TEFL Business English

TEFL - Teaching Business English

We return to John Hughes to find out more about the one of the most practical business teaching qualifications which can be bolted onto the end of a CELTA or CertTESOL course. Inlingua in Cheltenham offers this one week course after nearly all of its 5-week CertTESOL courses.

Inlingua teaches a lot of business English, doesn't it? Would you say your TESOL is particularly useful for people wishing to teach business English?

The TESOL course focuses on the basics of language teaching to adults. We do have an input session on teaching business English and it is possible to observe a business English teacher in the classroom. However, anybody really wanting to move into this area quickly after the TESOL course is advised to take our weeklong add-on course in teaching business English. The course leads to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Examination Board's Foundation Certificate for teachers of Business English (LCCIEB FCTBE) qualification.

Do you need to have a background or qualification in business to be able to teach English in companies?

It depends on the type of business English you are expected to teach. Some business English courses are very similar to general English with clients wanting conversation practice or to be able to make small talk with business colleagues. However, some courses need a teacher who had business experience or has trained in business teaching. More and more schools seem to be recruiting teachers to teach in companies so it's something teachers need to be aware they will have to do at some point.

Tell us more about the FCTBE you offer. What is this exactly, and what kind of people should take it?

John Hughes It's a 30-hour course over a week which ends in a written exam from the LCCIEB. The course is split into three parts: Professional Skills such as needs analysis and course design, Methodology and Materials looking at using authentic materials and classroom approaches, and Basic Business Concepts which gives an overview of business topics including production, marketing and finance.

The course and exam are designed for anyone who has completed a CELTA or Certificate in TESOL. We do also get people with business or management training backgrounds who want to move into teaching in some way though we advise them complete a certificate course as well.

Is it better to take this course at the same time as the TESOL, or is it better to come back at a later date, once trainees have amassed some experience?

For anyone taking the certificate in TESOL with us there is simply the practical facts that as they are already training here in Cheltenham and have set aside the time to study it makes sense to do the FCTBE course straight away. We usually schedule the FCTBE to follow on from the Certificate course so people have this opportunity to do both.

However, plenty of people also come to do the FCTBE some time after their Certificate course and in some cases after the Diploma. They would rather gather experience and then use the course as a chance to reflect on their teaching practice and views on business English.

Whether course participants are new to teaching business or experienced they generally take from the course what they need. which could either be a bag full of classroom ideas or recipes (for new teachers) or a set of beliefs about teaching which have been challenged, developed or altered in some way.