Designing Materials for BE


 

Designing Materials for Business English Teaching

 

 

 

Session Title: 

Designing Materials for Business English Teaching

 

 

Logo:

 

Abstract: Participants will consider a variety of business materials to find, create, or adapt to their circumstances, whether on or offline. Each individual week will be delivered by a team of Business teachers with material creation experience. We will end with a show and tell, sharing ideas and lesson plans.

 

 

Fewer than 50 words

 

 

 

Target audience: This session is for teachers of Business English and for those who are thinking about becoming business English teachers in the future, no matter the field of ESP they teach in.

 

 

Session objectives: By the end of this session, participants will have used and analysed a variety of materials, from text to visuals, while considering best practices in designing materials and ensuring that copyright issues are not a concern. They will have created materials to share with each other by the end of the session, with help offered along the way. According to their context, they will have an idea of what they need and will be helped to produce the right material for the needs of THEIR students.

 

 

 

 

Syllabus

 

Week 1: (January 10-16) This week will concentrate on introductions and finding out the needs of the participants. We will explore their contexts and make friends.

Evan Frendo, a well-known BE author will offer a video on the pros and cons of a variety of materials. He will then share his checklist of best practices when writing materials for the corporate world.

 

 

Week 2: (January 17-23)

This week will be given over to looking at texts. Participants will learn how to find suitable texts and how to adapt them for classroom use, using a range of online tools. We will cover copyright licensing and see the different types of Creative Commons licenses. We will learn how to find materials that are open-access or licensable and how to attribute correctly when using them.

 

 

Week 3: (January 24-30)

This week is for infographics and visual elements. Together, we will investigate what is available online and how it can be used in class contexts. Participants will also try to create their own infographics using a variety of available templates. There will also be input on how to create inclusive materials for learners with special educational needs (SEN), while adhering to the best practical ideas on offer at the moment.

 

 

Week 4: (January 31-February 6)

This week is for tweaking existing materials to fit the teachers' various contexts.  We all have material which is out-of-date, or no longer excites, or cannot be used in the new circumstances we find ourselves teaching in. The focus will be on writing and speaking activities which can be a bit tricky to transfer to other contexts, e.g. teaching online. Participants will take away practical tips and tools and learn how to re/design their own activities to make them more engaging for their students. The two presenters  are experienced online/ offline trainers and understand the changing needs of education

 

 

Week 5: (February 7-13)

This week begins with looking at game-like activities to enhance learning. Andreea is highly skilled in this area and has offered to show participants easy tricks to turn student material into business games.  The session will be rounded up with a 'show and tell' and will offer help/ ideas/praise as required. This live session will be an excellent way to finish the 5 weeks and allow the moderators to determine how well their weeks were .

 

 

Media: (How will you communicate with participants during the session? Write in all that apply. (You don't need all of them!)  Be as specific as you are able at this stage. You may make changes during the training session. Remember: you may not require participants to pay for using these platforms. Participation in EVO is free. If you have no idea which platforms you will use, write We don’t know yet.)

 

Other technology tools: We will look at Vocabkitchen.com  to determine levels of text and wheeldecide.com for revision purposes. Genially and Canva may be used too.

 

 

Sponsor: IATEFL BEsig (Business English Special Interest Group)

 

To Join our Session in Canvas

https://k12.instructure.com/enroll/BPEXCP.

 

Moderators: Fill in the table on the page you have created for all session moderators and co-moderators. You can change or add to the list later. Co-moderators are expected to take part in the training session along with moderators.

 

 

Name (last, first)

Email address

Location 
(country of residence)

Biodata 
(max. 50 words)  

Photo

Annan, Sue

sue.annan@besig.org

Jersey C.I.

Sue is a teacher and teacher trainer, who works online with Business students to develop confident and independent learners.

         
 
        
Tadema, Uma  uma.tadema@besig.org  Germany  After having worked in the service industry in India, Germany and China, Uma qualified as an ELT teacher in 2002 and has since worked in the field of education, She currently juggles her time between running a language school and coaching.  Profile photo for Uma Tadema 
Waechter, Kirsten  kirsten.waechter@besig.org  Germany  Kirsten is a BE and intercultural trainer, designing own materials for offline and online courses. She helps people doing their job better.  
Alchini, Grace  grace.alchini@besig.org  Mexico  Grace is a freelance teacher of English and business communication and ESP trainer with more than 35 years' experience working at universities, providing in-company services, and helping professionals do their jobs in English.  
Hera, Oksana  englishinteam@gmail.com Ukraine 

Oksana is a business English and intercultural communication trainer. She takes interest in helping professionals to improve their professional communication.

 		  
         
López Grisolía, Virginia
vlopezgrisolia@interactionls.com
Argentina

Virginia has been a BE Trainer and a Teacher Educator for more than 30 years.  Has been doing research into ELF and its pedagogical implications. Teaches ESP, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Teacher Education Programmes at University.




  
Lichterfeld, Katrin
katrin.lichterfeld@besig.org
Germany
Katrin is a freelance
in-company trainer focusing on reflective business communication across cultures using English as a Lingua Franca.

 
Margari, Vicky  vicky.margari@besig.org  Italy  Vicky is a freelance business English trainer with a passion for online blended learning and educational technologies.   

 

Primary Contact: (just one, please): 

The primary contact is responsible for getting all moderators into the training session, and for communicating deadlines, special events like our live webcasts, and other information to moderators.

 

Sue Annan

 

Acknowledgement

By allowing your name to be put forward as co-moderator of this session, 

you acknowledge the following:

 

 

Acknowledged