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Business English Study © 2011 www.businessenglishstudy.com 1 How to help your customers Intermediate Level: Listening: IKEA Grammar: Articles Cultural Awareness: Shopping habits Pronunciation Point: /a/ - at – art – air Reading: Ingvar Kamprad – founder of IKEA Vocabulary: Cause and Effect Role Play: The Meeting – flat-pack homes

Transcript of 4 Intermediate

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How to help your customers Intermediate Level:

• Listening: IKEA

• Grammar: Articles

• Cultural Awareness: Shopping habits

• Pronunciation Point: /a/ - at – art – air

• Reading: Ingvar Kamprad – founder of IKEA

• Vocabulary: Cause and Effect

• Role Play: The Meeting – flat-pack homes

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Ingvar Kamprad – the founder of IKEA INTRODUCTION: Discuss these questions: • What do you know about IKEA? • What is the company philosophy? • What is flat-pack furniture? Do you know what these words mean? You will hear them in the listening exercise: Worth – Farm - Neighbours - Firewood – String – Asset – Failure - Success LISTENING 1: Visit www.businessenglishstudy.com for the free MP3 listening file A spokesman talks about IKEA. Answer the questions below.

PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE: /a/ - at – art – air

Practise saying these sentences with your tutor: • My father’s car is a Jaguar and it is very fast

• An aggressive man asked the woman for cash

• A cat climbed down the castle stairs and sat on the grass

• When my hat blew away, my hair was hard to control

1. What were the company revenues in 2008?

2. How did Kamprad make money as a boy?

3. What are the advantages of flat-pack?

4. What is Kamprad’s philosophy for success?

5. What does Kamprad say about making mistakes?

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What is the difference between these two sentences? I am looking for a $50 sofa. I am looking for the $50 sofa.

GRAMMAR POINT: Articles

The Definite Article: ‘The’ Uses: 1. Nouns we know We use ‘the’ when it is clear which thing or person we are talking about. I am looking for the $50 sofa. There is only one $50 sofa. 2. Groups The French, The police, the army 3. Unique Objects The Moon, the Sun, the sky 4. Location The top, the bottom, the end, the middle, the left 5. Titles The Chairman. The President. The Financial Times 6. Geographical Names The following use the: Rivers: The Thames. The Mississippi Mountain ranges (but not individual mountains): The Alps. The Himalayas Oceans and seas: The Atlantic. The Mediterranean Areas: The Middle East. The West Collective countries: The United Kingdom, The Netherlands EXERCISE 1: Correct these sentences 1. Manager prefers to buy from the shops and not the on-line

2. The Ikea opened shop in Netherlands in the 2006

3. When store closed in the Morocco it was because of 2008 economic crisis.

4. Financial Times reported that Leeds store sells a lot of the beds.

5. Man with green the hat entered room and sat on chair next to window.

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Indefinite Article: ‘a/an Uses: 1. When a thing or person is not known There was a man on the bus. I want a blue car. 2. Jobs and Professions Frank is a designer. Susan is an office manager. 3. Measurements, Frequency, Quantity Three times a day. Thirty kilometres an hour. £300,000 a year.

Zero Article Uses: 1. Used when generalizing: Furniture design is very important for customers. 2. For Uncountable Nouns E.g. Furniture, news, information, advice I have good news, I can give you advice about the chair. 3. Some Singular Countable Nouns E.g. Lunch, supper, dinner, school, college, university, work, bed He studied design at university for 3 years, but he spent most of his time in bed.

EXERCISE 2: Complete the sentences with a, an, the, or no article. 1. He’s been studying economics at college for two years.

2. They gave us advice on bathrooms.

3. The manager runs three times week, and last week she joined sports’ club.

4. Susan is shop assistant but wants to be designer of furniture

5. woman with two bags is looking for sales assistant to help her. CULTURAL AWARENESS POINT: Shopping Habits

In the UK, the shops are open every day, including Sundays, a traditional day of rest. This creates a lot more opportunities for the public to go shopping, but is a problem for shop workers. SPEAKING PRACTICE: • Explain the shopping habits in your country or culture.

• Is shopping more important than a day of rest with your family?

• Think of an alternative to 7 day shopping and present it to the class

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Reading - Exercise: • Read the text and insert an article (the, a, an) in the gap if necessary.

