The travel document is scanned at the first-line desk.
Unit 06
Process language
Procedures, processes, and border checks
Explain procedures with the passive voice, sequence steps clearly, and choose the right information system for the task.
Use of EnglishListeningOperational vocabulary
Frontex focus
Border checks, SIS, and VIS
01
Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit
- Use passive structures for formal processes.
- Sequence a procedure without missing safeguards.
- Distinguish alert checks from visa verification.
02
Process reading
A hit is a starting point
During a first-line check, a document query returns a possible SIS hit. The traveller is referred to the second-line area, where the identity details are compared carefully. The duty supervisor is informed, and the specific action linked to the alert is checked.
The hit is not treated as a final decision. It is verified through the required procedure. If the issue concerns visa information rather than an alert, the authorised officer consults VIS for the relevant application data.
Read further: Why a completed check can still leave an open case
First, identify the writer’s main purpose. Then look for evidence, qualifications, and links between paragraphs.
During a routine quality review, a supervisor noticed that several case entries were marked complete even though the final decision had not been recorded. The identity checks themselves had been carried out correctly. The problem arose later, when staff used the end of one stage as if it were the end of the whole process. Incoming colleagues then had to search messages or telephone the previous shift to discover whether an authorised decision existed and whether any follow-up remained outstanding.
The review team introduced a clearer record with separate fields for the check, verification, decision and follow-up. A possible match would be recorded as provisional until it had been verified through the relevant procedure. Staff were reminded that a similar name in another case could not establish the outcome of the current one. The record had to show the evidence and decision applicable to that case, while access to personal information remained limited to the people who needed it for their work.
Some colleagues worried that the extra fields would increase administrative work. The supervisor agreed that unnecessary duplication should be avoided and asked them to identify information already held in the authorised system. The aim was a traceable sequence, not several copies of the same data. Where a decision was still missing at handover, the entry would remain pending, with an owner and a time for the next update. This made the unfinished stage visible instead of hiding it behind an apparently complete label.
A follow-up sample showed that fewer entries required clarification calls. Nevertheless, the supervisor checked the content as well as the labels: a completed box could still contain a vague statement. Staff discussed examples in which a brief but specific note explained exactly what had been verified and by whom. The revised workflow therefore combined structured fields with professional judgement. Its value depended on reliable information being entered, rather than on the form itself creating certainty where the evidence or an authorised decision was still absent.
03
Language focus
The passive for procedures
Use be plus the past participle when the process or result is more important than the actor. Name the actor with by only when useful.
The alert was verified by the duty supervisor.
Every hit must be checked before action is taken.
Watch this
A passive sentence still needs a complete verb: The file was reviewed, not The file reviewed.
Use the language
Complete the second sentence.
Keep the original meaning. Use each keyword unchanged. Type only the missing words in the blue gap.
- 1Read the original
- 2Fill the blue gap
- 3Check your answer
How to answer · worked example
Original
This is Jo’s laptop.
Use BELONGS
This laptop belongs to Jo.
Only belongs to goes in the gap. The other words are already there.
3 short exercises · not saved · separate from your drill score.
01 of 03Use SCANNED
Original sentence
Staff scan the document at the desk.
Same meaning
The document
at the desk.
or press Enter
Your completed sentence
Show hint
Present passive: is/are + past participle.
Compare with a model answer
Words for the gap is scanned
The document is scanned at the desk.
Is scanned focuses on the document and its routine processing.
02 of 03Use BEEN
Original sentence
The supervisor had checked the entry before handover.
Same meaning
The entry had
by the supervisor before handover.
or press Enter
Your completed sentence
Show hint
Past perfect passive: had been + past participle.
Compare with a model answer
Words for the gap been checked
The entry had been checked by the supervisor before handover.
Been checked completes the passive and preserves the earlier past action.
03 of 03Use HAVE
Original sentence
According to the report, someone checked the entry yesterday.
Same meaning
Grammar reminder: Reporting passive and earlier events
Use is said/reported/believed + to-infinitive to attribute a claim. Use to have + past participle when the reported event happened earlier. The structure reports a claim; it does not verify it.
