ESL Podcast | BEP Dev (9to5English)

BEP 164 – Football and Soccer Idioms (Part 2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast / June 6, 2010

This is the second in a two-part Business English Pod lesson on football and soccer idioms.

The World Cup kicks off in just a few days. That gives us some time to look at some more idioms related to football.

Since sports and business are so similar, it’s easy to see how there could be so many related 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 last lesson, Marilyn and Karl, two colleagues at a publishing firm, discussed Karl’s interest in a manager’s job at the firm’s Sydney branch. Karl isn’t completely sure it’s the right move for him and has asked for Marilyn’s feedback. 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 their conversation?

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BEP 163 – Football and Soccer Idioms (Part 1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast / May 30, 2010

This Business English Pod lesson is the first in a two-part series on idioms that come from football, or soccer.

It’s almost time for the World Cup! And as we wait for the games to kick off, here’s a question for you: 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 football idioms. As you listen to the dialog, you might hear some phrases that are new to you. Remembering the relationship between business and sports may help you out. Of course, we’ll go over all of them in the debrief and you’ll have a chance to practice them, too.

We’ll be listening to Karl and Marilyn, two friends that work at a publishing firm. Karl is thinking about applying for a manager’s job at the company’s Sydney location. He’s not sure about it, though, so he asks Marilyn what she thinks.

Listening Questions

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

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BEP 160 – Talking about your Company

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Interview English / May 9, 2010

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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BEP 159 – Talking about your Job

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Interview English / May 2, 2010

This is the first in a two-part Business English lesson on talking about your job and company.

The way you talk about your job gives clues to what you’re like as an employee or colleague. So, it’s important to consider your audience. For example, if you’re talking to a recruiter or future employer, you want to be brief, but still provide enough details to give an accurate description and make a good impression.

In this lesson, we’ll talk about ways to explain the basic aspects of your job and give details about your duties. We’ll also cover ways to talk about any special projects you’ve worked on and how to discuss your job satisfaction.

We’ll be listening to Ronda, a recruiter, and Stella, an IT manager. Ronda is going to help Stella find a new IT position, but first she wants to get some more information about her current job. They are meeting over lunch at a restaurant.

Listening Questions

1. What is the name of Stella’s current employer?
2. What are two of Stella’s responsibilities?
3. Why does Stella feel like she can’t grow at her current job?

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BEP 158 – Dealing with an Angry Caller (Part 2)

Business English, Customer Service, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Telephone English / April 18, 2010

This is the second of a two-part Business English Pod series on dealing with angry callers on the phone.

We hope that all of our customers are satisfied ones. Indeed, a basic goal in business is to keep customers happy and coming back. But we can’t please all of the people all of the time. Angry callers are often upset because they don’t understand why something happened or disagree with a policy. They might believe that a company has made a mistake. And to get the results they want, they might be rude, yell, or want to speak to someone in authority.

Handling these types of calls is easier when you can respond calmly and clearly. So today we’ll look at how to explain a problem and suggest a solution. We’ll cover ways to handle customers who yell, use crude language, or want to talk to a manager. Finally, we’ll discuss how handle things when your company has made a mistake.

In today’s lesson, we’ll hear more of a conversation between Diana, a Customer Care agent for a credit card company, and Jay Rothschild, an angry customer whose credit card was locked after he made a large purchase. Diana has already gotten Jay’s account information and is ready to start solving the problem.

Listening Questions

1. Why was Jay’s credit card locked?
2. Why does Jay want to speak to a manager?
3. How does Diana resolve the problem?

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