BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

LESSON A1

Meeting Someone New

I. WARM-UPVocabulary

Match the words and phrases with their meanings.
A						B
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

colleague			
newly-appointed		
novice				acquaintance		
tough job			
coincidence		pointers about the job					a. pieces of advice which help someone understand a situationb. a person you know a little and is not a close friendc. an associated. two or more similar events occur at the same time by chancee. a person who has recently been assigned a position
f. a beginner in the workplaceg. a task that is difficult to perform or accomplish

II. DIALOGUE BOX
Peter Mitchell and Mary Simmons meet each other for the first time at a business conference.
PeterMaryPeter
MaryPeterMar
Peter

:::
:
:
:
:

Hello, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Peter Mitchell from Mitchell Creations.
Nice to meet you. I’m Mary Simmons from Speakspeak International.
What do you do there?
I work as the Marketing Director. I think it’s a tough job for a novice like me.
Wow! What a coincidence! We are actually in the same line of work.
Really? Then, you could give me some pointers to help me with the job!
Absolutely! I’d be happy to share them.

Comprehension Check
1. Where does Peter Mitchell work?
2. What does he do there?
3. What does Mary think of her job?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

Meeting Someone New
III. LANGUAGE BOX
The Full Infinitive• We are pleased to meet the new head of our department.
• He waited for the vice-chairman to arrive.
The Bare Infinitive• The manager made him do it.
• Help me introduce our new executive assistant.

IV. SAY IT! What would you say if...?
a. You met your high school friend and you forgot her name.
b. You picked up a client at an airport.
c.

You met the new CEO.

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

LESSON A2Making an Offer

I. WARM-UPVocabulary

Guess the meaning of the underlined words.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

an official evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of someone
an extra amount of money added to someone’s pay
to make an urgent, emotional statement or request for somethingan organization of workers aiming to improve things.
a general increase in the prices of goods and services

1.

The company expected the inflation rate would go up due to the continuing increase ofprices of goods and services.
Peter received a bonus of $200 from the company for closing the deal.
The poor employee pleaded to the management for them not to fire him.
The company would only allow the workers to form a union with agreeable objectives.
Each employee is given compensation based on the appraisal of his or her performanceat work.

2.
3.
4.
5.

II. DIALOGUE BOX
HR Manager: May I start Mr. President?
President: Yes, go ahead.
HR Manager: The leaders of the worker’s union have given a long list of their demands			 regarding the bonus based on workers performance appraisal.
President: What about giving me simple details on each demand?
HR Manager: Very well, sir. First, they want an additional 20% on the present bonus -President: I understand their plea but it’s very difficult to meet their wants due to the			economic inflation.
HR Manager: How about meeting them again to negotiate?
President: Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5Making an Offer
Comprehension Check
1. What is the demand of the union?
2. Did the company agree to the demand?
3. What will the company do next?
III. LANGUAGE BOX
Giving suggestions using:
What+about+verb-ing

How• What about calling the HR office tomorrow?
• How about giving more benefits to the workers?

IV. SAY IT! Practice giving and making suggestions.
You are in the meeting that has been going on for three hours. As the presiding officer,
give and make suggestions to direct the meeting efficiently.

Guide Questions:
1. How would you point out the deficiencies of the meeting?
2. How would you redirect the meeting to make it smoother and clearer?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

LESSON A3

Offering Some Help

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary

Match the words and phrases with their meanings.
1.
2.
3.
4
5.

A					B
accounting				
a. a work sheet arranged in mathematical functions
icon
b. keeping financial accounts
spreadsheet				c. graphic image
update					d. account of events or information
record					e. new information added to a record

II. DIALOGUE BOX
HR Manager :Samantha:
Ms. Chen:
Samantha:									Ms. Chen:
Samantha:

Hello Samantha, this is Ms. Chen. She is your new assistant.
Hi, Ms. Chen. I’ll be happy to help you with anything.
Oh, Thank you. I actually need help now with the accounting form.
I see. First, click the documents’ icons to see the employees’ spreadsheet.
Then, highlight an employee’s name for individual record. Next, click the
update box at the bottom of the sheet. Finally, click each section under thatbox to see if the record is updated.
Wow! That’s easy. Thank you, Samantha.
You’re welcome.

