Handling Everyday Complaints Politely

Summary

This B1 English lesson plan teaches students the essential skill of handling everyday complaints politely. Through a series of interactive activities, students will learn key vocabulary, phrases, and grammar structures needed to express dissatisfaction constructively in common situations, such as at a restaurant or in a shop. The lesson focuses on using modal verbs for politeness and provides practical role-playing exercises to build confidence.

This lesson helps intermediate students develop practical communication skills. Activities include a warm-up discussion, a listening gap-fill, vocabulary matching, and a grammar exercise on modal verbs. Students will also read a short text about a successful complaint and engage in role-play scenarios to apply what they've learned in a supportive setting.

Activities

• A warm-up discussion for students to share personal experiences with making complaints and to consider the importance of being polite.
• A listening comprehension task where students fill in the gaps while listening to advice on how to complain effectively.
• A vocabulary matching exercise to solidify understanding of key terms like 'issue,' 'willing,' and 'politely.'
• A grammar focus section on using modal verbs (would, could, should, might) to make polite requests and suggestions when complaining.
• A short reading about a successful complaint in a cafe, followed by comprehension questions to reinforce the main concepts.
• Speaking practice with role-play scenarios that allow students to apply the new language in realistic situations.

Polite Complaints Audio

0:00

/0

1×

Vocabulary focus

The vocabulary section introduces essential words for discussing problems and complaints. Key terms include complain, politely, afraid (in the context of "I'm afraid there's a problem"), willing, issue, and effectively.

Grammar focus

This lesson concentrates on using modal verbs for polite communication. Students will practice using would, could, should, and might to soften their language, make respectful requests, and offer suggestions when addressing a problem.