Confirming an appointment

An appointment is a time you have arranged to meet someone for a service, such as a bicycle repair. Making an appointment creates the booking. Confirming it means checking the details of a booking you already have. Listen for the day, the time and anything you need to do before the visit. If a detail changes, check the new arrangement before ending the call.

First, listen for why the person is calling: to confirm, change or cancel an appointment. You do not have to write every detail on the first listen. Replay the recording to check the day, times and preparation. The written dialogue below gives a separate worked example of a confirmation call. Its wording is not a transcript of the recording.

In Live up to und Swapping a volunteer shift kannst du das weiterüben.

A correction can mention two days, so the last day you hear is not always the right one. In 'Wednesday, not Monday', not cancels Monday. In 'not Monday but Wednesday', not still cancels Monday, and but introduces Wednesday. Both sentences confirm Wednesday. Listen to the correction words as well as the day names.

A quarter is fifteen minutes, and past means after the hour. Quarter past two is therefore 2:15. In the written dialogue, the receptionist says in the afternoon, so that appointment is at 2:15 p.m. A time such as quarter past two alone does not tell you morning or afternoon. Check the words in the actual recording, and ask if the time is unclear.

The appointment time and arrival time can be different. Beforehand means earlier than the event. In the written example, the appointment starts at 2:15 p.m., but you are asked to arrive five minutes beforehand. Subtract five minutes: arrive at 2:10 p.m. The appointment has not moved to 2:10; you are arriving early so staff have time to prepare.

Check four things in this written example: the day, appointment time, arrival time and item to bring. Bring means to take or carry something with you to the appointment. Here, the example asks for a bike lock key. Write that separately from the times so you remember it when you leave.

Repeat the important details to check that you understood. Use on with a weekday and at with a clock time: 'So my appointment is on Wednesday at two fifteen?' Then listen for the other person's reply. If you missed something, ask about that detail: 'Could you repeat the arrival time, please?' Repeating the question is useful; hearing the confirmation completes the check.

In Practice, replay the recordings and write the words you hear. Use the hints if you need them. In Test, try the recordings without hints.

To write your own confirmation, choose a writing task and use its checklist. Include the day, appointment time, arrival time and item to bring.

Try this new situation: Downtown Audio moves a speaker repair to Thursday, not Tuesday, at quarter past four in the afternoon. Arrival is ten minutes beforehand, and you need your audio connecting cable. The example reply below combines those four details.