Business Idioms 5 Review

Man looking back in a hallway

Take a look back

Image Credit
Isengardt via Flickr

This lesson will look back on the previous four lessons. You will get a chance to remember and use idioms you have learned.

Introduction

Recall the language you learned in previous lessons. What was your favourite idiom from each lesson? Have you had a chance to use it?

Your teacher will help you to remember a few idioms from each lesson.

  • Success
  • Progress
  • Control 
  • Lack of control 
Practice

A. Real-world examples

    For each short passage below, do the following: 

    • Read the passage and predict the idiom.
    • Listen to the audio, identify the idiom and compare it to your prediction.
    • Explain in your own words what it means.

    Note: don't worry about grasping the full context; just focus on the idiom being used.

    1. An online teaching service gives instructions for using the platform.

      It's good to check the Announcements section frequently, as your instructor will also use this space to notify you about any changes, updates, or new course information as soon as possible, so you're never __________. 
       

    2. A restaurateur gives advice.
      "The food, at the end of the day, is the most important thing. So you have to ___________."
       

    3. An entrepreneur speaks about career growth.
      "So I was ___________. I was an executive with a nice salary, annual bonuses, and stock options. All the perks. Everything was on track."
       

    4. An actress and comedian describes her first film.
      "I just thought it was going up from there. I was like, my first movie I was ever in won the Oscar?! The ___________!"
       

    5. A Q&A at Idea Channel, a team that helps creators.
      "Those are all for you! Make the episodes. The ___________." 
       

    6. A boat captain describes the challenges of steering a boat down a river.
      "It's not like driving a car down the freeway where you can pretty much just aim at the car in front of you. You've really got to ___________." 
       

    7. An entrepreneur speaks about the importance of having fun in your career.
      "A startup business is very challenging. It's hard, and there's a lot of late nights and a lot of early mornings. And if it feels like work, and it feels like a job, then you're more likely to ____________."
       

    8. Former President Barack Obama talks about the legacy of his colleague, Beau Biden.
      "Beau didn't ___________. He turned down an appointment to be Delaware's Attorney General so he could win it fair and square."
       

    B: Discussion 

    Now, speak naturally about the following topics. 

    1. What advice would you give to a small but growing company? 
      • What does it take to succeed in business?
    2. The same small company is now looking for advice on how to make small teams work efficiently. 
      • What's your best team experience—how did the team leader take control, and why did that team succeed? 
      • Talk about a negative team experience. Did the team leader lose control? Or, did you make slow progress?
      • What advice would you give them to make quick progress?