What Is Corporate Work And What Are The Benefits?

With an ever expanding global economy, the need for businesses to learn and communicate in English has never been higher. Whilst many people assume that teaching English is only possible in a school or language centre, this is fact is not that case.

Whilst teaching business English has many parallels to schools in terms of required skills, the content is quite different. For a start, the students will mostly have at least a reasonable grasp of the language. Instead of teaching them the basics of grammar and rudimentary vocabulary you will be focusing on teaching them how to negotiate, persuade and communicate in a corporate environment. Of course there will be elements of more traditional teaching but the emphasis for business teaching is on specific skills needed for work, rather than a generalised linguistic ability.

Many people are drawn to the idea of teaching business English because of this shift in focus. It is especially suited to those who enjoy, and are competent public speakers, and those who have an interest and experience in a corporate environment. For those who have the relevant skill profile, such as a business background, then these jobs may be much easier to attain than those who don’t. However, having said that, with a little experience in more traditional settings making the transition becomes a much easier process. Once you can prove that you have experience as an ESL teacher, landing that corporate position will be much more attainable.

For aspiring teachers who feel like they may like to head in the corporate direction but currently lack the relevant experience, language centres are key place to start. Whilst language centres mainly offer general courses, most will have a small number of classes which focus on teaching business English. This is a great way to gain experience before you apply for position which is exclusively based within the corporate sector.

The pay is often more generous when you teach business English due to the greater requirements or experience the teacher must have for the position. There are several approaches to getting a corporate teaching job. You can either apply via local agencies or directly to a company. However the demand for the latter is much less, as many companies don’t have the need, or the financial resources, to hire a full time teacher, but rather they will hire a teacher from an external agency on an ad-hoc basis.