Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs died after several years of struggle against cancer. The world of business has lost an emblematic figure.

To check how much you know about Steve Jobs:
http://www.tutor2u.net/business/bizquiz/061011/quiz.html

For other entries about him on this blog:

http://business-kaleidoscope.blogspot.com/search?q=steve+jobs
http://business-kaleidoscope.blogspot.com/search?q=apple
http://business-kaleidoscope.blogspot.com/2010/07/mocking-companies.html

Success

The dictionary defines success as "the achieving of the result wanted or hoped for" and as "something that achieves positive results". However, this is not enough. Dr Deepak Chropa enlarges on this and provides a healthier definition of success.

Click on this link to learn some words connected with our key word today: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/landing/?ad=cdo&utm_medium=default&utm_campaign=VT&utm_source=cdo&word=success

What's your definition of "success"? I'd be glad to read your views on this.

September 11th

Ten years ago, on a usual working day, I was teaching a group of adults, when one of my students came into the classroom and said that the Twin Towers had exploded. He didn't know more than this, and was shocked by the image he'd caught a glimpse of before leaving home. We all wondered what had happened? Later on that day, we could learn the extent of what had taken place and the only images we could see on TV were those of the attacks.
Now, ten years later, the people of the USA remember that day and have organized tributes to those who were killed.
Here's a report of how security has changed since then:

To read the script, click onto: http://www.newsy.com/videoshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif/how-has-security-changed-since-9-11/


An account of that day: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-09-09/Sept-11-newspaper-coverage/50340276/1

Views from abroad: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/09/9-11-changed-world-forever

History Channel: http://www.history.com/9-11-anniversary (press on 102 Interactive to watch videos taken in different places)

The Impact of the Internet

If you have never visited www.englishcentral.com this is a good chance to do so. There you can find short extracts that you can watch and read but that's not all. If you have a microphone, you can record your voice, trying to imitate the original. Cool, right?
This is the video I recommend today.

http://www.englishcentral.com/video/11608/eric-schmidt-the-reach-of-the-internet

More on speaking on the phone

We've already studied different expressions to speak on the phone. Today, we'll be revising them and learning some phrasal verbs we can use. Watch this episode and try to find the answer to these questions. Also, take advantage of the subtitles to revise typical expressions.

1) Why can't Mr Smith's assistant give Mr Green his phone number?
2) What does Mr Smith's assistant offer?
3) What's Mr Wilson's mobile phone number?
4) What does Mr Bradley tell Mr Wilson?
5) Why does Mr Green want to talk to Mr Smith?




Mr Green sees "I'll ring back". Ring back is a phrasal verb anstyle="font-weight:bold;">d it means "to call again". Then, Mr Bradley's secretary says "I'll put you through". "Put through" means "to connect your call to another telephone".

Do you know any other phrasal verb to speak on the phone? Here, you can find others:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit1telephone/expert.shtml

The office

A nice video to practise vocabulary related to the office.

Marketing

Brand, advertising, customer service. What do all these words have in common? Yes, they're all related to marketing. How would you define "marketing"? If you talk about it every day but don't know how to explain what it is, click on the word. To learn more vocabulary, click on:

http://youtu.be/qLn1rAuZuVA

To practise:

http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_marketing1.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_marketing2.html

Tell me about yourself

This is a classic question at job interviews. Seems easy, right? However, it's not. There's so much we can say. How can we choose the right thing to say? Watch this video and learn some tips.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezFNrWMTlc

For more practice on job interviews:

http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_jobinterview1.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_jobinterview2.html

Financial vocabulary

Bookkeeping, transaction, credit, debit. What do all these words have in common? Yes, that's it. They are related to the field of accounting, financial vocabulary. Watch this useful video and try to collect as many new words as you can.

Writing a cover letter

When applying for a job, you will need to send your CV or résumé together with a cover letter. What is a cover letter? Watch this video and find out.



For useful expressions to write a cover letter, click onto:
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_coverletter1.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_coverletter2.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_coverletter3.html
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/exercise_coverletter4.html