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

Task 2

Discussion

Download
Worksheet80.49 KB

Language level

Average: 4.5 (267 votes)
Do you need to improve your English listening skills?
Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English listening skills with our online courses.
Profile picture for user foxtrot

Submitted by foxtrot on Tue, 12/11/2024 - 08:10

Permalink

My favorite app is Firefox. It let's me explore the internet 

Profile picture for user bero414

Submitted by bero414 on Mon, 07/10/2024 - 10:03

Permalink

Hello,

My favourite app is (an Z American English). I usually use it to learn and improve my English skills. I'm also currently learning on British council. I have found many helpful  exercises and skills .

Profile picture for user Jenny Tin Hla

Submitted by Jenny Tin Hla on Fri, 13/09/2024 - 07:58

Permalink

I use many resources online not only for my teaching but also for my self-learning. A teacher is always a learner. Therefore, I need to find all upgrade methodology through technology as much as possible to improve in both my teaching and learning.

The British Coucil app and website is one of the resources I used frequently and I also use twinkl.

Submitted by Gigigi on Mon, 02/09/2024 - 15:46

Permalink

So far, my favorite apps for learning English have been "British Council" and "English-hilfen" because I have found many useful exercises regarding many English skills on both websites. 

Submitted by A.kh on Sun, 01/09/2024 - 00:04

Permalink

My favourite app is definitely British council app which is so wonderful for learning English as a second lg I'm very fond of it as for it emphasis on practicing  Four lg skills at the same time . I could see my progress in learning English for a while using it daily , I appreciate indeed both the app and the website founders , who have got  the best approach to help us improve lg learning skills soon.

Profile picture for user That's_me

Submitted by That's_me on Thu, 27/06/2024 - 19:14

Permalink

A perfect training. Thank you

Submitted by nikoslado on Sat, 04/05/2024 - 08:34

Permalink

Dear team,thanks a lot for your help and support

Submitted by Ngeqsaaaa on Thu, 02/05/2024 - 08:52

Permalink

Are those practices are precise to ameliorate IELTS listening 6.5-7.0. Thank you!

Hello Ngeqsaaaa,

Our skills pages were not designed specifically with IELTS preparation in mind, but they could certainly help you get the score you want. 

If your goal is a specific IELTS score, I'd suggest having a look at our IELTS preparation classes and TakeIELTS.

Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team