Lesson 04

Arrangements and schedules

01. BUSINESS SKILLS: Making arrangements
01 |
Discuss the following questions.
How often do you make arrangements at work? And at home?
Yes I rarely make arrangements at work because I work in homeoffice.

Do you often make arrangements by email or on the phone?

Yes, I sometimes make arrangements by phone.

When you need to see the doctor, do you normally make the appointment online or
on the phone?
I normally make the appointment on the phone.

02 |
Listen to four people making arrangements by phone. Match each call (1-4)
to the correct situation (a-d).

changing an existing appointment __3__

apologizing for missing an appointment __4__
making an appointment __1__
suggesting an alternative day __2__

Listen again and complete these extracts.

Call 1
Jamie: What’s a good day for you?
Chris: I can ____make___ Wednesday. How about 10 o’clock?
Call 2
Lesley: How about _____later___ in the week? Is Friday OK?
Sam: Yes, I can do Friday morning after 11.
Lesley: Yes, that’s ___fine____ for me. Friday at 11.30 __see_____ __you__ then.
Call 3
Lesley: Sorry, but I need to ___change____ the time of our meeting. I ____can
´t___make it on Monday now.
Call 4
Dan: I’m very sorry I ___mist____ our meeting this afternoon. My flight was
delayed. I’ll ___call____ you again later.
03 |Look at the expressions in the Useful language box and choose a
suitable subheading for A, B, C, D or F from the box below.
USEFUL LANGUAGE
A Asking about availability __________________
What time is good for you?
What’s a good day for you?
What time / day suits you?
B Agreeing __________________
I can make five o’clock on Wednesday.
I can do next Monday.
Monday the sixth is fine for me.
C Declining  __________________
I’m afraid I can’t make August 1st.
I’m sorry, I can’t do Thursday evening.
D Suggesting a different time/day __________________
How about 4.15?
Is July 28th OK for you?
E Apologizing __________________
I’m sorry I missed our meeting at 9.30 / on Tuesday.
Sorry I didn’t make it on time.
F Giving an excuse __________________
My flight was late.
The traffic was very bad.
I’m afraid I was delayed / unwell / very busy, etc.

02. IMPROVING YOUR WRITING: Writing a schedule

WARM-UP READING

01 | Discuss these questions.
How often do you use schedules in your work?
I always use schedules in my work because it’s very important for me comply to a
schedule so as not to keep others waiting for interviews or meetings with my boss
or my coworkers.

What do you use them for (e.g. projects, trips, etc.)?

I use them for projects, for interviews or with my son.

Where do you keep track of your schedule?

I do my schedule in my calendar of google or by my cellphone.

02 |Read the email. What is the schedule for?

It’s for a congress on witch Albert will participate. And he needs the
schedules for all situation. For the trip, his fly, lodging and events.

03 |
Read the email again and answer the questions below.
Where is Albert going?
He goes at Dubai

List all the people he is meeting on his trip.

To middle east sales team
London and Rome offices
British embassy on al seef street.

List the different events he will attend.

Breakfast
Presentation to middle east sales team
Conference call with London and rome oddices
Buffet reception at british embassy an al seed street
Gitex trade fair
Exhibition hall opens

Has Florence emailed any information about the trade fair?

Not, she isn’t.

03. WRITING SKILLS: Prepositions of time and place in emails

01 |
We often use the prepositions in, at, on in schedules. Read the table below
and study the examples taken from the email.

02 |
Complete sentences with the correct prepositions.
Albert lands __AT__the airport____AT_ seven o’clock.
The trade fair is ___IN___ Dubai.
The trade fair is ___ON___ the 9th and 10th of November.
Let’s meet ___IN___ the conference room ____IN__ half an hour.
Sorry, but Albert is away ____ON___ a business trip.

04. IT’S TIME TO WRITE!

01 |
Read Florence’s notes for Albert’s next trip. Discuss and plan his schedule
using the times, dates, and places in Florence’s notes. Add your own details
where necessary (e.g. What time will he need to leave or arrive at the hotel?
How will he travel there?).