Is there really such a thing as business English? ‹ General

Look at the English textbooks in any bookstore and you will find a large number of them with the words ‘Business English’ in the title. What is business English, though? How is it different to any other form of English? Does business English even exist?

Let’s think of an example to start with. Imagine two professionals: a marketing manager in a media agency and an engineer specialising in the efficiency of filtration systems. Both of these people need English for work but their needs are very different. They will need completely different vocabulary and maybe speak in different registers (levels of formality) depending on the culture of the companies they work for. So how can we call these two very different kinds of language ‘business English’ when they are likely to be so different?

There is some overlap in the English skills both people will need to do their jobs, though. Both people will need to attend meetings, write reports, propose ideas, and express themselves clearly. All the areas they have in common are in the functional use of general English rather than specific ‘business’ topic areas. For example, once you know how to structure a report or proposal in English, the only way to get better at writing them is to actually improve your general English. Even if a report is perfectly structured, if the grammar is poor or the English is difficult to understand, it will be a bad report.

So, if there is no such thing as business English, what should people do if they want to improve their English for work? The answer is a combination of improving general English skills and learning the specific vocabulary suitable to their industry. This can be achieved through a combination of general English classes and self-study, group classes with people who have very similar jobs, or group general English classes with extra private lessons where the learner can focus on more specific language related to his or her industry.

In conclusion, while there isn’t a clear section of the English language dedicated to business, it is possible to tailor a language learning program to learners who need English for work. A balance of improving general English skills topped up with specific vocabulary related to the learners’ industry will give them the most efficient way of studying English that they can use in the workplace.