Business English Special - Part II

Once again, we'd like to share with you Business related video lessons from our partners at English Attack! Both of the ones we are sharing today are from TED talks.

To view the activities, you will need PREMIUM access to English Attack! For being part of our community, we grant you a 1 week free trial, no purchase necessary.  To validate it, simply go to the English Attack! Video Booster of the Day BOX (located on this page, on the right column) and sign up at English Attack! at no cost by clicking on the "More Videos" tab. Then proceed to the business Video Boosters recommended on this post.

Business Video Booster 1: The Next Steve Jobs?
Like most kids his age, Thomas Suarez loves to play video games. After all, he's only 12. However, unlike most children his age, he taught himself how to create those games. But not only is this young man a brilliant apps developer. He is also a great presenter. You will not want to miss the opportunity to practice your English and find out how this young genious is helping other kids become game developers.

After doing the activity you will be able to actively use and explain the following concepts in English:
                     

• Apps
• Whac-a-Mole
• suite
• app club
• pilot program

Business Video Booster 2: Miss Zero Bullet Points
And when it comes to presentations, you will not want to miss the brilliant advice of one the leading experts on the subject, Melissa Marshall. In this TED talk, she brings a message to all scientists from the rest of us non-scientists. She tells them, "we're fascinated by what you're doing... (but please) tell us about it -- in a way we can understand."  In just 4 minutes, she shares powerful tips on presenting complex scientific ideas to a general audience in easy tips.

But as many in business know, sometimes even if we are not scientists, we also present information is a way that is unnecessarily complicated.

After doing the activity you will be able to actively use and explain the following concepts in English:                   

• wonderland
• bullet points
• overwhelmed
• nerdy

If you missed the last Business English Special, check it out right here.

BUT the real great thing about this material is that now, PLS has new special and very affordable courses that combine English Attack! activities with dynamic PLS teacher-led workshop activities. To find out more, contact us at pls@pls.com.ar

Thanks once again for stopping by and we'd like to you a very Happy, Safe and Successful New Year!

 

Business English Special - Part I

En PLS hacemos todo lo posible para brindarles cursos, workshops y herramientas para acercar el inglés a miles de profesionales que confían en nosotros día a día.

Por eso, en esta ocación acercamos el contenido especial de dos Video Boosters especiales de Business English provistos por nuestros partners de la innovadora plataforma online English Attack!

Para visualizarlos necesita acceso a English Attack! PREMIUM, pero por ser parte de nuestra comunidad, le brindamos una semana a dicho servicio. Para validarlo, simplemente realicen las actividades del Video Booster del día (ubicado en el cuadro de English Attack de ésta página, en la colúmna a la derecha >>) y luego registrense gratuitamente en English Attack!). Luego, proceda a realizar los Video Boosters de Business English recomendados:

Temario de Video Boosters:

TEMA 1 - Starting Meetings Effectively
Comenzamos viendo un tema central de todas las empresas - las reuniones de negocios - y aprendiendo en inglés maneras de hacerlas más eficientes.

TEMA 2 - 4 Ways to Think Like an Innovator
Abrimos la mente para ver cómo podemos ser más creativos en la búsqueda de soluciones y hacer grandes productos o servicios. Y todo mientras aprendemos inglés. (basado en material del Harvard Business Review)

Cada Video Booster no lleva más de 10 minutos de realizar, y las instrucciones lo van guiando paso a paso. Pero recomendamos hacerlo más de una vez para fijar los conceptos.

Una vez que caduque la semana PREMIUM, podrán seguir haciendo el material gratuito de Video Boosters de English Attack! o bien preguntar por los planes de empresa de English Attack! a través de PLS que están a un precio especial no disponible en la página de English Attack! e incluyen actividades y workshops adicionales.

En English Attack! además de Video Boosters, podrán practicar con listas de PhotoVocabs temáticos muy variados y relevantes y practicar a través de Juegos de aprendizaje. Aquí destacamos uno muy bueno basado en una charla de TED.  Ver Aquí

ENGLISH: The Global Language of Business

Ok, English Users, it's official.

English has now been designated as the global language of business. Now, we know what you're thinking.

Wasn't it that already? People who work in business should know some English. What's new about that?

Well, since you asked, what's new is that more and more multinational companies are making English their common corporate language. This means all international business is conducted in English.

This is already happening in companies like Airbus, Daimler-Chrysler, Fast Retailing, Nokia, Renault, Samsung, SAP, Technicolor, and Microsoft in Beijing, to provide a few examples. Did you notice that not all companies are American or British? 

Because in the 21st century English is no longer just the language of English speaking countries. The bottom line is practicality. And guess what? The country that is at the forefront of this change is... China. One might wonder with the economic power that they have, why they aren't trying to push for more Chinese in business operations.

The answer is simple. Practicality. Just like the language of music is Italian; or Latin the language of biological and medical classification or French the language of cuisine. Today, now, in the 21st century, the language of business, logistics and technology is English. But what does this really mean?

For one, it ought to be a wake up call to all small or regional economies as well as companies from those countries that wish to expand globally. The message is simple. If you want to do business, move things around or be technologically connected with the rest of the world, you and all your staff need to do it in English.

Likewise, if you work in a multinational company, the pressure will be on you to improve your English and in some cases, the company may not pay for it. 

But fortunately, at PLS, we have a number of effective and attractive training methods, including the Dynamic Online Training method from our partners at English Attack! that we spoke about in our last post.

And by the way, don't think that native speakers from English-speaking countries can just sit back and not worry about all this. There's plenty for them to do as well. First, they will have to slow down and be far more considerate when speaking to non-native English speakers. It also means they need to keep the language simple.

The goal is to make communication and performance go hand in hand across different regions of the world and business objectives. And as English Users, you're already a one step ahead of the rest.

So Congratulations!

Now if you'd like to read more about this topic, we highly recommend a recent CNN feature on their business page that goes into it further.

And to close it off, here is an interview with Tsedal Neeley, the Harvard Business School assistant professor who explains why every company needs a language strategy. Every company, including yours.

PLS - ELT (Entertainment Language Training)

Hello English Users. Our post is in Spanish today to tell everyone about a fun and effective service that PLS will be offering. We invite you to have a look...

 

View more PowerPoint from PLS Professional Language Service

PLS ofrece a sus clientes cursos dinámicos a los que llamamos PLS - ELT (Entertainment Language Training). En síntesis, combinamos la plataforma English Attack! - que es un sistema único que combina lo último en materia pedagógica de idiomas con el contenido más entretenido (cine, TV, música, juegos) y a esto le sumamos apoyo de nuestros profesores y sesiones de practica con ellos. El resultado: un recurso de capacitación innovador, ideal para organizaciones de cualquier tamaño y a un costo menor que la competencia. El método es sumamente dinámico, asegura la adquisición de mucho vocabulario y lo mejor de todo: expone al alumno al inglés auténtico a diferencia del lenguaje más estructurado de los libros.