LISTENING COMPREHENSION OF INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Unit 6

www.cepade.es Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal, 11. 28039 Madrid Phone.: (91) 456.27.95. Fax: (91) 553.55.63

All rights reserved. The content of this documentation is protected by law which provides penalties of imprisonment and/or fines, in addition to the compensation for damages from those who reproduced, plagiarized, or distributed publicly, in whole or in part, a literary, artistic or scientific piece of work, in any kind or through any means without the necessary authorisation.

CEPADE Avda. Doctor Federico Rubio y Gal n 11 28039 Madrid Phone Number: 07-34-91.456.27.95

Unit 6. LISTENING COMPREHENSION OF ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS

1. LEARNING GOALS FOR UNIT 6................................................................1 2. STUDY GUIDE ........................................................................................1 3. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................2 4. PRACTICAL CASE: BUSINESS PRESENTATION........................................ 10 5. PRACTICAL CASE: LEGAL DISCUSSIONS ................................................ 11 6. UNIT VOCABULARY AND CONCEPTS...................................................... 15

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

7. EXAMPLES OF LEGAL LANGUAGE IN FILMS AND TELEVISION ................. 15 8. KEY TO UNIT TASKS............................................................................. 18

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 1 de 20

LISTENING COMPREHENSION OF ARGUMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS 1. LEARNING GOALS FOR UNIT 6

At the conclusion of this unit you should be able to: Understand what essential characteristics are common to the English language used at work. Use some business specific slang. Think about the goal of what you are going to listen in order to improve your understanding of what is being said and why. Identify the different types of questions and how they are answered in professional situations. Identify language with the grammatical function of arguing. Distinguish between grammatical language for written and oral

argumentation. Understand the structure of some professional communication situations. Apply some knowledge from previous units to new contexts. Understand better a legal discussion.

2.

STUDY GUIDE
Most of the necessary theory has been explained in units 2 and 3. This unit introduces only a few new concepts and expects you to apply them in combination with the previous knowledge to new types of discourse. Section 3 introduces the new concepts and sections 4 and 5 are essentially providing you with the opportunity to apply those concepts to the discourse of presentations and legal argumentations. Section 5 shows some peculiarities of the legal language from the point of view of the vocabulary and grammar.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 2 de 20

Section 6 contains diagrams displaying the unit concepts and indications about what vocabulary to learn. Section 7 suggests a list of films and TV series that you can use for further listening practice. Finally, section 8 provides the key to the unit tasks.

3.

INTRODUCTION
An important aspect of the language used in work environments is related to situations in which people argue and discuss. The practical cases of this unit will focus on several product presentations, and a legal argumentation. But before you get to the cases, there are some features of the language at work that you have to take into consideration. All this language has the following common features: It always has a goal, meaning that its purpose is to achieve something specific1. Some situations have specific turn-taking rules. At the courtroom, special rules are followed as who can speak and when can they do it. In a doctor patient context, the doctor poses the most questions. Information content restrictions, in other words, what participants can say is limited by circumstances. Some information will be irrelevant in relation to the goal, some information will be inappropriate (politeness, negotiation strategies, etc.) Obviously, professional vocabulary (both technical formal and technical jargon / slang) will be the norm. It is used within structured contexts. Oral presentations must be carried out according to a relatively fixed structure; negotiations follow normally a set of stages; board meetings must follow an agenda; etc. The relationship among the participants is asymmetrical2. One participant has usually more power or more knowledge than the others.

1 2

This obviously refers to the English language and more patently the American English variant. See Unit 1 regarding misunderstandings. See Communication Diagram and explanations on Unit 1.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 3 de 20

Task 1: For each the following situations indicate two possible goals.
1. Negotiations 2. Oral presentation 4. Job Interview 5. Meeting with the CEO
3

a) __________________ a) __________________ a) __________________ a) __________________ a) __________________

b) ___________________ b) ___________________ b) ___________________ b) ___________________ b) ___________________

3. Oral Press Release

A key function of spoken language in business is to persuade customers that they need the product we are selling. Presentations can be part of advertising and this implies the association of a particular product with an idea. But the sales messages have to compete among thousand others for the reluctant attention of their targets.
Examples of situations where competition for attention is strong

