PE8-5 Going
on a Business Trip
Lesson Objectives
After completing this lesson, students should be able to:
-understand and describe common travel situations encountered by business travelers.
-comprehend and use travel-related vocabulary.
-use professional, formal register in communication more fluently.
-ask for and give clarification.
WARM-UP
Discuss
these questions with a partner or in groups:
1. Which countries have you been to? Which countries would you like to visit? Are there any countries you wouldn’t want to visit? Why?
2. Do you know anyone who travels frequently on business (e.g., your uncle?
your friend's father? etc.) What kind of business is s/he in?
3. How often does s/he travel? Which countries does s/he travel to?
4. What do you think are some of the problems a business traveler might face?
5.
Would you like to travel as a businessperson someday? Why or why not?
Tips For Business Travelers: Things To Know Before You Go
John Thompson is an international sales representative for a large
multinational corporation with its main office in
His secretary, Tina, usually handles his travel arrangements. She
calls the travel agency to make the reservation. She has to consider factors such as the
check-in time, departure and arrival times, and visa requirements (if any).
Once he has his tickets and travel documents in order, she calls the travel
agency again to confirm his reservation.
Tina is also responsible for making his hotel reservations. Since Mr.
Thompson often has to entertain guests at his hotel, he wants her to make sure
that a large suite will be ready for him when he arrives at his destination.
When he goes abroad for business, his company pays for his
flights. Mr. Thompson usually travels in business class. When he has enough
frequent flier miles, he can upgrade to first class. He is such an experienced
traveler that when there is turbulence, he usually sleeps right through it. His
only complaint is that he often suffers from jet lag, especially on long trips.
He usually arrives at the airport two hours before his flight is
scheduled to depart. There, he checks in and receives his boarding pass. He is
also informed of his gate number and seat number. If he has enough time, he may
visit the duty-free shops in the airport.
When he arrives at his destination, he makes sure his passport,
visa, and arrival card are in order so he can quickly go through customs and
immigration. He has the following advice for business travelers:
“Always pack lightly. I usually take one check-in and one carry-on baggage. As a business traveler, you will constantly be on the move. You don’t want to worry about lugging heavy bags with you everywhere you go. Just bring the essentials and leave the rest at home.”
“Don’t carry a lot of cash.You should take most of your money in traveler’s checks. Keep your receipts in a safe and separate place so if you lose your traveler’s checks, you can quickly get replacements. Credit cards can also be used almost anywhere.”
“Try to get plenty of rest before and after your flight. If you
are traveling from NewYork to
“Last but not least, remember the old saying - 'When in
by Roman Yamsuan and
Shelby Largay
VOCABULARY
Nouns
boarding pass class
(economy, business, first) customs
immigration suite travel agency
Verbs
arrive (arrival time, arrival card) check in (check in baggage)
confirm depart (departure time)
Adjectives
carry-on (carry-on baggage) duty-free
Phrases
check-in time suffer from jet lag take in the sights
Word Bank
essentials frequent
flier miles lug multinational corporation
replacements saying traveller's
checks turbulence
upgrade
EXERCISES
A. Comprehension questions
1. What is Mr. Thompson’s position?
2. What factors does Mr. Thompson’s secretary
have to consider?
3. What does Mr. Thompson do before his flight?
4. What is jet lag? How can you avoid it?
5. Explain the saying, “When in
6. What does Mr. Thompson need upon arrival?
7. What advice does he give other travelers?
8. Why does he need a hotel suite?
B. Multiple choice
Find the best choice to make the sentences even clearer.
____ 1. Mr. Joseph Lee has been an international
...... for many years.
a) travel agency b) multinational corporation c) sales representative
____ 2. How many pieces of baggage will you be
......, Miss Agustiady?
a) leaving us b) suffering from c) checking in
____ 3. Mr. Takashimaya will be sitting in ......
when he flies to
a) duty-free b) first class c)
his clothes
____ 4. Make sure that all your ...... are in order before you travel overseas.
a) travel documents b) flier miles c) family members
____ 5. Traveler's checks and ...... are much safer
than bringing a lot of cash.
a) credit and debit b) credit cards c) credit unions
____ 6.
Mr. Abdul Mohammed requested a large ...... to privately entertain his
customers.
a) suite b)
carry-on baggage c) medium or
small
____ 7. It’s okay for you to ...... to First Class,
Mr. Domingo. Have a nice flight!
a) entertain b) depart c)
upgrade
____ 8. Please make sure that Mr. Singh has enough time to ...... through our catalogue.
a) browse b) pack c) advise
C. Compound
nouns
Match words from the Column A to words on Column B to make 15
compound nouns. Each of the words in Column A can should only be compounded
once to a word in Column B. The first one has been done for you (ex: sales
representative).
