BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

LESSON B1

Planning

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary
Match the words in A with their meanings in B.		 A
1. simultaneous
2. business venture
3. presentation
4. second thought
5. invest

Ba. a formal talk, often in order to sell something or get
support for a proposal
b. you use your money in a way that you hope will increase
its valuec. a startup enterprise that is formed with the expectation 			and plan that a financial gain will resultd. reconsideration of a decision or opinion previously madee. happen or exist at the same timeII. DIALOGUE BOX
A : Have you started with the construction project?
B : Not yet. I am still making a plan. I will do a presentation on this during the conference.
A : I see. Do you think you will have it finished by the end of this month?
B : I’m halfway so I will have completed the project before then. I am doing the best I can, knowingthat this is a good business venture for the company.
A : That’s a good idea. I’m sure a lot of our clients will invest on this simultaneously. I still remember
the last time you had a project proposal. Everybody was impressed and the majority invested
without a second thought.
B : Yes, I hope that many will invest on this too.

Comprehension Check
1. When is B expected to finish the project?
2. Why is the making of the project delayed?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6Planning
III. LANGUAGE BOX
Use the future perfect for an action that finishes before certain time in the future.
We will have completed the course before the semester ends.
FUTURE PERFECT(will + have + past participle)
We will + have + completed the proposal before the end of the month.
We will + have + raised the cash flow by the end of the year.
We often use the time preposition ‘by’ to mean before with the future perfect.
Do you think he will + have + finished the book by the end of this month?

IV. SAY IT! There is a big project coming up for your company. The management held
you responsible for the planning. What will you do before and during theplanning stage?

LESSON B2

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

Updating on Progress

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary
Unscramble the letters to form a word.
1. d a m e i - the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazinesthat reach or influence people widely.
2. h u r b r o c e - is a magazine or booklet with pictures that gives you information about aproduct or service
3. d e v r s i a e t - to give information to the public about
4. r o s p e g s r - development
5. a t e l e f l s - a little book or a piece of paper containing information about a particular subject
II. DIALOGUE BOX
A: Have you talked with the manager about the project ?
B: Yes. I’ve already updated him about it and showed him the brochures that we are goingto give to our clients.
A: Does he have any questions?
B: He doesn’t have any questions so far. He was impressed with the brochure.
A: I’m happy to hear that! By the way, I added 300 leaflets and assigned someone to 		
distribute them in the malls and in places where we can get possible clients.
B: I think that’s a good idea and if we still have enough budget we can make use of theelectronic media too.

Comprehension Check
1. Has speaker B informed the manager about the project?
2. What has speaker B done?
3. What has speaker A done for the project?
4. Do you think electronic media is helpful in advertising business?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

Updating on Progress
III. LANGUAGE BOX
When we talk about progress, we often use the present perfect with yet and alreadyto say which things we have done and which things we have not yet done.

We’ve already planned the system of our homepage.
We haven’t translated our homepage yet.
We use the adverbials so far and up to now to talk about our progress until themoment we are speaking.

We have finished the first phase of our system so far.
The artist is still making the layout of our book up to now.
IV. SAY IT! You have been asked to lead a marketing campaign to promote yourcompany. There are people who are under your supervision but some ofthem are from other places. How will you update on progress when you do
not see them everyday?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

LESSON B3

How to Report Success

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary
Complete the sentences using the words listed below.
quarter

optimisticprofit

feedbackfigure

1. The management is eager to hear some ___________ from the employees who joined theteam building.
2. The president is _____________ even with the economic recession.
3. According to the accountant, this year’s ________________ is doubled compared to last year.
4. The ________________for this _______________ is disappointing.
II. DIALOGUE BOX
Betsy : Hi Brian, this is Betsy. How are you doing?
Brian : Fine. I’ve just returned from the Head Office.
Betsy : So, how was your business trip?
Brian : It was wonderful. Boston is a great city. Besides, the people in the Head Office are very 		
welcoming.
Betsy : I’m happy to hear that! By the way, have you met Frank yet? He needs the figures for the lasttwo quarters.
Brian : No, I haven’t seen him yet. We have a meeting at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll give him
the update then.
Betsy : Have you made your presentation yet?
Brian : Yes. I made it yesterday afternoon. I was very nervous, but everything went well.
Betsy : Has the management given you any feedback yet?
Brian : Yes, I’ve already met the sales director and he said he was impressed by my presentation. He
added, that the management was optimistic on this new business venture.
Betsy : That’s great Brian. Congratulations!

Comprehension Check
1. Where did Brian go on a business trip?
2. How does he find the people in the Head Office?
3. Why does Frank want to meet him?
4. What feedback did he get from the sales director?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

How to Report SuccessIII. LANGUAGE BOX

a. Present perfect tense Versus Simple past tense
Present Perfect Tense – used when speaking about open or unfinished time periods
Examples: The results have been satisfying so far.
 Sales have increased by just below 5% since June.
 Our sales team has lost much effort especially this year.
Past Simple Tense – used when speaking about closed or finished time periods
Examples: January’s figures were not that bad.
 Last year we sold 10% more.
 Between December and January sales were good due to the benefits given at the end of theyear.
b. the use of by
By- used to express a changeExamples: Sales went down by 11%.
 Profits are up by $10,000.

