Hello Zorrasabia --
Thanks for the feedback. Really, your words of encouragement are very much appreciated. Sometimes it's frustrating to not see many people participating in the discussions, but we know that there are many people reading them.
Feedback and participation are really important. Even if you think that you don't have anything to add... what you have to say just might help another person in your situation. So please dear forum members, don't lurk! Participate! The more you participate, the more this forum can be a great tool for all of our users!
Regarding teaching business English, I look at it this way... TEFL/CELTA programs are a step in the right direction (some more than others) to help prepare you for teaching English generally, but I haven't seen any program that puts enough emphasis on preparing the teachers for walking into a corporate setting and teaching business executives. Perhaps this isn't something that is possible to teach, but comes from the professional experience and maturity of the teacher him/herself instead.
When I say business English, I am not referring to business English vocabulary, which in and of itself is a whole different ballgame. I am talking about giving the teachers the skills necessary to feel confident in a business setting. Keep in mind that you might be placed to teach a class of high level executives in major multinational firms...and if you are a 22 year old recent college grad, your experience (or more likely, lack thereof) will pale in front of these seasoned veterans. They have no time for a \"green teacher\", who has recently finished their intensive four week course and is stumbling around looking for an answer to their questions. They will know if you are giving them a line of BS.
In Madrid there is a high demand for teachers to teach in-company and this is the downfall of many teachers. They are not prepared academically, nor do many have the necessary (business) maturity to teach such demanding groups as the one mentioned above. It's a catch-22 situation. As a teacher, you will want to do more than just \"get-by\", at least in my opinion. If you are just getting by, you won't really be happy.
To be successful teaching business English there are several factors that you should keep in mind:
1. Confidence in yourself as a teacher and a sound knowledge of the grammatical concepts... to the extent that you have no problem clearly explaining them to your students.
2. Notions of business vocabulary. This you can brush up on by reading any major business publication (The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The Econonmist magazine, etc.). There are certain \"buzzwords\" that are always good to know and know how to explain (benchmarking, standards and practices, goals and objectives, etc.).
3. A basic understanding of a corporate environment.
4. An interest in the daily work of the students. Showing an interest in what they do outside the English classroom in their professional lives is something that most students (I have found) really appreciate...and this also helps you, as their teacher, to structure the class so that it is even more relevant for them.
There are several business English text books on the market right now that are commonly used in classes, but I find that they are the same as general English with a heavier emphasis on business vocabulary. Some of these names are International Express, Market Leader, and In Company. If you google any of these names, I am certain that you will come up with the websites for the series that may have additional information and even free downloadable exercises.
I hope this has answered some of your questions! If not, let me know and Tony & I will try to help!
-R
