ELTWeekly Vol. 3 Issue#100 | October 3 | ISSN 0975-3036

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It’s a common misconception that teaching Business English is a lot more difficult that teaching general English. Granted it will take a bit more research depending on what business sector your students are from, but preparation is the key to seeming confident and knowledgeable in front of your students. The following tips should help you feel more prepared when you take on a Business English class for the first time. 1. English Needs Assessment Before you start any course I highly recommend a needs assessment session in the first lesson. Not only will it break the ice and get people talking, it’s also imperative to find out what the students are hoping to achieve from the course. This way, with the information you have collected you can pick out interesting lessons in the books (instead of following it from Chapter 1 all the way through). For example, one group I taught was mostly secretaries and admin staff so they wanted to focus on phone conversation skills and email writing. (more…)