Teaching Grammar for Business Essays

Description

Review in IATEFL Voices, March/April 2021: “(Ken Paterson) speaks slowly and succinctly, and as each lecture follows the same pattern, it is easy to follow. Auditory learners will no doubt appreciate the fact that the lecture is accompanied by the text in print. Text-based learners, meanwhile, will also appreciate the element of continuity in terms of how the lessons are produced, including the notes and tips for teachers.” (Sandee Thompson, Coordinator EFL, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar)

Please note: The grammar required for writing business essays is also applicable to formal business writing in the workplace.

This course shows you how to teach the grammar that students need for the three key processes of formal business writing:

• Being objective

• Building information

• Connecting ideas

If you want your students to become confident users of the grammar that supports the best business writing, then this is the course for you.

Master the Teaching of Grammar for Essays and Formal Business Writing

• Concentrate on key areas of grammar.

• Learn how to teach them.

• Build your own lesson plans.

Focus on the Grammar that Supports Successful Business Writing

Successful business writers have mastered a range of grammar items, which enables them to write objectively, and to control and connect information. This course identifies these items and provides you with the techniques and materials to teach them.

Contents and Overview

Under each of the five section headings below, you’ll find two or three grammar items:

1. Being objective in a business essay: grammar for functions

Cautious language; defining language

2. Being objective in a business essay: key grammar items

Passives; impersonal structures

3. Building information in a business essay: key grammar items

Noun phrases; relative clauses; verb clauses

4. Connecting ideas in a business essay: key grammar items

Cohesion; linkers; conditionals

5. Connecting ideas in a business essay: grammar for functions

Cause and effect; comparison; signposting

A typical lecture looks like this:

• A short video talking you through each stage of a lesson, including guided discovery of the concept; explanations of key language; controlled practice through exercises; and freer practice through writing or short research tasks.

• A lesson-planning Word document that you can download and make editable, containing all the materials that you need to create your own lesson. (See ‘Resources’ in each lecture.)

N.B. You don’t need to write down the language displayed in the lectures: it’s all there in the downloadable document.

Practice and Revision

As a teacher, the best way of practising is to make one or two of your own lesson plans (using the downloadable resources after each lecture) and to try these with your students. I would recommend doing this before you complete the whole course. You could also:

• Try the downloadable ‘Grammar terms check!’ (see ‘Resources’ after Lecture 2.)

• Do the student exercises during the course before you look at the answers so as to double-check your own knowledge.

• Try the student ‘worksheet’ at the end of each section in a similar way (see ‘Resources’ in the last lecture in each section).

Sample Lesson Plan

The aim of this course is to give you the materials to create your own lesson plans to suit your teaching and local circumstances. To see how I’ve done this for my own teaching, go to Lecture 5 and you’ll find, in the ‘Resources’, a detailed ‘Sample plan (cautious language)’ with lesson stages, a student worksheet and a teacher worksheet. Note: this lesson plan combines material from Lectures 4 and 5.

Extra Features

• A ‘Grammar terms check!’ after Lecture 2.

• Printable revision worksheets for your students at the end of each section.

• A downloadable resource (after Lecture 27) titled 'Grammar Dictation', which describes this interesting teaching technique. (After Lecture 27).

Please be aware that this course focuses exclusively on students’ grammatical control, often at a sentence level. It doesn’t deal with research or planning skills.

All the material is set within a modern business context, covering areas such as human resources, marketing, and finance.

What You Will Learn!

• At the end of the course, you will be able to teach the 12 key grammatical features that your students require for high-quality business English writing.
• You will be able to design your own custom-made course in grammar for business English writing, using the materials and advice provided.
• You will be able to provide your students with the grammatical skills they need not only for college essays, but also for formal writing in the workplace.
• You will be able to use the course material to describe to colleagues in a talk or presentation how the demands of business English writing shape its grammar.
• You will be able to extend your students’ range in formal grammar.

Who Should Attend!

• This course is for English language teachers or college lecturers who want to assist their students in learning the key grammar required for business writing.

TAKE THIS COURSE