So, you’re considering teaching business English. Or perhaps, you want to expand from teaching general to business English. Whatever the reason, you may be feeling stressed out!
Why? Could it be because you feel intimidated by the thought of teaching English to businesspeople? Perhaps, it’s because you have very little business experience yourself, and thus, have no idea where to begin.
Understandable, but there is no need to worry. We are here to help you answer any questions you may have on how to teach business English.
Whether you teach business English online or face to face, we have some effective methods to relieve your stress and make sure each class goes smoothly. In the end, these classes may become some of your favourite ones to teach.
What are the challenges of teaching business English?
Most business English students want to develop their English skills for their work, or their future job. Hence, they may be critical and have high expectations for the lessons.
They want to clearly see how the classes benefit them and sometimes expect immediate results.
Usually, these lessons are scheduled early in the morning or late afternoon/evening when they are free. However, I did have a few classes during the day, so it just depends on the company.
You can also expect latecomers, no-shows, or even cancellations as you are travelling to the company to teach. For times like these, I recommend carrying a good book in your bag.
No, I promise it is not all doom and gloom. When you teach the same classes, you get to know your learners and build an excellent rapport with them once they become more comfortable with you. After a while, you will look forward to these classes every week!
So, how do we get to that point? By following the tips below!
Tips for teaching business English
1. Look and be professional
Keep in mind that learners come from a business environment and will expect you to be a professional too. That means that you need to be punctual, your students are spending what little free time they have studying with you, so don’t be late!
Depending on where you are in the world, always check what the appropriate attire is to teach these classes. If you are going to teach at a company, expect to wear a suit. However, if it is at a school or institute, then it could be more casual. But even if you’re teaching online, you still have to look pro.
Act professionally! Treat them with respect and always be courteous. Remember that first impressions count, so make sure you look and act the part!
2. Be flexible
The priority for business learners is their work and it can be frustrating when classes are cancelled unexpectedly.
If you are working for a school or institute, the learner normally has to give 24 hours’ notice in advance if they are going to cancel the class.
If it is a private business class, it would be a good idea to implement this system too. It helps to reduce stress and you can set another time to have the class.
As mentioned, unforeseen things happen all the time. Fewer learners may turn up than you expected. In your lesson plan, make sure you account for this and always have extra activities or ideas added just in case.
3. Find out expectations
Business learners will have some clear goals that they would like to achieve during their English lessons.
They may already be working, in training, or planning for their future. Therefore, their objective could be set by themselves or by the company, but it will typically involve connecting to international clients in some way.
In this case, consider doing a needs analysis. You don’t need to get them to fill out a form or anything, you simply need to speak to them!
Have a conversation with them to find out about their job position and what responsibilities they have within the company.
Why do they need English? Write down what you have found out, thank them and, if necessary, explain that this will help you make sure these lessons are beneficial for them.
They will be appreciative that you want to customise their learning, and already a rapport is being built.
4. Plan your lessons
Our brain is marvellous, isn’t it? But what happens if we have too many things on our minds? It’s highly likely that you will forget something. This is why I encourage you to use lesson plans. Just keep them simple and to the point.
You have all those notes jotted down from learning their expectations and goals, so now plan the lessons to fit into their business lives.
What is the objective of the lesson? What’s the target language? How can you adapt the lesson to your learners? Can you incorporate realistic role-plays? Do you need any learning materials?
You get the idea, right? Write down a few points in each of your lesson plans that the students wish to cover in the lessons.
The students will remain engaged knowing that you have thought about their goals. In addition, you will look very organised and professional!
Also read: 11 Engaging Business English Lesson Plan Ideas for Teachers
5. Keep it interesting but relevant
No one likes boring classes. We lose motivation and will find any excuse to try and miss a class or two.
Yes, the lessons must be focused on the needs and objectives of the learners but make sure that the classes are interesting.
Discover how to keep things realistic for them. Learn what situations they struggle with or have encountered at work. Help them to review the language they used and if there were other ways to say the same thing. Challenge them!
Liveliness and variety are particularly important if you are teaching beginner business learners. This article on teaching spoken English to beginners may be helpful.
6. Choose learning materials wisely
There is a wide range of materials and resources available, both online and in the form of textbooks. It can be a bit overwhelming. However, it’s essential that you choose materials that create authentic situations during the lessons.
Business learners are a resource themselves. They can provide you with different situations or materials from their working lives. It can be in the form of an email, a presentation, or a report. Alternatively, look at the current news, trade journals, company leaflets, or videos.
Always bear in mind the goals of your students. Think of ways to incorporate them into the class. It will add to the effectiveness of the lesson and show the learner that their goals are always on your mind.
At times you are given a business textbook to use for the classes. Be careful when using them because they may not be relevant to your learners.
