BEP 163 – Fútbol y modismos futbolísticos (Parte 1)

This Business English Pod lesson is the first in a two-part series on idioms that come from football, o futbol.

It’s almost time for the World Cup! And as we wait for the games to kick off, here’s a question for you: ¿Alguna vez te has parado a pensar cuántas similitudes hay entre negocios y deportes??

Grupos de empleados trabajan juntos como equipos. Equipos, o empresas, competir entre sí, tratando de ganar reconocimiento, ganancias, o nuevos clientes. Dadas estas similitudes, no es sorprendente que el lenguaje sea similar cuando hablamos de negocios y deportes. Y varios deportes diferentes han contribuido con modismos al idioma inglés.

Hoy, our focus will be on football idioms. Mientras escuchas el diálogo, es posible que escuches algunas frases que son nuevas para ti. Remembering the relationship between business and sports may help you out. Por supuesto, we’ll go over all of them in the debrief and you’ll have a chance to practice them, too.

We’ll be listening to Karl and Marilyn, two friends that work at a publishing firm. Karl is thinking about applying for a manager’s job at the company’s Sydney location. He’s not sure about it, though, entonces le pregunta a Marilyn qué piensa ella.

Preguntas de escucha

1. ¿Por qué Karl quiere dejar su trabajo actual??
2. What are two things Marilyn knows about the Sydney branch?
3. ¿Qué ha escuchado Karl sobre la sucursal de Sydney??

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BEP 146 – Modismos sobre dinero (Parte 2)

Este es el segundo de dos partes Business English Pod series on idioms related to money.

Many of our day-to-day business transactions involve money, so it’s common to hear money idioms used frequently in business discussions. We use them to talk about handling money and to describe situations with lots of money or no money at all. But we also use them to talk about situations that have nothing to do with moneysuch as evaluating ideas or speculating on their impact.

En el ultimo episodio, we met Kevin and Leah, two employees at a cosmetics company. They’re planning a promotional campaign on a small budget. So they’re brainstorming ideas that will spark customer interest at a reasonable cost.

Ahora, they’re thinking of ways to show that their company’s cosmetics line is good value for money-conscious consumers.

Preguntas de escucha

1. What idea does Kevin suggest at the beginning of the dialog?
2. What are two things the company will have to do if it accepts Kevin’s idea?
3. What are Leah’s concerns about the idea?

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BEP 145 – Modismos sobre dinero (Parte 1)

This is the first of a two-part Business English Pod series on idioms related to money.

It’s difficult to imagine business without money. Después de todo, making money is the main goal of many businesses. Profits often determine a company’s success. And companies must spend money, and budget carefully, to reach their business goals. Entonces, it’s not surprising money idioms are featured regularly in business conversations.

We’ll be covering many of these idioms today. Take note of them as you hear the dialog, but don’t worry if you don’t understand them the first time around. They’ll all be explained in the debrief and you’ll have a chance to practice them at the end.

We’ll be listening to Kevin and Leah, two colleagues at a mid-sized cosmetics company. Cosmetics is the industry name for make-upproducts used to enhance a person’s appearance, such as mascara or eye shadow. They are discussing promotional plans for the coming year while working on a tight budget, so there isn’t much money to spend. Kevin and Leah don’t agree on the best way to spend the money and must find a compromise.

Preguntas de escucha

1. What promotional plan does Kevin suggest?
2. Does Leah agree with this idea? Por qué o por qué no?
3. What does Kevin think the company needs to show?

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BEP 139 – Modismos de navegación: Desempeño de la compañía (2)

This is second of a two-part Business English Pod series on business idioms related to the sea, buques, and sailing.

You’ll often hear sailing idioms used in business discussions. A company is compared to a ship and employees are the ship’s crew.

En el ultimo episodio, two colleagues named Lakisha and Warren were talking about the decline of Trussock’s, an engineering firm. They felt that Trussock’s problems were caused by the new CEO’s poor management. It seemed he had no concrete business plan and employees were confused and very unhappy. Hoy, Lakisha and Warren discuss ways that Trussock’s could become a viable, or successful, company again.

Preguntas de escucha

1) What does Lakisha think should happen with Trussock’s management?
2) How might Trussock’s employees help the company’s situation?

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BEP 138 – Modismos de navegación: Desempeño de la compañía (1)

En este episodio de Business English Pod, we’re going to look at how modismos comerciales related to ships and sailing can be used to describe company performance.

The image of a ship is a powerful one in business. The ship is like a companya huge entity that must be steered toward success, maintained properly, and carefully guided away from dangers like storms and rocks. Employees are often seen as a crew of sailors, a group that must work together as a team. So sailing idioms frequently appear when we discuss business in English.

Today’s episode starts a two-part series on sailing idioms. Lakisha and Warren are two colleagues discussing the decline of Trussock’s, an engineering firm that has been faltering since a new CEO took over.

Preguntas de escucha

1) What are the major differences between Trussock’s old CEO and the new CEO?
2) What do Lakisha and Warren think will help change the situation at Trussock’s?

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