Learn how to apologize for taking a day off
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Explaining an Absence from the Office in English. Becky Here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to apologize for taking a day off. The following conversation takes place in an office. |
| John: It’s between Mark Coles and Linda. |
| Becky: The speakers are a boss and an employee; therefore, they will speak both formal and informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Mark Coles: Hello, Linda, how are you? I heard that you didn't feel well yesterday. |
| Linda: Apologies. I had a severe headache and I rested at home. |
| Mark Coles: That can happen, no need to apologize! I hope it's okay now. Let me know if I can help you. |
| Linda: Thank you. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Mark Coles: Hello, Linda, how are you? I heard that you didn't feel well yesterday. |
| Linda: Apologies. I had a severe headache and I rested at home. |
| Mark Coles: That can happen, no need to apologize! I hope it's okay now. Let me know if I can help you. |
| Linda: Thank you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: I’m glad to hear that Linda was back at work quickly and that it wasn’t anything too serious. |
| John: Yes, me too! It seems like she was back the next day. |
| Becky: And Mark was very nice to her, too. |
| John: Well, Linda did do everything right when she was ill. |
| Becky: Right. She called in and told them so that they could find coverage for her. |
| John: I’m sure she gave them any doctor’s notes they wanted too. |
| Becky: What would have happened if she hadn’t have told them that she was sick? |
| John: That would have been considered an “absence without notice,” which is not tolerated in the U.S. as well as many other countries, unless it’s an emergency. |
| Becky: When you can't come into work, you should always contact your manager first. |
| John: If your manager isn't available, then leave a message for him/her with a secretary or other senior member of staff. Usually, each company has its own procedures for this. |
| Becky: In any case, try to inform your company as early as possible if you will be absent |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| John: To feel well. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To feel fine, to not be sick or ill. |
| John: To feel well. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To feel well. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Apology. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: An admission of a mistake. |
| John: Apology. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Apology. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Severe. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Intense; extreme. |
| John: Severe. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Severe. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Headache. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A pain of the head. |
| John: Headache. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Headache. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To rest. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To take a break from doing something. |
| John: To rest. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To rest. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: To apologize. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To acknowledge an error or guilt and say sorry. |
| John: To apologize. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To apologize. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: Hear. |
| Becky: This literally means "to be aware of sound through the ear," but in the conversation we heard, it means to have been told some news or information. If you have been told some information, then you have "heard" it. |
| John: This is a very common word that is used in many different situations. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “I heard the news on the radio this morning.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: Headache. |
| Becky: This means "a pain of the head." |
| John: This word can be broken down into two different words. The first is "head," which is a part of the body, and the second word is "ache," which means "pain." You can change "head" for other parts of the body, such as "stomach" or "tooth," to talk about other pains. |
| Becky: “Headache” can be used to describe a normal and not serious head pain. For example, you can say, “I think I'll go to bed early tonight because I have a headache.” |
| John: It can also be used in a metaphorical way, as a way of saying that something was difficult to do. For example, "Organizing the meeting was a real headache." |
| Becky: This means that organizing the meeting was difficult and there were many problems. |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about how to apologize for taking a day off. |
| John: You don’t really need to apologize for taking a planned day off since you would have asked in advance and been given permission. |
| Becky: However, if you take a day off on short notice, you should apologize when you ask for the day off and when you return to the office. First, let’s see how to apologize when you ask for the day off. |
| John: You can do this by saying, “I’m sorry, but...” followed by the reason. |
| Becky: For example, you can say, “I’m so sorry, but I have a migraine and won’t be able to make it in today.” |
| John: You can add “really,” “very,” or “so” to show how sorry you are. For example, you could say, “I’m really sorry, but I have no childcare for today.” |
| Becky: When you return to the office, you should apologize to your manager, especially if you asked on short notice. |
| John: You can repeat the reason that forced you to miss work and even give some more information about it. For example, “I’m so sorry, but I was ill all night and couldn’t come to work.” |
| Becky: Here is another example. “I’m really sorry about yesterday, but I called everyone I know and nobody was free to look after my children.” |
| John: It’s also important to say that you’ve taken steps to make sure that the same thing won’t happen again. |
| Becky: Right! In the case of childcare, the proper response would be, “I’ve found a new nursery that can take my children.” |
| John: In the U.S. it’s customary to apologize and give explanations to your co-workers. But you don’t have to, especially if the issue is delicate or personal. |
| Becky: Ok, now let’s see how to accept these kind of apologies. |
| John: If you’re a manager, then how you deal with short notice days off depends on the circumstance. If it’s a one-time occurrence, you will say something different than you would for a long-standing problem. |
| Becky: In either circumstance, you should acknowledge that the employee called in and say that you hope the problem is resolved. |
| John: For example, in the case of the childcare, you could say, “Thanks for letting me know. Do you have a new babysitter?” |
| Becky: In the case of not feeling well, you could say, “I’m glad you’re feeling better now.” But what do you do if you’re just a co-worker? |
| John: Then your acceptance will be more casual. You can just say, “Not a problem” or “No worries.” |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
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