Business English Courses

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Business English Courses

• Xiang, Shu
• Beiwaionline

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Outline

• 1.Introduction
• 2.Goals/focus
• 3.Contents
• 4.Structure
• 5.Assessment
• 6.Resources
• 7.Tutorial essentials
• 8.Your responsibilities

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1.Introduction

• Textbooks (A Guide To Success ---
  Professionalism in Business)
• World Class English for Business I II
• Audio tapes 9
• When to take it
• The fifth academic year (DP program)
• The third academic year (BA program)
• Suggested study hours 1352270 hours, 8
  modules, 16 weeks
• Suggest study plan
• 34 hours/1 module/2 weeks, 17 hours/2 units/week,
  2.4 hours/day

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2.Goals/focus

• Enlarge vocabulary of business English
• Improve speaking listening in a business
  environment
• Improve business writing skills
• Introduce some general business info

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3.Contents

• Two course textbooks
• Book I
• Module 1 Change and the economy
• Module 2 The customer
• Module 3 Finance
• Module 4 A new product
• Book II
• Module 5 Responding to technology
• Module 6 Recruiting new staff
• Module 7 Advertising and competition
• Module 8 Selling the product

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4.Structure (1) organization

• Two textbooks eight modules (four modules for
  each)
• Each module 4 units
• Each unit 3 sessions
• The first 3 units
• business info and English language
• The last unit
• pronunciation and revision of the previous 3
  units.

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4.Structure (2) activity-based

• Each textbook Module (4)
• Unit (16)
• Session (48)
• Activity (About 355)
• Instruction
• Exercises
• Feedback
• Each module (2 weeks) has about 88 activities and
  learners have to deal with about 6 activities per
  day.
• 2.4 hours/day, 6 activities/day 40
  minutes/activity
• Complete study of one unit by completing all
  activities of this unit!

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4.Structure (3) - others

• Extracts (audio tapes) 25-30 recorded items (one
  tape)
• Listening comprehension activities
• Models for the language being taught
• Activities for practicing speaking
• Self-assessment activities
• End of each textbook
• One part for each module

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5.Assessment

• For each course
• Four progress reports, 1/module (5).
• four assignments, 1/module (15).
• Final exam (80)

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5.1 Progress reports (5)

• Test how well learners read the material in the
  unit.
• Learners must do it in order to pass the course.
• Can be found on the e-learning platform at
  http\\www.beiwaionline.com.
• Online delivery, submission and automatic-
  marking.
• The e-learning platform provides details and
  submission deadlines.

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5.2 Assignments (15)

• Each assignment is worth 100 points.
• Covers material from 1 module (4 units).
• Assignment I (Module 1)
• Assignment II (Module 2)
• Assignment III (Module 3)
• Assignment IV(Module 4)
• Online delivery, submission, tutor-marked
• Can be found on the e-learning platform at
  http\\www.beiwaionline.com. Check for details
  and deadlines.

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5.3 Final exam (80)

• The final exam includes written test only. It is
  worth 100 points and accounts for 80 of the
  final grade.
• Test on
• Listening
• Vocabulary and business knowledge
• Reading comprehension
• Business writing
• To be completed within 2 hours (listening part
  takes 30 minutes).

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Exam Contents
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6.Resources

• Getting to know the course
• Course introduction general info
• Course orientation how to study this course
• Course assessment what is going to be assessed,
  how it will be assessed, a mock examination
• Learning the course
• Courseware No Courseware (e-textbooks)
  available!
• Learning-support resources tutorials video
  clips, lesson plans, ppt
• FAQ Bank frequently asked questions in each
  unit
• Assignments and progress reports monitoring
  checking on learning
• Course forum discussion problem-solving
• Unit review self-assessment tests focal
  points exercises
• VOB talk program learning strategies/problem-so
  lving / practice speaking listening
• Study groups belongingness, peer collaboration,
  problem-solving, inspiration, friendship

