London, Kiev, Paris

This summer is such a busy and eventful one here in London and for English people in general. Not only are the Olympics due to start in a few short weeks, but hot on the heels of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is Euro 2012. Okay, it’s not in the UK, but football always interests and excites the British people.

Hopes are high for the England team after a draw with France, but as always with our national team, you never really know how they are going to play.  Tonight they play Sweden at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev.  As a half Swede, I am always torn when these two countries play.  In fact, a draw suits me fine.  This is highly likely, as Sweden last beat England back in 1992 and remarkably England have triumphed over Sweden in a competitive match. 

This is all rather irrelevant as unfortunately I won’t even be able to watch the game as Luke and I will be on the Eurostar to Paris.  You see, this weekend we are speaking at the IATEFL BESIG Summer Symposium about our approach to teaching young learners of Business English.  It’s the first time that either of us is speaking at a conference and we are honoured to be able to talk at such a large event. 

For the past few months we have been developing a case study-based approach to teaching our Young Business English course and our premise is a simple one.  The students in our class form a company and then work through a series of problems and issues in order to achieve an outcome.  By taking part in a variety of business-based tasks, they not only improve their language skills, but they also get a valuable insight into the world of work and the soft skills they need to develop in the workplace.

If you would like to see Luke and I talk (but can’t make it to Paris), our presentation is being broadcast live online here at 1430 UK time.  The room is “Opale” and we’d love for you to join us – virtually at least.

Until next time, I hope the team you are following has a successful tournament in Euro 2012, that Sweden and England draw again, and that you all have a pleasant and fruitful summer.

By Andy 

Glossary

hot on the heels of sth - (idiom) to happen very soon after another event

high hopes - (idiom) very optimistic

to be torn - (idiom) to have conflicting interests, or to find it difficult to choose between two options

highly likely - (adv. + adj.) very probable

remarkably - (adv.) very interestingly

to triumph - (v.) to win

competitive - (adj.) in this case it means a game which is part of a competition 

irrelevant - (adj.) not important in a certian situation

IATEFL - (acronym) International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

BESIG - (acronym) Business English Special Interest Group

honoured - (adj.) to feel very happy or proud to do something

premise - (n.) idea or concept

insight - (n.) understanding

soft skills - (pl.n.) personal qualities and skills used at work