INGLES - Unit 2 (Socializing)

Inglés para el Ámbito Comercial I (Unit 2) 1

UNIT 2 SOCIALIZING AND CULTURAL AWARENESS

‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’ Anonymous

INTRODUCTION Translate into English the following text Agasajar a visitantes invitándolos a casa del anfitrión existe en algunas culturas pero no en otras, en las que la el trabajo y la vida privada se mantienen completamente separadas. La conciencia de la diversidad cultural en ésta y en otras areas puede conducir a una mayor comunicación y a evitar malos entendidos. Hoy en día las empresas gastan cada vez más tiempo y dinero en formación intercultural pero ello no siempre va acompañado de una formación lingüística para facilitar la interacción social. Socializar en otro idioma no es fácil. Quienes aprenden un idioma demandan, con toda razón, fórmulas para situaciones particulares. Esto a menudo se denomina charla informal. Sin embargo, referirse a ello como ‘informal’ infravalora su importancia. Quienes aprenden un idioma lo ven como una fuente de problemas e, inevitablemente, de meteduras de pata. Todo el mundo tiene historias sobre errores de este tipo, quizás cometidos por ellos mismos. Contarlas puede ser una útil manera de romper el hielo con visitantes. Quotation: The idea is that someone may pay for your lunch but that something will always be expected from you in return. In business terms this might be a contract, better sales terms, a job or some other favour. VISITORS

91. You are going to hear five short conversations (2.1). Listen to each one and decide

• who do you think the speakers are?

• where they are

• what one speaker hands to the other.


2. Visitors from abroad may be interested to learn more about your country and local customs. For example, they might be interested in ♦ festivals ♦ politics ♦ the climate ♦ the economy ♦ natural resources ♦ the tax laws ♦ history ♦ food and drink ♦ races ♦ national sports ♦ television and radio networks ♦ the currency Make and answer one question for each item 93.Listen to the first part of the interview with Tony Barnard (2.3), an expert on corporate entertaining. Then answer these questions.

1. What kind of entertaining programme do most companies have?

2. According to Tony, why do companies spend money on corporate entertaining?

3. What other events are mentioned in addition to the ‘big six’?

94. Listen to the second part of the interview (2.4) and answer these questions.

A. Why is corporate entertaining important for small businesses?

B. What does Tony think about entertaining in times of economic decline?

5. What big events do companies use to entertain customers in your country? 6. Corporate entertaining in Japan Skim the article below. Then decide which of these headlines is the most appropriate.

1. JAPAN SAYS GOODBYE TO KARAOKE NIGHTS

2. JAPAN PREFERS TO SING AS BUDGETS ARE CUT

3. JAPANESE GOVERNMENT TO TAX GIFT AND ENTERTAINMENT


7. Now read the article carefully. Are the following statements true or false?

1. The number of bar hostesses is increasing. ⇒

2. Spending on entertaining is the lowest since 1961. ⇒

3. Saving money is now important to business in Japan. ⇒

4. Entertaining in restaurants and karaoke bars is still important. ⇒

5. Nightclubs are less important for entertainment than in the past. ⇒

6. Employees prefer to pay for corporate gift giving themselves at New Year. ⇒

8. Find words or phrases in the article which mean:

1. reduced by 50% (paragraph 2) ⇒

2. decreasing rapidly (paragraph 2) ⇒

3. reorganising a company (paragraph 4) ⇒

4. a plan of how to spend an amount for a period of time (paragraph 4) ⇒

5. economically good times (paragraph 4) ⇒

6. a large business organisation of several companies (paragraph 7) ⇒


SOCIALISING: GREETING AND SMALL TALK 9 9. Listen to the following conversation between Carmela and David Evans, an expert in business English, talking about ‘Business socializing’. Then answer the following questions.

a) Does David think that socializing is an easy thing?

b) Find the English equivalents to the following expressions as they are used in the recording. • Hola, usted debe ser Darren Johnston.

• Creo que la última vez que nos vimos fue en Birminghan.

• Permítame presentarle a Kevin.

c) What’s the standard way of greeting someone you haven’t met before?

d) What common and friendly way can you use to ask someone about his/her job? What’s a common answer?

e) What do you ask if you want to know in more detail other people’s job?

f) Translate into English this question: “Cuánto tiempo llevas en diseño de páginas web?”

g) What can you ask if you want to know how the other person started in his/her profession?

h) Carmela says: “The whole point of business socializing is to network...” What does she mean?

i) What three expressions does David consider essential to maintain contact with someone?

j) How would you finish a conversation because you have to talk to some of your colleagues?

10. Look at the expressions below. Which are said by

a) a host? b) a guest? Label each expression either H (for host) or G (for guest).

