A 72-hour Business English A2 level course should build upon the A1 foundation, allowing students to engage in slightly more complex and sustained conversations on familiar business topics.

The focus shifts from very basic survival English to developing more fluency and accuracy in routine business interactions.

Course Title: Business English A2: Developing Professional Fluency

Total Hours: 72 hours

Level: CEFR A2 (Pre-Intermediate)

Course Objectives

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

  • Handle routine phone calls and written correspondence (emails, short messages).
  • Discuss daily work activities, past experiences, and future plans.
  • Describe products, services, and company structures with more detail.
  • Participate in simple meetings, expressing opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing.
  • Understand and provide simple instructions and directions.
  • Talk about problems and suggest simple solutions.
  • Engage in small talk and socialise in a business context.
  • Understand and use a wider range of A2 grammar structures confidently.
  • Expand their business vocabulary to cover more specific topics.

Methodology

  • Communicative & Task-Based: Continued emphasis on practical application through role-plays, simulations, and group discussions.

  • Integrated Skills: Focus on developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a balanced way within business contexts.

  • Problem-Solving & Decision-Making: Simple tasks requiring students to think critically and express basic solutions.

  • Vocabulary Expansion: Systematic introduction of new business-specific lexis.

  • Grammar Consolidation: Reinforce A1 grammar while introducing new A2 structures in context.

  • Authentic Materials: Use slightly more complex but still accessible authentic materials (e.g., simple company reports, short news articles, business event invitations).

Course Outline (Approximate Hours per Unit)

Unit 1: Expanding on Introductions & Networking (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Networking events, meeting new contacts, follow-up after initial meetings.

  • Vocabulary: Review & expand job titles, departments, company types. Add terms for networking (contact, connection, exchange cards). Phrases for polite questions and expressing interest.

  • Grammar: Review Present Simple and “to be.” Introduce/review “Wh-” questions (How long have you been…?, What do you think about…?).

  • Skills: More detailed self-introductions, asking follow-up questions, initiating and ending conversations politely, exchanging business cards, making simple promises (e.g., “I’ll call you”).

  • Activities: Simulated networking events, speed dating-style introductions, writing short “thank you” emails after a meeting.

Unit 2: Daily Work Life & Routines (10 hours)

  • Business Context: Describing a typical workday, discussing responsibilities in more detail, talking about colleagues.

  • Vocabulary: Adverbs of frequency (always, usually, sometimes, rarely), daily routines verbs, verbs for work tasks (manage, coordinate, analyze, supervise). Describing colleagues’ roles and qualities (e.g., efficient, supportive).

  • Grammar: Present Simple vs. Present Continuous (for temporary vs. routine actions). Adverbs of frequency placement.

  • Skills: Describing a typical day at work, talking about current projects, asking about colleagues’ tasks, expressing likes/dislikes about work.

  • Activities: “Day in the life” presentations, comparing work routines with a partner, role-play delegating simple tasks.

Unit 3: Past Experiences & Achievements (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Talking about career history, past projects, company achievements.

  • Vocabulary: Common verbs related to work history (started, joined, left, worked for, promoted). Phrases for discussing past events (last week, two years ago, in 2023).

  • Grammar: Past Simple (regular and common irregular verbs – affirmative, negative, questions). Time expressions for the past.

  • Skills: Describing a previous job or role, talking about a completed project, discussing a company’s historical milestones, answering simple interview questions about past experience.

  • Activities: “My first job” or “A past project” mini-talks, role-play a short, simple job interview.

Unit 4: Future Plans & Arrangements (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Planning meetings, discussing upcoming projects, making arrangements for business trips.

  • Vocabulary: Future time expressions (next week, tomorrow, in two months). Verbs for planning (plan, arrange, schedule, organize, prepare). Travel verbs (fly, stay, visit).

  • Grammar: “Be going to” for future plans. Present Continuous for future arrangements (e.g., I’m meeting a client tomorrow). “Will” for predictions and instant decisions.

