After reaching the B2 level of English, most business English students tend to not want to pursue learning the language any further. As students reach this intermediate level of English, they understand most of how to express themselves and communicate with others. This makes them not want to achieve the C1 level of English, even though the CEFR describes the learners of C1 as proficient users of the language.
C1 level students are well-versed with various nuances of the English language and are more adept at working in international environments.
So, how you can encourage your students to pursue this level and acknowledge the benefits in their own lives and career? Here are a few tips to help you get your students passionate about reaching C1 level of English:
Motivate them to reach the next level
Most often than not, students don’t want to pursue the C1 level to become more proficient in Advance English language is because the road ahead is difficult and requires optimum effort. In order to get your students to walk the path to proficiency, you will have to motivate them to get out of their comfort zone and push themselves to be better.
Learning any language is a life-long process. For advanced learners, a certain degree of high motivation is required. Get your students to enjoy the challenges of learning and developing new skills by showing the real-world advantages.
Show them how having an advanced grasp of the language allows them to be a part of an international work environment and how it opens up a range of career or promotion opportunities.
Encourage your students to set goals
Goal setting is one of the best ways to practically achieve something, regardless of how difficult it seems at first. Get your students to set their own small goals for success. You can use the SMART acronym to help them get started with it. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound.
The goal that your students set should stick to these ideologies. When students set goals using the SMART ideology, they remain motivated and gain an increase in their own sense of achievement.
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Introduce them to incidental learning
Incidental learning is the process of acquiring knowledge from day-to-day activities. Encourage your students to take the learning process past the classrooms and their usual practice routine. Get them to read every piece of writing they can find in English, including blogs, articles, journals, novels, etc. The wider variety of writings they cover, the better it will be for them to comprehend the language.
You can also provide your personal insights into books, blogs, and newspapers they can read to increase their proficiency. You will also need to keep an eye on how your students are practicing learning English outside of the classroom to gain insight into their interests. This will allow you a more personalized approach in helping them learn the language.
Get them to learn more words
Learning a new word is not just about knowing the meaning of the word but also about learning the word’s various meanings, appropriate use, collocations, pronunciation, parts of speech, phrasal verbs, and phrases associated with it. C1 students have to undertake all these aspects of learning a new word.
Many students have passive knowledge of a range of words but are not sure how they can use them in their speech. Introduce your students to use words and phrases and teach them how they can use them in their day-to-day communication. Provide your students with the opportunities to use phrases and words in speaking and writing.
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Give emergent language some time
Allow your students to interact with each other and with you in the way they are comfortable. Emergent language could include words or phrases that come up during interactions because students want to know their meaning and application.
Emergent language could be correct or incorrect. When it is incorrect, let your students understand and use the words or phrases properly. When it is correct, allow others to use them in their daily interactions.
Review core grammar concepts
Grammar is one of the most complicated aspects of learning English. Although students tend to get well-versed in the language, when it comes to the use of grammar, they often need some practice.
Some of the essential areas for honing business English include future forms, hypothesizing, and passive structures. While the C1 level does not include much grammar, it is still imperative for students to learn grammar so they are able to use the language correctly.
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Use role-play to develop communication skills
Roleplaying is one of the best ways to improve communication skills and develop confidence in one’s speech. Provide your students with various scenarios and give them certain roles to play. Try to create real-world scenarios to make the roleplay more interesting and challenging.
Emphasis on business writing skills
While learning the English language, students get a lot of practice in essay writing but not enough in the type of writings needed for the workplace such as emails, reports, proposals, minutes to minutes. For students learning English to exploit business opportunities, such writing skills are required.
First and foremost, students need to learn the difference between formal and informal writing. They will also need to learn writing conventions such as structuring a proposal, appropriate use of headings and sub-headings, and formatting various forms of writing.
Provide your students with sample works on various forms of business writing and ask them to create their own text using the examples of the sample. You can also get your students to participate in the collaborative writing process by asking them to write on a shared Google Docs.
Let your students choose
Letting your students choose the course content helps increase engagement. Instead of relying on industry-specific topics and following a linear learning pattern, let your students make the choices themselves. Try to include broader ideas relevant to their employability.