Post
by FrankS » Sun Dec 21, 2014 8:24 am
I have quite a lot of business English experience and, almost always, the student expects general English and is never satisfied with the results from that. There are nearly no schools that understand (or care) what is required, so you are on your own that way.
First of all, a one-to one class in business English is easier because there are no interfering needs come into play.
Second, it is probably up to you to determine what the student needs. I do not mean in English, but in business. Detrermine what they need to say and do and focus on that. For myself, I care not one whit as to what grammar rules they know or what level their grammar is. If what they require to say requires a structure they dio not understand, that is unimportant. The exam comes when they have to use it and if you try to follow a general English syllabus, they usually fail.
Next, it is a good idea to ask the student for material. It is always extremely relevant and better than anything else you will have. Base your work around that.
Last of all, I would use lots of audio visual material. It makes for a break, they can take it home, and they get an ear for the natural phrasing. It is best with English subtitles (download many for free and transcode onto a new disk), but those are sometimes very bad and usually not great. Any are better than none. I have to write many of my own subtitles and it is time consuming. It is better to edit them, but it could eat a huge amount of time. Nice thing is they are mostly universal. Most students want a few episodes from some popular TV show or a film and those last forever. I am still using disks from Star Trek (or Star Drek as I call it)
The A/V material should be a mix of business and casual material and as entertaining as possible. The student is certainly going to appreciate that, As hard as you work, the student is working harder and being able to switch back and forth makes for easier concentration and better retention.
Most important, mix up business topics with lots of stuff the student is interested in. As above, if they like the class, they will learn more.
I began this business being thrown into one- to-ones with forty hour one week intensives and found all the ways to do it wrong very fast. The school had no idea and neither did I. Over the years, I have come to realise that the worst part of high contact time is being stuck in a room a long time. It is bad for you and worse for the students. Go for walks if you can, let them talk about whatever they want frequently. keep them from getting bored and you will find the time flies by.
Most students can do wonders with a few phrases and a lot of substitutions. If they need presentation skills, there are business books and videos that are not bad (meaning they do not pretend it is "magic" or complex) try any one of the "Dragon's Den" or "Apprentice" franchise shows if they need negotiation skills they have a good opening for that as well.
I only know what works for me and that my first tries were disasters and I have not met a single teacher who was not a disaster their first time. The Earth did not collapse and the schools never noticed. The classes just got easier and easier with experience.
Luck!