Comprehension Check
1. What does Ms. Chen ask from Samantha?
2. Did Samantha willingly help Ms. Chen?
3. If you were Ms. Chen, would you ask for help?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

Offering Some Help
III. LANGUAGE BOX
Sequence adverbs (adverbials of sequence) are signal words used to understandthe order of a process or activity. They are followed by a comma ( ‚ ). The mostcommon ones are:first/firstly
first of allthennext

after that
finally

Look for these signal words in the Dialogue Box.

IV. SAY IT! Practice giving and making suggestions.
You are going to work with a colleague from China. Both of you are in charge of anew project in your department. Your manager wants you to orient the system ofyour office to the Chinese co-worker.

Guide Questions:
1. What are the things you will introduce to your new colleague?
2. How are you going to build rapport with her?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

LESSON A4

Taking Down Information

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary

Do you know these gadgets? What are they for?
II. DIALOGUE BOX
Secretary:
Caller:Secretary:
Caller:Secretary:			Caller:Secretary:
Caller:Secretary:

Hello, Speakspeak English, good morning!
Hello, this is Bob Hall. May I please speak to Mr. Mitchell?
I’m sorry, could you spell your last name, please?
It’s spelt H-A-L-L.
Thank you, Mr. Mitchell is out to lunch right now. Would you liketo leave a message?
No, I’ll call him later. May I know what time he’ll be in?
He won’t be back to the office until 2 p.m.
Excuse me. Did you say two o’clock in the afternoon?
Yes, that’s right.

Comprehension Check
1. Who is the caller looking for?
2. Where is Mr. Mitchell at that time of the call?
3. Do you think the caller was surprised to know Mr. Mitchell’s coming back late?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5Taking Down Information
III. LANGUAGE BOX
The following expressions are commonly used when asking clarifications on what someone
else have just said.
• Pardon me / I beg your pardon (more polite)• I’m sorry• Excuse me
Look for these expressions in the Dialogue Box.

IV. SAY IT! You are going to call Imperial Palace Hotel to book a room for 5 people for 3 nights.
Ask the following queries:
a. room accommodationb. mealsc. other amenities (e.g. Internet connection, pool, etc.)

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

LESSON A5

Small Talk

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary
Look up for the words in the Dialogue Box and guess their meanings.
A					B
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

small talk			
previous			say				a bit			
whereabouts		

a. used to express surprise or get attention
b. a little
c. a light conversationd. in what placee. coming before something else

II. DIALOGUE BOX
Mr. Watanabe was waiting for a taxi at an airport exit door when Peter Mitchell, anAmerican, standing next to him started to make a small talk.
Peter Mitchell :Mr. Watanabe :Peter Mitchell :			Mr. Watanabe :Peter Mitchell :Mr. Watanabe :Peter Mitchell :Mr. Watanabe :Peter Mitchell :Mr. Watanabe :Peter Mitchell :Mr. Watanabe :The weather is getting hotter, isn’t it?
What?
It wasn’t as hot as this in previous years, so I think the weather nowadays
is getting hotter.
Yeah, I was a bit surprised when I step out from the plane.
Say, where are you from?
I’m from Japan.
Whereabouts?
Tokyo. It’s my first time to visit the US.
Wow! Welcome to America.
Thank you. But, I can’t take a taxi from here, can I?
Of course, you can. Here’s one coming.
Ah.

Comprehension Check
1. Where is Mr. Watanabe?
2. Do you think Mr. Watanabe was surprised at Peter Mitchell?
3. What would you do if you were Mr Watanabe and Peter Mitchell suddenly started
a conversation?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 5

Small Talk
III. LANGUAGE BOX
Tag Questions are short questions added to the end of a positive or negative statement.
We use tag questions to ask for confirmation.		 (+) Positive statement		(–) Negative Tag		Snow is white,			
isn’t it?
Tag questions with ‘be’		 (–) Negative statement				
The food isn’t delicious,(+) Postive tagis it?

Tag questions with ‘do’		 (–) Negative statement				She doesn’t like English,		(+) Positive statement				She likes English,(+) Postive tag
does she?
(–) Negative Tag
doesn’t she?

Tag questions with Modals		 (+) Positive statement				She can speak English,		 (–) Negative statement				He shouldn’t do that,(–) Negative Tag
can’t she?
(+) Postive tag
should he?

IV. SAY IT! Start a small talkYou are going to pick a colleague at an airport. Ask him about his flight or other topics
you think would be interesting for both of you.
Other suggested topics:
a. weather
b. stock market
c. latest headlines