INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
  > BUSINESS ESSENTIALS B1
TEACHING GUIDE
Welcome to Business Essentials B1. This short course will
take your students through the essential skills for using
English at work. You can use it alongside general English
material, or as a standalone Business English course.
The focus in Business Essentials is on functional language
that will help students perform effectively in English in
the workplace. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking
skills are practised in equal measure, and in a variety of
professional contexts.
Students learn useful language for speaking on the
telephone, writing emails and letters, talking about their
company and their work, discussing figures, welcoming
guests, and many more common workplace tasks.
The course is divided into six modules of eight lessons each.
The modules cover six core areas:

1 Telephone and email

2 Guests and visitors
3 Presenting
4 Graphs and tables
5 Business writing
6 Job applications

Each module has eight one-page lessons, which deal with a

sub-skill of that core area. As the structure of the course is
modular, you can choose in which order you do the lessons.
At the end of the book, there are two extra sections which
your students can do at any time – the Grammar files offer
some useful grammar notes and practice in a business
context, and the BEC Preliminary practice test helps
students familiarize themselves with the format of the exam
if they plan to sit it at the end of the course.
The answer key to all the exercises in modules 1–6, the
Grammar Files, and the BEC practice test can be found on
this website as a downloadable PDF: www.oup.com/elt/
teacher/businessessentials.
This Teaching Guide provides step-by-step notes for each of
the lessons. The notes will help you if you need extra support
in teaching Business English or in setting up the activities.

Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012 1

 M1 TELEPHONE & EMAIL
1A > Getting through on the phone
1 Get students to answer the questions in pairs or small
groups. Then choose a few students to report back to the
class. Students will probably mention the inability to see the
other person and interpret their body language and facial
expressions. Point out that having a range of useful language
for the phone and being prepared before making the call can
help to overcome these problems.
2 A 1.1   Before listening, ask students what happens at
a fitness centre, and if they are a member of a fitness
centre or health club. Students listen and answer the
three questions.
3 A 1.1   Students complete the conversation in pairs.
Encourage them to discuss the different possibilities. Then
they listen again and check their answers.
4 Explain that a useful way to remember words or phrases is to
group them in categories. Students look back at the correct
answers in 3 and put them into the categories in the table.
5 Students match the phrases with their similar meanings.
6 Students can work in pairs to find the five mistakes. When
everyone has finished, ask one pair to read out the corrected
conversation. Ask the rest of the class if they think the
conversation was correct. If they don’t, get another pair to
read it out, and so on, until a pair gets it all right.
7 If possible, get students to work with a new partner. Give
them a few minutes to read their roles and think about what
they want to say. Then let them do their role-plays freely. Go
round the class, monitoring and helping where necessary.
Make a note of any mistakes you hear or any particularly
good uses of language.
If the class is very big and you don’t have time to monitor
all of the students, you could ask a few pairs to ‘perform’
one of their role-plays and then ask for feedback from the
class. Class feedback can be a sensitive area, but can also
be extremely motivating and rewarding. Students may feel
nervous about performing in front of their classmates, so
make sure you instruct people on how to give feedback
with sensitivity. It might even be worth giving a few useful
phrases, e.g. That was really good, but …, I really liked the way
you …, but …, You could / could have …, etc.
When everyone has finished, give some general feedback
based on the notes you made. You could write up the
mistakes you heard and get students to correct them, or
simply write the correct versions of the mistakes you heard
and ask students to explain what they mean. Also write up
any particularly good uses of language.
At the end of the lesson, you could ask students to note
down three or four phrases that they didn’t know before and
memorize them. This could be the start of a personalized
notebook that students can add to throughout the course.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 1
1B > Messages and voicemails
1 Students discuss the question and make a list in pairs. If they
are short of ideas, offer a couple of examples, e.g. when
you are in a meeting, when you are driving, etc. Students
continue the pairwork for a few minutes. Then elicit a range
of answers from the class.
2 Ask students to look at the reasons listed in the sentences.
Check if there are any there that students didn’t come up
with in 1. Give them time to complete the sentences with
a preposition.
3 A 1.2   You could pre-teach price rise – a change in price
which makes a product more expensive. Students listen
once and answer the questions.
4 A 1.2   Students listen again and complete the sentences.
5 Give students time to find the six mistakes. Go through the
answers as a class.
6 Students practise the phrases they have learned in this
role-play. Get them to do it twice, so they practise both
sides of the phone call. As they are speaking, go round the
class, monitoring and helping as necessary. Make a note of
any mistakes you hear and go through them when all the
students have finished.
7 Explain that phrases a–h are for the caller to use when
leaving a message. Get students to complete the exercise in
pairs and to discuss the meaning of each of the phrases.
8 A 1.3   Students order stages 1–4 in 7, and then listen and
check their ideas.
9 Make sure you give students enough time to prepare this
task, then check they fully understand the instructions.
Students should not change pairs until both pairs have
finished their first role-play. After the second role-play,
get the groups of four to check that they noted down the
correct message from the first role-play.
1C > D
 ealing with problems
on the phone
1 Give students time to look at the picture and work out
the problems.
2 A 1.4   Students listen once to answer the question about
Kiko’s problems with the call. Elicit the answers from the
class. Play the audio again if necessary and discuss how
effectively she deals with the problems.
3 Students complete the sentences. Play the audio from 2
again if necessary.
4 Students can work in pairs for this activity. Give them time to
read the responses and give a more polite alternative. Elicit a
range of answers from the class.
5 A 1.5   Students listen and check whether their responses
are the same as or different from the audio.
2
 M1 TELEPHONE & EMAIL
6 There are six situations to get students to practise some
of the phrases they have learned in this lesson. If you are
able to separate A and B physically and have them use their
actual mobile phones, that will add authenticity.
Three of the role-plays are started by Student A, and three
by Student B. Each pair will need a dice. If you don’t have
a dice, just ask students to select one of the six options
listed at the end every time they play the receiver of the
call. Encourage them to continue each conversation until it
reaches a natural end, then to move onto the next one.
Go round the class, monitoring and helping as necessary. Make
a note of any mistakes you hear, or of any particularly good
uses of language, and go through them when all students
have finished.
1D > M
 aking arrangements
on the phone
1 Explain that all the phrases come from the same
conversation. Students read and decide if the conversation is
formal or informal.
2 A 1.6   Students listen and say why and when Fenola and
the supplier are meeting.
3 A 1.7   Students listen to the second conversation and
answer the same questions.
4 A 1.7   Students listen again and write equivalent phrases
to the formal language in 1.
5 Elicit that the first conversation will use mainly formal
language, and the second informal. Encourage students to
use the language for making arrangements from this lesson.
6 A 1.8   Students listen and answer the questions.
7 A 1.8   Before listening again, you could ask students to
predict the missing words. Play the audio again, then check
the answers.
8 Go through the flow chart as a class and elicit the phrases
students might use at each stage of the conversation.
Students work in pairs. Students can then change roles and
repeat the conversation. Make sure that students write
down any dates and times, so that they can refer to them
when they want to change their arrangements in 11.
9 A 1.9   Students listen and answer the questions. Point
out that Sergio and Elena make general conversation at the
beginning of the call.
10
Point out to students that the phrasal verbs bring forward
and move back are both separable. This means the object
can go between the verb and the participle, as well as after
it. Write the example from the Student’s Book on the board
if necessary.
11
Again, go through the flow chart and ask students to
suggest possible phrases to use at each stage of the
conversation. Students repeat their role-plays from 8.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 1
1E > E
 mail – First contact
and requests
1 Students work in pairs and discuss the questions. Elicit a
range of answers from the class after 2–3 minutes.
2 Give students time to read the email. Then go through the
answers as a whole class.
3 Before students start the activity, explain any new
vocabulary. Get them to work in pairs to match the parts of
the email with the list 1–6.
As a follow-up task, you could ask students if they would
include all of these elements in their own emails, and in
which situations they might be more flexible.
4 Students work in pairs to reorder the parts of the email.
5 Give students time to read the emails and discuss the
answers in pairs. Then elicit the answers as a whole-class
activity. For question 2, refer back to 3 and look at which
elements are included in the emails. Then for question 3,
discuss whether the tone of the email has an effect on
which elements you would include. Generally, if it is informal
because you already know the person, you could leave out
the introduction and perhaps the closing salutation as well.
6 You could do this stage as a whole-class activity and make a list
on the board. Alternatively, get individual groups or pairs to find
all the phrases for one single category, then share them with
the class.
7 This task could be set as homework, or if you have time, get
students to do it in class. Get students to exchange their
email with a partner and feed back on each other’s work.
1F > Email – Enquiries
1 Draw students’ attention to the title of the lesson and check
comprehension of Enquiries. Students then complete the
activity in small groups. Get them to think about enquiries
they have made themselves to help them draft their list.
2 Explain that the email in this exercise is making an enquiry.
Get students to read the email quickly, then elicit from them
what it is about (an enquiry from a company who wants a
new security camera system. They saw the security camera
company at a trade fair and want a catalogue, price list,
and information about installation.). Students complete
the email.
3 Students identify the different sections in the email in 2.
4 Give students a few minutes to discuss how they would reply
to the email, then elicit some suggestions from different
pairs. Encourage them to think about when they would reply,
what they would say, what they would attach, and what they
would say about themselves or their company in the reply.
5 Give students time to read the reply and to tick off the
elements that match the list they made in 4. Then elicit
answers to questions 1 and 2 from the whole class.
3
 M1 TELEPHONE & EMAIL
6 This follow-up email includes some useful phrases. In order
to complete it, students will need to think about the context
of the email, the information that was supplied, and the
requests that were made by Ms Mühle in the email in 5.
7 You could do this stage as a whole-class activity and make a list
on the board. Alternatively, get individual groups or pairs to find
all the phrases for one single category, then share them with
the class.
8 If your students are short of ideas, put these suggestions on
the board as possible enquiries they might make:
• You have bought a new TV and there are no instructions
with it.
• You want a leaflet to advertise your new office cleaning
service and need someone to design and create it.
• You need some information about language courses from
a local language school.
Give students 4–5 minutes to write their emails, then get
them to exchange with their partner. Give them a further
5 minutes for them to write a reply. Encourage them to use
some of the phrases from this lesson. As they are writing, go
round the class, monitoring and helping as necessary. Offer
immediate feedback and correction as you monitor.
1g > Email – following up
1 Before starting the lesson, ask students about their
experiences of meetings, e.g. Is there always someone
to take minutes? Is an agenda circulated before the
meeting? Do the attendees receive a write-up of the
meeting afterwards?
Ask students what type of document is shown in 1
(notes from part of a meeting that has already taken
place). Highlight and explain some of the key vocabulary,
e.g. update, action, and action point.
Get students to work in pairs to answer questions 1–4. Then
elicit the answers from the whole class.
2 Give students a few minutes to read the emails. Then elicit
what each one is about, and which point from the meeting
notes each one refers to.
3 Explain that the three emails in 2 contain some useful
phrases for follow-up emails. Get students to work in pairs to
find phrases of similar meaning to the phrases given.
4 A 1.10   Play the audio and ask which part of the meeting
notes they are talking about (part 6). Then play the
audio again and get students to listen for the answers to
questions 1–3.
5 Give students at least 10 minutes to write both emails. For a
bit of variety or interaction, you could get them to compose
the emails in pairs. Go round the class, monitoring and
helping where necessary.
6 If students did 5 in pairs, they will need to compare their
emails with another pair of students. Encourage students to
offer feedback on their partner’s email and advice on how to
improve them.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 1
1H > Email – Levels of formality
1 Before starting the lesson, check comprehension of Levels of
formality. Elicit some examples of formal and informal emails.
Get students to read the advice, then discuss with their
partner whether they agree with it or not. After 3–4 minutes,
elicit a range of answers from the class.
2 Explain that there are certain phrases in email and letter
writing that are particularly formal or particularly informal,
and some that are acceptable in both situations. Give
students a minute to go through the list and make a quick
decision about which category each phrase goes into. Then
elicit the answers from the whole class.
You might want to highlight the following phrases: We look
forward to hearing from you and Looking forward to the
meeting. The first one is formal and the second is informal.
The difference being the use of the Present Simple in the
first, which gives the phrase a formal distance, and the
Present Continuous in the second, which makes it more
friendly. The omission of a subject pronoun (I) in the second
phrase also gives it a much more informal feel. This type of
omission is very common in informal emails.
3 Go through the questions in order, giving students enough
time to read each email as they go along.
For question 5, ask students for look for words and phrases
in the emails that indicate the level of formality. Some
examples from the emails are:
a – informal: no Dear at the start; thanks, not thank you; the
use of a postscript at the end.
b – formal: Dear Sir or Madam; enquire not ask; require
not need; I look forward to not Looking forward to; Yours
faithfully; giving her job title at the end.
c – formal: use of full name at the start; require not need;
inform not tell; Yours sincerely.
d – informal: no Dear at the start; use of abbreviations;
direct questions.
You may want to point out the standard usage of Yours
faithfully and Yours sincerely in written communication:
the first is used with Dear Sir or Madam, the second with
Dear [name].
For question 6, point out that English speakers often use
abbreviations or shortened words in informal emails. The
three given are the most common ones.
4 This activity could be set as homework. If you prefer to do
it in class, try to make it a bit more interactive. Put students
into groups of four and get each one to write one of the
emails. Then get them to exchange their emails with others
in the group and have them correct or improve on their
classmates’ first attempts. Go round the class, monitoring
and helping as necessary.
4
 M2 GUESTS & VISITORS
2A > Introductions and greetings
1 In this lead-in, encourage students to think not only about
language that is used in greetings, but also gestures like
shaking hands or kissing on the cheek. Get students to
discuss the questions in pairs and then feed back to the
class. It may be interesting to turn this into a discussion
about cultural expectations and how you might be viewed if
you didn’t follow the ‘rules’ when greeting someone.
2 A 2.1   Pre-teach the phrase introduce yourself. Elicit
typical topics of conversation when introducing yourself,
e.g. nationality / origin, job, reason for being there, etc.
Make sure students know the names of the two speakers.
Emphasize that they do not need to understand every word
of the conversation, but to find just the answers to the three
questions. Play the audio once only. Students work in pairs
and compare their answers.
3 A 2.1   Students complete the conversation. If they have
problems, you could write the answers on the board in the
wrong order and ask them to choose the correct words.
Students listen and check their answers.
4 A 2.2   Students listen to the extracts from the new
conversations and answer the questions. Point out that
What about + noun? is a useful way of repeating a question
with a new focus, without having to repeat the
whole question.
5 Give students time to complete the conversation, working
alone or in pairs.
6 Ask students to practise the questions in 4 before they start
the role-play. Make sure they stress you in all the questions.
Then get students to imagine they don’t know each other
in order to do the role-plays. Go round the class during
the speaking task, monitoring and making a note of any
mistakes or any particularly good uses of language. When
everyone has finished, write your notes on the board and go
through them with the class.
2B > Making small talk
1 Pre-teach the phrase small talk. Ask students to discuss
the question in pairs. If you have a mixed nationality class,
you may find students disagree about the usefulness of
small talk: in some cultures, it is considered a waste of time,
whereas in others, it is an essential part of the business
meeting process. How long the small talk goes on, and what
you talk about, also depends on how well you know the
person you are meeting.
2 A 2.3   This activity practises listening for the topic of a
conversation (a very useful skill in a foreign language), so you
may not wish to pre-teach vocabulary. Play the conversation
once only. Students listen and decide which topics from
1 are being discussed.
3 A 2.3   Students listen again and complete the questions.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 2
4 Students complete the table with the phrases from 3. After
checking the answers, spend some time on the meaning and
pronunciation of the other sentences in the table.
5 This activity gets students to practise asking and answering
common ‘small talk’ questions in a controlled way. They do
not need to carry on the conversation, just formulate the
questions properly and answer them appropriately. Give
students a couple of minutes to prepare their questions and
another couple of minutes to ask and answer them.
6 V 1   Explain that you are now going to play a short video of
two colleagues having an informal chat. Play the video and
elicit the answers to the questions.
7 V 1   Play the video again and get students to note down
all the questions Maria and Monica ask. With less able
classes, you could pause the video every time a question is
asked to allow students time to write down the wording.
8 Give students a couple of minutes to prepare some more
questions. These could be similar to the ones they heard
in the video or completely different ones. They should only
cover the topics listed in 1.
Remind students that the idea is to keep the conversation
going by asking follow-up questions. Give students 4–5
minutes to role-play the conversations, following the flow
chart if they need to.
9 Do this stage as a whole-class activity. Try to find the most
interesting / funny / unusual piece of information about the
students in the class.
2C > Invitations and offers
1 A 2.4   Students listen and match the conversations to
the places.
2 A 2.4   Depending on how good their memory is, students
may need to listen to the conversations again before doing
the exercise. Students complete all eight sentences, then
match the invitations to the responses.
3 Students write the number or letter of the phrases from
2 next to the correct functions in the table. Point out that
we use Would you like me to …? to offer to do something for
another person. Make sure students don’t say Would you like
that I …?
4 Discuss the four phrases as a class and decide how formal
each one is. You may have to explain the use of fancy in
question 3. Point out that in this context that it means the
same as Would you like …?
5 A 2.5   Give students time to complete the responses. Play
the audio and let students check their answers.
6 Check that students understand each situation and ask
them what they would do – they don’t need to formulate
the phrase at this stage. Then get students to work in pairs
and decide on the exact phrase they would use in each
situation. Elicit a few suggestions from each pair at the end
of the activity.
5
 M2 GUESTS & VISITORS
7 Make sure students read only their role card, not their
partner’s. Give students a minute or so to read the
instructions, then give them 4–5 minutes to do both
role-plays. Go round the class, monitoring and correcting
where necessary.
2D > Welcoming a visitor
1 Discuss the lead-in questions as a class.
2 A 2.6   Students listen and complete the agenda. They
then compare it with a partner.
3 A 2.6   Before listening again, you could ask students to
predict the missing words.
4 Students match the responses to the phrases used in 3.
5 Students work in pairs and use the flow chart to role-play
a conversation similar to the one in A 2.6 . With less able
classes, you might need to go through each part of the flow
chart and elicit the phrases students can use.
6 After the first conversation, students can change roles and
repeat the role-play so that they both have a chance to
be the visitor and the host. While students are doing their
role-plays, go round the class, monitoring and correcting
where necessary.
2E > Understanding a welcome speech
1 Ask students to work in pairs and discuss the questions, and
then feed back to the class.
2 Ask students to read the speech and decide what the
event is.
3 Ask students to read the speech again and match the
sections to the functions. They can then check their answers
in pairs, before feeding back to the rest of the class.
4 Students match 1–6 to a–f to make complete sentences.
They can refer back to the welcome speech to help them.
Students check their answers in pairs, before feeding back
to the rest of the class. During the feedback stage, highlight
that thank you for is followed by an -ing form. You could also
point out that welcome speeches tend to include positive
adjectives, such as wonderful and fantastic.
5 A 2.7   Students now listen to a slightly more formal way
of welcoming groups of guests. Play the audio and elicit the
answers to the questions.
6 If necessary, get students to look at the script for A 2.7 to
compare the speeches in 2 and 5.
7 A 2.7   Note that students are not completing phrases
here, but are listening for more formal – and much longer –
equivalents. You may need to play the audio twice to help
students write down all the words they hear.
8 Students work in groups of two or three and use the
phrases from this lesson to make a short, but formal
welcome speech.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 2
9 Once each group has prepared their speech, one student
should deliver it to the rest of the class. Remind the class to
make notes on each speech.
As part of your monitoring, write down any language you
hear which is inappropriate in terms of formality, and also any
good use of language. Afterwards, read out the examples
and ask the class to tell you if each one is formal or less
formal, and whether it needs any improvement. Make sure
that students understand when to use more / less formal
language, e.g. more formal is required when speaking
in public.
2F > Asking for and offering help
The topic of this lesson applies to both visitors and
colleagues at a company. A visitor may be coming to give
a presentation and need help with setting up the technical
equipment, or with carrying bags or cases around. So while
the context of the lesson focuses on colleagues offering and
asking for help, remind students that the same phrases can
be used in other contexts.
1 Students discuss the question in pairs, before feeding back
to the rest of the class.
2 Give students 3–4 minutes to read the emails and find the
phrases. Then get them to discuss in pairs which ones are
formal and which are informal, before feeding back to the
rest of the class.
3 A 2.8   Ask the students to read the sentences, and
then play the audio. Each sentence relates to one of the
conversations. Then ask students to correct the sentences.
4 A 2.8   This exercise introduces some more useful phrases
for offering help. Ask students to put the words in the
correct order. Play A 2.8 again and let students check
their answers.
5 Students put the numbers of the sentences in 4 into the
correct category. You could then discuss the phrases and
elicit situations where it would be appropriate to use them.
6 Explain that phrases for responding to offers or requests
for help differ depending on the context. A native English
speaker may find the response ‘Of course’ to an offer of
help to be a bit abrupt and ungrateful, whereas the direct
equivalent in other languages doesn’t have the same
connotation. Get students to go through the responses in
pairs and decide if they are responses to offers or requests
for help. Then elicit the answers as a whole-class activity.
7 Give students time to prepare and perform their role-
plays. Go round the class, monitoring and correcting
where necessary.
6
 M2 GUESTS & VISITORS

