Written By Chris Titus

Let’s face it, the method of teaching ESL has been rather antiquated for decades. Advanced technologies in this field have included a pair of scissors, a photocopy machine, an overhead projector, and a cassette/CD player.

Times are changing. Teachers are changing. Students have already changed. Having spent twelve years in the corporate world, I am well aware of the tools that exist and what technologies the typical business English student should be capable of navigating. Unfortunately, tech-savvy teachers are younger and younger, translating into inexperienced teachers with little or no business experience. How can old and young alike leverage their experiences to improve the experience of the business English learner?

Before we discuss the tools that may improve your efficiency, quality, and time management, let’s better understand our customer.

In Prague, the typical intermediate business English student has typically studied English in primary and secondary school for 10+ years. They tend to have a strong base of grammar and vocabulary, even if they’ve not accessed it in years. With that said, where can you as a teacher add the most value in a 60 minute lesson? What can you offer an intermediate student that s/he cannot obtain from home study? The answer is CONVERSATION.

Most students will agree that they could learn all of the grammar and vocabulary if they put in the time. And, something else they all agree on is a desire to practice speaking.

Secondly, many students are provided with a language benefit from their companies. This has different implications for different students. Some are required to pass certain exams, while others are required to show progress via in-school tests. The common theme with these classes is demonstrating progress. If the student doesn’t show progress, they may be responsible for paying for the classes.

So, how can we give them what they want? These tools will help maximize the student’s time spent on READING, WRITING, LISTENING while increasing time available for interactive classroom activities. Reading, writing, and listening are all skills that are nice to perform with a teacher, but not necessary if you have the right technology. In fact, many teachers traveling to companies will skip listening exercises because they do not want to carry a laptop or CD player. Often a company fails to provide adequate equipment for language lessons as English class is viewed with the same reverence as an extended coffee break.

The teacher can still pre-teach vocabulary and provide warm-ups related to a topic the student will listen to or read. However, the student will perform these activities at home, creating more time producing the language in class.

Here are the three things your students need to keep English circulating in their lives. They are all free:

1)BLOG - LingoPass! (free global language exchange)

2) VIDEO – YouTube & Online Television (see Appendix)

3) VOIP - Skype

BLOG – A blog is a great place for written assignments. Since a student’s progress is rarely linear, a blog provides the student/company with a written record of progress. It also allows you to cover yourself when the student feels they’ve not improved. Having a record allows you to refer the student/manager to the initial posts and see the improvement.

As a teacher, populate ‘your’ blog to include: assignments, links to articles and videos, grammar, vocabulary, etc. Since you only need to populate your blog once, you will have less work in the future. Simply send the link to new students via e-mail. This also means less items you both need to carry.

When using a blog, do not correct the student’s work by providing answers. Instead, highlight the areas they need to change and provide short one-word hints of where to look or what to consider (ie. preposition, modal verb, verb tense, article, etc.). Blogs/email also make it easy to include links to Internet resources explaining grammar. By making your student do the work, they will better retain the knowledge. They will also have multiple revisions that show their progress on a specific assignment and provide a record to refer back to in the future after you’ve moved on to your next country.

The nice thing about the LingoPass! blog is that it cannot be edited. Every revision must be a new post, showing the progress. Therefore, your students must add your highlighted revisions as individual posts so they can see their problem areas.

VIDEO – Rarely are a student’s business English interactions outside of English class well represented by the mock telephone conversations and other contrived dialogs heard on so many ESL CDs. Business English students appreciate being challenged with authentic materials. The materials don’t even need to relate to business.

For example, I have students watch popular American television shows such as Heroes. As previously stated, my goal is to keep English circulating in their lives. And, since many business idioms find their roots in everyday expressions, having a well-rounded knowledge of English is important. These shows can be viewed online (streaming) for free. They provide great authentic material that cover a plethora of topics and vocabulary. I’ve found that students of all levels become engrossed in the programs, watching each episode muptiple times.

Another source of quality authentic materials is YouTube. You can find many materials focusing on specific business topics (sources: Reuters, The Street.com, etc.), including television commercials that provide fodder for cultural discussions. Additional sources include PBS programs (Frontline, etc.) and Nightly Business Report.

VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) – You are likely familiar with Skype. I recommend all of my students to spend a few hours per week with a glass of wine and a langauge partner from another country. LingoPass! (www.lingopass.com) is a free global language exchange which can be used to locate language partners. Students can build a network and keep English circulating. Any additional practice helps. Relaxing while having a drink only furthers the student’s use of the language.

In conclusion, these tools will greatly improve in your student’s written and spoken English by increasing student talking time, in-class interaction, and the number of written assignments. It will also provide entertaining listening comprehension material that will keep them focused for hours.

Appendix:

List of Online Television Sites

• www.freetube.com
• http://www.cucirca.com/
• http://www.tv-links.cc/