Trade fairs Product Presentations TV ads Spam Web Banners Telephone Surveys Face-to-face Sales

Presentations are used to persuade, teach and / or report. In the first case, they share many features with what you saw in unit 3 for advertising (use of appeals to persuade). In the second case, they share characteristics with what you saw in unit 5. And in the third case, the features are those seen in unit 3 too.
Presentation Type Educational Reporting Promotional Initial Situation Ignorance Seek Justification Interest Method Teaching Give details Advertising Goal Imparting Knowledge Confirm Funding Sell service / product

Educational presentations use the following linguistic and non-linguistic resources as arguments of persuasion: Demonstrations with models, simulations and guided resolution of problems (if I can do it, you can do it too); Quoting previous research on the topic as an argument in favour of reliability;

In this category you can include oral reports (on-going Project reports, yearly report, project proposal, etc.)

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 4 de 20

Diagrams & Graphs to represent processes acting as graphical metaphors for better understanding (if you understand it, you can learn it); Writing as a reinforcement device, to identify important concepts and as a repetition strategy (you hear it, you see it).

Reporting presentations use the following linguistic and non-linguistic resources as arguments of persuasion: Financial data to show that the funding has been well spent, to justify the need for spending and to justify the need for further spending; Time data to show that deadlines have been met, to propose future deadlines and the relation that time has with costs; Results obtained until the time of the report and forecast of results, should the funding continue. The potential spin-offs, the commercial applications, the patents claimed, the synergies with other projects or products, and the technical improvements are more specific examples of what type of results can be used to persuade in reporting presentations. Graphical reinforcement as a repetition strategy (you hear the data, I display it as text, graph or chart).

Promotional presentations use the following linguistic and non-linguistic resources as arguments of persuasion: Demonstrations with the product promoted, usually to show how it works and how easy it operates; Testimonies from prestigious people as an argument in favour of reliability; Comparisons with other similar products as an argument in favour of performance or excellence; Numerical data in the form of statistics, savings, rankings, number of awards, etc.; Diagrams, Graphs & Text as a repetition strategy to reinforce the oral message, serving also as graphical metaphors.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 5 de 20

In terms of language use, argumentation also uses the rhetorical devices and the appeal words (nouns, adjectives, verbs and phrases) seen in unit 3. Linking words are important since they indicate the relationship between ideas. The more formal the language is, the more explicit the signalling of argument by linking words. Modal verbs are used to show option or advice. The choice of personal pronoun is used to show personal opinion. Negative forms (not, no, un- adjectives, verbs whose meaning imply negation exclude, avoid, prohibit) are used to reject arguments. Expletives and hedging emphasise or downgrades opinions. And finally, opinion verbs can show opinions through a broad range of gradation (from very strong to not to firm). The table below summarises the grammatical options available and how to use them when constructing your argumentation.
Some of the common language patterns of argument or persuasion How is information paired in argumentation? Some effective ways to structure an argument I (indicates personal opinin) modals (e.g. may, should)

not and other negatives

expletives (e.g. clearly, definitely) & (e.g. not very, just,

only)
hedging (e.g. possibly, may, not necessarily) opinion verbs (e.g. believe, maintain, argue, agree,

disagree)
Arguments often contrast positives with negatives. (Antithesis) We offer not a pledge, but a request.4 Enumeration of reasons, putting the most persuasive reason at the end. Putting a weak counter-argument at the end of the introduction, just before the thesis. Then using the body of the essay to argue against the counter-argument. Using the method described immediately above and add at least one positive, persuasive reason near the end of the essay, giving further support to your thesis. Using the introduction to give a counter-argument that is accepted as true. Then using the central part of the presentation to prove that the opposite point of view is at least equally true and even more important.

The web below shows how modals are used for giving advice and show option http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/advisability.html

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, inaugural speech (see task 4 in unit 3).

