English For Secretaries

First year/Semester II

Teacher’s guide

Bède Vianney BANZOUZI

Graduate Lecturer of English at High Schools &

Universities
06 909 23 05

Academic Year: 2022-2023

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 0
 Course Outline

I. Chapter One: Communicative Skills

II. Chapter Two: Introduction to Emails writing

III. Chapter Three: Office equipment & Useful expressions

Les étudiants sont vivement conseillés à participer à tous les

enseignements pour la bonne et meilleure compréhension des cours.

Chaque cours sera développé en classe à travers les explications suivies

d’un vocabulaire technique d’appui fourni par l’enseignant.

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 1
 Chapter One:

Communicative Skills

Reading comprehension
Read carefully the text and answer the following questions

Text: Telephone etiquette

Answer the phone with a smile on your face. The smile can be ‘heard’ and you
will sound happy and pleasant. If you are extremely busy and getting stressed with
your work, take a deep breath before you answer the phone to calm you down and
make you sound normal and not anxious.
Answer the phone promptly – don’t let it ring more than three times before
you answer it. Set yourself a daily challenge to attempt to answer the phone on
the first ring so that callers are not kept holding on the line for longer than is
necessary – they will appreciate not having their time wasted. This helps exceed
expectations when you are consistent.
Always be polite, helpful and proactive when dealing with phone calls.
Whenever you can, go extra mile to help the caller or client – it always pays off
and sometimes it gets back to your boss how helpful you have been. It improves
the perception of the company and client relationships as well as your own
reputation and relationships.
Always try to help the callers when they ask for your boss. You will often be
quite capable of dealing with the call yourself and it is amazing how many times all
the caller wants is some information that you can provide.
Edited and written by Mr. Vianney
I. Answer the following questions
1. What is the text about?
2. How should the secretary behave while receiving phone calls?
3. How should the secretary behave when she is anxious at work?
4. How is it seen once you manage well calls with clients?
II. True, False and Not in the text statements
Say whether the following statements are true, false or not in the text.
1. The text concerns with the job of an accountant
2. The text is about the secretary’s phone management
3. At work, the secretary should be respectful towards clients
4. The secretary should not answer phone calls immediately

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 2
5. The secretary should be smiley on phone
III. Blank Filling
Fill in the blanks with the following missing words: agenda – meeting – secretary –
machine – receives - lot

Text:
The ……1…… has many things to do at work. She ……2…… calls, she manages the
manager’s ……3……, and she also writes a minutes at the end of every ……4…… .
Callers do not always realise that you can do a ……5…… more than being just an
answering ……6…… so you have to ask probing questions. This also enables you to
sift out the ‘sales calls’.
Vocabulary
 Acknowledgement of receipt = accusé de réception
 Above =
 Below =
 Attached =
 Confidential =
 Contact details/contact information = coordonnées
 Recipient = destinataire
 Procedure = demarche

On the phone…

Let’s examine these dialogues and see how they can help you understand to talk
with someone on the telephone.

The person you are calling is not in. Do you want to leave a message?

Secretary: Good morning, Ruth, Burotop Iris in Brazzaville. Can I help you?
Customer: Good morning, Mr. BANZOUZI from Pointe Noire. Could I speak with
Andy?
Secretary: Yes, sure. Let me see if she’s arrived. If so, let me put you through
to her.
Customer: Ok. Thanks.
Secretary: Oh, I’m afraid, she is not in yet.
Customer: Could you tell me when she is in the office?
Secretary: She shouldn’t be long now. Would you like to leave a message?

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 3
Customer: Could you ask her to call me back as soon as possible if she wants the
payments to be made promptly?
Secretary: OK. Will do.
Customer: Thanks Ruth for your help. Have a good day!

The person you are calling is not available.

Secretary: Good morning, Ruth, Burotop Iris in Brazzaville. Can I help you?
Branch manager: Good morning; Scott from Pool department. I would like to speak
with Regina, please.
Secretary: Yes, sure. Hold the line please.
Branch manager: OK. Thanks.
Secretary: Oh, I’m afraid, her line is busy.
Branch manager: Could you ask her to call me back as soon as possible?
Secretary: Sure. I will. Oh, hold on, she’s just done with her call. Let me put you
through with her. Hi Regina, Mr. Scott on line. Are you taking the call?
Regina: OK. Thanks Ruth. Hello, good morning Scott. How are you?
Applied Exerceise
Complete this dialogue with the missing sentences of your own
Boob : hello ! Sue
Sue: ……………… Bob
Bob: how are you ?
Sue: ……………… and yourself?
Bob: I am fine, thanks. I need your service please.
Sue: how ……………… help you?
Bod: I would like to speak to the manager, please.
Sue: ok. ………………… moment please.
Bob: alright.
Sue: sorry, ……………………… available
Bob: ok, no problem. Good bye!
Sue: bye!
Vocabulary
 A Cellular phone : un téléphone portable
 To answer the phone = répondre au téléphone
 To call somebody back = rappeler quelqu’un
 To leave a message = laisser un message
 To put somebody through/ to transfer = mettre quelqu’un en communication
 A mobile phone : un téléphone portable
 Hold the phone : ne quittez pas
 To hold the line = patienter/garder la ligne

