Facultad de Economía y Empresa Lengua Extranjera Empresarial (Inglés)

Dpto.de Filología Inglesa y Alemana 7th Semester. (4º) G.A.D.E.

UNIT 2:

SOCIALISING
AND
TELEPHONING

Teachers: Elena Oliete

Rosana Villares
Irene Nuviala
UNIT 2: SOCIALISING AND TELEPHONING
CONTENTS

2.1. CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING: BUSINESS CULTURE

 Summarising texts
 Listening comprehension
 Vocabulary & oral practice
 Discussion on cross-cultural misunderstandings
 Practice session: group presentation of a country’s business culture
2.2. MEETING PEOPLE
 Introductions: expressions for greetings and introductions
 Polite comments and questions: small talk
 Talking about your job and company
 Language practice
 Oral practice: discussion

2.3. REQUESTS: ASKING FOR & OFFERING ASSISTANCE

 Language checklist
 Language practice
2.4. ON THE PHONE
 Language checklist
 Language practice
 Listening comprehension
APPENDIX
 Checklists of phrases to say when
 Talking about culture and entertainment matters
 Socialising
 Names of Countries and nationalities
Cross-Cultural Understanding
SUMMARISING TEXTS
A) Read the two paragraphs below and summarise the main ideas of each one. Try not to quote from the
text, rephrase with your own words or/and change the sentence structure.
Business Culture
Culture illustrates the accepted norms and values and traditional behaviour of a group. The culture of each country
defines its own collective beliefs, values, attitudes and activities and these evolve over time. Culture is a key
component in business and has an impact on the strategic direction of business. Culture influences management,
decisions and all business functions from accounting to production. You may now be thinking predominantly
about national culture but this is only one aspect of culture; business culture has its own unique dimension that
includes getting off on the right foot, meetings, negotiation, formalities, social media use, internships and work
placements and other elements. Business culture is related to behaviour, ethics, etiquette and more. A particular
business culture is represented in the organisation’s values, visions, working style, beliefs and habits. In every
culture in the world such phenomena as authority, bureaucracy, creativity, good fellowship, verification and
accountability are understood and experienced in different ways; even the notion of human resources is difficult
to translate from a typically Anglo-Saxon environment to other cultures, be grasped and accepted. (Adapted from:
Passport to trade: http://businessculture.org/business-culture).
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
How Can Cultural Differences Affect Business Communication?
In the business world, good communication is paramount for the successful execution of daily operations.
Understanding cultural differences and overcoming language barriers are some of the considerations business
people should have when dealing with people of various cultures. Often, business deals are lost because the parties
involved did not take the time to learn about each other’s cultures prior to interacting. This includes basic customs,
manners and gestures. For example, if a salesperson approaches a meeting with knowledge of a customer’s cultural
background, then his words, body language and actions can all be adapted to better suit those of the customers.
This, in turn, may lead to being better liked by the customer and, therefore, increasing the salesperson's opportunity
to close the deal. (Adapted from Chron: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-cultural-differences-affect-business-communication-
5093.html).

___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

General Business Etiquette Tips

Although each country has a number of individual characteristics, below are some of the main general business
etiquette traditions which should help you in your international business developments:
• Be aware of any differences between the host country and your own and try to fit in with their business
culture
• Never forget to say ‘Thank You’ whether you are at job interview or client meeting
• Be polite and don’t discuss the meeting straight away as soon as you step out of the meeting room
• Always remember to switch off or put on silent your phone in a meeting to avoid distraction
• If you disagree with something instead of criticising try to understand the other person’s point of view
and never lose your temper
• Always be honest about whatever you are saying

(Adapted from: Passport to trade: http://businessculture.org/business-culture/) 1

 LISTENING COMPRHENSION

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

VOCABULARY & ORAL PRACTICE

In groups, ask and answer these questions:

1- Do you enjoy travelling? Why? / What don’t you enjoy about it?
2- How often do you travel?
3- Have you ever been abroad? Which countries have you visited? How long have you stayed in each one?
Which one do you like best? Why?
4- Have you ever lived abroad? Where and how long?
5- What were the main differences between your host country and yours? What did you miss most?
6- What generalisations are made about people from your country?
7- Would you like to experience an Erasmus stay or work abroad?
8- If you were to be sent anywhere in the world to work, which country would you choose? What aspects of
its culture do you particularly like?

