OBJECTIVES
1. To acquire strategies for small talk and fillers for dead air
2. To produce / / and /a/ sounds and pronounce words with correct word stress
3. To master subject-verb agreement rules
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PREPARE TO SPEAK
Dialogue
A: Hi, _________! I heard you’re leaving for the US.
B: Yeah. How’d you know about it?
A: Of course, from the grapevine!
B: It’s still hush-hush until the formal announcement.
A: C’mon tell me. My lips are sealed. Trust me.
B: My Unit Head recommended me for further training at the Head Office in Florida., and I’m going to be away for three months.
A: Lucky for you! What will you be training for?
B: Public Relations.
A: Oh my, isn’t that wonderful?! Congratulations!
B: thanks. I’m quite thrilled, though I can hardly believe that among the short listed, I was chosen.
A: You’re the person for the job and the Board knew that.
B: That’s quit flattering. But, you know the news came on such short notice that I have to get my visa this week and also my things in two days’ time. Good it’s still summer there.
Most of my clothes will do. Otherwise, packing would be impossible.
A: How can I be of help? Just tell me.
B: So far, everything is falling into place. Thanks, anyway, I have to get going now. My interview for the visa is at three 0’clock this afternoon.
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A: Okay, go! Good luck!
A. Pronunciation
Directions: Go over the text again. List down some of the words that represent the / / and / a / sounds in the text. Write your answers in the box.
/ / sound / a / sound
B. Practice by saying the following aloud:
/ / / a /
About Arch
Among Balm
Attend Bottle
Attire Calm
But Card
Children comet
Cousin Drop
Cup Flock
enough Together
Famous Foreigner
Public Hobby
Subway Horror
Sun jog
The Knowledge
Tough Mark
Trouble Qualm
us Sharp
starch
C. Pronunciation Exercises
1. I want to stay calm but I just can’t help getting upset now.
2. In New York are we allowed to wear that kind of attire in the office?
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3. Did you notice the sharp curve along Main Street?
4. The children have to go back to School even if the family situation is still rough.
5. What kind of trouble did your foreign get into?
6. I’ve got no knowledge about the increase in registration fee.
7. I have no qualms taking the subway to Jersey.
8. Among the agents, only one has reached an outstanding mark.
9. You just can’t imagine the horror that trip to Long Island brought us!
10. In the East, it’s not enough that you jog every day.
D. Word Stress
Element of Language Stress 1. Loudness (force or intensity)
2. Pitch (lowness or highness of sound)
3. Duration (the length of the stressed word is greater than the unstressed word)
Read the following words. Which syllables are stressed?
1. Customs
To better acquaint yourself with word stress or stress, you must learn how to consult the dictionary.
Two (2) Kinds of Stresses 1. Primary (‘) stress 2. Secondary (“) stress
Some words have a secondary and primary stresses.
Example:
‘ “ “ ‘ Circumstance manifestation
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‘ “ “ ‘ Consequence penicillin
“ ‘ “ ‘ Evaluation registration “ ‘ “ ‘ Humanitarian transportation
Compound verbs have a primary stress on the second syllables and a secondary stress on the first.
“ ‘ ‘ “ ‘ Understand outdo overflow
E. Exercise in Word Stress
1. For this company to survive, we need innovative marketing strategies.
2. It’s the company’s obligation to overhaul the recruitment process to better screen applicants.
3. As a manager, his reputation as a no non-sense boss precedes him.
4. The classification of the different accounts depends on services rendered to clients.
5. Under what category should we place the complaint?
6. It is obligatory for all employees to get an NBI clearance.
7. Due to unavoidable circumstances, the airport was closed.
8. During the awarding ceremonies, he got a standing ovation.
9. The situation was such that he had no choice but to leave.
10. His associate nominated him for the position.
COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS
A. Exercises: Practice the dialogue in ‘Prepare to Speak’ with a partner. Pay attention to the common expressions used to engage in small talks.
B. Techniques/Strategies It’s still hush-hush until…
My lips are sealed.
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Lucky for you!
Isn’t that wonderful?
I’m quit thrilled.
That’s quit flattering.
I have to get going now.
What do you think is the usual topic of small talks based on the expressions on the above list?
C. Discuss Briefly: /small Talks vs. Business/Formal Talk What do you think is the basic difference between the two?
D. More Practice: Can you add to the list?
Common Expressions in small talk Equivalent Expressions in Business Talk
E. Vocabulary and Idioms
Exercise 1: Go over the dialogue again. Can you identify some of the idiomatic
expressions used? Do you know what they mean? List down the idioms you found in the text and explain how you understand each.
