Business English/Print version

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Contents
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• 1 Work
• 2 Branding
• 3 Marketing
• 4 Finance
• 5 Big business
• 6 Home office
• 7 Computers and technology
• 8 Engineering
• 9 Sports
• 10 Business books and magazines
• 11 Cold calling
o 11.1 The cold call
o 11.2 Planning the call: Establish your objectives & prepare the
conversation
o 11.3 Just before the call: Prepare your mind and body for a positive attitude
o 11.4 Ending the call: Finish with definite goals & confirm information
o 11.5 Business English lessons on cold calling
• 12 Starting Your Own Business
o 12.1 Don't go for what looks easy or flashy
o 12.2 Start slowly
o 12.3 Build your network
o 12.4 Expect the unexpected
• 13 American culture
• 14 American business culture
o 14.1 Work comes first
o 14.2 Be very clear in what you say
o 14.3 Honesty is the best policy
o 14.4 Logic rules over emotion
o 14.5 Respect the old guys
o 14.6 New values: women are equal players
o 14.7 Businessmen and sports
o 14.8 Taboos: don’t go there
o 14.9 Topics to talk about
• 15 Time management
• 16 Bad News Letters
• 17 Routine and Good News Letters
• 18 Grammar
• 19 Reading and Writing
o 19.1 Topics for Mini-Research Papers
o 19.2 English Language and Grammar Topics
o 19.3 Suggested writing topics
o 19.4 Reading
• 20 Speaking and Listening
• 21 Interviewing
o 21.1 Interview Questions
o 21.2 Conversation Topics
• 22 Idioms
o 22.1 Business Acronyms
o 22.2 Common English idioms
o 22.3 Sports-derived idioms
• 23 Phrasal Verbs
• 24 Get
o 24.1 Basic
o 24.2 Intermediate
o 24.3 Advanced
• 25 Turn
• 26 Up
• 27 Slang
• 28 English Proverbs
• 29 Activities and Dynamics
o 29.1 Games
 29.1.1 Guess the person
• 30 Areas of English Proficiency
• 31 Making a Personal Plan to Improve Your English
o 31.1 Where to go
 31.1.1 SMART Goals
o 31.2 How to get there (personalizing your plan)
 31.2.1 Vocabulary (passive and active vocab)
 31.2.2 Fluency (finding words quickly)
 31.2.3 Natural speech patterns
 31.2.4 Written English (grammar and spelling)
 31.2.5 Pronunciation
 31.2.6 Flow of speech
 31.2.7 Culture
• 32 Getting More Practice
• 33 Tips for Teachers
o 33.1 Link
• 34 Course Outlines
o 34.1 Class 1
o 34.2 Class 2
o 34.3 Class 3
o 34.4 Class 4
o 34.5 Class 5
 o 34.6 Class 6
o 34.7 Class 7
o 34.8 Class 8
o 34.9 Class 9
o 34.10 Class 10
o 34.11 Class 11
o 34.12 Class 12
o 34.13 Class 13
o 34.14 Class 14
o 34.15 Teacher contact
o 34.16 Note

• 35 Links

Work
Working is good for your life. You might say, "I knew that".

Branding
That's the special name. The one word which brings to mind images associated with it.
Say "Coke" and you have defined refreshment in essence.

Marketing
Business English/Topics/Marketing

Finance
Business English/Topics/Finance

Big business
Business English/Topics/Big business

Home office
Business English/Topics/Home office

Computers and technology

Business English/Topics/Computers and technology
Engineering
Business English/Topics/Engineering

Sports
Business English | Topics

To deal with American business persons it is a good idea to understand something about
American sports. Many businessmen were athletes in high school and college and have
had their way of thinking formed by team sports. It is important to know a little about the
most popular sports: football (not soccer), basketball, baseball, golf, and even hockey in
some areas.

Sports metaphors and jargon permeate even polite speech. Below are some common
expressions:a

• "Run with it" or "Take the ball and run with it"
• "Homerun", "That's a homerun", or "Hit a homerun"
• "Punt", "It's time to punt", "I think we'll have to punt", or "We punted"
• "Hole in one" or "You hit a hole in one"
• "Hail Mary" or "Throw a Hail Mary"
• "Slam dunk" or "It was a slam dunk"

It is expected that conversational partners will understand these. Only those speakers who
reflect on the cultural derivation of these expressions will modify their speech for those
who do not share similar cultural backgrounds. However, the savvy listener can usually
comprehend the meaning of these expressions when heard in context of a discussion.

Business books and magazines

Business English/Topics/Business books and magazines

Cold calling
The cold call
Cold calls are telephone calls to anyone that you do not know and have not spoken with
before. We often make cold calls to try to establish business contacts; to get a job, find a
new client, seek someone else’s services, or initiate any other business relationship.
Following are some tips on how to make effective cold calls.
Planning the call: Establish your objectives & prepare
the conversation
Plan your call. This requires a conscious effort to sit down, think, and plan out what it is
you want to achieve with the call. After you determine your goals, go over them in your
mind until they are very clear to you.

