Nov 30

What Are the Alternatives to Business English?

Business English Training Courses, English Language Training, Financial English Training Courses, Language Training Courses 2 Comments »

It is generally presumed that if you are a professional person and you are on an English language training course, you are going to be following a Business English course. Does this mean that the term Business English includes all aspects of English that are not ‘general’? Is there really only one alternative to Business English?

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The obvious main alternative to Business English is ‘General English’. On a General English course, the delegate would be offered the choice of themes, which might be of interest to anybody outside the world of work (the environment, transportation, sports and leisure, the media, travel, etc). The functions of the language are presented and practiced in a ‘general’ way. So, for example, making suggestions might be presented in the context of a group of friends discussing what they might do that evening: ‘Shall we go to the cinema?’, ‘How about seeing the new Harry Potter film?’ Why don’t we go ice skating instead?

The term ‘Business English’ has come to mean the kind of English that professional people require in order to able to work effectively in their companies. Business English is therefore the umbrella term under which the language that is used in all the departments in a company is included. However, the language specific to different departments is generally only touched upon lightly as the main focus of a business English course is the skills required at work: telephoning, writing emails, making presentations, participating in meetings, etc. If the delegate wishes to specialize in the English required for a specific profession he/she needs to choose a specific strand of Business English as an alternative. It is therefore possible to say that alternatives to ‘Business English’ are: Human Resources English, Financial English, IT English, Marketing English, Pharmaceutical English and Technical English, etc.

In addition, there also exist exam preparation courses which are not necessarily solely concerned with Business English. All of these exam preparation courses focus on the skills that are needed to perform well in the exam. Therefore, tactics, tips and exam question practice make up an essential part of the course. Some of these exams might be more general (The Cambridge general English PET, FCE, CAE, CPE tests, for example) or professional, but not specifically business (the TOEIC). Others are more specialized, such as the International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE) and the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC); both from Cambridge.

Academic English is another alternative type of course in which the content focuses more on preparing students for studies in a university, college or school where English is the medium of study. Such a course is therefore more skills-focused as the content of the academic studies varies from student to student. Listening and note-taking skills are highly important for reaping the benefits from lectures, essay writing and presenting information are both important production skills.

Most business English courses mix in ‘social’ English so that the business person feels able to cope in travel and social situations. Therefore, the following themes might be included on the course: how to deal with different situations at the airport, how to get by in a hotel, how to feel at ease in a restaurant with Anglophone business partners, how to small talk, etc. Even though this mix of social and professional language may exist on a business English course, a true combination of business and general English does exist as a veritable alternative to a Business English course. Delegates could choose to divide the course in half, alternating business lessons with general ones. One week, the delegate might be practising the language needed to lead a meeting, the next week he/she could be discussing global warming and climatic changes. This type of course is popular as variety generally increases motivation and people also feel the need to address their personal culture. Increasingly, business is about socializing: being able to participate in general discussions and express one’s opinion confidently.

The final alternative I would like to mention is cultural awareness training for English speakers. Courses are available which enable you as an individual to understand better people from different cultural backgrounds. This type of course looks beyond language and focuses on such aspects as paralanguage and social behavior.

In conclusion, the answer to the question I asked in the introduction: ‘Is there really only one alternative to Business English?’ is ‘no’. There is a wide choice of English courses and as more and more courses are created to respond to the specific needs people have, the number of alternatives to ‘Business English’ will continue to grow.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Nov 15

How to Learn a Language – Part Three

English Language Training, Language Training Courses 1 Comment »

When following a language training course, regular practice or study is much better than irregular bursts of activity. It is also important for you to vary the kind of activities you do as well, otherwise you will soon become bored. Vary between listening tasks, on line grammar activities, graded readers and on-line chat, etc. Some learners might be frustrated at how difficult the level of language available to them appears. This is why graded readers and learner magazines exist. It is advisable to buy these with an accompanying CD so that you can continue doing listening practice.