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• Preparing for the exam
• Course assessment what is going to be assessed,
  how it will be assessed, a mock examination
• Exam orientation strategies to take the exam
• Unit review self-assessment tests focal
  points exercises
• Assignments and progress reports

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7.Tutorial essentials

• Goals and objectives
• Before the tutorial
• During the tutorial
• Suggestions
• Problems in real-life tutorials

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7.1 Goals and Objectives

• Goals
• Provide an opportunity for students to interact
  with their classmates and their tutor in person
• Check students performance monitor their
  progress
• Provide guidance on how to learn at Beiwaionline
• Identify students weak areas give specific
  help
• Provide inspiration and stimulate interest
• Practice speaking and listening
• Objectives (for one specific tutorial)
• Provide background info for this unit
• Solve problems in this unit
• Reinforce, consolidate and expand on what
  students have learned in this unit
• Relate what students are learning in this unit to
  what they know
• Spur discussion and interaction

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7.2 Before the tutorial

• The tutor should
• Read through the module, do all the activities
• Draw up a tutorial plan with reference to the
  relevant resourcesfocal points, course
  orientation, tutorial plan, FAQs
• Do some extra reading of business knowledge if
  needed

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7.3 During the tutorial

• The activities carried out during the tutorial
  should serve one or more of the following
  purposes
• Review the module
• Provide background info
• Reinforce focal info and skills
• Expand on focal info and skills
• Provide specific help on identified weak areas
• Solve problems
• Spur discussion/interaction

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Sample activities

• Reinforce focal info and skills
• Study one way to get information about customer
  needs and tastes.
• Practice asking and talking about products.
• Focus on essential business contents
• e.g. What is a balance sheet? (?????)
• It is a statement which shows an organizations
  assets (what it owns) against its liabilities
  (what it owes) at a particular time --- usually
  the beginning or end of a financial period, such
  as a month or a year. (p.120)
• Focus on essential business English models

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This graph shows the sales of the past three
quarters of Joy Luck Computer Sales Company from
Jan.1 to Sept. 30, 2004 (In million Chinese
yuan)
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This bar chart shows the turnover and profit of
the past three quarters of Joy Luck Computer
Sales Company from Jan.1 to Sept. 30, 2004 (In
million Chinese yuan)
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• Give specific help to identified weak areas.
• e.g. How to make a presentation
• A sample presentation is available at Listening
  Extract 15 on 280
• (for Communicative Activity 6 in Module 3, Book
  I)
• Structure of a presentation
• Greeting
• Self introduction
• Purpose
• Outline
• Part I
• Summarizing and concluding
• Expressions used in different parts
• Practice ask students to prepare and give a
  presentation in class

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7.4 Suggestions

• How to make your tutorials interesting and
  attractive?
• Offer something new. For example, by providing
  background info of the unit, the tutor gives new
  info in the tutorial. By asking the learners to
  share what they know about this topic, the
  learners also brings sth. new in the tutorial.
• Target at your learners specific problems
• Provide a simulated English speaking atmosphere
• Provide a warm and useful human bonding

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8.Your responsibilities

• Tutor
• provide tutorials for your students

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• A Learning Guide
• help students learn how to learn_at_beiwaionlineSe
  ek resourcesSelect resourcesTake full use of
  resources

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• Key resources learners should make full use of at
  different learning stages
• At the beginning course introduction, course
  orientation, course assessment
• During the learning process unit-based
  tutorials, Focal points,self-assessments, FAQS,
  course-based forums
• At the end exam orientation

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• Learning progress monitor
• mark assignments before the due date, and remind
  students to finish assignments and progress
  reports before the due date
• Identify students problems and provide help

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• Consultant
• make your office phone number and e-mail address
  known to your students at the beginning of the
  term, so students can approach you when they come
  across difficulties in learning.

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Wrap up

• 1.Introduction
• 2.Goals/focus
• 3.contents
• 4.Structure
• 5.Assessment
• 6.Resources
• 7.Tutorial essentials
• 8.Your responsibilities

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Thank You!