GO PAPERLESS.- Session 2.- Going Green!

Situation

Listen to the situation.

It's Wednesday morning and the girls are comfortably sitting down at their desks waiting for Mr. Parker's tasks for the day. At the beginning, they used to get nervous whenever they were asked to do something, but with time, they have learned to feel more relaxed at work and language is not a barrier any more. It is true that they don't always fully understand what they have to do, but with their eagerness to learn and their colleagues' patience and understanding, they manage keep going. It's 8:00 a.m. and, like everyday, Mr. Parker enters the office holding an envelope with their new tasks.

Mr. Parker: "Good morning everyone! How are you guys doing today? I hope really well (Mr. Parker says enthusiastically). As you know times are changing and the company needs to keep updated if it wants to go on leading the sector. That's why today I want you to come up with suggestions about how to go green at the office. Please, try to be original!"

Think about it

What about you? Have you ever thought about how to go green at the working place? Write down as may ideas as you come up with and then share them in the forum. Try to be original. Once you are done, read your classmates' ideas, are they very different from yours?

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

Aviso Legal

1.- What to say. How to write down an English Proposal.

Cartel publicitario de las bolsas reutilizables de la biblioteca pública de Princenton.

Quotation

“We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”
Ancient Native American Proverb.

Situation

As we read before, our friends' task for the day is to come up with suggestions about how to go green at the office.“Uff! How to go green, holy cow! that sounds really difficult!” Lourdes complains. Susana on the contrary seems quite enthusiastic, especially because lately, she has read a lot on the matter. For a few minutes they remain in silence trying to think how to organize the task, however, after a while, both of them realize they have an added problem :“how are proposals written down in English?”

Proposals.

As we know, Proposals can be carried out either orally or written down. let's have a look at both of them:

When you come up with a new idea, sometimes you need to pitch that idea to other people, mainly to your boss or colleagues, and therefore the most effective way to convey your project plans is by creating a proposal. You can write a proposal to share your idea concisely and put your plan in motion. Here are some tips for you to follow:

Write down a brief outline of your ideas.
Turn on your computer and open your word processing programme. Create a title page by typing the name of your project or idea. Include your name, contact information and the date. Start your proposal on the next page using titles and paragraph form.
Explain the purpose of your project or idea. List details and explain the relevance of the idea to your working place.
Identify the target audience for the project, remember it's not the same to address a proposal to a friend as to do it to your boss.
List materials you will use or need to carry on your proposal.
Write down your budget needs and how you plan to meet those needs. Detail any fees that will be associated, for example, buying new material.
Create a time line for the execution of your project or idea. Use a calendar if needed to highlight important dates or deadlines to execute your project or idea successfully.
List any references or previous work done on the area to provide credibility to your proposal and requests.
Review your proposal carefully. Check punctuation, grammar and sentence structure. Read what you wrote out loud. Make any revisions or edits, save it and print it out.

Now it's your turn

Read the previous text again and answer the following questions:

The first thing to do when you have to write down a proposal is …

to think about who is it addressed to.

to turn on your computer and start working on it.

to list what you want to say.

Key:

Incorrect. Sorry! Read the text again!
Incorrect. Oops! Sorry!
Correct. Awesome!

Your proposal should have …

at least two pages, the first one including your contact details.

as much pages as you want developing your idea from the very first page.

just one page with your contact information, name and date.

Key:

Correct. Well done!
Incorrect. Sorry!
Incorrect. Sorry, try again!

When writing a proposal …

you should detail all the money involved in the project.

you shouldn't worry about money, only about the proposal.

you should address it directly to your boss.

Key:

Correct. Awesome!
Incorrect. Sorry! Read the text again!
Incorrect. Oops, sorry!

1.1.- How to make an Oral Proposal.

Foto de una mujer pensativa, que se lleva una mano a la boca y la barbilla, mientras mira hacia abajo, como pensando lo que va a decir.

