Dialogue

Ex. 1. Read the conversation in pairs.

Secretary: The Russia’s Chamber of Commerce has sent us this letter from a London company – Brown&Co., Ltd. they are interested in Caviar.

Manager: (reading the letter) Are they in the Trade Directory?

Secretary: Yes, they are. There are only three lines about them in the Directory, as Brown&Co., Ltd., are a private company.

Manager: What’s their share capital?

Secretary: It’s 20,000 pounds, fully paid. What shall I write them?

Manager: Write them we can’t offer any caviar now, but at the beginning of February we are going to start negotiations with our customers for the sale of caviar of the new catch. Ask them to let us know what quantities and what time of shipment they need. Send also an enquiry to the London Information Bureau about their financial position.

Secretary: Very good. I’ll write the letter at once.

Ex. 2. Play out the conversation.

Ex. 3. Write a letter following the conversation above.

Ex. 4. Make up a conversation in analogy.

TRANSLATION

Check your knowledge and translate the following letters into English. Refer to other letters for help if you need.

1. Уважаемые господа!

Благодарим Вас за письмо от 12 марта, касающееся поставок 40 тонн угля.

С сожалением вынуждены сообщить Вам, что ввиду поломки транспортного судна мы не сможем поставить Вам уголь в оговоренные ранее сроки.

Мы были бы очень признательны, если бы вы могли предоставить нам отсрочку в две недели.

С уважением,

2. Уважаемые господа!

Мы подтверждаем получение Вашего письма от 12 октября и благодарим Вас за содержащуюся в нем информацию.

С уважением,

3. Уважаемые господа!

В продолжение нашего телефонного разговора с мистером В. Петровым сегодня утром, с сожалением сообщаем Вам, что из-за канцелярской ошибки счет-фактура на товары, отправленные Вам 12 августа сего года, не был приложен к нашему письму от того же числа.

Высылаем Вам вышеупомянутый счет-фактуру с данным письмом и приносим Вам свои извинения за причиненные неудобства.

С уважением,

4. Уважаемый Мистер Уайт!

Вернувшись домой из поездки в Лондон, я хотел бы поблагодарить Вас за гостеприимство и внимание, оказанные мне во время пребывания в Вашем городе.

В продолжение нашего разговора 22 сентября, я с нетерпением ожидаю Вашего заказа на выбранные Вами товары из каталога № 9.

Еще раз благодарю за гостеприимство. Это была незабываемая поездка. Я уверен, что если Вам случиться бывать в Беларуси, вы получите такое же удовольствие от путешествия, как и я в Лондоне.

С уважением,

5. Уважаемая Мисс Петерсон!

Заказ № 56432

Уже семь месяцев прошло с тех пор, как мы заказали у Вас компьютеры. К сожалению, мы так и не получили наш заказ.

Мы хотели бы напомнить, что данный заказ уже оплачен в срок. К тому же, мы Вам уже писали по этому поводу месяц назад, и Вы заверили нас, что компьютеры будут доставлены через неделю. Следовательно, мы настаиваем, чтобы Вы немедленно прислали нам заказ или возместили его стоимость.

Если от Вас не будет ответа в течение семи дней, мы вынуждены будем обратиться в суд.

С уважением,

WRITING

Ex. 1. Steps in writing. Work with a partner. Copy the cards below on to separate pieces of paper. Discuss with your partner the order that you think they go in. You can add any other cards that you need.

Produce a final version	Send the letter!	Check spelling, grammar, style and layout
Make changes and corrections	Read carefully the letter you have received	Make a plan for the letter
Write a draft	Note down important/useful phrases	Read the letter again

When you are ready, stick your cards on to a piece of paper. Draw arrows to show the order. Compare diagrams with other students in the class.

Ex. 2. Letter practice. Follow the instructions below to produce three letters.

1. You are the Purchasing Supervisor at Green Supermarkets, 13 Station Road, Dublin, Ireland. Your manager has just sent you this memo.

G R E E N S U P E R M A R K E T S

To Purchasing Supervisor Date 15^th April 2005

From Stock Manager Subject Order 564

We sent an order for orange juice to Corona on 4^th January but we have still not had a delivery. Please write to them and ask them when they can deliver the orange juice. Their address is Callé Mayor 340, 28014 Madrid, Spain.

Write a letter to Corona. Make sure that you lay it out in the block style. Put a heading in your letter that says what it is about.

2. You work at Central Business Consultants, 16 Hyde Towers, Hong Kong. The people who rent the office next to you play very loud music all day and every day, even though the contract for the offices says that ‘music is not allowed’. It is impossible for you to work. Write a full letter to them, making a strong complaint.

