Business English is about more than begin able to speak English – it is about communicating your ideas in ways other people will want to listen to and accept. In this lesson we examine a basic way to change the structure of your sentence – not the meaning – so that it is softer and more acceptable in a work environment.

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epod_biz148_A55.mp3(5.47mb)

In this lesson you will learn how to “small talk” or the basic conversations to build relationships with people. This podcast shows you how to ask about something that happened – show interest in a friend or colleague’s life.

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epod_biz147_A54.mp3(5.86mb)

This aa podcast covers common phrases people use when they are making presentations, especially one with a visual aid – a chart, PowerPoint slides or handouts. In this podcast, you will listen to Jennifer give a presentation and answer questions from her boss. She uses language to talk about the graphs she is presenting, language to direct people’s attention to what she’s talking about and terms to describe the graph itself.

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epod_biz146_C25.mp3(6.03mb)

The dialogue in this lesson is between two colleagues after a long meeting or negotiation. In this dialogue you will hear new business vocabulary, language to invite someone out informally and language to try and persuade or convince someone to come if they say, “no” to your invitation. This is very common language that can be used between coworkers and friends

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epod_biz145_D31.mp3(6.03mb)

In this podcast Scott and Jessica discuss “downtoning” or speaking diplomatically. Often there are things we want to and have to say but know that it might offend someone. If you are able to tone down your language and speak diplomatically, you’ll be able to express your ideas in a way that someone else will accept.

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epod_biz144_C24.mp3(5.10mb)

In today’s podcast lesson we are going to listen to two friends going shopping. We will hear how they discuss what to buy and try to negotiate a good price with the seller. In England and the United States, bargaining is not done as much as it used to be. In most shops, the sticker price is the final offer by the owner and the buyer cannot suggest a lower price. However, there are still some times when we need to bargain in English: when buying a house or apartment; when buying second-hand items, and many times in business.

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epod_biz143_D30.mp3(18.8mb)

Gossip and rumors are hard to avoid and sometimes when we hear them it’s even hard to keep it to ourselves- that is the nature of gossip. You want to spread it around, but you want to be loyal to the person who told it to you. Today we will learn about three different ways of talking about secrets in English

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epod_biz142_B37.mp3(11.9mb)

Today’s English lesson is about appearance, or what someone looks like. We are going to practice describing people’s appearances and then comparing them to each other. It is quite common for native English speakers to have to make comparisons between people.

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epod_biz141_D29.mp3(10.1mb)

In today’s podcast lesson we are going to learn about the differences between exaggeration and understatement in English and how people use or recognize them. Many of the examples of exaggeration and understatement are idioms.

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epod_biz140_B36.mp3(11.5mb)

Today’s lesson is about shopping. When traveling abroad, it is always fun to go shopping. There are several phrases that native English speakers often use when shopping, so to help you bring home some nice souvenirs, we are going to look at a few of them today.

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epod_biz139_D28.mp3(13.2mb)

In today’s lesson we are going to look at the skill of paraphrasing stories, using old stories that have moral lessons in them to help. Paraphrasing involves restating someone else’s ideas in your own words and is a useful tool for improving your fluency.

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epod_biz138_C23.mp3(10.6mb)

In today’s mp3 lesson we are going to listen to how to invite someone to your house for dinner and how to accept. We will also listen to ways of making offers to bring something along or to help with the dinner. The dialogue is in three parts - the invitation, entering the home and leaving after dinner.

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epod_biz137_B35.mp3(12.0mb)

Today’s lesson is about health. Wherever you are, it is important to be able to go to a doctor or get medicine if you are ill. English is the international language or communication, so if you find yourself feeling sick in a foreign country, we are going to look at how to say what is wrong with you.

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epod_biz136_A53.mp3(11.7mb)

Today’s lesson is about travel. It is important to be able to say things that you have done in English. To do this we use the present perfect tense. We are going to listen to some native English speakers using the present perfect tense to describe past travels.

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epod_biz135_D27.mp3(10.3mb)

Today’s podcast lesson is about crime and punishment. There is a lot of legal language that is useful to know if you ever want to talk about a court case. There are often controversial court cases that become popular topics of conversation and many American TV shows involve police and/or lawyers, so we will look at some of the vocabulary that is used in the legal system.

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epod_biz134_C22.mp3(12.0mb)

Today’s topic is the weather. This is a good topic for beginning conversations, especially with people you don’t know well - what we call small talk in English. It’s also something we commonly complain about in English. Discussing the weather is not as simple as you may think. There are many ways to describe the environment around you and how it makes you feel. The weather has a great influence on our mood (the rain in London, the sun in Las Vegas), so it is important to know how to talk about it.

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epod_biz133_B34.mp3(11.5mb)

Today’s English lesson is about banks. If you move to a foreign country, you will most likely have to set up a bank account. Even if you aren’t planning a move, when traveling you may need to go to a bank for one reason or another. It can be difficult if you don’t know any bank terminology, so today we are going to look at different some English bank vocabulary.

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epod_biz132_A52.mp3(11.7mb)

Today’s lesson is about dates. There are many different ways of expressing a date in English. Native English speakers often use a variety to say the same thing, so it is important for you to know what they are talking about when they say a date to you.