Businessman making Presentation i How to Learn a Language – Part Three

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Try to remain realistic about how long it takes to learn a language. If you attempt to find quick fixes then you risk being disappointed. It is also a fact that learning a language is not like learning how to ride a bicycle: language is easily forgotten when it is not practised. Therefore, an important aspect of learning is also maintaining what has been learned during your language course through recycling.

A person, who is interested in the culture of a country where the target language is spoken, is probably more likely to feel motivated to learn the language. If you do not know about the culture, then try to find out some things that might interest you. If the culture does attract you, then you are more likely to want to do some research and visit the country.

Don’t spend time unnecessarily studying language points that are similar if not identical to those in your own language. Information is available that gives advice on which points need more attention than others. For French speakers who are learning English, for example, Catherine Walker in the book ‘Learner English’, Cambridge, 2008, states that ‘French shares many phonological characteristics with English. French speakers do not have great difficulty in perceiving or pronouncing most English consonants, but some vowel sounds present problems’. The French speaker therefore knows what pronunciation areas to concentrate on. Therefore minimal pairs such as ‘leave and live’, pull and pool’, ‘paper and pepper’ should be focused on. As far as grammar is concerned ‘The French and English grammatical systems are very similar in most ways’…(Catherine Walker) There are some important differences, however, such as the fact that French has no equivalent of the English progressive or continuous form. Therefore the difference between such sentences as ‘He lives in York’ and ‘he is living in York’ is not very clear to French speakers. In terms of vocabulary, certain false friends should be a priority. Some examples of these false friends are: actual or actually (the French ‘actuel’ means ‘current’ or ‘present’). Ignore (The French ‘ignore’ means ‘not to know’). ‘Pass an exam’ (The French ‘passer un examen’ means ‘to sit’ or ‘take an exam’)

Finally and most importantly, learning a language should be fun and it will only be fun if you focus on subjects that interest you. If you are interested in politics, the environment, sport or cinema, for example, it is a good idea to use the Internet as a source of vocabulary and articles that relate to these areas. For higher level learners, buying a magazine in the target language is a sure way to increase language learning motivation. Doing something in the target language is a great way to practise. Playing on-line games alongside or against opponents from other countries can help. Recent research in adult learning shows that ‘you’re likely to remember 20% of what you read and 30% of what you hear … and a staggering 90% of what you see, hear, say and do’.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Nov 12

How to Learn a Language – Part Two

English Language Training, Language Training Courses 3 Comments »

Putting certain fundamentals in place at the beginning of the learning process will help you to progress independently. The role of a language training course is to help you study and learn by yourself as your trainer cannot always be present to provide new information, help with the practice of the language or to answer questions. As far as speaking is concerned, it is therefore advisable that you are able to recognize and pronounce the different sounds of the language you are learning. It is important to know how these sounds are produced and what the phonetic symbols are. In this way, when you come across an important new word or expression, you will be able to look it up in a dictionary and work out its pronunciation without having to ask a trainer.

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In English, for example, the different ways of pronouncing ‘ough’ only become clear with the help of a trainer or the phonetic script in a dictionary (compare: though , through, bough, trough, thought, etc).
Arming yourself with a good dictionary, a practical grammar book and a list of a few good websites can help this independent progression. Websites can provide practice in all of the four skills. Some examples of these are:

Watching the news, documentaries and films in the language you are studying is also a great help. Even if you cannot understand everything that is said, getting used to the sounds and rhythm of a language is very helpful. Podcasts are a wonderful tool as the same extracts can be listened to as many times as one wishes.

The best way to become a competent and accurate user of the target language is to learn its grammar. Methods which teach set phrases without explaining the mechanics or grammar of the language are not doing you any long-term favours. It is only when you understand what lies beneath the structure of a sentence that you will be able to start making your own sentences in a fully independent way. It is important, however, that you find the approach to grammar that works best for you as there is an enormous amount of material on the market and on the Internet to choose from. Slogging away at grammar exercises when these bring back bad memories of English lessons at school is obviously not the right way.

