Questions - Answer these questions with your partner.

1. What is this article about?

2.Why is it difficult to be successful? Describe a time when you had a difficult time being successful.

3. Can you describe the 7 ways to be successful? Why is each a good idea?

4. Which do you think is the most important way? Which is the least important? Why?

5. What are some other things you can do to be successful? Try to think of 3 more ideas together:

__________________________,

__________________________,

__________________________.

 

Rank - What would make you feel the most successful?

Rank these successes in order from 1(the best) – 8 (not so amazing). Use each number once!

Getting a job Looking attractive Having children Accomplishing a goal ____Getting a promotion __Receiving an award __Getting married __Winning a race

 

Talk about your ideas with your partner.

Ask: “Which would make you feel the most successful?”

“Which would make you feel the least successful?”

“What would make you feel the next most/least successful?”

Talk more:

What are some things not listed that make you feel successful? ________________________________________________________________________________

 

________________________________________________________________________________

Free Discussion - Discuss these questions with your partner.

1. What is your biggest success in life? What small successes do you have every day?

2. Would you sacrifice happiness, love, or family for the opportunity to be successful?Why/Why not?

3. Who do you think are the three(3) most successful people in history? Why do you consider them the most successful?

4. What would you do with 5 Million dollars?

 

Read each statement and discuss your feelings with your group. Explain your opinion.

What do you think about this statement, “_____”?

I think there's some truth to it because_____.

I think that's completely wrong.

1. Money is the best measure of success.

2. Happiness is the best measure of success. Do whatever makes you feel good.

3. Finding a good partner is the best measure of success. Having a beautiful, interesting, and fashionable boyfriend or girlfriend means we must be successful.

4. Success is winning at whatever you decide to do.

5. Success is conquering oneself and having control of all emotions and desires.

6. Success is getting the respect of other people.

 

WHAT SHOULD I DO?

1. I want to start my own business. What should I do first?

2. I've just finished writing my first novel. What should I do now?

3. I want to get married and have a family, but I can't find the right person.

4. I'm planning to buy a house. What should I do?

5. I want to get a promotion. How should I ask for one?

6. I want to start a new hobby, but I can't decide what to try. What do you recommend?

7. I want to completely change my style. What style should I try?

8. I want to be good at something, but I can't focus on one thing. What should I focus on?

9. I have a hard time accomplishing my goals. What should I do?

10. I want to quit being a couch potato. What should I do?

VOCABULARY EXERCISES

I. Match the verbs with the nouns:

	reach	attain	secure	realise	fulfill	achieve
An ambition
A dream
An agreement
An obligation
A target
A compromise

II. Choose a suitable verb to fill in the gaps.

1. The management have _______ an agreement with the union which will guarantee no strikes for the next three years.

2. Now that I’ve _______ all my reponsibilities to my family, I feel I can retire and go round the world.

3. The school building-fund has failed to _________ its target of £250,000.

4. I never thought I would __________ my ambition, but now I have.

5. Very few people ________ all their hopes and dreams in life, very few indeed, I can tell you.

6. We hope the two sides _______ a compromise and avoid war.

7. I’m afraid that little plan of mine didn’t ________ off.

III. Fill in the missing word forms where they exist.

VERB	NOUN	ADJECTIVE
realise
	difficulty
	target
fail
	trouble

BUSINESS LETTER

Choose the best response (a–d) for the missing parts in this business letter (1 – 5).

English Learners & Company
16 Smithdown Rd
Liverpool

L24 1XD

United Kingdom

Jackson Brothers, Inc.
3487 23rd Street
New York, NY 12009

1) _________________

 

2) _________________

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

3) _________________

 

With reference to your advertisement in yesterday's New York Times, could you please send me a copy of your latest catalogue? I would also like to know if it is possible to make purchases online.

 

4) _________________

 

Ken Beare

Kenneth Beare
5) _________________

 

1) a) US America

b) America

c) USA

d) United America

2) a) 12 September 2012

b) 2012 September 12

c) 2012-Sep-12

d) 12-12-09

3) a) Advertisement

b) Copy

c) Catalogue

d) Online

4) a) Greetings

b) Yours faithfully

c) With friendly greetings

d) Best wishes

5) a) Administrative Director

b) from Liverpool

c) Room No 14

d) Extension 357

FORM

Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code

Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

Company Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear [Company, or, To whom this may concern ],

 

On [Date], I bought a(n) [What product], [Serial number], at your store in [City, State], for [Dollar amount].