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 6 de 20

The information in the above web-site cover a range from no option offered to it is up to you whether you do it or not. If you wish to do so, you may go to the following: http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/structure1/modals.html and do the exercises on the modal verbs. They are based on the dialogues of TV series such as Friends, The Simpsons, Seinfeld... It has been already mentioned that linking words or connectors are very important because they establish the transitions and relations between ideas. Below you can see some examples of how connectors are used and a table showing the most frequently used connectors in the formal spoken language (public speaking) 5: 1. 2. Its, it's more complicated than that but that's it in a nutshell And last but not least we have to address this issue of randomized storage and what are some alternatives used. Its neither red nor green nor yellow nor blue. And that's pretty much it, unless you want more information on their study and then you can give them your address. We also have some metal spatulas, it doesn't matter. As a matter of fact , I recommend you use these, because it, it gives you a better cut, and they're lighter. 6. I mean that's a real stereotype as far as Im concerned .

3. 4.

5.

All the examples are taken from the MICASE on-line corpus (see unit 1)

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 7 de 20

Linking Words
Summing up In a nutshell All things considered To sum up Concluding Last but not least As a conclusion Finally To conclude Choice Neithernor Eitheror Or Whatever Whenever Wherever Whoever Temporal After / Afterwards As / As soon as Next Suddenly Then Since Deducing consequence As a consequence Therefore As a result Consequently Eventually Thus So Thats why But as opposed to However Nevertheless Yet Unlike While Whereas On the one hand On the other hand Personal opinion In my opinion As far as concerned To my mind It seems to me that Im Explaining cause As Because (of) In so far as Since The reason why is Concession Although Even though Though Goal / purpose In order to To So as to So that Contrasting Adding ideas Also Besides Furthermore In addition Moreover Whats more Not onlybut also Introducing example For example For instance Such as Reformulating Namely In other words That is to say To put differently things Introducing facts First, second, To begin with If Unless Provided that Whether Emphasizing As a matter of fact Indeed In fact Condition

Task 2: Using appeals to present services In unit 3 you have seen the language used for advertising. The following presentation of telephone services over the Internet has features of rational and emotional appeals. Listen to the presentation of the service and answer the questions below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P92Zge9Bv-I opportunity) (VoIP as a business

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 8 de 20

1.

Which of the following expressions taken from the ad are rational (R) and which are emotional (E) appeals (Write the letter besides the expression):
Imagine the possibilities Wise enough Take advantage Available exclusively Work more efficiently Cutting edge The Economist magazine To be at the right place at the right time Millions of customers At no extra charge As easy as Latest technology The new era Most rewarding compensation plan ever Next major technological shift Billions of revenue Make you wealthy Timing is perfect For the first time ever success Truly the perfect business

Task 3: Testing the use of logical connectors IMPORTANT! Before you start this task, make sure you have downloaded the software Antconc (http://www.antlab.sci.waseda.ac.jp/software.html) and the three txt files required to work with the Antconc software (speeches_corp.txt; instit_corp.txt; hearings_corp.txt downloadable from the CEPADE virtual campus). If you don't find your way through the software, you have the help web page on: http://www.antlab.sci.waseda.ac.jp/software/AntConc_Help/AntConc_Help.htm (go to the concordance which is what we are going to analyse. If this information is not enough, please ask me and I will surely help you. Use the concordance tool of Antconc to see how the following linking words are used in political speeches (speeches_corp.txt), institutional speeches (instit_corp.txt) and US supreme court hearings (hearings_corp.txt):
For example For instance Such as Namely In other words Indeed In fact In my opinion As far as I The reason why To my mind (Adding Ideas)*

As a matter of fact On the other hand It seems to me

*(Compare all the link words in this section and see which type of discourse prefers which link word). For the rest try to find an explanation of why they appear more or less in one type of discourse or another

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 9 de 20

Task 4: Grammar exercise (a) Complete the following sentences with the appropriate connectors and indicate for each sentence what connecting function are they performing. 1. We originally suggested that another system should be

developed. Adapting the current one would best meet the needs of your department. ( However ) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. The official working time is forty four hours a week. Some workers exceed 60 hours. ( Although ) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. The workers will have six new computers in a week time. The software could be installed in two weeks. ( But ) ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 10 de 20

