A Great Post on Defining A Business English Program

Author Paul Emmerson reflects on in-work and pre-experience Business English.

What is Business English? A naïve question to be sure, but a good one to step back and ask from time to time.
Below, in blue, is a nine-point answer to that question that I wrote along with my colleague Nick Hamilton back in 2000. It was going to be the Introduction to Five Minute Activities for Business English (CUP) but never made it into the book.

1. You start with a Needs Analysis.
2. The Needs Analysis leads on to a negotiated syllabus. There is no ‘main’ coursebook, although a selection of coursebook and other material may be used. The classroom tasks and texts are personalized, based around the interests and needs of those particular students.
3. The syllabus is designed around communication skills (telephoning, meetings, presentations etc.) and business topics (management, marketing, finance etc.), not the English verb tense system.
4. Language work is more lexical, including collocation and functional language, and less grammatical than General English. Pronunciation is another important area, especially the ability to break up speech into appropriate phrases (phonological chunking) and to use stress to highlight key information.
5. Teaching methodology includes much use of tasks, role-plays, discussions, presentations, case studies and simulated real-life business situations. Approaches and materials are mixed and matched, but there is unlikely to be a high proportion of conventional Present-Practice lessons where one grammar point provides the main thread of a lesson.
6. Much language work is done diagnostically following speaking activities. Feedback slots are used for checking, correcting and developing language (Output->Reformulate rather than Input->Practice).
7. There is use of a range of authentic and business material (magazine articles, off-air video, company documents).
8. Delivery of the course is different: the students are ‘clients’ with high expectations, the teachers are professional ‘trainers’ (or perhaps even Language Consultants). Teachers and students sit together round a table like in a meeting rather than in the classic GE ‘U’ shape with the teacher at the front. Conversation across the table may develop its own dynamic far removed from the teacher’s lesson plan.
9. While teachers are expected to be competent as Language Consultants, classroom managers etc. they are usually not expected to be business experts. This is a language course after all, not an MBA. However teachers are expected to have an interest in business, ask intelligent questions, and slowly develop their knowledge of the business world.                                       
10.  - To continue reading this awesome article and discussion, please visit the original link here:  http://bebcblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/what-is-business-english-2/

Santa's A Canadian!

The 20 Most Controversial Rules in the Grammar World | Online College Tips - Online Colleges

The 20 Most Controversial Rules in the Grammar World | Online College Tips - Online Colleges

Like anything else involving stringent rules and regulations, grammar harbors a hefty share of obsessive fanboys and fangirls who enjoy debating its ins, outs, and other various quirks. So of course controversies break out in academia, the media, and even intimate conversations between friends. Here are a few of the ones that churn stomachs and angry up the blood, in no particular order.

The Oxford Comma
Debates regarding whether the Oxford comma should keep on being used are comparable to those about the death penalty and/or abortion. Seriously. Most grammarians have an opinion on the subject, and their opinion is always right and never wrong ever and also they will use and insistent voice when relaying it.


The pronunciation of "controversial"

Go figure. Americans stand divided over whether to pronounce it "con-truh-VUR-see-yul" or "con-truh-VUR-shal." You don't even have to hop a plane across the pond to take part in the battle. Funny enough, Merriam-Webster's and The American Heritage Dictionary acknowledge both pronunciations. So now that a definitive answer exists, it's time to get back to arguing about whether to call it soda, pop, or coke.


Double negatives

Although grammatically correct, debates regarding the permissibility of double negatives keep flaring up from time to time. Talks apparently originated when linguists pondered acceptance of the often controversial African-American Vernacular English, within which the grammar tweak is quite common. Unsurprisingly, these debates inherently come saddled with some rather unfortunate overtones.

(Hit the link above to see the original blog post and examples for each. I am just re-posting this as per their request. Enjoy!)

Someone's Top 10 Grammar Peeves

I found this list floating around on Facebook - not sure who created it but it's good enough to share!