Then, imagine how a conversation might be with the person or business that you plan to
call. Rehearse it in your mind and get ready to give a quick and confident presentation of
your ideas. Prepare yourself so that you do not stutter or hesitate; you should know
exactly what it is you want to say, and be able to say it backwards and forwards. Decide
how you want the conversation to flow.

General goals to have for a cold call are to establish contact. You will want the person to
remember you the next time you call, and have positive feelings towards you. Plan for the
call to be as short as possible and focus on setting up an appointment. All negotiation or
in-depth talking should take place later, when you are with the other party in person.

Just before the call: Prepare your mind and body for a
positive attitude
You may not realize it, but the position of your body influences how your mind works,
what hormones are flowing through your veins, and ultimately, how others perceive you.
This is true when you talk with someone face to face as well as over the phone. The
reason is that your physical state effects your mental state: your thinking, your attitude,
and your voice. Remember that your voice is your only tool to communicate your ideas
over the telephone. How can you prepare your body? Make the call sitting down in a chair
and leaning slightly forward. This puts you in a state for a positive attitude. Then smile.
The person on the other end of the line will be able to hear it. Making the call: Be brief,
be polite When you are duly prepared, pick up the phone and dial. Identify yourself
confidently by name and ask if the person has a moment to take your call. It is possible
that the person is in a meeting or is otherwise unable to talk with you at the moment, even
if they answered your call. Be considerate and allow them to end the call immediately if
needed.

Remember to be as brief as possible when calling. Your goal is not to chat up anyone, but
rather establish contact and a specific time to meet. The person you are calling is a busy
professional who would much rather be doing something productive than chewing the fat
with strangers cold-calling them on the phone.

Ending the call: Finish with definite goals & confirm

information
The end of the call is a time to be very concrete and confirm the next steps that you will
take. Ideally this will mean an appointment to meet with the person you called. If the
person is too busy to speak with you , set a specific time for you to call them back, for
example five minutes, an hour, two days. If the time is excessively large, this is a clear
signal that the person really has little interest in speaking with you. If you have set up an
appointment, repeat the time and date, so there is no confusion.

When you say goodbye, do so quickly and confidently, thank the person for their time and
repeat your name. It is possible that even in a short call the person has forgotten your
name, and repeating it helps avoid awkwardness, and helps assure that they will
remember it next time as well.

Based on a presentation by Edgar Flores, English student in Mexico City.

Business English lessons on cold calling

Business English Pod has a series of free podcast lessons providing clear guidance on the
techniques and language for cold calling in English:

Part 1 - Starting the cold call

Part 2 - Clarifying benefits and making a pitch
Part 3 - Dealing with objections and closing the call

Starting Your Own Business

Don't go for what looks easy or flashy
Do something that you know well, where you have experience and are an expert. You
should thoroughly understand all of the issues related to the activity.

Sometimes people can be tempted to do do something that looks simple to start and deal
with. The fact is that in any activity that you can imagine there are many things that are
impossible to predict until they come up:

a) Certain unexpected situations

b) Once in the situation, how to deal with it

You will need to plan to be effective, and you can´t plan what you don´t know. You can
react to the unexpected but usually, that is an easy way to get in trouble.

Start slowly
In the begining of your business try, if you can, to deal with it as a side-line, so you are
not depending on it for an income. That way you will only risk time, effort and maybe
little money as you begin to test your idea in the real world, and learn a lot from it.
If things are going well pehaps it is the moment to move forward and be very conscious
of the consecuences of your decisions. That will help you a lot in the future, when you
will have to make decisions that may imply risks. Experience is the most powerful tool
that you can rely on in this situation.

A gradual transition will allow you to think, plan, execute without risk and see and work
on potential problems that perhaps you woulden´t realize from the begining.

Build your network

Relations will help you in the begining of your operations, and in countries like Mexico
contacts are the main source of oportunities to make business.

There are many methods to develop a business network, and it depends on your capability
to invest some money to obtain results. In the begining the best practice is to establish
contacts on a one-to-one basis. This means that you should approach your contacts to
offer them some benefits if they are able to offer you potential business opportunities.
This doesn´t mean an attempt to bribe them (at least not necesarily), but instead you can
offer your complete help to obtain results oriented to their positioning in their field of
action. An example of this is to offer your organization as manpower to solve some of
their concerns without any additional charge if in exchange you can get the opportunity to
show your abilities and results. It is very good to develop a “partnership” relation with
people that know you and is aware of your efforts to create your company.

Another way to do this, but much more expensive is to organize (and therfore to pay for)
some events (business breakfast, perhaps) in which you will have the oportunity to
present your products or services, and after your presentation provide some brochures to
the audience, and most important, to collect data from them in order to establish further
contact on one to one basis again, to work on those issues that have interested them more.

Those things mentioned above would allow you to keep in contact with the people that
can provide you business oportunities. For instance, once you have identified a group of
executives that would represent a solid network, you can invite them to some periodic
events in which they will have oportunity to keep contact among themselves (to establish
their own network), and also receive information about topics that should be very
interesting for them in their activity (products or services presentations, some recognized
speaker... etc.). Doing that three times a year will provide you reasons to be in contact
with them and take advantage of that to expect the chance to be in the right place in the
right moment.