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 4
  Hold on the line / Hold on a minute = Ne quittez pas
 Thank you for holding = merci d’avoir patienté
 To make phone calls: passer des appels téléphoniques
 To phone back : rappeler
 A phone book : un annuaire téléphonique
 A phone card : une carte téléphonique
 A phone number : un numéro téléphonique
 To pick up the phone: décrocher le telephone

All about the phone

Let’s examine this dialogue in order to help you to deal with calls at work.
Phone ringing…
Secretary: Good morning, this is Andy, who’s calling please?
John: good morning! I am John from Nigeria.
Secretary: nice! How may I help you sir?
John: May I speak to Mr. Itoua, the Chief Executive Officer?
Secretary: Hold on a second please... Sorry to have kept you waiting, he is not in
his office and the line is busy. Would you like to leave a message?
John: Yes, of course, please tell him to book a double ticket for South Africa
tomorrow.
Secretary: no worries sir! Any other concern please?
John: No, thank you very much!
Secretary: thank you for your calling. Good bye!
John: you’re welcome! Bye!
 Common expressions used in telecommunication
1. Calling someone
Hello, this is Mr Martin speaking.
May I speak to Mrs Walker?
I’d like to speak to someone about
I’d like to speak to the person in charge of
Is this a good time to talk?
2. Answering a call
Who’s calling please?
Please hold the line.
Hold on a second please.

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One moment please, I’ll get his diary.
May I ask who’s calling please?
He’s not in the office right now.
He’s on the phone.
3. When the line is busy
He’ll be back tomorrow, may I take a message?
Can you call back later or shall I ask him to call you back?
Would you like to hold or shall I ask him to call you back?
2. Ending a call
Good bye.
Bye for now.
See you soon.
Talk to you soon.
Thank you for calling.
Thank you for your help.
Applied Exercise
Guided writing: re-write the following words in a order to get meaningful
sentences
1. UBA/at/secretary/i/a/am
2. Moment/a/!/wait/please
3. Secretaries/deal/for/we/with/English
4. Have/acknowledgement/I/of/receipt/received/the
5. Promptly/the/should/calls/secretary/receive

The simple future tense

There are four (4) ways to express the simple future in English: Will form, present
simple/present continuous, be going to and be about to.

I. Will/Shall

We form the simple future with will/Shall + bare infinitive

Eg: I will go.

 We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future.

Eg: I shall buy my new white apple phone next year

You will become a good assistant manager

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 We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do
something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time
of speaking.
1. Eg: Hold on. I'll get a pen.
2. We will see what we can do to help you.
II. The simple present/present continuous
When and how does the Simple present express the future?
 This tense can be used with a time expression for a definite future
arrangement:
E.g:
 IGT Students start school on Monday.
 We study on videoconference tonight.
 The simple present is sometimes used when speaking of a series of proposed
future actions, like plans for a journey, we may say:
 We leave at six, arrive in Dublin at ten and take the plane at 12 p.m.
 The train arrives at 6 a.m.
 The present continuous can express a definite arrangement in the near future.
We, therefore, add time expressions like: tonight, at, next day, next time, this
afternoon, tomorrow morning …
E.g:
 I am seeing my boss tonight (implies that you have arranged this).
 My boss is travelling tomorrow morning
Applied Exercise

Turn the following sentences into the simple future tense

1. My sister (to cook) meat tonight (present simple)

2. Our company (to build) next week (will form)
3. John and his brother (to move) to pointe noire this evening (present
continuous)
4. The secretary (to come) to work tomorrow? (will form)
5. You (to travel/not) next Monday (present continuous)

Vocabulary
 Unvailable = indisponible
 Attachment = pièce jointe
 Registration = inscription
 To postpone = reporter
 Head office = siège sociale
 The front desk = l’acceuil
 The first floor = le premier étage
 The exit = la sortie
 The entry = l’entrée
 At the corner = à l’angle
 On the right =
 On the left =

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 Continuity (Future)
Activity One

Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple or present continuous

 She (to be/eat) pineapples

 My father and his nephew (to work) on a good project.
 This monitor (to display) a very colour.
 We (to travel/to be) today at 2 p.m.

