Business English

A Personal Approach to Business English

At the Berkshire Language Centre, we believe in providing language teaching which meets your needs exactly.  You've invested a lot of time to improve your English and we're committed to making sure you get the best possible value for your investment.

I went to study English with Garry Newman at Berkshire Language Centre after a recommendation from my relative who studied with him in the past. He has been teaching English to me for the past nine months. He identified my problems such as repetition when I am writing and some grammatical errors very quickly so that I am able to resolve language problems. We focussed on solving the identified problems with my written English. I am very pleased with the progress so far. I like his teaching; he builds my confidence on resolving language problems. Moreover I can confidently say to anybody that he has an in-depth knowledge of the English language especially English Grammar and different writing styles. The analogy I draw of meeting Garry Newman is that of meeting a good doctor after I have consulted many doctors for an incurable disease. I hope I will be fully cured very soon.

KK Senthilgiri, London Borough of Ealing 1-1 Client

Individually Prepared Courses

We offer Business English courses which are tailored specifically to meet your needs by ensuring that you are fully involved in the planning of your course:

  • We will ask you to complete a needs analysis questionnaire and a short assessment test, both of which can be done online, if you wish, to save you time. These will help us assess not only your specific requirements but also your current language level.
  • Next, one of our directors will contact you to discuss your requirements in more detail. We'll talk about course content and structure.
  • We then plan a course to meet the needs you've identified. This will include both published materials and our own specially written training materials. Your course will be prepared especially for you, we don't believe that one standard course will be suitable for everyone.
  • We'll find a teacher who is highly qualified and experienced in the areas you've identified. Many of our teachers come from a business background and we will aim to provide you with someone who is not only a highly qualified English teacher, but also has first hand, professional experience in your area of employment.
  • Your teacher will give you personalised feedback at the end of each lesson, so that you can assess your own progress.
  • At the end of your course, you'll receive a detailed progress report from your teacher along with practical recommendations for further study you can do on your own.
  • The price you pay will include personalised materials, professionally presented in your own learning file and any books we think will be useful for you.

Although the course is structured specifically for you, it might be helpful for you to look at what others have chosen.

  • Using English for effective telephone communication
  • Improving your written English including letters, emails and reports
  • Negotiating in English
  • Making effective presentations
  • English for Human Resource Management
  • English for banking and finance
  • Giving appraisals and staff development
  • Recruitment and selection
  • English for health professionals
  • Social English in the workplace

This is just for guidance, you design the course with us, so if you have specific needs, we'd love to hear from you.

Client-Centred Flexibility

It's not just the course content that is designed specifically for you, we recognise that your work commitments are demanding so we offer a number of flexible options for the delivery of your course:

Full immersion - An intensive course over one or two weeks for a minimum of 6 hours a day. This option is popular with business clients based abroad who want to come to the UK specifically to improve their English. The full immersion programme includes collection from the airport, a carefully structured language programme and social events.

A semi-intensive programme spread over two or three weeks for a minimum of three hours a day. This programme is popular with business clients who want to devote a block of time to improving their English but at the same time, need to manage their workload in the office.

A completely flexible approach to learning: Lessons at a time to suit you. We can offer English tuition before or after work, during your lunch break or at any time to fit in around your work commitments. The minimum lesson time is 1½ hours but you decide when and how often lessons take place.

All of our business programmes can be delivered at our centre in Maidenhead or at your workplace, whichever is more convenient for you.