English Language Pronunciation Class Description

Here is a good description of what is involved in a typical pronunciation class or coaching program.  Things are usually tailored to the particular English level, industry or work etc. but the main idea is explained clearly here:

English language pronunciation includes all the mechanical functions and skills of language sound production and the specific word pronunciation patterns of the English language in context.
The mechanical functions and skills include placement of the lips, tongue, use of teeth, glottis, expanding or contracting the mouth cavity, use of nasal passages and soft palate, vocal folds, controlling the intake and outflow of air, devoicing, breathing and timing.

English language pronunciation class skills and exercises include initial consonant and vowel pronunciation, syllable pronunciation, individual syllable stress patterns, diphthongs and consonant clusters, initial word pronunciation, syllable stress patterns in words, intonation and timing for words, phrases, clauses, complete sentences, expressions and interjections.

English language pronunciation class can take the form of individual drills or group drills by listening and repeating the correct English language pronunciation exercises.

English language pronunciation class can take the form of reading and speaking. Students are expected to read and speak aloud correctly pronouncing each of the words or passages.

Advanced English language pronunciation classes can include accent reduction. Accent reduction can be un-learning incorrect pronunciation and re-learning correct English pronunciation. Accent reduction can also be the initial establishment or correction of pronunciation patterns, speed, timing, stress and intonation.

(For more info please visit the original site here:  http://www.eslincanada.com/english/englishclass.php )

Buy a Poppy, Wear a Poppy - Remember

wear a poppy over your heart!

You will see many people wearing a plastic Poppy (red flower) on their lapel (collar) these days, in Canada, the UK and some parts of the U.S.A.

November 11th is Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day in the US) and it is time to remember the fallen soldiers who have died in battle in our various wars in history.  The tradition started after the end of World War 1.

If you are not sure what wearing the poppy symbolizes, I can help.

1 - it is a symbol to remember the fallen soldiers who have fought for your/our country/freedom
2 - you wear it on your left lapel/collar, over your heart, but not on your right side
3 - it is not a symbol supporting war
4 - it is not a peace symbol
5 - it is not a fashion piece
6 - money raised goes to help veterans (returned soldiers) live a little more comfortably
7 - You do not have to be from Canada, UK or USA to wear one.  You can wear one to honour your own country's losses in previous war.  It is about remembering soldiers, but not only the soldiers from Canada, UK and USA.
8 - It is a personal decision, but not a political or religious one.


I wear a poppy every year, without fail.  My grandfather, Harold Phillips, fought in WW II, and survived.  His brother was not so lucky.  I wear a poppy to honour them and their comrades.

More info can be found here on the Poppy and the history:  http://www.legion.ca/Poppy/campaign_e.cfm 

A famous poem was written by a Canadian Medic in WWI named John McCrae.  The poem is about poppies growing in Flanders Fields.  It is called 'In Flanders Fields'.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Jack-O-Lantern

(This is a re-print of a blog entry I did in 2009)

Halloween is almost upon us!

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all the readers of this blog that even though it is called 'SpeakEnglishBetter', the blogs' focus is also on learning and understanding culture.  Why?  Because as I have said a hundred million ka-billion times - English language cannot be used solely as a tool of grammar and spelling.  To truly 'speak English better' you must understand the history and culture of English-speaking lands, especially if you are living in one now, permanently or temporarily.

I love Halloween.  As kids we got to make our own costumes (with the help of Mom and Dad of course) and go out 'trick or treating' to get a bag full of candy!  What more could a North American kid want?  (All that sugar is soooo bad for you though....but we didn't care!)

Now as adults we might dress up in costume and go to bars or house-parties to drink instead, or we might stay at home and give out candy to little trick-or-treaters who visit our homes.  It's still fun!  And we MUST watch scary horror movies as well!

In the olden days, the costumes were 'evil' creatures, like devils, goblins, vampires, ghosts, and any of the other Silver Screen Matinee classic monsters.  In the olden-olden days, when Halloween was first being 'developed' as a practice, the idea was to dress yourself up as an evil spirit in order to fool the real evil spirits around, so that they would leave you alone.  In fact, did you know that one of the reasons why we have the custom of covering our mouths while we yawn is not just out of politeness, but to avoid 'spirits' entering our bodies?  Yes, we humans were very superstitious many years ago!

