GETTING INTERNATIONAL.- Session 2.- Getting used to it.

Situation

Read the text and listen to the situation.

Lourdes and Susana are finally in London! They had some difficulties finding Gema's house but with a little bit of patience and their few words in English they managed to get to their destination.

Today is a really important day since they start their internship at the company. They get up very early, have some breakfast and take a taxi to British Corporation, the company they are going "to work for".

When they get to the office, they go to the reception desk and ask for Mr. Parker, the Business manager and their new boss.

Lourdes: Good morning, we are Lourdes Serrano and Susana Moreno. We're starting an internship here, could we talk to Mr. Parker, please?

Mr. Parker comes immediately, he's tall and slim, he has got blonde hair and blue eyes and in the girls' opinion…

Lourdes and Susana: He is gorgeous! (very enthusiastically).

Lourdes and Susana introduce themselves and Mr. Parker shows them around the company so that they meet the rest of their colleagues.

Think about it

And you? Do you know how to introduce yourself in English? Enter the forum and introduce yourself to the rest of students and your teacher.

Dos manos estrechándose a modo de saludo.

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

Aviso Legal

1.- What to say: Meeting new people.

Quotation

"You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget. Those are your friends." Unknown author.

Situation

Un chico y una chica se dan la mano para presentarse.

Read the text and listen to the situation.

Script

In their tour around the office, Mr. Parker introduces the girls to the rest of their colleagues and shows them around the different departments. They start at the Sales Department where they meet Francesco, an Italian boy; they follow with the IT Department where they meet Karen and Steve, who are British, and they end up at the Human Resources Department, where Miss Brown asks them some questions to fill in some application forms and asks them to fill in other documents.

Miss Brown: What's your name?

Lourdes: My name's Lourdes Serrano.

Miss Brown: Is "Serrano" your surname that is, family name?

Lourdes: Yes, it is.

Miss Brown: Ok. Ms. Serrano, Where were you born?

Lourdes: I was born in Spain. I'm Spanish.

Miss Brown: When were you born?

Lourdes: I was born on August 26th, 1990.

Miss Brown: Could you please tell me what's your address at home?

Lourdes: My address is number 34, Alcalá street. Badajoz (Spain).

Miss Brown: Have you already got an address here in London?

Lourdes: Yes, I have. It's 20 Paddington Lane WC2H 7LA. London

Miss Brown: Great, What's your home telephone number?

Lourdes: My telephone number is 00 34 924245638

Miss Brown: Have you got a mobile phone?

Lourdes: Yes, It's 00 34 654768749

Miss Brown: Are you married?

Lourdes: No. I'm not. I'm single.

Miss Brown: Do you suffer from any illness?

Lourdes: No, I don't, though I'm allergic to nuts.

Miss Brown: Ok, Ms. Serrano I think that's all for now. Thank you very much.

Lourdes: You're welcome, bye.

Think about it

Write in the forum.

Do you like meeting new people? Why? Why not?

Do you usually get nervous when meeting new people? Why? Why not?

What do you usually do when you are new in a place, do you go and introduce yourself or do you wait for people to come to you? Why?

1.1.- Talking about yourself.

When meeting new people, it is quite normal to talk about oneself since after all, this is what meeting people consists off. Here you will find some useful phrases for you to ask, and others to help you introduce yourself so that you can interact with other people in English.

Letrero que anima a pensar en el que se destaca la palabra you sobre un fondo de otras letras que no se distingue qué palabra forman.

Talking about yourself
Common questions	Translation
Hello/Hi, my name's X, what's your name?	Hola, me llamo X, ¿cómo te llamas?
Hi, how are you?	Hola, ¿qué tal?
Where are you from?	¿De dónde eres?
What do you do for a living?	¿Cómo te ganas la vida? ¿A qué te dedicas?
What nationality are you?	¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad?
Where do you live?	¿Dónde vives?
What's your telephone number?	¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono?
What's your job?	¿En qué trabajas?
What do you usually do in your free / spare time?	¿Qué sueles hacer en tu tiempo libre?
What's your address?	¿Dónde vives? ¿Cuál es tu dirección?
Common answers	Translation
Hi, nice to meet you.	Hola, encantado / encantada de conocerte.
It was nice meeting you, bye!	Ha sido un placer, hasta la próxima.
My name's X and I'm X years old.	Me llamo X y tengo X años.
I live in London.	Vivo en Londres.
My address is number 8, Princess Avenue.	Mi dirección es Princess Avenue, número 8.
My home telephone / mobile number is…	Mi fijo es… / mi móvil es…
I've got 2 brothers and one sister.	Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana.
I'm an only child.	Soy hijo único / hija única.
I'm a teacher / an engineer.	Soy profesor, soy ingeniero.
I'm English.	Soy Inglés / Inglesa.
I'm single / married / engaged.	Estoy soltero o soltera / casado o casada / comprometido o comprometida.
I love / enjoy playing basketball / travelling.	Me encanta jugar al baloncesto / viajar.
In my free time I usually read books.	En mi tiempo libre suelo leer.
My favourite film / book is …	Mi película favorita / libro favorito es.
I'm good at painting / languages…	Se me da bien pintar / se me dan bien los idiomas.
I'm interested in politics.	Me interesa / me gusta la política.

