How to Teach Business English: 12

Effective Tips
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 no idea where to begin.

Understandable, and you probably have a lot of questions about how to teach business
English, but no need to worry, we are here to help answer your questions.

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 classes 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 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 is the appropriate attire to
teach these classes. If you are going to teach at a company, then expect to wear a suit.
However, if it is at a school or institute, then it could be more casual and comfortable.

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.

It can be frustrating when classes are cancelled unexpectedly. However, usually if you are
working for a school or institute, the learner 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. Maybe you should have a class of six
but fewer turn up. 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

Instead of you needing to set the objectives for the class, your learners will have some clear
goals that they would like to achieve when taking the classes.

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 imply 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 customize 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 things. This is why I encourage you to use lesson
plans. Don’t over complicate it! Keep it 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? Writing down a few points for each lesson helps keep the business
learners engaged. In addition, you look very organised and professional!

5. Keep it interesting but relevant

Even if you are teaching accounting related terms or something like that, no one likes boring
classes. We lose motivation and will find any excuse to try and miss a class or two. Yes, it’s
important that the lessons are focussed 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. Look at this review for more on teaching spoken English to beginners. (add link)

6. Choose learning materials wisely

There are 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
reports.

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 it may not be relevant to your learners. It is important that beforehand you
review the lessons in the book and think of ways to adapt and use it 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.

Doesn’t it enrich the sentence? Now imagine how impressed their boss, co-worker and
clients will be with this type of speech. Also, learners will be motivated to keep learning
more.

8. Have group and class discussions

Many business students may understand English, but their problem is that they cannot
speak. In your lesson plan, make sure you have times where 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 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 practice 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 practice 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 for 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 arranging 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 on online teaching, this review has a lot more information
and suggestions on this matter. (add link)

10. Let’s mention writing skills (drafting emails)

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 register, 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 have the students writing 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. Their improvements

Businesspeople 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. 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 maybe 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.

By encouraging everyone to participate, it takes the pressure of 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
practice. 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.