Polite Complaints & Little Problems

A2 · Elementary57 minConversation SkillsLesson 4 of 5 · Outline

Aims

Cold coffee, a late train, the wrong order: say the problem politely, and say the right thing when it happens to someone else

The lesson, stage by stage

  1. Warm up5 min

    Warm-up: Say the Problem Without Sounding Angry

    3 warm-up questions

  1. Vocabulary8 min

    Vocabulary: Small Problem Words

    7 items

  2. Reading10 min

    Reading: The Two Small Words

    Read a 184-word text about The Two Small Words

  3. Practice7 min

    Practice: Rude Version, Polite Version

    Matching exercise, 6 items

  4. Practice7 min

    Practice: Soften the Complaint

    Gap-fill exercise, 6 items

  5. Dialogue10 min

    Dialogue: The Cold Coffee

    Role-play: You are in a busy cafe. Your coffee arrives cold and your friend's sandwich is the wrong one. You complain politely, and then your friend tells you about her terrible morning. (8 lines)

  6. Discussion10 min

    Discussion: Let's Talk

    4 discussion questions

Open the full lesson

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Target vocabulary

In a Tuton account these words become your student's vocabulary deck, so they come back in practice between lessons.

complainExcuse medelayedannoyingSorry about that.never minda bit

This plan comes from the Everyday Social English course in the Tuton library. Browse all free lesson plans.