Mastering Business English - A Learning Resource Book

Chiron Editeur, 2004 Authors' Review: Michael Bryant, Henri Caquot, Kevin Metz, David Sheehan, Mary Vigier

Introduction

Mastering Business English is designed mainly for French students studying business English. It is intended for students at Graduate Schools of Management, for university students in business, economics, management and other related subjects, as well as for engineering students who are required to take courses in business or management. The material has been developed and tested at the ESC Clermont Graduate School of Management and is currently being used in the first year programme and in several adult education programs.

The authors have been working as a team for a number of years and in this textbook they have adopted methods and materials they have found to be successful time and again in terms of stimulating interest and encouraging interactive communication. D. A. Wilkins from the University of Reading has aptly explained this approach to materials development: "…it is our aim for language learners that they should be able to produce and receive communication in the language, and it would be a major contribution to language learning if we could tap or stimulate the pupil's interest in the communicative activity itself so that in their desire for successful communication they become largely unaware of the linguistic forms that are being used". (Second Language Learning and Teaching, London, Edward Arnold, 1974.)
Bringing the outside world into the classroom, bringing business English to life inside the classroom, creating a lively, dynamic, interactive approach, "stimulating the student's interest in the communicative activity itself" , this has been the driving force behind materials development as well as the choice of themes dealt with in the chapters, as may be observed in the headings below:

Chapter 1 - The Changing Workplace
Chapter 2 - Perspectives On Macro-Economics
Chapter 3 - Human Resources In A Multi Cultural Setting
Chapter 4 - Interactive Marketing, Retail And Sales
Chapter 5 - Information And Communication In The Cyber Age
Chapter 6 - New Age Banking
Chapter 7 - The Internationalisation Of Finance And Accounting
Chapter 8 - Stock Exchanges In The 21st Century
Chapter 9 - Globalisation And Sustainable Development
Chapter 10 - Ethics And Corporate Responsibility

Pedagogical Approach

Key vocabulary items that will be developed and reinforced throughout the chapter are presented as "warm up" activities, including matching, true-false questions, fill-in-the-gap exercises, case studies and questionnaires. They have been chosen to spark off discussion and debate. A few examples of Icebreakers illustrate this point.

In this section, vocabulary and idiomatic expressions are introduced within the content field of the corresponding chapter. In this way, students realize that new language items form a leitmotiv throughout the chapter. Learning takes place through repetition and revision, but always in novel, innovative ways to maintain the students' interest and motivation. Activities include vocabulary matching, gap-filling exercises, mini-texts with comprehension questions, pair-work definitions, questionnaires.

The goal of the short texts found under the heading Read & Talk is to stimulate further discussion. Students are given an opportunity to exchange ideas, opinions and observations about the subjects raised. In Chapter 6, students are confronted with radically different banking practices in Japan, Russia and Mexico, and are encouraged to discuss the implications of doing business in such countries.

In Human Resource Management (Chapter 3) , a number of controversial issues have come to the forefront in different countries. In France, for example, the difficulties small businesses have had in adapting to the 35-hour week are contrasted with the general satisfaction found in most large firms. In the U.K., the gap in men and women's pay and the so-called "glass ceiling" are still found in many British firms and are practised in many subtle ways. In the U.S., Harley Davidson has made startling gains in productivity without having to relocate jobs overseas. The subjects developed in Read & Talk should indeed keep them talking !

In contrast to the Read & Talk section, where "skimming and scanning" leads quickly to oral production, the longer texts included under Read & Write encourage students to read more in depth, either to find specific information or to practise writing short sentences. The "Mastering the Language" vocabulary boxes assist students in understanding the texts without having to refer to a dictionary. The subjects covered in this section are many and varied: Managing Diversity in the Workplace, The Future of Department Stores, Enron's Downfall, How the Bubble Economy Burst, and Fair Trade are a few of the subjects covered.

A short extract from Managing Diversity in the Workplace in Chapter 3 illustrates the type of exercise students are asked to do in this section:

In the U.K., diversity initiatives are a strong theme of the recruitment policies for civil servants. The government wants 35% of senior posts to be occupied by women, up from 26.4% in previous years. The civil service also wants to raise from 2.8% to 3.2% the number coming from ethnic minority backgrounds and from 1.7% to 3% the number of people with disabilities in these top positions.

The texts have also been chosen to be used as a springboard for further written assignments as well as small group or whole class discussion.

The subject of the Wells Fargo takeover of First Interstate Bank in Chapter 6 is an excellent case in point. Like many recent mergers and acquisitions, this takeover bid was an utter failure. The bank's customers had to wait in long lines, many deposits were lost, and the entire computer system broke down. We learn that not enough time was given to standardise the computer system or to train tellers about the new financial products being offered. Employees were never even consulted by management.
Such a situation provides an excellent opportunity for the teacher to set up a role play between an irate customer and an uninformed bank teller, for example. For homework, students may be asked to write a letter of complaint to the manager of the bank. The situation also provides an excellent context for a "managerial brainstorming session" to determine what went wrong with the merger and what measures could have been taken beforehand to prevent such problems from occurring. The discussion may be broadened to include an appraisal of the advantages and disadvantages of mergers in today's business environment.

