Course: How to... Speak English / Unit 1 / Session 44 / Activity 1

William

Hello and welcome to How To, the programme from BBC Learning English that gives you the language tools to do a good job, whatever the situation.

My name's William Kremer. It's often said that a good friend is someone who is there for the good times and for the bad times. But if your friend has some very bad news, what's the best way for you to react? Let's imagine that his or her marriage breaks down, or maybe a relative dies. What would you say?

Well, this is a very difficult question, and of course the difficulty isn't just connected with language. Even if you're fluent in English, it's often very difficult to know what to say and how to react.

In this programme, I'll be talking to a colleague from BBC Learning English about how she reacted to her friend's bad news.

So, I'm joined in the studio now by my colleague, Nuala O'Sullivan. And err, Nuala, you once had to help a friend through a difficult time, didn't you?

Nuala

William

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Nuala