Phone
Conversations
Listen to the CD and read the dialogue
below.
Taxi driver: Good morning, this is João Silva, a taxi driver. May I help you?
Tourist: Good morning! I’m Paul Miller and I’m at Ibis Hotel. I would like to go
sightseeing in Belo Horizonte. Can you pick me up at 2:00 pm?
Taxi driver: Yes, sure.
Tourist: What should I see here in Belo Horizonte?
Taxi driver: There’s a wonderful Art Museum, the famous Church designed by Oscar
Niemeyer, Casa do Baile, Mineirão and Mineirinho…
Tourist: That’s Ok. How long does the tour take?
Taxi driver: About an hour and a half. Would you like to see the sunset from Serra do
Curral? It’s amazing and it’s only thirty minutes from Pampulha.
Tourist: That sounds great! And how much would it cost?
Taxi driver: From R$ 230,00 to R$ 320,00.
Tourist: OK. Pick me up at 2:00 pm at Ibis Hotel. I’ll be waiting at the front desk.
Taxi driver: That’s right. My license plate is GWM 2323.
Tourist: Got it. See you at 2:00 pm.
Taxi driver: It’s set.
1. Match the columns according to the vocabulary of the text:
a. I am here.
( ) Quanto tempo?
b. Can you pick me up?
( ) Você gostaria de ver ...?
c. How much time?
( ) Atrações turísticas
d. Would you like to see…?
( ) Você pode me pegar?
e. Tourist attractions
( ) Eu estou aqui.
2. Listen to the dialogue again and practice it in pairs.
Speaking
1. Organize the sentences in order to make a phone conversation.
A: OK. I will be there in 10 minutes.
B: Oh, sure! It’s Paul Miller.
B: Ah, hello. I’m at Ibis Hotel, and I’d like you to pick me up here.
A: OK. Could you tell me your name, please?
A: You’re welcome.
A: Hello. This is João Silva.
B: Good. Thank you.
B: Ah… I need to go to the airport. My flight departs at 10:15.
A: OK. Where do you want to go?
Pair Work Activity
Pretend one of you (student A) is a tourist looking for
a wallet you have just left in the taxi. The other
(student B) is a taxi driver who took you to a ride. He
is going to look for the wallet inside the taxi and give
it back to you. Develop a dialogue observing the cues:
STUDENT A
Student A: Ask student B if your wallet is in the taxi.
Student B:
Student A: Ask student B to look for it carefully.
Student B:
Student A: Suggest student B to take a look on the floor of the car.
Student B:
Student A: Tell student B that it is a small and black wallet.
Student B:
Student A: Ask student B if he can bring it back to you in the same hotel he picked you up.
Student B:
Student A:. Thank student B and say you are waiting for the wallet as soon as possible.
Student B:
STUDENT B
Student A:
Student B: Tell student A you are not sure, but you can’t see it in the taxi.
Student A:
Student B: Ask student A to wait some minutes for you to check it.
Student A:
Student B: Ask student A what size and color it is.
Student A:
Student B:. Tell Student A that the wallet is in the car.
Student A:
Student B: Tell Student A that you will do it.
Student A:
Student B: Answer positively in a polite way.
Extra Reading
Is driving safe when we talk on the phone?
Research indicates that the use of cell phones take out driving performance attention. The
interference of hand-held and hand-free cell phone is another similar observation. This
finding suggests that policies restrict hand-held devices but permit hand-free devices are
not well grounded in science. It is very important for a driver to pull over and park in a safe
location to answer a call. A better driver education addressing driver distraction is essential
to keep our roadways safe.
Source: (Adapted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2203087.stm)
Distance before braking response at
70mph
Normal driving - 31m
Drunk-driving - 35m
Using mobile - 45m
Do you agree with the message in the text? Try to discuss it with your classmates.
TEACHER’S GUIDE - Phone Conversations
Listen and read the dialogue below.
Objective: vocabulary practicing, listening and reading.
 Teacher encourages students to describe the pictures by checking what they know
about the use of colors, numbers, places and adjectives or even by asking questions
if necessary. Eg. What’s the licence plate number? Which hotel is this? Where is it?
How is it? Is it famous? Is it beautiful there? Is it cheap or expensive? Etc.
 Teacher also asks Ss if they know a person who works in a taxi and if they know
how to say this profession in English. Also, asks students who are the main clients
of a taxi driver. Probably they will answer that tourists or businesspeople are the
main clients.
 Teacher asks students to predict what is probably happening according to the
picture, trying to get them to say that it’s a phone call between a taxi driver and a
tourist booking a taxi ride. Eg. Who is the person in the hotel calling? Who is he/she
calling to? What’s he/she calling for?
 Teacher encourages students to talk about tourist places in Belo Horizonte by asking
them where tourists should go in Belo Horizonte and which are the most famous
hotels. Eg. Are there beautiful places in BH? Where should the tourist go? What
should he see there? Is it far/near?
 Teacher asks students if they know how much a ride in kilometers or in hours is.
Eg.: how much is a ride from Ibis Hotel to Pampulha Lake?
