Job Discussion Forums

[stevehamlyn87]

Hi,

I've recently moved to Madrid and have several interviews lined up, and I have the impression that most of the teaching work will be small (max 5 students) business classes. My only teaching experience so far has been teaching general English in England with very mixed ages and nationalities with classes of about 15 students on average. Can anyone with experience of teaching these kind of classes tell the respective differences between them? I am a little apprehensive about teaching business classes of one single nationality and would appreciate some advice, e.g. what kinds of lessons and activities are more suitable for them, I'm guessing games and role plays are not exactly what they are looking for (although I may be wrong).

Thanks

[nomad soul]

Tell us some more info about the students and the course objectives. For example, what are the students' English proficiency level(s)? Are they working professionals and in what fields? What are their business English language learning needs (e.g., writing for business, customer service, presentations, conflict management, marketing, etc.)? And of course, what are the overall course or program objectives?

As for textbooks and materials, there are some decent business English books on the market, such as New International Business English and Market Leader; you wouldn't have to constantly come up with your own lessons and materials. (Get reviews from amazon.com.) Adult business English students like role plays and other activities as long as they're relevant to the learners' work situations and language learning needs. An Internet search on business English will give you additional resources and ideas.

[Guy Courchesne]

If you can, take some time to interview the students to find out what they do, what they need, what the company does, etc (needs analysis) so you can tailor the classes to suit them, even if you use a book as a base. I also like Market Leader as a foundation, and supplementing with articles and video I bring in, plus any real world materials I can get from the company or students.

[stevehamlyn87]

Thanks for the quick response. I'm not sure about the exact specifics of the classes as of yet, I am currently only at the interview stage (have two set up for tomorrow), but could you give me an idea of a typical lesson objective for a business class?

For example for the classes I am used to teaching I would either be teaching a specific grammar point or have them practising a skill (e.g. listening, writing, etc), would this still be the same for a business class only centred more on business related topics, e.g. telephone language, arranging meetings, etc.? I just want some clarification as to what the main differences are between teaching general English and business English. Thanks

[Guy Courchesne]

Yes, you can run a class that way easily. Many business series are so constructed, though perhaps with less focus on grammar.

http://www.market-leader.net/

Take a look at this program to see how it is constructed.

[nomad soul]

And ESL Flow: Business English lessons for ESL, http://www.eslflow.com/BusinessEnglish.html.

[stevehamlyn87]

Thanks guys,

So would I right in thinking that there isn't a great deal of difference between general and business English other than the writing / listening etc. tasks are centred on topics specifically related to the needs of the company as opposed to just general everyday subjects?

Like for example for a reading exercise instead of giving them an article on lets say films to read about you give them something relevant to their area of work, for example if the students work for a constuction company you try and give them something to read that relates to that in some way? Am I along the right lines here?

[nomad soul]

In a nutshell, there's business English in the context of English for business communications, which includes using English for conducting meetings, customer service/telephoning skills, giving presentations, business introductions, cultural do's and don'ts, interviewing, writing emails, etc. On the other hand, there's business English in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context, which entails teaching specific business concepts and trends like outsourcing, employee relations, marketing, and so on. Vocabulary and grammar usage would be specific to these concepts, while writing could entail analyzing case studies on real companies, report writing, and memo writing. Students' presentations might include marketing a new business idea, creating a SWOT profile on their company, etc. When teaching English in this sense, it helps to have a business background, but it's not necessary. Lastly, it's not uncommon for both business English contexts to overlap.

You might discover that your students don't all work for the same company. This actually makes the class more interesting because they get to learn about other industries besides their own.

[I'm With Stupid]

I haven't taught it in a while, but from what I remember, the main difference is the vocab and the "useful language" sections of text books, which are far more focused on business, as you might expect. Each unit of Market Leader also has a role play section, where typically people have to deliver a sales pitch, or have a meeting about the future direction of a fictional company. There are also lots of discussion sections (e.g. adjectives for describing an employee - put them in order of importance), which depending on the enthusiasm of your students, can last all lesson or 5 minutes. I taught business English to uni students, so they were all pretty keen, but I can imagine situations where business students would rather be somewhere else.

The reading, listening, writing, etc, are effectively the same, just with business-based texts (Financial Times, etc). But students have usually learned academic English in the past, where you're encouraged to write as much as possible using the most complex English you know. As a result, you can get some pretty flowery business emails, and it takes some students a while to realise that in business English, it pays to just get to the point ASAP.

The one advantage of business English is that your client may be your best source of authentic materials, assuming they're a company that regularly communicates in English.

[Jbhughes]

I know that this doesn't seem directly helpful, and appears to somehow undervalue what others have already said, but on the topics of business English and needs analysis, I really suggest that you use search on this website with those functions, or use google sitesearch.

I did the same to find out info regarding both for an in-company role and found a vast amount of really useful information. Even though some of it was posted years ago, it still seems up-to-date.

Good luck!

[artemisia]

Sure, there�s a vast array of materials and ideas out there but it seemed as though this OP needed to get his head around making the transition from general to business English and this thread has done a great job of responding to that. For a start, recognising the need to do a needs analysis in the first place, if it�s not already been done, is pretty important:

[Glenski]

Teaching students from one nationality means they are more likely to make the same types of mistakes, so it would be easier for you.

Class of 15 vs 5? Not a heckuva lot of difference IMO. Be sure you know whether they are required to attend, though. Business English students tend to be absent frequently because they are busy doing ... uh ... business!

As for somehow getting a needs analysis done, as others have stated, that's a given in my book. It may be easier said than done, but do your best.

[stevehamlyn87]

Thanks guys, you've been really helpful, appreciate your input.