COURSE INTRODUCTION

BUSINESS ENGLISH 2

Lecturer: BOGLARKA KISS KULENOVIĆ Office hours: Monday: 12:00 – 13:00

Tuesday: 10:00 – 12:00Room: 20E-mail: bkulenovic@efzg.hr

Contact information

Timetable

Lecture: Monday, 10:00 – 11:30 Seminars:

Tuesday, 8:15 – 9:45 Wednesday, 10:00 – 11:30

REQUIRED LITERATURE

MacKenzie, I. (2010) English for Business Studies, CUP

Business English Resource Bank 2 (2013-14)

Print it out by next time!

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

regular attendance You will not get a signature if you miss more

than 6 classes doctor's notes or other proof of absence have

to be handed in maximum 7 days after the class missed.

active in-class participation (home assignments, participation in discussions);

Organise and role-play a business meeting; passing progress tests or final exam.

TWO WAYS TO GET A GRADE

1) PROGRESS TESTING - BEFORE REGULAR EXAM DATES

regular attendance homework assignments for signature Business meeting active in-class participation additional tasks presented in office hours for higher

grade 3 progress tests oral exam

2) REGULAR EXAM DATES

regular attendance homework assignments for signature Business meeting final comprehensive written test (regular exam

period) final comprehensive oral exam (regular exam

period)

Main topics to be covered in the semester BUSINESS MEETINGS REPORT WRITING DESCRIBING GRAPHS AND CHARTS TRADE BANKING INSURANCE FINANCE THE BUSINESS CYCLE

MEETINGS The meetings will be held in my office during office

hours until the end of the semester You will work with your group from the previous

semester. I can supply a meeting topic and role-play

instructions OR you can suggest one. prepare the meeting, agenda, minutes and roles Hand in the agenda and minutes on the day of the

meeting. Use class input (RB 2) on the structure and

language of meetings Rehearse your role alone and with your team

Meetings 1

Topics to discuss on meetings The purpose of meetings/ effective meetings Key words/ key participants The structure of meetings The language of meetings Downtoning Key documents for meetings: memo, agenda,

minutes

Brainstorming

What are meetings for? What makes meetings effective? What kinds of problems could occur at a

workplace? How could these be solved in meetings?

Key words: nounsExplain what these words mean. Memo Agenda Item Venue Chairperson Minutes Minute-taker

Key words: verbsFind connections Circulate the minutes Schedule a meeting Take minutes Put off a meeting Draw up the minutes Call a meeting Send out the minutes Postpone a meeting

Key words: verbsFind connections Circulate the minutes Schedule a meeting First you take minutes

Put off a meeting

Send out the minutes Call a meeting Then you draw up the

minutes Postpone a meeting

Downtoning – be aware of cultural differences in language

Brits say: With the greatest respect …Foreigners understand: He is listening to meBrits mean: You are an idiot. B say: That's not bad. F: That's poor. B mean: That's good. B say: That is a very brave proposal.F: He thinks I have courage.B mean: You are insane.

www.telegraph.co.uk 02 Sep 2013

Cultural differences (2) B say: Oh, incidentally/ by the way …

F: That is not very important.

B mean: The primary purpose of our discussion is…

B say: I'm sure it's my fault …

F: Why do they think it was their fault?

B mean: It's your fault. B say: You must come for dinner.

F: I will get an invitation soon

B mean: It's not an invitation, I'm just being polite

Watch and listen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_kZT8t75J4 http://australianetwork.com/businessenglish/stories/ep04.ht

m

Replace the Croatian words with their English translation

Downtoning: firm, but polite language

1. Say please and thank you2. Avoid being direct3. Ask, rather than order4. Use indirect questions5. Avoid blaming or accusing6. Understate the point

Downtoning. Match up the two sides.

1. Your prices are not acceptable

2. You must send it straight away.

3. Can you reduce your prices?

4. You’ve made a mistake with my order.

5. There is a problem.

A. I’m afraid there is a problem with the order.

B. It seems we have a small problem.

C. Please could you send it as soon as possible?

D. I was wondering if you could reduce your prices.

E. We think your prices are rather high.

DOWNTONING“You must reduce the price”“I’m afraid the price is too high for us.”

“The price may/ might be too high for us.”

“Maybe you could reduce the price.”

“I wonder if you could reduce the price.”

“Why don’t we consider reducing the price?”

“The price is a little too high for us.”

“The price is a bit too high for us.”

“The price is just too high for us.”

“Let’s see what happens if the price is reduced.”

Making suggestions and proposals Downtone the following sentence:“Read the report first.”

Finish these lines: I advise... I suggest V+ing/ that... Why don’t we ... Shall we ...

Making suggestions and proposals “Read the report first.”“I advise you to read the report first.”

“I suggest reading the report first.”

“I suggest (that) we should read the report first.”

“I suggest (that) we read the report first.”

“Why don’t we read the report first?”

“Shall we read the report first?”

Minutes: Turn the following lines into action minutes. (You have to add some words.) Ian Sullivan, Anne Bulter, Maggie Harrison, John

Smith Results of the market research Room 19 The Product Development Department was

requested to suggest new product features. 14 July We all agreed that an upgrade was necessary. May 2011, 3 p.m. JS The market research showed that customers are

dissatisfied with the opitional features of our product.

Minutes of the management meeting Date: 3 May 2011, 3 p.m. Venue: Room 19 Present: Ian Sullivan, Anne Butler, Maggie

Harrison, John Smith 1 Results of the market research The market research showed that customers are

dissatisfied with the opitional features of our product. We all agreed that an upgrade was necessary.

The Product Development Department was requested to suggest new product features.

JS 14 July

When preparing your role-play meeting:Know what each department does.

public relations department (PR) research and development (R&D) legal department purchasing/procurement department personnel or human resources (HR) production/manufacturing department finance department marketing department information technology department (IT) sales department

HW

RB, p. 39-40. Read