In this term, I changed from the ESL program to the Business English program Post-Employment course. I would like to talk about the changes in my class.
First, in the post-employment course, the students are taught under the assumption that they are professionals in a work environment. We have four classes which are Business Reading, Business Communication, Business Speaking, and Business Writing.
In our Business Reading class, we make use of English newspapers and magazines. These materials contain information about company cultures and the latest corporation news. For example, we can read about how an organization experienced a major loss because of the incorrect number of shares in a foreign bank.
In this class, we get to learn vocabulary words that are more often used in the workplace rather than common words used in daily life. This way, we can adapt to the workplace or office talk.
For Business Communication class, our book is called ‘Market Leader’. We still continue familiarizing ourselves with workplace vocabularies but we also analyze and interpret articles and graphs of companies or products. It tests our skills through making us think ‘What would you do if you were the CEO or the customer?’ In this class, I usually spend my time talking to my teacher. We also read brochures written in English and talk about the product or business topic.
Business writing class teaches us what to be careful about when writing in English. Aside from grammar, we learn about what expressions we should use and expressions that we should avoid using.
Business talk includes many types of letters as well so we discuss how to start and end business letters such as when you are writing a letter of complaint to another company. Additionally, if you are having a hard time writing the English mail, you can practice from English books.
The biggest difference between my time in ESL and Business English are the presentations. Every Friday, each Business English student has to prepare a PowerPoint presentation and discuss its contents. We select a specific topic or sometimes a free topic and present it in front of everyone for about 15 minutes. Afterward, there will be a question and answer portion with the teacher and other students.
In Business English class, we are trained to be able to create smooth and understandable presentations. The teacher will also guide you in making your PowerPoint material. Students mainly prepare business-related discussions such as company and product introductions and so on.
Because we have to make our presentations in English, it is very different from the ones I made back when I was in college. Creating and presenting something in English was a little difficult but at the same time, it was a fun experience.
I am satisfied with the many things I learned in the Business English Post-employment course. As compared to the General ESL program where I learned everyday terms, I was able to explore English in depth through Business English. By changing my curriculum, I was able to meet my academic needs.
If you are a MONOL student that wants to work in a foreign company, I highly recommend taking up the courses in the school’s Business English program.
