VV 43 – English for Human Resources Vocabulary (1)

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In this Video Vocab lesson, we look at English for human resources, or HR. People who work in HR think about a company’s headcount and how to recruit new employees or headhunt people from other companies. We’ll look at ideas such as job descriptions, as well as compensation and benefits, and how these differ from incentives.

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BEP 265 – Idioms for Beginnings and Endings (2)

In this Business English Pod lesson we continue our look at English idioms related to beginnings and endings.

A new year, a new job, a new office, a new project, a new team – all these new things mean exciting beginnings. And beginning something new usually means finishing something else. Every day at work, at home, and at the coffee shop we talk about these changes.

In English, we have lots of useful idioms for talking about the beginnings and endings that make up the changes in work and life. Today, we’ll look at some of these expressions and talk about how to use them.

In the dialog, we will rejoin Henry and Darren, two old colleagues who are sitting down for coffee and talking about life and work. In our last lesson, they focused on family. In today’s dialog, we’ll hear about their work and careers, and they’ll use lots of great idioms about beginnings and endings.

Listening Questions

1. What big career decision has Henry made?
2. Why did Darren leave his former job?
3. What did Darren decide to do after leaving his job?

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BEP 264 – Idioms for Beginnings and Endings (1)

Welcome back to Business English Pod today’s lesson on English idioms related to beginnings and endings.

When someone asks you about your life or work, what do you talk about? Well, chances are that you talk about changes. You talk about the beginning of new things and the end of old things. That means a new job, a new project, or a new house. Or it means quitting your old job, finishing a big project, or selling the home you’ve lived in for 20 years.

Yes, these changes are what make life and work interesting. And in English we have lots of great idioms related to beginnings and endings. Some expressions are used for daily beginnings and endings, some for huge life changes. Today we’ll look at some of these idioms and how to use them.

You will hear a conversation between two friends, Henry and Darren, who used to work together. Now Darren is on a business trip to Henry’s city and has decided to pay Henry a visit. We’ll hear them talk about life and work, and you’ll hear many idioms related to beginnings and endings in their conversation.

Listening Questions

1. What bad news does Darren talk about?
2. What is Darren’s good news?
3. What does Darren think about Henry’s daughter’s current activities?

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VV 42 – Financial English Vocabulary: Corporate Taxes (2)

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In this Business English vocabulary lesson, we’ll look at taxes, particularly corporate income tax. We will learn about audits done to ensure compliance with tax laws. And we will also explore exemptions and tax credits, as well as tax breaks and tax shelters. Ultimately, companies try to gain a higher tax rebate or pay less tax overall.

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VV 41 – Financial English Vocabulary: Corporate Taxes (1)

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In this Video Vocab lesson, we look at financial English vocabulary for taxes, particularly corporate income tax, which US businesses pay to the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. Companies must file a return with the IRS every fiscal year. On their returns, companies declare revenue and capital gains and pay a certain tax rate based on those earnings.

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