HSA Business English Communication
Why
are you learning Business English?
The
ultimate objective for business English
students is to develop their professional
skill set and enhance their career opportunities
in the global economy. Unlike general
English learners, business English learners
– particularly advanced learners - need
to practice English in multiple dimensions,
including:
- basic
language training,
- business
knowledge building,
- professional
communication skill building.
The
Challenge
MBA
students from non-English speaking countries
usually struggle to survive in the competitive,
discussion-oriented classes of U.S. business
schools. A businessperson from a non-English
speaking country, who may be comfortable
in exchanging initial greetings with his
or her American clients, may still find
him or herself confused by the fast-paced
discussions and complicated business concepts
in the core business meetings. The problem
is not that these professionals have low
general English proficiency – typically
these people already have high TOEIC and
TOEFL scores – but rather that they did
not build effective English proficiency
for real-life business situations. Is
attending an MBA program a solution? Yes,
but only to a degree. Paying $20,000
per semester for this purpose may not make
sense. Moreover, language teaching
is not the goal of business schools.
Solution
The
best approach to address this problem is
content-based language teaching in which
business content is the driving force to
learn English language and communication
skills – the HSA (Harvard Square Academy)
Business English Program.
First,
the HSA Business English Program simultaneously
offers three components: professional communication
skills, a broad range of core business knowledge
in English, and intensive language practice.
(sample)
- For
students, in order to build knowledge-based
English proficiency, the HSA program
includes case studies (including several
Harvard Business School cases), interactive
mini-cases, a condensed MBA course (Marketing,
Finance, Strategy) audio lectures, and
video or animation scenes that immerse
learners in a rich, knowledge and situation-based
learning environment.
- For
teachers, in order to help you teach
professional communications in realistic
business settings, HSA adopts highly
interactive and collaborative problem-solving
exercises. Some examples are:
team projects, collaborative case studies,
role plays on video, business games,
and simulated negotiations. We
place your learners in highly dynamic
and challenging situations similar to
those found in corporate environments
and MBA classes. Your learners will
be required to use interpersonal skills,
team-work, and strategic thinking in
multi-party interactions.
Secondly,
we seek to preserve and further enhance
the reputation of your institution. HSA
has therefore developed quality-oriented
and customized course materials that are
far more effective than the cost-oriented
materials on the market.
Third,
multi-media material is essential for foreign
language communication learning. Using
plain text materials limits teacher-student
interaction to one-time events in the classroom
which cannot be revisited. This is
deleterious for the progress of the learner
because language acquisition requires repetition.
When using the plain text materials
to teach business subjects, it is also inappropriate
that we ask ESL instructors in a classroom
to become experts in all three areas of
business knowledge, professional communication
skills, and language skills. Our business
contents are therefore rich in multi-media
to help reduce this burden.
Fourth,
our service is comprehensive: it provides
not only materials, but also service before
and during the class. Our before-class
service includes a teacher workshop and
the issuance of a teacher’s manual (not
for resale). Our in-class service
includes online services (e.g., supplementary
material posting, business subject Q&A,
etc.).
Teaching
Model
For a
more
theoretical explanation, click here
for the HSA Approach
to Learning.
Market
Test
The
HSA program is being used by major universities
and companies in the US and Asia. The
initial clients' reactions are extremely
encouraging: Professor Jay Kim of
Boston University School of Management commented:
"…our students will get a superior
business English training with this package.
The innovative nature of the product
– a mix of language and business learning,
use of multi-media, and up-to-date contents
– will enhance our traditional language
training…"
HSA
Five Learning Objectives Beyond Basic English
Language Training
We
do not intend to approach English education
as simply a list of expressions or American
business phrases. We do intend to simultaneously
improve learners' skills in the following
five areas:
1. English
Proficiency
Many
learners have a strong desire to develop
a core set of business communication skills,
and not memorize disconnected phrases.
2. Business
Knowledge
Immersion
in realistic business content is the most
effective approach to learning business
English. Learners interact within the context
of a business situation.
3. Decision-making
& Critical Thinking Skills
A
learning framework that requires creativity
and thoughtful analysis is a proven approach
to successful language synthesis.
4. Art
of Communication
Persuading
others requires an understanding beyond
the language used, but also of the motivations
of each player in a business negotiation.
5. Cultural
Understanding
Appropriate
case materials and case discussions with
peers having different cultural backgrounds
helps students to build confidence in their
cross-cultural communicative abilities.
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