A step ahead

Watch these videos to listen to people introducing themselves. In the first one, you will learn how to introduce yourself in an informal situation, whereas in the second one, you’ll listen to what to say when looking for a job. Have fun!

Text summary

Imagine you are new at British Corporation. Think about what you would say to introduce yourself in an informal way. When you are ready, enter the forum and record your voice. Try to sound natural.

2.- How to say it: Past simple versus Past continuous.

Think about it

Read the following sentences carefully. What is the difference between them?

When he arrived, we had lunch.
When he arrived, we were having lunch.

Feedback:

As you may have observed, in the first sentence, they had lunch after he arrived (they were waiting for him). In the second sentence, when he arrived they were in the middle of lunch. Therefore, we can conclude that the Past simple is used to talk about finished states, actions or situations that happened in the past. The past continuous on the contrary, is used to refer to a longer action which was taking place at a specific moment in the past.

Usage.

The past continuous tense expresses an action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment, but has not finished. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7 pm and finished at 9pm; therefore, I can say that at 7.30 pm I was watching a film on TV.

Moreover, We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins, whereas we use the past simple to introduce an action which interrupts the longer one. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example: Mr. Parker was working hard in his office. It was raining. The wind was blowing ,when he suddenly heard a noise.

To conclude, remember that there are some verbs that can't be used in the continuous form in English. For further information, review unit 1, session 1, section 2.2.

Translation

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Key:

El pasado continuo se utiliza para referirse a una acción en progreso en un punto concreto del pasado. La acción comenzó antes de ese momento específico del que hablamos y aún no ha acabado. Por ejemplo ayer vi una película en la tele. La película comenzó a las 7 y terminó a las 9, por tanto podemos decir que a las 7.30 yo estaba viendo una película en la tele.

Del mismo modo, solemos utilizar el pasado continuo para establecer la escena de una historia, sobretodo para describir el entorno que rodea la acción; el pasado simple por el contrario, introduce una acción repentina que interrumpe a la que ya estaba en progreso. Normalmente, la escena comienza en pasado continuo y de ahí cambia a pasado simple.

Finalmente, recuerda que hay algunos verbos que no pueden utilizarse con los tiempos de continuo en Inglés. Para más información repasa la sección 2.2 de la primera sesión de esta unidad.

You should know

Click here to review a little bit on the the Past Simple or Past Continuous Form.

Past Simple and Continuous.

2.1.- Used to/Would.

Think about it

Read the sentences. Do you notice a difference?

When I was a child, I used to go to school every day.
When I was a child, I went to Italy three times with my parents.

Feedback:

In the first sentence we are talking about an action that happened every day. It was a routine in the past. In the second, it's an action that happened in the past too, but it wasn't a routine: it just happened three times.

The past simple, would + infinitive, and used to + infinitive are all possible ways to talk about the past.

You can use would to talk about regular or repeated past actions. It sometimes suggests a feeling of nostalgia so it is often used to talk about personal memories.

Every day my friends and I would play after school.
I would go cycling to school every day.

You rarely use would with this meaning in the negative or question form.

You can use used to like would for regular or repeated past actions, and also for past states or situations. You can use used to in negative forms and in question forms.

Children didn't use to have mobile phones.
Did you use to like going to school?

Translation

Click to read the Spanish translation.

Key:

Podemos utilizar el pasado simple, used to y would para hablar de hábitos del pasado.

Would se puede usar para expresar acciones regulares o repetidas. Normalmente no se utiliza en forma negativa o interrogativa.

Used to se utiliza igual que would y además se usa para hablar de estados o situaciones del pasado. Se puede utilizar en forma negativa o interrogativa.

Think about it

Look at the sentences below; they are all in the past simple. Read them and discuss these questions.

