Case study
It was no good, a sleepy Mr C (his name altered to protect the lazy) just wasn’t getting it.
We were in his ceramic factory at 8.15 am and role-playing a telephone conversation I had found in our English course book
‘No’, I said, ‘you say ‘B’s’ part.’

Either he had forgotten all the English we had been learning or else he just wasn’t interested.
Mmm. ..Not interested.
Then it struck me. The conversation I had found probably bore no relevance to his working life. Quickly, I changed tack.
‘Mr C. Do you use the telephone at work?’
‘Yes’ he said
‘What for?’ I said. Immediately he brightened. Now he could talk about himself, his life and his needs. More questions followed and we established he had an agent in Germany with good English. They needed to talk about supply options, delivery times and orders. He needed to improve his listening skills in particular so he could help his agent quickly and effectively.

With his help we then pieced together a realistic 2 way telephone conversation.
We used this initial conversation as a template and role-played further dialogues, changing minor details but keeping as close as possible to his real-life business telephone conversations. He was interested, motivated and above all, learning the key elements he needed

Oh, the wonder of a proper business lesson, carefully tailored to meet his individual needs.
Of course, it would have helped had I conducted proper 1-1 needs-analysis earlier on.
But then, armed with my TEFL certificate geared primarily towards teaching adult learners general English only, how would I have known?

We had touched on a fundamental of business English teaching success: Find out what your students(s) want and need to do in English via a thorough needs analysis early on, and ensure lessons reflect these needs closely.


What is business English?
Quite simply, it is the English required to do business. It refers to the English needed for negotiating, socialising, making presentations, telephoning or for contributing in meetings, for example. The exact business English needs will vary depending on the student, hence the need for a proper, in-depth needs analysis early on. Also, teachers need to carefully blend general English (after all they still need the basic language and grammar to ‘hang’ their business vocabulary on) with the specialist business elements.

This is all very well, you might say, but we humble teachers aren’t likely to be experts in the ceramic industry, injection moulding or whatever the business may be. Surely we need to have a business background in order to teach it?
Well, this would be useful but is by no means essential, particularly if you have completed a good teaching business English course which can train you in basic methodology and help you to succeed. The good news is that information gap exercises (where two people need to communicate to get the full picture) form the basis of many excellent communication tasks for the EFL classroom. This is no exception. He has the business knowledge. Get him to fill you in, using straightforward Q and A or more creative tasks such as questionnaires, role-plays etc. requiring him to impart information so you get the full picture. Where possible, use your student as the resource. It’s the surest way to keep lessons relevant.


Employment prospects with business English
While traditionally it has not been necessary to complete a specialist business course in order to teach business English, many of our graduates have found that a TESOL with business qualification has given them the edge in finding certain types of employment. Here, Matthew Bruce a graduate of our business course describes the difference it made to him.

‘I was offered an excellent job teaching English to staff of a major electronics company, 30mins from our apartment in the Tokyo area. I will be responsible for teaching both general English courses and other specialised Business English programs. Over 150 applicants applied and just 10 were interviewed. I was able to answer and present some good ideas due to the fact that I had learnt many valuable points through the Global English Business English course. Thank you once again!!’

This is echoed by a number of our graduates in France who have often found work in-company through the chamber of commerce. Kerry Edwards in Caen comments:

I did the TEFL with Business and this has certainly helped me to specialise within this area. I have taught English to company Directors, Salesmen, Technicians, Engineers and accountants as well as others within the Hotel and Restaurant sector.

There are other advantages for you, too in being able to teach business English:

• Increasing TESOL prospects: particularly with certain employers in countries such as Germany, France and Japan – but in increasing demand worldwide.
• Better pay (in general) and greater prospects for more lucrative freelance teaching
• A welcome change from general English classroom teaching/kids etc. Many business people learn 1-1, making it an intense, challenging but rewarding form of teaching.

Certainly, the ability to teach business English should certainly broaden your appeal - and provide the springboard to some fascinating personal encounters.

The Global English TESOL with business course trains you to teach general English and business English. Discover more >>

For any question, comments or additions to this article, please contact lwalsh@global-english.com