Expect the unexpected

Reality will show you all those things that you didn´t consider in your previous planning
activity. Yes, shit happens, and Murphy is relentless. Be prepared and deal with it,
whatever, without hessitation and tune up your reaction abilities. That will protect you
until you get the experience to know in advance what will happen according to the signs
that always appear to trained eye.
The original version of this page was written by Juan Enrique Pérez of Capital Humano.

American culture
Business English/Topics/American culture

American business culture

Business English

When in Rome, do as American tourists do everywhere – American proverb

Sometimes etiquette is easily explained to the non-native in a clear set of rules that any
decent member of the culture follows. For example, in Japan it is considered impolite to
show the soles of one’s shoes toward another person. However, sometimes the rules are
not clear, and the polite person has to improvise to figure out the most polite thing to do.
An example of this might be when the elder President Bush ducked below the table before
vomiting at a state dinner. No book about culture or etiquette would have prepared him
for that one, although now all American presidents place a strategically sited bowl
beneath their chair at official events.

That said, the following is a simple explanation of the basic points of American Business
Etiquette. This is a tool aimed at helping you do as Americans do when working with
them on their own soil, in a secret detention camp, over the telephone or even by email.

Work comes first

Americans and businessmen and women in particular are very task-oriented. They get a
goal in mind and work until achieving it. An American is likely to avoid chit-chat as idle
chatter and in a business meeting want to talk about business and little else. “Let’s get our
focus on the bottom line” is an Americanism that reflects this tendency. Therefore be
careful to not distract the conversation from the business at hand. Direct your comments
towards identifying, and especially, solving problems. The people will feel more
confidence in you when they feel that you are putting your heart behind the project at
hand, whatever it may be. A big part of Americans’ lives revolve closely around their
work, and although they may politely complain about it, the truth is that they like it like
that. Americans do love to have fun, but it has its place, and that place should not
interfere with work or a man (or woman) earning his (or her) livelihood.

Be very clear in what you say

Something that will madden your American partners is if they think that you beat around
the bush in what you say. US culture values a person who says what he means and means
what he says. "Get to the point!", angry teammates may demand. Americans value clarity
many times over what other cultures view as tact. It is better to lay everything out on the
table, and not leave key points unmentioned for politeness’ sake. Not following this
policy could be interpreted as rudeness or as gravely as dishonesty by your peers.

Honesty is the best policy

Related to the previous point, you will do well to avoid any kind of dishonesty in word or
deed with your American partners. Do not suggest bribes, kickbacks, any other kind of
illegal or unlawful payoffs, or anything else that goes against the law of the US or
wherever it is that you are. Play by the rules. In the US, people get ahead while respecting
the rules of the game. It has been said many times that, unlike other places, in the US it is
easier to make money following the law than by breaking it, although this does not
necessarily apply to US corporations operating abroad. Americans realize that if you are
dishonest with the government or with anyone else, you are a dishonest person and will
probably be dishonest with everyone or anyone that you work with, and are not to be
trusted. That is, unless you are in a completely powerless situation where your every
move can be controlled and all risk can be eliminated. But you don’t want to be in that
situation, do you?

Logic rules over emotion

One of the worst things that you can do is appear emotional, or unable to make a cold,
hard decision. It’s OK to get angry, and show it, about certain things, especially things
that affect the bottom line. Don’t change your mind a lot of times if you don’t want to
exasperate your coworkers.

Respect the old guys

First off, don’t call them old guys. At least not to their faces. The senior partners at the
firm have worked a long time to get there and although American entertainment may
make fun of older citizens as worn-out or useless, the business world certainly does not
treat them that way. They are to be respected as the wisest and most seasoned individuals
on the team, which they likely are. When dealing with them, speak to them and otherwise
treat them with respect. Depending on the culture of the corporation, this may mean not to
speak with them at all. Allow them to speak to you if they want something, otherwise it
may be a good idea to not speak to them at all. A special note: if the executive is
concerned about his advancing age and wants to be seen as younger than he really is, it
may be better to speak to him more casually. In most cases, avoid using slang because it
magnifies the difference between the generations and it may make the exec feel old or out
of place, or worse yet, he may not even understand you.

New values: women are equal players

In US law, women are granted equal rights with men. Business women expect to be
treated with the same respect as their male counterparts. They are considered to be equal
to men in character and ability. Their gender is considered to be irrelvant in business
settings.

It is absolutely inappropriate to make any sexual advances, make suggestive comments, or

try to get them to go out for personal time not related to work. Do not treat them like
secretaries unless, in fact, they are a secretary. Treat them with the same consideration as
you would treat any co-worker.

Unfortunately, gender equality has not yet been fulfilled in the workplace. On average,
women earn about twenty percent less than men for the same work, and are many are still
held down in pay and position by an unofficial upper limit called the glass ceiling.
Women have been gradually breaking through this glass ceiling, and are increasingly
holding senior management and board positions within corporations.

Businessmen and sports

A lot of business persons were athletes in high school and college. There are many things
that are similar between team sports and business activities, and both attract many of the
same people. It is a good idea to become familiar with the basics of baseball, football, and
basketball at least in order to make semi-intelligent sports-related small talk. Beyond
small talk, business talk is filled with sports-related idioms. These are used so
comfortably in American speech that the speaker probably will not even realize that he is
using them.

