In Company Second Edition Web Guides
Elementary
These In Company Web Guides provide a quick and helpful way to motivate your students and contain resources which are up-to-date and enjoyable. Click on the unit numbers below to jump to the units you want:
Introduction
Quotes
http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/busin.php
Every unit in In Company begins with a short quote. Here are more quotes that are linked to business.
Unit 1
Greetings
http://www.linguarama.com/ps/292-3.htm
A matching activity that focuses on introductions and greetings.
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tefl.teacher/page6.htm
Activity three 'Greeting picture role plays' is a good way to extend and practise the language taught in this unit.
Nationalities
http://www.better-english.com/easier/nationalities.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz53bds.htm
A couple of quizzes that practise nationalities.
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omaudio-elementary/unit02.htm
A simple listening activity. Play the recording and fill in the gaps. Afterwards you could ask your students to work in pairs and create a similar dialogue of their own.
Numbers
http://esl.about.com/library/listening/bllis_beg_number_quiz.htm
A simple online listening activity which will help your students practise numbers. This activity is a useful extension to the work on page 6.
Acronyms and abbreviations
http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blabbrev.htm?once=true&
This excellent resource will help your students with the minefield of business acronyms and abbreviations. Simply select the acronym or abbreviation you'd like to check, click on the button and find out what it means.
Unit 2
Mobile etiquette
http://www.indianchild.com/cell_phone_etiquette.htm
Use this brief article as a follow-up to the quiz on page 9.
You and your mobile
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/
mobile.shtml
An interesting article which focuses on the use of mobile phones while driving. Ask your students to read the article (and possibly some of the comments) and then see what they think.
Unit 3
Hot desking
http://www.easyoffices.com/products-and-services/hot-desks
Find out more about hot desking. Put your students into three groups and ask each group to answer one of these questions: What are Hot Desks? How will Hot Desking help me? Who uses Hot Desks? Then ask the students to tell each other what they found out by making new groups of three with one student from each of the original groups in the new groups.
A day in your life
http://www.esl-lab.com/schedule/schedrd1.htm
An online listening activity on the topic of daily routines.
Adverbs of frequency
http://www.eflnet.com/grammar/advfreq1.php
http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/gr.frequ.i.htm
Two short activities giving your students extra grammar practice.
E-mail language
http://www.eslpartyland.com/quiz%20center/email.htm
A short gap-fill text with a number of missing words all linked to e-mailing. This activity is a good way of practising some of the vocabulary from page 24.
Unit 5
Eating out
http://esl.about.com/library/listening/bllis_reservation.htm
A short online listening activity where students hear a man making a dinner reservation. Students listen to the short recording and answer six multiple choice questions.
http://esl.about.com/library/listening/blrestorder.htm
Another short listening activity set in a restaurant. This time students listen to two people ordering food and answer the twelve questions.
Successful business lunch
Five things to consider - follow the same procedure suggested above.
http://www.bremercommunications.com/The_Business_Lunch.htm
An online article that complements the one on page 27. One way to use this article would be to give your students the five headings and ask them to work in pairs and predict what will they will read under each heading. Then, ask students to skim read the article and see if they are correct. Skim reading will help them not to worry about understanding every word.
Unit 5
Office vocabulary
http://users.pandora.be/christiaan.bosmans/office/office_vocab_1.htm
http://users.pandora.be/christiaan.bosmans/office/office_vocab_2.htm
Two gap-fill activities that focus on office vocabulary.
What your desk says about you
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/office_life/
196811.stm
This article looks at seven types of desk (from super-organised to organised chaos). This is basically a longer version of the material on page 34.
Unit6
Job interviews
http://esl.about.com/library/weekly/aa120797.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/work/
workskills/wsu3.shtml
These are sites about interview language. If your students are looking for work (or will be) then you could use some of the material here for discussions on what to do. If your students already work ask them to take a look at the advice and say how good (or bad) they think it is.
Can you .?