Whereas written proposals tend to be more formal, Oral proposals are usually more informal and therefore, they are quite common in our daily lives. Let's have a look at the most common words or expressions, always bearing in mind that oral proposals are mainly used to make suggestions and give advice to people.

Giving advice
WORD OR EXPRESSION	USAGE	EXAMPLE
Should.	Should/ shouldn't + infinitive (without to)	Should try to recycle more often. You shouldn't waste so much paper!
Why don't you... ?	+ verb.	Why don't you walk to the office?
Ought to.	Subject + ought to + infinitive.	You ought to save more energy.
If I were you, I would / wouldn't...	Would / wouldn't + infinitive.	If I were you, I would go walking to places. If I were you, I wouldn't do that.
Suggest / recommend.	+ To infinitive OR + that + subject + infinitive without to.	I suggest you to save more petrol. I recommend that you save more petrol.
Advice (uncountable noun!)	Some / a piece of advice.	Let me give you some advice.
What about … ? / How about...?	+ verb + ING.	What / How about recycling more paper?
let's ...	+ infinitive without to.	Let's tell everybody!

SPEAKING TIP:

Be careful! Many people don't like getting advice if they haven't asked for it! To avoid giving the wrong impression, you can try some of these expressions:

Giving advice 2
WORD OR EXPRESSION	USAGE	EXAMPLE
You could always…	+ infinitive.	You could always save more energy.
Have you considered…?	+ verb + ING.	Have you considered walking to work?
Perhaps we could…	+ infinitive.	Perhaps we could to recycle more paper.
Do you think it's a good idea to…?	+ infinitive.	Do you think it's a good idea to recycle?

1.2.- Now put it into practice (I).

Think about it

Write down in the forum:

Imagine a friend of yours is facing some economical problems. Give him or her some advice or suggestions to improve his/her situation. Then, enter the forum the share your ideas with your classmates. Remember to use the expressions you learned above.

2.- How to say it. First, Second and Third Conditional.

Read the following examples carefully and pay attention to verbal tenses.

First conditional: If my boss arrives on time, I'll have to pick him up at the station.
Second conditional: If I were the receptionist, I would tell my colleagues immediately.
Third conditional: If I had applied for the vacancy, I would have got the job!

Think about it

Look at the previous sentences again and choose the correct option.

Do we use the first conditional to talk about situations that are possible or impossible to happen?
Do we use the second conditional to talk about situations which are imaginary or unlikely or very probable to happen?
When do we use the third conditional?

Feedback:

We use the first conditional to talk about situations that are possible to happen.
We use the second conditional to talk about situations which are imaginary or unlikely.
We use the third conditional to talk about regrets, past situations that we cannot change.

Translation

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Key:

Utilizamos el Primer Condicional para hablar de situaciones que son posibles o probables.

Utilizamos el Segundo Condicional para hablar de situaciones imaginarias o irreales, es decir, poco probables.

Utilizamos el Tercer Condicional para expresar nuestros lamentos, cosas del pasado que nos gustaría cambiar pero que ya no son posibles.

The First conditional formulae is:

If + present simple, Will + Infinitive/ Present simple/ Imperative.

If you want to have satisfied clients, you'll have to be patient (will+infinitive).
If he calls you, go to his office immediately (Imperative).
If you click on the icon, the computer freezes. (present simple).

The Second conditional formulae is:

If+ past simple, Would+ Infinitive.

If I were rich, I would run my own business.
If she were younger, she would get a promotion.

The Third conditional formulae is:

If + past perfect, Would have+ past participle.

If I had finished the project on time, I wouldn't have been fired!

Think about it

Some common mistakes when using the conditional:

If I was rich, I would buy a Ferrari.
If I drop and egg, it break.
If my boss was Chinese, I would talk to him in English.
If she had know, she would have talked to the manager.
If Peter had stayed, he would has finished on time.

Can you correct them?