The product [What is wrong with the product].

To resolve the problem, I would appreciate an exchange for an equivalent or better model, at no additional cost, or a refund of the [Dollar amount]. Enclosed are copies of relevant documents.

I look forward to your reply and to the resolution of my problem. Please contact me by mail, at the above address, or by phone, at [phone number, including area code].

 

Sincerely,

Your Signature

Your typed name

PRESENTATIONS

Listen to the recording and repeat.

I'm glad to see so many of you here today.

I'd like to talk about how we organise things in this department.

First I'll describe our organisation.

Finally, I'd like to discuss some future plans.

That's all I wanted to say about training.

Moving on to my next point...

Excuse me, can you tell us when the report will be ready?

Sorry, I didn't catch the question.

Could you bear with me?

Turnover rose by 12 per cent last year.

We are predicting a slowdown next year.

As you can see from the graph, sales have increased dramatically.

Sales reached a peak in December.

They have declined since then.

These are difficult times for the company.

I'd like to finish by thanking you all.

I'd welcome your feedback.

DIALO G UES 1

Setting the scene

A: Hello everyone. It's good to see you all here so early in the morning. My name's Hiro Rosado and I'd like to talk about how we organise language training here. First I'll describe how English has become the company language, then I'll outline our study programmes. Finally I'd like to say something about some of our plans for the future.

Moving on

A: ….so that's all I wanted to say about the budget for next year. I'd now like to move on to the question Rosa raised earlier.

... That leads me to my next point. We need to look carefully at how we plan for next year

... So, next year's budget. I'd now like to talk about the action we are taking to reach our targets.

 

Dealing with questions

A: How much is the project going to cost?

B: I'm afraid I can't say at the moment.

C: Can you tell us when the report will be ready?

B: I'm hoping to have it ready by the end of the week.

D: Are you planning to recruit more staff?

B: Sorry, I didn't catch the question. Could you repeat it, please?

D: Sorry, I'd like to know if you are planning to recruit more staff.

B: Did everyone hear that? The question was: 'Are we planning to recruit more staff?'

 

Dealing with the unexpected

A: Oh, dear.

B: Is it broken?

A: Yes, the bulb is broken. I'm afraid I won't be able to use the projector. Could you bear with me, I have some paper copies in my briefcase.

B: Are you OK?

A: Yes, I think so. Could I have a glass of water? That's better.;Sorry, where was I?

B: You were just about to tell us some interesting news.

 

Recapping

A: As I mentioned earlier, we hope to finish the project by the end of the year. I said that we were on schedule. Having said that, there are a couple of potential problems...

Coming to an end

A: I'd like to finish by thanking you all for coming here today and I look forward to seeing you in two weeks' time. If anyone has any questions, please ask. I will be around for coffee later and you are very welcome to contact me if you have any queries before the next meeting.

 

Notes. Translate

It's good to see you all here... Speaker's opening remarks to an audience: I'm very pleased to be here. I'm glad you could all make it. Thanks for inviting me. Thank you (all) for coming.
... I’d like to talk about... Other common phrases for starting off a presentation: I'm planning to tell you about... Today I'd like to introduce... I'd like to start by saying something about...
First I'll describe... Phrases for describing the structure of & talk: Then I'll discuss our study programmes. After that I’ll come to the main point. Finally I'd like to say something about...
... that's all I wanted to say... Note how the speaker finishes off a section of the talk. Some other phrases: Are there any questions so far? Moving on to my next point... To summarise what I have said so far...
That leads me to my next point. Announcing a new point in a presentation: I'd now like to move on Rosa's question. Moving on to Rosas question... Now I’d like to talk about...
So, next year's budget. You can sometimes simply announce a new topic/presentation slide as follows: So, sales in Canada. These have been... Development plans for next year. These are... Study programmes. Have a look at...
I'm afraid I can't say... Useful language for when you do not know the answer to a question: I'm sorry, I don’t know the answer, I’ll have to check for you. I’m not the best person to answer that. You need to speak to...
...I didn't catch the question. When you can't hear something: Could you repeat the question? Could you say that again? Sorry, what did you say?
Could you bear with me... A very useful phrase when you need time to check or find something. Alternatives: Excuse me for a moment. Just a moment. Can you give me two minutes!
Sorry, where was I? If you are distracted or forget what you wanted to say! Other possibilities: Can you/anyone help me? Let me think.
You were just about to tell us... Helping the speaker to remember the point he/she wanted to make! You were talking about the schedule.
As I mentioned earlier... Useful language for recapping (summarising/reviewing) what was said earlier in the presentation: As I pointed out/mentioned earlier... as I said before...
I'd like to finish by thanking you all... Language for ending a talk: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me.
Are there any questions? ... you are very welcome to contact me... Asking the audience to contact you: I’d be very happy to hear from you. I’d welcome your feedback.