1. Can I get you a drink? ⇒

2. Yes, it's just down there on the left. ⇒

3. It all looks good. What do you recommend? ⇒


4. Would you like me to show you round? ⇒

5. Help yourself to some food. ⇒

6. Yes, please. I'll have a white wine. ⇒

7. Can I give you a lift to the airport? ⇒

8. Yes, I'd love to see some of the sights. ⇒

9. Could you tell me where the toilet is, please? ⇒

10. It's very kind of you to offer, but there's a taxi coming for me at 11.00. ⇒

11. Match the sentences from the previous exercise in logical pairs. For example

Can I get you a drink? (1) Yes, please. I’ll have a white wine. (6)

12. What would you say in the following situations? • You arrive late at your client’s office. Apologize.

“I’ sorry I’m late”

Now you do the rest!

1. You don’t hear someone’s name when you are introduced to him.

2. You are offered food which you hate.

3. Invite your client to lunch.

4. You want to end a conversation in a diplomatic way

5. You want the salt but you can’t reach it. Ask your client.

6. Your client is showing you round their factory. Think of three questions to ask them. 7. You have to propose a toast.

8. Your client is picking you up from the airport. What will you say when you first meet?

9. Your colleague has been made redundant.

10. You are having lunch with your client. Start a conversation on sports.


11. You have to refuse an invitation to dinner with a supplier.

12. Your client offers to pay for the meal but you don’t want them to.

13. It’s time to say goodbye. Thank your client for their hospitality.

13. In what business situations would you use the following words and expressions.

• Congratulations ⇒ • Cheers ⇒ • Make yourself at home ⇒ • Help yourself ⇒ • I don't mind ⇒ • Excuse me ⇒ • Sorry ⇒ • It’s on me ⇒ • I'm afraid ⇒ • Please ⇒ • Could you... ? ⇒ • That sounds good ⇒

14. Match the questions on the left with the answers on the right.

1 Is this your first visit to the Far East? a) In the UK, in Oxford.

2 Oh really. What do you do? b) Nearly ten years.

3 Where are you based? c) No, I come here quite often.

4 How long have you been there? d) No. Actually this is my first trip.

5 Have you been to Hong Kong before? e) I'm the Marketing Director for a small import-export company.

6 Business or pleasure? f) Business I'm afraid.

7 How long have you been here? g) Till tomorrow night.

8 How long are you staying? h) A week.

9 Where are you staying? i) I really like it. There's a lot to do.

10 Is it comfortable? j) It's good, but eating in the Peninsular can be quite expensive

11 What's the food like? k) Very! And it has a great view over the harbour.

12 So, what do you think of Hong Kong?

l) At the Peninsular Hotel.

15. Make sentences referring to the following. Look at the example.

Listen carefully. Be polite. Stay silent. Give only yes or Interrupt a lot. Keep eye contact.

no answers. Ask questions. Be friendly. Example: Listen carefully if you want to understand clearly everything you are said.


INTRODUCTIONS

16. Watch the video ‘Pleased to meet you’, and answer the following questions 1) What would you say to start a conversation with someone you don’t know?

2) Is it common in Western cultures to shake hands in introductions?

3) What can you say to learn about the other person’s business activities? Mention four ways.

4) What can you say to learn about the other person’s position?

5) What do the initials CEO stand for?

6) What do you say to introduce a third person?

7) What four pieces of information does Sam have when he introduces Lin?

1.

2.

3.

4.

8) Is the expression “How do you do” informal?

9) If somebody tells you “how do you do?” you can use two different replies. What are they?

1.

2.

10) If somebody tells you “how are you?” you can use two different replies. What are they?

1.

2.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES 17. What is culture? Choose the four factors below which you think are the most important in creating a culture.

climate language social customs and traditions institutions arts historical events

ideas and beliefs religion ceremonies and festivals cuisine geography


18. What do you miss most about your country or culture when you go abroad? 19. Why is cultural awareness important for business people? Give examples. 20. How important are the following things when doing business in your country? Are they: a) important b) not important, or c) best avoided?

• exchanging business cards • formality (how you dress, how you talk to colleagues, what names you use, etc.)

• shaking hands • punctuality • kissing • humour • socialising with contacts • giving presents • small talk before meetings • accepting interruption • being direct (saying exactly what you think) • using first names

21. What went wrong in the following situations?

1. Western companies had problems selling refrigerators in Japan until they changed the design to make them quieter.

2. In Saudi Arabia, newspaper adverts for an airline showed an attractive hostess serving champagne to happy passengers. A lot of passengers cancelled their flight reservations.

3. An airline company called itself Emu, after the Australian bird. But Australians didn't want to use the airline.

4. A TV commercial for a cleaning product showed a little girl cleaning up the mess her brother made. The commercial caused problems in Canada.

5. Several European and American firms couldn't sell their products in Dubai when they ran their advertising campaign in Arabic.

6. A soap powder ad had a picture of dirty clothes on the left, a box of soap in the middle and clean clothes on the right. The soap didn't sell well in the Middle East.

7. A company had problems when it tried to introduce instant coffee to the French market.

8. A toothpaste manufacturer couldn't sell its product in parts of South-East Asia.

9. An American golf ball manufacturer launched its products in Japan packed in boxes of four. It had to change the pack size.