IV. SAY IT! Today you feel very optimistic about developments at work. You feel that a
lot of great things have happened to you lately.
What are the three things that have happened at work in the last twelve months thatyou are happy about?
Why do you think great things are happening to you? Do you think you’ve worked hardenough?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

LESSON B4

Innovation

I. WARM-UP

Vocabulary
Unscramble the words and try to guess their meanings.
1. reopw
2. glthi
3. ymoemr
4. epcri
5. demolII. DIALOGUE BOX
Peter : Hello, this is Peter from AP Electronics. I’d like to inform you that we have new 		
improved model of the A47. It’s the A471. You’ll be pleased to hear that it’s much		

lighter and smaller, and it comes with a far bigger memory.

Chris : That sounds very interesting. The A47 is okay but we need a lot more memory power.
Peter : Yes, and I’m sure you’ll be delighted to know that we can offer you a much better		price!
Chris : Now, that is good news!
Peter : Yes, we think it’ll be around 10% cheaper for you.
Chris : Wow! 10%!
Peter : Yes. Could I visit you this week and show you some samples?
Chris : Yes of course, I’ll be free on Friday morning at around 11:00.
Peter : Okay, see you on Friday then!

Comprehension Check
1. Why did Peter call?
2. How is A47 different from A471?
3. If you were Chris, would you buy the new product? Why or why not?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

Innovation
III. LANGUAGE BOX
All of these words can be used with a comparative to show a difference between twothings.
LARGE

SMALL

fara littlemucha bita lot
slightly
considerably

PRECISE
five times
25%$15

Examples:
1. It’s far larger than the old model.
2. The gold model is slightly more expensive than the silver.
3. It’s five times quicker than last year’s model.
IV. SAY IT! You are going to present the new product in your company. You are going towin over the people to buy this product.
How will you convince the people that your product is good and is much betterthat the other product?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

LESSON B5

Giving Feedback on a ProjectI. WARM-UP

Vocabulary
Match the words with their meanings.		 A				
1. facility
2. stock3. range
4. regret5. print out
6. dataB

a. is the complete group that is included between two points on a scale of 		measurement or quality
b. a tool to increase the sales or popularity of a productc. information, usually in a form of facts or statistics that you can analyze
d. the total amount of goods or the amount of a particular type of goods available
in a store
e. is a feeling of sadness or disappointment which is caused by something that has
happened or something you have done or not done
f. is a piece of paper on which information from a computer or similar device has
been printed

II. DIALOGUE BOX
Matt : Okay, then. Let’s see what we’ve got. First, perhaps we could go through sales data and the plan of activities.
Jake : Fine, shall I start with sales?
Matt : Yes, go ahead.
Jake : Well, sales of Asia and Middle Eastern music easily topped the rest. We could have doubled our sales if we hadordered more.
Matt : So next year, should we double orders from that range?
Jake : I think so. On the other hand, we ran out of copies of the Japanese drummers, but I’ve taken orders on those. Here’s aprint out of the sales by region. And on the next page you’ve got sales by label.
Matt : Thanks. I’m surprised that we didn’t take any new advance orders for next month’s new releases.
Jake : But I think we need to make sure that our stock on the stand matches the festival’s line-up of artists much better. We
had Portuguese music, and that Fado singer last night was fantastic.
Mat : Yes, she was. The less familiar music CDs and DVDs didn’t sell so well.
Jake : Well, perhaps we should have had facilities to let people hear CD tracks with headphones before buying. If we’d had
more listening posts, we should have sold much more this time.
Mat : Okay, I’ll make a note of it for next time.

Comprehension Check
1. What’s the point of their discussion?
2. How successful was the project?
3. What are the suggestions for next time?

BUSINESS ENGLISH 6

Giving Feedback on a Project
III. LANGUAGE BOX
Think something through – I need time to think it through before I commit to his proposal.
Give thought to something – I must give thought to this job offer before I decide whether to accept it ornot.
Rethink something – The board of directors should rethink the new action plan to solve the current issue.
Grammar Focus:
Third Conditional – to describe past actions and express regret for not doing something in the past.
a. If – explains a past possibility
Examples: If I’d known that you attended the conference,...
If we had given them the raise,...
b. modal verb + have + past participle – to explain what did not happen in the past
Examples: …., I would have canceled my trip.
…., they wouldn’t have resigned.

IV. SAY IT! You’ve just returned from a trip abroad where you presented your company
at a conference. Explain to your boss which aspects of participation weresuccessful in your company.
What are your suggestions for future conference participation?