Business English Pod (9to5English) / Intermediate English / Page 3

BEP 166 – English for Administrative Assistants (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English /

This is the second in a two-part Business English Pod series on administrative assistants, their jobs, and related vocabulary and collocations.

Collocations are a challenge for anyone learning English. There aren’t any specific rules to follow. You just have to listen for what sounds right. Still, they’re essential for English communication and important to keep in mind when you learn new vocabulary – don’t just think about the new word, think about what other words it might be used with. We’ll point out some useful collocations related to daily office work as we go through this lesson.

Administrative assistants are important to any business organization. For example, they make sure data is handled responsibly and records are maintained properly. It might seem like they work in the background, but their jobs are critical to the smooth running of a company.

In the last episode we met Christina, the Head Administrative Assistant in the Human Resources department at LaFarge Automotive. In an interview, Christina told us about some of her usual job duties. Today, she’ll talk about why her work is so important to the company.

Listening Questions

1. What is one way Christina manages information for her company?
2. What is one way she mobilizes resources?
3. Does Christina like her job? Why or why not?

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BEP 165 – English for Administrative Assistants (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English /

This is the first in a two-part Business English Pod series on the work of administrative assistants. We’ll be looking at vocabulary and collocations related to office duties and daily routines.

Before we start, let’s talk a bit about English collocations. Collocations are groups of words that are commonly used together. Native speakers are so used to using them, they know what sounds “right” and what sounds “wrong.” For example, in English the phrase “go online” is a natural way to refer to using the internet. But it wouldn’t be natural to say something like “proceed online” or “travel online”, even though “proceed” and “travel” are other ways to express “go.” You’ll hear lots of collocations related to office life in today’s dialog. Listen out for them and we’ll explain what they mean and how to use them in the debrief.

Now, on to the role of an administrative assistant. The job title of “administrative assistant”, or “admin assistant” for short, can cover quite a broad range of responsibilities. Admin assistants typically spend a lot of time handling data – whether it’s timesheets recording the working hours of other employees, or rosters used for scheduling meeting rooms. Much of what they do involves making sure that other employees are working as efficiently as possible.

In this episode we’ll talk with Christina, who works as an admin assistant in the human resources department of an auto parts manufacturer. Christina’s going to tell us about some of the responsibilities of her position.

Listening Questions

1. What is Christina’s first task every day?
2. How many employees are on the sales team?
3. When is the deadline for personal leave day requests?

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BEP 162 – Dealing with Customers on the Phone 2

Business English, Customer Service, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

This Business English Pod lesson is the second of a two-part series on telephone skills and dealing with customers on the phone.

When you’re helping a caller on the phone, unexpected things can happen. You might need to get some additional information from another source or have the caller to speak to someone else. Or, there may be some interference with the telephone connection that makes it hard to hear someone. It’s good to be prepared so that you can handle the call efficiently, without irritating the customer.

In this lesson, we’ll look at some of these unexpected situations. We’ll discuss ways to tell a caller what’s happening during the call and how to politely question and clarify if you don’t hear or understand something. We’ll cover language for signaling that a call is about to end, and how to politely finish the call.

In the last episode, we met Leroy and Paul. Leroy is a customer care agent for a credit card company. Paul is a customer whose card is about to expire. He hasn’t received a replacement card yet and Leroy is helping him.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Leroy need a minute to pull up Paul’s records?
2. What is Paul’s correct street address?
3. Why didn’t Paul receive his replacement card?

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BEP 161 – Dealing with Customers on the Phone 1

Business English, Customer Service, Intermediate English, Telephone English /

This is the first in a two-part Business English lesson on dealing with telephone inquiries.

It’s natural to feel a little nervous when answering questions on the phone, especially when you’re using a different language. You can’t see the other person, so you can’t interpret facial expressions and body language. You also need to listen more carefully, so you can help the caller quickly and efficiently.

Today, we’ll look at some common strategies that can make handling telephone inquiries a little easier. We’ll start with ways to answer the phone and identify yourself. We’ll also explain language you can use to verify a caller’s name, confirm something a caller says, and clarify the inquiry by restating it.

Now, let’s listen to a conversation between Leroy, a customer service rep at a credit card company, and Paul, a customer. Paul has some concerns about his account and Leroy is helping him.

Listening Questions

1. What is Paul’s main concern?
2. How is Paul’s last name spelled?
3. What are the last 3 digits, or numbers, of Paul’s bank ID number?

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BEP 160 – Talking about your Company

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Interview English /

BEP 160 - Describing your Company

This is the second of a two-part Business English Pod series on talking about your job and company.

What can you say about your company? How would you describe it? There are a number of things to consider. There’s the company size, its employees, and its branches. But there’s also company history, culture, reputation, and future plans.

In today’s lesson, we’ll cover language for talking about your company. We’ll start with giving the basic facts and then move on to ways to describe company culture and structure, reputation, and the organization’s future plans and goals.

We’ll listen to Stella, an IT manager, and Ronda, a recruiter who is helping Stella find a new job. In the last episode, Stella told Ronda about her job and her concerns about the company’s old equipment and outdated technology. Today, she’ll tell Ronda more about the company itself.

Listening Questions

1. How many people work at Stella’s company?
2. What does Stella’s company sell?
3. What are two ways the company contributed to the local community?

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