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Course Overview
This course
gives candidates the English language skills and terminology to
effectively communicate and correspond in a business environment
(business correspondence documents are included from outside the
course materials).
Prerequisites
Advanced English
language skills.
Course Outline
1 Images of Business
Words at Work
Doing Business
Funky Business, the Swedish bestseller
Grammar at Work
Present simple vs present continuous
Context: talking about your company
The Interview
St Lukes: advertising agency
Listening tip: redundancy in natural speech
Business Skills
Making and receiving phone calls
Spelling and Numbers
Email / Extended Speaking
Email: beginnings and endings
2 Change
Words at Work
E-commerce
The history of Amazon, the online bookseller
Grammar at Work
Present perfect vs present simple and past simple
Context: talking about your career
The Interview
Ferrari: Italian car manufacturer
Listening tip: -ed endings,
unpronounced vowels
Business Skills
Successful conversations: showing interest and understanding
Email / Extended Speaking
Extended speaking: job interviews
3 Advertising
Words at Work
Advertising, collocations with aim and target
Grammar at Work
Comparisons, present perfect continuous
Context: talking about trends
The Interview
Video Arts: UK-based training company
Listening tip: sentence stress
Business Skills
Presentations, trends, skills: organizing and delivering your
presentation
Email / Extended Speaking
Email: levels of formality
4 Trade and Ethics
Words at Work
Globalization
Global Forces, how international trade is changing
Grammar at Work
Countable vs uncountable nouns
Context: commodities
The Interview
Fairtrade: licensing for trade with developing countries at a
fair price
Listening tip: weak forms
Business Skills
Running meetings: expressing opinions
Email / Extended Speaking
Extended speaking: planning an induction day
5 The Future
Words at Work
Link words and connectors
Grammar at Work
Future predictions, future plans and decisions
Context: talking about your own future
The Interview
Hamish McRae: journalist, broadcaster, and
expert on the future
Listening tip: predicting what someone will say
Business Skills
Business restaurant language
Email / Extended Speaking
Email: making and clarifying arrangements
6 Communication
Words at Work
Verbs with prepositions, talking about time
Grammar at Work
Verb patterns: the gerund and the infinitive
Context: talking about how you spend your time
The Interview
Babel: language and cultural consultants
Listening tip: vowel sounds
Business Skills
Explaining and clarifying: giving and following instructions
Email / Extended Speaking
Extended speaking: communication consultants
7 Travel
Words at Work
Travel terms
Easily confused words: travel, trip, journey, bring, take, get,
lose, miss
Grammar at Work
Past continuous and past perfect
Context: talking about travel experiences
The Interview
easyJet: European low-cost airline
Listening tip: sentence stress
Business Skills
Recommending and suggesting travel situations
Email / Extended Speaking
Email: requests and replies
8 Products
Words at Work
Marketing 'Buzz' and permission marketing
Grammar at Work
The passive
Context: trivia quiz and talking about processes
The Interview
Muji: Japanese retail company
Listening tip:
vowel sounds,
sentence stress
Business Skills
Generating and reacting to ideas
Email / Extended Speaking
Extended speaking: company relocation
9 Transactions
Words at Work
Understanding headlines, newspaper language
Grammar at Work
First and second conditionals
Context: negotiating in everyday life
The Interview
Co-operative Bank: ethical investment
Listening tip: consonant sounds
Business Skills
Negotiating skills
Email / Extended Speaking
Email: being clear and brief
10 Customers
Words at Work
Internet terms
talking about websites
Grammar at Work
Have to, must, and should
Context: company culture and office environment
The Interview
QXL: online auction house
Listening tip: understanding fast speech
Business Skills
Complaining and reassuring
Email / Extended Speaking
Extended speaking: the merger
Key to Exercises
Information Gap Files
Reference Section
Key to Reference Section Exercises
Tapescript
Wordlist
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