M: Hello English learners! Welcome back to another great lesson with EnglishPod! My 
name is Marco.  
E: And I'm Erica. 
M: And today we're bringing you another great lesson about being at the bank. 
E: That's right! We've got an Intermediate lesson for you today, um, with lots of great 
language to help you open a bank account. 
M: Okay, so, let's look at our “vocabulary preview” today. 
Voice: Vocabulary preview. 
E: Two words today. The first one is checking account. [NOTE: Canadian spelling - 
chequing account] 
M: A checking account. 
E: Checking account. 
M: So, what is a checking account? 
E: Well, it's a type of bank account that lets you do your day-to-day or daily banking. 
M: So, it's the normal bank account that you use to go shopping, that you… 
E: Yep. 
M: That you use to pay your bills. 
E: Yeah, exactly. 
M: The opposite, and our second word, is… 
E: Savings account. 
M: Savings account. 
E: Savings account. 
M: So, a savings account is to… 
E: It's a bank account where you save your money. 
M: To save money, right? 
E: Aha. 
M: So, usually, you don't touch the money at this account. 
E: Yeah, usually, it stays in there. 
M: Right, so, usually, banks will have these two types of accounts. 
E: Yes. 
M: Checking and savings. 
E: Aha. 
M: Okay, great! Let's listen to our dialogue a first time now. 
E: Alright, well, today we're at a bank and we're going to listen as a man is opening a bank 
account. 
M: The dialogue is gonna be spoken at a normal speed, so it might be a little bit fast. 
E: Yeah. 
M: But don't worry about it, because we'll come back and explain everything. 
E: Yes. 
A: Next, please. May I help you, sir?
B: Hello, yes, I’d like to open a bank account.
A: Certainly, I can can help you with that. What type
of account would you like to open? A chequing or
a savings account?
B: What What features do they offer?
A: Well, if you just take a look here, see, with our
chequing account, you can have unlimited daily
transactions for a small monthly fee, and our sav-
ings account has a higher interest rate, but you
must carry a minimum balance of $ 10,000 dol-
lars.
B: I see, well, I think I’m more interested in a
chequing account; I like to have easy access to
my money.
A: Alright, then, with this chequing account you’ll be
issued a debit card and a cheque book. Will you
require overdraft protection? There is an extra fee
for that.
B: No, that won’t be necessary.
A: In that case, I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork;
I’ll need your social insurance number, and two
pieces of government ID. If you could just sign
here, and here, and here; we’ll be all set. Would
you like to make a deposit today?
B: Yes, I’d like to deposit one billion dollars.
 
M: Alright, one billion dollars. 
E: That's a lot of money! 
M: That's a weird laugh. 
E: Hehe. 
M: Hehe. Okay, let's look at “language takeaway” today. 
Voice: Language takeaway. 
E: Today we've got four words for you in language takeaway all about money and banking. 
M: Money and banking. 
E: Aha. 
M: The first one that we have today is transaction. 
E: Transaction. 
M: Transaction. 
E: A transaction. 
M: So, we have some great examples that will help you understand what a transaction is, 
so, let's listen. 
Voice: Example one. 
A: I need a record of my most recent paying transactions. 
Voice: Example two. 
B: There’s no fee for bank transactions done online. 
Voice: Example three. 
C: Okay, we’ve deposited your money. Would you like to make another transaction today? 
E: So, basically, I can understand that a transaction is moving money around in your bank 
accounts. 
M: Right, it's taking your money from… right, it's taking money from your bank account and 
putting it in other account or just taking in it to spend… whatever. 
E: Yes. 
M: That's a transaction. 
E: Or even putting money in to your bank account… 
M: That's also a transaction. 
E: Aha. 
M: Great! Our second word – balance. 
E: Balance. 
M: Balance. 
E: Balance. 
M: Your account balance… 
E: Aha. 
M: Is how much money you have. 
E: Exactly. 
M: Right? 
E: An account balance. 
M: My account balance is two dollars right now, I think. 
E: That's a bit of a problem. 
M: Yes. 
E: Good thing payday is three days away. 
M: Yeah! Oh, my God! Okay, our third word – overdraft. 
E: Overdraft. 
M: Overdraft. 
E: Overdraft. 
M: So, this really comes in handy, right? 
E: Uhu. 
M: To overdraft… can you tell us a little bit about it? 
E: Let's say in my bank account I have five hundred dollars. 
M: Uhu. 
E: But I spend six hundred dollars. 
M: Right. 
E: So, I have an overdraft in my account, meaning I owe the bank a hundred dollars. 
M: Right, it's also commonly refer to… as a negative balance. 
E: That's right! 
M: Right? Negative balance. 
E: Uhu. 
M: Like me. Very soon I will have a negative balance. 
E: Okay, I think this one is a little bit tricky to understand, so let's listen to a couple of 
examples of how we use this word. 
Voice: Example one. 
A: The maximum overdraft of my account is only five thousand dollars. 
Voice: Example two. 
B: I’m sorry, sir, but you’ve exceeded your maximum overdraft limit. I cannot give you any 
more money. 
Voice: Example three. 
C: Oh, no! I have to pay fifteen hundred dollars in overdraft fees. 
M: Okay, great examples! Now, we can take a look at our last word – debit card. 
E: Debit card. 
M: Debit card. 
E: D-E-B-I-T card, debit card. 
M: So, debit card is issued by the bank. 
E: Yes. 
M: And used to… 
E: Take money out of a… ATM. 
M: From an ATM-machine, right? 
E: Uhu. 
M: Right, a debit card. Not to be confuse with a credit card. 
E: Not the same thing. 
M: Alright. Okay, great! So, now we could listen to our dialogue a second time at a slower 
speed, so, now we can… 
E: We can hear all of the great language we just talked about. 
A: Next, please. May I help you, sir?
B: Hello, yes, I’d like to open a bank account.
A: Certainly, I can can help you with that. What type
of account would you like to open? A chequing or
a savings account?
B: What What features do they offer?
A: Well, if you just take a look here, see, with our
chequing account, you can have unlimited daily
transactions for a small monthly fee, and our sav-
ings account has a higher interest rate, but you
must carry a minimum balance of $ 10,000 dol-
lars.
B: I see, well, I think I’m more interested in a
chequing account; I like to have easy access to
my money.
A: Alright, then, with this chequing account you’ll be
issued a debit card and a cheque book. Will you
require overdraft protection? There is an extra fee
for that.
B: No, that won’t be necessary.
A: In that case, I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork;
I’ll need your social insurance number, and two
pieces of government ID. If you could just sign
here, and here, and here; we’ll be all set. Would
you like to make a deposit today?
B: Yes, I’d like to deposit one billion dollars.
 
