English SME & SSE copy 1

LEARNING AREA: ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Key Unit Competence: To use language learnt in the context of business and money

INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY

4.1. Describing business and money

4.1.1. LEARNING ACTIVITY

Reading and text analysis

• Text 1:Business and money

Someone once described the age we live in as that of a vanishing world, one in

which the familiar is constantly disappearing forever and technological change

is often difficult to cope with. So, it should come as a no surprise to most of us

to hear that, yet another part of everyday life is about to go forever. Still, when I

read recently that in the next decade, money as we know it, will probably cease

to exist in technologically advanced countries. I had to read the article twice to

make sure it wasn’t April 1st.

According to Professor Gerry Montague, of the Institute of economic reform,

the familiar coins and banknotes will soon be replaced entirely by credit cards

of various kinds. And the shop of the future (the ‘retail outlet’) as Professor

Montague puts it, will be linked to the network of banking computers. The

assistant will only be key in your bank account code number and the amount you

have spent and thank you politely. You won’t have to dig deep in your pocket or

wallet for change or pretend at the pub that you have left your money at home.

You may not even have a number for your account as such, as the computer may

by the end be able to read your handprint. So, no more credit card frauds either.

But I am afraid that I shall waste money. I have felt strongly attached to it,

ever since I received my first pocket money when I was five and kept it in a

moneybox. Even if my credit card of the future will be able to tell me exactly

how much spending power I have left in the computer file, even if it lights up

and plays a happy or sad tune at the same time, nothing will be able to replace

the sheer pleasure I gained from rattling the coins in my money-box. Not to

mention the other obvious problems which will be caused by a shortage of real

money- like how to start a football match for example.

Extracted from Advanced Language Practice by Michael Vice, p.196.

•  Comprehension questions

a. Examine the impact of current technological advancement on our concept

of money according to the first and second paragraphs.

b. Why did the narrator think it was April 1st when he read that “in the next

decade, money as we know it, will probably cease to exist in technologically advanced countries?

c. Do you think the progress made in bank systems will end credit card frauds? Justify your answer.

d. Why do you think that the technological advancement in banking will lead to wastage of money?

4.1.2. APPLICATION ACTIVITY

Vocabulary and sentence construction.

Use a dictionary and thesaurus to look up for the missing meanings of the words or phrases in the table below.

b. Using the words in the above table, write meaningful sentences related to the use of money.

2. Write a short composition describing the future use of money based on the current technological progress.

4.2. Describing the role of money

4.2.1. LEARNING ACTIVITY

Reading and text analysis

•  Text: Functions of Money

Good money should be acceptable by everyone as a medium of exchange. This is the prime requirement for money. The use of money is based on confidence.

One is prepared to accept money if he is confident that others will also accept it.

All transactions are made using money. Previously in the old age, there was use of commodity and barter system as a medium of exchange.

The introduction of money eased the system of exchange because of its good qualities such as portability and divisibility, among others. Good money should be easily divisible in small units. Whatever physical commodity is being used as money, it must be easy to divide it into smaller amounts to make smaller transactions possible. One should also be able to carry good money from one place to another. It must not be so heavy in relation to its value. It must be transportable in terms of bulk and weight. Modern money consists of coins, bank notes, cheques and bank drafts. All these must be carried without attracting attention.

Good money should be scarce because if it is common, it would lose value due to increase in demand. Its supply must be less than its demand, but it must be available. The value of goods and services and factors of production are expressed in terms of money. Determining the value of a commodity is based on how much an individual is prepared to pay for it. The higher the amount paid for a commodity, the more valuable it is; the lower the amount paid, the less the value, other factors remaining constant.

Good money should be similar and difficult to forge. The features on the same denominations must be the same as on another denomination. Varying degrees of quality will lead to confusion and uncertainty in the public and eventually there will be loss of confidence. It must be made of features and quality that cannot be easily forged. Otherwise, forged money will increase money in the economic system which leads to inflation and in turn money will lose value.

Money which is forged is called counterfeit money.

Wealth or goods can be stored for future use in form of money than assets. It is easy for James in Musanze district to sell Irish potatoes and store millions of Rwandan francs for a period of one year or more than storing one hundred sacks of potatoes. It is easier to store one million Rwandan francs than storing a cow.

Many transactions are conducted based on credit where goods and services are sometimes given out on credit. When paying for the goods, it is more convenient to express these future obligations in terms of money. In a modern society, money is a mechanism through which most goods and services are distributed by use of what is known as the pricing mechanism. Goods can be moved from one place to another mainly from areas of low price to those of high price through a process called arbitrage. All this can be done through price mechanism which uses money.

Money can facilitate the physical transfer of property. For example, it may be impossible to move a building from Nyamasheke to Nyagatare, but the owner can sell it and easily move with his money to a new area.

All business transactions and accounting are made possible by use of money.

When computing business transactions, statistics of national income, to mention but a few, money is the most suitable medium. It may be easy to record the amount got after selling a commodity than recording the actual commodity.

Adapted from Economics for Rwanda secondary Schools, book five, p.158-159

•  Comprehension questions

1. Assess five functions of money as expressed in the above passage.

2. What do you understand by terms portability and divisibility as qualities of money?

3. Why is it important to make it difficult to forge money? Closely refer to the passage.

4. What should be done to prevent people from forging money?

5. Examine the role of money in business transactions.

4.2.2. APPLICATION ACTIVITY

1. Use a dictionary and thesaurus to find the meanings of the words

or phrases below asused in the text.

a. …prime… (paragraph 1)

b. … eased… (paragraph 1)

c. …bulk… (paragraph 1)

d. …bank draft… (paragraph 1)

e. …scarce… (paragraph 2)

f. …forge… (paragraph 3)

g. …features… (paragraph 3)

h. …price mechanism… (paragraph 5)

i. …arbitrage… (paragraph 5)

2. In not more than 80 words, summarize the above passage

emphasizing the role of money.