Idioms used in the dialogue Possible meaning
Exercise 2: Complete the dialogue below with the appropriate vocabulary and idiomatic expressions from the box:
Fill me in Dead air Edgy
Keep me on my toes No doubt about that Moment of silence
Acting up Get back
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A: Hi, ____! Nice to see you. Have a seat and ______________ on your latest job experience.
B: I like that. We recently had a workshop on avoiding _____________ while calling calls. The next day the language coordinator checked our conversation with clients.
A: didn’t that make you __________________?
B: Not really, just _________________.
A: Good to hear that.
B: There was this client who lost her flight schedule and connecting flight itinerary.
A: that’s fairly easy to handle.
B: ______________, but my computer gave me trouble.
A: what did you do?
B: Well, I kept talking to her, not even a ________________. I told her I was retrieving the information but my computer was ____________. It would probably take five minutes or so to pull up the information. I guess I sounded sincere she said she didn’t mind waiting. I said thank you and told her the
computer was already running the data, and I was scrolling down to M to get her name, and I was very close. You see a damn second of waiting could mean a minute. So I kept talking to her and kept her informed about what was happening, and before we knew it the information flashed on the screen.
A: that was a good job. Congratulations.
B: Well, I studied the expressions and practices saying them in front of the mirror.
After all, I wanted to impress the Coordinator (laughs).
GRAMMAR
A. Subject-Verb Agreement or SVA (Part 1: Rules 1-6)
RULE 1: A singular subject requires a singular verb; a phrase subject requires a plural verb.
Example: Ella takes the bus to work.
Ella and John take the bus to work.
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RULE 2: Titles of books, movies, etc., always requires a singular verb
Example:
Gulliver’s Travels is on sale at eh bookshop
Caribbean Cruises is offering big discounts for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
RULE 3: Amounts, distances, measurements, always require a singular verb.
Example:
Fifteen miles is the distance between Xanadu and Island Paradise.
Seventy dollars is the car rental fee.
RULE 4: When both positive and negative subjects are in the same sentence, the verb should take after the positive subject.
Example:
The trainers, not the participants, are responsible for the materials.
RULE 5: Intervening words such as, “together with, as well as, along with, including,”
etc., do not affect the verb Example:
The training manager, as well as the team leaders, has submitted the monthly report.
RULE 6: The word “and” when referring to the same subject, requires a singular verb;
“and” requires a plural verb when referring to different subjects.
Example:
An old friend and my boss are at the same unit.
Exercise: Underline the correct form of verb
1. Customer Service Representatives (gains, gain) meaningful experiences in dealing with different kinds of people.
2. The coordinator, as well as her subordinate, (was, were) on her way to the main office when the Manager came.
3. That $5000 profit last week (is, are) the highest so far.
4. “Pirates of the Caribbean” (has, have) been surprisingly popular among the young movie viewers.
5. I think “Romeo and Juliet” (is, are) not really about love.
6. When we travel, my mom and dad usually (pays, pay) in cash.
7. (is, are) five kilometers long?
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8. The three customers, not the agent, (was, were) the ones who complained.
9. My friend and manager (wants, want) me to come along.
10. The agent and the team leader finally (breaks, break) their silence.
APPLY THE SKILLS
A. Simulation: Prepare a 3-minute role-play on the following situations.
1. A client asks about discounts at 3 hotels of her choice in San Francisco. She wants to know the packages that suit her specifications. Your computer is very slow at
retrieving the information, how will you fill in dead air so the client will not get impatient?
2. While you are pulling the information regarding a confirmation of flight schedule, hotel booking and car rental of your client from Arizona, the computer snags. Try small talk so the client will not mind waiting.
3. The information on connecting flights from North Carolina to Hawaii that the client wants is taking time as your system is slow. You try small talk as well as fillers to keep your client occupied while waiting.
B. Fishbowl Approach
The class will be divided into two or three groups depending the size of your class. One group will observe the performers and take note of their strengths and weaknesses.
Each observer will have a partner to observe. Then after the performance, the observers will critique the partner’s strengths and weaknesses according to the criteria set.
Afterwards, the groups will shift roles.
Criteria:
Spontaneity probability of the situation
Correct use of vocabulary and expressions in context
Correct production of vowel sounds
Correct use of intonation patterns
Accuracy in making the subject agree with its verb
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