5 Must-Know Tips For Teaching Business English Successfully
6th October 2022
Teaching business English mainly focuses on business terminology and associated topics as well as corporate culture. But, unfortunately, some EFL/ESL teachers assume that teaching business English is the same as teaching regular English classes. Certified EFL/ESL teachers could even teach private English classes or teach Business English online.
Business English is quite different from teaching other kinds of EFL/ESL classes. Your students join your classes to improve their English skills for conducting business. Remember, they’re the people who network with clients so they need to know considerate ways of addressing consumers using English. Moreover, they’re the professional adults, not children, teens, or university learners.
Overall, business individuals are focused and they want to know what they need to know.
So, how will you teach them or train them? Let us find out!
Actionable Tips for Teaching Business English
Now, let’s look at how you can conduct business English lessons.
Focus On High Frequency Vocabulary
Needless to say, learning vocabulary for the office context is their number one priority in business English classes. Hence, it is significant to teach some common words and set expressions for everyday work circumstances. These include lexical sets, some common juxtapositions with verbs and nouns, functional language and fixed phrases, etc.
Choose Your Training Materials Sensibly
Your learners can deliver you with factual materials from their working lives, the things they need to read, or maybe even create and present. These could be brochures, emails, PowerPoint presentations or reports. Concentrate on objectives and requirements. Find out why these resources are vital and what your learners want to take away from the lesson.
Maximize Student Speaking Time
Remember, your students need to develop their speaking skills for workplace to gain articulacy and confidence. Include the audio and video scripts of short dialogues or a citation from a longer script. Ask your students read the dialogue audibly in pairs or groups. Give feedback by penetrating the stress and rhythm of any words or phrases which were problematic with the whole class. Deliver support for speaking tasks. Get students to swap roles and repeat the task.
Be Flexible and Try To Identify Problems
Always remember, business English people can have high expectations. Sometimes, they might ask for classes beforehand they start work, in lunchtime or at the end of the working day. Also, sometimes, learners may cancel at the last minute because of unpredicted problems. Try and produce activities that will work on a one-to-one base. Thus, business English teachers and trainers need to accept that they have to be very flexible.
Business English students are educated professionals. They’re serious. So, you need to be more prepared. To create the correct impression, it's significant to teach in a business-like way. Additionally, business English learners, like all students, need motivating. Therefore, ensure there are enough number of opportunities for collective task work.
The Bottom Line
Business English teaching can be very thought-provoking and rewarding. Make sure that you get TEFL certified. Masters of Arts in Education with TESOL program will help in becoming a Business English teacher/trainer. The specialized training will aid you set yourself apart from other educators, make you more suitable for better jobs, attract more students as a freelance teacher, earn more money, and so on.
Want to earn your TEFL certification (change accordingly)? Give us a call at our toll-free number - 1800 212 6400 or else you can reach us at +916292137532 (change accordingly). Our expert advisor will share all the important aspects of TEFL certification and teaching English abroad or even online, including the hiring process, salaries, visas, TEFL class options, job placement assistance and more (change accordingly).
Written By: Sonal Agrawal