LEARNER’S NOTES

A2++, Unit 1, Module 1

Contents

‣ Language Focus
‣ On-the-job Skills
‣ Grammar

Language Focus

Objective
CAN understand the vocabulary and language used in the video
CAN understand questions and answers about someone's education and work history

Vocabulary and collocations’

'Deal with' means to find solutions for. 'Upset' means unhappy, displeased or angry.
‘I deal with upset customers regularly.’
‘How do you deal with stress?’

'Right' means 'correct'. Note that it's incorrect to say, 'the good information'.
‘I need to give the media the right information about the company.’
‘Sorry, I was wrong and you were right.’

Products are recalled when goods are faulty or unsuitable for sale. It means that the company takes the
products back from the shops.
‘Once we had a client whose products were recalled.’
‘The toy was dangerous so there was a product recall.’

We often use the verb 'spend' to talk about amounts of time.

Spending time

‘How do you spend your time at the weekends?’

‘I rarely spend a whole month in one office.’
‘I spent the whole morning in the office.’
‘How long do you spend watching TV?’
‘I spend two hours a day on the phone.’

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 Language Focus

When it is difficult to please both sides or parties involved in the problem, we can say that there is a
delicate balance between the two sides. 'Delicate' means fragile or weak; something which needs to be
treated carefully.

It can be a delicate balance.

She's a delicate person.

The media includes the radio, TV, the internet, and newspapers.
‘I can help build positive relationships between the media, consumers and companies.’
The media gave the football manager a hard time.

'Hands-on' refers to practical work rather than theory or study. A 'great deal' means a lot.
‘It was hands-on and I learnt a great deal.’
The training course was hands-on.

Note that professions are always preceded with an article.

Review some of the new vocabulary from the video.

By emphasising 'that' we can reduce the strength of the adjective that follows it. We can substitute 'that'
for 'so' without changing the meaning.
‘I'm not that successful!’
‘I'm not that famous!’

The 'sense' of a word is the meaning or feeling it gives. In the video, Erin is saying she isn't referring to
the challenges in a bad way, rather, she enjoys them.
‘They're not challenges in the negative sense.’

'To make yourself at home' or 'feel at home' means to feel comfortable and relaxed in an environment,
as if it were your own home
‘So you feel at home here?’
‘Make yourself at home.’

An internship is the name given to the period of time during which a student leaves university to
complete a period of 'on-the-job' training. During this training period, the student is referred to as an
'intern'. In British English this is often called a 'sandwich year' (because it's between years of study).
‘I started as an intern the year before I graduated.’
‘I did an internship at IBM.’

Some useful phrases

‘I went to university / business school.’
‘I studied business, finance, economics, marketing, computing, languages...’
‘I did a sandwich year /an internship at IBM.’
‘I had to train for 3 years before I could work as a professional

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 On-the-job Skills

Objective
CAN practise saying words and sentences related to educational background, subjects of study or work
experience
CAN write a letter of motivation

Educational background and work experience

The phrases which you will practice in this section are related to educational background, subjects of
study or work experience. Before doing the exercises, look at the following sentences.

'Spend' is a verb commonly used with time. It means to use time to do something.
‘After business school I spent 6 months looking for work.’

Note that we use 'do' and not 'make' with internship. 'Make' is more commonly used with acts of
physical creation.
‘Are you doing an internship?’

Most new employees have to complete a trial period before they can begin working for the company.
This is a kind of test period during which the company can see if the person can do the job.
‘You’ll have a trial period of 2 months.’

Note the use of the preposition 'in' with this verb.

‘What did you specialise in?’

Writing a letter of motivation

A covering letter or a letter of motivation is normally sent with a CV when applying for a job. The
format is relatively standardised so it is useful to familiarise yourself with some of these common
phrases which are normally used.

Paragraph 1 (Who you are and how you know about the advert)
I am writing to you regarding your advertisement for...
I saw your advert in the newspaper last Thursday and...
I am very interested in this position because...

Paragraph 2 (About your skills and experiences)

I have worked in logistics for 2 years.
I specialised in this area whilst I was at university.
I feel I am appropriate for this position because...

Paragraph 3 (What you can do for the company)

I feel I can be a positive addition to your team.
I have a lot of experience in this area.

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 On-the-job Skills
Paragraph 4 (How to contact you)
I have attached my CV to this e-mail.
Please find enclosed my CV.
I am available for an interview.
I hope we will have the opportunity to discuss this in person.

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 Grammar

Objective
CAN correctly use the present continuous
CAN understand the difference between 'will' and 'going to'
CAN understand how the present continuous works in the future

Ways of expressing the future

Besides talking about an activity which is happening right now, the present continuous is essential
when talking about the future. Compare the following question to the incorrect alternative.
‘What are you doing tomorrow?’
NOT
‘What do you do tomorrow?’

It's important to recognise the difference between 'I am doing' and 'I am going to do'. Sometimes this
difference is not very important. For instance there is no difference between:
‘What are you doing tonight?’
‘What are you going to do tonight?’

But here there is a big difference. It's my future intention but I haven't started yet.
‘I'm going to do the washing up.’

I'm doing it right now or very soon.

‘I'm doing the washing up.’

'Be going to' is a modal which can indicate the future and is used in a way that is similar to the modal
'will'. It should not be confused with the present continuous tense which can appear in sentences like:
‘I am going to work now.’

The following sentence means that the person intends to go to work in the near future.
‘I am going to go to work now.’

Will
'Will' can also be used to refer to the future in the following way:

I, you, he, she, it, we, they + will + verb.

He will go to the office.

He will not (won't) go to the office.
Will he go to the office?

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 Grammar

Shall

In the interrogative (for questions) we use shall for the first and third person ('I' and 'we'). It is
generally used as a suggestion or to politely offer to do something for someone. Sometimes shall is used
instead of will but this isn't very common (see last example).

Shall I/we go to the office?

Shall I get you something to drink?
Will they go to the office?
I shall/will be king.

! © YES S.A.S. 2007 All rights reserved.! 6