Measures of Dispersion and Variability: Range, QD, AD and SD
Certibet Task 1.10 (Trends)
1. Certificate in International Business English Training
Business English Trends
as reflected in course book content
2. Certificate in International Business English Training
Business English Trends
Twelve examples taken from a selection of
business English course and resource books
Methodology / Approaches
Influence of Management Training
Skills – vs – Language
Economic and Technological Trends
Cultural Awareness
4. The opening pages in this unit
from the course book Basis for
Business provide a good
example of traditional
predominantly grammar-based
activities.
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5.
6. This activity taken from In
Company - Intermediate is
typical of the emphasis on lexis
that is a common feature of
modern course books. Note the
overlap between teaching a
business skill – telephoning –
and vocabulary building.
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7. In this series of activities from
Market Leader - Intermediate the
focus is functional language for
a typical business activity –
taking part in meetings. The
build up to a concluding role-
play is again a common feature
of this approach.
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10. Course book authors have increasingly
looked to ideas, business models and
theories that form part of business
studies and MBA programmes. In these
activities from Intelligent Business, for
example, learners are asked to consider
a real case and employ SWOT analysis,
and later the 4 Ps of the marketing mix,
to develop a business strategy.
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11.
12. Case studies are used extensively in
MBA and Business Studies
programmes and have now been
widely adopted by business English
course book authors. One of the first
examples was Market Leader, as this
example illustrates.
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13.
14. This unit from the in Company Case
Studies book again shows the
prevalence of case studies, but it also
shows how authors draw on business
games, fashionable concepts and buzz
words such as ‘thinking out of the box’.
Course books also reflect modern
business practices, such as, in this
case, the team building events
companies organize these days.
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15.
16. Skills – vs - Language
Examples from
In Company
The Business
17. As we have already seen in this
module, English teachers in business
contexts have increasingly assumed
the mantle of the soft skills coach and
this is also reflected in course book
content. Here are two examples that
focus on presenting skills. This first
from The Business which focusses on
PowerPoint is followed by one from In
Company that deals with delivery.
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22. Course books have also responded to
economic trends . Many now include
material based on the rise of China as a
world economic power, and here in an
edition of Pass Cambridge BEC Vantage
dating back to 2001 we find an example
of material based on another major trend
that has grown steadily in significance,
namely globalisation.
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23.
24. As well as economic trends, books
also respond to technological
developments. This unit from In
Company reflects this with vocabulary
and listening activities based on quite
recent Web 2.0 developments and the
use of Internet technologies in
business.
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26. For some time now the interest the
business world has shown in
understanding the impact of cultural
diversity has been reflected in the
inclusion of cultural awareness topics
in course books of all levels. Here is
an example from a relatively old book
New Insights into Business (2000).
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27.
28. We conclude this brief look at trends
in business English teaching with a
look at some pages from The
Business that again illustrate how
cultural issues are dealt with in
course books, but also show how the
trends we have been considering
often overlap. So, here we have
activities which also display the
influence of management training
ideas such as Edward T. Hall’s model
of high and low context cultures and
integrate vocabulary building,
language work (grammar) and
business skills (negotiating).
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