Practical Business English

Course details

There are 320,000,000 people who speak English as a first language - and 1,000,000,000 people who speak English as a second language! Did you know that there are more conversations between two people who speak English as a foreign language than conversations between two native speakers? And business is one of the most important reasons people use English to talk together. These simple facts tell us a very clear story: you will have to speak English with confidence and precision for international business.

Somewhere, in the world at this moment, an Arabic speaking businessman is speaking on the phone with his English speaking colleague. Or a Spanish business owner needs to email his English speaking customer. Who do you speak English to in your business life and why?

When there are two people who use English together for business and one of these people doesn't speak English as a first language, we say that they are using English as a lingua franca. A lingua franca is a common language that everyone understands. English is the lingua franca of international business. Speaking English for business can be a great opportunity for business people who have the right confidence and communication skills.

Are you one of those business people?
 

• Perhaps you already know some business English because you use English at work.
• Or perhaps you simply have an intermediate or upper-intermediate level of English and want to improve so you can use your English for business.

You can gain so much from using your English to do business internationally. But the big possibilities create big pressures.

• Maybe you feel a lack of confidence when you speak English.
• Perhaps you don't know what to say, or what other English speakers expect on the phone or in an interview.
• Of course you want to create the best possible impression when you present yourself or your company. But perhaps you don't know the specific phrases you can say or write when you interact in English.

Louise and Sam have both seen these problems in different situations - one as a teacher and one as a businesswoman. We both really wanted to help people like you communicate better for business. But sometimes English teachers don't know enough about business, and business people don't know enough about teaching English. So we combined all the things we know and all the experience we have to create this course. We know that with our combination of English language teaching and international business experience we can help you improve your English business communication.

Sam is a fully qualified English teacher, with 6 years experience working with thousands of students in many different countries.

     "I have seen in the classroom that students at an intermediate and upper intermediate level of English often know all the grammar they need to understand real English and communicate successfully in most situations. But often students find it difficult to speak English with confidence and precision in specific situations, such as job interviews or on the phone. My experience has shown me that the biggest reason students don't succeed when they use business English is because of problems with vocabulary. Just a relatively small number of key phrases, idioms and phrasal verbs has made a big difference to the confidence and success of my students in the classroom. And now I would like to bring this vocabulary to you."
 
Louise has used her knowledge from her first class business degree to set up multiple businesses and travel the world. She now has several of the top ranked business courses on Udemy.

     "I have interacted with hundreds of business people using English as a lingua franca and I know very well the problems business people often have when they use English to do business. Working in so many different countries with so many different people has shown me that I have a natural advantage in business - I am a native English speaker and I know English business culture. I want you to have this advantage too! In this course, I really want to give you the best possible advice about the things you should do in the most important business situations."

There are 4 main objectives you will complete during this course. By the end of the course, you will be very different when you speak English! You will be able to:

• Speak with more confidence on the phone
• Create the best possible impression in a business interview
• Hold the attention of your audience with clearer presentations
• Write with a more appropriate style in a business interview

From Sam you will learn over 150 phrasal verbs, idioms and key phrases. And from Louise you will hear some great advice for business communication in the English speaking world. 

The centre of each unit is a lecture from Louise about what you can do to improve your communication skills and make a great impression with other English speakers. She explains the best things you can do when you communicate in English. And there's a bonus: Louise is a real, native speaker and uses natural English - she's not a textbook! She speaks fast and uses a lot of common English from the business world, just like the people you will interact with. Understanding Louise will give you the satisfaction and confidence that comes from understanding a real, native speaker.

And there will always be help from Sam when you need it. Before you listen to Louise's lecture, Sam will explain all the phrasal verbs and idioms she uses so you can understand all her advice. For each phrasal verb and idiom there is a clear explanation and an example in spoken English. After you listen to Louise's lecture, Sam will explain some key phrases you can use so you can follow Louise's advice.

And of course, after every lecture there is a quiz so you can check you understand Louise's advice and Sam's vocabulary.

There are also bonus downloadable PDF documents with all the phrasal verbs, key phrases and idioms. So you can study all the vocabulary you need watching and listening to the lectures and by reading the documents.

The best way to improve your communication skills for business English is to learn from an experienced master - and here you have two of them! So enrol on this course now and begin gaining the confidence you need to communicate successfully for international business.