About this course
Most business English courses teach vocabulary lists. This one teaches performance under pressure: the meeting where you have thirty seconds to make your point, the email chain that has gone wrong, the presentation to people more senior than you.
Every session is built around a simulation, recorded so you can watch yourself and see what your listener actually experienced. It is uncomfortable in week two and transformative by week eight.
Suitable across sectors, and a good precursor to English for Specific Purposes if your role later needs deep technical language.
Who it is for
- Professionals who work in English with international colleagues or clients
- Managers leading meetings or presenting to people outside their own country
- Anyone whose written English is stronger than their spoken English, or the reverse
Entry requirements
CEFR B1 or above.
Scope & sequence
Printable versionThe full teaching map — what is covered, in what order, and how each unit is assessed.
| Unit | Focus | Language | Skills | Assessment | Hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. First impressions and small talk | Introductions, the first three minutes of any meeting, and why small talk is not small. | Openings; question forms; safe topics across cultures | SpeakingListening | Recorded networking simulation | 3 |
| 2. Email that gets a reply | Subject lines, the first sentence, requests, follow-ups and chasing without irritating. | Directness calibration; request structures | Writing | Three emails, marked on outcome not grammar | 3 |
| 3. Telephone and video calls | Poor connections, unfamiliar accents, and taking control of a call that is drifting. | Clarification; repair strategies; summarising | ListeningSpeaking | Live call simulation | 3 |
| 4. Participating in meetings | Getting the floor, interrupting politely, and being heard when you are not the loudest person there. | Interruption; agreement and disagreement; signposting | SpeakingListening | Assessed meeting contribution | 3 |
| 5. Chairing a meeting | Agendas, timekeeping, drawing out a quiet participant and closing with clear actions. | Managing turn-taking; summarising decisions | Speaking | Chair a 20-minute meeting | 3 |
| 6. Presenting with structure | Opening, three points, close. Slides that support you instead of replacing you. | Signposting; emphasis; rhetorical patterns | Speaking | Five-minute presentation | 3 |
| 7. Handling questions | Hostile questions, questions you cannot answer, and buying time honestly. | Deflection; commitment and non-commitment; bridging | SpeakingListening | Q&A under pressure | 3 |
| 8. Numbers, data and charts | Saying large numbers correctly, describing a trend, and making a chart mean something. | Quantity; trend verbs; approximation | SpeakingWriting | Data commentary | 3 |
| 9. Reports and proposals | Executive summaries, recommendations, and writing for someone who will read only the first paragraph. | Concision; recommendation structures | Writing | One-page proposal | 3 |
| 10. Negotiation | Opening positions, conditional bargaining, walking away and closing. | Conditionals; concession; firmness without rudeness | SpeakingListening | Recorded negotiation | 3 |
| 11. Difficult conversations | Complaints, apologies, performance conversations and saying no to someone senior. | Softening; face management; assertive structures | Speaking | Roleplay with feedback | 3 |
| 12. Cross-cultural business | Directness, hierarchy, silence and humour across the markets you work in. | Pragmatics; intercultural repair | ListeningSpeaking | Case study | 3 |
| 13. Networking and relationship building | Conferences, LinkedIn messages, and following up so the contact is still warm in March. | Relationship-building language; follow-up conventions | Speaking | Networking simulation | 3 |
| 14. Your professional voice | Pronunciation for intelligibility rather than accent removal: stress, rhythm and the sounds that cost you clarity. | Word and sentence stress; intonation for meaning | Speaking | Recorded pronunciation profile | 3 |
| 15. Integrated business simulation | A full scenario: brief, meeting, proposal, presentation and negotiation across one session. | Full-course consolidation | ReadingWritingListeningSpeaking | Integrated simulation + skills profile | 3 |
Course hours & duration
Total learning time is about 67 hours. One-to-one students cover the same map at their own pace — most finish in 27–45 hours because the whole session is theirs. ELOQUA Certificate of Completion with a communication skills profile.
Course learning outcomes
On successful completion you will be able to:
Pricing
Small group
Minimum four weeks. For people who cannot commit to the full fifteen.
One to one
All prices in AUD. Payment plans are available on courses over $800 — ask us before you register.
Upcoming intakes
Questions
Are the sessions recorded?
Your own simulations are recorded so you can review them, and they are visible only to you and your teacher. The rest of the class is not recorded by default.
Can I join partway through?
Yes — the per-week option exists for that. Units stand alone, though the simulation in unit 15 assumes the earlier work.