Eating with the Locals.

Eating with the Locals.
Lesson 13.Video name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "Travel Skills: Eating with the Locals".
Video name on your CD: "Travel Skills: Eating with the Locals" MPEG4 video file.

Questions about Context.
1. What's the main suggestion when traveling to another city.
2. Mention a few suggestions when you go to Rome.
3. Mention a few suggestions when you go to Paris.
4. What's the suggestion when you visit London?


Script.
Find it at http://englishvillemexico.blogspot.com/2010/06/scripts-lesson-13.html .

Riding the Subway

Riding the Subway.

Lesson 09.
Extra Work.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "290 - Riding the Subway".
Audio name on your CD: "290 - Riding the Subway.mp3".

Exercise.
Listen to this audio about what to do to take the subway in NY and answer the questions down below.

Vocabulary.
Fare. Noun, "The fare for the bus is only sixty cents".
Deduct. Verb.
Issue. Verb. My ticket was issued at noon so it should be valid till tomorrow morning".
Otherwise. 
Platform. Noun,
Token. Noun.
Turnstile. Noun.
Unlimited. Adjective. With no limits.

Questions about Context.

Number out all the options available to pay for the subway fare.

Script.
Find the script at http://englishvillemexico.blogspot.com/2010/05/scripts-lesson-09.html  .

Legos and How to Survive in Business

Legos and How to Survive in Business.

Lesson 21.

Extra Work.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "LEGO - how to survive in business (intermediate)".

Audio name on your CD: "LEGO - how to survive in business (intermediate).mp3".

Exercise.

Listen to this audio about Lego and answer the questions down below.

Vocabulary.

Danish. Something or someone from Denmark.

Profitability. Noun

Blame. Verb.

Diversify. Verb. 

Expressions.

Supply chain.

Make a loss.

Questions about Context.

1. When was it founded?

2. What does lego mean?

3. What's lego's motto?

4. How much did they sell back in 2003?

5. What do they do besides the famous bricks?

6. Where are the amusement parks?

7. What happened in 2004?

8. Tell us the main reasons why they started to lose money.

9. Tell us what they did to stop losing money and go back to profit.

Why Legos Happen to Be so Expensive

Why Legos Happen to Be so Darn Expensive

Lesson 21.
Extra Work.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "Why Legos are So Expensive".
Audio name on your CD: "Why Legos are so Expensive.mp3".

Exercise.
Listen to this Report from the National Public Radio  and answer the questions the questions down below.

Vocabulary.

Bring up. Verb.

Stumble. Verb.

Sue. Verb.

Questions about Context.

1. What makes Legos so special?

2. What type of business decision did they come up with which happened to be very important?

3. What did Lego learn by making such business decision?

Script:

Find the script at http://englishvillemexico.blogspot.com/2010/12/scripts-lesson-21.html .

Congestion Based Pricing

Congestion Based Pricing.
Lesson 22.
Extra Work.


Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "California toll lanes up to $9.mp3" from 0'24'' to 5'02''.
Audio name on your CD: "California lanes up to $9.mp3".

Exercise.
Listen to this Clark Howard show which was on the air just recently and answer the questions down below.

Idiomatic Expressions.

Automatic transponder

Breathless excitement

Bumper to bumper traffic

Car pool lane

Congestion Based Pricing

Freeway speeds

Lexus lanes

My eyes Popped out of my head

Sit in traffic

Stuck in traffic

Questions about Context.

1. Explain how the Riverside freeway in Orange County works.

2. How much did it cost Clark to ride the Riverside Freeway a few months or years ago? How much did it cost at peak hour just recently?

3. Explain Clark’s example that justifies paying a high toll at the road.

Airport Shuttle

Airport Shuttle.

Lesson 16.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "ESLPod635 airport shuttle.mp3".
Audio name on your CD: "ESLPod635 airport shuttle.mp3".

Questions about context?
How are they getting to their hotel? What were the options available?

Vocabulary,
Double check. to make sure.
Airport transfer.
Shuttle. small vans tjat pick you from the airport.
Nix. Verb. say no to it. reject.
Limo. limousine.
Be out. be impossible.

relish. enjoy, look forward


Useful Expressions.

Hindsight is 20-20. this is a saying which means that it's easy to know the right thing to do after something has happened.
an arm an a leg. too much.20-20. perfect vision.
Give a call.
On its way.

Courtesy shuttle.
Red-eye. flight overnight.

Stories about Customer Service

Stories about Customer Service

Lesson 15.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "KWWL #032 Early Bird or Night Owl?.mp3".
Audio name on your CD: "KWWL #032 Early Bird or Night Owl?.mp3".

Story #1 (Art, a listener, shared a experience about customer service in a restaurant.)

From 9:45 to 11:04

Vocabulary,

Blow off. Verb. Ignore,
Hors d'oeuvre.
Maitre d'. Noun.
Rectify. Verb.
Unresponsive. Adjective.
Walk away. Verb.

Story #2 (at check in Portland airport)

From 11:30 to 14:42

Vocabulary,

Counter. Noun.
Cramp. Verb. Confine.
Crown. Noun.
Exceptional. Adjective.
Gal. Noun.
Infant. Noun.
Line up. Verb.

Peanuts. Noun.
Ruby. Noun.
Slippers. Noun.
Stick through. Verb.

Tag. Noun.
Wrist.

Useful Expressions

Conveyor belt.
Get to know.

Sing someone's praises.
Stirrer sticks.

Stitch together.

Peanut Crown

Story #3 (early bird or night owl):
From 22:20 to 28:19
Vocabulary:
Grouchy. Adjective.
Grumpy. Adjective.
Wholeheartedly. Adverb.

