How to Improve Your Business English by Minh Tran and Peter Burman Chun Hin is a senior manager at a Hong Kong investment bank. Every morning, he listens to Bloomberg radio on his way to work and used to read each issue of the Economist from cover to cover in an effort to continuously improve his English. As a Hong Kong native who grew up speaking Cantonese and Mandarin, Chun Hin has worked hard to become fluent in English. Chun Hin's story will resonate with many professionals. Pressure to speak English in the workplace continues to grow as more and more companies invest in globalizing their teams. However, mastering a new language requires time and resources that many people — especially adults who are no longer in school — struggle to find. Our company EF Education First annually releases the ‘world's largest study of English proficiency in various countries and industries. For the past eight years, education ministries, multinational companies, and universities have used the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) to help them understand how their approaches to teaching English — and business English, in particular — stack up against competitors. This research has helped us map global trends in English learning. Over the years, we have found, again and again, that a country’s English proficiency correlates closely with metrics of innovation and overall economic well-being. While some global companies excel in cultivating English-speaking workforces, others flounder. ‘We distilled lessons learned from our work and from the literature on second language acquisition into a few tips that highlight how people can learn English more effectively. If you're a professional looking to improve your business English, consider incorporating these into your learning plan: Set specific goals. Learning is best done by setting specific goals that are challenging yet achievable. Don't leave the timeline open- ended, either; set clear deadlines for yourself. A goal like “I want to be able to give a presentation in English,” is too vague. Instead, say, “I want to be able to comfortably deliver a ten-minute presentation in English about sales goals, without using a PowerPoint, by the end of August.” Create habits. Find ways to practice English every day or every week. Regular effort builds momentum and creates habits of learning. For instance, try to read one industry article a day, deliver a presentation in English once a week, or write your weekly team updates in English. Believe in yourself. Learners who believe in their own self-efficacy are more motivated and more willing to take on challenging tasks, Reflect on whether you truly believe you can accomplish your set goals. If not, revise your goals and make them smaller or ‘mote manageable until you trust that you can achieve them. Enjoy the learning experience. People with more positive attitudes toward learning English make more of an effort and learn more than people with negative attitudes. If you find yourself dreading English practice time, rethink your approach. Be creative: read the English version of your favorite book, for example, or enroll in an English cooking class. YOU AND YOUR TEAM SERIES Use authentic English materials. Textbooks and practice tests Working Across Cultures have their time and place. But authentic materials, such as TV shows, podcasts, and TED talks, expose you to English in its native habitat. They better prepare you for real-life situations,and they're often more enjoyable than strictly educational materials. Seek out good writing, watch great speakers, and try to imitate the format, structure, and language of those whose work you admire. Exposure to authentic materials not only helps with, language proficiency, but it can also enhance your knowledge of a particular field Join a positive learning community. While there are plenty of good language learning apps on the market, our own research at EF shows that learners still benefit from having an effective ‘To Lead Across Cultures, Facus on Hlararcy and Decision Making teacher and a supportive learning community. Teachers help by Erie Meyer students set achievable goals and overcome barriers that How to Successfully Work Across Countries, Languages, and Cultures inevitably arise along the way. Supportive classmates provide by Toda Nooey accountability and the friendly push that students need to keep Leading Across Cultures Requires Flexibility and Curiosity up with their study plans. Our students who join a social me by Deborah Rowland group with their teachers and classmates study two to three times more than those who do not. Ask for feedback. The research is clear: prompt and frequent feedback has a huge effect on learning. Seek regular feedback from teachers and mentors while you practice an important speech or work on a critical business proposal. Find people who like to nit- pick about language and grammar. They will help you perfect your English. In today’s digital age, it is becoming easier to find great resources for improving your business English. However, our research shows that busy professionals learn best when they have some kind of structured course with a flexible lesson schedule. Of course, none of the above tips will make learning English easy. Even with the best approach, taking on a foreign language is a long-term and challenging commitment. But our research is encouraging: with patience, realistic goals, and a good community of learners, it really is possible for busy adults to master the world’s lingua franca, Minh Tran ie Director of Research and Partnershine for Test lucation First and a member of he team that launched the EF Standard English Peter Burman ic resident of EF Corporate Solutions article is about EDUCATION © Follow This Topic Related Topics: International Business CommentsPost Comment Rodel Tariga year ase Nice article iis useful specially to the people lke me who don’ know how to right in a English language actually Im the person who not good in English language pecially when | write ft ana deliver ji. remember the day that my instructor he want me to write an essay that time I don't know what todo that time because ‘even the spelling of children I don't know how to Right it jaja so that | use my mind instead to write It yegeareh tin the internet Icky got 40/80 . English language is important when you having a business because ofthis we can communicate other people in aiferent country to make our business improve not on the single area only but alzo to all country because we all know that English language e a international language co that we can communicate by the use ofthis to a atferent people to aditerent country English grammar isa very much important when u write a letter, because ofthis we can request ‘everything to our business partner, government, precedent in professional way. But when you having a business the most important thing is action because Seting a goal isnot the final matter, insist on It is mare impoartant, Not always say that | want to do something, just do It Remember that Action Is powetul than word, Prey 100@ V doin The Conversation ret, ane thought roving To commas eases must gn ina ene ley england eeranceCormerts tse sory parson estes a ape my oe 8 Regen lpovings oncome tne rope ater Bushes Publehing