We may also express the simple future tense using “be going to” and “be about
to”.
I. Be going to
Form and Use
The present continuous tense of the verb to go + the full infinitive. This form is
used for intention and Prediction.
 “Be going to” expresses the subject's intention to perform a certain future
action.
E.g:
 He is going to be a dentist when he grows up
 What are you going to do when you get your degree?
 Be going to can also express the speaker's feeling of certainty. The time is
usually not mentioned, but the action is expected to happen in the near or
immediate future:
E.g:
 Look at those clouds. It is going to rain.
II. Be about to
This form of future is formed as follows:
“Be (present simple) + about to + verb”
 This form expresses simply an immediate future
 I am about to pay my tuition fees
 My sister is about to get married
Applied exercise
Mistakes’ correcting: each of the following sentences contains one or two
mistakes, find and suggest a correction
1. The chief executive officer do well his job
2. I will be go to school tomorrow
3. I am a student of IGT

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 4. We deal with English to secretaries
5. My office is well equipped
Vocabulary
 Personal assistant = assistant de direction  An executive = un cadre
 Job advertisement = annonce d’emploi  A top executive / senior
 Job centre = Agence pour l’emploi executive = un cadre supérieur
 A position = un poste  Middle manager = cadre moyen
 A transfer = une mutation
 Job seeker = chercheur d’emploi
 A promotion = un avancement

Chapter Two:

Introduction to emails writing

I. Different elements of an e-mail
 The name of the writer
 The name of the addressee
 The date
 The subject
 The body of the e-mail

In business e-mails, you should be using correct, clear English. And if you are e-
mailing someone outside your organization, then the format should be the same as
for letters (apart from the inside address), including the correct salutation and
complimentary close. You should obviously always indicate who the e-mail is from,
who it is to and the date. These elements should go at the top, but the order in
which you put them is up to you. So you might write in any of these forms:
 To: Ruth Jerdande
From: Vianney BANZOUZI
Date: 22 May 2023
 From: Vianney BANZOUZI
To: Ruth Jerdande
Date: 22 May 2023
 Date: 22 May 2023
To: Ruth Jerdande
From: Vianney BANZOUZI

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 9
II. E-mail Format:
1. Salutation:
The salutation of a formal e-mail is similar to the salutation of a letter. If you
know the recipient’s name, you put “Dear Mr./Ms. OKO,” for example. For a
formal salutation, you should not use the recipient’s first name or the informal
greetings “Hello” or “Hey……”
2. Body Paragraphs:
It is important to remember that an e-mail needs to be concise. The first
sentence, however, for most formal e-mails it is best to get straight to the
point. The last paragraph you should thank who you are writing to depending on
the subject of your email. For example:
 Thank you for your assistance with…
 Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.
III. Closing:
Like the salutation, the closing of a formal e-mail can be the same as the closing
to a letter.
However, unlike the salutation, there are more options for a closing. For
examples:
 Thank you,
 Best regards,
 Sincerely,

Practical day: Applied Exercises

Students are asked to write two or three emails in accordance with the
exercises given below.
Topic One
 Write an email to Mr. John ATA for the recruitment as a secretary in UBA.

Explain how you received the job offer.

Topic Two

 Write an email to Mr. André Biboussi, the CEO of Burotop Iris Store

explaining that you would like to purchase a laptop. Give the brand, color

and other possible details.

Vocabulary

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  A workshop = un atelier
 Salary rise = augmentation de salaire
 Well-paid = bien payé
 Badly-paid = mal payé
 Premium = bonus, prime
 Office hours = heures de bureau
 Strike =
 Working conditions =
 Day off = jour de congé
 The workforce = la main d’oeuvre

Chapter 3:

Office equipment & Useful expressions

A. Office equipment

The secretary’s office is made of numerous elements which constitute his/his

daily

a coffee machine => une machine à café
a dictaphone => un dictaphone
a photocopier => une photocopieuse
a photocopy => une photocopie
to photocopy/to xerox
a paper clip => un trombonne
a stapler => une agrapheuse
correspondence => la correspondance
in abbreviated form => en abrégé
a form => un formulaire
a folder => une chemise
a binder => un classeur
a writing pad => un bloc-notes
a diary => un agenda
an envelope => une enveloppe
the mail, the post => le courrier
The sender => l’expéditeur
the addressee => le destinataire
English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023
the address => l’adresse
the postcode => le code postal
postal rates => les tarifs postaux
postal services => les services postaux
adhesive tape => de la bande adhésive
a calculator => une calculatrice
glue => de la colle
a briefcase => une malette
an eraser => une gomme
a shredder => une broyeuse a papier
a desk => un bureau
a laser pointer => un pointeur laser
a computer => un ordinateur
computer science => l’informatique
a computer scientist => un informaticien
a computer programmer => un programmeur
a registered letter => une lettre
recommandée
in duplicate => en double exemplaire
hardware => le matériel
Mr. Vianney 11
 Software => le logiciel
a laser printer => une imprimante à laser
a keyboard => un clavier
the mouse => la souris
a hard drive => un disque dur
an USB key => une clé USB
a memory card => une carte mémoire
a password => un mot de passe
a component => un composant
the memory capacity => la capacité de mémoire
Applied Exercise

Blank Filling: Fill in the blanks with the missing words given above: programmer – runs -
administrative – cash - cashier – receiving -

Text: In my office

My name is Julie, I am a ……1…… at UBA around Centre Sportif. When I am at work, I

have many things to do, like writing ……2…… letters and emails through my computer, filling
in forms, …3……… money from clients who come to deposit their ……4…… or sometimes come
to open their bank accounts. When my computer system often ……5…… out, I call a
computer …6…… to set up a new system. I like my job.

Defective Verbs

I. CAN (could= preterit)

We use the modal verb “Can” and its equivalent “be able to” to talk about:
Abilities or intellectual skills
E.g.:
 She can use a computer
 This secretary is clever, she can speak four languages fluently
 My boss said I could go ahead with the project. (mon chef a dit que je
pouvais demarrer le projet).
Possibility and permission
E.g.:
 Andreas can drive a car
 Our students are able to speak English
 Can you lend me your blue pen please?

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 II. MAY (might= preterit= plus poli= faible probabilité)
We use the modal verb “May” and its equivalent “be allowed to” to talk about:
Permission and suggestion
E.g.:
 Please sir, may I go out? Yes, you may or no, you may not.
 You might at least help us= vous pourriez au moins nous aider
 I told Patricia she may use the company card for her business trip (J’ai dit
à Patricia qu’elle pouvait utiliser la carte bancaire de l’entreprise pour son
voyage d’affaires).
 You are allowed to use our computers during my course
Prohibition, prediction and divine recommendations
E.g.:
 You are not allowed to smoke in the room
 It may rain this morning.
 May God bless you all

III. MUST and HAVE TO

Must only has a present time. The unique form Must can also be used in the past,
but in an indirect style.
Eg: He said it must be true. Il a dit que ce devait être vrai.
 We use the modal verb “Must” and its equivalent “have to” to talk about:
Obligation or necessity
E.g.:
 I must go to school
 I have to go to school
 I must know how to use this home appliance
 Kate is not here yet, she must be caught in traffic (Kate n’est pas encore
arrivée, elle doit être coincée dans les bouchons).
Note: the negative form of “have to” expresses the lack of obligation is
“don’t/doesn’t have to”.
E.g.:
 You don’t have to cook beans
IV. Applied Exercise
Rewrite the following words in order to make a meaningful sentences
1. Not/school/Andy/ go/to/must
2. The/have/to/brother/wash/not/my/car/didn’t

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 3. This/afternoon/may/it/rain
4. Not/to/We/chocolates/in/allowed/classroom/eat/are/the
Vocabulary

 to plug in => (se) brancher  to modify => modifier

 to disconnect => débrancher
 to feed => alimenter
 to load => charger
 to delete => supprimer
 to code/to decode=> coder/decoder
 to classify => classer
 a hacker => un pirate informatique
 to download => télécharger
 to upload => charger

Useful expressions in secretary’s office

Do you need any office supplies? As-tu besoin de fournitures de bureau ?

