Pre-Conference Workshops

This workshop will present a number of tried and tested, free Web 2.0 tools and give ample opportunity to try these in the group. All tools introduced can be used to further increase the effectiveness and interactivity of Business English Training. Input phases with examples of successful use in language lessons will be complemented by phases of interactive, cooperative group work during which participants will develop concrete examples of good practice. After a reflection phase, questions, suggestions and best practice scenarios will be discussed with the workshop facilitators.

At the end of the workshop participants will have:

• concrete ideas of practical uses of the presented tools and technologies
  
• tried out all presented tools themselves
  
• gained the confidence necessary for employing these tools in language lessons
  
• experienced how invaluable cooperative, networked learning is for language training
  
• gained the knowledge necessary for avoiding typical problems
  
• gained a number of strategies for providing even more effective bespoke language training

Since it was first published in 1980 Hofstede’s culture framework has received extraordinary public acclaim. More than any other culture concept has it been incorporated into the work of academic researchers and intercultural trainers alike. Today a stunning number of books, essays and training concepts quote Hofstede’s findings, without acknowledging the fact, it seems, that the world of the 1980s was in many ways a different one. The workshop therefore intends to discuss three groups of questions:

• Values and Shortcomings? How do Hofstede’s findings relate to those of other interculturalists (Hall, Trompenaars, Thomas and others)? What light is shed on Hofstede’s findings by recent large-scale surveys like the European Values Study or the World Values Survey?
  
• Effects on intercultural Training Concepts? What are the pros and cons of incorporating culture frameworks into intercultural training concepts? What are examples of good and bad practice?
  
• Beyond cognitive Abilities? What are the four most important types of intercultural training courses in Germany (as well as advantages, disadvantages and trends)? How can intercultural competence be defined? How can it be trained? How can it be assessed?
  
  

The workshop borrows the first part of its title from a recent collection of essays edited by Cheryl Nakata. It is also based on a large number of critical appraisals summarised in an article by Helene Haas in inter culture journal 6/2007. Some of its ideas were elaborated by Rudolf Camerer in an article published by the Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung in 2009 (Anke Bahl, ed.: Kompetenzen für die globale Wirtschaft). The practical training experience on which the workshop is based draws on intercultural curricula and training materials developed for German secondary schools and chambers of commerce in Germany and Austria.

We will provide input, samples and handouts. Methods will be presentations, discussions and group-work.

Do your learners complain that there are too many words in the English language? Do they have problems moving from passive knowledge to active and confident use of new words? Then it’s time for your students to skill up!

Join Deborah Capras and Helen Strong for this workshop on best teaching and learning practices for today's business English students. We will be looking at how to successfully incorporate vocabulary-building activities in your business English lessons using the “Business Spotlight Blend”. We will also be introducing our new business vocabulary guide: Skill Up!

Learn how to exploit print, audio and online material to create an effective, up-to-date business English course. We will focus on the whole range of Business Spotlight products in the workshop including:

• Business Spotlight: a bi-monthly magazine for international business
  
• Business Spotlight plus: our workbook
  
• Business Spotlight Audio: 70 minutes of exercises, interviews and news
  
• Business Spotlight Online: interactive exercises, blogs, news items - and a teachers' zone
  
• Business Spotlight Podcasts: a free weekly podcast with a business focus
  
• Business Spotlight Newsletter: a free weekly newsletter with a quiz
  
• Business Spotlight Essential Series: booklets on interviews, meetings, e-mails etc.
  
  

Participants are asked to bring along a favourite vocabulary activity to share with the group and are advised to bring their own laptops to access the internet via a Wi-Fi connection for some of the activities.