Hello! Hello! Hello and welcome to Business English 16.
My name is Steve Ford. I have brand new questions from English learners from Turkey and Brazil .
So let's hear their questions
One of the most important things for anyone studying English for their job
is to remember that English is different according to each context.
So workplaces which have a more laid-back atmosphere: t-shirt and jeans, flexible working hours
it goes without saying that having a less formal way of speaking would be quite appropriate
Other workplaces will have a more strict dress code, yes, and the way of speaking MAY be more formal
But watch out! You can have a pretty formal workplace that mixes formal and informal English
for example, I have a student working for a big company in New York City
who tells me her American co-workers say things like
What the hell is that?
what f*&# is that?
Some contractions which might be in question are “gonna”, and “wanna”
So in a job interview for example, you need to follow the interviewer’s lead
this is very important
To play it safe, avoid using these two contractions and if you see the interviewer is using them
then by all means switch your level of formality accordingly
Other contractions would be fine in a wide variety of contexts
So you could use
any contraction with the verb to be is fine
I sometimes get students who avoid using such contractions altogether
but I tell them that this isn’t a good idea because their speaking sounds too robotic
choppy
Be very careful using “ing” informally
For work and job interviews, I’d say stay away from it
So working is fine and workin’ is a very friendly way and informal way of speaking
speaking this way might be something I'd do with my buddies or family, but not in a job interview
The standard American accent is generally from the mid-western part of the U.S.
This accent can be heard in American films, TV series, national news, commercial ads, and American radio broadcasts
now I should point out that the Hollywood film industry is full of Canadian actors, why?
because our accent is VIRTUALLY the same
So here are some common doubts students have regarding pronunciation of certain words
Well I'd like to thank our students from Turkey and Brazil for sending in their questions
and I hope that all of you were able to pick up a few points on my lesson regarding contractions and pronunciation
once you get the hang of using contractions it makes speaking English a lot easier
don't forget that contractions sometimes can be appropriate in business English
and sometimes they can't
Bye for now!