Professional English, or Business English, training is specialised training in English used in the workplace. It is generally proposed in Corporate English courses to help teams learn business English. 

At GlobalExam, we offer an e-learning solution for your Business English training. 

Our different English training sessions allow you to achieve the level of vocabulary and grammar required for different professional sectors.

Your collaborators will be able to improve their language level, gain in performance and follow the company in its international opening.

Professional English language training has many benefits: 

• English language skills are essential in the business world. Hence, even companies working exclusively in a non-English speaking market often find themselves having to work with international third parties.
• Bringing collaborators up to standard, especially for those who have language difficulties.
• Collaboration with international clients or partners and international development. Your collaborators will find it easier to carry out tasks that require English and contact with foreign countries.
• Training is more cost-effective than recruiting new collaborators.
• Increased team members' loyalty and involvement in the company.
• Improvement of the general level of the company. As the general level of English of the company increases, the company can be more demanding when recruiting. Training is therefore a great added value.

The best way to achieve a good level of English at work is to offer training to your collaborators. 

Business English training firstly assesses the learner's level. It then helps to improve it and develop language skills. The aim, for example, might be to move from 'intermediate' level B2 to 'expert' level C1, to improve your company's performance.

Generally, a large proportion of participants say that the main reason for their language difficulties is lack of training or classes. 

It is thus important to offer training to your collaborators to ensure a good level of English. Indeed, the objective of the course is to make your participants efficient and to guarantee their level.

1. Business English in e-learning

The e-learning solution is a teaching method using online tools and digital resources. All learning takes place remotely via an online platform and various media (video, live, interactive exercises, multiple-choice quizzes, etc.). Always available online, this method fits well in the agenda of busy professionals. 

This method aims to :

• increase knowledge
• offer a fun learning experience
• increase motivation
• adapt to the learner's pace and schedule (training available 24/7)
• empower learners

Furthermore, the continuous development of learning technologies makes learning experiences more fun and original. Indeed, learning becomes a lot more dynamic and engaging thanks to immersive technologies such as simulation, augmented reality or virtual reality.

2. Business English in a blended-learning format

Blended-learning is a learning method that consists of combining e-learning with classroom training. 

In concrete terms, students alternate between independent training via the e-learning platform and face-to-face sessions with an English teacher.

Thus, the learner benefits from the autonomy and customisation of an online class while benefiting from the support, human contact and answers of a teacher. 

The experiences of a distance and face-to-face Business English course are both parallel and complementary.

Online English language training has many advantages for both the organisation offering it and the learners.

Online training allows : 

• A flexible schedule: access to the course 24/7 from any device connected to the internet.
• Easy and personalised follow-up of the training: possibility to review and repeat the English lessons and teaching materials as many times as necessary to understand complex concepts.
• Personalised training: it is possible to work more intensively on difficulties, for example.
• Cost savings: online English training is cheaper than traditional classes (no travel costs, trainers or rooms, the same course content can be shared to several dozen or even hundreds of students, etc.)
• Development of computer and technology skills.
• Increased engagement: the fun aspect of e-learning stimulates learners interest and therefore their involvement in the course.

Your choice of a Business English course should take into account several factors. Here are 5 essential criteria for a good course: 

1. 1. Various resources:

   Having exercises, mock exams, assessments, and English vocabulary worksheets is essential. However, you should also have fun contents and gamification to involve the learner. You should also check whether the course offers written and oral training. 

2. 2. Customisation to all profiles: 

   Some distance learning English courses can be tailor-made and personalised according to the learner's needs and level. Each learner has different experience and objectives, it is important to adapt the training to the needs of every participant.

3. 3. Easy to use: 

   The online tool must be easy to use and intuitive so as not to discourage the learner. Some partners offer introductory courses on how to use their online English training platform.

4. 4. A course that meets your goals: 

   There are many reasons for wanting to take an English training course, for example:

   • preparing for a language certification
   • assessing the level
   • developing the level of language skills
   • etc.

   It is thus important to choose the course that meets your goals.

5. 5. Budget: 

   It is important to compare training offers to find the one that will be the most advantageous and that will best correspond to your expectations and your budget.

a) General skills

Business English courses help to develop the soft skills needed for everyday business life. The general competencies offered are diverse. 

