This is the first text in a Business English series designed for non-English-speaking secretarial students. The purpose of this text is to teach basic conversational English while providing students with an introduction to secretarial terminology and skills. Each of the twenty lessons has four parts: Part 1 focuses on the language used in social…

The course content in this nongraded phase elective curriculum is classified into Phase 1, designed for students who find reading, writing, and speaking difficult, Phase 2 for students who need to improve and refine basic skills at a somewhat slower pace, Phase 3 for those who have an average command of basic language skills and want to advance at…

Relates the difficulties of teaching a college business writing course when the majority of the students are foreign. (NKA)

This training manual is designed to help English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers and supervisors successfully develop a workplace ESOL class. Four modules include: (1) "Knowing and Presenting Your Adult Education Program to Business and Industry" (e.g., introduction to Tennessee's Workplace ESOL Initiative, the four-step…

Addresses issues that have arisen in planning for short-term language teaching projects involving business English as a Second Language. The issues discussed include the expectations of client groups, conflicting instructional paradigms, theoretical notions supporting the approach taken in the program and how program and curriculum development can…

This paper discusses the case study method of instruction and its application to the teaching of English for special purposes in university business schools. Students are given cases adapted to their level that allow them to solve business problems, such as contract negotiations, while improving their English comprehension and communication…

A process oriented technical writing course was devised at the University of Alaska to counteract the "forms" approach and to include peer critiques and student participation in class grading. Modifications to the standard syllabus included (1) student analyses of their own writing processes through literacy autobiographies, (2) student…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 13 titles deal with the following topics: (1) speaker turns between staff and foreign clients at an employment agency; (2) the communication of norms in an effective organization; (3) industrial strategies and the…

Teachers of business English and business communication must carefully evaluate the business English phenomena presented in textbooks, especially American textbooks used in foreign countries. An analysis of American texts illustrates an approach to teaching basic speaking and writing skills through simple rules, unrealistic examples, and lessons…

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a 5-hour- on-the-job writing course compared to a 30-hour college business communication course. The short business English refresher course focused on grammar, punctuation, and spelling; audience analysis; and direct, negative, and persuasive letters and memos. The college course focused on…

Prepared by South Carolina office occupations teachers, this booklet contains ideas for effective and motivating teaching methods in office occupations courses on the secondary school level. Besides ideas generally applicable, suggestions are included for teaching the following specific subjects: (1) accounting, (2) recordkeeping, (3) cooperative…

This booklet provides guidelines to produce effective, responsive business letter writing, which promotes public relations, gives plain answers to questions, clearly states requests for additional information, and increases office efficiency and economy. Four major characteristics of such letters are discussed: (1) brevity and the avoidance of…

This teacher's guide is designed for use in presenting a five-unit course in effective communication that is part of a life skills series intended to help students become more self-sufficient in their personal and professional lives. The course's five instructional units cover these topics: understanding communication, improving communication,…

This case study describes the development and implementation of a 3-week, task-based, learner-centered, business English program for 18 Thai employees of a multinational corporation from various educational and English-language backgrounds. Student attitudes toward the nontraditional task-based curriculum and the results of the program are…

Authentic listening materials are appropriate and desirable for instruction in English as a second language (ESL) for business purposes for several reasons: they have high interest, leading to enhanced motivation and increased opportunity for learning; they contain many natural redundancies and repetitions that facilitate comprehension; and they…