6 tips for teaching business English to low level learners

Margaret O'Keeffe
A business woman in a suit sat at a laptop

The CEFR describes A1 and A2 learners as ¡®basic users¡¯ of a language. So how can we help these students to develop their English for the workplace?

Here are our six top tips:

1. Focus on high-frequency vocabulary for work

Learning English vocabulary for work context is the top priority for many low-level learners in business English classes. It helps them to communicate their message in a simple, effective way. This makes it important to teach common words and set expressions for everyday work situations.

These include:

  • lexical sets (words related to the same topic or situation) ¨C for example, days, months, numbers, verbs to describe work routines, verbs in the past.
  • common collocations with verbs and nouns (for example, manage a team, have meetings, place an order, solve a problem).
  • functional language and fixed phrases ¨C greetings (How are you? Nice to meet you.) and offers (How can I help you? Would you like¡­?).

2. Help students with vocabulary learning

Teach vocabulary items in realistic contexts. For example, phone calls, to-do lists, short emails, text messages etc.

While it might be tempting to give students lots of vocabulary to memorize, this can cause overload, be frustrating and ultimately demotivating for learners. Instead, you should aim to present eight to ten new words in a lesson as a general rule. This is an achievable number for working memory and helps to build learners¡¯ confidence. The number of words can be a little higher if items are easy to show in images or there is repetition; for instance, the numbers 20 to 100.

Have students make simple decisions about new words, as this helps with recall later. Start with simple tasks, such as matching words and pictures or verb and noun collocations they¡¯ve seen in a short text (for example, managing a team, call customers, writing emails, etc.). Next, ask students to complete sentences using the target words and write their own sentences using these words.

Getting students to personalize new vocabulary makes it more memorable, for instance writing sentences describing their work routines. Repetition also aids long-term memory, so make sure vocabulary is recycled in the materials in later lessons.

Finally, make a list of vocabulary games to use for revision exercises, warmers and to finish classes.

3. Maximize student speaking time

Learners need to develop their English-speaking skills for work. The classroom is a safe, low-stakes environment for them to gain fluency and confidence.

Use the audio and video scripts of short dialogues or an extract from a longer script. Students read the dialogue aloud in pairs or groups. Give feedback by drilling the stress and rhythm of any words or phrases which were difficult with the whole class. Back-chaining phrases ¨C starting with the last sound and building up going backwards ¨C is an excellent way to drill. Get students to swap roles and repeat the task.

You can also use another technique called disappearing dialogue. Put a short dialogue on the board for students to practice in pairs. Then delete parts of the dialogue and ask them to repeat the task, swapping roles each time. Gradually delete more parts to increase the challenge. Students can reconstruct the dialogue as a final task.

Moreover, surveys, questionnaires, true/false games, and information-gap exercises are ways to practice speaking in English, target structures, and vocabulary.

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4. Provide support for speaking tasks

Use a model dialogue from the coursebook or one you wrote yourself. Ask students to build their own short dialogues by changing some details (such as names, dates, prices, and quantities). Or use one half of the dialogue and ask students to write the other part.

Then, have them perform their dialogues together with their script. Then, ask them to try to memorize it without the script. Finally, they should perform the dialogue for another pair or even for the whole class.

Give students a reason to listen to their partners when they are speaking. For example, a speaking task like placing an order on the phone, gives them a reason. The listening student can note the essential information and check their answers afterwards.

Repeating tasks with slight variations increases the challenge, improves fluency, helps students remember useful phrases, and builds self-confidence.

5. Practice work skills your students need

Students are much more engaged and motivated when the class content is relevant to their everyday situations.? They will want to learn English for work and skills they need to practice include telephoning, socializing and giving presentations.

Writing skills are also important. This includes formal and informal text messages, simple forms, less formal emails to colleagues (e.g. to update on work) and more formal emails to customers (e.g. replying to a simple inquiry).

At the start of the class, make it clear what students will be doing in the lesson. You can refer to the lesson outcome on the coursebook page or write the lesson outcome in your own words on the whiteboard. For instance, ¡°Today you will learn to place a simple order on the phone¡±.

At the end of the class, ask students to respond to the self-assessment statement: ¡°I can place a simple order on the phone.¡±

This is a reminder of the purpose of the lesson. It also helps the students and teachers to reflect on the progress they are making.

The grammar syllabus should also relate to English learners' communicative needs (for example, describing your company, instructions, and talking about arrangements).

6. Teach functional language phrases

Draw students¡¯ attention to useful phrases and functional language in speaking and writing. For instance, when greeting visitors (¡°Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°See you later.¡±). They can memorize these utterances and put them to immediate use outside the classroom.

Use role plays to practice work skills and functional language skills. Give learners ample time to prepare and write down what they want to say. In a phone call role play, put students back to back to increase the challenge and add an element of authenticity; even better if they can call each other on their mobile phones from separate rooms.