Anyway, if you would like to learn more about the history of Halloween, including the name, the colours, the costumes, the religious influences and the jack-O-lantern (carved pumpkin) please do a little more reading at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween or start asking folks around you about their experience with Halloween.

Enjoy this rather odd but fun celebration, and do not get sick on too much candy! (or 'sweets' as my British friends would say!)

Happy Halloween!!!

The Beginnings of Halloween (Nat'l Geographic)

Canadian employers want ‘ethnic’ applicants to do more than study

Hello Readers,

I've been preaching for years the value of interpersonal skills and understanding cultural expectations when immigrants and foreign workers are looking for a job in Canada.  I've met people who think that they will get a job solely based on their impressive education and overseas work experience, as it would be in their home country.  They looked at me strange when I helped them put a "Skills and Interests" section on their CV to highlight that they do more than just study, work and sleep. 

Back in the day when I used to do career coaching for immigrants I had a 95% success rate of my clients getting a job within 3 months of working with me.  I know what the Canadian employers and HR are looking for, and it is more than hard skills.  See the related article below please
(From the Vancouver Sun):

A revealing study into how Canadian company recruiters deal with applicants with non-English names is full of surprising results. One of them, which has gone virtually unnoticed (even, apparently, by the researchers), is that employers look much more kindly on applications from people with Chinese or South Asian names — if they show they’ve taken part in extra-curricular activities.

Presumably, the data is suggesting that Canadian employers are wary of the stereotypical ethnic Chinese, East-Asian or South Asian student who tries to live up to his or her parents’ expectations by doing little else but work with tutors to try to score high marks on school exams — with no life outside academic success. Employers have traditionally seemed to fear such job applicants have little or no social/life skills. The topic cries out for further exploration.

The statistical revelation about “extra-curricular” activities is buried in an impressive 50-page research report by University of Toronto researchers Philip Oreopoulos and Diane Dechief. It’s titled “Why do some employers prefer to interview Matthew but not Samir?” I wrote a column last week about this inventive research project, funded by Metropolis B.C. The study is based on the researchers sending out thousands of virtually identical resumes to Canadian employers, changing only the names of the applicants from English-sounding to foreign-sounding.
The reference I saw in the report to the crucial issue of extra-curricular activities was one throw-away sentence on page 45.

That’s where the authors wrote that they found company recruiters were more inclined to call back “ethnically-named applicants” if they had added extracurricular activities to their resume. “This occurs only for those with Canadian education and experience.”

I’m wondering why the University of Toronto scholars didn’t follow up this important piece of data. Maybe they will in the future. To their credit, the researchers did add a lengthy exploration of what Canadian employers seem to expect, or fear, regarding various applicants and their English- or French-language proficiency.

(http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/10/24/canadian-employers-want-ethnic-applicants-to-have-done-more-than-study/?utm_source=Exacttarget&utm_medium=Communications&utm_term=HRDaily&utm_content=Email&utm_campaign=hrdaily102511 )

15 Most Butchered Phrases in the English Language

From http://www.onlinedegree.net/15-most-butchered-phrases-in-the-english-language/

Compared to other languages, English isn't particularly complex. But do other languages have nearly as many similar sounding words and phrases? We've all made the mistake of consistently butchering a phrase or two, not realizing it until someone had the nerve to correct us. Unless you couldn't care less about sounding silly, it's wise to double check the ones about which you're unsure. Listed below are a few of the most commonly misheard and misunderstood phrases -- those pesky egg-corns and malapropisms that have multiplied through the years. Avoid these at all costs.

1.     "I couldn't care less" -- not "I could care less:"

It should be noted that phrases do evolve, and the new way of saying them can become the accepted colloquialism. There is some debate as to whether or not that should be the case with "could care less," which is recognized by the Oxford Dictionary. Even still, the phrase doesn't make sense, as it means that you care at least a little bit. If you couldn't care less, then you couldn't care at all. There's a clear difference.

2.     "A moot point" -- not "A mute point:"

According to Merriam-Webster moot means obsolete, essentially meaning when someone makes "a moot point," it's completely worthless to debate. The words sound alike and the incorrect phrase somewhat makes sense -- if you can't hear a point, then what's it worth? -- But it would be wise to mute the "mute" completely if you tend to use the phrase.

