Introduction to Teaching Business English
Summary In this module, we will consider how teaching Business English is different to teaching standard General English classes. We will look at the types of student that want to learn Business English, the variety of different teaching contexts from classroom-based lessons to distance learning, the role of the teacher, the need to present language in context and specific business communication skills.
Objectives By the end of this module, you will: Have a clearer understanding of how learning and teaching Business English differs from General English. Have considered a range of different teaching contexts from classroom-based lessons to distance learning. Have a clearer understanding of the role of the Business English teacher. Have a greater understanding of the need to present language in context and focus on specific business communication skills skill s when teaching te aching Business English. Site:
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Course: Course:
30hr - Teaching Business Business English English
Book: Book:
Introdu Introductio ction n to Teaching eaching Busines Businesss English English
Printed by: Mesut Yayla Yayla Date: Date:
Wednesda ednesday y, 7 Septemb September er 2016, 2016, 8:11 8:11 AM
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Table of contents 1 What is Special about Business English? 2 Business English teaching contexts 3 Distance Learning 4 Reflective Task 2 5 The Business English teacher 6 Business English 7 Teaching business communication 8 Linguistic competence 9 Discourse competence 10 Intercultural competence 11 References 12 Further Reading 13 Useful Websites
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1 What is Special about Business English? English is used more and more as a language of communication among business professionals from different countries. These learners need to be familiar with specific vocabulary and functional language to use in business settings, including meetings, negotiating, bargaining and so on. Many business professionals from different fields, such as aviation, use English as the global language of communication. These learners are also highly motivated to improve their English in specific areas so they can progress professionally. As these students are learning English for specific purposes, lessons, syllabi, materials, and often the teaching role, need to be adapted to cater for these specific needs. The Business English learner
In order to describe a Business English learner, it is first important to define what we mean by business and how people communicate within the world of business. Reflective Task 1
How do people communicate within the world of business? What do students of Business English need to know in order to communicate effectively using English within the world of business? Business can be defined as: (1) Buying and selling or exchanging and exploiting resources and capabilities. Using the language of commerce, finance, industry and providing goods and services. People working together to accomplish something they cannot do as individuals. Cooperation, negotiation and conflict. Persuading and understanding, power and control, finding solutions to problems. Business English, therefore, is communication with other people within a specific context. Business English learners study English for the following reasons: It may be a compulsory part of their current job to ensure their English is proficient enough to fulfill their duties and responsibilities using English as a global language of communication. Some learners may view learning English as an investment. Better English may lead to a higher paid, more responsible job within their industry, Some learners may have specific needs and others may just want to improve their English within the context of business. Some learners may be at the end of their working lives while others may be just starting a new job or career. Despite the wide variety of Business English learners, it is possible to group these learners into different categories: (2)
Experience Pre-experienced learners – These learners have little or no experience of the business world. They are typically learning Business English because they want to follow a business career. Because of their lack of experience, they will need the teacher to provide a window on the business world as well as teaching them English. Job-experienced learners – These learners know a lot about business and their own jobs and have precise notions about why they need Business English. They do not need or expect the teacher to help them understand the world of business, just help them to communicate more effectively using English. General business-experienced – These learners may have a certain amount of work experience but are learning English to move into a new job or for a specific purpose.
Level in the organisation’s hierarchy
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Learners at different levels in a company may have different learning needs and preferences. For example, senior managers may need specific training in specific skills such as presenting or negotiating. They may require 1-to-1 classes. More junior staff may not have such precise needs and may not have as much influence on how their training is managed.
National culture Different cultures may have different traditions and values regarding training and education. They may require slightly different courses to train them to interact within the global word of business.
Need Specific needs – Some learners may have very specific needs depending on their job or profession. For example, some learners may need training on how to answer a customer telephone hotline. These learners will need a focused, tailor-made course, probably in a 1-2-1 setting. General needs – Some learners have a general aim to improve their English because they feel it is the right thing to do. They will require a less focused course. Shared needs – Some learners may work for different firms but share job characteristics they can all identify with. Examples of such roles include secretaries, accountants or technicians. It may be possible to teach these learners in a group using an agreed syllabus.
Language level Learners may also be grouped together according to language proficiency, for example ‘beginners’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’. Due to the nature of business courses, it is not uncommon to teach multi-level groups of Business English learners, for example Intermediate (B1) and Upper-Intermediate (B2) learners in the same class. Teachers should be aware of this possibility and consider planning multi-level activities to cater for their learners.
