AUDIO SCRIPTS
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reserve were putting prospective employers
off. They couldn’t understand why he
wasn’t pushing himself forward more and
came to the conclusion that it must be
because he wasn’t confident that he could
do the jobs he was applying for. Since
then, the professor has tried to become
more American, more self-confident and
assertive. It has helped him in the States
although he points out that he hasn’t really
changed and always feels a sense of relief
when he returns home to Britain and can be
his normal self again.
Professor Stafford’s main point is that
when dealing with people from different
countries, different social classes or different
age groups, we have to understand how
these factors affect communication and
avoid making assumptions about people’s
characters from what they say and how they
say it.
2 B = Brad (American) T = Tom (English)
T:
Hi Brad, I’ve just made a pot of tea. Would
you like a cup?
B:
Yeah, OK.
T:
Are you alright? You sound a bit down. It’s
not like you.
B:
Well, to tell you the truth, Tom, I’ve had a
few problems at work recently.
T:
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.
B:
It started last week when a new manager
arrived. I had had a really good relationship
with my previous manager and I thought it
would be a good idea to introduce myself to
the new one. I wrote a report about what I
had achieved in the time before he arrived,
and I made some suggestions about what
changes could be made in the office and
how I could help him.
T:
Aah.
B:
What do you mean, ‘Aah’?
T:
Well I think I might know what’s wrong.
B:
Really?
T:
Yes. You haven’t been in the UK long, have
you?
B:
Six weeks. I’ve had this job for six weeks.
The previous manager recruited me in New
York. I had worked for her there before she
relocated for the UK and, when she needed
a new member of staff, she came back to
the US to persuade me to join the team.
T:
And your new manager is British.
B:
Yes.
T:
Right, well, how can I put this without
sounding rude.
B:
Hey, don’t spare my feelings. Tell it to me
straight.
T:
Well, your new manager has probably never
worked with Americans before. Most people
in your position would just get on with
their work quietly and wait to be noticed. I
would advise you to give him time to settle
in and wait to be asked before giving your
opinions. He’ll observe everyone and I’m
sure he’ll be aware of what you are doing.
He just doesn’t want to be told.
B:
Oh, wow. OK, I’m glad you told me.
LESSON 1.4 RECORDING 1.3
C = Carol, J =Jean
C:
I saw Marco in your office again this
morning, Jean.
J:
Yeah, it was the usual thing, he needs
money. He shares a flat with two other
students, as you know, and the problem is,
he’s been spending too much money once
again – he can’t pay this month’s rent. The
LESSON 1.1 RECORDING 1.1
1
Well, I have two phones, which I‘m
always checking for messages, but actually
I love getting and making calls. It’s just
more personal than texting. I like hearing
people’s voices. I find there can be a lot of
misunderstandings with SMS and messaging
apps, even if you use emoticons. I guess I’m
addicted to my phones. They are the last
thing I check before I go to sleep and the
first thing I look at in the morning!
2
I do use social media at university for making
arrangements with my classmates, but I tend
to send a lot of SMS messages as well. I also
like to use different forms of social media
to keep track of all my friends around the
world. It’s funny, last month someone got
in touch with me who I met on holiday two
years ago. It was completely out of the blue
and it was quite a surprise after all this time,
but they tracked me down on the Internet. I
also follow a few celebrities on social media.
I think it’s funny, but I know a lot of people
think it’s stupid.
3
I’m a big fan of social media, and I have my
own blog, but I do send people real cards
for birthdays and on other special occasions.
I really don’t like those electronic greeting
cards. They are so impersonal. A funny
thing happened to me last year. I had lost
touch with one of my friends from school,
but I bumped into them by chance when I
was shopping in Paris. We stay in contact
by using one of the various messaging apps.
They’re really great.
4
I keep track of all my friends on social media.
I also tend to make online video phone
calls a lot as I’m a student studying abroad.
I talk with my family at least once a week. I
can catch up with all the news from home.
Sometimes the connection isn’t very good
though, which can make it difficult. Also, the
time difference can cause problems, if I wake
people up!