Taboos: don’t go there

The two main subjects that Americans agree not to discuss much in polite conversation
are 1: politics and 2: religion. That is because they are areas where people have deep-
rooted beliefs that are not easily changed, and there is a great potential for
misunderstanding or hurt feelings, besides the fact that outside of church or a political
rally, many people view them as unrelated to the whatever task you have on your plate at
the time.

Besides this, avoid criticizing the US, US culture, Americans in general or US policy,
even if they have recently invaded your country. Americans for the most part deeply love
their country and may be offended and confused by comments that do not reflect a similar
love and respect, and may take the comments personally.

Topics to talk about

There are certain topics that are common to talk about in casual business situations. Feel
free to talk about the rich, sports, entertainment like movies, music, celebrities and books,
and current events or business trends. Try to keep things general and not too personal.
Nobody wants to know about your grandmother or problems with your spouse. When in
doubt, talk business.
Time management
Business English/Topics/Time management

Bad News Letters

Business English/Topics/Bad news letters

Routine and Good News Letters

Business English/Topics/Routine and good news letters

Grammar
Check out this grammatical information while we write new content for the Business
English book.

Reading and Writing

Both reading and writing are important skills for anyone who wants to do business in
English. Here is a list of suggested writing topics.

Topics for Mini-Research Papers

• MBTI / Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator
• The Campbell-Stone Restoration Movement
• Peter Drucker
• The de Vinci Code
• Stephen Covey and the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
• Moore’s Law
• Different styles of leadership and leaders
• Rasputin
• Wal-Mart
• Nonverbal communication
• The origins of English
• Today’s weather in (you choose the location)
• Choose your own topic!

Use the Internet or traditional printed materials to find information about your chosen
topic. Write like a reporter or historiographer and remember the six w’s: who, what,
when, where, why, and how. The length of the paper should reflect the complexity of the
issue, your English fluency, and your time available. One to two typewritten pages is
typically an appropriate length.
Include a bibliography citing the Internet pages that you used as reference.

Use ONLY your own words, except for short, cited quotations. It is usually better to read
about the subject, but the material aside, and write from your own memory. That is, don’t
read your source material and write your essay at the same time.

English Language and Grammar Topics

• Correct use of adjectives
• Present simple vs. present progressive (continuous) tense
• Using articles (a, an, the, …)
• When to use “what” and when to use “that”

The directions are the same as above. Include examples whenever possible.

I saw an article in a newspaper of yesterday requesting for readers to put comments on the
passage.

The whole group was against my sister for not turning up to a meeting which was very
important to her.

We had an accident on our way to Zomba.

What happened to your sister who is now in prison?

When is the next meeting taking place?

That place is not good for your health.

Suggested writing topics

• Describe your line of work and your responsibilities.
• Write a history of your family.
• Tell about a favorite memory, perhaps a childhood memory.
• Describe the office or facilities where you work.
• Describe a system or process that you are familiar with in your work.
• Write a plan and analysis describing your goals in studying English.
• Write up a business plan for a business that you might think about starting.
• Write about something that you are passionate about.
• Describe a visit to an English-speaking area.
• Choose a topic and write about it for this Business English book.
• Write about your favorite music, group, or artist.
• What important things have you accomplished in your life?
• What would you like to do when you retire?
• What do you regret doing or not doing?
• Read an article from the Wikipedia or other source and write a summary of it.

Reading
You can get practice reading at many places. Some websites that you might like to visit
are the Wikipedia, New York Times (free and painless registration required, really, it's
worth it), The Economist, (a British newsmagazine), and various English magazines that
may be available where you live.

Speaking and Listening

Free Business English Podcast Lessons - MP3 lessons that feature all kinds of useful
business English phrases and vocabulary. Listening comprehension questions included in
each podcast.

Business English/Interviewing

Interviewing
It is great practice to do one-on-one conversations on specific topics. Here is a starter list
of interview questions and conversational topics.

Interview Questions

• Where do you work?

• What is the best part of your job?
• What's the worst part?
• What are three adjectives that describe you?
• Why do you want to study Business English?
• What is your dream job and why?
• What is your competency?

Conversation Topics

• Sports
• Television
• Entertainment (movies, music, celebrities and books)
• Business ethics
• Food and drinks
• Money
• The rich
• Current events
• Business trends
• Work
• Branding
• Marketing
• Finance
• Big business
• Home office
• Computers and technology
• Engineering
• Business books and magazines
 • Cold calling
• Starting your own business
• American culture
• American business culture♠
• Time management
• Bad news letters
• Routine and good news letters

Idioms
Business Acronyms
ASAP : As Soon As Possible

COB : Close Of Business

COP : Close Of Play

PO : Purchase Order

GR : Goods Receipt

IR : Invoice Receipt

R/E : Rate of Exchange (also called FX exchange)

TOR : Terms of Reference

P/C : Price, Current

O/S : Out of Stock, differs from...

