Giving Advice

(Note:- this lesson should follow a more controlled practice-type activity

 The Ss are told that they will do a role play. Half of them will be psychologists
giving advice, while the other half will be the clients asking for advice.
 The clients will each receive an advice- column type problem and they are
asked to imagine that they are the person with this particular problem and
are asking the psychologist for advice.
 The Ss receive slip of paper describing the situation and they read it, making
sure they understand it.
 The students will then move and sit in two rows facing each other. All the
psychologist will sit on one side, while the clients face them.
 The ‘client’ will explain their problem and ask for advice (using the
expressions provided), while the psychologist will try to give some advice
using the expressions provided and being careful with the connotation of the
expressions.
 After about 3-4 minutes the T rings a bell and the ‘clients’ move one chair
over, to the new ‘psychologist’ where they will explain the problem again,
this time without reading it.
 The ‘clients’ keep moving one chair over until they have seen all the
‘psychologists’ or if the class is too large, until they have seen half of the
psychologists. The psychologists do not move chairs.
 The T will circulate and listen in on the conversations assessing the use of
advice expressions.
(Note: The students who are less verbal should probably be the clients. They can
gain more confidence as they repeat their problem)

Writing Extension:

1. For ‘clients’- they will describe their problem and describe the best piece of
advice they got.
2. For ‘psychologists’ they will describe the most interesting problem and the
advice they gave.

Possible Problems:
(These problems are not original, they are taken from various Dear Abby-type
websites)

1. My girlfriend and I are in love and we have been living together for 2 years. I would like
to propose to her, however, she told me that she does not want an engagement ring. I
would like to give her something as an engagement gift. Do you have any ideas?
2. I am divorced and I recently became engaged for the second time. I am still close to my
ex husband's parents and I would like to invite them to my wedding. I think they would
like to be there. My fiancée has no problem with this idea. A few people have said that it
would be ridiculous and not a good thing to invite them to the wedding and reception.
What do you think I should do?

3. My husband wants to go on a dangerous trip with a group. I am so afraid he will never

4. My wife is stressed and angry most of the time. She takes her anger out on our seven-
year-old daughter and me. She always yells at us when she comes home from work. We
have not had a normal conversation in months; all the words between us are either about
the house or bills or fighting about something. My wife is under a lot of stress at work but
I am so tired of her anger and I just want to leave. What should I do?

5. My rich parents-in-law offered us money to finish a part of the house we are building. I
appreciate their offer, but feel as an adult, both my husband and I should be able to
financially support ourselves and our two children. My husband expects them to pay for a
variety of things he wants and depends on them with money. This is an area where my
husband and I strongly disagree. I would rather not accept their money. My husband and
I usually argue over this matter. Am I just being stubborn? Should I accept their offer and
let it go? Or should I encourage my husband to be a responsible, independent adult?

6. I am 32 years old.  My family does not like my new boyfriend. They think he is weird
and refuse to have him around.  They want me to come alone when I visit them.  I do not
want to tell him that he is not invited to my family's house because no one likes him.  I
am tired of making up excuses for why he is not included. If my family really got to
know him they would like him.  He comes from a good family, he does not drink, and he
is a nice person.  When I am with him I feel good about myself. We like doing the same
things and he makes me laugh.  I have never been closer to anyone in my life.  We
supported each other when we had problems. My sister wanted me to come help her with
something and she told me to leave my boyfriend home because no one likes him She
doesn't care how I feel.  He wanted to help her.  I told him it was canceled.  What should
I do?

7. I am a young girl who is dating a boy who likes me a lot.  All my friends know him and
say that he is a user and a player.  He says he will commit suicide if he loses me.  I still
like him but I can't stand this emotional stuff.  All the guys I know say to leave him and
 that he is a jerk.  I don't want to hurt him and I still care about him a lot.  It makes me cry.
What should I do?

8. I am confused.  I love two men. One is my ex.-boyfriend who wants to come back to me,
the other is my current boyfriend. Both are lovely men, but feel more spiritually attached
to my ex, but I feel safer when I am with my current boyfriend because he has money and
tales care of me.  I am unable to make a decision.  Do you have any advice?

9. I am a students and I have not passed any exams at university. How do I tell my father
this? I haven’t had the courage to tell him yet. He is expecting me to go back next
semester, but I know I will not. Also, he hopes I will graduate in one year. I am so
embarrassed and I do not know what to do. Do you have any advice?

10. My family does not have a television. When my parents come to visit, they seem
uncomfortable that we do not have one. They consider us very strange because we do not
have one in the house. For the second time, they sent us a television as a gift. We do not
want to have one in the house and we have given away the other two. What should we
tell them?

11. I just joined a great company but I have found one thing that I don’t like: a co-worker
who works no more than 3 hours in an 8-hour workday. She spends time at lunch,
shopping, personal phone calls, and gossiping with other workers. Her behavior makes
me think she has no respect for her fellow co-workers. I have to work more because of
her. She has been here for two years and I just don't understand how she keeps her job.
Should I complain about her to the boss, or should I not say anything?

12. I recently got great promotion at work. That's the good news. The bad news is that I just
found out that the job requires me to give a lot of presentations to large groups of clients.
The idea of speaking to a large group scares me. I did not know about this when I applied
for the job! My first big presentation is coming up in about a month and I am already so
nervous. I know that it is common for people to be scared. Do you have any suggestions
on what I can do?

13. I am planning to marry the man of my dreams this August. Although his parents are wonderful,
I'm a little concerned about the role that they still play in his life...particularly his mother. She still
does my fiancé's laundry, cooks his lunches daily, and cleans his house. What do you think