1. Skills
  2. Speaking
  3. B2 speaking
  4. Dealing with a problem

Dealing with a problem

In this video, Vanya goes to Yuna with a problem. Listen to the language they use for dealing with a problem and practise saying the useful phrases.

Do the preparation exercise first. Then watch the video and do the exercises to check your understanding and practise the language.

Preparation

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – preparation

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!

Task 1

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – 1

Task 2

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – 2

Task 3

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – 3

Discussion

When was the last time you helped someone with a problem at work?

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Language level

B2 Upper intermediate
Average: 4.4 (46 votes)
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Hi guitardude,

If you're talking about foods, it's true that a bit of is usually used with uncountable nouns (e.g. a bit of cake / a bit of carrot). But actually, it can be used with countable nouns too, especially outside the area of food. Here are some more examples:

  • The meeting was a bit of a waste of time.
  • My presentation went wrong. It was a bit of a nightmare.
  • I'm a bit of a perfectionist.
  • The news was a bit of a shock.

I hope that helps :)

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by German on Tue, 09/02/2021 - 01:06

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The last time that I helped to someone with a problem in the work was when a workmate had to sent a report and he was delayed. I helped him with some things about the report and he achived to send the report in time

Submitted by Mustafa Ghreiri on Fri, 15/01/2021 - 17:32

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Hi, I'm new here! I'm not that good at English, so trying to improve, by finding foreign friends. Any one interested in English conversation, I am too, so we can add each other on Skype: (************) Thanks.
Profile picture for user Jonathan R

Submitted by Jonathan R on Sat, 16/01/2021 - 06:53

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Hi Mustafa and welcome to LearnEnglish :)

Finding friends to practise with is a great idea. Sorry, sharing personal details is not allowed on this site by the House rules - but you can interact with other users by writing comments and replies.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Mustafa Ghreiri,

There's no need! But thanks for asking.

Best wishes,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Profile picture for user Hennadii

Submitted by Hennadii on Fri, 08/01/2021 - 16:21

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Honestly, it's absolutely no problem for me to help someone. Of course, I have my own work to do and I can't ignore it to do something else (not my tasks) by I think we have to help each other at work because we are a team. Sometimes your colleagues need to do what you've done before and you know exactly how to cope with it. Or you just need to connect two people at work so they can end their job together. Unfortunately, there are always some guys who just try to delegate their duty on you because they are lazy or don't what to take responsibility for the result. Well, I dealt with that crap before and these sly-asses don't bother my any more ))
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Submitted by Riza on Fri, 01/01/2021 - 15:42

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The last time when I had to help my manager was during quarantine. Our office was about to close, so we had to explore a totally new world by starting working online! I clearly remember the time when I was learing how to use Skype and other websites for online teaching! Right now it's my steady job and part of my life, however at that time it was a complete nightmare)))

Submitted by fariba on Mon, 28/12/2020 - 11:19

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one years ago last time i help another person.