Writing Letters of Confirmation - Teacher’s Notes & Student Materials Produced and Adapted for Use at a School of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Sezgi Yalin, North Cyprus

Sezgi Yalin earned her M.A. as a Fulbright scholar in teaching English as a Foreign Language at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She worked as an English teacher, teacher trainer, and director of studies in the USA and Poland, and gained additional experience in the field in various countries such as the UK, Spain, Egypt, China, Nepal, Tibet, Vietnam, Cyprus, and Turkey. A freelance Pilgrims and CELTA trainer, Sezgi currently spends half of the year training teachers at St. Giles International Language Learning and Teacher Training Center in San Francisco. The rest of the year, when she is not traveling to teach or train, she is a stay-at-home mother. Visit www.sezgiyalinteachingntravelling to read more about Sezgi’s work in ELT and her travel experiences around the world. E-mail: sezgiriza@yahoo.com

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Background
Before the lesson
Stages of the lesson
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
Appendix 5
Appendix 6
Appendix 7

Background

Writing, though sometimes thought a dying art, is still essential where online business correspondence is required. Students in schools of tourism and hospitality management need to be able to maintain good online communications with target customers in order to compete successfully with others in the field. The following teacher’s notes and student materials were produced to be used in EFL classes at the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus with this need in mind. (Sample letters of confirmation and checklists adapted from: Jones, E. Welcome! English for the Travel and Tourism Industry. 1998. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)

The teacher’s notes and student materials were produced around the related chapter to make the lessons more student-centered. A workshop was held to train teachers to use these materials and to show how other writing chapters of the same book can also be adapted to put students in the center of the writing process.

The aims of the lesson are for the students to:

1. identify the layout and the organization of a letter of confirmation;
2. identify the content for a letter of confirmation;
3. become familiar with the language appropriate in a letter of confirmation;
4. evaluate and improve a letter of confirmation;
5. produce an acceptable letter of confirmation.

Before the lesson

Cut the the sample letter (Appendix I) into strips (one set per group of 3). Prepare a booking form with the customer information filled in.

Stages of the lesson

1. Elicit services a hotel must provide its customers, including ‘good communication through, for example, letters of confirmation’. Pre-teach words such as ‘confirm/confirmation’, ‘enclose’, etc.
2. In groups of 3, ask students to put the cut-up letter strips in the correct order.
3. Feedback: ask students to justify/explain the order of the paragraphs.
4. Give each student a copy of the letter (Appendix II) so they can take notes on it. Put the letter on OHP/IWB/Power Point and have students compare it to theirs.
5. Put students in pairs and assign Task 1 (Appendix III).
6. Elicit the answers and answer any possible questions.
   Answers: 1C, 2E, 3B, 4D, 5A
7. Students continue working in pairs. Assign the Task 2 (Appendix IV). Elicit answers, using the OHP/IWB/Power Point to underline those phrases in the Salamis Hotel letter. Answers:
   1. The Salamis Hotel letter.
   2. Thank you very much for…, we shall be pleased to answer them, Please let us know…, We look forward to welcoming you…, We hope you will enjoy your stay with us…
8. Pre-teach ‘undersell’. Assign Task 3 (Appendix V). While eliciting answers, make sure to compare the preferred letter to the other one (see notes below for each statement).
   1. The first letter is friendlier: the writer’s tone is welcoming, e.g., ‘we look forward to welcoming you…’. The second letter is very direct (e.g., ‘here’, ‘all you need to know’ and gives information only.
   2. The first letter is more polite: words such as ‘please’ are used and the writer thanks the customer. In the second letter, phrases such as ‘you must let me know…’ are too direct and, therefore, less polite).
   3. The customer is made to feel special and welcomed in the first letter (‘we hope you will enjoy your stay’. In the second letter, there are no such phrases to indicate this.
   4. There are no phrases like ‘If you have any questions,…’ in the second letter.
   5. The first letter does not undersell the hotel: there are no phrases like ‘In case you are interested”, as in the second letter.
9/ Pre-teach ‘checklist’. Assign Task 4 (Appendix VI) to pairs. Once the students have improved the letter, elicit answers and make (or have students make) changes on the OHP/IWB/Power Point. 10/ Give students a booking form with the customer information on the filled in. 11/ Ask students to use this information to write a letter of confirmation; assign Task 5 (Appendix VII). Once the students finish peer editing, collect their letters and give feedback.

