Even at the Elementary Level, you’ll be able to talk to your business partners, using necessary language tools for business communication.

A 72-hour Business English A1 level course program should focus on building foundational English skills within a relevant business context. The goal is for students to be able to understand and use very common everyday business expressions and simple phrases for immediate needs, introduce themselves and others in a business setting, and ask/answer basic questions about work-related topics.

Here’s a possible course program structure, breaking down the 72 hours into thematic units. Each unit will include vocabulary, grammar, and practical communication skills, with a focus on business-specific contexts.

Course Title

Business English A1: Building Foundations for Professional Communication

Total Hours: 72 hours

Level: CEFR A1 (Beginner)

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Introduce themselves and others in a business context.
  • Understand and use basic greetings and farewells in professional settings.
  • Provide and ask for personal and professional information (name, company, job title, contact details).
  • Talk about their daily routine and work activities.
  • Understand and use numbers, dates, and times in a business context (e.g., appointments, prices).
  • Describe their company and basic products/services.
  • Participate in simple, short conversations about work-related topics.
  • Understand and write very basic business emails (e.g., short introductions, simple requests).
  • Recognize and use common business vocabulary.
  • Apply fundamental A1 grammar structures in a business context.

Methodology

  • Communicative Approach: Emphasis on speaking and listening.
  • Task-Based Learning: Activities that simulate real-world business situations.
  • Interactive & Engaging: Pair work, group work, role-plays, short presentations.
  • Vocabulary Focus: Introduce core business vocabulary related to each topic.
  • Grammar in Context: Teach grammar points as they relate to practical communication.
  • Multimedia: Use short audio and video clips (e.g., simple business dialogues).

Course Outline (Approximate Hours per Unit)

Unit 1: Introductions & Personal Information (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Meeting new colleagues, clients, or partners. First impressions.

  • Vocabulary
    • Greetings (formal/informal): Hello, Good morning/afternoon/evening, Nice to meet you.
    • Personal information: Name, surname, country, nationality, phone number, email address.
    • Job titles (basic): Manager, Assistant, Sales, Marketing, IT, Engineer.
    • Company: Company, office, team.

  • Grammar
    • “To be” (I am, you are, he/she/it is)
    • Subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)
    • Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
    • Basic WH-questions: What’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?

  • Skills
    • Self-introduction.
    • Introducing others.
    • Asking for and giving personal information.
    • Basic small talk (e.g., about the weather).

  • Activities: Role-play introductions, “find someone who” activities, filling out simple personal information forms.

Unit 2: My Company & My Job (10 hours)

  • Business Context: Describing your workplace and daily duties.

  • Vocabulary
    • Company types: Small/large company, international, local.
    • Departments: Sales, Marketing, IT, HR, Finance.
    • Common office items: Computer, phone, desk, chair, meeting room.
    • Verbs for daily tasks: Work, write, read, call, email, meet.

  • Grammar
    • Present Simple (affirmative, negative, questions): I work, She doesn’t work, Do you work?
    • Prepositions of place (in, on, at): at the office, in the meeting room, on the desk.
    • There is/There are.

  • Skills
    • Describing your company size and type.
    • Talking about your job responsibilities simply.
    • Describing your office/workspace.
    • Asking and answering questions about work.

  • Activities: “My company” presentations (simple sentences), office tour descriptions, partner interviews about daily work.

Unit 3: Numbers, Dates & Time (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Scheduling appointments, talking about prices, giving contact details.

  • Vocabulary
    • Numbers (0-100+), prices ($/€/TL, cents).
    • Days of the week, months of the year, seasons.
    • Time: o’clock, half past, quarter past/to.
    • Years.
    • Calendar terms: Appointment, meeting, schedule.

  • Grammar
    • Ordinal numbers (first, second…).
    • Prepositions of time (on Monday, in July, at 9 o’clock).
    • Asking and telling the time.

  • Skills
    • Giving phone numbers and email addresses.
    • Making and confirming appointments.
    • Talking about prices and quantities.
    • Understanding simple invoices/receipts.

  • Activities: Role-play booking meetings, practicing number dictation, simulated shopping for office supplies.

Unit 4: Telephoning & Emails (10 hours)

  • Business Context: Basic phone calls and writing simple business emails.

