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Unit 5 Lesson 5
How assertive are you?
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• discussed what to say in a given situation
• selected possible responses
• discussed possible responses to possible situations
• matched opposite types of personalities
• written a dialogue for a given story
A Imagine that you have gone to visit a friend and his/her mother has offered you a new dish that she has cooked. She wants to know what you think of it. But you don't really like the taste. What would you say to her? Discuss in pairs.
B What would you do in the following situations? Select the response you think is more appropriate. Then compare your answer with your partner.
1 You are at a party and the host is insisting that you take more food, but it is impossible for you to eat anymore, because you are full.
a "I'm very sorry but it's really impossible for me to eat any more. "
b "No, thank you. I've finished eating."
c Say nothing but leave the table.
2 Your next door neighbours arc playing very loud music and it is getting very difficult for you to study.
a You go to them and say, "Excuse me, could you please turn the volume down a bit? I can't study."
b You go to them and say. "Do you have any idea how loud that music is! You should have some consideration for others."
c You don 't do anything but quietly suffer.
3 Your uncle wants to buy you a new dress because he loves you very much but you don't like the colour at all that he is selecting.
a You tell him, "I don't like that colour. Could you please look for another colour?"
b You say, "Maybe we can buy it another day. "
c You simply stand by and let your uncle buy what he likes.
4 Your class is making plans to go on a picnic but the amount of money they have decided per person is too much for you to pay.
a You say, " This is too much far me. I can't pay so much. "
b You say, " Let's go somewhere less expensive."
c You say, " I have problems, 1 won't he able to go. I'm sorry. "
d You don't say anything. You feel annoyed and decide not to join.
Are any of the responses above impolite? if so, which ones?
If your choice is mostly C or D in all the above situations then you are not assertive at all. It might be useful if you could try to express your opinion more.
Do you have any other suggestions for the above situations? Write them down and then compare them with your partner.
C Work in pairs and share your ideas about what you would do in the following situations. Give reasons for your answers.
1 After your HSC your guardian wants you to study a subject that you are not very interested in.
2 You are standing in a queue and you see some people joining in the middle instead of at the end.
3 You sent some clothes to the laundry and you find a shirt with a burn mark.
4 You arc ready to go to a dinner patty when some guests you have not seen for a long time, drop in for a visit.
D Look at the following list of adjectives that go with different types of assertiveness. Match them with their opposite types in column B. (Use a dictionary if you are not sure about the meaning)
A
aggressive, direct, forceful, outspoken, confident, stubborn, hostile, quarrelsome, dominating
B
timid, shy, modest, indirect, flexible, compromising, hesitant, nervous, reserved
Which ones of the qualities in columns A and B arc positive and which ones are negative?
E The following story is an example of assertiveness in an interesting sort of way. Read it and then rewrite it in the form of a dialogue.
A cook once roasted a duck for his master. The roast looked so delicious that the cook couldn't resist the temptation and ate up one of the drumsticks. When his master sat down to eat he quickly noticed the missing leg and asked what had happened to the other leg. The cook told him that the duck had one leg only. The master was not to be fooled. He said (hat there was no such thing as a one-legged duck. The cook insisted that this duck had only one leg. The master was very annoyed with the stubbornness of the cook and threatened to fire him from his job. Right at that moment the cook looked out of the window and saw some ducks resting outside in the courtyard. One of the ducks was standing on one leg and had the other leg folded inside. He drew the attention of his master and showed him that some ducks did indeed have one leg. The master clapped his hands loudly which startled the duck. It put down its other leg as well and ran off. The master looked at the cook. The cook replied quietly that his master was right after all. If he had known this trick he would have clapped his hands too before cooking to bring out the other leg. The master was very amused by the ready wit of the cook and said that he would forgive him this time because it was the first time. But he did not want to see any more one-legged ducks on his table in future.
Focus:
Skills.
Speaking,
reading,
writing. Functions.
Expressing attitudes.
Grammar/Structure.
Direct speech.
Vocabulary.
aggressive, outspoken. hostile, timid, hesitant. startled, wit, amused.
