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Business English Language Course at De Montfort University in February 2006
The Business English and Contract Negotiations course for representatives of the Russian and former Soviet Union Republics nuclear centres took place between 30 January and 24 February 2006 at De Monfort University in Leicester. A group of 14 people (seven from Russia, three from Kazakhstan and two each from Ukraine and Uzbekistan) took part in the course, staying with local families to gain the benefits of immersion in an English environment. With the differences in people's ages, levels of English, and cities and countries of origin, providing effective teaching was quite a challenge! The teachers, Mary Archer and Grahame Hudson, each had their own approach to people and the learning process. They complemented each other perfectly, and kept everyone busy and working hard during lessons. Other lessons were taken by the Head of Department, David Boydon, whose teaching style was very different: he created a fun atmosphere which made learning seem like a game. The main topics of the course were "negotiations", "business communication", "innovation activity", "business", "business correspondence", "presentations" and some other topics related to economics and business. Different visual aids like video films, illustrated handouts were broadly used at the lessons. Audio records were used efficiently for the development of listening skills. "Business role games" became really effective part of the training process. At the end of the training while having a testing lesson related to making presentations, all participants managed to demonstrate knowledge acquired and considerable progress in English language study. In order to provide the biggest effect of "immersion" into English environment, the participants were lodged with the local families in Leicester. That provided priceless experience in daily associations and contributed to the enrichment of the vocabulary and study of colloquial language. The participants extended their knowledge about traditions and life style of British people. In addition to training an important factor contributing to mastering of the language was an opportunity to practice in spoken language and learn how to listen and understand native English speakers. The organizers gave the participants an opportunity to meet and talk informally in cafes, restaurants, clubs, and at their homes. The main topics of the course were negotiations, business communication, innovation activity, private business, business correspondence, presentations, and other topics related to economics and business. The teachers used a variety of high quality teaching resources - textbooks, videos and audio recordings. They always explained things well, answered all our questions and also questioned the students. One really effective part of the lessons consisted of working in a team then giving a presentation in front of colleagues. By the end of the course, all the participants had managed to speak in public, demonstrating the knowledge they had acquired and the considerable progress they had made in English. As well as lessons, another important factor in mastering the language was having the chance to practise speaking and listening to native English speakers. The organisers ensured that there were opportunities for participants to meet and talk informally in cafes, restaurants, clubs and at their homes. Living with host families provided invaluable experience of everyday interaction, encouraging people to expand their vocabularies by taking part in everyday family life in Britain. The course provided a firm foundation for further progress in language skills and, most importantly, gave participants the confidence to conduct business negotiations or give presentations in English.
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