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2 Business English teaching contexts Business English teachers generally work within one or more of the following contexts: (3) Education institute – Young adults are often taught in an institutional educational environment such as a school or university. Teaching may involve using a variety of written and oral texts and tests so that grades can be given. Learners may have certain expectations and feelings about the class. For example, they may expect the teacher to be an expert in business and may not feel that learning English is as important as their other subjects. Such classes may contain learners with different language levels and skills. It can be difficult to focus on specific target needs. However, it is possible to use a wide range of general business course books with these groups of learners. Private language school – Individual learners or companies may pay to study at a private language school. The teaching may take place in the school’s premises or at the customer’s workplace. Learners may range from private individuals wanting to improve their job prospects to large corporations with employees all over the world. They may be taught in classes or in a 1-2-1 context. In-company – This involves working at the client’s premises and can vary from a couple of hours a week to a full-time job. Learners will have a clear idea of why they need English. Teachers who work full-time for a specific company will get to know the company’s needs really well, have their own training room and have access to company resources. 1-2-1 – These are private lessons with one teacher and one student and are quite a common arrangement in Business English teaching. It can involve preparing a learner for a specific project or helping with tasks such as presentations, correspondence and reports. Unlike group teaching, the teacher is able to focus on the learner’s needs and the learner becomes the main resource. The teacher’s role is to focus on the learner’s needs and assist them with specific needs. For example, if a student needs to give a presentation in English, assisting the learner involves more than correcting grammatical and lexical errors. It may also involve helping the learner to plan the presentation and review what is needed in different parts. 1-2-1 lessons may initially appear daunting and new teachers often fall into the trap of assuming the learner wants maximum effort and input from the teacher. However, this is not the case. As with all language classes, it is important to vary activities and give learners chance to think about tasks and focus on student-centred communication. If you teach a 1-2-1 class over a long period of time, you are often able to build a rapport with the client.
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3 Distance Learning Distance learning refers to any situation when the teacher and learner are physically separated. Various types of media can be used from paper-based to electronic resources. The principles of effective teaching and learning remain the same i.e. the communicative needs as well as the target discourse are paramount. Distance learning can vary from standard courses used with all clients to tailor-made courses decided by the teacher and learner. Distance learning can be: (4) Synchronous – Communication happens in real time with people interacting via the telephone or online chatting. Asynchronous – Communication happens in stages with one communication event following another separated in time i.e. via email. Open learning – The learner has a greater degree of autonomy in terms of what is covered on the course, how it is learned and when it is learned.
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4 Reflective Task 2 Reflective Task 2
In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning? The advantages of distance learning include: Flexibility – Teachers and learners can choose the time, pace, location and content. This is a huge advantage for busy business professionals. For example, a busy executive whose job requires her to fly around the world, may find it difficult to attend regular, fixed language classes. However, she may be able to schedule language classes at different times depending on her diary. Cost – Distance learning courses are often Learners often learn during their own time and there is no need to provide classrooms. The production of electronic materials is cheaper than paper-based materials. Learner freedom – Learners may choose to focus on certain modules or activities depending on their specific learner needs. It allows them to divert from a more lockstep approach, typically used in traditional language classrooms, in which all learners go through a certain set of activities at the same time. Disadvantages include: Communication problems – Some computer systems need the learner to have a certain amount of technical competence. There may, therefore, be teething problems. Learning in isolation – Some learners find working in isolation frustrating. Some activities, like group work, will be difficult or impossible to set up. It may also be harder to gauge student progress. Material limitations – Teachers often need to use materials with specific and exact answers so learners can check the answers themselves. Lack of communication – To become effective, learners must be exposed to language and be given the chance to use it. Exposure can be provided through distance learning though may fail to take into account the interactive nature of communication. Adapting your teaching to a distance learning context, however, will help to work around these issues. The following techniques can help to provide motivation to students in a distance learning context: (5) Wrap-around materials – Teachers can provide short written texts before activities to provide the support normally provided by the teacher’s oral instructions in class. These can be simple, written in a conversational style and may even be written in the learner’s own language. Feedback – The main advantage of teacher involvement is to provide the specific and targeted feedback that is difficult for self-study materials to offer. Feedback could be given by occasional visits to the learner, comments written on a piece of work or suggestions about what the learner might like to do next. It is important to ensure that written feedback is personalised as much as possible so it feels that the speaker is talking directly to the student. The use of the telephone or video calls can also help to put teachers and students in direct contact. Teachers and students could use the telephone for tutorials or to discuss assignments, plans or topics. The use of phone or video calls can also be used to create the interaction necessary for effective language learning. The following activities will give you an idea of what is possible via the telephone or video calls: Taking messages on the telephone – You can practise understanding telephone messages by carrying out a role-play in which you leave a message for your student and ask them to respond appropriately. For example, you could ask them to give you a quotation on a quantity of their products and so on. Chat
Checking and clarifying instructions – Call your learner and dictate a text. The learner needs to write the text and send it to you. You can do further language work by asking the student to revise the text or analyse the language. Working with specific authentic documents – Give your learner a document from their workplace then phone them and ask specific questions about the document. Social interaction on the telephone – Call your learner and carry out a range of social interactions with them, for example inviting them to a party, asking their opinion on somethings and ask them for information. Role-playing customer phone calls – Look at the types of letters which may result in a phone call from the client’s customer. Role-play these phone conversations, giving feedback to the student after the role-play has ended.