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 DISCUSSION ON CROSS-CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS

A) In groups, read each of the three cases. Choose one and discuss what you think caused the
problem or misunderstanding. Then each group will present their case to the rest of the class
and see if they agree with it. Make clear to the class
• Who the people/parties involved in the case
• What situation they are in
• What the conflict consists of

1- Mr. Byrd was an ex-US State employee hired by a well-known multinational corporation to be
its 'man in Riyadh,' Saudi Arabia. This retired American diplomat went to the home of a Saudi, Mr.
Fouad, to try to interest him in participating in a local joint venture with his company. A middleman
who knew them both had introduced them. As this was a first meeting, the men's conversation began
with small talk that made Mr. Byrd a little impatient.
Questions such as 'how are you doing? how was your flight? how is your family? and how is your
father?' were common. Mr. Byrd, familiar with all these obligatory formalities of greeting, answered
"fine." "Oh, my father, yes, well, he is fine, but he is getting a little deaf. I saw him a few months ago
during Christmas when we took him out of the nursing home for a few days.” From that point
everything froze up. Mr. Byrd's mission was completely derailed. Mr. Fouad remained gracious
enough but was obviously uninterested in doing any business with Mr. Byrd.

2- Jim Turner was attending a conference in Lyon. This was not his first trip to France, and he was
pleased some of the French colleagues he'd met previously remembered him. One evening they
invited him along for dinner and began joking about the quality of the food. That surprised him. He
thought the food was really rather good and said so, expecting the discussion to continue. But to his
great discomfort, they then made some joke about 'food and Americans' and changed the subject.
He felt somewhat excluded and didn't know what he'd done wrong.

3- This incident was reported by a British management consultant based in Paris:

"I had taken the American CEO of a New York-based consulting company to a first meeting with
the three partners of a French consulting firm in Paris. The negotiations did not go well. He hadn't
been in the boardroom for more than 15 minutes before he asked them what their company's
annual earnings were. Without waiting for an answer to that question, he suggested they give him
an estimate of their firm's market value, as he was interested in making them an offer. I could feel
things freezing over.

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Meeting People
INTRODUCTIONS: EXPRESSIONS FOR GREETINGS AND INTRODUCTIONS

1. Meeting someone for the first time:

 In very formal contexts, use the following greeting
A: I’m John Smith. How do you do?
B: My name is Mary Wilson. How do you do? *

*How do you do is not a question about your health. We can answer with How do you do, but not with Fine.

 In formal contexts you can also use the following greetings:

A: Hi /Hello. My name is…/ I’m John Smith.
B: Pleased to meet you / Nice to meet you. I am…/My name is Mary Wilson.

 Introducing yourself at the reception desk:

Hello. My name is John Smith, from (name of the company). I have an appointment
with Mr Wake / to see Mr Wake.
Sorry – I’m a little late / early.
My plane was delayed…

 If you want to start a conversation with someone who has not been introduced to you, use
some of these ‘contact phrases’:
By the way, my name is... / I am...
I don’t think we’ve met. My name is... / I am...
Have we met? My name is... / I am...
Haven’t we met before? My name is... / I am...

2. Greeting someone you have met before:

 Usual greeting
A: How are you?
B: Fine / Well, thank you.

 Informal greetings:
A: How’re things?/ How’s everything? / How’s it going? / How are you doing?
B: OK / All right
Not too bad
Can’t complain
So, so. It could be worse

3. Introducing someone to a third person:

Introduction
John, I’d like you to meet Bill Cheng
John, this is Bill Cheng
May I introduce (you to) Mr Cheng?
(more formal)
Background
... our Production Manager.
... from International Computers.
... Chief Accountant, Bentel Group.
... who is here to look at our recruitment methods.
... of our Finance Department.

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 POLITE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS: SMALL TALK

Often the first words are the most difficult. Below are some suggestions for ‘breaking the ice’.

If you ask a question you should comment on the answer or ask a supplementary question.

