English for Housekeeping

Are you working as a housekeeper in a foreign country? Is English your second language? If you answered yes to these questions, then these pages are for you! Good communication is very important in the service industry. Misunderstandings take a lot of time to fix. These pages will help you learn important vocabulary related to houses, furniture, appliances, and cleaning. They will also help you to follow instructions, and use simple English in polite and friendly ways. Whether your job is to clean private houses, cruise ship cabins, hotel rooms or offices, these pages will help you communicate more effectively with clients and guests. Read and listen to the lessons. Then take the quizzes to test your comprehension.

On these pages EnglishClub uses the general term housekeeper. This word refer to people who help out with domestic or household duties, especially the cleaning and upkeep of a home, office, hotel or business. Depending on the country and the exact duties, various terms are used to describe a worker in this industry, including:
  • maid, cleaner, house cleaner, domestic servant, chambermaid (hotel)
  • executive housekeeper (manages housekeepers, maids etc)
  • nanny (main duty is childcare)