Teaching Business English
Trendy English+BESIG Russia is a joint project to help teachers enhance their Business English teaching experience
About the project
Trendy English is a community of English teachers and language school owners aiming at their continuous professional developing and implementing innovative teaching and management ideas. The community was founded in 2013 by Elena Peresada and holds a great number of events all over Russia.
BESIG Russia is a special interest group promoting the concept of Business English throughout Russia. BESIG Russia was founded by Ron Morrain and Elena Matveeva in 2019. It held its first conference as a part of Trendy English 8 in December 2019.
BESIG Russia goals
- Bringing international Business English experts and specialists together who can share their experience with fellow like-minded colleagues in Russia - face-2-face and online.
- Creating networking events for Business English professionals to share the latest news and ideas to expand their personal business opportunities within Russia.
- Educating English teachers and trainers to smoothly transition to Business English as an additional product in their personal business marketing strategy.
- Providing Business English teachers and trainers with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) workshops and webinars – face-2-face and online.
- Supporting teachers and trainers in Russia to develop their Business English content and methodology practice.
Teaching Business English Conference
Sunday, August 30
9:45-10:00
9:45-10:00
Opening
10:00-10:45
10:00-10:45
Marjorie Rosenberg (Austria)
Marjorie Rosenberg has been teaching English in Austria since 1981. She works with teachers and corporate clients and has given talks at over 100 conferences around the world. She is one of the co-authors of Business Partner (Pearson) and has written written 'Communicative Business English Activites' (Express Publishing). Marjorie is a past Coordinator of IATEFL BESIG and Past President of IATEFL.
Transitioning from general English to business English
General English teachers may be reluctant to make the change to business English, especially if they have never worked outside of the school or university system and feel they don't have the necessary business skills. This stretch, however, into a new area may be less daunting than many think. There are differences to be considered as business English is generally more purpose-driven and needs to include specific areas of vocabulary, but for those interested in taking on the challenge, this plenary talk aims to provide practical tips on how to get started while pointing out what teachers can bring with them from their general English experience into this new field.
General English teachers may be reluctant to make the change to business English, especially if they have never worked outside of the school or university system and feel they don't have the necessary business skills. This stretch, however, into a new area may be less daunting than many think. There are differences to be considered as business English is generally more purpose-driven and needs to include specific areas of vocabulary, but for those interested in taking on the challenge, this plenary talk aims to provide practical tips on how to get started while pointing out what teachers can bring with them from their general English experience into this new field.
10:50-11:35
10:50-11:35
Elena Matveeva (Russia)
Elena Matveeva has been teaching Business and General English for 20 years both at the University and at a private languuage school. Currently she is employed at the Dmitry Nikitin Shool in Yaroslavl, Russia, teaching teenagers and adults. Her interes lies in teaching Presentation Skills. Elena is an active participant of international conferences both online and offline.
Preparing Teenagers for Future Workplace
In the fast-paced modern world it's important to start preparing teenagers for their future job when they are still at school. There are important business skills that teenagers should be taught early in their life, including presentation skills, decision-making, giving and receiving feedback and many others. During the talk you will find out about the experience of teaching these skills at the Dmitry Nikitin School.
In the fast-paced modern world it's important to start preparing teenagers for their future job when they are still at school. There are important business skills that teenagers should be taught early in their life, including presentation skills, decision-making, giving and receiving feedback and many others. During the talk you will find out about the experience of teaching these skills at the Dmitry Nikitin School.
11:40-12:25
11:40-12:25
Katrin Lichterfeld (Germany)
After working in the export department of a beverage group, Katrin Lichterfeld did an MA (Second language acquisition) and a CertIBET. She has been working as an in-company trainer (business communication skills and intercultural competence) in the Ruhr area in Germany for nearly two decades. She has also passed on her experience about Business English as a Lingua Franca, which she has gained from various clients in different industries, in workshops at international conferences or in webinars.
Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF) – Is 'getting the job done' enough?
What does BELF mean for your working context? How do you define your learners' needs concerning intelligible pronunciation, listening (different accents) or communication breakdown in international business? What does the CEFR Companion Volume (2018) offer? Moreover, having a look at the employers' perspective is important too. What about the English skills required in the workplace and those available, especially with regard to generally increasing investments in educational and in-company programmes? What impact may English as company language have on the relationship between so-called native and non-native speakers? I want you to leave this webinar with a kind of BELF toolbox to support your learners to become aware of and make use of their (pluri)lingual and (pluri)cultural repertoire and to set up 'communities of practice' for successful intercultural business communication.
What does BELF mean for your working context? How do you define your learners' needs concerning intelligible pronunciation, listening (different accents) or communication breakdown in international business? What does the CEFR Companion Volume (2018) offer? Moreover, having a look at the employers' perspective is important too. What about the English skills required in the workplace and those available, especially with regard to generally increasing investments in educational and in-company programmes? What impact may English as company language have on the relationship between so-called native and non-native speakers? I want you to leave this webinar with a kind of BELF toolbox to support your learners to become aware of and make use of their (pluri)lingual and (pluri)cultural repertoire and to set up 'communities of practice' for successful intercultural business communication.
12:30-13:15
12:30-13:15
Evgeny Usachev (Russia)
ELT teacher, a teacher trainer and a Vice President of the Moscow International Academy. He also heads the Post-graduate Studies Teacher Training Department at the Academy. Evgeny specializes in providing trainings and seminars on how to teach adults and use digital products in ELT.
Developing soft skills for business
Soft skills are broadly classified as a combination of personality traits, behaviors, and social attitudes that allow people to communicate effectively, collaborate, and successfully manage conflict. People with good soft skills tend to have strong situational awareness and emotional intelligence that allows them to navigate difficult working environments while still producing positive results. In this talk we will look at different activities that enhance soft skills development
Soft skills are broadly classified as a combination of personality traits, behaviors, and social attitudes that allow people to communicate effectively, collaborate, and successfully manage conflict. People with good soft skills tend to have strong situational awareness and emotional intelligence that allows them to navigate difficult working environments while still producing positive results. In this talk we will look at different activities that enhance soft skills development
13:15-13:45
13:15-13:45
Lunch
13:45-14:30
13:45-14:30
Virginia López Grisolia (Argentina)
Virginia López Grisolía has been teaching Business English and other ESP branches and acting as coordinator, teacher trainer and consultant for schools and private institutions for more than 35 years. She's been the owner and Director of Studies at Interaction Language Studio, a company devoted to the teaching of ESP since 1988. During the period 2013-2017 she acted as President of APIBA (The Buenos Aires English Teacher Association) and has been coordinating the APIBA BESIG since 2018.
Teaching Grammar: has BELF left things unchanged?
Grammar has always had a very complex relation to Business English. At one extreme are trainers for whom English is all about communication and soft skills, and they usually refuse to correct mistakes, as long as intelligibility is not at risk. At the other end are colleagues who think it is their role to teach "good" English and therefore they correct every single deviation from the norm. Is there some comfortable ground where we can stand as BE trainers and help reconcile these two seemingly opposing views? Hasn't the BELF tsunami been enough of a hit on our deeply-rooted EFL beliefs?
Grammar has always had a very complex relation to Business English. At one extreme are trainers for whom English is all about communication and soft skills, and they usually refuse to correct mistakes, as long as intelligibility is not at risk. At the other end are colleagues who think it is their role to teach "good" English and therefore they correct every single deviation from the norm. Is there some comfortable ground where we can stand as BE trainers and help reconcile these two seemingly opposing views? Hasn't the BELF tsunami been enough of a hit on our deeply-rooted EFL beliefs?