Which sentences could be changed to would + verb?
Which sentences could be changed to used to + verb?
What does this tell you about how to use these two structures?

I believed in ghosts.
I was afraid of spiders.
I had long hair.
I started learning English.
I went to school every day.
I didn't like fish.

Feedback:

I believed in ghosts. / I used to believe in ghosts.
I was afraid of spiders. / I used to be afraid of spiders.
I had long hair. / I used to have long hair.
I started learning English when I was 6.
I went to school every day. / I used to go to school every day. / I would go to school every day.
I didn't like fish. / I didn't use to like fish.

Would and used to + infinitive are used to talk about regular or repeated actions in the past. Used to is also used to talk about past states. However, if something happened only once, we use the Past Simple.

Think about it

Give your opinion in the forum:

Where did you use to go to school? How did you get there?
Do you remember any of your teachers? Were there any you particularly liked or disliked?
Did you do anything naughty? Were you caught and punished?
What did you use to do before of after school or during the breaks?

2.2.- Now you put it into practice (I).

Are you ready to test what you have learned? Let's give it a go.

Now it's your turn

Put the verb into the correct form, past continuous or past simple. Use contractions where possible.

When the post man (arrive), I (have a shower).
While my sister (study), my boyfriend (make) some muffins.
I JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDBiJXUwMDFh (go) to the dentist 3 days ago because I JXUwMDMwJXUwMDA5JXUwMDA1 (have) a terrible toothache.
Ryan (arrive) at Kara's house a little before 10 o'clock, but she (not/be) there. She (study) for her final exam.
When I JXUwMDJmJXUwMDE2JXUwMDEy (be) 8, I JXUwMDM5JXUwMDE1JXUwMDEx (eat) cookies every evening.
He (miss) the bus because he (talk) with some friends.
The burglars JXUwMDNiJXUwMDAyJXUwMDBjJXUwMDA4 (come) into the house while the man (sleep).
I (drink) a glass of orange juice at ten. I'm not thirsty now.
When I (walk) into the busy office, the secretary (talk) on the phone, several clerks (work) at their desks, and two managers (discuss) methods to improve customer service.
(you write) the composition last Monday?
My grandfather (not/be) at home when he JXUwMDNlJXUwMDAzJXUwMDA5JXUwMDAw (fall) down the stairs.
The children (play) in their room when their mother (call) them.
I (not/understand) what they (talk) about.
Rachel (live) in London for more than two years. In fact, she (live) there when.
When it (start) to rain, our cat (want) to come inside.

Key:

When the post man arrived (arrive), I was having a shower (have a shower).
While my sister was studying (study), my boyfriend was making (make) some muffins.
I went (go) to the dentist 3 days ago because I had (have) a terrible toothache.
Ryan arrived (arrive) at Kara's house a little before 10 o'clock, but she wasn't (not/be) there. She was studying (study) for her final exam.
When I was (be) 8, I ate (eat) cookies every evening.
He missed (miss) the bus because he was talking (talk) with some friends.
The burglars came (come) into the house while the man was sleeping (sleep).
I drank (drink) a glass of orange juice at ten. I'm not thirsty now.
When I walked (walk) into the busy office, the secretary was talking (talk) on the phone, several clerks were working (work) at their desks, and two managers were discussing (discuss) methods to improve customer service.
Did you write (you write) the composition last Monday?
My grandfather wasn't (not/be) at home when he fell (fall) down the stairs.
The children were playing (play) in their room when their mother called (call) them.
I didn't understand (not/understand) what they were talking (talk) about.
Rachel lived (live) in London for more than two years. In fact, she was living (live) there when.
When it started (start) to rain, our cat wanted (want) to come inside.

Feedback:

When the post man arrived, I was having a shower.
While my sister was studying, my boyfriend was making some muffins.
I went to the dentist 3 days ago because I had a terrible toothache.
Ryan arrived at Kara's house a little before 10 o'clock, but she wasn't there. She was studying (study) for her final exam.
When I was 8, I ate cookies every evening.
He missed the bus because he was talking with some friends.
The burglars came into the house while the man was sleeping.
I drank (drink) a glass of orange juice at ten. I'm not thirsty now.
When I walked into the busy office, the secretary was talking on the phone, several clerks were working at their desks, and two managers were discussing methods to improve customer service.
Did you write the composition last Monday?
My grandfather wasn't at home when he fell down the stairs.
The children were playing in their room when their mother called them.
I didn't understand what they were talking about.
Rachel lived in London for more than two years. In fact, she was living there when
When it started to rain, our cat wanted to come inside.

