English Learning Guide

Competency 1
Unit 1: Customer Service
Workshop 1
Centro de Servicios Financieros- CSF

Name: JULY ALEJANDRA SOTELO BERNAL Cohort: Date:

Training program: TECNOLOGO GESTION EMPRESARIAL Instructor: EDWARD SAAVEDRA

INTRODUCTIONS AND BASIC PERSONAL

INFORMATION (IN/FORMAL COMMUNICATION)

This workshop attempts to help you improve your basic interaction with others at
your workplace, sharing personal information, identifying formal and informal
communication, and asking and giving information on phone calls to your
coworkers and you will learn about customer service and how to interact with
others at your workplace.
Objective: From the development of these activities, you will be able to introduce
yourself and other people using formal and informal communication at work.
1. Work in groups and discuss the following questions:

- What do you understand for personal information?

It is information about a person to have an identification, know your personal profile and professional
profile.

- What data corresponds to personal information?

The data is full name, age, phone number, direction, e-mail, profession, suffer from any disease.allergies,
marital status.
- How can you ask a person about their personal information?

Good morning welcome, please tell me your full name, give me a contact number, tell me your
residence address, give me an e-mail, thanks for the information provided.

- Share your answers with the rest of the class and practice asking and answering
personal information questions.

2. Create a business card using your personal information. Use the image as an
example. Take into account:
- Name of the company
- Full name
- Position in the company
- Contact information
 3. Skills practice: Do the following activities to practice the learnt vocabulary and English structures.

3.1. Speaking practice

Now, practice your oral skills and perform a small personal presentation in groups.
Suppose you are a new employee at a company and you will introduce yourself to the team.
Switch roles and get to know each other. Ask and answer questions about everybody in the
group. Share your business cards.
3.2. Listening practice

Before watching the video, discuss:

- What is communication?

Communication is the conscious action of exchanging information between two or more participants in order to
transmit or receive different information or opinions.

- How do we use communication at work? Give some examples.

We use communication to express ideas or feelings, respectfully and assertively, for example:

- avoid conflicts
- motivation employee
- increases productivity
- clarity
- respect
- active listening
 Watch the video, make notes, and answer or complete the following statements:

- What is communication?
It is one of the most valued skills in the field of work, since it allows workers to understand themselves and
others, in order to build positive relationships, streamline processes in tasks and achieve compliance with
commitments. previously established goals

Now, practice your oral skills and perform a small personal presentation in groups. Suppose
you are a new employee at a company and you will introduce yourself to the team. Switch
roles and get to know each other. Ask and answer questions about everybody in the group.
Share your business cards.

Before watching the video, discuss:

- What is communication?

Communication is the conscious action of exchanging information between two or more participants in order to
transmit or receive different information or opinions.

- How do we use communication at work? Give some examples.

We use communication to express ideas or feelings, respectfully and assertively, for example:

- avoid conflicts
- motivation employee
- increases productivity
- clarity
- respect
- active listening

Watch the video, make notes, and answer or complete the following statements:

- What is communication?

Communication is how we share information.

- Mention 3 ways of communication

written communication , oral communication , Visual communication

- What does influence how people imagine you?

In the workplace, it influences how clients see me.and what you see of me represents not only my personal
image but also at a business level.That is why the importance of having a good personal presentation.

- Who can you communicate with in a casual or informal way?

friends , family , trusted people

 - Texting Abbreviation, Emoji, and being silly is fine to communicate with friends, family and
trusted people

Now, practice your oral skills and perform a small personal presentation in groups. Suppose
you are a new employee at a company and you will introduce yourself to the team. Switch
roles and get to know each other. Ask and answer questions about everybody in the group.
Share your business cards.
3.3. Reading practice
Before Reading the text, discuss the following questions:
- Do you think it is necessary to have a communication code at work? Give examples.
- What can you say about formal and informal communication? Describe.