4.3. Describing marketing

4.3.1. LEARNING ACTIVITY

Reading and text analysis

• Text: Mkami the Entrepreneur

I always thought I would work for someone else, I never imagined I would be the boss! But that’s how things have turned out for me. I left school with quite a good certificate of secondary education and as I had done well in Mathematics, I managed to get a job in the accounts department of a tourist hotel. I did this for about four years.

Meanwhile, my cousin Jimmy, who didn’t go to secondary school, had trained as a carpenter. He got a grant from SIDO, which is the Small-scale Industries Development Organization, to set up a workshop and started employing a few untrained workers, who he trained up. Jimmy came to the hotel one day and saw that they had a very poor selection of crafts for sale to guests. He suggested asking the hotel if we could take over the tourist shop. He would provide the goods and I would run the shop. We managed to get a loan from an investment bank to set up the shop. The bank also gave us a lot of advice and helped us put together a business plan. Eventually, it was agreed that we would pay rent to the hotel and a percentage of the earnings. That was ten years ago.

Since then I have done some courses in running a business and that has helped us to expand. We now have a chain of 20 tourist shops in different hotels. The workshop still supplies a lot of our goods, but I also travel around the country to find other suppliers. We have come a long way, and I think the reason for this is that we have asked for advice from the people who know, and we listen to our customers. Tourists want to see a variety of high-quality crafts and that’s what we give them.

Running a business is hard work and at the beginning, you can’t expect to make any money for yourself; all the profit goes into building up the business. So, you must have a cool head and be prepared to take risks. We employ 40 people now and have made reasonable livings for our own families, so I am satisfied. I am married and I’ve got one daughter. I haven’t had time to have another.

Extract from English in use Book 3 by Longman publishers

• Comprehension questions

1. To what extent has the previous work experience of Mkami helped her to get and do her current job?

2. Identify some strategies from the passage that young people may adopt in order to succeed as employees and entrepreneurs in business. Based on of what you have read from the above passage, what are advantages of running your own business?

3. Why do you think Mkami has become a successful entrepreneur?

4.3.2. APPLICATION ACTIVITY

1. 1. Construct a meaningful sentence with each of the following words and phrases as used in the passage.

a. …grant… (paragraph 2)

b. …small-scale industry… (paragraph 2)

c. …earnings… (paragraph 2)

d. …running a business… (paragraph 4)

e. …reasonable living… (paragraph 4)

2. Debate the importance of a cashless economy over a cash economy

4.4. Language structure: Phrasal Verbs

Notes

Phrasal verbs are multiple-word verbs. They are made up of the verb and one or two particles. A particle can be either be an adverb or a preposition. Most phrasal verbs have a fixed meaning; they are idiomatic expressions. Often, the meaning of a phrasal verb is not a sum of the meanings of the words in the phrase. You cannot derive the meaning from the meaning of each individual word. For example, keep up does not mean ‘keep in a high place’.

Examples;

1. The assistant will only key in your bank account code number and the transaction will be over.

2. Jimmy trained up most of his workers.

3. A successful businessman is one who pays off all his debts.

4. The loan from the bank helped us set up the shop.

5. Jimmy and I built up a joint business for five years.

6. We were advised to pay back our loan on time.

7. Mkami cashed out part of her earnings for personal use.

8. My brother and I set up a good business plan before starting our commercial activities

Exercise

Fill in the blank spaces with the correct word:

1. We have decided ………. pursuing this course of action.

i) Against ii).Out iii). Off

2. If we……… this option, our business will certainly fail.

i). writes up ii). Rule out iii). Sort out

3. It will take a long time for the board to ………. this mess.

i). Turn around ii). Put in iii). Sort out

4. Barack has a plan to ………. out the automotive industry.

i) Give ii). Bail iii). Make

5. Why didn’t Tracy ………. up at the meeting

i). Turn ii). Come iii). Set

6. Our suppliers have ………. new offices outside the capital in a very ugly industrial estate

i). Get up ii). Set up iii). Got up

7. Last month’s sales results ………. much better than expected.

i). Turned out ii). Turned on iii). Turned in

8. Don’t ………. till tomorrow what you can do today.

i). Put off ii). Put on iii). Put out

9. We had to ………. off the meeting because of the bad weather

i). Put ii). Call iii). Take

10. It’snot such a terrible thing! Don’t worry! ……….

i). Cheer out ii). Laugh out iii) Cheer up

4.5. END UNIT ASSESSMENT

1. Write a 250-word composition about strategies to starting a successful business.

2. Construct one meaningful sentence with each of these phrasal verbs.

a. Count on b) Sell off c) Pay back d) Set up e) Cash out

b. Carry out

c. Pay off

d. Cash in

e. Rule out

f. Step in

3. Put in the correct phrasal verb in accordance with the meanings shown in brackets.

a. Can you ………. (think of an idea) a better idea.

b. I wish I hadn’t ……… (become responsible for) so much working this industry.

c. She ………. (showed/mentioned) that all the shops would be closed.

d. I ………. (went to an event) for a dinner with my business partners.

e. Where did you ………. (become adult)?

f. I’d love to………. (arrange/create) my own business.

g. I thought the conference was going to be boring as the operations

manager was absent, but it ………. (in the end we discovered) to be quite useful for each of us.

h. Would anybody like to ………. (become responsible for) this new client?

i. What’s ………. (is happening) in the conference hall?

j. Can we ………. (arrange/create) another business meeting next week?

4. Give the phonetic transcription of each word in the table below. Put the stress