a2 business english role play

101|A2

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Vocabulary: Business travelTeacher’s notes

Aim

To practise nouns and adjectives relating to hotels and business travel

What

Vocabulary learning tasks: word fields, opposites and collocations

Interaction

IndividualCompare results in a group

1:1

Suitable

With what

One copy per student

Preparation

Make one copy per student.

Here’s how

1. Hand out one copy to each student.

2. Have students look at the word wheels task. Tell them that they should decide whether each word is a feature of a town or a hotel, then write each word into the appropriate word wheel. A few words such as parking and swimming pool may be written into both word wheels. The students may add other features they think fit into the word wheels.

3. Give the students enough time to complete the task before checking answers with the rest of the class.

4. Now ask students to look at the adjective matching task. Explain that they will need to match the adjectives with their opposites. The adjectives will be used again in the adjective/noun collocations task that follows.

5. Once students have finished the task, have them check their answers with the rest of the class.

6. Explain to students that the adjective/noun collocations task will help them build their word power. Have them complete the task by deciding which adjectives from the adjective matching task usually go with each of the nouns. They should write the adjectives into the word forks.

7. Once the students have finished the task have them compare their results with the rest of the class.

Answer key

Word wheels task

hotel features: bath, bathroom, breakfast, fitness centre, internet access, parking, restaurant, room service, shower, single/double room, swimming pool, television, twin bed / queen bed / king bed, WiFi internet connectiontown features: airport, park, post office, theatre, underground station

Adjective matching task Adjective/noun collocations task

comfortable uncomfortableclean dirtyexpensive cheapfriendly unfriendlybig/large smallhigh lowsingle doubleloud quietluxury economy

comfortable/uncomfortable, clean/dirty, expensive/cheap, big or large/small, single/double, loud/quiet, luxury/economy – room

friendly/unfriendly, big or large/small – staff

comfortable/uncomfortable, clean/dirty, big or large/small – bed

expensive/cheap, high/low – price

comfortable/uncomfortable, clean/dirty, big or large/small – bathroom

| A2102 © Cornelsen Verlag, Berlin, 2012. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

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Word wheels

In which word group does each of the words belong? Write the words into the correct word wheels.

swimming pool • underground station • post office • park • internet access • theatre • bathroom • parking • twin bed / queen bed / king bed • WiFi internet connection • airport • bath • breakfast • fitness centre • restaurant • room service • shower •

single/double room • television

Vocabulary: Business travel

Adjective matching Adjective/noun collocations

Match the adjectives with their opposites Which adjectives from the adjective matching task usually go before these nouns?

comfortable unfriendlyclean quietexpensive economyfriendly cheapbig/large smallhigh uncomfortablesingle dirtyloud doubleluxury low

town hotel

swim

min

g po

ol

unde

rgro

und

stat

ion

room

bathroom

staff pricebed

103|A2

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Aim

To compare companies using comparatives and superlatives

What

Comparing three companies and then students‘ own companies or places of work

Interaction

IndividualPair workGroup activity

1:1

SuitableDo the last task with your students

With what

One copy per student

Comparatives and superlatives: Comparing companiesTeacher’s notes

Preparation

Make one copy per student.

Here’s how

1. Hand out one copy to each student.

2. Have your students read through the company facts and make sure they understand them.

3. Working in pairs or small groups, students should complete the compare the companies task by making as many comparisons as possible between the companies. Depending on whether you want them to practise speaking or writing, they can either do this orally or they can write approximately 10 sentences between them. Remind them that the adjectives in the box are given to help them and need to be changed into the correct comparative or superlative forms.

4. Give students enough time to finish the task before checking answers with the rest of the class.

5. Now ask students to look at the your company task. Working independently, the students should fill in the facts about their companies. If they are not currently working, they can either invent details or research a company of their choice on the internet.

6. Once students have finished the task, have them work in pairs or small groups on the compare your companies task. Explain that they should use comparatives and superlatives to compare their companies. Each pair or group should present five comparisons to the rest of the class.

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Comparatives and superlatives: Comparing companies

Company facts

Company A Company B Company C

Business Bank Car manufacturer Bakery

Established* 2009 1934 1972

Location 5 km from city centre 3 km from city centre, next to train station

0.2 km from city centre

Number of departments 5 12 1

Number of employees 32 1,700 4

Average** age of employees 27 38 45

Average salary per year €35,000 €24,000 €12,000

Bonus per year no bonus, free fitness centre

one salary €500

Work hours per week 45 38 40

Number of holiday days 20 25 22

* gegründet **durchschnittlich

Compare the companies

Use comparatives and superlatives to compare the companies.

small • big • old • new • high • low • near • far • more • less • few • young • quiet • noisy • good • bad • dynamic • traditional

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Your company

Write facts about your company.

What:

Date:

Where:

Departments:

Number of employees:

Average age of employees:

Average salary:

Bonus:

Working week:

Holiday:

Compare your companies

Talk in pairs or small groups. Compare your companies.

Company B is the oldest company.

Company C is older than Company A.