I bought some stationery today. J’ai acheté des fournitures de bureau aujourd’hui.
I saved this document on my computer. J’ai enregistré ce document sur mon ordinateur.
Did you add paper into the printer? As-tu ajouté du papier dans l’imprimante ?
Everything you need to know is in this Tout ce que tu dois savoir se trouve dans ce
binder. classeur.
I prefer ink pens over ballpoint pens. Je préfère les stylos à plume aux stylos-bille.
Can you throw this in the bin, please? Peux-tu jeter ceci dans la corbeille, s’il te plaît ?
I inadvertedly cut myself with the Je me suis coupée sans le faire exprès avec les
scissors. ciseaux.
I will write it down in my diary. Je vais le noter dans mon agenda.
The clock says it’s 10 a.m. Il est 10h sur l’horloge.
You should use a highlighter to show the
Tu devrais utiliser un surligneur pour montrer les
most importants parts of this
parties les plus importantes de ce document.
document.
Attached file / enclosed file = pièce jointe
Best regards/ kind regards = Meilleures salutations, bien cordialement
Yours faithfully / yours sincerely = Bien à vous, cordialement
Sorry to trouble you, is Mr John available? = Excusez-moi de vous déranger, M. John est-il
disponible?
To cancel an appointment = annuler un rendez-vous
Avez-vous besoin de quelque chose ? = Do you need something ?
Avez-vous besoin d’une connexion internet ? = Do you need an internet connection ?

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 Applied Exercise

Translation: Translate the following sentences into English

1. “J’ai des stylos et de la colle dans ma trousse.”

2. “Peux-tu me prêter une règle, s’il te plaît ?”
3. “As-tu vu ma clé USB ?”
4. “Oui, tu l’as rangée dans le tiroir de bureau.”
5. “Peux-tu activer ta webcam ?”
6. “J’ai un appel via Zoom dans une heure.”
7. “Elle a noté notre rendez-vous dans son agenda.”
8. “L’entreprise a acheté de nouveaux fauteuils de bureau.”
9. “J’écris au crayon pour pouvoir gommer en cas d’erreur.”
10. “Il vérifie ses e-mails dès qu’il allume son ordinateur.”
Correction

1. “I have some pens and a glue stick in my pencil case.”

2. “Can you lend me a ruler, please?”
3. “Did you see my flash card?”
4. “Yes, you put it in the desk drawer.”
5. “Can you turn on your webcam?”
6. “I have a Zoom call in one hour.”
7. “She wrote down our meeting in her diary.”
8. “The company bought some new desk chairs.”
9. “I write in pencil so that I can erase when I make a mistake.”
10. “He checks his emails as soon as he turns on his computer.”

Reading comprehension

Text: Time management

Plan your time and organise yourself so that you can get the right things
done at the right time and in the right way, resulting in feeling in control and
stress free.
Secretaries have to multi-task every day: opening the mail, sorting and
replying to e-mails, claiming your boss’s expenses, answering the phone, typing up
minutes, finding the files and folders your boss needs, taking dictation, preparing
agendas, documentation and maps for meetings, booking couriers, booking travel,
greeting clients, working on the next project, diary management and so on and on.

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 15
 The way to cope with our multi-tasking skilled jobs is with time management skills,
organisational skills, effective use of e-mail management, stress management,
teamwork and delegation.
You have not only got to manage your own time but also that of your boss.
Making the most effective use of your time and theirs is imperative to a
successful working relationship and a satisfying job well done.
Edited and written by Mr. Vianney
I. Answer the following questions
1. What main opinion does the author give about time management?
2. Cite three duties that a secretary has at work
3. Does the secretary only care about her own time?
II. True, false and not in the text
Say if the following statements are true, false or not in the text
1. The text is all about time management
2. The text is about the secretary’s different tasks
3. The secretary manages her time and that of her manager too.
4. The assistant manager is not here yet
5. The secretary also manages phone calls at work
III. Blank filling
Put as, so or that in the spaces below
Jack was ……1…… eager to become a boy scout …2…… his friends were. He was
…3…… eager …4…… he persuaded his mother to get him into the boy scouts ……5…
soon …6…… he was old enough. He was ……7…… good at reading maps ……8……… he
won a prize in his first month. He became ……9……… good ……10……… his teacher.
But he was not …11…… good at swimming ……12……… he was at reading maps. In fact,
he was ……13…… bad …14…… he never learnt properly.
Solutions
1. As, 2. As, 3. So, 4. That, 5. As, 6. As, 7. So, 8. That, 9. As, 10. As, 11. As, 12.
As, 13. So, 14. That
Vocabulary
 to dial a number => composer un numéro  out-of-order => Expiré
 to lift the receiver => décrocher  the directory => l’annuaire
 to connect => mettre en communication  an answering machine => un répondeur
 to be cut off => être coupé
 a wrong number => un mauvais numéro

English For Secretaries – Teacher’s Guide – IGT/1st Year 2022-2023 Mr. Vianney 16