How to give a great presentation! Business English

Business English Conversation lesson.  How you give a presentation is as important as the content!

How you give a presentation is as important as what information you wish to present.  Make sure that you know your data and that you are well prepared with the correct dress and body language.  Presenters from all parts of business need to learn these rules and strive to present even dry data in an interesting way!

Read this article and be prepared to discuss it with your English teacher
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20150223-secrets-of-the-perfect-speech

Key Terms
make a name for themselves
Congressional Medal of Honour
a slap in the face
 a higher calling
impassioned address
fiery 
righteous indignation
exemplifies
emotional involvement
strong narrative
introduction
narrative
 argument
refutation 
summation
recitation
constructive feedback
motivational speaker
freshest version
routine 

Questions
How many presentations do you need to give at your job
How do you prepare for them?
Why does the article say not to rely too much on PowerPoint slides?
What do you do if you see your audience is not interested in your presentation?
If you have to give a presentation about last quarter's sales, how can you give life to the data?
Tell me about a good speech that you recently heard. 
What made it different from other speeches?
How do you get over being nervous before giving a presentation?


Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach-Professional English Teacher 

Reward students for NOT looking at their phones! English Conversation

English conversation lesson about how to motivate students not to look at their phones during class.

Teachers and Employers are becoming more and more annoyed by students and workers looking at their phones during class and work. The smartphone
is a big distraction and provides much of the time wasted during class and work throughout the day. But what could you do about it? Now there is an app that could provide the answer!

Read this article and discuss it with your English teacher
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3041845/this-app-rewards-students-for-not-looking-at-their-phone-during-class

Key terms
phones locked
 juniors
on-board.
earn points
redeem points
opportunities
anti-technology


Questions
What is the point of the app?

What can the students earn if they use the app?

How does that benefit students? 

How does that benefit the professor?

How does that benefit businesses? 

How can the teacher give more points to students?

Is this a good incentive for students to stay off the phone?

Would you use it, personally, why or why not?

What other incentives can you think of that will help students stay off their phones?

What did you do when you were in school to help you pay attention?

How can this be used for work purposes?

Should the boss know about it? 

Lesson plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher 

Selling your home? Remodel the bathroom! English Conversation

English Conversation lesson about Real Estate and renovations.

As you might know, I used to be a real estate agent here in Israel, before the ignominious exit from Lebanon dropped the bottom out of the real estate market in the country for a few months. I made the exit from the real estate market at that time as well, and took up teaching English.  But it is difficult to say goodbye forever to the excitement of real estate.  So here is an article to help you sell your home!

Read this article and watch the video and discuss it with your English teacher http://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-tips-for-saving-money-on-your-home-125820548.html

Key Terms
unfathomable 
 to get the most value out of a home
folklore into fact
conventional wisdom 
crunched an enormous amount of data
 remodel
functionality
lowest returns on investment
 reach their peak 
bang for your buck
sharp spike 
agent contacts
slips on an ivy-green jacket
price-pointsmak
psychological pricing
the thousands digit 

Questions
According to the article, what is the conventional wisdom if you are going to re model your home? 
According to the data, which remodel brings in more value to the home? 
Which would you rather do? 
Do you like updated kitchens or bathrooms?
When is the best time according to conventional wisdom to sell your home? 
According to Zillow data, what is the "sweet spot?" 
Why would selling in March be better? 
How do you figure out the selling price of your home? 
What does Zillow's data say about this? 
Do you make a difference between $4.99 and $5.00? 
What are price of home like in your country? 
Are housing prices too high?  Why or why not? 
Can people really afford to move nowadays? 



Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher 

Habits of Successful people - Business English Conversation

Business Conversation Lesson about how to organize your morning to be successful.

Everyone has daily habits to help them get up and running in the morning.  I usually get up with a vibrating alarm clock that is under my pillow.  I pet the cat and then get the children out of bed and out to school.   I don't sit down to eat until at least 7:30, but to get some energy I squeeze and orange and a lemon and drink it.  'Then after the kids are our, I get down to business.

