POLI2aula3_usetheseguidelines

Prévia do material em texto

Use these guidelines 
 
Use these words and 
expressions 
1. 
INTRODUCE... 
yourself (studies, future plans, ...) 
the company (type of activity, 
location, assets, problems) 
A work placement / a training 
period / a training session / a 
work experience 
2. EXPLAIN... how you prepared your work 
experience. 
how you chose / found the 
company. 
what you expected from this 
experience. 
 
 
I started applying for this 
position in October. 
I had to call a large number of 
firms. 
They were impressed by my 
CV. 
3. 
DESCRIBE... 
your activities. (Did you analyze a 
problem? Did you create / improve 
something? What tools did you use? 
What were your working hours? Did 
you work on your own or in a 
team?) 
the difficulties you had to face. 
(They could be technical problems, 
or human relationships problems.) 
I worked with my tutor / 
supervisor in the R&D 
[Research & Development] 
department. 
I sometimes worked on my 
own. 
I was in charge of the supply 
chain. 
I had to reorganize the 
warehouse. 
My job consisted in 
reorganising the warehouse. 
I was asked to reorganise the 
warehouse. 
I carried out a study of the 
supply chain. 
I had no difficulty mastering the 
new software they used. 
The staff were very friendly. 
4. ANALYSE... the results. 
 for the company. (Will they 
use what you created? Did 
you change their way of 
working?) 
 for yourself. 
 in terms of professional 
skills. (What did you learn / 
improve?) 
 in terms of personality: what 
qualities did you develop 
(self-reliance, patience, 
team-work, creativity, ...) 
 what you liked and didn't 
like. 
 Has it changed your 
attitude? your vision of 
working life? your choice of 
a career? 
They are still using the forms I 
created. 
They have accepted my 
suggestions. 
It gave me first-hand 
knowledge of life in a factory. 
It forced me to master new 
skills. 
It showed me how important it 
is to speak English. 
5. by deciding if it was a positive / I think it was a great 
 
 
CONCLUDE... negative experience. experience. 
It was not quite as positive as I 
expected. 
DIALOGUE SITUATION: INTERVIEW WITH JODY, HAIR STYLIST AND MAKEUP 
ARTIST 
Pay special attention to the words in bold in order to increase your vocabulary. 
Interviewer: So, What’s your name? 
Jody: Jody Kinney. 
Interviewer: And what’s your job title? 
Jody: I’m a hair stylist and makeup artist. 
Interviewer: How long have you been working in this job? 
Jody: For about eight years. 
Interviewer: What experience did you have before that helps you in this job? 
Jody: Probably just experience with people. I like people and I’ve always done 
people’s makeup and stuff, so… 
Interviewer: What training or education did you have that helps in this job? 
Jody: Well, I went to beauty school, and then I did assisting in a salon, so I was 
someone’s assistant, and then learned from then until I was confident to go out on my 
own. 
Interviewer: How long is beauty school? 
Jody: If you do it full time, it’s about eleven months, give or take a few days here and 
there. 
Interviewer: And then, after that, how long did it take you to feel confident to go out on 
your own? 
Jody: About three months. 
Interviewer: That’s pretty good. 
Jody: Yeah 
Interviewer: What classes, or training would you suggest for someone interested in 
this job? 
Jody: Well, they’d have to go to beauty school, and then, it’s always encouraged to 
continue education, to keep going to classes and learning different things. Learning 
new things, yeah. ‘cause you’re never finished learning. 
Interviewer: What kind of person would be good for this job? 
Jody: Someone who can handle people – all different personalities, a people pleaser 
basically, yeah 
Interviewer: What is the most fun part of your work? 
Jody: I get to talk all day about whatever I want. I can dress however I want. Instant 
gratification. Someone comes in looking bad, and they leave looking good. And they 
have a big smile on their face, and I have lots of freedom, and, yeah, it’s and you make 
people look pretty. It’s great. 
Interviewer: What is the most challenging or difficult part of your work? 
Jody: Challenging is . . . . 
Interviewer: Is it all easy? 
Jody: No. Depending on the client. Clients can be very challenging. Really picky 
people that are never happy. So there’s lots of those, but generally, it’s not a big 
challenge – finding the right place to work, you know, the right amount of business, you 
know. Paper work is always fun. Doing your taxes – that’s challenging. 
Interviewer: What is your busy period at work, is it part of the year, part of the month? 
Jody: Busiest is probably fall and winter, like Christmas area – around Christmas and 
also spring. 
Interviewer: What is special or unique about your job? 
Jody: Just that every single person is different, even though it’s all hair, you know. It’s 
never monotonous. It’s always – Every single person is different, so it doesn’t get 
boring, and, yeah, it’s great – you make people happy. That’s the best part. 
 
