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5 Minor passenger problems

LEA D IN Speaking Language notes
I’ll uses the abbreviated form of the modal verb will and is followed by
Revise the previous lesson by asking students to tell you what the base infinitive. It is used to make offers, promises and even threats.
minor problems were discussed. Revise useful vocabulary for Although called the future simple form, it is effectively used to make
exercise 1 by asking students to look at the four photographs on offers both now and/or in the future.
page 38 and work with a partner to label as many objects as they Many learners revert to the present simple to make offers (I get you a
can and to think of useful verbs (eg, seatbelt; buckle; fasten; blanket). Make sure your students are aware that they should use and
blanket; get; pass; stow; handset; press; card; fill in; menu; order). pronounce ’ll.
Note the use of get, a word which has many meanings in English and
here is used to mean bring or find. It’s used informally in spoken English.
Dealing with problems
EXERCISE 4 Pronunciation
EX ERCISE 1 Speaking Play the recording. Students listen and repeat.
Ask students to work in pairs or small groups to come up with ideas Pronunciation notes
about what the flight attendants are saying. Then get feedback in open I’ll /aIl/ is difficult to pronounce. Students should start the sound with
class. lips apart in a circle on ‘a’, close the lips a little through ‘i’, then finish
Pre-teaching vocabulary the sound by touching the top palate just behind the teeth with their
Check the following key words: upright (not leaning back); fasten tongue to make ‘l’.
(connect the two parts of a seatbelt).
EXERCISE 5 Speaking
EX ERCISE 2 Listening Read through the problems with the class and check students understand
Give students time to read the questions. Ask, What do you think the all the words. Then have a conversation in open class to get students
flight attendant will say in each situation? Play the recording. Students started and show them how the prompts work: You say a problem, then
listen and then discuss their answers in pairs. Get feedback in open class you elicit a query from the class, then you explain, etc. Ask students to
at the end. work in pairs. Tell each pair to decide who is the passenger, and who is
Answers the flight attendant, and to prepare what they are going to say before
1 He offers to check on their arrival time. acting out their first role play. Then ask them to change roles and act
2 a sandwich out a different situation. Monitor, prompt students to use I’ll correctly,
3 a blanket and feedback on good examples of language use and errors you heard.
4 no You could ask a couple of pairs to act out a dialogue in open class at
5 She offers to try to find a doctor or nurse. the end.

EX ERCISE 3 Listening RO U N D U P
Give students time to read the sentences and write in any words they Ask students to work in pairs to choose one of the photographs
think they know. Ask, What part of speech are the missing words? on page 38 and prepare a dialogue to go with the photo. When
(infinitives of verbs). Play the recording. Students listen, fill in the gaps they are ready, ask a few pairs to act out their dialogue in open
and then check in pairs. Get feedback in open class at the end. class. The rest of the class must guess which photograph they are
Answers basing their dialogue on.
1 get back 2 get 3 meantime 4 see 5 ask

OFFERING TO HELP (1) Language focus

Give students time to read through the phrases in the box. Alternatively,
read out the phrases and ask students to read and follow.

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U N IT
5 Minor passenger problems
LEA D IN Speaking A P O L O G I Z I N G Language focus
Write a few situations on the board: There are no sandwiches Give students time to read through the phrases in the box. Alternatively,
left; You bump into a passenger in the aisle; You spill coffee on a read out the phrases and ask students to read and follow. Ask students,
passenger; A passenger’s handset doesn’t work; You can’t accept Which phrases are most apologetic? (I do apologize; I can only apologize)
a passenger’s credit card. Ask students, Would you apologize in Language notes
these situations? Which situation is most serious or embarrassing? In spoken English, when the auxiliary verb is used and expressed in full
What would you say in each situation? it is done so for emphasis: I am sorry; I do apologize.

EXERCISE 5 Pronunciation
Ask students to read the sentences and note the strongly stressed words
Saying sorry in bold. Play the recording. Ask students, Which words did they stress?
EX ERCISE 1 Speaking and How did they use intonation to sound apologetic? Then ask students
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Get to listen to each phrase again and to repeat it.
feedback in open class at the end and elicit interesting personal Ask students to work in pairs to take turns practising reading out the
experiences. sentences in an apologetic way.
Speaking notes Pronunciation notes
A good way of managing an extended discussion like this is to make one English is a stress-timed language which has a much wider intonation
student in each group of four the ‘chairperson’ – it is their job to ask the pattern and much stronger stresses than many other languages, so
questions, nominate people to speak in their group, and to summarize students may find it odd to master such an exaggerated way of speaking
what was said in the feedback. (to their ears).
Pre-teaching vocabulary To sound very apologetic in English, start the intonation pattern high
Check the following key words: what a pity (how disappointing); same and exaggerate the pattern.
old story (this always happens); run out (not have any more). Note the strong stress (in bold) and the intonation pattern:

