Business-critical ESP training Ian Badger, BMES, Bristol ESP Conference Ulm, Sponsored by Collins ELT © Ian Badger, BMES

To cover… Business-critical ESP Major drivers Planning ESP training Materials The ESP trainer

“Business-critical” ESP? “Business-critical” training should be vital, essential, indispensable. The recipients of the training (the sponsoring organisation/the learners) need the training – they cannot do without it.

Why is business-critical ESP training so important? Impact on training of cuts, redundancies and company closures Companies/other organisations operating travel restrictions Training must be seen as cost-effective

Major drivers for business-critical ESP New technology = communication challenges Global English-speaking networks = need to make sense of English however it is spoken and communicate clearly English needed at all levels within organisations = career progression halted by poor English skills Younger learners - good levels of general English but knowledge of language needed to work/study effectively may be poor

Planning ‘business-critical’ ESP training needs input from all stakeholders involved, e.g. an IT function: Senior IT management System users Trainers skills and experience Training department IT consultants

Challenges (for learners and trainers) Specific listening comprehension problems Deciphering ‘incorrect’ language Native speaker idiomatic language (irons in the fire, the elephant in the room, a storm in a tea cup, chuffed etc) Business jargon (bug fixes, release mgmt., boxes) Abbreviations / acronyms (SMEs, SPOCs) Cultural knowledge

Learner profiles and expectations – a recent example  Polish IT expert working on global applications helpdesk  Excellent general English – had passed Cambridge Advanced Certificate  Opinion of previous English training in terms of its relevance to her current job – ‘useless’  Requirements: needs to develop linguistic and cultural understanding of her colleagues (principally in India and China)

Examples of training content Speaking and listening skills focussing on everyday needs, e.g. 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 Language needed specifically for examining patients/taking histories in the south west of England Preparation for lectures / seminars in specific universities

Some ESP pitfalls Providing training that the learner wants above what the sponsoring organisation needs Over-focus on, for example, UK/UK business transactions Work on irrelevant case studies and exercises Over-focus on learning fun but non-essential language Over-confidence on the part of the trainer Over-attention to ‘correct’ grammar when time is limited and the brief is to work on communication skills.

Business-critical ESP materials should not be dull should be fun must be relevant to real needs must be motivating, engaging

(c) Ian Badger, BMES Do you understand the questions? Have you ever had any haematuria? Have you noticed any dysuria recently? Do you have any ankle oedema? Do you suffer from orthopnoea? Have you ever had a haemoptysis? Have you ever had a haematemesis?/e/

(c) Ian Badger, BMES Does this help? Have you ever had any haematuria? blood in your urine/water Have you noticed any dysuria recently? burning/stinging when you pass water/urine Do you have any ankle oedema? swelling of the/your ankles / ankle swelling Do you suffer from orthopnoea? breathlessness/shortness of breath when you lie flat Have you ever had a haemoptysis? coughed up (any) blood Have you ever had a haematemesis? vomited blood

My route to ESP – early days Finland Adult education – ‘general and ‘exam’ English English courses in banks and glass industry UK General ‘business’ English, English for oil, telecoms industries and for academic purposes. Medical English Finland English for paper, forestry and engineering industries

My route to ESP – nowadays Europe-based (global participation) Multicultural communication (in English) training for global supply chains Communications training for IT networks UK Clinical and academic English for medical students Orientation to working in the UK

So, how do we become specialist ESP trainers? Work and consult with subject specialists Work alongside skilled ESP practitioners Attend training courses Learn from published ESP materials Refer to web pages, internal documents, brochures etc Learn from and use tailor-made resources such as video/audio recordings