10. A ladies' electric shaver sold well throughout Europe, but not in Italy.


22. Discuss some of the cultural differences you have experienced in your life. How important are the following.

• being on time

• the way people dress

• how you address people (first names or family names?

• giving gifts

• shaking hands / kissing / hugging / bowing

• eye contact

• how loud you speak

23. Visit www.executiveplanet.com and write about what Paul Dray says to people doing business in Spain about the following aspects.

• punctuality

• topics of conversation to avoid

• not recommended gifts

EATING OUT

24. Put the following into a logical order for entertaining in a restaurant. a) Look at the menu b) Ask for the bill (BrE) / check (AmE) c) Book a table (BrE) / make a reservation (AmE) 1 d) Leave a tip


e) Have the main course f) Have a desert g) Order a starter h) Have an aperitif

25. Write the foods below under the correct headings. Add words of your own

lamb broccoli eggs banana beef peas crab beans melon tomato lobster fish

potato cheese onion veal chicken prawns apple mussels orange rice pasta lemon

Fruit Meat Vegetable Seafood Other foods

lamb broccoli

26. What are some typical dishes from your country? How would you describe it to a

foreign visitor? Use some of the adjectives below and the nouns from the previous exercise.

Useful expressions: It’s a kind of … It’s a type of … It’s a bit like … It’s quite rich / spicy You can eat it with …

boiled fried baked grilled steamed spicy

hot rich sweet salty delicious tasty bland rare medium rare well done roast stew

27. Match the options in the first box with the drinks in the second box. For example, black/white coffee. Add other drinks.

Options 1 black / white 3 red / white 5 bottled / draught 2 still / sparkling 4 single / double 6 with milk / lemon Drinks a) beer c) water e) coffee b) wine d) tea f) whisky

928. Listen to the recording ‘At the restaurant’, and answer the following questions.

1) What type of cuisine does the student prefer?

2) What fast food restaurant does she prefer?

3) What’s drive through banking?


4) How much is the normal tip in the United States?

5) What American synonym is used for ‘tip’

6) Translate into English the following expressions: • Somos cuatro para cenar

• Vestirse de manera formal

• Guardarropa

• Menu del día

• Carta de vinos

• Llamar al camarero

• Invito yo

• Invita la casa

• Irse sin pagar

7) Mention three types of spoons.

8) Mention different degrees of meat cooking

ENGLISH FOOD

29. Watch the video “Dinner at home”, and answer the following questions. a. How do you say ‘poner la mesa’ in English?

b. Do you know the word used in English to refer to spoons, forks, knives, etc?

c. What does the family have for dinner? Explain the dishes briefly.

d. What’s there for pudding?

e. How do you say in English ‘los pasteles engordan mucho’?

f. What three dishes does Sarah mention?


g. Does Sarah like cooking?

h. What’s the father good at?

i. What are the mother’s favourite dishes? GRAMMAR - PHRASAL VERBS A phrasal verb is a verb followed by an adverb. Look at the following examples:

… executives would think little of running up a €7,000 bill …

Some Japanese companies have cut down corporate gift giving.

• It may be possible to guess the general meaning of the phrasal verbs above. However, sometimes a new meaning is created: “I had to turn down their offer of dinner. (refuse)

• Some phrasal verbs can be separated from their particles:

“I called off the meeting, or I called the meeting off. (cancel)

• Prepositional verbs (verbs followed by a preposition) cannot be separated: She thinks of her brothers, not she thinks her brothers of.

30. Match the phrasal verbs in sentences 1 to 8 with their definitions (a) to h). Some of them are not real phrasal verbs. Can you identify them?

1. Alice is looking after some visitors from Taiwan. a) see the sights

2. They want to look around the city before they go. b) arrive / appear

3. We look forward to welcoming their Chief Executive. c) get involved in

4. Our Sales Manager is taking them out tonight. d) give attention to

5. We hope all staff can take part in the visitor programme. e) accept (an offer)

6. We'd like to take up your invitation to visit you next year. f) wait with pleasure

7. We changed the hotel booking when several extra visitors turned up. g) entertain

8. It was a shame to turn down their invitation to the sales conference h) refuse Match the verbs 1 to 7 to the nouns that they go with. Then complete the definitions with the

phrases a) to g). If you... call off a bill cut down on an event look after an invitation look round a house run up old files take up cigarettes throw out a sick person you... a) accept it. b) get rid of them because you no longer need them. c) cancel it and it does not take place. d) care for them when they are ill.


e) smoke less than before. f) spend money that you will have to pay. g) walk through it, looking at different rooms and the furniture in them.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS

31. Listen to the recording “Idioms and expressions (2)”, and answer the following questions. Expression 1:

What does it mean? : What example is mentioned to illustrate the expression? Expression 2:

What does it mean? : What examples are mentioned to illustrate the expression? The speaker mentions a similar saying. What is it?

INGLES - Unit 2 (Socializing)

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