. Welcome to... We are very pleased that you could come I’m very pleased to be here
. How was your trip? Fine / It was alright
. What brings you here? I’m here on business
. Are you enjoying your stay? Yes, very much
. Where are you staying? At the Grand Hotel
. What is (the hotel) like? Is your hotel comfortable? Quite nice / OK / Terrible! / Awful!
. How do you find (the weather)? It’s OK. / It suits me fine/Quite nice
. How long are staying in (London) Just a couple of days
. What are you planning to do during your visit?
. Who are you going to see?
. Is this your first visit to New York?
. I hope you like it/enjoy it.
. I'm doing a training course here/I'm on a course here.
. Are you enjoying the course/the conference/the meeting? Yes. It’s very interesting.
. How did you like the talk? It was excellent / It wasn’t bad
. What did you think of the meeting? It was useful / It wasn’t very useful

. How’s …? (How’s business? How’s the family?) Fine / It is/are alright

. How’s … going? (How’s the job going? How’s the project going?) Fine / It is alright
. How did … go? (How did the meeting go?) Fine / It was alright
To show enthusiasm, we can answer with expressions like:
(It was) great! / It went really well!

If the small talk continues too long, you may want to change the subject to business matters.
Here are some ways of doing it:
A. With someone you know well: Let’s get down to business. Or let’s get started.
B. With someone you don’t know well: Perhaps we could talk about the subject of our meeting.
Perhaps we could talk about the reason I’m here.

TALKING ABOUT YOUR JOB AND COMPANY

Questions and answers about background

. What do you do? I am a lawyer/ sales manager in ABL
I am a/an + job (lawyer, engineer, teacher)
I am + position (Sales Manager) in + employer

. Who do you work for? I work for ACT I work for + employer
. What company are you with? I am with ACT I am with + employer
. Are you with Bentel? Yes. I’m with Bentel
. What line are you in? I’m in chemicals I am in + area/field of work (in marketing, chemicals)

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Other examples:
. I work for Nixon Chemicals. I'm in charge of the Research and Development Department.
. I'm here on behalf of the Ministry of Science.

OR we can just say our title, department, etc. after our name: I'm John Smith, Production Department.

LANGUAGE PRACTICE

1) Read these conversations, then underline the phrases that INTRODUCE someone, refer to
a person's BACKGROUND and the POLITE QUESTIONS asked after the greetings.
At a corporate event/ conference break/ party …
a) KATE: Your glass is empty. Can I get you a drink?
MANUEL: No it's OK, thanks.
KATE: I’m Kate Finch, by the way. I'm in the Personnel Department of JTP, I don't think
we've met.
MANUEL: No, I'm a visitor. My name is Manuel Sánchez. I'm here on a training course.
KATE: Well, nice to meet you, Manuel. Are you enjoying your stay here?
MANUEL: Very much, thank you

b) JOHN: Mr Habib, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Ed Low of our Sales Department.
He's in charge of Customer Services. Ed, may I introduce Anwar Habib of Gulf
Enterprises who is here to meet suppliers in England.
ANWAR: How do you do?
ED: Hello Mr Habib. It's very nice to meet you. Are you going to spend a long time in the
UK?
ANWAR: Just two weeks. I'm visiting all our UK suppliers.

2) Think of possible replies to these introductions. It is the first meeting.

How do you do? ……………………………….
Pleased to meet you. My name is Mark Strauss. …………………………….
Hello, my name's Susan - Susan Atkins. ……………………………………
I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. ………………………………………

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3) Complete this dialogue with the correct preposition or article (for, with in, the, a or an ):
A: So, who do you work ..............?
B: Commodore.
A: They're................ computers, aren't they?
B: That's right. I'm .................. product manager. What about you?
A: I work .................... Balfour Beaty.
B: So, you're ................. the construction business?
A: yes. I'm .......................... engineer.

