- •Unit 4 On the phone
- •Work in groups. Discuss these questions:
- •Work in pairs. Answer these questions about the article:
- •For each of the verbs below, three or four words or expressions fit. In each case, circle the one which does not fit. Make sentences using the correct phrases.
- •Work in groups. Read the following information very attentively to understand telephoning well.
- •Read the dialogues aloud. Do it by yourself or with a colleague (changing roles at the end). Practise several times until you’re fluent.
- •Now try to remember the words below. (The last letters have been given) and check your answers.
- •We often use a past tense to make our language polite or indirect (to make the other person feel they are under no pressure).
- •In the dialogue below the caller (c) wants to speak to someone who isn’t available. The receptionist (r) takes the call.
- •Put the words in the right order. Write the answers under the correct heading below.
- •Read the dialogues aloud. Do it by yourself or with a colleague (changing roles at the end). Practise several times until you’re fluent.
- •Put the dialogue between secretary and caller into the correct order.
- •Vocabulary skills.
- •Read the dialogues aloud. Do it by yourself or with a colleague (changing roles at the end). Practise several times until you’re fluent.
- •In the next dialogue Erik has some good news for Maria.
- •Cover the page with a piece of paper. Now make phrases by matching an item from each column.
- •Erik ends the dialogue by saying ‘ok, I have to go now. I have another call to make’. Put the words below into order to make other phrases to end a call.
- •Vocabulary skills.
- •Read the dialogues aloud. Do it by yourself or with a colleague (changing roles at the end). Practise several times until you’re fluent.
- •In a dialogue below Monika (m) calls Liviu (l) to arrange a meeting.
- •In the next dialogue Liviu’s secretary (s) calls Monika (m) to change the arrangements.
- •In the telephone call below, Andy (a) calls Bulent (b) to arrange a meeting. Complete the dialogue with the words in the box.
- •In the next call, Bulent calls Andy to change the arrangements. Complete the dialogue with the words in the box.
- •Vocabulary skills.
- •Read the dialogues aloud. Do it by yourself or with a colleague (changing roles at the end). Practise several times until you’re fluent.
Read the dialogues aloud. Do it by yourself or with a colleague (changing roles at the end). Practise several times until you’re fluent.
In the dialogue below the caller (c) wants to speak to someone who isn’t available. The receptionist (r) takes the call.
R: ICT. Teresa speaking. How can I help you? C: I’d like to speak to Stefan Lipska, please. R: I’ll try his number for you. … Hello? C: Hello. R: I’m not getting any reply. Just bear with me for a moment while I try another number. C: OK. R: I’m sorry, I’m not having any luck – he must be in a meeting. Would you like his voicemail? C: No, I need to talk to him personally. R: I can ask him to call you back. C: Yes, please do that. It’s Frank Hayden here. He knows me. R: OK, I’ll just make a note of your name. Frank Hayden. Is that with an “i” or an “e” at the end? C: It’s an “e”, “e” as in Egypt. H-A-Y-D-E-N. R: OK, Mr. Hayden, I’ll tell him as soon as he comes out of the meeting. C: Thank you. Goodbye. |
Notice how the caller clarifies the spelling by using a place name. In the next dialogue the caller (C) gets through to a secretary (S).
5
10
15 |
C: Hello, can I speak to Stefan Lipska, please? S: I’m sorry. Stefan Lipska is out if the office this afternoon. This is his secretary speaking. Would you like to leave a message? C: Yes, please. Can you ask him to call me back? S: OK. Let me just get a pen. Right. Can you give me your name and number? C: Yes, it’s Ella Vogelaar. S: Can you spell that? C: It’s Ella, E-double L-A, V-O-G-E-L-double A-R. S: And the number? C: It’s 0031, that’s the code for the Netherlands, 20 512 6149. S: OK, so that’s Ella Vogelaar on 0031 20 512 6149. C: That’s right. S: Anything else? C: No, that’s all. Just ask him to call me as soon as possible. It’s an urgent matter. S: I understand . I’ll make sure he gets the message. C: Thank you. Goodbye. S: Goodbye. Thank you for calling. |
Notice at line 10 how the caller says the names before spelling them. Hearing the whole word first helps the listener.
Notice at line 14 how the secretary checks by repeating the name and number.
Notice how the receptionist and the secretary finish the dialogues by promising action (I’ll …)
Put the words in the right order. Write the answers under the correct heading below.
a Can me to ask you back him call?
b Do you be he’ll know how long?
c Hold check. Just on a moment I’ll…
d I’ll sure the message make she gets.
e I’m sorry she’s maternity leave but on.
f Right, you waiting to keep sorry.
g She’s at desk her at the moment not.
h What’s connection with it in?
Ask the caller to wait
1______________________________________________________________________
After waiting
2_______________________________________________________________________
Explain someone is unavailable
3_______________________________________________________________________
4_______________________________________________________________________
Ask for information
5 (caller)_________________________________________________________________
6 (secretary)______________________________________________________________
Leave a message
7 Can you ask him to call me back?____________________________________________
Promise action
8_______________________________________________________________________