Making a request. Justifying request.

Responding to a request

Complaining

Handling a complaint and giving excuses

Asking for opinion

Expressing opinionHiding feelings

Making a request

Saying no nicely/ giving negative comments in a diplomatic way

SITUATION 5: Student A You and your course mates feel the statistics course that you are doing is a little difficult to cope with. Your lecturer has decided to give extra classes for 3 hours every Saturday for the next four weeks. You do appreciate the effort that your lecturer is making but you do not want to go for classes every Saturday. Instead, make a request to your lecturer to have the classes on weekdays. Give reasons to support this request.

SITUATION 5: Student B Some of your students feel that the statistics course that you teach is a little difficult to cope with. You have decided to give extra classes for 3 hours every Saturday for the next four weeks. However, they do not want to go for classes every Saturday. They request that you have the classes on weekdays instead. Explain to them the reasons why a Saturday class is better.

SITUATION 6: Student A You have a very kind neighbour who is a housewife. Since you and your two house mates are often attending lectures the whole day, your neighbour always gives you food. You find that you are never able to finish the food. You appreciate her generous gesture but you need to tell your neighbour very nicely that there is always too much food.

SITUATION 6: Student BYou have three students living next door who are often busy attending lectures. Whenever you ask them if they have had dinner, they always say that they have to skip dinner. Since you are a housewife who cooks every day, you have been sending dinner over but they said that you have been giving them too much food.

SITUATION 7: Student A You have just bought an expensive pair of glasses that you like very much. Ask your friend what he/she thinks.

SITUATION 7: Student B Your close friend has just bought a pair of glasses which are very expensive. You feel that she looks much older with this pair of glasses. Tell her this without hurting his/her feelings.

SITUATION 8: Student A You are the class representative of the Professional Ethics (TEB 101) course in your faculty. You and your course mates are unable to do the course assessment scheduled for Week 7 as you all have to make a field trip for one of the core courses. As the class representative, your classmates have asked you to request that the course lecturer postpones the course assessment.

SITUATION 8: Student BYou are the lecturer for the Professional Ethics (TEB 101) course in your faculty. You have scheduled the course assessment for week 7. However, the class representative of your course has asked you to consider postponing the assessment as many of the students taking the course have to go on a field trip that is compulsory for one of the core courses that they are taking. You would like to consider their request but it is difficult to find a time that is suitable for everyone.

Making excuses and persuading

Handling a cancellation

SITUATION 9: Student A You are organising a dinner party for a group of friends to be held in the last week of the semester. At the last minute, you find out that many of them have been asked to attend a workshop away from the campus. You decide to call the caterer to cancel the party and persuade the caterer to return the deposit that you have paid.

SITUATION 9: Student B You have a catering business near a university campus. A student from that campus, who has made arrangements for a dinner party, calls to cancel the party at the last minute and asks for a refund of the deposit. It is your company policy that deposits are not refundable for cancellations with less than a weeks notice.