How to modify tasks in business partner B1+
HOW TO MODIFY TASKS IN BUSINESS PARTNER B1+
Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc, M.A.
Abstract
This research is to apply new activities and modify some tasks in Business Partner B1+based
on the goal of the coursebook and the students’ expectations. The teacher asks the students to
work in groups to make a presentation on the topics related to lesson 3 and lesson 4 of each
unit in Communication skills and Business skills. The teacher gives advice, comments and
encouragement to the groups during their preparation of the assignment. The research lasts for
three months with 60 hours of study, including the participation of two classes with 70 students
from 46 high-quality courses. The data of the research has been collected through the teacher’s
observation and informal interviews with the groups of students. The questions of the
interviews cover the students’ motivation and their proficiency. The results show the success
of the study in terms of communication skills.
I. Introduction
Business Partner B1+ has recently been taught for the freshmen of high-quality classes due to
the requirements of the university as well as the needs of the students. The teachers have to
deal with some difficulties relating to the time budget, the content of the coursebook and the
teaching methods with which they are familiar so far. With the emphasis on communication
skills of the course, teachers should adapt more interactive and creative methodology. More
importantly, a variety of activities and tasks should be designed during the course because of
the repetition of the tasks in the coursebook. In an attempt to enhance the students’ interaction
and communication, the teacher guides the group of students to make a presentation on the
topics of lesson 3 or lesson 4 in each unit.
After the first term, it is found that modifying the tasks in Business Partner B1+ appears to be
beneficial to both the students and the teachers, especially the students’ proficiency in English.
II. The overview
Business Partner covers professional English language and develops key skills for the
workplace. In this coursebook, teachers need to be able to engage and motivate the students by
providing learning materials which:
Are interesting and relevant to their life experiences.
Match their learning needs and priorities
Are appropriate for the amount of studying time available
The content and structure of the course are based on three key concepts: employability,
flexibility and learner engagement.
Employability
In order to achieve their employability goals, learners need to improve their knowledge of the
English language as it is used in the workplace and also develop key skills for the international
workplace.
In addition to building their vocabulary and grammar and developing their writing skills,
Business Partner trains students in Communication and Business skills.
Communication skills (Lesson 3) provides the soft skills needed in order to work effectively
with people whose personality and culture may be different from the students’. This includes
teamwork, decision-making and influencing skills.
Business skills (Lesson 4) provides the practical skills needed in different business situations,
such as taking part in meetings, presentations and negotiations.
Flexibility
The modular approach means that Business Partner can be adapted to suit a variety of teaching
requirements. In addition to the coursebook, a wide variety of additional optional activities and
resources are also provided in MyEnglishLab.
Learner engagement
Video content: There are two videos in every unit with comprehension and language activities:
An authentic video package in lesson 1, based on real-life video clips and interviews
suitable for learners’ level of English.
A dramatised communications skills training video in lesson 3, which follows characters
in an international team as they deal with different professional challenges.
Working with authentic content really helps to engage learners. Business Partner has been
carefully designed to work with students who have no work experience. In the case of
collaborative speaking tasks and roleplays, the situation will either be:
One that we can all relate to as customers and consumers; or
A choice of situations will be offered, including a mix of professional and everyday
situations.
Both will allow learners to practise the skill and language presented in the lesson but in a
context that is most relevant to them.
Business workshops: Learners have the opportunity to consolidate and activate the language
and skills from the units.
Approach to communication skills
A key aspect of Business Partner is the innovative video-based communication skills training
program.
The aims of the Communications skills lessons are to introduce students to the skills needed to
interact successfully in international teams with people who may have different communication
styles due to culture or personality. Those skills include teamwork, decision-making and
influencing.
These lessons are based on videos that provide realistic examples of work situations. This is
particularly important for pre-service learners who may not have direct experience of the
particular situations they are about to see. In each of these videos, students watch two possible
scenarios (Option A and option B) in which a different communication style is used. These
options give students the opportunity to engage in critical viewing of each option and gain
awareness of the impact of different communication styles.
III. The procedure
The research lasts for three months with 60 hours of study, including the participation of two
classes with 70 students from 46 high-quality courses. The data of the research has been
collected through the teacher’s observation and informal interviews with the groups of students.
The questions of the interviews cover the students’ motivation and their proficiency.
At the beginning of the research, the theory and practice of making a presentation in Business
Skills are taught extensively to the students. The lesson outcome is that the learners are aware
of techniques for beginning a presentation and can use a range of signposting phrases to
structure a presentation and highlight main ideas.
Some standard techniques to help students make a confident and effective start:
Begin with a warm welcome
State your name and job title (or what you do)
Confirm the objective of the presentation
Explain the structure of the presentation
Say how long you will talk for
Let the audience know when to ask questions- during or at the end of the presentation
Move smoothly to the first point in the presentation
Continue with the following points
Illustrate and clarify the main points by supporting ideas, examples or visual aids.
Remember to give a conclusion or summary at the end of the speech.
In addition, Functional Language of signposting in presentations
is also included to support learners’ capability to operate in real workplace situations in English.
This part is considered as useful language support when the students are preparing for business
situations, such as a meeting, presentation or interview.
The signposting phrases from the presentations cover:
Beginning the presentation
Sequencing
Highlighting important information
Referring to visuals
Referring to different sections of the presentation
Inviting questions
Dealing with questions
Closing
The teacher assigns the task to each group that can choose the topic related to the unit they will
present. They can focus on Communication skills (Lesson 3) or Business skills (Lesson 4) to
prepare for their presentation to the whole class. These are the topics related to the units
covering the first term in the syllabus:
Unit 1: Managing first meetings / Small talks in first meetings
Unit 2: Supporting teamwork / Making a presentation
Unit 3: Listening actively / Interviews
Unit 4: Solving problems / Problem-solving meetings
To make a good preparation for their talk, the students have to watch the video or listen to the
talk in the unit. They do all the listening tasks to get the information or ideas to think about the
questions in the part of Reflection. They also cover Functional Language before writing an
outline for the topic or planning their work. The students can work in pairs, work in groups,
roleplay or so on to fulfill their assignment.
IV. Discussion
From the teacher’s observation and the interviews with the students, it is found that most of the
groups are willing to take part in the teamwork and can make a good presentation in front of
the class with the guidance of the teacher.
However, few students are reluctant to speak in front of a crowd because they lack
communication skills and presentation skills. They are not proficient in listening and speaking
skills. They are afraid of making mistakes, which hinders their communication.
Therefore, the teacher should tell them on which criteria they are measured in their task of
presentation. The emphasis of assessment is on fluency, but not accuracy. This may enhance
their motivation, which plays an important role in the success of their learning English.
V. Conclusion
The research seems to be successful in terms of presenting Communication skills and Business
skills in Business Partner B1+. The students are engaged in making the presentations and the
atmosphere in the classroom appears to be more interactive and happier.
There are still some limitations that need to be studied more extensively in further research.
Besides their students’ proficiency in English, their learning styles, their expectations and their
personalities should be considered.
It is recommended that the teacher should modify or design the tasks in many ways to meet the
needs of the students as well as the requirements of the course.
References
Bruce Wade, Maria Karyda (2018): Business Partner B1+ - Teacher’s Resource Book, Pearson
Education Limited.
Iwonna Dubicka, Margaret O’Keeffe, Bob Dignen, Mike Hogan, Lizzie Wright (2018):
Business Partner B1+ - Coursebook, Pearson Education Limited.
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