9 steps to teaching advanced business English

Margaret O'Keeffe
A teacher stood at the front of a class holding a tablet in front of adult students

The challenge of teaching business English to C1 level students

Once your English students reach a B2 level of English, they’re fairly competent communicators. For many learners, their motivation to improve starts to suffer when they reach this intermediate plateau. They understand almost everything and can express themselves clearly enough - so why would they want to continue learning English and achieve a C1 level of English?

The CEFR describes C1-level learners as proficient users of a language. C1-level students have a high proficiency in English and perform well in an international work environment.

How can we help our upper intermediate students reach this level and see the benefits in their own lives and careers? Here are nine steps you can take as an English language teacher to help your students achieve language proficiency.

Steps to teaching advanced business English
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1. Nurture students’ motivation to reach new heights

For those students who do want to become more proficient, the reality is that reaching a high level can be a slow, steep climb. You will have to be a cheerleader and encourage them to get out of their comfort zone and push themselves to new heights.

The reality is that mastering a foreign language, even your first language, is a lifelong process. Advanced-level language learners need a high degree of intrinsic motivation. If they can enjoy the challenge of developing new skills and feel satisfaction at watching a favorite TV show in its original version, there is no turning back.

There is a demand for business English and having a strong command of it is beneficial in the business world. It provides individuals with more opportunities for career advancement. Additionally, it boosts students' confidence in using English in the workplace.

2. Promote goal setting

Get learners to set goals for themselves and review the goals regularly. Use the SMART acronym:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic
  • Timebound

This helps with motivation and gives rise to a sense of achievement. It is particularly useful for busy in-company students. One simple example is: ‘I will do one piece of written homework this term’.

3. Encourage incidental learning

Give your students support and act as a role model as they develop lifelong learning habits and become more self-directed learners.Encourage them to read more widely in English for pleasure and general interest; business blogs, newspaper articles, journals, novels, etc. The wider the variety of genres and topics, the better.

Provide guidance and learning strategies for students if necessary, such as offering tips for watching TV shows and films in the original versions, or advice on choosing something to read.

Regularly check in with students about how they are practicing their English outside the classroom. You gain a lot of insight into their interests and learning. It can inspire their peers in the process too.

4. Broaden their vocabulary range

Knowing a word includes many aspects: different meanings of the same word, when is it appropriate to use, common collocations, pronunciation, different parts of speech, phrasal verbs and phrases. C1 students have to practice and develop their vocabulary range.Learners may have a passive knowledge of many phrasal and prepositional verbs but still avoid using them as part of their active vocabulary. Draw their attention to useful phrasal verbs in reading and listening texts and video content. Vocabulary is much easier to learn in context.

Provide opportunities for students to practice using the target language in speaking and writing; the more personalized the tasks, the more memorable. Regularly review and recycle phrasal verbs that come up, for example, through revision exercises, games and quick tests, to help students incorporate these into their active vocabulary.

Similarly, point out good examples of more idiomatic language in texts and provide opportunities for students to use it themselves, writing their own example sentences. Occasionally model alternatives to broaden and enrich their vocabulary (T: Was it a successful meeting? I mean, was it very fruitful?)

When giving students feedback and correcting speaking and writing tasks, include examples of a more natural or idiomatic way that students could say something.

5. Make time for emergent language

A lot of incidental learning of new vocabulary takes place inside the classroom. As well as the target vocabulary you present in a structured lesson, take the opportunity to work on emergent language. These could be words or phrases that come up in class because students want to know how to say something to convey their meaning.

You’ll find that this is often the language our in-company students want to do their jobs, making it a priority for them. It is essential to record, keep and revise this useful emergent vocabulary.

Emergent language can also be a word or phrase that a student uses accurately and that you can see would be useful for others to know. You can follow up by drawing everyone’s attention to this useful language in the feedback session after an activity, write it on the board, check the meaning, repeat it and incorporate it into the lesson by getting learners to practice it.

6. Review and expand on core grammar areas

Review and expand on the forms and usages of the core grammar areas with C1 learners. Many in-company students need to brush up on their grammar if they have not studied formally for a long time.

Future forms, hypothesizing and additional passive structures are just some areas that are useful for business English students. And while there is not a lot of ‘new’ grammar to learn at C1 level, they still need practice using the language correctly and there is still complexity in verb patterns and syntax.

It can be all too easy for advanced classes to slip into discussion groups. However, structured lessons and linguistic aims increase the challenge, help our learners to extend their range of language structures and improve their level.

In addition, make sure students notice their fossilized errors and encourage them to correct themselves. While many mistakes (e.g. missing out indefinite articles) do not hinder communication, they do mark the difference between advanced and intermediate learners.

7. Use ‘real play’ to develop communication skills

Some of our students enjoy role-play activities and others dislike having to adopt a ‘role’ of an imaginary person that is not natural to them.

An alternative is to get students to be themselves in ‘real’ play. Give them a scenario, like a personality clash between two team members at work. Get them to ‘real’ play, giving support and guidance on how to handle the situation. Then watch a dramatized video of people dealing with the same situation. This allows students to reflect on their approach and compare it with the one used in the video.

Simulations of real-world problems or situations are engaging and challenging. It leads to genuine learning about themselves, their default responses, their working styles and the styles of others. It enhances their communication skills by offering them alternative ways to handle situations in the workplace.

8. Develop business writing skills

In higher education, learners may get lots of practice in essay writing, but not so much in the genres needed in the workplace (emails, reports, proposals, minutes). It is important to prepare learners for this. In particular, they will need to be able to differentiate between formal and informal registers. They also have to understand writing conventions (for example, structuring a proposal, using subheadings in reports).