3. Last month you replied to an advertisement in the newspaper and now you received this letter back.

231 Sims Avenue XL Singapore Tel: 247 5823 Fax: 2476652 Exel Industries date as postmark Dear Sir/Madam Thank you for your recent letter, concerning the post as Sales Supervisor at Exel industries. I am pleased to enclose the application forms that you required. I would be grateful if you could complete them and return to me as soon as possible. If you have any further questions, please contact me. Yours faithfully PWang P Wang (Mrs) Personnel Dept

You have been ill so you could not reply immediately. You want some more information about the post (holidays, working hours and a starting salary). Write a letter asking about these things.

LISTENING

Ex. 1. A customer calls Stephanie Rowe at Benn Distribution. Listen to the first call and complete the memo.

BENN DISTRIBUTION LTD Customer Service Department Complaint Form Caller ……………………………… Company ………………..……..….…… Order № ………………………………………………………………….……. Description of goods ………………………………………….…………….…. Problem …………………………………………………………………….….. Action ……………………………………………………….…………………

Ex. 2. In the second part, Stephanie Rowe calls back. Listen. Where are the instruction manuals? What does she offer to do?

Ex. 3. Complete these extracts from the two dialogues. Who says each sentence: Stephanie (S) or the customer (C)? Listen again if necessary.

1. I’m ……………… about my order. (….)

2. I’m very sorry ……………………. that. (….)

3. Can you ………………….. the problem? (….)

4. ………………..call you ………………… in ten to fifteen minutes. (….)

5. I’m ………………. …………. we found them here in our factory. (….)

6. ……………….. ………………… send them by express mail? (….)

7. I do …………………. once again. (….)

Ex. 4. Write down the list of phrases that can be useful when responding to complaints. Classify them into the following groups:

1. Giving bad news.

2. Saying sorry.

3. Promising to do something.

4. Offering to do something.

Ex. 5. Make up a conversation in analogy. Act it out with a partner.

Role Play

Ex. 1. Read this newspaper article about an explosion in a clothes factory. Answer the questions.

1. Perfecta Ltd’s stock was valued at ……………

2. What is Perfecta Ltd going to do now?

3. Who is Bauer AG?

4. What has Aqua Warm done?

Daily News 3 January 2001 Explosion Destroys Factory A huge explosion caused extensive damage last night in the new multi-million dollar factory of Perfecta Ltd, the well known ladies’ fashion designers. There were no injuries. A spokesman for Perfecta said that the central heating system had exploded, blowing a large hole in the roof. “Our complete spring stock has been destroyed. We have lost four hundred thousand pounds worth of clothes,” he said. He claimed that they wrote to the company that installed the heating unit, Bauer AG of Switzerland, on 9th December last year because it was making a strange noise. They received no reply. He said Perfecta would be claiming compensation from Bauer AG. Meanwhile, Perfecta has been forced to close the factory because it is too cold to work in. This will cost them about £25,000 a day in lost production. Amsterdam: Aqua Warm BV, the manufacturers of the heating unit, said last night that they have been making central heating systems for over 20 years and they had never had a complaint. However, they have asked a surveyor to find the cause of the explosion.

Word List:

extensive – a lot of

to claim – (here) to ask for

to install – to put in

Ex. 2. Perfecta Ltd now wants to get compensation from Bauer AG and also get the factory working again. In three groups you must write the correspondence between the three companies involved. When you have written a letter, give it to the correct group. Then ask for a new role card number. (There are three cards for each company).

Perfecta Ltd Start on card 1

BAUER AG Start on card 4

AQUA WARM BV Start on card 7

Points to Remember

1. The layout and presentation of your letter are important as they give the reader the first impression of the firm’s efficiency.

2. There are two styles of letter, blocked and modified blocked (intended). Both are acceptable, but the blocked style will probably save time.

3. Write both addresses in as much detail as possible and in the correct order.

4. Make sure you see the recipient’s correct title in the address and salutation. If in doubt as to whether a woman is single or married, use Ms.

5. Do not abbreviate dates.

6. Choose the correct salutation and complimentary close.

7. Make sure your references are correct.

8. Make sure your signature tells your reader what he/she needs to know about you.

9. Include just the right amount of information in your letter. (But better too much then too little.)

10. Plan your letter before you start writing, to make sure it says everything you want to say and says it in a logical sequence.

11. Use a simple but polite style of language.

12. Your letter should be clear and unambiguous. Take care with abbreviations and figures.

13. Accuracy is important. Pay special attention to titles, names and addresses, references, prices and specifications, enclosures.