There are many different techniques to teach English to business people. As a businessperson, one writes letters, faxes, memos, news releases, e-mails, invitations, complaints and different replies to customers. Using some of these ways business people operate, English can be taught in the process of writing a letter or preparing for a sales meeting. This post will describe three specific ways you can teach English. The three discussed will be writing letters, e-mails, and invitations.
Writing letters in an organization is vital to a company’s success. Proper phrases, spelling and grammar should be used in the writing as well as the typical style depending on the content of the letter. Some letter styles are the full block, blocked, semi-blocked, square-blocked, and simplified letter styles. The letter should also have letterhead, signatures, a salutation and closing. These are the many important features of a business letter a person should remember. Once the format is mastered, writing a letter as a non-English speaker will become easier as certain areas become more and more familiar.
The second way, is through e-mails. E-mails should be taken seriously and should be written with time and patience. Proofreading an e-mail is important and a spell check should always be done. Even after you have established a relationship with a client or coworker, e-mails should be written with professionalism. Slang terms and abbreviations should be avoided. Once practiced on a daily basis, a student learning to speak English will avoid the bad habits of abbreviations and slang phrases within e-mails.
Lastly, invitations can be either formal or informal. Companies may write an invitation on a sheet of paper or on stationery. A general invitation should be cordial and sincere as a formal invitation should be less personal and written in the third person. A formal invitation should include a RSVP notation. This stands for “Repondez s’il vous plait” which is French for please respond. Writer of English should have an understanding of the basics of other foreign languages because it helps as the term RSVP and other English words that are taken or relate to other foreign languages.
With these three tasks, learners of English can practice and become efficient business professionals in the workforce and leaders of the community. It takes practice and an understanding of format to get the job done. Once learned, an individual should practice to become perfect!
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