Column A Column
B
1. sales ... _d__ a. lag
2. travel ... ____ b. reservations
3. duty ... ____ c. card
4. jet ... ____ d. representative
5. business ... ____ e. checks
6. customs & ... ____ f. arrival
7. hotel ... ____ g. free
8. carry-on ... ____ h. customs
9. economy ... ____ i. agency
10. boarding ... ____ j. number
11. traveler's ... ____ k. baggage
12. departure &
..____ l. class
13. credit ... ____ m. immigrations
14. gate ... ____ n. flier miles
15. frequent ... ____ o. pass
D. Vocabulary
![Rectangular Callout: CHECKLIST:
Put a check (ü) on the following tasks if you have done them:
____ 1. I found the meaning of all of these words in my dictionary.
____ 2. I know how to pronounce them and where their stress [´] marks are.
____ 3. I know each word’s noun, verb, and adjective forms.
____ 4. I made a grammatically correct sentence for each word.
____ 5. I understand how these words are used in the reading.
____ 6. I know how to pronounce these words correctly.
____ 7. I know how to paraphrase the vocabulary.](PE8-5_files/image004.gif)
E. Appropriate answer
Choose the most appropriate answer or reply to these. Some answers may even be repeated more than once. The first one has been done for you.
_e__ 1. "My hotel is far
from your office!"
____ 2.
"I think I'm too early."
____ 3.
"My flight has been delayed."
____ 4.
"What do you usually do after work?"
____ 5.
"Can your staff speak English?"
____ 6.
"How long do you plan to stay?"
____ 7.
"You look very tired."
____ 8.
"May I speak to your boss?"
____ 9.
"What time is your flight?"
____ 10.
"How many bags do you want to
check in?"
____ 11.
"Can you recommend a good restaurant?"
____ 12.
"How was your flight?"
____ 13.
"What time should I check in?"
____ 14.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Wu."
____ 15.
"Is Mr. Young in?"
F. Registering
for a hotel stay
Your manager is going to attend a trade show in
RT International, Ltd. Tel:
886-2-2745-9870 Fax:
886-2-2745-9800 Kevin Kai-Ya Wei, Sales Manager Email:
kwei@rt_intl.com.tw RELOC #: SN25745 1PAX: WEI, KAI-YA MR. UA844 TPE-SAN UA845 SAN-TPE REMARKS: MILEAGE PLUS MEMBER (PREMIER) STAFF: MICHELLE
<EMPLOYEE #2768617> ISSUE DATE:
Hotel Registration Form
San Diego Paradise Point Resort
1404 West Vacation Road,
Phone: (858) 274-4630/800-344-2626 Fax: (858) 581-5924
Guest Name: ___________________________________________________________________
First Middle Family Name
Arrival Date: ____________________Time:________ Departure Date:____________________
Address to which confirmation should be sent (please type or print):
Name:_______________________________________________________________________
Company/Organization:_________________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________________________
City:_______________________________________State:______________Zip code:________
Country:____________________________________Phone:_____________________________
Fax:_______________________________E-mail:_____________________________________
Room preference: ____Single ____Double
____Smoking ____Non-smoking
I have the following special needs:__________________________________________________
To guarantee with a credit card: circle one
Visa Mastercard American Diners Carte JCB
Express Club Blanche
Card Number:___________________________________________Expiration date:__________
Print the name as shown on the card:________________________________________________
I authorize the hotel to charge one night’s room rate plus
tax to this credit card if I fail to show up without canceling my reservation
by
Signature:________________________________________________Date:_________________
Please return by mail or fax by 5:00pm Pacific Time,
September 29, 2001 To: San Diego Paradise
Point Resort 1404 West Vacation Road, San Diego, CA 92109-7905, USA Fax:
(858) 581-5924
COMMUNICATION
A. Giving and receiving
clarification
Giving Clarification
When you are speaking and you can see
that someone is not following you, you
can
give him or her clarification, that is, check if they really understood you.
Instead
of using the very common way of giving clarification – “Do you
understand?”
– which is considered informal or impolite, you can use other more
formal
expressions.
The
expressions below are appropriate for most situations. Put a check (ü) on at
least
three (3) expressions you would like to use from now on:
___ 1. Have I made myself clear? ___ 2.
Does that make sense to you?
___ 3. Do you see what I mean? ___
4. Am I making sense?
___ 5. Do you understand so far?
The following expressions are also used
for clarification but are inappropriate for formal situations. Put a check (ü) by at least three (3) expressions you would like to use more
often.
