I. Skim the text to grasp the general idea. Think of the most suitable heading. Scan the text paying attention to the words in bold.

Living and working abroad would be really easy if everyone spoke the same way and behaved in the same way. But, as soon as you leave your own culture it quickly becomes clear that things are not the same. There are small and large differences between cultures. And how well you are able to deal with these differences will affect how good your experience will be.

When people go into another cultural environment some of the things that can be different for them are such things as the verbal communication style that can be radically different. And we're not just talking about a different language but literally the way that we use verbal communication.

Secondly, the non-verbal communication, body language, the gestures and the things that we do as part of our communication.

Things like time. Do we see time as a linear process with a fixed series of events following each other, or is time something much looser, much more flexible?

Whatever the differences working abroad might cause, there are millions of people working abroad right now, experiencing and enjoying life in a different culture. But what's it like the first time you arrive in a new country?

People are curious, or they might feel I don't know very much what to do and I want to have the equivalent of a gap year. I want to experience other cultures and then once you know, you've had some familiarity working in a foreign culture you can think about whether you want to go back to own.

Another reason for going is where people really want to go and improve themselves. Where the situation that they are in their countries may not give them the scope for their ambitions and of course many people to go and work abroad for those reasons - to find a place where they can fulfill themselves

BBC Learning English

II. Match the words with their definitions.

access	module, section
ambitions	the customs, social institutions etc. of a particular nation
based upon	often a year that young people taken after school and before university
culture	show or prove what something or someone is
differences	find
first impressions	the ways in which two things are not the same
foreign culture	developed from
gap year	strong desires to achieve things
identify	the things that happen to you over a period of time
personal experiences	to develop their skills and abilities
scope	the original feeling or thoughts that you have about something
to go and improve themselves	the opportunity to achieve or do something
unit	a culture that is different to your own

III. Explain the following words in English. Use English-English dictionary if necessary.

Case study

I. Skim the following text for general understanding.

Made in Japan, Sold on Britain

54, 400 Japanese live in Britain: 12, 000 are business people, 5, 800 are students, most of the rest are their families. The Japanese like Britain. They find it strange, but they like it.

Masami Sato, one of only 70 office-ladies-junior women managers–in Britain, is happy. She says “most things are better here than in Tokyo–there are so many parks and green fields”.

As an office lady, she cannot be promoted above her present junior managerial position, but she thinks the UK is less male dominated than Japan. She is in London as part of a scheme to give office ladies overseas experience, and she does not want to go back to Tokyo when the time comes next year.

“When I go back to Japan, I have to live with my family, she says. “There are few amusements and we can not be relaxed because all Japanese are very busy”.

The Japanese appreciate the space, the more relaxed atmosphere and the longer holidays, but they also experience some difficulties: the most obvious is the language. Mr. Kojima has lived in Wales for two years, and still has problems. “The language is very difficult, but the staff is very experienced at explaining to the Japanese”, he says. “I can understand the explanations, but I can’t understand they talk with each other”.

Besides the language, there are also cultural differences which can make life difficult. Banker Kaoru Itoh says “the British like arguments, the Japanese don’t. They dislike raising the opposite opinion. In Japan everyone respects the opinion of the majority”.

Sue Robbins, First Insights into Business, Longman

Reading comprehension

I. Look through the text once again and fill in the charts below.

Cultural differences
The Japanese	The British

II. Answer the questions.

1. How many Japanese do live in Britain?

2. What is Masami Sato’s job title?

3. Does Masami Sato like living and working in London? Why/Why not?

4. Why is she working in London?

5. What are her job opportunities in London?

6. When is she going home?

7. Does she want to go home? Why/Why not?

III. Discuss with your partner.

1. In what way is life in Britain difficult for Japanese?

2. Describe one cultural difference between Japanese and British people.

3 Would you like to live or work in a foreign country? Why/ Why not?

Listening

I. Listen to Colin Knapp talking about traveling to the Far East and try to guess the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

jet lag

culture gap

tip

II. Listen again and answer the questions:

1. How often does Colin travel on business?

2. Which country does he visit regularly?

3. How long is the flight?

4. What two things does he do during the flight?

5. Does he suffer from jet lag?

6. Is jet lag different traveling west-east and east-west?

7. Why does he travel to the Far East instead of doing business by telephone or fax?

8. What example of a culture gap does he give?

9. What three tips does he give for visiting this country for the first time?

Lexical exercises

Active Vocabulary

I. How was your trip?

Read these extracts from interviews with people about their business trips. Then look at the words in bold in each extract and find six pairs of opposite phrases.

1. The trip was a complete disaster. Everything went wrong-my plane was delayed on the way out and then my meeting was cancelled because the supplier was ill.	2. I don’t go abroad often, just an occasional trip to Head Office in Frankfurt.
3. I’ve arranged my trip to Milan for the first week in April. I’m really excited–it’s my first trip for the company and my first time to Italy.	4. The trip out took three hours, and I didn’t have to take a taxi from the airport because my supplier was waiting for me to drive to his office.
5. I had to cut short my trip–there was a crisis back at the office. The clients were very understanding and have agreed to meet me next month instead.	6.The trip was a great success. I made a lot of useful contacts. My boss was very pleased when he read my report.
7. I make frequent trips to our supplier in Poland. We do a lot of business with them and it means that I earn lots of air miles to use on flights for my family.	8. It was a one-way trip–from Paris I went to visit another supplier in Brussels instead of coming straight back to the office.
9. The trip back took much longer than I expected-the flight was delayed because of bad weather. My husband came to meet me at the airport but he had to wait for two hours before my plane landed.	10. I’ve cancelled my trip to Madrid–I’m too busy dealing things here at the office. We are going to reschedule for next spring when things are calmer.
11. I decided to extent my trip–I needed more time to visit my customers.	12. It was just a quick round trip–there and back in a day. But it was very tiring. I left early in the morning and got back late at night.

From In Company Intermediate

II. Read the dialogue in pairs.

A Business Traveler

Interviewer: Good morning Sir. I’d like to ask you a few questions if I may.

Jack: Well, I am waiting to catch my flight so I guess I can answer a few questions.

Interviewer: Thank you Sir. First of all, how often do you travel?

Jack: I travel about twice a month.

Interviewer: Where are you flying to on your business trip?

Jack: I am flying to Austin, Texas.

Interviewer: Where did you fly on your last trip?

Jack: I flew to Portland, Oregon. I’ve already been there three times!

Interviewer: Really! Do you enjoy travelling on business?

Jack: Yes, although I prefer staying in the office.

Interviewer: What do you like more about travelling?

Jack: I like visiting new cities and trying out new food.

Interviewer: Is there any place you would like to visit that you haven’t visited yet?

Jack: Yes, I’d like to go to Hawaii! I love going to the beach!

Interviewer: Thank you very much for your time today.

Jack: You are welcome. My pleasure.

BBC Learning English

I. Define if the sentences are true (T), false (F) or doesn’t say.

1. Jack is waiting to catch a flight.

a) true

b) false

c) doesn’t say

2. Jack travels twice a month.

a) true

b) false

c) doesn’t say

3. Jack especially likes going to Portland.

a) true

b) false

c) doesn’t say

4. Jack is flying to Oregon.

a) true

b) false

c) doesn’t say

5. Jack flew to Portland for his last trip.

a) true

b) false

c) doesn’t say

Speaking

I. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living and working in Russia? Make up a table to summarize the facts

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