Who is this course for?
The Business English course is designed for teachers who would like to widen their skill set in this area. Teachers with limited previous Business English teaching experience will benefit greatly from taking this course but the course also seeks to inspire more experienced Business English teachers with new and creative ideas for the in-company classroom.
What will you do on the course?
The course is designed to take about 30 hours and you can do it over three or six weeks. You will complete three modules covering a range of topics. You will read articles, blogs and watch videos and then discuss the content with your tutor via forum discussions and live tutorials. For each module you have to complete an assignment. You can choose from a range of activities to suit your situation and experience.

Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | |
Module One: Business English essentials | Needs analysis & planning | Making the most of your environment | Materials & resources |
Module Two: Effective communication | Communication skills | Intercultural awareness | Using TBL with BE students |
Module Three: equipping the BE teacher | Technology & the flipped classroom | ESP and 1-2-1 | Teacher development |
How will this course help you develop?
The course content is practical and will include ideas and material you can take and use in your classes straight away. Teaching English to company employees can require different approaches and skills to teaching General English, groups are often much smaller and usually have specific requirements relating to the contexts they will need to use English in. Many people think teaching Business English requires a specialist knowledge or experience in business. While this may be an advantage, it is by no means a prerequisite. What a Business English teacher does need to know is what makes a person a successful communicator in English.
Apply for a Teacher Development Course
Taking the Oxford TEFL Online Business English course was such a good experience! The structure of the course was set up in a logical and very practical way. Continue reading
Recommended reading
Teach Business English, by Silvie Donna Published by Cambridge
This book provides a practical introduction to Business English for new and experienced teachers, and deals with a range of issues from needs analysis and course planning to testing and evaluation.
How to Teach Business English, by Evan Frendo Published by Longman
The How to…series offers practical teaching ideas within a clear, theoretical framework. Each title includes a photocopiable ‘Task File’ of training and reflection activities to reinforce the theories and practical ideas presented.
The following websites also offer useful material and articles: Onestopenglish.com, Besig.org