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Authentic English Discussion-Group 7
Authentic English Discussion-Group 7
FACULTY OF ENGLISH
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PRESENTATION/ DISCUSSION
Authentic English
TOPIC:
Unit 11: Making polite requests
Unit 12: Asking for and giving advice
Unit 13: Asking for and giving opinions
Hanoi, 2022
1
Student Comments of Comments
Name’ students Duties
Number Leader of Lecturer
I. Introduction;
Successfully
Vũ Thị Hồng
19D170243 1. Unit 11. Making complete the
Nhung
polite requests (1.1. assigned content
Useful tips)
1. Unit 11. Making
polite requests (1.2
Complete well
Role-play sample
Tô Thanh Hiền 19D170154 and fully the
and analysis )
assigned content
4. Role-play and
Contributing
Phạm Thị Yến Analysis
ideas, Completing
(Leader) 19D170194
the assigned
Word synthesis +
content well
Editing
4. Role-play and
Analysis (only
Đặng Thị Khánh participate in Role- Complete quickly
Huyền 19D170156 play) + Conclusion+ and contribute to
Game group work
PP synthesis
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................4
II. BODY....................................................................................................................... 5
1. Unit 11. Making polite requests..........................................................................5
1.1. Useful tips......................................................................................................5
1.2. Role-play sample and analysis.......................................................................6
2. Unit 12: Asking for and giving advice................................................................9
2.1. Useful tips....................................................................................................10
2.2. Role-play sample and analysis......................................................................12
3. Unit 13: Asking for and giving opinions..........................................................13
3.1. Useful tips....................................................................................................13
3.2. Role-play sample and analysis......................................................................17
4. Role-play and Analysis......................................................................................17
III. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................22
REFERENCE.............................................................................................................23
MIMIGAME..............................................................................................................24
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I. INTRODUCTION
In life, communication is the basic need of each person from birth to death. In
particular, communication skills are an important tool in every conversation.
Communication skills are likened to art. Because communication is not only listening and
speaking but also includes many factors. We have learned about skills and the importance
of skills: What to say when you don’t remember a word; changing the subject; asking for
clarification and checking to understand.
Besides those important skills, throughout the conversation, to show respect to the
speaker, we need to know how to show our attention to what the speaker is saying.
Sometimes we need to make polite requests when talking to people we do not know or to
people we need to be polite. Or we also need to ask for and give advice to our listeners.
As you know, making a request, asking for and giving advice are something that most of
us do on a daily basis, and we can choose between a range of strategies to do so.
Depending on what situation we are in, the different strategies can be more or less
appropriate. So we have to learn as much as possible about this situation. Remember that
politeness in the choice of our words and expressions is the key to making requests.
Next, ‘asking for and expressing opinions’ is something we frequently do in
everyday English. We will need to ask and give opinions in formal situations such as in
business, in writing, both academic and informal texts, and in informal speaking.
There are so many ways to express an opinion in English and it’s important that you
use them. The way you choose to express an opinion can alter the way people think of
you and look at you every day! This is especially true in British English, where we are
obsessed with politeness and not being too assuming. Using in my opinion is a great way
of telling people what you think and also making sure they know that it is just your
opinion. Using Personally is a useful phrase to distinguish your opinion from a group of
people who might think differently than you etc.
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II. BODY
1. Unit 11: Making polite requests
1.1. Useful tips
When talking to people they don’t know, or to people they need to be polite to (such
as their employers or teachers) native English speakers use indirect requests, suggestions
or very polite requests.
As you know, a request is when we ask someone for something. Asking people to
do things for us or asking if we are allowed to do something is often quite difficult.
Imagine this situation: You go to lunch with somebody you don’t know well about, and
the bill comes. You check to see if you can find your wallet and you’re forgotten it. Do
you feel comfortable asking this person to pay for you? So what is the best way in
English to ask someone to do something for you?
Since we are asking someone for help, it is important to be polite. Also, we must
avoid being too direct. Here are examples of being too direct:
“I want help.”
