Teacher Discussion Forums

I am teaching at a language center in Taiwan. I have a Business English and a required text. The students that attend are not interested in Business English or the textbook. They just want to learn English. The school expects the text to be used and on occasion one student may show up in that class that wants to learn the subject. Any ideas?

There are a lot of good ideas in these responses to similar questions in the Business English Forum of this website. If you have any questions about them, please ask!

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/teacher/v ... highlight=

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/teacher/v ... highlight=

Thank you Lorikeet! I will check it out. So how are things in America?

Spring is coming, I start a week Spring Break this coming Monday, so everything is fine.

That is good...Almost everyday is spring or summer here. Gets a little chilly in the winter, but not bad. So how is the people climate there, now?

I suppose it's up to you to turn a pretty lame text into something appealing - sounds like a real challenge to your resourcefulness and creativity.

In my experience, a lot of what passes as "business-English" is actually a collection of set-phrases used in business-letters and telephone conversations. Turn it into a challenge to master as many of them as possible, setting a goal, if necessary. To bring them to life, you would have to have the students apply them in scenarios that they find interesting, mayby scenarios with a competitive element.

The most important feature, I think, is your own attitude - make the textbook come to life, and be it by using it as a resource for expressions only. Try to find out what it is that appeals to the students, and use the textbook to have them work on their own strengths, wherever they lie.

Serendipity, Thank you for your reply. Most of the students just want to come and learn English. However, your reply gave me some good ideas. Thank you for sharing.

Hey, that was a prompt reply.

Delighted to hear of you that soon.

Lucky you! If they *want* to learn English, then you should be off to a good start.

All the best for your course.