- This topic has 113 replies, 111 voices, and was last updated 9 hours, 46 minutes ago by
.
-
Posts
-
I do think working based on a learner’s routine and based on a trainer’s experience, and integrating both of these together could give the learner the opitmized learning experience. While a learner might want to focus, for example, on learning everything they would need to do business in the pharmaceutical industry, lack of knowledge in other fields might affect their knowldge in their target industry. For the pharmaceutical industry, they will need to know basic introductions, presentations, formal greetings, formal writings such as emails, letters, etc. However, if we were to solely focus on that, we would be missing other informal infromation. For example, directions. If they are in this business, they must travel a lot. They might be able to go through an enitre formal presentation, but lack the knowledge of giving correct directions to the taxi driver to take them to their hotel. Therefore, it is improtant to intergate equal measures of both. Focusing on the individual’s goal according to their specific job, but also learning the fundamentals and basics of the language (in accordance with their level in their specific field).
I think you have to give practical examples and create real life situations, also stick to and focus is more on conversations aand pronunciation in the business language.
With regard to rest, one can provide a break from the routine, but it should be minimal as timeas scarce.A mixture of both will benefit the learner the most. More of the classes should be related to business because it is probably the place they most need to use this second language and business English is relatively a more difficult art to perfect than everyday English. The best to do would be to have an honest conversation with the student at your first lessson together to establish what they feel will be most beneficial to them.
The trainer should have the ability of making the lesson entertaining, creating real life situations (not only based on the learner industry) , focusing on conversations and pronunciation so that the learner gets a break from the routine.
Although I believe English lessons should mostly focus on target language related to the learners’ work environment – that is, business-related topics and vocabulary, the trainer should still bring some variety to the classroom by making the lesson personal, and bringing up some more personal subjects to discuss – or at least, personalising the lesson when discussing business topics.
For instance, should the lesson’s theme be linked to conventions and business conferences, the trainer could make sure to ask about the learners’ personal experiences of attending or organising said conferences by asking personal questions and allowing some time for discussion, rather than keeping the subject “dry” and impersonal, as this might bore learners and ultimately decrease their motivation.
This perhaps depends on the level of English of the learner. Someone might need more work on language in general while others might want to practice more topics related to their industry.
As experts in their field they can probably speak well at conferences, within the boundaries of an agenda … but what do they talk about firing the coffee break? That is when they need informal conversation.
If for example, the learner is working on environmental issues, how could they present a case about reducing carbon footprints in society to a local community/neighbourhood? All the technical terms would mean little if anything to the listers, they would get bored and leave the meeting.For these situations the learner must know how to present their discussion on two levels, professional and popular. This is a midway stage.
How much time should be spent on business and how much on moe general topics? Possibly 50/50.
Most of the lesson should usually be dedicated to the learner’s job but this can vary according to their exact goals, expectations, available time and duration of the course they will take. When it’s an extensive course and the learner believes she/he has to dedicate all of their time to work related situations and language they generally end up realizing that it becomes a bit daunting and that they should come out of it sometimes.
It is better for a lesson to be mostly related to the learners’ work and their industry as that is the main reason the learners are taking part in the class and want to learn the language. However, this can become boring for them at some point, so it is better to include non-related topics and activities in between the lessons to change the mood of the class and keep their interest high throughout the sessions. Afterall, the workers of any field live a normal life in between and after work as well, so inevitably everybody will enjoy a mix of them both, having the work-related material being most of the class and the rest in different subjects.
In my own view, most classes should be related to the learners’ work or type of business. However, when one notices a decrease in the learners’ attention span, an engaging alternative is varying topics in order to break the monotony which might abate the learners’ interest. In this respect, I would bring out topics such as the planet and the environment, social media, the economy or science.This prompts students to do a wide review of vocabulary to hold a conversation. Another possible choice is working on idiomatic structures with flash cards. This particular activity is interactive and most students find it challenging. In addition to that, I would put on videos: the National Geographic ones are excellent and extremely educational. Learners have the opprortunity to practise their listening skills.
At the end of the day, the trainer needs to be flexible and keep in mind that what matters is meeting the learners’ requirements.Due to the sector in which they work, some students have more experience with the target language.
I consider it essential to diagnose the needs of the students and the company in order to present meaningful activities with topics of interest.
Based on this diagnosis, we can optimize the pre-established time, overcoming the already consolidated issues.Business learners want to learn a language to expand their profit. So, the industry that they are in and the vocabulary that affects their relationship with other companies or institutions should be considered as the most important stimulus. It is not possible to give them a break. They are business people and learn business English. The amount of vocabulary they learn in a lesson can be decreased. The context we use for teaching can be changed a little bit to let them have a break.
It’s not a matter of giving people a break from their routines… The reason why classes shouldn’t focus too much on the learner’s industry is that students will encounter all kinds of vocabulary in any field of work and it doesn’t make sense (neither is it realistic) to expect a student to learn work-specific jargon before they know basic vocabulary. The grammar, of course, is the same.
The trainer need to add some variety to the classroom by making the lesson personal and raising some more specific subjects to discuss—or, at the very least, personalizing the lesson when studying business topics—even though, in my opinion, English lessons should primarily focus on target language related to the learners’ workplace setting, that is, business-related topics and vocabulary.
In my opinion, almost half of the lesson should be related to the learners’ work,business life. Because, they are not the normal general english students and should not speak the daily english. It is not helpful and useful for them to learn such things in their lessons. The topics,target items and structures must be connected to the learners’ lifestyles and worklife. But it is not advisable to organize the lesson only for the learners’ work. It might be boring and stressful as well. As far as I’m concerned, the business learners are not fond of the target language, they try to learn it for their work, so the trainer should be careful about this issue.
This depends to an extent on the learner’s level, but classes should be related to their work and industry wherever possible. A lower-level learner might need to be taught more general topics in order to learn the basics of the language, while a more advanced learner can use their existing skills to focus mainly on language that is relevant to their work. I would argue that the most important thing here is to communicate with the learner and ask them what they would prefer. If they are also keen on taking a break from work-related language, then that can be incorporated, but others may want to focus solely on language that will help them at work. Business learners may also need to learn more general English if a part of their job involves meeting clients or welcoming visitors, as they would probably need to make small talk and engage in conversation before entering into the ‘work-related’ sphere of discussion.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