OS : ...On Sample

EBIT : Earnings Before Interests and Taxes; Shows the result of the company before
Interest expenditures and Income Taxes. It differs from...

EBITDA : Earnings Before Interests, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization; ...that gives
a more precise idea of final result (earnings or loss). It takes into account these two
aspects of business in addition.

BOY : Beginning Of the Year; Generally January, but in any case is considered the
beginning of the financial year (for statements purpose).

EOY : End Of the Year; Generally December, but in any case is considered the end of
the financial year (for statements purpose).
YTD : Year To Date; term generally used to indicate all the expenses a firm incurred in
during a year (P&L)

WIP : Work In Progress; Expecially used for assets under construction.

Company Departments - Functional Areas

MKT : Marketing R&D : Research and Development H&S : Health and Security M&R
: Maintenance and Repair HR : Human Resources IT : Information Technology

SG&A : Selling, General & Administrative (regroups many depts. generally excluding
manufacturing only, or manuf. + R&D)

Common English idioms

Black Tie - Not a true idiom; however, it can be misleading. It does not mean 'Wear a
black tie', but rather a 'DJ' or dinner jacket and bow tie (alternatively a tuxedo)

e.g. or eg. - exempli gratia, for example

et al. - et alii, and others

i.e. or ie. - id est, that is; in other words

NB - Nota Bene, note well

PS - Post Script, Written after the end of an informal letter. Used in order to include a
piece of information forgotten to be included at the beginning of the letter

RSVP - Repondez s'il vous plait, is an abbreviation for ‘répondez s’il vous plaît’, which
means ‘please reply’. It is written on the bottom of a card inviting you to a party or
special occasion.

CV - Curriculum Vitae, Latin expression meaning "course of life" in other words, a

resumee.

N/A - Not Applicable

RGDS - Regards

Sports-derived idioms

Phrasal Verbs
English is filled with phrasal verbs, which are phrases made of one verb with one or more
other words (usually prepositions) that work together to form a single, multi-word verb.
You need to learn these in order to speak English naturally as well as to understand
natural English.
 Be
Come
Get
Go
Keep
Make
Turn
Up
Miscellaneous phrasal verbs

Get
The verb “to get” can be used in many ways. It means to obtain, have or recieve, and can
be used sometimes in place of the verbs, “to be” and “to become”. The verb is very
flexible and sometimes, when combined with other words, can take on a whole different
meaning. Following is a short list of some common verb phrases using “to get”. Note: s/b
means “somebody”, s/th means “something”

Basic
(to) get drunk: to drink until intoxicated with alcohol The college boys lived to get drunk
every weekend.

(to) get in s/th: to enter (a car, a body of water, a group, trouble ...) Come on, get in the
car so we can go. That boy is always getting in trouble.

(to) get lost: to lose one’s way Goldilocks wandered far into the forest and soon got very
lost, and had no idea how to leave.

(to) get mad: to become angry The girl got real mad when she found out that her
boyfriend had forgotten to pick her up.

(to) get off s/th: to leave, especially an elevated or isolated place such as a bus, elevator or
island. Opposite of “get on” We were so glad to get off of that elevator after being
trapped there for over two hours in the heat.

(to) get on s/th: to enter, especially public transportation or small, elevated place.
Opposite of “get off” The little girl was afraid to get on the ride at the carnival.

(to) get out: to do fun or enriching activities That lady never gets out, so has no idea what
is going on in this world.

(to) get rained on: to be rained on It was a real bummer that the picnic had gotten rained
on.
(to) get together (with s/b): to meet with one or more other people They got together
every Thursday to play cards and catch up on each other’s lives. Spongebob got together
with Patrick to plan their escape.

(to) get up: to arise, leave the bed It sure was hard to get up in the morning after drinking
so much the night before.

Intermediate
(to) get along with s/b: refers to the quality of a relationship with someone I have not been
getting along with my brother since he wrecked my car.

(to) get around: to be familiar with many places or things She needs some time to get
around and see all that the city has to offer.

(to) get around to: to do something when time allows I’ll get in shape and pay my bills
just as soon as I can get around to it.

(to) get away: to escape from work or stress to relax The family planned their vacations to
get away from the city.

(to) get away with: to do something bad without consequence Not paying any taxes is like
getting away with murder.

(to) get back to: to return to do something I should get back to work. We have been here
at lunch for too long!

(to) get back at: to get revenge, act against a person who did one wrong After they
insulted his mother, all Harry could think about was how to get back at those mean girls.

(to) get behind: to fall behind or not complete something, especially a responsibility, on
time The work flow is so steady that it is easy to get behind if you do not plan and
discipline yourself.

(to) get by: to live without luxury or extra money In this difficult economy it is all many
families can do to get by.

(to) get down: to lower oneself from a higher position, to dance or have fun Chris hurt
himself when he was trying to get down off of the bucking bronco. This warehouse party
is a great place to get down with my friends.

(to) get revenge: like “to get back at”

(to) get shot (at): to be shot at Help me, I got shot! The last thing I expected walking
through those woods was to get shot at.