5
I’m afraid I’m a bit unusual, as I don’t use
a mobile phone. I mean, I have one but
it’s only for emergencies. No one knows
the number. I’m not a technophobe, I just
don’t like phones! I tend to stay in touch
with people by email, but really I prefer
to speak to people face to face. I think
technology sometimes gets in the way of
real communication, but I suppose I’m a bit
old fashioned. I mean I still send real cards
to people through the post – snail mail I
think it’s called, ha, ha!
LESSON 1.3 RECORDING 1.2
1
Welcome to today’s call-in programme. As
some of you may know, Professor David
Stafford is most famous for his books on
the English language. He has recently
written a book about linguistic differences
between American and British English
called ‘The Great Divide’. However, in
today’s programme we’re focusing on an
essay he has just written about how the two
nationalities perceive each other and the
influence language has on this perception.
I’ll just give a quick summary of what
Professor Stafford says and then I’ll take
some calls. The professor starts by talking
about his own experiences of applying for
work in the States. He was, in fact, turned
down twice for positions that he knew he
was well qualified for before he realised
that his typically British modesty and
others aren’t happy because they’ll have to
pay more than usual to stay in the flat.
C:
Mmm, well, the way to sort it out, surely, is to
tell him to get a loan from the Student Union.
J:
I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do, Carol.
The trouble is, it’s the third time he’s run out of
money. It’s always the same story. He spends
too much, can’t pay the rent and then gets a
loan from friends or the Student Union.
C:
Mmm, he’s not very good at managing his
money, is he? He can’t go on like that. You
know, one way of dealing with this could be to
look at his weekly expenses. Then work out a
budget and tell him he’s got to stick to it.
J:
Mmm, good idea. I’ll be seeing him again
tomorrow, I’ll suggest that. I’ve already
advised him to contact his bank to pay for
his rent by direct debit. That way, his rent
will always be paid regularly.
C:
Was he OK about that?
J:
Yes, he thought it was a good idea. But
unfortunately, he has another financial
problem. You see, they have a lot of parties in
his flat and during one of them, they broke an
expensive lamp. The owner of the flat wants to
charge them to replace it. Marco doesn’t have
the money to pay his share of the cost.
C:
So, what are we going to do to help him?
J:
It’s not going to be easy, Carol, he’s in a
difficult situation. He doesn’t have a lot of
money for his everyday expenses, so he works
part-time, quite long hours, to pay for his
studies. But when he gets money, he likes to
spend it. I told him I’d talk to you and we’d sort
something out for him. What do you think?
C:
Well, there’s an obvious solution. We could
talk to the owner of the flat and ask her to give
Marco more time to pay for his share of the
lamp. You know the owner, she’s a reasonable
person, I’m sure she’ll be understanding.
J:
Right. That makes sense to me. You know, if
Marco sticks to his weekly budget and pays
his rent by direct debit, we may not see him
here so often.
C:
Let’s hope so.
LESSON 1.5 VIDEO RECORDING 1.1
James Hammond
Good evening everyone.
Did you know that in many surveys the worst
phobia for many people is public speaking? Not
spiders or rats or heights, but having to face an
audience and talk to them.
How do people react when put in this situation?
Well, there are a number of things which happen
to our bodies when we are put in stressful
situations, and making a speech is no different.
Basically, your body goes into the classic ‘fight or
flight’ response. In other words, your hands may
sweat and your mouth may go dry. Your heart may
beat faster and you may start feeling sick. You may
sound strained – for instance, the audience will
probably notice that you are speaking fast and that
your voice is weak and with a higher pitch than
normal. You will want to rush to the end of the
talk and may even ignore the audience. There is a
strong feeling of wanting to run away.
But making a speech to a group of people is in fact
a great opportunity to impress them and really show
what you can do, so why do so many people have a
phobia about it?
Well, there are several reasons. Firstly, people feel
they’ll make mistakes and lose their way. Secondly,
the speaker may fear that the audience won’t like
them personally. And finally, they may worry that
the audience will not like or really understand what
they’re trying to say. All of these fears create a sense
of looking a fool in front of other people, which is