Feedback:

If I WERE rich, I would buy a Ferrari.
If I drop and egg, it BREAKS.
If my boss WERE Chinese, I would talk to him in English.
If she had KNOWN, she would have talked to the manager.
If Peter had stayed, he would HAVE finished on time.

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

Now it's your turn

Fill in the gaps using either the First or Second conditional.

If you're late again, you (have) problems with the boss.
Do you think I (lose) weight if I eat less pasta?
I would go to Rome next summer if you JXUwMDNiJXUwMDAyJXUwMDBjJXUwMDA4 (come) with me.
If you (continue) driving like that you (get) a fine.
Don't worry. The dog (get better) if you JXUwMDNmJXUwMDBlJXUwMDFmJXUwMDEz (give) him the medicine.
She is so insecure! I'm sure she (find) a job if she JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 (be) more confident.
If the weather JXUwMDMxJXUwMDFh (to be) nice, (bring) her to the beach.
What you JXUwMDNjJXUwMDBi (do) if you (find) 500 euros on the street?
If I JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 (be) you, I (try) to take things easy.

Key:

If you're late again, you will have (have) problems with the boss.
Do you think I will lose (lose) weight if I eat less pasta?
I would go to Rome next summer if you came (come) with me.
If you continue (continue) driving like that you will get (get) a fine.
Don't worry. The dog will get better (get better) if you give (give) him the medicine.
She is so insecure! I'm sure she would find (find) a job if she were (be) more confident.
If the weather is (to be) nice, bring (bring) her to the beach.
What would you do (do) if you found (find) 500 euros on the street?
If I were (be) you, I would try (try) to take things easy.

Feedback:

If you're late again, you will have problems with the boss.
Do you think I will lose weight if I eat less pasta?
I would go to Rome next summer if you came with me.
If you continue driving like that you will get a fine.
Don't worry. The dog will get better if you give him the medicine.
She is so insecure! I'm sure she would find a job if she were more confident.
If the weather is nice, bring her to the beach.
What would you do if you found 500 euros on the street?
If I were you, I would try to take things easy.

Now it's your turn

Decide which of the three conditionals is best for the following sentences and put the words in brackets into the correct form:

That was a bad decision. If I (be) you, I would change it as soon as possible.
Sunshine - at last! Imagine if the English weather was like this all the time. (it/not/be) wonderful?
He's usually pleasant, but when he's tired he JXUwMDMxJXUwMDFh (be) pretty short-tempered. That's the way he is.
If you (not/be) so stubborn you would find it a lot easier to keep your friends.
Sorry I didn't call you and tell you I wasn't coming. I would have called you if I (have) your number with me.
He says that if he (not/be) so busy he would go with you to the movie tomorrow. As it is, he simply has too much work to do.
We (miss) the bus unless you hurry.
If only I JXUwMDMwJXUwMDA5JXUwMDA1 (have) more free time. All the things I would do. All I ever do is work.

Key:

That was a bad decision. If I was/were (be) you, I would change it as soon as possible.
Sunshine - at last! Imagine if the English weather was like this all the time. Wouldn't it be (it/not/be) wonderful?
He's usually pleasant, but when he's tired he is (be) pretty short-tempered. That's the way he is.
If you weren't (not/be) so stubborn you would find it a lot easier to keep your friends.
Sorry I didn't call you and tell you I wasn't coming. I would have called you if I had had (have) your number with me.
He says that if he wasn't (not/be) so busy he would go with you to the movie tomorrow. As it is, he simply has too much work to do.
We will miss (miss) the bus unless you hurry.
If only I had (have) more free time. All the things I would do. All I ever do is work.

