Problems and Solutions

1. Speaking Class 8
Step-Up Level 2

2. Problem Vocabulary Revision
1. You are stuck in traffic and will be a few minutes
late for a meeting.
2. Your computer breaks down.
3. You are making breakfast and discover that you
have run out of coffee.
4. One of your colleagues is late for work almost
every day.
5. A financial crisis has seriously affected your
company’s profits.
 slight hiccup
 minor problem
 serious obstacle
 urgent issue
 major problem
 insoluble problem
 growing problem
 quick fix
 long-tern solution

3. Making Decisions
What decision would you make in the following situations?
Use our active vocabulary
1. The bank machine gives you an extra $100. Do you keep it or do you tell
the bank about the error?
2. Your boss stole a small sum from the company and asks you to lie and say
it was a technical error that caused the money to go into his account. If
you tell the truth, you will lose your job.What do you do?
3. Your caught your friend cheating on an exam. Do you tell the examiner?
4. At a restaurant, you notice your friend’s wife having a romantic dinner
with another man. Do you tell your friend, and possibly ruin his
marriage, or do you mind your own business?
5. The principal of the school where you are teaching tells you that in order
to get more funding from the state, you have to incorrectly report the
income amounts of each of your students’ families. Should you be honest
in your paperwork, or should you just do as your principal tells you?
6. Your friend is on her way out the door for an important date and asks
whether you like her blouse (you don’t!). Do you tell her the truth?

4. Video Podcast “Solutions”
1. Would you describe yourself as a
practical person?
2. What kinds of problems are you good at
solving?
3. What kinds of problems are you not so
good at solving?
 DIY
 solutions-focussed
 hands-on
 handyman
 interpersonal problems
 solutions-focussed
 waffle about smth
 domestic appliances
 a wide range of
problems

5. Conversation Questions
1. Would you like a job in which you had to make important decisions
regularly?
2. Do you have a strategy or method for making important decisions?
3. Do you have to make decisions in the workplace?
4. Who do you ask for advice before making important decisions?
5. Have you ever made a decision and regretted it later?
6. Have you ever made a big decision and then changed your mind/had
second thoughts?
7. Can you think of a situation in which you had to make a tough decision?
8. What is the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? How did you
make the decision?
9. Are you good at making decisions or are you usually indecisive? Give an
example.
10. Which situations/jobs do you think require quick decision makers?
11. Which situations benefit from considering all options slowly?
12. Have you ever made a decision that had negative consequences?

6. Storytelling
1. Frank’s life was trouble-free – he didn’t have a care in the world.
2. Until one day a problem came up.
3. At first, Frank thought he should ignore the problem, hoping it would go
away.
4. But things got no better, he began to feel a little concerned.
5. He suffered several sleepless nights thinking it over.
6. He talked it over with a friend, who was very sympathetic and told him to
trust his intuition.
7. He even asked for some expert advice.
8. In the end, he made up his mind – he knew exactly how to sort out the
problem.
Tell a story describing a problem and how you solved it
 what to wear
 whether or not to leave a job or not
 which car to buy
 whether to start or end a relationship
 Whether to move to a foreign country or not, etc

7. The Woman Who Disappeared (Ch 17-20)
1. Why did Lenny phone‘Meyer and Meyer’?What did he
find out?
2. What did Joe and Sergeant Murphy want from Lenny?
What did they tell him to do?
3. Why did he go to see Helen Garfield instead of waiting for
Joe and the police?
4. What did Helen tell Lenny when he accused her of lying?
5. What happened while they were talking in the café?

8. Vocabulary Practice

9. Modern Family Episode 12 “Not In My House”