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/can1.htm
A simple activity where students are asked to select the correct response to a question from a choice of four possibilities. Afterwards, ask the students to answer the questions about their own abilities.
Unit 7
Anita Roddick
http://www.anitaroddick.com/
Official Anita Roddick website.
Past endings - pronunciation
http://www.esl-lounge.com/pronunciation/pronpastendings.shtml
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/pastsimplepronunciation.htm
Two good exercises to give your students extra practice on regular past verb endings, extending the activity at the bottom of page 47.
Company histories
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/timeline.asp
In unit 7 we take a look at the history and timeline of the multinational company Starbucks. Here is the full timeline (the one in the book is an edited version). Either write a few questions to ask your students or get them to write questions for each other.
Unit 8
Hotel reservation
http://www.esl-lab.com/hotel1/hotel1.htm
An online listening activity which focuses on making a hotel reservation. After your students have listened to this you could ask them to role play similar situations.
Hotel problems and complaining
http://www.avolites.org.uk/jokes/hotel.htm
Ask your students what problems they have experienced in hotels. And, how they dealt with these problems. Then, set the scene by explaining that a guest is unhappy with the free soap the hotel provides - elicit some ideas of what the problem might be and what the guest might have done. Finally, ask the students to read the letters and then discuss.
Unit 9
Good day/bad day?
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/pastsimple1.htm
This gap fill activity is excellent for unit 9. It combines the theme of 'A good day?' with practice of past simple verbs (both regular and irregular).
Irregular past
http://www.better-english.com/texts/pairs.htm
Two matching games aimed at practising irregular verbs.
Mr Barghi
www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,883245,00.html
A newspaper story about Mr Barghi (who features on page 41). After your students have read the version on page 41 ask them to read the story here and compare the two. Are there any differences? Is anything added? etc.
Unit 10
Countable or uncountable?
http://www.linguarama.com/ps/294-5.htm
http://www.better-english.com/easier/counta.htm
http://www.better-english.com/easier/count3.htm
http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/count.htm
Four online quizzes that are designed to practise some common countable and uncountable nouns. This fits in nicely with the exercises on page 64.
Clothes
http://iteslj.org/v/ei/clothes2.html
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vc-clothes-lb.html
Two fun quizzes on clothes. The first shows you a picture and four choices to choose from. The second is slightly more complex. Students read a short definition/description and try and guess the item of clothing being described.
http://www.parapal-online.co.uk/exercises/clothes.html
An interesting activity where students read a short text and correct the spellings of various items of clothing. The text could also be used as a model for a brief writing task.
Unit 11
Weather vocabulary
http://esl.about.com/library/beginner/blweathervocabulary.htm
http://www.manythings.org/jumble/weather.html
Do your students need a bit of revision on words connected to weather? Try one or more of these web activities for further practice. The activities increase in difficulty with the first one being the easiest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/
Ask students to find the weather forecasts for differnet cities and compare thenm with a partner.
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/45.html
Comparatives and superlatives grammar quiz.
http://www.englishmedialab.com/Quizzes/preintermediate/
comparatives%20superlatives.htm
Fun general knowledge comparative quiz.
Unit 12
Car Hire
http://www.hertz.co.uk/rentacar/reservation/gaq/index.jsp?bsc=t&target
Page=reservationOnHomepage.jsp
Ask students to compare the above car hire companies.
You can also read a summary of a commuter's routine on:
www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/features/2001/07/05/feature1/journey.shtml
Unit 13
Getting there
www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/features/2001/07/05/feature1/
andysbike.shtml
The main topic of this unit is commuting and types of transport. You could extend this topic by asking your students to read this article on folding bicycles. Start off by asking your students a few questions: How bad is the traffic where you live? How long does it take you to get to work? How do you get to work? Is there a better way?
Then ask your students to read the article. Follow this up with a few questions: What do you think about this way of commuting? Would it be possible for you? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Finally, hold a class discussion.
