Business English trainers – knowing our limits, developing our competencies - summary slides Ian Badger, BMES, Bristol IATEFL BESIG PCE Harrogate,

Business English trainers - some general observations Very limited pool of specialist business English trainers who have high level of credibility with clients Complaints that I hear from business clients when training people who have attended ‘general’ business courses, e.g.: too much focus on UK/UK business/business transactions, irrelevant case studies and exercises, fun but non essential vocabulary and over- attention to ‘correct’ grammar Trainers with limited knowledge of foreign languages. ‘Business’ specialists who do not have high language teaching competence

Demands on Business English trainers Language training competence Interest in and knowledge of business Understanding of the language which is needed in everyday business transactions Language learning competence

Understanding communication channels used in everyday business Face-to-face meetings One-to-one telephone calls Three/four-way Teleconference Fifteen-way Web conference Everyday ing Instant messaging Texting

Three tiers of business English – what degrees of competence are required from trainers? Highly specific Semi-technical Core

Key considerations at a core level speaking and listening skills at a core level - means working on clarity of speech and pronunciation and understanding different varieties of English core everyday social and business vocabulary and function English structure and function which facilitates clear communication in speech and writing

Examples of core business English Everyday telephone language Everyday language for ing and messaging Manipulating numbers and figures Making/changing/cancelling arrangements Setting up meetings – virtual and face-to-face Giving short presentations Talking about home life, home town etc Practical language for travelling

Key considerations at a semi-technical level speaking and listening skills working on clarity of speech and pronunciation and understanding different varieties of English business/technical vocabulary and function relating to a ‘work group’ such as purchasing and sales, engineering, core medical language writing and telephoning, web conferencing skills as appropriate to general job function English structure and function appropriate to particular work functions (Such language will be specific to a range of learners but we must not fall into the trap of making our materials/training too industry or business specific).

Example of ‘Semi-technical’ language syllabus Describing a job A tour of the workplace Tools and equipment Suppliers and contractors Buildings and installations Maintenance Troubleshooting Safety in the workplace Environmental matters (Contents from ‘Everyday technical English’, Pearson Longman)

Key considerations at a ‘specific’ level. speaking and listening skills focussing on everyday needs, eg working with Chinese and Indian colleagues, working with a UK subsidiary in Manchester business/technical vocabulary and function relating to specific job function – implementing new IT systems (eg.replenishment, refurbishment, accrue, picking, VMI), working in a Global Finance group, language of order handling and dispatch etc writing and telephoning, web conferencing skills as appropriate to job function – working with the language which learners need in their everyday work English structure and function as needed to facilitate clear communication in the specifics of daily work – far greater demands on the trainer

Notes during a presentation given by a Finnish C1 speaker of English (with a London accent) 1.A feasible way of continuing 2.A seamless organisation 3.Incentives/incentivising 4.To differentiate offerings 5.A notorious process 6.Differentiated processes 7.To incur costs 8.Pooling of people 9.Asset optimisation 10. I’ll dig out a chart

English support for SAP roll-out project in Strasbourg, France – Course feedback “Very useful” Video from person involved in the project. Because in direct connection with the subject, and also realistic cases of people from different nationality (Indian, german, etc …) that we will face during the rollout. Final and individual evaluation from the trainer at the end to each trainee. Good points to identify improvement opportunities Always relevant to have a part on grammar, as we generally not have time to train grammar out of the courses

Progressing from general to specific business – demands placed on trainers Different areas of business – different challenges, eg – a lot of everyday language in some functions such as HR, whereas other areas such as Finance, Law, IT, Technical specifics can be very challenging Also some functions are easier to cover, such as everyday socialising, simple presentations and negotiations, talking about yourself and your family. But other functions such as high level negotiations and presentations are not the domain of the everyday EFL teacher So, knowing our limitations – when do we need to hand over to ‘the experts’ (whoever they are) because when training budgets are limited, companies will only have money for essential ‘business critical’ training. Experiences of working with projects – what is our role? What is the role of the content specialist?

So, how do we develop our competences? From training courses On the job – working alongside skilled practitioners From the published materials which we choose to use. From general resources – eg company web pages, news, brochures etc From specific resources – in-company video and audio recordings – in BMES case recently from project offices in Germany and Finland, sales offices in Turkey and Russia, production units in UK and France

References SOME CORE BUSINESS ENGLISH MATERIALS: Badger, I and P. Menzies, ‘English for Business Life’, Heinle Cengage Learning (Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate course books and self study guides) Badger, I, ‘Everyday Business English’, Pearson Longman SOME ‘SEMI-TECHNICAL’ BUSINESS ENGLISH MATERIALS: Badger, I and S. Pedley, ‘Everyday Business Writing’, Pearson Longman Downes C. ‘Cambridge English for Job-hunting’ CUP Flinders, S. ‘Key Terms in People Management’, York Associates Lambert, V and E. Murray, ‘Everyday Technical English’, Pearson Longman