商英悟语BEWisdom | 5个播客快速提高商英水平

Daisy Harrison

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5 Business English podcasts to boost your skills and advance your career

Discover the best podcasts for learning business English, from beginners to advanced learners, and get tips on how to make the most out of them.

The world of business English can be daunting. Full of jargon, abbreviations, and unfamiliar accents, it’s easy to see why you might feel overwhelmed by it! That said, having strong English communication skills is essential for your career success in today’s globalized business world.

If you’re already working in an English-speaking business, you may be stretched for time. If you’re a student hoping to start climbing the corporate ladder, you might find it equally difficult to fit English listening practice into your day-to-day routine. Luckily, podcasts are a great learning tool.

In this article, we share some of our favorite English business podcasts and discuss how they can help boost your skills and advance your career. Suitable for beginners and advanced students, these podcasts are sure to help you become a hit at the office. Learn more below.

1

Top business English podcast recommendations

Ready to plug your headphones in and start learning? Check out the 5 best business English podcasts here:

1.1

Business English Pod

Business English Pod provides you with one of the most all-encompassing podcast series. Each podcast lasts from 5-20 minutes, and there’s a whole range of topics to choose from. These include socializing, travel, meetings, negotiations, and presentations.

Dive into the section which suits you best and you’ll find more in-depth advice. For example, the Management series includes episodes discussing English for start-up businesses and English phrases for emails and virtual meetings.

Each Business English Pod episode includes multiple speakers so you can get to grips with different dialects and accents. The pace is super slow too, making it easy to follow the conversation.

The Business English Pod podcasts are available for free via their website or via Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, and YouTube. Whilst using a streaming service means you don’t need to remember to download new episodes, the podcasts are far more organized via the website.

This podcast is perfect if…

• You’re a complete beginner

• You’ve moved to a new job or role which requires new vocabulary

• You’re completing a business English course and want to add short episodes to your routine

1.2

The Business English Club

The Business English Club offers a range of podcasts suitable for intermediate business English learners. There are just over 30 episodes in total, all around 5 – 10 minutes in length.

What’s impressive about The Business English Club episodes is how far they dig into vocabulary, grammar, and expressions. For instance, there is a whole episode focussed on what the phrase ‘to pull the plug’ means in a business context.

The Business English Club also offers 5 episodes dedicated to listening practice for the TOEIC exam. Naturally, this makes it a great choice if you are studying for that test or want to learn more about what the exam encompasses.

The Business English Club podcasts are all available on YouTube. Sadly, the producers no longer make new episodes, but the existing ones are as useful as ever!

This podcast is perfect if…

• You have a decent level of English already

• You want to focus on the nuances of business English

• You’re studying for the TOEIC exam

1.3

BBC Learning English – English at Work

The BBC Learning English – English at Work podcast is more of an animated series than your regular audio lesson. If you prefer just to listen, then the animations aren’t essential – simply plug in your headphones and flick to a different screen.

There are 66 episodes to choose from, each running for around 3 minutes each. They cover various business scenarios, from interviews to office romances and promotions. Each business English podcast episode also has a transcript, key phrases, and a listening exercise.

You can listen to the BBC English at Work podcast via the BBC website, the BBC Learning English app or YouTube.

This podcast is perfect if:

• You’re an intermediate student with a good grasp of regular English

• You have a busy schedule

• You enjoy visual and audio learning aids

1.4

TED Talks Business

Whilst the Ted Talks Business podcast isn’t specifically designed for business English learners, it’s a great tool for intermediate students who want to learn more about the corporate world. Covering a range of fascinating topics, whatever your business problem, there’s a TED Business podcast to help.

Hosted by Modupe Akinola of Columbia Business School, earlier podcasts cover business communication ideas such as ‘How to Disagree Productively’. Episodes like ‘Improve Your Career with This Habit’ are also great for your professional development.

New episodes are published every Monday; you can find them on Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

This podcast is perfect if…

• You’re interested in becoming an entrepreneur

• You want to learn about niche topics

• You’re a podcast junkie who wants regular new episodes

1.5

BBC World Service – Business Daily

Listened to all of the beginner business English podcasts and in the mood for something new? The BBC World Service Business Daily podcast is for you. Episodes on workplace topics, such as ‘Does It Pay to be Nice in Business,’ give you insight into persuasive communication skills.

On the other hand, episodes about business news and industry-leading companies can provide you with water-cooler chat and help you think outside the box.

As the title suggests, you can enjoy a new episode of the BBC World Service Business Daily podcast every day, and each runs for around 20 minutes. The podcast is available on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the BBC website, ensuring easy accessibility to learners worldwide.

This podcast is perfect if…

• You want to learn authentic English spoken by industry experts

• You’re interested in business and finance news

• You want inspiration

2

How listening to business English podcasts can improve your skills

Podcasts aren’t just for entertainment. Here are a few reasons why they’re invaluable for developing your Business English skills:

Improve your pronunciation – Business English podcasts expose you to authentic spoken English, helping you refine your pronunciation and intonation. By listening to native speakers discuss business topics, you can mimic their speech patterns and sound more natural in professional settings.

Enhance your listening skills – Most of our podcast recommendations include real-life scenarios, interviews, and discussions, which help you improve your listening comprehension. You’ll become more adept at understanding business-related content, including presentations, meetings, and negotiations.

Increase your vocabulary – Business English podcasts introduce you to specialized terminology, business abbreviations, and idioms. This helps to broaden your vocabulary, giving you the language necessary to excel in professional contexts.

Learn grammar from the best – Listening to experts speak in well-structured sentences reinforces proper grammar usage. You’ll also soak up sentence patterns and language conventions, which will help gradually improve your own fluency.

Get insights, water-cooler talk, and more – Business podcasts that cover news and industry trends can give you great business ideas and office chat. Use these to inspire your work and to get ahead in your career.

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How to incorporate business English podcasts into your daily routine

Of course, podcasts can only help you to improve your business English skills if you listen to them regularly! Here are 3 top ways to incorporate them into your routine.

Listen on the commute – Using your commute time to listen to business English podcasts transforms idle moments into valuable learning opportunities.

Dedicate some study time – Set aside specific periods each day for focused podcast listening. Think of them as an essential part of your language-learning routine.

Start multitasking – Listen to podcasts whilst doing other tasks, such as exercising, cooking, or doing household chores. This maximizes your time and hones your multitasking skills – a skill that can be crucial in the office!

4

Getting the most out of business English podcasts

Now you know exactly which podcasts to listen to and why they’re useful, it’s time to learn how to make sure you get the most out of them. Whilst it’s easy to see podcasts as low-effort, you do need to put in a bit of work to absorb all their goodness.

Firstly, it’s important to practice active listening. Although you can listen to business English podcasts whilst doing other tasks, you still need to focus on what’s being said. Take mental notes of key points and ideas discussed and then use them to come up with responses or further questions. This helps you to think on your feet and mimics the listening skills you need in real conversation.

If you’re using Business podcasts to improve your pronunciation and accent, repeat the phrases you hear aloud. If you get lost, remember to rewind and repeat the phrase again. This simple strategy can have a huge impact, especially if you put your new sounds and speech patterns into practice with your colleagues.

Finally, always write down new words, phrases, and expressions. Use the context clues from the podcasts to try and deduce their meaning, or come back to them later with your dictionary in hand. From your notes, you can then create flashcards and vocab lists to incorporate into your language lessons.

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