105|A2

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Aim

To practise action vocabulary related to company business using the present continuous

What

Playing a picture game and charades

Interaction

Group activity

1:1

No adaption possible

With what

For every two groups, one copy of the picture the situation cards, several large pieces of paper, colored pens and two copies of the act out the actions cards

Present Continuous: Describing activities at work Teacher’s notes

Preparation

For every two groups, make one copy of the picture the situation cards and two copies of the act out the actions cards and cut them up. Then shuffle the act out the actions cards.

Here’s how

1. Divide your class into two groups. Give the students in group A the group A card and the students in group B the group B card. Tell them not to let the opposing group see their card.

2. Explain that each group will be drawing pictures of the office situations listed on their card and that the opposing team will be trying to guess what situation has been drawn. In each round, the group that has the fewest false guesses wins the round.

3. Have your students begin the game by asking them to select and draw one of the situations on their cards. The pictures could be drawn on the board or on large sheets of paper, e.g. on flip chart paper. The people and things in the pictures can be very simple (e. g. stick people / Strichmännchen). Set a time limit on this task.

4. Once the groups have drawn their situations, group A should show group B their picture and allow group B to guess what it depicts. Group B’s picture should be hidden until group B has guessed what’s shown in group A’s picture. Before guessing what the situation might be, group B should ask questions about what they see in the picture, e. g. Is he making a phone call? It’s im portant that they ask the questions in order to confirm specifics about the picture before guessing what situation is shown, as the team that guesses the fewest situations wins the round.

5. Once group B has correctly named the situation they should show group A their picture. Then the process begins again.

6. Once group A has correctly named the situation in group B’s picture, record which group won the round and then have the groups select and draw another situation from their cards. Complete as many rounds of the game as time permits, then tally the results. The group that won the most rounds wins the game.

7. Now put one set of shuffled act out the actions cards face down on each group’s table. Explain that the act out the actions game is similar to the picture the situation game, only instead of selecting and then drawing pictures of situations, the groups will be drawing a situation card from their piles and then having one student from their groups act out the situation on the card for the opposing group. If a group draws a wild card they can decide to act out an office action of their choice. As in the picture the situation game, the opposing group must ask questions about the situation before guessing what it might be.


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Present Continuous: Describing activities at work

Picture the situation cards:

Picture the situation – Group A

installing a computerhaving a retirement partytalking on the phonelooking for a calculatortraining somebodytrying to worknot feeling welllooking at targets and results

Picture the situation – Group B

installing a telephone systemplanning a retirement partyholding a presentationinterviewing a candidateplaying a computer gamemoving into the officedoing the payrollopening a window

Act out the actions cards:

installing a telephone system installing a computer

planning a retirement party having a retirement party

holding a presentation talking on the phone

interviewing a candidate looking for a calculator

playing a computer game training somebody

moving into the office trying to work

doing the payroll not feeling well

opening a window looking at targets and results

wild card wild card

wild card wild card

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107|A2

Aim

To practise asking for and giving opinions as well as agreeing and disagreeing

What

Group discussion task

Interaction

Group activity

1:1

Not suitable

With what

One copy of the cards per group

Preparation

Make one copy each of the topic and opinion cards per group, cut them out and shuffle them.

Here’s how

1. Divide your class into groups of three or four. Put one set of shuffled topic cards and one set of shuffled opinion cards face down on each group’s table.

2. Explain that the students will be playing a game in which the object is to effectively express and support an opinion using the language for agreeing and disagreeing learned in the unit. The winner or winners of the game are the students who most successfully argue their positions.

3. Designate one student on each team as the judge. The judge should begin the game by turning over one topic card and reading it out loud to the rest of the group.

4. Each of the other students should then turn over an opinion card and place it on the table in front of them.

5. The judge should then use language for eliciting opinions to prompt another student in the group to express and support the opinion listed on his/her card. This student should then use the language for eliciting opinions to prompt the next student in the group to express and support the opinion listed on his/her card. The students must give and support the opinions listed on their cards, regardless of what they really think.

6. After the topic has been discussed for a few minutes, the judge should say who has most effectively expressed and supported their opinion. This is the winner of the round.

7. Before playing another round, the opinion cards should all be placed back in the deck and the deck should be shuffled. The topic card that has already been discussed is no longer needed and can be put aside.

8. The judge now turns over a new topic card to begin another round.

Giving opinions: Agreeing and disagreeing Teacher’s notes

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Giving opinions: Agreeing and disagreeing

Topic cards:

Smoking should be made illegal.University education should be free for everybody.

Alcohol should be more expensive.When somebody makes coffee at work, they should make it for everybody in the office.

Our teacher should give us more homework.

Everybody should begin work at 8 am.

Mobile phones should be turned off at work.

Everybody should retire when they are 68 years old.

Everyone should get a day off work on their birthday.

Nobody should be allowed to eat at their desk.

Opinion cards:

You think that there are good and bad things about this.

You are undecided and ask other students to express their views.

You agree. You disagree.

You agree. You disagree.

You strongly agree. You strongly disagree.

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a2 business english role play

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