Read this article to find out what hugely successful people do

https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/post/107909981712/6-daily-habits-of-hugely-successful-people

Key Terms

 striking 

 retail outlet

pave the way

maximize productivity

, effectiveness

success

catapult 

 distractions 

resources,

sneaky 

undermine 

mental clarity

 nuisances 

up to par

recharge

blast of energy

 one fell swoop

visualize

like a breeze

work burnout

 eliminates stress

peak performance 

less-pressing tasks

trivial

Questions 

Which of these habits seems to you the most important? 

How do you start your day? 

How focused are you at work? 

If you work in open space, how can you reduce distractions? 

Do you get enough rest? 

How can you get more if you don't get enough rest one night? 

What is your morning ritual? 

How much time does it take you to get ready in the morning? 

Do you have an evening ritual? 

How do you decide what needs to be done for the next day? 

What activities do you do to "take care of yourself?"

How much time do you give yourself to do these things? 

How do you budget your time? 

Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher 

Terminally- ill British Doctor's campaign for human touch wins massive support - Medical English

Medical English lesson about how a British doctor is helping to have doctors and nurses treat patients better while they are in the hospital.

Have you ever been in the hospital and felt like a number?  I have, and let me tell you I couldn't wait to get out of there!  I even signed myself out early!  A terminally ill UK doctor is leading a campaign to change this attitude of doctors and nurses.



Read this wonderful article and discuss it with your English teacher


http://news.yahoo.com/uk-doctors-campaign-human-touch-wins-huge-support-135952082.html


Key Terms
 healthcare workers
 human connection
Fed up
a campaign
 legacy
 hashtag
compassionate practice 
 therapeutic relationship
building trust
patient outcomes
a tweet
inspiring
endorsed
 get the better of her

Questions
What is the current practice in some hospitals?
Why do doctors and nurses refer to patients in this way? 
What is Dr Granger's idea? 
Why does she think this would be a better way of dealing with patients in the hospital?
What did the British Prime Minister say about this campaign? 
Have you ever felt that you were not treated nicely by hospital staff?
What type of behavior do hospital staff treat you when you have to go to the hospital? 
How can this change? 
Have you seen a difference lately?


Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach Professional English Teacher 

Washington State to end Daylight savings time - English conversation

English conversation lesson about Daylight Savings time, which is coming up in March for many places in the world.  

I don't know about you, but I just hate Daylight Savings Time! It doesn't save daylight, it forces people to go bed early and wake up early, except that most people don't really go to sleep early and then they are too sleepy when the clock tells them to get up.

Read this interesting article and discuss it with your English teacher
http://www.khq.com/story/28029929/bill-would-end-daylight-saving-time-in-washington

Key terms 
 opt out 
 clock tinkering days 
messing with
driving force
followed suit. 
altered  alteration 
 offset by
 spring forward
 severity

Questions
Why does Washington State want to stop Daylight Savings Time?
What benefits does DST bring? 
How would stopping DST help the economy? 
How much energy is really being saved by changing the time?
What industry would not benefit by stopping DST?
Does DST help you personally? 
Does your country change the time?
What do you do so that you can cope with the change in time? 
Do you feel that more people are "groggy" when the time changes? 


Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach Professional English Teacher 

Food Allergies are not by choice! English Conversation

English Conversation lesson about food allergies and the problems that people with food allergies have.

Yes, at my son's school, there was a boy who was allergic to all products related to peanuts.  In Israel, this can be serious because Bamba, the popular snack is made of peanuts.  Peanut and jelly sandwiches are not as popular though.  Many people grumble when they are told that they have to stop sending peanut snacks to the school for birthdays.  But this can be a serious problem for a child who is allergic to peanuts. if they smell peanuts they can get seriously ill.

Read this article and discuss it with your English teacher

http://www.examiner.com/article/food-allergies-are-not-a-choice

Key Terms

 outstanding rants

unvaccinated

measles

chicken pox

mumps

meningitis

whopping cough

viral rant

medically diagnosed

immune system disease

cure

funding

 avoid the allergy

 Anaphylaxis shock

 Epinephrine

 steroid treatments.

airborne particles

vegetarian

references

Questions

According to the article, what are the effects of food allergies?

