Lessons

English at Work focuses on English communication in the office. Join Neil in this special introductory programme as he finds out about the characters who work in the offices of Tip Top Trading.

Tip Top Trading is the fastest-growing company in the plastic fruit sector, and Anna desperately wants to be a part of it. Her job interview for a position in sales is going to be a challenge. How will she cope?

Anna's job interview continues. But with all the pressure and stress, she has frozen mid-sentence, unable to find the right word in English for what she wants to say.

Denise explains why she's in such a state of panic and Paul is not pleased. Will Anna be able to help resolve the crisis?

Anna is determined to be friendly with her new colleagues and to make a good impression. Unfortunately, a slight misunderstanding leads her to make an embarrassing mistake.

Anna is still getting used to how things work in her new job. She turns to her colleagues to ask for help, but upsets Denise by sounding too bossy.

It's chaos at Tip Top Trading. Tom is in a panic and needs help! He has arranged more meetings than he can cope with and is going to have to face some unhappy clients. Anna decides to step in and help.

Mr Lime is not happy. He ordered grapefruit from Tip Top Trading, but he got pineapples. Time to say sorry! Anna has to apologise and sort everything out. How embarrassing!

The boss isn't happy with Tom! But Anna is told 'Well done!' Find out what words he uses to give Anna the praise she deserves...

Anna's checking up on some orders today. As a result of some embarrassing mistakes in deliveries, Tip Top Trading's big boss in America has ordered a re-check of every order this month. Let's hear how she checks on things in the warehouse.

Tom, Anna and Denise get together to share their ideas about Tip Top Trading's upcoming launch, but they can't agree on things! Anna's ideas are met with some negative comments and she has to learn how to disagree with the other's viewpoint in a confident but polite manner.

Someone's been working very long hours at Tip Top Trading. Anna is burning the candle at both ends - in other words she's working from early until late preparing for the launch of their latest product - the Imperial Lemon. Denise is concerned about her working overtime, something she would never consider doing. But will Anna's extra efforts pay off or will she end up selling bananas instead of lemons?

Presentation time! It's a big day for Anna as she presents Tip Top Trading's new Imperial Lemon to Mr Lime at Citrus Ventures. This is her chance to make a big impression on her boss Paul and show that she can really bring in the business. How will her presentation turn out?

Oh no! Anna's making a pitch to Mr Lime and his team at Citrus Ventures, but her presentation is not going to plan. Her computer has crashed and the presentation, along with her notes, has frozen.

Anna gets feedback from Paul today. Following her successful Imperial Lemon presentation, Anna thinks she's going to get some good feedback from the boss.

Anna has been told to improve her telephone manner and has welcomed some friendly and useful advice from Denise. They practise some mock phone conversations but Anna receives a real call with a request of a personal nature. How is Anna going to respond? Will her telephone manner be up to the challenge?

How do you say no politely? Anna needs help following the call from Mr Lime asking her out to lunch. She wants to say no, but doesn't want to sound rude. Her dilemma is how to refuse his offer politely. She finally plucks up the courage to call him, but how does he respond?

Anna continues to sort out the order of Imperial Lemons for Mr Lime. He gives her a call, this time to discuss business. He wants some luxury boxes to put the lemons in and Anna needs to find them if she wants to keep her client happy. When she does she has to email Mr Lime but what should she say?

Anna's having trouble with her emails. She's been trying to sort out the order of Imperial Lemons for Mr Lime. She sends an email but her choice of text-speak isn't appropriate and Paul, the boss, isn't impressed.

How do you explain if there's been a mix-up? Paul, the boss, leaves a message. He wants ideas for a new marketing strategy for their new laser-curved fruit range. Anna gets straight down to work but when Paul turns up, Tom gets all the credit. There's a big mix-up and it's time for Anna to learn some language that explains there has been a misunderstanding.

A meeting is on the agenda today! An office meeting has been scheduled, but Paul is running late. He's asked Anna to take charge and start the meeting without him. She has to learn how to structure a meeting but just as she does, Paul arrives with some exciting news for Anna.

Anna is taking the lead on the company's new stock management system. But she needs some help! She gets some advice from an unlikely member of the team. Find out what it is!

Anna is off to meet Mr Ingle, the warehouse manager, to discuss stock management. But she finds him doing something dangerous and illegal! She needs to ask him to stop it politely. Find out how she makes this request.