Idiomatic Expressions
Run someone ragged. To make someone very tired.

Questions about context
Story #1:

What happened at the restaurant?
How much did Art end up paying at the restaurant?
What did Art do about it?

Did the manager make a decision about the incident? What did he do?

Story #2:

What was the first instance of exceptional service when Sam was still a baby (Mario was involved)?
What was the 2nd one (Shelby was involved)?

Story #3:

Describe what Mike and Chris are like in the mornings.
Describe what was Mike's life in college.
What happened with Mike during those four nights in a row?

Air Travel: Checking in to a Flight

File: BEP 1856 - Air Travel: Checking in to a Flight.mp3

Questions about Context:

1. What is Robert concerned about regarding his suitcase?

2. Where does Robert want to sit? And why?

3. Why does the ticket agent recommend him to go through security immediately?

Script:

Check the script at http://englishvillemexico.blogspot.mx/2010/04/scripts-lesson-16.html .

Bespoke Suits

Bespoke Suits.

Lesson 11.

Activity.
Read the story (Bespoke Suits.pdf), listen to the news report (Davidson and 4000DllrsSuit.mp3) and solve the exercise.

Exercise.
Come up with ideas to make his job more profitable or explain why you think it's not worth it.

Having an Open House

Having an Open House.
Lesson 15.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "546 - Having an Open House.mp3".
Audio name on your CD: "546 - Having an Open House.mp3".

Questions about context?
What is this couple doing outside their home? Why?
What's the signing sheet for?
What is the stager doing while these guys are outside?

What is “Home Staging” and How Does it Help Sell My House?

by Lori Matzke

“Home staging” is not a new term, but for many homeowners and real estate agents the concept of “professional home staging” is shedding new light on how to promote a home in the real estate marketplace.  In past years, homeowners were left to their own discretion as far as preparing for home showings. Though they could occasionally rely on an agent for instructions, more often than not real estate agents were just as perplexed at working out the details as the homeowner.

While agents are experts in the field of selling and closing, many are not design savvy.  Agents usually know exactly what factors can help sell a home. It’s just not always easy to get a home into selling condition in a timely manner without some sort of experienced assistance.

Professional home stagers are practiced in the art of preparing a home for resale. They work with the “flow” of a home, eliminate clutter, edit and arrange furniture, and even assist in enhancing curb-appeal.  With the aid of a professional home stager, your house can make a notable first impression on potential homebuyers.

Definition found at realestateabc.com.

Vocabulary.
Square Footage. 1 square foot = 0.09290304 m²
De-clutter. to simplify or get rid of mess, disorder, complications, etc.

Script.
Find the script at http://englishvillemexico.blogspot.com/2010/04/scripts-lesson-15.html .

Disruptive Innovations

Disruptive Innovations.

Activity.
Listen to this podcast from Harvard Business Review and answer the questions below.

Audio name on I-tunes and the I-pod: "Reinventing Your Business Model".
Audio name on your CD: "Reinventing Your Business Model.mp3".

Cottage industry. An industry where the creation of products and services is home-based, rather than factory-based. While products and services created by cottage industry are often unique and distinctive given the fact that they are usually not mass-produced, producers in this sector often face numerous disadvantages when trying to compete with much larger factory-based companies.

Telegraph.

Mainframe computers.

Breakthrough. Noun. A sudden advance especially in knowledge or technique. “This new drug turned out to be a medical breaktrhrough”.

Formerly. Adverb. Previously.

Cost effectively. Adverb.

Overhead intensive. With very high fixed costs.

Flop.

Value proposition. A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered and a belief from the customer that that value will be experienced.

Overhead costs. In business, overhead or overhead expense refers to an ongoing expense of operating a business; it is also known as an "operating expense"

Gross margins.

Gross margin (as a percentage of Revenue)

Most people find it easier to work with gross margin because it directly tells you how much of the sales revenue, or price, is profit. In reference to the two examples above:

The $200 price that includes a 100% markup represents a 50% gross margin. Gross margin is just the percentage of the selling price that is profit. In this case 50% of the price is profit, or $100.

In the more complex example of selling price $339, a mark up of 66% represents approximately a 40% gross margin. This means that 40% of the $339 is profit. Again, gross margin is just the direct percentage of profit in the sale price.

In accounting, the gross margin refers to sales minus cost of goods sold. It is not necessarily profit as other expenses such as sales, administrative, and financial must be deducted. And it means companies are reducing their cost of production or passing their cost to customers. The higher the ratio, the better.

Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_margin )

Assets. In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset. Simply stated, assets represent value ofownership that can be converted into cash (although cash itself is also considered an asset)

Profitably. Adverb.

Get in the way. Interfere.

Paradigm. Noun.

Sunk cost. In economics and business decision-making, a sunk cost is a retrospective (past) cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.

Fixed cost

Marginal cost

Marginal revenue

Leverage. Verb. Exploit.

Beat the incumbent. In business the term "incumbent" is used for the largest company in a certain industry, for instance the traditional phone company in telecommunications, typically called the "incumbent operator". In a sales process, such as public tender, incumbent may also refer to the vendor that has the largest existing commercial relationship with the issuer of the tender. Source: Wikipedia.

Questions about Context.

1. What’s a disruptive innovation?

2. What’s the main key to provide a disruptive innovation?

3. Mention the four steps to start a new business model.

         

4. Describe the example of a company successfully facing disruptive innovations.

5. What gets in the way for companies to face disruptive innovations successfully?

6. Describe an example of an industry having trouble facing disruptive innovations.

- Traditional Newspaper vs digital Newspaper

- Wireline phones vs Voice over IP

- Netflix versus Blockbuster

- Kodak vs digital photography

- Sony walkman and discman vs i-pod