Emailing Roleplays

Emailing functions roleplays and brainstorming

Choose a card from below and roleplay that email exchange with your partner, with the person who took the card doing the thing described on the card and then their partner responding by email. Your teacher will tell you if you should pick one card at random, can pick any card you like, or should deal out the cards and pick one from your hand. Make sure that you include the whole email from opening greeting to name at the end each time (even if you are saying what you would write instead of writing the emails).

Get back in touch with someone you haven’t contacted for a long time, e.g. an ex-boss, university professor or friend from primary school.

Introduce yourself to someone who has no idea who you are and request something.

You want to delay the thing that your partner is requesting as long as possible.

Ask for some private information about someone.

Ask for special permission to do something that usually isn’t allowed.

Ask for feedback on a new rule.

Offer to do something, then change your mind when you get a positive reply.

Try to fix a time to meet (for business or social purposes) as soon as possible, using your real schedule to say when you aren’t available.

Respond to your partner’s complaint about something that you are responsible for.

Try to thank your partner more than they thank you.

Politely decline all your partner’s invitations.

Confirm things about your partner’s email before answering their questions.

Brainstorm phrases for the functions below related to the parts in italics above:

Getting back in touch

 

 

Introducing yourself

 

 

Delaying something

 

 

Asking for information

 

 

Giving permission

 

 

Asking for permission

 

 

Asking for feedback

 

 

Offering

 

 

Fixing a time

 

 

Complaining

 

 

Responding to complaints

 

 

Thanking

 

 

Inviting

 

 

Declining invitations

 

 

Confirming

 

 

Compare as a class or with the suggested answers.

Suggested answers

Many more phrases are possible for each function, so please check if you wrote something different.

Getting back in touch

Long time no see.

How have you been?

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been in touch.

I don’t know if you remember me, but…

Sorry to write out of the blue, but…

 

Introducing yourself

My name is… and I work for…

I was given your name/ details by…

I was told that I should write to you about…

 

Delaying something

Can we make it…?

Can we put it back/ put it off until…?

 

Asking for information

Could you tell me/ inform me…?

I (really) need some information about…

Do you (happen) to know…?

 

Giving permission

That’s fine.

Please go ahead.

There’s no problem with doing that.

 

Asking for permission

Is it okay for me to…?/ Would it be okay for me to…?

Could I (possibly)…?

 

Asking for feedback

Any feedback you can give me on this would be gratefully accepted.

I look forward to reading your views on it.

Please let me know what you think.

 

Offering

Would you like me to (lend a hand with)…?

I’d like to offer (you)…

 

Fixing a time

How about…?

Are you free/ available…?

…, if that is convenient with you/ okay with you.

Complaining

I wasn’t (entirely/ very) satisfied with…

Unfortunately,…

… did not match my expectations.

 

Responding to complaints

We were sorry to hear about your problems with…

We would like to apologise for…

Please accept our apologies for…

This was caused by…

To make up for this/ compensate you for this, we would like to offer you…

 

Thanking

Thank you (so much) for…

I am very grateful for…

I really appreciate…

… is very much appreciated.

 

Inviting

We’d like to invite you to…

Would you like to…?

How about… with us?

 

Declining invitations

I’m afraid I’m… at that time.

I would have loved to, but…

…, but please do ask me again.

 

Confirming

Can I check what you mean by…?

I wasn’t quite sure what you meant by….

Can you give me some more details on…?

Could you confirm…?