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• Discuss the general situation with the class, but don't give them the details.
• Divide the class into two sets of small groups - a set of A-groups and a set of B-groups.
• Give out copies of the A and B role-cards to the A-groups and B-groups.
• Encourage the groups to discuss their role in the situation, and to plan language and strategies to use.
• Try to get equal numbers of A-people and B-people.
• Don't let the A-groups know what's on the B-group's role-cards before they're ready to role-play!

• Recombine the groups so that each person from the A-groups pairs off with someone from a B-group.
• Let the learners play out the scenario using the language and strategies they planned.
• With less confident learners, you can also make groups of four with two people from an A-group and two from a B-group.

• With the whole class, discuss how the conflict in the situation was resolved.
• Elicit examples of the kind of language they used.
• Draw attention to specific features.
• Have one or two pairs role-play the situation for the class.
• Discuss the appropriateness of the language used.
• Encourage the class to make suggestions and provide feedback.

Overbooked! (Based on Strategic Interactions. By R. J. Di Pietro. Cambridge, 1987. Page 1.)

Smoking (Based on Functions of American English. By Jones & Von Baeyer. Cambridge, 1983. Page 60.)

You are a school teacher. You have just finished your vacation in Vancouver, Canada. It's late Sunday night and you are waiting to check in for your flight home at Vancouver airport. The new school term starts tomorrow morning and you're anxious to get home. A good friend will be waiting to drive you home from the airport when you arrive.

The clerk at the airline counter tells you that the flight is overbooked. The airline has sold too many tickets for the flight, and there are not enough seats for all the passengers! The airline clerk asks you if you will delay your flight until tomorrow morning. This is a big problem because you have to start work tomorrow morning.

What will you say when the clerk tries to persuade you to stay over night? Remember that you have paid for a ticket on the flight, and that this is very embarrassing for the airline company.

You are an airline ticket clerk at Vancouver airport in Canada. It is late Sunday night and the last flight is getting ready to leave. Unfortunately, the flight is overbooked. The airline has sold too many tickets and there are not enough seats on the plane for all the passengers! The plane is completely booked, and of course there is no standing allowed on international flights. The airport is about to close so there are no more flights after this one.

You must persuade one of the passengers to delay their trip until tomorrow morning. This passenger is the last passenger on the passenger list. This is an embarrassing and difficult situation for the airline. Try offering the passenger free accommodation at a hotel in Vancouver or free air-tickets, but don't spend too much of the airline's money!

How will you persuade the passenger to wait until tomorrow morning? What are you going to say?

You are worried about your friend. He/she has a bad cough. You think he/she should stop smoking. What will you say to persuade him/her to give up smoking? It's not easy to stop smoking, so suggest some good ways to quit.

Your friend wants you to give up smoking. You like smoking and don't want to quit.

Also, it's very difficult to stop. What will you say to your friend?