4) Match the questions on the left with the answers on the right

1 How's business? (a) Not bad. It was quite comfortable.

2 How do you like it here? (b) Terrible! I could only answer one question.
3 How was the conference? (c) So so. Our sales are down this year.
4 What did you think of the meeting? (d) Not very useful — a lot of talk, but no
5 How's the stock check getting on? decisions.
6 What was the hotel like? (e) OK. We have only two more candidates to
7 How are the job interviews going? deal with.
8 How did the exam go? (f) Quite good. There were some interesting
speakers there.
(g) It's great! I'll be sorry to go back.
(h) Very well. We hope to finish Warehouse B
this afternoon

5) Which of the sentences could be said by a visitor (V), and which by the person receiving the
visitor, the host (H)?
a. Sorry, I’m a little early. I hope it is not inconvenient.
b. Is the weather the same in your country?
c. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was rather tied up just now.
d. I’m pleased to be here, after a trip like that!
e. Is this your first visit? What do you think of the city?
f. People are very helpful here. On my way to meet you…
g. You found us without too much difficulty, then?
h. It’s kind of you to come all this way.
i. I like your offices. Have you been here long?
j. Did you have a good trip?
k. Would you like a cup of coffee?

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 ORAL PRACTICE: DISCUSSION

In groups of three, meet the other members of your group and introduce yourself by saying your name
and nationality; where exactly you are from; what you are studying and where.

After you have introduced yourselves individually, introduce one of the other members to the third one.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

He/She____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

Now, you can go on asking each other and commenting on the following: how you are doing with your
studies/exams; where you live/are staying in Saragossa; whether you like your flat and the people you
live with; your favourite food and habits, and the main difficulties in your daily life. Add any other
questions similar to the ones you have learned above.

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LISTENING COMPREHENSION

SELF-STUDY: Listen to the audio clips in moodle (Socialising, unit 2) and check with the key
provided. Read the explanations and fill in the gaps. Then listen to the dialogues again and check
your answers (This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript of the programme).

In this programme we join Carmela and a business English expert David Evans, for the last in the series of
Business Language to Go - the series that brings you the kind of everyday English that you won’t learn from your
standard text book.

Carmela: Today we’re looking at business socialising. And as usual I’m joined by business English expert, David
Evans. David - how would you describe business socialising?

David: Well, I suppose business socialising really means any kind of communication between business people
which doesn’t relate specifically to the job that they are doing at that time So, it could be some colleagues
socialising after work, or it could be people entertaining their customers maybe over a meal or over drinks. It
could be the kind of conversation that happens at a conference or at some kind of party or social event at which
business people are meeting one another. In fact, socialising is often one of the hardest things for business people
to do. In a meeting or in a presentation there is a clear purpose to the business communication but when you are
socialising there are just no rules.

Carmela: But having said there are no rules, there are certain expressions that you’ll often hear and we’ll be
looking at those throughout today’s programme. Let’s join our first scenario. We’re going to a breakfast meeting
of Business Network International - a group of people from all professions who regularly get together to make
business contacts.
1- Introducing yourself to someone you don’t know CLIP 1 (1:37)
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 Louise: Oh Hello,____________________ Darren Johnston.
Darren: Yeah, hi there. ____________________. You are...?
Louise: I’m Louise Moore. ____________________ last time in Birmingham.
Daren: Right. Yes of course. Sorry I forgot all about it. That’s right, that was a couple of years ago
wasn’t it.
Louise: Actually, Darren, I think there would be somebody that would be really useful for you to meet.
Let me introduce you to Kevin Hann later. He’s a financial advisor.

[END OF CLIP]

Carmela: A very typical start to a conversation there. David, can you talk us through some of the phrases
those two people used.
David: Yes, they used a lot of very good expressions for introducing people or meeting people. Right at
the beginning we heard her say “you must be Darren”. She’s using that phrase because she thinks she
knows his name, she’s not certain of it but she thinks she does, so she says “you must be”. Then they
remember the previous time that they met and if you think you’ve met someone before you might well
say “I think we met last time in…”in Birmingham, in this case. And then finally when she wants to
introduce the man to somebody else she uses again a standard phrase “let me introduce you to Kevin”,
she says.
Carmela: Now let’s hear another conversation. This next one is the kind you might have during a coffee
break at a conference.

2- Asking about people’s jobs CLIP 2 (2:56)

Callum: Hi I’m Callum. ________________________________.

