Internet Basics for ESL Students
Lesson 14
Business on the Internet

keywords: CGI, hits

Dictionary

• The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus

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Dialogue 1: Jim will start a business web page.

Pair work. Practice the conversation. Mary: Hey Jim, where have you been this week? Jim: I was writing a web page for my new business - selling Bizen pottery. Mary: Cool. What did you put on the page? Jim: I put a CGI form on it so people could send me information. Mary: How many hits has it gotten? Jim: It's getting about 100 a day. Mary: Have you sold anything? Jim: Not yet....

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Reading: More and more businesses are writing web pages or thinking about doing business on the Internet. Many people feel that this is the start of a new age - the Information Age. How will the Internet effect your family, your company and your community? The Internet will change the way you shop, make friends, and maybe even where you live. It will have great advantages for some people, but may not be good for people who don't have computers.

Ten million people in Japan now have access to the Internet. Here are a few ideas of what will happen: 14 million by the end of this year, 20 million by late 1999, more than 41 million in 2005.

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Group discussion:

1. Have you ever gone shopping on the Internet?
   
2. Is it safe to send your credit card number over the WWW?
   
3. Have you ever used the Internet for product information or technical support?

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Dialogue 2: Business on the Internet.

Pair work. Practice the conversation. Bill: I'm really optimistic about the future of business on the Internet. My company is helping new businesses start using it. Steve: But I don't want to do business on a computer. I want to meet people - not machines. Bill: The Internet isn't replacing that. It is adding new ways of communication. Steve: I think there's too much personal information about me on computers. Bill: Companies should keep your information private.

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Reading:

In 1995 the population of the Internet was increasing at 10% per month. If that rate of growth were to continue (it's impossible), the total number of Internet users would exceed the population of the world by 2003. The most important part of the Internet is the millions of people who use it to communicate. The International language of the Internet is English. You can use English to develop friendships from France to Japan.

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Dialogue 3: Business Email

Pair work. Practice the conversation. Jim: Is using Email good for business? I still like using the phone. Paul: With Email you don't have to worry about leaving a message or whether the fax machine is out of paper. Jim: That's true, but sometimes it seems too informal. Paul: So be careful about how you write a business Email.

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Activity: Take a practice quiz.

Show everyone your favorite Internet site.