Listening, learning and teaching activities for students learning business English
Business English
There are more vocabulary activities related to these podcasts on the 'business extras' page.
85 Product placement. Just how advantageous is it for your product or brand to appear in a film?; level 2 (5 Mar 2020)
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Perhaps this should have been the end of Cast Away?!:
84 Sponsorship: the best bet? Why the gambling industry is enjoying the football; level 2/3 (30 Jan 2020)
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Ray Winston in one of his best known roles:
83 A picture paints a thousand words. Just how relevant is Instagram for the business world? level 2/3 (28 Nov 19)
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One company that became a success thanks to Instagram:
82 Michelin stars. The stress for chefs behind both winning or losing a Michelin star; level 2/3 (31 Oct 19)
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Think Michelin starred food is too expensive? Think again:
81 The vegan market. How are businesses responding to the rise in veganism?; level 3 (5 Sep 19)
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We think this is amazing:
80 One euro homes? How radical strategies are saving rural towns from depopulation; level 2 (20 Jun 19)
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Who can resist Sambuca? (Yes, it's in Italian):
79 Riding in a driverless taxi. Would you take a spin around Las Vegas in an autonomous car? level 2 (25 Apr 19)
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This podcast goes with this video:
78 The best restaurant in London. In 2017 The Shed became the top-rated restaurant in the capital. There was only one problem... level 1/2 (21 Mar 19)
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77 Customer loyalty. Who should a company favour: existing or new customers? level 3 (31 Jan 19)
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76 The four-day week. Why one company are happy for their staff to take an extra day off; level 2 (18 Oct 18)
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75 Cash or card? In this digital age which businesses benefit most from a cashless society?; level 2/3 (30 Aug 18)
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Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, has a cashless bus system too:
74 The sportswriter. Simon talks about his profession as a freelance sportswriter; level 3 (19 Jul 18)
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73 The artisan economy. From homemade bread to craft beer, locally made products are on the increase; level 3 (7 Jun 18)
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This podcast goes with this Goldman Sachs video:
72 Fake Facebook. Should individuals or businesses continue to trust this popular website now? level 2
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Five ways to spot fake news:
71 A new design for pie! Jackie and Richard talk about giving the website a whole new look; level 2
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70 There's something wrong with the chips. Jackie and Richard talk about the importance of customer feedback; level 2
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69 The economics of Christmas. Just how important is the lead up to the holiday for the retail sector? level 2
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68 We are electric. Keep up to date with the latest on electric cars and how they're leading the way
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The extra worksheet goes with video on the world's most popular electric car:
67 Death of diesel? The car industry is responding to car pollution, what is their solution?
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"We are convinced that the future of Volvo is electric":
66 Pets at work. Nestle think you would be barking mad to leave your pet at home, bring it to work! level 2
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Do you think this is a good idea?:
65 Ransomware. We talk about the latest cybercrime to affect computers all around the world; level 2
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64 The rise of the machine 2. Part 2 wonders if we are all going to lose our jobs to automation; level 2/3
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63 The rise of the machine. The fourth industrial revolution sees the robot replacing humans; level 2/3
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The future of factory automation:
62 Career change. Listen to Johnny talk about the reasons he moved from one occupation to another; level 2/3
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61 Airbnb. It has changed the holiday scene, but is it also a victim of its own success? level 2/3
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60 Hacked off! How a cyber-attack disrupted Internet service across Europe and the US; level 3
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Bonus for members! There is one sure way that you can stop this happening again.
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How an "internet of things" device can make your home smart:
59 The hashtag. Twitter is 10 years old this year, so some top tips for businesses; level 2
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EFL means different things to different people:
58 The line. Britain's Team Sky stand out both for their cycling and for their branding; level 2/3
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Antidote created the first real brand for an international road cycling team:
57 The supermarket man. Alan talks about his responsibilities as Technical Director for Tesco; level 2
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Bonus for members! He's also involved in some interesting projects re sourcing:
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56 The Panama papers. While many benefit from offshore finances, there are also those who are victims; level 3
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The podcast goes with this video from the ICIJ:
55 Brexit. Britain in Europe: should we stay or should we go?; level 2
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The podcast goes with this video from Michael Hobbes:
54 Going down. We look at why the price of oil is tumbling and who is benefitting from this; level 2
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53 Selling nostalgia. The marketing secret behind some 'traditional' customs and products; level 3
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It's become 'traditional' to have KFC for Christmas in Japan:
52 The VW scandal. So it seems there's no such thing as clean diesel after all; level 3
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51 Crowdfunding part 2. What a lot of money can be raised for small businesses! level 2/3
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50 The amalgamation. An employee's personal experience of three companies merging; level 2/3
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49 Consumer choice. Buyers today can choose between many varieties when buying a product, but how good is that really? level 3
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How your brain deals with choices:
48 Import and export part 2. What is the point of countries importing and exporting the very same product? level 2/3
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47 Crowdfunding part 1. We look at a growing industry in the business world and ask what it is and how it works, level 2/3
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Crowdfunding, a new way to raise capital for your business:
46 Import and export part 1. Who dictates what food we import: consumers, farmers or retailers? level 2/3
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45 Black Friday UK. From over there to over here, how successful was the American sales day in the UK? level 2
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44 Mood music. In-store marketing says it can turn browsers into buyers, but does it work? level 2
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Marks and Spencer is one UK high street retailer that has turned to in-store marketing:
43 It's a bargain! Or is it? Supermarkets have lots of special offers, but are they always better value? level 2
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42 The bitcoin Baffled by bitcoins? Confused by the cyber-currency? You're not alone!; level 3
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This podcast comes from this video from The Guardian:
41 How can I help? What a difference good customer service makes - if you can find it! level 2
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40 Taxi! How a modern technology angers taxi drivers and brings cities to a standstill; level 2
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The traditional taxi business faces competition in a high-tech world:
39 FIFA scores. For many football is a passion, for FIFA it's purely a financial affair; level 2
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Where is the excitement that met the 2007 decision to award Brazil the World Cup tournament?