After accusing Anna of smoking in the office, Paul thinks the team needs an update on their health and safety policy. Find out the phrases you need to talk about being safe at work.

Emergency at Tip Top Trading! Everyone has evacuated the offices following a fire alarm and Anna has to take charge. Is this a real fire emergency or just a drill? Can anything get any worse - well possibly, especially when a man from America turns up unexpectedly.

Tip Top Trading have a serious issue to deal with - the arrival of the big boss from America, Mr Socrates. He is a particularly fussy man but because of his importance he gets his own way, including the type of hotel room he stays in. This is something that Anna will find out when she has to book his room.

Mr Socrates, the big boss from America, is in town and everything must be just right. Unfortunately the hotel room Anna booked for him isn't right so it's up to her to sort it out and that involves some complaining.

It's the big day and Mr Socrates is about to arrive at the offices of Tip Top Trading. Unfortunately, it looks like bad news for the team! What is on the agenda? What is he going to say? And more importantly will he get his freshly squeezed orange juice?

Tip Top Trading's big boss, Mr Socrates, has announced a new strategy to sell plastic fruit to Europe and, hopefully, keep the company afloat. But, before the real work begins, it's time for him to enjoy some good English hospitality at the pub. But after drinking a few pints of beer, Mr Socrates says things he shouldn't.

Paul wants the team to make some cold calls to find out who is buying plastic fruit but this is a new challenge for Anna who has to warm up her cold calling skills.

The company in France that Anna called earlier has returned her call. She hopes they're about to place an order which could help save Tip Top Trading from closure. But this deal will involve some negotiation and Anna needs some help.

It's time for Anna to develop Tip Top Trading's European marketing strategy but where should she begin? Her boss, Paul, doesn't have a clue so it's down to Anna to work out what to do. Listen in to find out what her plan is and how she sets out to manage the project of securing a deal with a French company.

Things aren't going too well. Anna negotiated a deal with a client in France but now they claim they've been ripped off! This has got to get sorted - quickly. Can she renegotiate with them and save the deal?

Paul, the boss, is sending Anna and Tom on a business trip to France. He wants them to clinch the deal with a company which is interested in buying their Imperial Lemons. But has Tom got more than business on his mind?

Anna and Tom are on a very important business trip to try and sign a deal to sell their plastic fruit to a company in France. The company has received a better offer so Anna needs to clinch the deal and convince them that Tip Top Trading's lemons are best!

Anna and Tom are in a bit of a predicament. Following a successful business meeting they've returned to the airport to discover their flight has been cancelled. What are they going to do next? Anna needs to brief Paul about the delay.

Anna's just back from France where everything went really well. But she's in for a surprise. Rachel, the woman who Mr Socrates recommended, has arrived. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful working relationship or will there be trouble? How will Anna deal with working with someone new?

Anna is struggling to work with Rachel, Mr Socrates' favourite Sales Executive. Rachel was sent to help out but she is becoming more of a hindrance and Anna has to deal with it. What will she say?

Tense times at Tip Top Trading! Anna is having trouble working with new employee Rachel, who's making some big mistakes. What can Anna do before Rachel goes too far? How can she salvage the company's good customer relations?

New recruit Rachel has been making life difficult for Anna and she's been making some bad business decisions. It's time to give her a warning but who is going to do it and what will they say? How is she going to be disciplined?

It's time for Anna's appraisal - a chance to review how things are going and to set some challenges for the year ahead. But will Anna like what Paul has to say? Maybe news about Rachel will put a smile on her face?

Tom has taken a tumble at Tip Top Trading. He was chasing a mouse but he fell over! What a disaster! Will Anna be able to help and find the right phrases to deal with health and safety at work?

Anna and Tom are at a pizza restaurant for their dinner date, but Anna has work on her mind. She needs to put together a proposal for her new business idea!

After Anna and Tom's dinner date, the idea for a new plastic vegetable is developing in Anna's mind. But before she can pitch the proposal to Paul she is going to need to do some thorough research!

Disaster strikes the computers of Tip Top Trading! Something has happened and everyone's work has disappeared. Anna calls in the IT support, but can she explain to them what the problem is and can they actually help?

Anna's about to pitch her plastic vegetable idea to Paul, but will she have the chance to speak to him? The only opportunity may be very short - Anna will need to get her elevator pitch perfect if she's going to be successful!