IKEA: world is flat

Ingvar Kamprad is person who started Ikea, and became one of world's richest men. What is secret of Ikea's success? name IKEA comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, the farm and village where he lived. Ikea has revolutionized how we buy furniture. self-assembly style and flat packaging is central to its strategy, but this was invented by accident. It all started in Sweden, in 1956. sales assistant could not put table into car and said words that made history: "Let's take legs off and reassemble the table when we get to house." Flat-pack has changed our lives and it is responsible for cutting cost of shipping by eliminating all dead space (air) when product is delivered. Ingvar Kamprad tries to make products as stylish and as cheap as possible. “Any designer can make beautiful desk for $1000. Only best can make desk that is excellent for $50.”

Speaking Practice: In pairs or small groups, try to think of other innovations or methods that have changed our lives e.g. The Internet, mobile phones, ATMs, etc. • What was life like before these innovations? • Could you live without them? • Think of another innovation to change our lives, and present it to the class

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VOCABULARY: CAUSE & EFFECT

Here is a variety of different ways and how they are used.

Example Sentences: • High furniture demand has led to increased productivity at Ikea. • Because of high furniture demand Ikea has increased productivity How to form the sentences and when to use them: Cause and Effect can be expressed like this: A. Verbs and Verb Phrases

A (cause) linking verb B (effect)

1 High demand has led to an increase in productivity

B (effect) linking verb A (cause) 2

The increase productivity comes from a higher demand

Other verbs and verb phrases with a similar meaning: 1. Lead to – result in – be responsible for 2. Comes from – be blamed on – be caused by

B. Phrases of Cause

A (cause) B (effect)

Due to the economic problems Ikea will close three stores

A (effect) B (cause) Three stores will close due to the economic problems Expressions with a similar meaning: Due to – Because of – As a result of

Exercise: Complete the sentences with a suitable form of the link from the box

1. Cutting costs a rise in profits.

2. the economic problems we need to close the store.

3. the cost of materials prices will rise.

4. Customers assembling the furniture.

5. the low prices and great design, Ikea is very popular.

Because of - Lead to - Be responsible for - Due to - As a result of

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Discuss these questions: • What is Ikea’s image? • Is ‘cheap’ the same as ‘poor quality’? Listening 2: Visit www.businessenglishstudy.com for the free MP3 listening file The spokesperson talks about Ingvard Kamprad’s philosophy. Answer the questions.

ROLE-PLAY

A Meeting has been arranged between Ingvar Kamprad and his managers. They discuss how to develop their new concept: flat-pack houses. Ingvar Kamprad: You want to sell them in China and Japan and see it as a profitable market. Think of reasons why it is a good market e.g. no space, cost, local materials etc. Managers: You think the USA and Canada is a better market. Think of reasons why it is a good market e.g. more money, expertise etc. The Meeting: You must promote your side of the argument using the vocabulary of cause and effect to support your ideas. Try to come up with a plan that involves some progress in one direction or another.

1. How does Kamprad help the customer?

2. What is easy to design?

3. How does Kamprad lead by example?

4. What are Ikea products named after and why?

5. What is the new Ikea product line?

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AUDIO-SCRIPT 1 – IKEA – intermediate Level Ikea – intermediate level. The founder of IKEA is a man called Ingvar Kamprad. He is one of the richest people in the world because the company revenues in 2008 were nearly $30 billion. Kamprad was born in Sweden in 1926 and lived on a farm. When he was a boy he sold firewood and string to his neighbours and invested the money in other things to sell. He opened his first IKEA shop in 1958 and by 2009 there were over 300 IKEA stores around the world. IKEA developed flat-pack furniture and this is part of its success. Flat pack reduces transport costs, minimizes damage, and makes it easier for customers to take the furniture home. Kamprad’s philosophy for success in business and life is simple. Time is your most important asset. Divide your day into 10-minute units and do as much as possible in each unit. When 10 minutes is gone it never comes back. He also believes that mistakes are important. ‘When you make a mistake do not see it as a failure,’ he says. ‘Success is a result of trying, and testing and taking risks. This involves making some mistakes.’

AUDIO-SCRIPT 2 – IKEA – intermediate Level The problem with flat-pack is that the customer has to assemble their furniture at home. But Kamprad does not see this as a negative. ‘’Our customers help us and we help them,’ he says. ‘When you build something yourself you feel better. You have achieved something good. It is also a lot cheaper. We are always trying to keep prices low and have beautiful styles,’ Kamprad adds. ‘To design a desk that costs $1,000 is easy for a furniture designer, but to design a functional and beautiful desk that costs $50 is what we want.’ And Kamprad leads by example. Ikea managers do not drive big cars or stay at luxury hotels. “I fly economy class and it is perfect. Some people say I am cheap, but I don't mind if they do. We keep costs down and our customers love it,” Kamprad says. IKEA products are named after villages and towns in Sweden. This is because Kamprad is dyslexic and names are easier to remember than numbers. IKEA has a new product line, flat-pack houses. These were introduced because Ikea wants to help first time homebuyers.