___1. Did you catch that? ___2. Is that clear? ___3. Right?
___4. Okay,
so far? ___5. Did you get that? ___6. Got it?
Requesting Clarification
If
you don’t understand something that the speaker is talking about, you may
have
to interrupt him or her to repeat or explain something. You cannot wait for
the
speaker to stop and ask you; maybe he or she doesn’t even know you have
question.
Here
are some polite ways to request clarification:
USE ONE OF
THESE: FOLLOWED
BY ONE OF THESE:
__
11. Excuse me. __
16. What was that again?
__
12. Pardon me. __
17. Could you repeat that please?
__
13. I beg your pardon. __ 18. Would you mind repeating that?
__
14. I’m sorry. __ 19. I didn’t get the last part.
__
15. May I interrupt? __
20. Could you say that again please?
In
more informal situations (ex: talking to your friends), you may ask for
clarification in these ways:
USE ONE OF THESE: FOLLOWED BY ONE
OF THESE:
___
21. What? ___ 25. I didn’t catch that.
___
22. What did you say? ___
26. I didn’t get the last part.
___
23. Huh? (very informal) ___
27. You lost me.
___ 24. I didn’t get that.
Now, here is a situation on an airplane that shows us how
to use these phrases.
Example:
Flight
attendant: Excuse me, sir, could
you please pull down your window shade?
Passenger 1: I'm sorry, what was that again?
Flight
attendant: Could you please close
your window so the other passengers could watch the movie without the sun shining
through your window?
Passenger 1: I’m sorry,but I prefer to keep it
open.
Flight attendant: Pardon
me, would you mind repeating that?
Passenger
1: I said I don’t want to
close my window. You see, I wanted this seat
because it’s next to the window, ... and I like to keep my window open.
Passenger 2: Sir?
Passenger 1: Yes??
Passenger
2: If you don't close your
window, I can't see the movie clearly. If my wife, son, and I can't see the
movie clearly, they will complain to me. That makes me angry. And if I get
angry, I can break your eye-glasses, and you won't see clearly either. Are you following me?!!
Passenger
1: Uh, yes, I am! I'm closing
the window now, ... enjoy your movie!
Passenger 2: Thank you for being so kind ...
Below are some other situations wherein you can practice these phrases.
A foreign client calls your office and needs your help. Now, you
must do two things: 1) help the client; and
2) report to your boss when he comes into the office what you did.
a) They are lost and ask
for directions to your office.
b) They are stuck in
traffic and will be later than expected.
c) They would like to
reschedule for tomorrow.
B. What to pack?
You are going on a ten-day business trip. You will be traveling around quite a bit and must pack lightly. In fact, you can only bring 15 of the following items. Decide which items you will take. Compare your answers with a partner.
___ traveler's checks ___
underwear
___ shampoo ___
soap / deodorant
___ business cards ___
cellular phone / mobile phone
___ sneakers ___
aspirin
___ camera ___
alarm clock
___ diary ___
video games
___ toothbrush ___
adaptor
___ wallet ___
travel documents
___ Walkman / Discman ___
hairdryer
___ briefcase ___
gifts for hosts
___ jeans ___
socks
___ laptop computer ___
travel iron
___ English dictionary ___
t-shirts
___ credit cards ___
a novel
___ calculator ___
printer
___ neckties ___
formal shoes
___ belt ___
dark pants
___ briefcase ___
hair brush / comb
C. Using formal English
We
change the way we speak to other people according to their age, position or
status. When speaking to someone who is
older or has a higher status than you, it is proper and polite to use formal
expressions. When speaking to your
friends it’s okay to use a more informal register.
1.
Which expression is appropriate when speaking to a child?
a. It’s a pleasure to meet you b.
Hi there.
2.
Which expression is appropriate when speaking to your classmate?
a. May I trouble you for a pencil?
b. Can I borrow a pencil please?
3.
Which expression is appropriate when speaking to your teacher or business
associate?
a. Would it be possible to speak with you for a
moment? b. Got a minute?
4.
Look at the following expressions. Which
ones are appropriate for a business situation?
Which ones are only okay to use with friends?
Mark
each with a “F” for formal or an “I” for informal.
____See
you later ____How are you? ____Do you want ~ ?
____Good
bye ____Yeah ____Give me ~
____How
cool! ____Yes, of
course ____I’ll see you
tomorrow
____Thank
you ____Hello ____What do you
want?
____Can
I help you? ____Bye bye ____Would you like ~ ?
____How’s
it going? ____I’d prefer ____Sure, no problem
____Hi ____You guys ____Could I please~?
____Thanks
____I’d like ____Ladies and
Gentlemen
____I
want ~ ____ Yes ____That’s very
interesting
5.
