Explorations in English

- Book One -
LESSON 5. AT A HOTEL

GOAL: To check into a hotel in English and request service.

A. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS LESSONS
Answer the questions below -
  1. How long does it take to get to the nearest bus stop from here?
  2. How close is your hometown to Mt. Fuji?
  3. Are there any places around here you recommend seeing?
  4. By the way, how are you feeling today?
  5. How often do bullet trains from here run to Tokyo?
  6. What's the shinkansen fare to Tokyo?
  7. What's another word for "roughly"?
  8. What's the opposite of "heavy traffic"?
B. VOCABULARY FOCUS
Match the words on the left with the definitions on the right -
  1. reservation
  2. reserve
  3. accept
  4. except
  5. masseur
  6. masseuse
  7. buck
  8. moderate
  1. ____ in between two extremes
  2. ____ dollars (US slang)
  3. ____ a woman who gives massages professionally
  4. ____ a man who gives massages professionally
  5. ____ but, excluding Opposite: and, including
  6. ____ to approve, Opposite: to refuse, to deny
  7. ____ (verb) to book something in advance
  8. ____ (noun) an advance booking
  9. ____ a male deer or rabbit
  10. ____ a doubt
C. PRE-LISTENING QUESTIONS
Discuss these questions in small groups -
  1. Usually how much is a single room per night in Japan?
  2. What is the difference between a ryokan and minshuku?
  3. How clean are most Japanese hotels? How safe are they?
  4. Which are more popular - minshuku or business hotels?
  5. What credit cards do most hotels in Japan accept?<
D. LISTENING/SPEAKING FOCUS
Kay approaches a hotel front desk in Los Angeles -

Part A - Read this dialog and try to guess the missing words,
then listen to the dialog and check -

**Hotel Clerk:May I help you?
**Kay:Yes, I'm Kay Suzuki and have a _____________1.
**Hotel Clerk:Could you ________2 your last name?
**Kay:S-U-Z-U-K-I.
**Hotel Clerk:A __________3 room for one night?
**Kay:That's right.
**Hotel Clerk:Will this be cash or _______4?
**Kay:Is JCB card OK?
**Hotel Clerk: With ID.
**Kay:Here is my ____________5 license.
**Hotel Clerk:Thanks. Please fill out this form.
**Kay:Here you are.
**Hotel Clerk:Here's your key. Check out is 10:00 AM. Have a _________6 night!

Later Kay telephones a masseur working at the hotel, who comes to her room -

**Hotel Masseur:Where are you stiff?
**Kay:My __________7.
**Hotel Masseur:Would you prefer a hard or soft ___________8?
**Kay:Hard /moderate /soft, please.
**Hotel Masseur:How is this?
**Kay:Great! / OK / It hurts.
**Hotel Masseur:How _______9 this feel?
**Kay: Harder / softer / higher /lower /faster / slower, please.
**Hotel Masseur:Like this?
**Kay:To the right / to the left / right there - continue
**Hotel Masseur:How is this?
**Kay:That is enough. Thanks. How much do I owe you?
**Hotel Masseur:Twenty bucks. It will be __________10 automatically to your hotel bill.

Part B - Now practice the dialog with a partner.
Look at your partner's face when you speak.
Part C - This time change the dialog to fit your own experience.
Feel free to depart from the text and adapt the dialog.

E. CONTENT QUESTIONS:
Write the answers to these questions-
  1. Did Kay prefer a single or double room?
  2. How did Kay pay for the room?
  3. What part of Kay's body was stiff?
  4. When is check out time for the hotel?
F. STRUCTURED CONVERSATION
Without looking at the sample conversation above,
follow the basic structure of this conversation with a partner:

- Dialog A -
HELP? then NAME? then ONE NIGHT? then PAY? then FORM then KEY

- Dialog B -
WHERE STIFF? then HOW HARD?then HOW'S THIS? then ***** then THANKS, FEE?

H. GRAMMAR FOCUS: Could vs. Would

Circle the correct word(s) in brackets -

  1. I [could / would] like to meet him
  2. I [couldn't / wouldn't] want to surprise them.
  3. If I did that, I [could / would] be a hypocrite.
  4. If I did that, I [could / would] seem like a hypocrite.
  5. I [could / would] still imagine his face.
  6. I wish I [could / would] marry a person like you.
  7. I wish she [could / would] relax more.
G. PRONUNCIATION FOCUS: M vs. N
Circle the word you hear, then practise both words

1. Let me [warm / warn] you.          2. Did hear [them / then]?        3. How do you like it, [mam / man]?      
4. That was the last [game / gain].   5. Forget those [SIMMS / sins].   6. It's a fine [lime / line].
H. ROLE PLAY

PERSON A is a hotel clerk. You work at a hotel in a foreign country.
PERSON B a tourist with a hotel reservation who wants to spend the night.
I. COMMON MISTAKES
Correct these mistakes individually, then check together-
1. ? We have a reserve room.
2. * What spell your name?
3. ? I will pay by card.
4. * Do you except JAC card?
K. DISCUSSION
Talk with your partner(s) about travel, using these patterns: 

* How often do you use a taxi?             * Do you often use a bus?  
* Are taxi fares in Japan high?            * Are buses in Japan dependable? 
* Would you like to be a Hotel Clerk?      * What's the difference between a "taxi" and a "limo"? 
* How safe are buses in Japan?             * Ask more questions . . .
L. FEEDBACK

Please write your comments about today's lesson in the space below.
Either Japanese or English is OK.
What was most useful about this lesson?
What was least useful about this lesson?
Any other comments?

M. HOMEWORK 

Option A - Write about any hotels you have stayed at - or about your dream hotel.

Option B - (1) Make sentences using these words: 

   * owe      * stiff    * masseur      * masseuse  * license    * moderate 
   * accept   * reserve  * reservation  * pay       * buck       * continue
              
           (2) Answer the questions in Exercises #B and #K.


Explorations in English - Books 1, 2, 3, 4



Copyright (c) 1997, 2003 by Tim Newfields. All rights reserved.
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