Business English as a Second Language – Training Course Outline
Are you a non-native English speaker working for an English-speaking company? If so, then this course is for you.
When you write business correspondence or documents you can be at a disadvantage because you are writing in a foreign language. Even if you have been taught English well – or have lived in England for a long time – you may not have learned the subtleties and nuances of communicating well in a business environment. Your knowledge of punctuation and grammar rules, on the other hand, is probably better than many of your English colleagues!
This course covers the most important rules of English usage, but concentrates on the things that non-native English writers struggle with. We also cover British versus American usage, and explore the way some usage has changed in the last few years. We will look at the kind of clichés that are common in business usage, and cover many of the standard phrases you may typically come across in day-to-day work.
This course will give you the skills to communicate with confidence in English and improve the perception your superiors and clients have of your abilities.
What you will learn on this course
By the end of the course, you will know how to:
- Avoid common grammatical mistakes often made by non-native speakers
- Construct sentences without using unnecessary words and phrases
- Tell the difference between British and American vocabulary and spelling
- Avoid commonly-confused words or miss-spelt words
- Use with confidence many idiomatic phrases and constructions
Course Duration
Grammar can be a dry subject but the emphasis on this one-day course is to make it enjoyable. This basic writing skills course is aimed at professional people who have studied English as a second language and now find themselves needing to use it intensively.
It concentrates on showing, step-by-step, how to use the basics of English grammar, sentence structure and punctuation to produce professional business correspondence and documents.
Exercises are used to illustrate various points throughout the day.
Plain Words Diploma in Business or Bid Writing
Would you like a professional qualification in business writing or bid writing from the UK’s foremost business and technical writing company?
Plain Words offers a full training and accreditation programme that leads to the Plain Words Diploma in Business Writing or Plain Words Diploma in Bid Writing. To find out more email or call + 44 (0)1635 202013.
Course Contents
1. Grammar – why it matters
- How bad grammar can wreck your career!
- A grammar quiz to see how much we all know
- Lots of examples of bad grammar and how it can be improved
Pre-Course Questionnaire
When you book we send you a questionnaire which we ask you to return to us before you attend the course. This enables our Trainers to assess your needs in advance.
2. Choosing your words
- Keeping your words simple
- Cut out the padding
- Commonly confused words
- False friends – more words that aren’t what you think
- Things that make some people go mad!
- Getting the most from Word™ tools
3. Everyday versus formal usage
- Idiomatic usage changes very quickly
- Regional variations
- Formal usage can be easier to understand
4. Grammar basics – the building blocks of a sentence
- Articles
- Nouns and verbs
- Prepositions
- Adjectives and adverbs
5. A detailed look at verbs
- Verb tenses
- Regular verb forms
- Irregular verbs
6. Building sentences
- Making verbs and nouns agree
- Connecting things – and, but, because, etc.
- Cause and effect – simple sentences
7. Commonly used terms and expressions
- Business-related usage
- Frequently-encountered abbreviations
- American versus British usage
8. Other resources
For details of timetabled courses, see the schedule. For prices, see the costs table.
To reserve your places you can either book on-line or call us on +44 (0)1635 202013/+44 (0)207 0960 749.
