Listening test: One thing to change in my country

Listen to six people talk about the main problem their country has and match each of the speakers with the corresponding heading A to H. There are two headings you do not need to use.



A - Bleak future for most people
B - Dishonesty everywhere
C - Money-related criticism
D -No problem other than this
E - Our lifestyle is too fast
F - People just don’t care
G - Time-consuming system
H - Violent young people

1 Sunny / Korea – Our lifestyle is too fast
I'm from Korea, and it's developed very recently in a rapid pace, so I think competition is the one thing that people always have in mind, and I hope Korea can be a little slow-paced and relaxed.
2 Tim / United States – People just don’t care
In America, I think it would be very helpful if people were more considerate about others, not necessarily people that they would interact with, but also people that they'll never see. So, if people could try to not litter so much or keep things in public areas much cleaner, or just do things that would be more helpful in the future, I think that would help things a lot.
3 Rese / Botswana – Time-consuming system
Yeah, I wish the public transportation was better, because currently it takes a long time to get from one bus station to another, and the buses are crowded, you cannot really get a good seat.
4 Gareth / England – Violent young people
I think my country is too violent. I'm from England, and there's a lot of youth violence, a lot of stabbing. In England, we don't have so much gang culture; it's a little bit in the cities, but it's mainly violence from fighting, like brawls. And I would like to stop this.
5 Kat / Germany – Money-related criticism
One thing I'd like to change about Germany is how many taxes we have to pay. Some people pay up to fifty percent of what they own to the government, and I think that's just too high, so I'd really like to change the tax system.
6 Katia / Mexico – No problem other than this
One thing that I would like to change about the country is perhaps have a little bit of less violence. Right now, it's a little bit critical situation, but I think that's the only thing that I would like to see changed in my country.

Key:
1E 2F 3G 4H 5C 6D

Talking point: Public services and complaints

This week's talking point is public services and complaints. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

• Have you ever complained about services in public places, restaurants, hotels?
• If so, what happened?
• When was the last time you were dissatisfied with a service but didn’t complain about it?
• Why didn’t you complain?
• Which advice on handling complaints positively would you give?
• Can you give an example of a business which offers a good / bad customer service?
• Do you agree with the remark that 'the customer is always right'?
• What typical complaints people make about your line of work or company?
• Who is the most/least skillful person at DIY jobs you know?
• What kind of repairs are you more willing to do yourself / ask a friend or relative to do for you / hire professional people to do?
• Do you ever volunteer to help friends, family or colleagues if they have some repairs to do?
• Would you volunteer your time to help people in need or your community?
• In what areas do you think you could be more helpful? 

To illustrate the topic you can watch the beginning of the Fawlty Towers episode Communication Problems. What would you have done if you had been the receptionist?

Number 17, please. 
That'll be fine, thank you.
Goodbye. Thank you so much.
Hello, Fawlty Towers.
Oh, hello, Mr. Hawkins.
I've arranged your car for 2:00 this afternoon.
Thank you.
Well, you did say today, Mr. Hawkins.
You do accept checks? 
With a banker's card, yes.
Well, we have to cancel the order then.
Yes. No, no, 5:00 will be fine.Goodbye
Polly, Brenda can't start till Monday so would you mind doing the rooms until then?
Oh, no. I could do with the money.
Oh, good
There you are
Thank you, Mr. Yardley
Oh, hello. Can I help you?
Yes... 
Girl, would you give me change for this, please?
In one moment. I'm just dealing with this gentleman.
Yes, Mr. Thurston... 
What?
Thank you, I was wondering if... 
I need change for this!
In a moment. I'm dealing with this gentleman.
But I have a taxl driver waiting. Surely this gentleman wouldn't mind if you just gave me change.
Do you? 
No, no. Go ahead.
There you are.
Can you tell me how to get to Glendower Street?
Now, I've booked a room and bath with a sea view for three nights.
Glendower Street? 
Yes.
You haven't finished with me.
Missus...?
Mrs. Richards. Mrs. Alice Richards.
Mrs. Richards, Mr. Thurston.
Mr. Thurston, Mrs. Richards.
Mr. Thurston is the gentleman I'm attending to at the moment.
What?
Mr. Thurston is the gentleman I'm attending...
Don't shout. I'm not deaf.
Mr. Thurston was here before you, Mrs. Richards.
But you were serving me!
I gave you change, but I hadn't finished dealing with him.
Now, Glendower Street...
Isn't there anyone else in attendance here? Really, this is the most appalling service!
What a good idea!
Manuel, could you lend Mrs. Richards your assistance in connection with her reservation?
Now...
I've reserved a very quiet room with a bath and a sea view. I specifically asked for a sea view in my written confirmation, so please make sure I have it.
Qué?
What? 
Qué?
K? 
Sí.
C?
"KC"?
"KC"? What are you trying to say?
No, no, no, no.
Qué: What. 
K-watt?
Sí. Qué... what.
C.K. Watt? 
Yes!
Who is C.K. Watt?
Qué?
Is he the manager, Mr. Watt?
Oh, manaher! 
He is?
Ah, Mr. Fawlty!
What? 
Fawlty!
What are you talking about, you silly little man?
What is going on here?
I ask him for my room, and he tells me the manager's a Mr. Watt, aged 40.
No. No, no.
Faw-lty.
"Faulty"? What's wrong with him?
It's all right, Mrs. Richards. He's from Barcelona.
The manager's from Barcelona?
No, no, no. He's from Swanage.
And you're in 22. 
What?
You're in room 22. Manuel, take these cases up to 22, will you?

