4| Innovative Products

Learning objectives:
• Talking about new products
and the stages in their
Starting Point development.
• Talking about the
development of products
using the past simple
• Showing interest
• Giving a report

~ What new products can you buy at this moment?

Electronic gadgets,
~ How do companies create new product?
~ What makes a product successful?
~ Do you often try new products or do you usually keep
to one brand?

A. The development processes

1. Look at the picture below. What do you know about it?
Do you know similar store in Indonesia?

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 2. Listen to an interview about the development of a range of clothes Fat Face, and
answer the questions.

a. Where were the two friends working?

b. Why did they start making T-shirts?
c. Where did they print the T-shirts?
d. Why did they call the company Fat Face?
e. How do they describe their product?

3. Complete the flow chart for the development of Fat Face with words from the list. Then
listen to the interview again and check your answers.

brand the product design the product have the original idea

2. Do market research

4. Do product trials

6. Launch the product

4. Work with a partner. Discuss why each stage in exercise 3 is important.

Example: You do product trials to find out if the public like the product.

5. Look at text 1-4, which describe four new products. Match the texts to picture a-d.

1. A well-designed piece of office furniture. Comes with very user-friendly

assembly instructions.

2. A simple and functional item. Frequent travellers like it as it is

compact and can fit easily into a washbag or overnight bag.

3. Travel in style with this brand new stylish and attractive yet
practical, item.

4. If you haven’t already made the switch, do it now, if only because

it’s more economical.

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 b.

a.
c.

d.

6. Match 1 – 8 to definitions a – h

1. Practical ____ a. Costing less to run

2. Economical ____ b. Easy to use
3. Attractive ____ c. Fashionable and good to look at
4. Functional ____ d. Useful
5. Stylish ____ e. Small
6. User-friendly ____ f. Useful with little decoration
7. Well-designed ____ g. Beautiful
8. Compact ____ h. Planned and made well

7. Work with a partner. Take turns to describe different products you have or use, for
example your mobile phone car, coat, bag or PC.

Example: My bag is not expensive but it is very functional because I can put
everything I need in it.

8. Work in a small group. Your company is launching a new products or service.

Describe this product or service to your group, using the ideas below to help you.

• Product or service brand

• Product or service development
• Description of the product or service

Unit 4 | Innovative products 27

 B. Language at work: Past simple
1. Look at the figures below. Do you know them? Who are they?

2. Listen to the beginning of the radio programme about inventions and check your
answers.

3. Listen to the second part of the radio programme and answer the questions.

a. What did Sabeer study in California?

b. Where did he get his first job?
c. Who did he meet there?
d. Why did Sabeer tell Jack to hang up his cell phone?
e. Why did they call the service ‘Hotmail”?
f. How much did their first sponsor invest in their idea?
g. When did they launch Hotmail?
h. How much did Microsoft pay Hotmail?

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4. Look at these sentences about Sabeer Bhatia and match them to the radio about the
past simple.

a. He arrived in the USA in 1988.

b. He didn’t finish his doctorate,
c. He sold the company in 1997 for $400 million.
d. Why did he leave Microsoft?

SIMPLE PAST

Use the past simple to talk about finished actions in the

past.

Regular verbs end in-ed

They launched Hotmail.

Irregular verbs do not end in-ed

He got his first job in New York.

The negative is formed by using didn’t with the

infinitive of the main verb.
They did not like his idea.

In questions, use did + subject + the infinitive of the

main verb.
Did he win the competition?
Who did he meet there?

5. Complete the text below about Tim Berners-Lee using the past simple form of the
verbs in brackets.

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 The Man Behind The World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee _____________ ______________ (be born) in London,
England in 8 June 1955. He _________________ (study) physics at Oxford
University, where he ________________ (build) his first computer, He -
__________________ (have) several jobs before he ________________
(become) an independent consultant. During this time, he
_________________ (spend) six months in Geneva, Switzerland, where he
____________________ (write) his first program for storing information. He
_____________ (call) the program ‘Enquire’, but he _____________________
(not publish) it. In 1990 he ______________ (start) work in the World Wide
Web project, which first _______________ (appear) on th internet in 1991.
In 1994 Tim ________________ ___________ (set up) the World Wide Web
Consortium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Today he is the
Director of this Consortium, which coordinates web development worldwide.

6. Work with a partner. Think about an important person and his or her invention. Ask
and answer as many questions as possible about the person.

Example: What did he invent?

When did he start that?

C. Business Communication: Showing interest

1. Tick (√) four phrases which we use to show interest in what another person is
saying, Then listen and check your answer.

______ Oh. ______ Oh really?

______ Did you? ______ No., it wasn’t.

______ Yes, I did. ______ Thanks.

______ That’s interesting. ______ Was it?

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 2. Listen again and complete the extracts with a phrase from 1.
1. A. We went away for a change. B _______________________________
2. A. We went to Monte Carlo B _______________________________
3. A. It was really exciting! B _______________________________
4. A. The weather was fantastic B _______________________________
3. Work with a partner. Practise the conversation in 2.

4. Write down four things you did last weekend. Then work with a partner. Take turns to
have a conversation about the weekend. Make the conversation last as long as possible
by asking questions with What?, Who?, Where?, When?, How?, and Why?

D. Business Communication: Stages of production

~ Look at the picture below. Do you know what is it?

~ What is it used for?

1. Listen to a conversation report on her research. Work with a partner. Match 1-9
with a-i to make sentences.

1. The purpose of our research was ..... a. ... we visited the farmers who let us use their land
2. We wanted to find out .... b. ... Because they are much stronger than tents.
3. Why did we choose Podpads? c. ... they were popular with both residents and farmers.
d. .. which accommodation would keep people dry in bad
4. First, ......
weather

Unit 4 | Innovative products 31

 5. Then, ..... e. ... for their opinion of the company
f. ... to find the most comfortable accommodation for
6. We spoke to ....
visitors to outdoor festivals.
7. Finally, .... g. ... our Podpad residents after one night.
8. We asked them .... h. ... we contacted Podpads.com and ordered 50 Podpads.
9. We found that .... i. ... we organized 50 people to sleep in them.

2. Work with a partner. Put phrases 1-9 from 3 in the correct category.

Aim of the Reason for doing Order of the Reporting

research something process

3. Work with your group. Design a product that you want to produce.
Discuss what you have to do in each stages of development of your product.

4. Make a presentation to explain the stages of development of the product.

The other groups may give feedback or input for another group that present the product.

32 Unit 4 | Innovative products