MODULE 2
2G > Telling an anecdote 2H > PRESENTING YOURSELF
1 Telling an anecdote is not something that everyone finds 1 A 2.11   Ask students to listen to the two presentations.
easy, even in their native language, but as a business skill, it Elicit the answer to the question.
is worth developing. Pre-teach anecdote and elicit a range of
2 A 2.11   Play the presentations again and get students to
answers to the question. Ask students to think about telling
answer the questions.
an anecdote in their own language too. Point out that an
anecdote needn’t be a long, drawn-out story, but could be a 3 Firstly, ask students to underline the time phrase in sentence
simple description of an event or a situation that someone 1 (Last year). Then ask them to do the same for the rest of
has found themselves in. the sentences. Finally, ask them to write the time phrases in
the correct column in the table.
2 This activity focuses on business situations in which telling
an anecdote might be useful. Students could discuss the 4 Students complete the text, working individually. Then let
question in pairs, before feeding back to the rest of the them compare their answers in pairs, before feeding back to
class. Arguably, an anecdote might be appropriate in all of the rest of the class.
the situations.
5 Give students 6–7 minutes to prepare their introduction in
3 A 2.9   Students listen and answer the questions. pairs. This sort of presentation is often written out in full by
the speaker, so let students know that it is acceptable to do
4 A 2.10   Give students a minute or so to discuss the
this. Also get them to underline key phrases they need to
question. Elicit a few suggestions from the class before
remember to make the presentation easier to deliver.
playing the next part of Simon’s story.
6 Students practise giving their presentation. They could
5 A 2.9   Play the audio again and give students time to
choose one student in each pair to give the presentation,
correct the sentences. Point out that the Past Simple is used
or divide it and deliver half each. If they have written it in
for a finished action in the past, while the Past Continuous is
full, encourage them to look up at key points – this is where
used to describe an action still in progress.
underlining the key phrases during the preparation is useful.
6 Students choose between the Past Simple and Past
7 Give students enough time to prepare their presentation.
Continuous to complete the extract.
Encourage them this time to write notes for each category
7 Students do the activity in pairs. You could encourage them rather than full sentences. Students give their presentation
to correct each other as they go along if appropriate. to the whole class. Ask the listeners to make notes and feed
back with positive points and ideas for improvement.
8 A 2.10   Students put the words in the correct order, then
listen to the audio again and check their answers. As a follow-up task, students write out their presentation for
homework, using full sentences in paragraphs.
9 Give students 4–5 minutes to think about and note down
the key points of their anecdote. Don’t let them write out a
complete speech, just notes about what happened.
10
Remind students to use some of the phrases in 8. Students
tell their anecdote to their group. Go round the class,
monitoring and noting down any mistakes or particularly
good uses of language. Feed back on the language students
used after the group work. If you overhear any interesting
anecdotes and think the students wouldn’t mind telling
them again, you could select a few students to repeat their
anecdote to the class.

Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012 7

 M3 PRESENTING
3A > A company profile
1 Explain what a company profile is – information about a
company that is in the public domain, e.g. the company’s
history, product portfolio, operations bases, etc. Give
students two minutes to make their list in pairs. Then elicit
answers from the class and collate one long list on the board.
2 Elicit answers from the whole class. Ask them who they
would expect to know all the answers – the employees, the
senior management, or only the director / CEO?
3 V 2   Explain that students don’t need to understand
everything in the video, but just to listen out for the topics
in the list. Students watch the video and number the topics
in order.
4 Elicit answers from the whole class.
5 V 2   Give students a couple of minutes to try to remember
any more details about the areas in 3. If they can’t remember
anything, play the video again immediately and get them
to write notes as they watch. With less able classes, you
could pause the video after every area is mentioned to give
students time to think about what they have heard and write
it down.
6 Students complete the sentences, working individually. Let
them compare their answers in pairs, before checking the
script on page 73.
7 Students read the text and answer the questions, working
individually. Elicit true or false, and ask students to quote the
part of the text that gives the correct answers.
8 Students find the words in the profile in 7 and then compare
their answers with a partner.
9 You could get students to make a list or simply to discuss
their ideas in pairs (possible answers: If a company is in a bad
financial situation, you may suffer by going into business
with them. If a company has a bad track record on ethical
business, it might affect your company’s reputation.)
Give students 3–4 minutes to discuss the factors and make
10
a list.
Give students another 3–4 minutes to compare their lists in
11
groups of four. Then elicit some responses from the class. If
there is a wide variety of answers, you could turn this into a
whole-class discussion and try to come up with the class’s
top three factors.
3B > Talking about your company
1 You could get students to refer back to the first exercise in
lesson 3A to remind them of the type of information they
need to think about. Let students discuss the question
for a couple of minutes, then elicit a few facts from the
whole class.
2 Ask students to read the five company descriptions and
complete the names.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 3
3 Students complete the sentences with words from the texts
in 2.
As a follow-up task, check students can pronounce the
words with the correct stress. Ask them to mark the main
stress, e.g. produce, employee, provide, specialize, subsidiary,
competitor.
4 Students make sentences, using the words in the table. Less
able classes should write the sentences; more able classes
could do it orally. Be prepared to help with vocabulary, or let
students use a dictionary.
5 A 3.1   Give students time to study the table. Ask them
what kind of information they need to listen for. Play the
audio and let students complete the table. Students can
compare their answers in pairs. Play the audio again if
necessary, then check with the whole class.
6 Students work in pairs and talk about Besam, using the
information in 5.
7 Explain that this is a guessing game and the students
describing the company must not mention its name. To
demonstrate the activity, describe a company for the whole
class to guess before they play the game in pairs.
3C > Company structure
1 Give students a few minutes to talk about what each
department in the list does. Be prepared to help with any
comprehension queries. Elicit any additional department
names that students came up with.
2 Students look at the list in 1 and answer the questions.
3 You may need to pre-teach the vocabulary in the list. Check
pronunciation, including the different ways of pronouncing
the third person -s:
/s/ checks
/z/ finds, buys, maintains, deals
/ɪz/ arranges, organizes.
Ask students to complete the sentences with the verbs.
4 This is an activity to help students to remember the
vocabulary in 3. Ask the student who is guessing to close
their book each time.
5 A 3.2   This activity also helps to reinforce the department
names from 3. Students listen to the conversations and
complete the table. Play the audio just once.
6 A 3.2   Students listen again and complete the sentences.
7 Students complete the sentences with phrases from
this lesson.
8 Students work in pairs. On a new piece of paper, they draw
the organization chart from 7 and add some new roles to it,
or create a completely new one. Then they discuss the roles
and responsibilities of each person. They can then take turns
to present their organization chart to the class.
8
 M3 PRESENTING
3d > Talking about your job
1 Write the names of the three jobs on the board. Check the
pronunciation, particularly psychologist. Explain retail and its
opposite wholesale if necessary. Ask students to say what
the three jobs are.
2 Students read the text and compare their answers in pairs.
3 Students read the text again and complete the sentences.
You might want to point out the difference between work
for and work with. (We use work for a company when we
are actually employed by that company. We use work with
a company when we have dealings with another company,
or we are self-employed and work at their site for a
limited period.)
4 Students find the words and phrases in the text in italics and
match them to definitions a–h.
5 A 3.3   Before listening, check comprehension of software.
You could ask what a person working in a software company
might do and who might be involved. Pre-teach the
following vocabulary:
from the table: sales reps (someone who travels to
different places trying to persuade people to buy their
company’s products or services)
from the audio: technical issue (a technical subject
or problem that people are thinking or worried about;
bug (a mistake or a problem in a computer program).
Play the audio and get students to tick the correct
items in the lists.
6 A 3.3   Refer students to the words in bold in the text in 2.
Students complete the description of Sang Chun’s job, using
each phrase once. Play the audio again and let students
check their answers.
7 Students think about the aspects in the list, working
individually, and then discuss their ideas in pairs.
As a follow-up task, students could give very short
presentations about their job.
3e > Talking about products
1 Give students time to think about their answers to the
questions. Then they work in pairs and discuss their ideas.
2 Students write down their favourite brands for the products
and services. Encourage them to think of some adjectives
to describe why they like them. Students discuss their ideas
in pairs.
3 Get students to discuss the question in pairs and then elicit a
range of answers from the class.
4 Give students a few minutes to match the items to their
descriptions, then elicit answers from the class. Check they
understand all the words that aren’t in bold before moving on
to 5.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 3
5 Students match the words to the definitions. Encourage
them to work them out from the context, but allow them to
use a dictionary if necessary.
6 Students complete the sentences with words in bold from 4.
7 Give students time to think of some products they can
describe. Then students work in pairs and describe them.
8 Each student thinks of a new product or service that their
company is launching or might launch in the near future (or
simply invents a product). Give them time to make notes
about the product, using the headings in the task. Be
prepared to help with vocabulary. Students then describe
the product or service to the class. You might like to ask the
listeners to take notes on their classmates’ descriptions, and
then report back to the class.
3f > Talking about services
1 You might want to describe a service that you often use to
help start off the discussion, e.g. a dry cleaning service – I like
the speed with which they clean and the friendliness of the
staff. They also offer a special deal where they clean three
suits for the price of two.
Give students a few minutes to make a list of the services
they use. Students discuss their answers in pairs, before
feeding back to the rest of the class.
2 The website reviews describe three different services. Give
students time to read the reviews and answer the questions.
(The information search / online news service would normally
be used by businesses who wanted to track what is being
said about them in the press or online. The other two reviews
refer to the more general services of online banking and
travel booking.)
3 A 3.4   Each speaker describes a problem or need that
they have. Play the audio and get students to choose the
correct website.
4 Make sure students understand that the aim here is not to
underline every adjective, e.g. new, but only the adjectives
that we typically use to describe and promote services, e.g.
user-friendly.
5 There may be some variation in the answers, so encourage
students to explain their choices. When feeding back to the
rest of the class, encourage students to comment if they
use these services and how they would describe them. This
could generate more adjectives to add to their list in 4.
6 A 3.5   Students listen and answer the questions. You may
need to play the audio twice.
7 The table focuses on the verbs and phrases help, allow,
make it easier, and let from A 3.5 . Students work in
pairs and make at least six sentences, using the verbs
given, e.g. Search engines help people to find virtually any
information straightaway.
8 Students work individually and note down any benefits they
can think of in the services they use. They then work in pairs
and take turns to describe their ideas and experiences.
9
 M3 PRESENTING