M: We heard some interesting phrases of how to tell somebody to do something in a polite 
way. 
E: Yes. 
M: So, let's start with “fluency builder” and explain these words. 
Voice: Fluency builder. 
E: The bank teller asked this man to do a number of things in order to open his bank 
account and she used some great expressions. 
M: Right, let's listen to how she asked the man to do some things in a polite way. 
E: Yes. 
Phrase 1: I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork. I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork. 
Phrase 2: I’ll need your social insurance number. I’ll need your social insurance number. 
Phrase 3: If you could just sign here. If you could just sign here. 
M: So, the first thing she said is “I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork”. 
E: I'll get you to. 
M: Right? Right, I'll get you to. 
E: Uhu. 
M: So, it's just a way of saying “can you please fill this out?” 
E: Yeah, do this. 
M: Do this. 
E: Yeah. 
M: But in a different way, right? 
E: Aha, more polite. 
M: It's pretty polite. 
E: Uhu. 
M: Then she also said “I’ll need your social insurance number”. 
E: I'll need your. 
M: I'll need your. Again, a polite way of saying… 
E: Give me… 
M: Give me. 
E: Your social insurance number. 
M: Hehe. Give me your social insurance… 
E: Yeah. 
M: And the last thing she said, and this is really polite, “if you could just sign here”. 
E: Yes. 
M: If you could just sign here. 
E: If you could just… 
M: If you could just wait a moment… 
E: Uhu. 
M: I'll be with you. 
E: If you could just send an e-mail with your bank account number. 
M: Right. 
E: Uhu. 
M: Very polite way of asking for something. 
E: Yep. Well, some great language in today's 'cast… 
M: Yeah. 
E: Let's listen to the dialogue one last time and we'll catch all of this wonderful language. 
A: Next, please. May I help you, sir?
B: Hello, yes, I’d like to open a bank account.
A: Certainly, I can can help you with that. What type
of account would you like to open? A chequing or
a savings account?
B: What What features do they offer?
A: Well, if you just take a look here, see, with our
chequing account, you can have unlimited daily
transactions for a small monthly fee, and our sav-
ings account has a higher interest rate, but you
must carry a minimum balance of $ 10,000 dol-
lars.
B: I see, well, I think I’m more interested in a
chequing account; I like to have easy access to
my money.
A: Alright, then, with this chequing account you’ll be
issued a debit card and a cheque book. Will you
require overdraft protection? There is an extra fee
for that.
B: No, that won’t be necessary.
A: In that case, I’ll get you to fill out this paperwork;
I’ll need your social insurance number, and two
pieces of government ID. If you could just sign
here, and here, and here; we’ll be all set. Would
you like to make a deposit today?
B: Yes, I’d like to deposit one billion dollars.
 
M: Okay, so, an interesting thing here: not many countries use checks. 
E: That's right. 
M: Right? The checkbook or a check.  
E: Yeah, it tends to be more of an American thing. Don't you think? 
M: It is, it is, I think, it is. For those of you who aren't sure what a check is, it's basically a 
piece of paper that you just sing your name and… 
E: Yeah, you write the amount of money and then you sing your name, right? 
M: Right, and then you give that to the person that… that person can take it to the bank 
and get money in exchange for it. 
E: Yes. 
M: It's not very common in other countries. 
E: No, but from what I know, every single American has a checkbook and uses it… 
M: Right… 
E: Pretty regularly. 
M: Yeah, yeah. 
E: Yeah. 
M: For example, you'd pay your, uh, phone bill… 
E: Yeah. 
M: Or your electric bill use… put a check in the mailbox and… it's paid. 
E: And it's done. 
M: It's an interesting thing. Also sometimes in other countries people salaries are paid 
through checks. 
E: Yes. 
M: Paycheck. 
E: Oh, yes! 
M: Hehe. 
E: I see where that word comes from. 
M: Paycheck. 
E: Aha. 
M: But, for example, here in China it's not very common, right? 
E: U-u. 
M: I've never seen a check here. 
E: Me neither. 
M: What about in your countries? We'd like to know how the banking system works. 
E: Yes, come to our website at englishpod.com and tell us all about it. 
M: Yes, and you can also leave your questions and comments on our website and we'll be 
there to answer it. 
E: Yeah, Marco and I love answering your questions, so, please visit us. 
M: Right, but until then it's… 
E: Good bye! 
M: Bye!