Needs analysis extended speaking

Needs analysis extended speaking and instant practice

Think of one, real (specific/ particular, past, present or future) situation in your life where

you have to use English such as a situation below. Describe that situation to your partner

in as much detail as you can, then they will ask you questions about it.

A challenging

A common

A daily

A disastrous

A memorable

A recent

A regular

A semi-annual

A successful

A tricky

A typical

A weekly

An annual

An important

An unsuccessful

An upcoming

An urgent

The last/ next

English conversation

English document

English email

English interview

English meeting

English networking event

English online discussion

English phone call

English presentation

English report

English Skype call

English small talk

English social situation

English speech

English teleconference

training in English

English videoconference

workshop in English

that I (will) attend/ (have) attended

that I (will) have/ had/ (have) had

that I (will) make/ (have) made

that I (will) read/ (have) read

that I (will) receive/ (have) received

that I (will) take/ have taken part in

that I (will) write/ wrote/ have written

A person who

I email/ (have) emailed

emails/ (has) emailed me

I (will) speak/ have spoken to

I (will) meet/ (have) met

recently

last – next

occasionally/ sometimes/ regularly

Suggested questions after listening

Did you find it…?

Did you think about…?

Did you try to…?

Did you/ he/ she understand…?

How did you/ he/ she respond to…?

How did you/ he/ she feel about…?

How did… start/ end?

How difficult was it to…?

How often do you…?

If it happened again, would you…?

Was it (very)… (for you/ for him/ for her)?

When did you/ he/ she first/ last…?

Who started/ ended…?

Why didn’t you/ they…?

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Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

Useful language/ Suggested sub-topics

Situations

 going out for drinks

 job interview

 (regular/ town hall) meeting

 product launch

 trade fair/ trade show/ conference

People

 acquaintance

 auditor

 (direct) boss/ (line/ middle/ top) manager/ executive/ director

 colleague (= workmate/ co-worker)

 customer/ client

 fellow guest/ fellow passenger/ fellow…

 friend

 help desk staff

 neighbour

 PA/ secretary

 people in other branches/ departments/ divisions/ sections/ teams

 receptionist

 sales rep/ supplier/ vendor

 shop assistant

 someone from the Netherlands/ The Philippines/ Belgium/ The Czech Republic/…

 stranger (e.g. passer-by)

 subcontractors

 temp staff

 the authorities (civil servants, politicians, etc)

 the general public

 visitor

Documents

 agenda

 cover letter

 CV/ résumé

 (application/ online) form

 job references

 memo(random)

 minutes

 (feedback) questionnaire

Kinds of language/ Kinds of communication

 (polite) negative replies

 active listening/ listening sympathetically

 advice/ recommendations/ feedback

 apology

 asking for payment

 asking for permission

 booking/ making reservations

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Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

 checking progress

 checking/ confirming/ clarifying

 command/ instructions/ reminder/ demanding action

 complaint

 describing (products/ services, company, job, figures/ trends, etc)

 directions on how to get somewhere

 enquiry

 giving bad news

 giving good news

 introducing other people

 introducing yourself

 invitations

 making arrangements (fixing meetings, etc)

 meeting people (for the first time/ again)

 negotiating

 networking (being a host, being a guest, etc)

 offer

 purchasing/ ordering products

 request

 rescheduling

 selling

 sending attachments/ discussing topics

 thanking

Formality

 (very) formal

 medium formality

 (fairly/ very) informal/ casual/ friendly

Difficulties

 accent/ pronunciation

 accuracy/ errors

 cultural differences

 fluency

 politeness/ level of formality

 speed

 thinking time/ silence

 turn taking/ interrupting

Ask about any words above you don’t understand or have questions about doing in

English, each time sharing your experiences.

Which of the things above are priorities for you?

Describe one situation using English that you’d like to practise, e.g. something you often

do in English, have particular problems doing, will have to do soon, or often do in your job

and might have to do in English. It can be one of the situations you described before or

something different. Describe it in as much detail as you can, including who the other

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Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021

person is, and then roleplay that situation with your partner, from the very beginning to the

very end, with you as yourself and your partner taking the role of the other person. If

it is written communication (email exchange etc), just take turns saying what you would

write, including absolutely everything you would write (names, greetings, etc).

How did you start and finish those exchanges? What other language can be used to start

and finish that kind of communication?

Which of the things mentioned in today’s lesson do you most need to improve?

How can you improve those things outside class?

Share your experiences of learning English (inside and outside of class):

- Conversation exchange

- English club/ Study group

- Grammar practice

- Language learning app(lication)

- Language learning games

- Learning idioms/ idiomatic language

- Learning things by heart

- Listening practice

- Movies

- Music

- Podcasts

- Preparing before using English

- Pronunciation practice

- Radio

- Reading practice

- Recording your own voice

- Self-study book

- Skype lessons

- Social media

- Speaking to strangers

- The phonemic script

- Translation

- TV programmes

- Using a dictionary

- Using a digital voice recorder

- Using English abroad (= overseas = in foreign countries)

- Vocabulary practice

- Websites

- Writing practice

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Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2021