Business Builder: Warning Signs of a Bad Business English Teacher Part 2
Welcome back to part 2 of the red flag parade of warning signs that your Business English teacher is not very good at what they do. Are you ready to get a little mean (but true)?
More Red Flags for Bad Business English Teachers and What They Mean
Let’s finish off this exploration of the warning signs so you can prepare yourself to spot them when looking for a good Business English teacher.
Your Teacher Never Asks for Real Materials From Your Job
If your Business English teacher never uses real materials from your job, they are not preparing you to use your Business English skills as well as they could. If they are not confident working on something they have not had time to prepare for, then they can offer to take it away for the next session, if this is OK with your company. An experienced and skilled teacher should be able to help you with your real work documents, presentations, emails, and more, at any point in a session.
Your Teacher Never Asks You to Teach Them Something
If your job involves you explaining processes or training anyone, your Business English teacher should ask you to teach them. Even if you don’t need to train other people, teaching someone else is an excellent way to make sure you really understand your topic. This is an important skill. It might not be the biggest red flag, but if you see this warning sign with some others, it’s time to find a new teacher.
Your Teacher Only Teaches English for Emails and Meetings
This is the most common problem with Business English teachers, and it comes with never leaving the textbook. Try asking your teacher to move into more practical skills or skills more specific to your job, and see if they will help you with this. If they do, that’s fantastic. If they don’t this is a major warning sign. Teachers who only teach these 2 skills do this because this is what most textbooks contain, plus a little bit of vocabulary. It is a sign your teacher is not familiar with Business English or doesn’t have enough experience to change their style to match your needs.
Wrapping Up
If you see any of these warning signs in your Business English Lessons, I recommend looking at the rest of the list in parts 1 and 2. Take some time to think about whether this is a problem for you, or if this is OK. You are paying for the services, and you can decide if they are good enough for you. Also, if you’ve had any negative experiences with English teachers please write them in the comments here, I would be really interested to read them.
