Business English Pod (9to5English) / Business Idioms / Page 4

BEP 164 R – English Idioms: Football Idioms (Part 2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

BEP 164 - English Idioms from Football (2)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English idioms that come from football, or soccer.

Since sports and business are so similar, it’s easy to see how there could be so many related English idioms. Companies are like teams; employees are like players. Ideas are like balls that get kicked around. Success is like scoring a goal. And there’s always plenty of competition.

In the previous lesson, Marilyn and Karl, two colleagues at a publishing firm, discussed Karl’s interest in a job at the company’s Sydney branch. Karl isn’t completely sure it’s the right move for him and has asked Marilyn for her opinion. Today, we’ll hear more of their conversation, as Karl explains his hesitation about applying.

Listening Questions

1. How does Karl’s wife feel about moving to Sydney?
2. Why does Karl feel like he’s cheating on his own company?
3. What advice does Marilyn give at the end of the conversation?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 163 R – English Idioms: Football Idioms (Part 1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

BEP 163 - English Idioms: Football Idioms (1)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms related to football.

Have you ever stopped to think about how many similarities there are between business and sports? Groups of employees work together as teams. Teams, or companies, compete against each other, trying to win recognition, profits, or new clients. Given these similarities, it’s not surprising that language would be similar when we talk about business and sports. And a number of different sports have contributed idioms to the English language.

Today, our focus will be on English football idioms. As you listen to the dialog, you might hear some phrases that are new to you. Thinking about the relationship between business and sports may help you guess their meaning. And off course, we’ll go over them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Karl and Marilyn, two friends who work at a publishing company. Karl is thinking about applying for a job at the company’s Sydney office. He has some doubts though, so he asks Marilyn what she thinks.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Karl want to leave his current job?
2. What are two points Marilyn mentions about the Sydney branch?
3. What has Karl heard about the Sydney branch?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 320 – English Idioms for Expressing Degrees of Certainty (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

BEP 320 - Business English Idioms for Expressing Degrees of Certainty (2)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for expressing degrees of certainty.

There’s an old saying in English that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The idea behind that expression is that we can’t really be sure of anything. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about what might happen or will probably happen or what is unlikely to happen.

This kind of discussion is all about degrees of certainty. In other words: how sure you are about something. It’s important to know, or at least to guess, how certain something is. How else can you plan? How else can you decide the right course of action? And just like other common topics of discussion, English has many idioms for expressing certainty. In today’s lesson, we’re going to look at some of these expressions.

We’ll hear a conversation between Maria, Tom, and Gavin, who work for a company that makes mobile apps for children. The three colleagues are talking about several new ideas being considered in the company. More specifically, they’re discussing how certain they are about the potential for each app.

Listening Questions

1. What does Maria think about the app called Waffle Bunnies?
2. Which app does Maria think they can successfully market and sell?
3. What expression does Tom use to show how certain he is that the music-making app will be a success?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 319 – English Idioms for Expressing Degrees of Certainty (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms /

BEP 319 - Business English Idioms for Expressing Degrees of Certainty (1)

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms for expressing degrees of certainty.

There’s an old saying in English that “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The idea behind that expression is that we can’t really be sure of anything. Of course, that doesn’t stop us from talking about what might happen or will probably happen or what is unlikely to happen.

This kind of discussion is all about degrees of certainty. In other words: how sure you are about something. It’s important to know, or at least to guess, how certain something is. How else can you plan? How else can you decide the right course of action? And just like other common topics of discussion, English has many idioms for expressing certainty. In today’s lesson, we’re going to look at some of these expressions.

We’ll hear a conversation between Maria, Tom, and Gavin, who work for a company that makes mobile apps for children. The three colleagues are talking about several new ideas being considered in the company. More specifically, they’re discussing how certain they are about the potential for each app.

Listening Questions

1. What does Maria think about the app called Waffle Bunnies?
2. Which app does Maria think they can successfully market and sell?
3. What expression does Tom use to show how certain he is that the music-making app will be a success?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]

BEP 310 – English Idioms for Describing Innovation (Part 2)

Business English, Business Idioms /

BEP 310 English Idioms for Describing Innovation and Ideas 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English idioms we use to describe innovation.

The world is changing at a faster rate than at any other time in history. The way we work and the tools we use today were hardly imaginable 25 years ago. At that time, the average worker didn’t even use a laptop, let alone a smartphone. And somehow most people lived without email.

But now, with new ways of working, communicating, planning, and selling, this truly is the age of innovation. And “innovation” is a very common topic of discussion at all levels of an organization. In English, we have many idioms to describe innovation, and in this lesson we’ll learn some of these expressions.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Kristina, Kevin, and Fran, three colleagues at a telecommunications company. They have been discussing recent and upcoming innovations in their company. In their discussion, they use lots of different idioms. As you listen, see if you can pick out these idioms and we’ll talk about them later in the debrief.

Listening Questions

1. What does Kristina say about the work being done in the Analytics division?
2. According to Kevin, what was the purpose of the recent meeting about the Analytics division?
3. What does Fran think about the idea of a company incubator?

[tp no_translate=”y”]Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3[/tp]