Learn Language through the song - | English exercises

Translate:

Hello.

My name is Emma, and today we are going to talk about English in the workplace.

Specifically, today we are going to talk about social English.

So we will talk about how to talk to your co-workers, how to make it easy, what might

be difficult when it comes to talking to co-workers,

and how to have more of a social life at work.

So let's get started.

I first wanted to talk about a problem many

English language learners have when they work

in an English...

When they work in an English environment.

One common issue is they have difficulty understanding

what their English-speaking co-workers are

saying.

English speakers are not the best communicators.

They use a lot of slang, a lot of expressions,

a lot of idioms, so it can be very difficult

to understand what your co-workers are saying.

So the first thing I want to teach you about is

I want you to become aware of what is easiest

and what is most difficult in the workplace,

because you can use this to your advantage.

What do you think is easier?

Listening to one co-worker talk to you in a quiet environment like their office, or

talking to multiple co-workers, so two, three,

four, or five co-workers in a noisy environment

like a lunchroom?

You would probably say that this is the easier thing to do, and you're correct.

So, the reason this is important is if you're

trying to meet people in an English workplace

environment, it's good to take opportunities

to meet co-workers one-on-one, so just you

and the co-worker, and talk then.

Of course you can talk in these situations, too,

but you're going to have a lot more difficulty.

So, the best time to connect with people is

one-on-one, especially if English isn't your

first language.

The reason is in these situations where you have multiple co-workers, they'll probably

be talking very fast, making lots of jokes that you might not understand, and using a

lot of slang or expressions you might not know.

So, if you want to meet people, this can sometimes be the easier way to do it.

So, my first tip, meet and talk to your co-workers.

Try to do it at least some of the time one-on-one in a quiet environment.

You'll understand them more.

The next problem a lot of people have when

they're learning a language and they're working

in an English environment is trying to make friends, or trying to meet your co-workers

and get to know them.

It can be difficult to get to know your co-workers.

So, here are my tips for this.

First of all, remember, it takes time.

Okay?

When you start at a company, it will take

time for people to get to know you, and that's

normal.

Some people you work with might be shy or reserved.

That's normal, too.

You can still smile and say hi to them.

This has come up at my workplace where sometimes

you'll see some people who are very shy, they

don't talk a lot, but they love it when people say hi to them.

So, there's no problem with being friendly.

Be friendly, especially if it's natural for you.

You know, you can say hi to your co-workers.

Even if they don't seem like they say hi to you, it's a good thing to say hi to them.

Go to work events.

Workplaces often have these things called potlucks.

A potluck is where everybody brings food for the group.

So, if there's a potluck, it's a great opportunity

to get to know other people, you can bring

food from your culture, so potlucks are a great idea to attend at work.

BBQs, so sometimes there might be a work barbecue,

sometimes for different holidays, like Christmas

you might have something called Secret Santa,

which is a game people play where they buy

a gift for somebody.

So, my main point is if your workplace has

something social happening, it's a great idea

to participate and to learn more about the

culture, along with learning more about people.

At a lot of these types of events, that's where you actually get to know people, so

if you're invited to one, definitely go.

This leads to my next point.

I once read a research study that I loved.

The research study said that the more somebody

sees your face, the more they like you, even

if you don't do anything, even if you don't talk to them.

So, imagine you see the same person at a cafe

every day and you don't ever talk to them.

Over time, you will like them more just because you are used to their face.

So, we like familiar, we like seeing the same things all the time.

So, the way you can use this at work is make sure people see you.

The more they see you, the more in general

they'll like you, even if you're not talking.

Okay?

So, even if you're shy, if people see you, they'll like you more.

So, try to be seen in, you know, workplace

environments like the cafeteria or, you know,

where people hang out in the workplace.

Try to be there so people can see you over time.

Another thing you can do is show who you are.

We communicate with more than just language.

So, for example, if you're allowed, you can decorate your desk.

Maybe put pictures, if you have pictures of

your pets or your family or if you like things

like Star Wars or friends or different shows,

you can always put some sort of decoration

because that can show people what you like,

and it's a good way for people to get to know

you better.

I remember we had somebody at my work start recently, and I really liked what she did.

She had all these toy minions on her desk.

She has children, and her children wanted her to put these little toys on her desk.

And so when I saw those toys, I said, "Oh, this is really cool.

You know, do you like minions?"

And then she said, "No."

You know, it's her kids, but it opened up a conversation, and that's what you want.

You want to give people opportunities to have conversations with you.

So, by having different objects, you know, maybe you have a backpack with a band you

like or, you know, just whatever you can do to show who you are, it's a good idea.

It can increase the amount of conversations you have.

Another thing you can do is if you're allowed, bring food to the workplace.

When people bring cookies to the workplace, you know, it's very much appreciated, and

we have positive thoughts about those people.

You know, "Oh, it's so nice.

Jacob brought cookies today."

Or, you know, "Katherine brought some candy for everybody."

So, when people bring food, it's a really nice thing to do, so that's another way for

people to get to know you.

Okay, tip number four, small talk.

So, small talk is the conversation we make with people we don't know very well.

It's the conversation we make that is not really on important subjects.

It might be on things like the weather.

When you ask somebody, "Oh, you know, the weather today, it's terrible."

And then they might say something about the weather.