(to) get through (to): to reach someone by telephone, to help someone understand
something I finally got through when the cell phone signal got stronger. I’ve tried to get
through to her for years so she can understand how she is messing up her life.
(to) get to: to be able or have the opportunity to do something, possibly in the future The
children were so excited for the chance to get to go to the zoo. Emma will write a thank-
you note as soon as she is able to get to it.

(to) get under s/th: to put oneself below something It sure was a good idea to get under
the tree, because it kept them from getting rained on.

(to) get to: to be able to do, to arrive at The kids got to go to the zoo during the weekend.
When the ambulance got to the crime scene, the driver was already dead.

(to) get wasted: to get drunk

Advanced
(to) get across s/th: to reach the other side, to communicate an idea The dead hoped to get
across the River Styx in the phantom boat. The dentist hoped to get across to the students
the importance of brushing their teeth.

(to) get ahead: to advance, often materially Billy was working two jobs trying to get
ahead and save some money for his family.

(to) get ahead of oneself: to think or act too quickly or without thinking Now, you are
starting to get ahead of yourself son, you should make a good business plan before you
start sending flyers around town advertizing your idea.

(to) get at (s/th): to say, often directly What are you getting at, that I am not doing enough
valuable work here?

(to) get down to s/th: to eliminate the outer parts of something, to arrive at the important
part of a discussion or activity We were getting down to our last bits of food when the
rescue team finally arrived. Gentlemen, let’s leave the small talk to the side and get down
to the business that we came for.

(to) get into s/th: to become interested in something, or to get in Grandma Moses began to
get into art when she was well into her eighties.

(to) get it together: to organize or discipline one’s affairs

If that guy doesn’t get it together, he is going to have some serious problems to deal with.

(to) get out of s/th: to stop a continuing action such as a social activity or business, leave a
place It was time to get out of the business when the customers all switched to the new
product. Get out of here, you are driving me crazy!

(to) get over s/th: to recover from It may take Marge years to get over her divorce from
Frank.

(to) get up to s/th: to reach an age, milestone or distant place The team finally got up to its
goal of selling one million products.
(to) get with s/th, get “with it”: to come to understand current customs or way of thinking
Come on man, get with the times, you should be wearing newer, more stylish clothes.
Son, it is time for you to get with the program or you are going to get the boot.

Turn
turn in, turn on, turn out, turn over, turn off

Up
to bang up – maltratar (equipo); hacer algo muy bien
Be careful not to bang up my bike too much please.
Great work, that was a real bang-up job!

to beat up – pegar, dar una paliza

The New Cork cops beat up more than one innocent person.

to bottle up – no dejar salir a las emociones

People who bottle up their feelings can develop emotional problems later on.

to box up – poner en cajas

to bring up – mencionar, traer hasta arriba

to brush up – repasar

to call up – llamar por telephono (esp. después de tiempo);

to chop up – cortar en pedazos

to clean up – limpiar

to come up with – imaginar

to crop up – aparecer de repente

to cross up – condundirse entre varias cosas

to dance up a storm – bailar mucho o con gusto

to dig up – encontrar, sacar desde el pasado

to do up – preparer

to draw up – preparer (planos)

to dream up – imaginar
to drink up – tomar

to eat up – comer, comerse todo

to feel up to – tener ganas o fuerzas para hacer algo

to flare up – empeorar de repente, llenarse de llamas

to fold up – doblar

to freeze up – congelar (maquinas); quedarse callado por miedo

to freshen up –

to hang up – colgar (ropa, el teléfono)

to hold up – detener, robar

to hook up – hacer conección

to keep up – hacer siguimiento;

to kick up – generar (usu. problemas)

to kiss up – hacer halagos inmerecidos

to laugh it up – reírse de algo

to light up – encender

to lighten up – tomar una actitud más positiva

to line up – poner en fila

to link up – hacer liga entre

to liven up – hacer más divertido

to loosen up – relajarse

to mess up – equivocarse

to own up – confesar

to pack up – preparar equipaje

to pile up – amontonar

to polish up – poner brillo

to pull up – llegar (en coche)

to roll up – enroller

to run up – gastar (una cuenta)

to screw up – confundir, hacer problemas con algo

to shoot up – injector (esp. drogas illegales)

to show up – aparecer

to snuggle up – acercarse cariñosamente

to speed up – accelerarse

to split up – divider; terminar (con novio/a)

to stir up – mezclar, causar (problemas)

to sum up – sumar

to talk up – hablar de las virtudes de

to think up – imaginar

to tighten up – apretar

to turn up – subir (volumen); aparecer

to wash up – lavarse

Slang
No content here yet. Please look at this slang and idioms link while we get started on this
page. empty

English Proverbs
Business English

A fool and his money are soon parted. - Franklin

The early bird gets the worm. - Franklin

Waste not, want not. - American proverb

Rome was not built in a day. - American proverb

Necessity is the mother of invention. - American proverb

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. - American saying

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. - Benjamin Franklin,
an American writing in Poor Richard's Almanac

Cheaters never prosper. - American proverb

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. - American proverb

Nice guys finish last. - American proverb

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. - American proverb

It's Greek to me. - Shakespeare

There's a sucker born every minute. - P.T. Barnum, American

Activities and Dynamics

Games
Tip: A good goal for games is that the game in itself is fun enough to play even if you are
not trying to practice a language.