Here are the learning situations available and the skills associated with them:

• Reception and events: it focuses on the organisation of an event, welcoming guests and exchanging with them in this context.
• The email and writing competence: it concerns professional writing, the rules related to this writing and the ability to express oneself in writing with clarity and precision.
• Project management skills: this includes using English to participate in a project, organizing and managing a team, and the general management of a group project.
• Grammar skills: this skill corresponds to the mastery of the rules of grammar, conjugation and the structuring of ideas.
• The intercultural study pathway: this helps students understand different cultures, manage an intercultural team and interact with foreigners.
• The recruitment course: Here, the course includes writing a job offer, preparing for and conducting interviews and integrating new talent.
• Meeting skills: these are skills related to organizing, participating in and conducting meetings in English.
• Telephone skills: these include skills in making formal calls, organising and transcribing a telephone conversation and managing a conflict situation on the telephone.
• Sales & Negotiation skills: these competencies enable students to master negotiation techniques in English and the development of a professional network.
• Vocabulary skills: such skills include clear and fluent oral expression with a rich general vocabulary and the ability to reformulate and restate ideas.
• The business travel course: this training focuses on mastering the business vocabulary related to travel, meeting international clients and communicating in English in this context.

b) Professional skills

At GlobalExam, we offer training in Business English, specific to your field. Here are the business courses available:

• The purchasing course: this allows your students to work on expressing the company's needs, negotiation techniques and the use of performance indicators.
• The sales course: this module’s classes will help students to study how to make contact with prospects in English, identifying their needs and convincing them.
• The communication course: learners will practice conveying information in English in a clear and precise manner, promoting the company's image and the writing of content.
• The management course: it integrates the skills linked to fluent written and spoken communication, the management of an international team and the running of meetings and project presentations in English.
• The marketing course: in this field, students practice argumentation and presentation of the company in English, communication skills for project presentations, rephrasing and delivering clear and precise information.
• The human resources module: the aim of this module is the development of communication skills in English with collaborators, mastering recruitment situations and writing HR documents.
• The customer service course: this course integrates oral and written communication in English, understanding and anticipating customer requests and transmitting information within the company.
• The tourism course: with this course’s lessons, learners will study the creation of tourist offers, practice welcoming customers and organising tourist activities.

c) Sector-specific skills

We offer Business English courses tailored to your sector of activity. 

• Banking and Finance: this course focuses on studying English vocabulary related to the banking sector, understanding situations specific to this context, communication skills in the trading room, studying mergers and acquisitions, tenders and loans.

• The construction-related course: in these lessons students will learn the business vocabulary of the construction industry—related to construction tools and building materials, interacting with customers and communicating effectively and quickly in an emergency or dangerous situations.

a) If you are a training organisation

As a training organisation, the GlobalExam solution for Business English language learning allows you to :

• Easily follow your students' progress at any time: the various tools of the GlobalExam platform make it easy to gather the necessary information on your students’ progress (attendance rates, progress monitoring with accurate statistics on obtained scores, etc.)
• Save time on organisation and administration: the online platform allows you to automate many aspects of the training. This is the case for mock exams, correction of exercises, attendance sheets, etc. It's quick and easy, just a few clicks and you're ready to go! 
• Integrate the platform with the organisation's LMS: you need a solution that can be easily integrated with your LMS. The GlobalExam solution can be integrated with many systems. In addition, our team can facilitate the integration and also offers white labelling.
• Satisfy all your needs: The GlobalExam solution is easy to use, ergonomic and complete. We offer many quality resources for a fun learning experience. Moreover, we offer an initiation to the platform to help trainers understand how to use it.

b) If you are a school

As a school, the GlobalExam solution for English language training allows you to : 

• Facilitate your administration: thanks to the automation of language level tests, mock exams, training sessions and their correction, the organisation and administration of training is much simpler. Moreover, it is easier to monitor the involvement, attendance and progress of your students through online tools.
• Customise learning: our solution allows you to create user (student) accounts in a few clicks and to manage groups of language levels per class. All your content and training courses can be personalised and adapted to the needs of your students.
• Support your teachers and students: teachers receive support throughout the year in their use of the tool. They are introduced to the tool and guided in case of questions or difficulties. Thanks to the automation and results analysis tools, you can monitor your students and give them support as well.
• Access to quality content: the GlobalExam solution offers varied and high-quality content. Our expert teachers have carefully designed the class content to provide you with the most effective and pleasant learning experience.

Finally, the GlobalExam platform is easy to use, fun, financially very accessible, and easy to integrate with all LMSs.

c) If you work for a company

As a company, the GlobalExam solution offers you complete and optimal Business English training.

Indeed, our e-learning platform is based on

• concrete customised courses
• immersive real-life situations
• pedagogical excellence
• support throughout the course from our team of CSMs
• simple and efficient handling for the best user experience

Additionally, it is worth pointing out that in-company training is much less expensive than recruiting new talent. The e-learning solution is also the least expensive of all teaching methods. 

At GlobalExam, we offer to guide you and work with you on your training projects. We help you find the best financing solutions for your team member's training.

Lastly, we would like to highlight that the GlobalExam solution is incredibly easy to integrate into your digital environment. Indeed, our e-learning solution can be integrated with other LMSs.

The integration of LMS and LXP (learning experience platform) centred on the user is very important to us. We strive to make your in-company training easier and more effective.

After reading this guide you should have a clearer idea about your options for successful Business English learning. At GlobalExam, we are here to help you with your project. So don't hesitate to contact us!