more than one person
- combine /kəmˈbaɪn/ verb
to join or mix together into a whole
- calmly /ˈkɑmli/ adverb
in a quiet, relaxed, and peaceful manner
- real /riəl/ adjective
true, actual, or existing
- needs /nidz/ noun
things that are required
- actually /ˈæktʃuəli/ adverb
in truth; in fact