John: No, hello __________ John.
C: ________________________
J: So ________________________________?
C: I work in new media … mainly online projects, web design, that kind of thing.
___________________?
J: Well quite similar to you really. ________ new media too, but more on the broadband technology
side.
C: Oh broadband, do you know Alison Weaver? She’s also here at the conference. _______ broadband
too.
J: No, I don’t think ________________.

[END OF CLIP]

Carmela: So some similar expressions to the ones we heard earlier. David, can you pick some of them
out?

David: There was a very good way of introducing yourself to someone you don’t know there. The phrase
was “I don’t think we’ve met before”, to which the reply here was “pleased to meet you”, a very
standard way of greeting someone. I think in the previous conversation we had the phrase “nice to meet
you”, which again has exactly the same function. They then move the conversation on when the person
asks, “What line of work are you in?” It’s a very common, a very friendly way of asking, what’s your
job? The other one replied “I’m in new media”, meaning I work in the new media industry. He could
have said “I’m in sales” / “I’m in insurance”. And he then returns the question by simply saying “What
about you…?”
3- Carmela: Now let’s go beyond simple introductions and move on to some phrases that are useful for
asking more detailed questions about people’s jobs. CLIP 3 (4:20)
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 Male 1: So, ____________________________________?
Male 2: I’ve been in this business for about four or five years now, providing IT solutions for companies.
Male 1: So ______________________? I mean I know you’ve mentioned IT solutions, but what exactly do you
do?
Male 2: I used to only provide computer training and now I’m also providing database solutions and
internet solutions by way of web development and setting up networks.

4- CLIP 4
Callum: Everyone’s talking about it. Broadband is a very interesting area at the moment.
__________________?
John: Well to be honest it happened by accident. I was involved in a project with a strong broadband
element and I just sort of fell into it, really.____________? _____________________________?
C: Well not very long at all, actually. Only about a year. Before that I was a teacher.

[END OF CLIP]

Carmela: Now in both conversations people are going into a lot more detail about their professions and
there were lots of questions. Could you isolate some of the questions we heard there?

David: Well yes, to ask someone to tell you in a little more detail about their job you can use the question
“what exactly do you do?” This will mean they won’t just say, I’m a teacher, I’m a web designer or
I’m a policeman, they will tell you the way that they spend their working day.

Carmela: And once you’ve actually got a few details about their duties, about the kind of things that
they do at work, what would be the next logical question to ask them?

David: Well, there, we heard the person ask “How long have you been in web design?”,“How long
have you…” been in something, again is a good way of moving the conversation on. And the other
question that they used to move the conversation on was “How did you get into it?” In other words
how did you start in this particular profession or this particular career?

Carmela: And again we heard someone ask the same question back with that phrase “What about
you?” Of course, often the whole point of business socialising is to network and make useful contacts
for future possible business. So knowing how to get people’s contact details is extremely important.

5- Networking: exchanging business cards/e-mail address CLIP 5 (6:30)

Female: So _______________________ are you in?

Male: I’m actually a VAT consultant for a firm of chartered accountants.
Female: Oh really? Do you have a business card I could take?
Male: Yes sure, hold on.
Female: Oh thanks ever so much. _________________________?
Male: Yes, yeah, I do have email. In fact, I do most of my work via email now. So it’s actually on the
bottom of the card.
Female: Oh sorry. So _____________________.
Male: OK, that would be great.
Female: Thanks…
Male Bye.
6- CLIP 6 (6:58)

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John: Well it was a pleasure to meet you. Your work sounds very interesting. Maybe we could swap
some ideas at some point in the future. ________________________________?
Callum: Yep by all means. There you go.
J: And ______________________________?
C: Yes, sorry, that’s, that’s an old one. So the email address is on the back.
J: Well I must go and say hello to a former colleague of mine. Enjoy the rest of the conference. I’m
sure I’ll see you around, and I’ve got your contact details so ______________________.

END OF CLIP

Carmela: Lots of giving out of the all-important business card there and David, there were lots of useful
expressions too. Can you pick out some for us?

David: Yes, if you want to maintain contact with somebody, I suppose the three key phrases you need
to remember are “Can I take your business card?”, “Are you on email?”, and just to show that you
are going to maintain the contact remember the phrase “I’ll be in touch”.

