Telephone calls, workplace messages, clarification, spelling aloud, callback numbers, and Course 3 customer-service checkpoint
0–10 min | Welcome and warm-up: Instructor greets students and asks: “Who do you call at work?” Students brainstorm common calls: supervisor, coworker, customer, office, delivery, appointment. Quick pronunciation warm-up with phone, name, number, message, please.10–25 min | Spiral review: Review polite customer-service phrases from earlier Course 3 meetings: “How can I help you?”, “One moment, please,” “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” and “Can you repeat that?” Students practice in pairs with call-and-response cards.25–45 min | Vocabulary and expressions: Teach essential vocabulary: caller, message, hold, available, busy, callback number, extension, appointment, reason, spell, repeat, confirm. Sentence frames: “Good morning, this is ___.” “May I have your name, please?” “Can you spell that?” “What is your phone number?” “Let me repeat that.” “I will give him/her the message.” Instructor highlights false cognates and direct translation issues, including actually vs. actualmente and assist vs. asistir.45–65 min | Listening practice: Students listen to short recorded or instructor-read phone calls. They identify caller name, number, reason, and requested action. Instructor models how to write numbers in groups and how to mark uncertain information with a question mark before confirming.65–90 min | Guided practice: Students complete a phone-message template while practicing controlled dialogues. Focus grammar: question formation with may/can/what/when, subject pronouns, and simple present forms: “He is not available,” “She works at 2:00,” “They need help.” Pronunciation focus: English vowel contrasts in names and numbers, final consonants in need, help, call, message, and clear B/V distinction for Spanish speakers.90–110 min | Practical application and Course 3 checkpoint: Students complete a role-play in pairs or triads: one caller, one receptionist/employee, and one observer. The receptionist must greet the caller, ask for the name, request spelling, confirm the phone number, ask the reason for calling, and close politely. Observer uses a simple checklist aligned to Beginning, Developing, Functional, and Confident performance levels.110–115 min | Formative assessment: Instructor conducts a quick oral check: each student repeats one name, one phone number, and one clarification phrase. Instructor reviews common errors without embarrassment and gives one pronunciation correction target.115–120 min | Assignment explanation: Instructor explains linked assignment ENG-A015 Phone Message Customer Service Checkpoint. Students may submit a voice recording and written message template, or complete the no-technology alternative using a paper script and in-person demonstration.
Requirements
Required materials: phone-message template, role-play cards, sample workplace call scripts, whiteboard or shared screen, audio playback option, pencils, bilingual vocabulary list for Beginning learners, and the ENG-A015 assignment instructions. Guided practice must include sentence frames, repetition, pair work, and instructor modeling. Beginner support: allow Spanish-language clarification, word banks, slower audio, and partially completed message forms. Advanced extension: add a transfer, voicemail, extension number, schedule detail, or customer concern. Instructor guidance: prioritize intelligibility, confidence, and accurate key details over perfect grammar; monitor common Spanish-speaker pronunciation challenges including vowels, B/V, TH in names when applicable, and final consonants.
