Arriving at Reception

The following mini-unit ‘taster’ is written in ‘distance-learning’ style. This means that there is no teacher figure, and therefore the text has to be very clear and the students need to be given continual support and encouragement. Also, cultural differences and extra explanations (in this case such as the information about surnames in German and the use of ‘Grüß Gott!’) have to be included in the text. Such information can be adjusted dependent on country and the unit format can be adapted for any language. I have assumed the availability of CD-ROM and cassette – but this could all be on cassette if necessary.

I hope this gives an idea of the ‘distance learning’ style. I think lessons can be learnt from this for all teaching: e.g. clear and stated aims/objectives, continual support and encouragement, additional cultural information.

Arriving at reception

Dear participant, welcome to the next unit of the course! You have already learnt several basic German phrases and sentences. In particular you have learnt how to give your name, how to greet people and how to answer simple questions. Now we are going to apply this knowledge to a typical business situation: namely, arriving at reception for a business meeting.

Even if your meeting is with an English-speaking associate, it is possible that the receptionist at the firm does not speak fluent English. And, anyway, it gives a good impression to speak the local language: as well as being excellent practice for your German. Even if you can only give your name, it will boost your confidence and help to improve your language skills. So, let’s begin…

First of all insert your CD-ROM and find the video sequence ARRIVING AT RECEPTION. Watch and listen. (Text at end of unit.)

When you are finished, please come back to your booklet.

Did you understand all of what was said? If not, it doesn’t matter: we were, after all, ‘throwing you in at the deep end’. But did you at least understand what was going on, and perhaps recognise some of the words? The main aim of this unit is to learn a few words and sentences that you can use when you are in a similar situation.

Can you answer these questions:

 How did the receptionist greet Mr Schmid? That’s right, she said ‘Guten Tag!’

 How did Mr Schmidt give his name? He simply gave his surname. This is common practice in Germany, especially in formal situations. Although things are slowly changing, Christian names are still rarely used in business.

 What phrase was used for ‘please take a seat’? ‘Möchten Sie bitte Platz nehmen?’ Now let’s look at the dialogue in more detail. Here is the key vocabulary:

Guten Tag. Hello. (Good Day.) Was kann ich für Sie tun? How can I help you? lit. What can I do for you? Ich habe einen Termin mit… I have got an appointment with… Wie ist Ihr Name? What is your name? Ich heisse Schmidt. My name is Schmidt. Ich sage Herr Schneider, daß Sie hier I’ll just tell Mr Schneider that you’re sind. here. Möchten Sie bitte Platz nehmen? Would you like to take a seat?

When you have finished studying at the vocabulary, please turn to the CD-ROM again. This time you are going to take on the role of Herr Schmidt. PAUSE the sequence each time after the receptionist has finished speaking and see if you can remember what Herr Schmidt said. Then, press the PLAY button and check if you were right. You can do this several times until you feel confident about the dialogue.

VOCABULARY

Now please study the following box carefully. It gives you several other phrases that you may hear – or you may be asked - if you arrive at reception in a firm or company:

Grüß Gott! Hello. Good day. (the common form of greeting in Bavaria) Kann ich behilflich sein? Can I help you? lit. Can I be of service? Wie heissen Sie? What is your name? Und der Name? And your name is…? Nehmen Sie bitte Platz. Please take a seat. Moment, bitte. Just a moment, please. Moment mal. Just a moment. Warten Sie hier bitte. Please wait here. Herr Schneider ist leider fort. Unfortunately Herr S. is not here. Ich sehe, ob Herr Schneider gerade da ist. I’ll just see if Herr S. is there. Schreiben Sie Ihren Name bitte in das Please write your name in the visitor’s Gästebuch. book. Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? How can I help you? Ich habe eine Verabredung mit… I have an appointment with.. Ich bin mit Frau Schroeder verabredet. I have an appointment with Frau (Mrs) Schroeder. Er kommt gleich wieder. He’ll be back any moment.

That was a lot of new vocabulary, wasn’t it? But don’t worry. You’re not expected to learn it all at once. The idea is to introduce you to these phrases and sentences so that you may recognise them when you are in this situation yourself. CASSSETTE

Now please take your cassette and find the dialogues marked ARRIVING AT RECEPTION. Listen to all the dialogues and try to understand the gist of what is being said. After you have listened to all the dialogues one after the other, please listen again but this time pause the cassette after each section to give you time to think about what was said. Can you remember some of the words and phrases that were used?

After that you might like to listen again whilst following the script. If so, please turn to the Appendix of your booklet, where the whole text is printed out for you. (Script at end of unit).

Now go on to the next part of the cassette. Here you will find the dialogues once more, but this time the part of the business visitor has been left blank. Speak your answer during the pause given. Afterwards you will hear the correct answer (note that several answers may be possible – the answers given are merely a suggestion).

SMALL TALK

Smalltalk is perhaps less important in Germany, where business meetings tend to be business-like and efficient. It’s unlikely, for instance, that you’ll have long conversations about the weather! Nevertheless, a polite receptionist may well ask you a question or two. Don’t panic! He/she is just trying to be friendly. And if you already recognise the questions, it will help you feel more ‘at home’. Here are some likely possibilities:

Wie war die Fahrt? How was the journey? Haben Sie uns gleich gefunden? Did you find us easily? Sind Sie zum ersten Mal in Deutschland? Is it your first time in Germany? Haben Sie einen Parkplatz gefunden? Did you manage to find a parking place? Möchten Sie was trinken? Would you like something to drink? Sind sie Engländer? Are you English?

And, who knows, perhaps:

Sie sprechen aber gut Deutsch! (But) you speak good German!

As you’ll see, most of these questions can be answered very simply using Ja (yes), Ja, bitte (yes please) or Ja, danke (yes thank you). If you recognise the questions, providing a short simple answer should not be too difficult. We’ll look at more involved answers in the next unit. Until then, well done and keep up the good work!

ARRIVING AT RECEPTION: SCRIPTS

CD-ROM Sequence: Empfangsdame: Guten Tag! Was kann ich für Sie tun? Herr Schmidt: Guten Tag! Ich habe einen Termin mit Herrn Schneider um elf Uhr. E.: Gut! Und wie ist Ihr Name? S.: Ich heisse Schmidt. E.: Danke. Ich sage Herrn Schneider, daß Sie hier sind. Möchten Sie bitte Platz nehmen? S.: Ah, danke schön. E.: Herr Schneider, Herr Schmidt ist hier für Sie…

CASSETTE DIALOGUES

E.: Grüß Gott! Visitor.: Grüß Gott! E.: Kann ich behilflich sein? V.: Ja, ich habe einen Termin mit Frau Wagner. E. Wie heissen Sie? V. Brown, Mrs Brown. E.: Moment, bitte. Ich sehe, ob Frau Wagner gerade da ist. V.: Danke. E.: Schreiben Sie Ihren Name bitte in das Gästebuch.

E.: Guten Tag! V.: Guten Tag! E.: Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? V.: Ich habe eine Verabredung mit Herrn Walther. E.: Und der Name? V.: James Bond. E.: Warten Sie hier bitte.

E.: Guten Tag! V.: Guten Tag! E.: Was kann ich für Sie tun? V.: Ich bin mit Frau Braun verabredet. E.: Frau Braun ist leider fort. Nehmen Sie bitte Platz. Er kommt gleich wieder!