3.     "For all intents and purposes" -- not "For all intensive purposes:"

This phrase originated in 16th century England when King Henry issued the Statute of Proclamations, which was "to all intents and purposes," allowing him to modify it at his discretion. Eventually it morphed into "for all intents and purposes," meaning "in effect." The use of "for all intensive purposes" has increased in the Internet era, though documented use of it occurred during the 19th century.

4.     "Nip it in the bud"-- not "Nip it in the butt:"

There's quite a difference between stopping something before it flowers and biting someone's bum. One refers to ending a problem before it grows into something bigger; the other is an action that would cause problems.

5.     "Without further ado" -- not "Without further adieu:"

Ado means "fuss." Adieu means "farewell." From those definitions, you can probably deduct which makes more sense. Think Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was much ado about nothing when you stayed up all night worrying about the results of the exam you eventually found out you aced.

6.     "Pique one's interest" -- not "Peak one's interest:"

Some may assume "peaking one's interest" is correct because you've reached the highest point of their interest. However, "pique" is the correct verb in the phrase, as it means to excite or arouse. In this case, your curiosity has been stimulated.

7.     "Deep-seated belief" -- not "Deep-seeded belief:"

Something that's "deep-seated" is situated far below the surface, according to Merriam-Webster. Of course, a deep seed would also be situated far below the surface. Grammarist.com states the correct phrase comes from horseback riding; not gardening or farming.

8.     "Champing at the bit" -- not "Chomping at the bit:"

When you're "champing at the bit," you're showing impatience. But it seems that the authorities of the English language -- such as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary -- have shown patience with the use of "chomping at the bit," which is now more common than the correct phrase, despite the fact that the substitution is inexplicable.

(NOTE from Ric – the authors seemed to have missed the idiomatic understanding that this phrase ‘chomping at the bit’ refers to a horse that is biting the piece of rubber in its mouth (the bit) which is attached to the reins.  That is why we say ‘chomping’.)

9.     "Never ceases to amaze me" -- not "Never seizes to amaze me:"

"Seize" means "to take possession of," "to attack or overwhelm physically," or "to bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff," according to Merriam-Webster, so it obviously doesn't belong in this phrase. Nor should it replace "cease" in "cease and desist" or "cease fire."

10.  "Reap what you sow" -- not "Reap what you sew:"

To "sow" is "to plant a seed for growth especially by scattering, " according to Merriam-Webster. To "reap what you sow" is to get what you deserve -- whatever grows is the outcome of sowing. A shirt or sweater would be the outcome of sewing.

11.  "Once in a while" -- not "Once and a while:"

"Once and a while" yields 6,320,000 results on Google and a handful of results on Google News. It's a common error, but most people seem to recognize the correct phrase from the incorrect phrase, as "once in a while" yields a hefty 58,000,000 results.

12.  "In layman's terms" -- not "In lame man's terms:"

A layman is someone who lacks specialized knowledge on a topic. If you're discussing football, and a layman enters the conversation with useless opinions, then it would be totally lame, man. But it wouldn't be correct, or nice, to label him a "lame man."

13.  "In the midst of" -- not "In the mist of:"

The distorted version of "in the midst of" is a mondegreen, a term for when someone mishears or misinterprets a word. "Midst" and "mist" sound very much alike, but obviously shouldn't be substituted for one another. "In the midst of" means "in the middle of" or "in the process of," and has nothing to do with getting wet unless water or mist is inserted after the phrase.

14.  "Off the beaten path" -- not "Off the beat and path:"

Venturing away from the path most taken can be an offbeat move, but you're not venturing "off the beat and path." That little bed and breakfast 20 miles south of the interstate is "off the beaten path."

15.  "Out-of-body experience" -- not "Outer body experience:"

You can go into "outer space" or have an "out-of-body experience," a sensation in which you float outside of your body, but you can't have an "outer body experience." Keep that in mind if you ever choose to retell the tale of your traveling soul.

English name clear advantage in landing job, researchers find

English name clear advantage in landing job, researchers find