Negotiating Reduced Part-Time Hours During Exam Prep

Dialogue script

Each entry shows the English sentence first, with the translation on the line below it. To practise speaking, cover the translation and repeat after the audio.

1. Emma 0:00

   Exam season starts soon, and I need fewer part-time work hours.

   Line 1
2. Tom 0:04

   How many hours can you keep without losing key income?

   Line 2
3. Emma 0:08

   I can drop from twenty to twelve weekly for one month.

   Line 3
4. Tom 0:12

   That's reasonable if you offer schedule predictability to your manager.

   Line 4
5. Emma 0:16

   I'm afraid they'll replace me if I reduce availability now.

   Line 5
6. Tom 0:20

   Frame it as temporary performance protection, not disengagement.

   Line 6
7. Emma 0:24

   I'll propose fixed weekend shifts and one weekday evening only.

   Line 7
8. Tom 0:29

   Offer to train a backup for peak weekday tasks.

   Line 8
9. Emma 0:32

   I'll discuss this with manager by Wednesday afternoon.

   Line 9
10. Tom 0:36

    Bring your exam calendar so request looks concrete and planned.

    Line 10
11. Emma 0:40

    If they reject, I'll ask for shorter shifts instead of fewer days.

    Line 11
12. Tom 0:45

    Good fallback. Flexible negotiation usually gets partial wins.

    Line 12

Native audio, line-by-line recording and pronunciation scoring for this dialogue are in the EngTalk app.

Key vocabulary

Content words from this dialogue, ranked by the CEFR level at which they appear across the whole 500-dialogue library. Function words and proper nouns are excluded.

• losing /ˈluzɪŋ/ verb

  failing to keep, find, or win something

• income /ˈɪnˌkʌm/ noun

  money earned from work or investments

• reasonable /ˈrizənəbəl/ adjective

  fair, sensible, or not excessive

• predictability /prɪˌdɪktəˈbɪləti/ noun

  the quality of being easy to predict

• frame /freɪm/ noun

  a structure that surrounds or supports something

• temporary /ˈtɛmpəˌrɛri/ adjective

  lasting for only a limited time

• performance /pɚˈfɔrməns/ noun

  how well something or someone works or acts

• concrete /ˈkɑnkrit/ adjective

  existing in a material or physical form; specific and definite

• reject /rɪˈdʒɛkt/ verb

  to refuse to accept

• shorter /ˈʃɔrtər/ adjective

  less long, tall, or lasting

• instead /ɪnˈstɛd/ adverb

  as an alternative

• negotiation /nəˌɡoʊʃiˈeɪʃən/ noun

  discussion aimed at reaching an agreement

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