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

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Average: 4.5 (322 votes)

Submitted by Jeromee on Tue, 10/06/2025 - 04:03

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The app Bilibili (similar to YouTube) is the one I use the most, where many tutors share their experiences and knowledge. For a specific question, however, ChatGPT is much better.

Submitted by Koama on Fri, 23/05/2025 - 11:59

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Well, I have YouTube and TikTok. As I am a new learner, these apps are helpful for me. It is easy to find what you need there

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Submitted by ellenassis8 on Thu, 15/05/2025 - 16:15

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I love YouTube and ChatGPT. These apps are really helpful for practicing different skills.

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Submitted by Tetemmo on Mon, 12/05/2025 - 10:49

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Hi! Well, i don't have a specific mobile app which i use to learning because i prefer to use laptop. Anyway i know there is an app called Duolingo that is such a worthy app to use. I also have installed in my phone. Perhaps one day i'll start to use.

Submitted by Marlen. on Sun, 20/04/2025 - 07:40

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One of my favourite apps to learn English it's Chatgpt and YouTube and this one .

one of the biggest reasons a loved those platforms it's because are free and I'm able to return to the  class wherever I'm available to do so , however having tutor in English it's more effective for faster results when you are looking forward to learn a topic and a deeply way.

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Submitted by Ragheb Yossof on Sat, 19/04/2025 - 17:45

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I enjoyed solving tasks. some of them were difficult.

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Submitted by Pradum on Fri, 18/04/2025 - 16:20

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My favourite app for learning is YOUTUBE. It helped me alot in my studies as whenever I'm facing any problem that is beyond my level, it helped me to clear the problem with much ease. It helped to learn and try new skills always, it's quite fun to use YOUTUBE not only for entertainment but also to learn something new.

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Submitted by stel. on Sat, 12/04/2025 - 11:57

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My favorite app for learning is ChatGPT and it was recommended to me by my husband when I was having issues with getting ready for my Ielts exam and I couldn’t stay focused so he helped download the on my phone and asked me to make it my study partner and I started with it with other materials from other different sites like British council and Idp and it helped me more to be more confident in myself. This website is very beneficial for those who need gain more confidence in themselves and need a study guide.

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Submitted by xiosalas on Mon, 07/04/2025 - 23:02

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one of my favorite learning apps is dualingo i like it becuse it offers short and funny leassons that allow me to practice speaking,listening, reading and offers 40 or more lenguage its easy to use

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