Tip 1: Build your (business) English bubble
The best way to learn business English is to get as much exposure to English as possible. By creating a (business) English bubble, you can ensure you have a regular intake of English. Consider what works best for you: business English first thing in the morning and last thing at night? Consider how much time you have every week and when you can fit English into your life. The more time the better. But focused, quality time in English is even better.
Tip 2: Decide on what mix of skills you need
Learning business English is about practising speaking, listening, reading and writing, as well as improving grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.Decide which skills are the most important and how important vocabulary and grammar are to you? When you prioritise like this, you can then decide how much time or what percentage of time you want to spend on each of the above.
Tip 3: Set learning goals and outcomes
Write down where you want to be in 6 months or 1 year’s time. When you know what your ideal outcome is, you can formulate 4-6 goals based on this. For example if your ideal outcome is to speak English confidently in front of your board of directors, this can become the main goal for the next year. You can then focus on how you will achieve this and how you can measure your success.
Tip 4: Create daily habits and develop them into a system
Start with daily or weekly habits. For example 30 minutes reading and writing every day or 60 minutes listening and speaking every second day. Do this every week and build on top of this. If you can develop a consistent habit, it’s easier to add additional habits on top. Consistent daily and weekly habits are the basis of a system which helps to successfully learn business English.
Tip 5: Get support
You can find a huge amount of resources online to help you learn business English for free. This is an excellent starting point. To make better use of these resources and to use your time efficiently, find a business English coach and trainer to help you. They can create a tailored course for you with learning goals and success measures. You can practice regularly with them and they can keep you motivated and on track.
For more information, feel free to email me at neil@neilcollins.de