Stop Whining People who complain and moan

In today's Madrid Teacher video, five teachers and students discuss some people's habit to complain non-stop. That gives the opportunity to go over some features of spoken English.

First of all, watch the video through so that you can get a general idea of what the conversation is about.

Now watch the video again, paying attention to the  following:

• Conversation fillers to gain thinking time: you know; Well
• Use of adverbs with adjectives and verbs to emphasize the information: really, rather; just
• Use of actually to introduce a bit of surprising information.
• Showing surprise: Really?
• Reacting to what you have just heard:  No way!; That’s terrible!; Yeah can you imagine; That’s interesting.
• Use of hedging so as not to sound too dogmatic when expressing our ideas: I think so; I guess
• Actively taking part in the conversation by asking questions and making suggestions: What about other things, like you mentioned before?; What about for example different waters
• Showing agreement: Coffee, yeah; Yeah! Exactly; That’s right; Absolutely!
• Use of I mean to paraphrase what you have just said and make yourself clear.

You know, I heard something really interesting the other day. It’s about, for example, in France they were selling wine to the US but it was actually an inferior… very… inferior type of wine and they were selling it as something that was rather expensive. What do you think about that?
Really?
Yeah.
How long did this go on for?
It went on for a very long time and no one noticed. That’s the pity.
No way!
That’s terrible!
Yeah can you imagine.
Oh, I would be able to tell in an instant!
Would you?
I think so.
Are you a wine lover?
I love wine, good wine.
Do you know the difference from a good wine and a bad wine?
Yeah! Just based on the colour, the smell, the taste.
Okay.
Everything.
I went on a few wine-tastings and they told me all of those things…
Yeah.
…how you were supposed to swish the wine and smell the wine to know if it’s good or not. I still can’t figure it out.
That’s interesting.
Well, yeah, takes some practice, I guess.
I think so, because I like wine too but I cannot notice the difference, ah, well, when the wine is very good, yeah, you can really taste it and it’s delicious, no?, but the difference like.
What about other things, like you mentioned before?
We can talk about, coffee, for example.
Coffee, yeah.
There’s a big difference when we talk about coffee… drinking coffee, I mean, because, for example, in South America coffee is very, very natural, okay, and…
And it’s so good!
…and I can also mention of course Central America, no, coffee from there is very natural and pure and delicious, when it is export(ed) to Europe I think that they mix it and it is not the same.
This morning I had my first cup of coffee with coffee that dissolves in the milk… Never again! Instant coffee.
Oh, no, I don’t like coffee. I don’t know the difference.
What about for example different waters, do you know the difference about different kinds of waters, bottled waters?
I couldn’t tell the difference.
You couldn't? Anyone else? Are you water connoisseur?
I just drink tap water.
Yeah, sometimes I think tap water tastes better.
Sometimes bottled water has a nice plastic taste to it.
Yeah! Exactly.
That’s right.
Wine to water!
Absolutely!

