English Programs for Internationals
University of South Carolina
Menu for EPI Teaching Business English
Course Materials
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
("My Philosophy for Teaching English for Business" by Lawrence Baron)
(ESP Needs Assessment Reading, excerpted from English for Specific Purposes: A
Learning-Centred Approach by Hutchinson and Waters, Cambridge University
Press, 1987)
COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)
Principles and Strategies
("An Overview of Communicative Language Teaching")
(“Communicative Language Learning: Characteristics of Good Practice”)
(Brown's "Principled Teaching")
(Professor Jack Richards' summary of CLT)
Sample Activities and Techniques
("Zoo Techniques in the Stock Market," a vocabulary acquisition activity)
("Business Writing: Using Interactional Language")
("The Use of Games for Vocabulary Presentation and Revision")
("Adapting Authentic Materials for Language Teaching")
("Writing Right for a Job")
("Utilizing Process Questions and Summary Writing To Teach Both Reading and
Writing")
BUSINESS VOCABULARY
(business vocabulary quizzes: Click on Business Expressions, Abbreviations, Business Idiom.)
(business vocabulary quizzes categorized by business area and proficiency level)
(business vocabulary activities)
(downloadable business vocabulary activities with teaching suggestions) This site is
not free as of 2005. (In 2004 it was free.) You have been subscribed as
a school group. Please see the Bulletin Board for instructions on access.
(downloadable business English lessons)
(business idiom multiple-choice quiz)
(business idiom glossary)
(core business vocabulary lists)
(recommended by Sergey)
(glossary of business terms contributed by Santiago)
(English & Spanish business terms contributed by Santiago)
(full of business English activities, including vocabulary; contributed by Javier)
BUSINESS JARGON
(jargon; includes definitions, so it’s useful)
(focuses on financial industry)
WRITING
General Comments
("Writing for a North American Business Audience")
("Business Correspondence," written from an American perspective to
Americans)
("Guidelines for Business Writing/Communication in a Global Context")
Resumes
Self-Presentation and Resume Writing")
Letter)
("Talking on the Job" from October 2004 issue of Language
Magazine, a business English pronunciation and vocabulary activity related
to an oral resume and job interview)
Cover Letters
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Awareness: An Intercultural Communication Lesson Plan")
(Go to this website and click on "Contrastive Rhetoric, Robert Kaplan" on the menu to the left. You may also be interested in other chapters in this online book.)
one of the largest research projects of its kind ever conducted. Advanced
adult BE students will find his work thought-provoking.)
SPEAKING
Presentations
("Tips from an Expert") (Note that these tips may be from a
Western perspective.)
("Summary of Key Points") (Although these points seem rather
Western in some respects, the text includes consideration of global
business operations.)
("Making Business Presentations Work" by Ethel M. Cook)
("Business Presentation Styles across Cultures," lesson plan for Business English classes, involves
students' interviewing a business person)
(presentation design tips, focusing on using PowerPoint)
Meetings
(sample business meeting dialogue and links for phrases at bottom)
(Lots of useful phrases for meetings here plus much more!)
(cross-cultural business meeting dialogue simulating different cultural
orientations and their impact on face-to-face business negotiations)
(business scenario with questions for reflection)
(business scenario with questions for reflection)
(Contributed by Austen, "Effective Multi-Cultural International Business Meetings")
CURRICULUM/SYLLABUS DESIGN
("Teaching Business English: Curriculum/Syllabus Design")
GRAMMAR
Articles
Pronouns
Sentence Patterns and Punctuation