Business English is really general English, but with a focus on learning functional language and vocabulary tailored to workplace situations. You might want to develop your fluency and confidence to be able to greet and chat with clients and colleagues, to give a presentation, to schedule meetings, to answer the telephone, or to hold a successful negotiation. Whatever the reason, there are lots of resources available online! Here are a few of my favorites:
Business English Resources
- Breaking News English – This website takes real stories from business news sources around the world and adapts them to various reading levels. You’ll find follow up comprehension questions and a variety of exercises for every article.
- 25 English Idioms and Phrases That Are Commonly Used in Business (FluentU) – Idioms are useful especially when you will be interacting with native English speakers.
- 100 Top Job Interview Questions (Monster.com) – Prepare for a variety of common questions so you’ll be ready to ace your next job interview.
- Business English for Telephoning (Business English Pod) – Detailed podcasts on topics you will frequently encounter making and receiving calls in a business setting.
- BBC Learning English: English at Work – Functional language for work situations presented in short videos (with transcripts) so they provide great listening practice.
Mobile phone apps for Business English
- Business English Pod (iPhone) – This free app has a series of very useful functional language lessons for a variety of topics. There are related apps for more specific skills like meetings, telephoning, etc. The app itself is free but if you’d like to purchase transcripts of the podasts, they’re 99 cents each or $7.99 for the whole series.
Are you trying to improve your English?
- For help with your studies and speaking practice, you can find me on Verbling so we can work together on your English learning goals! I’m happy to help you gain confidence in speaking, to study for immigration or exams like IELTS and TOEIC, to learn practical phrases for business, travel, and of course food. (I’ve even got a whole course designed around learning English through talking about food!)
- If you simply want to improve your conversation skills and don’t need structured lessons, try Cambly! This app connects you with native speakers so you can improve your fluency. You can find my current schedule on my Cambly profile if you’d like to make a reservation with me, or browse for any tutor who is available online! (Use the promo code ShoyuSugar or click here to get 20 minutes free to test Cambly out for yourself.)