Madrid Teacher: Consumed Consumer

In this week's Madrid Teacher video, two teachers discuss customer service and the extent to what businesses and companies can be held responsible for the bad service their employees provide. As usual, this is going to give us the opportunity to get acquainted with some features of spoken English.

First of all, watch the video through to get acquainted with the gist of the teachers' conversation.

Now watch the video more carefully, paying attention to the following:

• Conversation fillers to gain thinking time: Well; you know
• Showing the person who is speaking that you're paying attention and listening: Right
• Use of just to emphasize the verb.
• Use of so as a linker.
• Showing agreement: Yeah; for sure; I agree with that; I agree; Right
• Use of I mean to paraphrase with we have just said and make yourself clear

This passenger on a United Airlines flight had his guitar broken and he ended up writing a song about it and put it on YouTube and he's caused the company’s stocks to fall. That’s incredible!
Why was that?
Well, well, because they broke his guitar [Right.], he went out to get revenge on the company and, and I don’t know how many employees these, these people have, maybe they have a hundred thousand employees.
Somehow I can relate to this guy because, you know, so many times things happen to you and you just can’t do nothing about it, so I mean I would, I’m happy for the guy, I mean…
Yeah, but he was, he was unable to, to put the paperwork through, or do, do the work, the legal work, if necessary. There are other channels.
Well, if they broke his guitar, somehow they have to pay for the guitar and all that, I mean...
For sure, I agree with that, but there are other channels, there are legal channels.
It’s always very hard to fight all these big companies, it’s a thing that, I don’t know, somehow I feel that the guy… I’m happy for the guy.
I think, okay, I agree, there’s, I mean, they broke his guitar, that’s for sure [Right.] but there are, were two employees possibly who broke the guitar [Right.], okay…
Yeah, but the employees work for the company, somehow the company is responsible for everybody, yeah.
Right, but now all the employees of the company are paying for these, these…
Well, not all the employees are paying...
If their stocks fell, the company’s been hurt, the company’s been hurt by this.
That was, I mean, that was the company’s fault, I mean, they made a mistake, and that’s I mean, they can’t help it, you know.
Okay, it’s a mistake, so…
Well, somehow you…
They can rectify it but there are other channels to, to rectify that mistake.
Well, it’s a free world nowadays you can write a song or whatever, it’s, you know.
Yeah, but it’s, it’s overkill.
I’m sure the musician was not trying to damage the company’s image, you know.
Of course he was. He was trying to get revenge.
Revenge?
Revenge!
I mean money or…
He’s vindictive…
Well, somehow he was hurt…
… frustrated, he was hurt, yeah.
He was hurt, he’s a musician, I mean, obviously…
He wanted to get them back.
… that was the only guitar he had, you know, I mean, he was not able to play for a couple months [Yeah.], you know, so somehow, somehow he wrote a song and, if I can make it, well, no problem, you know.
Well, that’s just the point, he said there’s a good story in here and maybe I can get rich with it.
It’s a good story, well… You got to give him credit, you got to give him credit.
I give him credit for creativity, but it’s also a little bit malicious…
No, no, no, that was not his…
It’s malicious creativity.
… his main idea was not that one, I mean, he was just writing out a song because something that happened to him, it was just out of the blue, and he just did it like that.
I don’t know, I think when you have a problem with the company, if the first person you talk to won’t take care of you, you can talk to more people, there’s other things you can do other than…
I’m sure he just went through, I mean, a lot, a lot of people through the company and finally he just said I’m gonna write out a song because nobody pays attention to, to my, to my complaint.
Oh, yeah, and he’s so important.
Well, he’s so important, he’s important now that he’s famous right.
Infamous.
Infamous, right.

Madrid Teacher: Banking it

In our Madrid Teacher series, this week three teachers are discussing the problems that cash point users sometimes have to face. As usual, their conversation gives us the opportunity to deal with some features of spoken English.

First of all, watch the video through to get the gist of the teachers' conversation.
Now, let's study the video in more detail and let's focus on some of the features of spoken English the teachers use:

• Use of so as a linking word.
• Use of fillers like well, you know, to gain thinking time.
• Active listening: Reacting to the information we have just heard: Oh, no!; Oh, interesting; asking questions to the person who is speaking to show interest in the story.
• Trying to involve listeners in the conversation by asking them questions.
• Showing agreement: Yeah! Exactly!
• Use of actually to introduce a piece of surprising information.
• Use of vague language when we don't know the specific name of something: they put a plastic something.
• Use of like as a linking word.

Now it's over to you. Have you ever had any problems with a cash point or with a bank? If possible, get together with a friend and answer the question together. Try and use some of the features of spoken English that came up in the video.

So, have you had any problems with a bank recently?
Recently? Well, you know, a couple of weeks ago, I went to the bank and of course I wanted money like everybody. And I put in my card, I put in my pin, and it kept my card. And I thought oh my goodness what have I done, maybe I put in the wrong pin code, etc.
Oh no!
And so I was concerned. I went to the bank the next day, but it just so happens that on that particular day there was a stack of credit… of cards, of all the people… because it, it ate all the cards of every single person that wanted money that particular day.
That, something similar happened to me once. I put in my card and I wanted to get out six hundred euros… which is quite a lot… and of course it didn’t give it to me.
So what happened?
And did it eat the card?
Yeah, it ate the card and it wouldn’t give me the money. And it was a Sunday, On a Sunday…. So I will never ever again in my life try and take out, well a large amount of money on a Sunday.
I had that happen as well.
So I was really nervous on Monday morning, cause, well you know, what if they don’t believe me.
And how did you eat on Sunday?
I didn’t actually need the money but I was just worried that on Monday morning they were going to say “well there’s no proof that you took out six hundred euros,” or that maybe it came out later and someone else took it.
Yeah, I always worry about security when I’m at an ATM. And so I always… whenever I put in my code I always cover my hands and… Cause I had a friend once that, they put a plastic something over the key pad, a plastic sleeve and, and it recorded his code.
Oh, interesting. So did he lose any money?
No, I think the bank… that he was protected but… it’s always a hassle
Yeah, you have to be careful.
So what about security around banks? Have you had anything happen to you?
I’m always looking over my shoulder just in case.
Yeah, like who’s behind you. See who’s behind you first...
Exactly!
... before you put the numbers in.
Right, right.
Very good.

Reading test: Ryanair stories

In today's reading activity we are going to do a multiple matching activity. We are going to read a number of comments by Ryanair users in which they express their opinions about the airline. You have to match the comments with the heading that best reflects each opinion. Each heading can only be used once, and there is one heading that you do not need to use. Comment 0 is an example.

Heading A: They draw the line of saving costs at the most important thing
Heading B: Depends on your personal situation
Heading C: Some strings attached  (=hidden demands)
Heading D: Felt like cattle
Heading E: Air travel is never easy
Heading F: Not good value for my money
Heading G: You get what you pay for
Heading H: Simply careless travellers
Heading I: Left to yourself
 
Comment 0 (example): Heading I
Flew with Ryanair to Bratislava two years ago for a week's walking holiday, bags lost for five out of seven days, ruined holiday, had to buy all new items, took me six months to get any money out of them and no apology - will not recommend them to anyone
Paul Chappell, Milton Keynes


Comment 1
I cannot understand the media's obsession with Ryanair, no one is forced to fly with them. There are plenty of alternative (and more expensive airlines) to choose from. It does exactly what it says on the tin, it is a low fares airline.
Sean Murphy, Holywood, Northern Ireland 

Comment 2
Mr White missed a few of the airline's more insidious tricks, which those of us who use it frequently know about, such as its new bag weigh-ins at the boarding gate, after they've bought duty free (which in many cases will have taken them over the 10kg baggage allowance). Ryanair introduced this last-minute shake-down this summer, weighing bags before boarding and forcing people to pay £40 penalty to check their bags into the hold if duty free had taken them over the allowance. And in the event of double bookings, they wait until an hour or two before check-in for the flight closes to send an e-mail alerting the customer to that fact - by which time it is too late to do anything about it or claim a refund. I have reported Ryanair to Trading Standards for this and was told that it is illegal as they have a duty to provide services with due care and attention.
Kate, France 

