#0316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF

#0316 – Business Emails and ...

#0316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations, - Ang, mater, ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF

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English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations
GLOSSARY
re: –
regarding; related to; on the subject of
* Did you read Fern’s memo re: the change in the vacation policy?
headway –
progress; advancement; the process of moving a task or project
forward
* Even though Jimmie has a private teacher, he hasn’t made much headway in
learning French.
settled –
planned; arranged; organized; decided
* The company has settled on a list of 200 guests to invite for the conference.
e.g. –
exempli gratia
(Latin); for example; for instance
* Bernard is excited about the benefits of the new position (e.g., better pay, a
longer vacation, and a new office).
venue –
place; the location where something will happen
* Have you considered the Grand Hotel as a venue for the company’s New
Year’s party?
agenda –
a list of things that will be discussed in a meeting, for how long, and in
what order
* According to this agenda, we’re going to talk about that issue for only an hour.
i.e. –
id est
(Latin); that is; in other words
* Everyone was angry at Jack (i.e., no one thought he was a good manager).
free rein –
freedom to do what one wants; liberty; ability to make the decisions
* Rachelle was given free rein on the project, as long as it didn’t cost more than
$15,000 in total.
as (one) sees fit –
as one wants; as one likes; with whatever details one
chooses
* Kelly likes to spend money as she sees fit and never hesitates to buy expensive
things.
to hammer out –
to decide or determine the final details of something
* Most of the work is finished, and now, they’re just hammering out the final
report.
1
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations
etc. –
et cetera
(Latin); used to show that other things could be placed in a list;
used to show that the list is not complete
* At the park, people were playing baseball, volleyball, Frisbee, soccer, etc.
et al. –
et alii
(Latin); and others; used at the end of a list of people to show that
other people’s names could be included in the list; used to show that a list of
names is not complete
* This book was written by five authors, but I only see Hall et al. listed here.
remaining –
things that still need to be done or addressed; things that haven’t
been finished yet
* The only remaining thing we need to do to buy that house is to sign the papers.
in line with (one’s) thinking –
in agreement; with the same opinion
* Sammy isn’t in line with his boss’s thinking, but he has to do what she says
anyway.
ASAP –
as soon as possible; as soon as one can
* Please let me know ASAP whether you’ll be able to finish the report by Friday.
P.S. –
post script; used to add another message at the end of a letter or email,
below one’s name
* I can’t wait to see you at the show tonight.
Love,
Janice
P.S. Don’t forget to bring your umbrella!
to wrap up –
to finish; to complete; to end
* Cynthia is trying to wrap up the project so that she can go on vacation.
2
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. Why does Luis write that they need to hammer out the details?
a) Because he’s writing about a carpentry project.
b) Because they need to finish planning the meeting.
c) Because “hammering out” is a way to say “writing down.”
2. Who should be invited to the meeting?
a) Only Adam, Lin, Toshi, and Cecelia.
b) Adam, Lin, Toshi, or Ceclia, but not all four.
c) Adam, Lin, Toshi, Ceclia, and some other people.
______________
WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?
settled
The word “settled,” in this podcast, means planned, arranged, or decided: “Have
you settled on a name for your baby?” When talking about arguments, the verb
“to settle” means to stop fighting and come to an agreement: “After five years, the
two men finally settled their disagreement.” The verb “to settle” also means to
move to a new place, build a home, and begin living there: “Many people who
were looking for gold settled in Oregon in the 1800s.” The word “settlement”
refers to a group of homes in an area where few people live: “Are there very
many settlements in northern Alaska?” A “settlement” is also an arrangement
where one person pays someone to not go to court: “Ori received a $1 million
settlement for agreeing not to sue the tobacco company.”
to wrap up
In this podcast, the phrase “to wrap up” means to finish or complete something:
“How long did it take you to wrap up the interview?” The informal phrase “that’s a
wrap” is used at the end of meetings or projects to show that something is
finished: “If no one has any other comments, then that’s a wrap and we can all go
home.” The verb “to wrap” means to put something around someone or
something else: “Zelma was cold on the bus, so she wrapped a blanket around
her legs.” The phrase “to wrap up” can also mean to put paper around
something that one has bought, or to decorate a gift with colored paper: “How
would you like me to wrap up your purchase, sir?” Or, “Mary wrapped up all the
gifts in green paper with red ribbons.”
3
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations
CULTURE NOTE
In American business “correspondence” (written communication), there are many
common “salutations” (greeting) and “abbreviations” (small groups of letters that
represent other words or phrases). It’s important to use the correct salutations
and abbreviations in formal business writing.
If you are friends with the reader, you might use his or her first name: “Dear
Jennifer.” If you know the person’s name, but don’t know him or her (or at least
not very well), use the last name: “Dear Mr. Drake.” If you are writing to a
woman and do not know whether she is married (Mrs.) or single (Miss), it is best
to use “Ms.,” which can refer to either a married or single woman.
Sometimes we don’t know who will read the letter we’re writing. In that situation,
some people like to start their letters with “To whom it may concern.” Other
people prefer “Dear Sir or Madam.” Both of these are very formal salutations.
Occasionally businesses will use “Dear friend” or “Dear client,” but these aren’t
as professional as the other “options” (choices).
In formal business correspondence, the salutation should be followed by a
“colon” (two dots, one on top of the other; “:”). In informal business
correspondence, the salutation can be followed by a “comma” (a short, curved
line normally used to separate words; “,”).
At the end of the letter, below the writer’s “signature” (hand-written name),
abbreviations may provide additional information about the letter. For example,
“cc:” means “carbon copy” and is used to show that a copy of the same letter was
sent to another person. For example, “cc: Bill Warren” means that a copy was
sent to Bill Warren. Another abbreviation, “encl” means “enclosure” and
“indicates” (shows) that other pieces of paper, like receipts or proposals, have
been placed in the same envelope.
______________
Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – c
4
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
English as a Second Language Podcast
www.eslpod.com
ESL Podcast 316 – Business Emails and Abbreviations
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 316: Business
Emails and Abbreviations.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 316. I’m your host, Dr.
Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in
the beautiful city of Los Angeles, California.
Visit our website at eslpod.com, and download a Learning Guide for this episode.
Our Learning Guides are 8 to 10 page PDF guides that will give you a complete
transcript of everything we say on this podcast. You will also receive all of the
most important vocabulary words, with definitions and new samples sentences.
We also have additional explanations of vocabulary that we don’t talk about on
the podcast, comprehension questions, and a cultural note.
This episode is called, “Business Emails and Abbreviations.” Let’s get started.
[start of example]
Dear Sam,
I am writing to follow up on our phone conversation re: the upcoming meeting.
We’ve made good headway in our planning, having settled many of the
arrangements, e.g., the date, time, and venue. However, we still need to decide
on the agenda, i.e., who will speak, in what order, and for what length of time.
Fortunately, we have free rein to set up the meeting as we see fit, so it’s just a
matter of hammering out the details before we can invite the participants, book
the meeting room, etc.
I suggest that we call a second meeting and invite some of the people who will
be involved in the meeting: Adam, Lin, Toshi, Cecelia, et al. With everyone
there, we should be able to come to a decision about the remaining issues. If
this is in line with your thinking, I’ll send out an email ASAP.
Let me know what you think.
Luis
P.S. We also need to start planning the annual meeting, but we can wait until
this one is wrapped up before we start on that.
5
These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of
these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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