(b) Complete the gaps in the following text with the appropriate link words: thus because (in order) to therefore for so (that) as a result for so since (1)______________ Im having so much trouble falling asleep at night, I decided to write to you to ask for your advice.(2)_________________ you can get a better idea of my problem, let me tell you a little about myself. Im a full-time employee at a university library, but (3)___________________ my job as a bookkeeper doesnt pay very well, Im also studying at night (4)______________ a degree in business administration. In addition, I have four teenage children to cook, clean, and wash for,(5)_______________ I actually have another full-time job at home. (6)__________________, I always go to bed very late, and although Im exhausted, I can never fall asleep. A few weeks ago I started taking sleeping pills. That was my little secret (7)__________________ getting a good nights sleep, but lately the pills havent been working. Maybe I should take two pills instead of one. I dont know what to do (8) _________________ get the rest I need. I need your help urgently!

4.

PRACTICAL CASE: BUSINESS PRESENTATION

You are probably familiar by now with the strategies used to structure a presentation in English. You probably know too what essential vocabulary you need to indicate trends, to name parts of graphs and tables, to indicate beginning, to signal transitions and, to set an end. Let's see now how other people carry out presentations and how the present arguments. Task 5: In this presentation the main argument is that motivation for workers is not directly linked to money and that depending on the type of task performed other factors may be more motivating. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=channel

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 11 de 20

Listen to the video and identify link words, expletives and other features of the spoken language (in other words, the spoken formulas seen in unit 5):
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24)

5.

PRACTICAL CASE: LEGAL DISCUSSIONS

Task 6: This listening section consists of two parts: one for commercial law vocabulary and one for contract negotiations. Answer to the following questions: a) What type of work do lawyers do in businesses? b) Why are negotiations an important part of the business communication activities? Task 6.1. Listening comprehension The following two videos introduce essential vocabulary of commercial law: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXyF97TlgCk&feature=related This first video focuses on verbs typically combining with the noun contract, prepositions combining with the verb to contract, and types of law in business. You don't need to worry about the initial vocabulary quiz on the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j37f7hEhOK8&feature=channel video) Check the collocations6 presented in these two videos on any of the two on-line corpora below. (second

collocate - have a strong tendency to occur side by side; "The words 'new' and 'world' collocate". See again Unit 1 for more details on collocations and

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 12 de 20

c) Do you find among the results that contract co-appears frequently with the verbs and prepositions mentioned on the videos? http://www.americancorpus.org/ (on-line corpus) http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/ (on-line corpus) If you are interested in learning more about how to use these two corpora follow these instructions: Once you have accessed the corpora, on the central right part of the screen select more information, then select brief tour or Query Syntax. This information will allow you to develop sophisticated queries of how English is really used. Task 6.2. Listening Comprehension Business people have to negotiate contracts and this activity implies working with lawyers. Look at the following videos on negotiation and answer the following questions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWL3GXTpMeM&feature=related (Essentials of Contract Negotiations) a) What is the purpose of this first negotiation video? ____________________________________________________________ b) Mention of the situations where negotiating is necessary? ____________________________________________________________ c) Mention one of the negotiation techniques explained? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y92f5mzmc5g&feature=related (How to present offers in negotiations) ____________________________________________________________ d) Regarding this video, is the following true or false? The goal of the video is to show how to introduce contract details to your customers. __________ ____________________________________________________________

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 13 de 20

e) Essentially, what is the negotiation strategy that the interviewed lawyer is explaining on the video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK5fi8qQC6g&feature=related (Communication training Speak First) f) What are the two factors that mature negotiators have to balance and what do they use to achieve it? _______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ g) In your own words, what is a trade up? ___________________________ ____________________________________________________________ h) What type of questions do you have to pose when negotiating (what grammar structure should you use)? ______________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Task 7: Using the software Antconc, check if the modal verbs shall (commands in the affirmative, prohibitions in the negative, obligations or duties), may (permission, optionality), and the expression be unable / is unable / was unable (negation of ability) are used on the hearings_corp.txt file used as it is described in this unit. Provide one example from the corpus of each use (to go to the example, you can click on the blue word; this will take you to the text and there you can copy the whole sentence). ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 14 de 20

Task 8 : Using the three files perform the search illustrated by the picture below and identify what the prefix mis- means. Make sure that you leave a space before and after the expression and that the Regex box is ticked. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

Task 9 : Using the hearings_corp.txt and the software Antconc perform the search illustrated by the picture below and decide what type of legal concepts / documents typically follow this verb. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 15 de 20

6.