TIP If students would like to know more about the tourist places in BH, and information
on hotels and taxi, log on to
http://www.citybrazil.com.br/mg/belohorizonte/turismo.htm
http://www.brazilonboard.com/bhz/5205.asp
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Students listen and repeat the dialogue line by line. Get them to copy the intonation
and say each line quickly, linking words when appropriate.
In pairs, students practice the dialogue by acting it out in role-plays.
Source of the pictures:
http://brasil.business-opportunities.biz/2006/05/01/taxistas-poliglotas-de-olho-no-pan-2007/
http://www.portalpress.com.br/portalpress/accorhotels/galeria/ibis/Ibis%20Belo%20Horizonte%20Liberdad
e%20%201.jpg
1. Match the columns according to the vocabulary of the text.
 Teacher reminds Ss some important expressions a driver needs to know to talk to a
tourist.
 Ss match columns A and B. Ss will simply translate the expressions in order to
check if he/she has learned it.
TIP Books closed. Play the tape again and ask the Ss to write down any expression they
can remember.
Answer Key: c,d,e,b,a.
2. Listen to the dialogue again and practice it in pairs.
Objective: reading/speaking
 Teacher asks Ss to listen to the dialogue again. Ask Ss to practice it in pairs for
general meaning, role-playing the dialogue.
TIP Ss sit back to back in pairs. Student A pretend he/she is a taxi driver and student B
pretends he/she is a tourist. Then, they take turns. Ask volunteers to perform the task in
front of the class.
Source of the picture:
http://www.pca.org.br/guia_do_voluntario.php
Speaking
1. Organize the sentences in order to make a phone call conversation.
 This activity practices making telephone calls.
 Teacher goes around the class, offering help and encouragement.
 Allow Ss to compare results in pairs before checking their answers in group.
 Get Ss to practice the dialogue in pairs from the board, using the Read, look up and
say technique.
 Get Ss to role-play the dialogue without turning to the written dialogue.
TIP Teacher could do this activity as a dictation. Say the dialogue line by line, pausing to
give Ss time to write it. Then practice as above.
Answer Key:
A: Hello. This is João Silva.
B: Ah, hello. I’m at Ibis Hotel, and I’d like you to pick me up here.
A: OK. Could you tell me your name, please?
B: Oh, sure! It’s Paul Miller.
A: OK. Where do you want to go?
B: Ah… I need to go to the airport. My flight departs at 10:15.
A: OK. I will be there in 10 minutes.
B: Good. Thank you.
A: You’re welcome.
Source of the pictures:
http://www.plenarinho.gov.br/camara/comunicacao/disque-camara
http://troll-urbano.weblog.com.pt/arquivo/2006/01/sodemme.html
Pair Work Activity
Objective: Speaking/ vocabulary practicing
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The oral skill will be used in this task. Students are going to read the instructions
and look at the charts to do the exercise. Student A works with card 1 asking
questions. Student B works with card 2 answering the questions.
Ss practice the conversation in pairs.
Then Ss take turns.
Call on several pairs to perform the role play in front of the class. Give comments
on how the role plays are good and suggestions on how they could be improved.
Source of the picture:
http://www.unisc.br/universidade/estrutura_administrativa/nucleos/naac/saiba_tics.htm
Answer Key: Answers may vary. Possible answers:
STUDENT A
Student A: Ask student B if your wallet is in the taxi.
Student B: I’m not sure, but I can’t see it in the taxi.
Student A: Ask student B to look for it carefully.
Student B: Just a minute. I’m going to stop the car and check it.
Student A: Suggest student B to take a look on the floor of the car.
Student B: What size and color is your wallet?
Student A: Tell student B that it is a small and black wallet.
Student B: Goodness! Your wallet is here.
Student A: Ask student B if he can bring it back to you in the same hotel he picked you up.
Student B: Of course!
Student A:. Thank student B and say you are waiting for the wallet as soon as possible.
Student B: That’s all right, sir!
STUDENT B
Student A: Is my wallet in the taxi?
Student B: Tell student A you are not sure, but you can’t see it in the taxi.
Student A: Please, take a look for it carefully!
Student B: Ask student A to wait some minutes for you to check it.
Student A: Look at the floor of the car, please.
Student B: Ask student A what size and color it is.
Student A: It’s a small and black wallet.
Student B: Tell Student A that the wallet is in the car.
Student A: Can you bring it back to me at Ibis Hotel where you picked me up?
Student B: Tell Student A that you will do it.
Student A: Thank you a lot. I’ll be waiting for it as soon as possible.
Student B: Answer positively in a polite way.
Extra reading
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This exercise practices reading for information and also develops reading strategies:
skimming. Skimming is to consider something quickly in order to get the main
points. If you skim through/over a text, you are not worried about details. The main
idea is what matters.
Ss read the text and try to guess words they do not understand. Ss should circle any
words they can not guess from the context and which they think are important.
Ask which words Ss circle and explain them to the class.
Then, Ss read it again in order to be aware of the danger of talking on the phone
while driving.
Focus Ss attention to the table and try to discuss the theme in the text with them.
TIP Teacher can ask some questions to Ss after or before the reading. E.g. Do you agree
that more education is essential to alert people to the danger of traffic? Are there more
accidents when drivers use the phone? Do you think using a mobile when driving is like
driving when drunk? Why or why not?
Source of the pictures:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2203087.stm
Answer Key: Personal answers.