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.
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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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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