DEVELOPING BUSINESS ENGLISH TEACHERS

Welcome!!

Abstract:

Professional development is something we all know we should be making time for, but often the busy lives we lead as teachers make it difficult for us to find the time and the space to focus on it. Our Developing Business English Teachers session will give you the time and the space to do just that. Together with top practitioners in the field of Business English from Europe and South America, you will be given the opportunity to develop your knowledge, broaden your horizons and share your experience. The course is aimed at practising business English teachers and those interested in working in this exciting area of ELT.

Target Audience

Inexperienced and experienced teachers of Business English and English for Specific Purposes, as well as those who are interested in working in these areas in the future.

Interest Section Sponsors

IATEFL: Business English SIG – www.besig.org

TESOL: Computer-Assisted Language Learning IS, English for Special Purposes IS

How to participate:

Discussions will be held in our Edmodo group

- Go to https://www.edmodo.com/ and sign up for an Edmodo account

- Click the "Plus" icon on the left side panel.

- Type in this code: uc5e58 in the pop up box and click "Join."

Please, read here to learn more about participating in the course.

Syllabus

Weekly Outline

We will look at two topics in each week of the course as follows:

Week 1 (Jan 13 - 19, 2014)

Getting to know you and familiarisation with the platforms being used
Exploring learner and teacher motivation

1. Learner motivation (lead moderator: Kristen Acquaviva)

Objectives:

To discover how to turn a Business English classroom into a supportive learning community.
To highlight how motivation can promote active and purposeful learning.

2. Teacher motivation (lead moderator: Roy Bicknell)

Objectives:

To approach Business English teaching through the lens of reflective practice.
To react effectively to formal and informal learner feedback.

Week Two (Jan 20 - 26, 2014)

Needs analysis
Learning styles

3. Needs analysis (lead moderator: Charles Rei)

Objectives:

To compare at least two different approaches to initial needs analysis.
To create an in-class activity to conduct feedback on progress and reassess needs during an ongoing course.

4. Learning Styles (lead moderator: Marjorie Rosenberg)

Objectives:

To clarify what learning styles are and what they are not
To discover your own style and the impact it has on your teaching
To become aware of learners’ styles and the diversity in the classroom

Week 3 (Jan 27 - Feb 2, 2014)

Teaching effective small talk
Developing interpersonal skills

5. Teaching effective small talk (lead moderator: Gabrielle Jones)

Objectives:

To examine the differences between transactional and relational language
To discuss the contexts in which small talk is used
To identify additional skills which are needed to make small talk effective
To establish how and why to use rapport building strategies in business English training

6. Developing interpersonal skills (lead moderator: Dana Poklepovic)

Objectives:

To discuss the importance of interpersonal skills in business
To explore techniques that help develop interpersonal skills
To create class activities that integrate interpersonal skills elements

Week 4 (Feb 3 - Feb 9, 2014)

Using tech tools
Using technology to developing motivating business English materials.

7 Using tech tools (lead moderator: Claire Hart)

Objectives:

To explore the range of technological possibilities we can harness to promote learning inside and outside the classroom.
To examine the pedagogical value these technological possibilities can convey.
To look at and try out the practical applications of tech tools.

8 Using technology to develop business English materials (lead moderator: Mercedes Viola)

Objectives:

To explore how to effectively select online materials for use in business English courses.
To look at and try out ways of using this material to design and develop materials that suit our business English clients´ language needs.

Week 5 (Feb 10 -16, 2014)

Building and growing your own teaching business.
Developing a future professional development plan
Wrap-up and session evaluations

9. Building and growing your own teaching business (lead moderator: Justine Arena)

Objectives:

To look at ways to improve our teaching practices by learning how to brand ourselves.
To reflect on what we have been doing with regards to branding ourselves through the building of our own roadmap to enhance their managerial competencies as entrepreneurs in the teaching world.

10. Developing your personal professional development plan

Objectives:

To look at ways of formulating realistic professional development goals and prioritising them.
To explore the practical ways in which you can meet these goals.
To develop a personal professional development plan.

Moderators and Biodata

	Kristen Acquaviva kacquaviva@gmx.com Kristen Acquaviva is a freelance business and technical English trainer and teacher trainer based in Germany. She offers a range of courses including in-company training, intensive seminars, and continuing education classes. She studied Linguistics and holds an MA in TESOL. She is on the IATEFL BESIG Editorial Team (BET).
	Roy Bicknell roy.bicknell@besig.org Roy Bicknell lives in Amsterdam and teaches Business English and Intercultural Communication. The training he provides is mostly in-company and for corporate clients. He is endlessly curious about our evolving ELT practice and what it takes to be an educator. Roy is currently Editor-in-chief of the IATEFL BESIG Editorial Team (BET) and member of the IATEFL Publications Committee. Twitter: royparmesan Site: http://about.me/royparmesan
	Charles Rei charles.rei@reicommunicationtraining.com Charles is an in-company Business English Trainer in Germany. He focuses on designing and leading customized e-learning, seminar, and coaching programs to improve employee performance. He discusses his training approach at businessenglishideas.blogspot.com.
	Marjorie Rosenberg marjorie.rosenberg@besig.org Marjorie Rosenberg teaches English at the University of Graz, Austria, trains teachers and works with corporate clients. She has published course books and resource books with CUP, Pearson, and Cengage-National Geographic and is the author of ‘Spotlight on Learning Styles’ (Delta Publishing). She writes business English materials for Professional English Online and is currently the Coordinator of IATEFL BESIG.
	Gabrielle Jones gabrielle@oconnortraining.de Gabrielle Jones has specialized in business English and ESP in multinational companies worldwide since 2000. She has a strategic role in a training company in Germany, where she develops training concepts for corporate clients.
	Dana Poklepovic danapoklepovic@fibertel.com.ar Dana Poklepovic, Business English trainer and materials writer, has worked with professionals for over 20 years in Argentina and abroad. She holds a PhD in Modern Languages from USAL, Argentina.
	Claire Hart claire.hart@besig.org After studying at the University of Cambridge and University of Leeds in the UK, Claire decided that English language teaching would be the most rewarding career for her. Since then, Claire has built up several years of experience in the corporate sector. She now combines in-company training with teaching business English courses in the tertiary sector in Southern Germany and is also currently the IATEFL BESIG Web Coordinator.
	Mercedes Viola mercedes.viola@besig.org Mercedes Viola holds an MA in TESOL. She is in charge of designing business English learning experiences for government-owned organizations, universities and many well known global companies such as Microsoft, HP, American Express, McDonalds, Deloitte, John Deere and MasterCard. She designs materials for business English clients and trains new teachers on business. She is a writer for the Teaching English site of the British Council, the IATEFL BESIG Co-Web Coordinator and a member of the IATEFL Electronic Committee. Twitter: mercedesviola Blog and site: http://mercedesviola.wordpress.com & www.4d.edu.uy
	Justine Arena justine.arena@besig.org Justine Arena lived in Boston for 13 years, where studied and worked. Now back in Brazil, Justine combines her international business experience with the teaching of English as a second language.
	Pete Rutherford pete.rutherford@besig.org Pete Rutherford is a business English and communication skills trainer from Cape Town, South Africa, and now based in Düsseldorf, Germany. He is currently employed by a European language and communication training organization, where his primary responsibility is the delivery of personalized courses and workshops to individuals and small groups.