Business English Skills

Courses Syllabus

Introduction:

This course combines specialized classes in International Business English communication skills and concepts with general English language skills.

This course is designed to give participants the English skills they need to work effectively in today’s global marketplace.

English skills and vocabulary are developed through exercises, case studies, role plays and research on business topics including: I.T., finance, accounting, marketing, advertising, sales, negotiation, business practices, and cultural comparisons in business operations and appropriate grammar

Objectives:

On this course, participants will learn:

• to communicate with others in practical, business-oriented situations
• to express themselves in English with greater fluency, accuracy and confidence
• to handle themselves in English in a variety of business contexts, from negotiating, to using the
• telephone, to making presentations, to socialising

The Contents:

Introductions

• Course outline and approach
• Describing your role and responsibilities
• Typical & critical scenarios you use the target language in, key issues

Meetings

• Chairing, setting the agenda, controlling the conversation
• Participating, turn-taking, listening and taking notes
• Being diplomatic, agreeing and disagreeing

Business Correspondence

• Emails – register, style, standard phrasing
• Notes and memos
• Business-specific language phrases

Telephoning

• Checking & clarifying information
• Finance-specific scenarios
• Listening to different accents, intonation

Making Presentations

• Introducing a topic effectively
• Linking and sequencing ideas
• Concluding
• Responding to questions

Process Management

• Describing processes, cause and effect
• Criticising, recommending
• Quality assurance, continuous improvement

Negotiating

• Key negotiating language, framing your argument
• Negotiating with suppliers
• Negotiating with customers

Social English

• The first five minutes
• Speed networking – the elevator pitch
• Small talk, turn-taking
• Business conventions