What Makes a Good Business English Lesson? – S01E47

What makes a good Business English lesson? Do English teachers need specialist knowledge of their learners’ industries?In this episode of How to English TEFL Podcast, Gav and Em explore the overlap between Business English and General English. Drawing on more than 40 years of combined teaching experience, they share practical advice for creating useful, engaging lessons for working professionals.Which skills should a Business English course cover? Gav and Em discuss emails, telephone calls, meetings, presentations, negotiations, reports, interviews, appraisals and workplace small talk. They also explain how everyday topics can be adapted to suit a learner’s job and communication needs.What happens when students use unfamiliar jargon? The learner understands the industry, while the teacher provides expertise in English and communication. Asking learners to explain specialist terms can reveal where their language needs to become simpler, clearer or more natural.Gav recalls preparing to teach aviation professionals at an airport, while Em describes lessons inside companies and a department store. They also discuss confidentiality, appropriate clothing, flexible schedules, realistic client expectations and valuing yourself as a freelance teacher.Stay until the end for a quiz: can Em distinguish activities from a General English coursebook from those in a Business English coursebook?☕ Support us: https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod🌐 More TEFL content: https://howtoenglishpod.com00:00 – What is Business English?Introducing the topic and choosing the episode title.01:09 – Business English or General English?Balancing the employer’s objectives with what employees want to study.03:07 – Becoming a Business English teacherCorporate classes, early mornings and evening lessons.04:20 – Essential workplace communication skillsEmails, calls, meetings, presentations, appraisals and reports.05:00 – Are Business English books harder?Why their stated levels may feel more advanced than General English books.06:16 – Adapting everyday topics for workConnecting General English lessons with learners’ jobs.07:26 – Teaching unfamiliar industries and jargonWhy teachers don’t need to be experts in their learners’ professions.10:01 – Making Business English enjoyableSimplifying professional language and using creative speaking tasks.10:58 – Teaching in different industriesHow experience with companies can build teacher confidence.11:59 – Confidentiality and competing companiesNDAs, industry secrets and Em’s unfortunate email mistake.13:16 – Gav teaches at an airportPreparing aviation language and discovering what the learners really needed.14:45 – Em’s department-store lessonsUsing the workplace as authentic teaching material.16:08 – What makes a professional teacher?Preparation, reliability, flexibility and appropriate clothing.18:11 – Flexibility, pricing and qualityWorking around busy schedules and recognising your value.19:05 – Teaching English as a businessKeeping clients happy while helping learners progress.21:33 – When you’re out of your depthHandling unfamiliar topics and avoiding unrealistic promises.23:17 – Managing company expectationsUnderstanding how a language school has presented you to its client.24:44 – Finding a teaching nicheHow specialist knowledge can create new career opportunities.25:33 – Quiz: Business or General English?Can Em identify which coursebook each activity comes from?30:08 – Final thoughtsWhy Business English and General English naturally overlap.Chapters and timestamps