We usually use a formal register for business correspondence and
communications. Look at these two e-mail
messages. The first example is very
informal and inappropriate for business.
The second example was re-written using a more formal register.
Informal
TO: George Jones FR: Bob Smith RE: Sales mtg. Hi George! There’s going to be a sales meeting on Sept. 19th
at By the way, thanks for the info I asked for. See you on the 19th! Cheers, Bob
:
Formal:
TO: Mr. George
Jones FR: Mr. Bob Smith RE: Sales Meeting Dear Mr. Jones: I’m writing to inform you of a sales meeting that’s been
scheduled for September 19th at Also, I’d like to thank you for sending me the
information I requested. I look forward to seeing you on the 19th. Sincerely, Bob Smith
6.
Change the following conversation to a more polite and formal one.
A=
Ticket agent B =
Business traveler
A: What do you want?
B: I want a ticket to
A: When do you want to go?
B:
Friday
A: One way or Round trip?
B: I want roundtrip.
A: When will you come back?
B: On the 30th.
A: There’s one seat left. Do you want it?
A: Yes.
A: What’s your name?
B: Fred Smith.
A: Are you going to pay with a credit card
Fred?
B: Yes.
A: Okay, give me the number.
B: 123456789.
A: Thanks.
Bye!
D.
Role Play: Speaking to people in
the service industry
Situation
#1:
Talking with airline reservations staff.
Study the dialogue below.
Complete
the conversation and then act it out with your partner.
Student
A: You are a passenger (PAX) (your name
is Mr. Johnson Yang) and
you
are calling to confirm your reservation to
want
to check if your request to upgrade to either business or first class has
been
confirmed.
Student
B: You are an airline ground staff (GS)
member. Look at the
information
that appears on your computer screen:
GS: Good
morning, United Airlines (UA)â, may I help
you?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: Can
I have your record locator number, please, Mr. Yang?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: Did
you say “B” as in “boy” or “D” as in “dog” for your locator number?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: Well,
it shows that you are still waitlisted tomorrow (WL) on both business class (C)
and first class (F) on the 19th to San Francisco (SFO) but you are confirmed
(OK) on economy (Y) class. Do you nt to continue trying to get a business or
first class seat?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: It
doesn’t look too good for first class, but I think business has a better
chance. Do you want me to keep trying for both?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: Okay,
I’ll cancel first class for you.
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: No
problem. My name is____________________.
PAX: _____________________________________________________
GS: Your
most welcome, Mr. Yang, thank you for calling!
Situation
#2: Asking a flight attendant about drinks and
meals. Study the
dialogue
below. Complete the conversation and then act it out with your
partner.
Student
A: You are a passenger talking with a
flight attendant (FA) about
drinks
& meals.
Student
B: You are a flight attendant
FA: Good
morning and welcome aboard!
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: May
I get you something to drink?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: Would
you like hot coffee or iced coffee?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: Would
you like cream and sugar?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: Okay,
here you are.
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: Today
we are serving chicken with rice or pork and noodles. Which one would you prefer?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
(a little later)
FA: How
is your meal sir?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: Oh,
I’m very sorry. Let me heat it up for you.
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: May
I offer you some red or white wine, sir?
PAX: _____________________________________________________
FA: Okay,
Please let me know if there’s anything else I can get you.
E. Understanding your client's e-mails
1. In pairs or groups, read this message carefully and guess what it is about.
Date:
From: George Mitchell
<gm@pricewaterhorse33.com>
To: Linda Yang <lyang@hewlettpackharder.twt>
Cc: Peter Brown <pb@pricewaterhorse33.com>
Subject: Next Visit
Dear Ms. Yang,
I'm sorry for not replying
to your e-mail dated 31 April as our computer
had a virus. Yes, I enjoyed
the food very much and hope to try some new
dishes when I visit
soybean milk you introduced
me to.
For your information, Mr.
Brown is very interested in your price of USD2.00
per can (USD48.00/case of
24 cans). He liked the quality of your tea samples.
He looks forward to meeting
Mr. Huang in
way to
I will write to you to
schedule a meeting when Mr. Brown’s travel schedule has
been confirmed.
Best regards,
Mr. George Mitchell
a. Was George ever in
b. Who is George's boss?
c. What did George show Mr. Brown?
d. What does Linda's company make?
e Who is Linda's boss?
f. Do you think Linda and George are of the
same level?