Carmela: Plus, we heard an extremely useful expression there that’s a great way of ending a
conversation, that phrase “I must go and…”

David: Yes, that’s a very good way of ending a conversation. You can use all sorts of different reasons
for ending it. I must go and talk to my colleagues, I must go and speak to my boss, I must go and
introduce myself to a customer. Any phrase like that will do and it’s a good, polite way of showing that
the conversation is over.

Carmela: Many thanks to David Evans for talking us through the expressions used every day in the
workplace. I hope Business Language To Go has equipped you with some quick phrases for those
different situations that occur during your working day.

From: BBC Learning English. Talk about English Business Language:

http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mp3/learningenglish/2009/04/prog_12_audio_v1_au_bb.mp3

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Requests: Asking For & Offering Assistance
LANGUAGE CHECKLIST

Requests:

Formal: Less formal:

• Could you… please? • Will you please…?
• Would you…please?
• I’d like you to…
• Do you think you could…?
• Would you mind -ing...?

Answers:
• I’m afraid, I can’t / I’m too busy at the moment
• Yes, of course / certainly

Asking for Assistance:

• There is one thing I need …
• Could you get me …
• Could you book me a car / taxi / hotel / …?
• Could you help me arrange a flight to…?
• Can you recommend a good restaurant?
• I’d like to book a room for tomorrow night.
• Can you recommend a hotel?

Offering assistance
• Can I get you anything?
• Do you need anything?
• Would you like a drink?
• Can we do anything for you?
• Do you need a hotel / a taxi / any travel information / etc.

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 LANGUAGE PRACTICE

A) In pairs, make requests and reply, like in 1

1- Send a price list:
P: Could you send a price list please?
R: Yes, certainly/ I’ll send it at once / immediately.
2- Reply as soon as possible

3- Ring Mr. Andrews

4- Answer the letter

5- Photocopy the report

B) The sentences below are too direct and seem rude. Can you change them into more
acceptable business language?
1. I want your latest catalogue.
Could you……………………………………………………………………………………?
2. Give me some information about the forthcoming conference.
I would …………………………………………………………………………………….
3. I want to meet you on June 24th.
Could we……………………………………………………………………………………...?
4. I need the consignment to be delivered before the end of next week.
Could you…………………………………………………………………………………?
5. Tell me more about your EasiLux furniture range.
I would.............................................................................................................................. ....?

C) Look at these questions with mind. Match the first part of the phrase with the last part.
a- Do you mind if I ... 1-.. closing the window?
b- Would you mind if I… ...................... 2… closed the window?
c- Would you mind ... 3... close the window?

D) At an international meeting/conference, how would you ask the following:

 Ask the speaker to talk more slowly

 Ask the speaker to repeat what he/she has said

 Check that you understand what another person has said (Are you saying…?)

 Interrupt politely and ask a question

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On The Phone
LANGUAGE CHECKLIST: USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
• Mobile phone/ cell-phone
• To answer the phone
• To speak on the phone
• To telephone/ to call/ to ring ( up)
• To leave a message; to take a message
• To hang on/to hold on
• To hang up
• To call back
• Switchboard; switchboard operator
• To be out of order, engaged/busy, bad line…
• To have no line/connection
• Phone book/ directory
• Code; area code/ dialing code
• Bad number / wrong number

Caller:
• Hello, is that...?
• Can/could/may I speak to ...., please?
Hello, this is .... calling from....in ...
• Good morning/afternoon/evening, I'd like to speak to ....
• Is X… available, please? My name's ....
• Could/would you give him/her a message, please?
• Could/would you ask him/her to call/phone /ring me back, please?
• My number is ....
• Thanks for calling back.
• I'm sorry, I've got the wrong number / I must have phoned the wrong number.

Telephonist / Receiver:
• (name of the company) Can I help you? Or (name of the company) speaking.
• Oh hello,..., this is ... speaking.
• I'm afraid X is in a meeting/not in the office / still at lunch/on holiday this week/away
today/not available/just now/busy at the moment/speaking on the other line ...
• The line's engaged
• Can I take a message? / Do you want to leave a message?
• I’ll just find out if ..X. is in the other office/available/back yet ...
• What's your (extension) number?
• One moment, please, I’ll put you through.
• I’ll put you through to / I’ll connect you with ...
• Hold on a moment/hang on a moment/hold the line, please.
• Shall I put him through? / Shall I connect you?
• What can I do for you?
• Thanks for calling/ringing/phoning.