MODULE 3
3g > Talking about changes 3h > Presenting Plans
1 Elicit the advantages and disadvantages for the first security 1 Students discuss the question in pairs or small groups, and
measure as an example. You could write the following table then feed back to the class. If your class are students, ask
on the board: them if they would prefer fixed or flexible working hours, and
what they think most companies do.
Swipe card
2 Get students to think about the advantages and
(+) (–) disadvantages for both the employee and the employer.
Can contain lots of Easily stolen or lost. Make a list by eliciting ideas from the whole class. Possible
information. answers include:

Is easy to carry. Eventually needs replacing. Advantages Disadvantages

Can be updated. If the system breaks down, Fixed Employer knows Staff have to organize
it will cause a lot of problems. hours when staff are on expensive childcare
site, so can plan work during work hours.
Does not require people. accordingly. Expensive commuting
Students can then work in pairs and think of advantages and times.
disadvantages for the other three measures. Elicit ideas from Flexitime At busy periods, staff More difficult for
the class and write them on the board. could work longer employer to predict
2 A 3.6   Students listen and answer the questions. hours to complete the when staff are around.
workload. Difficult to control
3 A 3.6   Students match the sentence halves. Play the audio
Allows staff to work up and supervise.
and let them check their answers.
hours and ‘bank’ blocks
4 Ask students to categorize the phrases in 3. of time off.
5 Students work in pairs. Ask them to make notes on both 3 V 3   Students watch the video and make notes. They
emails and imagine that both sets of changes are taking can then compare their notes with a partner to see if they
place in the same company. Students take turns to give their have missed anything, before feeding back to the rest of
update and ask for clarification. the class.
6 Give students plenty of time to think and make notes 4 V 3   You could get students to match the sentences first
about a change at work, school / college, or create an and then check when they watch the video. Alternatively,
imaginary new system of security for a place of their choice. play the video again and get students to do the exercise as
Alternatively, they could think of a system in their country they are watching.
that has changed, e.g. airport security. Students present 5 Give students a minute or two to think of a change that
their updates to the class and then deal with any questions. might happen to a company. If students are short of
ideas, make some suggestions, e.g. a merger with another
company, a new piece of software, a new process for
ordering / distributing products, a venture into a new area of
business, etc.
6 Students work in pairs to think of what the change is, why
it is happening, who it will affect, and what the plan is
for implementing the change. Then they prepare a short
presentation on it. Make sure they work in note form and
don’t write a complete script. Students take turns to give
their presentations and feed back to their partner.
7 Ideally, put students in new pairs from 6, so that there are
different presentations from each person in each new group.
As students give their presentations, go round the class,
monitoring and noting down any mistakes or particularly
good uses of language. Once all the students have given
their presentations, you could have a follow-up discussion
with the class about who’s idea was the best, who had
interesting ways to implement the change, who gave the
most convincing presentation, etc. Then feed back on
students’ use of language.

Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012 10

 M4 GRAPHS & TABLES
4a > Describing graphs
1 It is probably best to do this activity without a lead-in, just to
find out what students know already. Try not to give detailed
explanations of the vocabulary at this stage, but explain
that you will deal with it during the lesson. If students have
problems, you may need to give help with the following:
graph 2: the difference between decreased by 2% and
decreased to 2%
graph 4: sharply means there must be quite a large increase
on the previous months
graph 5: slightly means the increase must be small.
2 A 4.1   Be prepared to play the audio several times, or
pause a few times during the listening stage to give students
time to interpret what they have just heard.
3 A 4.1   Point out that graphs only show you what
happened, they don’t tell you why. During this stage,
students need to listen for the reasons for the change in
figures. Play the audio once, or twice if necessary.
4 Point out that prepositions are very important in discussion
of changes in figures. Highlight the difference between
Sales went down by 1,000 and Sales went down to 1,000.
(We use by to describe the difference and to talk about
the point reached.) It is worth spending some time on this
activity and dealing with any mistakes carefully during the
feedback stage.
5 Get students to complete the exercise individually, then
ask one or two of them to draw their answer on the board.
Check if the class agrees or if anyone wants to change it. Let
students continue in this way until the graph is correct. With
less able classes, you could draw the graph on the board
and complete it as you go through the exercise with the
whole class.
6 Students start by agreeing on the figures they want in the
x and y axes and drawing two blank graphs. Students work
individually and complete one of the graphs with figures
of their choice. They take turns to describe and draw each
other’s graph. They then check if their partner has drawn it
correctly. If there are any discrepancies, students can think
back to what they said and decide if it was described wrongly
or interpreted wrongly, and correct the mistakes.
4b > Describing changes
1 Point out that there is virtually no difference in meaning
between the verbs in each set, although go up / down are
less formal than the others. Practise the pronunciation of the
verbs and check that students know the past tenses. Point
out that the information in each line of the chart is linked
either through cause and effect, or through one offsetting
the other, e.g. market share and gross revenues; distribution
costs and prices of raw materials.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 4
2 Get students to do this task before checking the vocabulary
to find out what they already know. Then go through the
answers with the whole class.
3 Give students time to complete the table. Check the spelling
of each of the adverbs.
4 Check the meaning of the words in 3 quickly as a
whole class.
5 Students complete the description, working individually, then
compare their answers with a partner.
6 Ask students to think about something connected to their
company, school, or country and to draw a bar chart for the
last 12 months.
7 Students take turns to describe their bar chart to their
partner. They then check if their partner has drawn it
correctly. If there are any discrepancies, students can think
back to what they said and decide if it was described wrongly
or interpreted wrongly, and correct the mistakes.
4c > Comparing visual information
1/2 Check students understand the different names for the
visuals. Put students into pairs to match the headings
to the graphics. Students check their ideas with another
pair. If there is any disagreement, get students to explain
their answers.
3 A 4.2 4.3 4.4   Remind students that they don’t need to
understand every word to be able to do the matching task.
Play the audio and check the answers.
4 A 4.2   Play the audio of just the first conversation again
and ask students to answer the questions.
5 A 4.3   Play the audio of just the second conversation again
and check the answers.
6 A 4.4   Play the audio of just the third conversation again.
Ask students to complete the missing words.
7 Read the task as a class and deal with any vocabulary
queries. Students work in small groups for the discussion
stage. (There is no clear-cut answer here. None of the three
companies is best or worst in all or most categories. The
extra price you pay for Paper Packs Inc. is more than offset
by the best terms of payment and the discount. The product
range is good, but delivery and quality record are not good.
The Card Company comes out reasonably well, if you are not
worried about the small product range.)
As an optional follow-up task, perhaps for homework, get
students to write a brief report to the managing director,
recommending one of these companies and justifying
their recommendation.
11
 M4 GRAPHS & TABLES
4d > Explaining Cause and Effect
1 Check the meaning of any new vocabulary items before
starting the activity, but be careful not give too many clues
as to which event would affect each set of figures. Point
out that students have to associate each event with a
particular set of figures, then see which month showed a
significant change.
2 Work through the example on the board. Show how the
reason and result can be given in either order, but that this
affects the linking verb.
3 Students write sentences, working individually. Then elicit
answers as a whole-class activity.
4 Students could complete the sentences in pairs, or start by
doing it individually, then check their answers in pairs.
5 If necessary, suggest an area which you feel your students
might be familiar with, e.g. sales of a seasonal item. Give
them time to draw or create the graph, preferably in a format
that can then be shown in a presentation, e.g. on a large
piece of paper or in a PowerPoint slide.
6 Students take turns to present their graphs to each other.
Go round the class, monitoring and helping as necessary.
Make a note of any mistakes you hear, or of any particularly
good uses of language, and go through them when all the
students have finished.
4e > Interpreting financial results
1 Explain that a profit and loss account shows the income
and expenditure of a company over a certain period of
time, usually a year. Style and layout can vary between
countries and companies. Some useful financial vocabulary
is introduced here, so give students plenty of time to do
the matching stage. Ask students whether they think
this company is doing well or badly, and whether it is in a
better condition this year than last, or worse. (It’s not doing
badly, but there was no real growth last year, which can be
dangerous for a company.)
2 Point out that the question is about ‘this year’, so the
suggestion is it hasn’t finished yet, or its effects are still being
felt. To express this, we use the Present Perfect, not the
Simple Past. Some students may have learned that we use
the Present Perfect only to talk about events which haven’t
finished. In fact, we also use it to talk about the recent past
when the effects are still present. Students ask and answer
the questions and then can continue with further, similar
questions about the profit and loss account.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 4
3 Students do the activity in pairs. Check comprehension of
meet / exceed a target after they have completed
the activity.
4 Students continue working in pairs. If appropriate, get
them to imagine they are the Sales Manager (who wants
to emphasize the good results) and the Managing Director
(who wants to point out the weaknesses).
As a follow-up task, students can describe a region without
naming it and get other students to guess, e.g. This
region sold 4,100 units last year. This year their target was
5,800 units, but they only sold 5,650, which means that they
have missed their target by 2.6% (the Southeast).
5 Put students in new pairs for this stage. Get them to
compare and discuss the sales results, and decide on the top
salesperson. (The students must decide what criteria to use,
therefore there is no right answer here.)
4f > Reporting on sales figures
1/2 Students discuss the questions in pairs. Elicit a range of
ideas during the feedback stage and ask why people
prefer certain methods over others.
3 A 4.5   Students listen and answer the questions. Remind
them to listen out only for the answers to the questions, not
to try to understand everything at this stage.
4 A 4.5   Play the audio for the first part of the meeting. Get
students to complete the chart with the missing information
for home sales.
5 A 4.6   Play the audio for the second part of the meeting.
Get students to complete the chart with the missing
information for export sales.
6 A 4.6   Play the audio for the second part of the meeting
again. Students listen and complete the sentences.
7 Students work in pairs to present the different figures for
ABC Ltd, using the language from the lesson. You may like
to set up a short role-play with one student as the Sales
Manager reporting to his / her colleagues.
8 You could set this task as homework. If you do it in class,
set a time limit for students to write the report. Then get
students to exchange their reports with a partner and to
feed back on each other’s work.
12
 M4 GRAPHS & TABLES
4g > Describing a process
1/2 Students brainstorm the stages for the processes listed.
They can then compare stages and note parts of the
processes which could be cut. You could collate everyone’s
ideas and draw a flow chart of the processes on the
board, for e.g.
Applying for a job
see job advert  write letter and CV  attend interview
Moving office
find new location  book removal firm  send out
new contact details  decide what needs to be moved
where
Buying a house
decide budget  compare estate agents  choose
one  look at houses  apply for mortgage  make
an offer  move in
3 Discuss the first question as a class. Students then read the
text and answer the other question.
4 A 4.7   Play the audio. Students listen and answer
questions 1–3.
5 A 4.7   Before listening, give students time to study
the pictures. Check any new vocabulary. In this exercise,
students are listening for verb phrases, but the task is a
much shortened version of the audio. Students listen and
complete the sentences.
6 Students work in pairs and choose verb phrases to make
sentences to describe the stages.
7 Students study the phrases and think about the order they
would use them in. Then students can work in pairs and
try to describe the process in 6 again, but this time using
the phrases.
8 Students work individually and list the stages for one of
the processes.
9 Students work with a partner and describe the stages, using
some or all of the phrases in 8.
10
Students may need some time to prepare a visual aid, so you
could set this task for homework. Many students will already
have slides showing processes, so you could encourage
them to bring these slides in and present them in the
following lesson. At the end of the presentations, encourage
other students to ask questions.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 4
This is a possible extra activity. If students have prepared a
description of a process that is familiar to them, put them
into pairs. Each student takes turns to describe the process,
without using a visual aid. The listening student has to take
notes on each stage of the process. At the end, the student
shows his / her notes and checks that he / she understood
the process. This is an effective way of practising listening
and speaking, and also shows if the speaker’s description is
clear and logical.
4h > Using visuals in a presentation
1 If possible, before the lesson, ask students to bring in
examples of visual aids they have used successfully in their
presentations. Students discuss the questions in small
groups. During the discussion, students could talk about
their visual aids and why they worked well for them.
2 V 4   Students watch the video and identify the different
visual aids in the presentation. Elicit what kind of information
different visual aids are most suitable for, e.g. a flow chart
is good for processes, a graph shows trends, a pie chart is
good for showing proportions, a bar chart is good for showing
differences with reference to time periods in particular, and
tables are good for a lot of figures.
3 V 4   Students watch the video again and answer
the questions.
4 This task focuses on using different synonyms to vary the
language students can use when talking about visuals. Give
students time to complete the text, then check the answers.
5 Students can prepare the three visual aids as part of the
lesson and practise the language by presenting to a partner.
Alternatively, they can prepare the visual aids for homework
and perhaps make real PowerPoint slides to present to the
whole class.
6 Students take turns giving their presentations. Go round the
class, monitoring and making a note of any mistakes or any
particularly good uses of language.
7 Use this stage as an opportunity to discuss both the
effectiveness of the visual aids and to feed back on the
language students used during their presentations.
13
 M5 BUSINESS WRITING
5a > I ntroduction to emails,
letters, and memos
1 Students discuss the questions in pairs.
2 Ask students to read the three texts quickly and answer the
questions. Don’t deal with any new vocabulary, as the focus
is on general understanding at this stage.
3 Ask students to work in pairs and discuss the questions.
During class feedback, you could extend the discussion
by asking what students would like to be able to write in
the future. This is a good opportunity to find out about the
current and future writing needs of your students.
4 Ask students to read the texts in 2 in more detail. This is a
good stage to deal with any new vocabulary. Students can
then work in pairs and match the texts to the sentences.
During class feedback, ask students to give reasons for
their answers.
5 Ask students to read the rules for writing a memo and
to choose the correct options. If they are unfamiliar with
memos, they can refer back to text c.
6 Ask students to work in pairs. They can write just one set of
rules for either emails or letters, but with more able groups
and if you have time, they can write both. Go round the class,
monitoring students’ writing and making suggestions where
necessary. When they are ready, students compare their
rules. Alternatively, they can present their rules to the whole
class. Give students enough time for discussion to see how
far they agree with each other. Agree on a final list of rules
for each type of writing by the end of the lesson.
7 Students can write one of the texts on their own or with a
partner. Encourage students to use the language presented
in this lesson where appropriate.
5b > Structuring a letter
1 This activity is simply to get students thinking about when
they might need to write a letter or email in a professional
context. Point out that the letters or emails they discuss
could have been in any language, not necessarily in English.
Students discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.
2 Give students time to read the letter, then elicit answers to
the questions.
3 Check students understand all of the vocabulary in the
exercise. Put students in pairs to match the parts of the
letter. You could follow this up by asking students if all letters
need to include all of the sections listed in the exercise, and
in what circumstances they might be not be necessary.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 5
4 Students discuss the questions in pairs. Some may feel
that emails are always more informal than letters and
needn’t follow any structure rules. However, it might be
worth pointing out that professional emails often need to
have a similar structure to letters, apart from the need for
postal addresses.
5 Students answer the question, working in pairs. Ask them
to think about how the salutations are used. (There are
generally only a few accepted ways of opening a business
letter: Dear [name], Dear Sir or Madam, or Dear Sir / Madam;
to close a letter, Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely, or simply
Yours.) If necessary, remind students of the usage of Yours
faithfully and Yours sincerely: the first is used with Dear Sir or
Madam, the second with Dear [name].
6 You could set this task for homework for students to do
on their own computers, or in class on a piece of paper.
Afterwards, get students to compare their layouts in pairs.
5c > Writing a complaint
1/2 Focus attention on the picture and get students to discuss
the questions in pairs. Elicit a range of answers from the
class after a few minutes.
3 Students read the letter and answer the questions.
4 Students work in pairs to find the expressions in the letter.
5 Students complete the task. Let students compare their
ideas in pairs before checking with the class. Take time
discussing the differences in tone in the sentences. You
may need to explain that being too direct in English can be
seen as rude. Highlight the ways of ‘softening’ the message
that appear in the sentences, e.g. There seems to be …, You
appear to have …, etc.
6 Give students time to discuss the question in pairs. This
could be a cultural question, or it may be that different
circumstances require different levels of politeness.
7 Give students time to read the complaint to Ms Hay. Tell
them not to worry about the gaps in the text at this stage
– even with some parts missing, students should be able to
find the four areas of complaint.
8 Students complete the email in 7 with the phrases a–f.
9 Students could use one of the situations they discussed
in 2, or invent one if they prefer. You could set this task
for homework and get students to actually send you their
letters of complaint by email for marking.
14
 M5 BUSINESS WRITING
5d > Responding to a complaint
1 Tell students they are going to read a letter of complaint.
Set a time limit of a minute for students to read it and find
what the problem is, the action asked for, and the tone of
the letter.
2 Ask students to discuss how they would personally respond
to the complaint. Elicit a range of answers and write
suggestions on the board.
3 Ask students to look at the list of advice and to decide what
is good advice and what is bad. Ask them to give reasons
why the ‘bad’ advice is bad.
4 Get students to decide which order they would put the ‘good’
advice in when responding to a complaint.
5 Get students to match the expressions 1–6 to the pieces of
good advice in 3. Students then match the sentence halves
to construct the wording of the letter.
6 Ask students to work individually to match a–f to phrases
with a similar meaning in 5. Check the answers with the
whole class.
7 Get students to choose one of the problems and write a
letter of complaint. Encourage students to look at the letter
in 1 to help them.
8 Once students have written the letters, collect and
redistribute them so that each student gets another
student’s complaint. Then ask them to reply to the letter.
Then give the reply back to the original student to see if
they are happy with the response they got. Put the writer of
the original letter and the writer of the response in pairs to
discuss the process and the likely outcome.
5e > Placing an order
1 Students discuss the questions in pairs.
2 Students complete the email. Check the answers with the
whole class.
3 Students answer the questions in pairs. Get them to identify
the part of the email that gives each answer.
4 Students make a list of the things they might need to know.
If they are short of ideas, offer a couple of suggestions, e.g.
delivery times, possible discounts, etc. Then create a whole-
class list on the board.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 5
5 Students read the email and compare it to their ideas in 4.
6 Ask students to work individually and match the phrases
with the ones in bold in 5.
7 Students can work in pairs to decide on what to order for
their £25.00. Then they each write an email. Once students
have written the emails, get them to exchange their
messages and compare them. Encourage them to give
feedback on each other’s work.
5f > Confirming an order
1 Ask students to work in pairs and discuss the questions.
Students then feed back to the rest of the class.
2 Students read the email quickly and answer the questions.
You might like to set a time limit to encourage students to
scan the email. Students check their answers in pairs, before
feeding back to the rest of the class.
3 Ask students to read the email again in more detail and
decide if the statements are true or false. Ask students to
refer to the section of the email that gave them the answer
when feeding back to the rest of the class.
4 Students match the paragraphs to the functions.
5 Ask students to read the paragraph and decide which
paragraph in the email it could replace. During the feedback
stage, discuss how you might change paragraphs 2 and 3 if
you were to use the alternative paragraph.
6 Students match the words to the definitions. They can then
check their answers in pairs, before feeding back to the rest
of the class. During the feedback stage, ask students to
identify the word type, e.g. noun, verb, etc.
7 Ask students to look at the order form and notes. Give them
time to plan their email. Go round the class, monitoring and
helping as necessary.
8 When they are ready, ask students to write their emails. They
should then exchange emails with a partner and give each
other feedback. Make sure you also check the emails to
identify any problems.
As a follow-up task, you might like to ask students to write
an email responding to their partner.
15
 M5 BUSINESS WRITING
5g > Responding to an enquiry
1 You may wish to introduce the topic by asking students how
often they / their companies receive emails or letters asking
about goods or services. Ask what type of information these
letters ask for and how quickly a response is sent.
Ask students to read the letter quickly to find out how well
Claude and Tony know each other. Ask them to give reasons
for their answer.
2 Students scan the text very quickly to discover what
information is not specifically mentioned in the letter.
3 Ask students to read the text and from the information
contained in the reply, ask them to guess what the original
letter said. Students discuss the questions in pairs, before
feeding back to the rest of the class. Ask if they think it is a
positive and polite response.
4 Ask students to refer back to the text, and match the words
and phrases from the text with the definitions.
5 Tell students to look at the letter again and work out what
the purpose of each paragraph is. Encourage them to
discuss this with a partner, before feeding back to the rest of
the class.
6 Students look at the letter again and find the words or
phrases that help the writer to achieve the aims 1–8.
Students discuss their answers in pairs. They might come up
with other ideas, so be willing to discuss alternative answers.
7 Ask students to read the short letter of enquiry and
highlight the areas that they would need to address if they
were replying to it. Once they have read it, get them to
compare their answers in pairs. Then ask how they think
their own bank would answer the question.
8 Ask students to write the letter, making sure they include
an extra paragraph on a special offer. This can be done
collaboratively in class or set for homework.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 5
5h > Writing
 and responding
to invitations
1 Get students to discuss the question in pairs, before feeding
back to the rest of the class.
2 Tell students they are going to read an invitation to a
conference. Students read the letter quickly, just looking
for the answers to the questions. Point out that when we
get an invitation in real life, we often read for this type
of information.
3 Ask students to complete the letter. Get them to check the
answers in pairs, before feeding back to the rest of the class.
4 Ask students to reorder the sentences. Get them to check
the answers in pairs, before feeding back to the rest of
the class.
5 Students work with a new partner and think what they
would write in each of the situations listed in the task. Elicit
a range of answers from the class and write up any correct
suggestions on the board.
6 This exercise gets students to think about the structure of
an invitation. Get students to work in pairs to discuss what
function each paragraph has.
7 Ask students to look at the memo and write the invitation
in pairs. Remind them to follow the structure in the opening
letter in 2.
8 Once they have finished, students exchange their letters
with a classmate and write a response to the invitation they
have received.
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 M6 JOB APPLICATIONS