UNIT VOCABULARY AND CONCEPTS

You should pay attention to the vocabulary in the table of common language patterns of argument (should be able to identify the language and its meaning in messages). The table of linking words should receive from you the same attention as the previous one. You should also pay attention to the meaning of the vocabulary and grammar show in section 5.1. a / b / c / d/ e and more particularly to the vocabulary in the already mentioned section 5.1.c, which you should learn.

7.

EXAMPLES OF LEGAL LANGUAGE IN FILMS AND TELEVISION

Although this unit has been conceived to improve your reading comprehension of legal documents and to help you in writing with the use of some legal jargon, it is also interesting for you to hear this type of language in situations which simulate real contexts.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 16 de 20

Film scriptwriters have a tendency to centre on stories based on the use of legal language at court, but these movies are also useful to understand certain differences between the common law legal system and the code law one. The following movies appear with their original name; their Spanish translation may differ quite a lot. Most of them can be seen on DVD with subtitles in English:
Animal Crackers (1930) Witness for the Prosecution (1957) Legal Eagles (1986) The Firm (1993) Devils Advocate (1997) Slightly Honorable (1940) Trial and Error (1962) Let Him Have It (1991) The Client (1994) A Civil Action (1998) The Paradine Case (1947) The Fortune Cookie (1966) The Pelican Brief (1993) The Rainmaker (1997) Parole Officer (2001)

The story in all the previous films is not always focused on law, but at least some part of the movie deals with legal language. The reason for including movies with main story lines diverging from the legality is to provide some variety in the topics. Otherwise all the films in the list would be about trials. Lets begin with comedies: Animal Crackers is a Marx Brothers film which at some point makes fun of the language of contracts (many Marx Brothers comedies include a similar gag); Trial and Error is a Peter Sellers comedy drama which illustrates the British legal system; The Fortune Cookie is a Billy Wilders comedy with Jack Lemon and Walter Mathau in a false damage claim; Legal Eagles is a romantic comedy with Robert Redford and Daryl Hannah which illustrates the US legal system within a story of art fraud; and finally, Parole Officer is a comedy about the parole system in the UK. Court Dramas: The Paradine Case is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock featuring Gregory Peck and Charles Laughton in a British murder trial; Witness for the Prosecution directed by Billy Wilder is another murder trial film located in Britain; Let Him Have It is a film about a famous judicial error in the United Kingdom; The Rainmaker is film about a modest lawyer in a big US case; A Civil Action featuring John Travolta, presents the unexpected consequences of what seemed a simple trial.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 17 de 20

The rest of the movies deal with different aspects of the law. The Firm is a thriller about a lawyers firm and their hidden activities featuring Tom Cruise; The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts as a law student who is investigating an environmental legal issue; and to conclude, Devils Advocate is again about a lawyers firm, but in this case set within a horror scenario. The list immediately below includes television shows which are also based on legal contexts:
Ironside (USA) L.A. Law (USA) Law and Order (USA) Rumple of the Bailey (UK) Allie McBeal (USA) Shark (USA)

Although the legal setting is an excuse for presenting lines of argument that soon abandon the professional world and delve into more personal details, they do not lack the necessary script work to give an overall atmosphere of authenticity. Ironside is an old, black-and-white show depicting the cases investigated by the district attorneys office. L.A. Law presents the lives of several lawyers in a firm; their everyday work anecdotes and their personal problems. Law and Order is a very successful drama serial which is again set in a district attorneys office. Rumple of the Bailey is a British comedy which contrasts the different behaviour of the different members of the legal profession at court and at home. Allie McBeal was a great success probably due to its surrealistic plot lines and ironic style more than for its realistic description of a law firm. Shark takes the point of view of a former lawyer working now for the State Attorney's office. All of these TV series are a fairly achieved picture of the culture and the time that they reflect.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 18 de 20

8.

