I thought that exposing students to native English speakers would be a good experience for the class since most of them haven't tried communicating with a foreigner in any means. I thought using my skype would be the best idea since I purchased a plan for USA and Canada. Before the activity, I gave an example of conversation between a hotel receptionist and a customer who wanted to book a hotel room. It was simple and to help them understand the dialogue better, I explained the idea using more examples and using pictures so everything would be clear. Their task was to ask for a price of a hotel room, and they only needed to read the questions because I already wrote them on the board. I just wanted to see if a native speaker could understand the way they speak and in return is to test their listening skills. We only called to inquire for the price, and they could either say, "How much is your single room," or "Do you have a vacant room for this coming...?" All they need to do was just read the sentences out loud. I made the first call and after I got the price I thanked the person and hang up. They were all quiet for a moment. I asked if they heard what the other person said. Most of them said yes. So I thought they were ready. I wrote some expressions that they could use such as, "Good morning, Thank you, please, hold on, one moment please and have a great day." I asked if someone was ready to go first then the class pointed to a boy at the back. They said, "ta..ta...ta..." it means, "he". I called the boy to come forward and I was glad that he stood right away and took the mic. I asked him where he would like to call and he said that he wanted to call a 5 star hotel in Houston Texas, USA. Using google, I quickly searched for 5 star hotels in Houston. When I found the list with phone numbers I made sure that he clearly understood what to do. I asked everyone to listen for the conversation. Before dialing the number, I wanted to add a phrase for him to use which is, "could you repeat that please" or simply saying "pardon me" to make the person repeat what he said.
I asked the class if they could provide the phrase,
"Class what would you say if you couldn't understand the person in the other line?"
Everyone seemed to be thinking, then suddenly a boy at back answered,
"Just say, Can you please speak Chinese?".
I responded by saying, "Good luck! I hope you can find a receptionist who can speak Chinese."
Most of them were laughing so I had to wait for a few minutes for them to calm down. We got someone from Houston who was so friendly and helpful. The student was able to get the most important information which is the price of a single hotel room. He asked for the total price of 5 nights stay and everyone was shocked after I converted the rate to RMB. The total price for 5 nights was 15,500 Chinese Yuan, before tax and without breakfast. They were all saying "wahhhhhhh!" The next student called New York 5 star hotel and most of them said "wahhhh" again because 5 nights was 18, 755 RMB, if I remember it right I think the name of the hotel is New York Palace. Honestly, I don't understand why these hotel room charges are so high,when we get the same sleep we're getting when we're at home, at the airport of even out there in the street? Don't tell me it's the food, because breakfast is not included. I wonder, is the bed made of gold?
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