A business interview

A business interview

Listen to the business interview to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Presenter: Welcome to today's show. We're very happy to have Anna Oliveira as our guest today. Anna is the creator and founder of HomeworX – spelled with an 'x' we should note – an app which helps teenagers with their homework. Thanks for coming in, Anna.

Anna: Thanks for having me.

Presenter: So, tell us about your app. How does it work?

Anna: Well, teenagers and their parents have numerous challenges when it comes to homework these days. In many families both parents work and don't have much available time to help their kids with their homework. And even if they do have time to help, they may not be able to offer support with the content. What I mean is, they may not know, or at least remember, enough in any given subject to support.

Presenter: You mean they might not be able to remember complex maths or might have never studied certain subjects, such as biology or economics, themselves?

Anna: Exactly. So they might want to support their children with their homework, but have neither the time nor the knowledge to do so.

Presenter: I see. So the app helps solve this problem?

Anna: Yes, and more. The next issue is that tutors can be expensive, and there may be long waiting lists for specialist tutors in the town or region you live in. Our HomeworX app brings students and tutors together online. Students can search a database of pre-approved tutors and sign up for live online support. They don't need to be in the same town or city.

Presenter: That sounds really great.

Anna: It is. And this approach also enables us to offer the tutoring services at lower prices because there's no travelling time involved for the tutor to get to the student's home. And tutors who live in remote areas are happy to get access to more students, and be able to work from home, even at lower rates.

Presenter: This all sounds great. So, how did you come up with the idea?

Anna: Well, as you might guess, I was one of those parents I described earlier. I really wanted to help my son with his homework, but I was either too busy with work or I didn't actually know anything about the subjects he was having difficulty with. Also, we live in an area where there aren't many tutors and the ones that are there are either very expensive or have long waiting lists.

Presenter: Yes. I can understand your predicament. Well, it sounds like a very useful app that is clearly meeting a need. And its popularity obviously speaks for itself.

Anna: Thank you.

Presenter: So, do you have plans for the future?

Anna: We've just secured some funding and hope to expand the range of services we offer using the app.

Presenter: We wish you the best of luck. Thanks again for coming in. That was Anna Oliveira, founder of the tutoring app HomeworX (with an 'x', don't forget!), which is available for both Apple and Android devices. Join us again next week for another business interview. Have a great week, everyone. 

Task 1

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Discussion

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Average: 4.5 (272 votes)

Submitted by Jeyk Gama on Thu, 23/07/2020 - 19:16

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I have been trying numerous apps, one of my favorites is the British council and 6-minute English app by BBC, its easy to use and helps me to improve in learning English.
I didn´t know 6 minute English, I´ll try it. I am using Duolingo and British Council free also ABA English (My company pays for it).

Submitted by María Nieves on Wed, 22/07/2020 - 17:56

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Well, i usually employ duolingo to improve my english. I know that is a very simple app and the sentences and grammar are quite easy, but i think it's better because i have a goal everyday and i have to strive to reach it

Submitted by Aljawhara on Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:25

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I sometimes listen to E podcasts. Recently I’m trying British council, hoping to get to the advance level.
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Submitted by Simonida Vukobrat on Tue, 07/07/2020 - 01:17

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I am exploring the British Council and I find it very interesting, so I hope to improve my English!
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Submitted by Liz on Sat, 04/07/2020 - 14:09

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My favorite app for learning is six minutes english our wordbite. I can listen an interview, then answer some questions. It's very helpful

Submitted by wahbi baklouti on Fri, 03/07/2020 - 20:32

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my favorite website, not app is youtube I can find anything I want to learn for my study or my work. and also I can from it solves many problems I face it.

Submitted by Forgiven Angel on Fri, 03/07/2020 - 01:57

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I recently started using some apps to learn English, but I found this British Council platform and it's great. I loved it!

Submitted by Hanan Ibrahim on Wed, 01/07/2020 - 23:25

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I really do not have any particular app, I use many apps in my learning journey.