38 Techno kitchen. High-tech products have revolutionised the way we cook; level 2
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The halogen oven:
37 Modern innovations: sugru A very small thing is going to make a very big difference to many people's lives! level 2/3
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Watch Jane introducing sugru:
36 The café conundrum Come and have a cup of coffee with the pie team in a new style of café; level 2
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35 Booking.com part 2 What are the advantages for travellers choosing this online travel agency to book their holidays? level 2
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34 Power to the people. Since the Mandela era boycotts have been a powerful tool; level 2/3
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Nestlé gave in to pressure from Greenpeace about its palm oil supply chain after 1.5 million people saw this anti-advert for Kit Kat:
33 All of a twitter. Not just for fun and socialising, Twitter is great for business too; level 2/3
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More top tips for businesses here:
32 Social media at work. How one manager deals with his staff using Twitter and Facebook; level 2
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31 Booking.com part 1. Just how useful is the online website for hotel owners? level 3
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30 The G8. What's the point of some powerful world leaders getting together for a few days? level 2/3
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The transcript to this scene, and a listening task, can be found on the extras page.
29 Designing a website. The pie team give 5 top tips for designing a successful website; level 2/3
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28 The perfect office, part 2. Drawing on her experience, Jo tells us what works best for her; level 3
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What are the key elements to a comfortable work station?
27 The perfect office, part 1. Your working space affects your work, so what makes a good office?; level 2
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26 Horseburger, anyone? There's a nasty surprise for some as they tuck into their beef burgers; level 2/3
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What are we eating? asks Channel 4 news:
25 The disappearing high street The way we shop now could see the face of our town centres changing forever; level 3
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24 Profits? What profits? Starbucks' coffee is leaving a bitter taste but it's got nothing to do with the drink; level 2
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Listen to the same story from the BBC news:
23 The cycling commuter. People should drive or take public transport to work rather than cycle, shouldn't they? level 2
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22 Buyer beware. How can Poundland increase its profits by 50% when everything it sells costs £1? level 2/3
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Back in 2010 Poundland made the news when profits rose by 80%:
21 Sunday trading. The UK doesn't have a 24/7 shopping culture... yet; level 2
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The Chancellor and Shadow Chancellor have differing views on changing Sunday trading laws:
20 The Shard. Will Europe's tallest building be a financial failure or an investment success? level 2
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► Information sheet (pdf 7.3MB)
Listen to what people think of London's latest landmark:
■ Stop video19 What money can't buy. Is it acceptable that there's a market for almost anything, or should some things not be for sale? level 3
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This podcast is highlights from this interview from The Stream:
18 The accountant. Vaughan talks about being a fund accountant for BNP Paribas; level 1 / 2>
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17 Nike station. Big company sponsorship deals are usually welcomed, but not always... level 2
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One sponsor that's trying to make golf and tennis a better experience for their fans:
16 Starting a business Part 2: Why is starting a new business easier in the US? level 1
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15 Starting a business Part 1: Why not start your own business, even if there is a recession... level 2
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14 Ms marketing Helen, from Jersey Heritage, talks about the importance of target audience; level 3
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13 False claims Not all companies get away with exaggerating what their products can do; level 3
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So hands up who believes this product works as well as this:
12 Customer service What has a smiling dinosaur got to do with providing good service? level 2
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Is this the kind of customer service you want from your bank?!
11 Welcome to Wales - where the business world meets; level 1
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10 The Greek Crisis How are the beautiful Greek islands coping with the economic crisis? level 2
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9 Running a small business Simon, from English for Business, talks about some of the challenges he faces; level 2
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8 What next? What lies ahead now that Osama bin Laden is dead? level 3
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7 Negotiating skills What's the best way to get what you want from management? level 3
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6 The Cornish Pasty EU regulations gone mad, or sensible protection? level 3
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5 To google or not to google What's the problem with a brand becoming a verb? level 2
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4 Corporate responsibility A political adviser for BP gives his view; level 3
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3 Dress code It's not just what you do, it's what you wear; level 3
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2 News bulletin Business people should be aware of global events making the headlines; level 3
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1 What makes a good boss? A senior manager for Mace, an international company, gives his view; level 2 (16 Sep 10)
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► Webquest (pdf 102KB)
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