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5 The Business English teacher In most fields of teaching, the teacher knows more about the subject than the learner. However, in Business English, the relationship is more symbiotic: the teacher knows more about language and communication but the learner knows more about the job and its content. Business English teachers often need to make informed decisions about language and language learning, selecting materials and resources that are appropriate for learners focusing on improving specific language skills. They need credibility, professionalism and an awareness of the business world. They must also need to be able to adapt to different teaching contexts and be willing to learn about specific areas of business so they have a greater awareness of how they can help their students. Business English teachers may be known as trainers, coaches or consultants for good reasons: (6) Trainer – In the world of business, trainers are common. Training is job-orientated. Trainers are often viewed as people who are required to change a person’s behaviour or ability to do a specific job. While a teacher is helping a student learn a language for a variety of purposes, a trainer is training a learner to behave – linguistically and pragmatically – in a certain way. Coach – A coach helps a learner take advantage of the learning opportunities in their working environment. A coach helps a learner to better understand their strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly. Consultant – A consultant is an expert who is brought in because his or her skills are not available in the organisation. In Business English, this expertise may include the ability to analyse communication and communication needs and to recommend training suppliers.
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6 Business English The language of Business English can include the following: General or everyday English used in the context of business English for specific purposes (ESP) General Business English Business English includes some language we can identify as everyday English. For example, consider the exchange below: (7) A: Excuse me B: Hi. Can I help you? A: Yes, I’m looking for room 235, Mr. Jenkin’s office. B: It’s just round the corner, over there. Depending on the context, the exchange could take place in a variety of different settings. For example, a student or a parent could be visiting the headmaster of a school. However, if the exchange takes place within a business context by a business person, it becomes Business English. For example, the exchange could be a business person visiting a supplier’s factory. You will find then that the same functions and language can be taught to a group of general English students or Business English students through different contexts. However, some business professionals use language in other ways, less familiar to outsiders. They use specialist words to make communication within a specific group easier and more efficient. Every profession does this and people use specific language to communicate in different contexts. For example, in the teaching profession, terms such as ‘engaging learners’, ‘lexical set’ and ‘schemata’ are used to communicate within the context of teaching. While these terms are familiar to those involved in the field of education, they may be unfamiliar to those not involved in this field. Business communities are no different. For example, accountants use the language of accounting (specific lexis) to talk about accounting matters (specific contexts). Sales engineers use specific language to discuss their product specifications. These two business communities probably will not understand each other’s specialist vocabulary. The term English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is used to describe language that is inaccessible to people who are not members of a particular language community. Some examples of ESP are below: Can we talk about gearing after lunch? (accounting) We’ve had some SF6 leakage. (power industry) We need to revisit the escalation clause (real estate) There is also some language which is clearly Business English, used by professionals in a range of different industries, but which can be understood by most proficient users of English. Consider the exchange below: Sales have fluctuated recently. Has everyone had a look at the minutes? They’ve terminated the contract. This language is often described as general Business English and is the sort of language found in most general Business English course books or in business journals. Business English, therefore, is an umbrella term for a mixture of general, everyday English, general Business English and ESP. It is not limited to words and phrases that only appear in specialised business worlds.