Similarly, with presentations (for example, introducing yourself and your company), give students time to prepare and rehearse. They can ask colleagues to video them on their mobile phones for later correction work and feedback. Or they could rehearse and film themselves at home and show the final video in the next class.

These are just a few tips and techniques for teaching corporate English to low-level learners. It¡¯s especially important for these students to start simple, recycle language often and build their confidence in their workplace English.?

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    How to encourage your teenage students to become independent learners

    By Nicola Pope

    Learning is a lifelong activity regardless of age, position, or ambition. Many teachers embody this philosophy themselves ¨C and would like nothing more than for their teenage students to develop strategies to become independent learners.

    But teachers often feel frustrated when their students rely on them too much or show a lack of motivation and focus in the classroom.

    Let¡¯s look at how to start a project that holds your students¡¯ attention. We¡¯ll also go into how you can help your students practice and develop a range of English language skills at the same time.

    The benefits of starting a project that interests your students

    Group projects are motivating because they give students a common objective to work towards. The need to work as part of a team teaches teens collaboration skills, such as accountability. When learners decide on roles within their groups it soon becomes apparent just how important it is for them to be responsible and do their part.

    Project work also often encourages students to push themselves beyond their comfort zones as they try and test new skills. This is often true when learners are required to present on a topic or learn how to do something practical (like using PowerPoint or Google Slides for presentation design).
    In addition, projects can test a variety of English language and 21st century skills such as:

    • critical thinking skills (for planning and development of ideas)
    • topic/subject-specific vocabulary
    • reading and listening comprehension (for researching)
    • speaking skills (for group work)
    • creative skills (for project development and production)
    • presenting skills (for the final delivery of the project)

    Furthermore, when projects take place over several classes, students often eventually get into a routine and seek less direction from the teacher. They know what needs to be done and get on with it in their groups. Of course, you will still need to monitor and offer guidance throughout the project.

    The key elements of an independent learning project

    Find a meaningful subject matter

    First, you¡¯ll need to start with a topic that engages your students. To discover this, put students in groups (online in breakout rooms or in the classroom) and have them work together and mind map some local, national or global problems they would like to solve. For example:

    • The local theater has closed down and they want to set up a new drama club.
    • There is a lot of pollution in the capital city and they want to help reduce it.
    • The rainforest is being deforested and they want to create awareness.

    After they have a good-sized list, instruct each group to pick something they would like to learn more about. Alternatively, if your students are unlikely to find interesting problems to solve themselves, provide them with several short-level-appropriate reading materials about topics you think will catch their attention. That way they can learn about local or international issues and choose a project focus.

    Balancing guidance and instruction

    A vital goal of this project-based approach is to encourage students to be independent. That does not mean they should have no boundaries or objectives, however.

    You¡¯ll need to set deadlines, tell them what you expect of them, and explain how they should present their projects at the end. And depending on their levels, your students will also need a certain amount of scaffolding. You can do this using a set of questions. For example:

    1. What is the main problem you want to solve?
    2. Who does it affect?
    3. Why is it important to change?
    4. What steps could you take to solve the issue?
    5. Who could help you do this?
    6. How could we do this as a group?
    7. How can we present the issue to make people care about it?

    These questions can form the basis of the project, which can last from one to several weeks, depending on their age, level and time restraints. Adapt the questions to suit your students and the specific needs of their projects.

    Facilitating teamwork

    Encourage students to work together to plan, research and present their ideas. Set days or classes by which certain project elements must be completed. This helps ensure that the students make progress and encourages them to ask you questions if they are stuck.

    Decide whether you want to give set times during your classes to work on the project, or whether you want to dedicate entire classes to their work. Also, think about how much work should be completed in your student's own time. Their workload, level of English, and access to technology will all impact your decision.

    For example:

    • Class one: Define the problem you want to solve. Consider what you need to find out, decide on individual roles and develop an action plan. Show the teacher your progress.
    • Class two: Research your project questions and share what you find with the group. Is there anything else you need to know? Show the teacher your progress.
    • Class three: Come up with a presentation outline and begin to work on it.
    • Homework: Each work on your individual presentation section.
    • Class four: Show the teacher your progress. Practice your presentations.
    • Class five: Practice and then deliver your presentations.

    You may wish to allow students the freedom to choose how they would like to present it. Give instructions on how long you expect the presentation to be. If working remotely, collaboration tools such as Google Docs, and are excellent for facilitating teamwork.

    Here are some ways you might ask them to present:

    • a poster and presentation
    • an online presentation (e.g. using PowerPoint)
    • a website (on paper or online)
    • a video presentation
    • a theatrical production
    • a podcast episode.

    Keep in mind that the objective is to help them research, present and deliver a project in English. Check in regularly on progress and provide feedback and help whenever needed.

    While it¡¯s important to monitor and guide them with the English language as they work, it¡¯s also crucial to let students make decisions for themselves.