14:35-15:20
14:35-15:20
Grace Alchini (Mexico)
Grace Alchini has over 34 years' experience in ELT, working mainly as a tutor in leading universities and as a trainer in international companies. At the moment, she is a freelance business communication and ESP trainer. Since 2013 she has been a frequent speaker at conferences in many European countries. She is a member of IATEFL BESIG's online team.
Developing remote collaboration skills in the business English class
Teaching business English can be much more than enhancing specific language abilities; we can go beyond and help our learners become better workers and global citizens by also dealing with soft skills development. Among these skills, there is collaboration. The recent circumstances all over the world due to the pandemic have shown us how important it is to know how to work in teams at a distance. In this talk we will look into a case of remote collaboration between two groups of business English university students from different campuses in different cities. The aim is to describe the activities they carried out along the course so that participants can choose those that may be suitable in their contexts, adopt them and adapt them. In a world in which remote learning has become a reality, these activities can be implemented even within the same group, making learners feel more engaged and motivated.
Teaching business English can be much more than enhancing specific language abilities; we can go beyond and help our learners become better workers and global citizens by also dealing with soft skills development. Among these skills, there is collaboration. The recent circumstances all over the world due to the pandemic have shown us how important it is to know how to work in teams at a distance. In this talk we will look into a case of remote collaboration between two groups of business English university students from different campuses in different cities. The aim is to describe the activities they carried out along the course so that participants can choose those that may be suitable in their contexts, adopt them and adapt them. In a world in which remote learning has become a reality, these activities can be implemented even within the same group, making learners feel more engaged and motivated.
15:25-16:10
15:25-16:10
Ron Morrain (Germany)
Ron Morrain is the innovator of the graphic facilitation concept of *Ready-made Mind Maps *(RMMs), which promotes learning/teaching methodologies E.g. - TBL (Task-based Learning) and PBL (Project-based Learning), Content and language integrated learning (CLIL), and Content-based Instruction (CBI). Language Coaching sessions for L2 and L1 learners are also facilitated by RMMs. Ron started promoting the concept in the mid 90s in Germany, and has since been promoting the concept at conferences, universities, teacher workshops, and webinars internationally. He is also the co-founder of the Business English Special Interest Group BESIG Russia, which had its debut in Moscow in 2019.
Using the STAR Response Method and Behavioral Psychology in your Business English Class
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Using this strategy is particularly helpful in response to competency-focused questions, which typically start out with phrases such as, "Describe a time when..." and "Share an example of a situation where...." This method is used by executives, managers, and HR staff internationally to make decisions about recruitment, hiring, personel training, employee relocation, and promotion. Why not use this method to teach our clients how to swing any interview in their favor and reach their personal career goals. Your learners will thank you a million times for showing them how to ace any situation where they have to prove they are the right one for the job.
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Using this strategy is particularly helpful in response to competency-focused questions, which typically start out with phrases such as, "Describe a time when..." and "Share an example of a situation where...." This method is used by executives, managers, and HR staff internationally to make decisions about recruitment, hiring, personel training, employee relocation, and promotion. Why not use this method to teach our clients how to swing any interview in their favor and reach their personal career goals. Your learners will thank you a million times for showing them how to ace any situation where they have to prove they are the right one for the job.
16:10-16:30
16:10-16:30
Closing
Registration
The price is 1900 RUB. After the payment, please check your email and find a confirmation letter from [email protected].
Previous Events
Webinar July, 4th
- Ridha Mejri, GermanyRidha Mejri grew up in a bilingual and bicultural environment namely Arabic and French. He lived, studied and worked in several countries such as Great Britain, France, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Dubai, Algeria and Saudi-Arabia. Thus he is very familiar with the customs, behavior, and business etiquette of the Arab World, but also Germany where he has lived for nearly 20 years. He lectures at the Heidelberg University of Applied Sciences & Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He has worked as an in-company trainer and coach for many years, and offers seminars and workshops to top executives who would like to ameliorate their intercultural skills and management competence.Do we Need a „Different" Approach to Business English Teaching?