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 LANGUAGE PRACTICE

A) Read these telephone conversations with your classmate. Decide who is speaker A
and speaker B and what each one says

Call 1
A: ACD. Good morning.
B: Hello I'd like to speak to Mr. Taylor, please.
A: Who's calling, please?
B: This is Marvin Hammerlin of MTV.

Call 2
A: Hello. Can I help you?
B: Yes. My name's Jeff Rawlinson, of Carlton Copiers. Could I speak to the person in charge of the
Computer department please?
A: I'm sorry, do you have an appointment?
B: No, I don't.

Call 3
A: ACD. Can 1help you?
B: Hello. I'd like to speak to Mr. Taylor, please.
A: Who's calling, please?
B: This is Marvin Hammerlin of MTV
A: I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name.
B: Hammerlin. That's H-A-M-M-E-R-L-I-N
A: Hold the line, please, Mr. Hammerlin ... Hello. Mr. Hammerlin. I'm afraid Mr. Taylor's in a
meeting at the moment. Can I take a message, or would you like to call back later?
B: I’ll call back later. Thanks. Goodbye

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 LISTENING COMPREHENSION

1) Jennifer North, Sales Director at Madison in New York, makes two telephone calls to Cristina
Verdi, a fashion buyer in London. Listen and complete the gaps.
Receptionist: Good morning. The Fashion House. …………………………………………..?
Jennifer: ……………..Jennifer North here. ……………………………………to extension
…………, please?
Receptionist: Certainly. ……………………………………………
Cristina Verdi: Hello. Cristina Verdi…………………..
Jennifer: Hello, Cristina. …………Jennifer North ……….Madison in New York.
Cristina Verdi: Hi, Jennifer. ………………………………………….?
Jennifer: ………., thanks.

2) Listen to the second conversation and fill in the gaps:

Receptionist: Good morning. The Fashion House. ………………………………………?

Jennifer: …………………………………….to Cristina Verdi, …… extension…………,
please
Receptionist: Thank you. ……………………………………….., please?
Jennifer: ……………. Jennifer North ………….Madison

(Adapted from: Market leader- Intermediate. D. cotton et al. Pearson Longman (2007).

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 APPENDIX
Culture And Entertainment Matters
Checklist

Before receiving visitors to your company Before meeting business partners and
fellow professionals from of other countries,
Be prepared to talk in English about your
professional field and/or your company and You could find out about their country:
business: - the actual political situation
- the professional field you are involved in - cultural and regional differences
- your professional activities - religion(es)
- current research and other projects - the role of women in business and in
- future plans society as a whole
- the history of your company - transport and telecommunications
- company organisation - systems
- who owns the company - the economy
- the number of employees - the main companies
- the international involvement of your company - the main exports and imports
- products and services - the market for the industrial sector
- the market which interests you
- competition. - competitors.

Be able to talk about: You might also want to find out:

- your country and your town - which topics are safe for small talk
- history - which topics are best avoided.
- tourism - If you are going to visit another country, find
- museums and public buildings out about:
- entertainment o the conventions regarding socialising
- cultural and religious centres of interest, o attitudes towards foreigners
o attitudes towards gifts
You may wish to talk about: o the extent to which public, business and
- education private lives are mixed or are kept
- transport systems separate
- the economy o conventions regarding food and drink.
- companies
- exports and imports. You might also like to find out about:
- the weather at the relevant time of the year
- public holidays
- the conventions regarding working hours
- leisure interests
- tourism
- dress
- body language
- language.

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 Socialising
Checklist
Saying what’s on and what’s available
There's a (good) film / play / concert / on at…
We have a good theatre in the city ...
There are some interesting museums / public buildings…ºgood restaurants
Are you interested in ...
- eating out?
- visiting/seeing... ?

Inviting
Would you be interested in going to see ...
I'd like to invite you to have dinner this evening. Is that a good idea?