EX ERCISE 2 Listening
Give students time to read the situation, then play the recording.
Students listen and note the problems. Let them check answers in pairs
before discussing in open class.
Answers I do apologize.
peppermint tea, tomato juice, cheese sandwiches
EXERCISE 6 Speaking
EX ERCISE 3 Listening Read through the problems with the class and check they understand
Give students time to read the questions and write any answers they all the words. Then have a conversation in open class to get students
already know. Then play the recording again. Students listen and note started and show them how the prompts work: You say a problem, then
the answers. Let them check answers in pairs before getting feedback in you elicit an apology from the class, then you refuse it, etc. Ask students
open class. to work in pairs. Tell each pair to decide who is the passenger, and who
Answers the flight attendant, and to prepare what they are going to say before
1 Passenger 3: ‘I don’t believe it – it’s the same old story. You always acting out their first role play. Then ask them to change roles and act out
seem to run out.’ a different situation. Monitor, prompt students to use a wide intonation
2 Passenger 3: ‘They’ve been very popular today.’ pattern correctly, and feedback on good examples of language use and
3 four errors you heard. You could ask a couple of pairs to act out a dialogue in
4 Seven, if you include ‘I’m afraid we’ve only got apple juice and orange open class at the end.
juice today.’
RO U N D U P
EX ERCISE 4 Listening
Write, My most embarrassing moment on the board. If you can
Give students time to complete any gaps they can, then play the
think of a good example, describe a situation in your career
recording extract. Let students check answers in pairs before getting
when something went wrong, you felt embarrassed, and you
feedback in open class.
had to apologize. Then ask the class if they can think of any
Answers embarrassing situations they can share. If students are reluctant
1 get 2 sandwiches 3 run 4 popular 5 chicken 6 same to speak, ask them to work in pairs to share and then ask pairs
7 seem 8 apologize 9 way 10 about to tell the class about what they discussed.

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U N IT
5 Case study
LEA D IN way, most passengers are happy. So I would say in general they're not difficult
Speaking
to please. There’s just a minority that may have problems and they can be the
Write, Pickpocket strikes on flight from Tokyo to Paris on the difficult part of a flight attendant’s job. Goodness, if flight attendants didn’t
board. Point out that a pickpocket is a thief who steals personal have the appropriate training to handle in-flight situations, particularly with
belongings without the victim noticing. Ask students what they customer complaints and customer problems, I think there'd be a lot more
think this headline is about. Ask, Have you ever experienced a unhappy customers. So the training is quite intense. There’s usually, most
crime on a flight? What happened? airlines will usually provide at least a week or possibly two weeks of customer
service training whereby one week of that, or half of that training is centred
on handling passenger complaints so they have good training to deal with
EX ERCISE 1 Reading
common situations.
Give students time to read the questions, and check any unknown words.
2 What’s the most common minor complaint?
Then ask students to read the text and make notes. Let students discuss
S: You know, the most common complaint we have on board as flight attendants
their answers in pairs before discussing in open class. is the seating. A lot of people can’t pre-book their seat and they either want
Answers a window seat or they want an aisle seat or they want to be near the front or
1 Thousands of pounds in cash was stolen from passengers as they slept they want to be near their friends who they’ve been separated from because
on the overnight flight from Tokyo to Paris. their friend was able to book their seat, etcetera, so the commonest problem
2 at least six passengers, in Business class is seating. And I think the second most common problem you’ll experience as
3 No. The airline did not comment on this particular incident, but said a flight attendant is the meals, because when there are meals on board we can
that in general passengers’ belongings in the cabin are their own only carry, you know, a choice of two, maximum three, and we always seem to
run out of the choice that passengers want the most of that day, so those are
responsibility
the two most common complaints.
Vocabulary in context 3 Is the passenger always right?
Write the following definitions on the board and ask students to match S: I think the passenger is always right. If they have a problem, or if they
them to synonyms in the text: see or notice (spot); amounts (sums); say think they have a problem, or they think something’s wrong, I think it’s
who it is (identify); disappeared (vanished). You could also ask students important that the flight crew acknowledge that, and show the customer or
to find words connected with money in the text: pounds, worth, cash, the passenger that they understand the problem and that they're going to deal
wallets, sums, currencies, prices, pay. with it, so, in many ways I do believe that the passenger is always right. In
technical terms they are always right, but of course we know in reality that,
EX ERCISE 2 Speaking you know, they may not be right, but I do feel that it’s important that flight
The aim here is to get students talking about their personal experiences. crew can see that if the passenger thinks there’s a problem then we must
Give students time to read through the questions and think of responses. accept that and deal with the problem so that the passenger feels comfortable
and happy that their problem has been acknowledged and is being dealt with.
Ask them to discuss their responses in pairs or small groups. After a few
minutes, get one student from each pair or group to briefly summarize
EXERCISE 5 Speaking
the main points of their discussion.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Get
Pre-teaching vocabulary feedback in open class and encourage students with interesting ideas to
Check the following key words: nerve-wracking (making you feel nervous); share with the class.
courteous (very polite); intense (strongly felt); acknowledge (recognize).
RO U N D U P
EX ERCISE 3 and 4 Listening
Give students time to read the situation and questions in exercise 3. Play Revise useful words and phrases from the unit by telling students
the recording. Students listen, take notes and then discuss their answers you are going to read out a list of prompts and they must write a
in pairs. Get feedback in open class at the end. word or phrase for each. Then read out the following:
Follow the same procedure for exercise 4. Write down ...
Answers A way of apologizing
1 Usually most airlines provide a week or possibly two weeks of customer A type of criminal
service training and one week, or half, of that training is centred on
A passenger problem
handling passenger complaints.
2 the seating and the choice of meals A role that flight attendants play
3 show that you understand the passenger’s point of view, and deal with A way of asking if passengers have a problem
their problem A way of offering to get something
CD1 Track 5.9 Let students discuss their answers in pairs before getting
1 In general, are passengers difficult to please? feedback in open class.
S: You know, flying is always very tense and nerve-wracking for passengers and
crew alike, and on the whole most passengers are easy to please, providing
you give them what they want, when they want it, in a polite and courteous

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