A collaborative writing approach works well in university English classes. Focus on the writing process during the lesson: brainstorming, planning, organizing ideas, prioritizing points, etc.

Provide model texts, structural information and useful language items. Explain the marking criteria and give learners anonymous student sample answers (perhaps from a previous English course) to mark. Get students doing collaborative writing tasks using shared Google Docs. Include opportunities for peer assessment and self-assessment as well as for teacher feedback.

9. Offer students choices

Giving students choices often leads to greater engagement. In many cases, it is possible to negotiate the course content and lesson plans with in-company learners. Lessons can become dull and repetitive if we only stick to day-to-day work issues and industry-specific topics.

It is good to include broader issues (like disruptors in business) and themes related to employability skills to provide a good mix of abstract and complex topics appropriate for advanced-level business English learners. Even with pre-programmed tertiary-level courses, there is generally some scope for choice within lessons.

These are just a few tips for language teaching to advanced-level learners. English teachers have a great many roles to play in their student's language learning process and experience.

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    11 ways you can avoid English jargon at work

    By Steffanie Zazulak

    From “blue-sky thinking” to “lots of moving parts”, there are many phrases used in the office that sometimes seem to make little sense in a work environment. These phrases are known as ‘work jargon’ – or you might hear it referred to as ‘corporate jargon’, ‘business jargon’ or ‘management speak’. It’s a type of language generally used by a profession or group in the workplace, and has been created and evolved over time. And whether people use this work jargon to sound impressive or to disguise the fact that they are unsure about the subject they are talking about, it’s much simpler and clearer to use plain English. This will mean that more people understand what they are saying –both fluent and second-language English speakers.

    The preference for plain English stems from the desire for communication to be clear and concise. This not only helps fluent English speakers to understand things better, but it also means that those learning English pick up a clearer vocabulary. This is particularly important in business, where it’s important that all colleagues feel included as part of the team and can understand what is being said. This, in turn, helps every colleague feel equipped with the information they need to do their jobs better, in the language they choose to use.

    Here, we explore some of the most common examples of English jargon at work that you might hear and suggest alternatives you can use…

    Blue-sky thinking

    This refers to ideas that are not limited by current thinking or beliefs. It’s used to encourage people to be more creative with their thinking. The phrase could be confusing as co-workers may wonder why you’re discussing the sky in a business environment.

    Instead of: “This is a new client, so we want to see some blue-sky thinking.”

    Try saying: “This is a new client, so don’t limit your creativity.”

    Helicopter view

    This phrase is often used to mean a broad overview of the business. It comes from the idea of being a passenger in a helicopter and being able to see a bigger view of a city or landscape than if you were simply viewing it from the ground.Second-language English speakers might take the phrase literally, and be puzzled as to why someone in the office is talking about taking a helicopter ride.

    Instead of: “Here’s a helicopter view of the business.”

    Try saying: “This is a broad view of the business.”

    Get all your ducks in a row

    This is nothing to do with actual ducks; it simply means to be organized. While we don’t exactly know the origin of this phrase, it probably stems from actual ducklings that walk in a neat row behind their parents.

    Instead of: “This is a busy time for the company, so make sure you get all your ducks in a row.”

    Try saying: “This is a busy time for the company, so make sure you’re as organized as possible.”

    Thinking outside the box

    Often used to encourage people to use novel or creative thinking. The phrase is commonly used when solving problems or thinking of a new concept. The idea is that, if you’re inside a box, you can only see those walls and that might block you from coming up with the best solution.

    Instead of: “The client is looking for something extra special, so try thinking outside the box.”

    Try saying: “The client is looking for something extra special, so try thinking of something a bit different to the usual work we do for them.”

    IGUs (Income Generating Units)

    A college principal alerted us to this one – it refers to his students. This is a classic example of jargon when many more words are used than necessary.

    Instead of: “This year, we have 300 new IGUs.”

    Try saying: “This year, we have 300 new students.”

    Run it up the flagpole

    Often followed by “…and see if it flies” or “…and see if anyone salutes it”, this phrase is a way of asking someone to suggest an idea and see what the reaction is.

    Instead of: “I love your idea, run it up the flagpole and see if it flies.”

    Try saying: “I love your idea, see what the others think about it.”

    Swim lane

    A visual element – a bit like a flow chart –  that distinguishes a specific responsibility in a business organization. The name for a swim lane diagram comes from the fact that the information is broken up into different sections – or “lanes” – a bit like in our picture above.

    Instead of: “Refer to the swim lanes to find out what your responsibilities are.”

    Try saying: “Refer to the diagram/chart to find out what your responsibilities are.”

    Bleeding edge

    A way to describe something that is innovative or cutting edge. It tends to imply an even greater advancement of technology that is almost so clever that it is unbelievable in its current state.

    Instead of: “The new technology we have purchased is bleeding edge.”

    Try saying: “The new technology we have purchased is innovative.”

    Tiger team

    A tiger team is a group of experts brought together for a single project or event. They’re often assembled to assure management that everything is under control, and the term suggests strength.

    Instead of: “The tiger team will solve the problem.” 

    Try saying: “The experts will solve the problem.” 

    Lots of moving parts

    When a project is complicated, this phrase is sometimes used to indicate lots is going on.

    Instead of: “This project will run for several months and there are lots of moving parts to it.”

    Try saying: “This project will run for several months and it will be complicated.”

    A paradigm shift

    Technically, this is a valid way to describe changing how you do something and the model you use. The word “paradigm” (pronounced “para-dime”) is an accepted way or pattern of doing something. So the “shift” part means that a possible new way has been discovered. Second-language English speakers however, might not be familiar with the meaning and might be confused about what it actually means.

    Instead of: “To solve this problem, we need a paradigm shift.”

    Try saying: To solve this problem; we need to think differently.”