ESL Baby Conversation

The ESL baby conversations on this page are examples that you can study to see how to use English in a real situation. This will help you have a conversation when you meet someone and what to talk to them in English.

The first part of this page has two example conversations that you can look at and see how people would naturally speak when using English. These have also been made into two short cartoons that you can watch to see what the people do at the same time. If you have any problems understanding the words used in each conversation you can look at the ESL baby vocabulary page that has a list of words with their definitions.

Then the second part of the page has some ESL baby conversation activates that you can do to practice using the baby words while speaking. There are three activities as follows:

• Fill in the blanks in a conversation.
• Write a conversation.
• Conversation topics.

Conversation 1

Situation: Jane visits Alice and her new baby.

Alice: Come in Jane.
Jane: You're looking well. When did you get home from hospital?
Alice: Two days ago. The new arrival is finally having a sleep.
Jane: Oh, isn't he tiny! What does he weigh?
Alice: His birth weight was 6 lbs but the weight drops a little after birth then gradually it is regained.
Jane: Have you chosen a name yet?
Alice: Yes, he is Michael James.
Jane: That's a lovely name. Are they family names?
Alice: Yes, my father was called James but I chose the name Michael.
Jane: Does Michael sleep well?
Alice: He wakes up every three or four hours demanding a feed.
Jane: You won't be getting much sleep!
Alice: No I'm not. After I've fed him, got up his wind and changed his nappy, it's nearly time for the next feed.
Jane: New babies can be exhausting but as time passes, things will get better.
Alice: The health visitor called yesterday and she was very encouraging. She said I was coping really well.  

Conversation 2

Situation: Alice asks Jane to look after her baby while she goes shopping.

Alice: It's very kind of you to offer to look after Michael. I won't be longer than a couple of hours shopping.
Jane: I'm looking forward to caring for Michael whilst you are out.
Alice: At the moment he is fast asleep, but if he wakes there is a feed of some milk made up in the kitchen.
Jane: Don't worry. Go and enjoy a bit of time for yourself.

Jane: Oh dear! That's the doorbell.
Postman: I've a parcel for Ms. Alice Spalding. Please sign here. Someone's making a big noise!
Jane: You've woken up the baby, he was sleeping soundly until you rang the bell.
Postman: I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll be able to comfort the little one.
Jane: I hope so.

Alice: Hello, I'm back. How did you get on?
Jane: I'm so glad to see you. Michael woke up when the postman rang the doorbell. 
Alice: Oh dear.
Jane: He started crying. I picked him up, cuddled him, sang him songs, put him in his pram, pushed him back and forwards and nothing would stop him howling. 
Alice: Yes, sometimes it is very hard to make a baby happy again.
Jane: He wouldn't drink his milk. I didn't know what to do next.
Alice: Now 'young man', what’s all this noise about?
Jane: You've got the magic touch, Alice. He's stopped crying straight away. He recognises his mum and he didn't want anyone else.

ESL Baby Conversation Exercises

In the second half of the page there are activities for you to do where you will need to use the baby vocabulary in some conversations. As well as writing the answers you should also try to speak them as much as possible so you get practice of talking and having a conversation.

Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks

In this ESL baby conversation exercise you should read the following conversation and then chose the best option (A-D) to fill each of the gaps. When you have finished you can use the get score button to see how many you got correct.

Situation: The district nurse calls to see Alice.

Nurse: Hello Alice, can I come in and see your baby?
Alice: Yes, of course. Michael __________[1]_________ in his cot.
Nurse: How are you, Alice?
Alice: I feel very tired. I'm not getting a lot of sleep.
Nurse: I know, babies are very demanding. Is Michael feeding well?
Alice: He empties his bottles of milk during the day but during the night he nods off during the feed.
Nurse: I would like to _________[2]_________.
Alice: I'll go and get him.
Nurse: He has a strong _________[3]_________. What a noise!  He is putting on weight.
Alice: Will you come and visit us again?
Nurse: Can you bring him to the clinic? When we weigh him you can collect some supplements to __________[4]__________.
Alice: Yes, I'll do that.
Nurse: In the meantime, he's doing very well so don't worry. He's a _________[5]__________.

ESL Baby Conversation

Choose the best option (A-D) in the following five questions to fill in the blanks in the baby conversation given above.

1) Which option is the best to fill in the first blank?

    A) Is awake
    B) Is crying
    C) Is laughing
    D) Is asleep

2) Which option is the best to fill in the second blank?

    A) Feed him
    B) Weigh him
    C) Measure him
    D) Change him

3) Which option is the best to fill in the third blank?

    A) Pair of lungs
    B) Pair of legs
    C) Pair of arms
    D) Pair of fists

4) Which option is the best to fill in the fourth blank?

    A) Add to his fruit drink
    B) Add to his stewed apple
    C) Add to his mashed potato
    D) Add to his milk

5) Which option is the best to fill in the fifth blank?

    A) Beautiful baby
    B) Big baby
    C) Small baby
    D) Happy baby

Score =

Correct answers:

Exercise 2 – Writing a Conversation

In the next ESL baby conversation task you should write a conversation of your own about babies. It could be about having babies or looking after babies or anything else you can think of. You need to write what the people would say to each other, and there should be two or more people having the conversation. Once you have finished you should practice speaking the conversation with some friends.

Exercise 3 – Conversation Topics

In the final ESL baby conversation exercise you need to talk with a partner. You should use the set of conversation topics below as the prompts for your conversation. One person has question set A and the other person has question set B. You then take it in turns to ask each other questions and give your answers. If you can think of other questions you should also ask those, as the questions below are just basic ones to get you started. When you have finished you could swap the question sets and start again.

There are more conversation questions in my ebook – 80 ESL Conversation Cards. You can download this book and use it to help you practice speaking.

Question set A

• Do you like to look after babies?
• Would you like to have your own babies?
• How difficult is it to look after a baby?
• Where is the best place to give birth?
• What is the worst part of looking after a baby?

Question set B

• What is the best thing about looking after a baby?
• What do babies spend most of their time doing?
• Why do some people not like looking after babies?
• Where can people get help to look after their babies?
• How many babies can parents look after at once?

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