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Welcome to our Master Class in Business English Fluency. If you’re looking to improve your ability to use and understand spoken English in professional settings, this course is for you.
We’re two teachers from the United States and we have designed a course, using a linguistically-backed dual-method that simulates one-on-one conversations with native speakers. This course will give you the tools to practice listening and speaking in a professional setting from the comfort of your own home.
Welcome to our Master Class in Business English Fluency. If you’re looking to improve your ability to use and understand spoken English in professional settings, this course is for you.
We’re two teachers from the United States and we have designed a course, using a linguistically-backed dual-method that simulates one-on-one conversations with native speakers. This course will give you the tools to practice listening and speaking in a professional setting from the comfort of your own home.
You will have access to over 25 business conversations between native speakers, using natural vocabulary, phrases, grammar, pronunciation, intonation, and levels of formality, which are all important when you want to sound professional at work. On top of that, you will actually get to participate in the conversations.
Every unit includes listening, shadow speaking, and simultaneous speaking activities, gradually increasing in difficulty throughout the course. You can move through the course at your own pace and control the speed of each video, tailoring the lessons perfectly to your individual language needs.
We're excited you're here and we're ready to help you. If you’re ready to take the next step in your journey to become an even more professional, more fluent English speaker, you’re in the right place.
Imagine walking into work and feeling confident in every word you say, in meetings, presentations, or even in casual talk by the water cooler. Maybe your co-workers will even tell you how well you are speaking and notice your improvement. By the end of this course, that will be your new reality.
Working and talking in a professional setting as an English as a Second Language (ESL) speaker can have many challenges. You may feel nervous that you will not understand, be understood, or be able to speak quickly and clearly with confidence. However, as we say in English, practice makes perfect. To improve your speaking skills, you must speak out-loud as much as possible. In this course, you will have access to high quality business English conversations that will enrich your speaking and listening abilities. You will have infinite opportunities to practice, exposure to the language, and a private and supportive environment.
Through this class, we will build your English vocabulary and practice through role plays that put you in situations with native English speakers and non-native speakers. You will be able to read and listen to conversations and then to participate in conversations yourself. You will complete guided self assessments to target the areas you want to focus on as we go through the scenarios. And by the end of this book, you will have mastered the basics of Business English.
The following role play is between two coworkers in an informal but important conversation about their hotel’s new website. Sarah is explaining to Jake how the project is unfolding and Jake is collecting the most important information to relay to the entire team during the formal project update.
The following video shows a full speed conversation between native speakers in a professional context. Listen to the conversation to prepare yourself for the shadow speaking activity. You may also wish to read the conversation in full to completely understand the context and what we will be talking about. If you wish to print the dialogue, a printable PDF version is linked in the resources. If there are any words or phrases you are unfamiliar with, make sure to look them up before you move on to the next activity.
Objective: By the end of this video, you should be able to understand the context and words used in the dialogue between the two speakers.
In the following video, you will hear the conversation broken down into smaller, slower phrases. Repeat each phrase during the pause, imitating the pronunciation and intonation you hear. If you find the video to be too fast, try turning the video speed (or playback rate) down to 0.5x or 0.75x and practice until you can work your way up to the regular video speed. You may wish to do this shadow speaking exercise multiple times, until you feel confident repeating after the speaker. Always remember to prioritize clarity of speech over speed. In other words, make sure to pronounce each word clearly.
If you want even more practice, try this self-reflection challenge: Record yourself speaking with the video using your phone and play it back to yourself after you finish. Are there areas you wish to improve? Certain words you would like to say more clearly? You may wish to repeat certain phrases with the video until you are satisfied with your recording.
Objective: By the end of this activity, you should be able to say the entire dialogue out loud, with confidence, using the proper intonation and pronunciation.
Congratulations!
You have made it to the end of this section! Great job and keep up the good work!
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