《研究生英语实用口语教程》包括四个模块：情景对话、话题讨论、戏剧表演和诗歌朗读。情景对话选取与学生日常生活和校园生活相关的主题，主要实践形式为口语会话。话题讨论共分七个主题，涉及42个话题，主要实践形式为小组讨论。戏剧表演以10-12人为一个剧本，可穿插于教学全过程。诗歌朗读可以作为课前的热身，或学生课后的朗读训练。此外，为了使实践教学达到预期的目标，本教程还设计了一系列“破冰”活动，作为附录呈现给读者。本教程的教学内容采用模块化设计，各个模块相对独立；题材贴近生活，注重实际运用；话题采用音频导入，语音纯正地道；实践形式灵活多样，满足学生的英语实践个性化需求。
《研究生英语实用口语教程/21世纪实用研究生英语系列教程》也适用于短期口语实践项目，或小班口语实践集训。

Unit One How to…
Situation 1 How to apologize
I. Lead-in
We’ve all done things we need to apologize for, but eating humble pie is a skill in itself.Knowing how to apologize (when, what and how) could help to repair some damage in arelationship.Knowing how to apologize sincerely and appropriately can make things better.
II. Listen and read aloud
Anna: May I come in?
Mr. Black: Come in, please.
Anna: Excuse me, Mr. Black. I’m here to offer my most sincere apologies for the delay of the new product release meeting with our customers this morning, which was totally due to my being late.
Mr. Black:?Anna,?remember?the?first?credo?of?our?company?
Anna: Yes, Mr. Black. It’s “Being punctual whenever and wherever”.
Mr. Black: Well, Anna, you are such a brilliant staff that you always show high sense of responsibility for your work and achieve good performance, and that was why I appointed you to be the host of this important meeting. It should begin at 9 a.m. and you were supposed to have arrived ahead of time to make preparations.
Anna: I can’t say how sorry I am for the unexpected lateness. In fact, I set out for the meeting much earlier than usual and I was predicted to arrive half an hour in advance to?get?myself prepared,?but?I?was?held?up?by?a?traffic?jam?caused?by a?car?accident.?But anyway, it was all my fault.
Mr. Black: I understand completely, but as a professional, you should be well-prepared for any unexpected situation.
Anna: You are right, Mr. Black. I will be much more careful in planning in future. By the way, I’m thinking about visiting every customer with a carefully selected gift to express my most earnest apologies.
Mr. Black: Yes, that’s necessary. It’s of great importance to keep customers for a company. I’ll go with you on your visit.
Anna: Oh, it would be very nice if you could accompany me. Thank you so much.
Mr. Black: No big deal. After all, except the lateness at the beginning, you really gave an excellent presentation of our new products.
Anna: Thank you for your forgiveness. I promise I shall never be late again. Well, I’m going to prepare for the gifts and the visits. See you later!
Mr. Black: See you!
III. Useful expressions
1. Expressing an apology
I am really sorry that I forgot…
I am so sorry about the trouble I’ve caused.
I am very sorry, Betty. I didn’t mean to ….
I must apologize for…
I was wrong about…
I would like to apologize for…
It is / was my fault that…
Please forgive me for…
Sorry about…
2. Accepting an apology
Never mind.
No problem.
No worries.
That’s all right.
That’s ok. Please don’t mention it.
IV. Activities
1. Pair work
Work in pairs and discuss these questions.
1) Please describe your experience of apologizing to someone.
2) Please describe your experience of being apologized.
3) Is making an apology a sign of weakness?
4) Why is it hard to apologize sometimes? Please explain with some examples.
5) What do you usually do if your apology is not accepted?
2. Role play
Work with your partner to have different roles in the following scenarios.

Practice and share your dialogues with the class.
Scenario 1: Frank overslept and was late for an important meeting, then he went to meet his boss.
Scenario 2: Mary lost a book she had borrowed from the library. She went to the front desk of the library circulation department.
Scenario 3: Mathew missed his friend’s birthday party, due to his business meeting.
Scenario 4: Jack was sorry for breaking her mother’s vase, which was a party gift.
3. Discussion
Discuss the following quotes in groups of 3-5 students. Do you agree or disagree with them? Share your opinions with the class.
1) Say sorry is not a shame but a solution.
― Yassine Aumerally
2)?An?apology?is?the?super?glue?of?life.?It?can?repair?just?about?anything.
― Lynn Johnston
3) Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
― Unknown
4) Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
― Paul Boese

Module I Situational dialogues
Unit One How to…
Situation 1 How to apologize
Situation 2 How to decline a request
Situation 3 How to get the directions
Situation 4 How to give advice
Situation 5 How to pay a compliment
Situation 6 How to ask someone to repeat
Unit Two Campus life
Situation 1 At the library
Situation 2 Summer courses
Situation 3 Campus housing
Situation 4 Campus food service
Situation 5 Scholarships
Situation 6 Attendance policy
Unit Three Daily life
Situation 1 At the bank
Situation 2 Renting a car
Situation 3 Buying insurance
Situation 4 Hotel reservation
Situation 5 Seeing a doctor
Situation 6 Sending a gift
Module II Topical Discussions
Unit Four Communication
Topic 1 Communication skills
Topic 2 Better speaking
Topic 3 Body language
Topic 4 Presentation skills
Topic 5 First impression
Topic 6 Stop being shy
Unit Five Media
Topic 1 Smart phones
Topic 2 Movies
Topic 3 Video games
Topic 4 Reading
Topic 5 Power of music
Topic 6 Advertising
Unit Six Career
Topic 1 Job hunting
Topic 2 Job interview
Topic 3 Self-employment
Topic 4 Migrant workers
Topic 5 Gender gap in workplaces
Topic 6 Stress management
Unit Seven Life & success
Topic 1 Childhood dream
Topic 2 Acceptance of life
Topic 3 Money and happiness
Topic 4 Personal power
Topic 5 Secrets of success
Topic 6 Never give up
Unit Eight Leisure & entertainment
Topic 1 Ways to save on vacation
Topic 2 ?Benefits?of?travelling?
Topic 3 Online shopping
Topic 4 Extreme sports
Topic 5 Fitness technology
Topic 6 Role of the internet
Unit Nine Interpersonal relationships
Topic 1 ?Dealing?with?difficult?people
Topic 2 Family life
Topic 3 Older and wiser
Topic 4 Parental teaching
Topic 5 Friendship
Topic 6 Workplace relationships
Unit Ten Culture & customs
Topic 1 Gift giving taboos
Topic 2 Marriage customs
Topic 3 Table manners
Topic 4 Hand gestures
Topic 5 Dress code
Topic 6 World’s English mania
Module III Theatrical plays
Play 1 Cinderella
Play 2 The red riding hood
Play 3 Snow white and the seven dwarves
Play 4 Sir Gawain & the Lady Ragnell
Play 5 Titanic
Play 6 The maiden and the lost son
Module IV Poems
Appendix Ice-breakers