Title: Business communication vocabulary

Skill Set: Business communication Level: Post-intermediate Recommended Dictionary : Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Exercise 1: Find a word fast! 1 Work with a partner. See who can write these words in alphabetical order first. minutes 1. 2 agenda 2. chair 3. motion 4 board 5

All of these words have a number of meanings. Look the words up in your dictionary and write down the part of speech and meaning number of each word when it can be used to talk about a business meeting.

Exercise 2: Find more words 1 Write the words below in alphabetical order. duty 1. delivery 2. deadline 3. dimensions 4 down payment 5..

Exercise 3: Words and examples 1 Write the words below in alphabetical order. regarding 1. 2 grateful 2. regard 3. enclose 4. reference 5.

Look the words up in your dictionary and write down an example of how each one can be used in a formal letter.

Exercise 4: Unknown words 1 Look at the fax below and look up the meanings of the words in dark print, using the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English entries below. Then complete this summary: Tomas Grunwald is writing because the cost of the furniture is ____________________________________________________________________ To: Juan Martinez From: Tomas Grunwald Your Ref: CRO743 I am writing with regard to the order we placed with you on 2.3.01 for 60 items of office furniture. As you will see from the attached copies of the order form and invoice, there appears to be a discrepancy between your quotation and the amount due. I would appreciate it if you could look into this and get back to me to confirm whether this is actually the case. Kind regards,

Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Pearson

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Title: Business communication vocabulary

2 Look at the dictionary entries below and decide if your answers are correct.
invoice n [C] a list of goods that
have been supplied or work that has been done, showing how much you owe for them

discrepancy n [C,U] a difference

quotation n 2 [C] a written

statement of exactly how much a piece of work will cost: Could you give us a quotation for fixing the roof? - compare ESTIMATE 2 (2)

due adj 4 MONEY [not before

noun] an amount of money that is due is the amount that should be paid now: The first interest payments will be due in August.

between 2 amounts, details, reports, etc. that ought to be the same: [+in] How do you explain these discrepancies in the accounts? [+ between] There are big discrepancies between what Margaret says and what you say.

Exercise 5: Spelling 1 Below are some words which are not complete. Write the full word in each example, using the context to help you decide what the word is. Use your dictionary to check the correct spelling. a b c d e I am writing to acknowledge rec_____t of your letter. Let us know if you want any sta_________ y ordered, e.g. pens or notepads. All our software is IBM-comp_______le. Would you be able to arrange ac_________n near the airport for me? We g_________ e next-day delivery. Otherwise you will receive an automatic refund.

Exercise 6: Prepositions 1 Decide which preposition to use in each space. a If you take _____ account _____ the sales from this quarter, there has been an overall gain. b We are happy to fit the equipment _____ no extra cost . c Sales have increased _____ 13.5% this year alone. The words in bold are in the entries below from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Use them to check your answers.
account n 3 take account of
sth/take sth into account to consider or include particular facts or details when making a decision or judgment about something: These figures do not take account of changes in the rate of inflation.

cost n 1 MONEY PAID [C] the amount of money that you have to pay in order to buy, do, or produce something: Ill give you $15 to cover the cost of the gas . at a cost of The new buildings going up at a cost of $82 million. high/low cost a low cost source of electric power full cost If no scholarships or other aid are available, students will have to pay the full cost of their education . cost of living (=the cost of buying all the food, clothes etc that you need to live) The cost of living rose two percent in the last year. at no extra cost A cassette/radio is included at no extra cost.

increase v 1 [I] to become larger

in amount, number or degree: The population of London increased dramatically in the first half of the century. The pain increased steadily until I could think of nothing else. increase in value/price/importance etc Investments are certain to increase in value. [ +by] Food prices increased by less than 10% in less than a year. - see RAISE (USAGE)

Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Pearson

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Title: Business communication vocabulary

Teachers Notes/Answer key

This worksheet is aimed at helping students to develop their general dictionary skills with the help of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and focuses on language that learners need for business communication. Exercise 1: Find a word fast! 1 agenda (n #1) 2 board (n #3) 3 chair (n #2 & v - only sense) 4 minutes (n #6) 5 motion (n #3) You might use this as an opportunity to draw to students attention that more common meanings of words appear earlier in the entry, e.g. chair as a thing you sit on is more common than the person who is in charge of a meeting. Exercise 2: Find more words 1. deadline 2. delivery 3. dimensions 4. down payment 5. duty They are all used in the area of trade. Exercise 3: Words and examples 1 enclose ( #1 please find enclosed) 2 grateful (# 3 I would be grateful if you could 3 reference (#3 with reference to) 4 regard (#3 as regards, #5 in/with regard to, #6 with kind regards 5 regarding (only sense - Regarding your recent inquiry) Exercise 4: Unknown words (suggested answer) the cost of the furniture is more than the amount in the quotation. Exercise 5: Spelling a) b) c) d) e) receipt stationery compatible accommodation guarantee

Exercise 6: Prepositions Encourage students to look at example sentences and bold phrases in each entry. a) into b) at c) by

Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Pearson

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