By focusing on the functions of the language or on the lexical chunks could help you move away from the word ‘grammar’. In the same way, it is important that you know yourself and the way that you learn best. You might be more of an aural or a visual learner, for example. If you are a more visual leaner, it is important that you supplement what you have heard with written documentation (look at the audio scripts, read the subtitles, etc). If you need to see the written word before you can register it correctly, then it is important that you note down new vocabulary. Most trainers will adapt the language training courses according how best each delegate learns but it is always beneficial for you to think about your own learning style and apply what you discover.

Immerse yourself in the target language as much as possible. Take opportunities to listen to the radio on the Internet, watch TV or films in the target language, read articles on the internet and in publications. Travel to a place where the target language is spoken. It might be possible to join an association or club in your home town, which groups together people who share the desire to practise the language. Make the most of those journeys to work by car, train and underground by listening to a podcast, CD or MP3 files. If you are interested in anglophone music, then go one step further and discover what is being sung. Singing along can help pronunciation as well.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Nov 11

How to Learn a Language – Part One

English Language Training, Language Training Courses No Comments »

When learning a language, firstly make sure that you focus on what you really need to know. Do not try to learn everything. This leaning focus is achieved by knowing your own objectives. If you are learning with a language training organisation, then it is imperative that they carry out a needs analysis or a diagnostic consultancy and draw up a programme of content before the language training course starts. The trainer should attempt to remain faithful to the outline of this content, unless of course the delegate requests a special review, further explanations or an additional area of study.

Definition Language kdow i How to Learn a Language – Part One

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Vocabulary fields need to be defined in accordance with your objectives. If you require financial English, legal English or general business English, then these areas of vocabulary should be practised and recycled continually during the training room activities. By doing this, the core lexical areas are presented and practised thoroughly during the language training course. The trainer ought to select the vocabulary items that are the most used and hence the most useful in your professional or even general English interest area. Learners’ dictionaries indicate which items of vocabulary are most commonly used (based on an ELT corpus) and reference to these will help you define a glossary that is concise and practical.

There are a lot of different ways of recording and learning vocabulary. Experiment with these different ways before deciding on which way suits you best. Trainers will generally encourage you to note down the vocabulary during the training sessions as memory is not always reliable. However, it is important that you do not try to note down everything, otherwise too much time will be taken away from other linguistic activities.

It is also essential that the vocabulary is noted in a ‘useful’ way. Single words are of limited help as they do not show how the word can be used grammatically, contextually or how it is pronounced. It is therefore essential that these lexical items are noted in context, showing their grammar and the different meanings that they carry depending on the context. For example, if the lexical item ‘in front’ is noted in this way, not all the necessary information concerning this preposition is available. Noting down ‘in front of’, however, enables you to use the preposition in full sentences. Better still, by writing ‘He stood in front of the cinema opposite the pizza restaurant’ you are in a position to remember the difference in meaning between the two prepositions of position ‘in front of ‘ and ‘opposite’. It also gives the vital information that ‘in front’ is followed by ‘of’ whereas ‘opposite’ stands alone.

It is useful to experiment with different techniques for learning vocabulary in order to find the one that suits you best. Some examples of simple techniques are: sticking post-it notes of important vocabulary around the house and especially in areas where you might stay a while. Cut up cards and make a game. On one side of the card write the target word or expression and on the other side the translation. Make an audio recording of important words in context and listen to them in your car.

Different varieties of some languages exist and it is necessary that you choose the one you wish to learn. This decision most probably depends on your objectives (a new job with travel to Brazil), your interests (a love of American police series) or even training opportunities (an immersion course is cheaper in Spain than in Latin America). If this choice is not made at the beginning, you might be confused by different ways of pronouncing the same word, by slightly different grammar rules, by certain vocabulary that might be understood either with difficulty or not at all in a different target language area. Some examples of these varieties are: Portuguese from Portugal, Brazil and Mozambique, English from England, South Africa and the United States, Spanish from Spain, Argentina or Mexico.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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