Many students find listening to be the most difficult skill to improve. For this reason, the subjects included in the audio CD of the student's book are particularly motivating. A fascinating discussion in Chapter 1 describes tomorrow's workplace. The discussion in Chapter 5 describes tomorrow's high-tech cars. Are you in favour or against "outsourcing" jobs? To be debated in Chapter 2. The texts chosen for the recordings tie in with the chapter themes. To guide students through the listening exercises, questions are provided in various forms: short-answer, graphs, fill-in-the-blanks. Tapescripts for each recording are found at the end of the Student's Book. Since students have their own audio CDs , they should be encouraged to reinforce their oral comprehension skills by listening to the exercises outside the classroom.

The following extract from the "Stock Market Report" in Chapter 8 is a sample of the type of listening exercise in this section:

Find and correct the errors in the following written extract as you listen to the recording:

It's 5:15 universal time, here is the business report. Let's look to the Japanese markets first; the Nikkei is down 225 points, led by banks and electronic makers amid concern about earnings cuts in a robust economy and the government's interaction in turning the situation around. The U.S. dollar is quoted at about 123 Japanese yen and 1.2359 euros

Answer key It's 5:15 universal time, here is the business report. Let's look to the Japanese markets first, the Nikkei 225 index is down, led by banks and electronic makers amid concern about earnings cuts in a stagnant economy and the government's lack of action in turning the situation around. The U.S. dollar is quoted at about 120.3 Japanese yen and 1.2359 euros.

Some of the topics covered: Tomorrow's Workplace, The Meaningful Interview, The Self-Service Economy, Credit Card Debt, Understanding a Balance Sheet, Starbucks and the Anti-Globalisation Movement, Social Responsibility and the Fashion Industry.

6. Communicative Activity: interacting with others

The main objective for learning any language is to be able to communicate with other people. The authors have included a section in each chapter devoted entirely to improving communicative skills. In this section, fluency should take precedence over accuracy. A variety of exercises allows students to interact in motivating, stimulating contexts, such as selling unusual items (Chapter 4), interpreting headlines (Chapter 7), investing on the stock market (Chapter 8) and enacting a role play on McDonald's corporate responsibility (Chapter 10).

One such exercise is found in Chapter 4. To improve selling techniques, students are assigned a product and asked to assume the role of a salesperson. They must be able to describe the product and its features, pointing out in as convincing a way as possible the benefits. Among the rather unconventional products that they must try to sell: a "Floating Cooler", a "Stroller-Carrier for Pets", a "Water-Proof Shower Radio"!

The introduction to the role play on "McDonald's Responsibility to the World" in Chapter 10 is another illustration of such an interactive exercise:

SUBJECT: McDonald's stands up to criticisms on issues of globalisation, nutrition, and the environment.
THE AIM: To try to find a compromise between all the guests invited to the international round table discussion. Participants on the panel come from France, India, the U.K. and the U.S..

7. Language in Use: getting it right!

This section combines a variety of different approaches to revise some aspects of vocabulary on various themes such as free agents (Chapter 1), action verbs in CVs (Chapter 3), and personality traits (Chapter 3) as well as grammar (phrasal verbs, prepositions, and gerunds, in Chapters 2, 8 and 9 respectively). These activities have been developed by highlighting language that students have trouble using. Thus, the students will be able to "use" the language learned in this section to improve accuracy and fluency. Crossword puzzles and word searches have been included in order to make the learning both motivating and entertaining. Explicit instructions are given for the exercises in each section, so the book can serve as a self-study course as well as in the classroom.

The first example has been taken from "Action Verbs in CV's" (Chapter 3):

In French CV's, nouns are used to describe your work experience, whereas in CV's and resumes written in English, it is necessary to use verbs. In the following extracts from CV's, please find an action verb from the list below to complete the sentences in English.

Analysed	carried out	Designed	drew up	launched
Processed	set up	Studied	supervised	updated

1. mise en place d'un stand lors de la London Wine Fair

_____________________ a stand at the London Wine Fair

2. étude de la concurrence

____________ the competition

The second example comes from "Adjectives in Job Interviews" (Chapter 3):

Personality Traits 1

Here are some adjectives to describe personality. Fill in the blanks below with one word from the list. You may want to use these in a job interview.

cautious	earnest	easy-going	demanding
gregarious	outspoken	resourceful	versatile
sensible	level-headed	reliable	strong-willed
articulate	tactful	dedicated	decisive

1. If you work hard at your job, someone might say you are __________.
2. Acting calmly and making sensible decisions in difficult situations describes someone as being __________.
3. If you can express yourself clearly and easily, you are __________.

The third example is from "Gerund or Infinitive?" (Chapter 9):


Put the verb in parentheses in the infinitive or the gerund.

1. Many off-shore banks run the risk ( to have / of having ) to go out of business.

2. I've just finished ( to write up / writing up ) the job description for the new post of Sales Manager for Eastern Europe.

