Class TEFL Language

Business EnglishBecause English has become the most powerful means of global communication, the English language is in much demand today. Furthermore, over the last few decades there has been a rapid increase in number of language learners targeted at professional English, English for Specific Purposes: the English of law, accounting, finance, nursing, travelling and other areas related to business. The learners of Business English are of different ages and social groups. Pre-work students are preparing for a future job, in-work students go for the course in order to improve their employment prospects and develop their skills to communicate in a wide scope of business situations. Whatever the reason is, all learners of English want to extend their language knowledge and improve their communication skills. However, what distinguishes Business English from General English and makes it special is that it is always connected to business communication skills and is needs based. The students all have specialist needs: to make business phones, to give presentations, to socialize with clients, to keep correspondence, to deliver financial reports. So the business course contains professional contents. The language knowledge is increased through various business areas such as telephoning, correspondence, presentations, business meetings. Learners of Business English have their ideas of what they need and how applicable it can be to the tasks they are performing or preparing to perform. The teacher of Business English should be able to make the lesson purposeful and functional. students who take a business course are usually quite motivated because they are goal-orientated and expect a particular practical outcome from their study. They often have a lot of specialist terminology but lack abilities to obtain target communication skills effectively. Thus, the development of communication skills should be mastered. Teaching Business English doesn?t require the teacher to be proficient in the target area, i.e., finance, accounting, banking or tourism. And although previous business background can make the lesson more efficient, the teacher?s job is basically to bring in a new approach to teaching English in order to facilitate the learning process and to focus on what is more relevant to the learners. Before actually starting the course the teacher has to do a needs analysis to find out what the students need to obtain before they finish the course, their specific objectives for the course. After individual and group objectives are identified, the teacher will need to plan the programme considering the collected information. The teacher will list suitable learning objectives with matching topics, language and material. Then he/she should demonstrate the aims of the lesson activities to the students and their relevance to the students? needs. Many modern course books focus on both professional content and the language allowing learners of English to relate the target vocabulary to various business situations. The course construction is either built on specific business tasks or to help foster relationship between people in business. The role of the teacher is to make the lesson functional and to apply a language skill in a practical way. To make the course as effective as possible, the teacher should make it communicative, learner-centered and based on needs analysis. He or she will link everyday language with professional terminology with a focus on the specific needs of the learners. By developing their communication skills and increasing their language awareness, Business English learners will be more confident users of the language of business and more successful in their career prospects.