Feedback:

That was a bad decision. If I was/were you, I would change it as soon as possible.
Sunshine - at last! Imagine if the English weather was like this all the time. Wouldn't it be wonderful?
He's usually pleasant, but when he's tired he ispretty short-tempered. That's the way he is.
If you weren't so stubborn you would find it a lot easier to keep your friends.
Sorry I didn't call you and tell you I wasn't coming. I would have called you if I had had your number with me.
He says that if he wasn't so busy he would go with you to the movie tomorrow. As it is, he simply has too much work to do.
We will miss the bus unless you hurry.
If only I had more free time. All the things I would do. All I ever do is work.

2.2.- Unless.

Think about it

Frutas y verduras de distintos tipos, formando una imagen muy colorida.

Be careful! “Unless” introduces a dependent clause with a condition and it means (if... not).

Unless he calls me, I won't invite him to the party.

Feedback:

Unless is quite common in the first conditional but it's least frequent used in the second and never appears in the third one.

Translation

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Key:

Unless significa “a menos que” y se utiliza para expresar que algo no ocurrirá si no se cumple la condición. Esta partícula es muy común en el Primer Condicional, menos frecuente en el segundo y nunca aparece en el tercero.

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

Now it's your turn

Fill in the gaps using “If” or “unless.”

Distinto material de papelería amontonado.

she does well in the interview, she won't be accepted in the Ph.D. Program.
we learn from our mistakes, we may repeat them.
He will be sent to prison hes is caught in the act
He must study he doesn't want to flunk the course.
you don't understand the exercise, I'll try to help you.
I'll go to the beach with you it rains this weekend.
you don't mind, I'll sit here.
you love her, marry her.

Key:

xxxxxx she does well in the interview, she won't be accepted in the Ph.D. Program.
xxxxxx we learn from our mistakes, we may repeat them.
He will be sent to prison xxxxxx hes is caught in the act
He must study xxxxxx he doesn't want to flunk the course.
xxxxxx you don't understand the exercise, I'll try to help you.
I'll go to the beach with you xxxxxx it rains this weekend.
xxxxxx you don't mind, I'll sit here.
xxxxxx you love her, marry her.

Feedback:

Unless she does well in the interview, she won't be accepted in the Ph.D. Program.
Unless we learn from our mistakes, we may repeat them.
He will be sent to prison if hes is caught in the act.
He must study if he doesn't want to flunk the course.
If you don't understand the exercise, I'll try to help you.
I'll go to the beach with you unless it rains this weekend.
If you don't mind, I'll sit here.
If you love her, marry her.

3.- Words you need. How to Go Green at the office.

How to Go Green at the office
Words and expressions	Translation
CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp).	Bombilla de bajo consumo.
Daylight.	Luz solar.
Ecology.	Ecología.
Energy-saving appliances.	Material de bajo consumo.
Environmentally-friendly /eco-friendly.	Ecológico.
Eolic energy.	Energía eólica.
Go green.	Ayudar al medio ambiente.
Go paperless.	Utilizar soportes electrónicos, sin papeles.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).	Líder en energía y diseño ecológico.
Office lightning.	Alumbrado de la oficina.
Printer-friendly.	Imprimir de forma ecológica.
Programmable Thermostat.	Termostato programable.
Remanufactured ink or toner cartridges.	Tinta o tóner recargable.
Renewable resources.	Energías renovables.
Reuse.	Reutilizar.
Save energy.	Ahorrar energía.
Solar PV (Solar Photovoltaic).	Fotovoltaico / Placas solares.
Sustainability.	Sostenibilidad.
To carpool.	Hacer turnos de coche para ir al trabajo.
To print something on both sizes.	Imprimir algo por ambas caras.
To be awared of.	Ser consciente de algo.
Global Warming.	Calentamiento Global.
Greenhouse Effect.	Efecto Invernadero.
Politics	Translation
Environmental Group.	Ecologistas, Los verdes.
Green issues.	Problemas medioambientales.
Pressure group.	Grupo de presión.
Environmental Verbs	Translation
Cut down / Chop down.	Cortar, talar.
Destroy.	Destruir.
Dispose (of).	Desechar, tirar.
Dump.	Echar vertidos.
Pollute.	Contaminar.
Protect.	Proteger.
Recycle.	Reciclar.
Save.	Salvar.
Throw away.	Tirar, deshacerse de algo.
Use up.	Acabar, gastar, agotar.