A step ahead

If you want more information and practice on the structure Used to and Didn't use to, check out the following website. You can listen to the programme and do the exercises.

Grammar challenge: Used to.

2.3.- Pronunciation. The third Person Singular (II): Voiced sounds.

Think about it

Take a look at these sentences and answer, what do they have in common?

He works in an office.
She plays the piano.
Paul tries to work hard every day.

Feedback:

Great! As you may have answered, the three sentences go in the third person singular of the present simple. But do you know how to pronounce them?

Translation

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Key:

¡Genial! Tal y como habrás respondido las tres frases van en tercera persona singular del presente simple. ¿Sabes cómo se pronuncian?

Voiced sounds.

The -(e)s of the simple present tense is pronounced as /z/ after a voiced sound, except /z/, /zh/, and /j/. The voiced sounds are sounds that are produced by vibration of the vocal chords. The voiced sounds in English are:
1. All vowels.
2. /b/, /g/, j sound (as in judge), /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, voiced th (as in bathe), /v/, ng (as in bang), zh sound (as in measure), z sound (as in buzz).
Examples: plays, sees, goes, robs, hangs, calls, rams, learns, blurs, clothes, receives.
However, when a word ends in /s/, /sh/, /ch/, /z/, /j/ the -es is pronounced as a separate syllable:/ ɪz/. Therefore, if a verb ends in one of these sounds, the present tense will have one more syllable than the simple form.
Examples:
- fix (1 syllable)-->fixes (2 syllables).
- kiss (1 syllable)-->kisses (2 syllables).
- wash (1 syllable)-->washes (2 syllables).
- watch (1 syllable)-->watches (2 syllables).
- damage (2 syllables)-->damages (3 syllables).
- memorize (3 syllables)-->memorizes (4 syllables).
- exercise (3 syllables)-->exercises (4 syllables).

Translation

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Key:

Los sonidos sonoros:

La terminación -(e)s del presente simple se pronuncia /z/ detrás de una vocal sonora excepto /z/, /zh/, and /j/. Los sonidos sonoros se producen por la vibración de las cuerdas vocales y en Inglés son los siguientes:
1. Todas las vocales.
2. /b/, /g/, /j/ (como en "judge"), /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, el sonido sonoro "th" (como en "bathe"), /v/, ng (como en "bang"), el sonido /zh/ (como en "measure") y el sonido /z/ (como en "buzz").
Sin embargo, cuando una palabra termina en /s/, /sh/, /ch/, /z/, /j/ la terminación -es se pronuncia como una sílaba a parte:/ɪz/. Por tanto, si un verbo termina en uno de estos sonidos, el presente simple tendrá una sílaba más que la forma simple: Ejemplos:
"Fix" (1 sílaba)-->"fixes" (2 sílabas); "kiss" (1 sílaba)--> "kisses" (2 sílabas) etc.

2.4.- Now you put it into practice (II).

Now it's your turn

-(e)s pronounced as [z].

Read these words aloud. Make an effort to pronounce the final –(e)s sound:

Allows

Annoys

Appears

Approves

Arrives

Attends

Belongs

Calls

Cries

Dazzles

Decides

Defends

Delays

Endangers

Favours

Fears

Goes

Grades

Has

Hears

Hinders

Joins

Knows

Leaves

Lives

Maintains

Plays

Pretends

Reads

Removes

Repels

Roams

Sags

Says

Seems

Sees

Sighs

Snores

Survives

A step ahead

Click on the link below to listen to the pronunciation of the previous words:

Pronunciation exercise.

3.- Words you need: Parts of a company.

As you already know, most companies are divided into different departments and sections, all of them with workers carrying out different tasks. Let's take a look at the most common ones.

Vocabulary related to the parts of a company
Parts of a company	Translation
Departments	Departamentos
Human Resources.	Recursos Humanos.
Research and Development.	I + D.
IT Information technology.	Informática.
Production.	Producción.
Finance.	Contabilidad.
Marketing.	Marketing.
Sales.	Ventas.
Customer service.	Atención al cliente.
Logistics.	Logística.
Purchasing.	Compras.
Jobs / positions	Cargos
Secretary.	Secretario / Secretaria.
Manager.	Gerente, administrador.
Deputy manager.	Sub-gerente, segundo de abordo.
Director.	Director.
Accountant.	Contable.
Intern.	Becario / Becaria.
Analyst.	Analista.
Designer.	Diseñador.
Chairman / president.	Presidente.
Commercial agent.	Comercial.
Cleaning staff.	Plantilla de limpieza.
Caretaker.	Conserje.
Other facilities	Otras instalaciones
Parking lot.	Aparcamiento.
Reception desk.	Mostrador de recepción.
Cafeteria / Canteen.	Cafetería.
Lifts (British English) / Elevators (American English).	Ascensores.
Vending machine.	Máquina expendedora.
Toilets (B.E.) / Restrooms (A.E.).	Baños.
Staff room.	Sala de personal.
Cleaning room.	Cuarto de la limpieza.
Copy machine.	Fotocopiadora.

