Business English Student’s Book 3

AGENDA:
Unit 5 o Office problem file
OFFICE PROBLEMS o Ask about office problems
o Deal with office machine problems
o Office problems

(Source: https://astikainen.wordpress.com/2016/01/23/problems-are-good-for-you/, May 14th, 2019)

1. OVERALL OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

- identify some office problems
- make a conversation about some office problems
- make a talk about an office problem

2. KEY LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE

Vocabulary: Office problems
 broken (adj) /ˈbrəʊk(ə)n/  instruction (n) /ɪnˈstrʌkʃ(ə)n/
 colleague (n) /ˈkɒliːɡ/  invoice (n) /ˈɪnvɔɪs/
 dangerous (adj) /ˈdeɪndʒ(ə)rəs/  late (adj) /leɪt/
 executive (n) /ɪɡˈzɛkjʊtɪv/  narrow (adj) /ˈnærəʊ/
 flexible (adj) /ˈflɛksɪb(ə)l/  safe (adj) /seɪf/
 heavy (adj) /ˈhɛvi/  slow (adj) /sləʊ/
 incorrect (adj) /ɪnkəˈrɛkt/  soft (adj) /sɒft/

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Language focus
 Too
 S+ to be + too + adj + (for sb) + to V
E.g: This printer is too slow (for us) to print all the documents.
 Enough
 S+ to be + adj + enough + (for sb) + to V
E.g: The shredder is not safe enough (for her) to use because there’s something
wrong with it.
 S + V + enough + Noun + to V
E.g: This room does not have enough chairs for all employees to sit here.
 Useful expressions
Answering the phone Asking for getting through
- Hello, this is... - Can I speak to..., please?
- Good morning, ... speaking
Stating the problems Giving details
- I have got a problem with... - The invoice is incorrect.
- The printer doesn't work.
Apologizing Asking for details
- I'm very sorry about that. - Can/ Could you give me some
- I'm sorry to hear that. information?
- Can/ Could you give me some more
details?
Giving solutions Finishing a conversation
- I'll come and have a look at it. - Thank you.
- I'll check again and correct that. - Thanks for your help.

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3. ONLINE LEARNING CHECKLIST

Look at the list of online learning tasks below and tick the tasks you have completed.

Online learning Task focus Completed

task

Vocabulary
Presentation Adjectives - Presentation …………
Task 1 Adjectives - Pronunciation …………
Task 2 Adjectives - Meaning …………
Task 3 Adjectives - Meaning (recognize antonyms) ………….
Task 4 Adjectives - Meaning ………….
Task 5 Adjectives - Multiple choice ………….
Section test Words - Word writing ………….

Grammar
Presentation too and enough …………
Useful expressions
Task 1 too or enough - Practice …………
Task 2 too, enough, Useful expressions - Practice …………
Task 3 too, enough, Useful expressions - Multiple …………
choice
Section test too, enough, Useful expressions - Multiple …………
choice
Listening
Task 1 Listen to telephone conversations about office …………
problems - True/ False
Task 2 Listen to telephone conversations about office …………
problems - Multiple choice
Task 3 Listen to a phone call conversation about …………
repair service - True/ False
Task 4 Listen to a conversation about problems at …………
work - Gap filling
Task 5 Listen to a conversation about problems at …………
work - Multiple choice
Task 6 Listen to conversations about problems at …………
work - Gap filling

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Reading
Task 1 Read a complaint letter - Multiple choice …………
Task 2 Read a complaint letter - True/ False …………
Task 3 Read a column from a magazine - Multiple …………
choice
Task 4 Read an email – Sentence completion …………
Task 5 Read a complaint letter - Multiple Choice …………
Task 6 Read a complaint letter - Multiple Choice …………
Writing
Task 1 Sentence arrangement …………
Task 2 Sentence building …………
Task 3 Sentence rewriting …………
Task 4 Email completion …………
Task 5 Paragraph writing …………

4. FACE-TO-FACE CLASS MATERIALS

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LESSON 1
Office Problems

Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

- identify some office problems
- make a conversation about some office problems

Warm-up: Hangman
Work in 4 groups. Guess the letters to find out the
missing words in the sentences.

Activity 1: Describing office problems

Work in groups of 4-5. Look at some pictures and clues. Then, use “too” and
“enough” to make two sentences describing office problems.

