Disal indica – Communicative Business English Activities

You can use this collection of interactive photocopiable activities with a wide range of students and adapt it to various classroom and one-to-one teaching situations. Topics include business correspondence, telephoning, presentations, meetings, job applications, cross-cultural awareness, and social English. The activities cater to different learner types and levels, from beginners to advanced. You can use them on their own to introduce an area of Business English or as supplementary material alongside a course book.

Methodology

There is little difference between the methodology of teaching general English and that of teaching business English. In both cases, activities can be a major contribution to the success of a class.
In addition to reinforcing and consolidating grammar rules and vocabulary, and encouraging learners to speak freely, activities can be a tool for reaching different learner types. When we create activities, we need to keep in mind the diversity of our classrooms. We will have visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic motoric and kinaesthetic emotional learners who perceive, process and recall information through one of these sensory channels. In addition, the average classroom will be made up of a combination of global and analytic thinkers. By creating activities which include pictures, words, and movement; activities which can be done in group work by communicating with others, or alone by thinking and reflecting; activities which are to be approached systematically or in a more random style, the chances of reaching learners of all types are greatly increased. The activities also help us to create both a supportive and energetic atmosphere in the classroom.

Real learning occurs when we address our learners’ needs and preferences, helping to create the motivation for them to participate in the activities which we offer them. They need to develop a sense of personal accountability making them responsible for their own learning. To do this, they need to engage with both the learning process and the material. By recognising our learners as individual, we help them to reach their objectives in learning a foreign language. We provide them with the basics of a learning atmosphere which puts them into a learning state. Students facing new material and adults working hard outside the classroom appreciate activities that are varied, interesting, and fun. The following quote from Bob Pike, President of Creative Training Techniques, International, Inc. and Resources for Organisations, Inc. sums up what I believe to be necessary in educational situations. After hours spent in classrooms working with many different types of learners, Bob Pike has come to the conclusion that, “Learning is directly proportional to the amount of fun you have.”

For the teacher, keeping preparation time to a minimum is also necessary. Therefore, many of the games are designed to allow you to use photocopied materials for a variety of activities. When photocopying, the most time-efficient way is to photocopy onto colored card stock (160 gram paper) using different colored paper for each batch of copies. This way, you can laminate the cards or cover them with plastic and keep them for years. By using different colors, you can sort the cards immediately after using them in the classroom. Which, by the way, saves a great deal of time. Then the cards can be used over and over again, putting the activities into the category of ‘NTP’ (No Teacher Preparation), a welcome addition to teachers’ busy schedules.

Background Information on Learner Preferences

As previously mentioned, a variety of learner types make up our classrooms. In order to reach all of our learners, we need to use a wide variety of materials. We are not trying to put learners into categories here. In fact, we design the majority of materials to appeal to a broad spectrum of learners, helping everyone stretch and try out new strategies that aid in understanding new vocabulary, concepts, and ideas.

VAK

The first model addressed in this book is the so-called modality model or ‘VAK’. We often see these visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic channels as filters that help us perceive the world around us. They refer to the way we take in, store and recall information.

Visual learners like to see things written down. They enjoy activities with pictures or words they can see and enjoy putting things into categories. They may remember where they have seen something so activities which make use of putting things in a different order can help them to remember better later.

Auditory learners need to listen or speak. They enjoy activities where they can exchange information orally with a partner or in a group. As they tend to learn sequentially, it is helpful for them to change the order of what they have learned, an element built into these activities.

Kinaesthetic motoric learners need to try things out for themselves. They learn by doing and through real-life experiences and also enjoy activities using flashcards, role plays and board games. They often learn by moving about so having activities which combine movement and words can help them to recall the material later when they need it.

Kinaesthetic emotional learners rely on their feelings and need to connect what they learn with both positive and personal experiences. They like to be creative and imaginative, important aspects of these flexible activities. As they may need to separate themselves from their emotions, taking on a new role and observing themselves from outside the situation can be helpful for them in the learning process.

Global-Analytic

The second model deals with cognitive processing and looks at the way we tend to process information, either on a more global or ‘big-picture’ level or a more analytical and detail-oriented one.

Global learners generally remember the whole experience more than the details. They usually enjoy working in groups, an element built into a number of the activities. As they do not usually enjoy competition, the cooperative learning concepts used in several of these games are perfect for them and help to create an atmosphere in which they can truly enjoy learning. They also value having choices, one of the reasons for the flexibility of the activities. They often overlook details which these activities take into account by recycling vocabulary in different ways.

Analytic learners like to have structured and detailed information. They tend to remember specifics and although they may prefer to work alone, they are also drawn towards activities which require logical thinking. Usually, they tend to be more task-oriented in groups and may take the lead when forming a group. However, you may need to remind them of the overview that the activities encourage by presenting the materials.

As most learners make use of more than one channel and can adapt to different ways of processing information, the goal of these activities is to create space for all learners to be comfortable and enjoy learning. These activities have been designed to allow the flexibility to allow learners to make use of their strengths and to provide them with skills they can transfer to their lives outside the classroom.

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