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booty · Joined: 22 Aug 2004 Posts: 94

Many people hate teaching business English and many students also hate sitting through pages of dull coursebooks about meetings and marketing. Teachers also hate teaching first thing in the morning to half-dead students.
Does anyone prefer teaching business English to general Enlish? What are the advantages? Are there any cousebooks that liven up fist thing in the morning?
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Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I much prefer Business English to general English, especially in the mornings. I find students/businessfolk are far more energetic in the mornings than in the afternoons.

I frequently use Marketleader, though only to have an overarching topic for a series of lessons. I prefer to use material specific to the person, company, or industry, such as incompany literature, email, upcoming events, etc. Smaller, more focused goals give the students a way to use the lesson material immediately.

basiltherat · Joined: 04 Oct 2003 Posts: 952

i dont know but i wud guess that if yuv been doing genral english for 5 or 10 years, yud need something else to stimulate yourself. i got into business and technical english training because it did just that. i dont proclaim to be an expert on it but it does slice up the working week; doing some general and some business / technical stuff.

i think the trainees / students appreciate it, too cos they see that yur trying to develop yourself just as much as they are by learning english.

ive also got into ielts and technical report writing which has stimulated me more. i think its worth it, if it is only for the sake of one's (dare i say it) 'professional' sanity. not to mention that your income can often rise if yuv got such multi-faceted experience.

best
basil

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I also like biz English from the standpoint of the students. In my experience, they are usually motivated because they have specific things they need to learn to accomplish in the language asap.

jonniboy · Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:02 pm Post subject:

I second what Basil says. It can often be more challenging for the teacher which is a good thing IMHO because after a while you find yourself recycling the previous years lesson plans. This week for example I have to prepare a list of relevant vocabulary for a student who works as a purchasing co-ordinator for an airline. I haven't a clue about most of the vocab myself but she seemed pleased enough about the 'taster' I gave her in the last lesson.

One of my most difficult classes ever was preparing a student whose level was barely pre-intermediate for an international conference on money laundering something I only knew about as a concept but I was soon familiar with smurfing and so on. It made for a nice break from the norm but I am still happier doing general english.

tedkarma · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:47 am Post subject:

Add my name to the list of Business English fans. FAR more interesting than General English. Usually more interesting students with much more life experience.

I have an MBA - so I already have an interest in the business world, and I think my students pick this up - and respond accordingly.

Sonnet · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Posts: 235 Location: South of the river

Like any other kind of course, there are great business English classes & there are terrible business English students.

I do agree that, generally speaking, business students seem to come to class with clearer goals and higher motivation, in comparison to the significant amount of general English students who sometimes just turn up expecting to sit there & leech flawless English from their teacher through osmosis.

John Hall · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:41 am Post subject:

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

The textbooks I have used have bored me to tears, but when we do more tailored stuff, as Guy mentioned, classes get more interesting and relevant. If I had to choose, though, I'd take general over business English any day. (Preferably some sort of IEP program.)

d

John Hall · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:23 am Post subject:

I agree with Denise that Business English gets much more interesting when you do "the more tailored stuff." However, I don't side with her preference for teaching General English. But then, I am biased because I have been doing primarily Business English since about 1997!

Yeah, the money is better too!

As for the OP, I would have to say that there are four things that make a class dull/interesting: the teacher, the student(s), the learning environment, and the material to be learned. If any one of these is dull, it is a challenge for the teacher to overcome. (That includes a dull teacher too!) I try to avoid teaching bored factory workers, when possible. But usually the students are not dull. Neither are the companies usually dull. Materials can be dull at times.

But if the materials are dull, why not improve upon them? You will enjoy yourself a lot more if you go beyond what the textbooks provide. How about starting with a proper needs analysis, and then giving them what they really need? If you do that sort of thing, and you do it well, perhaps you can make a name for yourself, and students will demand that you be kept on after the regular course finishes! Make it interesting, but also make it relevant and worthwhile.

Was it the OP who mentioned that Business English is a scam because secretaries get mixed in with managers and others? Yes, that does create a problem. But consider that a problem a challenge! You may have to resort to one-room schoolhouse teaching requiring students to be doing different lessons at the same time, corresponding to their particular professions in this case. Keep every student busy doing different things while you monitor and assist. Hey, sometimes you have to learn to juggle rather than just throw one ball up in the air all the time--which is dull anyway. Juggling is much more interesting! Wink

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

I agree with the above comments regarding tailoring material to students' needs. The only problem I have with teaching business students is that they often cancel at short notice (or just forget to come). Yes, I get paid for classes cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, but I'd rather know in advance and have a sleep in! Smile

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

John Hall · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:31 pm Post subject:

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

That brings up something interesting...has anyone ever had to sign a confidentiality agreement for teaching at a company? Only once has it come up for me, teaching at a US high tech firm in Mexico City.

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Yes, there frequently are confidentiality agreements for teachers who work (permanent or part-time/contract) in the corporate world.

The interesting part of such a confidentiality agreement is that, if you want to collect examples of your students' writing to use in future teaching, you must make sure that you change any specific references to the company and its products and processes. Otherwise, you can be sued if you use any specific references to the company in subsequent materials you might create.