Working across cultures

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Guess the words (1)Vocabulary exercise
4. 4Guess the words (2)Vocabulary exercise
5. 5Check the wordsVocabulary
6. 6Useful phrases: invitationsVocabulary
7. 7Check your understandingReading comprehension
8. 8Check the conversationListening comprehension
9. 9Use the new wordsVocabulary exercise
10. 10What does it mean?Grammar exercise
11. 11Notice: after the dinnerGrammar exercise
12. 12Tags, negative questions and softenersGrammar rule
13. 13Choose the tagGrammar exercise
14. 14Negative questions and answersGrammar exercise
15. 15Build the sentencesGrammar exercise
16. 16Say it naturallySpeaking practice
17. 17Role-play: the visitor and the hostSpeaking practice
18. 18Let's discussDiscussion
19. 19Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: closest meaningVocabulary exercise
2. 2Homework: your sentencesVocabulary exercise
3. 3Homework: Max visits PragueGrammar exercise
4. 4Homework: a polite noDiscussion

Words

• decline/dɪˈklaɪn/

  to say no politely to an invitation or an offer

• take a rain check/ˌteɪk ə ˈreɪn tʃek/

  to say no to an invitation now, but suggest accepting it another time (informal)

• RSVP/ˌɑːr es viː ˈpiː/

  to reply to an invitation, saying whether you will come (from the French for "please reply")

• host/hoʊst/

  to invite people and look after them at a meal, a party or an event (also a noun: the person who does this)

• punctual/ˈpʌŋktʃuəl/

  arriving or doing something at the agreed time

• hierarchy/ˈhaɪərɑːrki/

  a system in which people have higher and lower ranks (a flat hierarchy: one with few levels of managers)

• on a first-name basis/ɑːn ə ˌfɜːrst neɪm ˈbeɪsɪs/

  knowing someone well enough, or working somewhere informal enough, to call them by their first name

• faux pas/ˌfoʊ ˈpɑː/

  an action or a remark that is embarrassing because it breaks a social rule (plural: faux pas)

• tactful/ˈtæktfl/

  careful not to say or do anything that could upset or embarrass people

• read between the lines/ˌriːd bɪˌtwiːn ðə ˈlaɪnz/

  to understand what someone means but doesn't say directly

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

Let's talk about working with people from other places.

1. Have you ever worked with people from another country? What surprised you?
2. How do people in your workplace usually say no to an invitation?
3. Is it OK to arrive a few minutes late for a meeting where you work?

Grammar rule

Tags, negative questions and softeners

Question tags

A tag turns a statement into a check, or an invitation to agree. Use the helping verb, be or the modal from the statement (do / does / did when there is none) and a pronoun. A positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement a positive one.

Statement	Tag	Note
Our team won the award,	didn't we?	past simple → did
You can't stay for lunch,	can you?	negative → positive
I'm late,	aren't I?	I am → aren't I
Let's take a short break,	shall we?	Let's → shall we
There's a coffee machine on this floor,	isn't there?	there is → there
Someone has a key,	don't they?	everyone, nobody, someone → they

Intonation: ↘ a falling tag expects the listener to agree (you are making conversation or checking what you know); ↗ a rising tag is a real question. Answer about the facts: "You don't work on Fridays, do you?" "No, I don't." / "Actually, I do." The tag goes with the main clause: We left early because it rained, didn't we? (not didn't it?)

Negative questions

Use	Example
checking something you believe	Isn't this your first visit to our office?
surprise	Aren't you coming to the party?
a polite suggestion or opinion	Wouldn't it be cheaper to take the train? · Don't you think it's too early?

Answer as you would answer a normal question: "Isn't this your first visit?" "Yes, it is." (It is my first.) / "No, I was here last year."

Softeners

I'm afraid… · I'm not sure (that)… · Perhaps / Maybe we could… · It might be better to… · a bit / a little / slightly · not very + a positive word: It's not very convenient (softer than "It's inconvenient") · I wish I could, but…

Softeners change how a message lands, not what it says. Too many in one sentence can make the message unclear, so with people who prefer direct talk, soften the tone but keep the point clear.