  • Vocabulary
    • Phone phrases: Hello, This is…, Can I speak to…, Hold on, Thank you for calling.
    • Email phrases: Dear Mr./Ms., Best regards, Yours sincerely, Subject, Attach.
    • Basic requests: Can I have…? Can you send…?

  • Grammar
    • Modals: Can/Can’t (for ability and simple requests).
    • Imperatives (Please call, Please send).
    • Basic conjunctions: and, but.

  • Skills
    • Answering the phone.
    • Taking/leaving a simple message.
    • Making short, simple requests by phone.
    • Writing very basic formal emails (e.g., introducing yourself, requesting information, confirming an appointment).

  • Activities: Role-play simple phone calls, drafting short emails based on scenarios, correcting email errors.

Unit 5: Products, Services & Orders (10 hours)

  • Business Context: Describing what your company sells or offers. Making simple inquiries or placing small orders.

  • Vocabulary
    • Product types (e.g., electronics, clothes, food, machinery).
    • Services (e.g., consulting, training, support).
    • Verbs: Sell, buy, offer, produce, provide.
    • Basic adjectives to describe products: Good, new, big, small, expensive, cheap.
    • Order terms: Order, quantity, price, delivery.

  • Grammar
    • Countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., a chair, chairs, some water).
    • Quantifiers: Some, any, a lot of, a few, a little.
    • Comparatives (bigger than, more expensive than – introductory).

  • Skills
    • Describing a product’s basic features.
    • Asking about product availability and price.
    • Placing a simple order (oral or written).
    • Understanding simple sales pitches.

  • Activities: “My favorite product” mini-presentations, role-play buying/selling scenarios, filling out simple order forms.

Unit 6: Business Travel & Socializing (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Basic interactions during business travel or networking events.

  • Vocabulary
    • Travel: Flight, hotel, train, taxi, airport.
    • Countries and nationalities (review/expand).
    • Food and drink (basic, for ordering).
    • Small talk topics: Weather, hobbies (briefly).

  • Grammar
    • Past Simple of “to be” (was/were) for basic travel experience.
    • “Would like to” for polite requests.
    • Simple adjectives for describing places (big, small, modern).

  • Skills
    • Booking a taxi or asking for directions (simple).
    • Ordering food/drinks in a restaurant.
    • Making polite small talk at an event.
    • Asking simple questions about someone’s trip.

  • Activities: Role-play hotel check-in/out, ordering in a restaurant, simple “getting to know you” conversations.

Unit 7: Short Presentations & Meeting Basics (10 hours)

  • Business Context: Giving very short, basic company/product overviews. Understanding simple meeting phrases.

  • Vocabulary
    • Presentation phrases: Hello everyone, Today I want to talk about…, Thank you.
    • Meeting phrases: Start, finish, agenda, topic, break, question.
    • Words for agreeing/disagreeing (simple): Yes, No, Okay, I agree.

  • Grammar
    • Future with “going to” for plans.
    • Simple expressions of opinion: I think…, I like…, I don’t like…

  • Skills
    • Giving a 1-2 minute presentation about their company or a product (using prepared phrases).
    • Understanding common instructions in a meeting.
    • Asking simple questions during a presentation/meeting.
    • Agreeing/disagreeing in a basic way.

  • Activities: Mini-presentations, listening to simple meeting recordings and identifying key phrases, role-playing basic meeting interactions.

Unit 8: Review & Consolidation (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Reinforcing all learned concepts in integrated scenarios.

  • Vocabulary: Review all key vocabulary from previous units.

  • Grammar: Review all key grammar points.

  • Skills
    • Integrated role-plays (e.g., meeting a client, discussing a product, scheduling a follow-up, writing a confirmation email).
    • Listening comprehension exercises (short business dialogues).
    • Simple reading comprehension (e.g., short company profiles, emails).
    • Final “business networking” event where students use all learned skills.

  • Assessment
    • Oral interview (simple questions about self, job, company).
    • Short written task (e.g., writing a basic email or filling a form).
    • Listening comprehension test.

Materials

  • A Business English A1 textbook (e.g., from Cambridge, Oxford, Pearson, Macmillan specifically designed for A1 Business English).
  • Teacher-created materials: handouts, role-play cards.
  • Authentic simple materials: business cards, simple company websites, short product descriptions, basic email examples.
  • Audio and video resources.

This program provides a solid foundation for novice business managers and exporters, enabling them to handle the most basic business interactions in English with more confidence.