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Business English is also distinctive as language is used in a range of different specific business contexts for business aims. Business people use language in a range of different contexts, including the following: Socialising Making predictions Analysis Negotiating Buying and selling Writing Persuading Making compromises Telephoning Marketing Interviewing Skill in using Business English is not limited to choosing the right words and phrases. For example, presenters, negotiators and telephone operators use certain techniques to get their message across. Business English users, therefore, need to know the words but also the skills in order to do their job. They need English to do business and not just talk about business. Business English, therefore, is taught together with business communication skills. Business English syllabi tend to focus on functions, related to language needs for different business settings and discourses. Examples include: Conducting and participating in meetings Negotiating and bargaining Telephone English Giving presentations Closing a deal Writing emails Writing a report
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7 Teaching business communication As Business English is not only about language but language use, the teaching of Business English has been influenced by approaches and methods promoting communicative competence. Language learners need to be able to use the language in real-life situations. Business English teachers, therefore, need to focus on three different key components: (8) Linguistic Competence Discourse Competence Intercultural Competence
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8 Linguistic competence Linguistic competence describes the use of basic elements that go together to form language, e.g. vocabulary, grammar and phonology. A deeper understanding of the role of lexis in recent years has influenced the teaching of Business English. For example, chunks of language such as ‘how do you do’ can be taught as a lexical chunk rather than a grammatical structure. These chunks of language can be used by business professionals in a range of different situations. Examples of lexical chunking used in the teaching of Business English include the following: Multi-word units g. ‘how do you do’ Sentence headers g. ‘What’s the matter with…’, ‘I don’t think it’s…’ Phrasal verbs g. ‘start off’, ‘bring up’ Collocationsg. ‘small print’, ‘have a meeting’ Idiomsg. ‘missed the boat’, ‘in the driving seat’ Word families g. ‘write a letter’, ‘post a letter’ Colligations or words that occur in a particular grammatical pattern e.g. ‘letter of application’, ‘letter of complaint’ BUT ‘European market’ (not ‘market of Europe’) Another recent development that has affected the teaching of Business English in particular is the appreciation that there is a difference between spoken and written grammar. Learners need to understand that if they use written grammar rules in conversational speech, their language may sound stilted or unnatural. This is important for all learners of English but it is particularly important for Business English students so they can communicate effectively in speech and writing to achieve their business aims. Spoken grammar is normally used in real-time interaction and has the following features: Different word-order rules Contractionsg. won’t Hesitationsg. ‘erm’ Repetition and ellipsis Incomplete utterances Fronting and tagging g. ‘The tape (fronting). Yeah, we got it yesterday I think it was (tagging). Discourse markers g. ‘OK’ Back channeling g. ‘uh-huh’, ‘yeah’ to signal agreement Phonological features, such as stress, rhythm and intonation are used to convey meaning. Body language and non-verbal communication is also important.
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9 Discourse competence Discourse competence deals with language in use. It describes how people interact with each other within a context. Examples include negotiations, correspondences and presentations. Business discourse competence refers to the spoken and written communication found within the world of business. Participants in discourse communicate within different contexts, following different discourses requiring different strategies. One strategy is the use of register, the degree of formality or specificity used within discourse. For example, an informal chat in a cafe would use colloquial, everyday language while business professionals attending a formal, business meeting would use formal language and specific lexis. The concept of genre is used to distinguish between different types of texts. For example, a different writing style would be employed in an informal memo when compared with a formal letter of complaint. Discourse can be spoken or written. Spoken discourse is often viewed as more important in the Business English classroom and often focused on in Business English training. The reasoning behind this is that spoken discourse is more immediate and urgent. The learner has less time to think about what he needs to say compared to written discourse. The sociological approach to analysing spoken discourse is called conversation analysis. Interaction is seen as a dynamic process with certain characteristics. Spoken interaction has a structure with participants taking turns to speak and there are rules about what is or what is not allowed. For example, participants are often expected to listen to each other and stop talking when another participant is talking. This is known as turn-taking. Conversations also have opening and closing sequences. For example, a telephone conversation often starts off using some of the following components: Answering the call e.g. ‘Hello’ Identification recognition e.g. ‘It’s Andy here’ Greetings e.g. ‘how are you?’ Initial enquiry e.g. ‘I’m calling to see if…’ The language used also depends on the relationship between the caller and receiver. It is important to practise turn-taking and opening and closing sequences in class so students understand spoken discourse structure.
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10 Intercultural competence Culture can be described as attitudes, behaviour, beliefs and values. It is influenced by different factors, including environment, gender, family, age and ethics. It is learned, not inherited and manifests itself in interaction between people. While some cultural differences may be obvious and superficial, others are hidden and not so obvious. There are different types of culture, including national, ethical, organisational and professional. Stereotypes are often used to describe cultural generalisations. For example, it may be useful to be familiar with the concept of ‘face’ when teaching Asian students or dealing with Asian business professionals. ‘Face’ is a concept describing a person’s worth, self-respect and dignity and may affect the actions of individuals from that part of the world. For example, Asians may be less likely to be willing to make mistakes in speech out of fear of appearing incorrect. While stereotypes are useful, there is a danger of assuming that everyone in a particular group behaves in exactly the same way, making no allowance for individuality. It is important, therefore, to ask your students questions about their cultural norms so you can gauge how to best help them to become competent users of English in the intercultural business environment. For example, a Japanese business professional may need coaching in turn-taking, ensuring that they are able to express their point of view at a relevant point in the conversation instead of sitting back and waiting for silence as may be their custom. Intercultural competence includes the ability to deal with and be sensitive to differences in how other cultures do things. From a business point of view, the aim is to recognise and utilise those differences to better understand how to cooperate and communicate together in order to achieve their business aims.
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11 References 1. Frendo, E (2005) How to teach Business English, Pearson, Essex UK 2. Ibid 3. Ibid 4. Ibid 5. Ibid 6. Ibid 7. Ibid
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12 Further Reading Frendo, E (2005) How to teach Business English, Pearson, Essex UK Emmerson, P (2007) Business English Handbook Advanced, Macmillan
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13 Useful Websites British Council resources for teaching Business English https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teaching-adults/resources/english-business
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