Phonetic Alphabet / International Spelling List for the Phone

A	Alfa	N	November
B	Bravo	O	Oscar
C	Charly	P	Papa
D	Delta	Q	Quebec
E	Echo	R	Romeo
F	Foxtrott	S	Sierra
G	Golf	T	Tango
H	Hotel	U	Uniform
I	India	V	Victor
J	Juliette	W	Whiskey
K	Kilo	X	X-Ray
L	Lima	Y	Yankee
M	Mike	Z	Zulu

D Answering Machine

Listening to an answering machine

Hello. You've reached 222-6789. Please leave a detailed message after the beep. Thank you. Hi, this is Elizabeth. I'm sorry I'm not available to take your call at this time. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for calling Dr. Mindin's office. Our hours are 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Please call back during these hours, or leave a message after the tone. If this is an emergency please call the hospital at 333-7896.

Leaving a message on an answering machine

Hey Mikako. It's Yuka. Call me! (informal) Hello, this is Ricardo calling for Luke. Could you please return my call as soon as possible? My number is 334-5689. Thank you. Hello Maxwell. This is Marina from the doctor's office calling. I just wanted to let you know that you're due for a check-up this month. Please give us a ring/buzz whenever it's convenient.

Note:

Leaving a message is pretty simple. You only need to make sure that you have stated all the most important information: your name, the time, the reason for calling, your telephone number.

Here's an example of message

Telephone: (Ring... Ring... Ring...) Hello, this is Tom. I'm afraid I'm not in at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep..... (beep)

Ken: Hello Tom, this is Ken. It's about noon and I'm calling to see if you would like to go to the Mets game on Friday. Could you call me back? You can reach me at 367-8925 until five this afternoon. I'll talk to you later, bye.

Practise

Exercise 1. Fill the gaps below with will, can or shall

1. ____ I speak to Mr. Barker please? – I ____ just check if he’s available.

2. ____ you ask him to call me back? – I ____ make sure she gets the message.

3. I’m sorry. He’s not here at the moment. – ____ I call again later this afternoon? – Of course. ____ 5 o’clock be okay?

4. ___ I have your name please? – Of course. It’s Alex Case.

5. ____ you wait a minute? I ____ just get a pen and paper.

6. ___ you hold? – Okay.

7. I’m afraid he’s on another line at the moment. ____ I put you through to someone else in his department?

8. If you leave your name and number after the tone I ____ call you back as soon as I can. (beep)

Exercise 2. Look at A and B and change these conversations so that they are correct and more polite.

1 A: I want to speak to Mrs. Lee. B: That's me but I'm busy. A: Sven Nyman talking. I want to talk about your order. B: Call me back later.

2 A: Are you James Cassidy? B: No. Who are you? A: Annelise Schmidt. Is James Cassidy there and, if he is, can I speak to him? B: He can't speak to you. He's in a meeting. Give me a message. A: He has to call me as soon as possible.

Exercise 3. Spell the following as you would spell them on the phone. Use the table Phonetic Alphabet to help you. The first one has been done for you.

1. Maeght: M for Mike, A for Alpha, E for Echo, G for Golf, H for Hotel, T for Tanqo

2. Valladolid

3. Webber

4. hpp:// www.britishcouncil.org/courses

5. Peter House

6. Macpherson

7. john-smith@cambridqe.ac.uk

Exercise 4. Match the responses (1-8) with the questions (a-h) in D.

1. No, actually it's 46.

2. It's Valladolid with a V at the beginning, V for Victor.

3. No, it's Schmidt with a T at the end, T for Tommy.

4. Two. T-I-double-M-E-R-M-A-N.

5. No, 642 246.

6. Springer Verlag in Hamburg.

7. Krieslovski. K-R-I-E-S-L-O-V-S-K-I.

8. No, it's with two Ns in the middle.

• What is the most difficult thing when you phone someone in another language?

Exercise 5. Choose the best variant.

Leslie: (Hello?; Hi?; Yes)?

Cameron: Hi, is this Leslie?

Leslie: Yes. (Who are you; And you; Who's this)?

Cameron: It's Cameron here. Is Maria (inside; in; here)?

Leslie: No, she just (came; stepped; gone) out for a moment. Can I take a message?