VOCABULARY
Identify the key words from the text. Look for their definition, pronunciation in English.
WORD / DEFINITION
EXPRESSION
Interchange change of one thing between two or more people
Role Function performed by a person in a certain role
Organization group of people and media organized for a specific purpose
channels of It is the means of transmission through which the signals
communication carrying the information that are intended to
exchange sender and receiver travel
Verbal communication Verbal communication can be done in two ways: Oral
communication, through oral signs and words
spoken gesturally. Written communication is through paper or
messages
Spoken it is established between two or more people; it has as a means
communication of transmission speech and as a code a
language
Written The interaction between the sender and the receiver is not
communication immediate and may not even occur, even if
the writing lasts forever
non-verbal has to do with gestures, sounds, movements and other
communication paralinguistic elements, that is,
they usually accompany the use of verbal language to clarify
and channel it
eye contact It is the situation where two individuals look each other in the
eye at the same time. It is a form of
nonverbal communication of great impact on social behavior
Workplace It is a place where someone works for their employer, a place
of employment. Such a place can vary from a home
office to a large office building or factory
Employees Person who works for another or for an institution in exchange
for a salary
Duties The term duties refers to the activities, acts and circumstances
that imply a certain moral or ethical
obligation.
Hierarchical Organization of people or things on an orderly and subordinate
scale according to a criterion of greater or
lesser importance or relevance within it.
Command Person who has authority to command.
Network Organization formed by a set of establishments of the same
branch, and sometimes under the same
direction, which are distributed in several places of a locality or
geographical area to provide a service.
Requests words or writings with which a thing is requested
Reports It refers to a statement, written or oral, that describes the
qualities, characteristics and context of a fact.
Bottom-up Close or adjust a garment by tucking the buttons through the
buttonholes.
Top-down The adverb above indicates direction and may be preceded by
prepositions of movement, except the
preposition to: up, up, up.
Strand Chain It takes place among the people who are closest, it is usually
through the different hierarchical levels, that
is, from the chief to the intermediate command and from this to
the worker and vice versa
Cluster Chain Typically, it is used to name those fruits or flowers that share a
stem or that form certain branches; Among
the best known are grape, cherry and banana.
Gossip Chain They are rumors that are generated because of a situation.
secrecy It is a person who is in charge of receiving and writing the
correspondence of a hierarchical superior,
carrying out his agenda and keeping and ordering the
documents of an office
time-consuming We all waste time, what we have to deal with is that this waste
of time is as small as possible
reliable The confidence in ourselves, the hope that something develops
according to our expectations, or the
familiarity we have in dealing with someone.
Supporting That is less important or less hierarchy than anything else that
is the main one.
Available In this sense, the word available is used to refer to the state of
something.
 Difference Between Formal and Informal
Communication

March 27, 2015 By Surbhi S[21]

Someone said correctly “The very

attempt of, not to speak, speaks a lot.”
Communication plays a crucial role
in our life, as people interchange
their ideas, information, feelings,
and opinions by
communicating. Formal
communication passes
through predefined channels of
communication all over the
organization. On
the contrary, Informal flows in every
direction,
i.e. it moves freely in the organization.

Communication can be verbal – spoken or written, or non-verbal i.e. using sign

language, body movements, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact or even with
the tone of voice.
In an organization, there are two channels of communication – formal
communication and informal communication. People often confuse between these
two channels, so here we present this article that explains the difference between
formal and informal communication network.
 Diferencia entre comunicación formal e informal

Alguien dijo con acierto: "El propio intento de no hablar, dice mucho". La comunicación desempeña un
papel crucial en nuestra vida, ya que las personas intercambian sus ideas, información, sentimientos y
opiniones comunicándose.
La comunicación formal pasa por canales de comunicación predefinidos en toda la
organización. Por el contrario, la informal fluye en todas las direcciones, es decir, se mueve
libremente en la organización.
La comunicación puede ser verbal -hablada o escrita- o no verbal, es decir, utilizando el
lenguaje de señas, los movimientos corporales, las expresiones faciales, los gestos, el
contacto visual o incluso con el tono de voz.
En una organización hay dos canales de comunicación: la comunicación formal y la informal.
Las personas suelen confundir entre estos dos canales, por lo que aquí presentamos este
artículo que explica la diferencia entre la red de comunicación formal e informal.
Definition of Formal Communication: communication in which the flow of
information is already defined. The communication follows a hierarchical chain of
command established by the organization. This type of communication is used
exclusively in the workplace, and the employees follow it while performing their
duties. Some examples are: Requests, commands, orders, reports etc.
There are four types of formal communication:
● Upward or Bottom-up: The information goes from subordinate to superior authority.
● Downward or Top-down: The goes from superior to subordinate.
● Horizontal or Lateral: The communication between two
employees of different departments working at the same level.
● Crosswise or Diagonal: The communication between the employees
of two different departments working at different levels.