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epod_biz131_D26.mp3(15.9mb)

Today’s lesson is about car accidents. Anything can happen on the road. There are a variety of ways to describe an accident in English. Hopefully if you are traveling or living abroad you won’t be in this situation, but it helps to know how just in case.

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epod_biz130_C21.mp3(13.2mb)

Today’s lesson is about money and spending. Native English speakers often use idioms, especially when money is involved. Today we are going to look at some of the most common idioms that are used when referring to money. Even if you don’t use idioms yourself, it is important to know what people are talking about so that you can hold a conversation.

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epod_biz129_B33.mp3(10.6mb)

Today’s lesson is about scheduling. It is important to be able to arrange a meeting or to talk about your daily schedule so that you can plan things. When describing your schedule and trying to arrange a time for something there are several words and phrases that are commonly used. We will look at some of these today.

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epod_biz128_A51.mp3(8.48mb)

Today’s mp3 lesson is about introductions. Often, when two people meet, they ask each other many questions. These questions can be different, but there are several that are almost always asked. We also often ask the same question that someone has just asked us, back to them. We are going to look at some natural spoken English that involves asking questions to someone that you have just met for the first time.

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epod_biz127_D25.mp3(12.1mb)

Today’s mp3 lesson is about dinner parties. In English speaking countries friends will often invite each other over for dinner and everyone will bring something to the party. The person who is having the party usually tells their friends what to bring to the party. It is important to be able to ask people for things, so we will look at how to politely ask your English speaking friends to bring something to the party.

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epod_biz126_A50.mp3(11.1mb)

Today’s podcast lesson is about time. There are several different ways to tell time in English. We will look at different phrases that are used to tell time. We are going to discuss a person’s daily schedule: what time they do things. English speaking people talk a lot about time, so there are many time expressions to learn.

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epod_biz125_D24.mp3(11.4mb)

In today’s podcast mp3 we are going to be listening to introductions. Introducing yourself is very important. It is likely to be the first impression someone has of you, so you want it to be good. When we introduce ourselves in English, we usually tell the person our name, ask them theirs and ask them what they do for work and where they’re from. Today we’ll show you how to give good introductions by listening to two – one bad and one good.

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epod_biz124_D23.mp3(10.9mb)

Today’s lesson is looking at some different health terms. Sometimes, we just can’t help getting sick, especially when the seasons change or we are under a lot of stress. Other times being sick is a good excuse for just getting some time off to catch up or relax.

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epod_biz123_B32.mp3(9.38mb)

Most of us have daily routines. Part of these daily routines involve the times we must get up, be off to work, eat lunch, finish work, and get home. In today’s lesson we will be thinking about some of these times and how to express them properly using the best time preposition.

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epod_biz122_A49.mp3(11.0mb)

Appearance is important, whether in order to give a good first impression, to stand out in a crowd, to describe someone we saw or even to clarify we are talking about the same person. In today’s lesson we are going to listen to two situations where it is important to describe someone’s appearance to another person. You will hear two people describe their friends. Listen for the adjectives being used to describe appearance. Also in this lesson you will hear an example of asking for a favor, which might also be useful.

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epod_biz121_D22.mp3(8.7mb)

In today’s podcast lesson we well talk about things that happened in the past. It is common for English speakers to ask each other about what they did yesterday, last night, and last week. We will practice talking about vacations (UK holidays) and use words describing activities that people do on vacation.

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epod_biz120_D21.mp3(10.2mb)

To sound more like a native speaker of English, it is necessary to learn some of the reduced forms used in daily speech. It is also important if you want to understand what native speakers are saying. As you may have noticed, we do not pronounce every word clearly. While you listen to today’s podcast, make notes of the words that you think are in their reduced forms.

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epod_biz119_A48.mp3(10.2mb)

In today’s English podcast David is looking for a new apartment. Liz and David are discussing the things he wants and needs in a new apartment.

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epod_biz118_B31.mp3(9.92mb)

Today’s lesson is about dating. If you are very good friends with an English speaker; you can ask each other about your ‘love life’. Dating can be complicated, so it is often difficult to describe your relationship. That’s why in this podcast we’ll look at some different terms used in English to describe relationships.

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epod_biz117_B30.mp3(9.9mb)

In today’s lesson we are looking at how to talk about or avoid sensitive topics.
You need to be careful when expressing ideas about race, religion or other sensitive topics. The United States is a good example of a multi-cultural society. Talking about sensitive topics like religion or politics is often avoided in order to be sure not to offend someone of a different belief system. This is often referred to as being “politically correct”. However, sometimes it is not just the big issues but also small ones like appearance, poor work performance or bad habits that can be difficult to talk about. In the 5 dialogues we will hear, a person will bring up a sensitive topic, and another will either avoid the topic or discuss it carefully.

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epod_biz116_A47.mp3(10.7mb)

In today’s Business English podcast we are going to learn some language relating to hotels – in particular the check-in process. In the mp3 dialogue, Christy works at the reception desk of a large hotel, and we will listen as she welcomes a guest and checks him in to the hotel.

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epod_biz115_B29.mp3(9.88mb)