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Paul Sparks - Online English Lesson Plans, Lesson Material and Ideas for Oral English Lessons, Hunan University of Science and Technology...

Lesson Objectives: Students will learn to feel more comfortable using the telephone and expand their skills when speaking English on the phone. Students will further develop their vocabulary related to telephone calls. They will understand common expressions used in everyday situations and be able to ask for clarification when using the telephone. They will practice spelling names and addresses over the phone.

Adapted From: http://www.frontiercollege.ca/english/public/online/Toolbox/six/6.pdf

Telephone Etiquette:

• Residential telephones are answered with a simple “Hello”.

• Business phones are answered by a receptionist who states the name of the company, business or organization.

• When calling, ask for the person you wish to speak to or state the reason for your call, e.g. “Is Tony there, please?”

• Do not demand, “Who is this?” when you call a home or business, especially when you have not identified yourself.

• If you reach a wrong number, apologize.

• If you are not sure if you have mis -dialed a number or whether you have written the number down incorrectly, check the number with the party you have reached by saying “ Is this 491-7623?”

• Do not ask, “What number is this?”

• Another way to ask is “I’m trying to reach John Smith at 769-2345. Have I got the correct number?”

• Do not identify yourself to an unknown caller.

• Never give personal information over the telephone.

• Sometimes, dishonest people use the telephone to find out if there is anyone at home or to get a credit card number.

• When calling for information, state the nature of the call and ask for the right person before going into detail.

• If someone is providing information or explaining something, be sure to acknowledge you are listening. Do this during the speaker’s pauses.

• Uh-uh is a negative response meaning “no”.

• Uh-huh is positive response meaning “yes”.

• If you are silent for too long, you will make the speaker nervous and they will usually ask, “Are you still there?”

• 911 is used only for emergency situations e.g., fire, severe accidents (heart attacks, bleeding, no breathing). Do not call 911 for information.

• Police divisions have a number for general inquiries.

• If an answering machine takes your call, speak clearly, slowly and loudly, leave your name, telephone number and a brief message.

Spelling Names and Addresses:

• What presents the most difficulty for you when you are spelling your name to someone on the phone?

• How would you pronounce Z ? (Show student the letter)

• What letters in your name often get confused?

• How would you read this date June 25, 1999? ( Show student the date)

• How would you spell your name over the phone?

Letters and Numbers:

• Names often need to be spelled.

• Even common English names have different spellings e.g., Cathy - Kathy.

• When spelling a name or address it is important to pronounce letters carefully to provide clarification e.g., V as in Vancouver.

• The names of the letters of the alphabet are similar in many languages.

• Vowels are difficult to distinguish e.g., e and i.

• j and g are two consonants which sometimes pose a difficulty.

• In Canadian or British English, the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced

• “zed”; in American English it is pronounced as “ zee”.

• Always check numbers by repeating them.

• Be careful with pairs such as fifteen (15) and fifty (50).

Phonetic Spelling: When speaking on the telephone, it is sometimes useful to spell a word using English Phonetic Spelling. To spell "Club", for example, you would say: "C for Charlie, L for Lima, U for Uniform, B for Bravo."

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