Sample Scenarios

Interlocuter: Good morning. My name is X, and this is my colleague, Y.  And your names are A and B?

A: Yeah.

B: Yeah.

I: Thank you. Now, first of all, we’d like to know something about each of you. Ms A, can you tell me a bit about yourself.

A.     My pleasure. As you know, my name is A. I’m from Jiangsu Province. I’m now studying in OO University. And I’m majoring in international trade there.

I: Thank you. Ms A. Now Ms B, can you tell me something about your ambitions?

B: Yes, I am now a student with OO University majoring in business administration.  I hope I can get my MBA and join a world famous multinational company. And after I have had enough experience, I am going to start a company of my own.

I: Thank you, Ms B.  And Ms A, could you tell me about your ambitions?

A: A big question for me indeed.  I’ve never thought about it, but I bet I’ll work towards a CEO of a big multinational corporation. That’s my goal in life. And that’s why I am spending so much time on English, business English in particular..

I: Mr. A, you say you’re spending a lot of time on business English. Do you think business English is difficult to learn?

A: Not exactly, though it may be difficult at the initial stage. The thing is that you need to have some business knowledge before you start to learn business English.

I: How about you, Ms B? Is it difficult for you?

B: Not really. You know, I like English very much, and my major is business administration. So I have always found business English very interesting. 

I: Good morning, my name is X, and this is my colleague, Y. And your names are A and B?

A: Yeah.

B: Yes.

I: Thank you. Now, first of all, we’d like to know something about each of you. Miss A, can you tell me something about your work?

A: My pleasure. I’m working with APC Inc., which is a US-based company. I have worked there for three years on the international marketing side. I must say that it is a very interesting job. I love my job.

I: Thank you, Miss A. Now Miss B, can you tell me about your activities outside college?

B: Well, I do a lot of interesting things in my spare time. I often go shopping on weekends， something most of the young ladies like me do that in their spare time. And I have worked part time for several big companies. I think, by doing that, I can have some hands-on experience in business. That’s very important for my future career.

I: Thank you, Miss B. And you Miss A, can you tell me about your hometown?

A: Hmm…well, my hometown is Nantong. It lies at the mouth of Yangtze River, the longest in China. It has a population of 5 million. There’s quite some places of historical interests there. And the economy there is growing fast in my hometown. The friendly environment has attracted a lot of investment from overseas.

I: Miss B, you said you’d worked for several companies on a part time basis. Is there any other reason for you to work there apart from obtaining some work experience?

B: Yeah. Obviously I can make some extra money from that. You know, my mother is now retrenched. It’s really not easy for my parents to support me. And I don’t want to be too heavy a burden for them.

I: How about you, Miss A? Are you a part time by any chance?

A: Oh, yes. But I don’t work for companies. I teach several private students. I think teaching is a very interesting job, especially when I see my students are making progress. And just as Miss B said, money is an important consideration for me. So I teach for entertainment as well as for cash.

Other possible questions:

Life: What’s your name? Where are you from? Do you think the place you are living in is an ideal place for living? Where do you like to live, in the city or in the countryside? Do you live near here? How did you come here?

Work: Where do you work? What kind of work do you like? Who do you work for? What do you like best about your work? What do you think of your present job? What do you think of working at home? Do you like your boss? What kind of boss do you like best?

Study: Where do you study? What kind of subjects do you like best? Do you like your school? How do you like exams at school?

Hobbies: What do you often go shopping for? Do you like sports? What kind of sports do you like best? Do you think football is more popular in China than before? What are you hobbies? What kind of extracurricular activities do you like best? Why are you interested in golf?