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5 Business English Textbooks Your Students Will Love

We talk a lot about finding the ideal English learning resources.

You know, the ones that are perfect for you and your students.

Not so long ago, there wasnt much in the way of consumer choice in the ESL world.

Business people who needed to take English classes had no other alternative but to drill grammar and do general
role-plays that were mostly centered on social situations.

These days, they can afford to be a little more selective. Now there are tons of available textbook options out there to
suit todays goal-oriented Business English learner.

Todays Business English textbooks are designed to give learners techniques and structures for specific situations
while also solidifying their fundamental vocabulary and grammar.

But, with so many out there on the market, which ones are any good? And how can you choose the best textbook for
your Business English class?

What to Look for in a Business English textbook

It needs to be relevant. The business world changes so rapidly. The best Business English textbooks are revised
frequently enough to stay either current enough or general enough that they dont fall behind the times. If the
Business English textbooks in your school reference Palm Pilots and President Clinton, chances are they need an
upgrade.

It needs to be four-skill focused. That is, it needs to contain activities to support speaking, writing, reading and
listening. Some Business English textbooks place too much emphasis on the latter two. While learners can get a lot
of theoretical knowledge by developing these skills, they dont get a whole lot of output practice. Output is critical to
succeed in business. The best Business English textbooks will use reading and listening activities as a means to lead
to output speaking and writing.

It needs to be functional. Your students arent in your class to learn about business. If they want that, they can get
an MBA. Theyre there to learn how to complete business functions in English: with the right phrases, tone and logical
order. The best Business English textbooks will provide this support and also the cultural insight to help students
accomplish tasks properly in every sense.

Ideally, the Business English textbook you use in your class will also have a modular structure. This means that one
unit in the book is one lesson, and the units activities more or less follow the flow of a lesson plan, with a free-
speaking activity built in at the end. Modular structures make lesson planning easy and help students maintain a
regular pacing.

Homework activities and self-study resources are also handy to have in a Business English textbook. Many texts will
have dedicated homework pages. Some newer Business English textbooks have DVD-ROMs which often include in-
class audio, video content, review activities and even tests! These resources help you, the teacher, to set appropriate
homework assignments and help students take control of their progress.

Finding the Right Textbook for Your Class

Finding the right text for your class is a simple matter of following The Three Ls: Level, Learner and Length.

First, find out what the students levels are but not only their English levels. Equally important here is their Business
English level. Do they use English for business on a regular basis? If so, in what capacity? For how long? All of this
can tell you how difficult your chosen textbook should be and how deeply it needs to delve into business topics.

Next, find out what kind of learners your students are. What are they looking for out of their lesson? Perhaps your
students want to build their business vocabulary while also reinforcing their grammar. Or they might be more
interested in functional practice using discussions, role plays and case studies. Then again, they might want a bit of
both. Look at how the text is built and what kind of activities it emphasizes, and see if it matches the needs of your
learners.

Finally, what is their course length? Are they going to take several lessons over a lengthy period? Or are they going
to do something more short-term? Are they taking an intensive course? Some Business English textbooks are better
suited for long-term courses, while others are more flexible and could easily be customized for a shorter program.

Now, lets look at 5 Business English textbooks that have worked well for me across a range of Levels, Learners and
Lengths.

Market Leader (Pearson/Longman)

This is the granddaddy of all Business English textbooks.

Market Leader takes a four-skill approach to learning Business English with

relevant and challenging communicative activities on every page. Each unit
covers a topical theme, such as Brands or Money, and introduces a functional
business skill, like Opening a Meeting. The exciting case studies at the end of
each unit tie everything together.

Market Leader uses authentic reading materials (from publications such as

Financial Times) and listening activities (often interviews with business leaders),
which can be very challenging for beginning students. Students will love Market
Leader if theyre at a lower-intermediate level or above, pretty familiar with
business and seeking to improve their overall Business English.

Business one:one (Oxford)

Business one:one is the perfect text for the student with some experience using
English for business, but who wants to be more fluent and natural.

It provides key vocabulary, phrases and grammar for specific speaking and writing skills. Each unit is only two pages
and follows a lesson-like structure, so its very easy to visualize how your lesson will be just by looking at the book.
The activities in each unit are also easily collapsible or expandable, allowing you to manage pacing effectively.

The one:one in Business one:one means that the book is designed for private lessons, but it could also be used
for group lessons without much difficulty.

Total Business (Cengage)

If your students are interested in studying Business English but dont have a whole lot of business experience
themselves, look no further than Total Business.

Total Business is designed to give students a gateway into English for business, covering essential vocabulary,
grammar and expressions. Like Business one:one it also follows a modular structure, and each module can easily
be compacted to fit a short lesson or blown up to fit a longer one.

The modules are uniquely divided into Business Topics (focusing on discussion),
Business Skills (focusing on functional practice) and Learning Strategies
(techniques to help students across several situations, such as Scanning for Main
Ideas).

Intelligent Business (Pearson/Longman)

Like Total Business, Intelligent Business is made for students with limited
knowledge of and experience in business.

Each unit explains basic business concepts such as Productivity and Etiquette
and contains an article from The Economist to provide a real-life example.
Similar to the Market Leader case studies, units in Intelligent Business end
with the Dilemma and Decision sections, where students discuss a problem
related to the units theme and use key phrases to role-play a relevant scenario.

Intelligent Business is available in five different levels, from Elementary to

Advanced. It has a Coursebook which focuses on Business English across the
four skills, and a Skillbook which is devoted to functional practice.

Business Builder (Macmillan)

Have a student who wants to take a short, intensive course and doesnt want to
spring for a textbook? Are they intermediate or above?

Then Business Builder is your answer!

Business Builder is a set of photocopiable modules. Each module covers a

business scene, like Having a Meeting, and contains important language and
techniques for completing the activity. Unlike the other texts mentioned here,
though, Business Builder doesnt place a lot of emphasis on grammar or correct
English. The key is output: see the phrases, practice the phrases, then go.

Business Builder was made with intermediate Business English learners in

mind, but its modules and target language can easily be adjusted to suit any
level.

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