Guess the person

Have each student write the names of about eight famous people on slips of paper, fold up
the slips and collect them in one pile. Form teams of at least two people. One person takes
a slip of paper and tries to get his team to guess the name written there without saying the
name or its spelling. Each team should have about one minute per round. For every name
that the team guesses correctly, it recieves one point (they can keep the slip of paper to
count). At the end of the time, the team that guessed the most names correctly, wins.

Areas of English Proficiency

1. Vocabulary: Passive and active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary is words that you
understand. Active vocabulary is words that you use.
2. Fluency: How fast you find words when speaking.
3. Natural speaking patterns: Choosing the right word and the right word order.
4. Written English: Formal grammar and spelling.
5. Pronunciation: Speaking with the correct consonant and vowel sounds, and
stressed syllables.
 6. Flow of speech: How fast to speak, when your voice should raise or lower in
pitch or in volume, where to pause and for how long.
7. Culture: Understanding and reacting appropriately to situations and expectations
of English-speaking cultures.

Another way to divide the areas of language is the following:

1. Listening (receiving oral messages)

2. Speaking (giving oral messages)
3. Reading (receiving written messages)
4. Writing (giving written messages)

Making a Personal Plan to Improve Your

English
Your personal plan should be made up of two parts: 1. Where to go, and 2. How to get
there.

Where to go
SMART Goals

When we set out to do something, it is to our benefit to set clear goals and to make a plan
that will help us reach them. The “SMART” acronym below is a tool that we can use to
make sure that we are covering all of the appropriate areas in the process. More
information can be found in the time management on Wikipedia. Just remember that if
you don’t make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-
limited, they are not really goals, but intentions, no more.

S Specific
M Measurable
A Achievable
R Results-oriented
T Time-limited

An example:

Specific I want to improve my natural speech patterns, active vocabulary, fluency,

and correct written form.
Measurable Improve my TOEFL score by 10 percent. (Use on-line or offline
testing tools to determine beginning numbers, then set a goal for improvement.)
Achievable (The improvement in the measured numbers to be within reason.)
Results-oriented I want practical, real-world improvement in my levels of oral and
written English.
Time-limited The follow-up testing will be done two months after the first testing.
Now, using the above example as a guide, write out your own SMART goals for
improving your English. Decide which areas of English proficiency will be your
priorities. Write down how much you would like to improve in each of the areas.

How to get there (personalizing your plan)

Following are specific steps that you can take to improve each of your targeted areas of
English proficiency.

Vocabulary (passive and active vocab)

• Daily reading (news and online articles, books NYTimes, HBR, Give and Take,
Wikipedia.org, The Millionaire Next Door …)
• Writing summaries of articles and mini research papers

Fluency (finding words quickly)

• Conversation with others

• Your internal mental conversation
• Reading (news, business literature, novels, magazines, blogs …)
• Writing
• Presentations (make up your own or imitate someone else’s)

4113321

Natural speech patterns

• Reading regularly in English. Daily is a good goal, even if it is only fifteen

minutes. Look for topics on interest on the Internet or in English books or
magazines.
• Conversation and contact in English with native speakers, or at least with others
who are learning.
• Watching TV and movies in English (news, entertainment, documentaries…)
• Online audio news (NYTimes, VOANews, BBC News …)
• Presentations of speeches copied from native presenters
• Listening to and reading CD magazines like English2Go and Speak Up for natural
flow and inflection

Written English (grammar and spelling)

• Grammar book exercises

• Reading
• Writing
• test

Pronunciation

• Conversation
• TV, music and movies
 • Listening to and reading passages at the same time
• In general, all oral communication: listening and speaking

Flow of speech

• Conversation
• TV, music and movies
• Listening to and reading passages at the same time
• In general, all oral communication: listening and speaking
• Reading newspapers in front of mirror.

Culture

• Reading about culture explicitly in Internet, books, and magazines

• Observing culture implicit in written materials
• Entertainment from target countries
• Interacting with natives

Focus your attention on the activities that will help you improve primarily in the top areas
on your personalized list. This takes a bit of discipline, but allow your actions to be
guided by where you want to go in your learning. Don’t spend all of your time reading
articles about current news if your main objective is to improve your pronunciation.

Getting More Practice

Business English

If you live in the United States, it is easy for you to practice all of the time watching TV,
going to the store, making new friends. If you do not live in an English-speaking area, it
may be harder to get practice.

Several magazines are published internationally and will help you practice your reading
and listening skills.

English2Go, published by Reader's Digest

Speak Up, published in Brazil and in Italy.
Hot English, this one is OK too

You can also try listening to podcasts - free MP3 lessons you can download to you
computer or MP3 player:

Business English Pod - Business English lessons by podcast for intermediate and
advanced learners featuring useful phrases and vocabulary. Listening quizzes, transcripts
and online exercises available for extra practice.

Tips for Teachers

Business English

Link
http://www.google.com.mx/search?
hl=es&q=most+common+english+words&meta= Lists of Common Vocabulary

Course Outlines
Business English

These are sample class plans originally developed for a Business English converstion
class in Mexico City, Mexico.