“Pass me the salt.”
“Can you carry my bag?”
These questions are all correct English but they are too direct. These are not polite
requests. They are in fact quite rude. People will be offended because they will think that
you are giving them orders.
Here are some tips:
If asking friends or family, there are two great options. We can use both “Could”
and “Can” but Could is more polite than can.
Eg: 1. Can you open the door?
Could you open the door? ⇒ more polite
2.Can you turn off the light?
Could you turn off the light? ⇒ more polite.
⇒ “Can you” and “could you” are the two most common ways of making requests,
that's because we use these with friends, with family and also people we know really
well, like our close colleagues
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Depending on the situation and to whom you are speaking, it is more polite to use
longer, more indirect requests. If we want to make a request from somebody we don't
know very well, or perhaps somebody who we consider to be senior to us, we have to
change and use some more formal requests. Two great formal options are: 'Would you
mind' or “could you possibly”
Eg: Can I sit here?
Would you mind if I sat here? ⇒ more polite.
We also often add the word “possibly”, “possible” to be even more polite.
Eg: Could I possibly borrow your car tomorrow? / Would it be possible for you to
send it right now?
I wonder if you could possibly take me to the airport?
Analysis
A request is when we ask someone for something. Since we are asking someone for
help, it is important to be polite.
We must avoid being too direct.
Here are examples of being too direct:
“Close the door”
“Give me a candy”
These questions are all correct English but they are too direct. These are not polite
requests. They are in fact quite rude. People will be offended because they will think that
you are giving them orders.
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In this lesson, you will learn several methods to make a polite request. The first few
examples are to be used in spoken English.
In this video, you can see the first example is “Can I have some chocolate please?”
=> They use “Can I have” to make a request that implies “I want chocolate”.
However, when we use “Can I have some chocolate please”, it expresses more politely
than a direct request. Moreover, no one can answer “No” to your request while you use it.
For the second example: “Could you help me with my homework please?”
In this example, we are easy to realize that they use “Could you help me” structure
to make a polite request. If we compare “could” and “can”, “could is pretty more polite
than “can”. In addition, depending on the situation and whom you are speaking, you can
use “could” to make a polite request with older people.
And the last example in this video: “Will you come with me to the supermarket?”
With this structure, it is also one of types to make a polite request. However, it is
usually use when older people make a request with younger people.
Asking for permission
Can I / Could I / May I / Might I
We use Can I / Could I / May I / Might I to request something for yourself, all of
these forms are possible. May and Might are consider to be more polite than Can and
Could. We see the following examples:
Can I have some chocolate please?
Could I ask you a favour?
May I go out?
If you’ve finished with the computer, may I borrow it?
Could you .. ?
Form: Could you + base form of verb ….. ?
Examples:
Could you help me with my homework please?
Could you give me some advice?
Might I leave the class a bit earlier today?
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We can add “possibly” to be even more polite. We put “possibly” in between
“Could you” and the verb.
Example:
Could you possibly hold my drink?
Could I possibly have another sandwich?
Examples:
Would you mind carrying my bags?
Would you mind giving me some advice?
Would you mind helping me?
Would you mind taking my photograph?
Examples:
I wonder if you could mind my bag?
I wonder if you could give me some advice?
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I wonder if you could help me?
Listen carefully to the person who wants advice, and learn as much as possible
about this situation. If you need clarification, ask questions.
As we know that it would be quite unusual to just walk up to someone and ask
them for advice, so that’s the first useful tip I’d like to share with you. It means that you
need to establish a connection and make sure the other person has time and is willing to
share it with you. "What listening requires is suspending judgment". You have to hear the
person out - at length and in depth - before shifting to action or making
recommendations.
These phrases are considered polite questions when you want to ask someone for
advice:
Can I ask you something?
Can I talk to you for a minute?