2. Now, write a short (50+ word) e-mail explaining the following to Mr. Mitchell.
a. Mr. Brown is always welcome to come to
b. Because Mr. Mitchell did not contact you in
over a month, the price of the tea has increased to USD2.50 per can.
c. You will not be in
TIP for Writing Seek
Feedback from Others Having other people check your text can help identify
problems in your writing - places where your composition was perhaps clear
to you, but not to other readers. In addition to asking classmates for comments on your
compositions, you may also benefit from asking various teachers for feedback
as well.Try to be specific about what sort of feedback you want. Do you want
other readers to simply spot out spelling and grammar mistakes? Or are you
looking for feedback about deeper errors? Getting feedback from many
sources can help you assess your composition realistically. You do not have to agree with all of the feedback you
receive or necessarily follow it, but you should listen to it closely. Be
sure to thank people who take the time to give you feedback and offer to
give feedback on their papers. When you take the time to help others, they
will be more willing to help you. Gradually, you can build up a positive
"feedback network". Also, by reviewing other writers’ texts, you
can also learn to evaluate your own texts more critically.
LISTENING
A. "Sound-alikes" in conversation
Listen carefully to the speaker and guess which is the
correct answer (a or b).
1. ___ a)
Is this your first time to the
States, sir?
___ b)
Is this you fifth time to the
States, sir?
2. ___ a)
That’ll be 15 dollars and 50 cents,
please.
___ b)
That’ll be 50 dollars and 15 cents,
please.
3. ___ a)
Let’s meet in the lobby at
___ b)
Let’s meet Bobby at
4. ___ a)
I’d like to fly on December 10th
.
___ b)
I’d like to fly on September 10th
.
5. ___ a)
Have you talked to your travel agent
yet?
___ b)
Have you talked to your travel agency
yet?
6. ___ a)
Please contact me at 2868-5432.
___ b)
Please contact me at 2886-9432.
7. ___ a)
Our flight to
___ b)
Our flight to
8. ___ a)
Mr. Lee is a light traveler.
___ b)
Mr. Lee is a flight traveler.
9. ___ a)
You should take one check-in and
one carry-on.
___ b)
You should take one jacket and one
carry-on.
10. ___ a)
You will need a visa if you
are going to
___ b)
You will need a visit if you
are going to
B. A message from your travel agent
You’ve just returned to your hotel
room. Listen to the following message on your hotel phone, and answer the
following questions.
1. Who is calling?
a. Mr. Rhodes from
c. Andre Fromme Prime d. Andre from the travel
agency
2. How are “you” going to
get to
a. flying on TG456 in
business class b. flying on Thai
456 in economy class
c. flying on TG915 in
business class d. flying on Thai
945 in business class
3. According to the
message, what will happen at
a. You will depart from
c. You will pick up your boarding pass. d. You will arrive in
4. What don’t “you” have
with you on your trip?
a. a credit card b. traveller’s
checks
c. check-in baggage d. a flight itinerary
5. Where will “you” pick up
your boarding pass?
a. at the check-in counter b. at the hotel travel agency
c. on the flight d. at the hotel
delivery desk
6. How can “you” pay for this
upgraded ticket?
a. only with frequent flier
miles b. with frequent flier miles
or credit card
c. with traveller’s checks
or miles d. with credit card or
traveller’s checks
7. How can “you” contact
the caller?
a. call or visit the travel
agency b. visit or call
c. visit or call Thai
Airlines d.
visit or call
TAPESCRIPT PE8-5
A. "Sound-alikes" in conversation
Listen carefully to the speaker and guess which is the correct answer (a or b):
1. ___ a)
Is this your first time to the
States, sir?
___ b)
Is this you fifth time to the
States, sir?
2. ___ a)
That’ll be 15 dollars and 50 cents,
please.
___ b)
That’ll be 50 dollars and 15 cents,
please.
3. ___ a)
Let’s meet in the lobby at
___ b)
Let’s meet Bobby at
4. ___ a)
I’d like to fly on December 10th
.
___
b) I’d like to fly on September 10th .
5. ___
a) Have you talked to your travel agent yet?
___ b)
Have you talked to your travel agency
yet?
6. ___ a)
Please contact me at 2868-5432.
___ b)
Please contact me at 2886-9432.
7. ___ a)
Our flight to
___ b)
Our flight to
8. ___ a)
Mr. Lee is a light traveler.
___ b)
Mr. Lee is a flight traveler.
9. ___ a)
You should take one check-in and
one carry-on.
___ b)
You should take one jacket and one
carry-on.
10. ___ a)
You will need a visa if you
are going to
___ b) You will need a visit if you are going to
B.
(English with an accent)
Mr. Rhodes, this is Andre from the
Prime Travel Agency in the hotel lobby calling. It is now Tuesday, May 3 at