Class 1
Introduction of the teacher and the class
Personal chatting

hi

Class 2
Discussion of course policies
Students present selves to teacher
Students explain company-related activities to teacher
French systems and soil treatment
“Being (held) accountable for something”
Discussion of book

Class 3
Topic for discussion: the company; what makes it different, market challenges,
biggest future opportunities.
Student experiences with international (English-speaking) clients and any travels
into English-speaking parts of the world.
Student motivations for speaking English, related to and besides current work-
related issues.
Answer any specific language or culture questions.
Assigned homework: Module 1, Business Grammar Book. Due on .

Class 4
Discuss grammar homework.
 First student presentation (?)
Students bring technical documents related to their work. These can be from
professional magazines, Internet or books, but should be in English.
Discuss significance of the documents, any practical application to current work,
any difficult words, phrases or contstructions.
Discuss handout on business idioms.
Answer any specific language or culture questions.
Assigned homework: Module 2, Business Grammar Book. Due on .

Class 5
Discuss grammar homework.
Student presentation, followed by questions and answers by the class.
Discuss Christmas/holiday plans and traditions in Mexico and US, in individual
families, holiday food and/or recipies.
Students bring articles about international trade.
Answer any specific language or culture questions.
Assigned homework: Module 3, Business Grammar Book. Due on .

Class 6
Discuss grammar homework.
Student presentation, followed by questions and answers by the class.
Students bring articles about finance.
Answer any specific language or culture questions.
Assigned homework: Module 4, Business Grammar Book. Due on .

Class 7
Discuss grammar homework.
Student presentation, followed by questions and answers by the class.
Students bring articles about business and organizational management.
Discuss unfulfilled dreams.
Answer any specific language or culture questions.
Oral exams.
Assigned homework: Module 5, Business Grammar Book. Due on .

Class 8
Discuss grammar homework.
Student presentation, followed by questions and answers by the class.
Students bring articles about technology.
Discuss, “What is the best advice that someone can give another person”.
New year´s resolutions.
Answer any specific language or culture questions.
Oral exams for those who did not take it on .
Assigned homework: Module 6, Business Grammar Book. Due on .
Class 9
Students bring articles about sports and sports heroes.
Telephoning excercize.
Student presentation by ______________________, followed by questions and
answers by the class.
Discuss grammar homework, Module 4, Business Grammar Book.
Assigned homework: Module 5, Business Grammar Book.
Answer any student questions about language, grammar, culture, etc.

Class 10
Students bring articles about hobbies.
Students bring any reports and proposals that they have written in English.
Discuss, “Basic business letter formats”.
Student presentation by ______________________, followed by questions and
answers by the class.
Discuss grammar homework, Module 5, Business Grammar Book.
Assigned homework: Module 6, Business Grammar Book.
Answer any student questions about language, grammar, culture, etc.

Class 11
Students bring articles about culture and society.
Discuss general values and customs in US and abroad (cultures working with the
company).
Student presentation by ______________________, followed by questions and
answers by the class.
Discuss grammar homework, Module 6, Business Grammar Book.
Assigned homework: Module 7, Business Grammar Book.
Answer any student questions about language, grammar, culture, etc.

Class 12
Students bring articles about business etiquette.
Discuss taboos in the US and other cultures doing business with the company.
Student presentation by ______________________, followed by questions and
answers by the class.
Discuss grammar homework, Module 7, Business Grammar Book.
Assigned homework: Module 8, Business Grammar Book.
Answer any student questions about language, grammar, culture, etc.

Class 13
Students bring articles about English and English learning.
Review English résumés, students bring own résumés.
Oral exams.
Discuss grammar homework, Module 8, Business Grammar Book.
 No grammar homework assigned.
Answer any student questions about language, grammar, culture, etc.

Class 14
Students bring articles about branding.
Discuss, “What is the best advice that someone can give another person”.
Oral exams for those who did not take it on .
Discuss grammar homework, Module 9, Business Grammar Book.
No grammar homework assigned.
Teacher/class feedback form.

The class will include surprise topics along the way as well, and the teacher is willing to
be flexible and include specially suggested topics and/or deviate from the official class
plans as the students request.

Teacher contact
For any questions or comments whatsoever, please contact the Teacher at:

…@yahoo.com
(55) 5555 5555 (home)
(04455) 5555 5555 (cell)

Note
You can search for great articles at the following websites: nytimes.com, economist.com,
wikipedia.org, news.google.com, etc.

Links
• Arlyn Freed's ESL/EFL English for Specific Purposes (ESP) -Business English links
http://www.eslhome.com/esl/esp/#BE

• Language tools for learners - Dictionary, Idioms, and Phrasal Verbs search

English dictionary, translator and Idioms search

ESL Business News is a weekly podcast of international business news read in slow, clear
English. Listen to the podcast and follow along in the accompanying script.
Business English Exercises: Michael's ESP-EFL British Civilisation Home Page
Free Business English Exercises - A collection of exercises arranged by topic.
Free Business English Podcast Lessons - Business English lessons by podcast for
intermediate and advanced learners featuring useful phrases and vocabulary. Transcripts
and online exercises available.