MODULE 6
6a > Job ads and descriptions 6b > Writing a CV
1 Elicit answers to the questions as a class discussion. If 1 Some of your students might be more familiar with the
nobody in the class has ever looked for a job, ask them to American term résumé rather than the British CV (or
draw on their general knowledge of the world of work and curriculum vitae) so check both words. CVs can vary from
people they know. country to country. Some employers prefer one page only
and others request a number of pages. As well as asking
2 Students study the job ads and answer the questions
students to list the information, you could also discuss the
in pairs.
format of a CV, e.g. Should it be one page only? Do you print
3 Students match the phrases to their definitions, and then it on coloured paper?
check their answers with a partner.
Elicit a range of answers from the class and write up a list on
4 Students read through Alexis’s notes and underline the key the board to compare with the personnel officer’s views in
points. With less able classes, you could list the key areas to the audio in 2.
look for:
2 A 6.1   Students listen and complete the dos and don’ts.
Play the audio a second time so that students can check /
qualifications
complete their answers.
skills
3 The headings and categories in this exercise are also
achievements.
common to application forms and are typical of formal
written English. Remind students that you wouldn’t expect
As an optional whole-class stage, discuss what type of jobs to hear them used in spoken English, e.g. for marital
might suit Alexis in general. status you would ask Are you married?
5 Students work in small groups. To ensure students discuss 4 Tell students that in the USA a person’s marital status would
the advantages and disadvantages of each job, draw not be included in a CV, but in Britain many people include
this chart on the board and get them to copy it down it. It is also illegal in some countries to state your gender.
(one suggested advantage and disadvantage is given for Some people also outline their current state of health. Briefly
each job): discuss which headings and categories would be included
Advantage Disadvantage in the students’ country. The class could also consider
whether the type of job applied for might affect what you
Trainee retail well-paid a full-time position would include.
manager
5 Ask students to read and complete the CV with appropriate
Bar staff flexible hours no long-term headings and categories from the list in 3.
prospects
6 Students read the CV again and answer the questions.
Salesperson company car long hours 7 Students could prepare their CV in class or you may want to
In their groups, students complete the chart, discuss the set the task for homework. Many students may already have
best job for Alexis, and then make a final decision. Elicit a a CV. If so, encourage them to bring it to class or ask them
range of answers from the class, getting students to justify to consider if they could improve it, following the advice in
their choice. this lesson.

