Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Maryssa: Making a Business Phone Call. Maryssa Here.
Aurore: Bonjour, I'm Aurore.
Maryssa: In this lesson, you’ll learn some expressions and phrases that are useful on the phone. The conversation takes place at the office.
Aurore: It's between Naïma and a secretary.
Maryssa: The speakers are strangers, therefore, they will speak formal French. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Naïma: Allo, Naïma du département informatique. Je souhaiterais parler au directeur adjoint de votre entreprise s'il vous plaît.
secretary: Bonjour. Est-il au courant de votre appel ?
Naïma: Non je ne pense pas.
secretary: Quelle est la raison de votre appel dans ce cas ?
Naïma: Le devis que j'ai reçu ne correspond pas à ce que nous avions convenu.
secretary: Je vois. Je vous demande un instant je vais essayer de vous mettre en ligne avec lui.
Naïma: Merci beaucoup !
Maryssa: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Naïma: Allo, Naïma du département informatique. Je souhaiterais parler au directeur adjoint de votre entreprise s'il vous plaît.
secretary: Bonjour. Est-il au courant de votre appel ?
Naïma: Non je ne pense pas.
secretary: Quelle est la raison de votre appel dans ce cas ?
Naïma: Le devis que j'ai reçu ne correspond pas à ce que nous avions convenu.
secretary: Je vois. Je vous demande un instant je vais essayer de vous mettre en ligne avec lui.
Naïma: Merci beaucoup !
Maryssa: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Naïma: Good morning, I'm Naïma from the IT department. I would like to speak to the vice director of your company, please.
secretary: Good morning. Does he know about your phone call?
Naïma: No, I don't think so.
secretary: Could you tell me the reason for your call in that case?
Naïma: The quote I received is not what we agreed upon.
secretary: I see. Hold on, I'll put you through to him.
Naïma: Thank you so much!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Maryssa: In the conversation, Naïma called to question a quote.
Aurore: I don’t blame her.
Maryssa: If you’re expecting an amount and then get something different, it’s worth a call.
Aurore: I agree. Hopefully she can get it sorted out.
Maryssa: When you’re making a phone call in France, do the phone numbers follow any specific pattern?
Aurore: If you’re making a local phone call, you should use the prefix "01."
Maryssa: What about mobile phones?
Aurore: They’re "06" or "07."
Maryssa: What about calls to different regions in France?
Aurore: They change and need to be included. For example, Lyons is "04."
Maryssa: And international calls?
Aurore: First you need "00," followed by that country’s code.
Maryssa: Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Maryssa: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is...
Aurore: directeur adjoint [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "vice director"
Aurore: directeur adjoint [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: directeur adjoint [natural native speed]
Maryssa: Next we have...
Aurore: parler [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "to speak, to talk"
Aurore: parler [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: parler [natural native speed]
Maryssa: Next we have...
Aurore: être au courant [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "to be informed"
Aurore: être au courant [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: être au courant [natural native speed]
Maryssa: Next we have...
Aurore: appel [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "call"
Aurore: appel [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: appel [natural native speed]
Maryssa: Next we have...
Aurore: devis [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "quote"
Aurore: devis [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: devis [natural native speed]
Maryssa: Next we have...
Aurore: voir [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "to see"
Aurore: voir [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: voir [natural native speed]
Maryssa: Next we have...
Aurore: mettre en ligne (au téléphone) [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "to put someone through"
Aurore: mettre en ligne (au téléphone) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: mettre en ligne (au téléphone) [natural native speed]
Maryssa: And lastly...
Aurore: essayer [natural native speed]
Maryssa: "to try"
Aurore: essayer [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Aurore: essayer [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Maryssa: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is...
Aurore: être au courant
Maryssa: meaning "to be informed."
Maryssa: This is a verbal phrase.
Aurore: Be careful with the word courant.
Maryssa: It can also mean "ordinary" and "power supply."
Aurore: au means "at the," and is the contraction of à and le.
Maryssa: Can you give us an example using this word?
Aurore: Sure. For example, you can say... Es-tu au courant du changement de direction?
Maryssa: … which means "Do you know about the change of direction?"
Maryssa: Okay, what's the next word?
Aurore: Je vois.
Maryssa: meaning "I see."
Maryssa: This is a typical colloquial expression.
Aurore: It’s a figurative expression.
Maryssa: It implies that you understand. How can you use this?
Aurore: If you don’t know what to say after someone says something, you can say je vois!
Maryssa: It’ll make you sound like a native speaker.
Aurore: It’s very natural.
Maryssa: Can you give us an example using this word?
Aurore: Sure. For example, you can say... Je vois ce que tu veux dire.
Maryssa: ... which means "I see what you mean."
Maryssa: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

Maryssa: In this lesson, you'll learn about expressions and phrases that are useful on the phone. If you’re going to call someone, you should begin by introducing yourself.
Aurore: The other person might know it’s you, but in business it’s still polite to say your name.
Maryssa: You can start with a simple greeting.
Aurore: Like bonjour.
Maryssa: "Good morning." Then you say your name. Let’s hear some examples.
Aurore: Bonjour, je m’appelle John Baker
Maryssa: "Hello, my name is John Baker."
Aurore: Bonjour, c’est John Baker
Maryssa: "Hello, this is John Baker." You can also add the name of the company you work for.
Aurore: Bonjour, je m’appelle John Baker et je travaille pour ABC Company
Maryssa: "Hello, my name is John Baker and I’m working for the ABC Company."
Aurore: Bonjour, c’est John Baker d’ABC Company
Maryssa: "Hello, this is John Baker from the ABC Company." After introducing yourself, you should say who you want to speak to if you’re not speaking to them already. For example:
Aurore: Puis-je parler à Alice Smith, s’il vous plaît ?
Maryssa: "May I speak to Alice Smith, please?"
Aurore: Pourrais-je parler à Alice Smith, s’il vous plaît ?
Maryssa: "Can I speak to Alice Smith, please?"
Aurore: Est-ce que Alice Smith est disponible ?
Maryssa: "Is Alice Smith available?" You might have to be put on hold while the person you’re speaking to connects you. Here are some of the phrases you might hear.
Aurore: Puis-je vous mettre en attente, s'il vous plaît ?
Maryssa: "Can you hold the line, please?"
Aurore: Est-il possible de vous mettre en attente pendant que je vérifie ?
Maryssa: "Is it okay if I put you on hold while I check?"
Aurore: Patientez pendant que je transfère l’appel.
Maryssa: "Please hold the line while I transfer you."

Outro

Maryssa: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Aurore: A la prochaine!

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