 

Note!!! British/American differences

British	American
organise/organisation study programmes	organize/organization study programs

 

DIALOGUES 2

Same facts and figures

A: Turnover rose in the year to April by 11 per cent to 4 billion dollars compared with 3.8 billion in the previous year. Profits jumped by 20 per cent in this period. However, these results give a misleading picture as the company sold its French subsidiary during the period for a 'one-off' profit of half a billion dollars.

Predictions

A: We're currently predicting a slow down in sales for next year. Global trading conditions are not promising. However, one area where we expect growth to continue is in Japan and Korea, where analysts are forecasting an upturn in the market.

B: Is that for the whole of the region?

A: Yes, we’re looking at a growth rate of between 1 and 3 per cent in these areas.

 

Trends: upwards

A: As you can see from the graph, sales have increased considerably this year. The beginning of the year was poor, but sales picked up in February and reached a peak in August. Since then they have fallen a little but the overall trend is upwards. The outlook is very healthy.

 

Trends: downwards

A: The chart clearly shows the dramatic fall in production since the beginning of the year, and unfortunately this is a trend which will continue. The closure of our Lufwa plant in January accounts for the sharp fall at that time and as sales have continued to decline, we have had to temporarily shut down a number of our factories. These are difficult times for the company.

Trends: steady

A: If you compare this six-month period with the previous six months, you will notice that there has been very little change in the number of guests visiting our hotel. In fact, guest numbers have not increased for three years. We need to think about what we can do to make our hotel more popular.

Notes. Translate

Turnover rose in the year to April... Other ways of describing financial periods of lime: In the first/second/final quarter. In the year to date. In the current year.
... by 11 per cent... Note the use of the preposition by with percentages and fractions: By what percentage did turnover grow? It grew by 5.9%. (five point nine per cent) ... by 3.75%. (by three point seven five per cent) It went up 2%%. (two and S hall per cent)
... these results give a misleading picture... When information from charts and statistics is not so useful: The graph gives a false picture. The statistics may give you the wrong idea.
...a 'one-off' profit... A profit which will not be repeated. We're currently predicting a slow down... Other ways to predict events: We're forecasting an improvement. We're expecting a sharp fall.
... analysts are forecasting an upturn... An upturn is a recovery. A downturn is a decline.
... we re looking at a growth rate of between 1 and 3 per cent... to look at is an informal alternative expression meaning to expect or to predict We're looking at a large increase. What kind of growth are we looking at next year?
As you can see from the graph,... Referring to visual aids: This chart clearly shows the dramatic fall in production. At this point on the graph you can see... Here you can see...
.. sales have increased considerably... Alternatives to considerably: a lot, a great deal, substantially
... sales picked up in February... Other verbs to describe trends: Sales recovered, (returned to their original level). Turnover fell back, (declined) Sales were up/down on (as! year, (better/worse than last year)
sales reached a peak in August. We can also say: Sales reached their high/highest point in August. The opposite: Sales reached their low/lowest point in June.
The closure of our Lufwa plant in January accounts for the sharp fall... To account for means to be the reason for. This is a useful term when talking about facts and figures.
How would you account for the fall in sales? The appointment of a new Sales Manager accounts for the rapid rise in sales last year. Note also due to: The fall is due to the closure of the plant.
... sales have continued to decline... Further examples: Sales have continued to fall. There has been a further fall/decline in safes.
If you compare this six-month period... Note the use of a hyphen (-) in six-month. Compare: a three-month period a period of three months
.. there has been very little change... Note the use of the present perfect tense to describe change: Things haven't changed very much. Things have hardly changed. Change has been very slight. Sales have been steady.

 

PRACTICE