Cameron: Yes, thanks. (Ask; Could you ask; Please ask) her to meet me at the Capitol 4 movie theatre at 7 pm tonight?

Leslie: Sure. Just let me write that down. Oh Cameron. Could you (hold off; on hold; hold) for a second? I have to take another call.

Cameron: No problem.

Leslie: Hi. Sorry about that. Now could you please (say again; repeat; review) that information? I didn't have a pen handy.

Cameron: Sure. It's the Capitol 4 theatre at 7 o'clock.

Leslie: Okay, I've got it. Is there anything else?

Cameron: No, that's great.

Leslie: Okay. Uh-oh, there's my other line again. I'd better (call down; run; hang on).

Cameron: Okay, thanks again. Bye for now.

Leslie: (Bye Bye; Bye too; See you)

Exercise 6. Complete the conversation with the appropriate word or phrase.

Operator: Hello, Frank and Brothers. ___ can I help you?

Peter: _____ is Peter Jackson. Can I have _____ 3421?

Operator: Certainly, ______ ___ a minute, I'll _____ you _____...

Frank: Bob Peterson's office. Frank _____.

Peter: This is Peter Jackson _____, is Bob in?

Frank: I'm afraid he's _____ at the moment. Can I _____ a message?

Peter: Yes, Could you ask him to call me _____ 233 455 3456. I need to talk to him about the Nuovo line, it's urgent.

Frank: Could you _____ the number please?

Peter: Yes, that's 233 455 3456, and this is Peter Jackson.

Frank: Thank you Mr. Jackson, I'll make _____ Bob gets this asap.

Peter: Thanks, bye.

Frank: Bye.

Exercise 7. Rewrite these phrases, putting the words in the correct order.

1. getting me back to for thanks. Thanks for getting back to me.

2. regards them give my

3. back much calling you me thank for very

4. later then you talk to

5. weekend good a have

6. contact last nice make to at

Exercise 8. Write down phrases you could use in these situations, using I’ll… and Could you…?

1. You ask the other person to e-mail the November report to you.

2. You offer to e-mail the November report to the other person.

3. You offer to call the other person tomorrow afternoon.

4. You would like the other person to discuss the problem with her/his boss.

5. You want the other person to phone you back.

6. You offer to work late so you can finish the report.

Check your answers with a partner. Then think of possible responses.

Exercise 9. Fill in the gaps in these conversations with appropriate words and phrases.

1

A: Good morning. AOK Communications.

B: Hello. _______ I speak _______ Pat, please?

A: Certainly. Who _______ I _______ is _______?

B: _______ Franko Baggio. We met at the trade show.

2

A: Well, nice to make _______ at last.

B: Yes, thanks for _______ back to me.

A: That’s OK. _______ send you an e-mail tomorrow.

B: Thanks. Give my _______ to Simran.

A: I will. Bye.

B: Bye.

3

A: Thank you for _______ me back.

B: That’s all right. I’m _______ you were in.

A: _______ you fax me the details?

B: Yes, _______ fax them this afternoon.

A: OK, thanks. _______ to you soon than.

B: Yes. Bye.

Practice the conversations with a partner, paying special attention to pronunciation.

Exercise 10. Put these lines in the correct order to make conversations.

1

_____ Fine. Who shall I say is calling?

_____ Thank you. Hold the line, please… It’s ringing for you…

_____ Oh, good morning. I’d like to speak to Mr. Costa in IT, please.

_____ Key Finance Company. Can I help you?

_____ Ann Thompson.

2

_____ Good afternoon. Could I have someone in Accounts, please?

_____ Rob Sparkes. S-P-A-R-K-E-S.

_____ Trying to connect you, Mr. Sparkes… Putting you through to Accounts now…

_____Accounts, yes. And your name is….?

_____Ket Finance Company. How can I help you?

Now practice the conversations with a partner.

Exercise 11. Match the questions on the left with appropriate replies on the right.

1. Would you like to hold? a. Yes, I’ll ring back this afternoon.

2. Shall I try someone else for you? b. Yes, I will for a couple of minutes.

3. Could you call back later? c. No, I'll call back later.

4. Can I take a message? d. Yes, please. Is Anna there?

Exercise 12. Put these lines in the correct order to make a conversation.

