TryEnglish · Corporate & Legal English Coaching
Study Plan · File Nº TC-06

Governance, Compliance & the Language of Liability

Six focused days to build the vocabulary, listening, and reasoning structures you need to follow — and take part in — the international governance and compliance meetings you're already attending.

Student Tatiana Clark Role Legal Specialist, AngloGold Ashanti Track Corporate Law / Legal English Pace ~15 minutes a day

Why this plan

In your last class, you described a compliance meeting with the Corporate Governance team — a VP conducting the meeting, an outsourced transport company, a discussion of who is legally responsible when something goes wrong. That's exactly the language this plan targets.

You also asked to go through this one day at a time, instead of seeing everything at once — so the days are separated here, and each one only opens when you select it below. Take them in order, at your own pace.

Vocabulary — Governance & Compliance Grammar — Zero & Second Conditional 6 Days · ~15 min
Day 1 · Vocabulary

Ten words from the meeting room

~15 min

Learn the terms

These are the words behind the meeting you described: governance, compliance, and who answers for what when something goes wrong.

corporate governancethe system of rules and practices that directs how a company is controlled. "The meeting was with the Corporate Governance team."
compliancefollowing the laws, regulations, and internal policies that apply to the company. "Have you participated in any meeting about compliance?"
to conduct a meetingto lead and manage a meeting. "The VP was conducting the meeting."
mediatora person who helps different sides reach agreement or keeps a discussion on track. "He's the mediator — he's always in every meeting."
outsourceddone by an outside company rather than by employees of the main company. "Is the transport company outsourced?"
legally liable / legally responsiblehaving a legal duty to answer for a loss, debt, or harm. "Who is legally responsible for the accident?"
subsidiary liabilitya secondary, backup responsibility that applies if the main responsible party cannot pay or answer for something.
to escalateto pass a problem to someone with more authority when it can't be resolved at the current level.
reputational riskthe danger that an event will damage how the public or partners see the company.
stakeholderany person or group affected by, or with an interest in, the company's decisions.

Check your understanding

Circle or write the letter of the best answer. No need to send this one — just for your own review.

  1. The company that transports the acid is not part of AngloGold — it's a separate business hired to do the job. This company is:
    a) compliantb) outsourcedc) a stakeholder
  2. A director doesn't know how to solve a disagreement between two teams, so she sends it to the board. She is doing this:
    a) escalating the issueb) conducting the meetingc) mediating
  3. If a scandal reaches the news and damages how partners see AngloGold, this is an example of:
    a) subsidiary liabilityb) reputational riskc) governance
  4. The set of internal rules that make sure the company follows the law is called:
    a) complianceb) escalationc) mediation
Day 2 · Listening

Governance, in under two minutes

~15 min

Watch: "What is corporate governance?"

A short explainer from the Governance Institute of Australia — the same core idea behind the Corporate Governance team you met in your compliance meeting. Click the thumbnail to open it on YouTube.

Video thumbnail — What is corporate governance? ▶ Watch on YouTube
Governance Institute of Australia1:51English captions available on YouTube

Before you watch

In one sentence, predict: how would you define "corporate governance" in English, using what you learned on Day 1?

While you watch — complete the definition

Turn on English captions if it helps. Listen for these words and complete the sentence below.

Corporate governance is the __________ by which an organisation is __________ and operates, and the __________ by which it — and its people — are held to __________ .

After you watch

  1. In your own words, how is the video's definition of "governance" similar to what your Corporate Governance team does at AngloGold?
  2. The video mentions being "held to account." Which word from Day 1 means almost the same thing?
    a) complianceb) mediatorc) accountability / legally responsible
  3. Was anything in the video harder to catch on the first listen? Play it once more and note the exact phrase.
Day 3 · In Context

Reading the meeting between the lines

~15 min

Fill in the missing word

Use a word from Day 1 to complete each sentence. This is exactly the kind of listening you described — catching short phrases and identifying key words in fast, accented speech.

  1. "The transport company isn't one of our employees — it's fully __________ ."
  2. "Before we present this to the board, we need to make sure everything is __________ with local regulations."
  3. "He's always in every call — he's the one who __________ the discussion when people disagree."
  4. "If the local team can't resolve it, we __________ it to the regional director."
  5. "Even if we're not directly at fault, an incident like this creates real __________ for the company."

Match the role

In the meeting you described, different people had different jobs. Match the description to the role.

"He's always there, conducting the discussion."→ ______________
"She was the big boss of the area."→ ______________
"The team of Colombia presented the structure."→ ______________

Word bank: mediator · presenter · VP / senior leader

Day 4 · Grammar

Stating a rule vs. imagining a scenario

~15 min

The pattern

You already do this reasoning constantly in Portuguese — "quem é responsável se..." This is the English structure for it.

Zero Conditional — a general rule

If + present simple, present simple.
Used for things that are always true — a law, a policy, a fact.

"If a company causes environmental damage, it faces sanctions."

Second Conditional — a hypothesis

If + past simple, would + base verb.
Used to imagine a specific, uncertain, or hypothetical situation.

"If it were a driver from AngloGold, the company would be responsible."

Note: In careful writing, use "if it were" (not "if it was") with this structure — it's one of the few places English keeps a special form for hypotheticals. In spoken meetings you'll hear both; for your reports and emails, use "were."

Rule or hypothesis?

Read each sentence from a real liability discussion. Decide: is this a general rule (Zero) or an imagined scenario (Second)?

  1. "If an outsourced company is responsible for the transport, it faces the legal liability during that transport."
    Zero ConditionalSecond Conditional
  2. "If it were an AngloGold employee driving the truck, the company would be responsible."
    Zero ConditionalSecond Conditional
  3. "If the case involves a labor issue, AngloGold could still hold subsidiary liability."
    Zero ConditionalSecond Conditional
  4. "If the board discovered the risk today, would they escalate it immediately?"
    Zero ConditionalSecond Conditional
Day 5 · Production

Now build your own

~15 min

Write four sentences

Use a real or realistic AngloGold scenario for each. Take your time — I know sentence-building is the part that takes you longer, and that's exactly where the learning happens.

  1. A Zero Conditional sentence about a general compliance rule at AngloGold.
  2. A Second Conditional sentence imagining a different outcome for the truck accident you discussed in class.
  3. A Zero Conditional sentence about reputational risk.
  4. A Second Conditional sentence about what would happen if an issue like this were escalated to the board.

One more contrast

Write the same idea twice — once as a rule, once as a hypothesis. This is the pair you'll use most often in real meetings.

Rule (Zero)
Hypothesis (Second)
Day 6 · Speaking

Tell me about a real meeting

~15 min

Speak for 2–3 minutes

Answer these questions out loud, in English, using this week's vocabulary and at least one conditional sentence. Think of an AngloGold example if you can.

  1. Describe a recent meeting about compliance or governance. Who conducted it? Was anyone acting as a mediator?
  2. Explain, in general terms, how AngloGold decides who is legally responsible when an outsourced company is involved. (Try a Zero Conditional here.)
  3. Imagine a different version of an incident you know about. What would have been different? (Try a Second Conditional here.)
  4. What creates the most reputational risk for a mining company, in your opinion?

Record and send your answers

Record yourself answering these four questions on Vocaroo, then send me the link on WhatsApp so I can give you feedback — same as the last few days.

Record on Vocaroo →
  1. Open the link above and press record.
  2. Answer all four questions — it's fine to pause and think between them.
  3. When you're done, Vocaroo gives you a link to your recording.
  4. Copy that link and send it to me on WhatsApp.