Definition of Informal Communication: Communication does not follow any

predefined channel for the transmission of information. This type of communication
moves freely in all directions, and it is very quick and rapid. This type of
communication is very natural as people interact with each other about their
professional life, personal life, and other matters. Some examples are: Sharing of
feelings, casual discussion, gossip, etc.
There are four types of informal communication:
● Single Strand Chain: The communication in which one person tells
something to another, who again says something to some other person
and the process goes on.
● Cluster Chain: The communication in which one person tells something to
some of its most trusted people, and then they tells them to their trustworthy
friends and the communication continues.
● Probability Chain: The communication happens when a person
randomly chooses some persons to pass on the information which is of
little interest but not important.
● Gossip Chain: The communication starts when a person tells something
to a group of people, and then they pass on the information to some more
people and in this way the information is passed on to everyone.

Key Differences

1. Formal communication is also known by the name of official

communication. Informal Communication is also known by the name of
grapevine.
2. In formal communication, the information must follow a chain of
command. Conversely, the informal communication moves freely in any
direction.
3. In formal communication, full secrecy is maintained, but in the
 case of informal communication maintenance of secrecy is a very
tough task.
4. Formal communication is written, whereas Informal communication is oral.
5. Formal communication is time-consuming as opposed to Informal
communication, which is rapid and quick.
 6. Formal communication is more reliable than Informal communication.
7. Formal communication is designed by the organization. Informal
communication starts itself due to the urge of ‘human to talk’.
8. In formal communication, the documentary evidence is always
available. Informal communication supporting documents are not
available.

According to the text:

- Answer your instructor´s comprehension questions and share your answers.
- Establish a comparison chart between formal and informal communication. Work in pairs

FORMAL COMMUNICATION INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

Proposed by management to transport it is generated in the informal organization
messages through formal channels of internal (based on
communication, coordination and fulfillment of spontaneous relationships of an affective
tasks, organization effectiveness. nature).
Formal. This type of communication is directly - It arises due to the permanence in a common
related to the organizational objectives, their place, to the equality of hierarchical or
policies, norms and directives. They follow the prestigious positions, or
chain of authority and are limited to for common interests or hobbies.
communications related to the fulfillment of - Positive for the solution of certain problems
assigned tasks. The direction through which this and may be negative in terms of lack of control
type of communications flows is mainly the by the hierarchy or rumors.
vertical, and the origin of the formal networks –Circulate quickly through informal channels.
that can have three forms: –It distinguishes informal verbal communication
the chain, the wheel and the entire channel, as (unplanned exchanges) and nonverbal
will be seen in the fifth unit. communication.
- The rumor is based on vague information, from
an unidentified source, and that is expanding
rapidly. Informal. These other communications
are born outside the organizational activities,
that is, from the duties and obligations that the
individual has towards it. Factors such as sexual
attraction, age, preferences, personal tastes,
casual encounters, social class, common
interests, education, among others, are some of
the causes that cause this type of
communication that departs from formal
hierarchical pathways. Consequently, the
communications that arise from this
type of relationship follow the informal networks;
A very important point of informal networks is
that information can run among its members in
the form of murmuring or rumor
- Make a graphic illustration of the 4 types of in/formal communication. Use mind
maps models and share it with the rest of the class. Work in pairs
3.4. Writing Practice
Let’s suppose that you are part of a design team. Write a short paragraph,
saying who the members of your team are. Use the following text as a
model.
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Hello, My name is Kevin Galindo. I am a
graphic designer at Draw your Dreams
Corporation. These are the members of
my team. On my right, Blanca and
Jeisson, they are the copywriters for the
new products on the production
department. On my left, you can see
Rosa, Julian, and Miriam. They are the
sales representatives of the company.
And I am the one in the middle of the
picture. We are a great team with lots of
ideas for our customers!

Now, try your own text. Use a picture to have

more ideas!

Hi, my name is Alejandra Sotelo. I'm a graphic designer at Draw

your Dreams Corporation. These are the members of my team. To
my right, Blanca and Jeisson, are the editors of the new products in
the production department. To my left, you can see Rosa, Julián and
Miriam. They are the sales representatives of the company.
And I'm the one in the middle of the picture. We are a great team
with many ideas for our clients
 Extension activities: the extension activities will help you improve your
performance in the topics. You need to reach at least five hours of practice on your
own.
- For further information, listening practice, pronunciation, and more about this,
check the link below to a YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egtyq2ccCIA
- Based on your instructor’s orientation, explore the following website and practice
the English structures. Do at least 2 activities from each topic studied in class and
deliver them to your instructor:
http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar-guides/grammar-beginner.php

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Image taken from internet as an example.
https://mx.depositphotos.com/127312238/stock-illustration-
set-of-business-people-office.html