  • Skills: Talking about future intentions and plans, confirming arrangements, asking about others’ future schedules, making simple travel arrangements.

  • Activities: Role-play booking a business trip, planning a team event, discussing next steps for a project.

Unit 5: Products, Services & Customer Relations (10 hours)

  • Business Context: More detailed product/service descriptions, handling basic customer inquiries and simple complaints.

  • Vocabulary: Features vs. benefits, price (discount, offer, competitive price), quality (high, low, reliable), delivery (on time, delayed). Phrases for customer service (How can I help you?, I’m sorry to hear that, What’s the problem?).

  • Grammar: Adjectives for description. Simple prepositions for describing locations of products. Modals for advice/suggestions (should/shouldn’t, could).

  • Skills: Describing products/services in more detail (features, uses), handling basic customer questions, expressing simple apologies for minor issues, offering simple solutions.

  • Activities: “Product pitch” role-plays, customer service simulations (simple issues), writing a short email to a customer about an inquiry or minor problem.

Unit 6: Meetings & Presentations (10 hours)

  • Business Context: Participating more actively in short, simple meetings. Giving slightly longer presentations.

  • Vocabulary: Meeting phrases (open/close a meeting, agenda, point, minute, summarize, action point). Phrases for expressing opinions (I think, In my opinion), agreeing (I agree, That’s true), disagreeing (I don’t agree, I’m not sure). Presentation structure (Introduction, Main points, Conclusion).

  • Grammar: Review modals (can, could, should). Connectors for ideas (and, but, so, because, then, after that).

  • Skills: Contributing to a meeting with simple statements, asking for clarification, making simple suggestions, giving a 2-3 minute presentation about a product, service, or department.

  • Activities: Short, structured meetings with a clear agenda, individual or pair presentations, “role-play a discussion” on a simple work-related topic.

Unit 7: Business Correspondence & Reports (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Writing a wider range of basic business emails. Simple notes and short reports.

  • Vocabulary: More formal email phrases (further to, kindly, apologize for, look forward to). Linking words (however, therefore, also). Common abbreviations in emails (ASAP, FYI).

  • Grammar: Review conjunctions. Introduction to simple passive voice (e.g., “The product is manufactured in Turkey”).

  • Skills: Writing emails to request information, confirm details, make appointments, apologize, or follow up. Writing very short internal memos or reports (e.g., summarizing a meeting). Filling out forms.

  • Activities: Drafting various types of business emails based on scenarios, completing simple report templates, writing a summary of a short audio/video clip.

Unit 8: Review & Consolidation (8 hours)

  • Business Context: Integrating all learned skills in realistic, multi-faceted business scenarios.

  • Vocabulary: Comprehensive review of all business vocabulary.

  • Grammar: Comprehensive review and practice of all A2 grammar points.

  • Skills:
    • Extended role-plays simulating a mini-project cycle (e.g., product inquiry, meeting to discuss, writing follow-up emails, presenting results).
    • Listening comprehension tasks (slightly longer business conversations, voicemails).
    • Reading comprehension (short articles from business magazines, company newsletters).
    • Short writing assignment (e.g., a formal email with a complaint and proposed solution, or a brief status report).

  • Assessment:
    • Oral presentation or role-play.
    • Written task (e.g., a business email or short report).
    • Listening and Reading comprehension tests.

Materials:

  • A dedicated Business English A2 textbook (e.g., “Business Result A2,” “Market Leader A2,” “Business English Handbook” from reputable publishers).
  • Supplementary materials: Authentic business cards, simple company brochures, short video clips of business scenarios, audio for phone calls.
  • Online resources for A2 Business English practice (e.g., British Council LearnEnglish Business, BBC Learning English).
  • Teacher-created handouts and activity sheets.

This A2 program will give novice exporters a much stronger foundation for navigating typical business situations, making them more confident and effective in their international dealings.