Hello and welcome to the Speak English Fearlessly Podcast. This is the podcast for motivated English learners who want to speak English fearlessly and learn practical tips and strategies to conquer the CELPIP exam. I also love to feature encouraging interviews with regular people - people just like you, who are working towards becoming fluent in English so we can learn from their experiences.
Who am I, my name is Aaron Nelson. I’ve been an English teacher for over 16 years, and I now work to help students prepare for the CELPIP exam through online classes.
Why You Need This Episode:
The CELPIP exam measures your ability to use English in everyday situations. Task 6, dealing with a difficult situation, is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your ability to deal with the challenges you will face in English at some point in your life, if you haven’t already.
This task might have you dealing with a difficult situation with friend, a family member, an acquaintance or a customer, and in today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how you could respond to the questions you might face. Let’s get started!
Just yesterday I found myself in a difficult situation with one of my older sons. He got off of work late last night, and called to ask if I could give him a ride home. Normally he walks home because his workplace is within easy walking distance. But it was already dark and already late, so I went to pick him up.
As we were nearing our home, he told me some of his friends had just sent him a message to ask if he could go and eat with them at a nearby fast food spot.
I told him no because it was already late. He was tired anyway and didn’t exactly want to go, but at the same time he did want to spend time with them.
Then, as we got closer to the house, he got another message. His friends were already there and waiting.
Oh no.
That was where the difficult moment came in for me. They were waiting for him. Should I do change my mind and let him go even though it was already pretty late, and not a normal time we’d let him go out? Or should I stick to my decision and tell him no even though his friends were there waiting?
What would you do?
I knew my wife would agree with me - it’s too late to be going out, so I told him no one more time and explained that it was too late to be going out, and that he was already pretty tired anyway.
I felt uncomfortable - I didn’t want to be one of those difficult parents, and I didn’t want to make his friends feel badly for coming all the way out to meet our son - it wasn’t a simple decision. But I needed to remain kind by firm.
Thankfully our son is usually easy going and listens. He let his friends know that he was too tired and that he didn’t have permission to go. They’re also good kids and didn’t give him a hard time - the situation was dealt with.
Have you ever faced a difficult situation where you felt pressured to change your mind or give into the person you were talking with?
IT can be hard to keep calm. It might even be hard to be polite. It might even be harder to stick to the position or decision you have made.
But that will be something you need to do in Task 6.
I had a class with a student this week and we were practicing task 6 together, and I just loved the way she responded to the situation she was put in.
I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you. It has nothing to do with me at all - this was all her creativity and quick thinking, but I think there is much we can learn from how she responded.
Her situation was this: she was an employee in a coffee shop. The owner of the cafe has a strict no pets/animals policy in the shop. (By the way, have you ever been in a cafe or coffee shop where pets were allowed in? It happens! )
A client had just arrived and had a dog with them. They were asking if the dog could come inside because it was starting to rain heavily and they didn’t want their dog to get wet.
Her job was to kindly respond to the client and let them know of the cafe’s no pet policy.
During the task you’ll have 60 seconds to think about what to say, and then you’ll have 60 seconds to respond.
My student surprised me completely with her response because she didn’t say a single thing that I thought she would say.
Instead, this is what she did:
She showed empathy by immediately talking to me as if I were the client: She said how sorry she was that it was raining and that she would love to invite the dog to come inside to keep dry. But then she kindly explained that the owner had a terrible pet allergy which was why they had a strict no animal rule in the cafe. She also explained that it was possible that other clients could be allergic to pet hair as well, or they might be afraid of dogs. Then she explained that they had a special roofed area just outside especially for pets. The dog would be able to wait perfectly dry while the client enjoyed a coffee, and if he would allow it, she had a delicious treat for the dog so that he’d be happy too.
I was so impressed with her answer because she demonstrated firmness and stuck with the policy of her store. She also carefully explained why she could not allow the pet inside, but then she showed great care and empathy by saying how much she wished she could allow the pet inside. (Even her tone of voice made her sound convincingly on the client’s side!)
I loved her answer. Again, it didn’t have anything to do with me. She came up with this all on her own, but I thought it was very well done.
The take away for you:
- Remember to use your imagination and pretend that you are actually in the situation the exam puts you in. (Even if it isn’t true about you, you likely have experienced something similar or have at least seen it.)
- Remember to be firm and stick with your position if that is what the question asks you to do.
- Remember to firmly, meaning not changing your mind, but kindly explain why you cannot agree with the person who is asking you to make a change.
- Bonus: Remember to show feeling or empathy with the person who is asking you to do something that you can’t do. Let them know that you care!
If you would like to follow these tips or notes, you can check them out on my blog - there’s a link to it in the show notes of this episode. Or you can find them at celpipsuccess.com/speakingtask6