_____ Yes, could you try Zeta in Sales? She might know.

__1__ Could you put me through to Jacob in Accounts, please?

_____ Would you like me to take a message?

_____ His line’s busy at the moment. Can someone else help you?

_____ Just a moment while I get a pen.

_____ Sorry. Her line’s engaged, too.

_____ Oh yes, please. That’s very kind of you.

_____ Oh, dear….it’s rather urgent.

Now practise the conversation with a partner, paying attention to pronunciation.

Exercise 13. Problems.

Put the lines in the correct order to make a conversation.

_____ Oh, yes. Thanks very much.

___1_ Good morning. Could I speak to Jack in Marketing, please?

_____ I think we’ve got a bad line then. Shall I call you again?

_____ Oh, hello, Jack. It’s Ken.

_____ Certainly. I’ll put you through.

_____ Is that any better?

_____ Hello, Ken…er, sorry. Can you speak up? I can’t hear you.

__10_ That’s OK.

_____ No, I still can’t hear you properly.

_____ Jack here.

Now practise the conversation with a partner, paying attention to intonation.

Roleplay 1. Giving Messages

Your boss, Mark Sim, has given you a list of people to call and some messages to give them.

Please can you call some people for me this morning: Mr. Wong – the breakfast meeting is cancelled Mrs. Arnold – please call the accounts department this afternoon Jeff Janner – I’ll meet him at the golf course at 10:30 Pam Janner - can she send us her report as soon as possible? Tom Williams – please fax the price list to our New York office Wendy Cash – dinner tomorrow will be at the Grand Hotel

With a partner, take turns being A, and calling the people on the list. The other person should be B, and answer the call. Use the dialogue below as a model.

A: Hello, I’m calling on behalf of Mark Sim of TGT. Could I speak to Mr. Wong , please?

B: I’m afraid he’s not in the office at the moment.

A: Do you know what time he’ll be back?

B: I’m not sure. Can I take a message?

A: Thanks, could you tell him the breakfast meeting is cancelled?

B: Certainly. I’ll give him the message.

A: Thank you. Good bye.

B: Goodbye.

Remember to use ask when you are making a request, and tell when you are giving information.)

Now try it again using names you know and other messages.

Roleplay 2. Practise these conversations with a partner. Take turns to play each role.

1

Student A	Student B
1. Answer Fritz Kleine’s phone.
	2. Ask to speak to Fritz.
3. Apologise and say why Fritz isn’t available. Offer to take a message.
	4. Accept the offer.

2

Student A	Student B
1. Answer Lu Sing’s phone.
	2. Introduce yourself and ask to speak to Su.
3. Say Su isn’t available. Check B’s name.
	4. Say your name and clarify who you are.
5. Offer to take a message.
	6. Say ‘No’ and say that you’ll call again.

3

Student A	Student B
1. Answer the phone.
	2. Give your name. Ask to speak to Mr. Bosnic in IT.
3. Say Mr. Bosnic can’t take the call. Give a reason.
	4. Say it’s urgent.
5. Offer to take a message.
	6. Accept the offer.
7. Ask B to wait while you prepare.

Activity 1. Answering Machine Message

Say a simple answering machine message, containing a phone number. Your partner will write down the number. Check if it has been written correctly.

Activity 2. Voicemail

Prepare a short message to leave on someone’s voice mail. Spell out your name and give your telephone number and a time when they can call you back. Practise with a partner, paying attention to each other’s pronunciation.

Pair up with a new partner and ‘leave’ your message. Your partner should write it down. Then swap roles. At the end, check the messages with your partner.

Game Where’s Mr. Wallace?

Play this game with a partner. Take turns being student A.

Student A tries to speak to Mr. Wallace by finding the extension number of his office.

Student B circles the extension number – this is now Mr. Wallace’s office. (Don’t let Student A see which number you choose!) Student B now answers Student A’s calls, and gives clues about how far away Mr. Wallace is, e. g.,

A: Hello, is this extension 331?

B: Yes, it is. Can I help you?

A: Could I speak to Mr. Wallace, please?

B: (if he’s on a different floor) Sorry, he doesn’t work in this department.

(if he’s two or more rooms away) Sorry, he isn’t here, but I think he’s around.

(if he’s one room away) Sorry, he’s just went next door.

(if A gives the right number) This is Mr. Wallace.

When Student A has found Mr. Wallace, it’s student B’s turn to ask the questions.