When can a person develop a food allergy?

Is there a cure for food allergies? 

How can a person cope with food allergies?

Why do some parents equate food allergies with vaccinations?

How do people with food allergies feel about their problem?

What is the government doing about this problem?

Is this a problem in your country?

Do you know of anyone with food allergies? 

Do you or a member of your family suffer from food sensitivities and allergies?
Do you think that the increase of food allergies has a correlation to the increase of fast food?
What do you think we can do to make people more aware of safe substitutes for wheat, dairy or nut products?

Lesson plan by Rachael Alice Orbach Professional English Teacher 

Tibetan Remedy for prolonging life and preventing tumors English conversation

English conversation lesson about alternative medicine and whether it really helps people or not. 

One of the reasons that people turn to Alternative Medicine is that Western Medicine doesn't give enough assurances of perfect health.  Western Medline is concerned with treating symptoms of disease, but not so much with prevention.

Read this article and discuss it with your English teacher 

http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/2000-years-old-tibetan-remedy-prolongs-life-and-prevents-tumor/ 

Key Terms 

digestive disorders
rejuvenates
grated
Strictly adhere
deterioration
interval

Questions
What is surprising about this "tea"? 
What are the benefits? 
Do you see any problems with drinking this tea?
What are the benefits?
Would you consider doing this treatment? 
Which of the teas mentioned in this post would be more tasty?
Do you take any type of "health" remedies? 
Do you take vitamins? 
Who told you to take the vitamins?


Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach  Professional English Teacher 

China opens Shanghai Stock Market to Hong Kong - Business English

Business English lesson about the Stock market in China.  

The Stock Exchange in China is about to become much more interesting for investors.  In the past, investors had to choose to invest either in the Shanghai Exchange or Hong Kong. Now, however they might be able to invest in one, and be able to trade stocks in the other. 

Read or listen to  this article and discuss it with your English teacher 
Ihttp://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/china-opens-stock-market-to-hong-kong/2523750.html


Key Terms 
securities 
breakthrough
milestone
gateway
stocks listed 
quota
scheme
capitalization
limited reform measure
capital account
shareholders


Questions
According to the text, what is the advantage of this change? 
How would this open the financial market of China?
Where do most international investors put their money? 
Where do most Chinese investors put their money? 
What limits would investors have to abide by? 
Why does the stock market need these limits?
Why does China want to have international investors?
Do you invest in stocks?  Why or why not? 
What percentage of money should be in stocks?  Bond?  Money Market account? 
Would you take advantage of this new stock market, why or why not?  





Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher 

Fashions come and go. Midrif is back after a long vacation! English Conversation

English Conversation lesson about Fashion Week in Paris 

I remember the last time that the belly was out.  I made sure to skip it for several reasons.  One, unless you have lots of heat inside, it is a bit cold to have the tummy out. 'Two,  I don't look good that way. Three,  You have to have the perfect body to carry it off.   Where do you stand on this fashion statement? 


Read this article and discuss it with your English teacher 
http://www.thelocal.fr/20150127/french-fashion-week

Key Terms 
haute couture 
storybook
midriff-baring
cleavage
tentpoles
slew
 parade
 artificial winter jungle 
obliging
crop top
 earth-bound
abdominal work
 waifish models
dissuade
complex feather-flower-embroidery train
 paparazzi flashes
enthused
flower woman
pop-up books
 mercurial
extraterrestrial

Questions
What is your favorite look from this article? Why? 
Did you like the belly button craze in the 90's? Why or why not?
Is this the time to bring it back? 
Does Chanel really speak for French fashion?  World fashion?
If you were to get married 1st time or 2nd time, would you wear the new Chanel wedding dress? 
Are Fashion Shows important to set the new fashion each season? 
Do you wear different clothes to work and at home? 
How do you decide what type of clothes to buy? 
What type of store do you buy clothes? 
Do you buy trendy clothes? 
Would you go to a gym to do abdominal work in order to get into these outfits? 




Lesson Plan by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English Teacher