Learning English as a second language is a skill that many foreign workers and graduates will take on. Many will take English lessons from an early age and elect to build on them as adults to improve their prospects. Companies hiring graduates from other countries or dealing with workers from other regions naturally favor those with English language skills. Business English is an important part of that. Corporate workers can benefit from taking classes and building their skills in this area of the English language, and employers should encourage that as best they can. So, what is business English, who can benefit from learning it, and should you help your non-native workers with Business English courses?
What Is Business English?
Business English is essentially the English language as it applies to business settings. It can sound like a foreign language to those who aren’t in that world. If you don’t work a 9-5 office job with a manager emailing you all the time, a lot of the buzzwords and phrases are baffling, and that’s to native English speakers. Office workers are always circling back to ideas or using blue-sky thinking for solutions. They promise to touch base, eventually, as long as all their ducks are in a row, they have the bandwidth and aren’t herding cats. While it makes those working creative jobs cringe, it’s going to really confuse those non-native officer workers. All they want to do is understand what’s going on without figuring out where all those ducks and cats appeared from.
That’s why learning business English is so important. It’s a way for those with limited English skills to focus their attention on the areas that matter most. Students taking dedicated business English courses can boost their knowledge of conversational English and business jargon that will serve them well in a business setting. They aren’t looking to end up with a perfect understanding of English grammar or written conventions, so there will be gaps in their knowledge. Instead, they’re focused on being able to carry out conversations with clients and management with the right business jargon. That way, they can keep up with those around them in this new business setting.
While this sounds limiting compared to other approaches, it makes sense in the right context. Perfect grammar and a formal approach aren’t always necessary, unlike the ability to understand the way businesspeople speak. Their manager may not be able to use the correct form of their or there but can negotiate a deal and smooth-talk clients.
Who Can Benefit From Learning Business English?
Business English skills are essential for anyone coming to work for an organization from another country. For example, let’s say you’ve found some skilled graduates from other regions where English isn’t their first language. They’ve got the right qualifications in your field and the determination to start a new life in the United States. They just lack the language skills to compete with those born in the USA.
Or, maybe you’ve recently expanded into a new territory and are looking to bring divisions together through collaborations, larger corporate events, and other schemes that cross the continental divide. Business English skills could help those department heads and managers communicate their ideas with their American counterparts or engage in business meetings with new clients and investors.
How Can Employees Improve Their Business English Skills?
Business language skills aren’t so much about the mechanics and finer grammatical details of the English language. That will come later as your new hires improve their skills. The most important thing to focus on right now is contextual language, and employees can do so in two ways: comprehension of the written and spoken word.
Spoken Business English is pretty easy to find online. Employees can listen to podcasts or watch YouTube videos in their spare time about business and the area they work in. This sort of immersion is very effective for conversational language learning. As for written business English, they can find newspaper articles related to your industry or read old company reports.
The more practice your new employees get in both of these areas, the better they will get. You can work with your team to provide as much support as possible. Setting new hires up with peers and mentors can allow for shadowing and tutoring. You can also help supply them with material to improve their knowledge. However, what may prove the most effective here is enrollment in a business English course.
Taking A Business English Course
A Business English from an accredited school could be the perfect solution. Employees can earn a certificate while following a structured course that explains everything they need to know. They’ll get a better understanding of all those buzzwords and office talk in contextual settings. They’ll learn to use business language in professional settings, such as emails and phone calls. By the end, they should have enough knowledge and confidence to participate in real meetings and sales calls.
New hires may not feel they can do this off their own back and with their own money. However, if you can provide this as an incentive for working with your company, it can pay off. The investment you make to get new hires up to speed with business English now will show when they become confident and fluent enough to handle negotiations, client meetings, and presentations for your brand. It may take some time, depending on their current proficiency levels. Still, a little patience and encouragement can go a long way.
Set Your Foreign Hires Up With Business English Classes
Ultimately, the decision to take a business English course lies with your employee. If they choose not to do so and to rely on independent learning, it’s then on them to prove themselves and catch up to their peers. Try to make the course as interesting as possible by allowing them the time, financial support, and encouragement needed to succeed. Remind them that this isn’t about their shortcomings in English comprehension but rather a chance to improve their skills and prospects in the industry. Those who succeed can thrive in their new environment and help your company profit as a result. It really is a win-win situation.
