Dealing with a problem
Do the preparation exercise first. Then watch the video and do the exercises to check your understanding and practise the language.
Transcript
Ana: Hi! I'm Ana. Welcome to What to Say!
Do you know what to say when you need to deal with a problem? Listen out for useful language for dealing with a problem. Then, we'll practise saying the new phrases – after this.
Vanya: Yuna!
Yuna: Oh, morning!
Vanya: I've got a bit of a problem.
Yuna: What's wrong?
Vanya: Can we talk in private?
Yuna: Of course.
Yuna: Right, so, what's the matter?
Vanya: Well, I've made a mistake. A big mistake.
Yuna: OK. I'm sure we can work it out.
Vanya: It was such a silly thing to do!
Yuna: I'm getting worried now. What's going on here?
Vanya: OK. It was late last night and I was tired. I wasn't concentrating and I accidentally used my company credit card instead of my own to buy something!
Yuna: Don't worry, these things happen. There's a procedure to deal with this. How much did you spend?
Vanya: It was quite expensive.
Yuna: How expensive?
Vanya: It was very expensive.
Yuna: Vanya, how expensive?
Vanya: £3,782 … and 56 pence.
Yuna: What? You spent £3,782?!
Vanya: … and 56 pence.
Yuna: What was it? Vanya?
Vanya: Just a weekend break! I just like a really nice hotel!
Yuna: OK, I see. Thanks for letting me know.
Vanya: Ah! I feel so much better now I've told you. Please don't tell Noelia.
Yuna: Oh, I'm definitely going to tell her!
Noelia: Hi!
Vanya: Hi!
Ana: Hello again! Wow, that's a lot of money for a weekend break. So, did you notice the useful phrases used for dealing with a problem? Listen to me and then repeat.
What's wrong?
I've got a bit of a problem.
Could we talk in private?
What's the matter?
I've made a mistake.
I'm sure we can work it out.
Don't worry, these things happen.
Thanks for letting me know.
I feel so much better now I've told you.
Ana: Try and use some of these phrases the next time you need to deal with a problem in English. Bye for now!
When was the last time you helped someone with a problem at work?
It was a couple of months ago. A coworker needed some information with urgency. I happened to keep those data stored in my computer. So, I quickly send them to him. He was so relieved!
My friend, I helped him apply for a new job on the Indeed app.
i helped a lot in the past. but it’s not as good as you think. i’m a kind person, but this help that i provide, in most cases i just try to avoid my own problems by assisting others. or i help in aggressive way, because i think, when i help someone they must be succeed with the problem that i helped with
The last time I helped someone at work was when my teammate had difficulty in understanding the project. She tried to test the app. In order to test it correctly she needed to master the project and app. I help her in understanding and testing the app.
Last week we had a problem. Our app gets out of the air.
Last week, I helped my friend in the final report.
The last time I helped someone at university was when my group member was working on his role. He usually forgot what he had to do, so I suggested to him to take a note, and I gave him a piece of paper. Since then, he has not forgotten his work again.
The last time I helped someone at work was when a teammate was struggling with integrating an API into our frontend application. He was having issues handling asynchronous data using JavaScript fetch() and understanding how promises worked.
I sat down with him and explained how API requests work step by step — from sending the request to handling the response and errors.
After that, I created a small example project and shared it with the team so everyone could understand API integration better. This not only solved his issue but also improved our team’s overall efficiency.
I have always helped my colleagues at work because i believe that helping others is a virtue we should have as humans
Actually, I'm still a student but I usually help my friends and family fixing their problems.