Teach English in Chaoquan Zhen - Tai'an Shi

It is inarguable that teaching Business English is immensely different from teaching English just as a language for everyday communication. Both carry their own sets of advantages as well as challenges. Teaching business English, for instance, more often than not, include teaching adult learners exclusively, whereas in the other case, the age range of students could be much wider. There are several other dissimilarities. However, this essay aims to draw on the inverse: that as different as the teaching of business English may seem from the other forms of English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching, in essence, it has the same objective, and hence, is relatively similar. The first point to note is the simple fact that the core objectives of both the teaching and the learning of business English are the same as any other type of English education, that is, to enable the learners to successfully communicate in the language. Therefore the end are the same, it is just the means to those ends that differ. Certainly, the techniques and methodologies are different in case of business English as they depend upon the curriculum, the needs of the students, and various other factors; however, all the different methodologies and techniques employed in teaching business English are aimed at achieving the same aforementioned end. Teaching business English comes with a wide variety of additional steps that the teachers must take in order to succeed in their endeavours such as having a professional appearance, a brief understanding of basic business terminology, adaptive teaching styles due to the time constraints of professionals, and so on and so forth (Esmerova and Iseni, 2018). If we take a deep dive and aim to analyse each of these expectations, we’d discover that these correlate to basic English teaching requirements. Having a professional appearance for instance, is a method to make sure that the students can trust the teacher in order for them to not feel as if the teacher is out of place. This enables the students to get more comfortable in class, a goal that is consistent for teachers of all levels. Having a understanding of basic business terminology is just for the purpose of having the knowledge to confidently answer the students’ queries. Same with having adaptive teaching methods as it is imperative for the teacher to make sure that the students can benefit from the time that they spend in class, another goal that is not exclusive to business English teachers. Certainly, this is not to say that teaching business English does not come with its own set of challenges such as the learners being out of touch with education and may struggle adapting easily. This is where the expertise of the teachers is most necessary, in order to get the students familiar with the learning role, to set expectations, monitor performance and progress, and providing both appreciative and constructive feedback. One of the most unique characteristics of business English is perhaps the curriculum, which can be vastly different from general ESL curricula as it has to accommodate specific requirements of the clients. The teacher’s ability to adapt themselves suitable to properly fit the curriculum is what makes for a good business English learning and teaching experience. Business English is an industry of education that is in massive demand with the dawn of the era of global economic cooperation and therefore, the pressures on and the expectations from business English teachers are rapidly increasing. It is vital for the teachers to remember that, as has been mentioned before, even though the means may be different in the case of teaching Business English, the ends are all but the same, to make the students adept communicators in a foreign language. References Esmerova, E. and Iseni, A. (2018). Teaching Business English. Anglisticum Journal, 7(3).