Materials Share: How to Read a Warranty

This is an activity I wrote for the life skills objective, "Students will be able to read and interpret a warranty."


Unfortunately, language learners abroad are often the victims dishonest business practices whether you're a vacationer given an "adjusted" menu or an immigrant who is refused a refund for a defective product.


Knowledge is power and in this case, a tool for social justice. If students have the ability to describe the problem and the ability to read about and interpret his/her consumer rights, perhaps he/she will be less likely to be the victim of dishonest business practices.
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Level: Pre-intermediate/Intermediate/ Advanced


Objectives/Students will be able to:


-use appropriate vocabulary to describe defective products
-read and interpret a warranty
-identify clauses, conditions, and limitations of a warranty


Pre-Activities/Materials
It may be necessary to ease into this activity. The vocabulary is quite challenging for English Learners.
Some supplemental materials include:


-Side By Side Book 3 Plus (Returning a defective product)
-A Conversation Book 2: English in Everyday Life   (Returns and Exchanges)
-Workplace Plus (Unit 3-What is a warranty?)

-Lifeskills 3 (Reading a Warranty)

 

Task Chain:

This is a role-play conversation activity. Students take turns being the customer and the customer service representative. Students should determine from the corresponding sample warranty whether or not the customer should get a refund or repair service.

Role-play 1

Person A: You have owned the carpet for 4 years. You spilled some juice on the carpet and want the carpet company to fix it or replace it. Go to the carpet store and talk to the salesperson.

Person B: You work for the carpet company. You have to speak with Person A (the customer) and explain what services are available based on the warranty.

Role-play 2

Person A: You have owned the hearing aid for 20 years and you want the newest model. The one you have is working fine but it’s big and you want a smaller one. Besides, you think 20 years is enough; it’s time for a new one! Call the hearing aid company.

Person B: You work in customer service for the hearing aid company. You have to speak with Person A (the customer) and explain what services are available based on the warranty.

Role-play 3

Person A: You have owned your washer machine for 2 and a half years and you’ve recently noticed that it’s not cleaning the clothes as well as it used too. Call the washer machine company to ask what you should do.

Person B: You work in customer service for the washer machine company. You have to speak with Person A (the customer) and explain what services are available based on the warranty.

Role-play 4

Person A: The tires on your car are starting to look old. You’ve had a mechanic look at it and he said the front two tires are about 19 % worn out and the rear (back) two are almost 30%. The tires are almost new. You decide to call the tire company to get your money back.

Person B: You’re a customer service representative for the tire company. You have to speak with Person A (the customer) and explain what services are available based on the warranty.

Warranties: Examples of Full Warranties, Limited Warranties, and Multiple Warranties

Counterpoint Carpet Corp. What is Covered This warranty covers any defects in materials or workmanship, including installation, with the exceptions stated below. How Long Coverage Lasts This warranty runs for five years from the date your carpet is installed. What is not covered This warranty does not cover fading or discoloration caused by exposure to sunlight or chemicals such as ammonia, laundry detergent, or household bleach. (For information on how to prevent fading or discoloration, consult our manual "Care Tips From Counterpoint Carpet," available free from your Counterpoint dealer.) What Counterpoint Will Do Counterpoint will repair any carpet that proves to be defective in materials or workmanship. In the event repair is not possible, Counterpoint will either replace your carpet with new carpet of similar composition and price, or refund the full purchase price of your carpet, whichever you prefer. How To Get Service Contact any Counterpoint dealer, listed in the Yellow Pages under "Carpet,"or contact Counterpoint at 800-987-6543. A service representative will come to your home and take any necessary action to correct problems covered by this warranty. How State Law Applies This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