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Unit 5 Lesson 5
How assertive are you?
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• discussed what to say in a given situation
• selected possible responses
• discussed possible responses to possible situations
• matched opposite types of personalities
• written a dialogue for a given story
A Imagine that you have gone to visit a friend and his/her mother has offered you a new dish that she has cooked. She wants to know what you think of it. But you don't really like the taste. What would you say to her? Discuss in pairs.
B What would you do in the following situations? Select the response you think is more appropriate. Then compare your answer with your partner.
1 You are at a party and the host is insisting that you take more food, but it is impossible for you to eat anymore, because you are full.
a "I'm very sorry but it's really impossible for me to eat any more. "
b "No, thank you. I've finished eating."
c Say nothing but leave the table.
2 Your next door neighbours arc playing very loud music and it is getting very difficult for you to study.
a You go to them and say, "Excuse me, could you please turn the volume down a bit? I can't study."
b You go to them and say. "Do you have any idea how loud that music is! You should have some consideration for others."
c You don 't do anything but quietly suffer.
3 Your uncle wants to buy you a new dress because he loves you very much but you don't like the colour at all that he is selecting.
a You tell him, "I don't like that colour. Could you please look for another colour?"
b You say, "Maybe we can buy it another day. "
c You simply stand by and let your uncle buy what he likes.
4 Your class is making plans to go on a picnic but the amount of money they have decided per person is too much for you to pay.
a You say, " This is too much far me. I can't pay so much. "
b You say, " Let's go somewhere less expensive."
c You say, " I have problems, 1 won't he able to go. I'm sorry. "
d You don't say anything. You feel annoyed and decide not to join.
Are any of the responses above impolite? if so, which ones?
If your choice is mostly C or D in all the above situations then you are not assertive at all. It might be useful if you could try to express your opinion more.
Do you have any other suggestions for the above situations? Write them down and then compare them with your partner.
C Work in pairs and share your ideas about what you would do in the following situations. Give reasons for your answers.
1 After your HSC your guardian wants you to study a subject that you are not very interested in.
2 You are standing in a queue and you see some people joining in the middle instead of at the end.
3 You sent some clothes to the laundry and you find a shirt with a burn mark.
4 You arc ready to go to a dinner patty when some guests you have not seen for a long time, drop in for a visit.
D Look at the following list of adjectives that go with different types of assertiveness. Match them with their opposite types in column B. (Use a dictionary if you are not sure about the meaning)
A
aggressive, direct, forceful, outspoken, confident, stubborn, hostile, quarrelsome, dominating
B
timid, shy, modest, indirect, flexible, compromising, hesitant, nervous, reserved
Which ones of the qualities in columns A and B arc positive and which ones are negative?
E The following story is an example of assertiveness in an interesting sort of way. Read it and then rewrite it in the form of a dialogue.
A cook once roasted a duck for his master. The roast looked so delicious that the cook couldn't resist the temptation and ate up one of the drumsticks. When his master sat down to eat he quickly noticed the missing leg and asked what had happened to the other leg. The cook told him that the duck had one leg only. The master was not to be fooled. He said (hat there was no such thing as a one-legged duck. The cook insisted that this duck had only one leg. The master was very annoyed with the stubbornness of the cook and threatened to fire him from his job. Right at that moment the cook looked out of the window and saw some ducks resting outside in the courtyard. One of the ducks was standing on one leg and had the other leg folded inside. He drew the attention of his master and showed him that some ducks did indeed have one leg. The master clapped his hands loudly which startled the duck. It put down its other leg as well and ran off. The master looked at the cook. The cook replied quietly that his master was right after all. If he had known this trick he would have clapped his hands too before cooking to bring out the other leg. The master was very amused by the ready wit of the cook and said that he would forgive him this time because it was the first time. But he did not want to see any more one-legged ducks on his table in future.
Focus:
Skills.
Speaking,
reading,
writing. Functions.
Expressing attitudes.
Grammar/Structure.
Direct speech.
Vocabulary.
aggressive, outspoken. hostile, timid, hesitant. startled, wit, amused.