Where you are
It is Tuesday, 4:20 p.m., and you are at the front desk of a dental clinic in Cabecera. Somebody walks in with no appointment. That person has a hand on their face.
Escenario 2 · Rol A
el mostrador
You have no appointment to give
Esta ficha es solo tuya. La otra persona tiene objetivos y datos distintos. No intercambien pantallas hasta terminar.
Formal. You work behind a clinic counter: distance and calm, also when you say no. English has no formal you — the tone is in the words, I'm afraid…, Let me…. They start. About 9 turns each · 6 minutes.
Your screen only. Don't show it. Don't read from it.
Tu información
Lo que sabes y lo que necesitas
You want
You need three things before that person leaves: a date, a checked cell number, and something for tonight.
You can't
- You can't ask Dr. Restrepo anything before 5:00: you write to her, but you never call.
- You can't say a word about another patient's appointment: not the name, and not the reason.
- You can't let anyone leave without a written date and something for tonight. At closing the administrator reads your calendar.
Only you know
- At 5:20 today you are seeing a patient who missed twice. You can leave that door open, but never with a name or a reason.
- You never ask Dr. Restrepo for favors, but today you want to ask her: you think she will say yes. That is your key.
- Three chairs were empty this week, and the clinic counts them against you, like every patient who leaves for the corner clinic.
If you walk away with nothing
You get a fourth empty chair, and one more patient with the plan walks to the corner clinic. Both count against you.
Notas, no frases
Datos duros
| Now | Tuesday, September 8, 4:20 p.m. |
| The calendar | full today and tomorrow · first opening: Thursday 10, 7:00 a.m. — a first consultation, 30 minutes · forms (= papers you fill in) and an X-ray · ten minutes early |
| The other branch | Centro, Calle 36 · emergency check, no appointment, until 8:00 p.m. · 40,000 pesos, out of your pocket, not on the plan |
| To send someone there | a referral note with the exact problem · no note, no patient at Centro |
| Saturday 12 | 9:00 a.m. free · only for patients who came here before · yours to hold |
| The plan | full treatment paid · in this clinic only |
| Dr. Restrepo | out at 6:30 p.m. · in writing only, never a call · late on Monday · a broken tooth, never a no from her |
| Reminders | a text the day before · only with the right number · in the file now: 310 218 44 71, taken here by phone in March |
| For tonight | something cold on the face, 10 minutes · no chewing on that side (to chew = to break food with your teeth) · soft food · no hot drinks, no cold drinks |
| When it can't wait | pain moving to the ear or the eye → hospital emergency room, tonight |
Palabras para esta situación
Vocabulario
10 palabras| Word | What it is | Here |
|---|---|---|
| a first consultation | the first visit, when the clinic still knows nothing about the tooth | what Thursday at 7:00 is — the long one, with forms and an X-ray inside it |
| appointment | a day and a time for one patient only | the thing you don't have today |
| branch | one of the two places of the same clinic | the other one, Centro — where you send them |
| emergency check | a short visit for pain, with no appointment | the way out that costs 40,000 · not the hospital emergency room |
| opening | a free time in the calendar | one only: Thursday, 7:00 a.m. · never promise a second one |
| referral note | a paper for another clinic with the problem on it | your only key to Centro |
| the emergency room | the part of a hospital for people who can't wait | where they go tonight if the pain moves — the one place that is not this clinic |
| to be fully booked | no free times left at all | your bad news, in three words |
| to hold something for someone | to keep a time for one person, so nobody else takes it | Saturday at nine, while they decide |
| X-ray | a photo of the inside of a tooth | the reason for the ten minutes early |
Ayuda común
Caja de herramientas A2
All eight blocks — you are the only one behind a counter. 1 [grants], but not Good morning — at 4:20 it is Good afternoon. 2, 3. 4 [jargon]: referral note, emergency check, X-ray, yours not theirs. 5. 6 when they push about another patient. 7 [grants], 8.
Solo para tu rol
Expresiones útiles
9 opciones| Purpose | Form | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| asking, not guessing | What happened? · When did the pain start? | open question — without it, the fact that turns the scenario never comes out |
| checking a number | Can you say it one at a time? · Let me repeat it: … | ask for the number slowly · then read back what you wrote |
| danger | If the pain goes to…, go to the emergency room tonight. | one sign, and the one place tonight that is not this clinic |
| giving a time to arrive | Come… minutes early — there are… | the second number of that appointment, said as a time |
| keeping one door shut | That's another patient's time. I can't tell you about it. · Maybe I have something later today, but… | close one door without a reason · leave the other one open |
| naming the other branch | You should go to our… branch, on… — before… | one road, with its own name and its own time |
| saying what is not there | We're fully booked… · The first opening is… | the fact in front, not the no |
| the pain tonight | Put something cold on your face for… minutes. · Don't chew on… | concrete instructions instead of general advice |
| who pays, and where | The plan covers it only… · At… you pay… yourself. | what they lose by leaving, with the number on it |
Cuándo terminar
Closing criterion
You finish when the two of you say the plan out loud — and each of you says a different part of it. Then check: are the two versions the same?
