What should I do?

Giving advice

Giving advice is not an easy thing to do, we have to understand the situation and empathize with the feelings of the people involved. Telling a person what he/she should do if they feel sick, or if they want to make a change in their life and don’t know how to start, implies being honest, responsible and helpful.

Listening practice / Speaking exercise

In the following sections you will listen to short conversations between people who are asking for and giving advice.
Read the instructions of what you have to do in each case, anyhow prepare yourself to record your answers on your cellphone, and then compare it with the suggested answer.
The exercises go from level 1 in difficulty to level 4, can you finish the 4 levels?

  • What should I do?

    Level 1

    Listen to the conversation between Dave and Martin, pay attention to what they are talking about.

    Now, imagine you are Martin and you are going to help your friend Dave. Give advice using should/shouldn’t and some of the prompts in the chart. Then, compare your answer with our suggestion.

    go to bed early / stay up late / take a hot bath / do exercise / take work home

    You should do exercise, take a hot bath and go to bed early. You shouldn’t take work home or stay up late, you will feel worse.

  • What should I do?

    Level 2

    Listen to the conversation between a doctor and his patient. Pay attention to what they are talking about.

    Now, imagine you are the doctor and want to give advice to your patient. Complete the doctor’s answer using should/shouldn’t and the prompts in the chart. Then, compare your answer with our suggestion.

    take this medicine for allergies / make another appointment / take antibiotics / observe your surroundings at home / keep a record

    Dr:, but because you don’t have an infection. and of the places you go to, so that we can find the cause of your allergy. And with my secretary to check your progress.

    You should take this medicine for allergies, but you shouldn’t take antibiotics because you don’t have an infection. You should observe your surroundings at home and you should keep a record of the places you go to, so that we can find the cause of your allergy. And you should make another appointment with my secretary to check your progress.

  • What should I do?

    Level 3

    Listen to the conversation between a teacher and a student. Pay attention to the context and the problem the student is facing.

    Now, imagine you are Dana’s teacher and you want to give her some advice. Complete the answer using should/shouldn’t and the prompts in the chart. Then, compare your answer with our suggestion.

    talk to your coach / organize your time better / miss classes / drop school / follow your dreams / push yourself

    Teacher:, First, , you’re doing it just fine. Second, about how you feel and explain that school is important to you. Then, , talk to your teachers, tell them what is happening. After that, , maybe if you wake up earlier, time will be enough for you. Finally, of course , but ,education will always lead you to success.

    First, you shouldn’t push yourself too much, you’re doing it just fine. Second, you should talk to your coach about how you feel and explain that school is important to you. Then, you shouldn’t miss classes anymore, talk to your teachers, tell them what is happening. After that, you should organize your time better, maybe if you wake up earlier, time will be enough for you. Finally, of course you should follow your dreams, but you shouldn’t drop school, education will always lead you to success.

  • What should I do?

    Level 4

    Listen to the conversation between two friends. Pay attention to what the conversation is about.

    Now, imagine you are Lily and you want to give your friend some advice. Record yourself using should/shouldn’t, the prompts in the chart, and organize your ideas with connectors like: first, second, then, after that, finally. You can add more words if necessary to complete the ideas. Then, compare your answer with our suggestion.

    text him / call him / take care of yourself / be responsible of your feelings / feel guilty

    First, you shouldn’t feel guilty about the situation. Second, you shouldn’t text him or call him anymore. Then, you should be responsible for your feelings, if something bothers you it’s ok to express it. Finally, you should take care of yourself, and that means stop seeing that guy.

Self-evaluation

Look at the following chart and tick the things you did in this writing section to evaluate your own work.

My speaking performance Yes No
1. I understood the situation in each conversation to give a piece of advice.
2. I used should/shouldn’t to give advice.
3. I used the prompts logically to give advice.
4. I identified the use of and, but, or to organize my ideas.
5. I used extra words to give more coherence to my pieces of advice.
  • If you got…
  • 6 "yes" answers… You’re doing great! You use the appropriate structures to express suggestions.
  • 3 or 5 “yes” answers… It’s not bad, but you need to practice a little bit more. Go ahead,s you can make a big improvement!
  • 1 or 2 “yes” answers… Oops! You need to check the contents again to understand this topic better.