← Horizons B2 B2 Arabic

Getting Getting_Started

Talk about jobs

Unit 2

I CAN name a range of jobs
I CAN say what I want to do

Speaking

7 cards

When we talk about the future, especially about jobs and careers, English offers several polite and natural expressions. These phrases help you sound fluent, whether you are chatting with a friend, attending a job interview, or simply describing your ambitions. At B2 level, the aim is to use these phrases confidently, with correct intonation and the right level of politeness for the situation.

Here are some of the most common ways to say what you would like to do in the future:

Phrase	Arabic gloss
I'd like to be a …	أودّ أن أصبح...
I'm thinking of becoming a …	أفكّر في أن أصبح...
My dream job is …	وظيفة أحلامي هي...
I'd love to work as a …	أحبّ أن أعمل كـ...
I want to be a …	أريد أن أصبح...
I'm planning to be a …	أخطّط لأن أصبح...
What do you want to do?	ماذا تريد أن تفعل؟
I haven't decided yet.	لم أقرر بعد.
I'd like to study medicine.	أودّ أن أدرس الطب.

Notice how each phrase uses a different verb form. Would like and would love are polite and soft — perfect when you are not 100% sure, or when you want to sound enthusiastic but not too direct. I'm thinking of + -ing is great for ideas you are still considering. My dream job is is a stronger, more personal statement, often used with the verb to be and a noun phrase. I'm planning to shows that you are taking real, concrete steps towards the goal — for example, applying to university, doing work experience or saving money. As a learner, you should aim to use at least three of these patterns naturally, so that your speech does not sound repetitive.

In spoken English, contractions are essential: I'd, I'm, I've, and I'd've all sound natural and make your speech flow more easily. Try not to separate them — say "I'd like" as one unit, not "I would like" with a pause. Also, remember that with verbs like work as, train as and study to be, the job that follows usually takes no article when it is a generic role, but does take an article when you name a specific person. For example, "I'd like to work as a chef" uses the article, but you can also drop it in fixed phrases such as "I'd like to work in teaching". Stick with the article for natural rhythm in most cases.

Pay attention to the rhythm of the question "What do you want to do?". In fast, natural British English, this often sounds like "Wha-d'you-wanna-do?". Listen to the model dialogue that follows and try to copy that rhythm. You can also use follow-up questions such as "Why?", "Sounds great — what made you choose that?", or "Have you studied anything related?" to keep the conversation going. These short follow-ups are very natural in British English and will help you sound more like a fluent speaker.

Finally, when you are not sure yet, it is perfectly acceptable in English to say "I haven't decided yet", "I'm still thinking about it", or "I'm not sure at the moment". English speakers respect this kind of honest answer, and it is a much better response than guessing or making up an answer. In the next activities, you will hear a short conversation and then have a chance to practise saying what you would like to do in your own words. Remember to speak at a natural speed, use the contractions, and add a small reason so your answer sounds full and confident.

الكلام عن الشغل والوظائف بالإنجليزي

تخيّل إنك قاعد مع صاحبك في كافيه، وفجأة سألك "What do you do?" — لازم تبقى عارف ترد بشكل طبيعي وطلبق. الدرس ده بيعلّمك العبارات اللي بتستخدمها لما تتكلم عن وظيفتك الحالية أو عن اللي نفسك تعمله في المستقبل، ودي مهارة أساسية في المستوى B2.

العبارات الأساسية

في الإنجليزي عندك كذا طريقة مختلفة تقول بيها إنك عايز تبقى حاجة معينة، وكل واحدة ليها معنى مختلف شوية.

I'd like to be a … (أودّ أن أصبح...) — طريقة مهذبة ولطيفة، بتنفع لما مش متأكد 100%. مثلاً: I'd like to be an architect because I love designing buildings.
I'd love to work as a … (أحبّ أن أعمل كـ...) — أقوى وفيها حماس. زي ما Tom في المثال قال: I'd love to work as a writer one day, maybe a novelist.
I'm thinking of becoming a … (أفكّر في أن أصبح...) — لما لسه بتفكر وبتدرس الموضوع. مثلاً: I'm thinking of becoming a nurse, but I haven't decided yet.
I'm planning to be a … (أخطّط لأن أصبح...) — لما بتاخد خطوات حقيقية فعلاً، يعني بتسجّل في جامعة أو بتدوّر على تدريب.
My dream job is … (وظيفة أحلامي هي...) — شخصية أكتر وبتحكي عن حلمك الكبير.

