English for immigration: lost luggage

We continue our publications with useful tips and tricks on how to do great in English speaking in different situations related to immigration. These are some useful phrases and tips on how to manage if you lost your luggage.

Don’t hesitate to try our SmallTalk English for Immigration course to role-play real-life dialogues and get prepared for your new life abroad!

Check out all SmallTalk English speaking courses here.

These are some useful phrases for you to leverage:

· Sorry, I can’t find my…

· I’m looking for my suitcase / bag / backpack.

· Here are my documents. / Here is my boarding pass.

· My flight was from…

· I arrived … hours/minutes ago.

· Could you help me please?

· MATERIAL: It’s from plastic / polyester.

· SIZE: It’s small / medium / large.

· It’s about (50)cm by (40)cm.

· OTHER: It has a luggage tag on it.

· What should I do next?

· Who should I contact?

· Can I track my item?

· My phone/address is…

To practice, read the dialogues out loud.

Dialogue 1.

Assistant: Hello! How can I help you?

Tourist: Hello! My name is Alex. I arrived from New Mexico 2 hours ago and I can’t find my luggage anywhere.

Assistant: Have you looked for it on the luggage conveyor belt number 23?

Tourist: Oh, yes. I’ve been waiting there for an hour or more. There are no suitcases or bags left. So, I decided it was time to contact you.

Assistant: You did the right thing. We’ve got some luggage here. Let me check. Maybe your luggage is here. Could you show me you boarding pass please? And your passport.

Tourist: Here they are.

Assistant: Thank you. You have 2 items, right? How do they look?

Tourist: One of them is a big black suitcase with a luggage tag on it. And the second one is a large blue bag. It has a colourful pattern all over it.

Assistant: OK. I’ll need a couple of minutes to check if we’ve got them.

Tourist: No problem. Thank you.

Assistant: Here they are. You are really lucky.

Tourist: Thank you so much! Probably I missed them while I was in the bathroom. Thanks again.

Assistant: You are welcome. Have a good day!

Tourist: You too!

Dialogue 2.

Assistant: Hello! How can I help you?

Tourist: Hello! My name is Alex. I talked to your colleague 20 minutes ago about my lost luggage. She checked the storage space, didn’t find my backpack there and offered me to check the luggage conveyor belt again. I did it but unfortunately my bag wasn’t there.

Assistant: Sorry to hear that. Please fill in this form providing the details about your lost item.

Tourist: OK, thank you. Could you help me to complete it?

Assistant: Sure. To start with, please hand me your passport and boarding pass.

Tourist: Here they are.

Assistant: Thank you. You are looking for 1 bag, right?

Tourist: Yes, it’s a medium-sized grey backpack.

Assistant: OK. The size is medium, the colour is grey. What about its weight?

Tourist: 16 kilos.

Assistant: All right. Is it patterned or plain?

Tourist: Plain, but it has a red pocket.

Assistant: A red pocket, OK. What about the brand?

Tourist: Yes, it has a brand on it. Its name is in metal letters, but I don’t remember it.

Assistant: And does it have a luggage tag with your name or address on it?

Tourist: No, unfortunately not. I never use it.

Assistant: A tag would definitely help, but don’t worry. Over 90% of bags are found within the 1st week and many of them don’t have luggage tags.

Tourist: That’s a huge relief!

Assistant: Write down your address please. Put a tick right here if your luggage is insured.

Tourist: Unfortunately, it’s not insured.

Assistant: Don’t worry. We’ll look for it in any case. We’ll also need your phone number, email and signature. Please sign here.

Tourist: OK, done. What should I do next? Who should I contact?

Assistant: You can track your item on this website. All the details are in this leaflet. When we find your bag, we’ll call you.

Tourist: Thanks a lot for your help.

Assistant: Not at all. Have a great day. Bye!

If you need more practice to improve your spoken English skills and you don’t have anyone to practiсe with, check out SmallTalk English for Immigration course that will help you to learn new vocabulary and expressions with real-life dialogues and our cutting-edge AI software. Improve your pronunciation and role-play dialogues to get prepared for your new life abroad!