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

Think about it

The Go Green Initiative or GGI started in 2002 in California (USA). Do you know what the acronym GREEN stands for? Surf the net for this information.

Feedback:

Generate compose.
Recycle everything that can be reused.
Educate people on environmentally-responsible behaviour.
Evaluate the the environmental impact of every activity.
Nationalize the principles of responsible paper consumption.

A step ahead

You can read the transcript here.

Transcript.

3.2.- Idioms related to Work and Nature.

Idioms are useful expressions which are particular to a language. When trying to translate them, we should be very careful not do it word by word since they wouldn't make any sense in the target language. Example: “Learn something by heart.” If we tried to translate this idiom literally into Spanish it would be something like “aprender de corazón” but this doesn't make any sense to us since the correct translation would be “aprender de memoria”.

OK, then! Having understood all this, challenge yourself and try to learn the following idioms by heart!

Translation

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Key:

Las expresiones idiomáticas tal y como su nombre indica son propias de cada lengua. Por ello, cuando intentamos traducirlas debemos tener mucho cuidado de no hacerlo palabra por palabra ya que no tendrían ningún sentido en la otra lengua. A modo de ejemplo, si tradujéramos la expresión “Learn something by heart” literalmente, en español quedaría algo así como “aprender de corazón” algo que para nosotros no tiene ningún sentido ya que su correcta traducción sería “aprender de memoria.”

Pues bien, una vez entendido todo ésto, ponte un reto y apréndete estas expresiones de memoria!

Now it's your turn

Match the following idioms with their meaning.

Matching exercise
Idioms	Match	Meaning
To work like a dog.	JXUwMDZh	1. To make the wrong choice.
To turn over a new leaf.	JXUwMDZi	2. To work very hard.
To bark up the wrong tree.	JXUwMDY5	3. To start over again, to start a new and better life.

Key:

Matching exercise
Idioms	Match	Meaning
To work like a dog.	2	1. To make the wrong choice.
To turn over a new leaf.	3	2. To work very hard.
To bark up the wrong tree.	1	3. To start over again, to start a new and better life.

Now it's your turn

Do you know their equivalent into Spanish? Surf the net and look for their translation into Spanish. Then, try to learn then by heart! Good luck!

To work like a dog. .
To turn over a new leaf. .
To bark up the wrong tree. .

Key:

To work like a dog.Trabajar como una hormiguita.
To turn over a new leaf. Pasar página.
To bark up the wrong tree.Llamar a la puerta equivocada, perder el tiempo.

Feedback:

To work like a dog. Trabajar como una hormiguita.
To turn over a new leaf. Pasar página.
To bark up the wrong tree. Llamar a la puerta equivocada, perder el tiempo.

Appendix.- Licenses of resources.

Licenses of resources used in session 2. "Going Green!".
Resources (1)	Resources information (1)	Resources (2)	Resources information (2)
	By: pplflickr. License: CC by-nc 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/princetonpubliclibrary/2321651482/in/photostream/		By: CitizenKayt (Caitlin O'Leary). License: CC by-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fearthethreetoedsloth/5894842796/ v
	By: Will Clayton. License: CC by 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spool32/4633177036/sizes/m/in/photostream/		By: Alandd. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alandd/444601957
	By: _StaR_DusT. License: CC by-nc 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/star-dust/775368469/		By: Ombrelle (Martin). License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyweb/3780683263/
	By: Danmachold. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mybloodyself/159734466/		By: Surat Lozowick. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suratlozowick/4277487411/
	By: Moonlight on Celluloid. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirty_dan/4597138846/		By: cobalt123. License: CC by-nc-sa 2.0. From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cobalt/4973393023/