Example: The entry is reported to have been checked yesterday.
The entry is reported to
yesterday.
or press Enter
Your completed sentence
Show hint
The reported event is earlier, and the entry receives the action.
Compare with a model answer
Words for the gap have been checked
The entry is reported to have been checked yesterday.
To have been checked combines the perfect infinitive with a passive. Is reported attributes the claim without treating it as independently verified.
The checker matches model answers. An unmatched answer may still be valid; compare the completed sentences and explanation.
04
Core lexicon
Professional and operational vocabulary
the initial check in the normal passenger flow
The discrepancy was noticed during the first-line check.an additional check away from the primary flow
The traveller was referred for a second-line check.a possible match returned by an alert system
An alert hit must be verified before further action.a structured request for information from a database
The officer ran a new query using the corrected document number.the quality of being genuine rather than forged
The expert examined the document’s authenticity.From EPSOHQ Frontex database
Acronym focus
Use for alerts on persons and objects.
Use for visa application and verification information.
05
Listening workshop
Prepare. Listen. Respond.
Before you listen
Listen for which stage is already complete and what must happen before the entry can close.
- provisional
- not yet confirmed and still subject to checking
- recorded outcome
- the documented result or decision for a specific case
- quality review
- a check of whether work meets the required standard
Operational briefing
Listen once for the overall message. Replay for details, then explain the speaker’s reasoning. Pause, seek, or slow the recording whenever useful.
Unlimited replays · 01:24
Read transcript
Before closing the entry, check that the supervisor’s decision has been added. The identity check is already complete. If the decision is still missing, leave the entry pending and notify the next shift. Do not copy a decision from a similar case. This case needs its own recorded outcome.
This reminder follows a quality review of several entries. The reviewers found that a completed identity check was sometimes mistaken for a completed case. Those are different stages. A reliable record should make clear which steps have been carried out, which decision is still required, and who is responsible for taking it. Similar facts in two cases do not remove the need to consider each case separately.
The revised screen includes a field for the source of a decision. Use that field to identify the recorded instruction rather than repeating a conclusion from memory. If you notice that information in two records conflicts, preserve the original information and ask the supervisor to resolve the discrepancy. Do not quietly replace one version with the other. The next shift should receive a short explanation of the unresolved point and the action already taken. Keeping an entry pending may look less tidy than closing it, but an accurate statement of uncertainty is more useful than an apparently complete record that conceals a missing decision.
Original EPSOHQ text. Synthetic narration with macOS Daniel or Samantha voice.
Check your understanding
Drill 5 · Listening for sequence Drill 14 · Listening comprehension Drill 15 · Listening comprehension Drill 16 · Listening inference Drill 17 · Listening inference
Use what you heard
Explain five stages of a familiar procedure, using three complete passive forms.
06
Production task
Explain a five-step process
Explain what happens after a possible alert hit. Use at least three passive forms.
- Begin with First and end with Finally.
- Include verification before action.
- Name the supervisor only where relevant.
About 15 minutes · 100–160 words
Open evaluated task
Try your own response first. Then compare how the example covers the task, connects ideas, and uses the target language.
Study an example response
Illustrative response, not an assessed script
First, the possible match is recorded as provisional, and the relevant case reference is checked against the authorised source. Next, the identity details are verified through the applicable procedure; a similar name alone is not treated as a confirmed match. Then, any inconsistency is referred to the duty supervisor, who decides whether further clarification is required within the relevant authority. After that, the verified information and the authorised decision are added to the case record, with their sources clearly identified. If the decision is still missing, the entry is left pending and an owner is assigned for follow-up. Finally, the next shift is informed of the current status, so that an unfinished stage is not presented as a completed case.
Notice the choices
- First, Next, Then, After that and Finally organise five stages.
- Is recorded, are verified and are added supply complete passive forms.
- Verification precedes the recorded decision, and the supervisor appears where a decision needs escalation.
Adapt these patterns to your own situation. For speaking, practise aloud and check clarity and pace; a written example cannot demonstrate pronunciation or spontaneous fluency.