Appendix 1

SALAMIS HOTEL

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22 March 2003

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Gürsel Koç
5, Şemsettin Güunaltay St.
Kumsal-Nicosia

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Dear Mr. Koç,

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Thank you very much for your call. I am writing to confirm your reservation for two adjoining double rooms with bath for July 14 to 23. The rooms are on the fourth floor of the hotel and have a view of the sea.

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The cost for half board is 50,000 TL per person per night, including taxes and service.

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I enclose two brochures describing our hotel and its facilities. If you have any questions, we shall be pleased to answer them.

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Please let us know if you will be arriving later than 7 pm.

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We look forward to welcoming you to Salamis Hotel on July 14. We hope you will enjoy your stay with us.

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Yours sincerely,

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Esen Adadağ
Manager

Appendix 2

LETTER ONE

SALAMIS HOTEL

22 March 2003

Gürsel Koç
5, Şemsettin Günaltay St.
Kumsal-Nicosia

Dear Mr. Koç,

Thank you very much for your call. I am writing to confirm your reservation for two adjoining double rooms with bath for July 14 to 23. The rooms are on the fourth floor of the hotel and have a view of the sea.

The cost for half board is 50,000 TL per person per night, including taxes and service.

I enclose two brochures describing our hotel and its facilities. If you have any questions, we shall be pleased to answer them.

Please let us know if you will be arriving later than 7 pm.

We look forward to welcoming you to Salamis Hotel on July 14. We hope you will enjoy your stay with us.

Yours sincerely,

Esen Adadağ
Manager

Appendix 3

Task 1

Read the confirmation letter sent by Salamis Hotel again and match each paragraph with its message in the table below.

SALAMIS HOTEL

22 March 2003

Gürsel Koç
5, Şemsettin Günaltay St.
Kumsal-Nicosia

Dear Mr. Koç,

1. Thank you very much for your call. I am writing to confirm your reservation for two adjoining double rooms with bath for July 14 to 23. The rooms have a sea view and are on the fourth floor of the hotel.
2. The cost for half board is 50,000 TL per person per night, including taxes and service.
3. I enclose two brochures describing our hotel and its facilities. If you have any questions, we shall be pleased to answer them.
4. Please let us know if you are arriving at the hotel later than 7 pm.
5. We look forward to welcoming you to Salamis Hotel on July 14. We hope you will enjoy your stay with us.

Yours sincerely,

Esen Adadağ
Hotel Manager

Appendix 4

Task 2

Read both confirmation letters carefully and answer the questions.

1. Which of these letters would you prefer to receive?
2. Underline at least five phrases in your preferred letter that makes it different from the other letter.

LETTER TWO

PARK HOTEL

26 March 2003

Ms. Ayşe Adalar
22 Mehmet Demirel Road
Girne

Dear Ms. Adalar,

I am sending you this letter to confirm your telephone booking for two double rooms here from July 14 to 24 (10 nights). The rooms are on the third floor. There is a connecting door and the rooms have balconies with sea views.

The price of the accommodation is 90,000 TL per person per night for half-board. This includes taxes and service.

In case you are interested, I enclose a brochure with all you need to know about the hotel and what it has to offer.

You must let me know if you plan to arrive at the hotel after 7 o’clock.

Yours sincerely,

Ercan Ercanlar
Manager

Appendix 5

Task 3

Look at the underlined phrases in your preferred letter in task 2 and decide if the following sentences are True (T) or False (F).

Appendix 6

Task 4

There are certain problems with the following confirmation letter.

1. Read the letter and use the checklist below it to decide what these problems are.
2. Make changes to improve it.

PaRaDiSe HoTeL

Dear customer,

Here is the letter to confirm your resarvation. Your room has a sea view and a refrigerator.

The price of the acommodation are 50,000 TL per person per night.

I enclose a brocure about our hotel, in case you are interested.

You must let me know if you are arriving at the hotel after 8 o’clock or if you have any further requests.

We look forward to welcome you to the Paradise Hotel on July 15. We hope you enjoy your stay with us.

The manager

Appendix 7

Task 5

Work in pairs and write a confirmation letter to a customer. When you finish writing,

1. use the checklist below to revise it.
2. check another pair’s letter and mark your comments in the column ‘peer letter’.