How to talk about your work?

Orial Tutorial

English Speaking Practice: Talking About Your Job ️

Hi! Tim here with another 925English lesson!

In today’s lesson, we are going to learn how to talk about the work you do in your job.

Discussing Your Job Role

• Overview: Last time, we discussed how to describe your job, including stating your position, company, and responsibilities.
• Further Inquiry: But what if someone wants to delve deeper into what you actually do? They might ask about your daily routine or inquire about your current or past projects.

Describing Current Work or Projects

• Focus on the Present: When discussing ongoing tasks, use the present continuous tense - “are doing.” For instance:
  • We are currently working on a project.
  • I am overseeing a new initiative.
• Example Practice:
  • A: We’re busy designing a new housing development in California.
  • B: Right now, we’re doing a big website project.
  • C: At the moment, I’m overseeing the installation of a new machine.

Using Strong or Specific Verbs

• Importance of Strong Verbs: Use specific verbs like ‘design’ and ‘oversee’ for clarity and impact.

Talking About Past Work

• Past Tense: Use strong verbs in the past tense to discuss completed tasks.
• Examples:
  • A: I chaired the fundraising committee last year.
  • B: I led the company’s annual audit.
  • C: My colleagues and I designed the new elementary school in Clifton.
  • D: I used to work on-site as an engineer, but now I’ve moved to management.

Discussing Daily Routines

• Routine Phrases: Use phrases like “spend my time” or “my work involves.”
• Using ‘-ing’ Form: When mentioning activities, use the ‘-ing’ form.
• Examples:
  • A: I spend a lot of time answering the phone and emails.
  • B: My work involves talking with customers and solving technical problems.
  • C: I put in a lot of time visiting customers every day.
  • D: Most of my day is spent calling clients and handling orders.

Real-Life Conversation Practice

• Example Dialogue:
  • A: So, what do you guys have any new projects on at the moment?
  • B: Actually, we’ve just started work on a new factory.
  • A: You must be busy. What’s your day-to-day routine like?
  • B: Most of my day is spent testing new machines and checking on deliveries.

Interactive Practice

• Fill-in-the-Blanks: Practice the dialogue by filling in the responses yourself.
• Focus Points: Start by mentioning your current work, then talk about your daily routine.

Conclusion

• Preview: Next lesson, we’ll learn how to talk about your company.
• Final Thoughts: Practice these phrases and structures to improve your confidence in discussing your job in English.

Until then, so long and happy learning!

Raw material

Hi! Tim here with another 925English lesson!
In today’s lesson we are going to learn how to talk about the work you do in your job.

Last time we looked at how to talk about your job, which might include stating your position and company, and what you are responsible for.

But what if someone wants to know more about what you actually do?
For example, someone might ask what your daily routine is like. Or they might ask about your current or past projects. How can you describe these kinds of activities?

Well, let’s start with talking about your current work or projects. By “current,” I mean, things that are happening now.

When we talk about things happening right now, we normally say we “are doing” something. You might use “we” if you mean your company or team is working on something. Or you might use I if you are talking about jsut what you are doing.

Let’s practice some examples of talking about your current work in this way. Listen to each example, then repeat it yourself. Ready? Let’s get started.

A: We’re busy designing a new housing development in California
B: Right now we’re doing a big website project
C: At the moment, I’m overseeing the installation of a new machine

That’s not too hard, right? And you’ll notice that it’s always good to use strong or specific verbs, such as design and oversee, when you talk about waht you’re doing.

Now, waht if someone ask you about waht you’ve done in the past? Well, to talk about your past work, it’s still a good idea to choose a strong verb.

Just remember to put it in the past tense. But you don’t need to say “was doing.” You can just use the simple form “did,” because it’s completed.

Let’s try a little practice talking about your past work. Just like last time, I want you to repeat the examples after you hear them.

A: I chaired the fundraising committee last year.
B: I let the company’s annual audit.
C: My colleagues and I designed the new elementary school in Cliftin.
D: I used to work on-site as an engineer, but now I’ve moved to management.

One really useful expression you might have noticed is “used to.” When there is an activity in the past that you did many times, or was ongoing, you can say you used to do it.

Now, what if someone wants to know your current routine. I mean how you usually spend your time during your work day.

Well, you can certainlly use that exact expression I just used: You can say you spend your time doing something. Or you can say you “spend your time” doing something. Or you can say your work “involves” some types of activity. And when you mention the activity, use the ‘-ing’ form. Like “I spend a lot of time writting reports.”

Let’s practice talking about your daily routine with a few examples. Once again, repeat what you hear.
A: I spend alot of time answering the phone and emails.
B: My work involvestalking with customers and solving technical problems.
C: I put in a lot of time visiting customers every day.
D: Most of my day is spending calling clients and handling orders.

So, that’s how we talk about our daily routines. But how might this sound in a real life conversation? Let’s listen to a short conversation between two people who have just met. The first person is asking about the other person, John, about his work. Listen to how John answers the questions.

A: So, what do you guys have any new projects on at the moment?
B: Actually, we’ve just started work on a new factory.
A: You must be busy. What’s your day-to-day routine like?
B: Most of my day is spent testing new machines and checking on deliveries.

Can you hear how this works? John is asked about the new projects, so he mentions something his company has just started. And when he is asked about his day-to-day routine, he explains how his day is spent. And notice those verbs testing and checking on.

Now it’s your turn to practice. We’ll repeat the dialog, but this time we’re going to beep out the second speaker’s words. You’ll have to say those parts yourself. Remember to start by mentioning your current work. Then you’ll talk about your daily routine.

So,now you’ve practiced talking about your work. But another part of talking about your job involves talkign about your company. You’ll have to tune in to our next lesson to learn how to do that!

Until then, so long and happy learning.