, I have subscribed to lots of podcasts so finding a suitable one isn’t too difficult and then I just mail them a link.
Podcasts In Business
English One-To-Ones
Phil Wade
Phil Wade designs and delivers BE and ESP courses
to managers and directors in France. He is the author
of several e360 courses and an ELT Social Media
Manager.
Background
I teach a number of high level Business people in a one-to-one context. They generally have very little time
for lessons and practically none for any out-of-class study but they are dedicated to sustaining or improving
their levels of English.
I have to maximise the limited face-to-face time I
have with my students but still try to include a mix of
different input and output opportunities. As my
students are all involved in senior decision making,
they are interested in their industries and the
business world in general. They keep abreast of
issues via the press and are quite ‘tech savvy’, using
iPods and iPads on a daily basis. Thus, it was no
surprise that I was asked to integrate this into my
methodology and I have done so by using business
podcasts and my own feedback podcasts. Students
listen to them on the way to work, during their breaks
and even while having lunch.
Podcasts
iTunes has a wealth of podcasts
for any teacher and you can
subscribe to most of them for
free. Here are some of my
favourites which are regularly
updated
I listen to the podcasts, note down the main ideas,
useful language and anything which can be used as
revision from a previous lesson. Then, in the class,
whether it be a physical face-to-face, an online lesson
or a phone lesson, I begin with asking them for a
summary or just their thoughts on the podcast. This
then develops into a discussion as I ask them
questions relating the topic to their job and we go
over the key points and language which they didn’t
understand or which is useful for the topic. As we go,
I keep notes of emergent errors and weaknesses to
be worked on during or following the lesson.
For feedback, on account of the very short time we
often have together, I record my
own mp3 podcasts where I
Bloomberg
explain the new language and
McKinsey: Finance
highlight and expand on their
difficulties. Even though, I do
Accenture: Management
provide a feedback document,
every student prefers the
You can also find more listed by
recordings and one even said he
business topic here:
listens to them several times to
help revise all his classes.
Using podcasts
Logistics
I recommend a podcast before every lesson for my
students to listen to. However, they often have
specific requests for something related to their work
or a topic from the press.
Thanks to my iPad, I have subscribed to lots of
podcasts so finding a suitable one isn’t too difficult
and then I just mail them a link.
Utilising and recording podcasts can seem
complicated at the start but it really saves me a lot of
time and is very effective. Of course, there are times
when students don’t listen to the chosen one and you
have to discuss the topic from your notes but this
does give them an incentive to listen to it afterwards
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