6 You could set this task as homework or as a class activity.

As a follow-up task, you could put the class into small
groups and hand out a selection of job ads to each group.
Students take a few minutes to decide which job looks the
most interesting to them.

Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012 17

 M6 JOB APPLICATIONS
6c > Writing a covering letter
1 Discuss the question as a class. Elicit from students what
they think should be included in a covering letter, but not in a
CV, and vice versa.
2 Students read the advice and discuss whether the same
things apply in their own country.
3 Students read the covering letter and discuss the questions
in pairs. Encourage them to look for just the main points at
this stage, not to try to understand every word.
4 The exercise gets students to think about how to structure a
covering letter and what sort of things to include. Students
can do the exercise in pairs, before feeding back to the class.
5 This exercise compares levels of formality and draws
attention to the importance of tone when writing a letter
for applying for a job. Students categorize the words and
phrases according to formality and meaning.
6 Students read the job ads on page 44 again. Get them to
underline the experience and skills required in each job to
help them to write the letter.
7 Ask students to exchange letters with a partner. Students
work together to try to improve each other’s letters.
6d > Video CVs
1 Many people may not have seen a video CV. A video CV
allows the person to show themselves in a more human light
than a written one. Ask students what they think it might
be used for. (Possible uses could be to put on a business
networking site so that potential employers or partners can
see them, or to send to job agencies.)
2 V 5   Students watch the video and take notes. Remind
them that they are not being asked to comment on the
content of the videos yet, just the way in which they were
done, i.e. some with questions, some with captions, and
some just as a straight monologue.
3 V 5   Students watch the video again and complete
the table.
4 The exercise introduces them to some useful vocabulary for
talking about your professional background and experience.
Get students to try to complete the sentences from
memory. If they have problems, refer them to the script, or
play the video again. Then check comprehension of each of
the words.
5 Students discuss the questions in small groups, before
feeding back to the rest of the class.
6 Give students 4–5 minutes to do this exercise, basing their
ideas on the good things they have seen in V 5 and any
other ideas they have. Get them to bear in mind that most
people don’t have big budgets to make a video CV, so they
should keep their ideas realistic.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 6
7 You could set this task for homework. Show the video CVs in
the next lesson, or get students to present their monologues
to the class.
8 Encourage students to give constructive feedback on the
others’ video CV. You could ask each person to note down
one thing they really liked about each video and one thing
would do to improve it. Then collect in everyone’s comments,
collate them, and offer them as anonymous feedback to
each student.
9 Students rewrite their video CV, based on the feedback. If
you are short of time, this can be an optional activity.
6E > Identifying your
strengths and skills
1 Students discuss the question in pairs, before feeding back
to the class.

2 Go through the form with the class and deal with any queries
carefully. Check that they understand all the vocabulary in
the lists of transferable skills.
Give students time to complete the form. If they want to,
students can discuss their answers in pairs. This is a useful
stage if students know each other well, as they may be able
to define some of their partner’s skill areas and key areas.
3 Ask students to think of a personal example for each key
area that they circled. Help with any vocabulary students
may need.
4 Get students to discuss their answers in pairs. They should
ask questions about the personal examples, and try to get
as much relevant detail as possible.
5 Get students to think about what their partner has told
them and to suggest suitable careers. Elicit feedback from a
range of students. Get students to say what jobs they have
recommended for their partners and why.
6f > Preparing for an interview
1 You could begin by asking the class what experience they
have of job interviews and if anyone has a particularly
interesting, funny, or disastrous story to share. Then get
students to read the article and to match the interview
mistakes with the advice.
2 Students discuss their answers in pairs, before feeding back
to the rest of the class.
3 Students work in pairs to prepare the questions they
would ask. They then take turns to be the interviewee and
the interviewer.
4 Once students have spent time thinking about and noting
down their answers to the questions, elicit a range of
answers from the class. Decide who gave the best answers
and why.
5 Students work in pairs to ask and answer the questions in 4.
Go round the class, monitoring and helping as necessary.
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 M6 JOB APPLICATIONS
6g > Going to a job interview (1)
1 Get students to think about all the elements they have
looked at so far in this module – the CV, the covering letter,
their preparation – as well as what they need to do on the
day of the interview. Give students two minutes to make
their list, working in pairs. Elicit answers and collate ideas on
the board to make a whole-class list.
2 Students read the text and compare its advice with the
list they made. Then give them time to complete the table.
Check the answer and then discuss whether students agree
with all of the advice given.
3 V 6   This stage is to make sure students have understood
the gist of the interview. Students watch the video and
complete the notes.
4 V 6   This time students need to be more analytical in their
viewing. Remind them of the advice in the text and play the
video again. Ask them to rate Monica’s performance, using
the scale provided.
5 Students discuss the questions in small groups, before
feeding back to the rest of the class. In the feedback
session, you could give control of the video to each group
in turn so that they can find sections of the interview to
illustrate their points.
As a follow-up task, students could role-play the sections
which they felt needed improvement, demonstrating how
they think Monica could have done better.
6h > Going to a job interview (2)
1 Students discuss the questions in small groups. Don’t let this
stage run on too long, as students have probably already
talked about some of these points in the previous lesson.
Elicit any new and interesting details that the groups want
to share.
2 Students read the job ads and then discuss the meaning
of the adjectives in pairs. Elicit answers to check
comprehension of all of the adjectives. Explain that they are
very often used in job ads and when people want to describe
themselves in an interview.
Business Essentials B1 Teaching Guide  © Oxford University Press 2012
MODULE 6
3 Students can do the matching activity individually or in pairs.
4 Put students in pairs or small groups. Get them to read the
job ads, discuss what they are for, and what qualities would
be needed in a successful candidate.
5 Students spend some time preparing individually for the
interview role-play. Encourage them to make notes about
what they want to ask if they are the interviewer, or what
they want to say if they are the interviewee.
6 Students role-play the interviews. You might want to allow
a lot of time for this activity, as real interviews tend to take
a long time and students will want to get a sense of having
really practised for one. If students are working in groups
rather than pairs, you could suggest that one person in the
group remains impartial – neither interviewer nor interviewee
– and simply listens and analyses the interview. That person
could then feed back at the end, before people change roles
and practise another interview.
Alternatively, you could film students doing the role-play and
then analyse some or all of them in a later lesson.
  > Grammar files
The exercises in the Grammar files are designed to reinforce
the grammar that students probably already know. You
could set them as homework or simply refer to them during
the course of a lesson when students need a reminder of a
certain grammar point.
  > BEC PRACTICE TEST
This is a practice test for the BEC Preliminary. If your students
will be sitting the exam, the practice test will give them an
idea of the format of the exam. You could set it as a timed
mock exam, or simply as homework. The marking guide for
the writing and speaking elements can be found with the
answer key on the Business Essentials website (www.oup.
com/elt/teacher/businessessentials).
A001378
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