3.1.- Now you put it into practice (III).

Now it's your turn

Match up the following departments to what they do.

Human Resources → Research and Development → IT Information technology → Production → Logistics→ Finance → Marketing → Sales → Customers.

Responsible for taking care of customers needs. .

Responsible for making the product. .

Responsible for selling the product. .

Responsible for how the product is launched. .

Responsible for hiring and dealing with staff. .

Responsible for the company's network and computers. .

Responsible for payments, bills and expenses. .

Responsible for developing and improving the product. .

Responsible for the shipping and handling of the product. .

Key:

Responsible for taking care of customers needs. Customers .

Responsible for making the product. Production .

Responsible for selling the product. Sales .

Responsible for how the product is launched. Marketing .

Responsible for hiring and dealing with staff. Human Resources .

Responsible for the company's network and computers. I.T. Information Technology .

Responsible for payments, bills and expenses. Finance .

Responsible for developing and improving the product. Research and Development .

Responsible for the shipping and handling of the product. Logistics .

Feedback:

Responsible for taking care of customers needs. Customers.

Responsible for making the product. Production.

Responsible for selling the product. Sales.

Responsible for how the product is launched. Marketing.

Responsible for hiring and dealing with staff. Human Resources.

Responsible for the company’s network and computers. I.T. Information Technology.

Responsible for payments, bills and expenses. Finance.

Responsible for developing and improving the product. Research and Development.

Responsible for the shipping and handling of the product. Logistics.

Now it's your turn

There are different posts in a company. Fill in the gaps with the right job.

Analyst → designer → chairperson → partner → secretary → manager → commercial agent → accountant → receptionist → cleaning staff.

Amancio Ortega is the of Indetex.

Our will visit your business soon.

I work as a at the Royal Hotel.

Please, contact my to arrange our next meeting.

Sam works at Bank of America as a financial .

I would like to speak to the of the sales department.

Oh, sorry, you are right. The has made a mistake in the bill.

The of our company logo has been awarded a prize.

Mr. Fox has been my business and my friend for over 20 years.

My office has been refurnished. Now I need the to tidy up the mess.

Key:

Amancio Ortega is the chairperson of Indetex.

Our commercial agent will visit your business soon.

I work as a receptionist at the Royal Hotel.

Please, contact my secretary to arrange our next meeting.

Sam works at Bank of America as a financial analyst .

I would like to speak to the manager of the sales department.

Oh, sorry, you are right. The accountant has made a mistake in the bill.

The designer of our company logo has been awarded a prize.

Mr. Fox has been my business partner and my friend for over 20 years.

My office has been refurnished. Now I need the cleaning staff to tidy up the mess.

Feedback:

Amancio Ortega is the chairperson of Indetex.

Our commercial agent will visit your business soon.

I work as a receptionist at the Royal Hotel.

Please, contact my secretary to arrange our next meeting.

Sam works at Bank of America as a financial analyst .

I would like to speak to the manager of the sales department.

Oh, sorry, you are right. The accountant has made a mistake in the bill.

The designer of our company logo has been awarded a prize.

Mr. Fox has been my business partner and my friend for over 20 years.

My office has been refurnished. Now I need the cleaning staff to tidy up the mess.

Appendix.- Licenses of resources.

Licenses of resources used in session 2. "Getting used to it".
Resources (1)	Resources information (1)	Resources (2)	Resources information (2)
	By: Aidan Jones. License: CC by-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_jones/3575000735		By: the\|G\|™. License: CC by-nc-nd 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-g-uk/4030344394/
	By: Ian Aberle. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianaberle/4185095125/		By: Timothy Valentin. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/el_ramon/4850007073/
	By: Badseed. License: CC by-sa 3.0. From: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cardinal_vowel_tongue_position-front.svg		By: Rebecca L. Daily. License: CC by 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/strangrthancandy/2996756913
	By: Idiolector. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/idiolector/3164431662/		By: StreetFly JZ. License: CC by-nc-nd 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetfly_jz/2754448236