8. Translate into English: reviewing and activating the language

Translation, one of the more traditional language teaching methods, is still widely practised in secondary schools throughout France, and French students find translating short sentences into English very motivating. This section and the sentences it contains are designed to re-use some of the vocabulary presented in the chapter and to point out some of the difficulties and peculiarities of English grammar. The answers are accompanied by comments which aim at giving recipes or short explanations of the points highlighted. In the sentences, the authors offer a mixture of formal and conversational business registers.

The following examples come from Chapter 2:

1. Il travaille dans la restauration rapide, hein? Eh bien, essaie de lui demander si son travail se classe dans le secteur secondaire ou le secteur tertiaire. Sa réponse pourrait te surprendre.

8. Quand vous arriverez à l'aéroport, vous serez accueilli par un de nos collaborateurs, puis, on vous conduira directement vers notre usine de production.

16. Au dernier trimestre, les chiffres du commerce extérieur montrent une légère reprise. (DBE, May 2004)

17. Vous vous rendez compte! La dernière augmentation de salaire ne tient même pas compte de la hausse du coût de la vie! (DBE, November 2001)

Answer key

1. He works in a fast-food restaurant, doesn't he? Well, try asking him whether his job is classified in manufacturing or the service sector.

- Notez le tag "doesn't he?" à la forme interro-négative, car la phrase de départ est affirmative.
- "To try" est suivi, ici, du gérondif, car il implique une expérience, pour voir ce qui va se passer.
- "Whether…or" introduit deux choix énoncés parallèlement. (Français : "si…ou…".)

8. When you arrive at (get to) the airport, you will be met by one of our assistants, then you will be driven straight to our production plant.

- "To meet", suivant les contextes, peut vouloir dire: rencontrer, faire la connaissance de, satisfaire (une demande), ou accueillir. On n'emploie pas le futur (ni le conditionnel) après les conjonctions de temps.

16. In the last quarter, the figures for foreign trade show(ed) a slight gain.

17. Can you believe it! The last rise/salary increase doesn't even take into consideration the rise in the cost of living.

Bonus sections

Glossary: getting the meaning

The glossary at the end of each chapter is designed to help students to translate the sentences from French into English without constantly having to consult a dictionary. The vocabulary has been presented in clusters arranged according to themes in order to encourage learning by association. The French-English alphabetical glossary at the end of the book is by no means exhaustive but attempts to bring together key vocabulary items used in each chapter throughout the book. The following is a cluster from Chapter 1:

CDI	permanent contract
CDD	fixed-term contract (of employment)
CDD	to work full time, part time
intérimaire	temporary worker/ a temp
faire de l'intérim	to temp
travail pour plusieurs entreprises	portfolio working
travail au noir	Moonlighting
partage du travail	job sharing
partage de bureau	hot-desking
travail à domicile	teleworking (U.K.) telecommuting (U.S.A.)

Get Talking!: encouraging communication

The Get Talking! sections provide opportunities to extend communicative activities in pairs, in small groups or as a whole class discussion. For example, after discussing questions of corporate ethics, students may continue their debate on the following topics:

GET TALKING! - Fast food companies integrate the school cafeteria - Corporations in the classroom - Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) - Annual salaries for CEOs - Cloning - Solar, hydro, biomass, wind, sea-wave and nuclear energy

The Lighter Side: bringing a smile to their faces at 8:30 in the morning!

Humour is an integral part of the workplace. The Lighter Side is found throughout the book to lighten up classroom activities.

The two examples below are found in Chapter 3:

How did you do it? You've been here only two weeks and you're already two months behind in your work?

Why are you late for work?
- There are eight people in our family, and the alarm was set for seven.

Conclusion

Diploma in Business English: putting students' new skills to the test

One objective of the book is to provide appropriate materials for students preparing for the Diploma in Business English, an examination administered by the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, designed in collaboration with companies and adapted regularly to meet their linguistic requirements. The examination is recognised by hundreds of companies throughout the world, more particularly in Europe and in French-speaking countries.

Preparing for this examination has proved to be highly motivating for students and increases their participation and enthusiasm in the classroom. As a result, the authors have included the different exercises found in the examination: Listening Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, Translations from French into English, Business Letters as well as an oral Article Summary and Role Play.

For example, out of the twenty sentences that the authors have included in every chapter for students to translate, the last five are sentences that have been used in past Diploma in Business English examinations. The date of the exam is shown in parentheses after each sentence.

In this paper, two sentences are provided here in Section 8, Translate into English, as examples of the types of sentences drawn directly from past DBE exams. As shown above, sentence number 16 comes from the May 2004 DBE exam, while sentence number 17 was taken from the November 2001 DBE exam.

Teacher's Guide: sharing our experience

The different chapters are not presented in order of difficulty, so teachers should feel free to use them in the order they wish. The Teacher's Guide contains suggestions on how to exploit each section of each chapter as well as answer keys to the different exercises. This guide is available free on request at www.MasteringBusinessEnglish.com.

Please check the Business course at Pilgrims website.