We are living in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex & ambiguous) and glocalized world. Companies´ organizations do not only comprise functional, geographic or product line structures but mainly matrix organizational ones based on project teams. These project teams are international, virtual, multilingual and multicultural. They are expected to be agile, creative, innovative and able to react to changes in a VUCA world. On balance communication, soft, social, digital as well as intercultural skills are indispensable in the business world.
This talk will present a "different" approach to teaching Business English by focusing on communication, case studies and project work. - Ekaterina Chegnova, RussiaCo-founder and Academic Director of Star Talk Language School, Business English Teacher with an experience of over 13 years, Business and Cross-Cultural Communication Trainer, Co-Author of an innovative Professional English course, EMBA degree.
Throughout her career, Ekaterina has been using an advanced communication skills-oriented approach in teaching English to business people, enabling them to successfully achieve their goals. She is currently training large audiences and giving masterminds on soft skills topics at multinationals.What is it like to be a Business English Teacher?
In her talk Ekaterina is going to give answers to the following questions: What is Business English about? How is it different from teaching General English? What skills should you possess in order to be a successful BE trainer? She will also give some tips about online teaching during the difficult lockdown situation.
Julia takes care of everything you can see. She spent five years in London learning visual communication. She uses her knowledge to make the world a little more beautiful
Webinar August, 1st
- John HughesJohn Hughes is an award-winning ELT coursebook author and teacher trainer. With over 50 titles, his main course series are Life, World English (National Geographic Learning) and Business Result (Oxford University Press). He's also written methodology titles and is the series editor of the ETpedia teacher resource series (Pavilion ELT). He trains teachers from all over the world and leads courses in materials writing and critical thinking at Oxford University. His website is www.johnhugheselt.com.Critical thinking in Business English
As Business English teachers we are familiar with skills such as presenting and negotiating but perhaps fewer of us consider how the skill of critical thinking impacts on Business English teaching. And yet critical thinking is regarded as one of the key twenty-first century skills that employees look for in a candidate when recruiting. Critical thinking skills are also listed as a key objective on many MBA and university-based business programmes. In this webinar, we'll explore the place of critical thinking in business and then we'll try out a variety of practical classroom activities which develop both language skills and critical thinking skills. The session will include reference to my course series, Business Result (Oxford University Press). - Randi HarlevRandi Harlev teaches EAP/ESP at Ruppin Academic College (Israel) and Professional Communication at Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (China). She has taught EFL, trained EFL teachers, and developed blended learning courses for commercial publishers and universities worldwide. Randi holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior/Sociolinguistics and an MA TESOL. Her research is in assumptions in language teaching and in teamwork.Infusing Relevance and Real-world Experience into the Business English Classroom
One way to infuse relevance is to include materials and activities that build on the real-life experience of our students. In this webinar, we will examine and explore ways in which course content for a B2 EAP course for second-year business administration students at Ruppin Academic Center, a prominent college in Israel, has been adapted to infuse relevance and real-world experience over the current semester, especially through distance and blended learning platforms.
A theoretical framework underpinning the need for relevance and real-world experience will be suggested which can be used as a guide when adapting existing curricular elements. Participants in this webinar will come away with concrete processes to identify and curate relevant, recent, real-world experience, and infuse it into their Business English courses, not only in institutions of higher education, but also in Business English training in general.
Contacts
Banking details
ИП Пересада Е.В.
Юридический адрес: Москва, ул.Озерная, д.9, кв.89
ИНН 740300876280 ОГРНИП 308504704600032
Р/С 40802810200000935415 Банк АО «Тинькофф Банк»
к/сч 30101810145250000974 БИК 044525974
Юридический адрес: Москва, ул.Озерная, д.9, кв.89
ИНН 740300876280 ОГРНИП 308504704600032
Р/С 40802810200000935415 Банк АО «Тинькофф Банк»
к/сч 30101810145250000974 БИК 044525974
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