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BEP 187 – Socializing: Hosting a Dinner Party 1

Business English, ESL Podcast, Socializing, Travel /

This is the first in a two-part Business English Pod lesson on hosting a dinner party for overseas visitors.

Have you ever had the good fortune to be invited to someone’s home during a business trip? Perhaps it was a client or a prospective client. Maybe it was a colleague or potential business partner. And have you ever had the opportunity to have overseas visitors in your own home?

These are great chances to get to know the people you do business with. You are engaging with people on a personal level and building better relationships. And it’s important to do that right. The language you use, either as a host or a guest, requires great care.

In today’s lesson, we’re going to hear a conversation among four people. Grace and Lee are on a business trip to their company offices in California. During their trip, they have been invited to visit the home of a work colleague, Tanya. Tanya and her husband, Mark, are hosting a dinner for the two guests.

This is a perfect situation to learn some important aspects of English. We’ll look at how to make people comfortable, how to show interest in others, how to refuse offers politely, and how to show modesty. These are all essential skills when you sit down to dinner with colleagues or clients.

Listening Questions

1. What does Grace say is usual on business trips?
2. What is interesting about Tanya and Mark’s home?
3. What is Grace hoping to do if they finish their work on time?

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BEP 186 – Air Travel: Connecting Flights

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Travel /

Welcome back to Business English Pod as we continue to look at the language and vocabulary of air travel.

Air travel relies on a very complex system of scheduling. Unfortunately, that means that travel plans don’t always work perfectly. The possibility of problems goes up whenever you have one or more connecting flights. What if one airplane is late? What if your bags aren’t transferred properly to your next flight? What if the connecting airport has delays?

Problems happen, and you need to be prepared to deal with them. This is what we’ll be looking at in this lesson. Last time (in BEP 185), we heard Robert check in for a flight to London, with a connecting flight in Chicago. Everything went smoothly at check-in. Robert stated his destination, checked his bags, chose a seat, and confirmed his gate and timing. But his connecting flight was scheduled to leave soon after he arrived in Chicago. And for that reason, a delay in landing has ruined Robert’s travel plans.

Today we’ll hear Robert trying to work through the problem of a missed connection. He needs to work out a solution so that he can get to London for an important meeting the following morning. To do that, he’ll need to explain his problem, express urgency, make special requests, work through options, and agree reluctantly.

Listening Questions

1. Why did Robert miss his connecting flight?
2. What solution does Robert request from the ticket agent?
3. What does the ticket agent remind Robert about?

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BEP 185 – Air Travel: Checking In to a Flight

Business English, ESL Podcast, Intermediate English, Travel /

In today’s Business English Pod lesson, we’re going to look at language and vocabulary related to air travel, particularly checking in to your flight at the airport.

You’ve probably been in this situation before. You are taking a trip, either for business or pleasure, and you’ve already reserved your ticket. It’s the day of your flight, and you’ve packed your suitcase and another bag that you want to carry with you onto the plane. You make sure you have your passport and wallet, and you catch a taxi to the airport.

What’s the first thing you have to do when you get there? You need to “check-in,” as we say. So you find the correct airline desk and wait in line. Finally, it’s your turn to talk with the ticket agent. What is she going to ask you about? What information do you need to give her? And what information is she going to give you? This is what we’re going to talk about today.

In today’s lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Robert and a ticket agent. Robert is traveling to London on business. He and the ticket agent have several things to discuss before he can go through security and get on the airplane.

Listening Questions

1. What is Robert concerned about regarding his suitcase?
2. Where does Robert want to sit?
3. Why does the ticket agent recommend going through security immediately?

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BEP 176 – English Idioms: Gambling Idioms (Part 2)

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

Welcome back to Business English Pod for the second episode of our two-part series on English gambling idioms.

Any time we take a risk with money, we’re gambling. Whether it’s a card game, a horse race, or a game of dice, we bet money in the hopes of winning more. Business also involves taking risks with money, and for this reason gambling idioms have become very common in business. They are especially common in the world of investing. If you think about it, betting money on cards is a lot like making a high-risk investment.

For today’s lesson, we’ll continue our look at gambling idioms and explore how they are used in business discussions. As you listen to the dialog, you might hear some phrases that are new to you. Keep a note of these expressions and we’ll go over them in the debrief and explain what they mean and how they can be used.

In our last episode, we heard Kevin and Dan talking about investing their money. Kevin likes to invest in stocks, but Dan normally prefers safer methods. However, Kevin tells Dan that he has just found out about an investment opportunity that might be very profitable. Today, we’ll hear Kevin try to convince Dan to accept some risk and take the opportunity.

Listening Questions

1. Why is Kevin excited about the company called Golem Mining?
2. What does Kevin say about the amount Dan would have to invest?
3. What does Dan finally decide to do about the investment opportunity?

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BEP 175 – English Idioms: Gambling Idioms (Part 1)

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

This is the first in a two-part Business English Pod series on idioms related to gambling.

As gambling involves money and risk, it’s not surprising that we use gambling idioms in business. The verb “gamble” itself is very common. We often talk about “gambling” money on an idea or “taking a gamble” to mean taking a risk. Another very common one is “bet,” both as a verb and a noun. When we gamble, we “bet” money in the hopes of winning and getting more money back. In a way, business is one big bet.

In English, gambling idioms come from a few common types of gambling. Card games, especially poker, and horse racing give us the most idiomatic expressions, but we also get some from games such as dice and marbles.

In this lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Kevin and Dan, two colleagues who are talking about investing. Kevin actively invests in the stock market, while Dan is more cautious and usually avoids risk.

Listening Questions

1. Which person thinks that luck is important in investing?
2. What did Kevin do when the stock market crashed?
3. What does Kevin want to tell Dan about at the end of the conversation?

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