This is a sample lesson from our advanced business course. This book is suitable for the following levels:
| TOEIC | TOEFL | IELTS |
|---|---|---|
| 800+ | 90+ | 7.0+ |
The book covers all main language skills and general business English. More information is available on the advanced business course page.
This lesson will focus on using vague language. It is from the section in the book on explaining progress. This is very useful in everyday business situations.
We're going to talk about vague language here. The aim here is to give a taste of a lesson. Watch your timing, because you really only have 15 minutes maximum to do the warm up, language section and the practice. See the detailed help page on trial lessons & skills assessments if you need some general tips.
The full page of the book is included so that your student can get used to finding their way through the book with your instructions. The relevant pages from the teacher's book and the tape script are below, so you don't have to have your textbooks at the ready. Make sure you have read through the teacher's text in advance.
Note: If the images are too small, click them to get a larger version in a new window. Click that image again, and you can zoom in.
What kind of vague language can you think of? When might you want to use vague language?
Make sure they know what "vague" means (unclear, without details). Examples of vague language:
- Something about..., I think.
- It's difficult to say really.
- That sort of thing.
- A bit like that.
- I seem to remember...
This language is useful when:
- you don't know something;
- you don't want to say something or talk about a topic;
- you have not got the right information;
- you are hiding something or don't want to lie;
- you are struggling to express yourself because something it difficult (you don't have the words). etc.
This is a page out of the text book. Take a look. We are going to do some listening first. Your teacher will read conversation 1 from number 2. Listen and make note of the vague language you hear.
Instructions for the student are above, but take them through it. Make sure that the size of the image is OK (if it is too small, they can click it and a larger version will open in a new window).
Do conversation 1 of number 2.
This is the transcript for the audio. There are three conversations in the book, but we'll just do the first one.
Explain that you will read through the transcript, but there is a CD with the book, so they can do the listening to prepare or review. Tell them it is a conversation between two people, Anna and Tom. Say the name of the person speaking before you read their part so that it is clear the speaker has changed.
They should make some notes ("Do you have a pen and paper?") of the vague language they hear. Try to read at a pace that they can catch most of it, but fast enough that they are kept on their toes. Encourage them to interrupt if they need you to slow down or they want you to repeat something ("You can interrupt and ask questions if you need to. If you want me to go slower, just say.")
When you finish, check the pace ("Was that speed OK?") and some basic comprehension ("Can you tell me what they were talking about?")
Then check their answers the student got. The relevant page from the teacher's book is below. There are a couple done on the page from the student's book. Add a couple more good phrases from conversations 2 and 3 as given below.
Now let's practice what we learned in number 2. Read the instructions for number 4 and then practice with your teacher.