الـ Contractions مهمة جداً

لازم تتعوّد على الاختصارات لأنها بتخلّي كلامك طبيعي. قول I'd مش "I would"، وقول I'm مش "I am". لما تقول I'd like لازم تنطقها كأنها كلمة واحدة، من غير ما تفصل بينهم. نفس الكلام مع I've و I'd've.

الفرق بين work as و work in

work as a + job: بشتغل كـ (المهنة نفسها). مثلاً: I work as a journalist.
work in + field: بشتغل في (المجال). مثلاً: I work in journalism / in education.

لما تقول المهنة مباشرة استخدم as، لكن لما تقول المجال أو الصناعة استخدم in.

إيقاع السؤال في الإنجليزي البريطاني

سؤال What do you want to do? بيتنطق في الـ British English بسرعة كده: "Wha-d'you-wanna-do?". اسمع الموديل كويس وحاول تنسخ الإيقاع ده.

المتابعة في الكلام (Follow-up questions)

لما حد يجاوبك عن شغله، استخدم أسئلة متابعة قصيرة عشان المحادثة ما توقفش:

Have you always wanted to be a vet?
What made you choose that?
Sounds great — why?

الأسئلة دي طبيعية جداً في الإنجليزي وبتخلّيك تتكلم زي الـ native.

لو مش متأكد

مفيش أي مشكلة تقول بصراحة: "I haven't decided yet" (لسه مقررتش) أو "I'm still thinking about it" (لسه بفكر). الإنجليز بيحترموا الصراحة دي، وهي أحسن بكتير من إنك تخترع إجابة.

Listen to this short conversation about jobs. Pay attention to the way each speaker uses 'I'm a …' and 'I'd like to …'.

E
Emma Hi Tom! What do you do?
T
Tom I'm a journalist. I work for a local newspaper. And you?
E
Emma I'm still at university. I'm studying to be a vet.
T
Tom That's brilliant! Have you always wanted to be a vet?
E
Emma Yes, I love animals. What about you — would you like to do something different?
T
Tom I'd love to work as a writer one day, maybe a novelist.

I'd like to work as a software engineer when I finish my degree.

Listen and repeat. Notice the soft, polite tone of 'I'd like' — perfect for talking about future plans.

Required

Say what you would like to do in the future. Use 'I'd like to be' and add a short reason.

I'd like to be an architect because I love designing buildings.

Required

Now use 'I'm thinking of becoming' to talk about a job you are still considering.

I'm thinking of becoming a nurse, but I haven't decided yet.

Required

You are chatting with Tom at a coffee morning. Answer his question, then expand by saying what job you would like to do in the future and why.

Required

I CAN name a range of jobs
I CAN say what I want to do

Vocabulary

6 cards

The world of work is full of interesting careers, and being able to talk about different jobs is an essential part of everyday English. Whether you are meeting new people, filling in a form, writing a CV, or simply planning your future, the words in this lesson will help you describe a wide range of professions clearly and naturally. At B2 level, the aim is to use a wider vocabulary accurately, so we will look carefully at spelling, stress and the typical verb patterns that go with each job.

Below is a list of eight common jobs you are likely to hear or use. Each word is shown with its part of speech, a short gloss, and an original example sentence. Take a moment to read them through and notice the spelling. Most job nouns in English do not take an article when they are used in a general sense (we say Nursing is hard work, not The nursing is hard work), but they do take a or an when they are used after the verb be or work as. Pay attention to the way each profession can combine with verbs like be, work as, train as and become.

Word	Part of speech	Arabic gloss	Example sentence
architect	noun	معماري	My brother is an architect who designs schools.
chef	noun	طاهٍ/شيف	The chef prepared a wonderful three-course meal.
dentist	noun	طبيب أسنان	I have an appointment with the dentist this afternoon.
engineer	noun	مهندس	She works as a software engineer in Manchester.
journalist	noun	صحفي	The journalist wrote an article about climate change.
lawyer	noun	محامٍ	Our lawyer helped us sign the rental contract.
nurse	noun	ممرض/ممرضة	The nurse took my temperature and checked my blood pressure.
vet	noun	طبيب بيطري	We took the dog to the vet because it was unwell.

Notice a few useful patterns. With the verb be, we say "He is an architect" or "She is a vet". We can also use work as + job to describe someone's profession: "He works as a journalist for the BBC". When we want to talk about what someone has decided to become in the future, we use become or train as: "She is training to be a lawyer". In a more conversational register, you can use the phrase my job is + -ing noun: "My job is teaching", or simply the verb form when the meaning is clear: "I teach", "I cook", "I design buildings". Each pattern carries a slightly different shade of meaning, so choose the one that best fits what you want to say.

