BBC Interview

You're listening to Business Teaching Skills from the BBC World Service.

Let me go to Bruce Bradbury of kmp. Sprachenservice in Germany. Bruce, how do you feel that business English and general English are different?

First of all, I think one major area which really highlights the difference is the area of vocabulary. In contrast to general English, where people are going to need the language to go on holiday, to order meals in restaurants, to reserve hotels, to get round at the airport, we′re looking at a totally different area of vocabulary which is based around companies, business, commerce, finance, etc. etc.

The other difference, which is a partial difference, I think is the area of skills as well. When we′re talking about skills we′re talking about the typical day-to-day business skills that business people need to practise such as negotiating, presenting, going to meetings, telephone calls and effecting commercial correspondence.

Now obviously this is partially applicable to general English when it comes to things like telephoning and writing normal letters. But these are probably the two main fundamental areas where there′s a difference.

So Bruce in Germany is saying that the most important differences relate to specialist business vocabulary and special business communication skills.

But what about ESP – English for Special Purposes, English for Specific Purposes?

Let′s go to Chris Cunningham in Germany.

Chris, Business English and ESP are often seen as being very similar. What differences do you see between them?

I think very often there′s not a black-and-white difference between the two. I mean ESP is probably more English for Special Purposes or Specific Purposes; so, for example, industry or company-specific jargon which is important for that particular field, for that particular profession, for example medical English.

But typically our courses would include both elements, general business English and ESP.

You′re listening to Business Teaching Skills from the BBC World Service.
And there we heard Chris Cunningham from kmp. Sprachenservice in Germany talking about the differences between business English and English for Special or Specific Purposes – ESP.

I would guess that in Germany you deal with a different kind of learner, Bruce. Is that right?

Well, basically, David, it′s corporate clients we′re dealing with. We′re dealing with business people really who are learning English because they see a very short-term, mid-term or long-term need on a global level to communicate with other partners around the world in English or simply because their company really wants to be competitive.

Bruce, how do you find out what your learners really want from a business English course?

Well, we have different ways of doing that. Basically, when participants or a group of participants is announced to us by one of our corporate clients, we forward them needs analysis forms which are very, very detailed, which we ask them to fill out stressing the importance on a scale from one to five of how, for example, how important telephoning is for their day-to-day business activities and then, for example, with whom do they telephone or if it′s a question of presenting in front of a client?

What kind of things do you present? Do you use audio-visual aids? Do you present in order to convince? Do you present in order to inform? Do you present in order to sell?

So we′re looking very much and in great detail at the language needs and the technical needs of the client in the form of this needs analysis form. We evaluate this form when it comes back to us together with two written tests that we send out to the clients accompanying this language needs analysis form.

You obviously have a very detailed approach to needs analysis. But does that mean that when you plan the course it′s something which is fixed, set in stone?

The needs analysis as such should really be an ongoing procedure. The teacher will reconfirm that once the teacher is training on location. It will constantly be reassessed because obviously needs change, they don′t remain constant, but they change throughout a language learning programme especially if it′s a long programme and it has to be adjusted according to what kind of needs a student has or a group of students has at a given time.

Needs analysis – finding out what students want. As Bruce says, it has to be an ongoing process because, of course, needs change.