Lost backpack role-play: what to do when a word stops you
You are preparing for the school exam in speaking (instellingstoets Gespreksvaardigheid). The task is a two-minute role-play with your teacher, who plays a member of staff at the lost property office of a theme park.
Your role card says: you lost your backpack between the big roller coaster and the park exit at about 15:00. Inside are your phone, your house key, a blue hoodie with a band logo on it, and your asthma inhaler. You must catch a train at 17:10. The lost property office closes at 16:30 and is near the main entrance.
The staff member asks questions, offers options, and at one point says: 'Can you give me some distinguishing marks?' You do not know the word 'distinguishing'. Later the staff member says the bag has not been handed in yet and offers to phone you as soon as it arrives - but your phone is in the bag.
Your teacher marks you on: taking initiative, reacting to what you hear, asking questions, and keeping the conversation going.
1. The staff member says 'distinguishing marks'. What do you say, and what must you not do?
Read the worked answer
Say something that repairs the conversation, in English. For example: 'Sorry, I don't understand that word. Could you explain what you mean?' or, better because it also shows you are thinking: 'Do you mean something special about the bag, like a sticker or a name?' The second version does two jobs at once - it asks for help and it offers an answer.
Then answer the real question: a blue hoodie with a band logo inside, a keyring on the zip, a name written on the inside label. Concrete detail is what the staff member needs.
What not to do:
- Do not freeze or go silent; silence scores nothing on any of the four criteria.
- Do not nod and say 'yes' to a question you have not understood - you will then be asked to describe marks you never mentioned.
- Do not switch to Dutch. The examiner is marking your English, and a repair question in English is worth marks, not a penalty.
- Do not apologise for a long time. One short 'sorry' plus a question is enough; then continue.
2. The office offers to phone you when the bag arrives, but your phone is inside the bag and your train leaves at 17:10. What do you say?
Read the worked answer
Explain the conflict, then solve it - in that order. For example: 'That's a problem, because my phone is in the bag. I have to catch a train at ten past five. Could you call my mum instead? Her number is on this paper. Or can I come back tomorrow morning?'
Then add the one detail that changes the urgency: 'My inhaler is in the bag, so I really need it today.' That is not complaining; it is information the staff member can act on, and it may move the bag up the queue.
Why this is a strong answer: it uses three of the marked skills at once. It reacts to what was said ('that's a problem, because…'), it takes initiative by offering two alternatives rather than waiting to be rescued, and it asks a question ('could you call my mum?'). It also keeps the conversation realistic: a lost property office can only help if it knows how to reach you and how urgent the item is.
The weak version is 'Okay, thank you' - polite, but it ends the role-play with the problem unsolved.
3. The staff member keeps giving short answers: 'No.' 'Not yet.' 'Maybe.' Name three things you can do to keep the role-play going.
Read the worked answer
1. Ask a question that cannot be answered with one word. 'Not yet' can be followed with 'When was the last time someone handed something in?' or 'Which entrance would it be brought to?' Open questions give the other person something to say, and they show the examiner that you can drive a conversation, not just survive it.
2. React before you ask the next question. 'Oh, that's a pity.' 'Right, I understand.' 'That's good news.' A short reaction proves you have listened to the answer; without it, a string of questions sounds like a questionnaire and scores low on reacting.
3. Take the initiative when the conversation stalls. Open the role-play yourself ('I'd like to report a lost bag'), and when it slows, summarise and push forward: 'So you'll call my mum if it comes in today. What time do you close?' Summarising also proves you understood everything that was said.
What not to do: do not fill silences with Dutch, and do not repeat the same question in the same words. Two seconds of thinking, followed by a new question, is better than a stream of empty talk.