Work in pairs. Follow the instructions in the cards (see Attachment).

 

Write a phone conversation between A and B. A is phoning a friend at work. B is a receptionist at the friend's workplace. Use the expressions from the lesson and additional vocabulary in the chart below. Practise the conversation in pairs until you can remember it. Role-play the conversation for other students.

 

Answering the	Hello? (informal)
phone	Thank you for calling Boyz Autobody. Jody speaking. How can I
	help you?
	Doctor's office.
Introducing	Hey George. It's Lisa calling. (informal)
yourself	Hello, this is Julie Madison calling.
	Hi, it's Gerry from the dentist's office here.
	This is she.*
	Speaking.*
	*The person answering says this if the caller does not recognize
	their voice.
Asking to	Is Fred in? (informal)
speak with	Is Jackson there, please? (informal)
someone	Can I talk to your sister? (informal)
	May I speak with Mr. Green, please?
	Would the doctor be in/available?
Connecting	Just a sec. I'll get him. (informal)
someone	Hang on one second. (informal)
	Please hold and I'll put you through to his office.
	One moment please.
	All of our operators are busy at this time. Please hold for the next
	available person.
Making special	Could you please repeat that?
requests	Would you mind spelling that for me?

	Could you speak up a little please?
	Can you speak a little slower please. My English isn't very strong.
	Can you call me back? I think we have a bad connection.
	Can you please hold for a minute? I have another call.
Taking a	Sammy's not in. Who's this? (informal)
message for	I'm sorry, Lisa's not here at the moment. Can I ask who's calling?
someone	I'm afraid he's stepped out. Would you like to leave a message?
	He's on lunch right now. Who's calling please?
	He's busy right now. Can you call again later?
	I'll let him know you called.
	I'll make sure she gets the message.
Leaving a	Yes, can you tell him his wife called, please.
message with	No, that's okay, I'll call back later.
someone	Yes, it's James from CompInc here. When do you expect her back
	in the office?
	Thanks, could you ask him to call Brian when he gets in?
	Do you have a pen handy. I don't think he has my number.
	Thanks. My number is 222-3456, extension 12.
Confirming	Okay, I've got it all down.
information	Let me repeat that just to make sure.
	Did you say 555 Charles St.?
	You said your name was John, right?
	I'll make sure he gets the message.
Finishing a	Well, I guess I better get going. Talk to you soon.
conversation	Thanks for calling. Bye for now.
	I have to let you go now.
	I have another call coming through. I better run.
	I'm afraid that's my other line.
	I'll talk to you again soon. Bye.

Questioning Techniques

 

 

Work in small groups. Discuss these questions.

 

1) What types of questions do you know? Which of them are considered to be more polite?

 

2) Which type of question do we often use with people we do not know very well or when we ask a ‘difficult’ question?

 

 

Read the text and formulate its main idea.

 

Some Types of Questions

 

A telephone call is a purposeful activity. Your caller will have some objective in mind and you will need to elicit this objective as quickly and as clearly as possible. In a simple information-seeking call, all you need to do is ask for the caller's name, address, telephone and fax numbers. However, in more complex situations, you need to develop your questioning techniques so that you obtain the salient facts. Here are some of them:

 

Indirect questions

 

We can be more polite or tentative by beginning a question with a phrase like Do you

 

know, Do you think/feel, Do you mind telling me, Could you tell me, Could I ask you, I'd like to know, I was wondering.

Do you feel this rise in interest is a result of increased recruiting? Could you tell me a bit more about what the school is doing on that front?

The word order of an indirect question is like a normal statement.
direct: C	call me a taxi?	indirect: Do you think	call me a taxi?
direct: How old		?	indirect: Could I ask you how old	?
Where there is no question word or modal verb we use ‘if’ or ‘whether’.
direct: DJane still	here?	indirect: Do you know	Jane still	here?

 

Negative questions

 

We use negative questions when we expect the answer to be 'no'. In social English

 

this makes it easier for the other person to reply politely.

 

A: D Japanese food?

 

B: No, not really, (the answer seems very strong)

 

A: D' Japanese food?

 

B: No, not really, (the answer seems more polite)

We use negative questions to show surprise.

 

D accept American Express?

 

Question tags: use

 

Here are five possible uses of question tags presented in a dialogue:

 

A: Y	the sales figures yet,	? (request for information)
B: T	have to be ready till Friday,	?	(confirmation)
A: Y'	going to leave it until the last minute again,	? (attack)
B: Well, I	had any time,	?		(defence)
A: So	you going home early yesterday,	?	(sarcasm)

 

If we use a negative statement with an affirmative tag, we often expect the

 

answer to be ‘no’.

 

A: I'm going to need an interpreter.

 

B: Of course. You speak French,?

 

This form can be more polite because it is easier for the other person to reply in the

 

negative.

 

A: You speak French,?

 

B: No, sorry, I don't.

 

A negative statement with an affirmative tag can also be used to ask people for

 

things in a polite way.
You	give me a hand,	?
You	got any change for the parking meter,	?