Five-Minute Activities for Business English

by Paul Emmerson , Nick Hamilton

• ISBN13: 9780521547413
• ISBN10: 0521547415
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-21
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This comprehensive resource book contains an easy-to-use set of short activities essential for anyone teaching Business English. Reflecting real-life business activities such as emails, noisy telephone conversations, making excuses, negotiating, handling customer complaints and cultural awareness, Five-Minute Activities for Business English helps teachers mirror the pacey feel of the work environment. This book is also of interest to teachers of general English who are looking for stimulating skills-based activities in meaningful contexts and complements both tailored and coursebook-based materials. The four main areas covered are 'Business topics', 'Business communication skills', 'Language work' and 'Exploiting coursebooks'. These areas feature activities on various topics such as money, finance, meetings, negotiations, telephoning, management, marketing, etc.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(54)
Needs analysis	3	(1)
1 Business topics: jobs and careers
1.1 Job skills	4	(1)
1.2 What's your job?	5	(1)
1.3 Perks and drags	5	(1)
1.4 My job and me	6	(1)
1.5 Dream job	6	(1)
1.6 What would your boss say?	7	(1)
1.7 Interview experience	7	(1)
1.8 Interview questions	8	(1)
1.9 Career stages	9	(1)
1.10 What's your background?	9	(1)
1.11 Career plans	10	(1)
2 Business topics: the company
2.1 Describing your company	11	(1)
2.2 Organigrams	11	(1)
2.3 Logos	12	(1)
2.4 SWOT analysis	12	(2)
2.5 Company plans	14	(1)
3 Business topics: products and services
3.1 Product profiles	15	(1)
3.2 USP	16	(1)
3.3 Business documents	16	(1)
3.7 Complaints	17	(2)
4 Business topics: management and marketing
4.1 Management tips	19	(1)
4.2 Demotivation	19	(1)
4.3 Is it ethical?	20	(1)
4.4 Brand associations	20	(1)
4.5 Magazine pictures	21	(1)
4.6 What makes a good sales consultant?	21	(1)
4.7 An entrepreneur I admire	22	(1)
5 Business topics: money and finance
5.1 Saying figures	23	(1)
5.2 Describing trends	23	(2)
5.3 Pelmanism	25	(1)
5.4 Spending, wasting, saving	26	(1)
5.5 Budgets	27	(1)
5.6 Financial statements	27	(1)
5.7 Investment portfolio	28	(1)
5.8 Tracking shares	29	(1)
6 Business topics: information technology
6.1 IT and me	30	(1)
6.2 What's your favourite website?	31	(1)
6.3 E-commerce	31	(1)
6.4 Internet news	31	(1)
6.5 Internet translation tools	32	(1)
6.6 Researching your own culture	33	(2)
7 Business topics: cultural awareness
7.1 Cultural controversy	35	(1)
7.2 Iceberg or onion?	35	(2)
7.3 Flight to Rubovia	37	(1)
7.4 Do's and Don'ts	38	(2)
8 Business communication skills: telephoning
8.1 Taking a message	40	(1)
8.2 Arranging a meeting	41	(1)
8.3 Hotel reservation	42	(1)
8.4 Swapping email addresses and phone numbers	43	(1)
8.5 Is that N for November?	44	(1)
8.6 Noisy telephone conversations	45	(1)
9 Business communication skills: meetings and negotiations
9.1 Opening the meeting	46	(1)
9.2 Discussion flowchart	47	(1)
9.3 The clarification game	48	(1)
9.4 Disagreeing	49	(1)
9.5 Diplomatic language	50	(1)
9.6 Problems, problems	51	(1)
9.7 Crisis!	52	(1)
9.8 Setting the agenda	52	(1)
9.9 Negotiation areas	53	(1)
9.10 Firm or flexible?	54	(1)
10 Business communication skills: presentations
10.1 Mini-presentations	55	(1)
10.2. Persuasion	56	(1)
10.3 Presentation structure	56	(1)
10.4 Signposts	57	(2)
10.5 To read or not to read, that is the question	59	(2)
10.6 The best presentation I ever heard	61	(1)
10.7 Effective performance	61	(1)
11 Business communication skills: social English
11.1 First few minutes	62	(1)
11.2 Follow-up questions	63	(1)
11.3 Standard exchanges	64	(1)
11.4 What do you say when...?	65	(1)
11.5 Menus	66	(1)
11.6 It's a good story, isn't it?	67	(1)
12 Language work: speaking
12.1 'Wh' questions	68	(1)
12.2 Things in common	68	(1)
12.3 Days of the week	69	(1)
12.4 Time management	69	(1)
12.5 My goldfish just died	70	(1)
12.6 Current project	71	(1)
12.7 Factor fiction?	72	(1)
12.8 I'll never forget	72	(1)
13 Language work: writing
13.1 Email tips	73	(1)
13.2 Follow-up email	74	(1)
13.3 Quick email responses	74	(1)
13.4 Chain letter	75	(1)
13.5 Writing emails	75	(1)
13.6 Reformulate a letter to an email	76	(1)
13.7 Email abbreviations	77	(1)
13.8 Passing notes	78	(1)
13.9 The purpose of this report	79	(1)
14 Language work: listening
14.1 Dictating news headlines	80	(1)
14.2 Jumbled sentences	80	(2)
14.3 Stop the tape and continue	82	(1)
14.4 Incorrect summaries	82	(1)
14.5 Listen and count	83	(1)
15 Language work: reading
15.1 Response to a text	84	(1)
15.2 Questioning the text	85	(1)
15.3 More than single words	85	(1)
15.4 Figures in the news	86	(1)
15.5 Class-generated text summary	86	(1)
16 Language work: pronunciation
16.1 Phonological chunking	87	(1)
16.2 Stress patterns	88	(1)
16.3 Problem sounds	89	(1)
17 Language work: vocabulary
17.1 What's the difference?	90	(1)
17.2 Brainstorming collocations	90	(2)
17.3 Devowelled words	92	(1)
17.4 Lexical dominoes	92	(2)
17.5 What does that stand for?	94	(1)
17.6 Hot seat	94	(1)
17.7 Dictionary search	95	(1)
17.8 Categorising vocabulary	96	(1)
17.9 English loan words	97	(1)
17.10 Business metaphors	98	(1)
17.11 Responding to a lesson	98	(1)
18 Language work: grammar
18.1 Putting back the grammar	99	(1)
18.2 Expanding sentences	100	(1)
18.3 Five-minute dictogloss	101	(1)
18.4 English -> L1 -> English	102	(1)
18.5 France/French	102	(1)
18.6 In my office	103	(1)
18.7 If it was up to me...	104	(1)
18.8 Correct yourself	104	(1)
19 Exploiting coursebooks
19.1 Revise key phrases	105	(1)
19.2 DIY gapfill	106	(1)
19.3 Cover it up (two columns)	107	(1)
19.4 Cover it up (gapfill)	108	(1)
19.5 Noticing language in a tapescript	109	(1)
19.6 Role play changes	109