When you are advising someone, you should listen for emotion and tone, something
that may indicate that a deeper issue underlies the problem; and you should also listen for
whether the person is leaving certain things unsaid. Sometimes the advice-seeker is
leaving out key pieces of information inadvertently or because of discomfort with his
contribution to the problem.
That's why it's important for both the advice-seeker and the advice-giver to ask
questions of each other. The advice-seeker needs to get clarifications on the adviser's
thinking to determine whether the advice fits the situation, and the advice-giver needs to
fully understand the problem.
Show empathy
When someone asks for advice, it’s best to show your empathy as a way of
understanding other people. In its simplest form, empathy is the ability to recognize
emotions in others and to understand other people's perspectives on a situation.
Part of the trick with this is remembering that it's not about you. A friend's priorities
might not match your own, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. Don't assume their
choices are any kind of statement about your own values and decisions. You also
strengthen your relationship with the person, because when you seek to share the feelings
of the other, you allow thoughts and emotions to flow between the both of you.
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Some useful expressions you can use to be more empathetic to your advice-seekers:
Oh dear, that is a difficult situation.
Is there anything I can do for you?
I’m sorry to hear that. What happened?
Are you okay?
I understand how you feel.
So how can we be more empathetic when he or she may just want a good listener to
be understanding and show empathy. The first skill is attention, so you have to make sure
that they realize our full attention is on them. Having the ability to show care and
emotional support, acknowledging the person’s feelings and not judging others'
situations, you’ll show that you want to understand them better and value them as
individuals. In short, by offering empathic advice, we can help our listeners feel better
and develop better relationships.
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Think about the consequences of taking your advice and not taking your advice
It’s not realistic for people to act on every piece of advice you give. After
discussing a problem and suggesting how to handle it, you should ask advice-seekers
which point resonated with them the most. From there, listeners can imagine how the
options they do will lead to results; it can be negative or positive in each case. Therefore,
thinking about the consequences of the problem will help you tailor your advice to the
different individuals who want your advice.
Some useful expressions:
If you don’t apologize to him, he’ll never trust you again.
He will be very upset if you go.
Should you go, he will be very upset.
Sometimes there is no right answer to a problem. In this case, try to help the
person think about all the alternatives.
People often want to fix the problem and make the advice-seeker feel better at the
moment, but there are many instances where some people just want a listening ear. The
best thing we can offer is a listening ear. When someone asks for advice, it’s best to give
your response as a suggestion as well as try to help the person think about all the
alternatives.
Some useful expressions:
Maybe you should …
What about …?
How about … ?
You could try…./Perhaps it would be an idea to…./ Another thing you could
consider is…
Why don’t you …
I suggest …
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Analysis:
Our character Noelia’s situation here is that she keeps receiving non-work related
emails from Susan without knowing how to stop this situation. To ask for advice from
Paul, she used the following question:
What do you think I should do?
I'm not sure that's a good idea.
Really? I'm not too sure about that.
Noelia used modal verbs "should" in the question to express sincerely asking for
advice from the other party. These words also clearly show what should be in the advice,
expressing the desire to help this Noelia character.
In response to a plea from Noelia, Paul has put himself in Noelia's shoes to bring to
an end to this: “If I were you, I'd email and ask her to stop sending them.” and then when
she was confused about this advice Paul immediately gave her the alternative. “Perhaps
you could try talking to Yuna about it?”
Besides, it looks like Bob is in Noelia's good books. Going into the details, Bob
tried himself in Noelia's position, went through her problems and tried to understand
things from her perspective. And luckily, Bob went through this situation in the past.
Then he shared his story to Noelia.
To answer Noelia's question, Bob used a series of suggestive phrases such as:
Why don't you try doing nothing?
Perhaps you could just … do nothing?
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If you ask a closed question, you’ll get a closed answer. The structure of the
question indicates that you want a specific answer, not that you’re interested in
understanding or taking the conversation further. When you ask open-ended questions,
and listen to the answers, you show your team that you’re interested in more than just
what’s on the surface.