It is important that beforehand you review the lessons in the textbook and think of ways to adapt and use them effectively in your classes.
7. Let’s focus on grammar
Students need to make comprehensible sentences, and for this, they need to learn grammar along with business English vocabulary and phrases.
Do your best to combine essential grammar structures or phrases with topics they like.
For example:
- Encourage them to use must and have to when speaking about their job responsibilities. E.g. I have to prepare presentations for my boss.
- Use connectors and verbs of change when discussing sales trends. E.g. Sales have doubled due to our investment in transportation and logistics.
Don’t they enrich the sentences? Now imagine how impressed their boss, co-worker, and clients will be with this type of speech, thus motivating learners to keep learning more.
Also read: How to Teach English Grammar: 16 Helpful Tips
8. Have group and class discussions
Many business students may understand English, but their problem is that they cannot speak it. In your lesson plan, make sure you have times when you allow them some discussion time.
Let them enjoy some small talk during the warm-up. This is beneficial for you too because you can learn about their other interests as well as learn more about their job. Ask them questions but make sure to involve all of them.
Once the target language and grammar have been tackled, let them practise it. They can give examples of how to use it.
Holding debates is another way to encourage students to speak and let’s be honest there are a ton of controversial business topics you can debate about. It is an excellent opportunity to practise expressing opinions. This is an important skill in the business world, so help them to do it.
Pair or group discussions are great if you have students who are on the shy side or are not confident speaking in English.
9. Use business activities
Think of activities that are commonplace in the business world. Model and role-play things such as the following:
- Job interviews
Elicit interview questions and answers on job skills or other qualifications. Have the students interview each other.
- Phone conversations
Practice telephone skills by either providing them with a phone conversation script or doing a listening and discussion activity. Encourage them to think and role-play another scenario that is more applicable to them.
- Networking
Learners can mingle and make small talk to help them feel more confident in meeting business contacts. Elicit small talk topics and phrases to build new contacts, get referrals, schedule appointments, or arrange meetings. Make sure they have plenty of practice in networking.
- Conducting or chairing meetings.
Review or go over meeting terminology, model and have learners take turns in conducting a meeting similar to those your student must attend.
- Delivering presentations
Introduce vocabulary and phrases associated with delivering presentations effectively. Review language for presenting graphs or charts and have the student(s) present them to the class.
Make it more relevant by having them create their own presentations using graphs or charts they have selected.
These activities can be used in person or online. You may even think of more, but just remember to make the activity relevant to your business learners.
If you would like to know more about online teaching, check out this guide on teaching languages online.
10. Don’t forget writing skills
Drafting emails is another activity that is required in business.
Encourage students to think and discuss the important components of emailing. The greeting, subject line, sign-off, etc. can be confusing for them. Can they think of alternative ways to begin or end an email?
Provide email examples and look over the language together.
Challenge the students to improve the emails by using different terminology or phrases. They may struggle with appropriate tone and will have difficulty using formal vs casual speech.
In my experience, class time is not ideal for writing in silence. It is best to set any writing task as homework as it is not conducive to having the students write too much in class. They want to speak in class, so let them!
Learners can draft an email for homework and in the next class, pair them up to improve each other’s email. Let them read it out in front of the class.
11. Acknowledge their improvements
Business people want results, so help them see how they have progressed.
Show them how or where they have improved. Give them examples of before and now. If they can see an improvement, I guarantee they will be telling everyone about your lessons and will try to attend them all.
Always praise and compliment them for doing something well. Business English can be tricky so make sure you notice when they use a new phrase or speak up during a class discussion.
Whatever the ‘new’ action is, express joy and give that figurative slap on the back.
12. Give correction and feedback
Business learners expect correction and feedback.
No one wants to look silly in front of other people, especially fellow businesspeople or prospective clients, so please correct when necessary.
Correction may be needed right away if the learner makes a faux pas. However, be careful not to embarrass them. Say something like: ‘Well done for giving your opinion, but just be careful when saying this……’
Follow up by asking everyone what they could have said instead.
Encouraging everyone to participate removes the pressure on the learner who made the mistake. It also makes the learners think of an alternative and better way to say or do something.
Pair or group work is the perfect opportunity to monitor and correct any errors. It is less embarrassing for the learner.
Always give feedback after any activity. Start with commending them before reviewing any errors made. Have the other learners come up with any recommendations to improve the activity.
Never discourage the learner, we need to build them up to be and feel confident in speaking English in a business environment. Give constructive criticism but end the feedback on a high.
Final thoughts
From these tips, I hope you can see the importance of making every lesson relevant to your business learners. Elicit the language from them and make sure to model, monitor, and practise. Give them alternative words and phrases to prepare them effectively.
If the lessons are prepared with them in mind, they will enjoy them more and definitely improve their knowledge and skills in English.