Or it might be about sports or something recently in the news.

So, small talk is the type of conversation you often have with strangers or people you

don't know well.

We use a lot of small talk at work, so it's good to take some time to learn some small

talk.

For example, learning expressions about the weather.

You know, when I see somebody when I come to

work, I might say something about the weather,

like, "Oh, it's a beautiful day out today."

And then they might say something about it.

Or, "Oh, it's raining today.

I hate the rain."

So, making conversation about weather is very common.

If it's a Monday, you can ask, "How was your weekend?"

If it's a Friday, you can ask, "What are you doing this weekend?"

And then if it's a different day, you can just say, "How's your day going so far?"

So, it's a good way to just start conversations with people.

So, again, mastering small talk can be very important, and we have many videos on this

at www.engvid.com.

One thing that can be really difficult for people working in an English workplace is

it can be difficult when it comes to understanding cultural differences.

Even between England and Canada, or Canada

and the US, there can be cultural differences.

So, when you're working in an English-speaking

environment, it can be challenging to know

how to act and, you know, what are these cultural differences.

So, it's also important to note that there might be generational differences.

So, you might notice that the younger people

at a company act a certain way, and the older

people at a company act a different way.

So, that's something else to pay attention to.

So, I'll give you an example.

Voices.

Some people from some backgrounds might speak

louder in a work environment than we do, you

know, in Canada.

Some people from different cultures might speak very quietly in a work environment,

more quiet or quieter than what we do in Canada.

So, it's important to start to notice these differences so you can fit in better.

It's the same with space, you know.

In some cultures you might stand closer together,

it might be normal to touch somebody, to pat

them on the back, there might be more physical

contact, more hugs, more kisses on the side

of the cheek.

In other cultures, hugs might be a complete no-no, it might be something you don't do.

So, thinking about these things can be very

important, and it can be very different depending

on which company you work at as well.

So, each company has its own culture, so it's

important to pay attention to what is normal

at your company.

Formal versus informal.

Some places you might need to be very formal,

you might need to wear very dressy clothing,

you might have to be careful with the way you

speak, you might have to address people in

very formal ways.

In other places it might be more informal,

there might be more slang, people might use,

you know, first names, they might be very informal in their emails.

So, it's important when you go to a new place

and you're working for an English-speaking

company to pay attention to this because it

might be different from your country or your

cultural background.

It's the same with jokes.

You know, there might be cultural differences

in jokes, so be very careful when it comes

to jokes because in some places things might

be funny, but in other places they might be

considered offensive.

So, now let's look at some other things you need

to be careful about when in an English-speaking

workplace.

So, the next thing I wanted to talk about is

cultural differences when it comes to certain

topics.

So, what do I mean by this?

Well, unfortunately, there are many topics that might be discussed in a workplace that

can cause people to get offended.

So, you have to be very, very careful nowadays

with how you talk about different things.

Regardless of what your opinion is on something,

you need to be careful with how you talk about

it.

There are a lot of sensitive topics, and you

might not know a topic is sensitive because

maybe in your country it's not a sensitive

topic, and then you come to an English-speaking

workplace and suddenly people get offended or angry about, you know, this topic.

So, I've written here many people in North America are easily offended.

There are culture wars going on right now where the right and the left are often in

a fight, and you can see these fights happening in workplaces.

So, you have to be careful and be very aware of what you say.

Regardless of if you have right-wing views

or left-wing views, it's good to be careful.

So, some of the topics that you need to be careful talking about are race, religion,

disability, whether or not having children

is a good idea, or if somebody has children,

or if they don't have children, why don't they have children?

That can be a sensitive topic.

A person's weight, you know, if - talking

about weight in general can be a very sensitive

topic.

Salary, how much people make.

Politics can be a very sensitive topic.

Gender, so talking about men, talking about women.

Sexual orientation, you know, talking about whether people are straight or gay.

Mental health, so talking about how people

are feeling, if they're depressed, if they're

anxious.

Homelessness, addiction issues.

All of these - you might think some of these

shouldn't be sensitive topics, but I can tell

you right now I work in multiple places, and

these topics are things you have to be very

careful with how you talk about them.

Sometimes you might just accidentally use the wrong word, you know.

So, for example, nowadays "crazy", some people

might not like this word, they might get offended

by it.

Or even the word "homeless" might be an offensive word for some people.

Not for everybody, but you might have people who are offended by these words.

So, my key point is regardless of what you

think or believe, if you want to be successful

in your workplace, be careful with the way you speak.

Learn what topics are sensitive, and be careful

if you talk about these topics, or don't talk

about them at all.

That can sometimes be the safest thing to do.

On the same, you know, on the same note, be careful with social media.

If your co-workers see your social media accounts

and they see something as being a problem,

this is something to be careful about and

aware of, because, again, we might talk about

these things in a different way in certain

countries than other countries, or even certain

workplaces might talk about these things differently than another workplace.

So, always be very careful about these culturally sensitive topics.

So, thank you so much for watching today.

I really appreciate it.

You can check out www.engvid.com to learn

more about some of what we talked about today,

you can learn more about workplace English in general, and you can take our quiz and

practice what you learned from this video.

Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.

I have a lot of content on many different topics.

And again, thank you for watching.

Until next time, take care.

Please choose the correct answer for each question below: