Class

GOOGLE MEET LINK

Goals:

• Lead team meetings and client calls with confidence
  • Clear structure, the right phrases to steer a discussion
• Sound natural in small talk and networking
• Fix the grammar that keeps coming back
  • Articles, prepositions, present perfect

~~~Tuesday, September 15th~~~

NOTES:

• I am working here since three years ⇒ I have been working here for three years
  • since + a point in time (since 2023), for + a length of time (for three years)
• We discussed about the roadmap ⇒ We discussed about the roadmap
• It depends of the budget ⇒ It depends on the budget
• Can you send me the informations? ⇒ the information (uncountable)
• The meeting is in Monday ⇒ on Monday
• She explained me the process ⇒ She explained the process to me
• I'm agree ⇒ I agree
• We made a research ⇒ We did some research

New class setup:

• Class Notes, Quick Quizzes, and more
• InterActive English website
• Price & Payments
• Schedule & Cancellation Policy

Warmup Business Topic

Article – Why more companies are paying for their teams to learn languages

Warmup:

• Has your company ever paid for your training? What kind?
• If your employer paid for any one skill, which would you choose?
  • I would choose to learn public speaking ⇒ I would choose public speaking / I would learn public speaking

Vocab:

• It's a perk many employees now expect – a benefit on top of salary
• Training budgets are often the first to be slashed – cut sharply
• They want to upskill their teams – teach new skills
• It's a long-term play – an investment that pays off later
• Turnover dropped once the program took off – became popular / successful
• Managers were skeptical at first – doubtful / not convinced
• The results were measurable – could be tracked with numbers
  • Measurable goals make it easier to defend the budget next year.

Discussion:

• Should companies pay for training that employees could take to a competitor?
• How would you measure whether a training program worked?

~~~Tuesday, September 22nd~~~

NOTES:

• I was in a conference ⇒ at a conference
• There was too much people ⇒ too many people
• I didn't went there ⇒ I didn't go there
• We have to decide until Friday ⇒ by Friday
• I look forward to hear from you ⇒ to hearing from you
  • look forward to + -ing, always
• It was a very interesting for me ⇒ I found it very interesting

HW Review

*QUIZ – Prepositions of time

Grammar Practice: Present Perfect vs. Past Simple

Instructions: Choose the right tense. Finished time (yesterday, last week) ⇒ past simple. Unfinished time or no time (since, for, ever, yet) ⇒ present perfect.

1. I have worked on this project since March.
2. We have signed signed the contract last week.
   • Last week is finished time ⇒ past simple
3. Have you ever led a meeting in English?
4. She works has worked here for five years.
5. They released the update yesterday.
6. I didn't finish haven't finished the report yet.
   • yet ⇒ present perfect

Video – How a coffee chain rebuilt its loyalty app

Warmup:

• Do you use any loyalty apps? Is there one you actually like?

Vocab:

• The app got a major overhaul – complete redesign
• Customers found it clunky – awkward / slow / hard to use
• It caused a backlash – strong negative reaction
• They had to roll back the changes – go back to the old version
• Sales took a hit – dropped
• They doubled down on personalization – committed even more

Discussion:

• Have you ever had to defend a product decision people didn't like?
• When should a company roll back a change, and when should it double down?

~~~Tuesday, September 29th~~~

NOTES:

• I will call you when I will arrive ⇒ when I arrive
• If I would know, I would tell you ⇒ If I knew, I would tell you
•  

HW Review

*QUIZ – Articles

Grammar Item – Conditionals for negotiation

• If you can deliver by May, we'll sign today. – real offer
• If you could lower the price, we would order more. – softer, more polite
• If we had known about the delay, we would have planned differently. – looking back

Role-play – Negotiating a deadline

• You need two more weeks. Your client wants it by Friday. Find a deal.

Phrasal Verbs & Idioms

• push back on a deadline – resist / ask for more time
• iron out the details – fix the small problems
• be on the same page – agree / understand the same thing
• a ballpark figure – a rough estimate

Find the Mistakes

HW:

HW

Sep 22 – HW: watch the video again and answer the questions

Discussion:

• Have you ever had to defend a product decision people didn't like?
  • Yes. Last year we removed an a feature that only few a few customers used, but they were very loud about it. We explained them the reasons to them in a short post, and the complaints stopped after two weeks.
• When should a company roll back a change, and when should it double down?
  • When the numbers show that people stopped using the product, not only not just when they complain. If usage is growing, I would double down.

Vocab Questions – use the vocab in your answer:

• Which app feels clunky to you?
  • The app of my bank My bank's app is very clunky – you need five clicks to make send a transfer.
• Can you think of a company that faced a backlash?
  • A streaming service faced a big backlash when it has raised raised prices twice in one year.
• When did your team double down on an idea?

(Optional – write more vocab sentences)

~~~~~

Sep 15 – HW:

Discussion:

• Should companies pay for training that employees could take to a competitor?
  • Yes. If people learn a new skills, they are more motivated, and the good employees usually stay at companies that invest in them.

Vocab Questions – use the vocab in your answer:

• What perk would make you stay at a job longer?
  • Flexible hours. It's the perk I care about the most.
• What's a long-term play you've made in your career?
  • Learning English. It's an a long-term play, but it pays off is already paying off.

Payments & Schedule

SCHEDULE:

• Tuesdays, 9:00–10:00 (60 minutes) on Google Meet
• Need a different time one week? Write in the doc or send me a message.

CANCELLATION / RESCHEDULE POLICY:

Canceling / Rescheduling a class is possible with no charge up to 12 hours before the scheduled class time. Exceptions can be made for emergencies or agreement with Ben.

PAYMENTS:

Paid Sep 1 for 10 classes:

✅ class held · ✖️ canceled in time, not counted