Responding to an invitation
That would be very nice.
I'd like that
Thank you. That would be a pleasure,

Declining an invitation
I'd like to, but I’m afraid ...
That would be nice, but unfortunately ...
- I'm rather tired ...
- I have an appointment this evening ...
- I'm rather busy ...
- I have some work to do ...

Stating preference
I like (Japanese) cuisine very much ... I think I'd like to... I think I'd prefer... I particularly like (classical)
music ...

Looking at a menu
The (fish) sounds nice ...
I think I’d like to try ...
I think I’ll have...
Shall we have a bottle of ... ?

Commenting on an evening out

It's been a lovely evening.
It's been very nice.
Thank you very much for your hospitality.
I enjoyed it very much

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Names of Countries and Nationalities
The usual pattern to form the adjective is: -ESE

NAME OF COUNTRY + - (I)AN (or -N)

+ - ISH (or SH or CH)
+-I

-ese -(i)an (-n)

China Chinese Africa African Hungary Hungarian
Japan Japanese America American India Indian
Lebanon Lebanese Asia Asian Iran Iranian
Malta Maltese Argentina Argentinian Italy Italian
Portugal Portuguese Australia Australian Libya Libyan
Sudan Sudanese Belgium Belgian Mexico Mexican
Vietnam Vietnamese Brazil Brazilian Norway Norwegian
Canada Canadian Romania Romanian
Egypt Egyptian Russia Russian
Europe European Scandinavia Scandinavian
Germany German Venezuela Venezuelan

-ish (-sh, -ch)

Country Adjective One citizen All the people
Britain British a Briton the British
Denmark Danish a Dane the Danes or the Danish
England English an Englishman Englishmen or the English
Finland Finnish a Finn the Finns or the Finnish
Ireland Irish an Irishman Irishmen or the Irish
Poland Polish a Pole the Poles or the Polish people
Scotland Scottish* a Scot or a Scotsman Scotsmen or the Scots**
Spain Spanish a Spaniard the Spanish (people)
Sweden Swedish a Swede the Swedes or the Swedish
Turkey Turkish a Turk the Turks or the Turkish people
Wales Welsh a Welshman Welshmen or the Welsh
France French a Frenchman Frenchmen or the French
Holland Dutch a Dutchman Dutchmen or the Dutch

*also Scots. The adjective Scotch is best used to describe certain traditional Scottish drinks and types of food such Scotch whisky
and Scotch eggs. **or the Scottish people.

-i and various
Country Adjective Citizen All the People
Czech Republic Czech a Czech the Czechs
Greece Greek a Greek the Greeks
Iraq Iraqi an Iraqi the Iraqis
Israel Israeli an Israeli the Israelis
Kuwait Kuwaiti a Kuwaiti the Kuwaitis
Oman Omani an Omani the Omanis
Pakistan Pakistani a Pakistani the Pakistanis
Qatar Qatari a Qatari the Qataris
Slovakia Slovak a Slovak The Slovaks
Switzerland Swiss a Swiss the Swiss
Thailand Thai a Thai the Thais
Saudi Arabia Saudi a Saudi the Saudis

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Also see:

http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mp3/learningenglish/2009/04/prog_12_audio_v1_au_bb.mp3

Note
-ese: you refer to all the people of, for example, China as the Chinese or the Chinese people
-( i)an: you refer to all the people of, for example, Canada as the Canadians or the Canadian people
-ese: one man from, for example, Portugal is a Portuguese.
-(i)an: one man from, for example, Egypt is an Egyptian,

Some special cases:

Arab
- One person of this race is an Arab. The people are the Arabs.
- The adjective is also Arab as in Arab customs.
- Their language is Arabic.
- The adjective Arabian is now little used, except in the title Arabian Nights and occasionally in
the expression Saudi Arabian (we advise you to use the adjective Saudi on its own).

Jew
- One person of this race is a Jew. The people are the Jews or the Jewish people.
- The adjective is Jewish, as in Jewish customs.
- Their language (originally and in present-day Israel) is Hebrew.

Scandinavian and Mediterranean refer, respectively, to people from countries in these two geographic and
cultural regions.

Indian is the nationality of people from India.

Hindu is a person whose religion is Hinduism
Hindi is one of the many languages spoken in India

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