Job Discussion Forums

[CPA]

I posted this originally in the Japan forum but I think this is a better place to ask it:

I am also wondering what a potential business English lesson might look like. I haven't yet taken a course in teaching English as a second language. Some of the following questions might be answered after I take my course, but if anyone could help answer these I would appreciate it.

The client might not be able to relay in English what his or her objectives are for the the lesson, so will I need to rely on my employer to relay that information? Are there smartphone based Japanese translation tools decent enough that will enable me discern this information on my own?

If the client doesn't have a set objective, I imagine I could find out what he or she does for work and then help them learn useful English words and phrases. For instance if they are an accountant, I could bring some financial statements (like a profit and loss statement or balance sheet) that have the English and Japanese words listed like "Net Income / 当期純利益" and help them learn the pronunciation and how this word connects with other words. What are some other teaching methods for any profession that would help me convey these words and phrases?

If the client wants to learn something in English but has limited English skills, how am I supposed to discern what they want to do? I know these questions might seem pretty basic, but i'm interested in how it works.

Thanks for any advice.

[nomad soul]

The Internet is your friend...

Take a look at:

BusinessEnglishSite.com
Business English Vocabulary for ESL - Accounting Vocabulary 1
Express Series English for Accounting
Audioenglish.org

[santi84]

Your employer should be giving you a basic idea of what the goals are. Use a lot of realia, pictures, anything concrete that they can see/touch/use while associating it with English. Videos (in brief), can be helpful for low beginners.

I teach a lot of absolute beginners. It's difficult, and you need to be mindful of teacher talk (TT) vs student talk (ST). I aim for 50/50 with low beginners.

[nomad soul]

Also check out the following:

Teaching Business English to Beginner Learners
Five tips for teaching business English