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BEP 281 – English Vocabulary for Job Interviews (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Job Interview English /

Business English Collocations for Job Interviews

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations you can use to describe your capabilities in a job interview in English.

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?

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BEP 273 – English Collocations for Discussing Business Strategy (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, English for Meetings /

BEP 273 - Discussing Business Strategy 2

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English collocations for talking about strategy.

Think about the future of your company. How will it remain competitive? What are the long-term goals of your company? What does your company want to achieve? And how will it do that? These are just some of the questions that you might consider when you discuss business strategy. You need to think about what your business does well, how you can use your resources wisely, and what you need to do to grow the company. And when you discuss these ideas, you can use some common expressions, or combinations, which we call “collocations.”

But what is a collocation? A collocation is a group of words that sound natural together. They sound natural because native speakers commonly use them. And you can sound natural too if you learn these collocations. For example, you can say “implement a plan.” That sounds natural. But how about “do a plan?” Well, that’s not a common collocation and so it doesn’t sound natural.

As you listen to the conversation in this lesson, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Anne, Jenny, and Max, three executives at a food company called Healthy Organics. They are discussing their strategy for developing the company into the future. They’ll talk about some important strategic decisions, and they’ll use lots of useful expressions.

Listening Questions

1. According to Anne, why do they need to broaden their product offerings?
2. What does Jenny think they need to build on?
3. What specifically does Anne want to figure out for the next three to five years?

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BEP 272 – English Collocations for Discussing Business Strategy (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, English for Meetings /

BEP 272 - English for Discussing Strategy 1

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English collocations for discussing business strategy.

Look behind any successful business and what will you find? Good strategy and wise planning. Good strategy involves understanding the environment, the market, the customers, and the competition. And good planning means taking all that knowledge and deciding how to compete now and into the future.

In this lesson, we’ll hear how the executives in a food company discuss business strategy. And as they strategize, the speakers will use some useful expressions that we call “collocations.” Learning English collocations will help you improve your vocabulary and sound more natural. So what exactly is a collocation? Well, it’s just a group of words that we commonly use together. For example, we often say “reach a goal.” It sounds natural, because that’s what people say. But what about: “grasp a goal” or “arrive at a goal?” Well, those don’t sound natural because they’re not common combinations or collocations.

As you listen to the discussion, try to pick out some of these collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Anne, Jenny, and Max, executives at a food company called Healthy Organics. The speakers have gone on a weekend retreat to try to create a good strategy for moving their company into the future. They’ll talk about their vision and a strategic plan for growth.

Listening Questions

1. What does Anne say they have managed to accomplish so far during the retreat?
2. What does Max say is the goal over the next two days?
3. What does Jenny want to figure out first?

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BEP 257 – English Collocations for Discussing Staffing (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Human Resources /

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on discussing hiring and staffing needs.

At the heart of every great company is a great staff. But how do you get a great staff? How do you make sure you have enough of the right people in the right places to make the business a success? These are important questions that you need to answer when discussing staffing needs. Not just because labor is one of the biggest costs for most companies, but because people are the real backbone to any business.

In today’s dialog, you will hear the speakers use many different expressions that we call “collocations.” A collocation is simply a natural combination of words. Native English speakers commonly use these collocations as “chunks” of language, because it’s actually easier to remember them as a chunk than as individual words. For example, in business you might hear the expression “fixed costs” for business costs that don’t change from month to month. People don’t say “unchanging costs” or “solid costs” or “same costs.” Those just aren’t natural collocations. Everyone says “fixed costs.”

As you listen to the dialog, try to pick out some of these English collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin a conversation between three managers at a fiber optics company. The company is planning to manufacture a new product, and they need to decide how to staff the project. You will hear Carla from finance, Hank from HR, and Paul, the production manager for the new product line. Last time we heard these three talk about hiring new staff or bringing people over from another division. Today they’re talking more specifically about the number of people and costs.

Listening Questions

1. How did they get the lead engineer for the new venture?
2. How does Paul think the company can save some money on hiring for the new project?
3. Why does Hank think it will be difficult to hire new workers?

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BEP 256 – English Collocations for Discussing Staffing (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, English Collocations, Human Resources /

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on discussing hiring and staffing needs.

Any time we plan a new project, develop a new product, open a new office, or expand a business operation, we need to discuss staffing needs. How many people do we need? What type of work will they do? What qualifications do they need? Where can we find them? What will we pay them? These are all questions that must be resolved if we are to make sure we’ve got the right people in the right jobs.

As they discuss staffing, the speakers in today’s dialog will use many expressions that we call “collocations.” Learning collocations will help you improve your vocabulary and help you sound more natural in English. But what exactly is a collocation? Simply put, a collocation is a natural combination of words. It’s an expression that English speakers commonly use. For example, we often say that something “meets a need” or “fills a need.” That sounds natural. But if you say “take a need” or “makes our needs”, people won’t understand. Those combinations aren’t natural collocations.

As you listen to the discussion, try to pick out some of these English collocations and we’ll discuss them later in the debrief.

In the dialog, we’ll hear a conversation between three managers who work for a fiber optics company that is starting a new production line. Carla works in the finance department, Hank is the HR manager, and Paul is a production manager. Together, they’re talking about how to staff, or recruit new workers, for the new venture.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Carla think it will be difficult to bring in 15 new people?
2. What does Hank suggest about staffing the new project?
3. What kind of work does Paul say they will need to hire new people for?

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