Comment 3
While I admire Michael O'Leary and detest (some of) his attitude equally, the thing that re-assures me about Ryanair is O'Leary's admission that the only thing that keeps him awake at night is safety. It has also been stated that it is the only area where he refuses to cut costs. I hope this is true.
Bradley Hardacre, Dublin, Ireland 

Comment 4
Well I'm definitely in the 'I hate Ryanair' camp. And the idea that they're cheap just doesn't add up. If like me you book a business flight with maybe 3 days notice then they're often one of the more expensive by the time you add all their hidden charges. Given the choice I'd rather fly say British Airways, and pay the extra £20 or so and have a nice comfortable flight with a coffee and a seat I can actually fit in (I'm 6'4") rather than the 'Sit down and SHUT UP' attitude I often suffered with Ryanair.
Phil Mudge, Cambridge

Comment 5
I used to prefer Ryanair to Easyjet but now they charge you for every little thing I've given up on them, it’s all very well for single people who can fit 2 weeks worth of clothes into a small bag but for someone with a toddler the fees rack up mighty quick until British airways becomes the cheaper option!
Katharine, Leicester





Comment 6
I have flown with Ryanair for the last five years regularly, at least four-six flights a year and never had any problems. No lost baggage, no "hidden" costs, no nothing. And always well below £30 return flights. The hidden costs only appear to people who can't actually read. I work as a receptionist and I know how some people complain about things as "hidden" and "never mentioned" that were clearly stated in the booking. If one reads every word through booking, then he or she will find out about every charge, and if someone packs for a two-week holiday clothes that would be enough for a year-long trip, then they should be prepared to pay extra. I personally only fly with hand luggage so I won't need to queue to check in or pay extra for anything. So if you wanna fly cheap, be prepared to make sacrifices.
Janos Gal, Edinburgh


Comment 7 
This September my family and I happened to fly internally in Italy on another cheap airline. We got: numbered seats, free coffee, free biscuits and preferential treatment because we are a young family. Unlike Rynair, no pushing and crowding to get on the bus, no rude people attempting to get in front of you, all generally very pleasant. The time of the flight was also more convenient; we left Milan Linate at midday. The equivalent Ryanair flight would have meant getting up at four in the morning. Suffice to say, we will not be hurrying to fly with Mr O'Leary's company in the near future.
Liam Bass, Brescia, Italy

Source. A love/hate affair with Ryanair, BBC Magazine

Photo: The Times

  
Key:
1G 2C 3A 4F 5B 6H 7D

Writing Workshop 19: Complaints in writing

Complaints in writing

As it usually happens with writing tasks, a specific task, like writing complaints, can present itself in many different formats in the exam. For example:

1 Write an email to a supplier using the information below:
 • You ordered 1,000 t-shirts but only 800 were delivered.
 • You need these t-shirts urgently.
 • There is also a problem with the position of the logo –it should be placed on the right, not in the centre.
 • When you called to speak to someone about it, no-one was willing to deal with you to solve the problem.
 • You have been customers for five years and demand a quick solution or you will stop doing business.

2 You have received this letter from a hotel after a recent visit.
Thank you very much for filling out our feedback questionnaire. We are sorry to see that you were not satisfied with your arrival arrangements. Would you be so kind as to provide us with detailed comments and make suggestions for improvement? We trust the rest of your stay was satisfactory and will happily give you one night’s free accommodation the next time you visit us.
Write your letter of complaint.

3 You recently went for a meal at Benny's fast food restaurant, which is part of an international chain. Unfortunately, the service was very slow and the food was badly cooked so you complained to the supervisor. However, he was very rude to you and insisted on your paying for your meal. You have decided to write a letter of complaint to the company's head office. Write your letter, explaining the reasons for your complaint and saying what you expect the company to do.

4 Write a blog entry describing a complaint you have about a specific aspect of everyday life.

Whatever the task, you will always have to pay attention to several details outside the complaint itself. This involves:
• Study the task carefully and mark all the points in the task.
• As far as possible, use your own words and avoid copying sentences and phrases from the input of the task.
• Use the appropriate layout and conventions for the piece of writing you have been asked to produce –formal/informal letter or email, blog entry.
• Organise the information in paragraphs.
• Use connectors to list and link your arguments.
• Use sufficiently complex sentence structures and a good range of vocabulary.
• Use the register consistently –formal, neutral or informal.
• Write the required number of words approximately.