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LESSON PLAN: IKEA – Intermediate Level

Key objectives – to practise aural and oral Business English INTRODUCTION: Start by asking students if they know what flat-pack furniture is, and what they know about IKEA? Make sure they understand the vocabulary phrases Teacher (T) - Students (SS) 5 mins LISTENING 1: Next tell students they are going to hear a consultant talking about Ikea. They need to answer the questions at the end. Play the listening and ask students the questions. (T) - (SS) 10 mins PRONUNCIATION POINT: Read through the words and sentences that follow. Correct any mistakes and drill. 10 mins GRAMMAR: Ask the question and see if any student knows the answer. Go on through the rules and do the short exercises that follow. Supplement with additional and appropriate exercises for homework. Ask students to read the questions and answers out loud. (S) – (T) 15 mins CULTURAL AWARENESS POINT: Read through the text on British shopping habits and discuss the speaking points. Encourage students to practice the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation points of the unit. 10 mins READING: Find out if any of the students know about how Ikea started and then go through reading and ask students to read out loud and fill in the gaps with an appropriate article. Take care to point out the vocabulary of cause and effect. (S) – (T) 10 mins SPEAKING PRACTICE: Ask students any other innovations, like Kamprad’s flat-pack idea, can change our lives. E.G. ballpoint pens, zippers (SS) – (SS) 5 mins FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY: Write down on the whiteboard ‘leads to’ and ask if anyone knows what it means. Go to the exercise (T) - (SS) 5 mins LISTENING 2: Tell students they are going to hear the 2nd part of the listening. They need to answer the questions at the end. Play the listening (SS) – (T) 10 mins ROLE PLAY: Split students into groups and get them to read their role cards and prepare to discuss the situation. Make sure they practice the grammar and vocabulary learnt in the lesson and to try and use the case study material in their argument. (SS) - (SS) 10 mins

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EXERCISE ANSWERS - IKEA – Intermediate Level Listening 1. Nearly $30 billion 2. He sold firewood and string to his neighbours 3. Flat pack reduces transport costs, minimizes damage, and makes it easier for customers to take the

furniture home. 4. Time is your most important asset. Divide your day into 10-minute units and do as much as possible

in each unit. When 10 minutes is gone it never comes back. 5. ‘When you make a mistake do not see it as a failure,’ he says. ‘Success is a result of trying, and

testing and taking risks. This involves making some mistakes.’ Grammar Exercise 1: 1. The manager prefers to buy from shops and not on-line 2. IKEA opened the shop in the Netherlands in 2006 3. When the store closed in Morocco it was because of the 2008 economic crisis. 4. The Financial Times reported that the Leeds store sells a lot of beds. 5. The man with the green hat entered the room and sat on the chair next to the window.

Exercise 2: 1. He’s been studying economics at college for the two years. 2. They gave us advice on bathroom. 3. The manager runs three times a week, and last week she joined a sports club. 4. Susan is a shop assistant but wants to be a designer of furniture 5. A woman with two bags is looking for a sales assistant to help her.

Reading: IKEA: the world is flat

Ingvar Kamprad is the person who started Ikea, and became one of the world's richest men. What is the secret of Ikea's success? The name IKEA comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and the first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, the farm and the village where he lived. Ikea has revolutionized how we buy furniture. The self-assembly style and flat packaging is central to its strategy, but this was invented by accident. It all started in Sweden, in 1956. A sales assistant could not put a table into a car and said the words that made history: "Let's take the legs off and reassemble the table when we get to the house." Flat-pack has changed our lives and it is responsible for cutting the cost of shipping by eliminating all the dead space (air) when the product is delivered. Ingvar Kamprad tries to make products as stylish and as cheap as possible. “Any designer can make a beautiful desk for $1000. Only the best can make a desk that is excellent for $50.” Functional Vocabulary - Exercise: 1. Cutting costs leads to a rise in profits. 2. As a result of the economic problems we need to close the store. 3. Due to the cost of materials prices will rise. 4. Customers are responsible for assembling the furniture. 5. Because of the low prices and great design, Ikea is very popular. Listening 2 - Exercise: 1. When you build something yourself you feel better. You have achieved something good. It is also a

lot cheaper. 2. A desk that costs $1,000 3. Ikea managers do not drive big cars or stay at luxury hotels. I fly economy class and it is perfect. 4. The villages and towns in Sweden. This is because Kamprad is dyslexic and names are easier to

remember than numbers. 5. Flat-pack houses.

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