It is also useful to remember a few pronunciation points. Words like architect and engineer can be tricky because the stress falls on the first syllable in architect (AR-chi-tect) but on the third syllable in engineer (en-gin-EER). The word vet is a short, informal form of veterinary surgeon and is used much more often in everyday British English than the longer form. Journalist and dentist both have stress on the first syllable (JOUR-nal-ist, DEN-tist), and although we rarely use a verb form with journalist or dentist, we do say to study journalism and to go to / visit the dentist.

When you meet someone for the first time, a very common question is "What do you do?" or "What's your job?". You can answer in a short sentence: "I'm a nurse", "I work as a chef", or, with a little more detail, "I'm a journalist — I write for a local newspaper". These short answers are polite, professional and easy to remember. In a more formal situation, you might prefer "I'm a qualified solicitor" or "I'm a chartered engineer". In the next section, you will take this vocabulary a step further and practise saying what job you would like to do in the future, using natural phrases like I'd like to be and I'm thinking of becoming.

شغل ووظائف: اتكلم عن المهن بالإنجليزي

في الدرس ده هنتعلم مجموعة كلمات مهمة جداً عن المهن والوظائف، زي architect (معماري)، chef (شيف/طبّاخ)، dentist (دكتور أسنان)، engineer (مهندس)، journalist (صحفي)، lawyer (محامي)، nurse (ممرض/ممرضة)، و vet (دكتور بيطري). الكلمات دي بتيجي كتير في الكلام اليومي، سواء بتتكلم عن شغلك أو شغل حد تعرفه.

إزاي تستخدمهم في جُمل

الكلمات دي كلها أسماء مهن (nouns)، وفيه أكتر من طريقة تقول بيها جملة عن حد وشغله:

استخدام be: بتقول "He is an architect" (هو معماري) أو "She is a vet" (هي دكتورة بيطرية). هنا لازم تحط a أو an قبل المَهنة.
استخدام work as: "He works as a journalist for the BBC" (هو شغّال صحفي في البي بي سي). كمان بتستخدم a/an.
استخدام train as أو train to be: "She is training to be a lawyer in London" (هي بتتعلّم تبقى محامية في لندن).
استخدام become: "I want to become an engineer" (عايز أبقى مهندس).

قاعدة مهمة في الـ articles

لما تتكلم عن المَهنة بشكل عام (يعني عن الشغل نفسه)، مش بتحط a أو an. بنقول مثلاً: "Nursing is hard work" (التمريض شغل صعب) — مش "The nursing is hard work". لكن لما تستخدم المَهنة بعد فعل be أو work as، لازم تحط a أو an: "She is a nurse" — مش "She is nurse".

ملاحظات على النطق (British English)

architect: الضغط على المقطع الأول (AR-chi-tect)
engineer: الضغط على المقطع التالت (en-gin-EER)
journalist و dentist: الضغط على المقطع الأول (JOUR-nal-ist, DEN-tist)
vet هي اختصار لكلمة veterinary surgeon وبتنستخدم كتير في الإنجليزي البريطاني أكتر من الصورة الطويلة

أمثلة عملية من الدرس

"My sister is training to be a lawyer in London." (أختي بتتعلّم تبقى محامية في لندن)
"The chef prepared a wonderful three-course meal." (الشيف عمل وجبة جميلة من تلاتة أطباق)
"I have an appointment with the dentist this afternoon." (عندي موعد مع دكتور الأسنان بعد الضهر)
"We took the dog to the vet because it was unwell." (ودّينا الكلب للدكتور البيطري عشان كان تعبان)

ركّز على الفرق بين الجُمل العامّة (من غير article) وبين الجُمل اللي بتوصف شخص معيّن (مع a/an)، وده هيخلّي كلامك يطلع طبيعي وصحيح.

Tap each job to hear it, then read the example. Notice the stress pattern in architect (AR-chi-tect) and engineer (en-gin-EER).

architect ˈɑː.kɪ.tekt
a person whose job is to design new buildings and make certain that they are built correctly a person responsi
chef ʃef
A professional cook who prepares and cooks food, especially as the head cook in a restaurant or hotel.
dentist ˈdentɪst
A person who is qualified to examine, diagnose, and treat diseases and conditions affecting the teeth and gums
engineer ˌen.dʒɪˈnɪər
a person whose job is to design or build machines , engines , or electrical equipment , or things such as road
journalist ˈdʒɜːnəlɪst
A person who writes news stories or articles for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio.
lawyer ˈlɔːjə
A person who is trained and qualified to give legal advice, represent clients in court, and handle legal matte
nurse nɜːs
(the title given to) a person whose job is to care for people who are ill or injured , especially in a hospita
vet vet
A veterinarian; a medical doctor who treats sick or injured animals.