The paragraph structure when writing complaints will usually keep to the following plan:
• First paragraph: Give reason(s) for writing and all the necessary back ground information.
• Middle paragraph(s): Give details of the problem(s) and the consequences they had on you.
• Final paragraph: Summarise the difficulties and request action.

Useful language
Reasons for writing 
I am writing...
… in connection with my order FS690 which arrived today.
… to complain about the poor service we received from your company.
… to complain about the quality of a product I bought from your website.

Problem(s)
I would like to begin by saying how frustrated I was…
My next complaint was with …
Another problem was …
The thing that angered me the most was …

Request for action 
I hope that / trust this situation will not occur again.
I would be extremely grateful if you could give me a reply before tomorrow.
I would appreciate it if you would send me a refund.
If I do not hear from you within two weeks, I am afraid I will have to take legal action.

For a corrected and explained letter of complaint, check Flo-Joe here.

Microsoft also offers a wide range of sample letters of complaints here.

For other models of corrected and explained composition tasks you can visit Flo-Joe.

With information from First Certificate Expert, Longman.

The ultimate consumerist guide to complain

"Every so often, the plane doesn't leave on time, a wrong part gets shipped or a bank teller sniggers at your hat. If you're disappointed and want to tell the company, these tips will help your complaint see real results."

This is one of the attention-grabbing remarks from the How to guide The Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back from The Consumerist.

The advice is divided into three clear-cut parts:

• The route
• The hardball route
• The legal route

We will get tips that range from writing a complaint letter, to recording telephone calls to claiming in court.

In short, The Ultimate Consumerist Guide to Fighting Back is a light-hearted read that can be both useful for our English as students (we will be practising letter writing and lots of reading) and useful in real life.

Communication problems

Self-study activity:
Watch the beginning of the Fawlty Towers episode Communication Problems and think about the different techniques Polly, the receptionist, uses to deal with Mrs Richards.

If you wish, you can  activitate the English subtitles on the YouTube video.



What would you have done in Polly's shoes?

Key:
1) She tries to be reasonable and polite; 2) she gives in to Mrs Richards' demands; 3) she ignores her; 4) she's ironic and involves another guest in the argument; 5) she gets rid of the problem by referring Mrs Richards to Manuel.

A letter of complaint

The episode in the restaurant of Fawlty Towers brings up the issue of how to write a letter of complaint, which is an academic task intermediate students and above frequently have to deal with.

There are three basic parts in a letter of complaint, and we should write each part in a different paragraph.
a) Why you are writing (introduction).
b) What exactly happened (details).
c) What you want the company to do and what will happen if the problem is not solved.

On top of that, we must remember that this type of writing is formal or semi-formal, so we should use polite formulas and respect layout conventions.

And never forget, especially in exams, to keep to the length of the piece of writing. Sometimes it is really difficult to include lots of information in a very limited space!

You can read a corrected version of a letter of complaint in the Flo-Joe site, which prepares students for the Cambridge exams.

Microsoft also gives us access to endless templates for letters of complaints or any kind of writing  for that matter. Just download and read three or four models so that you get familiar with the type of language and design that you should use.

Self-study activity: You are Mr or Mrs Johnstone from the clip Gourmet Night in the blog entry before. Write a letter of complaint to the manageress of Fawlty Towers Hotel, complaining about the situation and the manager's attitude. Write 170 words.

Complaints

Watch this video from the Fawlty Towers episode 'Gourmet Night'.



Self-study activity: Answer these questions about the clip:

1. What do the customers complain about?
2. How much did they eat?
3. What different solutions do the customers and Basil Fawlty suggest?

Watch the video again and think about the mistakes Basil (John Cleese), the hotel manager makes.

You can self-correct the activity by reading the script here.

Self-study activity: Discuss these questions with a friend:
1. When was the last time you complained about a product or service? What did you do?
2. When was the last time you were dissatisfied with something but didn’t complain about it? Why didn’t you complain?
3. Which advice on handling complaints positively would you give?