BEP 58 – Water Cooler Chitchat: Sports Idioms (2)

Sports Idioms 2, is part of a series that focuses on informal conversation or small talk – water cooler chitchat. We’re continuing where we left off last time in BEP 57. Jan and Jen, employees of major American telecommunications company Ambient, are chatting about a recent event in the industry: Accent, a European telecom company, has taken over TelStar, one of Ambient’s American competitors.

Last time, Jen had just discussed how she was surprised that TelStar decided to play ball, that is cooperate, with Accent because the shareholders had been “stalling for time,” or delaying, for months. How does Jan respond?

Listening Questions

1) Who is McConnel and what do Jan and Jen think of him?
2) What do Jen and Jan say about Accent’s future in American market?

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4 thoughts on “BEP 58 – Water Cooler Chitchat: Sports Idioms (2)”

  1. The practice part is a great idea. Please include more questions and answers in the end of each podcast. Only by using what is just learned is it possible to acquire the language.

  2. I agree entirely – practice makes perfect!
    We’re developing a new type of podcast that will provide more opportunities for practice. Basically, we’ll take a topic, such as idioms or persuasion, and create a new dialog and practice illustrating how the language can be used in different situations (eg. a meeting). Listeners will be able to use these ‘practice pods’ to revise and extend the language covered in the main podcasts.

  3. I just wanted to say that the quality of these podcasts is exceptional. I’ve been using them in my summer school classes and they have been well received. The range of role-plays available makes it easy to provide suitable listening exercises for any business English topic immaginable.

    Do you have any plans to make the online quizzes and exercises available to schools? I think quite a few would be interested.

    Keep up the good work!
    Gavin

  4. Pingback: Business English Pod :: The Business English Podcast for Professionals » BEP 61 PP: American Sports Idioms in a Business Meeting

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