Work with a partner. Make up a conversation using the cue cards below.

 

CUE CARD 1 BUYING A SECOND- HAND CAR You are buying a second-hand car. Find out about: 1) price 2) distance travelled 3) year of production 4) possibility of discount 5) method of paying

CUE CARD 2 TALKING TO A CUSTOMER You work for a big supermarket. You ask your partner who is a customer about: 1) frequency of shopping 2) reasons for shopping here 3) dislikes 4) remoteness from his/her house 5) sum spent here.

CUE CARD 3 RECEIVING A GIFT Your friend has just received a gift. Ask him/her as much as you can about the gift. Find out about: 1) the sender of the gift 2) the relationship with the sender 3) reasons for the gift.

 

Role-play the following situations.

 

1. You take a foreign friend to the local department store (boutique, gift shop, etc.) Help him / her buy the following things: some souvenirs; a fur cap and a scarf; a fur-coat; a pair of high-leather boots; a bottle of perfume; some toy for his / her daughter /son.

2 You wish to buy a blouse, a skirt, or a sweater. Ask the shop-assistant to help you find your size. Tell him/her your size and the kind of item of clothing you would like (length, colour, fabric, purpose, etc)

3. You are a foreign visitor. You wish to buy some clothes but you know that the climate here is very different from that in your native country. Ask the shop-assistant what she would recommend.

4. You have purchased an item of clothing, and when you get home, you find that it is stained or torn. Return it to the store and ask for a refund.

5. You wish to buy your friend a birthday present but you don’t know his/her size. Ask the shop-assistant to help you select a shirt for your friend. Be sure to describe your friend carefully and tell the shop-assistant the type and the color of the shirt you are looking for.

6. You’ve just bought a TV-set and found that the remote-control is out of order. You go back to the store and ask the department manager to exchange it for another one.

7. You have paid for an item of clothing in cash. When you count your change, you find that you’ve been overcharged. Get the cashier to give you the correct change.

 

 

PART 2

CLAIMS OF VALUE

Unlike CLAIMS OF FACT, CLAIMS OF VALUE attempt to prove that something (action, condition, belief, etc.) is right or wrong, good or bad, worthwhile or undesirable, beautiful or ugly. They express approval or disapproval. Some claims of value are simply expressions of tastes, likes, dislikes, or preferences. Very often these are the judgments about the rightness or wrongness of conduct or belief. Here disagreements are very wide and deep. Although you and the other person may share many values, among them a respect for learning, and a desire for peace, you may also disagree about other values.

The two general areas in which people often disagree about matters of value are: aesthetics and morality, though they can occur in any area of human experience. For example:

 

CLAIM OF VALUE: Killing animals for clothes is wrong.

 

CLAIM OF VALUE: Shopping is a spiritual adventure.

 

Support: Many claims of value can be attacked or defended on the basis of standards that measure the worth of an action, a belief, or an object. Of course, you will not always be able to persuade those with whom you argue that your values are superior to theirs. What you can do, however, is to give good reasons why you think one thing is better than another. For example:

 

‘Money makes the world go round. In fact, if you are able to buy lots of things you have achieved success in your life. Possession brings a lot of happiness.

It’s too much to say that money makes the world go round. Do you think that money can save you in an emergency? In fact, possession isn’t everything. True friends and human relationship do not depend on money. In the long run you’ll probably never be rich but you’ll be happy.’

Remember that answers like ‘Because I think so’ are not arguments.

DON’T WAIT! BUY ONE NOW!

To support a claim of value, the arguer quite often appeals to a person’s needs which are requirements for physical and psychological well-being. For example, in a shop shop-assistants do all they can to make you buy something. They urge you to try on a jacket or a pair of jeans complimenting you or saying you should buy this thing right now because it can be bought nowhere else. Sometimes they make appeals to some idea which is very significant for you or for the group you belong to. For example

 

a. Being thrifty (economical).

 

b Looking good.

 

c. Looking fashionable

 

d. Looking like somebody else. (This may be your attitude to the type of clothes you wear, especially if you are young).

 

 

Now read the dialogues. Match them with the type of appeal (a, b, c, or d) they express. Learn the dialogues by heart.

A: How much is that cardigan?

B: 60 pounds, Madame.

A: Oh, it seems a bit expensive. Can you reduce the price?
B: Well, yes... I think so. That could be 50. It’s a very reasonable price....They sell them at 80 at Marks and Spenser … and it wears well. It never needs ironing and this colour will stand forever. Don’t hesitate, buy it now... and if something is wrong you can come and exchange it for another one.

 

A: (trying on a pair of jeans). Do they look good on me?

B: Oh, yes. Young girls like you look best in them. Don’t give it a second thought, buy now… They are in general wear this spring.

A: What kinds of shoes are up-to-date now?

B: Those brown ones are of the latest fashion.

A: Oh, really? I don’t think they are very comfortable.

B: But women always wear uncomfortable shoes! And....I’m sorry to say, but the ones you are wearing are no longer used this year.

B: Oh....

 

A: (trying on a navy blue jacket). Does it look all right?

B: Oh, yes, it does. Are you buying?

A: Well, I can’t make up my mind.

B: Buy it now, don’t think too hard. It’s extremely attractive …. a perfect match to your eyes!