Time Idioms Marathon
It’s a race against the clock as you test yourself on the idioms from our lessons on time idioms.
Are you going to play for time or make good time?
Click the “Launch Quiz” button to play Time Idioms Marathon.
This is the second of our two-part Business English Pod series on idioms related to time.
Time is a very precious resource. And for this reason, time management is a very important issue at work and in business. We’re always thinking about how to better manage our time, get our work done, juggle deadlines, arrange schedules, and follow timelines. Time, like money, is something that we can measure, budget, save, and even waste.
English is rich in idioms related to time. These idioms are very useful in business considering time is such a constant concern. In our last episode, we covered many common and useful expressions related to time in general. Today, we’ll look at a few more, particularly ones related to a lack of time and expressing a sense of urgency.
We’ll rejoin Jeff and Claire, two managers who are overseeing the development of a mobile phone app and a new website. Previously, we heard them talking about the design and development of the app. Today, they’re going to focus their discussion on the new website.
Listening Questions
1. Why is the website behind schedule?
2. Which part of the team usually waits to do their work?
3. When do they hope to assemble the website?
Download: Podcast MP3
Welcome back to Business English Pod. In this lesson, we’re going to take a look at business English idioms related to time.
At work and in business, time is always a concern. We rush to get to the office “on time,” we work hard to finish projects “in time” and we sometimes have to work “overtime” to get it all done. If you’re like most people, you watch the clock and the calendar constantly. It’s hard not to with such busy schedules and tight timelines.
In English, time idioms focus on a few key ideas. We hear the word “time” a lot, as well as the words “clock” and “hour”. Many of the idioms are related to speed, duration, regularity, and how late or early something happens or is finished. We also see a lot of idioms related to time pressure.
In this lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Jeff and Claire, two project managers who are overseeing the development of a mobile phone application and a new website. We will hear them discuss timelines on different parts of the project and different project teams.
Listening Questions
1. What does Claire say about the designers?
2. What does Jeff say about the writers?
3. Which part of the project is behind schedule?
Download: Podcast MP3
This is the third and final part of our Business English Pod series on getting your ideas across in meetings.
Meetings in English are a great opportunity to get your ideas across and influence other people. But doing that is no easy task. You need the right combination of tact, frankness, confidence, and humility. And you need some effective language techniques to manage that combination.
In today’s lesson, we’re going to look at several advanced techniques for expressing your ideas and commenting on other people’s opinions. These include leading into opinions, highlighting consequences, and redirecting a discussion. A lot of these techniques revolve around agreeing and disagreeing. We’ve looked at many of these in the first two parts, and today we’ll continue by learning about strongly agreeing and disagreeing with negative questions.
We’ve been listening to a dialog among four managers who have to find ways of reducing travel and transportation benefits by 15%. They are continuing their debate on how best to achieve this goal. Let’s listen as the chairperson Alison leads the discussion with Stewart, Pat, and Nate.
Listening Questions
1. What idea does Pat believe is easier to sell to employees?
2. What is Stewart’s concern about Pat’s idea?
3. What does Alison suggest doing?
Download: Podcast MP3
This Business English Pod lesson is the second of our three-part series on expressing your ideas clearly and tactfully in meetings.
Meetings are a great opportunity to present your ideas and become engaged in the decision-making process. Meetings often involve open-ended discussion among different types of people. For this reason, there is no easy formula that will guarantee success. Instead, you need to develop a range of skills and techniques that will help you express your ideas clearly and tactfully.
In our last episode, we looked at giving, supporting, and contradicting opinions. In today’s lesson, we’ll cover more techniques of agreeing and disagreeing. We’ll also learn how to change the scope of a meeting, which is an especially important skill for the chairperson.
Last time, we heard four managers – Alison, Stewart, Pat, and Nate – discussing how to reduce travel and transportation benefits. Today we will continue that dialog. The situation becomes a little more heated as the participants express their ideas with more force.
Listening Questions
1. What does the CEO of the company want to focus on?
2. How does Alison respond to Stewart’s ideas?
3. What does Nate think about Stewart’s ideas?
Download: Podcast MP3
