How to bring soft skills into the business English classroom

Richard Cleeve
A woman standing at a whiteboard in a office with two others sat down.

Anyone who’s ever taught a business English class knows that their students are busy people. Sometimes they get sidetracked by their other tasks - even during class. This means we have to make the most of the time we have with our learners and focus on what they really need.

How you do this depends on the sector your students work in (or plan to work in), their previous experiences studying English and their own strengths and weaknesses.

Teachers often focus on teaching hard skills, such as writing reports or running meetings. We do this because it can be challenging for many business students to do these things in English and also because hard skills have an immediate and positive impact on their workdays.

But, if there’s one thing that all business people can benefit from, it’s soft skills.

Soft skills are interpersonal or people skills. They include things like active listening, teamwork, decision-making and influencing skills. Mastering these skills will help students progress more rapidly and become more independent learners. However, isolating the specific vocabulary or grammar structures that these skills use is complex and they often get overlooked in language learning classes as a result.ÌýÌý

Bringing soft skills into the Business English Classroom
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Five essential communication skills for business students

1. Listening actively

People mistakenly think that communication is just about speaking. However, one of the best ways to be a good communicator is to listen to the person you are talking to.ÌýLearners can show interest in what someone is saying by asking clarifying questions and rephrasing what they've said to ensure they've fully understood.

2. Influencing others

In order to manage employees and clients effectively your students will need to be able to influence others. This can be done by building rapport, explaining why they are doing something, asking the right questions and selling themselves in a certain way.

3. Negotiating successfully

The key to closing sales, obtaining a favorable price for a product or service, or maintaining a cohesive team lies in the art of negotiation.ÌýSuccessful negotiators determine their objectives before starting, prepare fully to support their positions and always leave their emotions at home (or in the office).

4. Dealing with different communication styles

In the world of business, students will come across people who communicate differently. The three basic communication styles are aggressive, passive and assertive. They’ll need to know how to deal with these different styles if they want to succeed.

5. Speaking clearly and concisely

Students need to learn to express themselves clearly and convey their message in as few words as possible. It’s easy to ramble when you are nervous, soÌýencourage them to think about what they want to say and, if necessary, make some brief notes beforehand.

How they apply these skills will depend on the issue at stake, the situation and who they're talking to, so they will need to adjust their behaviour accordingly. The more time you spend on this in class, the easier it will become.

If you need any guidance there are courses likeÌýBusiness Partner, which is aÌýbusiness English course that teaches real-world language and business skills which helps to teach the above skills mentioned. The course raises students’ awareness of different communication styles to help avoid misunderstandings and so they can be more perceptive and adapt their own styles according to the audience.

Read our post 'Tips for teaching business English to low-level learners'

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    • Use as a second or foreign language: This considers the number of people who speak a language as a second language or foreign language. Languages that are widely taught and learned around the world tend to have a larger speaking population.

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    1. English

    Speakers: Approximately 1.5 billion

    Native speakers: Around 360 million

    Regions: Widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

    Highlights: English is the most widely spoken language worldwide when combining native and non-native speakers. It's the primary language in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. English is the dominant language in international business, science and technology.

    2. Mandarin Chinese

    Speakers: Over 1.1 billion

    Native speakers: About 920 million

    Regions: Mainly in China, Taiwan and Singapore

    Highlights: Mandarin is the language with the largest number of native speakers. It's one of the six official languages of the United Nations and has a significant cultural and historical importance.

    3. Hindi

    Speakers: Around 600 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 341 million

    Regions: Predominantly in India and Nepal

    Highlights: Hindi is predominantly spoken in India and Nepal, with approximately 341 million native speakers. It is one of the official languages of India and is spoken by a large portion of the Indian population. It has numerous dialects and is written in the Devanagari script.

    4. Spanish

    Speakers: Approximately 560 million

    Native speakers: About 460 million

    Regions: Spain, Latin America and parts of the United States

    Highlights: Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and is widely spoken in the Americas. In many of these countries, Spanish serves as the national language, playing a crucial role in government, education and media. It’s known for its rich literature and cultural heritage.

    5. French

    Speakers: Around 280 million

    Native speakers: About 77 million

    Regions: France, parts of Africa, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland

    Highlights: French is another of the six official languages of the United Nations. It's widely used in international diplomacy and has a significant number of speakers in Africa due to France's colonial history.

    6. Arabic

    Speakers: Approximately 270 million

    Native speakers: Around 310 million

    Regions: Middle East and North Africa

    Highlights: Arabic is a central Semitic language that is the liturgical language of Islam. It has many dialects, with Modern Standard Arabic being used in formal settings and media. Arabic has numerous spoken forms, with significant variations in dialects across different regions.

    7. Bengali

    Speakers: Around 265 million

    Native speakers: About 230 million

    Regions: Bangladesh and parts of India

    Highlights: Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. Alongside other languages like Hindi and Urdu, Bengali plays a crucial role in the cultural and linguistic landscape of the region. It’s known for its rich literary tradition.

    8. Portuguese

    Speakers: Approximately 220 million

    Native speakers: Around 220 million

    Regions: Brazil, Portugal and parts of Africa

    Highlights: Portuguese is mainly spoken in Brazil, which is the largest Portuguese-speaking country. It has a growing number of speakers in Africa.

    9. Russian

    Speakers: Around 258 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 154 million

    Regions: Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

    Highlights: Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is widely spoken in the former Soviet Union countries.

    10. Japanese

    Speakers: Approximately 128 million

    Native speakers: Around 128 million

    Regions: Japan

    Highlights: Japanese is predominantly spoken in Japan and is known for its three writing systems—Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It has a rich cultural history and is influential in technology and entertainment.

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