What does your week look like?

Arrangements and requests for the week ahead

Time: Level: Objective Materials 90 minutes A2+-B2 for A2 participants To discuss the learners appointments for the coming week and to learn how to make polite requests during appointments Each participant needs to have a smartphone or mobile device on which they can access their appointments calendar or diary. Photocopy worksheets A and B per participant.

1. Lead in: ask learners to discuss the lead in questions in pairs or small. When they have finished, feed back to the class. 2. Your appointments: ask participants to read the dialogue. Draw their attention to the use of present continuous to discuss arrangements. For lower levels you may wish to elicit some examples and write these on the board or flip chart. Ask: what question do I ask, to find out what someones plans are for next week? Elicit What are you doing next week? You may wish to highlight the form of the verbs (am/are/is plus verb +ing) 3. Ask participants to open the calendars on their phones or mobile devices and look at their appointments for the week ahead. With a partner or in small groups, participants ask and answer questions to discuss which appointments they have this week who are they meeting and why? 4. Making requests: tell the participants that you have a meeting with your boss this week. You need some information from him. Elicit what kind of information that could be and write this on the board or flip chart (e.g. dates for the next training session, more books, forms, etc.). Participants now use the table to make a list of the people they are meeting in the coming week. They can record this in the one column and then they should make notes on what they want from the person in a second column. 5. Discussion: Ask the participants to discuss the questions, talking about what they say when they need something from someone, as well as how they communicate this. 6. Language input: ask participants to compare three sets of sentences, deciding which ones sound more diplomatic. Sentences 1B, 2A and 3B are the more diplomatic variations. 7. Using the notes from the previous exercise, ask participants to work together to make polite requests.

8.

Role play: participants should now work together in groups in order to rearrange the date and time of their next English class. They will again need to access their calendars via their mobile phone or mobile devices, and ask and answer questions using the present continuous. When they have agreed on a time they need to politely make requests, to organize who will complete the tasks on the to do list.

www.businessenglishexperience.com

Gabrielle Jones 2013

Worksheet A

What does your week look like?

Lead in 1. 2. 3. 4. Do you have your mobile phone with you? Can you talk about it for a minute? What are the functions of your phone which you use most frequently? Are there any functions which you never use? How technologically advanced is your phone?

Your appointments When we are talking about appointments, we often use present continuous: A: What are you doing on Thursday morning? B: Im meeting the head of finance, and then Im driving to the airport. A: Oh, where are you going? B: Im flying to Berlin Im visiting a customer for 2 days. Over to you: open up the calendar on your mobile phone. With a partner or in small groups, ask and answer questions to discuss which appointments you have this week who are you meeting and why? Making requests Look again at your calendar. Make some notes on the people you are meeting this week. Use the table below to record who you are meeting and what information you need from them. People I am meeting this week What I need from them

Example: the head of accounts

The end of month report by Friday

Discussion: Can you think of ways to ask the people for the information you need? What do you say? How do you say it? How would you communicate your request? (Email, fax etc)

www.businessenglishexperience.com

Gabrielle Jones 2013

Worksheet B

Language input: Look at these examples of requests. In each pair, decide which sentence sounds more polite. 1A Inform me when you are finished. 1B Would you inform me when you are finished the agenda? 2A Could you find out what the problem is? 2B Can you find out what the problem is? 3A Please send me the information by Friday 3B I would appreciate it if you could send me the information by Friday You can use Could you and Would you and I would appreciate it if you could to make polite requests. Look at the notes you made earlier and practice making polite requests in pairs or small groups.

Practice: Using the calendar on your mobile phone, work with the other class members to try and find an alternative time for your English class next week. When you have come to agreement look at the to do list below. Together, make some requests and organize who will complete each task. You need:

TO DO book a room confirm the room booking by email order more flipchart paper/board pens/board cleaner arrange extra chairs tea, coffee and biscuits other (write your idea here)

www.businessenglishexperience.com

Gabrielle Jones 2013