BUILDING THE BEDROCK

Ian Badger, Business and Medical English Services, www.bmes.co.uk, info@bmes.co.uk

Business English UK Conference, IH London, 10 June 2017

General Language and ESP

Our students need to learn to express themselves clearly, which does not always mean using the most sophisticated language.

They need to have a good base of ‘semi-technical’ language on which to build the specific language needed in a particular workplace.

1. I am used to do it

2. The project went awry

3. I book the room.

Tailgating is..

4. Tailgating is meeting up with lots of people who have parked their cars beside each other and brought their grills…and sometimes TVs

5. I meet them in HR office.

1. A famous French manager of a

Premier League English football

team

2. An Indian IT manager

3. A Finnish administrator

4. An American business owner from

Atlanta, Georgia

5. A Polish office manager

What they said Who said it

Some ‘bedrock’ skills for a working life in English

Ability to introduce yourself and your work responsibilities

Ability to make and receive phone calls

Ability to message and email

Ability to make and change arrangements

Ability to set up and take part in meetings – on-line and face-to-face

Ability to give a short presentation

Ability to socialise, to talk about family, friends, home town etc.

Ability to use English when travelling

Adapted From Badger 2016/2017

..and for a working life in manufacturing

(production/maintenance)

Ability to describe an industrial workplace

Ability to discuss issues with suppliers and contractors

Ability to understand and discuss safety matters in the workplace

Ability to discuss environmental matters

Knowing the vocabulary of commonly-used tools and equipment

Adapted from Lambert and Murray, 2003

BOOKING A HOTEL

Learning some basics – gaining confidence

A Wellington Hotel. Can I help you?

B Yes, I’ve been trying to book a room on your hotel website but I can’t complete the

booking.

A Sorry, sir. I can do the booking for you.

B Thank you. I’d like to book a twin room for two nights, the 12th and 13th of June.

A Just one moment. I’ll check our availability. Can I have your name please?

B Yes, it’s Cook. I won’t be arriving until 11.00 p.m. Do you need my credit card

number to hold the reservation?

A Yes, please.

Badger, 2016

Bedrock language?

Let’s meet up on Saturday.

Why don’t you come round on Sunday?

Let’s eat out tonight.

Let’s go for a walk.

I gave up running and took up tennis.

I’m not very keen on swimming.

Examples from Badger/Menzies 2007

Using English internationally – Seamus’s advice

We should simplify and modify our English

We should use ‘incorrect’ English when appropriate

We should slow down

from Badger 2011/2012

Learners need to develop skills and strategies to understand

English however it is spoken and written, even when this language

is ‘incorrect’ or ‘non-standard’.

A Spanish learners’ responses to the three voicemails

(Canadian, English and Chinese)

Which of the three recordings was the easiest to understand? Which was the most challenging?

Catrina “easy. Words used, speed ok, accurate info”.

Nik “difficult. Speaks fast and noise environment”.

Yue “very difficult. The accent is difficult and the instructions are not

clear”.

“Easiest to understand was Catrina’s, because she talks in a normal speed and with understandable accent”.

“The most difficult maybe was Nick’s as he talks very fast, “eats” some words and the accent is difficult to understand”.

”Yue’s message, was not so difficult even if she does not have a good accent, because she talks very slowly”.

Badger 2014

Developing cultural and linguistic awareness

Advice from an Indian IT Manager

Because when you live in Europe, you still have some kind of

same thought process, that when you are saying you want this,

then the other person may also understand what this means

this.

Learning to be explicit

What do you expect for example, if you expect a report. OK the customer, then we should agree, what do you want because the report can come in two lines, this is beautiful it works or it can come a 50 page report.

What do you want in that report? So that has to be first agreed rather than saying ‘Can you send me the report?’

Learning not to judge others by your norms (1)

Office etiquette

Email etiquette

from Badger 2011

Learning not to judge others by your norms (2)

Good morning Pirjo,

Mrs. Gruner fom XXXXX asked for crosschecking the Q2/2014 volumes in GERMAN to Mrs. Weber and Mrs. Huber.

The answer from Matti is in ENGLISH – is this agreed with the customer? If not it’s absolutely unacceptable and further “Hello”…..

Pls instruct your team members accordingly.

Br

Summing up – ‘bedrock’ communication skills

Learn to communicate clearly (and confidently) so that you will be universally understood

Learn to use the core language you will need in any chosen job or profession

Learn to understand English however it is spoken

Develop awareness of how your way of communicating can impact on others.

Learn not to judge others by your cultural and linguistic norms.

Some ‘bedrock’ references and recommendations

Badger, I ‘Business English Phrases’ BMES Publications, 2017

Badger, I ‘English for Business Conversations’ Eli Publishing 2016 (‘Flash on’ ESP series)

Badger, I ‘English for Business Listening’ Collins 2011 (+ App for Ipad) 2012)

Badger, I ‘English for Life Listening B1 and B2 levels Collins 2012 and 2014

Badger, I and P. Menzies ‘English for Business Life: Upper intermediate’ NGL/Cengage 2007

Lambert, V and E Murray ‘Everyday Technical English’ Pearson 2003

Walker, R ‘Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca’, OUP 2010

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