Last time at Tip Top Trading we heard Anna give the perfect elevator pitch for her new plastic aubergine idea to her boss. But Paul went off to a biscuit-lover's convention and hasn't come back! What's happened, and more importantly who will step up to take charge while the boss is missing?

With Paul still out of action following his biscuit-related accident Anna is taking charge at Tip Top Trading. What will she do when she and Tom discover a mysterious note in Paul's office - and how will she stop rumours flying round the office?

Anna and the rest of the Tip Top Trading team are at the International Plastics Convention and looking to promote their business. Will Anna be able to network and make some useful contacts at the conference?

It's the end of a busy day at the International Plastics Convention, and that means it's awards time! Tip Top Trading are up for the most prestigious prize - the Plastic Innovation of the Year award - but will they win?

At the offices of Tip Top Trading, the team is catching up on yesterday's good news from the conference. But today it's bad news that everyone is going to hear following Paul's chat with big boss, Mr Socrates. Someone is going to lose their job!

After Denise's sacking, Anna and Tom are worried that they might be next in the firing line! But things are looking up - Paul asks Anna to explain her plastic aubergine idea to the development team. Will she be able to convey her ideas to them clearly?

It's Denise's last day working at Tip Top Trading. Anna is busy trying to get everyone to sign her leaving card, but Denise is quite worried about the future. Hopefully Anna can help her with some good careers advice!

Denise has left at just the same time as things are getting busy at Tip Top Trading. The team are finding it difficult to cope with one less member of staff. How are they going to manage to deal with all the calls they're getting? Anna's going to have to rely on her telephone message note-taking skills!

Chaos continues at Tip Top Trading. Paper is all over the place and important messages aren't getting through. What can the team do to improve the situation? Paul might have to admit his mistake and ask someone to come back to help out.

Denise is back at Tip Top Trading and she's negotiated some new conditions with Paul. She's going to learn how to be a Sales Executive, which means Anna will need to help her with all the new tasks that go with this role. Will she be able to show Denise the ropes and teach her about being a top executive?

At the offices of Tip Top Trading, things are a bit tricky. Denise has been reinstated at the company but now wants to do more than just ordering pens. Tom has other ideas and Anna is just caught in the middle. She needs to get organised and get her priorities straight!

The team at Tip Top Trading has lots to do, but now Anna has discovered she has to organise a launch party for the new plastic aubergine. It's taking place at the end of the week and nobody has organised a venue yet! Anna is going to need some help.

There's much to do at the offices of Tip Top Trading, and tomorrow the team is launching its new product - the plastic aubergine. So everyone needs to pull their weight and get things done quickly. The problem is, some people are a bit slow at being quick!

It's an exciting day for Tip Top Trading - the launch of its latest product, the plastic aubergine. The launch is taking place at a swanky hotel and lots of clients have turned up - but there's one important person missing. Will the team be able to present their new product effectively?

The team from Tip Top Trading has been having a smashing time at the launch of its plastic aubergine. Tom threw one at Dave from the IT department, but it missed him and went through a window! It's time for Paul to hand out some harsh words but he's about to hear some words he won't like. What will Mr Socrates think of it all?

Mr Socrates has sacked Paul from his position as manager of Tip Top Trading and he's offered Anna a promotion to be the new boss. But will she accept the offer?

Anna's been offered a promotion - and a marriage proposal at the same time! She's taken some time out to think about her reply. What will her decision be?

There's confusion at the offices of Tip Top Trading. Anna has announced that 'yes' she will accept Mr Socrates's offer of a promotion but Tom thinks she is accepting his marriage proposal. How will he react when the penny drops - or in other words, when he finds what she really means?

At the offices of Tip Top Trading, things are a bit strange after Tom walked out in a huff - or a mood - after realising that Anna was never going to marry him. Can Anna get down to business and start managing the company or is there something on her mind that she needs to sort out?

Our story has got rather dramatic. Anna has realised that Tom is really the man for her so she's on her way to the airport to try and catch him before he boards his flight to Australia and his new life on the other side of the world. But will Anna be able to convince Tom that she's changed her mind?

The day has finally come - Anna and Tom are getting married. All their friends, work colleagues and business acquaintances are there but when the ceremony begins will Anna know what to say?