Business English Pod / Articles by: BEP / Page 108

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 164 – Football and Soccer Idioms (Part 2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast /

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 /

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 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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