In this business English vocabulary lesson, we’ll look at some key macroeconomic terms, such GDP and GNP. We’ll explore the natural business cycle, which includes periods of expansion, recession and sometimes even depression. We’ll also look at the idea of trade balance between countries, which can be described as either a trade surplus or a trade deficit.
In this Business English Pod lesson, we continue our look at vocabulary and collocations for discussing a budget.
A budget is a plan for spending money. And you’ll often hear the word “budget” used as a noun. But “budget” is also a verb. We can budget carefully or poorly. We can budget not only money but also time. And how we budget can help or harm our business. If we spend too much money, we may decrease profits. But if we don’t spend enough money, the business may not grow or thrive. It’s all about balance.
A typical budget includes a long list of items that we need to spend money on. And in a budget meeting, you’ll hear people talk, or argue, about where to spend more and where to spend less. So, how do we do this? Well, in today’s dialog, we’ll learn some of the common expressions we use when we discuss budgets.
Before we listen, let’s talk a little about English collocations. A collocation is a group of words that native speakers often use together. A correct collocation sounds natural, while an incorrect collocation sounds unnatural. For example, in English we say “budget cuts” to talk about lower spending. But we can’t say “budget slices” or “budget chops,” even though “slice” and “chop” mean “cut.” Those simply aren’t natural expressions.
You’ll hear many useful collocations in today’s dialog. As you listen, try to pick out these natural combinations of words. Then we’ll explain what they mean and how to use them in the debrief.
Today we’ll rejoin Kate, Harry, and Linda as they discuss the budget for their IT department. Kate and Harry are managers, and Linda is their supervisor. Last time, they talked about the past year’s budget. Today, you’ll hear them making a plan for the upcoming year.
Listening Questions
1. What does Kate say the finance department wants to focus on?
2. What is Harry’s concern about replacing the workstations?
3. What does Kate think can be changed to save money?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on financial English vocabulary and discussing a budget.
Budgets aren’t just for accountants. Almost everyone in business has to talk about money and how to spend it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a manager with a million dollar budget or a field tech just tracking your expenses. You’ll be talking about money and budgets.
In fact, talk about budgets is everywhere. Turn on the news and it’s not hard to hear people discussing budget “cuts” or budget “reductions.” You can hear about governments with budget “deficits” and budget “surpluses.” Everyone’s worried about money, and in business, earning more often means spending less. These are the topics you’ll hear about today.
Before we listen, let’s talk a little about collocations. A collocation is a group of words that native speakers often use together. A correct collocation sounds natural, while an incorrect collocation sounds unnatural. For example, in English we say “budget cuts” to talk about lower spending. But we can’t say “budget slices” or “budget chops,” even though “slice” and “chop” mean “cut.” Those simply aren’t natural expressions.
You’ll hear many useful collocations in today’s dialog. As you listen, try to pick out these natural combinations of words. Then we’ll explain what they mean and how to use them in the debrief.
You’re going to hear a conversation between two managers in the IT department of a large company and their boss. Kate and Harry are the managers, and Linda is the boss. They’re discussing the past year’s budget and how they spent their department’s money.
Listening Questions
1. What does Linda want to examine first?
2. What does Harry say about the large one-time cost the department had?
3. According to Linda, what is finance concerned about?
In this Business English News lesson, we take a look at the economic prospects for the USA and China.
The relationship between the world’s two biggest economies is sure to undergo some major changes in the months ahead. With Obama set to remain in the White House for 4 more years, and Xi Jinping moving in to Zhongnanhai for the next decade, all eyes will be on how the new faces work together amid these tough economic times.
After a long wait, and even more hype, Facebook joined NASDAQ on May 18th; although it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Zuckerberg and friends. After opening 30 minutes late, and climbing briefly from the opening price of $38 a share; reality set in.
