Practical Business English - starts January

You must speak and understand English at least to Level B1 on the Common European Framework for Languages

Week 1 Effective Business Communication

• The 5 Cs of communication
• Picking the right level of formality
• Key differences between written and spoken English
• Describing effective communication at both individual and corporate levels
• Verbal and non-verbal communication
• Checking understanding
• Signalling in verbal and written communication
• Review of discourse markers
• Principles of effective presentations
• Making technical presentations to non-technical audiences

Week 2 Effective Reading Skills

• Matching reading strategy to purpose
• Noun phrases
• Dealing with unfamiliar words
• Reading the business press
• Organising your in-tray
• Reading legal documents
• Reading long reports

Week 3 Talking about Globalisation

• Talking about cultural differences and their importance
• Issues in using English as a common language
• Discussing trends and linking past, present and future

Week 4 Building Relationships

• Making small talk
• Building trust
• Smoothing over awkward situations
• Responding to inappropriate remarks and questions
• Expressing appreciation
• Review of phrasal and prepositional verbs
• Protocols for making and accepting verbal or written invitations
• Review of the modal perfect

Week 5 Report Writing

• Formal report structure
• Writing report summaries
• Writing recommendations
• Using glossaries
• Writing a report on an internal investigation
• Writing reports for an external audience and handling sensitive information

Week 6 Leadership and Management

• Key vocabulary for talking about personal qualities
• Key vocabulary for describing management and leadership styles
• Review of textual devices for enhancing coherence and cohesion

Week 7 Meeting Skills

• Writing a meeting agenda
• Taking, writing and checking meeting minutes
• Bringing people in, handling people who talk too much
• Moving the business on and keeping to time
• Opening and closing a meeting
• Particular issues with online meetings

Week 8 Having Difficult Conversations

• Non-violent communication
• Assertive language
• Review of prefixes and suffixes
• Review of the passive voice and its use with a range of tenses
• Sounding people out
• Cold-calling someone by phone and email

Week 9 Risk and Crisis Management

• Key vocabulary for describing risk and crisis
• Review of adverbs of degree
• Motivational and morale-raising written and oral communications
• Review of conditionals
• The language of insurance

Week 10 Quality and Customer Service

• Key language for expressing dissatisfaction and resolving complaints
• Review of Gerunds
• Active listening skills
• The language of Total Quality Management
• Diagnosing service and quality problems
• Using diplomatic language

Professor Gary Cook holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Manchester. He taught entrepreneurship and innovation at Loughborough University and economics at the University of Liverpool before joining Hull University Business School as Director and Professor of Economics. He is also a Visiting Professor of International Business at the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds.

At Imperial College's Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication, Gary teaches various undergraduate modules in business and management, in addition to very popular adult education courses in Business English and Introduction to Business.

Gary's main area of research are industrial clusters with a particular focus on the broadcasting and financial services industries.

Rate Categories and Discounts

Standard Rate

• Available to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category.

Internal Rate

• Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
• People enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
• Alumni of Imperial College and predecessor colleges and institutes, including City & Guilds College Association members
• Students, staff and alumni of the Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music and City, UAL and the City and Guilds of London Art School
• Students, staff and Governors of Woodhouse College and the IC Mathematics School

Associate Rate

• Austrian Cultural Forum staff
• Co-operative College members
• Francis Crick Institute staff, researchers and students
• Friends and Patrons of the English Chamber Orchestra
• Friends of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
• Friends of Leighton House/ Sambourne House
• Friends of the Royal College of Music
• Harrods staff
• Historic Royal Palaces staff
• Lycee Charles de Gaulle staff
• Members of the Friends of Imperial College
• Members of the Kennel Club
• Members of the London Zoological Society
• Members of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI)
• Members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
• National Health Service (NHS) employees
• Natural History Museum staff
• Residents of postcodes SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and W8
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council staff
• Royal Geographical Society staff
• Science Museum staff
• Staff of Exhibition Road Cultural Group (Discover South Kensington) organisations
• Students (non-Imperial College)
• Teachers and other staff of UK schools
• The American Institute for Foreign Study
• Tutors and other staff of institution members of the Association of Colleges
• Tutors and other staff of other universities and higher education institutions
• Victoria and Albert Museum staff

Late enrolment

It is possible to enrol on many of our adult education courses after the course has already started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.

Friends and Family Scheme

This course is eligible for allowing Imperial College students and staff to share their discount with their friends and family.

Enrolment via the blue booking link is open. Early-bird discounts are available until the end of 30 September 2024

Enrolment and payment run through the Imperial College eStore. When enrolling:

• Do check on the drop down menu above called "Course Fees and Rate Categories" to see if you are eligible for a discounted rate and also do make sure you select that rate when enrolling on the eStore
• If you are a first-time eStore user you will need to create an account before enrolling. You can do this by entering an email address and password. This account can then be used for any future enrolments via the eStore.

When you have enrolled you will be sent the following email notifications:

If you have any questions about the academic content or teaching of this course please contact our Business English Tutor, Gary Cook, g.cook@imperial.ac.uk

If you have any questions about your enrolment or payment processes please contact the Programme Administrator, Christian Jacobi, eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk