Hello everybody,
I'd just like to start by mentioning that there truly is a wealth of information on this board that I've benefited from; and I'd like to thank you for your contributions.
I'd welcome your advice on a little dilemma that I'm having. I'm a recent graduate in Business Management from the US, and I've come to Hong Kong for the job search. While that's going on, I have been asked and cajoled into teaching a business english course to a group of 8 cantonese students once a week for 24 weeks.
While I have tutored English before, this is my first structured class and I am trying to ensure good results for my students. Just have a few thoughts that I'd appreciate your input on:
1) I've been assigned to teach from Business Objectives, by Anna & Terry Phillips. I find that this seems to be too limiting, could you suggest any other supplemental texts or reading assignments?
2) I had an idea of asking students to summarize 3 business articles each class, and presenting informally to the class.
3) Although I think the practical application is more useful and will be more accepted, these students do need help with grammar and sentence structure. They are however, quite resistant to it. How can I circumvent this?
4) I am much younger than the people I am teaching. I am 22, while my students will be anywhere from 24 - 32. I understand this can cause some concerns, is there any way you could suggest to allay these concerns?
Thanks in advance for your time and patience. I do appreciate any advice or other resources to refer to.
Best Wishes,
Ajay
New Business English teacher needs help!
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
Business English
I just joined up with Dave's and saw your post. I'm an MBA with 15 years of management experience, and more recently, a bus. Eng. teacher. I can understand your concerns, so for what its worth here are some pointers.
First of all, determine precisley WHAT they want to accomplish, and which business discipline they are in,i.e., marketing, operations, finance,etc. Then, you can create your vocabulary, phraseology and situational role play curriculum around that information. Rather than teaching grammer per se, make sure they understand key phrases which they can practice, which in turn gives a model for the grammer. If they are engineers, don't waste time on stuff like marketing lingo, unless they are involved in it..I've seen this sort of thing really flop here in Japan. Finally, use humor and keep things light..don't get too tense or formal. Bring in a friend and do some role plays for your students, then let them interact. I usually bring in a really attractive female colleague, and you can imagine the sudden change in the student's attitude.
It wouldn't hurt to have them all pick up a business dictionary, and challenge them to come up with some dialogue using new words. And take a look at the Adult Learning Model, which you can find on the internet, to help you understand how adults learn as opposed to children.
If there is anything I can do to help, please contact me.
Best regards,
John Hunter
First of all, determine precisley WHAT they want to accomplish, and which business discipline they are in,i.e., marketing, operations, finance,etc. Then, you can create your vocabulary, phraseology and situational role play curriculum around that information. Rather than teaching grammer per se, make sure they understand key phrases which they can practice, which in turn gives a model for the grammer. If they are engineers, don't waste time on stuff like marketing lingo, unless they are involved in it..I've seen this sort of thing really flop here in Japan. Finally, use humor and keep things light..don't get too tense or formal. Bring in a friend and do some role plays for your students, then let them interact. I usually bring in a really attractive female colleague, and you can imagine the sudden change in the student's attitude.
It wouldn't hurt to have them all pick up a business dictionary, and challenge them to come up with some dialogue using new words. And take a look at the Adult Learning Model, which you can find on the internet, to help you understand how adults learn as opposed to children.
If there is anything I can do to help, please contact me.
Best regards,
John Hunter
Marketing....
Hey there!
In other threads, some of us here at Dave's have commented and agreed that these "Business English" courses are simply marketing tricks to get the businessman/woman student into the classroom. We have commented with our tongues firmly lodged in our cheeks that we have not suddenly changed our English when we are speaking about business. In any case, these usually "crash courses" in this other English at least give some of us something to do to make some money and any bit of aid is useful.
Addressing your questions:
1) I've been assigned to teach from Business Objectives, by Anna & Terry Phillips. I find that this seems to be too limiting, could you suggest any other supplemental texts or reading assignments?
These "Business English" books often seem to be simply situational presentations. I'm presently team teaching a course where the other teachers are using one called "Working in English" where ink is wasted on anecdotal information about what color of wrapping paper should be used in giving gifts to half a dozen nationalities, while overlooking the other hundreds of potential business clients one might have. And all of these books overlook the fact that often English is a common language in doing business between people who use it as a second language, so advice about how to shake hands with an American or an Englishman is a waste of time for businesspeople who will only have contact with Germans or Japanese. Work your way through the book and glean useful sentences from the text and teach your students how to substitute.
2) I had an idea of asking students to summarize 3 business articles each class, and presenting informally to the class.
This type of activity usually gets reduced to long vocabulary lists (What does xxx mean?) Though it might be interesting to the individual the article he/she brings to class, the rest of the class might not be interested in the topic. Reading is a private matter and can be done without a teacher. Speaking is a public matter and needs a lot of practice with the eyes firmly parted from the written word. I, myself, would not use this idea at all. (Though it might be a stimulous for speaking if used sparingly).
3) Although I think the practical application is more useful and will be more accepted, these students do need help with grammar and sentence structure. They are however, quite resistant to it. How can I circumvent this?
I resisted the pulling of a molar tooth until it hurt too much to chew. The dentist had been insisting for months but I chose not to heed her professional advice. As she pulled the tooth I thought I saw a "I told you so" smirk behind the mask, and I could not be offended, I had gone to her because of her expertise and had scorned her advice. You are the expert and with gentle authority you must insist on doing exercises and activities that will improve grammar and structure if you see them in need of work in order to remove communication interferences. Ignore the resistance and plow on ahead, making the grammar or structure an integral part of each class (though not the main focus).
4) I am much younger than the people I am teaching. I am 22, while my students will be anywhere from 24 - 32. I understand this can cause some concerns, is there any way you could suggest to allay these concerns?
Age is sometimes a problem. Until you are 30, no one seems to be listening to you. Until you are 40, no one goes beyond admitting that you may be right. Once you are 40, you are suddenly looked upon as not only being right, maybe even being an expert. Don't worry about it, the student will get over it if you are well prepared. Mark clear objectives. Tell your students the reason for each item that you are studying. Make the students responsible for their learning and make yourself responsible for informing them. If necessary, wear a tie. Have a strong personality. Don't accept brow-beating. It's natural for some students to not "trust" the teacher until the teacher has proven his/her capacity. Show your capacity, be firm and loving, they'll get over it, it's their problem, not yours.
Sorry I haven't gone into detail. Check out other posts on "business English" (you probably already have) and DO browse through ALL of the activities in the Ideas Cookbook here at Dave's. And, blowing my own horn, check out "Interpretative ESL" in the Applied Linguistics thread. I'll be posting there again soon, and the next post will concern a specific activity used in one of these "Business English" classes that my boss sold to unsuspecting Spanish people who would do better learning English first and worrying about what to say at a "business lunch" later....
peace,
revel.
In other threads, some of us here at Dave's have commented and agreed that these "Business English" courses are simply marketing tricks to get the businessman/woman student into the classroom. We have commented with our tongues firmly lodged in our cheeks that we have not suddenly changed our English when we are speaking about business. In any case, these usually "crash courses" in this other English at least give some of us something to do to make some money and any bit of aid is useful.
Addressing your questions:
1) I've been assigned to teach from Business Objectives, by Anna & Terry Phillips. I find that this seems to be too limiting, could you suggest any other supplemental texts or reading assignments?
These "Business English" books often seem to be simply situational presentations. I'm presently team teaching a course where the other teachers are using one called "Working in English" where ink is wasted on anecdotal information about what color of wrapping paper should be used in giving gifts to half a dozen nationalities, while overlooking the other hundreds of potential business clients one might have. And all of these books overlook the fact that often English is a common language in doing business between people who use it as a second language, so advice about how to shake hands with an American or an Englishman is a waste of time for businesspeople who will only have contact with Germans or Japanese. Work your way through the book and glean useful sentences from the text and teach your students how to substitute.
2) I had an idea of asking students to summarize 3 business articles each class, and presenting informally to the class.
This type of activity usually gets reduced to long vocabulary lists (What does xxx mean?) Though it might be interesting to the individual the article he/she brings to class, the rest of the class might not be interested in the topic. Reading is a private matter and can be done without a teacher. Speaking is a public matter and needs a lot of practice with the eyes firmly parted from the written word. I, myself, would not use this idea at all. (Though it might be a stimulous for speaking if used sparingly).
3) Although I think the practical application is more useful and will be more accepted, these students do need help with grammar and sentence structure. They are however, quite resistant to it. How can I circumvent this?
I resisted the pulling of a molar tooth until it hurt too much to chew. The dentist had been insisting for months but I chose not to heed her professional advice. As she pulled the tooth I thought I saw a "I told you so" smirk behind the mask, and I could not be offended, I had gone to her because of her expertise and had scorned her advice. You are the expert and with gentle authority you must insist on doing exercises and activities that will improve grammar and structure if you see them in need of work in order to remove communication interferences. Ignore the resistance and plow on ahead, making the grammar or structure an integral part of each class (though not the main focus).
4) I am much younger than the people I am teaching. I am 22, while my students will be anywhere from 24 - 32. I understand this can cause some concerns, is there any way you could suggest to allay these concerns?
Age is sometimes a problem. Until you are 30, no one seems to be listening to you. Until you are 40, no one goes beyond admitting that you may be right. Once you are 40, you are suddenly looked upon as not only being right, maybe even being an expert. Don't worry about it, the student will get over it if you are well prepared. Mark clear objectives. Tell your students the reason for each item that you are studying. Make the students responsible for their learning and make yourself responsible for informing them. If necessary, wear a tie. Have a strong personality. Don't accept brow-beating. It's natural for some students to not "trust" the teacher until the teacher has proven his/her capacity. Show your capacity, be firm and loving, they'll get over it, it's their problem, not yours.
Sorry I haven't gone into detail. Check out other posts on "business English" (you probably already have) and DO browse through ALL of the activities in the Ideas Cookbook here at Dave's. And, blowing my own horn, check out "Interpretative ESL" in the Applied Linguistics thread. I'll be posting there again soon, and the next post will concern a specific activity used in one of these "Business English" classes that my boss sold to unsuspecting Spanish people who would do better learning English first and worrying about what to say at a "business lunch" later....
peace,
revel.
Make sure that you give your students frequent practice writing short letters and e-mail messages. You'd be surprised how many corporate managers complain that their employees cannot communicate well when writing short texts. If your students are already employed, they'll appreciate your taking the time to go over this crucial everyday skill.
Get yourself a copy of the following superb resource book for simple (and entertaining) exercises:
Business Writing Makeovers: Shortcut Solutions to Improve Your Letters, E-Mails, and Faxes, by Hawley Roddick
I'm always taking examples from it to use in classes, presentations and training seminars. The author focuses on how to structure short messages and how to phrase them for maximum effect and impact. Your students can learn a lot about both rhetorical strategies AND effective paragraph structuring. It uses American English and American business 'sensibilities' and pragmatics.
Get yourself a copy of the following superb resource book for simple (and entertaining) exercises:
Business Writing Makeovers: Shortcut Solutions to Improve Your Letters, E-Mails, and Faxes, by Hawley Roddick
I'm always taking examples from it to use in classes, presentations and training seminars. The author focuses on how to structure short messages and how to phrase them for maximum effect and impact. Your students can learn a lot about both rhetorical strategies AND effective paragraph structuring. It uses American English and American business 'sensibilities' and pragmatics.
Thanks for the wonderful advice
I really do appreciate your advice thus far and it has been extremely helpful. In regards to the progression of the course, It has been going smoothly and the students have a very intense desire to learn. Part of this might be attributed to the fact that they are primarily salespeople who do work on commission. This is highlighted by the fact that an increasing number of their clientele comes from Europe and the US. So needless to say, there's a huge focus on situational roleplays. Once again, thank you both for sharing your experience with me, and best of luck to you in the future.
Best,
Ajay
Best,
Ajay