Magnifisound Corporation Limited Warranty What Does This Warranty Cover? This warranty covers any defects or malfunctions in your new Magnifisound hearing aid. How Long Does The Coverage Last? This warranty lasts as long as you own your Magnifisound aid. Coverage terminates if you sell or otherwise transfer the aid. What Will Magnifisound Do? Magnifisound will replace any defective or malfunctioning part at no charge. You must pay any labor charges. What Does This Warranty Not Cover? Batteries, or any problem that is caused by abuse, misuse, or an act of God (such as a flood) are not covered. Also, consequential and incidental damages are not recoverable under this warranty. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. How Do You Get Service? In order to be eligible for service under this warranty you must return the warranty registration card attached below within 30 days of purchasing the aid. If something goes wrong with your aid, send it postage paid with a brief written description of the problem to: Magnifisound Corp. Box 10000 Auditory, Ohio We will inspect your aid and contact you within 72 hours to give the results of our inspection and an estimate of the labor charges required to fix the aid. If you authorize repairs, we will return the repaired aid to you COD within 72 hours. You must pay any labor charges upon receipt of the repaired aid. If you inform us that you wish us to provide necessary parts to you but you wish to have repairs performed elsewhere, we will return the aid and replacement parts to you within 72 hours. There is no charge for inspection. How Does State Law Apply? This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

 

Full Two Year Warranty on The Black Star 2001 Clothes Washer What is covered: Any defect in your 2001 Clothes Washer. For How Long: Two years after the date you bought your 2001 Clothes Washer. What Black Star Will Do: Repair, or if repair is not possible, either replace your 2001 Clothes Washer, or refund the purchase price, whichever you prefer. Limited Warranty on Parts for the Third through Fifth Years What is covered: Any defect in your 2001 Clothes Washer. For How Long: From the start of the third year after you bought your 2001 Clothes Washer until the end of the fifth year. What Black Star Will Do: Provide free new or rebuilt replacement parts, but not labor to install the parts. Any servicer you choose can do service during this period. How to Get Service: Contact any Black Star Dealer or any Authorized Black Star Service Center. See the Yellow Pages under "Appliance Repair" for the name of a Black Star Servicer near you, or call 800-xxx-xxxx. Your Rights Under State Law: This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

 

Treadwell Tire Full Warranty During First 20% of Usable Tread Life If a defect in materials or workmanship appears in your Treadwell Tire before 20% of the tread is worn away, Treadwell Corporation will provide, at your choice, either free replacement of the same model number Treadwell Tire or a complete refund of the original purchase price. Limited Warranty During Remaining 80% of Usable Tread Life If a defect in, materials or workmanship appears in your Treadwell Tire after 20% of the tread is worn away and before the remainder of the tread is worn away, Treadwell Corporation will provide you with a credit good for the purchase of any Treadwell Tire of the same model number. The credit will drop by 10% of the original purchase price for each additional 10% of the tread that is worn away when the defect appears. How to Get Service Just bring the defective tire to any Treadwell Dealer. The address of the dealer near you is listed on the other side of this document How State Law Relates to this Warranty This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

 

Source of Sample Warranties 

Student Questions: Using the Present to talk about the Future?

"Student Questions" is a feature in which I share a student question and the readers try to guess both the answer and the significance of the students' questions.


Student: "I was on the Metro yesterday and I heard a lady say, 'I'm getting off at the next stop'" (confused expression)


Why was this ESL student asking me this? Why was she confused?


Please comment with your theories below and I will reply on Wednesday.


                     UPDATE:


 Short Answer: It's a Present Continuous question.


Long answer: For this student, the word "next" meant the future so why was this woman using the Present Continuous? At her level, she had only learned that Present Continuous is used for describing an action that is taking place right now (which is different from Present Simple, for regular or habitual activities).


Example: I am eating breakfast (Right now, Present Continuous)
Example: I eat usually breakfast. (Habit, Present Simple.)


Confusingly enough though, Present Continuous and Present Simple can be used to talk about the future.


Consider the following conversation between friends:


Tom: Hey, Julie! What are you doing this weekend?
Julie: I'm going to a concert this Saturday. Want to come?
Tom: Sure, who's playing.....


The speakers are using Present Continuous to discuss plans that a) have been made prior to talking b) imminent or nearly 100% sure to happen.  


Suggested classroom activities: 


1) Have students read and practice a similar conversation. Interchange 2 Ch. 15 has a good example.
2) Have the students observe a) what are they talking about? (plans) b) what tense are they using? (Present Continuous )


3) Ask students to share what's in their planner for the coming weekend.