You’re probably familiar with the concept of closed and open-ended questions from
school. Close-ended questions are those that require a specific answer. The way the
question is structured narrows the range of possible responses.
For example, if you’re asking someone how their weekend went, you might phrase
the question as “Did you have a nice weekend?”
The inquiry “did you…” only really leaves a couple of answers: yes, they did — or
no, they didn’t. If you want to know more about how the weekend went, you’ll need to
ask a follow-up question and might not have the opening.
That question style also anchors on the assumption that the goal or ideal state was a
"nice weekend." If they didn't have a nice weekend, they may feel judged or lacking and
be unwilling to share with you that they had a very difficult weekend because of a death
in the family.
To avoid these questions, you shouldn't ask the questions in the form Yes/ No like
Do you ..., Are you ..., Could you ..., Have you ..., Would you ...,etc.
Here are some expressions to ask for opinions we recommend.
Formal Informal
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However, using the same expression in every situation can make your
communication skill stuck somewhere. This means that you can use some better and
more persuasive phrases or expressions to ask someone for their opinions and make them
more interested to engage with you in the discussion.
For example:
The weather doesn’t seem good today. What do you reckon?
Tell me about the children in this photograph.
What is the purpose of the government?
Why did you choose that answer?
When you give your opinions, use neutral statements to make your opinions
sound less forceful.
You should use “I” statements. “I” statements are powerful because they promote
connection and don’t make others feel alienated or excluded. People often state opinions
in a way that makes them sound like facts—a habit that puts off the people they’re trying
to persuade. A simple preface like “I think…” or “In my experience…” can be all you
need.
Some phrases to consider using:
In my opinion…
From my point of view…
I would say…
My impression is…
I think..
Speaking personally…
I am of the opinion that ….
For example:
In my opinion, HCM City has the best street food.
If you want to disagree with someone's opinion in a polite and gentle way, you can
consider the following sample:
“I see what you’re saying but…”
“I understand where you’re coming from, but…”
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“That’s a valid point, but…”
Use an apology to introduce your disagreement. This is another way of making your
disagreement more polite but can soften the impact of your argument.
For example:
“That’s a valid point, but I still prefer the elegance and light taste of Hanoi street
food”
Common phrases
Many phrases are suitable in everyday speech and some types of writing, such as on
blogs and personal websites. You have probably already seen or used some of these
phrases:
I think…
I believe…
I feel…
In my opinion… and
I would say…
Add strength
But suppose you wanted to make the statement stronger. You can do it by adding an
adverb or adjective:
I really think…
I strongly believe…
I truly feel… or
In my opinion…
For example:
In my opinion, HCM City has the best street food.
Add strength:
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I strongly believe HCM City has the best street food. I have never seen more
choices of what to eat – and everything I’ve tried has been delicious!
3.2. Role-play sample and analysis
Role-play sample
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxB72W_q0dQ&ab_channel=IamTutorRus
Analysis
The woman started the conversation by asking everyone's opinion on how to
develop Scarlett's musical projects. She used an open-ended question to get everyone's
ideas.
What do you think Jack?
What about a series of TV and radio interviews? Don't you agree?
=> They were asking for people’s opinions.
This is a good choice when speakers use “I” statements. Combined with that are
personal phrases like “I think”, “In my opinion”, “Personally” so that the listener does
not feel imposed.
I think Scarlett should visit the major music stores.
In my opinion that's the best way to meet her fans.
Personally I think Scarlet should tour clubs and summer festivals
=> They were using neutral statements to make their opinions sound less
forceful.
I'm not so sure.
Actually I don't agree with Mark.
Yes absolutely! That's a much better idea!
=> They were giving a strong opinion to make an impact.
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Yến: Good morning Ms. Huyền!
Huyền: Good morning Yến. How is it going?
Yến: Everything is quite good. Thank you. How about you?
Huyền: Not bad
Yến: Ms. Huyền, Could you spend a couple of minutes talking to me?
Huyền: Of course. Do you have any trouble with your job?
