Comunicative Activities.- Health and safety.

Situation

Read the text and listen to the situation.

Lourdes: Hi Susana. It's been a hectic week, hasn't it?

Susana: Yes, we really have been very busy.

Lourdes: Yes, we took part in the health and safety training session, we had to respond to a customer's complaint...

Susana: Right, and Mr Parker and Mr Thomson thought that we weren't serious about the training. Can you believe it?

Lourdes: I'm afraid so. On the other hand, we learnt a lot about health and safety in the office.

Susana: I agree. We also learned about saving money. Now we need to actually be able to save some money. That's the difficult part.

Lourdes: You know, there are many sayings in English about money. My favourite one is "A penny saved is a penny earned".

Susana: I have never heard it. What does it mean?

Lourdes: I think it means that we shouldn't spend or waste money, but try to save it.

Susana: That's very sensible advice. I think it also means that saving money is hard work and it happens one penny at a time.

Lourdes: One penny at a time? How long is it going to take to become millionaires?

Susana: Too long. Let's get back to work. Otherwise we won't get paid!

Think about it

What have you learned in this unit? Can you...?

Leave somebody a voice mail message.
Use the passive voice.
Talk about health and safety in the office.
Deal with a complaint.
Use conditional sentences.
Talk about money.
Paraphrase.
Use relative sentences.
Recognize and pronounce weak forms.

Materiales formativos de FP Online propiedad del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte.

Aviso Legal

1.- Reading exercise.

Read the following complaint letter very carefully.

14 West Road
Wolverhampton
Warwickshire
21. 9. 11

The Manager
Rolando Tours
342 City Road
Sheffield

Dear Sir,

I have recently returned from your Rolando Five Nations Tour - ST 104/5. I am very upset by the standards and the organization of this tour and I have a number of comments about it that I would like to make.

In general the food was extremely poor and the service was very slow. On a number of occasions we had to wait over an hour for our meals. In one hotel there was a problem of overbooking. After a long and tiring journey, we discovered that this hotel had no accommodation for us. We were transferred to another hotel on the outskirts of the city. In your advertisement you stated that all the hotels were located in city centres.

There were also a number of travel delays during the tour, and on one occasion my luggage was left off the coach. I only got it back a day later.

Finally, I think your staff should have handled these problems in a better way. Some of them were rather rude when complaints were made. I feel that your company should consider an appropriate refund because of the bad service that was provided.

Yours faithfully,
Laura Lomas

Think about it

Now answer the following questions.

What was wrong with the food service?
Why did Laura Lomas complain about the hotel transfer?
What happened to Laura Lomas's luggage?
What complaint was made about the staff of the tour company?
Why does Laura Lomas want some of her money returned?

Feedback:

It was slow and the food was poor.
Because the hotel was not in the city centre.
It was left off the coach.
Some of them were rude when complaints were made.
Because of the bad service that was provided.

2.- Listening exercise.

3.- Speaking exercise.

Answer the following questions:

Have you ever borrowed money and not paid it back?
What do you think about borrowing money from friends or relatives?
Have you ever bought or sold anything on the Internet?
Have you ever found any money? Did you keep it?
Have you ever wasted money on something you've never used?
When did you last withdraw money from the bank?
Has anybody lost your credit card? What did you do?
What would you do if you won the lottery?

4.- Writing exercise.

Una mujer sonriente con un teléfono inalámbrico.

Complete the following conversation on the phone.

A) Hello. This is James Smith. We met at the regional trade fair last October. Do you remember?
B) _____________________________________________________________

A) Fine thanks. I'm going to be in Madrid for a few days next week. Shall we meet and discuss how our companies might work together?
B) _____________________________________________________________

A) I'll just check my diary. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it on Wednesday. Would Thursday suit you?
B) _____________________________________________________________

A) Sounds good. Shall I meet you at your office?
B) _____________________________________________________________

A) How about lunch?
B) _____________________________________________________________

A) Look forward to seeing you then. Bye.
B) _____________________________________________________________

Appendix I.- Administrative.

Listening Script

Even with near-identical job descriptions, two administrative professionals can wind up earning very different salaries. Why the difference? Follow these tips to ensure you get the most money for your work on payday.

The financial industry, in general, pays the best. When you are a broker's assistant, you usually make a commission on top of your base salary. After finance, the legal industry pays the best salaries to administrative staff. In general, legal secretaries don't get incentives like they do in finance. However, the profession generally enjoys high salaries, and you get paid extra for overtime.

Glamorous industries generally pay the lowest salaries. The fashion, publishing and advertising industries pay off in clothing, tickets to shows, etc. The problem is that you can't pay your mortgage with seats to a concert.

The city in which you work also influences your pay. Salaries vary a great deal in different parts of the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, earnings are usually lowest in southern cities and highest in northern, western and coastal cities. And not surprisingly, larger cities such as New York City and San Francisco top the list of highest-paying regions.

A lucrative alternative for administrative professionals is to work as a personal assistant. Personal assistants can make six-figure incomes, but they will work hard. Most likely, they will be on call all the time. Personal assistants have to be willing to cancel their plans on short notice and to deal with the intimate details of their employers' lives. Most people who do this job are single and have no obligations -and usually leave the job once they get married or have children-, but it can be a lucrative opportunity.

Adapted from: http://career-advice.monster.com/salary-benefits/salary-information/get-high-paying-administrative-job/article.aspx

Appendix.- License of resources.

Licenses of resources used in Communicative Activities.
Resource (1)	Resource information (1)	Resource (2)	Resource information (2)
	By: Bryn Pinzgauer. License: CC by. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12394349@N06/5574608817/		By: Judy Baxter. License: CC by-nc-sa. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/6814574/
	By: The Consumerist. License: CC by. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/consumerist/422357885/		By: Lilly Tran. License: CC by-nc. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43217299@N07/3994863147/