Phone calls are hard because you can't see faces, and you can't ask someone to point. Learners often translate phone habits from home: "Here is Maya speaking," "I am Maya," or ending a call suddenly with "Okay, bye" while the other person is still talking. Voicemails can be a problem too: people say their number too fast, so nobody can call back. In this episode: • Starting a call • Ending a call • Voicemail • Text style, read aloud • Scenes: a family call and texts • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: Hello? — answering an unknown number (neutral) Hey! / Hi, Mom! — answering someone you know (casual) Hi, it's Maya. — saying who you are (neutral) Hey, it's me. — to family or close friends (casual) Is this a good time? — can you talk now? (polite) Do you have a minute? — can you talk briefly? (neutral) Hi, is Jake there? — asking for someone (neutral) Sure, hang on. — wait while I get them (casual) Okay, I'll let you go. — I'll stop taking your time (neutral, kind) Well, I should get going. — I need to go (neutral) Anyway, I just wanted to check in. — that was my reason for calling (casual) Talk soon! — we'll talk again soon (casual) Talk to you later. — (casual) Love you, bye! — to close family (casual) Hi, this is Leo. — name first (neutral) I'm calling about Saturday. — the reason (neutral) You can reach me at 555-213-4870. — your number The best time to call is after six. — when you're free Thanks, bye! — end Sorry I missed your call. — I didn't answer (neutral) Hey, I saw you called. What's up? — (casual) Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.