Yến: Yes, as you know, I was assigned to interpret for a foreign financial expert for our
new project at the meeting tomorrow, but to be honest, I’m quite nervous because this is
my first time. What do you think I should do now?
Huyền: oh, the first time of anyone always likes that. I know you will be worried. If I
were you I would be well-prepared and keep calm during the meeting. I’m sure you can
do a great job So, what did you prepare for the meeting?
Yến: First of all, I read our previous financial reports and discuss the content of the
meeting as well as the outline the expert will use for his speech. And then, I prepare
necessary equipment for interpreting.
Huyền: It’s such a pleasure to hear so. I have an idea that is you can participate in the
budget meeting I lead in the afternoon to have more specialized information to prepare
for your work
Yến: oh really?
Huyền: Yes, or another thing you could try to consult with Mr. Ray. He has many
years of experience in interpreting, especially in financial-business field. I really believe
that he will help you a lot.
You also should find out information about the speaker in the meeting to use words
effectively and avoid incorrect translations.
Yến: That’s wonderful. Would you please give me Mr.Ray contact information?
Huyền: Of course. Here is his business card.
Yến: Thank you for your assistance and advice
Huyền: You’re welcome. If there are any problems you can ask me.
Yến: Thank you so much
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Huyền: You’re welcome
Analysis
There are many useful tips in the role play that make the conversation between Yến
and Ms.Huyền become effective. In fact, making a polite request and asking for advice or
opinion is not quite easy if you do not know useful tips as well as how to use them. In
this conversation, Yến and Huyền used tips naturally and appropriately so that they gain
the target of the conversation. Particularly, useful tips are used the following sentences:
Yến: Mrs. Huyền, Could you spend a couple of minutes talking to me?
Huyền: Of course. Do you have any trouble with your job?
Yến: Yes, as you know, I was assigned to interpret for a foreign financial expert for our
new project at the meeting tomorrow, but to be honest, I’m quite nervous because this is
my first time. What do you think I should do now?
Tips are used:
Could is more polite than can; Depending on the situation, and to whom you are
speaking, it is more polite to use longer and more indirect requests: “Could you
spend a couple of minutes talking to me?”
Yến is an intern while Huyền is her supervisor, because Yen have a trouble with her
job and she wants Ms Huyền to spend time for her and give her some advice, therefore,
she uses ‘could’ instead of ‘can’ and uses a long sentence to show polite that avoid her
supervisor feel forced.
Huyền: oh, the first time of anyone always like that (show empathy). I know you will be
worried. If I were you I would be well-prepared and keep calm during the meeting. I’m
sure you can do a great job (opinion). So, what did you prepare for the meeting?
Tips are used:
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Show empathy: oh, the first time of anyone always likes that
Ms. Huyền shows her empathy so that Yến knows that Ms. Huyền understands the
feeling and worry of the intern when interpreting for an expert at the first time as well as
help Yến reduce her nervous.
Sometimes, giving strong opinion makes an impact: I’m sure you can do a great
job
To improve the confidence of the intern, Ms Huyền gives an opinion that she
believes that Yến will complete her job well
Huyền: It’s such a pleasure to hear so. I have an idea that is you can participate in the
budget meeting you lead in afternoon to have more specialized information to prepare for
your work
Yến: oh really?
Huyền: Yes, or another thing you could try to consult with Mr. Ray. He has many years
of experience in interpreting, especially in financial-business field
I really believe that he will help you a lot.
You also should find out information about the speaker in the meeting to use words
effectively and avoid incorrect translations.
Yến: That’s wonderful. Would you please give me Mr.Ray contact information? (
Tips are used:
Sometimes, there is no right answer to a problem. In this case, try to help the
person think about all the alternatives: I have an idea…; or another thing you
could try to consult with Mr. Ray, You also should…
In this situation, Ms. Huyền wants to give some advice and alternatives instead of
only reading previous financial reports and discussing the content of the meeting. She
suggests Yến participating in her meeting or asking for advice from Mr. Ray who has a
lot of experience as an interpreter so that Yến will prepare herself the best.
