Thu, 25 Jul 2019

Example Lesson Plan for a Business English Class

Knowing an additional language goes beyond the ability to speak it. It connects people, helps in understanding different cultures and has also been identified as a boost to brain function and increase intelligence.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Nagashree C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

Present Situation

In the present age of expanding businesses, capturing markets across the globe, establishing offices far and wide, more and more business are following the model of ‘following the sun’ by having their businesses and services available at all times of the day irrespective of the location the clients are in. For this, one of the important requirements is the knowledge of the English Language. As per an article published on the website of Babble magazine, ‘English is by far one of the most studied languages’.

Just as almost all skills require constant practice, renewal, updating and expanding, the knowledge of English is no different. In many businesses, possessing good English communication is becoming one of the ‘must know’ skills to expand roles and connectivity in the existing job or to secure a position in a dream company. With the professionals in almost all fields looking for migration opportunities, it is becoming vital to acquire a good knowledge of Business English and it further contributes to developing their over-all command in oral, written communication skills.

Also Read: How The Relationship With Your Students Influences Your Classes

Example Lesson Plan

Let us now look at an example lesson using the ESA method for a class who wants to improve their listening and reading.

Teacher: Mrs. Pink
Time: 60minutes
Date and time: 20/09/2019, 11:00 am
Student level: Lower Advanced.
Expected number of Students: 4
Learners Objective: To be able to better read and listen to the information presented by colleagues during meetings/presentation/conference calls.
Personal Aims: To provide a realistic experience by using authentic material.
Anticipated problems for students: A student becoming self-conscious or other students interrupting already a self-conscious student.
Solution: Call out the name of the individual for a response so others know it’s not yet their turn. Provide encouragement to the student to stay focused and motivated.
Anticipated problems for Teacher: As an ‘in house’ teacher, loss of teaching time due to problems with the business and a student having to step away from class.
Solution: Being flexible on the lesson plan, providing online support by sending learning material including practice sheets to that particular student and being available for any clarification on the topic.
Teaching Aids: CD player, printed copies of the sales report, whiteboard, worksheets.

Lesson: Receptive Skills

Engage and Study Phase:

After a brief meet and greet session with the students in the class, the teacher asks about the challenges faced during meetings/presentation/conference calls in terms of listening as well as reading the English language. Highlights the elicited information on the board and ask the students what they would like to do differently to overcome the challenges.

Distributes powerpoint presentation document to all students providing the details of a sales report, gives a few minutes for the students to read the report. Here, the students are expected to use one of the special skills such as predictive, scanning, skimming, detailed information or deduction from context. After a few minutes, the teacher calls out one of the students to do a loud reading of the report. Elicits vocabulary and pre-teaches them to the students.

Also Read: What will a TEFL employer ask in an interview?

Next, plays a recorded conference call of that sales report. Pauses and checks the understanding of the report by asking questions such as- Who presented the sales report? What were the sales in March? What was the sales amount for the year?

Taking a gap-fill worksheet example demonstrates what needs to be filled out in the worksheet. Replays the audio and let the students simultaneously fill out the worksheet. Once more time randomly calls out students to answer the missing data on the gap-fill worksheet.

Activate Phase:

Before the end of the session, ask the students to together read a brief report from the newspaper and present it to the class. The teacher encourages other students to ask the presenter questions, and if necessary led by example.

Expected end result:

By the end of the class, the students learn how to effectively read and listen.

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Example Lesson Plan for a Business English Class

Present Situation

Example Lesson Plan