Activity 2: Exchanging office problems

Work in pairs. Student A looks at card A, asks B about the reasons for his/her
problems. Student B looks at card B and answers the questions. Then, change the roles.
CARD A
Last week, your colleague (Student B) did the following things:
Days Problems Reasons

Monday Be late/ work (1) ______________________

Tuesday No Internet connection

Wednesday Miss/ meeting (3) ______________________

Thursday Give/ him/ incorrect sales number

Friday Not answer/ phone calls (5) ______________________

Saturday Finish work/ meet deadline

Sample: Last Monday, you were late for work. What was the problem?/ What was
wrong?/ What happened?

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CARD B
Answer Student A’s questions. Use the prompt in the card.
Days Problems Reasons
Monday Car/ broken

Tuesday Not give/ boss/ report (2) ______________________

Wednesday Be sick/ stay at home

Thursday Make/ boss/ angry (4) ______________________

Friday Be busy/ answer/ phone calls

Saturday Be late/ company party (6) ______________________

Sample: Last Tuesday, you did not give your boss the report. What was the problem?/
What was wrong?/ What happened?

After finishing the conversation, Student A/ Student B reports the problems his/her
partner had last week.
Sample:
Student A: Last Monday, Nam was late for work because…
Student B: Last Tuesday, Nga did not give her boss the report because…

Activity 3: Reporting office problems

Work in pairs. Make a conversation based on the following situation.
Student A: You are the personal assistant of the Marketing Department of Ziro
Company. Recently some staff in your office haven't followed the office etiquette. You
meet the Department Head (Student B) to report the problems.
Student B: You are the Head of the Marketing Department. A personal assistant
(Student A) sees you to report the recent problems in your office.

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Student A Student B

Greet. Ask for permission to meet B Agree. Ask for the reason to meet

Respond: some recent problems in office Ask for more details

Report some employees' issues: Express disappointment

- Be regularly late for work Ask for other problems in office
- Leave office during working time

Respond: Ask A to arrange a meeting to remind the

- Not turn off lights before leaving staff

- Have lunch at desks

Agree Ask A to send the meeting schedule via

Promise to inform the staff email

Agree. End the conversation End the conversation

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LESSON 2
Solutions to Office Problems

Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to make a talk about an
office problem.

Warm-up: What are the office problems?

Work in pairs. Look at the pictures and discuss the office problems with your partner.
Then, make full sentences to describe them.

Activity 1: Problems and solutions

Work in pairs. Look at the situations in the following pictures. Take turns to ask about
the problems and give solutions.

Suggested structures to give solutions:

- You should/ shouldn’t…
- It’s a good idea to…
- It’s important to…
- Why don’t you…?

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Sample:
A: What’s wrong?/ What’s the problem?/ What happened?
B: The photocopier is broken again!
A: We should call the repair service.

1. instructions/ coffee
machine/ unclear 2. not enough ink/ printer 3. meeting/ boring

4. Laptop/ slow 5. Invoice/ incorrect 6. Late/ work

7. files/ heavy 8. photocopy machine/ broken 9. room/ hot/ summer

Activity 2: Role-play
Work in pairs. Role-play two situations below using the Useful expressions in
Language focus.

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Situation 1:
Student A is an accountant and Student B is a Production manager of EY company.

Student A Student B

Answer the phone and offer help
Respond
Ask for details
Apologize and offer solutions
End the conversation
Greet and ask to speak to the accountant
Introduce yourself
Respond: problem with invoice
Respond: invoice/ incorrect
Say thank you
End the conversation

Situation 2:
Student A is an office staff and Student B is a technician of KPMG company.
Student B Student A

Answer the phone and offer help
Respond
Ask for details
Apologize and offer solutions
End the conversation
Greet and ask to speak to the technician
Introduce yourself
Respond: problem with printer
Respond: printer/ broken
Say thank you
End the conversation

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Activity 3: Free talk

Work individually. Imagine there were some problems in the office you are working in.
Prepare a short talk about one of these problems. Present in front of the class.
Use the following suggestions:
- What was the problem?
- When did it happen?
- How did it affect your work?
- How did you deal with it?
- What would you do to avoid the same problem in the future?

5. STUDENTS’ SELF-ASSESSMENT
Look at the objectives specified at the beginning of the unit and write down what you
have (not) achieved and what you need to do to improve your English.

I can I still cannot I need to

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