Student’s handout

Reading Lesson – Do you speak English at work?

The text used here was adapted from English File by LATHAM-KOENIG, Christina;
LAMBERT, Jerry; OXENDEN, Clive.
Lesson designed by Vanessa Oliveira dos Santos Nunes – VANOLI – Mentoria, Idiomas e
Tradução

Activity A
Match the underlined words (1-5) with the best definition (a-e).

1. Why does he speak Portuguese at work?

2. She cooks a delicious vegetarian dish on Fridays.
3. Because he works at a Brazilian company.
4. The factory has 750 workers.
5. I go to the office at 7AM.

a. used to give reasons for something.

b. food that is part of a meal.
c. used to ask the reasons for something; to make questions.
d. a building or a set of buildings where large amounts of goods
are made using machines.
e. a room or a building where people work.
Activity B – Are all the jobs in the text?
Choose the right answer.

a. A waiter, a receptionist, a banker, a barman, a doctor.

b. A barman, a banker, a receptionist, a factory worker.
c. A factory worker, a waiter, a banker, a receptionist, an officer.
d. A receptionist, a banker, a shop assistant, a nurse.

READ THE TEXT: Do you speak English at work?

What do these people have in common?
A banker in Mexico City, a barman, in a five-star hotel in Moscow,
and a worker in the Hitachi electronics factory in Tokyo. They all
speak English at work. Do you speak English at work?
Antonio – I work in a restaurant in Madrid. I’m a waiter. I speak
English at work every day because a lot of tourists come here. I help
customers with the menu, and I say what the special dishes are.
They are very happy because they can talk to me in English. A lot of
tourists don’t speak Spanish, but they usually speak English.
Charlotte – I’m a receptionist and I work in an office in Paris. It’s a
multinational company. When people from other countries visit the
company, I need to welcome them in English. I also need to answer
the phone in English. When we have meetings, we all speak in
English, because it’s the language of the company.
Activity C
Read the text again. Justify your answers.
Who…? Write (A) for Antonio and (C) for Charlotte or (A/C) for both.
1. ____ has a job in a big city.
2. ____ talks to people from other cities and countries.
3. ____ helps people to choose food from a list of food.
4. ____ says many people can’t speak Spanish.
5. ____ says she/he has a job in the capital of France.
6. ____ works at a company with people from different countries.
7. ____ say hello to visitors.
8. ____ talks to people on the telephone in English.
9. ____ participates in meetings.
Activity D
Speaking - Work in pairs. Do not write. Take turns.
Student A:
What does he do?
Where does he work?
Does he speak English at work?
Does he like his job?

Student B:
He’s a nurse.
He works in a hospital.
No, he doesn’t.
Yes, he does.

Activity E
Speaking – Work in pairs. Do not write.
Think of two people you know who have jobs.
Ask and answer questions with a partner.
 What/he (she) do?
 Where/ he (she) work?
 he (she)/ speak English at work?
 He (she)/ like his (her) job? Why?
Because…
 She/ he helps people choose food.
 It is important.
 She/ he talks to people in English.
  She/ he speaks English in meetings.
 She/ he answers the phone in English.

Answers :
Activity A
Answers: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4.D 5.E
Activity B
Answer: B
Activity C
Answers: 1. A 2. A 3. A 4. A 5. C 6. C 7. C 8. C 9. C
Activity D
Speaking
Activity E
Speaking