4) Ask student to find a partner. Give students an A schedule grid and a B schedule grid. Give each student  a list of activities (anything: going to the circus, having lunch with grandma, skiing in the Alps) The two schedule grids should have different gaps open but some of the same.


Example conversation:


A) What are you doing on Saturday at 5pm?
B) Sorry, I'm going to the circus.
A) Are you busy on Sunday at noon?
B) Nope, I'm having lunch with my grandma.
A) When are you free?
B) I'm not doing anything Sunday night. Want to hang out then?
A) Yes, that'll* work for me.


*Notice that the plan has become less sure with use of "will"




Wait, what about Present Simple?

USE 3 [Public] Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

Examples:

• The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
• The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
• When do we board the plane?
• The party starts at 8 o'clock.
• When does class begin tomorrow?

Other events include performances (plays, concerts), parades, lectures, presentations, debates, movies, protests, speeches, etc.




We can see that the seemingly elementary aspects of grammar, have subtle features and often multiple uses. 

A creative twist on post-holiday writing assignment

"Please write a paragraph about your summer vacation" 

"What did you do over your winter break?"

Yawn. This is so predictable and cliché it's featured in classroom scenes in movies and television.

Here is a way to spice it up.

Since writing is meant to be read, it is important to connect the two ideas. The students are not writing for the sake of writing; they are writing to convey an idea or feeling to the reader. Language does not occur in isolation and it is essentially a communicative act. The following keeps these principals in mind.

Lesson Plan:

Level: This could work for any level. My students were advanced.

Materials: paper and pen. Imagination.

Target vocabulary: the 5 senses

Students will be able to:

• describe a specific scene from over their holiday break
• read each others' stories (optional: and give feedback)
• use imagery, sensory details to create a scene

Task Chain:

1. Write the following on the board for students to discuss: “How is reading a book different from watching a movie?”
   
   
2. Ask the students which senses are activated while watching a movie versus reading a book.
   
   
3. The idea is that movies usually only activates hearing and sight but books have the potential to allow the reader to imagine touch, smell and taste as well.
   
   
4. Ask the students to think about a sensory experience. Think about what things looked like, smelled like, tasted like, felt like, sounded like. Put the reader there. Do not begin with, “On my winter break I went to NYC.” Rather start the scene as with a movie: “We were standing in Times Square and lights were flashing everywhere. A river of people flowed around us.”
   
   
5. Let the students write.
   
   
6. I free-wrote an example with them:

The sun was magnified through the windshield. The road was a long expanse in front of the us. The bus was engulfing the boundless hills. The sun warmed my face, pleasant at first, but then slightly uncomfortable, making beads of sweat emerge around my hairline. I shifted in my seat. One of the earbuds fell from my ear. I retrieved it and resumed the audiobook I had been listening to. Despite riding through rural Virginia, where the only radio sections available are country western, gospel and contemporary christian from the 90s, I am transported to Brooklyn, NY, where my sarcastic, hyperbolic narrator recounts his adventures owning an urban convenience store.

7. What are the senses that I experienced? Did you experience them with me? Where was I transported? How? How was it different from where I was? Here, the students see an example of a) putting a reader in the scene b) describing how a certain situation felt c) the contrast of an rural bus ride and an urban deli d) how writing transports the reader- on two levels: the students reading about my bus ride and how the protagonist (me) was transported by reading. You might want to write your own example.
   
   
8. Have the students share their writing in a reading chain. The teacher participates in the reading chain. Teacher may want to use the reading chain as an opportunity to check or make corrections to writing as it comes to her. This way the students are otherwise engaged instead of checking students individually and while students wait idly for the teacher. If corrections are made, make sure to comment on the content of the writing. Writing is mean to convey a message; comment on the message the student is trying to make. Conversely, teachers may want to refrain from making corrections if this is a warm-up activity or if the students are inhibited about their writing. (Alternative exercise: gallery walk: Students post writing on the wall and students read in as if in an art museum.)
   
   
9. Depending on the writing samples and students' confidence level, teacher may lead a discussion about the pieces read: Which pieces do you like the most? Which ones made you feel like you were there in the scene? Etc.
   
   
10. Have fun! Adapt to your students' needs!