Филологические науки/1. Методика преподавания языка и литературы

Reshetniak M.V.

Sumy banking academy of the NBU, Ukraine

Teaching Business English

There are few main aspects, which are recommended by authentic manuals for specific English language learning [1, 2, 3]. Among main topics suggested by Oxford editions for professional foreign language aquisition are: basic social sphere communication abilities, interviewing and negotiations skills, presentation kit techniques and varied correspondence levels aptitudes. The mentioned above areas are very important in our modern world of endless career possibilities.

The importance of the topics chosen lie in the necessity of the practical requirements a university graduate should meet. A young expert, who seeks a work place, usually searches any available source to get a vacant position, he/she sends a resume and a cover letter, and if the interview is successful both communication and negotiation skills will be required. That is why, mutual efforts of a teacher and a student should be applied in order to aquire the appropriate professional skills and aptitudes, especially if the situation is of a foreign mentality.

In the modern world one of the most important skills anyone can hold is the ability to negotiate. In general terms, a negotiation is a way of conflict resolution. Every time a person starts a relationship and resolves an issue, he/she enters negotiation process: routine activities with family members negotiations, a new job search and acceptance, a career start and promotion, salary promotion, a new partnership forming, etc. Some people are naturally stronger negotiators, and are capable in targeting their aims more easily than others. Without the ability to negotiate, people break off relationships, quit jobs, or deliberately avoid conflict and uncomfortable situations. Correspondingly, negotiating process is often referred to as a kind of art, as it requires a mixture of linguistic and psychological abilities. While some people may be naturally more skillful as negotiators, everyone can learn to negotiate. And, as they often say in business, everything is negotiable [4]. Some role-games may be recommended here. A simple discussion with students of urgent questions will help to find out interesting topic areas for a definite studying group. Environmental pollution, bad habbits, wild animals’ domestication, ex-imprisoned people employment in public sector, parents’ cerfew, etc. – could become such topic areas. A teacher may divide all students into smaller groups with different points of view on the issue, and let few students play the role of “judges”. Open debates perfectly suit the role of negotiations simulator. And “the judges” make a decision as to the strongest arguments and the way of persuasion organisation by the end of the debates. The final part of such a role game may be brainstorming the resons of “the judges” solution.

Another important skill in the world of business is correspondence. People who are occupied have to write business letters. Some employees write many letters each day and others fewer. Business people also deal with correspondence on a daily basis. Some examples of senders and recipients are the following: business to business, business to consumers, a job applicant to a company, a citizen to a government official, an employer to an employee, a staff member to a staff member. Business letters are sometimes called "snail-mail" (in contrast to email which is faster) and includes: letter, memo, and fax. Types of business letters are usually coherent to the main aim of a letter, which may be as the following: to persuade, to inform, to request, to express thanks, to remind, to recommend, to apologize, to congratulate, to reject a proposal or offer, to introduce a person or policy, to invite or welcome, to follow up, to formalize decisions, etc. [5] In the topic “Correspondance” it is important to aquire a resume, CV and a cover letter writing skills as well. The main example of written role-games may be as followes: preparing a resume and a cover letter to a potential employer (who may be found in the Internet search), and students usually find it very interesting and potentially beneficial to send these documents to the mentioned above recipient.

A formal talk to one or more persons that "presents" ideas or information in a clear, structured way is often reffered to as a presentation. The necessary for giving a presentation techniques are important for students, as they are sometimes afraid of speaking in public. Nevertheless, following simple rules will give a hand to a person who gives a presentation. Oxford publications provide students with detailed tutorials, which guide a reader through each stage of giving a presentation in English, from the initial preparation to the conclusion and questions and answers. This kind of manuals is itself set out like a mini-presentation. One can follow it logically by starting from the introduction or coming directly to the section he/she wants to read [6, 7]. By the end of a definite period of time during which students aquire presentational skills, each student or a group of them prepare a presentation on a given topic (it usually depends on their main area of studying). It is contributing to the process of studying to organise the audience (students, who are not presenting at the very moment) to ask the presenters questions and give feedback.

After graduation some students get positions in multi national companies. The knowledge and use of key English phrases and expressions related to meetings in MNCs are of a great importance whether one is holding a meeting or is just attending it. A successful meeting has no surprises. With proper preparation and careful organization, a meeting can run smoothly. The most typical complaint about meetings is that they run too long. Meetings that run longer than necessary can be very costly to a company or business. As the famous business expression says: “Time is money”. Setting goals and time limits, keeping to the agenda, and knowing how to refocus, are key components of an effective meeting. This may sound simple in your own native language, but it is a little trickier when participants do not speak fluent English [8]. That is why by letting your students know about the class agenda and keeping to time limits each time, a teacher who gives a class of business English prepares students to multinational companies’ rules of having a meeting.

It is beneficial to students if a teacher of business English has had an experience of working in a foreign company. But nowadays there are plenty of ways to get the professional skills of business foreign language teaching. Among them are: business seminars held by international companies’ representatives, communication with foreign volunteers, who’ve had a business experience, and, of course, the use of authentic manuals, business language games and the Internet. Creative role-games, the examples of which are given above, make the process of studying successful and captivating.

Literature sources:

1. Business Basics. Business English course book. David Grant, Robert McLarty. Oxford university press, 2004.

2. Market Leader. Business English course book. David Cotton, David Falvey, Simon Kent. Pearson/Longman, 2007.

3. Business Opportunities. Business English course book. Vicki Hollet. Oxford university press, 2006.

4. http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/negotiations.htm.

5. http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/correspondence-samples.htm.

6. http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/presentations.htm.

7. Presentations. Course book. Oxford university press, 2005.

8. http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/meetings.htm.