I had a tough time today at work since I had to make a few phone calls in English. My native language is not English and I learned it at the University. I am not a good speaker especially when I hear somebodoy speaking in English at the other end of the line. I get extremely nervous and I got frozen. Could you tell me a few tips how to start and end a conversation on phone? Are there any usefull expresions or phrases that I can use without thinking so long?

Use this:

Please apply them:

http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/telephone.htm
http://esl.about.com/library/speaking/bltelephone_vocab.htm

i hope it be useful.

best regards.
bye.

teopore,

You don't say where you are from, and from your name I cannot guess (Mexico maybe, but then you should have friends who can help... or another country) Here you can tell us. We don't know.


Yes, on the phone it is hard. I train people in Asia.

The main problem is that, in addition to talking another language, you have no clues on the phone:

You cannot see a person's face so you have no help to decide if they are happy, sad, or they are so angry they could kill you.

If you have the money, then get a native English (speaking) tutor. A good one. It will cost at least US20 per hour. If that is too much (as it is for many). You can practice on the telephone with a freind who speaks better than you do, OR try a tape. Tape and copy it as you speak.
Or a movie (I don't understand!) .. OK but turn OFF the damn subtitles other wise you will learn zero!


Emegency help? Slow down! Reply to the "burp sumplin tuktuvriboltyzuongtwn toooblo" with

I am am sorry I dont understand english very good, but please could you e-mail me on ... yes, e-mail taroohoopna@zandoopruswnet.com, thats tarroo, t, a, o

(tip: get a simple e-mail .. not your name! If your IT department argues then I will explain to them., use my e-mail).

Wish you well, but most of it is practice. Find a boyfriend who lives 100 miles away?

I know the situation you are in as I am learning Spanish and have similar problems.

You probably automatically freeze when you speak on the phone as you associate it with bad English speaking experiences.

A good idea is to learn the basics of telephone conversation, as this will give you more actual skills and will increase your confidence. The links that were posted in an earlier post are very good. Start with these and see if this helps. Remember to do some role plays with the phrases used. Say the phrases out loud just as you would as if you were on the telephone.

It seems that you also need to practice more. I think that you need a more relaxed environment, and this can be done with an English tutor. Take things slowly and work on the basics, which will increase your confidence little by little.

If you need to take an English course - improve spoken English

Good luck with your learning.