Introductions in an international, cross cultural
business environment
PART 1: International travel
Source: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/airport-check
Listen to the five airport announcements and do the exercises to practise and
improve your listening skills.
Preparation
Do this exercise before you listen. Write a number (1-6) to put these sentences in
order.
………….
………….
………….
………….
………….
………….
Wait at the boarding gate
Go to the checking-in desk.
Board the plane.
Go through immigration.
The plane takes off.
Arrive at the airport.
1. Check your understanding: gap fill
Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps with a word from the box.
New York
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Athens
Amsterdam
Rome
Tokyo
A: The plane is going to _______________.
B: The plane is going to _______________.
C: The plane is going to _______________.
D: The plane is going to _______________.
E: The plane is going to _______________.
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2. Check your understanding: gap fill
Do this exercise while you listen. Complete the gaps.
1. The 9.25 flight to Rome is delayed by _______________ hours.
2. Passengers going to Tokyo should go to boarding gate _______________.
3. Passengers going to Athens should go to boarding gate _______________.
4. The flight number of the plane going to Amsterdam is _______________. It will
leave from gate _______________.
5. The time in _______________ is 18.30.
6. The temperature in New York is _______________ ºF.
3. Listen to this conversation at the check-in desk.
Question: Who is speaking to whom… about what?
Your teacher will now give you & a partner the dialogue all jumbled up on strips of
paper.
Listen again, and put the dialogue back into the right order and then practice reading
this conversation with your partner… and your best English accent!
4. Now, tell your partner/ group about your experience of flying and
holidays.
Have you ever taken a plane? (If no) Would you like to travel by plane? Where
to?
(If yes) Where did you go? How long was the flight? Did you have a good journey?
Why?/ Why not?
What did you enjoy most about your last holiday?
Where are you going on your next holiday? Why did you choose this location?
What would your ideal holiday be?
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Checking your grammar & business vocabulary…
Translate these sentences into English:
1) J’ai attendu longtemps dans le salon de départ à l’aéroport car le vol a été
retardé de 2 heures.
2) « Les passagers en attente du vol BA712 à destination de Londres, allez à
la porte d’embarquement n°6, s’il vous plaît. »
3) Au bureau d’enregistrement des bagages, j’ai mis ma valise sur la balance
mais elle était au-dessus du poids autorisé.
4) Je demande toujours une place assise côté couloir quand je prends l’avion.
5) Le travail en équipe est difficile pour moi ; je préfère travailler seul.
6) Je suis étudiant en GEA en 1ère année.
-> If translating these sentences was painful for you, try to find another way to learn your
business vocab & grammar! Ask your teacher for some advice if need be! There are lots of links
on your English Arche page!
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PART 2: How to make introductions
1. Describe photos A, B & C: Where are the people? What are they doing?
Vocab: to shake hands with sb., to bow, to introduce oneself/sb. to sb. Else
Photo A
Photo B
Photo C
2. Invent information on photo A:
Her name:
His name:
Her company & location:
His company & location:
Her nationality:
His nationality:
Her job title:
His job title:
Her department:
His department:
Hints:
Use the company organization chart on the next page and the following to help you!
Some job titles: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Web designer, (Department)
Manager, Assistant Manager, Marketing assistant, Sales Representative, Personal
Assistant (PA), Accountant…
Some departments: Information Technology (IT), Advertising, Marketing, Sales,
Purchasing, Human Resources (HR), Account(s), Research and Development (R & D)
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An example of a company organization chart
Introductions Roleplay:
Female colleague:
Hello. Are you new here?
Male colleague:
Yes, I just started on Monday.
Female colleague:
Really? That’s great. By the way, my name’s
(first name/surname). I’m an accountant.
Male colleague:
Nice to meet you, (first name). I’m (first name/surname).
Female colleague:
Nice to meet you. What do you do, (first name)?
Male colleague:
I’m in Advertising. Well, I’ll see you again soon.
Female colleague:
See you.
=> Now orally improvise the conversation of the two co-workers in photo A. (Feel
free to change the words in bold print.)
Watch this first video and learn how to introduce yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMLDiA6Hy-Y
What did you understand?
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Watch this second video where different people introduce themselves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRO38UQGH7A
Listening skills (on video n°2) – What did you understand?
Full Name
Company’s name &
type of business
Job title
Possible jobs when you study business administration at the IUT
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PART 3: Networking and making Contacts
1. Giving Contact Information
Look at the business card and fill in the chart with the appropriate letter (a =>f).
Area code
(tel)
Country
code (tel)
Postcode/Zipcode
(address)
at
dot
underscore
+ Nature of
Business?
(no letter here)
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2. Talk business
Student A: Use this page
1. Ask questions to complete student B’s business card below
2. Answer student B’s questions about your business card.
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2. Talk business
Student B: Use this page
1. Answer student A’s questions about your business card
2. Ask questions to complete student A’s business card below. Write A’s
responses.
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Checking your grammar & business vocabulary…
Translate these sentences into English:
1) Qu’est-ce que vous faites dans la vie ?
2) Pour qui travaillez-vous ?
3) Dans quel service travaillez-vous ?
4) Je ne pense pas qu’on se soit rencontrés auparavant.
5) Je suis ravie de vous rencontrer.
6) Au fait, je travaille chez Microsoft en tant que responsable du service
comptabilité.
7) Voici ma carte de visite. Je travaille dans le service publicité de Gaumont.
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