ENGLISH FOR SECRETARY

STUDENTS’ CARDS

Role play 1:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You need to find You are student A’s coworker. Answer his
information for your boss. Ask student or her questions to show her:
B about:
- Where she can find the product line
- Product line information information (in the catalogues in the
- Phone book library)
- How to get them - Where she can find the phone books
(next to the catalogue)
- How she can get them (borrow from
the librarian)

Role play 2:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. Ask student B You are an employer. Talk to student A
about: about:

- What tasks you need to do - Completing an office task (e.g. fax

- The information you need to the document, copy a file…)
complete the tasks (e.g. fax - Where to find information (e.g. call
number) someone to get the fax number…)

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Role play 3:
Student A
You are the secretary of a company. A
visitor arrives at your office.
You:
- Greet student B
- Offer him or her a drink
- Make small talk about the office,
business, travel…
Role play 4:
Student A
You are a secretary of a company.
Suggest a restaurant and tell student B
how to get there. You should refer to:
- The name of the restaurant
- The location of the restaurant
- The food, service, and atmosphere
there
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Student B
You are a visitor to a company. Respond
to student A’s questions and make small
talk.
- Greet student A
- Say “thank you” for the drink
- Make small talk about office,
business, travel…
Student B
You are a visitor to a company. Ask
student A about a good restaurant and
how to get there. You should ask
questions related to:
- The name of the restaurant
- The location of the restaurant
- The food, service, and atmosphere
there
Role play 5:

Student A Student B
You are a new secretary at a company. You are a senior secretary at a company.
Ask student B about: Greet the new secretary and answer
her/his questions. You should give details
- Number of breaks
about:
- Times for breaks
- Time for lunch - Number of breaks
- Times for breaks
- Time for lunch

Role play 6:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. Talk to student B to You are a business owner. You have
take the message with the information as called a client who is not available. Leave
follow: a message with student A. Provide
students A with the information as
- Name and company name
follow:
- Number
- The purpose of the call - Your name and company name
- Your number
- The purpose of your call

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Role play 7:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. Answer a call. Ask You are a businessperson and are calling
student B: to talk to student A’s boss but he is not in.
Talk to student A and decide whether to
- His/her name
leave a message or hold, in which you:
- About leaving a message or being
placed on hold - Give him/her your name
- Take the message - Want to leave a message, not to
hold
- Leave the message

Role play 8:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You are making an You are a business owner. Answer
appointment for your boss. Call student B student A’s questions to arrange the
to talk about: appointment. You need to reach
agreement on:
- Day to meet
- Time to meet - Day to meet
- Place to meet - Time to meet
- Place to meet

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Role play 9:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. Your boss will ask You are a boss. Talk to student A to
you to send a letter. Ask student B:
- Ask him/her to send a business
- Where to send it letter
- The recipient - Give her the address and
recipient’s name
- Items to include
- Ask her to include the new
catalogue with the letter

Role play 10:

Student A
You are a secretary. You must make a
graph. Talk to student B about:
- Information the graph will show
- Types of graphs (pie chart, line
graph…)
- Consider the good points/bad
points of each graph
Student B
You are the supervisor. Give student A
advice on which graph to use to show
information. You should
- Provide her what kind of
information you want to show
(profits, costs, sales increases…)
- Consider among different types of
graphs
- Reach an agreement on the type to
use

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Role play 11:

Student A
You are a secretary. Your manager needs
some office supplies. Ask him/her
(student B) about:
- What supplies to order
- Quantities
- Which supplier to choose
Student B
You are an office manager. You need to
order some office supplies. Make a
conversation with student A in which you
tell her:
- What to order
- How many of them you need
- Which supplier you suggest

Role play 12:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You need to make You are a travel agent. Ask student A
travel arrangements for your employer. questions to make travel arrangements.
Give student B information about: Note down the information about:

- Who is travelling - Who is travelling

- Where and when - Where and when he/she travels
- Transportation - What transport means is required

Role play 13:

Student A
You are a secretary. You are making a
hotel reservation for your employer. Give
student B information and requirements
about:
Student B
You are a hotel clerk. Answer student A’s
questions about the room and support her
with information she needs. Note down
the information about:

- Name and dates - Name and dates

- Room preference - Room preference
- Transportation from airport - Transportation from airport

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Role play 14:

Student A Student B
You are a new secretary. You want to You are a senior secretary. Answer
know where to file: student A’s questions and help her to put
in the correct place the files related to:
- Letters
- Client documents - Letters
- Project documents - Client documents
- Project documents

Role play 15:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You want to buy You are the manager. Explain to student
stamps with petty cash. Talk to your A how to fill out the cash ledger to
manager to find out how to complete the clarify:
petty cash ledger, including:
- The date
- The date - The expenditure
- The expenditure - The code
- The code - The recipient number
- The recipient number

Role play 16:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You are having You work in IT department. Explain to
trouble with your company’s new social student A how to use the new social
networking site. Ask a co-worker from IT networking site. Help him/her to:
department for advice on how to:
- Sign in
- Sign in - Open a message
- Open a message - Respond to messages
- Respond to messages