 
Interviewer: Thank you. 
Jody: You’re welcome. 
 
DIALOGUE SITUATION: TALKING ABOUT YOUR JOB 
Now let’s take a look at a more advanced level dialogue. People use now 
business jargon (special vocabulary concerned to business). You’ll first read the 
dialogue with the jargons and then the “translated” version. 
Tim: Hey, can I get a little facetime? 
Randall: Sure, let's dialogue. 
Tim: Great. I tried to ping you earlier, but you weren't in. 
Randall: Yeah, I had to handle some pushback on my proposal. 
Tim: Really, why was that? 
Randall: Well, I've come up with a number of synergies in the value chain. My value 
proposition was to seamlessly integrate our customer service reps. 
Tim: Sounds like a win-win. How long is the ramp-up? 
Randall: That's the problem. I projected a roll-out in two months. C-level people want 
to dial-in the project in two weeks. 
Tim: ...but you're proposing an end-to-end solution! 
Randall: Yeah, I know. I had the time-frame mapped out for all the deliverables, too. 
Tim: Sometimes you have to wonder about high-level management's capabilities to 
leverage people like you! 
Randall: You're much too kind! Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk to me about? 
Tim: Nothing much, I just wanted to give you a heads-up on some performance 
management issues I've been having with Pete. 
Randall: No room to breathe? 
Tim: You've got it .... 
 
TRANSLATION INTO EASY (WELL, EASIER) ENGLISH 
Tim: Hey, do you have some time for me? 
Randall: Sure, let's talk. 
Tim: Great. I tried to contact you earlier, but you weren't in. 
Randall: Yeah, I had to manage some complaints about my idea for the company. 
Tim: Really, why was that? 
Randall: Well, I thought of a number of tasks that can complement each other in how 
we provide our service. My improvement idea was to include our customer service 
representatives our processes. 
Tim: That sounds like a good idea for everybody. How long will it take to put your plan 
into action? 
Randall: That's the problem. I think it will take two months to put into place. The 
directors want to put the project into action in two weeks. 
Tim: ...but you've suggested a complete solution to the problem! 
Randall: Yes, I know. I had developed a schedule for all of the improvements, too. 
Tim: Sometimes it's difficult to understand why upper management can't take 
advantage of people like you! 
Randall: You're much too kind! Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk to me about? 
Tim: Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you ahead of time about some problems I'm 
having with Pete trying to control everything I do. 
Randall: No room for your own efforts? 
Tim: That's right. 
 
KEY VOCABULARY 
facetime (noun)- time together 
to dialogue (verb) - to speak 
to ping (verb) - to contact someone 
pushback (noun) - to object to, complain about 
 
 
synergies (noun) - combinations in efforts that improve something 
value chain (noun) - the group of processes thatprovide something positive 
value proposition (noun) - the improvement idea 
seamlessly (adverb) - flowing smoothly 
to integrate (verb) - to include in a process 
win-win (noun, also used as an adjective) - successful outcome for everyone involved 
ramp-up (noun, also used as a verb) - time it takes to do something 
roll-out (noun, also used as a verb) - time it takes to do something 
C-level (adjective) - upper management, directors 
to dial-in (verb) - time it takes to do something 
end-to-end (adjective) - complete 
time-frame (noun) - amount of time needed 
to map out (verb) - to plan 
deliverables (noun) - specific improvements or products to be made 
to leverage (verb) - to take advantage of something 
heads-up (noun) - notice of something 
performance management (noun) - way of managing someone 
 
Now, in order to listen to more examples, go to: 
Talking about your job - http://www.businessenglishpod.com/2010/05/02/bep-159-
int-talking-about-your-job/ 
Talking about your company - http://www.businessenglishpod.com/2010/05/09/bep-
160-int-talking-about-your-company/