Humanising Language Teaching
Year 1; Issue 8; December 1999

* Lesson 1 * Lesson 2

by Derek Nolan, (English Unlimited, Poland)

1. Prepare and hand out the following story

   Jacek's First Smoke

   Little Jacek, aged 7 and a quarter, was leaving school one afternoon, swinging his little satchel behind him when he was spotted by a group of older boys, aged 8 and a half. They were smoking behind a tree. One of them, Marek, said. 'Hey, little Jacek, have a drag of this'

   What did Marek do?

   Ss: He offered Jacek a cigarette. (At this stage the verb alone will suffice)

   'No, I don't want it.' What did J. Do?

   Ss: He refused to smoke.

   'Ah, go on . It's really cool,' said Marek and then Darek said 'I smoke 3 a day.'

   What did Marek and Darek do?

   Ss: Marek urged/encouraged J. To smoke and Darek boasted that he smoked 3 a day.

   'Go on. You'll like it and you can be a member of our gang,'said Marek. 'OK. then,' said Jacek. What did Marek do? And Jacek?

   Ss: Marek persuaded Jarek to smoke and Jacek agreed.

   Jacek coughed and spluttered. On his way home he stopped at a kiosk and bought some Winterfresh to get rid of the smell. He arrived home and Mumy was waiting for him and gave him a huge sloppy kiss.

   'Jacek. You've been smoking!' What did Mumy do?

   Ss: She accused him of smoking,

   'No, I haven't.'

   Ss: Jacek denied smoking.

   'Mummy knows everything. Now tell Mummy the truth.'

   'Ok. I did smoke but just a little.' What did J. do?

   Ss: He admitted that he had smoked/having smoked.

   'If you smoke again I'll tell your father.'

   Ss: She threatened to tell Jacek's father if Jacek smoked again.

   'Please, please don't tell Daddy. I'm really sorry, Mummy. I won't smoke ever again.'

   What did J. do?

   He begged her not to tell his father, apologized for smoking and promised not to do it again.

   'OK. Jacek. You shouldn't listen to those bad boys. Now, let's forget about it now . Why don't you go upstairs and do your homework?'

   She advised him not to listen to the boys and suggested that he go upstairs.

2. In groups the students put the verbs on the board into the following categories:

   1. verb + that (e.g. boast)
   2. verb + infinitive (e.g. refuse)
   3. verb + gerund
   4. verb + Preposition
   5. verb + that
   6. verb + object + infinitive
    

3. Practise the structure through drills giving students a context e.g. ' Ania, you have seen Marek stealing apples from you're garden but Marek you don't want to admit this.'

   What do you say to each other? And then ask class what has happened to elicit full sentences with the verbs of reporting on the board.

4. Students are then in pairs or threes and are given a situation. They have been sharing a flat together for 3 months. However, all is not well because now they cannot stand each other. Each person writes down 3 things that annoy them about the other person/people. The students then choose 3 or 4 slips of paper which you have prepared, each with a reporting verb on it. If a student has for example 'deny' 'accuse' 'agree' 'complain' s/he must deny doing something, accuse s.o. of doing something etc. When the have used the verb they turn it over. The class then reports back how it all went using the reporting verbs.

5. For homework they can either write the story of Jacek or a report of their role-play.

by Ela Gusakowska (English Unlimited, Poland)

Lesson outline:

1. Sit your students in groups of four. Give out handout A.

2. Ask the groups to match descriptions with each of the types given.

Handout A

Types:

A. Good / Bad Cop | B. Friends | C. Bulk orders
D. Ultimaters | E. Bullies

Descriptions

1. The crudest negotiating tactic of all usually starts with disparaging remarks about the opponents' company or product. A bully doesn't need a valid reasonb to attack; it's in their nature to pick on someone who won't fight back. The attack is a taticdesigned to break down your position.

2. Phrases such as "That's all I can afford", or "You have to do better than that", or "Take it or leave it". The aim is to make the negotiator feel apprehensive about the future of a talk. They test the opponents to see how far they could go and how well the opponents counterargument.

3. "I love your concept, I want to do it, but I don't have the budget". The buyers/sellers believe that if they manage to make friends with you, they and their company could benefit from it in the future. They often know that they can't sign a contract, nevertheless they take every opportunity to ensure their future.

4. They pretend to be interested in volume discounts, whereas in reality all they want is to get a high discount for a minimal order. For example, they really want to buy 1000 units, but they start by suggesting a price for 10,000 and then they move to negootiating at a lower unit price.

5. There are usually two of them. One fo them is to be a bad guy, his aim is to discomfort you by being aggresive, making rediculous demands. The second one is a good guy, his job is to be balanced and apologetic for his partner.

1E 2D 3B 4C 5A

3. Next, check the answers, and dictate the following sentences and ask students to match them with an appropriate negotiation type.

   1. We want 1,000,000 $ for one unit. If you can't afford, then you're losers. ( bad cop )

   2. I'm afraid my friend is a bit stressed today, please don't pay attention. ( good cop )

   3. We are here to make a deal, but to tell you the truth, I don't think your company is the right partner for mine. ( bullies )

   4. Now, listen – we cannot give you more!!! That's it. ( ultimaters)

   5. You're really brainy, your concept is just a piece of art., but you see, we are too poor to accept it. ( friends)

   6. We don't want to talk about small quantities, our company is interested ONLY in big orders. ( bulk orders )

4. Check the answers with your group, ask them to brainstorm some more examples of each type and put their suggestions on the blackboard under an appropriate heading.

5. Explain that the main aim of the next part is to practice identifying negotiation tactics.

   1. describe the following situation: You and your partner share a flat. Decide for yourself how many parties you are able to handle a week, then negotiate a number with your partner

   2. set up a time limit for preparation (up to 4 min.)

   3. tell the students to work on their own and decide which negotiating type they would like to assume

   4. ask them to act out their type and guess their partner's while negotiating the number of parties

   5. encourage your students to repeat their conversations at least 3 times with different partners