Sorry to bother you, but… (making complaints)

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Functional language - complaints

phrases for complaints

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • talk about complaining from various perspectives;
  • practise useful phrases for complaints;
  • watch a video on ways to complain at restaurants.

In this lesson, students think of common complaints in different places. They watch a video about complaining in restaurants, share their thoughts and explore polite ways to make and respond to complaints (e.g. Sorry to bother you, but…, Sorry for the inconvenience, I’m afraid that…). Students also work with dialogues and role-play complaint situations using the target phrases from the lesson.

B1 / Intermediate60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This lesson focuses on phrases for complaints and starts with a warm-up. Students review examples of places (e.g. clothes shop, online retailer, restaurant) and think of common complaints for each. Afterwards, they watch a video about complaining in restaurants. Students choose the correct summary for the video. They then choose the correct option to complete sentences about handling complaints (e.g. It’s better to complain at the beginning/end of a meal). Next, students watch the video again and check their answers. Moving on, they discuss questions about restaurant complaints. 

PRACTISING PHRASES FOR COMPLAINTS

In this part of the lesson, students match polite complaints with their responses. Afterwards, they complete the gaps to create polite complaint phrases (e.g. I’m afraid that…, Sorry to bother you, but…). Students use the statements from the previous task to check. They then guess the context of each situation (e.g. I’m afraid that there’s something wrong. I booked a double). Afterwards, students review the phrases from the previous task. They decide which phrases make complaints, respond to them or do both. Then, students complete complaints and responses with their ideas. Next, they get cards with complaint situations. Students read them and think about how to use the target phrases from the lesson. Finally, students do the role-play with their partner.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students read situations and write a dialogue for each. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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