EFL Gazette

Starting Business English, J Lonergan and C Johnson, BBC English, 2 video cassettes, 3 audio cassettes, SB and TB.

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          Martin Billingham            

ONCE AGAIN THE BBC has come up with a superb package. This video-based course aimed at students with little prior knowledge of English tells the story of a toy manufacturer, Bibury Systems, and the marketing of its new product, Big Boss, in 20 units.
     The star of the package is the video, produced by Studio East and written by Duncan, Clymer and Kermode and directed by Phil Hill - names that spell excellence. There is dramatic tension in the strong storyline of the introduction of Big Boss and the use of a catchy theme tune hooks students and teacher alike. The language of the actors is clear and deliberate and one soon forgets the slight slowness of the delivery. Despite the title, I have used extracts from the video to introduce functional language, vocabulary items and business situations to higher level groups and I can recommend this attractive package highly.

Martin Billingham is Chief Examiner for English for Business [1] for the LCCIEB.

British Council
Network News

Starting Business English
Christine Johnson and Jack Lonergan
BBC English

   Starting Business English is a BBC English package incorporating two videos, three audio cassettes, a students' book, a resource book and a teachers' guide.
    The package aims to provide about a hundred hours of material for lower level students.
   The video text follows the progress of a junior marketing executive in an electronic toy company. There are twenty units covering a wide spectrum of 'business' language from greetings, using the telephone and describing your company through to negotiating price, presenting a product and concluding negotiations. The videos are well produced and realistic and the recommended programme is very thorough, incorporating preparation and follow-up activities that try to integrate the materials into students own experience.
   The resource book contains a short, simple summary of the video clip for each unit and a word check section introducing new vocabulary. This is followed by tasks relating to the video text and a summary of the language introduced in the unit. The focus here is on understanding and gist. In the student book, segments of the video are shown again as a model for students' production of new language and the audio cassettes are used for pronunciation and other listening tasks. Both books have answer keys and are 'self study' friendly.
   Business English materials generally tend towards intermediate levels. in addressing the lower levels of English language training, this package could be useful both as a course in itself or for selective revision for intermediate students.

Mike King
Senior Teacher, Bangladesh