In today’s 925 English lesson, we’re going to learn all about how to start a conversation in English.
Sometimes we call starting an English conversation “breaking the ice.” You can think of the “ice” as that initial silence between people. It could be between strangers on a plane or coworkers in a lunch room. And when we “break” the ice, we say something friendly to start a conversation. So how do you do that? What do you say? And what topics are best?
925 English will be a new business English podcast for beginner and intermediate learners. 925 English lessons will focus on chunks of language and English expressions that you can use in work and business. Each 925 English lesson will feature English phrases you can use in different situations and advice on why and how we use them in Business English.
A job interview is both an opportunity and a challenge. And facing an English interview with confidence requires certain skills and language. In today’s lesson, we’ll hear two interviewees demonstrate some of these skills and language. They’ll use chunks of natural language that we call “collocations” to talk about their abilities.
But what exactly is a “collocation?” Well it’s a combination of words that often go together. Rather than always learning individual words, you can learn these natural chunks of language. Think about the noun “career.” Do you say “follow” a career “at” something? No, we say “pursue a career in something.” That’s a collocation, and you should learn those words together as a natural combination.
As you listen to the two different interviews in this lesson, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the first interview, we’ll hear Dale interviewing Carla for an accounting job at an insurance company. Dale is asking Carla about her weaknesses and her career plans, two common tough interview questions. In the second interview, we’ll hear Sofia interviewing Joseph for a management job. She asks Joseph to talk about his interpersonal and leadership skills, and his attitude to personal development.
Listening Questions
1. What is Carla’s ultimate goal in the insurance industry?
2. What does Joseph say about his relationship with direct reports?
3. What two qualities does Joseph say help him in leadership roles?
A job interview is one of the most stressful and high-pressure situations you experience in your working life. With such high stakes, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. So you prepare by anticipating what questions you’ll be asked and planning how you might respond.
In this lesson, we’ll hear how a couple of interviewees respond to typical – but challenging – English interview questions. And as they respond, the speakers use some useful expressions that we call “collocations.” Learning collocations is a great way to expand your active vocabulary and sound more natural and confident.
But what exactly is a collocation? Well, a collocation is simply a group of words that we usually use together. It’s like a “chunk” of language that you can plug into a sentence. For example, you might have heard the expression “to take an approach” to something. We always use that verb “take” with the noun “approach,” so you can remember them together. Collocations sound natural, and they make language learning efficient, because you can learn chunks of language rather than individual words.
As you listen to the two different interviews, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.
In the first interview, we’ll hear Dale interviewing Carla, who is applying for an accounting job at an insurance company. Carla is talking about her experience, knowledge, and accomplishments. In the second interview, we’ll hear Sofia interviewing Joseph. Joseph is applying for a management position at the company where he works. He’ll talk about his approach to work and his problem-solving skills.
Listening Questions
1. How much experience does Carla say she has in the field of insurance?
2. What special accomplishment does Carla mention?
3. How does Joseph say he has decreased stress in his department?
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to take or leave a message on the telephone in English.
You’ve probably experienced this situation before: someone calls your office and wants to talk to someone who isn’t there. So what do you do? You take a message, of course. But how do you take a message?
Well, it starts with asking the caller if they would actually like to leave a message. Then you’ll get some information, like who the person wants to talk to and what they want to talk about. Also, don’t forget to get the caller’s number so the person can call them back. And it’s a good idea to check back with the caller that you’ve got the information correct, because incorrect messages can cause big problems.
But what if you are the caller and you want to leave a message? Well, you can simply ask if you can do just that. And then you’ll give all the important details, like who you want to talk to, what you want to talk to them about, and your phone number. It’s these techniques and language for taking and leaving messages that we’ll learn today.
In the dialog, we’re going to rejoin a conversation between Claire and Nathan. In our last lesson, we heard Claire answer the phone at a company called Airtronics. Nathan is the caller. He works for Cyclops Aircraft and he’s calling to talk to someone named George Kline. But George isn’t there, so Claire is going to have to take a message for him.
Listening Questions
1. Why is Nathan trying to get in touch with George Kline?
2. What part of the message does Claire repeat back to Nathan?
3. Near the end of the call, what does Claire say she will try to do immediately?