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Role play 17:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. Discuss the You are a boss. Ask your secretary to
formatting of a report with your boss to prepare a report with special formatting.
reach agreement on: Talk to student A to reach agreement on:

- Content - Content
- Spacing - Spacing
- Font size - Font size

Role play 18:

Student A
You are a secretary. You need to prepare
to organize a conference. Call student B
to talk about the equipment you need in
which you give information about:
- The date of the conference
- The location of the conference
- Equipment
Student B
You work for a conference supplies
company. Talk to student A about the
conference supplies and give her
information she needs. Note down what
she says about:
- The date of the conference
- The location of the conference
- Equipment

Role play 19:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. Your company is You are a manager. Have your secretary
having an anniversary party. Your boss write the invitation. Give her the
wants you to write an invitation to the information related to:
party. Ask him about the history of your
company, including: - Founding of the company
- Founding of the company - Relocation
- Relocation - Past struggles
- Past struggles

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Role play 20:

Student A
You are a secretary. Your boss wants to
employ a new assistant and he wants you
to place a job advertisement. Discuss with
him to decide:
Student B
You are a manager. You want to employ
a new assistant. Talk to your secretary to
decide the details to put in the job
advertisement related to:

- Job duties - Job duties

- Required skills - Required skills
- Pay - Pay

Role play 21:

Student A Student B
You are going to start work as a secretary You are a supervisor. Answer A’s
for a company. Talk to the supervisor questions and help her to know more
about: about the company and her job. You

- Start date should tell her about:

- Duties
- Start date
- Benefits
- Duties
- Other company’s regulations
- Benefits
- Other company’s regulations

Role play 22:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You are creating the You are the vice president. Answer
agenda for a meeting. Ask student B student A’s questions and give her
questions about: information she needs such as:

- What to include - What to include

- Who will give reports/presentations - Who will give
- How to close the agenda reports/presentations
- How to close the agenda

Role play 23:

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 Student A
You are a secretary. Your boss wants to
confirm with you about the details of an
agenda. Talk to him about the agenda you
prepared:
Student B
You are a CEO. Talk to student A to
confirm the details of the agenda she
prepared for the meeting. You should
include:

- The business updates - The business updates

- Order of items - Order of items
- Absences - Absences

Role play 24:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You have made You are a manager. Your secretary has
several mistakes with the mail. Talk to made several mistakes with the mail. Talk
your boss about the mistakes.You should: to her about her mistakes. You have to
criticize him/her for:
- Apologize for opening a
confidential mail - Opening a confidential mail
- Apologize for stamping the wrong - Stamping the wrong date on other
date on other mails mails
- Being so disorganized
- Promise to fix it immediately

Role play 25:

Student A
You are a secretary. Your supervisor asks You are the supervisor. Talk to student A
you to draft a letter. You have questions
about the content of the letter. Talk about:
- The purpose of the letter
- The date for the recipient to receive
and reply
- What you are concerned about the
mail delivery
Student B
about the draft you requested related to:
- The purpose of the letter
- The date for the recipient to receive
and reply
- The delivery problems (possible)

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Role play 26:

Student A
You are a secretary. Your boss is talking
to you about a customer getting upset
because he thinks you hung up on him.
Talk to your boss (student B) to:
- Explain the disconnected call
- Ask more about the customer’s
complaint
- Promise to avoid such mistake in
the future
Student B
You are a boss. A customer is upset with
your secretary about her hanging up on
him. Talk to student A about:
- The complaint
- The secretary’s version
- What to do next time

Role play 27:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You received an You are the boss. Talk to student A about
email telling you that a shipment would the problem. You should:
be late. Tell your boss about:
- Ask for details of previous
- The company name and previous shipment
shipment - Ask for the ETA
- Ask A to forward the email to you
- The ETA (estimated time of
arrivals)
- Promise to forward the email to
him right after

Role play 28:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You go to the bank to You are a bank teller. Talk to student A
buy some foreign currency for your boss. about her purchases. Provide A the
Ask student B about: information about:

- Pound exchange rate - Pound exchange rate

- Euro exchange rate - Euro exchange rate
- If rates are good - If rates are good

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Role play 29:

Student A Student B
You are a secretary. You want to make a You are the bank teller. Talk to student A
bank deposit for your company but you about her deposit and instruct her to
made a mistake about the number of correct the mistake, including:
checks when you fill out the deposit slip.
- The account number
Talk to student B and ask him how to
- The number of checks
correct it. Pay attention to:
- The changes after correcting
- The account number
- The number of checks
- The changes after correcting

Role play 30:

Student A Student B
You are a new secretary. You haven’t You work in payroll department. Answer
received your salary. Talk to student B student A’s questions. You should
about:
- Tell her about the pay day
- Pay day - Explain to her how new staff are
- Paying in arrears paid
- Offer her an advance if she needs.
- Advances

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