You can also read a summary of a commuter's routine on:
www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/features/2001/07/05/feature1/journey.shtml
Unit 14
Dress codes
http://www.askmen.com/fashion/austin/16_fashion_style.html
What people wear to work and why is a central question in this unit. The 'Dress-down Friday' trend is highlighted, but is it really a useful thing? This article takes another look at this topic and is a useful starting point for a discussion, as the level is quite high.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/705135.stm
This article is a more detailed look at office dress codes and includes the views of two people and what happens in their work place. Again, a great starting point for a discussion.
How we use our time
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=7
A link to the original article used for the material on page 95. Ask your students to read through the article and then discuss the information in comparison to their own lives. You may have to help out with vocabulary and it might be a good idea to ask some general comprehension questions when students have finished reading.
Unit 15
Health and illness idioms
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/
learnitv121.shtml
Extend your students' vocabulary by getting them to read this page. Afterwards, find out if they have similar expressions in their language(s).
Throwing a sickie
http://www.safeworkers.co.uk/HowToReduceAbsenteeism.html
How does absenteeism affect business? And, can business reduce absenteeism? You could start by asking your students these two questions, then get them to read the web page above and, finally, discuss the topic.
Unit 16
Travel arrangements and announcements
http://www.esl-lab.com/flight/flightrd1.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/airport/airportrd1.htm
Two online listening activities with a travel theme. The first of these is a phone conversation between a client and a travel agent. The second is an airport announcement. There is some difficult vocabulary but if you click on the 'Go to Quiz Script' icon you will find a glossary explaining the meaning of the words.
http://www.berlitzpublishing.com/berlitz/quiz.asp?TAG=&CID=
A simple gap fill activity designed to practise airport vocabulary. This fits in nicely with exercise 5 on page 109.
Unit 17
The world's richest businessmen
Ask your students who they think are the world's richest businessmen and then ask them to read (or listen to) this short article from the BBC website. A more detailed article can be found at http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,3604,1046071,00.html
If you'd like to see the Forbes Rich list then just go to http://www.forbes.com/maserati/billionaires2004/bill04land.html
You could ask your students to see if they can find someone on the list from their own country.
Product placement
http://www.thevine.com.au/entertainment/articles/top-ten-
examples-of-product-placement-in-movies.aspx
Video examples of product placement in famous films. Ak students to pick the most obvious.
Rounding numbers up or down
http://www.linguarama.com/ps/193-11.htm
The first of the two activities on this web page links in nicely with the material on page 116.
Unit 18
The future of the Internet
http://www.englishpage.com/vocabulary/interactivelesson3a.htm
A useful gap fill activity for practising some of the vocabulary from this unit.
Computer viruses
http://www.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm
One of the topics in this unit is Internet security and computer viruses. Find out more abut this topic, the do's and don'ts, how viruses spread, who writes viruses etc.
Spyware
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce/articles/security/spyware_1.shtml
What is spyware? Find out more with this simple Q&A web page. You could follow this up with a debate about the uses of spyware.
Unit 19
Phone messages
http://www.esl-lab.com/phone/phonerd1.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/tc1/tc1.htm
Two online listening activities which your students can use as further listening practice on the topic of telephone messages.
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tefl.teacher/page9.htm
Here are three activities that practise various phone situations. Choose the activity you think is most suitable for your students and follow the instructions on the first page.
Phone language
http://www.better-english.com/vocabulary/telephonelanguage.htm
http://www.better-english.com/vocabulary/telephonelanguage2.htm
http://www.linguarama.com/ps/193-2.htm
Three activities that focus on telephoning skills and vocabulary. Very useful if you think your students need extra practice.
Unit 20
Accident will happen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/youmeus/
lingo/lingo_health.shtml
Some useful vocabulary for accidents and general health.
http://www.nonstopenglish.com/allexercises/vocabulary/
Vocabulary-the_human_body.asp
Interactive exercises to practice vocabulary for parts of the body.
www.businessenglishonline.net