- The patient says the day, the time and the branch, and the time to arrive. The front desk checks it on the screen.
- The front desk says the price, and who pays it (or: nothing, covered). The patient says the price back.
- The patient says the cell number from memory, one digit at a time. The front desk reads it back from what they wrote down.
- The patient says what they will do about the pain tonight. The front desk says the sign that means hospital tonight, and where to go.
If one of the four is missing, it is not finished. And if one of you said all four, it is not finished either.
Success: They said the day, time and branch back to you, and you checked them on screen · the treatment date here, if you sent them elsewhere · you said the price, and who pays it · you took the cell number one digit at a time and read it back · they said what they will do tonight, in their words · one open question before you proposed anything · the sign for the hospital · nothing said about another patient.
Después de hablar
Conversen sobre cómo les fue
- Hubo un momento en que la conversación cambió de prioridad. ¿Cuál fue la pregunta que lo provocó? ¿Era abierta o era de sí o no?
- El jueves a las 7:00 no era un capricho: era un imposible con dos números detrás. ¿Los dos entendieron cuáles eran esos dos números? Díganlos ahora.
- El celular es el único dato del cierre que se puede decir mal sin que nadie se entere. El paciente lo dice de cabeza, dígito a dígito; el mostrador lo lee de lo que anotó. Comprueben si coincide, y si no, quién de los dos lo tenía mal.
Para repasar
Gramática que sostiene este escenario
- Should y Shouldn't en Inglés A2a2
Ancla el acto recomendar en las dos direcciones: "What should I do tonight?" desde el paciente y "You should go to our Centro branch" desde el mostrador.
- El Primer Condicional en Inglés A2a2
El cuarto punto del cierre es un condicional: "If the pain goes to your ear, go to the emergency room tonight".
- Preguntas y Negativos en Past Simple A2a2
La pregunta abierta que saca el dato pivote se construye con did: "When did the pain start?". "What happened?" convive con ella como bloque léxico, porque la pregunta de sujeto sin auxiliar no la enseña ningún tema del nivel.
- Past Simple Verbos Irregulares en Inglés A2a2
El dato que da vuelta al escenario es un pasado irregular afirmativo, no una pregunta: "A piece of my tooth broke on Sunday", "I left work at three thirty".
- Have to y Must en Inglés A2a2
La hora de llegada del jueves se pregunta y se contesta con have to: "What time do I have to be there?", y el cierre exige decirla en voz alta.
- El Futuro con Will en Inglés A2a2
El cuarto punto del cierre obliga al paciente a decir qué hará esta noche, y el criterio de éxito lo pide con esas palabras: "Tonight I will put something cold on my face", "I will come back at six fifteen".
- Cuantificadores en Inglés A2a2
Dosis, dinero y tiempo se dicen en cantidades: "two painkillers a day", "ten minutes early", "I have seventy thousand". Y el any de "Is there any other day?".
- Comparativos en Inglés A2a2
El paciente describe cómo está comparando, que es como se describe un dolor: "it's worse than yesterday", "it hurts more when I drink something cold".
- Conectores en Inglés A2: because, so, although, however, buta2
Los dos movimientos que sostienen el escenario son un because y un but, y los dos están en la tabla propia de cada rol: "I can't come at seven, because I open the warehouse", "Maybe I have something later today, but I can't promise".
- El imperativo en inglés A1a1
Todo lo que hay que hacer esta noche se dice en imperativo, y también la reparación del mostrador: "Put something cold on your face", "Don't chew on that side", "Let me repeat it".
- Can para habilidad en inglés A1a1
Es el verbo del escenario entero, en los dos lados del mostrador: "Can you say it one at a time?", "Can I come back at six?", "I can wait here", "I can't come at seven".
- Present simple interrogativo en inglés A1a1
Las dos preguntas sin las que el paciente se va sin saber lo que necesita son de presente con do/does: "Does my plan cover it here?", "What days do you have after eight thirty?".
- Present simple negativo en inglés A1a1
El paciente se presenta y pone su tiempo sobre la mesa en negativo: "I don't have an appointment", "I don't work on Saturdays".
- El genitivo sajón en inglés A1a1
Dos movimientos del escenario son genitivos: la reparación del contacto, "That's my sister's number", y la puerta que el mostrador cierra sin dar razones, "That's another patient's time".
- There is / There are en inglés A1a1
Con there empieza la negociación por los dos lados: "Is there any other day?" desde el paciente y "there are forms and an X-ray" desde el mostrador.
- Adverbios de frecuencia en inglés A1a1
Lo que nunca pasa es la mitad de los datos ocultos y se dice en presente simple con never: "The clinic never texts me", "I never ask her for favors", "in writing only, never a call".
- Decir la hora en inglés A1a1
El escenario entero son horas —4:20, 4:45, 6:15, 7:00, 8:30— y el cierre exige la de la cita y la de llegada.
¿Abriste la ficha equivocada? Cambia al rol B sin leer más.
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