Scheduled for May 15th
US(2)/Israel(Kazakhstan)/
Applied Business
Introductions
What challenges do clients encounter when handling business communication in English?
What challenges do you encounter when teaching business communication to your clients?
The Language of Business
Business terminology
-Vocabulary or phrases used in a particular industry or profession. E.g. Conversion Rate, Market Penetration
Power verbs
-An intense verb that is not used very often or that reflects an extreme action. E.g. Consolidated, Generated, Inspired
Business idioms
-Figurative phrases that have a specific meaning in business or are not widely used outside of business. E.g. Corner the market, Raise the bar
Business Terminology
Brainstorm examples of terminology suitable for a client who works in Human Resources.
-Attrition
-Retention
-Notice period
-Onboarding
-Redundancy
-Performance Appraisal
-Disciplinary measures
Power Verbs
What is another way to say you were ‘in charge of’ a project?
-Headed
-Executed
-Orchestrated
-Oversaw
-Controlled
-Chaired
Business Idioms
What business idioms could you teach for Business Advantage 4 Unit 8?
-Took a nosedive
-Went through the floor
-Bounced back
-At a snail’s pace
-Shot up like a rocket
-A snowball effect
Resource Lab for Business Language
Which sections of the Resource Lab can help us teach business language?
-Find 3 Resource Lab pages that could incorporate business terminology, power verbs, or business idioms.
Successful Business Role-plays
How do you create customized role-plays for your business clients?
What makes a business role-play successful?
5 Steps for a successful business role-play:
Step 1: Establish the goal
Step 2: Prepare language
Step 3: Set up & role-play
Step 4: Provide feedback
Step 5: Role-play again
Step 1: Establish the goal
-What are the client’s English goals?
-Where and with whom do they use English?
-What is their job position?
-What are their job responsibilities?
-Which industry do they work in?
Step 2: Prepare language
-Language from lesson unit
-Language from beyond the lesson unit
-Client context/ appropriate register
-Industry-specific language
Step 3: Set up & role-play
Set up
-Which role is appropriate for the client?
-Who is in charge of the situation?
-What are the emotions of the characters?
-What is the end goal of the role-play?
While role-playing:
-Stay in character
-Maintain eye contact(face to face)
-Sit back to back(telephone role-plays)
-Incorporate newly taught language into the role-play
Step 4: Provide feedback
-Did the role-play reach a logical conclusion?
-Did the client use the appropriate language accurately?
-Did the client achieve all goals of the role-play?
-Was their register and intonation appropriate?
Step 5: Role-play again
-Do same role-play or a new role-play
-Second role-play should be a new context
-Keep the same target language
-Allow opportunity for clients to incorporate your feedback
-Add complications and more challenging vocabulary
Client Case Study
Prepare a customized role-play for Client Case Study A
Incorporating:
-Business terminology
—Top of the line, must have, in season, trending
-Power verbs
—Culmination, Collaboration,
-Business idioms
—Blows the competition out of the water, give it to me straight, stop beating around the bush, don’t sugarcoat it
Business Listening Skills
Why do business clients need to practice listening skills?
-Conducting remote work & online meetings
-Handling Telephone calls
-Attending presentations and conferences
-Taking proficiency tests such as TOEIC
Handling Telephone Calls
What issues do clients have when making and answering calls?
-Don’t know how to open/close the call or answer questions
-Can’t understand the caller’s English (phrasing/vocabulary)
-Caller is talking too fast
-Poor line quality/low volume
How can we help our clients overcome these issues?
-Practice standard phone phrases (E.g. “Could you speak up?”)
-Conduct customized phone role-plays (including beginning/end)
-Turn off webcam/turn around
Making Telephone calls
Why might a client feel reluctant to make a call?
-The are unsure of what to say
Have a strategy before you make the call
Who are you? -> What do you want? -> Do you have all the details in hand? -> How do you close the conversation?
Client Case Study
Prepare a customized lesson for Client Case Study B
How can we help her practice making Telephone calls?
Remote Work & Online Meetins
How can we support our clients working remotely in English?
-Teach phrases useful for online meetings
-Discuss online meeting etiquette
-Practice listening skills
Introduce phrases and practice common situations:
-Starting an online meeting
-Setting an agenda
-Giving an update
-Making an interruption
-Ending the meeting
Online Meeting Etiquette
What other issues can you raise with your business clients regarding online meetings?
-Mute vs. unmute
-Equipment issues (headphones, mics, etc.)
-Where to look: camera vs. screen layout
-Potential distractions & multitasking
-Leaving/Ending a meeting
Listening Activities
Let’s try a listening activity!
-How long did it take to read the dialogue?
-What kind of questions were asked?
-What other kinds of questions could you ask?
-How could you adjust for different levels?
-What other resources could you use?
Client Case Study
-Prepare a customized lesson for Client Case Study C
-How can you support him with his online meetings?
Design a listening activity for his lesson
Business Reading Skills
When do your business clients use reading skills?
-Company emails
-Presentations slides
-Meeting agendas
-Newspaper articles
-Employment contracts
-Business strategy books
Business Reading Skills
What is extensive reading?
-Reading to obtain a general understanding of a subject, including reading for pleasure. E.g. A magazine article
What is intensive reading?
-Reading used in order to extract specific information. Includes very close reading for detail. E.g. A financial report
Skimming and Scanning
What is skimming?
-Reading something quickly for general understanding. E.g. Skimming a newspaper to quickly get the news of the day.
What is scanning?
-Searching a passage for a specific piece of information without reference to the overall meaning. E.g. Scanning a flight departures timetable.
Reading Activities
Skimming Activity:
-Look at the learning material
Client Case Study
Prepare a customized lesson for Client Case Study D
How can you support him with his reading skills?
Design a reading activity for his lesson