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Sometimes, giving strong opinion makes an impact: I really believe that he will
help you a lot
Actually, Ms Huyền shows that she trusts Mr.Ray’s experience and qualification so
Yến believes Mr Ray will give her helpful advice.
Make polite requests: Would you please give me Mr Ray contact information?
Yến uses a long request with words ‘would’ and ‘please’ to avoid rude and show
her politeness, thus, Ms Huyền will feel comfortable when giving her Mr.Ray contact
information.
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III. CONCLUSION
In many languages, asking for help can be expressed in a very direct way and the
way you speak doesn't really affect the listener. However communication is a skill that is
important to be trained, especially when you want to live, work and study abroad. Even if
you want to seek advice or give advice, you need to identify yourself in order to find a
connection point with the person being asked. Once the word we say will bring back the
most important meaning, it won't make you give up, it will also make you fail in the
conversation. That's why it's important to understand cultural differences in advance.
There are many unexpected situations that will prevent us from responding in time. When
responding or making requests, the advice we need is really subtle and sensitive to avoid
people around us misunderstanding.
The tips that the team mentioned in the presentation are very easy to apply and use
flexibly: Making polite request, Asking for and advice, Asking for and giving opinions
will help us to have many choices and apply for ourselves. However, it should be noted
that, not at this time we can also answer and apply the above tips. Therefore, besides
taking advantage of useful tips, we need to adapt quickly and have a rich life experience.
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References
How to make polite requests in English
https://www.crownacademyenglish.com/polite-requests-english/
Intermediate Unit 5 Giving Opinions https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mxB72W_q0dQ&ab_channel=IamTutorRus
10 Ways of Politely Making Requests in English | Advanced English
https://advancedenglish.co/blog/htjzreft/10-ways-of-politely-making-requests-in-english-
%7C-advanced-english
23
MINIGAME:
1: Choose the correct answer:
H: What do you think about job hopping?
T: …
A. I guess you are right.
B. To be honest, Job hopping can give you a better opportunity.
C. I’m absolutely sure, You have changed your job many times.
D. I strongly believe it is very common among young generation.
Key: D is the correct answer, this sentence uses “strong believe” to give opinions when H
asked H for opinion.
2. Reorder the position of sentences
C. Last night, my director showed disappointment at my first meeting.
D. What happened?
A. I was late to the team meeting because I had a problem when joining the meeting due
to internet disruption. What do you think I should do?
B. Oh poor you. If I were you I’d prepare at least 10 minutes before the start of the
meeting.
E. Oh yeah, I will be more careful next time.
Key: C–D-A-B-E, this dialog shows the tips “ask for and give advice”, through using the
question “what do you think I should do?” and structure “If I were you” to express
advice.
3. Choose the suitability and make a question for this answer. Asking for & giving
opinions.
?: ….
Ans: I don’t think we can agree with her opinion, it’s out of our control.
A. What do you think…
B. How’s your feeling
C. Do you think…
D. What would you do…
Key: A is the correct answer, the answerer can give their idea and make a good question
for their choice.
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4. Listening and role-play what did they say in the conversation
Video roleplay
P: Hello Anna
A: Oh Hi Paul
P: I was wondering if you could do something for me?
A: Yes, of course
P: Would you be able to print out a file for me? The file should be on the system. And
could I have it in the next 10 minutes, please. As they are on their way here for a
meeting.
A: Yes, Oh no, I have no idea how to find it.
Key: Paul made a polite request and Anna is willing to do it.
5. Case Study: When you have a meeting with the leader but you have a meeting with the
partner at that time, how will you make a request to change the appointment schedule?
(Suggestion: structure: Could you…. Or I wonder…)
Key: Students can use “Could you” or “I wondering” to give polite requests and receive
exceptions from leaders with worthy reasons.
Suggestion:
Could you possibly meet me next week at the office?
I was wondering if you could reschedule the meeting for next week
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