KEY TO UNIT TASKS

Task 1:
1. Negotiations 2. Oral presentation 4. Job Interview 5. Meeting with the CEO
7

a) sign a contract a) sell a product a) deny an accusation a) get a job a) inform

b) cancel a contract b) inform about progress b) launch a product b) train for other interviews b) get fired

3. Oral Press Release

Task 2:
Imagine the possibilities Wise enough Take advantage Available exclusively Work more efficiently Cutting edge The Economist magazine E To be at the right place at the right time R R R R R R E Next major technological shift Billions of revenue Make you wealthy Timing is perfect For the first time ever success Truly the perfect business R R E R R E E

E Millions of customers E At no extra charge E As easy as R Latest technology R The new era R Most rewarding compensation plan ever

Task 3: Take into account that the hearings file is longer because this type of speech is formally longer than political or institutional speeches. For example : appears as common on the three types, it is a neutral form of introducing examples For instance : in this case it appears exclusively within the hearings. This type of speech requires the introduction of many hypothetical situations and this is a better alternative to for example. Such as : this one is not used in political speeches, but it appears often in the other two types. Both institutional speeches and court hearings require the identification of specific results (achievements), participants, problems and such as is the expression chosen for that.

In this category you can include oral reports (on-going Project reports, yearly report, project proposal, etc.)

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 19 de 20

Namely : it is more frequent in the hearings than the others, probably because the language in court hearings tends to be more archaic than in other situations. In other words : almost inexistent in political speeches, reasonably frequent in institutional speeches (remember they are shorter), probably because it is more important to make sure that concepts are understood. Very frequent in court hearings (partly because they are longer, partly because rewordings and explanations are also more frequent). As a matter of fact : In political speeches this type of emphasis is substituted by repetitions or variations in voice tone. Far more useful in the other situations where emphasis should not be achieved through dramatic effects. Indeed : This is a much appreciated emphasizing device in formal language. In fact : basically the same as As a matter of fact. On the other hand : this type of contrasting is found exclusively in dialogue type of situations (even presentations where In my opinion : Very unlikely to find this in political speeches (opinions are presented as facts), useful as a hedging or downgrading device in the other cases. As far as I : Once again it is used to introduce downgraded opinions, maybe to downgraded even for institutional speeches. It seems to me : in this case opinion is presented almost as a rhetorical question (if I am wrong, correct me / don't you agree with me) so it can appear in the three types. The reason why : in political speeches it will depend on the topic, but it is not a frequent way of presenting reason. To my mind : probably too indirect and pedantic to be frequently used. Adding Ideas link words : (Also) very neutral so very common throughout any type of speech. (Besides) an emphatic way of adding information restricted to dialogical types of speech. (Furthermore) probably too formal for political speeches. (In addition) not as neutral as

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.

INGLS APLICADO A LOS NEGOCIOS: COMPRENSIN ORAL

Unit 6 Pag.: 20 de 20

also but fairly evenly used by all. (Moreover) similar as the previous one. (What's more) slightly more emphatic than the previous one, but used with moderation. (Not only ... but) very popular way of adding ideas in an emphatic way. Task 4: (a-1) ... however adapting the current one would ... (a-2) ... although some workers exceed 60 hours... (a-3) in two weeks, but the workers will have ... (b) 1-Since; 2-so; 3-because; 4-for; 5-therefore; 6-as a result; 7-for;8- in order to Task 5:
1) amazingly 2) unbelievably interesting 3) really surprising 4) its a little freaky 5) as endlessly manipulable as 6) a whole set of 7) do really well 8) kind of in the middle 9) even 10) right? 11) OK? 12) seems like 13) doesnt it? 14) its kind of weird 15) is actually significant relatively more 17) roughly as follows 18) over and over again 19) in a slightly strange way 20) a fricken innovation 21) you probably ... 22) somewhat sceptical 23) its overwhelmingly clear 24) just like not good stuff

16) whatever the number was

Task 6: this task is performed on the on-line campus. Task 7: Task self correctable when you obtain the results from the concordancer. Task 8: It means bad, wrong, illegal. Task 9: legal documents and legal actions.

www.cepade.es. Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Gal 11, 28039 Madrid. Phone. 91.456.27.95. Fax 91.553.55.63.