Advice sought for teaching high level bizEnglish students

Discussion on teaching Business English

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smirani
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Posts: 1
Joined: 27 Jun 2016, 15:27
Status: Teacher

Advice sought for teaching high level bizEnglish students

Unread post by smirani »

I am currently teaching business professions english and need some help and advice on what I should be teaching them when they are advanced students and can hold a conversation fluently. Lessons need to be business orientated but challenging. All the lessons plans online seem to be for upper intermediate but there are hardly any for advanced students which is a real challenge. I also dont know what I should be teaching them given their high level in english. Any help and advise would be greatly appreciated
Many thanks
Awalls86
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Posts: 48
Joined: 06 Feb 2015, 03:07
Status: Teacher

Re: Advice sought for teaching high level bizEnglish students

Unread post by Awalls86 »

Ask them...
I would do an initial needs assessment in the first class - this can be a simple form asking them about how they use English and what they want to know (look for examples in Google). Then after getting them to fill it individually, I would also go through it as a group and try to open them up about what they want exactly. I think the benefits to this are:
- the students take more ownership of their learning
-the students are thus more motivated to attend
- you don't have to second guess if you are teaching something relevant to them
- students realise they have similar and different objectives, and respect these

You could also ask them to write something and then check this for grammar and vocabulary. Your analysis of this may then lead to doing lessons on particular grammar points or lexis.

If these things take an entire lesson, it is time well spent in order to deliver a meaningful course.

If they are a same language group, have a look at Learner English and see what it says about their native language. Chances are this will highlight a few mistakes they are prone to.

Remember that a lesson does not always have to be doing something new, it can be doing something better. Communicate your aims to the group also.

Another thing I like to do with business students is to get feedback at the end of lessons. This can ensure you are meeting your students expectations. This doesn't need to be complicated... I like to put up a target on a wall and have them draw an x where they think we/I/they did on a particular point e.g. on their way out of the room.
footballmad
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Joined: 12 Feb 2013, 12:06
Status: Teacher

Re: Advice sought for teaching high level bizEnglish students

Unread post by footballmad »

If they are Advanced then they should have a very clear idea about what they need, what they find difficult and what they are unsure about. At that level they need to tell YOU, but of course you will be able to input as well if you spot things to pick up on. They may well need / want to be up to speed with common 'buzz' words & expressions. Try using real-life case studies. For example how to turn around the economy of Spain, how to rebuild the image of Malaysian Airlines after the two disasters etc. Of course if you don't have a business background yourself, then you may have to get up to speed too !
Philipches
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Posts: 5
Joined: 31 Aug 2016, 21:00
Status: Teacher

Re: Advice sought for teaching high level bizEnglish students

Unread post by Philipches »

Not sure if you have done so yet, but have you done any mock interviews with your students? These can be really fun and helpful. I have produced a few Job Interview videos that may be useful. Please feel free to use them: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxuARm ... rW_E1N-UlQ
Happy Teaching!
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