Let’s Talk about English
English, as a language for the worldwide communication, has become a main tool in international business and defines the success of all negotiations and agreements.
If you are planning to build a career of a businessman with an international reputation or develop a company which would reach main international markets, you should start with developing your English skills as soon as possible.
However, if you think to boost our English communicative skills needed for business at general courses of English, your attempts won’t bring much results and let us tell you why.
What is the Difference Between General English and Business English?
Let’s start from the aims of learning a language.
Yes, the main aim is to get skills to communicate in everyday life.
Although if we look at the world of business, we will see that it differs from everyday communication not only in topics but also in behaviours and communicative strategies.
Based on the aims to develop our skills of everyday English communication, the courses of General English will teach you the words, grammar and expressions of the everyday situations.
You will learn how to talk about your favourite food or your city. You will be able to describe your house and talk about the movie you have seen recently, but will it help you to reach aims at the international business negotiations?
Surely, we can discuss these topics with our business partners when we set closer personal relations but before reaching this level you have to demonstrate your highly developed proficiency in describing business processes, convincing, presenting, debating, etc. on the matters of business, trade or production.
And to be able to do it, you need to be a fluent speaker using specific business vocabulary and sentence structures.
You have to be able to be at ease with different language means to be able to express your aims and ideas in different forms and structures.
And only after demonstrating such a level of your business communicative skills, your business partners may want to learn more about you as a personality and talk about your pets or vegetables you grow in your garden.
As you see, the business goes first, and it means your knowledge of the business words, expressions, structures, your abilities to use them all eloquently must come to the stage in the first place.
Therefore, to make a long story short, we have to conclude – if you are able to speak about your appearance and diet preferences, it’s already a good start but it’s far from the skills needed for at least more or less satisfactory business communication.
So let’s sum up –
| General English | Business English |
| + It’s used for day to day conversations. + It includes vocabulary and grammar structures needed to talk about everyday topics and situations. + A full package of the courses A1 – C1 is recommended for taking IELTS or TOEFL exams. + B2 level of the General English can be sufficient to apply for the university entrance exams, living and studying in a foreign country. | + It’s learned and used for specific work and business purposes. + It’s an advanced form of the language which includes specific vocabulary and grammar structures defined by the business profile and aims. + You can start learning English for Business at A1 level. + B2 level can be quite sufficient for business communication in case the course was shaped for the business contents and aims. |
When Should I Start Learning English for Business?
If you think that you need to reach C1 level in General English and then start learning English for Business, it’s a mistake.
In fact you can take a lead in Business English starting from A1 level.
What does it mean?
It means that together with general words and grammar which are needed for everyday English talk, you will start learning the words needed for communicating in business settings.
Besides, you will practice the language you learn in the situations which can happen during the business meetings and negotiations.
Which Course to Choose?
To answer this question, you should answer first why you are going to learn English.
If your aim is to take IELTS Exam and your current English level is A1 or so, then you should take a full package of the General English courses starting from A1+ and coming up to C1.
By the end of the full English education, you can take an IELTS Preparatory Course to polish your skills and tune them to the aims and assignments of the exam in particular.
Though, if you’ve got an aim to succeed in the area of the international business and trade, you should direct your attention to the Business English courses starting from A1+ Level.
In this way, you will reach your aim quicker by spending your time and resources more effectively.
Many English training centres focus on General English.
Unfortunately adult working students cannot get many benefits from those programs due to the prolonged character of the courses and its contents which are far from the world of work and business.
Moreover if those courses are delivered in a face-to-face mode, it becomes nearly impossible to progress in learning English for professional purposes because of the working schedules.
How to Choose a Course and Progress in Learning English for Professional Purposes?
In the first place, for the adult students who are employed or involved in an intensive working schedule, online learning should be a preference.
In this way, you will be able to adjust the English course to your working schedule and learn English in your your pace.
Together with that, you should decide clearly on the purposes of learning English whether it is for your general life and education or for the aims of work and business.
In case the communicative skills in business are among your priorities, you should go for Business English courses starting from level A1+.
Don’t worry that after completing this course, you won’t be able to discuss books and movies. You will!
At the courses of Business Engish, trainers model situations which can happen in your communication with business partners, and these situations certainly include informal talks about hobbies, leisure and life preferences, but at the level which is appropriate for professional and business circles.
Where to Start From?
You can start from contacting our experts for guidance, testing your learning needs and current level of English to define a program which will be the most suitable for you.
Decide about the terms when you would like to reach the desired level of English for the purposes of your life or career.
It will be helpful to make a road map of your learning and reach tangible results within a defined period of time.
Apart from that be sure you have a stable Internet connection to learn online.
It will allow you to be flexible and have an access to international Business English trainers and a possibility to devote at least 4 hours a week to learn English and master your communicative skills.
This is the time which is optimal for a good progress in learning and reaching observable results according to your aims and timing.
For more questions and registering for a course, please feel free to contact us by filling out the form below.